Unforeseen Consequences - Welcome to Griffonstone 3

>Aegia was sitting alone, her glass was half-full with a scarlet liquid as cheap-looking as the rest of the tavern. Sometimes she took a small sip out of it. Only to forcefully gulp it down before shivering in disgust.
>The dim light of the tavern gave Aegia’s usual stoic expression an air of serenity, almost melancholic. This meditative state was broken when she quickly realized that you were walking in her direction.
>Aegia didn’t greet you immediately, instead, she turned her gaze to the bartender and signaled him in a very relaxed, almost playful manner “Garen, would you mind?”
>The bartender who was calmly using a piece of old clothing to clean a beer mug gave Aegia a knowing nod. He then put the beer mug on the bar and threw the piece of clothing on his shoulder before turning off the record player and saying with a gruff voice “Alright fellas! Ye don’t have to go home with yer mums but ye can’t stay here either.”
>Funny, you thought at first that Aegia had paid the bartender to do clean up the house for when you arrived, but now that you heard him talking, well, let’s just say that a new hypothesis came to mind.

>The couple griffons who were the only real customers looked at the bartender with both annoyance and defiance. One of them whispered something to the other as he started to menacingly show his claws.
 >The bartender frowned at their attitude, but never actually losing his temper. Instead, he simply shot a glare followed by a less than subtle threat “Didn’t ye hear what I said, mates? We’re closed! Get yer paws out of me restaurant before I beat yer heads with me spikey stick!”
>The guy wasn’t bluffing, because once he finished his sentence, he pulled out what was basically a big log of wood with old but sharp nails encrusted all over the upper half.
>The two griffons flinched at first, but quickly hid their surprise and even fear with a frustration as they quickly took their things and left the tavern-restaurant.
>As all of this happened, Aegia was actually smiling, even giggling as she tried to take more sips out of her drink. Your mom on the other hoof, remained serene. Her face always holding a dead-serious expression.
>You took the opportunity to try and deduce a few things about Aegia’s work on Griffonstone based on what just happened.

>So once it was absolutely certain that the other two griffons weren’t coming back. You walked to Aegia’s table, used your magic to pull a stool near you and climbed on it, and of course, you didn’t forget to put up a smug grin and confidently leaned forward.
“So, Aegia! Now that the little show is over, I’m very curious to know what you and your friend have to tell us about Twilight, the council, and what things they are hiding… Oh! And do you think you could tell the guy to cut it out with the accent? His acting kinda sucks.”
>Aegia let out a little sigh and looked deeply into your eyes, not in her usual cold way, but rather with a more… proud feeling. With a smile on her face, she then turned to the shocked bartender and said “Why are you looking so surprised, Garen? I did tell you ze Princesses sent zeir colt here for a good reason.”
>“I completely agree with you, commander Aegia.” Your mom said with a calm and relaxed voice as she sat by your side and looked at Aegia in the eye “Just like I agree with what my son just said. So! What do you think if you tell us your report over a nice drink?”
>Aegia leaned back on her chair and gave your mom a casual salute “I like zat idea very much, Princess Luna.” She then turned her gaze to the bartender and motioned him “Garen, two glasses of wine for ze adults. Remember, you are dealing wiz actual royalty. Mind your manners and give us ze good stuff.”
>The bartender let out a sigh in annoyance and shook his head in what you assumed was him taking offence in what Aegia just said to him “I’ve been in ze secret service way longer zan you, Aegia. I know very well how to serve royalty. Two glasses of Don Neighdon for you and Princess Luna… and a glass of warm milk for ze colt coming right up.”

>Despite Aegia nor your mom really minding the bartender’s words, you did feel a little patronized by his tone. That, and really weren’t in the mood for milk.
“Here’s an advice for you “mate”.  Listen to your commander and mind your manners. My mom is not the only royal you’re dealing with.”
>The bartender stood still and looked deeply at you for a couple seconds before bursting in a laud laughter “Aegia wasn’t lying! You really know how to bark! I like you already, Prince Anon! Would you like a glass of ze best ginger ale in ze continent zen?”
>You leaned forward on the table as you shrugged to the bartender with a nice, good smug smile on your face.
“If it’s as good as you say, then why not?”
>“My son is not just talk, Mr. Garen. As they say, he also has a mean bite” Your mom calmly responded to the bartender “Otherwise, he would have not come victorious from his encounter with Radiant Hope last night.”
>Your mom’s words shocked not only Aegia and the bartender, but they also came as a complete surprise for you. It just felt that it came out of the blue.
“Mom? Uh… I don’t want to sound rude or anything but, don’t you think that’s something that we should have said like, after hearing Aegia’s report?”
>Your mom gently caressed your mane as she shook her head “Not at all, my child. Now you have something to talk about with our friends after I leave to fulfill my duty as the protector of the dream realm. So! With that said! Mr. Garen, would you be as kind as to serve us our drinks? My throat is getting a bit thirsty.”

>The bartender blinked in shock a couple times before starting to frantically, but professionally do his job “Of course, Princess Luna! Zis won’t take more than a moment!”
>Your mom nodded to him in a proud, almost regal way before turning her gaze to Aegia who in turn kept staring at you “You will have your moment to ask questions, Ms. Aegia. Right now, you have to answer ours.”
>Aegia closed her eyes and let out a sigh before gulping down the remainder of her drink “Right… Excusez moi, Princess Luna.” Her playfulness from before was now gone, replaced by the stoic attitude you knew Aegia for “Ze first zings I need to say are what we all know. Griffonstone is a mess, and ze council is nozing but a bunch of greedy zieves.”
“Gonna take a wild bet here. Twilight wasn’t jailed because she lost her frickin’ mind.”
>Aegia calmly nodded, as if she was expecting your question “Zat’s correct, mon petit. Ze real reason was because after realizing ze council cared for nozing but bits. Twilight decided to teach ze griffons what generosity would do for zem.”
>Before any other word could be said, the bartender brought the drinks and quickly but gently placed each glass in front of its corresponding “client”.
>Your mom used her magic to take the glass and bring it to her lips. After taking a sip out of her wine, your mom placed her glass on the table and said with a subtly annoyed voice “I can already see where this is going. Since young Twilight was succeeding, the council decided to put an end to her plans in order to not lose any bits.”

>Aegia nodded again “Oui…” She then quickly grabbed her glass and took a good drip out of it before continuing with her report “Ze
council said Princess Twilight was causing public havoc and arrested her wiz more efficiency that I have seen from zen in ten years.”
>As you drank the actually delicious ginger ale that the bartender served you, a question came to your mind. So after gulping down the remainder of your drink, you put your glass on the table and asked to Aegia.
“Something feels weird. Uh… I’m not doubting you words. I’m just… wondering why Twilight didn’t resist. Twilight is not stupid, she would’ve realized that the charged were false… and she’s an alicorn, I’m sure she could have dealt with whatever the council threw at her.”
>After another sip from her glass of wine, your mom gifted you another kind smile as she spoke with a certain sense of proudness “From what I have learned of the young Twilight. I am sure she did not want to cause any more troubles for the citizens of Griffonstone and instead decided to rely on the pony she admires the most, which is my older sister.”
“Which is why she sent the letter… but that’s still weird. I mean, Twilight did write that she did nothing wrong, but unless my mom Celestia forgot to mention this in her anger fit, she never mentioned the fake charges. Think about it, why would she omit a detail this important?”
>Aegia gulped down the rest of her wine and motioned the bartender to serve her more. She then looked at you and said with a sarcastic voice “Because ze council redacted the letter. Zey zought zat ze Princesses would believe their word over Twilight’s. Stupid, I know, but zat’s ze council for you.”

>Your mom finished the last drops of her glass and politely refused the bartender a second glass. She then took a deep breath and exhaled before speaking her mind “We now can be sure that the council is lying. The only thing remaining for us to do, is to use this information on our favor in tomorrow’s negotiations.”
“Why even negotiate with those guys though? We know they cheated and lied! We only need to show up and tell them the gig is up, so they better release Twilight or else!”
>“And how are you going to do zat wizout actual evidence, mon petit?” Aegia said as she caressed the edges of her glass with her hoof “Remember zat zis information is off ze record. What are you going to do? Admit Equestria sent spies to Griffonstone? Zat would make a bigger disaster zan what we have right now.”
>You felt your ears dropping. Aegia was right. With how the council seemed to be, they would shift the focus onto the whole espionage stuff. Which would most surely destroy the relationships with more kingdoms than just Griffonstone.
>Your mom let out a small giggle as she kindly shook her head and caressed your mane “We have to use subtlety, my child. Besides I am pretty sure they would cite some vague old law that would still make young Twilight to look like the culprit. So! We will still need to hear how much bits the council wants. Boring, I know, but it is absolutely necessary.”
>No wonder why Griffonstone was in such a deplorable state. The entire kingdom is being run by a bunch of senile greedy hacks. Which makes it the third big similarity with the human world.

>Oh, well. Unless the council also has a cartoon mouse as their logo, this is not really you should be worrying of focusing on. Time to move with the next big question.
“SO! Any word on where Twilight’s friends could be?”
>Aegia took a hefty sip from the glass that the bartender had just brought to her. You could see frustration in her when she shook her head “Yes and no. We know zey are staying wiz a griffon named Gilda, but since zis is Griffonstone, knowing where her home is has been… not exactly easy.”
>You offered Aegia a reassuring smile. A big one at that. Not only because she looked pretty bummed out for not having all the information, but also because you had already thought on how to find those five gals.
“Guess two out of three isn’t bad. Don’t worry, Aegia. It’s not like we need to knock on every door and ask every Griffon in the kingdom. My mom can track them down as long as one of the girls is sleeping. Right, mom?”
>Once again, your mom playfully caressed your mane as she let out a soft giggle “I was planning on doing exactly that, my child. With the additional purpose of soothing their minds, of course.” She then stood up from her seat and subtly stretched her limbs “So! I wish that I could stay longer and enjoy another fantastic glass of wine, but as they say, “duty calls””

>Before leaving out the place, your mom kissed your forehead and lovingly rubbed her muzzle against yours “I trust that you will be more than capable to inform our agents about the events that occurred last night. Just remember, do not take too long. Tomorrow we have to wake up early for our meeting with the council.”
>You confidently smiled and gave your mom a proud salute… alright, the part of the salute was true. In reality, you couldn’t help but to act a bit smug.
“No need to tell me twice. Just wait and see how I’ll wipe the floor with those guys.”
>Needless to say, your mom wasn’t really amused by your little attitude as she rolled her eyes so hard that you thought they would pop off from their sockets “Heavens give me patience! That almost felt as if it was Celie herself who said it… Just be sure to get on bed early. Good night, my child”
>After another little motherly kiss. Your mom exited the tavern, leaving you alone with Aegia and her bartender friend. Good, now it was time to put some of your own plans into action.

>So it shouldn’t come to no one surprise that once you made sure your mom was completely gone, you turned to those two with the widest smug grin in Griffonstone.
“Alright fellas! I know you’re dying to know how my dance with Radiant Hope went, but that will have to wait a bit longer. First, we’re gonna focus on this council problem… my way.”
>The bartender looked like he wanted to object, but he was quickly stopped by Aegia who leaned forward and looked at you right in the eye. Her stoicism was now replaced with sheer adventurous excitement “I have been waiting all night for you to say zose words, mon petit. Tell me, what have you been cooking in zat head of yours?”
>Before you said anything else, you asked the bartender to bring you another glass of ginger ale. Because that stuff was so good, man. The guy huffed, but nonetheless, complied with your request very quickly.
>Once your drink was served, you took a big sip out of it, put the glass on the table, and looked at Aegia and the bartender with your undefeated smugness.
“I hope you didn’t think that your spy mission was over, because I have some homework left for you to do.”