Prince Blueblood: Master Ambassador

by Doug Graves

First published 31st of October, 2018

Prince Blueblood is sent as an ambassador to the Griffon Kingdom as his first diplomatic mission. Hopefully, it won't be his last.

Prince Blueblood, as anypony can tell you, is not terribly interested in the plight of those around him. So when Princess Celestia requests that he serve as Ambassador to the newly reformed Griffon Kingdom, he is more than a little surprised.

Much to his dismay, he finds that everypony has their price... and, hopefully, so does everygriffon.

1 Assignment

"But, Auntie," the petulant voice drones against the clop of hooves on polished marble, "Why do I have to learn about the Griffon Republic? Nopony ever goes there! And they hate us!" Prince Blueblood punctuates his statement with a shake of his head, his amber mane billowing out in his golden aura. The hairs twist, wrapping around themselves as they lay down, now securely braided against his neck.

"Because, Lunaris," Princess Celestia says, her patient voice explaining for the second time that hour, "It is no longer the Griffon Republic. It is now the Griffon Empire. Wait." Princess Celestia sighs, a hoof massaging the headache she knows will be coming. "That was the name before. They are the Griffon Kingdom now. The griffons that are coming into power are creating a whole new system of government, and it would behoove us to gain early allies with them, if only to influence their policies to be more favorable to ponies." Princess Celestia follows the white unicorn around another bend in the castle corridors, a body length behind her nephew.

The ambiance of the castle shifts as they continue descending, polished marble giving way to utilitarian stone and rough carved doorways. The two arrive at one of the lower level storerooms. Lunaris Blueblood scoffs, kicking at the tile as he opens the door to the armory, then inspecting his hoof for any scuff marks. "And why should I care? Once a race of uncouth barbarians, always a race of uncouth barbarians. I heard they ate the last pony who had the misfortune of venturing into their lands."

"Yes, while that may be true, it was several months ago, with the previous regime. In fact, it was the main catalyst, the reason that the coup happened." Princess Celestia sighs, standing just outside the door, "But the reason I have for choosing you is because, my dear nephew, I can think of nopony more suited to spread the fires of friendship with the Griffons than you." Princess Celestia's smile increases, the corners of her mouth drawing up. It is not a forced smile, merely one honed from hundreds of years of trying to convey exactly how hopeful she is that one of her friendship lessons, quite possibly the most important lessons a pony can learn, would be taken seriously. Not that it has worked in the past.

"You are joking." Lunaris states as he ignores her smile. Princess Celestia shakes her head as she stops in the hallway. Lunaris enters the armory first, a curt nod to the private on duty.

The gray earth pony mare stops doodling as the unicorn opens the door. She initially snaps to attention, a fast salute to the Prince. He undoes his bow tie as she relaxes; the Prince cares little for decorum when he is merely there to check out his rapiers. In fact, he is stripping out of the rest of his suit in front of her! Her eyes widen, drifting to the stallion's toned flanks as he practically struts past her. He is either uncaring about her leering stare or adoring the attention; it can be hard to tell which, given his general lack of reaction to the lower ranked mares. Or the noble mares, for that matter. The honed muscles underneath the pure white coat, thicker than many of the earth pony mares in the guard, the kind of muscles that one gets from years of training, and hours and hours of-

Private Aspide gasps, barely more than half a breath, as Princess Celestia rounds the corner. She scrambles back to attention, bringing her hoof to her head. The alicorn's voice and hooves never echo in the halls, and this trait makes it particularly difficult to keep tabs on the sole ruler of Equestria. Private Aspide repeats the salute, crisp and to the letter this time. Alas, the quarter second delay in Princess Celestia's nod of acknowledgement reveals all she has to say. The other guards had warned her to not relax when on duty, and here she is, caught staring at the royal flank in front of the Princess!

Princess Celestia implores from the entry, "Please, my nephew, at least consider it." He grunts in return, the soft 'schwing' of metal quickly withdrawn from a scabbard. The sound distracts the guard, the slight turn of her head to watch Prince Blueblood inspecting the golden one of his two rapiers. She gulps as she turns back to attention, realizing that, once again, Princess Celestia is watching her break protocol. Princess Celestia's eyes continue to stare at Aspide as the alicorn walks to the door, the sound of her hoofsteps vanishing as she leaves the room.

"Everything appears in order," the Prince flatly announces as he walks up to the desk. An impatient cough breaks the earth pony's concentration again, glancing over to the Prince. "Normally," he drawls, pulling the requisite form out himself, a quill levitating to the air, "One salutes the Princess and goes back to do whatever it is they are supposed to be doing."

"O- Of course, your Highness," Aspide stammers, glancing at the completed form sliding in front of her. She grabs her stamp, everything in order, and files the paper away, brushing past her earlier doodles. Which may or may not have been of a certain stallion...

"Sadly, I am not 'Your Highness'," Prince Blueblood says with a heavy sigh, "And never will be. Private Aspide." His hoof taps impatiently against the floor, a metronome counting the seconds he is forced to wait.

"Um, Prince Blueblood." She stares up at the unicorn, his gaze boring into her, the steady tap of his hoof unrelenting.

His throat clears as he stares back, his cold tone finally uttering, "Is this your first day? Am I cleared to leave or not?"

Private Aspide nods furiously, "Ye- Yes, ma'am, have a good day!"

"Unlikely." Prince Blueblood strides out of the armory, the long canvas bag along his side containing his two enchanted rapiers. He quickly walks out, unerringly traveling the winding corridors. Suits of armor, stained glass windows, and decorative trinkets pass by without a glance until he pauses at one of the windows, a quiet inhale as he hears her voice outside in the courtyard.

"Sunshine, Sunshine, Ladybugs Awake! Clap your Hooves and Do a little Shake!"

The courtyard, like all courtyards located inside Canterlot Castle, is overflowing with life. The entire area is verdant, despite the winter chill. Tall green grass and trees still with their full complement of leaves, a few flowers peeking out from the branches. A brown path cuts through the grass, though no coat would ever get dirty from walking along the enchanted trail. A bubbling fountain in the center, the crystal clear waters continually churning through the statue of Clover the Clever.

He peers from his vantage point, and there she is. The newly ascended Princess Cadance, the Joyful Princess, the Princess of Love. Her beautiful mane, chromatic like Auntie's, yet colors all her own. Engaging in some sort of game with one of the more promising applicants to Celestia's private school. A smile slowly grows on his muzzle as he watches the two play, scampering back and forth in the fields. He could watch her for hours.

His mind quickly glowers; and that is all he will ever do. Nopony has been a consort to a Princess in three hundred years. He starts to pull away, but cannot. There she is, such a perfect example of a pony. Smart; one might say brilliant in her studies, and not just of magic. Joyful, which almost goes without saying. Kind and loving to everypony around her. Always willing to sacrifice, no matter the cost to herself. She would never break her word, and her words are always true.

His smile, which has grown more and more forced while he watches the Princess, finally turns to a frown. He huffs as he departs from the window, an unhappy growl growing in his chest when he notices a flash of movement from the courtyard. He stops, looking back; Princess Cadance is waving to him, a wide smile as she tries to catch his attention. His smile, genuine this time, spreads across his muzzle as he waves back, a slight shake of his mane that always catches a mare's attention, though the effect is somewhat ruined by the braid.

Princess Cadance giggles as she watches him from across the courtyard, the two staring at each other for several long seconds before a splash pulls her away. Young Master Sparkle is playing in the fountain again. Princess Cadance sighs, a regretful smile and reluctant wave at the Prince as she goes to collect her charge, the young mare merely trying to inspect the statue from just a little closer than everypony else does.

Prince Blueblood stares for a few seconds longer before he withdraws from the window, another shake of his head. There she is, beautiful as the morning dawn, and yet as unattainable as the same. There would be no mornings in her warm embrace, no late nights spent staring at the stars and his namesake together, and no fifty third removed relatives of Auntie Celestia. Not with her.

The Prince's demeanor grows as cold as the enchanted steel strapped to his side as he makes his way to the training ground. The two guards on duty salute, Prince Blueblood returning a brief nod in acknowledgement as they return to parade rest. His golden aura, befitting any nobility and matching the compass on his flank, surrounds his pure white horn. His gold hilted rapier, Gilded Graze, slides out of its sheath. The bag, containing his second rapier, rests against the outer wall to the arena as he spots his sparring partner, the one pony who he could go all out on and not worry about injuring. Well, besides Auntie Celestia, of course.

Corporal Shining Armor is meditating, his horn alight. He is resting all four hooves on a single pink shield and levitating three inches off the ground. The shield slowly shifts, breaking into four pieces, each under one of his hooves. He stands, dropping to the ground as each section winks out, one at a time. He stretches, a crack from his neck as he bends one way, then another. His front legs drop to the ground, then his hind legs, finally saying as he completes his stretches, "Good morning, Lunaris."

Lunaris Blueblood's horn shines, his rapier slipping back and forth, a complicated dance through all three axes of revolution. "Is it?"

"Well, it is a beautiful day to go for a walk, and Twily enjoyed getting to spend some more time with her big brother," Shining Armor says with a grin, two pink forms bursting into being next to him. They widen and flatten, a six pointed star emblem appearing in the center of the pink kite shield, a perfect match for his cutie mark. "Practicing offense or defense?"

"Defense today, starting with horn." Lunaris begins stretching his hooves, a few quick lunges from side to side. He glances up, seeing three regally clad mares watching the two from a nearby window. He grins at them, a brief wink before he turns back to Shining Armor, his muzzle turning hard. He hates having to keep up appearances, muttering to himself, "Sycophants," and then in a louder voice at Shining Armor, "Ready."

"Ugh, I hate playing offense. Are you okay with me using shields for this?" At Lunaris' nod one of the pink shields rushes forward, attempting to clobber his right side. The rapier lashes out, parrying the shield as the second shield attacks his head. A fast slash between the two cuts the second shield in half, both pieces falling to the ground. Lunaris turns his attention back to the first shield, only to grunt in pain as the two halves reform and slam into his chest.

Lunaris staggers, trying to catch his breath, waving a hoof as Shining Armor starts to walk over. He grunts out, "I hate that move, by the way. No other unicorn can manipulate his shields so precisely as to feign them being destroyed."

"And here I thought you'd be used to seeing it by now," Shining Armor smirks. He pauses, a glance over to the canvas bag leaning against the wall, one hoof unconsciously coming to his head and rubbing his horn, "Now, you aren't going to use Ward Pierce to even it up, are you?"

"I would think it quite unsporting to use in a sparring match," Lunaris says, getting back to his hooves. "I believe you cursed me out the first and only time I used it." He beckons with his rapier, taking a ready position.

Shining Armor rolls his eyes, "Yes, and Princess Celestia did not care for the language at all. Said it was very unbecoming of a Sergeant." The two pink shields move forward again, the rapier again parrying the shields, though they stay intact this time.

"Is that why she busted you down to Corporal? I thought it was because you tricked Master Sparkle into turning her cakes into potted plants." The rapier pierces through one shield, dragging it into the other one. Both shields burst into a shower of pink sparks, reforming next to Shining Armor.

"What? She's always telling Twily to eat all her greens. I merely prompted my sister to return the favor." Shining Armor chuckles, "Well, that might have had been the manticore's share of the why. Yes, the language was the rest." Shining Armor returns to the offensive, a different pattern of attacks as the shields flank Lunaris, twirling to opposite sides. The rapier seems to hesitate, trying to decide which shield to defend from as they both rush forward. The rapier blocks the shield going for his head, the second shield slapping Lunaris's flank with a loud 'thwack' and knocking the Prince to the ground. Shining Armor pauses, "Are you doing all right? You seem a bit distracted, normally I don't get two hits out of three."

Lunaris utters a curse under his breath as he gets up, bouncing up and down on his sore flank. "Yes, well, I do believe I am feeling a little under the weather. Do you mind taking a break? Come back in thirty minutes? I think I will practice hoof then."

"Very well, Lunaris. I do hope you feel better." Shining Armor nods to Lunaris, the aura around his horn disappearing as he walks off.

Prince Blueblood looks up to the three mares tittering in the window. He flashes a brief smile as his retrieval bag teleports to his side. The golden rapier joins its cobalt hilted sister, the Prince glowering now that his muzzle is out of their view. Nothing more than good for nothing aspiring nobles, interested in him for nothing more than his position. Or maybe his chiseled flank. Lunaris sighs; not like Princess Cadance. She cares nothing for titles, she would be a devoted and faithful partner, she-

Lunaris rounds the next corner, his hooves skidding to a stop as he spots Princess Celestia waiting for him. Or at least waiting in the corridor for something. He brusquely nods his head to her, "Auntie."

Princess Celestia's voice lilts as she returns the nod, "Nephew. Have you thought more on my offer?"

"I'm sorry, Auntie Celestia, but ambassador to the Griffons?" Prince Blueblood grimaces, his lips turning up in disgust, "I do not feel it would be a good fit for me at all."

"Have you so little faith in my understanding of my little ponies?" Princess Celestia asks, one eye raising. "I didn't think you of all my subjects would have lost confidence in your Sun so quickly."

Prince Blueblood sighs, a downcast look as he shakes his head from side to side. "No, Auntie, I am sorry. You know your little ponies as well as you know your Sun. I just... I just cannot see myself going there. The sights, the sounds. The smells. I cannot stand the food that Gustave makes you whenever you are interested in trying some more authentic. What will it be like when they aren't making something 'ponified' just for you?"

Princess Celestia sighs, taking a single step towards her nephew. "Is there nothing that can be done, nothing to convince you that this will work for the best?"

"Well, n..."

Before Prince Blueblood can finish his thought, his mind turns to earlier that day. He gets a far off look in his eyes, his brain playing images of Princess Cadance dancing. But not with Master Sparkle; instead, a cohort of their own foals, frolicking around in the castle courtyard. Perhaps a young Solaris, the pure white filly dancing around her pink dam. He grins; perhaps even falling in the same fountain. Or, if he is less fortunate, a junior Lunaris, the colt wrestling with his younger siblings. He closes his eyes, dispelling the image, a heavy sigh before he almost starts talking again.

"I have seen the way you look at her," Princess Celestia calmly states. She is no longer staring at Prince Blueblood, her body turned towards the courtyard Princess Cadance had been playing in. "She is exceptional, is she not?"

"And more." Prince Blueblood grunts, a pained look in his eyes, "But, alas, s-"

"One date."

Prince Blueblood looks up, confusion plain on his muzzle. "Excuse me?"

"I will arrange one date between you and Princess Cadance." Princess Celestia nods, her pleasant smile belying her calculated request, "But, in return, you must do this assignment. No, more than that, you must become the pony that everypony would expect a Princess to court. No more gallivanting off into the night, picking fights with the street gangs and testing one horn against five. No skipping out on attending the balls and celebrations and ceremonies. You must embrace your position as befitting a noble family, and, more importantly, your potential position as The Prince."

"Prince?" the unicorn scoffs, looking up at Princess Celestia. "But I already am prince."

"You are a prince, nephew, yes. But you are not The Prince."

"The Prince?" he asks, a few seconds before understanding dawns across his muzzle. "You mean... The Prince?"

"Yes. The likes of which Equestria has never seen."

Prince Lunaris Blueblood stares at the ground for several seconds before his eyes, hungry with desire, look up at Princess Celestia. "I'll do it. What do you require of me?"

"For your first task, I will send you the dossiers of all the nobles who will be in attendance at tonight's garden ball. You will find out one item about each of them that is not covered in those dossiers, and without any of them suspecting you have an ulterior motive."

Lunaris stares blankly for a few seconds before he grimaces, "I may need to cancel my spar with Shining Armor."

2 Ballroom

"For your second task, you will need an occupation. You are no longer a colt, or even a student, living off of your dam's earnings. It should be something relatively high ranking, but without a lot of lengthy barriers to get to the top. After all, you will need to ascend the ranks quickly should things work out between the two of you. Unless, of course, you want to continue as ambassador to the Griffons."

"Of course."

"The last is not so much a task as a restriction. You are a virgin, yes?"

"...Yes."

"And you will remain such until Princess Cadance declines to date you further, or when she makes the decision with you. Understood?"

"Yes."

"As well, I will be assigning you one guard to take with you on your travels, to help with paperwork, carrying supplies, the like."

"You mean I cannot take Shining Armor with me?"

"No. And you will be responsible for this guard, and I expect her to be returned in one piece. Along with yourself. Any questions?"

"No, Your Highness. Good day, Auntie."

"Pleasant day, Nephew."

The conversation Prince Blueblood had with Princess Celestia continues to echo in his head, doing its best to displace the minor facts and trivial details he is supposed to be memorizing. And, much to his mirth and chagrin, succeeding. He interrupts Shining Armor, "Okay, okay, I get it, she was married to whats-his-name's uncle." Lunaris pulls his head out of his closet, buttoning up the black suit around his neck.

Shining Armor glances back at the dossier, flipping the page over. "Unfortunately, no, that's not the case." A small pink shield forms, lightly smacking Lunaris over the head. Lunaris winces, rubbing the spot as Shining Armor continues with a sigh and exasperated expression, "Look, I know it's boring, but we need to figure out something that will keep you interested enough in these aristocrats to actually learn something from them. It can't be that hard, right? There's only, what, two pages of information on each."

"Yes," Lunaris groans, his voice starting to whine, "but if I delve any deeper then they'll probably tell me a lot more than one thing. And, worse, they'll expect me to remember all of it the next time we meet. And I'll have to ask some inane question as to how their, I don't care, collection of priceless Ruby Roads memorabilia is progressing, and they'll answer, and then I'll be expected to remember that the next time." Lunaris adjusts his suit again, beaming a smile at himself in the mirror before giving a disgusted look at the necessity.

"But that's the point, right? To find something else that they find interesting. And to get them talking about it without suspecting why you are really there. Why are you really there, by the way?" Armor drops the thick folder down on the dresser, pulling out a blue ribbon from one of the drawers.

Lunaris levitates the ribbon, quickly tying the bow tie around his neck. "Assignment from Princess Celestia," he curtly replies, his tone conveying there would be no more discussion on the details.

"Wow, actually completing a friendship lesson from her?" Shining Armor stares at Lunaris. His guard armor clinks as he starts to walk around the unicorn, inspecting him from every angle. "You feel okay?"

"I'm feeling fine. So, what else can I talk to them about?"

"Well, so, you could ask them about their fillies."

"Ugh," Lunaris moans, his eyes closing and hiding their rolling as his head points at the ceiling. "Then they might think that I'm interested in said filly, especially if she is available. And they'll try to set me up with said hypothetical filly. Nothing against her, but I don't she's the right fit."

"Why not? You've got a lot going on over there, once you get past the steel-clad defense." Lunaris shakes his head, flinching as a bit bounces off of his flank and back into Shining Armor's magical grasp. Lunaris glares back, the blue maned unicorn winking back at him.

"Oh, please, don't tell me you are interested in a date as well." Lunaris shakes his head at Shining Armor's goofy grin, rolling his eyes, "There has got to be something else I can ask them about. Something that isn't interested in me, interesting to them, or interesting at all."

"Okay, okay, you got me. Maybe we can get back to that." Shining Armor adjusts his guard armor, smoothing out the padding underneath, "What about the jobs? I've never heard of you applying to a job before. Are you sure you know how it's done?" Shining Armor motions to his Corporal badge, "I had to apply to get into the Royal Guard, you know. Maybe my application got expedited because of my sister being such a promising candidate to join Celestia's School. Did you hear, by the way? She just passed her application test last week! I'm so excited for her! I'm hoping she takes the opportunity to really branch out, you know, meet a couple of students in her class and learn from them. Not just the books she always has her muzzle stuck in."

"And here I thought we were thinking of how to help me get a job, not the hypothetical dreams your sister might have."

"Okay, fine. Maybe I got into the guard because of my caliber of my shield spells. It's been basically my dream, after all, and I get to live it." Shining Armor moves over, looking Lunaris up and down and flicking a speck of dust off his suit. "What is your dream?"

"Besides being the foremost duelist in Equestria?" Lunaris shakes his head as he examines his rapiers, debating whether or not to take them to the ball. "Nothing comes to mind."

Shining Armor snickers, "I'm sorry, but I don't think you are ever dethroning Princess Celestia for that title."

"Ugh, don't remind me. I think the only reason I won my semifinals the last tournament was because First Step didn't want to be humiliated by her again. She just wanted me to feel what it was like to be completely trounced by Princess Celestia. Especially with Auntie only participating in one bout a year."

"Yeah, the way your eyes just rolled back the first match? I mean, I knew she was strong, but come on, at least give you a sporting chance!"

Lunaris glares, "I thought I said I didn't want to talk about it!" He stamps a hoof on the floor, a loud snort as he slams his closet door shut, the last of his wardrobe tightening around his chest. "Some things never change! Now, back to the job. Or the nobles. Something besides my gracious defeat to the Princess herself."

"You sat there with tears in your eyes." At Lunaris' eye twitch Shining Armor laughs, "Okay, yes, it was because it how beautiful your defeat was." He holds a hoof to his chin, pausing for a second, "Well, what if you asked the nobles about something that doesn't change?"

Lunaris laughs derisively, "Like what?" He chuckles to himself as he rapidly flicks his hooves back and forth in front of his chest, flexing his shoulders, "The size of their, how would you say, huge... tracts of lands?"

"Um, sure." Shining Armor levitates the folder back up, looking at the page, then flipping to another one. "It doesn't look like that's in here."

"Oh, come on, you..." Lunaris trails off, a wide smiling coming to his muzzle. "I know how to solve both problems at the same time."

"Really? How?" Shining Armor fixes Lunaris with a curious expression, the folder falling back to the dresser as he double checks his guard armor.

Lunaris moves to the door, opening it for the two of them. "You know Horizon Orb?"

"The old pony, works for the map office? Why?" Shining Armor knocks a hoof against the crystal set in the center of his chest, the enchantments on the armor activating. His coat shimmers, becoming a slightly duller white. His mane loses the cobalt and cyan highlights, turning to a two-tone medium and light blue all the guards shared while on duty.

Prince Blueblood nods his head, a gleam in his eyes, "Not just old, due to retire soon. And, he doesn't just work in the map office, he's the Chief Cartographer of all of Equestria! I could use this upcoming event as a project to show my interest and aptitude for his position. It'll keep me outdoors, away from these," he nears spits as he sneers, "nobles as much as possible. Plenty of free time to practice."

"Okay, and how does this help with the ball tonight?" Shining Armor levitates his spear over while Lunaris does the same with his rapiers, securing the canvas bag to his flank.

"Don't you see? I ask the nobles about their estates, their holdings, their lands! I'll learn their acreage, how large their homes are. All boring statistics that everypony knows but has no interest in talking about! And, because I need to keep the real reason for collecting this information a secret, getting the job as cartographer gives me the perfect cover." Lunaris grins to himself, "And the job, when I get it, will be perfect! No having to grovel before a committee of nobles, begging for my funding to be increased. I just have to avoid budget cuts and I'll be set!"

Shining Armor nods, "That does sound like a perfect fit, you never having to interact with another pony again."

"Yes, well," Lunaris grunts at Shining Armor, "I need to go talk to Horizon. If I don't see you at the party, thank you for your help, and good night."

"Good night, Lunaris." Shining Armor and Lunaris part ways, Shining Armor to his guard assignment for the night and Lunaris to find Horizon before he shows up more than fashionably late to the party. Good thing the old coot stays up late at the office, and should be easily persuaded.

3 Consolation

"Excuse me?" Princess Cadance says as she unties the blue ribbon in her mane, hanging it along the top of the mirror. "I don't quite think I heard you right. You want me to go on a date with your nephew?" Her mane flows down around her neck, the purple, pink, and golden strands mixing with each other as they fall. She glances up at her adoptive aunt, the white alicorn towering above her.

Princess Celestia nods from the doorway, a pleasant smile on her face. "Yes, Cadance. That is what I said." Her mane quickens its flow back and forth by a third, the frequency increasing with every time the question has been asked. She steps further into the room, admiring the decorations that Cadance has added to make the room her own. Small pictures on the walls, an obviously foal-drawn picture in crayon of a pink alicorn and purple unicorn standing together in a green field. A much better rendition of the same landscape follows, this time in colored pencil.

"Are you sure? We are talking about the same pony, correct? Tall. White coat. Golden aura. Blue and gold cutie mark. Built like a train?" The ribbon along Cadance's tail comes undone next, a quick shake back and forth folding the ribbon into a tight ball. She shakes her tail, a relaxed sigh as the hairs splay around her back.

Celestia nods, her eyes lighting up as the conversation finally progresses. Her eyes continue to trace along the room, noticing a similar drawing, the quality again in crayon, of a blue and gold compass star. "Yes, and unless my eyes deceive me, you have a bit of a crush on him as well."

"As well?" Cadance turns, a smirk on her muzzle, "And here I thought he cared nothing for any noble, given how little time and effort he puts towards fitting in around here. I heard he prefers those bouncer mares down at the salt licks. Faust knows how many it takes to satisfy him." Cadance titters as she moves into her closet, hiding her grin. He is interested in her! She can feel her tail flick to the side of its own account, her mind flicking it back the other way for good measure. So many of the stallions had shown the tiniest hint of interest, but all had held off. Whether it is Celestia's doing or just them waiting for the mare to make the first move, she doesn't know. Or it could just be them being polite, much like how she innocently flirts with everypony.

The stomp of a hoof comes from outside the closet, "Cadance! I would be insulted on his behalf, if I did not know the number already."

Cadance's head peeks out from behind the door, a scandalized look at her elder. "What? Princess! And you expect me to go on a... a date with this pony?" She disappears again, the sounds of a hoof frustratedly tapping against the floor outside the closet. She couldn't see the Prince actually doing that, but it is certainly fun to tease her elder whenever she can get away with it.

"It isn't like that and you know it," Celestia eventually says, the white alicorn feeling her mane wave back and forth even faster, her eyes closing as she takes a deep breath. She moves up to the closet door, not yet poking her head inside. Celestia's voice tries to sound convincing, "I have it on good authority that he has eyes only for you."

"Oh, come now, he and every other eligible stallion in this castle. And quite a few of the ones already in a herd, judging by the way their looks linger." Cadance struts out of her closet, her mane and tail completely undone. She is running two brushes through the long hairs, separating the pink, gold, and purple strands into their individual colors as she moves up to the mirror. She admires her visage before a towel levitates, wiping the makeup from her eyes and muzzle. "It's not like I'm desperate for the attention."

"Oh? Is there another pony you are interested in?" Celestia asks, a frown rapidly developing. "I hadn't considered that; I am sorry, Cady, I assumed-"

Cadance shakes her head, interrupting Celestia, "None have caught my eye, not yet. Besides, what makes you think that I should be interested in him?" The towel drops down, replaced by a few skin and hair products. Not that she really needed it, but old habits as a pegasus died hard. "Sure, he flirts back, but doesn't everypony? Even you and your occasional... oh, I don't think 'slip of the tongue' is correct, knowing you, but your casual remarks?"

Celestia sighs, lounging on the bed. The four posted monstrosity barely sags under her weight, the lacy curtains pulled aside. Celestia kneads her hooves into the soft mattress, watching as Cadance prepares for using the same. "Not in the same way, not in the way that I sometimes wish would happen, and yet I know it will not work for me. But for you, there might be hope. And this one means it. He is devoted to the things he cares about, Cadance, and you are one of them. He is willing to go to the ends of Equus for you. But, like many of the stallions you are talking about, he has put you on a pedestal." Celestia sighs, "Much like what has happened with me, though I may have cultivated that image intentionally, to my occasional consternation. I suppose it has rubbed off on how they see you. That you are unapproachable."

Cadance closes her eyes, one brush pausing its motion. She sighs, the long sigh of a competitor who can foresee their impending defeat before the game is done. "You truly think it can work between us? And I do mean, you think it will work between us? I know it has never worked for you in the past." She looks over, a hard look as she watches Celestia's reaction. It softens as she sees the suffering in Celestia's eyes, still visible despite hundreds of years of grieving and acceptance.

Celestia briefly closes her eyes, a long breath out as she thinks back to the past lovers she has had. Cadance knows of them, of course; there is no sense in hiding her past attempts and failures from another who is, unfortunately, likely to face the same. Of the struggles Celestia had gone through. The early lovers she had, and the devastation of their failed attempts to conceive. The later ones, and never making the attempt for fear of the same happening. But, perhaps, with Cadance, things might be different. "I truly hope that, my dear niece. That, as you say, it will work between you."

Cadance briefly smiles, "Well, I suppose that I am the Princess of Love. Perhaps it will be different. But," she glares at Celestia, "I thought I was the Princess of Love here." She turns back to the mirror, a shake of her mane as the brushes run through her hair. She haughtily looks upwards, again relishing Celestia's annoyed huff.

"I am not forcing you to fall in love with him. I am merely requesting that you go on one date with him." Celestia grimaces, glad Cadance's eyes are looking away as she feels her mane speed up yet again. She forces a smile to her muzzle, a glare at her recalcitrant mane failing to quell the rapid motion. "Won't you at least consider it?"

"One date?" Cadance, her mane now ensconced in curlers, stands, staring at the white alicorn already in her bed. The two stare at each other for a few seconds before Cadance sighs, "You aren't moving until I say yes to this, are you?"

"Well, I do have to raise the sun in the morning. But I think my absence from Night Court would be noticed before that." Celestia smiles at Cadance, the two at eye level with each other.

Cadance looks to one side and then the other, the much larger alicorn effectively taking up the entirety of the bed. Her hoof is even resting on her favorite pillow, such that Cadance cannot just take it and lay on the floor with any modicum of comfort. "And when is this hypothetical date to take place? I hope it is not tomorrow, I have a busy schedule ahead of me."

"Oh? Foal sitting young Sparkle again? I didn't think her sire was that busy. And, isn't she old enough now to no longer need a foal sitter?"

"Yes, well, Night Light is off with Velvet at some scientific gathering. You would think the astronomers are busy during the night, instead of the day, but apparently they try to maintain at least the appearance of a normal life when the other disciplines are involved. Plus, it isn't really foal sitting, just one of the last times I get to see her! After all, she is leaving for your school, then who knows what kind of mischief she'll get into before we meet again."

Celestia stretches out, her hooves sticking off the end of the opulent bed. "Well, then, I expect you would like to get a good nights sleep if you have such an important day tomorrow." She rolls to her side, squirming against the silk sheets. They rumple up against the white alicorn's heavy weight, the bed occasionally creaking as it slides back and forth, a thump against the wall. Celestia smirks at the thump, rhythmically repeating the motion with a growing smile on her muzzle.

Cadance rolls her eyes, managing to tug one of her pillows out from under Celestia as the alicorn shifts around. The pillow flies up, smooshing against Celestia's muzzle with the lack of a satisfying boop. Maybe she should have gone for one of the firmer ones.

Celestia grins as she gets to her hooves, hopping off the bed. "I take it that is a yes? He will likely be getting back from his assignment in two weeks or so. Plenty of time to reconsider."

"Fine, 'Tia, I'll do it." Cadance sighs, finally returning a smile as Celestia walks to the doorway. "Good night, Celestia."

Celestia smiles at the pink alicorn, pausing at the door. "Good night, Cadance," she gives a long wink, "Pleasant dreams." Celestia starts walking out of the room, a firm pillow levitating over and smacking the white flank with a satisfying *thwack*

4 Delinquent

Private Aspide stands outside the open door, nervously shifting from hoof to hoof. The fact that she has been doing this for the last five minutes, with no change one way or the other, does not bode well for her mental health. Or her physical health, if her encounter with Princess Celestia has anything to say about it.

Her latest encounter, she mutters to herself, her head unhappily shaking from side to side. While it certainly isn't uncommon for a guard to see the Celestial Ruler walking through the halls, at functions, or sitting in her throne room, it is much rarer for any of them to have a personal interaction with the Princess when on duty. Or for the Princess herself to have to reprimand a guard for being out of line. Even if the only indication is a mere glance and the reproving narrowing of her eyes.

Or for the Princess to personally give an assignment out, practically breaking and entering into the Prince's room.

Private Aspide doesn't know if Princess Celestia had been the one to go to her superior initially, but the Sergeant had been far too pleased to hand her a folder containing her new assignment. "All I can say is that I was asked if you were able to be released from your normal assignments for a month. That includes your bunk, so don't even think of crawling back here. Now, what did you do to make the Prince choose you? Huh?" When Aspide couldn't answer the Sergeant she continued, "Well, it better not come back to me, you hear? And it better not have been from you slacking off again!"

The folder is still sitting there, unopened against her side. Safely secured in her kit bag, all packed and ready to go. Thankfully not alongside a whole months worth of provisions. The quartermaster had just grunted at her when she showed up, and hoofed her a bulging pair of saddlebags, complete with field uniforms that hopefully fit her lithe frame. She grimaces; that would be the worst part, wouldn't it? A month long assignment with clothes that don't fit. So much easier to go naked, but that isn't an option when working as a representative of Celestia's Royal Guard. At least she won't have to lug her armor around.

Well, might as well make sure the uniform fits.

Aspide walks into the Prince's room, pulling the door shut behind her. Smaller than she thought a Prince's chambers would be. Spartan, even. Just a single bed, crammed into the corner. Not some four posted monstrosity, wavy curtains surrounding a luxurious mattress. Instead, what would have doubled as a guard bunk. She tests the mattress, frowning at the complete lack of give. And just as hard too, a thin sheet above and no trace of a pillow. Not even the indentation in the mattress that there ever was a pillow. It seems barely more than an afterthought, like it doesn't get used for anything other a painful reminder of the necessity of sleep. Kind of like those chairs she sometimes has to pull out for the foreign dignitaries Princess Celestia doesn't like. Or maybe it's just a Saddle Arabian thing.

One of the walls has a few odd sections carved into it, a metal bar bolted into the wall near the ceiling. A dresser dominates the other side, but only because of the small dimensions of the room. A full length mirror, a few garments left hanging on top. Likely choices from whatever function Prince Blueblood was attending that night. Or, possibly, the maids despise him and refuse to come in here. Or he hates the maids and doesn't trust them to not snoop around his room. She glances back to the closed door as her hoof slides a drawer open, eyes sparkling as she uncovers the secrets held inside.

She frowns. Neck ties. Blue ribbons. Cravats. It's like he has some sort of neck fetish. Enchanted flowers to pin on a lapel. The rest of the drawers are empty. Empty! Aspide shakes her head; even she, a lowly guard, has more clothes than this! Weren't stallions supposed to be, like, obsessed about this sort of thing? Hmm, maybe he's more like some of the less pretentious noble stallions, like that Three Piece Suit and his colt. She's seen them wear the same outfit, and on more than one occasion. She pulls the drawers fully open, inspecting for some sort of hidden compartment, but the one she finds is empty as well. Also really dusty. Maybe he should get a maid in here.

She goes to the closet; maybe he is hiding something in there? But no; instead, it is just four of the exact same suit. She shakes her head as she inspects a little closer. Not a duplication. The stitching and cut are slightly different on each. Still, why would somepony need four of the same suit? Five, assuming he is wearing one now to whatever function he is attending.

Whatever. Her type of stallion, then, one that didn't care about clothes. Well, time to make sure her own uniform fits. Her mind drifts to Princess Celestia's question, before the alicorn had opened the door to Prince Blueblood's room.

"Is everything in order?"

Her quick answer, trying to keep the sneer out of her voice. "I have my assignment right here, Princess," as she held up the folder, quickly dropped back into her kit bag.

"Good. Any questions?"

"None at the moment. Princess."

"Private Aspide." With that, the Princess had walked off, the slow clop of her hoofsteps loud until she turned the corner, the noise then disappearing completely. She had lazily saluted at the Princess' retreating form, rolled her eyes at the lack of response.

Out of the kit bag comes three colors of shirts, one each of light blue, medium, and gold. She runs a hoof over the gold shirts, frowning a little at the lack of actual gold thread. Well, she is just a private after all. She's more surprised the Prince doesn't have real gold shirts. Although, the medium blue does match his cutie mark. And, technically, so does the gold. She pauses, glowering at herself; of course she remembers that. She's certainly been staring at his flank for long enough.

Aspide shakes her head as she pulls the medium blue shirt around her barrel, then struggles to button the front up. These Tartarus forsaken dress shirts, always made with a unicorn in mind! Or a pegasus; they at least could bend a wing to the center of their chest easily enough to try to slip the buttons through the small slits. Not like the trial she has to go through. Carefully balancing on two legs, propping her head up against the wall in order to maneuver her front two hooves together. Her balance is good enough, but she gives up halfway though, the top two buttons undone. Whatever, it'll make it easier to come off.

Aspide moves to the mirror, briefly admiring her trim figure in the blue shirt practically hanging off of her. At least it complements her natural gray coloring, allowing her to blend in to a crowd, not looking too ostentatious. At least not in Canterlot. Who knows how much the uniform will make her stand out, should they be going to one of the border towns.

Actually, she really should figure out what these orders are. She reaches into her kit bag, withdrawing the folder her Sergeant had given her.

'Dear Private Aspide,

You and Prince Lunaris Blueblood will be traveling to the Griffon Kingdom. Before you go, there are a number of lessons the two of you will need to complete, in order to better familiarize yourselves with Griffon culture. You will be going through these lessons together and traveling together.

You will be traveling as his assistant; completing paperwork, purchasing goods, carrying supplies. You will fill any role he has for you. And I expect you to bring him back in one piece.

This assignment is completely voluntary. If you object to going, please let me or your superior know as soon as you can. It will be dangerous, and I cannot guarantee your safety. But, it is an important assignment, one I have faith you will be able to accomplish.

Princess Celestia'

Aspide grins to herself; his name is Lunaris? No wonder he goes by Prince Blueblood all the time; who would want to be named after the the moon? Must be a noble thing. Or a unicorn thing; of all the tribes, they certainly drift to the occult the most frequently.

Also, the Griffon Kingdom? Aspide's eyes go wide, rummaging through her kit bag. She pulls out a few bags of toiletries, a heavy scarf, a thick knit hat, before pulling out a small booklet. She flips through the first few pages, glancing over the notes about griffons until she comes to a map of Griffonstone. She huffs, the lack of detail more frustrating than anything. It's like somepony just flew over the area from five thousand feet and sketched what they saw. And there seems to be no rhyme or reason to the building placement! Just, wherever there happens to be a solid bit of rock, well, there is a house. And no labels on the map, either.

The next page contains what she is looking for, a map of the entirety of the Griffon Kingdom.

Before she can delve into the contents of the map, a voice mutters as the door swings open, "Those two muzzled, good for nothing toadies! I cannot-"

Aspide startles back, her hind leg bumping into the base of the bed. Her other leg tries to catch her balance but hits the same spot, the mare dropping to her rump and sitting on the bed in a very exposed position.

Prince Blueblood strides into his room, his rant abruptly stopping as he takes a brief look at the scantily clad mare on his bed. He sighs, "Whatever it is you are doing, whoever put you up to this, you can forget it. Get out of my room." He walks up to his dresser, eyes pointedly looking away from her as his neck tie comes undone.

Aspide blushes as she rolls to the side, stammering as she says, "I'm sorry, um, Prince Blueblood. But, I was told-"

Prince Blueblood holds up a hoof, silencing her explanation. "I don't want to hear it. Please leave."

"Okay, okay, Lunaris, I'm going." Aspide starts walking to the door, stopping after two steps, "But, I was ordered to get in touch with you. About our upcoming assignment."

"And you thought the best way to go about that was to dress as a common whorse and... display yourself on the bed?" Prince Blueblood raises an eyebrow, turning to stare at her. "Did Princess Celestia put you up to this?"

"No!" Private Aspide angrily yells; she pauses for a split second at the unicorn's skeptical look, huffing at his unwavering stare. "Well, sort of." Aspide rolls her eyes as Lunaris' eyebrows narrow, "Yes, she gave me this assignment. But she didn't tell me to do, um, that." Aspide holds up the letter from the Princess, "She says I'm, um, assigned to you on your, actually, our trip to the Griffon Kingdom."

"And?" Prince Blueblood's horn lights, his dress jacket unbuttoning as he turns back to the dresser. He lays the neck tie next to the others while the jacket levitates to the closet, a short glance to the mare still between him and his bed.

"Well, she kind of let me into your room. And left me here."

"And did she give you, I don't know, a reason for this?"

"Well, we'll have some lessons to complete. Together. I think? I certainly don't want to go to the Griffon Kingdom without extra training. And we'll be going through the training together." Aspide smiles, "And, um, we'll be spending a lot of nights together. Camping, I mean."

"Obviously, since there isn't a pony settlement east of Trottingham. And the Griffons themselves are hardly likely to grasp the concept of a bed, much less have two available."

"Okay, well, if what you are saying is true, then we'll be bunking together. A lot. Why not, um, get the awkwardness out of the way now?"

Lunaris raises an eyebrow, glancing between the door and the mare stilll between him and his bed. "I can think of a few reasons. Don't you have somewhere else you could be? Such as, I don't know, anyplace else?"

Aspide sighs, "Um, not really. I don't have anywhere else to stay right now. I mean, I could leave the castle and get a hotel. Or ask Princess Celestia about a guest room." She walks up to the wall, resting her head against it and struggling to unbutton the shirt. A sigh from behind surprises her, and she sees a golden aura surround the buttons, quickly undoing them. She smiles at Lunaris as she strips off the shirt, packing the various items back into her bag.

Lunaris stares as he watches the gray mare, "Right, yes, I suppose you could. But, before you run off and go do that, why did you think that here would have been the best place for you to spend the night? Aren't you afraid about what will the other guards will say?"

Aspide snorts, "They'll probably think I lost a bet and was forced to spend the night with the least popular noble in Canterlot."

"I wasn't talking about how they would see you." Lunaris' disdain dissipates slightly as he sighs regretfully at her statement, "But, good for you, I suppose. Now, it is late; like you said, if I know Auntie then she has something planned for us first thing in the morning."

"Okay!" Aspide says, beaming a smile. She walks up to the side of the bed, "So, you don't mind sleeping on the floor, do you?"

Lunaris snorts, "I will be sleeping on my bed, thank you. I don't care where you sleep."

"Works for me," Aspide says with a smirk, cuddling up in the middle of the bed. She can feel Lunaris' stare smolder into her, a smile creeping over her muzzle before she feels her body slip to the side. Her eyes narrow as Lunaris yanks the sheet from underneath her. He folds the sheet in half, placing it between the two as he roughly shoves himself onto the bed and her into the wall. His horn goes out, the room cast into darkness as he tucks his hooves underneath him.

"Good night, Your Highness," Aspide taunts, a slight frown at the silence that follows. She sighs, settling down onto the bed. Not enough space to be comfortable, at least without pushing into his thick frame. Well, she's not going to give in that easily. She relaxes, her body resting against his, neither budging as she settles into the snug position.

5 Expectations

Waking up the next morning is far less uncomfortable than Lunaris would have wanted, given the situation. He finds his side pressing against Aspide, the sheet that started between them kicked off and pushed away at some point during the night. He lays there, listening to her steady breathing, noticing for the first time that the room could get a bit chilly.

Well, it is winter, after all. Lunaris shifts to the side, exiting the disturbingly warm bed. He stretches his forelegs, bending down to the ground before placing his hooves into the insets and ascending the wall. He begins his morning workout by hooking his forelegs over the bar and repeatedly pulling himself up.

Aspide wakes up, groaning at the sudden burst of cold against her side. She looks up, her sleepy mind trying to process the pony exercising in front of her. "Um?" she softly stammers to herself as she stares; at least Lunaris is facing away from her in his very indecent pose. Her eyes trace the muscles in his forelegs, contracting over and over; she can practically see the lines bulging against his coat. Lunaris turns his head to glance at her, grunting what might have passed for a greeting from anypony else. He drops down, orienting his body to face Aspide. His hind legs use the same insets in the stone, helping him back up the wall to a foreleg stand position. He begins doing push ups, Aspide again thankful that his body is in the way. She asks, with slightly more bite than she intended, "So, what are those for?"

"The exercises? Do they not teach you weapon training in the guard?" Lunaris grunts out between breaths, his muzzle beginning to turn red.

"Hey, I'm proficient with the spear!" Aspide retorts, the snide remark instantly waking her up. She scoffs as she hops off the bed, "I'm better with a short sword and shield, but they want conformity in the guard, not skill."

"Then you might be familiar with what muscles you use," Lunaris says, a bit of bite in his tone as he drops down. He shakes his forelegs, climbing back up the wall and starting another set of pull ups. "They both require at least a modest amount of strength to best an opponent."

"Well, sure, but you aren't hoofwrestling, or hitting something with a giant club. With those kind of muscles you're more likely to break your spear on theirs than to overpower them." Aspide moves over to the mirror, admiring her lean figure, "Plus, I prefer dodging to blocking any day."

"You must be using the wrong spears then. Only a practice spear would break under such pressure." Lunaris pulls his body up, his hind hooves on the ceiling in order to stare at her. "I am assuming that you have used a real spear, of course." Aspide's mouth opens as Lunaris cuts her off, "At least in a spar, not just holding it."

Aspide's mouth closes, huffing as she turns to the door. "Maybe not a spear that wasn't blunted, but I've sparred with sword and board many a time." She smirks, "I bet I could give you a run for your bits."

"I'm sorry, I don't take money from foals," Lunaris jeers, crossing his hind legs over the bar and doing sit ups from his inverted position.

"I don't need to take this," Aspide glares, opening the door. "If I'm going to be your partner, you need to treat me with respect."

Lunaris sighs, grabbing onto the bar with his forelegs before dropping to the ground. "Would you prefer I use the term amateur instead? Or how about novice?"

"No." Aspide walks out of the door as Lunaris levitates a towel, quickly drying off the building sweat. He canters after her, the two heading to the mess hall. "What I want is for you to eat those words of yours after I best you in a sparring match."

"After breakfast, then? Or would you prefer to save the salt for your morning meal?" Lunaris smirks as Aspide turns and shakes her hoof at him before bursting into the mess hall.

Rows and rows of tables are arranged in the middle of the room, several stations with various breakfast food and drink on the sides. Two groups of four of the morning guard are sitting on one side, with one group of the night guard eating what is effectively their dinner. One stallion stands by the stations, perking up as the two storm into the room. Aspide goes up to the first station, piling on wheat bread and greens, not caring what ends up on her plate.

"Ahem. Private Aspide?" the guard says, interrupting her frenzied gathering. Aspide glares at the stallion as he says, "I was told to warn you, that you might not want to eat anything just yet, to wait until after your first lesson."

"Oh? What, I can't eat here now that I'm on assignment? Move over." Aspide steps to the side, intentionally pushing into the guard and knocking him out of the way as she goes to the next station.

The guard shakes his head as he backs off, "No, it was the chef's recommendation. He said it would help avoid any... unfortunate associations."

"Yeah, right. I'm hungry, now move." Aspide grabs a glass of apple juice and a glass of milk, everything precariously balanced with one hoof.

"Just out of curiosity, what lesson is that?" Lunaris asks as he levitates a plate over, loading it with spiced oatmeal and salad.

The guard motions with a hoof, "I wasn't told exactly what you will be doing, but you are going through that hallway, third door on the left."

Lunaris grunts as he follows the guard's hoof, "That's the Griffon section." He glances at his plate, and then at Aspide. He says to her, his voice uncharacteristically subdued, "We may want to hold off on eating."

Aspide grits her teeth, walking over to a table and dropping her plate onto it. It clatters around, bits of food bouncing off as she whirls past the guard. "Fine. What are we going to do?"

Lunaris shudders as he walks down the rough hallway, wishing he had something to plug his nose against the inevitable assault on his senses, "I don't know, and I think not knowing is for the best."

"Oh?" Aspide taunts, hurrying up to walk beside Lunaris, "It can't be that bad, can it? Cold hooves already?"

The two come to a door, the first of several warning signs saying 'Warning! Griffon Kitchen!' with a note scrawled in ink underneath, 'Griffons Only!'

Lunaris pushes the door open, ignoring the other signs. The kitchen inside seems fairly standard, with pantries, ovens, and various cabinets stocked with utensils. A large metal preparation table dominates the center of the room, long inset channels along the edge that lead to empty buckets. The ammonia liberally applied to the room singes their eyes, small tears forming in the corners as they squint around at the occupants. Two griffons are bustling around; the one wearing a white chef's hat is dragging a writhing bag from a back door while the other, clad in a stained brown apron against his black feathers, is laying out long knives and cleavers.

The two ponies pause at the sight of the non-standard cooking implements and the bag, still moving after the griffon drops it down. The griffon in back twirls his long mustache, and while his beak doesn't change a vicious smirk can be seen in his eyes. He laughs, "Oh hon hon! Ze fresh meat iz here!"

"Vell? Vat are sie vaiten for? Infitation?" The nearly unintelligible Germane accent comes from the griffon in front; he narrows his eyes, pointing the cleaver he is sharpening to the sink. "Vashen sie die hooves, den wir begin!"

"Um?" Aspide stammers as the two ponies move to the sink. They cautiously glance at each other as the back griffon leaves the room, the loud 'schhinn' of a long knife being sharpened echoing against the clop of their hooves.

"Mein name ist Gerald, or der Grinder." Gerald motions with one talon, "Mein colleague Gustave le Grand; he focus on der backink und such."

"A pleasure," Lunaris says, though his dry tone tells that it is anything but. "I am Prince Lunaris Blueblood, and this is Private Aspide." Gerald stares at the two as he sets one sharp knife to the table, another taking its place in his talons. Lunaris sighs as his horn lights to turn the tap.

Gerald shouts, "NEIN!" at the flash of light, the harsh twang of metal hitting metal as he smacks the back end of the knife onto the table. Lunaris turns, his body readying for a fight as he glares at the griffon. Gerald's mocking tone grates on their ears, "Sie denk dis ist cute job? Vell, griffon do. Nicht. Cook. Mit. Magik." He punctuates each word with a brutal slice of the knife away from him, slamming it down and picking up another. "Ven sie go zu Griffon Kingdom, dey vill not care for dein magik. Dey vill not care for dein precious sensibilities. Dey vill enjoy mack sie squirm, mack sie gag, mack sie knees veek from glance at cruel vays."

"Fine. I get it," Lunaris rolls his eyes, "no magic." Lunaris sighs, turning the tap with his hoof. The two wash their hooves, their elbows resting on the counter, the spray of the water loud against the industrial sink.

"Sie vant to be... ambassador, ja?" Lunaris nods, Gerald muttering to himself. "Vell, den, sie need goot name for position." He taps the knife against his beak a few times before saying, "Wir callen sie die Ambador."

Lunaris raises an eyebrow, "Like, a matador? Is that a popular sport for griffons?"

Gerald laughs, "Ja, vir kan say dat."

When they drop back down from the sink Gerald slams the butt end of the knife onto the counter again as he shouts, "NEIN!" The ponies turn, their hooves contacting the floor with a loud 'clop'. He points the knife at the sink, "Vashen sie again! Eaten sie off der floor? Nein! Hoof never touch der floor!"

"This is ridiculous!" Lunaris says as he hops back up to the sink, his hoof turning the water back on. "You're walking along the floor on your hooves, why can't we?"

"Dis ist mein koocken, sie vill do as I say! Seckond, das vord ist 'talon', mein ignorant freund! Am I on mein talons?" Gerald motions to his upright posture, "Nein! I am not. And vile sie might eat shtraight from plate, or dein fancy magic, vir nicht eaten das meat here. Vee are preparen das special food for der griffons in Canterlot, and vee vouldn't vant dem to get sick, now vould vir?"

Lunaris sighs, awkwardly balancing on two legs as walks to the table with the knifes. Aspide has much less trouble with the upright posture, practically dancing around Lunaris as he glowers. She gleefully taunts, "Aww, sad I'm finally better at you at something? Can't rely on your fancy magic now, can you?"

Gerald bellows, "Silence!", cutting off Lunaris' retort. Gustave reenters the room with a second bag over his shoulder, bringing it next to Gerald. Gustave goes back to the counter, pulling out flour and other ingredients. Gerald quickly undoes the rope binding the bag shut, reaching one talon in and plucking out a live chicken. "How much sie know about chickens?"

"Um, they lay eggs? That we use for baking?" Aspide says, her eyes growing wide as she watches Gerald. "You... you aren't..."

"Correct, aber incorrect." Gerald lays the chicken onto the table as Gustave starts mixing the ingredients for a large number of pies. Gerald lifts the cleaver, "Das ist nicht die chicken only use, nicht for griffons."

"No!" Aspide yells, wildly looking between the other three in the room. "Stop!"

The cleaver comes down regardless, cleanly severing the chicken's head from the body. Aspide's hooves drop to the floor, tears streaming from her eyes as she barrels away from the bloody scene. She bangs into one of the tables, pots and pans clattering to the floor. She struggles with the door, pushing and banging on it with her hooves. She quickly realizes her mistake, yanking the door open and escaping out of the room.

Lunaris stares at the headless chicken, his hooves barely keeping him up as his knees go weak. Gerald lays the chicken so the blood continues to drain down the channel and into the bucket. Lunaris gulps; this is what they are going to face out there? How barbaric!

Gustave laughs, "Some ponies, non?" He walks over to the two, watching Lunaris for any change in demeanor. Seeing none, he elbows Gerald, "You zink zis pony can zurvive in ze Griffon Kingdom? I zink not! Sacre blanc, 'e can barely look at a griffon, much lez be ze ambassador."

Gerald laughs along with him, "Ja? Sie givt up already, ja?"

That breaks Lunaris out of his stupor, stomping a hoof against the floor as he says, "I'm not giving up! I will be the ambassador to the griffons!" He internally grimaces as he steels himself; is this why Princess Celestia chose him? Because, as Prince, he would need to be able to compose himself, to not become squeamish when faced with the prospect of death? Of war? All to spare her other little ponies the knowledge of the atrocities committed by the other races? Or merely how their 'cultures' differ?

Gerald's laughter quiets down, "Oh? Vas dis merely dein zuerst time seeing death? First time?" At Lunaris' hesitant nod his laugh returns, "Vell, sie train vith deine rapiers efery day. Vat did sie expect happen ven somepony gets hurt? Nicht efery opponent ist as clean as von of dein freund's shields." He pulls the next chicken out of the bag, "Dein turn."

Lunaris shakes his head as he says, "This is what griffons go through? Every day?" Lunaris grimly takes the offered cleaver, shuddering as he inspects the business end. Not as sharp as his golden rapier, but good enough to get the job done.

"Vee aren't lookt for dein pity, if dat's vat sie askink," replies Gerald. "Do I need to hold das chicken, or ist sie big colt?"

"I'll do it," Lunaris barely grunts, the rooster squawking in alarm as he notices his deceased kin. One hoof holds the struggling chicken down, the other raising the cleaver, coming down on the chicken's neck.

However, the cut isn't as clean as Gerald's - the point end of the cleaver comes down onto the table too early. The blade merely bites into the chicken's neck, failing to sever it. Gerald cruelly laughs as the chicken's writhing sprays blood everywhere, "Finishen die job! Schnell!"

Lunaris wrestles the chicken back into place, groaning at the blood staining into his coat. The cleaver comes down a second time, hitting a different spot but severing the head.

Gerald pats Lunaris on the back with a talon, "Das ist nicht so bad. Sie did vell, for zuerst time." Lunaris blankly nods as Gerald points to the bag, "Now, getten sie next chicken." At Lunaris' hesitation Gerald laughs, "Sie givt up already?" Lunaris glares at him as Gerald continues, "Dey all going same vay, ja? Ein sie pick zuerst, is barmherzigkeit, mercy."

Lunaris grimaces, one hoof going into the bag and pulling out the next chicken.

Hours later, Aspide spots Lunaris in one of the courtyards. He is gazing at the statue of Clover the Clever, his front hooves resting, partly dipped into the cold, clear waters. She walks up, laying down next to him and softly saying, "Hey, um, I'm sorry for running out on you like that."

Lunaris stares at the water as it churns about, only the slight change in his breath a sign that he heard her.

Aspide sighs, "And, I can understand if you want to find somepony else to go with you."

Lunaris blinks, one hoof starting to swirl the water around.

Aspide stands, turning to leave.

"No."

Aspide glances back; Lunaris is shaking his head, an almost pleading look on his muzzle.

"Please don't go."

Aspide moves back, laying next to him. She can feel him flinch as her side presses against his. He slowly relaxes, a choked sob as she quietly asks, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Three dozen. Three dozen thinking, living beings. Am I just to pretend that they don't have any feelings? That their lives can be disregarded like their entrails, their feelings broken down like their bodies?" He shudders, "Or that they are merely being used for some greater purpose?"

Aspide lays silently against him, pushing her side against his.

Lunaris sighs, his head dropping down. "Thank you for being here for me. And, no, I don't think I would want anypony else on this journey."

Aspide grunts in reply, her head pushing into the nook under his neck. The two rest there for some time, Lunaris continuing to stare at the churning water.

6 Fleece

Aspide looks up from the two saddlebags she is finishing packing as the door glows gold. It yanks open, Lunaris storming into the room as he strips off his suit and tie. The door to his closet opens just as quickly, a scowling Lunaris stomping over to the entrance. He carefully folds and hangs the suit in his closet, glaring at his reflection in the mirror on his dresser. His tie finds its way into one of the drawers with the others as Lunaris sighs, his body still tense.

"Something bothering you?" Aspide asks, only a hint of derision in her voice. She grins at Lunaris' glare, hopping off the bed and grabbing the two packed bags.

"Ugh, these last two days have quite possibly been the worst! So much standing around and talking! I hate being indoors, and even those supposed Garden Parties are rife with inactivity! They should hardly be considered outside, with how carefully controlled everything is! These royal legs are meant for so much more than that!"

Aspide rolls her eyes, "Yeah, tell me that once we hike all the way up to Griffonstone. Why didn't Princess Celestia send a pair of pegasi? They could zip up there, deliver the ultimatum, or whatever it is we're supposed to be doing, and escape with their hooves intact."

Lunaris levitates over his canvas bag, strapping it to his side. "You'll have to take it up with her, I would think. You went through the same lectures I did, about the Griffon's lack of subtlety, how much they detest any sort of pretension. Perhaps she thought that pegasi would become too combative with the griffons. They are natural... well, enemies is perhaps too strong, but certainly competitors. What the griffons lack in magic they certainly make up for with strength and fierceness."

Aspide groans as she lifts both saddlebags to her back, looking like an overburdened mule. "Yeah, I suppose. Instead, she sends two land bound targets. Much better."

"Well, we aren't exactly defenseless, but I suppose we must hope the griffons don't attack en masse. You aren't bringing a crossbow, are you?"

Aspide grunts as they walk through the halls, "With all the camping gear and supplies I'm carting around? I should think not. I trained as a corpsmare for my specialty, not an archer."

Lunaris looks over the packed bags, almost marveling at how much Aspide is carrying without too much protestation. "I would have told you to leave it, save some weight. Not like a single archer would do much, even against a solitary griffon." He opens the door, holding it open for Aspide.

"Oh, and you're going to be so much better? Your cutie mark isn't combat related, either."

"My cutie mark is cartography related, and yet I hold my own against ponies whose cutie mark is combat focused. Besides, we are going there as diplomats and ambassadors. If Princess Celestia was worried for our safety, I'm sure she would be sending a wing of pegasi with us."

"Yeah, I don't know about you, but her assignment to me wasn't nearly that encouraging. Bring you back in one piece and all."

"Funny, she said the same thing to me."

The two reach the outer gates of the castle, stepping out into the evening light. Many of the streetlights are lit, bathing everything in a warm glow. The two barely step hoof outside the castle when two light green unicorns stride up to them, each wearing a hat and blue outfit. Lunaris and Aspide trade glances, continuing to walk towards the train station.

"Excuse me, good sir?" the first unicorn stallion says, walking next to Lunaris.

"Indeed, it is a fine day, is it not?" says his nearly identical twin brother, one hoof twirling his red mustache.

"Yes?" says Lunaris, glancing again at Aspide. She merely shrugs in return, the four now walking the long distance through the city to the train station.

The first unicorn says, "It has come to our attention,"

The second one picks up, as if they have rehearsed this spiel many a time, "That you are looking to better relationships with the Griffons!"

"Quite the noble cause!"

"A very noble cause, indeed!"

"A more noble cause certainly would be difficult to find, would it not?"

Lunaris groans internally; these two are harder to keep track of than Armor's shields. "What do you want?"

The second stallion nods his head with a smile, "Ah, cutting straight to the chase!"

The first one returns with a smirk of his own, "I like the cut of this stallion's jib!"

"You see, my brother and I,"

"I and my brother, we're known throughout the land of Equestria for our novel inventions!"

"And innovations! Why, you've probably used one of them today!"

Lunaris sighs, "I doubt that."

"Really?" One of the unicorns motions down, "Are you not traveling on these fine cobblestone walkways?"

Lunaris deadpans, "Built hundreds of years ago?"

"Why, a stallion who knows his history!"

"And not bad looking, either!"

One stallion pops up behind Aspide, saying, "You, Madame, are quite the lucky mare!" as she startles back.

The other one joins her on the other side with a wink, "To be traveling with a stallion of such caliber!" prompting a nervous look from the mare.

Aspide stammers, trying to focus on which unicorn is talking to her, "Um, it's not like that, I..."

The mustache-less one breaks in, "As I was saying, my good friends, my brother and I,"

"I and my brother, we are looking to expand our little operation."

"It is all well and good to be known throughout the land of Equestria! But, it doesn't have quite the ring to it, wouldn't you agree?"

"No it does not, dear brother of mine!"

"But, known throughout the world!"

"The world famous!"

"Flim!"

"Flam!"

"Brothers!"

The two unicorns beam at Lunaris and Aspide, posing with their hooves outstretched and holding their hats. Lunaris makes an exaggerated show of looking at his foreleg, "Well, it only took one minute to hear your names."

Flim smiles, "Once again, cutting straight to the chase!"

Flam nods, an even larger smile on his muzzle, "If he's this quick with his mouth, I would hate to see how well he uses those rapiers at his side!"

"Indeed, not the kind of pony I would want to tangle with!"

"But, alas, it won't be ponies you'll be tangling with!"

"Indeed, brother of mine. What can be done about this?"

"It is a conundrum, of the greatest proportions!"

"Fortunately, you have the greatest entrepreneurs to grace the lands of Equestria at your service!"

Lunaris raises an eyebrow, pointedly looking beyond the two unicorns as if searching for somepony.

Flim continues unabated, "You see, it is common knowledge that Griffons are, in fact, part bird."

Flam nods, "A solid fact that they are, in fact, half eagle!"

"And what is one thing that all birds love?"

"Why, my dear brother, would that be shiny things?"

"It is indeed! And what thing is shinier than all others?"

"Why, that would be the lovely image of our dear ruler," he elbows Lunaris in the barrel, "and your aunt, Princess Celestia!"

The two unicorns turn to Canterlot Castle, a brief salute towards the highest balcony.

They turn back; Lunaris and Aspide are walking along the road without them.

Flim rushes up to catch them and continues without missing a beat, "And, where would one find such an image?"

Flam strokes his mustache, "And a shiny one at that?"

"Why, look no further than our own currency!"

"The coveted Equestrian bit!" They both hold up a single golden bit, flipping them to each other.

Flim holds up the bit he just caught, slowly rotating it, "Now, most ponies know that the bit is made of gold."

Flam rolls the bit down his foreleg, it disappearing as it rolls into his mane, "And while gold might be common in Equestria,"

"Thanks, of course, to our industrious earth ponies,"

"Many of the other races have a dearth of such precious metals."

"The notable exception being the Diamond Dogs."

The two unicorns turn to the south, scowling.

They turn back, again hustling to keep up, Flim saying, "But, the Griffons are to the east!"

"And, as is common knowledge, birds are notoriously bad miners!"

"Same with lions!"

"Thus, the griffons have all of the makings of a tremendously exploitable economy!"

"Exploitable?" whispers Flim, pulling his brother aside.

"Gullible?" Flam whispers back.

"Untapped!" they exclaim in unison, nodding their heads.

They turn back to the Lunaris and Aspide, "There are three things, of course, that one needs for such a burgeoning economy!"

"First, but certainly not least!"

They say together, "Change!"

Flam leads with his best carnival barker voice, "And you better believe the griffons are going through a lot of change."

"And not just with the change in leadership!"

"No, but also the winds of change! Being part bird,"

"Half eagle!" Flim helpfully reminds them.

"They will have a keen sense on how the wind is blowing!"

"It's necessary for their every day lives!"

Flam thunders, "And you, my friend, will be a catalyst of that change!"

Flim responds just as loud, "By introducing the Equestrian bit as their new unit of currency!"

"And, of course, we will need to supply enough bits to cover this initial foray!"

Flim grudgingly says off to the side, "Provided by the Canterlot Treasury as part of an outreach program to the Griffons."

Flam pipes up even louder, "And that leads to the second quality!"

They say in unison, "Demand!"

"And you better believe there will be demand!"

"Once you enter the Griffon Kingdom, there will be many demands!"

"Demands of you!"

"From you!"

"And of us!"

"And once they see the bits you have, they will demand them from you, too!"

"And what better way to quench that demand than by exchanging those bits for their goods and services?"

"Why, it's the foundation of civilization!"

"Monetary Policy!"

"And it makes the world go round!"

The two pause for a split second; Lunaris and Aspide seem to be paying attention, if only because the unrelenting assault on their ears leaves little room for recourse.

Flim pokes a hoof at the saddlebags on Aspide's back, "Now, you two seem like the kind of travelers that prefer to travel light!"

"A very useful quality when venturing abroad!"

"And so, we have procured these custom saddlebags for you!"

"Guaranteed to last for the duration of your journey!"

"Provided, of course, your journey lasts no more than five to nine days."

"And as professionals with the highest of standards,"

"Indeed, no shysters here!"

"We wish to be up front about the risks to our operation."

"And we are, of course, including you in our operation."

"But, we should warn you, if you do spend more time than that, be sure to empty those saddlebags."

"Give the bits away for all we care!"

"Because nothing is more important to us than recouping our initial investment."

"But be sure to distribute those brochures as well!"

Lunaris blinks, looking at the saddlebags Flim is holding in his magic. "Brochures?"

"I'm so glad you asked!" Flam says, Lunaris groaning as they near the train station.

Lunaris interrupts Flam, "Look, I was... happy to listen to your... spiel while we were walking. It certainly kept all the other ponies away from us. But, we need to board this train. So-"

"Is it time already?"

Flam gasps, "It is! Well, wonder no more!"

"You see, we want you to take these bits," Flim levitates over two sets of saddlebags, stuffed to the gills, "generously provided to us from the Canterlot Treasury as part of a block grant on Griffon relation improvement. We will in turn subcontract to you; your job is to distribute the bits to griffons in the Griffon Kingdom, in exchange for a trade agreement between the Equestria, specifically Flim Flam Brothers Shipping if at all possible, and the Griffon Kingdom."

"Oh? Is that right?" Lunaris asks, levitating his canvas bag to the train attendant for inspection.

"Well, the terms are negotiable, of course, but any investment involves a certain amount of risk, does it not?"

"And you, sir, have the look of a fine investment!"

The inspector asks, "Sir, is this a class two retrieval bag?"

"Yes, the license is sewn into the top flap." Lunaris says off hoof, still watching the two unicorns.

The inspector nods, hoofing the bag back to Lunaris, it strapping itself against his side once more.

Flim pops back up next to Lunaris, "There would be no risk on your part, I assure you!"

"Indeed! All you need to do is convince the griffons in charge to use Flim Flam Brothers Shipping, and our subcontractors, as the intermediaries of choice!"

"Sure. Whatever." Lunaris' eyes go wide as the saddlebags levitate towards himself. He shakes his head as they get close, the direction changing to the earth pony mare. Aspide groans as the bags drop onto her. She staggers into the train, practically falling over as she drops her cargo onto one of the unoccupied seats.

"It's for Equestria~!" the two sing, their best smiles directed at Lunaris.

He groans, massaging his forehead with a hoof for several moments. He sighs, motioning with a hoof for them to come closer.

"All the legal mumbo jumbo is located in the saddlebags, but we do need you to sign this one form at this time." Flam looks eagerly as a quill levitates to Lunaris.

A gold aura grips it, Lunaris quickly reading through the legalese. "This says that I am on the hook for the total bits you are sending if I fail to convincingly present your case to the griffons. Convincingly?" Lunaris raises his eyebrows, "That doesn't sound like no risk to me. It sounds like if I fail, I have to pay you back everything."

Flim and Flam break away, the quill hurriedly writing on a set of cards. They quickly return, "Okay, good sir, scratch out convincingly. We just require you to make the presentation, of course."

"But, these cards should help you with making the case! And, we should warn you, reading them in their entirety is required. I hope that isn't too much?"

Lunaris reads through the cards, then the contract again. "These are advertisements."

"A keen eye! Just, intersperse them with whatever presentation you are giving for Princess Celestia, and I'm sure things will go fine!"

"Indeed. Does Princess Celestia know about this?"

"Why, she practically signed the paperwork herself!"

"To be perfectly transparent, her assistant Raven did. But Princess Celestia was in the room. Very industrious unicorn, she is! Practically in two places at once!"

"Fine." Lunaris signs the contract, the two unicorns beaming smiles at him. He boards the nearly deserted train, sitting next to Aspide.

Aspide groans, rolling her back and trying to stretch out her muscles, "I'm telling you right now, you're helping me carry some of this when we hike to Griffonstone." She lays down on the bench, uncomfortably shifting around as her muscles ache.

"I'm sorry, but Princes of Canterlot don't carry their own luggage. That's what servants are for."

"Excuse me? Do I look like a servant to you?" Aspide snaps, glaring at Lunaris, her eyes narrowing further at his half smile. "I thought I was a member of the royal guard, not your pack mule." She motions to the saddlebags Flim and Flam gave them, "And that's nearly two hundred pounds of bits in there. I can barely stagger around with it and the rest of the gear, much less hike for two days."

"So, we rent a wagon."

"Have you even looked at the map? How we get to the road, that we have to sail to? And there isn't exactly a port to stop at. We land on the beach, hike to the road that takes us south. Until we get to the mountain itself. And I don't know how good that cutie mark of yours is, but you can read a map, right? What do you see here? No road. We might get lucky and have a trail or something and not sheer cliffs. I hope that cutie mark of yours is good for something once we're there, because I don't see how we're going to get all the way up there. Especially with a wagon."

"Yes, I've seen the map. I probably know it better than you." Lunaris motions at his cutie mark, "It isn't that steep, but maybe we'll have difficulty traversing the forest, or some of the rocky areas. So we hire a porter or two."

Aspide rolls her eyes as the train begins moving, their carriage on the red eye train ride otherwise empty, "Yeah, let me tell you how that will go. 'Wanna go to the Griffon Kingdom? Oh, those murderous bird brains? No thanks!'" She shakes her head, "No, you're just going to have to help carry some of this. Or I can lighten the load a little bit."

"Just don't throw away the water. Celestia knows if we'll be able to find a clean source there."

"Yeah, sure," Aspide says, a suppressed groan as she pushes to her hooves. She utters a soft, "Oww," as she rubs her back, grimacing. She shakes her head, trying to restore her neutral expression and sort through the saddlebags, figuring out what they can unpack and leave behind.

She grunts as a hoof pushes into her back, right on the spot where Flim had dropped the saddlebags on her. Lunaris strokes up and down, trying to help relax the strained muscles. Aspide grits her teeth, "Jeez, who taught you to massage, the griffons?"

Lunaris grunts, "Well, I haven't exactly done this before." He pulls away, his movement halted as Aspide lays a hoof on him.

"I didn't say stop."

Lunaris smirks, his hooves returning to her back.

Aspide continues her sorting through the saddlebags, packets of food coming out. She pulls out the three dress shirts, remarking, "Do you think I need all three?"

"I would just keep the darker blue one, it looks good on you," Lunaris says, his manicured hooves roughly pushing along her spine.

Aspide smirks, "Oh? Didn't see enough of me in it before, did you?"

"That wasn't what I meant," Lunaris says defensively, his hooves slowing down. "Perhaps you just weren't covered up enough by it."

Aspide groans as Lunaris pushes over one of the strained muscles; at least he is helping work out the kinks. How many days of food did they need to pack, really? They could probably forage a little to make up for it. Plus, the griffons had to eat something besides meat, right? She glances over at the bags full of bits, remarking, "Hey, how much are we getting paid to carry all those bits, anyway?"

"Paid?" Lunaris replies, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

7 Grueling

The red eye train to Manehatten was uneventful, the two sleeping for the vast majority of the eight hour trip. The ferry to Trottingham took up the rest of the day and afforded the two a chance to read through the insufficient literature about the new regime. They were also able to charter a fishing boat for the next morning; it dropped them off at the mouth of the river in the Griffon Lands, and even got a promise from the fishermare to keep an eye out for them on the shore for when they returned, hopefully in a week. Now stranded further east that either of them had ever been, it should only be a single day's hike to get to Griffonstone. Assuming everything goes smoothly.

Walking along the snowy, barely traveled dirt path was equally uneventful, the two passing the time bickering over where a hypothetical train route from the mainland of Equestria would need to run. Tying into the existing Manehatten line is the obvious answer, Aspide argues, Lunaris countering that there is already an existing line through the northern mountains that reaches to Vanhoover, the most likely trading partner of the griffons due to climate of the breadbasket of northern Equestria. Aspide, not to be outdone, points out the absurdity of running a train that distance for the kind of goods the griffons are likely to make, at which point they devolve into silence before the arguments begin anew.

It took a while, but at some point they both realized that their full day of hiking merely got them to the base of the mountain.

The first thing Lunaris notices is how vertical everything is.

Standing at the base of the Hyperborean Mountains, ahead of him is even less of a path than the one they took through the shrub land. He has to look up.

And up.

And up.

In order to see even the barest hint of the path that leads to their destination.

This would have been so much easier with wings.

"I think, when I get back, I'm going to invest in airship technology," Lunaris remarks as the two start their journey upwards, trudging through the thirteen inches of snow that occasionally nips at their barrels. Aspide is carrying the vast majority of their dry goods, clean water, camping equipment, and half of the bits. Lunaris has one day's worth of rations, the maps, the various paperwork and promotional material, and the other half of the bits. Neither of them looks comfortable with the arrangement, a pretty good indication that it is the 'fairest' split they are going to get.

"I didn't think any non-pegasi liked flying," Aspide remarks, her breathing calm and steady as their journey turns more and more vertical. "Outside of that one crazy earth pony. Airy Berry or something."

"Nonsense! Airships are nothing like flying, outside of the fact that both take place in the air." Lunaris derisively waves a hoof, immediately regretting the loss of support for walking up the mountain. "It would be more akin to sailing, and there are plenty of sailors from each tribe." He pulls his scarf a little tighter around his neck, slightly envious of the blue shirt Aspide is wearing. At least the packs serve as a slight break against the wind.

"Yeah, sure. Tell that to the eighty percent of the sailors back in Trottingham who are earth ponies. I can't believe the pegasi don't even want to catch their own fish. It's like they have this ingrained image of pegasi being weather manipulators. And us earth ponies are relegated to food collection and transportation. No matter how little we actually want to eat the meal in question."

"Well, maybe you wouldn't mind working on an airship, then! After all, it's very similar to working on a train, or a boat. Or so I've heard. Just, instead of crashing off the side of the tracks, or into a mountain, or sinking to the bottom of the ocean, you plummet to the ground when things go wrong! Much safer that way."

"You know, I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not," Aspide retorts, focusing on the furrow Lunaris is carving through the snow as they forge ahead. "You aren't going to try to convince me that air travel is the safest method of transportation, now are you?"

Lunaris shrugs, "Well, it has been... hmm, dozens of years? since the last pegasi chariot fatality. And airships, being relatively new technology, haven't really had time to sort out every issue, and yet they still maintain an impressive safety record."

"Oh, sure, skew the statistics by focusing on fatalities. Not every train incident is Awash, you know."

"Regardless of which metric you want to track, as long as they can get the navigation across the Celestial Sea down then it would be a great boon to trade. Not only would it provide direct access to Griffonstone, without having to walk up and down a mountain, but it would also avoid the stench of fish. Actually, the griffons would probably import a vast amount of fish. Hmm."

Lunaris sighs as the rough dirt path ends. What lies beyond could charitably be referred to as the beginnings of a trail. If they had a squad of trailblazers armed with machetes, perhaps it would be navigable without scratching his pristine coat, or ruining the polish on his hoof. Actually, it is likely far, far too late for that. So much for keeping up appearances back in Canterlot; he'll probably need to seclude himself for a week to keep away any prying questions. And daily trips to the spa, purely to return his luster, of course. The path, overgrown as it is, leads through the dense forest, though fewer and fewer bushes are hindering their way. Instead, it is evergreen trees and a prickly grass that bites at their hooves with every step through the lighter snow. Definitely unappetizing, a likely reason it has spread so far. Tartarus forsaken jungle, couldn't even nibble on the grass.

Aspide peers through the foliage, as far as she can see, which only amounts to several dozen feet, then back at Lunaris. "Are you sure we're still going the right way? This is going to be terrible if we pick a route up a cliff, or something."

Lunaris shrugs, "Sorry, I don't know of any point-the-way spells that let me go somewhere that I've never been. You generally need some sort of marker to direct yourself towards. But yes, we're heading in the right direction."

Aspide rolls her eyes, "As long as we're going uphill it's the right direction. Even a blind pony could tell you that." They push through the underbrush; Lunaris levitates Gilded Graze, helping clear some of the worst of the vines crossing their path, inspecting his blade after every slice. At least they aren't magical vines. The foliage thins out as they get higher; while it becomes easier to navigate, the ground is no less steep and the rockier path threatens to send them tumbling to their knees should an errant rock slip from underhoof. And an injured fetlock at this point would easily be life threatening, with the nearest civilization a mile upwards or ten leagues downhill.

The two break out of the treeline on a particularly steep slope, the two looking around for the next sign of a trail leading them through the rocky mountainside. Above, dark storm clouds are gathering, likely to dump even more snow on them if they aren't able to continue climbing. Lunaris closes his eyes, trying to orient himself as Aspide says, "So, which way do we go now? Besides up, of course."

"Does it not look like I'm trying to figure that out?" comes the strained reply, Lunaris gritting his teeth to keep from making a more biting comment.

A raspy voice comes from above them, "Sounds like the two of you could use a guide."

Lunaris and Aspide look up, seeing a golden female griffon hovering over them. She has an older look to her, graying white plumage around her amethyst eyes and darker, nearly black wings. She watches them closely, her eyes tracing over the various saddlebags and bedrolls they are carrying. Her talons flex, as if already trying to grasp the belongings. Or possibly the meat from their bones.

Lunaris snidely remarks, "So what if we are?"

"Oh, you know, never hurts to be prepared!" She dances around the air, flourishing her dark feathers and golden talons at the two ponies. "After all, you never know what's around the next corner!"

"Is it a break? Please let it be a break," Aspide groans, quite tired from lugging the gear all day. The evening sun casts everything in shadows as it sets behind the Hyperborean Mountains, the sky getting darker far earlier than in other parts of Equestria.

"So, are you offering us your services as a guide, whatever your name is?" Lunaris asks, one of his ears flicking at an unexpected noise behind them. His body tenses, his hold on his rapier tightening, though it stays against his side.

"My name? I'm Golda. But, no, you see, me?" says the griffon, flying a little closer. She laughs loudly, trying to cover the scrape of talons against each other, "Oh, no. You see, I'm the distraction."

"What?" exclaims Lunaris as he drops to the ground, his time spent dodging Shining Armor's shield attacks from blind angles saving him from being raked by the strafing griffon. The dark gray griffon caws in surprise and fury, turning on a wing for another run.

Lunaris' horn flares as he dashes towards Aspide, the mare struggling to get out of her packs. His second rapier bursts out of his canvas bag, one intervening between each of the two griffons. Lunaris breathes heavily, not used to dodging and moving in the snow while carrying extra weight, as his eyes narrow.

"You old geezer! How did you miss?" Golda huffs, glaring at her male counterpart. The two pause in their assault, eyeing the floating rapiers with a healthy amount of respect, staying away from the dancing blades. "We would have had an easy two kills if not for that!"

"Hey, it's not my fault your distraction didn't work," comes the fast retort, the male inspecting his golden talons. "Maybe next time you'll actually do something."

Lunaris loudly speaks up, "Now, if it isn't any trouble, we came to Griffonstone to put a stop to exactly this sort of thing! I don't suppose you want to, say, stop trying to kill us and help us get there?"

"Psh, those pretenders? They think they speak for all griffons!" The two griffons circle to opposite sides of the two ponies, piercing shrieks unnerving the two on the ground. Lunaris quickly glances between the two, his golden rapier between the male and cobalt rapier between the female. She calls out, "Ready to taste some pony?"

Both griffons dive, Lunaris' golden aura flaring as his rapiers surge into the air. Talons come up, trying to ward away the cutting blades as the griffons swoop down. The female griffon knocks into the blunted cobalt rapier, the slowly yielding blade crackling with magic as it interferes with her dive towards Lunaris. The male griffon is less fortunate, pulling back his wings and breaking his dive with a gasp as the golden rapier flicks upwards, carving a vertical line through his left eye.

"Gruff!" shrieks the female as the male griffon howls in pain, his talons coming up to try to stop the gushing blood. He stalls, his wings twitching as his body goes into shock. He plummets down, a cloud of snow and dirt bursting up as his limp body impacts the ground.

Aspide drops her packs, sifting through and pulling out the medical kit. She dashes over, her mouth withdrawing disinfectant and bandages as she drops the remaining medical supplies next to the griffon. Lunaris follows closely behind, warily watching Golda.

Golda pushes away Ward Pierce, disentangling herself from the cobalt rapier, hard flaps of her wings trying to bring her above the unicorn. She stalls her attack, swooping up and away as the sharp golden rapier intervenes between herself and Lunaris. Golda looks over at Aspide and Gruff, confusion on her face as the earth pony reaches the downed griffon.

Aspide grunts as she drops the bags, a curt, "This will sting, griffon!" as she pours disinfectant on one of the bandages. Lunaris stands close to Aspide, a harsh scowl on his face, his rapiers ready if either griffon makes a sudden move.

Golda backs up slightly, infuriated at being bested by a pony and her momentary lapse of sympathy. She glares at the golden rapier as it flits between her and the three others, a bit of blood still on the steel. She hisses at Lunaris, ducking up and down, feinting lunges to try to get around the dancing blade.

Aspide rolls the male griffon, his pinkish head now resting on the ground, legs splayed to the side. She climbs on top, straddling him as she inspects the wound. The impact with the ground has split the wound even wider, the previously thin cut now a ragged laceration. Small pieces of grit are embedded into the flesh, and he is still bleeding profusely. She presses the bandage against his destroyed eye, spreading the cloth to cover both sides of the wound. He moans, his body otherwise completely limp as she tries to stop the bleeding, pressing her hooves against his head. His talons listlessly try to find purchase, weakly grasping at the ground around him. Aspide grunts out as she tries to hold him still, "This will go much easier if you cooperate, griffon!"

"Hey!" shouts Golda, trying to rush to his side, Gilded Graze continuing to block her path. "Stay away from him!"

"I'm trying to save his life!" yells Aspide, the griffon under her barely moving. "He's gone into shock, and we need to stop the bleeding right now!"

"What? No!" One talon comes up, trying to ward away the rapier. Lunaris' expression hardens, continuing to stare down the griffon. She slowly puts one talon on the steel, lightly pushing it away from her. Her eyes open wide, her voice catches as she pleads, "Please! Let me see him!"

"Aspide?" Lunaris calls, the rapier spinning so the blunt edge is facing the griffon. "Your call."

"Oh, now you want me to decide something?" Aspide huffs, Gruff still weakly struggling against her. "I could use some help here!"

The rapier pulls away; Golda flies past Lunaris and lands next Gruff, cradling his head as he feebly writhes on the ground. "Shh," she coos, watching intently as Aspide adds a second layer of cloth, the bleeding subsiding as she continues to press down. Gruff stops struggling as fiercely, his good eye briefly focusing on Golda before he stares at the sky.

After a minute Aspide carefully peels away a corner of the bandages. "This will need stitches to heal properly, and he will have a scar regardless," Aspide says, grimly looking at the wound. "It's mostly clean, thankfully, and the rapier didn't penetrate into the bone, just a deep cut into the upper and lower eye socket."

"And the eye?" Golda asks, staring at Aspide. The earth pony frowns, solemnly shaking her head as she replaces the bandages, the bleeding slowing to a few weeping spots. The griffon closes her eyes, though no tears come out. She sighs heavily, "Why?"

"Why what?" Lunaris retorts, drawing closer. His rapiers stay at the ready, in case she gets any ideas about taking a hostage.

"Why are you saving him?" she demands, her eyes opening and boring into him. Her voice nearly breaks as she shouts, "After we tried to kill you! Why do you dishonor us like this?"

"You think mercy is dishonorable?" spits Aspide, a curved needle and black thread levitating out of the medical pack. She nods at Lunaris in thanks as he threads the needle for her. She gently pats Gruff's head, a whispered, "Try to stay still; this will be quite uncomfortable." She begins to remove the larger pieces of grit as she sews, hoping she can get all the gunk out. He would need to see a real doctor as soon as possible, or have a serious risk of infection.

"We just tried to kill you!" Golda shouts, eyes narrowing as the golden rapier swings back and forth, reminding her of its presence. "Why would you do anything but destroy us?"

"Is that what you want?" thunders Lunaris, his rapiers brushing to the side to plant a hoof on Golda's chest. She gasps, looking down at the hoof before he roughly shoves her to the snowy ground, Gilded Graze trimming the golden feathers at her neck. "You only want to be enemies?"

Golda spits at Lunaris, barely able to reach his left hoof. She lays on her back, glaring up at him but unable to move without slicing her neck on the rapier pressing into her.

Lunaris sighs as he shakes his head, "But what would that accomplish? Another mule headed griffon would just take your place. Another misguided zealot!" Lunaris smiles at Golda's continued glare, "But, that's what you're expecting, isn't it? A terrible fight to the death, full of glory?"

Golda's eyes rise to the fading sky, smiling as she relinquishes control, her body relaxing. Her eyes close, a fast lunge with her talons, her neck trying to push against a blade no longer resting against her. Her eyes frown, opening back up to see Lunaris standing above her, holding his right hoof to her. She looks down his body; his rapier is along his side, the sharpened point facing away from her. Gruff is laying on his back; his body is still, his breathing normal, as Aspide pulls another two flaps of flesh back together. She looks up at Lunaris; he is still smiling. Not the smirk of victory, but a slightly forced grin.

"I will warn you, though, that while Princess Celestia might forgive again and again, I think I only have room for one. I am only a noble, after all." The grin curls to a smirk, his hoof bobbing up and down. His smile slowly fades as Golda stares at him, watching him as he wavers. He sighs, the hoof starting to come down, a gasp of surprise as a talon raises up.

Golda grunts as she pulls, half trying to pull herself up and half trying to drag the unicorn down. She finds herself rising, surprised at the unicorn's strength. His other three legs hold him up, pulling her to her taloned feet, her grasping claws managing to not cut into his foreleg. She stares as his grin widens, a talon brushing off her front as she shakes her wings, the feathers ruffling off the dirt. "I don't think you ever answered my question, pony."

"It isn't because I see no honor in killing and dying for a cause you believe in," Lunaris calmly says, motioning towards Gruff. "But instead, how are we to become friends, if the other side is merely a pile of corpses?" Aspide stands, the stitching complete; there is still a large gap of bloody flesh above and below the eye, but it is much smaller than before. She starts bandaging his head, the griffon rolling to his chest when she is done. "And I can see how much you care for your sire."

Golda scoffs, "He isn't my dad." Gruff looks at her with his good eye, his eyebrow slightly raising. "Well, okay, he's more like my adopted uncle." Golda sighs, "The Griffon Lands can be very brutal, and my parents were not so lucky. I suppose I could thank you for sparing my life, so another chick needn't be raised without a hen."

"I don't suppose I could ask you to repay that thanks by leading us to Griffonstone?" Lunaris asks, an eye going to the fading light. "I don't want to hole up in a cave here."

Golda laughs, "You think sparing him, that that's enough for me to throw my life away? I don't think so. Maybe you can't tell, but there's a bit of a disagreement going on between us griffons."

Lunaris stands, his chest puffing out, "Well, that's kind of why I'm here! I'm hoping to improve the relations between Ponies and Griffons; perhaps I can do the same between your clan and the rest of the griffons!"

Golda laughs again, slapping her talon against the ground. She pauses, "Oh? You're serious?"

"Well, I got you to take my hoof. What makes you think I can't do the same again?" Lunaris looks down, wiping a bit of the dirt off of his foreleg. "And the sooner we can get started, the better."

Golda shakes her head, "You might be the craziest pony I've ever met. Well, that I didn't, um..." She coughs, "But, that's all in the past, right?" Golda stares at Lunaris, the unicorn uttering a deep sigh at the lives lost before.

He says, "I'm not here to obligate you one way or another for your past deeds, but I do wish to put all of that behind us, start off on a new hoof." He extends a hoof towards her, "Friends?" Golda stares at the hoof for a few seconds before glancing over at Gruff.

The male griffon grunts as Aspide finishes securing the bandage against his head, pressing one talon against it. He stands, stalking over to Lunaris and making a fist. He takes the offered hoof, pressing against it and shaking up and down. He grunts out, "You are serious, pony? You desire peace between ponies and griffons, and among griffons?"

Lunaris nods, "I would wish peace among all of us, between all, yes. How may I assist in bringing about that peace?"

Gruff raises a talon to his beak, "What do you have to offer, besides friendship and the lack of a blade between my ribs?"

Lunaris smiles, "Well, I have bits."

Gruff and Golda both raise an eyebrow. "Bits?" he asks, his eyes lighting up. "Like, the gold coin?"

"Yes! The Equestrian bit!" Lunaris says, shrugging his pack off. The bag opens, two golden coins withdrawing, one to each griffon. They both inspect them, each trying to take a bite.

Satisfied, Gruff smirks, saying, "While good, I don't know that gold is enough. Griffons had their shot with gold, and while it was good while it lasted, it proved... vulnerable. To thieves and time."

"Well, the bit isn't just good to look at. You see, the other reason I am here is to broker a trade agreement, so that these bits might be traded for your goods and services. And we ponies would provide you with items of our own." Lunaris levitates one of the brochures, "In fact, there is a wide variety of items one might acquire, should you accept this."

Gruff takes the brochure, quickly flipping through the pages. He smirks, pointing at one picture, "You make all this?"

Lunaris shrugs, "Well, I in particular don't, but some pony must. Is there an item you like?"

Gruff elbows Golda, "Look at this hat! It looks ridiculous! What griffon would wear something like that?"

"I don't know, I think it looks nice," Golda shrugs, "I could see you wearing it!"

Gruff grumbles, "Eh, it's too plain. Just a red cap! You'd think ponies would be more creative with their goods."

Lunaris nods, "Agreed. It would look much better with a gold band around the cap. Maybe some sort of tassel on top?"

Gruff laughs, "Alright, pony, that would be better. Perhaps some of the other griffons might like this junk as well."

Lunaris smiles, "So, we have a deal? Get your, um, leaders, whatever you call them, to come to Griffonstone for a peace summit. Or something. Tomorrow morning."

Gruff nods, "You know, pony, I think that would work. I had heard from a... colleague... that somepony was coming. Didn't expect it to be you, though." Gruff takes flight, holding the bit in his talons, "Good luck, Ambador!"

"That isn't my name!" Lunaris calls as Gruff clumsily flies over the trees.

8 Hideaway

In spite of Lunaris' hope that they would make it to Griffonstone before the day finished they, to put it bluntly, didn't. Not even close. Moments after Gruff left, promising to talk to the other griffons of the Golden Aerie, the land was abruptly plunged into darkness. Only the light of Lunaris' horn allowed the two ponies the chance to set up their small tent, nestled between two larger stones that served as a windbreak. Golda planned to fly off a short distance, nesting in the trees to the east, promising to return at dawn.

Aspide had grimaced at that, worried about the griffon spending the night in the cold and wind and snow.

Lunaris had responded that her heavier down clearly showed that she was used to it, and there was absolutely no way she would spend the night in their already cramped tent.

Lunaris grumbles as he awakens, feathery dust clogging his nostrils.

Even he, despite having argued minutes before that they should be friendly, thought it was being far too trusting. Especially of an opponent who mere minutes before had been trying to kill and eat them.

But, as Aspide had quietly whispered to him over their evening meal, it was likely the first kind thing anypony, or anygriffon, had ever done for her. And it would go a long ways towards helping their relationship. Also, Golda was taking just as big a chance, sleeping next to a being who, not minutes ago, successfully injured one of her relatives.

This did not make Lunaris feel any better about it.

And yet, here he is, not murdered in his sleep.

He hates being wrong. Not as much as he hates being murdered in his sleep, though. So, silver linings.

To go along with silver linings, there appears to be at least a foot of new snow outside. And, far off in the distance, the thin fabric of the tent barely serving to hide the light, the morning sun. Just waiting to peek over the horizon, faintly visible between the mountaintops. Lunaris pushes to his hooves, stifling a yawn, feeling like he didn't get enough rest. They had traded off, trying to sleep as the other watched, the potential of Gruff returning with a cadre of griffons enough to keep both of them from getting any true rest. He shrugs off the two blankets spread over himself and Aspide to cover just her. His two rapiers levitate from underneath him, the canvas bag levitating and strapping to his side, donning his scarf and hat as he steps out of the tent.

The unblemished landscape stretches for miles, Lunaris marveling at the sight. He slowly scans up the mountain, looking for any disturbances in the pattern of rocks and snow. He should take up painting. An insufficient medium to immortalize this beautiful sight, and the many others should the job with Horizon come through. He stares, fixing the small details in his mind: the way the rocks are arranged, the small channels carved from melting snow, the outcroppings where an intrepid sapling tries to grow, roots burrowing into the stone outcroppings. Perhaps a glacier carved its path through the sloped ground. Or, more likely, Discord or some other primordial being lopped off the top of the mountain, dropping it off the west side instead of to the east where the contours of the land suggest it should have gone. Maybe that's why it snows so heavily on the east side of the mountain, on the opposite side of the water.

Or, he grimaces, maybe it snows even more on the west side. Not like they have pegasi around to control things.

Looking down, a completely different image. The tops of the trees, a forest stretching for miles and miles. Only the white capped tops visible as he looks farther out, the swaying in the constant wind creating an odd illusion, as if the entire forest is covered in a blanket, gently rising and falling as it sleeps. Closer, the edge of the forest, with many dark shades of green and black, shadows cast from the approaching sun, while the snow reflects glints of the moon through the overcast layer above. Hopefully he would be able to see the glorious sunrise through the clouds, even out in this forsaken land.

Further to the east, even higher mountains, their caps permanently white, much like Canterlot Mountain to the west. Were these mountains just not visible from Canterlot, the curvature of Equus enough to hide them from view? What other civilizations lay beyond the mountains, that looked otherwise impassable? Higher than any common flying machine could travel, certainly; perhaps some of the universities had something capable. Or the Wonderbolts had some flight suit that assisted with the loss of oxygen. Or perhaps Princess Celestia knows. Or, more likely, her focus has remained on her little ponies. Their numbers certainly grow every year, and she purports to know every single one.

The soft crunch of snow next to him distracts Lunaris from his musings, glancing over to see a blanketed gray form approaching from the tent, somewhat difficult to make out in the twilight haze. He smiles, one side of the blanket coming up and over his barrel, Aspide snuggling next to him. "I'd tell you to go fetch something warm, but it seems you already did."

"Yeah," Aspide snickers, "I am hotter than you."

Lunaris rolls his eyes as he smiles, the two watching as the sun quickly bursts over the mountains to the east. It rapidly climbs before slowing to a crawl, eclipsed by one of the clouds. Exactly the spot, Lunaris notes, that would appear to be dawn if one's eye rests at Canterlot. But from here, the angle suggests it would be just after eight. Nine, given the winter month.

How must that feel to the rest of the races? The celestial objects, played with as toys by the ponies. At least they keep to a regular schedule, most of the time. The Winter Solstice Celebration - commemorating Princess Luna at the very start of the year - must be simultaneously awe inspiring and terrifying, if one knows nothing of pony history.

Maybe nothing lies to the east. Just mountains and water, never complaining about the sun stored on their side of the world for hours. Or does Celestia keep the sun's travel on that side of the planet regular, just like she does when the sun is visible?

Given how tired Celestia seems when she rests the sun, could she? Or is that just from having to raise the moon?

Lunaris wonders if any unicorns had offered to help. They had controlled the sun and moon in the past, of course. Before the Celestial Sisters took over. Or maybe some magical artifact could take their place.

Maybe somepony had offered, perhaps without asking, and the Badlands was the inexorable response to the usurpation.

But, enough speculation; the tent is moving again, this time a disheveled griffon stepping out. She nods to the two ponies, stretching her wings. Aspide rises, one of the rations opening, revealing heavy bread. Lunaris takes half the offered loaf, munching on the honeyed wheat. Aspide rips off a chunk, offering the piece to the griffon. It disappears down her gullet, whether or not she enjoyed the meal impossible to tell.

"You ready to go?" comes the gruff voice. Aspide and Lunaris nod, quickly moving back to the tent and beginning to pack up their gear.

Lunaris looks at his packs, "Did you take my rations?"

Aspide nods, "Yeah. Why? Did you want something else?"

"No, I just thought you would have used your own." Lunaris shrugs, swinging his the pack over his barrel, "But, if not, that's fine with me. I don't mind carrying less."

"Um, what do you mean my own? We ate those yesterday, on the trip here." Aspide says, walking out of the tent. "Pretty sure I made room for all the other necessities, remember? We'd just forage, or buy stuff off the griffons."

Lunaris stares at her as Golda leans over, helpfully adding, "I make a mean rock biscuit! Just, um, one bit each!"

"No more rations?" Lunaris finally utters, looking at the packs strapped around Aspide. "What do you mean, no more rations? The spiced oatmeal! The fruits and nuts! Bread, for Celestia's sake!"

"Eyup. All gone. Bartered to the fishermare, if you remember. It worked, too; got her to offer to look out for us on the return trip." Aspide finishes packing up the tent, now securely strapped to her back. "So, which way are we heading?"

Golda's eyes smirk as she points a talon up the mountainside. She takes wing, flying and searching for a thermal to make the arduous climb a little easier. She circles a few times, slowly blowing around the nearby clouds, though they would need a double wing to really combat the nimbostratus.

Lunaris stares at the spot Golda left for a few seconds before he turns to Aspide, "You didn't dump the water, did you?"

"I should dump the water!" Aspide yells down, already starting the climb. "Look at all this snow around us! We could just boil that, you know?"

"Oh, please, I only drink All-Natural Canterlot Spring water. Nothing else tastes quite right." Lunaris follows the path Aspide carved in the snow, quickly catching up. She steps to the side, letting him pass her. He pushes through the snow, now making a trail for her.

"Water is water. Besides, that taste you love is just minerals. Little pieces of dirt and rock, mixed in with the water." The two round a bend around some of the larger boulders, Golda flapping her wings in the sky above them.

Lunaris rounds another slab of rock, "And, as anypony can tell you, those are good for you! Necessary, even! Besides, would Princess Celestia allow such impurities right at her front door?" Lunaris shakes his head, marveling at the quiet that follows. He glances back, a hint of worry at not seeing anypony behind him. "Aspide?"

Silence, or perhaps the slight echo of his voice against the rocks.

"Aspide!" he shouts, spinning around; his ears twitch, listening for any sounds of distress while his eyes widen, rapidly scanning around the mountainside. He nervously stamps a hoof, about to gallop back down the slippery slope.

"Oh, you're too easy!" Aspide snorts, coming around the slab. Lunaris pulls himself to a stop, skidding against the packed snow. "Lots of dirt and rock around here, I could mix some of that into your water." Aspide startles as Lunaris pulls next to her, embracing her in a hug. "Um, okay, I wasn't gone that long."

"Just, don't do that again, okay?" Lunaris says, squeezing Aspide. "I thought I lost you." He coughs, slowly letting her go, "And, um, Princess Celestia would have been very unhappy with me if I lost you. So."

Aspide snickers, "Right, okay, sure." The two begin walking back up to the slope as Golda flies down, landing next to them.

The two look over as she says, "So, you two done ponying around? This next part isn't too bad, but it's going to be a steep grade the rest of the way."

"It can't be that much further, can it?" Lunaris asks, trudging along. "We're nearly at the same elevation of Canterlot. I thought they were about the same height."

"Never been to Canterlot, but I can tell you it's just another mile or so." Golda smirks, her talon drifting from pointing west to pointing upwards, "That way."

The three continue trekking up, quickly breaking out above the clouds. The ground stays snowy, but not as fresh, the dry crunch of snow likely never trod before. Perhaps an hour of grueling hiking later, they finally reaching the top of the mountain. Griffonstone lays before them, a massive rock formation in the shape of a gargantuan tree. It branches out in every direction, many wooden or thatch houses dotting the landscape.

Lunaris and Aspide breath more easily, their destination finally in view. Lunaris takes another few steps forward before coming to a halt, looking at the massive gorge between them. "Um, what is this?" he asks, pointing towards the opening. It is far too wide to jump over, and the wind gusting through the fissure makes even flying nearby difficult. "Is this the Abyssal Abyss?"

"Yeah!" Golda says, landing next to them and hunkering down. "Why?"

"Um, how do we get across? There a bridge somewhere?"

"Uh, no. We're griffons. We just fly over it!" Golda smirks, "Duh!"

A hoof connects with Lunaris' head, the unicorn massaging his growing headache. "And, do you fail to see the problem, or?"

"HALT!" comes a cry from across the Abyss. The three nervously glance at each other as four griffons advance, spears pointing towards them.

9 Introductions

"Hello!" calls Lunaris, forcing a smile to his muzzle as two of the guards land, one russet and one light blue. The other two griffons, both medium brown, continue circling in the air, casting wary looks at the two ponies and griffon cowering behind them. Lunaris continues, "How are you this fine day?" He shudders as one of the armored guards lopes towards him, restraining himself from whipping out one of his rapiers against the spear that wanders dangerously close.

"Why are you here, pony?" the russet guard rasps, waving the spear between him and Golda, "And why is one of the Golden Aerie hens here?"

Lunaris nods, taking half a step backwards, "My name is Lunaris Blueblood, Prince of Equestria. I was sent here by Princess Celestia to broker some sort of agreement between us. If you would be so kind as to help us over there, and take you to your King, I would be very grateful."

"Griffons have no king, pony!" the guard belts out, glaring at Lunaris. The guard advances further, the spear no longer aimed at Lunaris but instead at Golda. She gulps, nervously raising a talon and waving; short, fast motions that fail to quell the guard's animosity. The russet griffon continues, "And, you, Golda of the Golden Aerie, you know the penalty for returning here. I give you one chance to flee for your life."

The blue guard moves up behind the first, his spear pointing at Golda, the two guards in the air circling to flank behind her. Golda quickly glances down the mountain, her talons shuffling against the slick stone.

"Hey!" Lunaris shouts, stepping forward and pointing a hoof at the guard, his expression unwavering at the harsh glare in return. "Golda is here on my request, serving as my guide, and I demand that you allow her and her clan safe passage while they are here peacefully."

"Peacefully!" snorts the blue guard, his spear waving back and forth. He stutters, a nervous glance to his russet comrade, "Wait, the Golden clan is coming?" He signals to the two airborne griffons, both dropping down to land next to him. "We have to prepare if the Golden Aerie decides to show up in force!" He turns to Lunaris, "And you somehow thought you could help with this?"

"Maybe?" Lunaris adds with a chipper smile, the two griffons glaring at him in return. "I was hoping to, say, arbitrate some sort of peace between you and Equestria. If that goes well, then I could also help between Griffonstone and the Golden Aerie as well."

"Well, I hope you brought more than goodwill, pony!" The russet griffon thrusts her spear towards Golda, angrily saying, "Because it won't be enough to stop her clan from trying to pillage our homes, should they decide to attack!"

Lunaris motions to his pack, "I did bring bits! Perhaps I can barter some of them, not only to the Golden Aerie, but for you and your comrades to, say, fly me and my assistant, Private Aspide, over the Abyss?" He pulls out four bits with a hoof, tossing one to each griffon. They inspect the bits, shrugging and grunting at each other. Two griffons move to each of Lunaris and Aspide, glancing over each at each other as they try to figure out how exactly they will carry the ponies over. They finally grab both ponies by the forelegs, their talons grasping the upper foreleg and hauling the ponies into the air.

"Please don't let go please don't let go," mutters Aspide as they hover over the Abyssal Abyss. She gasps, clinging to the talons carrying her as they briefly stall, the winds buffeting the griffons around. Their efforts redouble, dragging the earth pony and unicorn to the other side. The two fall to the ground, Aspide dropping down and kissing the dirt. "Don't worry," she softly coos, "I'll never leave you again."

"Good job!" Lunaris calls, another bit for each griffon coming out. "As well, those bits can be traded for other things! Such as those spears of yours."

"What about our spears?" the russet griffon asks, holding her flint spear close to Lunaris. "You insulting our weapons?"

"Oh, well, stone is certainly abundance around here," Lunaris levitates the brochure closer to the hen, her eyes narrowing as the pages flip through to the farming equipment. "Perhaps some of these iron plowshares could be sharpened, and would serve as better tips." He glances through the brochure, "I don't know if we have actual weapons for sale, though I may be able to inquire more when I return."

The griffon's eyes light, a talon plucking the brochure out of the air and flipping through it. The other griffons crowd around, pointing talons at the teeth of the plowshare. The blue griffon asks, "And how much is a plow share?"

Lunaris glances at the brochure, "Four bits each. Um, I feel obligated to say that shipping on the entire order is five hundred bits, but that would be split between every griffon that ordered something. I imagine it would come out to about two bits per griffon that orders something."

"So, the two bits you gave us, that would be... half of a plowshare?"

Lunaris grimaces slightly, "Oh, well, yes; you see, it would take more than just one minor job to buy something. I know it doesn't seem like much, but-"

The blue griffon laughs, "Oh, no, pony. You misunderstand. This spear?" He hefts the shaft, running a talon along the stone tip, "It took me hours to find the wood, the stone, and shape the head. A good metal tip? Days, if not weeks of toiling in the mines, a thankless job if there ever was one. And you purport to deliver tens, no, hundreds of these? It could change everything!"

"Yes!" Lunaris nods, smiling, "It could!"

"With these, the Golden Aerie won't stand a chance!"

Lunaris quickly shakes his head, holidng up a hoof, "Hey! I'm here to bring peace to you all, not serve as an arms dealer to both sides. That spear tip was just an example, and should be used for defense, not as a means to subjugate those around you!"

The griffon opens his mouth, pausing for a few seconds before cocking his head to the side, peering at Lunaris. "You really are an odd pony." He shakes his head, "Regardless, you want to head to the stone stadium." He points a talon to a large building on the opposite side of Griffonstone, the coliseum open to the air where many griffons can be seen circling around.

"Thank you for your assistance, of course," Lunaris says with a smile, waving as the four griffons take off. He glances over at Aspide, the earth pony still hugging the ground. "Well, that went well."

Golda lands next to the two ponies, "Yeah, I only hope you have enough bits to buy off everygriffon here. You better believe those four are spreading the word about this."

"Hmm, I probably should have given out more brochures then," Lunaris says, pulling out a few more. The three walk down the main street of Griffonstone. Decrepit buildings line each side, decaying thatch atop rotten wood. "Hmm, I didn't know their homes were in such a state," Lunaris remarks, Aspide huddling close as many of the griffons stop what they are doing and watch them, long stares that barely turn at the neck as the two walk by. "It shouldn't be too hard to bring up more wood and such."

"Did you not just walk up the side of a mountain with me?" Aspide grunts, adjusting the pack on her back as she nervously looks around. "They probably already got all the easy to reach trees, and who wants to cart a bunch of logs up a slope like that?"

Golda says, "Griffons might be stronger than pegasi, but they aren't the best at carrying things through the air."

"Hmm, perhaps a chariot would better suit them, then, so they could fly wood and other resources up here. Or, perhaps they should hire the services of an engineer or two, and build some sort of ramp up along the cliff wall. That way a cart or wagon could make it here. Much easier than flying." Lunaris pulls out a piece of paper, jotting down various notes on potential infrastructure improvements.

Their heads turn as a few griffons laugh, pointing talons at the two ponies. One mimes tying a bib around her neck, the next griffon pulling out a long knife. They guffaw at the ponies' growing nervousness, shaking their heads and going back to carving out the joints of a new house.

"Are you sure about this?" Aspide asks quietly, huddling next to Lunaris and screening herself with his larger body.

"More than ever," Lunaris responds, trying to sound confident as his voice wavers. "Just goes to show even more why it is so important that we succeed here."

The two arrive at the large stone building, a loud argument audible from within. One griffon is shouting, "No, a preemptive strike is the best way! They won't be expecting aggression from us!"

Golda pulls them to the side, saying, "Okay, so, we probably don't want to interrupt whatever argument is going on in there. Once it dies down, then go in and say your piece. I just hope that you can defend your arguments."

The three watch from behind a stone pillar as two griffons circle each other in the middle of a large dirt arena. The ground, most a dull gray dust that matches the stone around them, is constantly kicked up as the two combatants circle around each other, both wielding stone tipped spears. In the center rests a table, a parchment with black and red letters on top. Surrounding the fighters are about thirty griffons, standing or jumping on the stone steps rising up and away from the center. All are cheering, some more than others, as a solitary griffon sits on a slightly raised throne.

Golda points to the dark gray griffon in charge, "That is Gregory, the current moderator of the debates going on. He's one of the best debaters in Griffonstone, and is about equal to Ganis, leader of the Golden Aerie. The two fought to a standstill on multiple issues, part of the reason the Golden Aerie splintered off in the first place. Nogriffon likes inactivity, and the fact that they couldn't decide on a compromise or a winner meant a lot of inaction."

"Fought?" Lunaris asks as the two griffons in the center of the arena lunge at each other. "I thought they were debating here?" He takes off the packs, leaving only his canvas bag strapped to his side.

Golda nods, "They are. The green one there? He's probably going to win, but I hope he doesn't." Golda shudders, "He's the one arguing for a preemptive strike against the Golden Aerie. It would end disastrously for both sides, and neither of us really want that."

"You fight each other to decide your laws?" Lunaris asks incredulously as the green griffon's spear is parried to the side. The orange griffon dashes forward, slicing off a tail feather with a talon. The green griffon yowls in pain, throwing down his spear and slinking out of the center. The orange griffon holds the new quill in the air, the crowded griffons cheering loudly as he moves over to the table. He dips the quill in the ink, writing out a new line on the paper.

The four guards land next to Gregory, the large gray griffon listening intently. He shakes his head, chuckling and flexing a talon. The guards nod, moving next to him and sitting down, waiting for the next griffon to move to the center.

"Well, here's my chance," Lunaris says, striding out to the center of the arena. All eyes are trained on him as he clears his throat, announcing, "Attention, Everygriffon!"

10 Juncture

Silence greets Lunaris as he stops, just before getting to the center of the arena. He glances down at the small pool of blood from the last fight. He looks from side to side as if debating whether or not he should just step over the reddened soil, or walk around; he finally kicks a bit of dirt over the top, the sound of his hooves disturbing the quiet. He coughs before continuing his straight path to the table.

"Very nice arena you have here," Lunaris says, his raised voice echoing around the perhaps thirty gathered griffons. They stare like statues, unblinking eyes slowly following as he paces around the center. Lunaris' eyes trace over each griffon, the whites and grays and blacks occasionally blending into the rough stone steps, though the occasional vibrant blue or green plumage is easy to pick out. His gaze settles on the large gray griffon in charge, golden talons crossed under his beak. The griffon leans forward the barest amount; he seems to acknowledge him, the slight flick of his eyes demanding Lunaris hurry along, lest he find himself in over his head. Or without it.

Lunaris slightly nods in return, "And, Gregory of Griffonstone, thank you for taking the time to hear me out. I am Prince Lunaris Blueblood, here under the direction of Princess Celestia to broker a formal relationship between our peoples. Possibly including a trade agreement. I know we have had a storied past;" he pauses, levitating up a small index card from his bag, a slight grimace on his face as he says, "But before I get to that, a brief word from our sponsors."

The collected griffons glance at each other, murmurs springing up all around the arena. A few talons raise, pointing into the air and at Lunaris. Other gasps come as four griffons stand up and move to the edge of the arena. Gregory holds up a talon, the four stopping their advance.

Lunaris gulps, the chill air making the sweat beading on his brow uncomfortably cold. He improvises as he reads from the card, "No griffon knows for certain how the coming conflict with the Golden Aerie will go, which is why it is so important to have a plan already in place in case of emergencies. Flim and Flam Contracting will construct houses guaranteed to withstand not only marauding griffons, but also the elements. Living on top of a mountain shouldn't be uncomfortable just because of the chill winds, and a Flim Flam Contractors house will weather any storm, whether it is frost, or rain, or blades."

The griffons' chatter becomes more excited, many of them motioning to the stone walls surrounding them. A few regard Lunaris with something approaching eagerness, their eyes sparkling as they talk of the various improvements they could use to their homes. Others sit back, folding their talons across their puffed chests, glaring at Lunaris with more than a healthy amount of skepticism.

Lunaris flicks the card back into his bag, nodding to Aspide. She brings forward one of the saddlebags, bouncing up and down a little more than normal so the bits inside jingle against each other. Lunaris grins at her, the griffons watching with fervent anticipation, as the bag drops to the ground. The strap holding the top pops open, revealing the sparkling gold within. "Now, I know it isn't much, but Equestria is planning to offer a bit of a bonus for agreeing to become allies. But, before I get into all of the benefits that each and every one of you will acquire by becoming allies, perhaps I should detail what exactly that would entail."

A few of the more eager griffons grumble, sitting back slightly, their eyes still trained on the bag of bits. Others watch, a more bemused expression while Lunaris levitates a scroll, unraveling the golden ribbon tying it together. The paper unfurls, merrily bouncing along the ground behind Lunaris. He watches the paper, a smirk at Aspide as she walks back to the edge of the arena.

"Hmm, I could have sworn it was shorter the last time I read it," he dryly remarks, drawing a few scattered laughs. He slaps one hoof against the top of the parchment, "First on the docket is a respect for the sanctity of sentient life. Now, I can go into the specifics of what exactly sentient life entails, and all the legal mumbo jumbo contained here," he taps a hoof against the paper, "but it really just boils down to 'don't eat ponies. Or citizens of any other country that Equestria is allied with."

"But ponies are delicious!" comes a loud call from the back of the arena, all heads spinning to see a score of griffons landing. The golden griffons are fulled dressed for war: metal breastplates and wingblades, light spears topped with stone or iron heads, a few wielding crossbows. A few city guards nervously fly about, broken spears held in their talons. The leader, a tall white griffon with golden wings, steps forward and throws Gruff to the ground.

The older griffon coughs a few times, limply pushing himself up. His wounded eye is no longer bandaged, and the rest of his body has fared no better. He is missing feathers in places, a few other spots coated with dried blood. Golda rushes forward, tenderly laying a talon on Gruff's head. He smiles up at her, gripping her talon with his own as she drags him to his feet. The large white griffon watches, a bemused look in his eyes as Golda helps Gruff to the side.

The white griffon regards Lunaris, the arena silent but for Gruff scraping the ground. He continues in his deep voice, "But, I suppose I shouldn't interrupt a debate before the speaker has had a chance to finish. Please, Ambador, continue."

"S-Sure," Lunaris stammers, regarding the new griffons. They seem to settle back, content to intersperse among the other griffons watching the proceedings. "As I was saying, um, and this really isn't negotiable, but please don't eat any ponies, even if they venture into your lands."

Lunaris pauses, again looking at Gregory; the large gray griffon has acquired a metal tipped spear from somewhere, though it is merely resting against his neck, his body otherwise unmoved from his previous position, his talons clinking against each other as they rest under his beak. The rest of the griffons are understandably uneasy, shifting back and forth in their seats. Aspide is tending to Gruff, Golda repeatedly tapping one foot against the ground.

"The second provision concerns property rights. Specifically, don't take another pony's belongings." He glances to Gregory, "I assume you have a similar rule more formally stated, and of course it would apply in reverse." Gregory barely inclines his head, Lunaris smiling as he walks to the bag of bits. "These bits that I have are meant as a gift to all griffons, and that includes the Golden Aerie and any other griffon clans that I am unaware of but would also be joining as allies to Equestria. The exact dispersal would be up to you, but our default would be to an equal distribution among all griffons."

Gregory slightly moves forward, his deep voice softly saying, "Should that become a point of contention, it will be discussed."

Lunaris nods, looking back at his scroll, "Yes! Very good. Let's see, number three. But, before I continue, another word from our sponsors." The assembled griffons groan as Lunaris levitates over a business card. He recites, "As a business owner, or even just somepony involved in business, we all need legal services on a constant basis. And, let me tell you something, lawyers are extraordinarily expensive. But, LZ Laywer is not. They are there to give you the tools you need so you can focus on running your business. More than a dozen ponies have used LZ for things such as wills and trusts, contract reviews and such. You all don't know what you're doing, which is why you need a lawyer! Just, take one of these easy to use applications. And, for special savings, use promo code Luna in the referral box to let them know I sent you."

Lunaris takes a deep breath, ripping the card into pieces and scattering them to the wind. "As you can probably tell, I didn't use LZ, which is why I had to read through that Tartarus forsaken advertisement." He pauses, a stony silence following.

"I can't take it any more!" a griffon bellows, quickly followed by three of his fellow Griffonstonians. "No more advertisements!"

"And these rules!" the second shouts, pointing a talon at the long paper scroll, "Too many! I formally object to the first and second provisions!"

"Very well," intones Gregory. He looks at Lunaris, the unicorn slightly distracted by the advancing griffons, "Are you prepared to offer a defense?"

"Against not eating ponies? Of course! Are you daft?" Lunaris shouts, whirling to face the first griffon. "How brittle your dam's egg must have been, to produce such a weak griffon as you!"

Golda gasps, quickly followed by the rest of the griffons. The leader's black feathers somehow turn red as he draws in a breath, almost not able to believe that the puny pony in front of him would dare to insult his mother's egg.

Lunaris turns to Golda, a stage whispered, "I did say that correctly, right?"

"LOOK OUT!" bellows Aspide, pointing a hoof towards the center of the arena.

Lunaris turns, gasping as he dances backwards, away from the griffon charging him. The golden talons madly slash back and forth, trying to rend his white coat as Lunaris merrily yells, "Oh? Are we starting?" His horn lights, his body dodging to the side as Gilded Graze appears next to him. The blade intervenes, parrying one blow before being swiped away.

The griffon cackles, charging again, rage in his eyes as Lunaris tumbles to the side. The griffon sneers, raising to the air before he howls in pain, the golden rapier sticking out of his wing. He falls down, clutching his injured wing as the rapier withdraws out the way it came.

"Sorry about that, good sir," Lunaris says, brushing himself off. "I was aiming for the feathers."

The griffon glares at him before slinking away, cradling his wing in one talon. Two of the remaining griffons take to the air, both holding stone tipped spears as they advance on Lunaris.

"Two at once?" the unicorn quips, his golden rapier swishing back and forth in front of him. "I mean, I suppose that will make this go faster, yes?"

They circle around as Lunaris backs up, not letting the two get on opposite sides of him so easily. He grins as one over commits to her flanking maneuver, charging the other one. The steel flies up, cutting through the intervening wooden shaft before flicking down, trimming one of the longer tail feathers. The griffon glances down, squawking in alarm at the rapier that could have eviscerated him. His spear drops to the ground as he retreats, landing back on the stone steps.

Lunaris gallops around the center as his attention shifts, the other griffon giving chase. She brandishes her spear, her eyes warily watching the blade as it rejoins the fight from above. She swoops down, outpacing the sword as she swings her spear in a wide arc, aiming at Lunaris' chest.

One hoof comes up as Lunaris steps into the attack, blocking the middle of the shaft. He continues forward, rolling to the side as the griffon swipes at his retreating form. Her talons go to the top of her head as a whoosh of air comes from above, the top of her crest halving in length as the rapier trims her feathers. She throws her spear to the ground, storming back to the edge of the arena as the last dissenter moves forward.

"Gregory!" he bellows, pointing a talon at Lunaris, "This pony is making a travesty of our rules with his magic! I demand he cease his use of any unicorn magics while in the arena!"

Lunaris doesn't wait for Gregory to say anything, his rapier levitating to his hoof. "I accept," he formally intones, a few practice swishes through the air. "I will warn you, I'm not as precise with the hoof, and I'm sorry if I injure you."

"It is your own hide you should be worried about!" shouts the griffon, advancing with a spear held in front of him. Lunaris narrows his eyes; none of these griffons have been trained combatants, at least not against unicorn techniques. They have focused on him instead of the levitated blade, allowing him to attack from range while retreating and dodging, his rapier coming at them from unexpected angles. With his hoof, it would be much more dangerous, more akin to a normal duel. However, none of the four griffons have the look of a killer; it is more likely they have have other jobs, and are merely here as representatives. His hoof goes to the bag at his side, swapping Gilded Graze for Ward Pierce. The blunted anti-magic blade would be far safer for the griffon, just fighting to first feather.

The griffon raises an eyebrow at the weapon swap, his stance lowering to three limbs as he charges. At the last second he leaps into the air, his wings taking him to the side and out of counter range as his spear thrusts towards Lunaris.

Lunaris dashes forward, spinning as a heavy strike with his blade parries the spear to the side, a quick followup overextending himself as far as he can reach. His rapier crushes into the grasping talons, knocking the spear away as the griffon yowls in pain. He cradles his talons next to his chest, a terrified look in his eyes. Lunaris picks himself off the ground, warily watching the griffon as he slowly advances. The griffon holds up his other talon, surrendering.

Lunaris spits on the ground, "That is it? Is that all you have?" He shakes his head, a hoof coming forward to grab one of the feathers, a sharp tug plucking the primary. The griffon shudders, quickly slinking to the edge of the arena as Lunaris gathers three of the other fallen feathers, placing them back on the table with the paper. He loudly calls, "Any other objections?"

The arena is silent as Gregory scans the assembled crowd. Nogriffon else steps forward, Gregory slamming a taloned fist onto the throne he is sitting on. He loudly states, "The bill passes as stated, no other provisions added or subtracted."

Lunaris smiles, "Thank you, Gregory." He stops, looking back at the paper, "Actually, wait; I had a few more things I wanted to add to that."

Gregory shakes his head, "Perhaps we may revisit those clauses at a later time, Ambassador, but Griffonstone is prepared to accept a more formal relationship with Equestria. Does the Golden Aerie have anything they wish to contest?"

No," shouts the white griffon, "Our objection lies with the trade agreement, and the destruction of Griffon culture that would follow!"

11 Kombat

"Well, I suppose as an ambassador you have already done a remarkable job. I myself wouldn't have thought I would be standing here again. At least, without the homes outside remaining unbroken." He chuckles, the white griffon rising to his full height, towering several heads above Lunaris. "I suppose I should introduce myself, though you likely have guessed already. My name is Ganis, of the Golden Aerie." He turns towards Lunaris, a slight bow.

Lunaris stops sifting through his packs at the silence that follows, turning back to the arena. "Oh, should I say something?" He quickly takes a few steps forward, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ganis; you know me as Ambador, or Lunaris Blueblood of Equestria." Lunaris nods, withdrawing back to his pack, pulling out a brush and starting to clean off his dirty coat.

Ganis nods in return, looking back over the assembled griffons. "In the past, griffons did not need the Equestrians as allies. We did not need them as trade partners. We had a long and storied history! Unmatched in the air, no pegasus was our equal! On the ground, no yak could stand against us! Our warriors were feared, the threat of our marauders enough for our opponents to cower in their holes!"

A cheer comes, and not only from the armor wearing griffons.

Ganis walks to the side of the arena, returning with a large tan and brown tome. "Griffons were known as crafters! Our spears were desired by many, and feared by more! Griffonstone itself towers above every other, even Canterlot to the west! We look down on every other race!"

A snicker choruses through the griffons, many heads nodding along before a lone cheer pierces the crowd.

"Thank you, son," Ganis laughs, pointing a talon at the griffon that had been next to him. Ganis turns back, looking across the crowd. "We have a storied past!" he says, twirling the book in the air. "The Kings of Griffonstone knew the strength of a united people! All griffons, working towards a common goal. And this pony, through the guise of making things easier, and more accessible, is going to destroy all of that!"

Ganis raises the brochure in his other talon, "Look at the contents of this brochure; what this pony is trying to sell. A house! And all you need to do is collect enough bits, and this house will be provided for you!" He flips through a couple pages, "Farming equipment! Perhaps even clothing!" He laughs at the last, many of the griffons joining in.

Ganis paces back and forth a few times, "I remember a time when a griffon took pride in his home! When he could look at every branch, every rock and say, 'I know where that rock used to be. And I carried it here, to provide for my flock!" He throws the brochure to the ground, a talon stomping on it as he shouts, "And the clothes! Any color under the sun, available for your pleasure and comfort!" Jeers rise from the crowd, not a single griffon wearing anything but armor.

"The color purple used to mean something! With this, everygriffon would have their purples, deserved or not! A purple ribbon on your spear means something! It shows honor! Devotion! Mastery! When you see some griffon with a metal spear, you know they are an expert with it! If you see a purple cloth, they are a master tailor! But, by replacing this show of mastery with a single objective that has nothing to do with the item in question? You will destroy all of this!" He holds the book back into the air, "These Griffons of Greatness, they knew that gold was the product of a productive life. Not the object! And any griffon that confuses the two is undeserving of the name."

Ganis shakes his head, a mournful tone, "If you go through with this, these Great Griffons, who became Kings? Do not allow them to become Bygones of History, their lessons forgotten! The greatest of Griffons, they became kings because they had the strength! And the conviction! And the determination to do everything in their power to make Griffons great! And you will replace this with a system that panders to the masses. And you doom yourselves if you think that listening to this pony will save any of you."

Ganis stops, pointing a talon at the assembled crowd before stopping at Lunaris. The unicorn has brushed the dirt off his coat, his mane tied back tight against his neck. His canvas bag is again strapped to his side, as well as a number of brochures and a thin book.

Lunaris steps forward, walking along the outer edge of the arena as Ganis returns to his seat. Lunaris distributes the brochures to various griffons, the thin master book levitating to Gregory. He motions to the book, "That contains the order forms and whatnot, should you agree to this." Lunaris walks back around, stopping at one of the metal clad griffons. "If I may?" he asks, motioning towards the metal tipped spear. The griffon looks around at his fellows, a short laugh that the pony is asking something of him. "Perhaps," Lunaris says, levitating Gilded Graze, "you can keep this as collateral." The griffon shrugs, taking the rapier and offering up the spear. His talons pick at the golden hilt while Lunaris takes the spear, walking to the center of the arena.

Lunaris calls to the assembled griffons, "Who are your enemies?" He paces back a few times, slowly twirling the spear in the air with his magic. "What do you struggle against? Is it an invading horde? Is there a nearby nation, one that you would like to conquer?" Lunaris transfers the spear to his hoof and scrapes the ground, drawing a square with a triangle on top. "Or do you find yourself struggling against nature? Trying to eek out a living from the stone, the nearby forest?"

Lunaris points the spear towards Gregory, a long, slow swing as he focuses on each griffon in turn. He says, "It makes sense to field an army, perhaps; or a militia, if you have your enemies. But every bit, every piece of metal spent on excess fighting could instead be spent on improving your lives. Better food, better houses! Think of all of the parts in your life that are lacking. How many different aspects? Five? Fifty? An uncountably high number?"

Lunaris shakes his head, inspecting the wooden shaft of the spear, then the metal head. "It is impressive to achieve mastery, such that one can craft a spear of this quality!" Lunaris twirls the spear around, jabbing the head into the ground before pulling it back out. "But it is an impossibility to achieve mastery in every aspect of life that is worth living!" He walks back to the metal-clad griffon, trading the spear for his rapier. He inspects the hilt, smirking at the lack of damage.

"But, the truth is that one does not have to have mastered a profession to enjoy the benefits of that mastery. It would take years of dedication to the craft of blacksmithing to forge the blade of your spear, or the steel of my rapiers. And years more to perfect the enchantments inlaid in each." Lunaris rapidly spins his rapier, his blade dancing through the air, "But! I didn't have to! I can devote myself to learning to wield a blade, ignorant of the methods of its construction! I am a better swordsmare for it, and I challenge anypony, I'm sorry, anygriffon here to contest that!"

Lunaris stares first at Ganis, the griffon returning a smug expression. Lunaris' gaze wanders to the right, then the left, finally settling on the white griffon standing next to Ganis, a hint of rage beginning to boil in his eyes. Lunaris continues, "And this is true of every aspect of life! Those areas where you can borrow against another griffon's, or another pony's, expertise, that is another aspect of your own that you can dedicate to achieving wizardry in your chosen profession! Something beyond mastery! And we Equestrians, we wish to better ourselves through your expertise, and hope that you can do that same through ours."

Lunaris stops in the center of the arena next to the bag of bits, a bow to Ganis, then to Gregory. "Thank you all for your time and consideration. I know that we will become the best of friends, should you give us the chance."

Gregory slightly moves forward, "Are there any other considerations before we vote?"

The arena is silent as the griffon next to Ganis moves forward into the arena. He fans out his wings, the blades between his feathers glinting in the sun. His metal spear, larger than most, twirls above his head before coming to rest pointing at Lunaris.

Ganis hesitantly says, "Son?"

A talon swings back, silencing any further objections. He shouts, "Lunaris, you are here to destroy Griffons!" His spear beats against the ground, punctuating each line, "Their culture! Their identity! Their life!" The spear comes back up, a salute to the griffons behind him before he turns back to Lunaris, "Therefore, I, Gannison, challenge you, Lunaris, to a duel! But not to first feather! To the Death!"

12 Mediation

Lunaris regards the advancing griffon, doing his best to project an outer appearance of calm. His inner pony shakes in fear, terrified at the approaching predator. It desperately whispers to him, telling him to gallop away, or to lie down in a vain hope that the griffon will ignore him or somehow be unable to see him. The griffon has a wicked glint in his eyes; his talons slowly caress the spear, sliding up and down the shaft as if he is replaying the many times he has killed in the past. Ganis rises behind his son, tightly gripping his own spear as he takes to the air.

"You are certain of this?" Lunaris barely manages to call, keeping his voice from quivering. He forces one foreleg forward, slowly circling around Gannison as Ganis remains in the air. Gannison mirrors the movement, sharp thrusts of the spear swishing through the chill air. Gilded Graze levitates from Lunaris' bag, his hoof taking the blade from midair as he sloughs the canvas next to the bag of bits.

"There will be a feast tonight, pony!" Gannison calls, gnashing his beak, "And you will be the main event!"

"Well, I've never been much for entertaining," Lunaris quips in return, his banter starting to diffuse his terror, "But I suppose I shall serve!" Lunaris smirks at the resounding chuckles, many from the armored griffons. Inwardly he grimaces; he would have been much more comfortable using his horn, but the risk of offending the griffons, or being accused of cheating his way to victory is too great. Even asking for the concession might be too much; it would serve nopony to be given a handicap and then be challenged again should he win.

When he wins, he bluntly reminds himself.

Gannison laughs, "Serve you will, pony! I give you one chance to flee, to leave this place with your life. Take your bits, no griffon wants them!"

"Hah!" calls Lunaris, rolling his shoulders as he shifts to the side, "I'm afraid at your lack of conviction! You'll have to try harder than that!"

"Wait!" calls Aspide, dirt kicking up as the earth pony rushes into the arena. "You don't have to do this! You can talk this out, come to some sort of consensus!"

"Is that what you want, pony?" sneers Gannison, spinning and advancing on Aspide. Lunaris starts galloping over as the griffon continues, "You want to spit on our customs? On our honor? On our way of life? No." He raises a talon, pointing at Aspide, "If you aren't careful, you might find yourself dragged in the fight as well." He smirks as he quickly steps towards her, "Or maybe you already have, and there will be more on the menu!"

Lunaris charges in between the two his rapier slicing through the air. Gannison takes a hasty step back, a touch of doubt at the fury in Lunaris' eyes. The unicorn spares a brief glance back before turning his attention to the griffon, a nearly whispered, "Are you sure of this?"

Aspide's nods in return, her voice like steel, "I'm not leaving you out here alone. Not when I can help."

Lunaris quickly looks up and down her, grimacing at her determination. "Do you have a shield?" Lunaris asks; his horn flares, his retrieval bag teleporting to his side. He passes Gilded Graze to Aspide, Ward Pierce withdrawing. The cobalt rapier glints, the blunted tip sharpening under Lunaris' focus. Aspide takes Gilded Graze in one hoof, a shake of the head at lacking her namesake shield.

Ganis chuckles as he hefts his spear, landing next to Gannison. "And here I was afraid I would merely be a second, ensuring an honorable fight." He laughs, pointing the spear as the two ponies face the two griffons, "And now I get to revel in the victory as well!" He shakes his head, "But it is too bad; even if you won here, even if you defeated my son, you would accomplish nothing!"

Lunaris wavers, looking at the assembled griffons. Most are standing and cheering, though for which side is nearly impossible to determine. Was all his time here really wasted? That he would be just another pony to fall to the griffons, unable to persuade the bloodthirsty savages to the side of reason? And they would continue their barbaric ways even if he won, the only difference whether or not he walked out under his own power? Or left at all?

Ganis waves a talon back, many of the armored griffons loudly cheering. "None of the Golden Aerie believe in your words! And without their support, peace between Equestria is impossible!" He points a talon accusingly at Lunaris, "You have failed in your mission as an ambassador, just as you will fail in the arena of combat! The true measure of a griffon!"

"You are wrong!" shouts Golda, flying over and landing next to Lunaris. She raises a golden talon, sweeping behind her at the two ponies while her focus remains on Ganis. "I believe them! I believe that they have come here, desiring peace between our peoples. And I believe that the peace that they offer is in our best interests! You cling to your purples, your hoarded trinkets and hard fought relics, as what? Proof of your superiority? These ponies promise us a way forward, a way for everygriffon to prosper! And I believe them!"

Ganis slams the butt end of his spear into the ground, shouting, "Golda! What is this treachery? How can you believe in this pony? How can you know that he speaks the truth, that we will be able to get along with Equestria? That this isn't some ruse by the tyrant princess to subjugate us, as she has subjugated the buffalo? The mules? The yaks?"

"I do know, because I have seen and heard them!" Golda shouts back, circling around the center of the arena to address the rest of the griffons. Her words echo among the murmuring griffons, "If Equestria wanted our submission, Princess Celestia would not have sent two ponies! She would not have sent ambassadors!"

"And when she sends her armies, her wings of pegasi, we would meet them in the air! We would rain stones on them from the sky!" Ganis retorts, spinning back to follow Golda. "We would crush them, or ourselves be crushed! But we would never bend the knee to a tyrant!"

"And where are the wings of pegasi?" Golda shouts, motioning to the clear skies. "The only force flying into Griffonstone today is your own! Their actions show their true intent, and it is exactly what they have been saying! But your own actions?"

Golda shakes her head, "You have proven your bloodlust is too great, overriding the words of your beak and the sights of your own eyes."

"You dare to cast aspersions on my honor?" thunders Ganis, raising his spear as he takes to the air. His eyes shine with fury, readying himself to charge Golda.

"Your own words attack your honor!" Golda points a talon at Ganis, then motions to herself, standing tall as if daring Ganis to charge her. "Here is a griffon from the Golden Aerie willing to believe these ambassadors! Are you so blind as to ignore your own kin?"

The fire fades from Ganis' eyes, slowly dropping to the ground. "Daughter of the Golden Aerie," he says in a low voice, "you truly believe this is the correct way? That we will not come to regret this alliance between Griffons and Equestria?"

"I do, and I am willing to prove it in any way you decide," comes the fast reply. Golda raises a talon, Ganis gripping it in his own.

A gleam crosses Ganis' eyes, "Even your daughter?"

Golda gulps, but continues her stare at Ganis. She nods, a soft, "Even her."

Ganis sighs heavily, his eyes closing as his head drops down. "I do hope you are correct as well," Ganis says, pulling her close to his chest. His talon thumps her back, Golda's returning the hug. They linger for a brief moment before Ganis moves to one of the armored griffons, a few whispered words traded between them. The griffon quickly strips out of his armor, leaving his spear behind as he quickly flies off.

Gregory stands, pointing at Gannison, "After witnessing this, Gannison, do you still desire a duel to the death over the proposed trade agreement with Equestria?"

Gannison looks between Ganis and Golda, a heavy grunt escaping his beak. "You are lucky, pony." He lowers his spear, turning and flicking his tail feathers up at the two ponies.

"Well, that went well," Lunaris remarks to Aspide, his body visibly relaxing. "Luck! At least the outcome was never in doubt."

Aspide rolls her eyes, "Oh, please. You were shaking when those two were advancing, intending to kill us."

"I was merely worried for your safety, is all," Lunaris says, shaking his head to the side. He takes the golden rapier back from Aspide, returning both to the canvas bag. He holds a hoof over a darkened area, concentrating as his horn lights. The letters 'ggwp' flash onto the bag, the teleportation magic of the canvas recharged.

Aspide rapidly nods a few times, her sarcastic quip, "Ah huh, sure, I get that. Can't have Princess Celestia mad at you, after all."

Gregory's voice booms from the front of the arena, "With the lack of objections from the Golden Aerie and any others, the trade agreement passes, details to be hashed out at and after the feast. The session is closed for today as we prepare. Delegates! You are dismissed for the day."

The various griffons take flight, leaving Lunaris and Aspide alone in the center of the arena. Gregory shuffles over, holding up the master book. "Lunaris Blueblood, or Ambador, you have enacted a great chance in the griffons this day. I only hope it is a boon to us."

"I have no doubt that it will," Lunaris says with a grin, "And I'm glad I didn't need these!" He levitates out ten more business cards, ripping them to shreds. "Speaking of, we have a second bag of bits. What way do you feel is the most equitable way to distribute them? Now, if you were to ask me, I would give each griffon an equal amount of gold, such that they can then barter with each other, using the bits as currency. Or ordering things from the catalog you have there, if you desire Equestrian goods."

Gregory looks at the bits, then at the book in his hand. "Griffons have rarely used a currency, instead bartering gold and useful items when absolutely necessary. Self sufficiency is prized among griffons, as you are well learning. I worry that your gold itself is more valuable than the items one might barter for it."

Lunaris purses his lips, "Hmm, indeed. Though, that book there contains just about every item that is for sale in Canterlot and other cities. Some of them might seem overpriced, compared to your value of gold, while others will be a complete steal. Over time, an equilibrium will be reached. Do you think it better to purchase a large number of the more valuable items, and distribute them among the griffons instead?"

"And rob them of the joy of discovering those hidden gems? Hardly." Gregory smirks, "I think we will distribute them evenly among everygriffon, and allow them the chance to decide for themselves. I imagine we will have a list available for you to take home tomorrow. But, your feast awaits, good ponies." He takes off, leaving Lunaris and Aspide.

Lunaris smirks to Aspide, "Looks like he went with my suggestion! It's a testament to my dedication and wit, I would say."

"Yeah, or you're a stubborn mule." The two ponies gather their belongings from the side of the arena, their packs again weighing them down.

"Oh, come now, I'm no ass. I'm Ambador the Ambassador!" Lunaris can't help but bounce up and down, still a little giddy from their successful negotiations. Many griffons can be seen congregating around one of the larger houses, several smoky trails billowing up.

His enthusiasm rapidly wanes as they draw close to the celebration. He glances to Aspide, her gray coat turning a little green at the stench of the cooking meal. It mixes with the unwashed griffon bodies, their own sweat, and the sappy smoke, combining to something he can't quite put his hoof on but knows he definitely doesn't want to. His pristine hooves have already taken too much of a beating, to say nothing of his coat!

"Hey, can I get one of those brochures?" one of the armored griffons asks while poking Lunaris in the side, holding a talon out. Lunaris startles back, forcing a smile as he pulls out a brochure. Soon Lunaris and Aspide find themselves surrounded, many talons grasping at them, impatiently waiting for him. Lunaris grimaces to himself; these griffons are worse than the Canterlot nobles! At least the nobles had the decency to keep their hooves to themselves while they wait for the last sycophant to stop talking to him, before they took their place in line. The griffons instead climb over each other, as if afraid he is going to run out of brochures. Hmm, maybe he should check how many he has left. After he satisfies this group, of course. He grimaces internally; maybe they could share the brochures, but looking at the response of the griffons, their infighting, gives that idea little hope. Soon enough, the brochures run out, many of the remaining griffons understandably upset at not getting a brochure of their own.

Lunaris and Aspide glance at each other, their frowns turning to smirks as they slink away from the growing dust cloud. They find themselves standing at one of the long mess tables, their smiles short lived as one of the griffon chefs, if you could call them that, places a plate of steaming... something in front of them.

"Um," says Aspide, looking at the brown dish from one angle, then another. The texture reminds her of a boiled carrot, heavily glazed with brown sugar. Except for the white spots sprinkled around. And the growing puddle of reddish brown. She looks around; a few of the griffons have joined them, getting plates of their own. None have any sort of silverware, not even a knife, instead grasping the substance with their talons and digging in with their beaks. She whispers to Lunaris, "Do you think this is... meat?"

Lunaris follows the trail of one of the clouds of smoke, leading to a wooden structure built over a roaring fire. A... carcass would be the most appropriate word, is rotating above the fire, the dish in front of him sharing the same smoky aroma. He whispers back to Aspide, "I fear you are correct. One would hate to imbibe in such a feast, were it deserving of the name." Lunaris glances back at his plate, two hunks of meat now resting on his plate. His deadpan stare finds Aspide, her casual whistle belying her growing smirk. "Ahem."

Aspide flutters her eyelashes, a perfectly innocent, "Yes?" coming out.

Lunaris points a hoof at his plate, "Ahem."

Gregory steps up from behind Lunaris, clasping a talon around each pony's shoulder. "Ah, I see you are both enjoying your meals! A griffon specialty, this is. Very insulting should one refuse. I have heard that even your Princess Celestia has difficulty with such a display, and I am glad that I don't have to worry about that with you!"

Lunaris whimpers as his face falls, looking at the double helping of smoky meat on his plate. One shaky hoof tentatively comes up, trying to grasp the dripping hunk with as little as possible. His eyes squeeze shut; his mind desperately wants to shut his nostrils, stop the assault on his senses. He can hear the pop of the fire, the sizzle of the still roasting venison, the smoky texture tickling the back of his throat. The tender meat practically falls apart in his hoof, forcing him to open his eyes to grab a long sliver.

Gregory intently watches with glee while Aspide adopts a look of horror before her guard training comes back to her, a stony expression replacing her open mouth. Lunaris' hoof comes up, his mouth briefly scowling as the sliver touches his tongue. His jaw mechanically chews a few times, another whimper escaping his mouth before he swallows. His stomach churns, Lunaris doing everything he can to keep his reaction in check. His tongue briefly lolls out of his mouth as he harshly breathes out. Gregory laughs, "I like you, Lunaris! I do hope we can continue to share our customs with each other!"

Lunaris briefly nods to Gregory, the large griffon walking away. He lunges over as soon as the griffon is out of the immediate area, grabbing Aspide's pack and withdrawing a bottle of water. He practically rips off the top, swishing a mouthful of the liquid around before spitting it out under the table. He leans over to Aspide, "I swear to you, these royal lips are never touching anything so disgusting again." He motions to the many griffons now sitting around them, "No common fare, only what I or a Canterlot grade chef prepares!"

Aspide smirks, "Well, might need to put that on hold," as Gregory sits down across from Lunaris, a heaping plate of meat on his plate. The griffon's eyes travel from the plate to Lunaris, his head barely cocking to the side as he stares. Lunaris' eyes widen, his shoulders slumping over as his hoof raises to his plate again, a soft whimper escaping his lips.

13 Neutralize

Lunaris groans, feeling sick to his stomach as he lays on his thin cot. He is glad Aspide took the lead in setting up their tent on the outskirts of Griffonstone. Thankfully upwind of the town, and the celebration, and all the griffons still milling about. His stomach aches from the meal, and he can't decide which he is more disgusted by: the fact that he gave up his oath so quickly, or that he actually ate the entire meal. Maybe he can hoofwave it away by saying he already had some, and so it didn't count to just eat more. Or that it was at a 'royal' table, sitting next to the defacto leader of the griffons at the time. Or maybe he's just making excuses, and needs the contortions his stomach and intestines are going through as penance.

"Hey," Aspide grunts out as she enters the tent, holding a bucket of water in her mouth. She methodically approaches Lunaris' side, dropping the bucket next to him. His groan barely constitutes a reply, the slight splash of the water masking her sigh. Aspide pulls out a hard sponge and a towel, monogrammed with a blue and gold compass. She dips the sponge into the thankfully clean water, a slight frown at the cold. She squeezes the excess water back into the bucket, the towel set next to his barrel.

Lunaris' ear flicks back at the drip of the drops. His head turns, one eye opening, slowly rotating to watch the sponge draw closer. His barrel flinches at the chill, slowly relaxing as Aspide cleans the dirt caked into his coat, that the brush had missed.

"I know it's not the Royal Spa Treatment," Aspide quips, dipping the sponge a second time, "But it'll have to do."

"You're right," Lunaris says, his tone flat, "but I wouldn't trade this for them, not now." He slightly pushes up, allowing Aspide to wash under his barrel and towel him off.

Aspide smiles, "I don't know, I could go for one of those steamer baths, I've heard they are pretty good."

"I hope you mean a steam bath, as a steamer is a type of locomotive." Lunaris turns away, yet his eye roll is unmistakable, "Unless you are talking of some sort of improper act, in which case I should certainly hope not. Not at the Royal Spa, at least."

"Seriously?" Aspide says with a sigh and shrug, "Okay, I guess. Never been myself, if that wasn't obvious." She swaps to his other side, dragging the bucket along with her.

"And yet you doing a fine job. Or maybe it's how far removed we are from Equestria, and any hoof would seem like this." Lunaris twitches as the next slap of the sponge hits his side a little harder, a slight smirk crossing his muzzle.

"We've been gone two days and you're already pining for home? Jeez, mare up. You don't see me complaining so much." The towel flips over his head, covering his eyes as Aspide coarsely rubs his side, considerably less friendliness in her movements.

"Maybe its the thirty ounces of venison doing flips in my stomach, then. Thank you for that, by the way." Lunaris chances a slight glare backwards, looking at his mussed coat. He sighs, his head dropping back down as he closes his eyes, wishing to just relax and go to sleep.

Aspide sighs, her forelegs sagging as she drops down next to him. "Yeah. I'm sorry about that. Not really enough to have taken the meat back, but that you had to go through it." She pulls out a brush, attacking the various tufts and tangles she just added to his hair. She glances over at the lack of response; Lunaris is breathing softly, his eyes closed as his muzzle rests on his hooves. She smiles, finishing brushing his coat before she snuggles next to him underneath their blanket.

Lunaris glances around the poorly lit arena, the wet dirt squelching against his hooves. His brow furrows, one hoof pulling away from the mud with a loud slurp, brown globs clinging to his fetlocks. He grimaces as he backs up, but this only causes his hind hooves to sink in further as his coat gets matted from the heavy rain. It distorts the air, hundreds of splashes all around him.

Jeers from the roaring crowd assault his ears, a cacophony of hoots and howls, metal clashing against metal and wood on stone. His ears splay along his skull as he takes another hesitant step back, away from the center of the arena. The griffons on the outskirts of the audience loom large above him, the light from many hooded lanterns casting the arena in dim shadows. Their spears glint, sharpened edges twirling through the air as the griffons beat them against the ground, their war chants growing louder and louder.

Lightning flashes from above, illuminating the white griffon directly in front of Lunaris for the briefest of moments. He barely has enough time to raise his hoof, Gilded Graze parrying the heavy downward slash of the metal spear. Gannison breaks off, no chance for Lunaris to counter as the unicorn's eyes try to adjust to the lack of blinding light.

The griffon blurs, taking to the air as Lunaris tries to roll to the side. His hoof catches in the mud, throwing off his balance as he drops to the ground. The spear rakes his side, a light blow considering the power behind the swing. Lunaris scrambles to his hooves, still keeping his grip on Gilded Graze as he winces in pain. Not a crippling blow, but the griffon has managed to draw first blood. The other side of his coat is caked in mud, the rain slowly washing it off or driving it further in.

Lunaris scans the skies, looking for his opponent in the dim haze. He spots a white griffon hovering in the air, turning to face his opponent. One muddy hoof goes to his wound as the griffon waits, stalling for time or for his wound to worsen. Lunaris grits his teeth, about to yell at the coward when a sharp pain radiates from his flank. His left leg gives out, Lunaris collapsing to the ground as he screams in agony.

He looks back, blinking through his tears as he spots Gannison, the bloody spear in his talons going for another thrust. Lunaris sinks down, his rapier coming up in the nick of time to knock the blow to the side. Gannison cackles as he rises again; it must have been Ganis he saw before, hovering in the air. But where was Aspide? Or Golda? The crowd only roars louder, Lunaris unable to make out anything in the faceless mass of feathers and stone.

He tries to put pressure on his hind leg, grimacing as pain radiates through his body. He awkwardly hops, the mud hobbling his movements even further as he searches the skies again. The rain makes it extremely difficult to spot any sort of motion, but the unmistakable white blur heading towards him can mean only one thing. Gilded Graze comes up again, trying to parry the griffon's feint. The spear swings around, Lunaris not able to keep pace as another long slash scores a second line across his barrel.

Lunaris howls in rage, spinning around to try to find the strafing opponent. The rain slowly lets up, leaving large puddles in the ground as the sun breaks through the storm clouds. Lunaris scans again, feeling slightly invigorated, though pain still courses through his body with every step. His mind registers a dash of blue and green in the crowd of purple, gold, and black before a white blur from the corner of his eye draws his attention.

Lunaris spins around, not able to parry the blow aimed at his neck as the spear slices open his muzzle, scraping against the bone of his skull. He sinks down, trying to whisk away the blood pouring into his eyes. He sobs, his ears flicking back at the slight suck of talons against the muddy ground, the rasp of talon against wood slowly getting closer.

"Is this all that Equestria can bring? One pathetic pony, barely able to hold his sword? You are undeserving of such a weapon, novice. Or should I say, foal?"

Lunaris' breath steadies, his hoof readying itself against the ground, Gilded Graze hidden in the mud. The squish of talon against water gets closer and closer. Still blinded, Lunaris barely shudders as the metal tip buries itself in his flank.

The crowd explodes in cheers, the stomp against the stone deafening. Lunaris manages to crack one eye open to see Gannison raising his talons to the air. Nearly every griffon is on their feet, mirroring Gannison and waving spear and wing to the sky. Gannison flourishes his wings in a bow, spinning around to grab the spear still lodged in Lunaris' flank.

Lunaris screams in pain as he lunges forward, his rapier dragging out of the mud. One talon comes up as Gannison's eyes go wide, Gilded Graze lopping off the sharpened edges as Lunaris tackles Gannison to the ground. The crowd goes silent as Gilded Graze nicks the neck of the griffon, a bloody white and red mess collapsing on top of him. Lunaris madly grins, one eye caked shut with blood and dirt while the other shines with victory. He pushes the blade a touch further into the white neck, "Give up, griffon?"

Gannison winces at the unicorn pressing his body to the ground, his wings bent painfully underneath him. His talon throbs, blood leaking out the severed tips, the trickle from his neck starting to increase as the blade bites deeper. Lunaris' eye twitches, his one good leg barely holding him up as the other continues to press the rapier down on the griffon's neck.

"NOOO!!" a deep voice thunders from above. Lunaris barely turns his head to see Ganis charging from above, the griffon gripping his war spear in front of him as he plummets through the air, a deadly charge aimed directly at the hated unicorn.

Lunaris does the only thing he can.

Gilded Graze drops to the mud as he grabs Gannison with both hooves, rolling to the side and bringing the griffon between him and Ganis, intercepting the plunging assault.

The metal spear pierces through Gannison, a deep cry of rage and sorrow as the spear continues, pressing into Lunaris' chest. It pierces into him once, twice, a third time as the crowd chants, "LUNARIS! LUNARIS!"

Lunaris stirs, trying to wipe the haze of his dream from his mind. The gray form above pokes a hoof in the side of his barrel, a soft, almost sing song, "Lunaris... Lunaris..."

Lunaris opens his eyes, the dark tent claustrophobic around him. He is holding Aspide above himself, one hoof wrapping around her neck in a chokehold. He manages to stutter, "Um," as his tight grip around her neck loosens.

"You can let me go, you know," Aspide snickers, her back pressing against his barrel. "Or not. I mean, you are pretty comfy."

"Um."

"I mean, that must have been some dream, huh? You were tossing and turning all over. And now this." Aspide grabs hold of the foreleg around her neck, squirming into the larger stallion. "I could get used to this."

Lunaris shudders, the images of his nightmare still playing through his mind.

"Hey, you doing okay over there?" Aspide says, twisting to glance back. Lunaris is staring off into the distance, eyes unfocused, his body unresponsive to her hooves pressing here and there and yet still clutching at her. She spins around, her hooves on the ground as she stares into his eyes. Her mouth impulsively moves down, pressing against his lips. She lingers, watching as his eyes first go wide. Then, they focus on her eyes, teal gazing into gray.

Aspide smiles, withdrawing from Lunaris. She drops to his side, her back snuggling up against him. "Good night, Lune," she softly says, a brief shift as Lunaris rolls to his side as well.

"Um," Lunaris says, a hoof coming to his mouth and lightly tapping against the slight wetness remaining. His hoof drops down, finding itself resting against her side as he closes his eyes, drifting off to a hopefully dreamless sleep.

14 Observation

The door to the tent bursts open, a white unicorn madly dashing away. A gray mare peeks out, squinting against the morning light and watching with a bemused expression as he circles around one of the nearby rocks. She shakes her head, a slight eye roll at his exaggerated movements back and forth before she disappears back into the tent. Aspide begins packing up the bedroll and blankets, one ear flicking back at an uncommon, though not necessarily unexpected noise.

"Oh Sweet Celestia!" comes the haggard cry, accompanied by a loud grunt. Aspide smirks as the moans continue, debating whether or not she should shout any advice. Her nose wrinkles as a foul, pungent aroma floods the tent. Why did he have to run upwind of her? At least it isn't too much worse than what the griffons subjected them to yesterday.

Hooves clop against the stone, gradually getting louder. The tent flap opens, Aspide continuing to pack up their belongings. She ignores the throat behind her clearing, finally turning around at the gruff, "Ahem."

"Yes?" Aspide asks, her large, innocent eyes fluttering as she looks up at Lunaris.

The unicorn glares back, impervious to the batting of her eyes, "You owe me half a foot of intestine."

"Mm," Aspide says, waggling her hips seductively as she grabs her bags, "I think that can work. But will that be enough?"

"Oh dear Celestia!" Lunaris moans, a hoof slamming into his head. He grunts, massaging the spot where he hit himself. "I meant, because of what happened yesterday, from the meat! I feel like I lost a foot of myself clearing all of that disgusting crap out! And half of that meat should have been yours."

"Aww, you're only giving me half of your meat?" At Lunaris' continued glare Aspide rolls her eyes, "I thought the griffon chefs made you try a bit of chicken. Weren't you comfortable after that?" Aspide grunts as she pushes Lunaris' much lighter bags out of the tent.

Lunaris helps pull up the stakes as he says, "You are correct. Therefore, you owe me even more, seeing as I could have digested some of their fare without issue."

"Oh, you can have as much as you want," Aspide quips, her forelegs dropping to the ground. Her eyes look back as her tail flicks to the side, a smirk growing even larger on her muzzle as she sways back and forth.

"That's it. Have fun packing everything up yourself." Lunaris huffs, storming off. His canvas bag levitates to his side, strapping on as he drops to the ground, beginning a regimen of push ups. His eyes bore into the ground, his breath coming in snorts and

"Oh, come on, I was just having a bit of fun! What's the big deal?" Aspide gets back up, pulling out the last of the stakes. "And I could use some help with this. It's kinda hard with just hooves, you know."

Lunaris ignores her, his breathing beginning to get heavier as he strains against the ground.

"Alright, I'm sorry." Aspide sighs, waiting for Lunaris to help her with the tent. "Why are you so hung up on this, anyway? I thought that, you know, with the way all those mares look at you back at the castle, you'd be used to this sort of thing. Or at least not be such a prude."

Lunaris closes his eyes, a long breath in as he tries to calm himself. He gets up, flexing his forelegs as his horn lights. The tent folds into itself, neatly packing into one of the bags. His voice, much softer than normal, "Unfortunately, none of the nobles you are referring to ever caught my eye."

Aspide pulls the bags to her back, Lunaris helping strap her in, "That's oddly specific. So, there some non noble mare that caught your eye?"

Lunaris merely grunts in return, pulling the rest of the bags to himself.

"Wait, it's not me, is it?" Aspide sighs as Lunaris stares off into the distance, "Look. Is it about last night?"

"No. And yes. I don't want to talk about it." The two start walking to Griffonstone, Aspide pulling up next to Lunaris.

Her voice raises, "Look, I'm sorry about what happened last night. I just thought that, you know, with the way you were acting, the way things had gone, you needed to break out of it. I just wanted to help you with that, and if you wanted it, a chance to relax. Just to be there if you needed me."

Lunaris slams a hoof into the ground, "Is that it? That's why you kissed me?"

Aspide nods, a touch of hesitation in her voice. She scuffs at the ground, "Well, sure; I was worried about you, and thought it would help. And if it led to anything... well, I wasn't going to say no."

"Well, why me? You can't possibly treat any of the other guards like this," Lunaris sneers, "or you would be out of Canterlot Castle faster than you can bend your forelegs."

"Well, you stood up for me, back at the arena." Aspide glances away, trying to hide her blush, "And, even though you can be quite a pain, I... I like you. And I thought you liked me too."

Lunaris huffs, "Yes, I find you attractive! You're one of the only mares I've met who stands up to me. Who tells me when I am wrong, or misguided, or offensive. I value that, very highly." He shakes his head, "But, I'm sorry, it just won't work out between us! Not at this time."

Her voice raises to match his, "Look, I know I wouldn't make lead mare! Is it because I'm an earth pony?

Lunaris shakes his head, the fight leaving his eyes. "No. It's not that."

Aspide continues unabated, "Or is it just because I'm still a lowly private? Am I not good enough for Prince Blueblood?"

"Look, I'm sorry I made such a big deal. Please drop it."

"Fine." Aspide huffs, the two walking silently for several minutes.

They glance up as two griffons fly over them, recognizing Golda and Ganis. Golda is carrying a bundle of blankets in her talons, a green duffel bag over her shoulder. The griffons circle around, landing next to the two ponies. Talons lift the bundle off of Golda's back, now cradled next to her chest.

"Hello, Golda, Ganis," Lunaris says, a slight nod towards each.

"Ponies," Ganis says, motioning towards Golda. "We have a formal request."

Golda steps forward, pulling the blanket back to reveal a small griffon. Her golden eyes, surrounded by amethyst, look up at the two ponies. Her small beak opens, but no sound comes out; she waves briefly before hunkering down, her beak shutting. Her brown arms and golden talons cover her face, huddling into the blankets. Golda says, "This is my daughter, Gilda. As a show of my faith in you and your intentions, I would like you to take her. I am... hopeful that you will be able to bring her with you to Equestria, so she is able to learn about ponies and their ways."

Lunaris stares at the small griffon for a few seconds before saying, "I'm sorry, but we aren't looking to adopt at this time."

Aspide slugs Lunaris in the withers, the unicorn grunting in pain and pouting. Aspide says, "Ignore him. So, would this be some sort of exchange program? Where you can send griffons to grow up in Equestria, and ponies might come to Griffonstone in a similar manner?"

Golda nods, "Until she is an adult, yes, and then she can make her own choice to return here or stay with you. We would be amenable, should any ponies request, to housing and teaching them here in Griffonstone." She pauses for a few seconds before saying in a lower voice, "It would likely be best for a pegasus foal."

Lunaris smiles, recovering from the hard punch, "We are honored that you place your trust in us. Do you have any relatives in Equestria, or have a preference to where she goes?"

Golda shakes her head, "She will be one of the first of the Golden Aerie to travel to Equestria. We have... not been inclined to send anygriffon before now." She pauses for a few seconds before saying, "I have heard of your pegasus cities; perhaps that might be the best place for her." Golda raises a talon, holding it out. Lunaris raises his hoof, the two grasping each other, pulling together for a quick embrace. "I suppose I should thank you again for not leaving her an orphan."

Lunaris smiles, "I will talk with a few friends of mine, find a good home for her."

"I'm sure she will make the best of friends no matter where she ends up," Aspide says with a grin, taking the offered chick. The bundle squirms, reaching for Lunaris. "Hmm, I think she wants out. Or do you want to ride on the unicorn? Yes you do!"

"Oh, please, I'm not some pony drawn carriage," Lunaris says, a bit of a groan as Gilda finds herself riding on top of him regardless. She chirps appreciably, talons digging into his coat as Gilda looks at her mother.

"I better not hear about you misbehaving!" Golda admonishes the young griffon. Gilda hunches over slightly, nearly resting her head along Lunaris' back. "Oh! And, here are the various order forms and whatnot. I hope for your sake they come through with this."

"I have no doubt as to the outcome of that," Lunaris says, a smile at both griffons. He takes the green bag, finding a spot on his relatively unoccupied back. One quick trip over the Abyssal Abyss later and the griffons watch stoically as the ponies walk away. Gilda pokes her head up, a brief wave before she drops back down, merrily bouncing along on her white steed.

"Ooh, they packed some rations in here!" Aspide says, looking through the green bag. "It's... some sort of biscuit?"

"Those must be the rock biscuits Golda mentioned," Lunaris says, levitating one over. He sniffs it, a sigh at the common fare. "Is there nothing else in there?"

"Nope, doesn't look like it," Aspide says, taking a careful bite of the dense meal. "So," Aspide says as they walk down the mountain, slowly chewing the biscuit and trying to let her saliva dissolve the rock-like texture, "What happens now?"

"We head back to Equestria, and hope that fishermare is looking for us. Find a home for this one and celebrate a job well done. Hope Celestia can find somepony more inclined than me to come back here."

"Well, I'm with you there," Aspide says, a brief glance back at the fading city.