The Griffons Are Not Okay
The sounds of the largest city in the world filtered through the thick tarp and the squeaking of the wheels couldn’t hope to drown it out. Ponies and griffons remained silent, but the stiff suspension started to hurt Twilight’s knees as the cart jumped at every cobblestone on the way. Expressions around their hidey hole at the front of the cart meant the others shared her pains.
Twilight’s mind wrapped itself in thoughts of the battle and the sight of Celestia’s airship going down. But no one had the mood to talk and the only ones holding serene expressions were Rarity and the old griffon lady, Madam Gehenna. At least externally. The smells also filtered through the tarp too. Bread, cakes, fried hay… Fortunately Twilight had a satisfying breakfast, or her stomach would be rumbling.
“This place smells like pony.” The white and caramel griffoness with a flat face commented out of the blue, like ‘pony’ was a distinct smell or state of being.
“It’s early morning.” The lanky griffon next to her, the one Twilight supposed was the gunsmith, shrugged. “I mean, they gotta eat. And it doesn’t bother me. Everybody likes bread, right?”
“For all it’s worth, it’s not in the list of forbidden foods…” Gallensa said, and Grigory looked at her. She laid next to him, leaning against his body. Her eyes squinted like she threatened to fall asleep at any second.
Maybe it was why she was pleasant, for once.
“And so, it came to pass…” Rarity made a frown and threw her hoof forward. “Amid threats of grizzly death and dire wars, griffons and ponies found common standing at last. Bread was the answer all along. Oh no! What evil! Alas, griffons butter the bread, when ponies drench it in jam! Oh, wheat, woe is you! Once the promise of deliverance, now the source of iniquity cast anew.”
After a couple of seconds filled with a ridiculously solemn silence over the sounds of the wheels and the suspension, a ‘heeheehee’ and a ‘hehehehe’ broke through. Both groups of friends laughed for a few good seconds before the moment died, but Twilight’s mood had improved.
She sighed. Hopefully Flash Sentry would be alright. Maybe in the city they could find information about whatever happened to the survivors of the battle.
“So, uh…” Rainbow rubbed her mane. “Where exactly are we going? Is it some sort of griffon neighborhood?”
“No.” The large griffon called Gray stared at her. “It’s a hotel owned by one of our supporters. Near downtown, so I would advise against leaving the premises. Someone is bound to recognize you.”
“That goes without saying.” Applejack nodded. Always the practical one, she had the right question. “What about other guests?”
“We’ll have the entire hotel to us.” He looked at Applejack next.
“That sounds expensive.” Rarity grimaced. “Or really damaging to their business.”
“It’s expensive.” Gray shrugged. “Lady Gwendolen will be paying.”
Cadance hummed, but nothing came out of it. Instead, Twilight addressed the large and dark griffon. “We appreciate it. And you don’t have to worry. We’ll not be any trouble.”
“We’ll be arriving soon.” He spoke calmly as he always did. “Everything has been arranged. You can just relax. You’ll have food, comfortable rooms and you won’t even need to be locked inside. You’ll have the entire hotel to you.”
“That sounds sweet.” Rainbow and Pinkie Pie grinned next to each other.
“We’re not on vacation, Rainbow Dash! Pinkie Pie!” Applejack gave them a glare.
Suddenly the cart stopped and juggled their heads around. One of the griffons pulling the cart declared they had arrived.
A little abrupt, but Twilight wasn’t going to complain. Without any hesitation, the gunsmith and the soldier griffons started moving sacks of flour out of the way, whichShining Armor helped with. Before long both ponies and griffons hopped off the back of the cart and found themselves on a concrete parking area inside a gated area. Little more than gray concrete for floor, walls, and a noisy crimson sliding gate a pair of griffons closed. The street was beyond a brick and plaster wall.
Half the plot of land was occupied by the parking lot and the other half seemed taken by the hotel building. Griffons and ponies stared at the building with windows on the wall and a single steel-sheet door painted in the same shade of red as the gate. The white paint had water damage, and silt grew on the top of the wall, where the eave kept the sun from it. Someone probably once thought the black tiles of the roof were a good idea for contrast with the wall, but it just looked covered in the same silt.
“Well, this is hum…” Rarity let her ears flop with her eyes up to the roof. “Well… Uh… Yes, ah…”
“Lame…” Rainbow groused with a dejected Pinkie next to her.
“Quit complaining, you all.” Applejack walked next to them with Twilight.
“It’s gonna be alright.” The princess pointed a hoof and then smiled. “I’m sure the nice griffons that own the place will be very welcoming.”
“Let’s not give the griffons the impression we are soft.” The princess concluded with a frown of her own.
As soon as Twilight closed her mouth Gallensa gave a curt laugh. “Come, Grigory. We are staying at the Mareott.”
“Gallensa…” Grigory pressed the lores on his beak. “Please, behave as an adult.”
She glared intensely at Grigory for some good ten seconds. Both ponies and griffons waited with anxious stares and bated breaths.
“Ah…” Pinkie raised a hoof. “I just want to say that I vote Mareott too!”
“We’re trying to hide.” Applejack hid her face inside her hat. “You all are dumb as a box of bricks.”
“Nu-uh!” The white and caramel hen with a flat face in Griogry’s group raised a finger and scowled. “I’m a world-class scout and sharpshooter. I won’t accept anything inferior to the Wonderbolt’s quarters.”
“That’s not much better, though…” Rainbow let her ears flop.
“We don’t have any money!” Twilight cried.
“As soon as we show up anywhere the Local Militia is going to jump on us.” Shining Armor added and both Cadance and Flurry Heart nodded next to him. Poor miss Calcite just stared helplessly.
A cyan unicorn mare came out the door as it opened with a squeak. Wavy off-white blue mane and blue eyes, she wore a fitting blue suit and approached them with a smile. She stopped close to Gallensa and the griffoness was almost twice her size. Twilight almost gasped at the sight.
“I’m sorry, your majesty.” The mare immediately bowed before the griffoness, putting a hoof before her chest. When she raised, she gave a radiant, beaming smile and Gallensa kept staring down at her. “I know the hotel is quite inferior to your refined tastes, but I can guarantee our staff is most dedicated. We can procure the best food and vanity items during your stay. You must be hungry… We already have some food prepared.”
The yellow and white queen held the pony in a stare down her beak and sighed before she turned to Grigory. “I’ll still tell Lady Gwendolen you made me stay at a pigsty. I expect a vacation at the Wild North Cassino in Las Pegasus when this is done. Come, Gracielle…
While Twilight wondered if the northerners called their female ‘queens’ because they behaved like that, she watched the others enter. Spike poked her leg.
“Uh… Why do these griffons use a hotel owned by a pony?”
“We’ll ask them, Spike. Come on.” She nodded at the door. “We can’t risk a pegasus seeing us while flying by.”
***
Chocolate Velvet walked out of the prescription room and stretched his neck with a groan. Surgery after surgery and barely any food or rest, he was finally ready for some sleep and sustaining food.
But leaving the room he walked into the head nurse for general surgery. “Your highness?”
“Yes. Miss Goldina, correct?” He stopped. Covered in golden fur and feathers, she was a middle-aged griffon lady with beautiful pink eyes and an enthusiastic disposition. He had met her almost as soon as he started getting work done in the hospital, her being one of those creatures that just got things done. Organized, patient, proactive and kind-hearted, she was a delight to work with.
“Yes. Can I ask you for a favor?” Her upward eyes begged as much as her words.
“Of course!” He smiled. “That is why I’m here.”
She produced a clipboard from under her wing, but she kept hesitating. “This is a bit of a… Situation. The patient is… Um… Complicated.”
“Ok.” He sat on the floor, patiently waiting for her to get it out already and took the clipboard in his telekinetic magic once she finally offered it to him. A quick once-over told him it was a young adult male that had been submitted to reparative surgery following an assault. And nothing more of note.
“Doctor Gaer was going to see him today, but he… Well, he was shot during the night.” She stopped talking.
“I understand.” Chocolate frowned. “So? There’s nothing complicated here. An intern could deal with this. Simple anamnesis and physical exam. They could call an attending plastic surgeon if something is wrong.”
He could see she wanted him to talk to the patient, and there was nothing wrong with that, but any doctor could deal with that, especially one from the plastic surgery department. It was their patient. Taking another doctor’s patient was a bit of a source of contention.
“Well, obviously he can’t see his patient today, so I asked another doctor to evaluate him, but his mother refuses to let anyone that isn’t Doctor Gaer examine her son.” She frowned with a grimace. “She can be really unpleasant.”
“His mother?” Chocolate raised an eyebrow. “What the… Is she aware there was practically a war going on in the city?!”
More than that, he checked the patient’s age, and he was nineteen.
“I know!” Goldina sat too and held her paws together. “But she is so insufferable! Can your highness help me, please?”
“Of course!” He chuckled. He liked her enough that he would deal with the mother. Really, she seemed to be more of a problem than the patient himself. “Don’t worry. I’ll get right back to you.”
He stashed the clipboard under his wing and made his way across the hall to the entrance of the surgery center. After getting rid of the protections and undoing the braiding on his mane, he made his way to the relevant corridor. But along the way he took a careful look at the several-pages file and something stood out.
“Huh… This guy was assaulted…” He stopped walking and took a focused look into the details.
‘Patient was assaulted during an argument requiring reconstructive facial plastic surgery.’
“That’s all?” He looked around the paper, put up the clipboard and stared beneath it, ruffled the papers, and carefully looked through each. They were nothing more than results of preoperative laboratorial exams. But the informed consent forms were missing.
“How odd…” Griffon doctors were usually thorough in their notes because the unicorns were downright… Excessive, to use a kind word. Griffons being as competitive as they were, didn’t want to be left behind.
Nurse staff’s evaluation was missing. Anesthesiologist’s preoperative evaluation was missing. The post-operative report was mystifyingly as curt as the initial evaluation.
‘Patient was submitted to facial reconstructive surgery. Nothing out of the ordinary.’
“What does ‘nothing out of the ordinary’ even mean?” He talked to himself in the lobby. Nocreature paid him attention.
Following was the inventory of used materials. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but a lot of materials were used, without an actual description of the injuries. Expensive stuff. Judging by the materials, the patient had suffered severe damage, indeed.
Yeah… When the foals are too quiet… Goldina didn’t give him the file just because the patient’s mother was difficult. He frowned and stashed the clipboard under his wing and resumed his walk with a quick gait along the corridor until he found the room.
“How dare you?!” A shrill female voice screeched from the inside, through the closed door, so loud that Chocolate stopped and took a step back. “My baby is allergic to this stuff! I will sue this hospital! Get me your manager! I’m gonna get you fired!”
A panicked griffon guy in a white uniform rushed out of the room dragging a cleaning cart with him and slammed the door. A tan and sandy, typical griffonstonian denizen who stopped and stared at the alicorn while the hen still ranted from the other side of the door.
“Tough one, eh?” Chocolate cocked his head.
The griffon poked his cap back into place. “Milord, if I didn’t need the money, I swear I would quit this job.”
The griffon nodded and pulled the cart along with his tail, walking away.
“I said, bring me your manager!” The hen shrieked on the other side of the door again and the griffon broke into a gallop dragging the cart like his life depended on it.
The griffoness on the other side violently pulled the door open with the scowl from a comically angry witch about to cast doom upon the world. She froze upon seeing the alicorn. Her brain took a couple of seconds to catch up and Chocolate took the chance to assume control of the situation as other workers scampered away.
“Greetings, ma’am!” He smiled.
It was a spruced-up obese griffon hen, dark brown and yellow, wearing a pearl collar from one of those overly expensive brands Chocolate couldn’t be bothered to remember the name. Over her, back inside the room, he could see a lanky young adult griffon sitting on a pillow next to the bed.
Chocolate wasn’t the kind of creature to make mean comments about others, even inside his head. But it was fact the guy was covered in one of the most hideous shades of yellow he had ever seen. Not like Fluttershy’s buttery sweet yellow. Not like the griffon lady he met in the airship with her elegant poise and almost golden shade. His was… Just eew…
Other than the unfortunate color, he had a simple gauze dressing over his beak and surgical sutures around. By the description and material used, Chocolate would have expected to see him lying on the bed, covered around the head like a mummy.
“Mom!” He complained with an irritating whinny. It reminded the alicorn more of a bratty kid than an adult. And he didn’t even struggle to speak or breathe, supposedly mere days after the surgery. “Stop hogging the doctor. I’m gonna be late for the game!”
“Just a second sweetie!” She turned to look over her shoulder before her attention returned to Chocolate Velvet with a frown. “Aren’t you the Royal Consort?”
“Yes…” He touched his chest with a wing. “Prince-Consort Chocolate Velvet. I’m helping the medical staff because of last night’s skirmish. So, I understand Doctor Gaer was supposed to come see your son?”
“Yes.” She agreed with a blank stare. “Where is he?”
“He is injured. He can’t come.” He told her and followed before she had time to complain. “I’ll be taking care of Mister Gaunt today.”
She was going to say something, but her adult baby interrupted them. “Mom! Come on!”
She finally moved out of the way, even if she said nothing and Chocolate put on a smile. “Hello. Good morning, Mister Gaunt. Nice to meet you.”
“Wait! What the feather?” He stood and flared his wings, staring at his ‘mom’ with a frown. “Mom! What is this? My dad owns this town, and we can’t even get me a griffon doctor?! Where is Doctor Gaer? What is the point of getting the best surgeon if I have to go with a pony?!”
Ah… What a nice, punchable personality. It seemed someone had the right idea.
“Sweetie!” She gave Chocolate a desperate frown when he looked at her. “He’s the Prince-Consort. He’s Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's personal doctor! I’m sure he is even better than Doctor Gaer.”
“Actually, Princesses Twilight Sparkle, Mi Amore Cadenza, and Flurry Heart too.” Chocolate said, less than enthusiastic but still not giving up on helping the moron. His stupid pony brain didn’t like not being nice.
“Fine…” The yellow griffon sighed and rolled his eyes, plopping his ass back to the seating pillow. “I guess it’s better than missing the game.”
Chocolate walked closer. Initial appraisal was that the griffon was talking a lot for one who needed a deep and extensive reconstructive surgery. He smiled at the yellow griffon though. “Excuse me, then. Let me see.”
He gestured with his head for Gaunt to raise his beak and removed the dressing with barely any difficulty. Curious, but then again, the guy’s beak barely had any scratches on it. Chocolate frowned and probed the griffon’s beak and facial structure with his magic.
“Stop! This is annoying!” The griffon whined, but his mother shushed him.
“I’m almost done.” Other than minute scars in the facial bones and some grinding done to the beak, there was mostly no evident damage. Some fat was introduced, and some bony parts were removed. His vomer bone was scarred at the base, and it might have been caused by someone punching him, but it was already healed. The amount of damage didn’t justify any of the enumerated materials and it healed too fast. Heck, he shouldn’t have been submitted to surgery.
More importantly, he found the familiar tingling of a healing potion. That Doctor Gaer gave his patient an emergency healing potion to fast-heal the surgical wounds and the residual magic gave it away. Motherbucker… As the city turned to a warzone. Chocolate hoped he got shot on his greedy griffon ass.
However, the pony merely hummed. “The file says you were assaulted by someone. It doesn’t look very bad, though.”
“Well,” The mother cleared her throat and raised her beak with a petulant tone. “Doctor Gaer is a very good professional. I am sure your highness knows him!”
“Not as much as I would like, it seems. My place is with the Princesses and it leaves me little time to spend with other doctors.” He told her and then turned back to the male, clearing his throat. “So, Gaunt. Mind telling me what exactly happened? So, I can properly evaluate your situation.”
“Some dumb hoe got angry I didn’t like her scones and punched me.” The griffon shrugged and showed a petulant smile. “She got hers.”
“Now, now, sweetie.” The mother quickly interjected. “That poor hen was released from jail and entered a community service program. Our good friend, Judge Gracie, ensured she would receive a chance at bettering herself.”
“I see…” Chocolate nodded with a low voice before turning to the mother.
“Well, I’m looking at him and his beak doesn’t really seem all that much damaged. Not that assaulting someone is ever allowed… But…” He held the clipboard in his telekinetic grasp, frowning at the fat hen. “This is awkward. Because these strangely brief descriptions and my examination of the patient make me believe that Doctor Gaer might have done something not entirely legal. The public money sent to this hospital, and healing potions, are meant to treat patients in life-threatening situations and to intervene in preserving the quality of life. Particularly the poor ones. Not that rich griffons can’t come for assistance… But cosmetic procedures are to be held in the private network. Someone is doing things they shouldn’t.”
“Bruh, do you know who I am?” The yellow griffon growled at Chocolate.
“Hum… Kind of?” The alicorn cocked an eyebrow. “Do you know who I am?”
“Please, your highness. There’s no need for this.” The fat hen fiddled with her pearl collar. “We do more than this city deserves. As a noble you understand that. All these ungrateful little griffons that don’t do much more than work as little as they can get away with… All while wanting more and more.”
“Huh…” Chocolate listened and waited. She grabbed a check booklet from her purse sitting on the corner of the bed and started writing with a fountain pen.
“Of course…” The fat griffoness, with all the puffiness that threatened to swallow her beak, threw a seductive stare at him. “Doctor Gaer’s most prominent skill is his sense of discretion.”
“Ah-huh…” He nodded curtly.
“So, I am sure that you can do something nice with these Bits rather than bringing more attention to the issue of my little boy’s injured beak.” She folded and pawed the check to him. He simply grabbed it in his telekinetic magic.
“Very well… All Gaunt needs is to apply some cold to the swollen areas.” He quickly wrote a prescription with his fountain pen and letterheaded paper he grabbed from the pocket in his coat. “Take this, for the pain. And go easy on the game.”
With that he left the room after putting away his tools and closed the door with his telekinetic magic. Still holding the folded check, he opened it to read. Doctors, patients, nurses, and visitors walked around the chocolate alicorn under the coat as he stayed in the corridor, looking at the small piece of paper for half-a-minute.
One of the security griffons walked to him and looked up. “Your highness, is something the matter? Do you require assistance?”
Chocolate Velvet took a deep breath. “Yes. If anyone asks for me, please tell them I’ll be on the roof.”
***
Celestia trotted out of the Chancellor’s palace with quick elegant steps down the stairs as two of her Royal Guard protectors followed her. After she greeted the griffonian soldiers standing guard by the main door, they did too.
It was probably silly, but she was excited for the plan she and Lord Protector Gilmara had concocted. Ultimately, the novice Justiciar had found little additional information about the young hen. But their plan should allow her to learn all she would need and would allow her to help poor Gwineth.
Unfortunately, the thought of Gilad protecting criminals behind her back put a dent on her trust in him. She thought she had found someone like the old knights, willing to do what was right, no matter the consequences. Or maybe he thought she was part of the problem.
She didn’t have time to waste on depressing thoughts. She was tired and her body ached, but positivity helped her along the day and would have to do until the plan came to fruition. Then she would rest. Meanwhile, she kept her pace quick, crossing the plaza among the griffons cleaning debris from the battle. Grover’s statue would need some repairs, but it should look good enough with some love.
Her eyes fixed on the hospital’s entrance. The double doors had been replaced already, but it was mostly a broken, damaged building. Fortunately, the damage was superficial and griffon health professionals could do their part.
“Princess…” One of her guards called and pointed at the hospital’s roof.
Looking up, she saw Chocolate Velvet. Sitting next to the edge, behind the chain-link fence, staring into the horizon over the city. She exchanged a stare with the guard, and he shrugged. After one final stare towards the alicorn on the roof, she hopped and flew up and over the fence which protected patients sunbathing in there. She landed next to the alicorn, and he ignored her.
“Is something the matter?” She smiled, keeping her distance. Giving him some respectful space.
“I found something curious.” He told her, keeping his back to her and staring into the horizon. Soon it would be time to retrieve the sun for the night and a stormy wind started to pick up speed and carried the smell of rain. She would prefer the weather department didn’t make it rain, as the debris could wreak havoc in the sewer system. Nonetheless, his mane looked fabulous in the wind, with his white coat. “I think a doctor under the employ of the hospital has participated in misuse of public money.
“Oh?” Her ears perked up.
“I did some digging, with help from Miss Goldina, the head nurse for the general surgery ward. The city’s mayor is involved. His wife and his son too. And also, a Doctor Gaer who performed plastic surgery on the son. Maybe even the Lord Judge for the entire hold. They got the mayor’s son interned because he was assaulted and the doctor that initially examined him greatly exaggerated his injuries. It allowed them to get him interned in the first place.”
“That’s already wrong…” She frowned and let her ears flop. It seemed the city was full of secrets. And not the enticing kind.
“Yeah. Doctor Gaer then performed a cosmetic surgery on his face, unrelated to the damage caused by the assailant and used a healing potion to expedite post-surgical care. IT helped them keep everything hush-hush. More than foolhardy, I would say that such a surgery was malpractice, given the patient was injured to begin with.” He shrugged and rolled his eyes. “Furthermore, the entire nurse staff is willing to testify against Doctor Gaer, the wife, and the son. To top it off, Miss Goldina told me it was Gilda, Rainbow’s friend, who assaulted the Mayor’s Son. Finally, while I was talking to mother and son, she mentioned a Judge Gracey that worked on Gilda’s case.”
“I’m not a law specialist.” Chocolate added. “But I’m pretty sure that at least everyone involved did something wrong and of all of them, this Gilda is the one with the least amount of guilt.”
Celestia stood to her four legs and beamed. “What an amazing find, Chocolate Velvet! I’ll get this information to my justiciars right away!”
But since he kept his eyes to the horizon with a distant and forlorn stare, she approached, sitting by his side, and resting her body against his. “Is there anything wrong still?”
“The mother tried to bribe me…” He showed her the check with a value of two thousand Bits. “I mean… Come on…
Celestia took the check in her magical grasp and blinked at it before she giggled curtly.
“After that whole scene with Chrysalis, I thought that I was worth at least a million.” He huffed and neigh-snorted.
“She certainly has a bizarre vision of her own position…” Celestia chuckled. “Would you feel better if I asked Novo to try and seduce you? Let’s say, so that you would convince me to fund another school in Mount Aris?”
He chuckled at her words and turned to her. “Coming for you, that might even be logical.”
“I feel like there is something wrong with griffons in this city, Celestia…” He did his best not to laugh, but a chuckle escaped him. “Maybe I got used to ponies. But I’m pretty sure the griffons are not okay.”
“Most likely.” She winked and nodded to the stairs into the building. “Come. Introduce me to this Miss Goldina. On the way, we need to talk about that griffon hen that attacked us. I’ll need your help with her.”
***
Like all local militias, the headquarters for Griffonstone’s Local Militia had an armory. Equipment racks and closets covered most of the walls of the well-lit room. The only one way in or out was a barred wooden door.
Four big griffons occupied themselves donning their leather armor vests and checking their equipment. Cuffs, magical baton, their wheellock pistols, additional powder, and magical crystal balls with the stun spell. For the special operation they would soon be undertaking, they also had H-shaped chains waiting on the table at the center of the room.
They uttered no words until a pair of cuffs clacked against the wooden floor and one of the griffons swore a mostly unintelligible string of colorful words.
“Garon, are you okay?” The griffon next to him asked. A good three fingers shorter than his partner, he was a snowy-white, black-dotted griffon with a white head and blue eyes frowning at the other.
“I’m fine.” Garon, the massive mid-aged griffon had the typical griffonstonian tan and white which agreed with the leather armor. He grabbed the cuffs from the floor and shoved them into one of his armor’s pockets after missing it two more times.
“Nah, bro. You ain’t.” Another griffon approached. A similarly large, but green and gray, already fully vested male walked closed with a reproaching scowl. “Genie’s death got to you and the Chief ought to cut you from the op.”
“I’m fine!” Garon yelled, which only brought a frustrated sigh with a shake of the head to the other.
He breathed in to answer, but Lord Protector Gilmara entered the room, already wearing her full complement of law-enforcement gear. Her smile brought a bit of cheer. “Alright, guys. It’s time! Celestia’s set up at the Blackfeather HQ and our team is ready with the ambush!”
“Just follow my lead.” She went on. “I’ll tell our little northerner bird the sword is with the Blackfeathers and along the way our undercover griffons will ‘rescue’ her. They’ll show superior force, we’ll surrender, and they’ll make sure she’ll get to the Blackfeather HQ. The Princess and the Prince-Consort will be waiting for her.”
They met her words with attentive silence. So, she concluded with a grin. “Questions?”
“Yeah.” Garon barked. “Why don’t we just cap her here?”
“Because that would be a crime.” Gilmara raised a finger. “And fighting crime is kind of our thing.”
Before he could follow with another asinine, anger-fueled question, she shook her head grimly and spoke again. “Garon, I’m pissed too. I miss Genie… Maybe not as much as you do… But…”
He interrupted her. Shouting. Spitting in anger. “She killed my wife and my child! Don’t tell me you miss Genie too!”
“Alright, fine!” Gilmara yelled right back at him, and he recoiled. “But fuck you! I miss her too. And the way to do anything about it is to cooperate with the Princess. Not executing a prisoner like a thug! I let you in because I understood you wanted to do something about Genie. But if I have to, I’ll cut you out and you’ll sit behind a desk to listen to a storeowner moan about his window. Is this what you want?”
She received no answer from the bigger griffon, but one of the others raised a paw. “I have a question. Why? Not that I agree with Garon that we should kill her, but it’s dumb to let her go.”
“We’re not letting her go.” The black griffoness took a breath. “The Princess wants to see some magic in action. Princess Luna believes it’s a Nightmare messing with griffons, and if that is the case, it’s possible that the entire thing will end with Luna getting it under control. I mean, the war, the unrest, the crazy lightning storms. Everything. I don’t know what the Sisters are up to, but Celestia clearly wants to help Luna deal with it. And we’ll do our part. Period.”
***
It had been hours. Gwineth sat with her haunches on the floor and let her forehead rest between two bars. She has been thinking for so long her head hurt and her neck hurt too, because of the awkward position. Despite that posture, she kept fidgeting with her hindlegs, and her feet wouldn’t stop for a couple of seconds.
She groaned and bumped her head against the now warm metal bars.
“Stupid Celestia…” She spoke to no one, but herself, and then she sighed. “I know I wasn’t supposed to fight her, but I thought that I would win!”
“I know it was stupid! I thought that I would be able to use my magic!” She bumped her head again. “I’m stuck in this dumb cell and there is nothing I can do to escape without the hooflickers noticing. How am I supposed to go back to Griffindell?”
“I suck as a Swordmaiden… I don’t even have my dancing sword!” She held the bars and whined at the ceiling. “Even if I had it, I don’t think I could slice the metal bars with it!”
She sat straight and scratched her nape vigorously until she whined again. Louder. Finally, she bumped her head against the bars and whined. “Come on, I need help! Please? I’ll let you do anything to me when I come back!”
She let out a sigh, holding on to the bars and letting her head drop. “She hates it when griffons act helpless.”
But then she raised her head and gasped, opening her eyes wide. “But that also means she trusts me not to screw up too bad!”
“But what am I supposed to do?” Thunder rumbled in the distance and the smell of rain entered her nares. Her feathers ruffled and relaxed. After a couple of seconds her talons clicked incessantly at the metal. Her eyes found the ceiling again. “Come on, Gwineth. You’re not some filthy Saddani. She chose you. And you’re not some Frozenlakian noble chick born to a gilded cradle… No. I was born into poverty. I got fucked. I had to work and learn to get here. I…”
Quiet griffon steps sounded beyond the door, and she silenced.
Gwineth raised her eyes when the door opened. A griffoness entered, followed by four big males. All of them wearing the local militia’s leather armor, carrying their outdated wheellock pistols and their magical stun batons. Her eyes focused on the leader. A black griffoness with a nimbler body than most griffons. She had barely visible black spots on her black pelt and her feathers were black too, with barely any variation. Her tail was fluffy and thick because of it. Her eyes were yellow, predatorial and focused.
Although, calling her a ‘griffoness’ might have been a stretch and Gwineth recoiled from the bars in disgust.
Three of her griffons stood by the cell’s door as one searched through the keys. The fourth stood by the door they had come from, and it showed a dim corridor beyond. All of them shot her intimidating stares, except for the black Saddani. She was having fun.
“Good evening, northerner lady. I am Lord Protector Gilmara of Griffonstone.” The black one, greeted with a grin. “We’re taking you to the airport if you don’t mind. They have a cell with your name at Shatteredrock.”
Gwineth blinked at her. “Ah. Aren’t you going to bring in Celestia? To talk to me?”
“Nope!” The black griffoness shook her head. “I suppose the Princess found a bigger cat to skin. You’re free to fly as a little bird. Straight to Shatteredrock, that is.”
“There is no one larger than me in this crap pile of a city!” Gwineth snarled, but soon her fierce countenance broke into a frown, and she turned to the door when it screeched open.
One of them stayed by the door and the other two entered. The first spoke to her, loud and dry. “Sit away from the bars.”
She did sit. But it was a reaction to them coming closer to her. She shook her head and her eyes bulged. She raised one of her forelegs from the floor, but one of the guards grabbed it to cuff her. The other strapped her wings shut tight.
Her breath came out in heaves and her voice a hoarse cry. “You can’t do this!”
“Sure can, baby.” Lord Protector Gilmara yawned at her paw while her griffons did their work. “The Mare is really pissed off.”
“I have the right to a fair trial!” Gwineth whined and squealed when the griffon behind her pushed her to stand on her four legs. “All creatures have the right to a fair trial!”
“Sorry to break it to you. But not the crazy, murderous psychopaths that bomb hospitals.” Gilmara gave her a small smile as her griffons placed the pawcuffs on Gwineth’s hindlegs too and connected the two sets with the H-shaped chain.
“No. No, no!” She cried and her beak clattered, her feathers ruffled. “The idea of the bomb wasn’t even mine!”
She yelped when one of the two griffons shackling her poked her ribs with his baton. “Shut your dirty beak and move your hind, barbarian.”
A large and muscular tan with white. His fingers clenched around his baton, and he pulled it back, but never struck her. Middle aged, with a crestless head and eyes filled with anger. Shaking muscles and a fearsome scowl. Her feathers flattened against her head at the sight.
“Please!” She whined. “I can’t…”
“I said move!” He shoved Gwineth and she yelped, crashing against the bars. The griffon by the door helped her stand, but only so she could walk. A white and black griffon, he glared at his companion, but the Lord Protector put an end to the situation ordering everyone to get going already.
The guard by the door moved out of her way and to the end of the corridor where another door waited. He kept watch while the others followed Gwineth. Just a short corridor with no doors or windows, and only the necessary magical light fixtures so it wasn’t completely dark.
She walked slowly and the chains clinked constantly, restraining her movement. Her breathing came in noisy heaves and her paws trembled so much she could barely walk straight. The procession advanced at a crawl, but no amount of whining or sobbing helped.
The militiagriffon opened the other door and crossed it to let her pass.
Closed windows made the air hot and stale. It smelled of griffons, sugar, and coffee, but the colorful confections of dough and creamy filling were left alone. The barded militiagriffons working the desk jobs had herded all out of the way. The civilians, bandits with cuffed paws and tied wings or random visitors and relatives to each side. About a hundred or so griffons in Gwineth’s estimate.
Angry griffons cried and complained of the treatment. Militia griffons said appeasing pleas and urged them to get out of the way.
“Move.” One of the militagriffons ordered Gwineth, not the same as before, but the black and white one, and he gently pushed her past the door.
All the way past the hall and the reception stood the door to the outside. An armored cart had parked there, under the rain. The flimsy public illumination lit the trees but failed right before lightning flashed and thunder soon followed. The rain picked up strength and Gwineth’s arrival silenced the hall. Adults’ angry frowns turned to curious stares and cubs looked from behind their parents’ paws.
She cared little for any of them, it was the cart that filled Gwineth’s eyes. She sat and turned her eyes to the storm above, beyond the white ceiling and spoke in the singing cadence of the High Griffonese. “You told me I would live in a palace and that I would only eat and drink the best! Don’t let them do this to me!”
The large militiagriffon, Garon, shoved her forward with all his strength. “We didn’t tell you to stop!”
She cried and fell to the floor. Griffons around her cried and gasped. Some laughed, others meant to help, but were stopped. ‘You can’t do this!’, someone shouted, and chaos erupted. The guards along the hall struggled to keep the throng under control.
“This isn’t working, chief…” The black and white militiagriffon turned to Gilmara and she scratched her neck. “It will be alright. She’s just scared. We’ll carry her it we must.”
“I don’t have the patience for this!” Garon reached and grabbed her nape. He pulled her up and shoved her forward, but instead of walking, she fell with her face against the floor again. Her weakened legs wouldn’t support her weight and the chains didn’t let her react.
It created more angry comments and laughter. The other militiagriffons yelled at their colleague and Gilmara shoved him away from Gwineth. “You are way out of line, Garon.”
Gwineth stood again, though. She sat and raised her paws as much as the chains would allow. “Mother! Help me! Don’t let these filthy Saddani do this to me!”
None of them understood what she said. Most of them kept staring. Others yelled at the militiagriffons and a few laughed at the crazy hen speaking in gibberish. None of them saw it either. Only Gwineth could see the great black and white griffoness when she appeared and held her face. Her touch was seldom so caring. Both her goddess and her sponsor, Gwendolen rarely talked so softly.
“Gwineth, calm yourself. “Gwendolen told her. “Listen to me. They cannot drag you to Shatteredrock. They are bluffing. You must unravel their stratagem and make use of it. You are capable of freeing yourself, but you are allowing your fear to control you.”
“No!” The other bawled and reached for the griffoness that the others didn’t see. She would leave if Gwineth let her. The others could laugh at her all they wanted. “Don’t leave me!”
A dry whack and Gwineth fell to the floor when Garon stuck the back of her head with his baton. Griffons cried around the room, but the militiagriffons held them cordoned off from the strange female that seemed to talk to someone who wasn’t there. The other two griffons escorting Gwineth held Garon and the Lord Protector tried taking his baton, yelling at him.
Gwendolen stood, sitting where she was, with Gwineth at her feet. Befuddled. Her beak hung open and she looked at the slowly growing bloody mark on her feathers. She looked around the room and frowned at the griffons that couldn’t see her. The fourth militiagriffon watched the others with wide-opened eyes and glances every which way. Several of the griffons among the detained laughed and someone cried ‘Oh! Shit!’ and ‘Hit her again!’. The griffons in the militia struggled to get them under control while Gilmara and her subordinates struggled with the large griffon.
“Garon, what the fuck!” She had to struggle, and he still freed his weapon. The other two held him the best they could. “Are you trying to kill her?”
“This bitch!” The large griffon tried freeing himself, but for all his size, he couldn’t. He yelled though. At the top of his lungs, trying to reach for the griffoness, curled into a ball and crying. “It’s her fault Genie is dead! We should hang her outside! We should skin this barbarian and put her to dry in the sun so her friends can see!”
He freed himself of the others and lunged at the weeping griffoness. Lightning flashed outside and the magical lights failed. A black paw held his own and he gasped, as wide-eyed as the griffons surrounding them. It wasn’t Lord Protector Gilmara, but a terrifying and beautiful creature standing above Gwineth’s still weeping form.
Griffons cried again, shocked at such a marvelous creature which manifested from thin air, and in such a dramatic way. She held the militiagriffon’s baton effortlessly and stoped that huge griffon.
She had come out of nowhere and filled the air with the smell of lightning. Her striped black and white wings shone like the sudden lights upon the clouds on a thunderstorm and her gray eyes froze the large griffon’s heart. He let go of the baton and pulled back much as the others in his squad did. Beaks hung open but silent.
She was a griffon hen, but larger. She was white and black, but the most perfect shades as the black among the stars and the untouched snow. Her beak was black, but obsidian was never as graceful. And her talons shone, but steel was never so sharp. Her eyes were stormy gray, but the storm was never so enraged. She spoke as she helped the griffoness stand, but thunder was never as frightening.
“The Wheel of Time spins unstopping, and he who finds himself in power will find that he is thus powerless! Under the Sun and Moon, you have forgotten the harsh mountain where I have birthed your ancestors and hoofed blood runs in your veins!” She recited the words, perfect and cadenced as a song. Contained wrath as rumbling thunder.
“You followed the Traitor King and you forsworn the mighty for the meek in their promises of ease. You regale yourselves with their softness and you give in to their pliant beds! You follow leaders’ fat from their disgusting food, and you pay them in the coins with the Dawnbringer’s face. You listen to her soothing words, and you share in her children’s drinks.”
“The Wheel of Time spins unstopping, and you will regret and cover yourselves in the ashes of birch trees. Sacrifice My Chosen under Her sun and they will feast in the Stormy Eyrie, but when the Predator stalks the world again, you will share in their fear and My Chosen will rejoice at my side.”
“It’s the Rite of the Wheel of Time.” The steely blue griffoness, with her feathers stained by tears, mumbled. “Swordmaiden Ghadah’s dying words.”
“You forget your training too often, Swordmaiden Gwineth of Thunderpeak.” The great griffoness turned to and caressed the feathers on her head. “As these griffons have forgotten who I am. They forgot my promise to my defeated children, and so did you.
“I do not ever leave you. I cannot. I inhabit within your soul.” She put a black paw on the other’s fluffy chest. “And I do grant you the strength, not to escape, but to deliver my judgment upon the traitorous and my boon upon the faithful.”
With that, she closed her wings around her body and vanished. The artificial magical lights returned, as did the storm outside.
“What the heck just happened?” The black Lord Protector cried, looking one side and another. The room was filled with scared and confused griffons. Cubs started crying and confused griffons mumbled more than they talked. Gilmara watched Garon, staring at the northerner prisoner, like he had seen a ghost. “Everybody, calm down! It’s… It’s just the storm.”
But when Gwineth giggled, she almost jumped out of her pelt.
“I’m such a doofus.” The giggling griffoness stared at her shiny blue talons, sitting on the floor, and holding her forelegs close because of the chains. “I had never thought about the Rite of the Wheel of Time like that. It’s already happening. Heeheeheehee… It’s happening right fucking now!”
The big northerner griffoness simply shook her head, tossing her crest around and ruffling her feathers. And then she grinned, staring at the griffons in armor. “Tell me about Genie, Garon. Maybe you’ll see her again. Sooner than you expect. Then you can both become Windigo bait.”
That snapped the angry and large griffon out of his daze, and he screamed at her, grabbing his baton from the floor. But he didn’t attack her again. “I don’t know what is going on anymore.”
“Don’t be angry at me… She made her choices, as did all of you, filthy Saddani.” She responded and nothing or her previous terror remained. She stood on her hindlegs and opened her wings and her forelegs. More than the thunder, the clinking of the chain links hitting the floor scared the griffons. Broken link after broken link. And as the flash of lightning flooded the hall, it reflected on her eyes, wide open, and her beak twisted into a manic grin. “Mother Harpy grants amnesty to all who will leave the sunlight and bear testimony to Her might! You must choose, Griffonstone. Which side do you swear fealty to?”
“I like the sound of that!” A griffon among the detainees laughed. Dark tan, with white and honey eyes. An old scar under his beak gave him an easy distinctiveness other than his grim expression, despite his laugher and deep voice.
Other griffons followed and a cacophony of griffons agreeing and talking over each other took the hall. Suddenly the militiagriffons found themselves outnumbered by a united group rather than individual bandits.
“Hey! Hey!” Gilmara screeched. “That is not how it works! You guys can’t just un-detain yourselves! The Royal Guard is gonna kick your asses!”
“What?” Gwineth grinned wildly as violence began around her. Even among the visiting, griffons had chosen their side and the law enforcement griffons were a hopeless minority. “Didn’t you hear? The Wheel of Time spins unstopping, and he who finds himself in power will find that he is thus powerless!”
***
Celestia startled awake. The flash from lightning entered the large window of the office she had taken for command center in the Blackfeather HQ. There was a voice in the thunder. Or did she dream of it?
She frowned and looked one way and another. The shadows were poised to jump at her. Shivering and letting her jaw hang, her horn enveloped itself with white light and illuminated the luxurious, but quite safe office. The hoofing life-size statue of a griffon soldier didn’t help at all, but she was safe, despite what her body was telling her.
Chocolate Velvet slept on the large couch by the wall, and she was sitting at the desk. The griffon hen’s sword was still before her, laid on top of the desk. As dormant as it was before. With her breath in quick heaves, she squealed and jumped when thunder clapped again.
The lights must have gone out after she fell asleep. She was dreaming. It was a nightmare she couldn’t remember, but Luna never came.
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Uhm, wow.
How much mana did Harpy just burn manifesting Herself in the jail? Snapping Gwineth's bonds is fledgling's play in comparison.
Ooh, it's going to be fun watching Harpy throw down with Celestia. It's looking like it'll happen sooner rather than later.
11341163
She could do much more. All she really did was protect Gwineth and snap her out of her panic. The chains are on Gwineth.
11357455
Well, that adds a new level to 'self-fulfilling prophecy'...
I don't remember this episode.
You're not too off-target, though.
11358283
"Cause And Effect", one of the best episodes of any Trek. Ever!
So freaking trippy, especially with that first explosion just minutes into the show--you KNOW something got seriously fucked up, and the ride is only just beginning!
11358395
The title isn't strange. I think I may have watched it... I'll look it up.
11358419
It's the 18th Episode in Season 5.
I don't know if you can access channels like BBC America or H&I and set a DVR or VCR to record them, but unfortunately, both those channels have cycled passed that point in the series.
H&I is in the middle of Season 6 and only does 1 show/weeknight (M-F), so it'll be forever before getting back to reshow that one.
BBC might be the better option to grab it--it's currently in the middle of Season 7, but they normally have several episodes shown together in a cluster (also on a M-F line up), so that would be a better chance of catching it in a reasonable time frame of a month or so.
From what I can see on the link posted above for BBC America, they're scheduled to play through all of Season 1 this coming Tuesday-Friday and restart the first episode of Season 2 on Friday and the start of Season 3 on Sept 22. From what I can figure out from their schedules, I would estimate "Cause And Effect" should reappear sometime during the week of October 03-07, but you should definitely use the website link above to confirm as it gets closer to those days as your mileage may vary.
(otherwise, you might want to get the DVD collection, but that would be some major $£€₿)
Welp, had a feeling that trap was far too perfect to survive first contact with enemy!
Sure Gwineth still doesn't have her sword, nor is she likely to get it back as long as Celestia is near by. But if anything this scene demonstrates the most dangerous aspect of a Swordmaiden isn't their sword, or even their martial prowess. It's their direct link to The Harpy!
11838213
Well, Gwineth would have fallen for it, had things progressed as Celestia imagined. And she really had no reason to believe they wouldn't.