That was a good chapter goodluck with the next one.

11803724
Thank you.

Really finding the now three sided story interesting, at some point they’re going to colllide. Can’t wait. Meanwhile Celestia continues to get a little more unhinged every chapter.

11809199
That's great. I'm happy you enjoy it.

Hoo boy! Even though these details were hinted at in both Fólkvangr and PoP, this chapter really underscores how much The Harpy has used her privileged position to alter the cosmology of Equestria, while raising so many more questions!

Given the fact that She views every creature that isn't herself or a griffon to be a mere animal fit only to serve Her whims and the whims of her children, I can't say I'm surprised She'd carve out Her own separate afterlife and sneer down at the system the "lesser" beings are relegated to. But I do find myself wondering just what purpose the Stormy Aerie truly serves. As far as I can tell it doesn't actually allow griffons to retain their sense of self upon reincarnation beyond what any other creature is capable of, if Gilda's lack of memories (till the events of Fólkvangr) and Cadence's recounting of Daffodil's multiple lives are any indication. Is it really meant to act as a reserve of veteran warriors for the Harpy to call upon during the later stages of her war to conquer Equestria, in a similar vein to Odin and Valhalla? Is it merely a chance for the Harpy's children to swap tales and catch up before they move on? Or is there some other as yet unrevealed purpose?

Tying into that, I'm left wondering if the Harpy's pride and need to set her own children apart may be a double edged sword. Thanks to Celestia we know the souls of most beings will depart back the the Pool of Souls as soon as the creature dies. Yet this does not seem to be the case for griffons, or at least the griffons no longer running the "PonyOS". So what happens when they die but there are no other griffons around to perform their last rites? Sure, they might be able to make their way to the Stormy Aerie, but even then it sounds like there is significantly greater potential for griffon souls to be ensnared and twisted into all manner of undead abominations. At the very least I'd be interested to see if any of our protagonists come across any undead griffons outside of the Frozen North!

And finally we come back to The Harpy. In the past I had suspected She had no real concept of Harmony and the role it plays in shaping the world. But this chapter really helped drive this point home. She views both Herself and Her children as above the processes and cycles that make up the world, and while I could be wrong it seems to me that this simply does not mesh with what we've been shown of how Harmony works. Even if I meant it as a joke, I think the TF2 solder was right. If Harmony had wanted The Harpy to rule it would not have created Celestia! Too bad She doesn't seem like the type to ever accept there may be forces greater than herself in the world, and at the rate they're going I'm worried She and Celestia will do something so catastrophic not even a Black Sun can fully wipe away the damage!

So anyway, that comment certainly ballooned out of control. Either way I fully plan on checking out Collateral Damage now that I've gotten caught up with this story!

11843181
There will be a story about the griffon and their afterlife and how it all works and how it makes sense.

When they die and the ritual isn't done, the Harpy has no way of easily finding their soul. They will follow the usual path, all the way to the Pool of Souls. And again, the importance of the story about the griffon afterlife.

Harmony was a tool to her. She used the way it works to populate the world with prey for the griffons. Celestia and the others were made out of the despair the griffons caused on the ponies. They were never supposed to exist as far as the Harpy is concerned and Harmony doesn't 'plan', it just reacts towards balance.

11843282
I'll be very interested to see that!