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Elohemian

Unforeseen Consequences - Welcome to Griffonstone 2

May 26th, 2018
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  1. >It didn’t take long for your chariot to reach Griffonstone, and find a spot to safely land. The place in question was located at one of the extreme ends of the city. So much in fact, that this landing spot was suspended above the abyss.
  2. >It would feel nice to finally put your hooves on solid ground after such a long travel, but the thing is, all of your excitement died when you realized that the place where you landed was nothing else but a cheaply improvised wooden platform covered in hay.
  3. >That wouldn’t be too bad if it wasn’t that this particular platform was almost emblematic on the city that sprawled in front of you. It was almost unbelievable. In fact, you had to take off your goggles for a second so you could be sure that this was actually happening.
  4. “Mom, I don’t want to sound rude or anything but… was Griffonstone hit by some tornado?”
  5. >Your mom Luna gently shook her head as with a heavy heart let out a sight and caressed your mane “I wish that was the case, but the answer is no. From what Celie has explained to me as well as my own readings. What you see right now is the result of at least a century of rampant… let us say, mismanagements.”
  6. >You couldn’t help but to give your mom a look of slight surprise… or rather, confusion.
  7. “I dunno, mom. That would imply that there was any management to begin with. Seriously, it takes a whole new level of laziness from part of the council to make this place to look so… I think I better shut up…”
  8.  
  9. >The reason why you decided to shut your mouth was, in part, because you didn’t want to make your mom angry, or disappointed in you.
  10. >But mostly because there were five very mean-looking griffons walking in your direction. They all were very old though, like seriously old, and every single one of them was wearing a red fez hat adorned with golden motifs.
  11. >You would need to be some class A idiot to not have at least the slight suspicion about the identity of these old folks, it was more than clear that they were the griffon’s council.
  12. >Your obvious deductions only got confirmed when one of the guards who were pulling… or flying the chariot announced with a proud and powerful voice “Announcing Princess Luna and her son, Prince Anon!”
  13. >The biggest griffon looked around with an air of arrogance and annoyance before bluntly saying amid rough coughs “Yeah, yeah! We already know that! It’s not like we’re here to take on the view! We don’t need any fancy introduction either, so let’s get right into business!”
  14. >Well, you could already tell what your impression in this guy was… What a jerk.
  15. >The leader of the bunch then stood up in front of your mom Luna, while the others basically surrounded the two of you as if they were some schoolyard bullies.
  16. >The leader of the griffon council glanced you over before he addressed your mom with a very disrespectful tone “So, are you here to cough up the dosh or what?”
  17.  
  18. >WHAT DID HE…?! No! Don’t do anything reckless or stupid… don’t get angry… control yourself, Anon. Otherwise you will cause a bigger international disaster than what Twilight did.
  19. >Besides, your mom is here. She can control someone like that stupid imbecile.
  20. >Despite your mom letting out a tired sigh, she responded with as much politeness as possible “We already went over the details, Senator Goyri. We are here to negotiate, not to pay a ransom.”
  21. >So that was his name, huh? Weird. You thought it would be something stupid like sharp claw. Hmmm… maybe Griffons have a naming system similar to humans? Who knows, you won’t be able to tell until you meet more of them
  22. >But that’s enough side-thinking for now. You have to focus on the problem that is in front you. Which is, of course, a very annoyed council of Griffons.
  23. >Goyri, like the jerk he was, emitted an angry bawk before walking away from your mom and waving his right claw dismissively “Then I’m wasting my time here. We’ll see you tomorrow morning so we can “negotiate” how you’re going to pay.”
  24. >You really had to gather every ounce of will in you to not jump in and blast that stupid oversized cat-chicken into small bits. Equestria’s name was at risk, not to say the possible ramifications of…
  25.  
  26. >Know what?! Screw this, man! No one and you meant NO ONE spoke like that to your mom! You should wait a bit and call Discord! Yeah, just wait and see if he keeps that attitude once his stupid office is swarming with…
  27. >Your mom quickly dissipated all of your thoughts of revenge by simply caressing your mane, “Calm down, my child. Do not let your anger to get the best of you.”
  28. “I know! I’m a prince and we’re here to do diplomacy and all that stuff, but… dang! The way that jerk treated you makes me… GRRR! I think that I can start to see why Twilight lost her mind with them! Those guys are total jerks!”
  29. >Your mom let out a very soft and gentle giggle as she caressed your mane one last time “I know, but this is part our job. Now come, my child. I want to get to our hotel and meet with Aegia before I have to raise the moon.”
  30. >After your mom signaled the guards to go. The two of you started to walk all the way down to where you would be staying, which served to cool your anger off and to also begin to understand in what kind of situation Griffonstone was.
  31. >Know what? Decayed was actually a perfect description for Griffonstone. What you thought was going to be a dream-like kingdom built around a giant tree that sprouted at the top of a mountain, turned out to be, well…
  32.  
  33. >Everything was in ruins or was about to. The streets, if they can even be called that, were just pebbles encrusted into mud and covered with a whole lot of hay.
  34. >Even the big castle that was at the top of the giant withered tree was in a similar state than the one your moms had at the Everfree forest. That is to say, it was a little more than a pile of rubble.
  35. >One thing you should absolutely make clear is that you weren’t looking down on the griffons. Not at all, if anything, the state of absolute poverty and misery of their kingdom left you with a mix of sadness and anguish.
  36. >Just how bad the council were at their jobs?
  37. >As the two of you got further into the decayed kingdom, your mom started to get a bit confused about which direction to go next, so she decided to stop a by passer and politely ask “Excuse me, good citizen. Would you mind to point us out in the direction of the Griffonstone’s Grand Hotel?”
  38. >To which the griffon first responded by raising an eyebrow and making a somewhat slimy grin “Sure, but that’s gonna cost ya at least… two bits!”
  39.  
  40. >Okay! That was the limit of your patience! Well, not really, you weren’t about to cause the guy any physical harm… but you sure as heck were gonna give him a piece of your mind!
  41. >You immediately stepped forward and barked.
  42. “What?! We’re just asking for directions! C’mon, man! There’s no way you can charge money for that!”
  43. >Clearly offended by your words, the guy crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at you “I can and I will. Time is money, kid. You can’t expect me to waste my time you two without getting paid.”
  44. >This guy, this frickin’ guy! He was going to get paid, alright! After you send him to the hospital! Let’s see how he likes to being blasted by…!
  45. >“Here are the two bits you asked plus one more for your patience.” Your mom quickly and calmly acted before you could make some roasted chicken “Now, could you please tell us where we need to go?”
  46.  
  47. >The griffon quickly took the bits that your mom hovered in front of him and gave them a good look before biting them to make sure they were the real deal. Then, he shrugged and pointed behind him “Just cross the street and you’re there.”
  48. >Of course, the guy lifted off into the sky before you could say a thing, leaving you with a very sour feeling.
  49. “I think I already hate this place.”
  50. >Your mom gently shook her head and let out a small giggle before using her magic to put you on her back “Oh, Anon! I know your first impression of Griffonstone has been less than ideal, but you need to keep a positive mentality! Maybe you can find some relaxation at our hotel! After all, it is supposed to be the best one in the kingdom!”
  51. “Yeah… I guess you’re right. Maybe this was just a case of bad luck and we encountered the six most annoying groffins in the kingdom, and if you say the hotel is good, then I’m sure it will totally rock!”
  52. >With a kiss on your forehead and a smile, your mom quickly dispelled all your frustations “That is the attitude that I like to hear!”
  53. >…
  54.  
  55. “Mom… I’m afraid you were horribly wrong. This hotel totally sucks”
  56. >It was Tijuana all over again. The only grand thing in this stupid hotel were the cockroaches. You swear that they were as big as a cat. The walls had no painting or decorations, only stains of humidity and more cracks than the equestrian education system.
  57. >The service was terrible too… just like Tijuana. The receptionist tried to charge your mom an extra fee BECAUSE YOUR MOM ASKED IF THERE WAS ROOM SERVICE! GEEZ! The only thing missing are mariachis trying to stab you with a mini-guitar!
  58. >So, after your mom evaded any conflict by actually paying that idiotic fee and raising the moon. The two of you went straight to the hotel’s restaurant… and yes, it was just one of those “cantinas” that they have in Tijuana.
  59.  
  60. >The place was as badly kept as the rest of the hotel, if not worse. The few windows that the “restaurant” were all super-thin and most of their glasses were broken, and by the looks of it, that happened a long time ago.
  61. >A single candelabrum made out of wood flimsily hung from the deteriorated and cracked ceiling. So the illumination was so rubbish that you had to pull your goggles off to not crash into something.
  62. >The tables were these little tall circular dusty wooden things that looked like they were about to collapse. There were no chairs of course, only these very old stools that also looked like they could barely support the weight of a newborn cat.
  63. >Oh! And as the icing on the cake. There was an actual bar at the other side of the room! And not only it was terribly built, but it also had a fat, angry-looking, one-eyed griffon as the bartender! Yeah, man! This is the true Tijuana experience!
  64.  
  65. >Wish Eris was here, she would surely have a blast… and then she would blast the place into oblivion.
  66. >Your sister may not have been with you, but hey! Not all was bad! Because you already spotted Aegia! Which… wasn’t really hard, considering the only clients were her and a couple other griffons.
  67. >As happy as it made you to see another familiar face, you do have to admit something… it was kinda disappointing to see how much Aegia stood up.
  68. >Sure, this cheap tavern was essentially empty, not to say that the only ponies in here were your mom, Aegia and you… But still, c’mon man! Aegia was a professional! She could do more than just sitting alone at one of the little tables, trying to drink something out of a cheap-looking glass.
  69. >Oh well, you can’t dwell into what if’s forever. After all, you need to keep a clear head for what Aegia was going to tell you.
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