Your Mission Begins Here!

by comicfan616

The Griffonstone Mission

“What do you think?”

“It’s been a while since the Glimmer mission. I think they’re ready for another one.”

“Well, it’s about time.”

“I told you, they have lives of their own. Much as we’d like to, we can’t just send them on one mission after another. If we expect them to spread the magic of friendship, they need to be able to live it.”

“Okay, but while they’re ‘living it,’ some of the backlog missions have only gotten worse.”

“Then let’s take the ones that truly need attention and work our way from there.”

“Now you’re talking. I’ve been looking over some of these for the past few days, and the way I see it, we’ve got it between Griffonstone and the Smoky Mountains.”

“Hmm. A civilization of greedy griffins, or an uncivilized family feud. Tough call. What are the consequences?”

“The griffons have fallen back into their greedy tendencies. If it continues, they may fully revert back to their warmongering and pillaging activities of yore.”

“By then, not only would it be too late to extend a hoof of friendship, but it would mean an all-out war with the griffons. No one’s coming out of that unaffected, physically or otherwise.”

“On the flipside, however, the Hooffields and McColts have been fighting for generations. The mountains and surrounding areas are just barely hospitable to the local wildlife.”

“Ironic, isn’t it? This whole thing started because two ponies wanted to help the local wildlife.”

“Not only that, but think of the ponies involved. Right now it’s just vegetables and hay bales, but who knows how far it’ll get? And I can guarantee that, one of these days, something’ll happen, something nopony can take back, and the fighting will only escalate.”

“…”

“Hey, uh, any chance we could do both at once?”

“I see where you’re going with this, but that just not possible.”

“And why the heck not?”

“Even if we were to send smaller groups to multiple locations, it would make them too spread out. If we do send a small team, we need to keep all the other ponies unattached in case things go wrong. Sending multiple groups should only be done as a last resort.”

“Just a suggestion.”

“Your heart’s in the right place, but we need to consider the bigger picture.”

“Well, what’s your ‘bigger picture’ telling you about these two missions?”

“Hmm… Now that I think about it, we should probably keep our efforts on Griffonstone for now.”

“Huh. That does make sense. The Smoky Mountains may be in trouble, but the fighting hasn’t yet escalated that far yet.”

“That, and the griffons present an immediate threat to Equestria as a whole if left unchecked.”

“Okay, so we have our mission. Who should we send?”

“I stand by what I said last time; this is a delicate matter, so it should be a small group.”

“In that case, I recommend Rainbow Dash. She has experience with griffons.”

“But if I remember correctly, her ‘experience’ ended in a falling-out with Gilda, who, may I remind you, is currently living in Griffonstone.”

“Exactly.”

“What?”

“What better way to rekindle friendship among the griffons than by rekindling a friendship with a griffon? She’s the perfect catalyst. Just remind her that friendship is cool, and she’ll influence the rest of the city.”

“That… is actually quite clever.”

“That’s what I’m here for; you provide the boring logic, I handle the creative solutions.”

“I just said it was a good idea; don’t push your luck. Besides, we can’t send Rainbow alone. Clever your plan may be, but she’ll never agree to befriend Gilda willingly. I’m going to have to recommend Pinkie Pie.”

“Um, if memory serves, didn’t she have a hard time with Gilda, too?”

“She did, but she did throw that party with the intention making her less grumpy.”

“Wouldn’t have worked, though.”

“It’s the thought that matters. Besides, her upbeat positivity just may help Gilda see the light.”

“Better than nothing, I guess. I mean, I can’t see a reason to send anyone else. Rarity would spend more time fretting over the state of things in the city than actually getting things done. Applejack would be too forceful, and pairing her with Rainbow would mean two stubborn hotheads instead of just one. Fluttershy would probably break down in tears the instant one of those feeaa… griffons tries to push her. And Princess Twilight’s position isn’t going to mean much to non-ponies, so say good-bye to any respect. We may just have to go with Pinkie by default.”

“However we reach the conclusion… Ready?”

“Ready.”

“Calling Rainbow Dash.”

“Calling Pinkie Pie.”

“Your mission begins here.”