Finding the Right Note

by Wanderer D

Life at Home

The gryphon behind the counter adjusted the seal-of-authority on her cloak and glanced down at the papers lined in the desk for her perusal.

“According to our records, you’re still under a bond with one Leandra Darkvane, is this correct?”

“For the time being, yes.” Angus Greenquill sighed. “Why is this relevant?”

“Since you are still bonded and her earnings exceed by far the maximum limit we have to authorize anyone for help, you can’t be approved for assistance by the Royal Treasury.”

“But we’ve lived apart for so long an—”

“As long as the bond is still recognized by The Crown, there is nothing to be done. Do you want to file for Severing?”

“What’s the cost?”

“Three hundred claws.”

“I’d love to, but there’s a reason I need the assistance.” Angus growled, getting up and ignoring the dirty look the scribe gave him. He looked down and to his right. “Come on, cub, time to go.”

A little gryphon, barely as tall as his kneecap, scampered from under the desk. “Are we ready to go, dad?”

“We were ready to go since about two hours ago, Ari, when we were being asked questions. Apparently they didn’t see it fit to tell us so we could save time,” Angus replied.

He picked up his son, placing him between his shoulderblades and making sure his wings would not hit Ari if he were to spread them in a hurry.

Ari glanced at the clock and frowned. “Aww, we could have gone to see the carnival! They packed up and left an hour ago!” He sighed. “I wanted to sneak into one of the crates and maybe we could’ve made it all the way to Equestria!”

“Thank the lady behind the desk, she did her best to waste our time.”

Ari smiled cutely at the scribe and wave as his dad walked away with him on top. “Thanks for wasting our time, lady!” he shouted in order to be heard and turning more than one head in their direction.

Angus ignored the angered clerks and scribes and made his way to the exit, shoving through the doors and squinting slightly when the bright daylight hit his eyes. That’s why he hated being inside in the shade too long. Soon enough they adjusted and he gazed at his adoptive city.

The port city of Ammassalik—famous first of all for their fishing, and second of all for being the capital of the Gryphon Kingdom—bustled with energy and the almost continuous flow of gryphons of all trades and classes walking the paved roads.

If they weren’t walking, gryphons would be flying in careful patterns to get to their destinations as the city grew from the shore and up the sides and middle of the central mountain: hollowed Miklilgnyja, where the Eyrie Hall stood atop them all, surrounded by serpentine clouds and perfect for Their Royal Majesties to ignore their people.

“Why in the name of Hel did I ever come here?” He muttered. “I should have applied for a visa to live in Equestria, or have gone back home to Grǫsugrhváll.”

“Hey, can we go see mom?” Ari asked pulling on his father’s head feathers with his beak when he didn’t get an answer. “Come on!”

“Ah, yes. That’s why,” he sighed, and looked up, trying to see his son. “Look kid, she’s working and you’re stuck with me for a few more days.

“Aww! But I want to see her!”

“I know, I know,” Angus droned, walking down the street, towards the docks. “Sorry kiddo, we’ll have to wait for the experience.” He winced when his son looked away. “Hey, how about we see what’s new coming from other countries? Maybe we’ll see one of those Elephants from the far east!”

Ari slumped on his back. “Yeah, sure.”

Angus cursed his angry words in silence. He knew his tendency to let his mouth get the better of him was something that hurt his son… even if he wasn’t explicitly cursing his estranged wife, it was something the kid picked up on quickly.

Still, he carried on, walking all the way down to the docks, near to where he worked. “I know there’s a boat coming from Equestria with some imports,” he said tentatively.

That perked up Ari, and he looked around excitedly. “You think there’s going to be ponies in the boat?”

Angus chuckled at his enthusiasm. “There might, but for the most part they tend to stay in Equestria. Most of the boats that go there and back originate from here, and so, the crew consists of gryphons for the most part.”

“Awww,” Ari groaned. “Really? Couldn’t you at least let me see one, just one pony?”

Angus shrugged. “It’s not up to me, kiddo.”

Ari was about to answer, Angus could feel it, but something made his son stop short and gasp.

Raising his head, to see what was going on, Angus followed his son’s line-of-sight and his eyes settled on a very unusual sight for the island of Ammassalik: a pony. And not just a pony… an Earth Pony.

“Dad! It’s a pony!” Ari exclaimed, jumping up and down on Angus’ back and making him wince each each time his paws would dig into his lower back and his talons sink slightly into his coat.

The pony in question, a grey-coated mare with dark grey, almost black mane and tail, was wearing a white west-equestrian hat that contrasted with her otherwise sophisticated look—she was wearing a purple bow around her neck that made her look… dignified— and carried a large, odd-looking black case strapped to her back.

“Look, dad!” Ari gasped, pointing in her direction, completely exited. “She has clan-markings on her flank!”

Angus blinked at the purple musical note. “I think I’ve heard of that, it’s not a clan-mark, Ari, it’s called a… a Cute Mark? It’s unique to each pony.”

“Cute Mark…” Ari said aloud in a wondering tone, almost as if he were tasting the words. “That’s so cool!”

They watched for a moment as the mare heatedly discussed something over with one of the sailors and finally gave him far more Equestrian Bits than she should have, in Angus’ opinion, before huffing and starting to walk towards the city among incredulous stares from other gryphons.

“Dad! Let’s talk to her! I want to meet her!” Ari urged from his position on his back. “I wanna meet her!”

“H-hey! Calm down!” Angus cringed, looking over his shoulder at his son. “I get it, it’s a pony and you’ve never seen one. No reason to tear daddy’s coat, is it?”

“Yes!”

“Yes no? Or yes, it is?”

“I don’t care! The pony!”

“That’s not an answer!”

“I wanna meet her!”

Angus rolled his eyes and turned away from his son, taking a step to walk away when he suddenly found himself beak-to-muzzle with the mare in question.

Blue eyes met with Lavender eyes and they both stared for a moment.

“Um, excuse me,” the mare said politely, stepping back. “I wasn’t paying attention to wh—”

“N-not at all!” Angus stammered, also stepping back. “I was having a discussion with Ari here and I should have looked before I moved, I’m very sorry, miss.”

“Yay! Pony!” Ari giggled from his dad’s back. “Daddy! It’s a pony!”

Angus grinned nervously and looked at her. “I’m sorry, my son has never seen a pony and—”

“Say no more,” the mare replied with a kind smile. She looked up at Ari. “Hello, Ari. I’m Octavia, an Earth Pony. Nice to meet you!”

“‘Tavia?” Ari blinked and tilted his head. “That’s an odd name.”

Rather than seem insulted, her smile broadened. “I thought so too, when I was a filly your age.”

“Are you going to stay a while?” Ari asked, almost desperately. “I want to hear all I can about Equestra!”

Angus cringed and could feel his skin blushing under his feathers. “He gets excited,” he explained rather unnecessarily.

“Certainly,” Octavia replied, still smiling. “I’ll be happy to tell you about Equestria sometime. I’ll be looking for jobs in the area, but I’ll be staying at the Featherfall Inn, if you ever have the time.” Her eyes strayed to Angus. “If you hear of any jobs an Earth pony can do around here, let me know.”

“Yay!” Ari shouted, raising on his hind-legs and almost stumbling back.

“Um, sure,” Argus blinked. “But are you sure you should be trusting a random gryphon with that information?”

Octavia shrugged, already turning away. “Maybe not, but at least your son seems trustworthy.”

Angus chuckled and shook his head, watching her walk away.

“Are you getting her a job, dad?” Ari asked from his back. “I like her.”

“First I need to get a better one for myself,” Angus growled. “Come on kid, time to go home.”