//------------------------------// // Heartfelt (23) // Story: Griffin the Griffin // by BlackWing //------------------------------// Heartfelt "So, I was meaning to ask Griffin..." Nadene began. "Just call me Grif or dumbass, it's less awkward." I replied, causing Gilda to giggle again, and our newest member to look at me confused, as to why the captain would ask her to insult him. "Alright, Grif, you told the other one that you gave him a kidney.... what did you mean by that?" She continued her question. "Oh, right. I forgot, I haven't explained myself exactly yet. Well, let's begin. I'm not actually a griffin. I'm an alien. I came to this world two, maybe three months ago? I forget exactly, and I guess I got turned into the first thing I met, being Gilda over here. Anyways, I left my world as an escape. It is a harsh and unforgiving place, where those with wealth rule and do all they can to stay on top, which means oppressing those beneath them. Basically, what that bastard Carl was doing to your village, but on a global scale. Normally, family looks out for one another, except mine actually tried to kill me on a couple occasions when I was younger. I also had no friends, given that I was socially inept, due to the fact that my parents didn't even try to raise me into a proper person." "That doesn't explain the medical miracle......" "I was getting to that. Now, in this world, there have been a lot of medical advances, probably due to the fact that there's a large number of highly developed diseases. There is a huge call for what's known as organ donors. Basically, if someone has a disease that destroys one of their vital organs, they need a replacement. I was looking for some meaning in my life, so I decided to donate one of anything I had two of that I didn't need. There wasn't any call for a lung of my blood type right yet, but someone needed a kidney. Apparently the guy had a drug overdose and destroyed both of his. They let me see him while he was passed out, and I learned a bit about him. I demanded that they never tell it was me who saved his life. I wasn't looking for recognition, and I really didn't want someone going around acting like he owed me his life." "So, you gave him your kidney, and then?" Nadene was interested, as were Gilda and Trixie. Etch and Growl didn't really care. "We went on with our lives. One month later, that very same guy was right back out there, doing drugs again. He got a second chance at life, at my expense, and he was just throwing it away again. What's more, a lot of addicts are punks, so they go around making other's miserable, stealing from them, all to make them feel better about themselves when they were off their high. Carl made my life a living hell. Six fucking years. Ever hear of karma? Do good, and good will come to you, and the opposite also being true? I did good, and had nothing but pain came to me, while he was cruel and kept getting a free ride. I've pretty much accepted that Destiny and Fate hate my guts. It's a good thing I at least have Lady Luck on my side, which is why I met all of you, and the reason I survived this long." I looked over at the dogs, and Etch was acting weird, almost like he was sad. Given that he has better hearing, I assume he heard me, was getting all emotional, and didn't want anyone to see. "That's such a sad story. No wonder you acted like you did when you saw him again. But, how did you get here? How did he get here?" Nadene now knew why I did what I did to help her. It was only for a moment, but she felt the same pain I had. "Well, that's the thing. I'm about to explain something really freaky, and you can never tell another soul. If anyone besides us know this, it could spell disaster. Ever seen a movie, or a play? A theater performance? We have those in my world, called T.V. shows. They're entirely fiction. Or so I thought. Turns out we're actually looking into different worlds without knowing it, or so Discord says. Anywho, I was watching one about Equestria. I thought to myself, wow, that place looks nice, much better than here, I want to go. Then some weird old guy came up, asked me if I wanted to, and when I said yes...." I snapped my fingers for dramatic effect. "And here I am." Gilda looked a little astonished. "So, wait. You knew about this world beforehand?" "Only Equestria, I didn't know anything about the Dominion, Gem Fido, the Dragon Badlands, Volcanic Wastes, Black Marsh, or this jungle. It wasn't shown." "So, why did you want to go to a world full of lame ponies?" Gilda looked like she was actually getting mad. She probably thought I was cool, and the fact that I actually liked ponies was a tough pill to swallow. "Let's see, I wanted to escape my world. Oh look, here's one where there's plenty to eat, nobody trying to kill you, and you can actually have the freedom to do what you want. Didn't matter that they were ponies. It was a happy place." "So, what changed?" She asked. "I found out what the entire world is like. Right up to that point, I was blissfully ignorant of what happened in the other provinces, much like the ponies are. Soon as I found out that all that glitters is NOT gold, I got really pissed off. It's exactly the fucking same as my home, with the exception that here, I have the power to do something about it, and I intend to. Etch, Growl, get over here, it's time to go over the plan in detail." As soon as the dogs made their way over from whatever they were doing, I began. "Alright, so we're gonna sit in the forest for a little while longer and get stronger. Trixie and I need to train with our mounted combat, Gilda, you need to learn to shoot faster. Your accuracy is perfect, now just get those shots off more frequently. Trixie, you need to learn some destruction and binding magic as well. Etch, Growl, I'm happy with you at this point, although I'm sure Nadene could teach you a bit about stealth, which should come in handy. We'll try to hit a temple here in the jungle for loot. Once we've got a good bankroll, we'll head to volcano territory, hire some mercs and get a boat. Then we'll sail west and do some ACTUAL piracy. We're going to need to raid for wealth and supplies, and I know that the dogs send ships to the Zebra isles to trade with them. Since piracy hasn't existed for six centuries, they won't be defended, and we can just take what we want. Then we'll hit the dragon lands, maybe get a beast or two with us, pass back over the Dominion, drop off anything extra, give them my knowledge and take as many as we can with us. We'll wait there while some of the holds get scouted, and once we pick a target, we'll take it and send the slaves back to their families. Hopefully that will raise morale enough for us to get some reinforcements. We'll gather momentum and move again and again till we take the whole thing. After a while, they should just start surrendering as soon as we show up, and that'll be it. We've got the potion maker, Nadene, now all we need is a dedicated doctor and a smith, which I hope we'll be able to pick up along the way." The group nodded in agreement, all of them pondering the different aspects of the plan. "Well, all in all, it's a pretty good plan, other than the bits about getting more crew members being hazy, it's fairly sound." Nadene pointed out. "You seem pretty relaxed about the whole alien thing...." "It's not the first time Equestria has been visited. In fact, legend holds that my own people are from another realm as well, although most has been lost to time." She said somewhat sad, remembering her tribe. "Do you know where we will be attacking, when we get that far?" Growl asked, quite out of character for him to talk at all. He's very quiet, which is a good thing, also suspicious. Nah, I'm just being paranoid. "Actually, I'm hoping you two would be the ones to scout that out." I motioned to the dog pair. Etch's tail wagged. "I one day hope to return home. I look forward to having my wife and pup back in my arms." So that's what he was sad about. My little sob story brought up some memories. Later that evening, when all the others were asleep, Gilda approached me with a ragged look in her eye, like something was bothering her. "What's the problem. Something's the matter. What is it?" I asked, by this point knowing her quite well. "You say you saw Equestria before you came here. What did you see? Specifically." I was dreading this, but it had to be done. "The events leading up to Nightmare Moon's return, followed by several disturbances, all the way through to Discord's return and defeat. Yes, I know, I got here before that happened. There seems to be a bit of a difference in timelines between our worlds. I also know that at some point in the future, Twilight Sparkle's brother is going to get married to Princess Cadence, although that episode hasn't come out yet. It's at the end of the season, with the season three opening having an enemy pop up that the elements of harmony don't work on. Those two guys on the weird car? I saw their screw up in Ponyville. In fact, most of the show is centered around there." "When did you plan on telling me all this? When were you going to stop lying to me?" Gilda almost had tears in her eyes. The fact that I had been holding back from her was tearing her up inside. A clear tell that she cared for me. "Honestly? I had no idea. When I felt the time was right I guess. Once I found out that this world wasn't fiction, and by breaking the 'fourth wall' as it were, I wouldn't bring the entire universe crashing down on our heads. Who knows how that crap works?" "I guess you were right in holding that back....." She paused. "You weren't exactly forthcoming with me either." She looked at me, thinking about her own past. "I won't make you share that till you're ready. All in due time." "So, what else did you see? Anything about....." She asked, then paused. I knew what she was going to say. I ignored it for the moment. "I saw a parasprite invasion, a zebra that spoke only in rhyme, oh, you should have seen it! Pinkie Pie's tongue became too big to fit in her mouth, and she couldn't talk!" Gilda cracked a smile. I could tell she liked the thought of a quiet Pinkie Pie. Then she began to frown again. "What about me?" This was it. I can't lie to her any more. She needs to know everything. "Yes. I saw when you visited. I saw all of it." She buried her face in her claws. "It was one of the worst days of my life! Okay, so maybe I did some things I should't have, but, I just..... I hadn't seen her so long, I wanted some time alone you know? I thought she might understand, and then she threw me away like an old sock! All those ponies, they, I mean, they have no idea what's going on. They just go about their daily lives happily and uncaring about the rest of the world. I watched Pinks eat an entire cake that would have fed 10 griffins for their birthdays. She's supposed to be the party pony, where are their parties? Where's their cake? Where's their presents? All I got for my birthday was taken as a slave. The next one, I got my freedom at the price of never seeing my family again. Where's the justice? Why aren't we allowed to feel good? We're all miserable and she's so over the top happy that it makes me sick! And then, all the people of your world saw me act like that. It's a wonder you didn't hate me as soon as you saw me." I wrapped my arm around her. She stopped crying and looked away, as though ashamed that she was being comforted by someone else. "That's the thing. A lot of the 'fans' did, not because of Pinkie though. Most agree she went too far. It's actually Fluttershy. The little yellow one with the ducks that you yelled at? She's a fan favorite. She's the element of kindness. In fact, most wonder about her. Why is she so shy? What happened to make her walk on eggshells around everyone? She's probably the only one you could talk to about your past besides me. Of course, a lot also sided with you on that. They wanted to know WHY you were so angry. What happened in your life that caused you to be like that? They wanted to know your hidden pain and make it all go away, to show you that they care. Echo is one of them. So am I. Carl represents the majority of everyone else who is uncaring. Maybe if I had known him while we were both back on Earth...... I don't know. I honestly think the guy who sent me here is my guardian angel or something, who slacked off for the past 19 years and is working overtime to make up for it. It's like he sent him here just so I could kill him." Gilda and I both laughed at that. Life was finally making a turn for the better for me. "We're so alike in so many ways. I'm the one who gets to know you, and I'm the one who gets to take it away, to destroy the source of your pain and heal your wounds. I can't promise you'll see your family again. I'm not gonna lie, they might not be alive any more. If they are alive, there is a chance. There's a chance that you might see them again. If we succeed, you'll be reunited. Etch will see his family again too. And if we fail..... well, then we'll all be together in Tartarus won't we? Given what we've done, we'll meet up there eventually." I drew Hades, made a slight cut on my claw, then motioned for her to do the same. We pressed our wounds together. "This is our pact. We won't give up, no matter what, and we'll stay by each other till the end. We'll fix this broken world, or we'll die trying." She looked in my eyes, leaned in like she was going to give me a kiss, then blushed, backed out of it, and settled for leaning her head on my shoulder. 'Damn. So close.' "Anyways, given what I know of the story's timeline, we don't have to worry about any more public appearances." "What do you mean?" Gilda asked. "There was a massive time lapse. The time between two of the episodes was over six months. We're right in that time slot now, which means...... Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity are coming after us. Either they'll find us and capture us, which, seeing as how I know they're coming, isn't likely, they'll find us, and we'll convince them to go home, or they won't find us at all, and give up since they have jobs to do back home and can't go all over the world on a wild goose chase. In fact, them missing us completely is the most likely, since there wasn't an episode about us. Twilight normally writes a 'friendship report' to Celestia, telling her what she's learned. Unless she didn't learn anything with us, which is unlikely given that she's a braniac, I'd have to say she didn't find us." "So, basically, you've been spying on this world, and since you know that the show is centered around them, as well as what the timeline is, we can dodge that entirely?" "Yep, pull out the map will you?" Gilda took the map out of her pack and unrolled it on the treetop floor. "Hmm, they're not stupid, well, Twilight isn't, so they know that since we can fly and they can't that they'll never catch us by chasing. They'll try to head us off. Given that we went down the east coast, they think we'll probably go up the west, and a good staging area for that is.... here. Tailton Springs. But that's not what we're doing. We'll go....... here, to port Redstone, and steal a ship. I say we've got a month and a half before they make it there. Since the rail system is relatively new and only goes to Canterlot, frontier locations like Appleoosa, and some way stations like Ponyville, they can't just take the train, and they'll be traveling on foot." "When did you figure that out?" Gilda asked, clearly wanting to know how I knew about the railroad. "Book. I didn't spend a whole two weeks pouring over these things for nothing, and I already checked, they're the most up to date. See, the map even has the railway on it. They're all on the north half of the country. Since we just picked this one up in Manehatten, it's up to date too." "Maybe you're not such a dumbass after all." Gilda smirked. "Brains, charm, stunning good looks.... it's a miracle you haven't thrown yourself at me. When we get a ship, we may just have to name it the 'Lady Killer'." I chuckled. At which point she did throw herself at me. She pinned me to the ground, looked at me with half lidded eyes, then said, "764 to 154, you really shouldn't let your guard down." before she climbed off and went to lay back down on her bed pillow, conveniently made of MY feathers in a shaped silk sack. 'Damn it! So close!' Dear Princess Celestia, Why are ponies racist? Sincerely, Gilda. Art by Carnelian. Quite touching. Grif finally explained in full who he is. Gilda took it rather well, all things considering. They had a nice little emotional chit chat, and Gilda finally said why she got pissed off in Ponyville.