The Griffon From Griffonstone
“Thirsty, thirsty, thirsty...” Rainbow Dash said to herself as she once again walked down the sidewalk of the long port. Now she was on the lookout for something specific instead of just aimlessly wandering around.
It was getting later in the day too so she decided that she could let things wind down. After finding a place where she could at least get something to eat and drink she could hopefully find a place to sleep as well. That would be all for her first day at the port of Malkonrik.
The problem of course was she still had no money so she’d just be relying on luck and kindness some more. And her luck in that regard might have been stretched to its limits finally. Since as she was looking at the various buildings she was now walking by, it became readily apparent that she had wandered into the seedier part of town. A lot of buildings were boarded up entirely or abandoned and there were more ponies guarding the ones that weren’t. More than once she felt suspicious and daring eyes crawl over her body from the shadowy alleyways. To her right, the docks were just as well guarded by angry looking sailors. Though there were far fewer boats tied up here in general.
“Typical that I’d just end up walking right into trouble,” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Whatever, if anyone’s stupid enough to try something then let them.”
A seedy place like this should be even more likely to have a tavern or dive around anyways.
Rainbow simply kept walking on the sidewalk with her eyes trained on the storefronts. No more distractions.
It didn’t take her long before she walked in front of a shoddy looking building with blackened windows and a heavy double-door in the front. Above that door was a lopsided wooden sign with “BEER and FOOD” painted in black letters on it.
“Works for me,” Rainbow grinned and almost walked inside before she noticed a piece of paper that had been nailed to the rightside door. There was something written on it as well: No Boschese Allowed
Rainbow Dash had no idea what a Boschese was but she was pretty sure she wasn’t one. So with a shrug she strode inside.
The inside of the bar was as grungy and dark as she expected it to be. Only the bar itself on the left side of the large room had some decent oil lamps above it lighting the place up. The other tables and alcoves on the other side just had some candles, but the ponies seated at them probably preferred it that way from the look of them. A few eyes and heads turned towards her, suspicious and unfriendly ones, she had definitely stepped into the wrong kind of establishment. Not that she cared—that just potentially made it more fun. Rainbow Dash also looked over at the rough customers seated at their tables to show she wasn’t afraid of them. Let them glare all they wanted.
Most were stallions but there were a few scandalous looking mares with them as well. That made things a little awkward. A lot of the stallions had very rough looking coats, saltwater stained manes, scars, even eyepatches. Sailing the ocean looked like a tough job. For the most part right now they were just drinking and playing cards, it didn’t look like any of them wanted to do more than stare Rainbow down for the moment. So she let them all be as well and walked over to the bar—where an equally rough looking bartender stood.
“Yo,” Rainbow Dash said as she jumped up on one of the barstools.
The bartender just squinted his eyes at her, pleasantries well out of his domain. “What’ll it be?”
“Well I’d like something to drink, something to eat, and maybe a place to stay. But I don’t have any money,” Rainbow Dash shrugged.
The bartender blinked at her. Slowly he frowned and raised an eyebrow. “That your idea of a joke?”
“Nope,” Rainbow shook her head and opened up the empty pouch around her neck for him to see inside. “Flat broke.”
“Then I’d like to kindly ask you to get out of here. I’ve got other customers,” he not so kindly said.
“Come on, I’ll do dishes, or help clean after closing, or anything like that,” Rainbow offered.
“Well if that’s the case I’ll tell you what you can have,” the bartender leaned in.
“Yeah?” Rainbow smiled.
“Nothing,” he said.
Rainbow Dash frowned. “So you don’t exactly hate jokes then.”
“Just get lost. I don’t give anything out for charity.”
“I’m not asking for charity. I’m offering to do some work after to pay for a glass of beer and maybe a bite of food. That seriously so much of a problem?”
The bartender grunted in annoyance and reached under the bar, bringing up a small glass bowl full of cashews. “There. Have a hoofful of those and shut up. Then once closing time comes around you can have a glass of water and clean the place. No beer. Deal?”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and sighed. “Fine. Deal.”
She grabbed a few cashews and started to sullenly eat them, frowning down at the dirty bar the whole time. The bartender shook his head and proceeded to ignore her while getting back to his prior business and the rest of the building was equally quiet. Only a few muted conversations were taking place and Rainbow Dash wasn’t paying attention to them at all. For now she was going back over the day’s events in her head and thinking about what to do tomorrow.
And she was so engrossed in that that she didn’t even realize when someone else pushed open the doors of the bar. They stood in the doorway for a moment and let the others in the bar gaze upon them—every conversation now going completely quiet. The other patrons stared at the new entrant with wide and fearful eyes while a grin stretched on the newcomer’s face. Then, a surprisingly bright and colorful sight caught their attention and they turned their head to look at the pegasus seated at the bar. Thoroughly intrigued, they strode in and let the door close behind them before coming and sitting up at the bar, right next to Rainbow Dash.
The bartender meanwhile was staring in complete shock at his new customer, he was frozen in place and dared not make a move. While Rainbow Dash still remained totally oblivious.
“Now that-” a sharp, masculine, voice came from beside her. “Is quite the eye-catching mane.”
Rainbow Dash finally glanced to her left and noticed the griffon now sitting right next to her.
He was bigger than the average griffon, with a broad chest and strong arms with talons that looked like they could crush coconuts at the end. His plumage had a golden sheen to it while his headfeathers were more of a green color. He wore a black coat with golden cuffs over his body that he left unbuttoned at the front, with a puffy white shirt underneath it, and on top of his head rested a black tricorne. And lastly on his left side there was a broad cutlass currently stuck in its scabbard.
“Uhh, thanks?” Rainbow Dash said to him.
His golden eyes twinkled down at her as he scratched under his beak, grinning. “You’re from Equestria, aren’t you?”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. “Wait, you know about Equestria? Who are you?”
“Hah! I knew it!” The griffon laughed and stuck out a talon to her. “The name’s Godfrey. And of course I know about Equestria, I lived right next door for a while.”
Rainbow blinked, and then a smile slowly tugged up her lips. “You’re from Griffonstone!” She eagerly took his talon and shook it. “Awesome, I’m Rainbow Dash by the way!”
He seemed surprised, his eyebrows briefly shooting up a bit. “Rainbow Dash? The Rainbow Dash? Friend of Princess Twilight Sparkle? Hero of Equestria?”
“That’s me,” Rainbow proudly grinned and puffed out her chest. “You know about that stuff?”
“Even though I left a long time ago I’d have to have been living under a rock to not hear about all that,” Godfrey shrugged. “Surprised to see an Equestrian—much less you—out all the way here though.”
“Right back at ya. I didn’t think I’d meet anybody from the other side of the world here,” Rainbow said.
Rainbow Dash was too engrossed in the conversation to notice that a large amount of the other patrons in the bar were getting up and leaving while she and Godfrey were talking. The bartender too was still standing there like a statue.
“What are you doing out here on the Grand Ocean?” Godfrey asked her.
Rainbow shrugged. “It’s just part of my adventure. You see, I flew out from Equestria a while back, and now I’m on a journey to be the first pony to ever fly all the way around the world.”
“Now that’s a trip, heh. So did you fly east right past Griffonstone like me?”
“Nope,” Rainbow’s grin widened. “I flew north, dude. Went right over the north pole and came down south to finally reach here.”
Godfrey was surprised. “Really? Never heard of a pony traveling all the way to the north pole. Or anyone really. That’s even more impressive of a trip than I thought. You must’ve been out doing this for a long time now too. Bet you’ve been to a lot of crazy places that most can only dream of—and I thought I had seen a lot just going over the eastern mountains of Griffonstone.”
“Oh yeah, been to a lot of places. Gotten into a lot of trouble,” Rainbow Dash nodded.
“Hahaha, sounds like fun to me!” Godfrey cheered. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be all the way down here, would you?”
“Heh—well you’re right about that too,” Rainbow admitted.
Godfrey then looked in front of her and saw the bowl of cashews. “Not having anything to drink?”
Rainbow Dash chuckled mirthfully. “Flat broke.”
“That so?” He raised an eyebrow at her. “I would figure that if you traveled so much of the world you would’ve found some kind of treasure or riches to bring with you. Nothing exciting like that?”
“Well...” Rainbow Dash looked up at the ceiling and rubbed the back of her head. “Honestly there probably was a lot of stuff like that. Or at least I bet I could’ve found some if I was on the lookout for it. But really that’s not why I started this journey in the first place. I was just looking for cool adventures. Treasure, money, that sort of stuff doesn’t really interest me.”
“I see, I see,” Godfrey nodded along. “Still, I’m pretty impressed with you. You made the whole trip on your own?”
“Yep!” Rainbow Dash smugly said. “Er… well, it’s not like I never had friends, or ponies to help me through tough spots, but I started the trip on my own and have always flown from place to place on my own power. I’m not kidding about the flying around the world part.”
“Then here, let me give you a little gift,” Godfrey said and reached into a pocket on the inside of his coat, pulling out a single golden coin before flipping it with his thumb onto the top of the bar. He grinned at the bartender, who flinched. “Barkeep? A drink for me and my new friend here—and keep em coming.”
“Dude—you are awesome,” Rainbow Dash patted the griffon on the shoulder.
“Gehahahaha! Thanks,” Godfrey winked.
The bartender shortly brought up two big wooden mugs of frothy beer for the both of them and stood back, keeping well out of their conversation. Rainbow Dash and Godfrey both were quick to grab their own mugs, they clinked them together and both took a deep drink, gulping down the beer and sighing in relief before slamming them back down on the bar together.
“That’s the stuff!” Both shouted.
They looked at each other and grinned. “Hah!”
Rainbow Dash wiped some of the foam from the beer off her lips and raised an eyebrow at Godfrey. “So I told you why I’m here but what are you doing so far from Griffonstone in the first place?”
“Well I told you I left a long time ago, right?” Godfrey shrugged. “Can’t say there was any big reason like flying around the world, I just didn’t like Griffonstone that much. Boring place, annoying brother and sister, I wanted to have some fun.”
“Actually that’s kind of the same reason I first left Equestria. The whole being the first pony to fly all the way around the world thing came later. Started out because I was bored and wanted to do some adventuring,” Rainbow told him.
“Heh, I guess great minds think alike then,” he said to her and brought his mug up for another toast.
“Guess so,” Rainbow grinned and they took another drink together.
“And boy I’ve sure seen my fair share of adventure ever since leaving Griffonstone too. Probably nothing too crazy compared to what someone flying around the whole world has seen, but it’s still been a pretty crazy adventure for me so far. I don’t regret ditching Griffonstone one bit. The Grand Ocean has given me everything I wanted and more,” Godfrey said.
“Nice, that’s exactly the kind of thing I wanted to hear. Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to have the same kind of adventure here you have,” Rainbow said.
“I’m rooting for ya. And the ocean’s a big, big, place with a lot to see. I’m sure you’ll find something,” Godfrey nodded. “Speaking of stuff like that—you got any stories to tell about your journey? Or hey, I bet you have a ton of stories to tell about your life even before you started this. Being a hero of Equestria and all that.”
Rainbow Dash felt her grin grow even wider as she put her hooves behind her head and leaned back. Godfrey was stoking her ego and she was enjoying every minute of it. “I definitely do. What about you? I wouldn’t mind hearing about the kind of stuff that goes on out there on the ocean—what do you do anyways? Do you sail a ship or something?”
“Sail wherever I want, do whatever I want,” Godfrey shrugged. “Got my own ship and everything. I guess you could say I go looking for treasure or any wild rumors that sound exciting. I’m a thrillseeker, that’s pretty much as deep as I get. Like I said, Griffonstone got old fast… got some fun stories about my family and some of the stuff I got into there though, but that was pretty much right before I got fed up and finally left it behind.”
“Didn’t get along with your brother and sister, huh? And you don’t need to explain the thrillseeking part with me, I totally get that,” Rainbow Dash nodded along.
“I bet you do—I’ve got a good eye for others and I get the feeling you and me like to have a lot of fun. Sitting around and doing nothing makes my feathers itch,” Godfrey said.
“Totally. That’s why tomorrow I’m getting right back out there and looking for a way to travel this ocean. I know it’s got a lot to offer me,” Rainbow said.
“Well then how about for the rest of the night the two of us just drink here and relax before you start prospecting for an adventure again? It’s all on me,” Godfrey winked.
“Sounds like a plan!” Rainbow raised her mug again and took another drink.
“-and so then I say to my sister “Those aren’t tail feathers”. You wouldn’t believe the look on her face! She knocked me into next week, gehahahaha!” Godfrey loudly guffawed after finishing up his story.
“Pfffhahahahaha!” Rainbow laughed along with him. “You’re kidding me? That really happened?”
“Honest eagle,” Godfrey promised. “Hah! I was probably going to get kicked out of Griffonstone at that rate anyways.”
“It’s changed a lot for the better since you left,” Rainbow told him.
Godfrey shrugged. “Meh. The Grand Ocean’s my home now—and it’s way more fun than Griffonstone could ever be. Maybe I’d go back someday to visit but I can’t say I even care to make the plans for a trip like that now. Got plenty still going on here.”
“Fair enough,” Rainbow said and took a sip of her fourth mug of beer.
They had been drinking and sharing stories for hours now. Godfrey would tell one, then Rainbow would tell him about one of her recent adventures. Both of them had been drinking heavily, him even more than her, and were very much enjoying the evening and each other’s company. By now Rainbow had mostly finished up telling him about her trip around the world (he was one of the few who didn’t think she was lying about the giant pegasus she found) and he was just going on about old stories from home before he left. The two had a natural rapport.
Godfrey brought his own mug up to his beak, tilting his head back and downing its entire contents at once. “Ahhh… well, I think that’s all I should be drinking tonight. Might be busy tomorrow, just came here to drink and relax anyways, wasn’t expecting to meet a pony like you in this dive.”
“Yeah me too honestly… I wasn’t exactly planning to drink so much,” Rainbow said as she sighed and relaxed on her barstool.
“Might have to spend a day resting up tomorrow instead,” Godfrey suggested.
“Heh, no way, things aren’t going to stop moving just because I’m hungover,” Rainbow grinned.
“Hah! Aint that the truth!” Godfrey laughed. He put his now empty mug down onto the bar and yawned, taking a big stretch. “Well it was a really fun evening, I’ll say that, but unfortunately now I’ve got a bunch of smelly sailors and a seaworn ship to get back to. Bit of a flight to reach it from here.”
“You’re not just at the docks out front?” Rainbow asked.
“Naw, too crowded, I like to lay anchor somewhere a bit quieter,” Godfrey said. He stood up from his barstool and Rainbow Dash got a good look at just how broad-chested and top heavy for a griffon he was. He reached his talon into his coat again and took out another gold coin before tossing it to her. “That’s for giving me a fun night. Get yourself some real food and water tomorrow. Goodbye, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow Dash caught the coin and smiled at him as he walked away to the bar’s front door. “Bye, Godfrey. It was super cool getting to talk to someone from Griffonstone. Especially someone who knows how to have a good time and has some awesome stories, like you. Still surprised about that. And hey, if you spend most of your time out on the Grand Ocean, then maybe we’ll see each other again out there when I’m traveling over it.”
Godfrey paused and looked over his shoulder at her with a wide grin opening his beak. “Maybe we will, I bet it’d be a lot of fun if we happened to cross paths again out there.”
He gave a curt wave and exited through the doors, letting them close behind him.
“Heh,” Rainbow was in a good mood as she put the coin he had gifted her into the pouch around her neck and then grabbed her mug to finish off the last few sips of beer she had left. As her buzz slowly died down, it occurred to her how much she had lost track of time talking and drinking with her new griffon friend, and the fact that she still had no place to stay for the night.
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I wonder how long it'll take Rainbow to remember she's heard of this Griffin before.
I've read most of your stories in this verse but I can't remember reading about this griffon before.
11385842
She never actually heard what his name was.
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Mentioned briefly for the first time in Rarity's story, then again in Trixie's, and indirectly a couple of times in Rainbow Dash's Unstoppable Ego.
11385920
After reading's Magic's response to my comment my memory started working better. We met a Griffin named Gilbert before who was looking for his brother. In the first book in Yak territory.
And because of Gilbert Godfrey I made a connection between the two names and just assumed he must be the brother they are looking for.
Don't know if anyone has done this yet...
Not gonna check, just gonna do it.
Proba... DEFINITELY very late doing this...
Hmm...just something more I'll have to read up on to learn more about after I catch up here...
Hmm pirate?