The Ecstasy of Defeat

by AgentSnail

A modicum of normalcy

Eldon pulled a hat from a hook on the wall, putting it on his head. It sorta fit. "So, do they sell meat around here?"

Rose laughed. Of course that was the first question to come out of his mouth. "They've got some fish, which'll work just fine. We don't get a lot of red meat around here, but there's still some. I know a mare that orders it for her animals, so I'm sure we could get some higher quality beef or pig or something."

Eldon nodded, absentmindedly picking at a bandage. Everything was starting to flare up in pain again, but he didn't care to tell Rose. He could handle it for a while, especially if waiting could mean that he'd be too tired to leave the house for several more hours.

Rose pulled open the door out the front of her shop, holding the door steady for a moment as she turned to the griffin. "Oh and Eldon? Try not to attract too much attention, just in case, alright?"

"I'll try." He confirmed, watching Cato jump and flutter onto Rose's back. Maybe the kid would end up flying without any lessons. Rose opened the door and Eldon shielded his eyes, stepping out into the day. His eyes adjusted and they began to walk, immediate misgivings about his lack of painkillers starting to surface. Every move he made, he pulled at some stitch or another. It was impossible not to.

"Doing okay there?" Rose asked, catching on to his pained face. He tried to wipe the discomfort from his expression.

"Don't worry about me." He responded, speeding up a little. It almost felt like his skin was tied a little too tight. A pony seemed to move a little farther away from the limping griffin as he passed.

Pretty soon, ponies grew more populous as they neared the marketplace, but they still cleared a rather wide area around them. Eldon wasn't sure if he should feel relieved or annoyed. He could tell which of the two Rose thought, judging by her angry stares.

They stopped at a stall, and Eldon looked over the table at a spread of vegetables. Some sorts of lettuce, some in colors other than green. Maybe those weren't lettuce leaves anyway. Some carrots, little dwarf ones in small bags… Some red thing with a little root sticking out of the bottom.

"Anything specific I can get you, Roseluck?" The mare manning the booth asked, resting her head on a hoof.

"Just some more of the same." She replied, handing some bits over. Maybe those were just really red onions? No, they looked more like tiny potatoes.

"What about your friend?" The mare asked, but Roseluck shook her head.

"I'm not sure he'd know where to start." She replied, taking the sack of vegetables and sticking it inside her saddle bags.

"Wait, hold on." Eldon picked his words carefully. "What are all of these things?"

________________________________________________________

"You know, Eldon, you could've just asked me." Rose said with a sigh, watching the mare behind the stall converse with a different vendor, presumably over his. exotic questions…

"I thought it was a good question! I mean, it's not like I go around talking about things people say, spreading crap around like those two." He shot back, tripping and landing in a heap as he took a bad step. He was up before she could help, but it had definitely hurt. "And besides, we didn't have those things. I'm not sure why it has to draw attention when I ask."

"You're the only griffin around, Eldon. Everything you do will draw attention. You're just supposed to keep it to a minimum." Rose said, stopping at another stall.

"Ooh, is this cheese?" Eldon asked, pointing to a wheel.

"What can I do ya for?" The pony asked, tipping his hat a bit to one side.

"How'd you get it to be all these different colors?" The griffin asked, looking at a wheel from a different angle. "Is this even cheese?"

The clerk was taken aback. "Of course it's cheese, I made it myself!"

"But if there are only two types of cheese, some of these must be different things."

The vendor squinted, not comprehending. Rose facehoofed. "You'll have to excuse him, sir. He didn't have much where he used to live."

A bit of understanding passed across the pony's face, followed by a smile. "Right-O! So long as he isn't insulting my cheese wares… intentionally."

"Roseluck, this doesn't answer the fact that there are more than two products posing as cheese here." The stallion slid a cheese tasting tray across the table, the cubes inside slightly distorted by the plastic cover.

"Looks like your friend needs this." He said with a chuckle.

"But-" Rose started.

"Nonsense. It's on the house. Besides, if he takes a liking to my products, he'll come back for more. Then everyone wins."

"Glad you're frank about it, at least." The beige mare replied with a smirk, putting the sampler in her saddlebag. "Now, about what I came here for…"

_________________________________________________

"Ooh! A blacksmith!" Cato exclaimed. "Let's go look at the weapons!"

"I don't think that's the best…" Rose tried to interject, but the two were already running away. Well, limping at a slightly faster speed, in Eldon's case. Rose sighed and broke into a trot, a smile spreading across her face. Those two seemed way too energetic and excited all the time. She couldn't put into words how glad she was that they hadn't ended up depressed or otherwise damaged. Mentally, of course. Physically… not so much.

Maybe getting Eldon some sort of weapon wouldn't be a bad idea. He couldn't stay hidden forever, and if the griffins didn't decide to move on he had a far better chance with more than a knife. Rose got through the old door a few moments behind the griffins, looking around in the dim environment.

"Can I help any of you?" A pony asked, cleaning his glasses on a hoof. He looked like he was about a thousand years old. The Apple granny's soul mate, maybe. When no pony responded, he continued. "Tell ya what, I'll just give ya all the grand tour!" He got up slowly, walking around the counter and towards a wall of hanging weapons.

"If it's not too much trouble, of course." Rose affirmed, gathering with Eldon and Cato.

He laughed. "Number of customers we get looking for more than hardware? I need the exercise." He chuckled at his own joke, pointing a shaking hoof up the wall. "Now at the top, we've got our spears. Got a six foot to four foot range. If you're looking for something really long, we've got pikes in the back." He shifted down the wall. "Here, we've got a variety of bladed weapons. Starting from the top again, swords, machetes and knives."

Rose chanced a look at Eldon, who was staring open-mouthed at the weapons. Like a kid in a candy store, kinda. She giggled to herself.

"What about that one?" Eldon asked, pointing towards a massive hammer that was hanging next to the door. Probably not the smartest spot, Rose thought.

"Oh, we got some style in you, huh? Made that one myself, years ago. Not surprising nopony's bought it, considerin' the difficulty of holding that between two hooves. Looks like ya don't have that problem, though." He paused. "Go ahead, take it down and feel it."

Rose cringed as Eldon reared up, sure that he'd pulled on some stitches somewhere. He pulled the hammer from its hooks with one talon, dropping back to the ground in a sitting position. He turned it over, and the florist immediately realized how intimidating he became.

"How much for that?" She whispered to the pony, who had retreated back to behind the counter. She grabbed Cato as he tried to rush towards Eldon and held him to her side.

"How much for it?!" He asked back, and Rose face hoofed. She nodded, and he let out a laugh. "I'll see if I can't get ya a little discount." He spoke up. "Hey, griffin!" Eldon turned around.

"Me?"

"Course, the one with the hammer. See that door?" He asked, pointing to the one they'd come in through.

"Yeah…" Eldon replied, giving it a look just in case.

"Well, hit it! We've got a replacement, and I can't get my son to put it in because he says that this one works well enough or somethin'."

"Woah." Rose said quickly. "Look, he really shouldn't be doing too much in his condition, and-"

"Did I tell you the new price?" He asked, whispering it in her ear.

"Really?" He nodded. "Well, I dunno, he could pull at some stitches or open a wound, or-"

"Wait!" The old blacksmith yelled, opening up the door and sticking his head out. "Clear the road, 'less you wanna get hit!" He backed inside. "I think we're golden."

Eldon gripped the hammer tighter in his talons, enjoying the similarity to the feel of an old pick. He reared up, swinging it backwards before he shifted his hind legs along a step and swung.

"Eldon, wait!" Rose hadn't been sure what to expect. The explosion of wood chunks and hinges made her jaw drop.

"What was that?!" A younger pony darkened with soot yelled, galloping into the room. His jaw dropped similarly to her own, and they shared a brief glance. "Where's the door?"

"Somewhere across the street." The old pony responded. "And on this side of the street, and in the middle."

"Why?"

"Because we've got a new door." Rose handed him the remaining bits in her bag and moved to leave, aiming to avoid getting sucked into an argument. As luck would have it, they made it out without any further scrutiny. Other than the ponies that had seen a door blow into a million pieces from the hammer swing of a griffin that had been cut to shreds a few days ago, of course.

"You feeling alright, Eldon?" She asked, watching his limp for signs that it had worsened.

He looked tired, wincing slightly. "I could deal with a little bit of sleep. Didn't bust any stitches though." He replied, hobbling along on three legs with the hammer on his back.

"Sounds like a good idea." Rose replied, grinning as she transferred the weapon to her own back. She definitely couldn't deny how awesome that'd looked.

______________________________________________________________

"How long before he stops sleeping like crazy, Rose?" Cato asked, watching the botanist as she checked his stitches anyway. They seemed intact.

"I dunno, a few days to a week." She paused. "Help me roll him over." Cato nodded, bracing himself against Eldon as they struggled to push him. After a few moments gravity took charge, his arms and legs thumping into the hardwood floor a little harder than Rose would have liked. Somehow he remained asleep. She immediately began bandaging up the troublesome cut on his shoulder once again, hoping that it would close a little more.

Rose took a step back, admiring her handiwork. She walked away, grabbing something. Cato took a rectangular toy as Rose handed it to him. "What's this?" He asked.

"Well… Let me give you a slightly better answer on your earlier question" The mare paused, sighing. "It'll be at least a few days before he starts to return to a normal schedule, but I doubt he'll be that tired after tomorrow or so." She sat down next to the little griffin on the sofa, making him bounce. "And this is an etch-a-sketch. I didn't really have that much laying around that kids would like, but I figured you'd enjoy this."

"How come? It's not doing anything." Cato inquired, a bit of annoyance in his voice.

"Well, they were annoying to get to work with hooves. They made a newer one with pinwheel dial things, but I figure your dexterity will avoid the dial issue entirely. Essentially, if you turn them," she demonstrated, making a little line before her hoof slipped, "you get these lines."

Cato seemed much less annoyed. He immediately began twirling the dials this way and that, making a random glob of tangles. A moment later, he asked, "What if I want to get rid of this stuff?"

"Just shake it upside down." Rose replied, smiling that she'd found something he enjoyed.

"That's pretty cool!" He exclaimed, drawing a single new line before he erased it again.

Rose smiled down at the griffin, pushing herself from the couch. Cato would probably be focused on that for a little while, giving her enough time to at least figure out what to do with this giant hammer. She had nothing against giving Eldon a bit of defense, and the fact that the old blacksmith had brought the price down to basically free made it an obvious decision.

Actually, it looked pretty good. It fit Eldon's proportions, and considering the fact that he'd been mining stuff before, he probably had experience with heavy weapons like this. Not as weapons, but not much could change, right?

So then, she needed somewhere to put it, as well as a good way for Eldon to hold onto the hammer. Some sort of sheath but for hammers. That way, it would give him a bit more freedom and maybe even make some griffins have second thoughts. Eldon could probably retreat to a safe distance before they came back en masse.

They wouldn't kill ponies, probably. That would almost definitely mean war, and she was sure the Griffin Empire didn't want that. These guys were rogue, their leader filled with anger for one griffin that had been granted amnesty. Collateral damage didn't seem to be their thing, though she wasn't sure they'd care about offing Cato and her. Not that she could really be mad that she was a target. She'd probably be dead by now if Eldon hadn't shown up.

So, where to put this? It'd look nice mounted, rather than in some broom closet somewhere. That reminded her, she still had to make up her guest bedroom. And clean it. So the afternoon was lost, whatever. "Cato! Keep an eye on Eldon!"

"Sure thing!" The kid responded, and Rose started upstairs. It'd be nice to have her guest room filled for a change. This house was so much less lonely with those two around, and she was starting to have trouble imagining how her life would have been without them.

Rose laughed. And to think that her life would have changed due to one overzealous herb run.

_______________________________________________________

"Eldon, hey," Rose said softly, shaking the griffin's good shoulder. "Wake up."

He murmured something inaudible, stretching out slowly on the floor. He arched his back backwards, extending his arms above his head. His legs went in the opposite direction, some low pops sounding in the quiet air. He looked stiff as he pulled himself to his feet, and a moment later his wings slowly spread out, expanding into a wingspan that would put any pegasus to shame. As he folded them back to his sides, Rose noticed tangled and bent feathers messing up the otherwise well-patterned surface. If she hadn't known he'd had his wings clipped, she'd be hard pressed to find out now. The ends looked uneven and ragged, but it didn't seem crazy that he could fly as soon as his injuries healed.

Eldon let out a groan as he tried to reach his head back to preen, evidently aggravating some cut somewhere. He noticed her eyes on him and straightened up, presumably trying to make himself look tougher. It didn't really look like a great performance, especially given the fact that he seemed to have hurt himself trying to look tough.

"It's not out of the question to ask for help, you know." As if that made things simple. Well, maybe they were. Just because pegasi had a thing with their wings didn't mean griffins did.

"I figured you wouldn't have much experience with preening." Eldon replied, chuckling. He spread one of his wings, moving to lay on the couch so that it reached across the rest of the cushions. "But be my guest." Rose moved to sit, his wing retracting out of the way enough for Eldon to extend it back over her lap. The feathers flayed backwards at her, shaking slightly as his underused wing tried to keep its own weight steady. Rose supported the tip with a hoof, and the shaking stopped.

"So before I start…" She trailed off, taking a glance at Cato, who gave her a somewhat reassuring but tired thumbs up. "Also, wouldn't it be easier for Cato to do this, Eldon?"

"I usually preen his wings for him, because he's not that good at it yet."

"Isn't that something that comes naturally?" Rose asked. She figured the Pegasi weren't taught.

"Well, it's something you do after flying. So yeah, I guess he could do a fine job on himself. Probably couldn't carry that over to me though." He paused. "So anyway, the ideal practice with preening is to remove screwed up feathers and straighten the ones that are fine."

"So like this bent one then." Rose said, prying it up with a hoof. Eldon grimaced.

"Yeah, but don't push them away like that!" Rose let go, watching it return to its normal position. "You get a good grip, like with your teeth, and pull it out."

"Doesn't that hurt?" She asked, eyeing his feathers. He wasn't dirty, but the idea of a bath came to mind. She had to clean his wounds again at some point.

"A little, but at the same time it feels kinda nice. Like, after the bit of pain eases. Molting makes most of the ones I pluck get pretty itchy, so it's nice to have those gone as well." He jumped as she plucked the first feather with her teeth, watching her remove it from her mouth with a hoof. His wings were softer than she remembered.

"Like that?" She asked, handing him the feather.

"Yup." He replied. "Looks good."

"Feels better?"

"Dunno. It's one of about a million, so…"

"Yeah, I can see that. They didn't go to much of an effort to make you look nice in the hospital."

"They stitched me up at least." He replied, jumping as Rose pulled another feather.

"Yeah, barely." Rose replied. "Only reason they let me check you out's because I can do a few stitches if yours get messed up. By the way, how's the pain?"

"It's…" He trailed off. "It's not good, but it's better."

"Do you want any painkillers?" Rose asked, and he shook his head. That was good, considering the fact that they were sort of addictive. "Alright, but don't hesitate to ask, okay? It sucks to see you in pain." Eldon blushed, turning away. Rose managed to hold back a giggle that would've probably made his blush worse.

"So are we planning on doing anything else today?" The griffin asked after a few minutes of silence. Rose straightened a few feathers with a hoof, thinking.

"I dunno. I want to get something made so that you can carry that hammer around. I figure I can't just stick around all the time, and honestly, a hammer's way better defense than me."

"Don't sell yourself short." He replied. Hah. As if she'd done much of anything. "So where would we get a sling made?"

"Well, I figured we'd just go over to a tailor that I sort of know, and ask her. It's what she does and I'd pay her, so I don't think many problems can arise." Unless she was afraid of Eldon.

"Can we go now?" He asked. "I'm not tired right now, but the longer I'm up…"

"Yeah." Rose nodded. "I'll finish this up later." She said as she gently pushed his wing aside and stood up from the couch. "Just remind me to clean your wounds when we get back, alright?"

"Sure." Eldon replied, letting his talons hang off the couch. Rose wasn't really surprised that Eldon looked as bored as he was. She knew he wanted to fly, yet even in a place where freedom existed he was still constrained by injuries. Rose sighed, grabbing a couple of bandages and shoving them into a saddlebag. She grabbed an apple from her countertop, staring at it for a moment.

"Eldon, you eat apples?" She asked, and he nodded after a bit of thought. She tossed him the fruit, which ended up impaled on a claw as he moved to catch it. Those things had gotten sharp quickly.

"So this mare," he began, taking a huge chunk out of the apple. "She makes things for griffins?"

Roseluck laughed. "No, but I'm sure she can do a few measurements. Probably get something going out of polyester or leather or something. Hopefully she's not out of both. I could understand leather, I guess."

"Alright." Eldon said, following her to the door. "But really quickly, what's polyester?"

Author's Note:

It's been a long time. I can't say I wanted it to be that way. Sorry about the wait.

Comments

[VagueDrake]

Ah, a new chapter. Excellent.
It has been a long time indeed.

[Father Figure]

You did tell me you had something coming out soon, but what you didn't tell me is that it would include everyone's favourite griffin!

In all honesty though I really do enjoy your work, it's really nice to get such a different viewpoint in literature.

[Silentwoodfire]

It has been awhile, but everything fits where it should be still.

[NOLA_Paul]

Awww. This is so cute. Instant Like and Follow. Thanks for writing!