//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Outsider // by Raugos //------------------------------// “Come on, it’ll be fun! I’m sure it’ll be an eye-opening experience at the very least.” Lenny rolled his eyes as he followed his sister out of their roost and into the chilly darkness outside. “Sure. Equestria, Land of the Salad-Eaters. Totally gonna be fun. Whee.” “Oh come on, don’t be so negative,” Audri chirped, wheeling around to pat him on the crest. “There must be more to them than that.” He tilted his head. “Such as?” Audri opened her beak, but she apparently needed several seconds to think before she let the first word out. “Well… to be honest, I don’t really know.” “Aha!” “Well, neither do you,” she retorted with a grin, “So you can’t disprove it either way. Besides, wouldn’t you like to try your talons at getting a pony girlfriend? I mean, since you haven’t had much luck with the birdies here, maybe you’d want to, umm, branch out a bit.” Lenny didn’t quite like what Audri was insinuating, but he decided to let that slide. He had much more important things to do, like convincing her to drop this ridiculous plan. “Maybe we can do this another time. I need to see Master Arnott about—” “I heard the jerk refused to recommend you to the Guild,” she interrupted. “Well, he’s not really a je—” Audri hissed in distaste. “Yes he is, the old buzzard. You’re a pretty good hunter, and since we’re all from the same clan that’s the only logical explanation left. You’ll eventually find someone else to give you a recommendation.” She then grinned and added, “But in the meantime, you can take a couple of days off in Ponyland to relax and maybe have some fun. I’ve got a friend who knows her way around the place and owes me a favour.” Lenny huffed. “Fine. But I’ll blame you when I get back all bony, starving and featherless because ponies don’t stock real food like sensible folk.” “Heh. Somehow, I don’t think that’ll happen, but I’ll be sure to have some grilled salmon ready for you when you get back, just in case” she said. He gave her a noncommittal grunt. She nodded and spread her wings. “Now let’s go. We need to be there by sunrise.” Cape Pike was the closest point of Griffonia’s landmass to Equestria – a triangular, rocky cliff spearheading several hundred metres into the sea like its namesake. Some griffons used it as the starting point for solo flights because it was easier to find the best air currents to ride over to Equestria, and his designated guide apparently was one of them. Lenny spotted the golden-brown griffon basking in the sunrise at the edge of the cliff and followed Audri’s descent. They spiralled downwards, careful not to avoid getting carried away by the strong winds, and landed just as the griffon rose to greet them. “Heya, Gilda!” Audri called out. “Sup.” Gilda dipped her head in recognition. And then, as she turned his way, he found himself gazing into her brilliant, amber eyes. Uh oh. Lenny felt his wing muscles tightening. Fortunately, Gilda barely glanced at him before turning back to his sister. “So, where’s the rookie?” “You’re looking at him,” Audri said as she put a wing over his shoulder. This time, Gilda awarded him a lot more scrutiny, and he was quite sure that she’d noticed his wings. Her eyes flitted back and forth between him and Audri several times before she raised an eyebrow and said, “Really?” “Yep.” “Okay, whatever.” Gilda shrugged and gestured towards the sea with her talons. “You ready to go?” Something about her had caught his attention. She was… slow. Well, maybe slow wasn’t the right word, but her movements – the way she turned her head and the way she carried herself – didn’t have quite the snap of a normal, alert griffon. The feline grace seemed to have migrated from her limbs and hindquarters farther up her body, to be replaced with something a little more… horsey. He could see it in the way she planted all fours firmly on the ground like trees rather than staying light on her toes. He also realised that she’d had a bit of an accent when she’d spoken; it wasn’t very obvious, but her tongue did linger for longer than necessary on certain words. He found it rather intriguing, and a quick review of Audri’s story of how they met in town gave him the answer: Gilda had grown up in a pony boarding school. Not that that bothered him. He kind of liked her mannerisms; they were a mixture of the familiar and strange, and of course, she was beautiful. Relatively small beak, but sharp and nicely curved like a proper predator’s, hook-like talons, fierce eyes, athletic build and noble crest of nearly pure-white feathers with a slight purple tinge – a worthy griffon if he ever saw one. “Hey, are you listening? I said—” Gilda’s voice cut off as her eyes narrowed and darted a little to the side. Her crest bristled almost immediately after. Yeah, she’d definitely noticed his wings. “Are you serious?” she growled. Better to admit than chicken out. Lenny stepped forward and grinned. “Yeah. You’re gorgeous. Sorry I got distracted.” Lenny heard Audri’s facepaw before she backed away from him and said, “Oh fluff, there goes another one.” Gilda spread her wings wide and towered over him. He held her gaze evenly, puffed out his chest and spread his wings to match her pose. His wingspan would never compare to hers, but there was more than one way to avoid a griffon’s scorn. After a tense half-minute of staring and sizing each other up, Gilda took a deep breath and roared right in his face. His ears rang, his vision blurred and his heart raced, but experience with courting other females had taught him to resist the urge to flee, and he managed to snarl back at her in return whilst holding his ground. He saw surprise in her eyes for a second before she relaxed and said, “Huh, not bad. But you’re still not my type, so forget about it. Can we get back to business now?” Lenny sighed and nodded in agreement as he folded his wings. Turned down again, but that was better than half the times females outright laughed at his advances and brushed him off like a cub who didn’t know what he was doing. “Fair enough. I’m ready to go.” “You brought any bits?” “I don’t need any money.” He patted the bag slung over his shoulder. “I brought some supplies.” She looked sceptical and inclined to argue, but eventually nodded. “Suit yourself. Off we go.” And with that, she leapt into the air. Lenny glanced at his sister, who simply shooed him off with a wing. “Hurry. Gilda’s not exactly the type to wait,” she urged. “I’ll see you in a couple of days, maybe more if you decide you like Ponyland after all. Do try to enjoy yourself.” He chirped his compliance and leaped over the edge of the cliff. A quick swerve sufficed for him to latch onto a strong updraft and ride it into the sky. Then, as the ground and Audri shrank away, he hollered down, “All right, but don’t count on it. See you soon!”