With a sigh, Trixie rolled over on her bed, listless. Dawn had come and gone, leaving her no excuse to still be in bed. A combination of anxiety and stress had prevented more than a few minutes of black oblivion to grace her throughout her restless tossing and turning that night.

This was the big day. The first day of the real hunt. If she did well today, she'd live to see another. And then...

That's it, show's over folks! Please pick up your trash on the way out!

She'd managed to banish Gerard's image from her mind hours ago, but not his words.

"Who'd waste their time making friends with a pony who's about to die?"

She contemplated that briefly while she brushed her mane and prepared for the day. Was it really all an act? Had everything she had done with Gerard been fake? Trixie couldn't tell. Even at the end, even with Gerard explaining his true intentions, she still couldn't wrap her head around it completely. Perhaps she was still in shock?

Does it really matter? another part of her argued. You need a plan to get out of this alive. Friends aren't really on the table anymore. Winning this sick game was never on the table to start! Think up a way to survive tomorrow and work from there.

Was survival really enough, though? She had done nothing but survive ever since she left home. All her successes broke apart like a cheap wheel when she rolled into Ponyville for the first time.

Look, how about you think through this after we get to the palace?

That was actually a good idea. She'd have more than enough time to ponder what keeps going wrong in her life there. She had no desire to eat, so that made what she was about to do easier.

First thing about avoiding an angry mob, never be where they expect you to be. Oh, she was sure some were watching her bedroom window, in case she tried slipping out of it. But that was a small number compared to the ones watching the inn's main entrance.

With a grunt, she opened the window in her room slightly and peered out. She couldn't peer up enough to tell, but she was sure they were there, watching from the top of roofs. Even if they weren't, these situations called for all the paranoia a stressed out magician could muster.

Second part with avoiding mobs, the use of surprise. Almost no pony attacks someone when they suddenly spring out of a bale of hay next to them, or jumps down from a window and screams in their face. Surprise had kept her out of dozens of problematic situations, even if it meant leaving some things behind. Or, in this case, costing her a little.

A quick toss, and a half dozen smoke bombs fell out the window. A dozen seconds later, and a light mist started spreading through the alley to the confusion of anyone currently in it. Then, with just a quick casting, Trixie was invisible and ready to take off.

This'll only work once you know.

She agreed, but, right now, she wasn't in the mood to be creative. Carefully, she crawled out the window, and fell to the ground. It was impossible to hide the sound of wood breaking as she fell onto the small pile of boxes she had placed there the day before. She heard a few cries of surprise from somewhere within the smoke and quietly made her way out of the area before any of them thought to try and disperse it with their wings.

Is it really fair for Trixie to be in this line again?

Is it really fair to me for you to be so depressive every hour of the day now?

Trixie snorted. It was a little awkward to her to be back in line like this. More awkward still that she was getting used to arguing with herself. Still, here she was, In the same line that donkey had been in just a short time ago. She wasn't even sure what she would say if she somehow managed to get in to see the King today. If anything, her plans now seemed...stupid.

Trade relations, what did I think the king would do when he heard that? Just agree after one meeting and immediately cancel the hunt they think Trixie willingly became a part of?

With a sigh, Trixie hit herself in the head hard enough to feel it.

Listen to yourself, Trixie. Did you really come this far just to lay down and die? That is literally an option in this town for you! Get your act together and start thinking again! Feelings...feelings can come later.

Trixie nodded to herself. She could do this. It wasn't just about the trade negotiations that she was, more or less, faking. It was about how she presented herself, how she worded what she said. She was an actor, she could do this if given the chance! All she had to do was-

Her line of thought came to an end as she accidentally bumped into someone in front of her. A quick glance down revealed that someone to be a gryphon fledgling a head smaller than herself. Their head down to the crest was primarily covered in white feathers, while the rest sported a golden toned fur.

"Oh, sorry about that. Trixie was lost in the moment."

The gryphon's beak gaped a little as their yellow eyes widened. "Y-you're really h-her, aren't you? The U-u-u-"

"Yes, Trixie is a unicorn," She interrupted, giving the fledgling a small smile. "The greatest one in town at the moment. Is it so strange for Trixie to be here?"

The fledgling looked to the ground and scuffed at it uncomfortably with a paw. "N-no, we just d-didn't really believe y-you'd be in line today..."

Trixie gave him a curious look. "We?"

Looking past him, Trixie spotted several other young gryphons of varying colors and in front of her in line. Some were thinner than Trixie believed to be healthy. Her attention quickly shifted to an elderly gryphon in the middle of them carrying a fledgling on her back. This older, bronze colored gryphon gave her a patient smile.

"Please forgive Gunther, he's just a little shocked at seeing you here. He didn't believe it when we told him you may show up."

"Trixie sees." She eyed the older gryphon evenly, a touch confused. "Why is it odd for her to be here? She has been coming here daily for over a week now."

The elderly gryphon shook her head. "Huh, you Equestrians talk strange. But no, most didn't expect you to come here again. Being predictable is dangerous for someone in your situation."

Trixie nodded and gave a small shrug. "What can she say? She needs to see the king, and until he starts making house calls, this is the best way Trixie knows to talk with him."

Several of the children laughed a little at that, though they went silent quickly after Trixie's gaze swept over them again.

"Is Trixie that intimidating now?" She scratched at her chin slowly. "That won't do at all. An audience should never be afraid of its entertainer."

The elderly gryphon continued on while baring an amused grin. "You'll have to forgive them again, they didn't expect you to actually talk at all. You seemed so absorbed, you didn't even notice how long the children stared at you until you almost tripped over Gunther here."

Trixie rubbed the side of her neck awkwardly. "Ah, Trixie sees. So, what business do all of you have with the king today?"

"We are seeking aid for our eyrie." The elderly matron explained. " I run a small orphanage along one of the cliff faces with the help of several others. Times have been bad lately, so I am here today to ask for assistance."

Trixie pointed at Gunther curiously. "And all of them are here because...?"

The matron slowly grinned at her. "You'd be surprised how much easier it is to convince a bureaucrat to help feed fledglings when several of the poor dears are in sight."

Trixie chuckled at the old gryphon's cunning and nodded. "Makes sense to Trixie. Now-" A good time to put the Element of Laughter to work "-Would any of you care to see a trick?"

Seconds after the words left her mouth, all of the fledglings ears perked up and she was besieged with curious looks. Trixie shifted her hat to the side a little, giving them a cocksure smile.

"Let's start with something simple."

I'm okay with this. I can see the king tomorrow.

You're an idiot.

A standard juggling set turned to card tricks. Card tricks went to hat tricks. At some point, she had stopped moving forward in line. In fact, she couldn't have moved forward if she wanted to. The line had made a circle around her as more and more gryphons came to watch her perform.

I've missed this.

The crowd was at least three deep on every side, requiring her to do a mix of tricks she normally wouldn't of in one show. She wasn't used to having a crowd on all sides, meaning that anything requiring sleight of hoof or the audience to only be able to see her from one angle had to be discarded. Still, the gryphons ate her performance up.

A quick twirl on her hind legs and there were two of her. A quick twirl back, and now there was one again. Another twirl, and there were four. The roars grew louder around her.

She didn't know how long she had been performing, all she knew was the cheers of the crowd. For a brief moment, she forgot about Gryphus, the hunt, Gerard, and everything else. She simply played out the clearest part of her destiny. To entertain.

That brief moment came to an end when an angry cry came from her right, shortly followed by a gryphon being knocked over. As Trixie stopped to look, the magic over the crowd she gathered broke. Slowly, her audience looked around to check how the line was doing. Joyous faces turned angry as they took notice that their little group was, in fact, no longer in line at all. The line had reformed during the performance, splitting their section off entirely from the main body.

Like a small tide, the crowd went back to the line and began arguing. Trixie watched as this quickly escalated into shouting matches and gryphons pushing up against one another before breaking out into fighting.

"Huh..." Trixie's ears pressed to her scalp as the group of orphans she had previously been entertaining tackled someone about to hit the matron.

While this was definitely an improvement over some of her other performances, this was not what she had in mind when trying to invoke laughter in her audience.

"Okay, you're done here."

Trixie looked over her shoulder to where the voice came. Greg stood there, flanked by an array of guards. Several of them quickly moved past her, almost a blur. They were joined by more swooping down from the sky as they worked to get the mob back under control.

"Don't give me that look, Miss. I've been lenient, but this is the last straw. Get out, and please refrain from returning to the castle again."

She blinked. Trixie had to have heard him wrong. "What?"

Greg looked to his left and right and nodded forward. The two guards behind him gave a brief nod and walked past Trixie. As soon as they were alone, Greg's stare turned frigid. "I get that this is a safe place for you during the hunt. I was fine with you wasting time making silly reasons to speak with the king. But, as far as I am concerned, your honor is gone. Your actions led to that donkey's death, even if I cannot prove it. And now, you've started a riot in front of the castle."

Trixie shook her head in denial. "She didn't mean-"

"-It doesn't matter what you meant to happen. It did happen, and now I have a reason to permanently remove you from the premises."

"You can't! Trixie-"

"Should have admitted her guilt, and taken that Donkey's place in the execution line!" Greg snapped. "Do not bother coming back tomorrow, or the day after. As far as I am concerned, you are barred from the castle grounds. Come back, and you'll be lucky if I just have the guards throw you back to the hunters."

Trixie felt something crack inside of her as world turned blurry in front of her.

Laughter,- Trixie's mind croaked out in a voice as disjointed and broken as the rest of her felt. you might as well stick with laughter until the end, right?

So Trixie did. She laughed as tears blurred her vision while Greg escorted her out of the castle's gates. She laughed, scaring those nearby as she cast her invisibility spell again. And she laughed quietly to herself as her mind tore itself apart with guilt and frustration the entire way back to the inn.

Failures. Trixie thought to herself as she frantically went through Starlight Glimmer's scrolls again. Why does everything I do end in nothing but failures!?

Her bloodshot eyes were dry and itchy due to another sleepless night. Crying only took up a small part of it, most of Trixie's time had been spent searching for an answer to her problems. Some hint of what she had missed, some clue to why everything she tried kept turning against her.

She found nothing.

A failure. Echoed out in Trixie's head. I'm nothing but a failure...I failed her, I failed myself. I'm going to die.

Would she be missed? Would She miss her? It had been so long since they last talked. Since that night that started Trixie down this road. Why did it have to end here? She had tried so hard, she had looked for help.

Trixie's face scrunched up, sorrow and anger warring with her as she glared down at the scrolls covering half the floor.

"Why didn't you help me!" She screamed down at them.

Loyalty: Be true to your friends, and they will stay true to you in return.

Gerard, the friend Trixie thought she had made. Her trust, her loyalty, what did it get her?

Generosity: Give freely, the more dear something is to you, the more likely that it can help another more.

The donkey's face came to mind once more, how he talked about his family. Trixie didn't know. How could she have known generosity could kill?

Honesty: Lying's never done anypony a lick of good. Work hard, be upfront, and there ain't nothing you can't do!

Oh, yes, Honesty. Trixie could have tricked Greg into letting her in, there were a hundred lies she could have used. But hard work pays off, hard work and the truth would set her free, right? All Trixie had to show for her honesty now was days upon days of waiting in line because the truth wasn't good enough for her to be let in!

Kindness: We all hurt or get hurt by somepony at some point. What matters is how we recover as friends from those incidents.

Despite her travels and issues before coming to Gryphus, her Azure fur and skin had been smooth and an envy to many mares. A show mare had to look good, after all. But, Kindness meant risk, it meant being careful with how she treated her attackers. It meant keeping her horn from goring the young hunters. Her Kindness had been rewarded with numerous scars, some Trixie doubted would ever be hidden once the fur grew back.

Laughter: The important thing about a good joke is how many smiles it brings.

Laughter. Even now, Trixie still couldn't understand why it failed her. Making others laugh and feel happy to be around her, why was it so hard? Why would it end in a riot?

Sitting down on the floor in her room, Trixie looked across the floor and over the unrolled scrolls in disbelief. If these lessons, if these beliefs were so ingrained in the ponies of Equestria, then why did she, as a pony herself, fail to make them work?

What was wrong with her?

One by one she picked up the scrolls with her magic, and shredded them. There wasn't any point to keeping them now. They weren't meant for somepony like her. Clearly, she was too far gone to help. Trixie would never find her balance, she would never become important.

Tartarus, if she didn't find a way out of this, she wouldn't even live through the day.

Trixie glumly ate her food at the bar. The bar room was full of gryphons like normal, but, upon seeing Trixie's haggard appearance, the broke and defeated look, all conversation ceased. Reverence for the dead, maybe? She wryly thought to herself.

She wasn't hungry, but, a part of her insisted that she finish her plate. This was probably the last time she'd ever eat again.

That thought was almost numbing. Trixie's mind was awash with pain and emotions, but the most prevalent one since she tore up the scrolls was betrayal. Gerard's actions hurt, yes, but she had trusted those scrolls to help make her a better pony. A normal pony. They had been her direction in life for the last year, what was she supposed to do now that they had failed her?

Gretta's information that morning hadn't helped either. Enough gryphons had seen her invisibility trick yesterday; it would be hard to use it to escape the inn a second time. She was out of tricks.

How can this be it? Trixie thought, ignoring the sad look Gretta was giving her. I followed the five virtue's, I came here to prove myself to the one I love, where's my happy ending? It's not fair!

She mulled that feeling over as she finished off her potatoes. Unfairness. She latched onto the anger and bitterness. It wasn't much, but, any feeling was better than the relentless numbness that threatened to overwhelm her. She looked down at her plate.

Empty.

I-I guess this is it then.

Seriously, you can't think of anything?

I don't want to think! I don't know what to do! Why did this have to happen!

Bad luck, lack of research, I have a pretty good list of the why's.

Trixie hates you.

Finally something we agree on...

With a frustrated sigh, Trixie stood up and began a slow trot to the inn's main entrance. Every head in the inn followed her as she walked out the door for what they expected to be the last time.

Silence.

Creepy, creepy silence. Trixie looked over the streets outside of the inn, at the gawkers watching from the street corners and in the road itself. The usual traffic was hardly moving. While the street wasn't completely full, it was clear most of them were here to watch the second day of the hunt begin. Many of them were looking at her and then up to the building opposite of the inn. Her eyes followed theirs and she quickly saw the reason so many had gathered to watch.

Do not die until Tuesday.

He was on top of the building directly opposite of the inn, his black wings outstretched as he gazed down at her. A few other gryphons were perched on the building, but he dwarfed them all by at least several feet. Despite the distance, Trixie was almost positive that if the sun was in the right position, his shadow would have engulfed her.

A quick glance around confirmed what she feared. No one present was going to get involved. If more were after her, there would be a good chance that she could use the confusion to her advantage. But, every gryphon was simply looking at the scene with curiosity and anticipation. Even the ones on the roofs were sitting or laying down. Only the mammoth black gryphon was gazing at her with intent. The same look all the younger gryphons had when chasing her, only hardened with experience. For this moment, she was his to hunt.

"Miss Trixie, I presume?"

That caused her to yelp and back up a few feet. Looking to her left revealed a middle-aged, well-dressed gryphon who met her hesitant expression with a smile. His head feathers were white, with the rest of him taking on a uniform brown, except for the tips of his primary's that he apparently dyed yellow. He wore a rich looking purple vest, with an emblem bearing the picture of a gryphon paw removing the feathers of a chicken.

You can't be serious.

"A fine morning to you, Ma'am. I am Grogar, father of Groat, and proud member of the Plucked Feather clan."

"...Charmed..." Trixie ignored him and looked back up to the black gryphon. She was pretty sure he looked a bit irritated at Grogar, but his eyes quickly moved back to meet hers.

Grogar droned on.

"On this most auspicious day of Gryphus, I, Grogar, declare my intent to hunt you, Trixie."

Briefly, the black gryphon bowed to her.

Stacked against us. Trixie moaned internally. Ever since Ponyville, the world was stacked against us.

"The hunt will be fair, as you have no weapons, I too, will use no weapons."

He hunched down, preparing for flight. Every gryphon on the roof backed away.

Nothing was ever fair! Trixie doesn't deserve this! She knew it would be hard, but was fame such a sin as her means to an end? She had been loved before Ponyville! So close to her goal...

"Of course, there is the allowance of two fifteen minute smoke breaks, to be called by either the hunter or-"

He jumped into the air, gaining height and preparing for his dive. He was smart though, and watched Trixie warily as he gained altitude.

Trixie felt her cheeks burn in anger while she ranted. It was never good enough! Why wasn't Trixie good enough for your stupid teachings, Glimmer!?

"A milk gryphon! can you believe it!? So I told him, I didn't order any milk, and then-"

He dove.

As if time had slowed down, Trixie watched the black titan come closer and closer. Anger and denial tore through her as memories of all the torment and suffering she went through since coming to Gryphus flashed through her mind. Tears ran down her cheeks. She had tried to change, sacrificed, and had blocked out so much of what she wanted to do to be a better pony! Why had it come to this!?

Why....I don't want to die! W-why!? Virtues... What did I do wrong!?

You are not balanced.

There was no time left for her to find balance. Luna's words came back to her from the other night.

"Your love is normal, Trixie. Even though you are not."

So she wasn't normal, did that really mean trying to follow the five virtues had been pointless? What else could she do?

There is a sixth... A part of her that Trixie had worked to suppress reminded her. The part of her who thought the Alicorn Amulet would redeem her. The part of her who still secretly hated Twilight. You used it on those two fledglings you stomped beneath your hooves...

But Starlight's teachings-

You are beyond her help. You already admitted it. You aren't balanced like that. Those virtues won't keep you from dying. And, believe me, you're about to die. You're corrupt. The voice taunted as Trixie's will began to crack. It's too late to be normal.

B-but I-

Give it up. The voice chided. Trixie began to feel magic flowing into her horn. It's over. You tried, but, it's over now. You can't be somepony else than who you are, no matter how much you try.

The black gryphon was less than a hundred yards away now, claws outstretched. Briefly, Trixie noticed a look of almost disappointment in his face at how easy this hunt had been.

All you can be...

All I can be...

Trixie let go. She let go of trying to be a good pony, of trying to change who she was. Her horn flared to life.

"-Is Trixie!"

The black gryphon hissed in alarm and anger. He tried to push his wings to flap, he tried to use his claws to reach out the last few feet towards his intended prey. But he was stuck, hovering in mid-air to the confusion of both himself and his audience.

"What are you doing!?"

"..."

Trixie glared at the gryphon held in her telekinetic grasp as she mentally tore herself apart. So much time, wasted. Months upon months spent studying that...garbage of a philosophy! To Tartarus with the five virtue's!

It was time to use the sixth.

"Honesty..." she rasped out.

"W-what? AH!" The gryphon in her grasp screamed out as he was hurled into the wall of a stone building.

"Loyalty..."

A wet smack was heard as Trixie slammed the gryphon into the wall again. Cracks and a small indent revealed themselves as she hovered the black gryphon back a few feet.

"Generosity..."

Smack!

"How are you-"

"Kindness..."

Smack!

"AH!"

"Generosity!"

SMACK!

"Laughter!"

SMACK!

A breeze blew by, ruffling and billowing her cape. A small smirk came to Trixie's face as she silently looked the broken gryphon in her grasp over. The gryphon was barely conscious, his body now reduced to a mess of blood and feathers. One of his wings was tilted at an awkward angle, definitely broken.

"Hmm..." Trixie mused, almost to herself. "It figures. The one element Starlight called corrupt is the one Trixie knows how to use...Magic!"

CRACK!

The gryphon disappeared from Trixie's sight as she smashed his broken body through the battered stone wall. She ignored the screams coming from those inside the building. She couldn't find it in herself to care.

She had a king to talk to.

"So, Grogar-" She turned to look at the gryphon, only to find a few fallen feathers where he had only been seconds ago.
"Hmph."

"Who's next?" Her gaze swept through the crowd and over the rooftops. The silence only broken by the sound of a crying fledgling or two.

"About time you worms knew your place..." She muttered darkly before turning towards the palace. The crowd quickly parted in her wake. The look in her eyes was different than previous days, the promise of pain and death were clear. Shortly after her departure, a lone voice from the crowd spoke up.

"S-so...are weapons allowed now? W-was that that considered a weapon, or...?"

It was so easy now.

Crack! Smash!

She didn't have to worry about hurting others now, she didn't have to worry about what they thought about her. Gryphus no longer held anyone she cared about.

Another Gryphon dived at her, only to swiftly be pulled to the ground and bashed against it. Like the previous two, he did not stand back up.

The adults were easy to spot, even when they tried ambushing her, their sheer size made it impractical. Trixie would quickly notice them and united their face with whatever wall was closest.

Had it really been this easy the entire time? she though, ignoring the Gryphons on the street quickly moving out of her path. The so-called 'hunter's' became few and far between after witnessing her send several to the hospital.

Old feelings wormed their way up within her, power, pride, and most important of them; revenge. She hadn't felt like this since the Alicorn Amulet.

She grinned as the gates to the castle came into view.

No gryphon can stop The Great and Powerful Trixie!

It looked like they were going to try, though. In front of the gates stood Greg and Non-greg, backed up by a half dozen soldiers. She stopped a dozen hooves away and sneered.

"Greg."

Greg nodded. "Trixie. Why are you here? I warned you-"

She laughed. "Please, Greg. Today is a new day. Now, The Great and Powerful Trixie will make you a deal."

Before they could react, Non-greg was floating in the air. Trixie shook him back and forth like a toy in front of Greg.

"You let Trixie in, and she'll give this back."

The guards raised their spears in alarm. Non-greg tried to say something, but found his beak sealed shut.

"This isn't funny, Trixie." Greg pointed his spear at her. "Let him go."

"Funny?" She cackled. "FUNNY!?" With a quick tilt of her head, Greg's spear broke in half. "Trixie didn't come here to entertain you, Greg. Now, move before she gets angry. She's has a meeting with the king, and is sick of you delaying her."

"No, in fact, I-"

A growing murmur caused both Greg and Trixie to peer around. A large crowd was gathering, curiosity in their eyes as they watched the confrontation. Greg's eyes narrowed, but his expression slackened.

"Trixie, before this goes any further, can we talk?"

She smirked and waved him over with a hoof. "Of course. Though your-" she looked to Non-greg briefly "friend isn't moving from where he is."

Greg nodded and dropped his broken spear before moving closer, leaving only a few feet between them so they could talk quietly.

"What is this about?" he asked. "You can't seriously expect this to end well."

"Of course it will end well." Elation was clear on Trixie's face as she pointed to the crowd. Greg noticed an almost manic look in her eyes. "Do you really want Trixie to prove herself superior in front of so many others?"

Greg shook his head. "What I don't want is to have to put you down with a crowd watching. There are enough bad rumors about this hunt as it is. The guard killing you would only make it worse. Please, put him down and just leave."

"Pfft." Trixie shook her head, irritated at this delay. She shouldn't have bothered talking apparently. Why had she? Perhaps the virtue's had rubbed off on her, just a little? "No, Trixie is going into the castle, and she is seeing the King. Get in her way, and Trixie will go through you."

Greg didn't hesitate, Trixie had given him all the opening he needed. Before she could react, Trixie felt her hooves go out from beneath her as Greg swept them out from under her with his wings. Seconds later, and Trixie found her head pushed to the ground and a dagger at her neck. Her hold over Non-greg slipped, causing the gryphon to let out a squawk and fall to the street.

Trixie growled angrily, but didn't struggle. "Why? Why don't I ever learn my lesson?"

"What are you talking about?" Greg asked, unnerved as Trixie berated herself.

"Trixie gave you a chance to talk when she should have just thrown you through the palace wall. Giving you the benefit of the doubt was stupid."

He shook his head. "You're insane."

Trixie glared at him as best she could before spitting in his direction unsuccessfully. "Trixie was generous, and you took advantage of that." Trixie's eyes looked through Gerard as she quickly thought up a way to get under his skin. " Funny, you claim Trixie's honor is gone, but you're the one who attacked after claiming you just wanted to talk."

Greg glared down at her silently for a moment.

"If you try this again, I will kill you." Greg coldly threatened, easing up on the dagger. "I'm going to let you go this time, chalk it up to stress, or some other shit. But don't come back here again."

Greg stood back, letting Trixie stand up. She glared at him, before putting her nose in the air and walking off.

Well, that didn't turn out well.

Trixie sighed, leaning up against a building just outside of the palace walls. A couple of minutes to cool down was what she really needed right now. If Greg hadn't knocked sense into her, she probably would have gotten herself killed. She already had more than enough gryphons trying to help with that as it was. Her own temper shouldn't be helping them.

Really, she berated herself. Did I really lose my head over being able to toss a few gryphon's around like boulders? The only one's impressed by that in Equestria was Maud and her family.

The amulet had let her do so much more, and had been so much harder to stop.

She took out a small canteen, drinking deeply while keeping an eye on the area around her. No hunter had yet to try again, but it was only a matter of time. It was the fate of a show mare as great and powerful as-

No, Trixie shook her head. I'm not falling into that trap again. Trixie isn't some one-note pony. Pride, anger, sorrow, it would be beneath Trixie to keep falling victim to her emotions like this.

And trying to overpower every obstacle in her way hadn't worked. Still, it felt nice, in a simplistic way. It's probably why she let herself get blinded by her magic, much like when she first put on the Alicorn amulet. If Twilight hadn't tricked her-

The amulet...that's it!

With a grin, Trixie slowly began circling the palace walls, observing the structure, the exits, the entrances.

The amulet was stopped by a simple trick, why couldn't it work for this situation as well?

It took several trips, but she finally found a building close enough to the palace. If she could get on top of it, dropping over the palace walls would be a breeze. Entrances and escapes were the bread and butter of a true magician. Now, she only had to find-AHA!

It was small, the size of a young gryphon at best from what she could see, but it would do.

Slink, slink, slink...

"Hey, do you hear that?"

Slink, slink, slink...

"Eh, you're probably just the pipes or something. Still, keep an eye out."

Trixie resisted the urge to giggle. She felt like a filly, sneaking past her parents. Parent's that would arrest her at best if she got caught, but still. Trixie crawled deeper through the palace ventilation, in search of her salvation.

Even if she didn't find it, even if this still ended in her execution, she was okay with that now. She'd fight as hard as she could, but, by Discord, it felt wonderful being herself again. Taking advantage of others faults, proving her superiority. Oh, how she'd missed this side of her.

Despite that, a part of her felt just a little guilty. What Starlight's teachings said sounded good, but for them to be right, wouldn't Trixie's feelings and urges have to be wrong?

Quietly, she chuckled. If this was wrong, then Trixie never wanted to be right.

Sorry Starlight, but, Trixie is going to get her mare in her own way.

The elements could burn for all she cared. She was Trixie Lulamoon.

And that was enough.

Within the red polished marble of the throne room, King Greyclaw sat. The king had just dismissed a servant bearing more troubling news.

I guess that hope is no longer worth considering now.

He sighed and raised a clawed hand up, gesturing for something to drink. A servant left to fulfill his unspoken request.

King Gerolf Greyclaw had spent many years ruling from this throne. A throne made entirely of ancient wood of a breed long extinct within Gryphus's lands. He felt himself an able ruler, but Gryphus was headed for dark times.

Why must they be so intolerant of change?

One simple truth in Gryphus was that the king did not rule alone. He was under the sway of the noble families; those that wielded both the economy and could sway the public to their sides. While the monarchy had control of the treasury the military, neither would survive long without support of the nobles. Nobles that were currently sending the kingdom into treacherous times.

Competition and exclusion was running rampant. The noble's wishing to keep merchants and other potential allies from rising to nobility, while outdoing eachother. Too many power plays had been occurring that would only weaken the kingdom if one of them cared to look ten years down the line.

King Greyclaw had done the math, his advisor's had also seen some need for change, but none of it mattered if the nobles refused to budge.

The lake's, as large as they were, would not be able to support Gryphus's needs in the future due to overfishing. And more imports of meat would make their plant eating neighbor's even more wary. Greyclaw snorted at the thought of predators needing to be so wary of those once considered prey. But, they were vastly outnumbered, especially if word got out that they were butchering other sentients for food. The days were that was acceptable behavior outside of a few rarely seen hunts had long passed.

The next problem was metal. Not a shortage, but an overabundance. Copper, Silver, Iron, and a multitude of others all were in abundance in their territory, but the markets were leaving. The Boar's were working hard to become independent of their need for Gryphus metals, and other prey cultures were bolstering them, making the gryphon's already strained relations even worse.

If only Gryphus had a neighbor that historically lacked metal and had access to the ocean. A neighbor like Equestria.

And if only any of his attempts to meet a representative from their had met with success...

Slink, slink, slink...

Great, even the piping is starting to wear down now.

King Greyclaw was distracted from his musings as a servant came in with his drink. With a quiet nod of gratitude he took the offered goblet. He only had a few more minutes before his advisor's would arrive and help him try to find another subtle way to help the kingdom now that trade with Equestria was off the table.

Slink, slink, slink...

"Someone see to getting those pipe's looked at." One of the servants bowed before hurrying out of the throne room. Despite the noise, he tried getting back to his train of thought.

If only that stupid donkey hadn't stolen the medal from her.

It would have been easy to meet with her if she had approached the guards with it. Stolen or not, the King himself was the only one to decide on the authenticity of those medals. It would have looked suspicious if he simply granted her audience alone without an excuse such as the medal. He could have claimed his hands tied to the nobles when the Equestrian showed it to him and asked for an opening of trade like his informants claimed she was after.

But that donkey had ruined everything. The second medal would have been suspicious, and probably sealed his removal as King, but it would have come after the trade agreements, saving his country from what will likely be a desperate time for the kingdom int he near future.

But, the second medal simply vanished. If the unicorn had it, she made no attempt to use it. Did one of the guards let slip what happened to the thieving donkey?

Slink, slink, slink...

King Greyclaw watched the ventilation duct above him suddenly cease to shake and rattle. What idiot thought putting that above the throne to be a good idea?

While peering up, he caught sight of something between the black slits that allowed air to flow into the room. His sharp, gryphon eyes peered between the openings, giving him a most unexpected sight.

The darkness was peering back in the form of two narrowed amethyst eyes.

Crack!

The King dropped his goblet to the floor as the ventilation above him was torn open and a blue blur hurtled towards him.

Author's Notes:

I did it! It's out before the end of the year *In America, at least*! Happy New year! yay! Finally complete after ONLY a year of waiting!

I still can't believe this started as plans for a one-shot to introduce the real story I wanted to do. But as normal, hope you enjoy. And yes, there is intended to be a sequel in the future.

Per normal Thanks to Crowscrowcrow for his work and editing skills.