Unforeseen Consequences - Welcome to Griffonstone

>What a crazy week this has been. Not the craziest, of course. That dubious honor shall always go to Tijuana, and the clear runner-up should be the “fun” vacations you had at Chrysalis’ hive. Still, this week has had a fair share of interesting developments.
>First you somehow managed to survive your encounter with the fairly vicious King Sombra’s cult and their immortal leader Radiant Hope. Which, you should point out, not only almost managed to kill you, but also undoubtedly left you scarred for like after seeing her true form.
>Thinking about it, the name of that mare is very ironic, isn’t? Radiant Hope… yeah, sure. The only thing you hope is that she doesn’t come out at night to suck out your soul.
>But if you have to be absolutely honest, not everything about her was bad. Well… that’s kind of a disingenuous thing to think. That mare makes Tartarus to look like a holiday trip to the Haywaiian islands.

>Your positive look on this near-death experience was due to the fact that Radiant Hope gave you a vital clue about Chrysalis’ past... not consciously, of course. It just happened that her evil plan coincidentally used an altered love potion to convert your friends and school-mates into fervent cultists of Sombra.
>Well, potion is not really the appropriate term, as your little, but super cool, research that you did overnight pointed out. It’s actually a poison that was used by some turbo-dunce to force an alicorn princess to fall in love with him.
>In the least surprising twist of all time the turbo-dunce’s plan backfired horribly as both him and the alicorn princess couldn’t take their eyes out of each other, thus, dooming their kingdom to fall into ruin… and be forgotten by time and everyone who had better things to do, like, creating Equestria for example.

>This is the thing that basically threw your progress down a frickin’ cliff. The whole love poison story is from around the early three tribes’ era. No other information exists. So you’re left with only speculation, and that really doesn’t work well when it comes to a wildcard like Chrysalis.
>The only thing you know for certain is that unless Chrysalis was pulling a massive practical-joke before she knocked your lights out for a couple weeks, then your best bet right now is that Chrysalis was hit by a love poison at some point… Ironic, considering who she is.
>You really wished that was everything that happened during this week. For some reason Twilight and her friends went to… what was its name? It was something related to Griffons…
>Meh, that’s not important right now. Point is, the hottest princess of purple friendship turned out to be quite a terrible diplomat and ended up in jail. Man, the ironies are dime-a-dozen right now!

>So that’s why you and your mom Luna are on a chariot en-route to the Griffons’ kingdom… man, you really should’ve started with this part. Maybe you wouldn’t have gotten derailed with all that other stuff.
>You can’t really complain much about this part, really. These things are quite comfortable once you get used to them, and the company of your mom was always a nice thing to have.
>The view was super cool too. Despite being so high up in the sky, the sunset still gave the great prairies down below a dream-like vibe to them, almost as if everything was on a perpetual fire.
>These lands far-beyond Equestria were surrounded by mountain ranges that felt like they went on forever and ever. At times it felt as if you were venturing into the land of giants.

>Of course, you couldn’t admire the landscape forever, especially not when your mom Luna just poked your head and asked you a question.
>“Are you sure that you don’t want to get any rest, my child?” Your mom Luna asked with her usual kind and regal voice “We are still a couple hours away from Griffonstone after all.”
“Hmm? Oh! Nah! I’m not feeling tired at all, and besides, is not like I could sleep even if I tried to.”
>Your mom let out a giggle as she tenderly caressed your mane “One would have led to believe that you would be all groggy after the events of last night, but here you are with more energy than all the stars in the sky.”
“Of course I am! Why wouldn’t I be? This is the first time I get to travel outside of Equestria! Well… it’s technically not the first time, but the other times I was doing a rescue mission, being hostage of an evil Queen, or facing a buncha evil cultists… I mean, this trip is sort of a rescue mission too, but still! It’s way better than the others!”
>Your mom remained silent for a couple seconds, only focused on caressing your mane and the landscape in front of her.
>Which of course, made you feel a bit worried that you said something that you shouldn’t.
“Mom? Uh… are you alright? You know I was just kidding before, right? I’m really, really excited to travel with you.”

>“Yes, my child, do not worry. It’s just…” Your mom let out a heavy sigh and turned to you with one of those smiles that you loved so much “It’s just that I was thinking how great it would have been if your first proper travel outside our kingdom was more appropriate for your age.”
“Oh, c’mon mom! I know that I’m not as cool as you, but I won’t screw anything up! I’ll just take notes and keep any classy remark to myself! Promise!”
>You could’ve sworn that your mom looked sad by what you said, but she quickly covered it up by shaking her head and with another kind smile “That is not what I meant, my child. Not at all.”
>You didn’t know what to really say, it felt like your mom was troubled about something but… man, maybe it would be better if you avoid this topic before you screw up something else.
“Okay… so, uh… what do you say if we… I dunno… go over the details of this whole thing again? Is not like you need it or anything, I mean, is you who we’re talking about, is just that… uh… I want to make sure that I didn’t forget anything”

>“I…I think that is a great idea, after all, this is a diplomatic mission… and not a pleasure trip.” Almost as if she was swallowing some heavy grief, your mom let out a heavy sigh and caressed your mane once more “Very well, my child, do you remember the reason as to why Princess Twilight Sparkle was incarcerated?”
 “Uh… sure! Twilight and her friends had a friendship problem to resolve in Griffonstone. She then had to go to the Griffonstone’s council. Things escalated quickly and in the worst way possible from there. Twilight lost her frickin’ mind and… well, that’s why we’re going to bail her out.”
>“Yes, that is the general chain of events, and while it is a technically correct answer…” Your mom said with a more relaxed tone “You do need to keep in mind that every detail is important when it comes to diplomatic negotiations. In this case, the young Twilight and the elements of harmony were called to Griffonstone because of a particular problem in regards to a museum that was recently constructed.”
“Oh, yeah! I actually know this part! It was a museum dedicated to a griffon King of old… I think his name was Grover or something! And the whole mess started because the council was charging way too much to enter… which… I still have no idea why it would make Twilight so angry.”

>Your mom gently shook her head and caressed your mane in a similar way “Because King Grover unified the Griffons by replacing their greed with pride. The museum was made to remember everyone at Griffonstone that part of their history, and hopefully, help to inspire a better future for their kingdom.”
 “Alright, now I can see why the council charging a hoof and a wing to enter may not really be the greatest idea to spread the… did you actually say everyone instead of everypony?”
>With a mix of a proud and playful smile on her face, your mom eagerly nodded “That is correct, my child.”
>Despite her joyful answer, you couldn’t help but to feel a bit confused by this.
“Why?”
>Luckily, your mom didn’t take your reaction in a bad light, instead she simply shrugged “Well, there are a number of reasons as to why I decided to adopt your particular use of language, but, that is a topic for another time. Right now we have far more important matters to be concerned with.”
>Well, you already went through the reasons as to why Twilight went to Griffonstone in the first place, and also what was the supposed friendship problem. So you assume that what is left is.
“You mean like happened during the first meeting that Twilight had with the Griffon’s council, right? Uh… I know she tried to convince them to drop the prices for a good while, and when that failed, she started to do a lot of crazy stuff that ended up with the problem we have right now.”

>“Yes and no. You see, my child. This is where the details start to get muddy, and not only because Celie was absolutely livid when she reached this part of the letter, but because the information we have from Twilight’s letter and the report from the Griffon’s council contradict each other.”
“I’m gonna take a wild bet here, Twilight says that she did nothing but spread friendship and nice stuff, while the council basically wrote that she almost brought their whole kingdom down and even bucked a couple kittens.”
>Your mom let out a giggle as she played a bit with your mane “The only thing you got wrong was the kittens. The council stated that young Twilight kicked a couple of puppies, but I suppose that you get the idea. We have no reliable information on the events that occurred after the first meeting”
“So what do we do then? Because I don’t like the idea of coming to the council and start fishing for answers, and is not like we can just go into the streets and ask around either.”
>This is the thing about your mom Luna, she’s not really the type of pony who would usually give a sly smile, but when she did, oh man, it was sort of subtle, but you absolutely could feel it “Worry not, my child. After all, obtaining information is part of why the secret service was created.”
“So… we are now using spies? Man, this is actually cool! Wait… Isn’t that kind of bad though? As in, we’re not exactly trusting in an ally kingdom”

>It was definitely surprising to see your mom shrugging so casually at the thought of spying others, you knew her as a kind pony, not this cunning diplomat “It is, we usually avoid these methods precisely for that reason. However, we were left with no other option since the council is clearly hiding information to get an unfair advantage in the negotiations, and knowing them, is just so they can squeeze more bits out of us.”
“A-Alright, fair point, but, uh… how are we gonna get in contact with this spy? Are we gonna get a mysterious letter and then use a super-secret password that only you know to decipher it? Oh man, will I disappear if I even ask who the spy is supposed to be?!”
>With a simple dismissive motion from her hoof and her usual giggle that melt your heart, your mom had destroyed all your illustions of having a thrilling spy adventure “Heavens, no! In fact, you are very well acquainted with the pony who shall be helping us. Aegia was her name, was it not? She will meet us at the hotel where we will be staying, then she will give us her report over a hopefully nice dinner, and then she will resume her duties as your bodyguard.”

>Alright, so you basically had a team that you knew… or was that more truthful for your mother? Nah! She would’ve brought Moonlight if that was the case. Still, it kind of sucked to realize how stupid your original idea was.
“Oh yeah… t-that’s much more efficient. Alright, the more the best, I guess. What about the rest of Twilight’s friends though? Have they returned home?”
>Your mom gracefully shook her head “Not at all. We shall meet them too, once Aegia has found their whereabouts, of course. Now, those are the details of this diplomatic mission. The only thing we can do right now is to relax and enjoy the view together.”
“I dunno, mom. What about when we go to the meeting? What are you gonna do to bail out Twilight? Heck, what am I supposed to do if someone asks me a question? I’m kind of a rookie when it comes to these things.”
>And with a simple kind smile, your mom had lift your confidence once again. What a gal “My child, I do not believe that I have to explain to you the basics of the art of negotiation. Just pay attention to what everyone says and if you find something that is not right, then point it out to me.”
“Alright… I have a final question, though. Are we there yet?”
>Your mom pointed at the horizon, the sunset giving her a bigger-than-life look “As a matter of fact, yes. Do you see that giant tree growing on the top of that mountain? That is Griffonstone.”
>And she wasn’t lying, because in a particular mountain located in the middle of the valley, a giant withered tree covered with buildings from the roots to the highest branch imposingly stood up, almost as if it overlooked everything down below.