The Traveling Tutor and the Royal Exam
Educational Experiences
The doors in the crystal palace had a certain musical tone to them when knocked with a metal-shod hoof, and Green Grass opened one eye to glare across the bedroom at the musical door on the other end of the suite which had been quietly chiming in the key of D flat fairly regularly for several minutes so far. He did not want to get out of bed. At some time during the night, he was fairly certain he had been converted to a liquid substance — a jelly or jam perhaps — and the resolidification had not quite been completed yet. Plus Twilight Sparkle was still sprawled across the majority of his side.
The knocking at the door continued. He evaluated the difficulty of extracting himself from the bed to answer it.
If Princess Celestia can lift the sun into the sky every morning, I most certainly can slip out of bed to answer a door so Twilight can get a little more sleep. The sacrifices I make for Equestria.
After an almost liquid slide down onto the cold, cold crystal floor of his bedroom, Green Grass forced himself by sheer will to plod silently into the main room and then over to the corridor door, one slow and painful step after another. He nosed open the blessedly easy to open and most certainly earth pony designed latch before sticking his bleary face up to the opening door and speaking his first words of the day.
“Mglerg’s ponny sleep?”
The Crystal Guard on the other side of the door could not have been more apologetic if he had SORRY written across his shiny forehead, which to Green Grass’ relief, was completely horn-free.
The small collection of small fillies and colts who crowded in the corridor behind him, not so much.
An amazing array of youthful hats, tall manestyles, and fashion accessories adorned the foreheads of every little pony outside, each of the nervous little colts and fillies paired with a nervous adult pony or two at their side, and all of them looking in the direction of his door as if he were a life vest salesman on a sinking ship.
It was far more effective than coffee.
After a long minute or two looking at the glittering little unicorns, each of their translucent bodies regardless of presence or absence of cutie mark trembling in fear, Green Grass swallowed a lump the size of the Canterhorn mountain, put on his best Teacher’s Smile, and tried to think of a polite way to phrase ‘Pardon me for a moment while I go wake up your national hero, Princess Twilight Sparkle, who spent the entire night in my bed. And various places around the bedroom and bathroom.’
“Oh, lovercolt.” Warm purple wings enfolded him from behind and Twilight nuzzled up his neck to spend a little quality time with one well-gnawed ear. “Tell the guard to give us another hour or two before breakfast. I want to try Chapter Seven again.”
To Green Grass’ chagrin, the door slipped open further and the sea of little terrified faces all lit up with the sight of their heroine, adorned in all of her undressed bed-headed and sweat-dampened glory draped over his back and running her wings down his sides.
Twilight stopped moving. Apparently the sight of that many attentive young eyes was not only more effective than coffee, it was also more effective than saltpeter.
The little crystal unicorn closest to the door cleared her throat, looking even more fragile and breakable than when Green Grass had been tutoring her last night. “Mister Green Grass, sir? I brought my friends so you can show them how to use their magic too.” Bright golden eyes flickered from his face to the embarrassed alicorn still draped over his back. “If you’re not busy.”
“Give us a few minutes to clean up first,” whispered Green Grass and closed the door.
* ♥ *
Breakfast for the newest Royal Couple turned out to be a somewhat different than expected affair involving fourteen young unicorns, sixteen nervous parents, one hundred and thirty-seven slices of toast, seventeen charred chunks of carbon that used be bread before the students tried to toast them, seven jars of various jellies and jams that were all expended in attempts to levitate the contents onto the uncharred toast, and one unfortunate kitchen staffpony who had the misfortune of wandering into the suite somewhat earlier than expected to ask if there was anything he could do for Green Grass this fine morning. Twilight Sparkle managed to stage a strategic retreat about halfway through the morning ‘lessons’ to double-check the magical locks she had placed on a certain book collection as well as to eat the rather light breakfast (mostly toast) the kitchen staff had provided, but the brief respite from chaos was disrupted by the arrival of her brother.
“Good morning, Twiley. I went by your suite, but you weren’t there.” Sharp blue eyes darted around the suite as her brother stepped inside, taking in the crowd of tiny unicorns scattered around the various rooms with only a slight twitch. Apparently the suite passed military inspection — for which she thanked a brief cleaning spell and vigorous mutual shower — and Shining Armor continued, “Are you both ready for our trip to the Misty Mountain aerie? Cadence cleared her schedule, so we can all take off just as soon as we get to the hangar.”
“Oh, no.” Twilight looked over at where Green Grass and a small crowd of tiny unicorn students were coaxing a particularly shy turquoise unicorn into popping a soap bubble with her horn. Lowering her voice to a whisper, she continued, “He’s on such a roll with them. Not a single premature geraniumification or serious backlash in the group. I’m not certain that any teacher Princess Celestia’s school sends out is going to be able to get them to open up like this.”
“Well, it is his talent,” grumbled Shining Armor. “We’ve got a dilemma then, sis. Griffon protocol does not flap well with postponing a scheduled visit of a head of state, so we really don’t want to cancel our visit. Although protocol doesn’t seem to have a problem with Emperor Ripping Claw just dropping out of the sky,” he added.
“I’m not a head of a state,” protested Twilight. “I’m not even a school board member.”
“You’re not a head of state, but Cadence is. However, if she asks the Wingmaster of Sunny’s aerie for permission to have Princess Sunny as one of your flowerfillies without a member of the wedding party present, that may be seen as a diplomatic slight, particularly with the Griffon Emperor present. Technically, you could ask the Wingmaster while he’s here, but since he’s a head of state too—” Shining Armor rolled his eyes “—that would be seen as putting a Griffon Wingmaster as subservient to an Equestrian Princess, which we already have enough problems dealing with.”
“So who is Wingmaster Lumpy anyway?” asked Twilight Sparkle, noticing the ripple of annoyance that twitched down her brother’s suspiciously sparkly white coat. “I know I’ve heard that name before.”
“He’s… it’s complicated. And screwed up. If the two of your could just have waited to have your wedding next spring, he would have stepped down from his position and you could ask Wingmaster Gilda. But no.”
Shining Armor huffed to a stop as Twilight nuzzled him along the neck. “I know you’re displacing your anger at me for getting pregnant over to him, B.B.B.F.F. And I know you’re jealous that some other pony loves me as much as you do. And I know you’re feeling protective of your defenseless little sister.” Twilight rustled her wings. “Times change. In a year, you’ll have a little niece to play with. In a few years, you may even have one of your own. Or two. Maybe three. Who knows, maybe Greenie will even teach them their first magics. But one thing that will never change is that you will always be my goofy big brother, and I love you for that, Shiny.”
“Thanks, sis.” Shining Armor returned the nuzzle. “That doesn’t mean I have to be nice to the green goofball, does it? I mean he is marrying my little sister. There’s a certain amount of brotherly intimidation that goes along with that. It’s on my checklist,” he added.
“If you think you can out-intimidate Princess Celestia, Luna, our parents, and my friends, go ahead. Now, there’s an obvious solution to the problem today that you’re not seeing. You stay here to help with Green Grass’ students and I’ll go with Cadence to the aerie. It will be fun, just the two of us like when we were young.”
“I don’t see why I have to stay here with—” There was a sharp sneeze as a young unicorn nose met a bursting soap bubble, and a brilliant flash of light immediately followed. Green Grass looked up with a grin as the little unicorn audience giggled at the flowers that had suddenly sprouted out of his mane.
“Oh, dear!” called out Green Grass while waving a somewhat greener hoof. “Could you come over here please? I need another dispersal spell.”
Twilight giggled and kissed her brother on the forehead. “I need you to stay here and keep his lessons under control because I don’t want to wind up marrying a potted plant after one of his student’s flares.”
~ ~ ♥ ~ ~
Far above the Equestrian tundra, the flagship of the Griffon Empire swept through the chilly air, flanked by a squad of wildly-flapping Imperial Guards and one chromatic-hued pegasus matching their speed with relative ease and the occasional relaxed loop or roll. On the open prow, Emperor Ripping Claw proudly pointed out various distant details to his two guests — one shivering white unicorn and one trembling yellow pegasus — as they approached their destination. It was an impressive sight and a high honor, but the two friends seemed as if they would much rather have been in the warm observation lounge with the rest of the Royal Delegation.
There was a distinctive hole in Twilight Sparkle’s universe as she looked through the gigantic glass windshield at the front of the Indomitable’s observation lounge. Cadence stood right beside her, all pink and radiantly princess-y while for some reason Pumpernickel the Night Guard stood at her other shoulder, all dark and threaten-y even in his sunglasses, leaving her to hold up the middle of the line, a misplaced librarian who had accidently stumbled into the wrong section of the griffon emperor’s airship and was just waiting to be thrown out or reshelved in the proper location. Why in the world Green Grass would have made her presence feel more legitimate was a mystery, but as much as she wanted him here, he was so desperately needed by the bunch of cute crystal unicorn students. He had even suggested they bring the whole adorable herd along as a field trip, but after a millisecond of thought and the realization that over half of the students would qualify as Cutie Mark Crusaders, she had firmly put her Royal Hoof down on that idea. After all, the Misty Mountain aerie had only been designed to withstand invading armies, and the Indomitable was actually an armed griffon warship, and possibly flammable.
The tone of the airship’s engines changed as the squat bulk of the Misty Mountains lurked ahead, a somewhat short mountain in the Pericorn mountain chain, but a tactical strongpoint against anypony who would attempt a military expedition in the area. The squat fortress on top of the mountain looked out over a large and verdant green valley spotted with earth pony villages.
Despite the griffons claiming the airspace as far around the mountain as could be seen from the fortress, the earth ponies of the valley were Equestrian citizens while the griffons provided the villages with rain and snow in exchange for food and servants. It was an uneasy reminder for Twilight about times in Equestria’s history before the union of the three tribes, and caused her to add a few more unasked questions to her list for any of the earth ponies in the area who might wish to talk for a while. Sunny had said her grandfather had treated the ponies in the valleys poorly, but changed the subject whenever Twilight had asked any further questions.
“This is great, Twilight,” gushed Spike, standing on a box and leaning against the forward windshield. “When I’m all grown up and get wings, I’m going to fly around the mountains all the time. Look at how small the ponies are down there.”
“That’s great, Spike,” she replied, “but don’t you think the ponies would get just a little worried to see a big dragon flying overhead?”
“I know! I know!” Princess Sun Shines came bounding into the observation lounge, taking a huge leap to land directly on Cadence’s shoulders. The first time the little griffon princess had done that, Twilight had nearly screamed, but Sunny was very good about keeping her foreclaws tucked into a ball and not extending her hindclaws, so there was no real bloodshed except from Twilight biting her lip. “You can tie a big banner to your tail that says ‘Hi, I’m Spike the Friendly Dragon!’”
“Pardon me, Your Highnesses?” Papercut stood hesitantly at the doorway to the observation lounge, the little stub of the restraining ring on his horn looking somewhat silly in the reflected light coming through the wide glass windows. “His Majesty, Emperor Ripping Claw, would like to extend his compliments to you, and invite you to the hangar for Princess Sun Shine’s visit to the village of—” the corners of Papercut’s lips twitched downwards “—Toenail.”
The little griffon princess abruptly quit bouncing on Cadence’s back and Twilight considered again just what Papercut’s real talent could possibly be. It was supposed to be an ability to cut through red tape and bureaucratic paperwork that matched the scissors and pieces of cut paper on his flank, but from observation over the last few weeks it seemed his talents were more oriented towards calming irrational exuberance, with ‘irrational’ being defined by the stiff unicorn as ‘anything that Pinkie Pie might consider fun.’ The crystal ponies all seemed to view him as the reincarnation of King Sombra, so Green Grass and herself had swapped appointment secretaries for the day by mutual agreement as not to frighten any of the little students during their learning process.
“I’m very glad you all are coming with us,” said Sunny, slowing her normal adolescent chatter to a more formal voice. “I wanted to share Stargazer’s life with you. She was my best friend in the aerie, and I wanted to introduce her to both of you and Emperor Ripping Claw.”
“We’re honored, Princess Sunny,” said Cadence. “I’m certain the Emperor will be too.”
* ♥ *
The trip by griffon-drawn carriage to the little earth pony village was a somber affair, landing at the outskirts of the small grassy cemetery at the edge of town and proceeding at a slow pace to one of the newer graves. Sunny took her position by the headstone, her head thrown back and big golden eyes blinking rapidly in the sunlight as the rest of the guests gathered in a close circle. The earth ponies of the village followed, forming a larger circle around the mismatched royalty and standing with their heads bowed until a rush of wind overhead caused everyone to look up. Griffons descended with wings open wide to land around the outside of the circled villagers, each one of them wearing the dark smear of ashes across their beaks under each eye as a sign of mourning, and each lowering their heads to look at the ground in a sign of respect. All around the cemetery, the traditional greenery of earth pony mourning brought greens and browns to the soft pastel colors of ponies and sharp colors of griffons, merging the two into a harmonious whole that tugged at Twilight’s emotions until Cadence floated over a tissue to blow her nose.
With this many griffons surrounding the ponies, the scent of panic should have been filtering up through the herd, but all she could smell was the acrid scent of wormwood, the sharp bite of yarrow, and the suffocating odor of rue, all graveyard flowers that had been accidentally trampled or broken by the gathering of this large of a crowd. The little griffon princess reared up, trying to see the rest of the crowd, but was unable to be seen until the Night Guard Pumpernickel stepped forward and permitted the little griffon to climb up on his bare back.
There was a rustling and muttering among the griffons at that gesture, and Twilight wondered if it had anything to do with the thick tracery of white scars that criss-crossed the bulky Nocturne’s coat and wings. He had discarded his armor and helmet somewhere, keeping only his armored shoes and the sunglasses that kept the nocturnal pony from being blinded by the bright sun, but he bowed his head low to the ground in respect the same as the rest of the griffons, holding perfectly still as Sunny began to speak from her pony perch.
She stood on her haunches with pinfeathered wings outspread in the griffon pose of storytelling, gesturing with a claw during particularly emotional places, and while her young voice should have been too quiet to be heard, there was a powerful set of lungs behind it that projected her words to the very farthest griffon at the edge of the cemetery. Sunny spoke warmly of Stargazer, the young mare who had been her favorite companion while growing up, there for support when her mother died and there again when her elder sister was smashed against the rocks during mating season. Stargazer had held a special place in the young princess’ heart, teaching her about ponies and the history of her aerie from her first memory as a fuzzy little chick. When she had been sick, Stargazer had been there for her. When she could not sleep, Stargazer had shown her the stars and introduced every one of them to her. When her father had to travel to far away lands on missions of diplomacy, Stargazer had stayed. There was always the warm cheek and soft nuzzle of her best friend when times were bad, and a pony to play with when times were good.
Then Stargazer had to leave. A new griffon had entered the aerie, her grandfather’s son, and Plummets had demanded a servant. Stargazer. Grandfather had been unbending on the demand, and soon Stargazer and Sunny were only able to see each other at night when she could not sleep. While serving the older griffon, her friend had become battered and bruised, showing up every night with new injuries. Grandfather had dismissed Sunny’s concerns as unimportant, but the injuries continued. Nogriffon but one stood up for her friend, and for that disobedience, her Aunt Gilda had been stripped of her position as First Heir. Plummets took her position as Duke, and the injuries to Stargazer became fewer for a while, although she still would not speak of them. Their visits became less frequent, dwindling down to a precious few until the Crystal Empire had appeared.
The glittering highlights of the Crystal Empire’s magic sparkled in the air as Sunny spread her pinfeathered wings, first giving them a slow flap, and then standing with them outstretched as far as they would go, the wingtips almost translucent in the sunlight.
“I did not find out the truth until Princess Luna’s diplomats visited our aerie. It took ponies to find out that my best friend had been killed. Duke Plummets, the First Heir of my own aerie murdered her. He drank her blood, and for that, he was challenged and killed in turn.” The feathers at the ends of Sunny’s wings trembled in the breeze, and some small portion of Twilight’s mind noticed the faint trickle of blood running down the Night Guard’s flanks as the little griffon’s claws dug in.
“My Grandfather, the protector of our aerie, defender of the weak, guardian of the eggs. He did not protect her. He did not avenge her murder. He had eaten from her cold corpse, and had his own son Plummets do likewise.”
The cemetery was nearly dead silent in shock, with only the shallow breathing of the audience rising above the whisper of the gentle breeze. Cadence’s warm wing slipped over Twilight’s shoulder, forestalling a terrified tremble at the thought of the horrible crime. The little griffon remained in place, wings holding perfectly stable until she recovered enough to continue speaking.
“For his crime, my grandfather was challenged for his position, but not by any member of my aerie. It took a pony to avenge the murder of my friend, reclaim the honor of our nest, and take his position as Wingmaster of our aerie.”
This time there was a soft rustle of uncomfortable movement and the whisper of quiet questions between the audience members. To Twilight Sparkle’s horror, the dense pattern of scars on the Night Guard suddenly came into focus as the result of a battle for survival against a carnivore twice his size. The little griffon standing on his back had once watched as her grandfather placed every one of those deadly slashes into his skin. She had watched as a pony fought against her own family, hooves against claws until only one remained alive.
And now that pony stood beneath her claws, voluntarily lifting her up on his own scarred back so that she could speak to the crowd. Her Aunt Gilda stood nearby, holding herself so rigid that she might as well have been a statue wearing the silver bracelet of a Griffon First Heir. The position that she had been given by a pony.
This was why Shining Armor had been so upset. Obviously, having a pony as the Wingmaster for a Griffon aerie would be seen as a slap in the beak to the proud race of griffons. Up until this point, Pumpernickel had been nearly invisible as Wingmaster. If Green Grass had not wanted Princess Sunny as a flowergriffon at the wedding, Gilda would have eventually risen to the position and Pumpernickel would have slipped back into the Night Guard without a word being spoken about his previous awkward position.
But now, the same quiet pony who stood guard outside her window last night was in the even more awkward position of receiving the Emperor of all Griffons into his aerie. There should have been consternation, shouting, and a considerable amount of diplomatic threats from the touchy griffons.
Instead, Pumpernickel had shed his armor and lowered himself to the task of supporting little Sunny not as a subordinate, or as a Night Guard in the service of the Equestrian Princesses, but as a Wingmaster of a Griffon aerie. It was the place of a Griffon Wingmaster to support his heirs, and Pumpernickel was obviously taking his Royal Duties as Wingmaster literally.
Eventually the whispers drew to a silence again as the little griffon lowered her wings and tucked them back along her flanks. She bowed once to the looming bulk of the Emperor before turning to the two Equestrian Princesses.
“Princess Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville, Bearer of the Element of Magic, Mate to Green Grass the Teacher of Kings. Your mate showed me compassion and warmth when I needed it most. He showed me that Princess Celestia is a friend, not an enemy, and that all histories have more than one side. Thank you. Stargazer would have loved to meet you both.”
Words seemed unwarranted, so Twilight merely lowered her head in a short bow, which seemed to be appropriate as Sunny turned to the next Princess.
“Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire, Keeper of the Crystal Heart, Mate of Shining Armor the Protector. Your kind words and love after my loss are appreciated more than you can imagine. Stargazer would have been overjoyed to meet you and your mate. Let it be known that as long as I live, no pony within my aerie’s protection need fear the skies.”
Cadence matched Twilight’s brief bow almost exactly, somehow making Twilight feel remotely more princess-like for a moment.
The little griffon reached out with one claw and tapped Optio Pumpernickel on the back of the head. “Hey. Lumpy. Look up.” Once she had gotten the dark Nocturne to raise his head and turn, Sunny faced the silent and immobile Griffon Emperor and bowed, which was fairly impressive as she was still standing on Pumpernickel’s back.
“Your Majesty, Emperor Ripping Claw, Stargazer would have been terrified to meet you, but with time, she would have been able to recognize your respect for ponykind and your desire that all griffons and ponies live in peace. I have sworn a blood oath to avenge the death of my grandfather upon the one who took his life, and that blood oath disgraces both the memory of my friend and our empire. I would ask a favor of you today in the memory of my friend, to strike this oath from my family honor and cast it away into the darkness where it belongs. For I now can recognize that the one who killed my grandfather was only doing what needed to be done, and to swear an oath against him was the act of a foolish chick.”
The big grey griffon strode forward one step and bobbed his head in the shortest of bows. “Sun Shines, you show wisdom beyond your years. Can you truly give up a debt of blood against one who slew your kinfolk? Blood calls out for blood. It has always been our way.”
“The blood of my friend was shed first. Her death has been avenged, and she would not wish any more blood to be shed in her name.”
The rumbling bass of the Emperor’s voice seemed to shake the ground. “Then in the name of the Empire of the Sky, I hereby declare your debt of blood cancelled. Let your friend pass to the ancestors unburdened by vengeance, and may she find peace.”
The little griffon bowed again, stabilized by her tight grip that had been shifted into something that appeared only intensely painful, not damaging to her pony pedestal. She turned to the crowd of ponies, all looking a little stunned and nervous. “To you, the friends and family of Stargazer, on behalf of our aerie, I can only ask for the forgiveness we do not deserve. Stargazer was my friend, but she was your friend and family. Her life was spent growing up among you, and all my aerie gave back to your village is…”
Sunny stopped, blinking furiously and trembling when a tall earth pony mare stepped forward out of the crowd. There was a certain way the mare carried herself that reminded Twilight of Ivory Scroll, the Mayor of Ponyville, only with the tearful restraint of one who has suffered great loss. She stepped up to the little griffon and wrapped her in a warm embrace before the tears began to fall.
“Mayor Gladiolus Berry. Stargazer’s mother,” whispered Cadence into Twilight’s ear.
With both of their composures broken beyond repair, the older mare and the little griffon remained wrapped up in each other’s embrace while the Griffon Emperor stood behind them. The gathering slowly began to break up, with various ponies and griffons moving quietly to Sunny and Stargazer’s mother, saying a few soft words, and moving on.
The slow movement of solemn ponies was a chilling sensation to Twilight’s heart, bringing back memories of the old ponies she had known in foalhood and far too many funerals during her youth. There had always been the unwelcome viewing of the body, which thankfully had not happened here, and then the service where everypony who knew the deceased would get up and say a few words. Most probably Stargazer’s funeral several months ago had been like that, only filled with nervous tension as Sunny rubbed shoulders with nervous ponies, each of them unwilling to admit the horror that they held in their hearts over what had happened.
“Excuse me, Princess Sparkle.” A silver-armored hoof holding a wad of tissues appeared in Twilight’s distracted sight, motioning to the tissue she had nearly shredded while thinking. “You’re dripping.”
“Sorry.” Twilight swapped the tissues and wiped her nose before she realized that the voice from the small and quiet Night Guard who had slipped up to her side was female. “Laminia?”
“Yes, Your Highness?” The Nocturne’s eyes were damp and showed signs that she had also used several tissues during the ceremony too. Even Papercut, standing stiff and emotionless by her side had a crumpled kerchief stuck back into his vest pocket, although he was not wearing a trim copy of the Night Guard armor that wrapped Luna’s Hoofmaiden in steel, even if it was just a little loose around her middle.
“Did you know Stargazer?” whispered Twilight, after a few ponies had passed by with condolences and kind words for the two princesses.
“No,” whispered Laminia back, passing another tissue to each of her two wards. “I was the one who found the body. That bastard Plummets had already murdered her before we arrived. He planned on killing us all.”
“Your husband was very brave,” whispered Cadence, trying not to start when Laminia gave a subdued snort.
“We were all scared pissless, Your Highness. The whole ambassadorial party was trying to run away to the Crystal Empire when Plummets and his goons ambushed us. Lumpy challenged him as a desperation move that should have gotten us all killed. Stupidest thing I’ve ever seen. And he did it twice.”
Lamnia nodded towards where two young ponies were talking to a rather uncomfortable Gilda with Rainbow Dash at her side. “If you want bravery, talk to her. After Lumpy killed her father in the challenge ring, all she had to do was step back and the whole aerie would have torn my husband to pieces, and us right afterwards. Instead, she stepped in ahead of them, fought Lumpy like a starving alley cat to distract the mob, and then the two of them took a break of all things. Trying to kill each other one minute, and limping away to sip tea and discuss strategy the next. Idiots.”
There was a brief break from the conversation as a number of the village ponies passed by, making offers of hospitality that were turned down due to their scheduled visit to the Misty Mountain aerie. It struck Twilight as a little bizarre that they were going to travel up to the top of the mountain to talk with a Night Guard (who was standing right over there) and a little griffon princess (likewise) in front of the Griffon Emperor (also likewise) about having Sunny spread flower petals over the wedding path after having just heard her talk about the gruesome murder of her friend and two family members.
As another mourner came up to exchange a few words, she really missed Green Grass. If nothing else, she could have kicked him in the shins for his bright idea. But then she was the one who had suggested the Cutie Mark Crusaders as the other flowerfillies again, so hopefully there was not going to be some cosmic balancing of the books. Particularly when the little troublemaking griffon and the three little troublemaking fillies would meet.
During a momentary lull from sympathetic mourners, Papercut leaned over and whispered to Laminia, “So who won the fight?”
“My husband, you lunkhead. Broke Plummets’ neck and shattered Wingmaster Talon’s spine. Did you think he would still be walking around if he lost?”
“Not them,” hissed Papercut, obviously wanting to take a sharper tone but somewhat subdued by the recent gruesome conversation. “When he fought Princess Gilda after their break.”
Laminia shrugged. “They haven’t yet. It’s been just over two months now, and neither of them have made any attempt to chop the other into ribbons. Lumpy said he just wanted to wait a year, and when he failed to show up at the High Perch to swear allegiance to the Emperor, the position would automatically revert to the First Heir.” She nodded at the quiet bulk of the Emperor, who was bending down to talk to a very small and very curious little filly. “That went straight into the crapper yesterday. I’m not complaining. Gilda made no secret about killing my husband no matter how their fight ended. Blood calls out for blood. Every day they don’t fight is one more day my husband is alive.”
A number of sympathetic griffons began to filter past, shaking hooves and making small talk about how fitting it was that the ceremony for Sunny’s pony friend who was loved so much was attended by the pony princesses of Friendship and Love. While the griffons streamed by in a long and colorful procession, Twilight began to think there was more than one griffon circling around to run through the line again until the sight of a familiar beak and crest crossed her eyes.
“Hello, Gilda,” said Twilight in response to the griffons greeting, more out of reflex than intent.
“Yeah, hi.” The young griffon hen squirmed uncomfortably before Rainbow poked her gently in the ribs from the side.
“Say it, you big chicken.” From the twitch, Rainbow had either hit a ticklish spot or a healing injury on Gilda.
The pattern of discolored feathers and healing lumps on the griffon when seen up close gave evidence that Gilda’s fight with Pumpernickel had not been entirely one-sided, and the griffon seemed to chew an idea for a short while before spitting it out. “I’m sorry. For being such a jerk in your town.”
“And?” prompted Rainbow.
After an additional huff, Gilda growled out, “AndIwonderedifIcouldcomebacksometime.”
Surreal. That was the word. Twilight was standing in a cemetery where a pony who had been killed and eaten by griffons was buried, being asked by a direct relative of the killer if it would be acceptable for her to visit Twilight’s new home town, filled with ponies that she cared about.
It reminded her oddly of Princess Luna.
Nightmare Moon had attacked Ponyville, but Luna had the courage to return on Nightmare Night to the site of her attack and accept the forgiveness of the small town. Admittedly, it had taken considerable effort on all sides, but Gilda was Rainbow Dash’s friend, and there was only one way for a true friend to answer her request.
“Yes, of course.” Twilight smiled and turned down shaking her outstretched claw in exchange for sweeping the nervous griffon up into a warm hug. “You’re going to apologize to Pinkie, right?” she whispered into the griffon’s ear.
Gilda paused for a moment before nodding, the point on her beak jabbing into Twilight’s back.
“And after the three of you get done apologizing to each other, you’re not planning to go out pranking all over Ponyville, are you?” whispered Twilight.
Gilda shook her head, then pulled back a little to smile. “Thank you, Princess Twilight.” It was a thoughtful and kind moment, only spoiled slightly when Gilda and Rainbow Dash had walked to just what they thought was outside of earshot and Gilda said, “You know, Dash, once we make up with your pink friend, I’ve got this idea for a prank…”
Her heart nearly stopped when the shadow of the Emperor swept over her, and when she turned, she found herself looking up into his golden eyes like some prey animal in the last seconds of its life.
“Peace, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” he rumbled, sounding much like a friendly thunderstorm. The diminutive form of Sunny was tucked right up by his side, looking like she wanted so much to have one of his large grey wings spread over her for support but also wanting to stand on her own four paws and claws as the Second Heir of her aerie in the company of her emperor. Twilight sincerely hoped with all of her heart that she would never face the same pain that the little griffon bore so well, at least on her outside.
Directly behind the mismatched pair was Sunny’s father, Ambassador Sharp Feather, and Wingmaster Pumpernickel, both of whom seemed concerned about this meeting of princesses, but each concerned in a different fashion.
The emperor paused in the polite hoof-shake he presently had wrapped around Twilight’s right forehoof, exchanging it for a warm embrace that vaguely reminded her of Princess Celestia’s reserved hugs, with vast stores of strength restrained and immense quantities of affection unleashed. She was nervous until the rumbling whisper by one ear that said, “Smile, Twilight, and look off to your right a little for the photographer.”
She did, and she smiled as the griffon photographer snapped off two quick shots, turning her attention back to the big griffon as he rumbled in a low whisper, “Thank you, Princess Twilight. I’m sorry to have involved you in this, but I shall attempt to minimize your discomfort.”
“I can stand discomfort if good will come out of it,” whispered Twilight back. “I’m a princess now. It comes with the territory.”
“Griffon-Pony relationships for the next century will be affected by our actions over the next few days,” he responded. “I wish I could stay for your wedding and the mating flight,” he added in a somewhat louder tone. “Have you laid your eggs yet?”
A rather strange triple-snort chuckle sounded from both princesses and Laminia, made only worse when Sunny popped up with, “Ponies don’t lay eggs.” All of the humor drained out of the air as the little griffon continued, “Stargazer told me all about it. She was pregnant just like Lamina. Are you pregnant, Princess Twilight?”
Swallowing once, Twilight nodded. “I’m not as far along as Laminia, but yes. I’m pregnant.”
The little griffon moved forward and placed one tentative claw against Twilight’s side, the needle-sharp points of her talons pricking against her purple coat and causing a shudder to ripple down to her tail. She then stepped forward another step and extended a second claw, placing it against Laminia’s armor-covered slim grey side. “Laminia told me that their foal is going to be a batpony, just like them, and they’re going to call her Stargazer. If her foal had survived, it would have been a hippogriff. There’s only been three of them in all of history. Is yours going to be an earth pony like Green Grass or an alicorn like you?”
It was a question that reminded her far too much of her missing fiancé, and prompted a very Green Grass style response. “Yes, probably. She could be any one of the pony races, and we would love her just as much. Although I hope she doesn’t get her father’s sense of humor.”
“He’s funny. Weird, but funny. I think he’s going to make you a good mate, just like Shining Armor is for Cadence.” The little griffon blinked in the sunlight and took her claws off the pregnant mares’ chests after a gentle reassuring pat. “When they're old enough, will you and Laminia bring your fledglings here so I can tell them about Stargazer? I think it’s just as important as the Windgido story.”
After a quick look at Laminia, Twilight said, “Yes, we will. I promise.”
She saw the little griffon princess off with her rather odd retinue and shook the hooves and claws of a few stragglers before turning to Princess Cadence and Laminia. “What’s the Wendigo story? I don’t remember griffons being involved in the Hearts Warming pageant.”
“I don’t know either,” said Cadence with a small frown and a glance at the blocky fortress looming through the mists on the top of the nearby mountain. “I suppose we could ask this afternoon when you make your formal request to the Wingmaster.”
“Well, I for one am not looking forward to it,” said Rarity with a fearful glance at the mountain also. “That castle looks positively dreadful, not at all like Canterlot.”
“I think it looks neat,” added Spike. “All gloomy and lair-like. Green Grass said that sometimes the griffons and the dragons were allies, and that sometimes a griffon aerie would be built around a dragon’s nest for protection.”
“They do both protect their eggs,” added Fluttershy. “But I never knew they both lived in ancient castles.”
“It’s actually Neoclassical Post-Diaspora architecture,” said Twilight Sparkle. “An earth pony design used after our arrival in Equestria but before modern thaumaturgical construction techniques. It probably dates all the way back to when King Sombra was ruling the Crystal Empire.”
Their introspective observation of the distant mist-shrouded castle was interrupted by a quiet voice by Twilight’s elbow that made her jump.
“There were supposedly a lot of crystal ponies who escaped his rule during the last few years.” A quiet dark blue mare with deep violet eyes bowed to the two princesses, raising her head with a soft smile. “I agree with Princess Sunny. My daughter would have loved to meet you all, but since she can not, please allow me. The village is having a quiet remembrance lunch in her memory. It would be our greatest honor to have you all attend.” The inviting smile on Mayor Gladiolus’ face was joined by a twinkle in her eye as she added, “In fact, I believe we share a common relative. Your great great grandmother to some degree was Ambassador Morning Glory, correct?”