//------------------------------// // Revelation // Story: Of Dragons and Ponies // by Mystic_Knightwolf //------------------------------// School in Ponyville the next day came by as usual for the colts and fillies. Cheerilee taught her class, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were bored out of their minds, Featherweight had his mind on the Foal Free Press today, and the Crusaders had a new topic to talk about today, the topic today not about earning their cutie marks. "That's all for today, students. Class dismissed! And don't forget to pick up this week's papers! I'm sure the Foal Free Press will give you something really interesting this week!" Cheerilee urged to her students before they took their leave, some of them grabbing papers from the stack next to her desk before they made their way out, save for the Crusaders, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon, none of whom interested due their history with the Foal Free Press. Walking away from the school the Crusaders headed on their way to their clubhouse, passing through town, seeing Featherweight and Rumble tugging a wagonload of newspapers, but paid them no mind. "So what next to earn out Cutie Marks?" Applebloom asked her fellow crusaders. XXXXX Spike flopped down on the couch in the main room of the library, his feather duster falling out of his grip as his arm draped off of the edge. The library was cleaned, the books reshelved and reordered, and Spike done for the day. "All to do now is just rela-" there was a thud at his door. "Son of a dragon." Spike mumbled as he peeled himself from the couch to go check the door. Opening it, he found Derpy flying away with saddlebags full of rolled up newspapers. Looking down, he saw the one that was thrown at his door. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the title of the article. "The Foal Free Press? Hm, they never had anything good enough to send to homes." Spike said, picking up. Cutting the rubber band and tossing it aside, he unrolled the newspaper and read the headlining article. But as soon as he saw the picture, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. The next thing he knew, he was out of the door, on his way to the CMC headquarters, a.k.a. the treehouse, newspaper in arm. XXXXX The very last thing the crusaders were expecting was a fuming purple drake bursting in the door with a rolled up newspaper. Sweetie Belle, ever the naive one, bounced up to him, completely disregarding the drake's current state. "Hi Spike! What's going on?" the unicorn filly asked, her fellow crusaders giving her bewildered looks from the relative safety of a few feet. "Explain this!" Spike demanded as he flipped oven the newspaper, showing them the front page headlining photo of Them, Zecora, and Grigori coming out of the Everfree. Upon seeing and digesting the sight of the said photo, the four crusaders exchanged glances. "Uh-oh." was all that was said between them before they bolted back towards town, Spike following after, yelling out to them to explain themselves. XXXXX Arriving back in Ponyville, the four, plus Spike, all looked around with horrified looks to see the populace visibly enjoying the new read of the week, seemingly everypony having a newspaper to read, or peeping over to somepony who's in possession of one, regardless of what they were doing before their eyes landed on the new, interesting read. "They're everywhere!" Sweetie Belle panicked, much in the dramatic fashion of her sister. "Grigori's not gonna like this, not one bit." Scootaloo mumbled, staring at the ground, shaking her head. Getting another look from a nearby copy that Roseluck was reading before the latter of whom could utter a question to the filly about her being in it, Sweetie Belle ran back to her friends. "Hold on, guys. We couldn't have purposely got that picture taken." Sweetie Belle stated, looking between them. Spike, who still had his copy of the newspaper, had finally caught back up to them. "Huh?" he asked, utterly confused. Sweetie Belle took the paper and unfurled it, laying it out on the ground for all of them to see. "See how it was taken? None of us could've known that we were being filmed. Did any of you know?" Sweetie Belle asked, looking to face the others, who all shook their heads no. "So if you four didn't take the picture, then who did?" Spike asked. "I think I have a good idea who it might be." Scootaloo figured before walking off, her fellow crusaders following after with Spike in tow. "Hey, there's Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" one of the mares, Lyra, pointed out, and once that happened, everypony tore their eyes away from the read and saw Spike and the crusaders. "But before we do that... RUN!" and like that, they were away with a good portion of the town running after them, asking questions regarding the news. XXXXX Celestia sat upon a nicely fluffed cushion in her workroom in the Castle's tallest tower, writing in a simple parchment when the door to her room opened, revealing none other than Twilight Sparkle. Setting the pen down, Celestia smiled at her fellow alicorn. "Twilight, there you are. I was just thinking about you." Celestia greeted, getting up and walking over to her. "Y-you have?" Twilight's expression seemed to brighten at that. Celestia nodded. "Did you greet Spike's new friend yet?" she asked. "Oh, yes! He goes by the name of Grigori. The mares and I met him in his cave just outside of Ponyville. As it turned out, he seemed really nice. A bit stone-faced and no-nonsense, but really nice. He told us that he refuses to leave the Everfree Forest unless there's an emergency, out of fear of causing the town panic. We all want to get the town to know him, but we don't know what to do." Twilight explained their small predicament, causing her and Celestia to ponder a solution. "Well, I don't see why he could not just enter Ponyville. From what I gathered, Ponyville is no stranger to the unusual." Celestia pointed out. "He seemed really adamant on staying until he's needed, though. I don't think he'd be convinced even if we told him. He might even already know." Twilight explained. "I'm assuming he started with Ponyville because of that very reason. What do you think, Luna?" Celestia figured, looking behind her to the seemingly empty space behind her, her smirk growing. A moment later, a dark bluish mist seeped out from the floor, manifesting and taking form, Luna standing before her a moment later, a sheepish smile on her face. "My apologies, dear sister. But I simply could not resist." Celestia only giggled at that. "No need for apologies, Luna. However, I would like your opinion on this." Celestia said as she motioned her sister to follow her. Together, the two alicorns walked, discussing. "Well, I suppose he chose Ponyville above all else because of the fact that Ponyville gets no small dosage of danger. Combating danger and saving the lives of our precious subjects would put him in good light, I am certain." Luna figured. "He would not be concerned, not so much as first appearance, but reputation. I would choose Ponyville as a first for that same reason if I were him. Tis easy to figure out since it borders the Everfree Forest, and all know if the creatures that live within." Luna explained. "I must agree. One of us could offer some words of encouragement. How about you, Luna? You seem genuinely interested in him, and you are an expert on the unknown and mysterious more so than myself. I wager you'll make a very valuable friend as well." Celestia suggested, causing the younger sister to stare back at her with a raised eyebrow before focusing forward again, pondering the idea. "I suppose. It would prove an... interesting encounter. I will think upon it." Luna said with a nod, causing Celestia to cast a smile of approval. With that, Luna looked back to Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle, where exactly does this Grigori live? I will exchange words with him tonight." "At the peak of the mountain closest to Ponyville. It's actually within sight of the town." Twilight replied. "Very well. I will go and prepare for my departure. I leave at nightfall." Luna stated before leaving the room. XXXXX That night, Luna made her way to Ponyville. With all of Equestria asleep during the night, Luna often had much free time to herself, save for when she volunteered to take a load off of her elder sister as she worked and listened to her subjects during the day, and in that free time, Luna often went out on her own to explore modern day Equestria. But tonight, rather than a journey, she was on a quest. As she flew above the streets and homes of Ponyville, a landmark caught her eye. A mountain, silhouetted against the cast light of the full moon, stood out to her. Having found her target, the princess of the night flew in towards her destination. Teleportation was far more effective than flight, especially since an alicorn's magic was near infinite, but there is much pleasure to be taken in flight, whether be pegasi, griffons, or alicorns. The wind through her feathers was already reason enough, aside from other reasons. As she landed at the mouth of the mountain, she ignited her horn to provide light for the blackness of the cave. Satisfied, she made her way inside. Nothing but the clops of her slippers and her steady breathing could be heard as each sound she made echoed throughout the interior of the cavern. What first caught her eye was the dull, but noticeable shine of the apparent hoard of gems at the far end of the cave. A few mine carts rested nearby, presumably how Grigori was able to carry them back here. Speaking of whom... Luna turned around, facing the entrance at the sound of loud wingbeats, and moments later, Grigori landed before her, the fresh kill of a deer clutched in his jaws. Luna herself didn't even wince. "Princess Luna." Grigori addressed after putting down his kill with a deep bow of the head. "A pleasure. You must be Grigori. Twilight Sparkle has told my sister and I about you." Luna spoke, walking up to him. "What does your fellow alicorn say of me?" the drake asked before grabbing his fresh kill again and carrying it into the cave. "She says you are nice. Stone-faced, but nice all the same. She tells me that you refuse to leave the confines of the forest unless for a dire emergency." Luna explained. Grigori nodded at that "She speaks truth. I would not like to cause harm to the land of friendship for any reason." Grigori clarified before lightly breathing fire onto the carcass, singing away the fur and cooking the meat. "I will take an opportunity when it presents itself." "You do not have to wait for an opportunity to present yourself. At least, in Ponyville. The inhabitants are... resilient to the mysterious and unknown. They live right along the edge of the Everfree Forest." Luna rebutted. "I assumed as much after thought, but you could never be too cautious, especially if you are a dragon if any kind. Whether it is your order or request for me to make myself known to Ponyville, I will honor it." Grigori stated before digging into his meal, ripping off a sizable quantity of meat from the flank. Luna simply chuckled. "It is no trouble, Grigori. I am to simply tell you that there is no trouble with Ponyville. They might even take a liking to you. But if you wish to wait before your introduction, I will not pester you on it. I believe Spike and the former element bearers are more than capable of that." Grigori gave her a questioning look. "What do you mean?" "I will be looking forward to your introduction, and I will be informing Twilight of our agreement, and I will have her and her friends pester you until you do." Luna explained, a smirk growing as his bemused expression. "You do not give choice in this matter, do you?" Grigori asked with a raised eyebrow. "If I did, would there be any progress?" Luna shot back, her smirk still there. "True words spoken. Very well. Expect my arrival to Ponyville following the afternoon, when all are aware." Grigori stated before returning to his meal. Satisfied, Luna turned to leave. "I expect nothing less." and with that, she took flight off into the night, leaving Grigori to dig into his meal. Much would happen tomorrow, this he could already guess.