Chapter 52
The next morning was a quiet one. Nopony spoke at breakfast. Well, nopony I cared to hear. Blueblood was spouting his nonsense, though I was completely uninterested in what he had to say. However, it wasn’t long before somepony else had had enough, judging from his grunt and glaring scowl at Cadance.
It was true that Celestia and I shared a hug and a laugh, but our argument was far from settled. She still felt that she was right and I was too stubborn to see any other viewpoint. I had been hurt that she had even asked Gurfon to lock me away. I was even more hurt that he had gone along with it. The fact that they had both decided not to tell me what was going on and let me make my own decision only made me angrier.
“I beg your pardon, your highnesses, but King Gurfon has just arrived outside the palace.”
“Very good. Please see him into the throne room. We shall be there shortly,” Celestia ordered.
“Shall I join you there, or should I go and pack my trunk?”
Celestia didn’t answer and Luna looked… disturbed by my statement. If there was anypony alive who knew what might come of a family argument, it was her.
Ten minutes later found us in the throne room. Celestia, Luna, Cadance, with Shining Armor nearly attached to her hip, and myself met Gurfon, Fortis, and Filia in the suddenly very cold room. We were alone there, even the guards were told to wait outside. It made everything seem all the more forbidding and somehow cruel.
“King Gurfon, welcome,” Celestia greeted.
“Thank you, Princess. I am very pleased to see that you are well and that your citizens are safe. I only wish that my visit was for a better cause.”
“As do I. You are here to reclaim my son as your captive, as is to be expected since he had damaged your home and threatened your guards during his escape.” Celestia looked at me over her shoulder, but I was only staring ahead at nothing. “I wonder if, in light of recent events, I could possibly sway you toward allowing him to complete his sentence here at home.”
“Princess, as you stated, the prince has done damage to my home and made threats against my countrymen.” Gurfon lowered his head and took two steps forward. “You know, as well as anyone, how much I admire the colt, but I cannot allow such blatant disrespect for my realm and disregard for my authority just go by the wayside. I’m afraid I must insist on him returning to my custody.”
Celestia took two steps of her own. From what I could see of her face, I could tell she was a little more than displeased. She breathed deeply in her preparation to speak, but she was interrupted.
“I beg your pardon, your highness, but there are visitors here to see you,” a guard peeking through the door told us.
“And I said I was not to be disturbed!” Celestia scolded.
“I beg your pardon, Princess, but I was addressing the prince.”
All eyes were suddenly on me. “Um… who is it?”
“Captain Spitfire of the Wonderbolts and two citizens of Ponyville.”
I looked around and was answered with only surprised looks. “Send them in, I guess.”
The door opened a little further and a tiny, light-purple streak rocketed up the red carpet and latched itself onto my legs. I recognized the streak and immediately found myself in a better mood. Playful foals always seem to do that to me.
“Dinky! Get back here!” Derpy cried out to her little girl as she trotted toward us with a wide-eyed Wonderbolt captain beside her, a visible sweat forming on her brow.
I leaned down and plucked the filly of my shin and cradled her in my arms. “I’ve got her, Derpy,” I told her as I tickled the little, fluffy tummy of Dinky. “Though I think I just may have keep her this time.”
“Princess Celestia, please excuse our interruption,” Spitfire begged as she and Derpy bowed. “I only wished to come and thank the prince for yesterday morning.”
“Oh,” Luna started, “and just what did my nephew do for you yesterday?”
Spitfire looked back and forth as if the question was a ridiculous one. “Did he not tell you? He saved that unicorn filly he’s holding now. Poor thing was stuck up in Cloudsdale all alone after Tirek took our flight from us.” Spitfire looked at Derpy and smiled. “Just seeing a member of the royal family still fighting for us, it gave us hope.”
“And he gave me my little Muffin back.”
“*Ahem* I will admit that seeing Chris on the palace grounds lifted my spirits,” Shining added. “I know it may not be my place, but I would say that it was a good thing that Chris escaped the Griffin Kingdom and came back here.”
“Be that as it may, the problem we are here to resolve is of a criminal act against my people,” King Gurfon stated. “It pains me to even bring it up, but I feel that justice must be carried out.”
“Wait, what’s going on here? What justice? What crime?” Spitfire asked with a concerned expression.
Celestia explained for her. “After the Games, your prince assaulted a griffin and could have caused serious injury if he hadn’t been stopped. It had been agreed, between the two families, that Christopher would be sent to spend a moon with the king as a type confinement. After Tirek attacked us, Chris destroyed a portion of the castle during his escape and threatened some guards. King Gurfon wishes to bring Chris back to the Kingdom to carry out reparations.”
“He’s not gonna hurt’em is he?” Dinky asked.
“Of course not!” Gurfon nearly shouted. “I consider the prince to be family and would never do anything to hurt him.”
“Then you just want to lock him away?” Derpy asked. “That’s so mean.”
“Um, Derpy, I think you and I should leave the royals to their business,” Spitfire said. “I’m starting to get the feeling that this is something we really shouldn’t be a part of.”
“I believe that would be best, Captain,” Shining agreed. “Although it’s good to know that you’re safe.”
“Aww… but I want to stay with Chris a little while longer,” Dinky whined.
“Sorry, Dinky, but you have to go with your mommy.” I placed the little filly on the back of her mother.
“Okay,” she sighed.
After they left, I decided it was time that I added my two bits. “King Gurfon, I know that my behavior while in your custody was less than becoming of a man in my position, but I implore you to allow me to remain here in Equestria. A lot of damage has been done by Tirek and I need to be here to help make it right.”
“And what of the damage done to my home?” Filia asked.
“If it would appease the king, I would willingly accompany you all back to the capital and make a formal apology, I’ll even make the repairs myself, but I won’t stay there any longer than I have to.”
Gurfon seemed to consider this. “Very well. Given the circumstances, I will agree to your terms. You, Christopher Sol, shall return to Gryphe Nidum with me. There, you will remain until the reparations are made. After that, you will be free to return home.”
“Agreed,” Celestia nodded. She then whispered into my ear, “That was a very mature compromise, and I’m very proud of you.”
I may not have been too very happy with Celestia at the moment, but it still felt good to know I had her approval.
*****
“… and so, I offer you my most sincere apologies. These griffins were simply obeying the orders of their king and I should not have lashed out at them for it. I am truly, very sorry.” The small crowd of reporters were busily writing down every word I said to the gathered mass of guards.
The largest, and clearly most battle tested, of the guards stepped forward. We stared each other down for a moment or two, this guy looked like he could do some serious damage to anyone he wanted to. Even in my full-on rage I don’t think I could take him without magic and a lot of backup. Then he thrust out a large talon. I gripped it with my own hand and shook it.
“I, Fortitudo, head of the Royal Guard, accept your apology.”
I nodded respectfully. We held our positions while photos were snapped. After a few minutes of smiling for cameras, we all went back to our appointments for the day. I had stones to lay and Fortitudo had guards to train.
I made my way through the halls to the area of the castle that I crawled through during my last visit. I wanted to fix the damage as quick as I could so I get back to Fluttershy. Gurfon had been trying to get me to talk to him like before, but I was still too upset and I was being too stubborn to have any of it.
“Look, all I’m saying is that you don’t have to be in such a hurry. You can take your time with the repairs and enjoy a little down time after this whole Tirek mess.”
“And all I’m saying is I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to be. No offense to you, your highness, I just miss my mare and my home.”
“ ‘Your highness’? Whatever happened to Uncle?” Gurfon was smiling uneasily.
I wanted to yell. I wanted to turn on him and let him know exactly what was on my mind. Instead, I set the stone I was holding in its place, stood up straight, took a deep breath and let it out. “Uncle lied to me and locked me away while the rest of my family, friends, and citizens were scared for their lives.” I spoke evenly and didn’t even turn my head as I laid more mortar in preparation for the next stone. “Right now, I don’t know if I’ll ever see Uncle again.”
Gurfon didn’t say anything. In fact, he didn’t even move for a few seconds. When he did move, the first thing he did was to pick up a stone a set it in place. “You’re right. I handled it wrong. You’re mother thought that keeping you here and ignorant of the events in Equestria would have been the best way to protect you, but… If I had it to do again, I would have told you everything, but I still would have tried to keep you here. I am sorry I lied to you,” Gurfon picked up another stone and placed it, “but I’m not sorry for trying to keep you safe.”
We worked together in silence for a while, then I said to the king, “You know, you’re the first one in this whole mess to admit an error on their part. Even I’m too stubborn to admit it.”
“Maybe, but you’re still young,” Gurfon chuckled, “the young are allowed to be stubborn.”
I placed the final stone in its place. “There, finished. Listen, I don’t hate you, I don’t think I could, but I’m still angry.” I leaned against the wall and slid down it until I made contact with the floor. “I’m so very angry at those that have been family for the last sixteen years. Mom kept me in the dark and made you do the same thing.” I pulled the five feathers out of my shirt and held them up. “I’m actually so mad at Mom that I almost left her feather behind. If it weren’t for the others being attached permanently, I would have. I don’t want to be so angry anymore.”
Gurfon sat next to me against the wall. “I can’t pretend to understand what your alicorn blood does to your human mind, but I do understand anger. Griffins are taught from very young age to be warriors. The most prominent memories I have of my father are of him telling that I needed to be stronger, faster and braver than any other griffon because I was to be the king. I never seemed to be good enough for him.” Gurfon shook his head at the memory. “He made me kill my first stag when I was only five. I was just a chick, Chris, even younger than when you came here to Equus. You know what he said when I brought down that creature? He said ‘stop crying, act like the king you were born to be’. I hated him for always treating me like that. I still do. When he died, I swore I would never treat my own chicks that way so that they wouldn’t have to be as angry as me.”
“Wow. Any advice on how to get past all this?”
“You’ve got a mare, right?”
“Yeah, Fluttershy. She’s a great mare. I love her more than anything.”
“Then that’s it. You’ve got someone to love and care about and to care about you. When I met my Sponsa, everything changed. She made me who I am more than my father ever did. When she sank her talons into me, she let out all the hate and bitterness and anger that I had in me.” Gurfon took in a deep breath and let out a long sigh. “She left me with two great chicks and a whole life’s worth of glorious beautiful memories. Now, any time I feel those old feelings creep up from the pits of my soul, I think of Sponsa’s smiling face and soft feathers, and all that… stuff just drifts away.”
I looked at him and decided to not see the single tear roll down his face. This Sponsa of his must have been quite the lady. He had a point though. Fluttershy was the one to pull me out of my funk every time. Before her, it was Roseluck, and there was always Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and all the other ponies who’ve always been there for me. Since the very first day I came to this world, they’ve all been there for me. Always.
I stood up and stretched. “You’re right, Gurfon. I’ve been focusing on the wrong thing. You and Mom didn’t keep me here to keep me away. You did it to keep me safe. Deep down, I knew that, but something wouldn’t let me see it. Something kept telling me that you were against me. It was like I couldn’t see it as anything other than a personal attack. I’m sorry for that.”
“It’s alright, Chris. As I said, I was young once too. For now, how about we get you something to eat before we send you home?”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
“Excellent. Guard, get the cooks to grill us some sirloin and bake some potatoes. We have some international relationships to amend.”
And so began my newest healing process.