Birds were chirping and whistling when I awoke, though luckily the window of my bedroom was closed so they were muffled. Otherwise, I probably would have gone to the effort of making a gun just to shoot at them.

The door-frame rattled as someone knocked and called, "Dan? I have been sent to collect you." from the other side of the door. The voice was somewhat familiar and very clearly male.

The last thing I remembered from the night before was shaking hands with Discord. No matter what situation it is, that's usually not the best thing someone can do. But I knew what I was doing, or so I'd like to think at least.

My bad shoulder still pained, but it wasn't actually feeling too bad. Taking into account what happened last time I took some, I decided I didn't need the cadamene that day. A small voice in the back of my head told me to keep it until later.

I rolled in my bed, trying to shift position. In my half-minded state, I rolled to my right, right onto my still recovering shoulder. I jolted to my left, quickly sitting up, my legs hanging off the side of the mattress. Not exactly what I'd call a peaceful awakening, but I was very much awake, so who was I to complain.

I turned around, looking down at the bed. Ebony wasn't there. This concerned me slightly as I stood and walking to my drawers.

Since I didn't own any formal attire, I simply put on some of the more monochromatic variations of the clothing I did have. Closest thing to a suit I had.

Fearing my escort may have left, I quickly made my way to the door and swung it open. I lept back slightly at the sight of the royal guard, he seemed slightly surprised as well.

"I knew I recognized that name!" He said, pointing at me with a hoof. "And before you pull that 'do I know you' stuff; it's me, Midnight."

I then recognized his strangely deep voice. It's still odd hearing a voice that deep come from a creature with eyes that big. He was, as said, in guard-form, but he was missing his helmet and had his mane tied back in it's usual fashion.

I walked into the hall, circling him. I patted him roughly on the head as I passed him. "Oh hey. You showing me to those ceremony room things?" I asked, gesturing for him to lead down the hall.

He quickly fiddled with his hair, making sure I hadn't disrupted it. "That is what I said. Yes, this way." He said, beginning to walk down the hall slowly. I began to walk alongside him. a few steps into the walk, he turned to me and brought up a subject I knew was inevitable. "So, how's Feather?" He asked, almost tripping over his hoofs.

Shrugging, I said "I haven't seen her since I saw you last." causing his shoulders to droop in disappointment. "She'll probably be at this wedding though, so I'd keep an eye out."

"Really?" He asked excitedly.

I simply nodded to him as we continued walking. "Where are these halls then?" I asked, once I realized we were heading for the exit of the palace.

"They're embedded in the side of the mountain, carved into the rock." He said, leading me out into the streets. We turned and started heading in the general direction of the mountain that pushed up past the city and into the clouds.

"Oh, cool. So, what, you guarding the wedding or something?" I asked.

He shrugged, "I just so happened to be on duty in the hall they're using. Some guy told me to go and get you."

"Griffin?" I asked, "Big guy? Blue hat, suit?"

"Yeah that's him." He said, nodding. "Clearly you know eachother. But, if you don't mind me asking, how do you know him?"

I shrugged, "Well... One day, I kinda needed to talk to Celestia, so I kicked him in the face." I said, stopping for a moment to do a recreational kick. I knew for a fact I had used my knee, not my foot, but it looked better the other way.

The conversation paused slightly as Midnight looked at me suspiciously. "You kicked that guy?"

"Yep."

"...And you're going to his wedding."

"Yep."

He sighed as he continued to lead me, "You two better not get in a scrap. He's brought half of the griffin population along by the looks of the reserved seating on his side of the room."

"Oh great, more griffins." I said, sounding sarcastic. But I was actually looking forward to seeing what griffins looked like aside from Steve. "What about the Bride's side of the room?" I asked, figuring the room was similar to a conventional church.

He thought, "...No one related, by the looks of it. 'Friends of the family' but no actual family. Why?"

"Just wondering."

He lead me up to a rather unassuming door. It was slightly indented into the stone face of the mountain where the houses and walls all stopped abruptly. Two steps lead up to the small wooden door, inscribed beside it in the stone were the words "Ceremony halls".

He stopped outside of the door and turned to me, looking me up and down. "You taking those off or what?"

I blinked, looking down at myself, "My... clothes?" He nodded. "...Why?"

"Don't you know?"

"No! That's why you're here!" I yelled, I couldn't help a smile coming to my face though. "I know nothing about this stuff."

"Oh yeah." He mumbled, smirking at his own importance. "Well, to put it simply, it's kind of offensive to attend a wedding while wearing clothes that aren't ceremonial, unless you're the bride or groom, or if it's a really high-budget wedding or something." He tapped the side of his head, "'Is why I'm not wearing a helmet. The other bits are mandatory though." He said, gesturing to the metal laying over his back and around his chest.

I looked at my clothes, "I am not taking these off." I said, steadfast.

"Suit yourself." He said in his bass-y voice. "You get in a scrap with those griffins, I ain't helping."

With that, he pushed through the door and lead me in. Inside was a incredibly wide room, about as wide as two or three throne rooms lined up. About fifty feet across from the door was a wall which spanned the entire width of the room and was lined with six large double-doors, similar to those used in the throne room. They were spaced equally down the long wall. Each door was open, showing large rooms all fitted with rows of pews, an isle cut down the middle of them and a slightly raised platform of stone at the end of the room.

The entire place was cut into the side of the cliff, the walls and floors were the same smooth grey rock. Each room was lit with a fissure-like hole in the ceiling which let sunlight down into the room in rays that danced off the light specs of dust floating around the ceiling. I couldn't help but fear for the safety of my lungs.

"They'll be in the last room to the right, number six." Midnight said, beginning the walk off down the room towards the door in question, "Feel free to have a look around, it's not starting for at least another ten minutes."

Breaking my eyes from the empty room infront of me, I looked to him and called, "Thanks!"

He silently accepted it with a wave of a hoof as he continued to make his way towards the sixth doorway down the wall.

I looked back to the room infront of me and continued to gaze at it. It didn't force happiness down your throat, like the setting of a human wedding. The grey walls showed this quite well. But with the golden sunlight shining down upon the slightly raised area where the bride and groom would make their vows, it held connotations of hope and simplistic beauty. More symbolic than the white plastic weddings I was used to seeing.

It was beautiful in a very natural way.

"Hey, you here early too?" A voice said from behind me.

I jumped and turned around startled. It was just Chrome, who now had a smug grin spreading across his face, seeing that he had scared me.

"I spook you?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes and peered over my shoulder, looking back into the room. "Yeah, I was just you know... Lost in thought."

He scoffed. "Lost in thought... Nerd."

"...Said the scientist to the unemployed money-grabber." I countered.

"Whatever" he sighed, smiling at his own defeat. He began heading across the room, "Come on. They're going to be in room six, I'll wait with you."

I shrugged and began to walk alongside the pegasus. "Yeah, Midnight told me they'd be using room six."

He turned to me, "Midnight?" He asked with an innocent curiosity I hadn't seen from him in a while.

"One of the guards." I said, trying not to make a big deal of it. After all, most of my friends were, at some point, in the military.

He rolled his eyes and continued to look where he was going, "You and your friends in high places." He sighed.

We reached the door and turned, it was the same as the other room, except this one was decorated with rings of flowers hanging on the walls. They looked like lilies, but, with me being not only from an another world, but also being an average male, I could never have been sure. They were hung in a similar fashion to reeves at Christmas, except with less spiky leafs and more petals.

There were six guards, all helmetless. Three along each wall. I could tell which one was Midnight by the fact that he was the only on with his hair tied back, the other five had much more sensible cuts. Ones that could be easily hidden by a helmet if they had one.

Me and Midnight shared a glance as I followed Chrome to a pew on the left of the isle, second from the front. We sat in it's center, leaving room for about two or three ponies next to Chrome and maybe one next to me.

Placing myself in one of those long chairs sparked off a few old memories, past weddings I had attended and the few times I went to church for a Sunday morning. This made me realize something. I turned to Chrome, who already had his mouth open to say something. Whatever he was going to say was interrupted. "Wait, we never had a bachelor party for Steve. Or did I miss it?"

Chrome seemed relieved I had said something, "Griffin ways. They have two parties at the same time after the wedding." He said, shrugging. One of the guards rolled his eyes subtlety in one of the corners. "One for the groom and stallions, one for the bride and mares."

"In the same place? Or..."

"Nope. In two completely different places, zero contact."

"That doesn't seem very romantic."

"Yeah, but it's an old tradition derived from... hunting and survival or something. Which is romantic in it's own way... Kinda."

I hummed, wondering what could have caused this tradition. Maybe the two had to hunt separately to show they could survive independently? How 'old' is he talking here?

"They are good parties though." He added, his tone turning the strange kind of serious that is usually only ever used when explaining how bad things are. "Imagine the most ridiculous bachelor party, now times that by ten in both length and ridiculousness."

It was hard to judge just what a 'ridiculous bachelor party' was when it came to ponies. So I said the only thing I could think to say when encountered with a social event I knew nothing about. "Well, what should I wear?"

His gaze hardened slightly, "Anything you don't mind getting a little dirty."

That's when I knew it was safe to assume I was right to ditch the innocent possibilities for just how insane this party was going to be. "And when does it start?" I asked, becoming slightly anxious.

"Begins as soon as they're wed. Ends at noon."

I blinked, "...It's basically noon now..."

He grinned, "Noon, tomorrow."

I mumbled something I probably shouldn't have said, given I was in probably the closest thing to a church in existence. I was excited, a party's a party. But I was also slightly terrified at what I might end up seeing or doing by the end of the night, which wasn't due for another 24 hours apparently. I made a mental note to not have too many drinks, lest I do something I might regret.

A mental note I forgot much too soon.

I heard some iconically light hoofsteps approaching us from behind, I twisted and leaned over the back of the pew to see Ebony, head hung low and eyes barely open, trotting towards us. Me and Chrome shared a worried glance as he dropped into the small space next to me.

"Hey, you ain't looking so good." I said as Chrome leaned forward to look past me. "I haven't seen much of you. Something wrong?" I think we could both see he was exhausted.

Ebony leaned back in the seat, letting his head hang off the back of the chair lazily. "I... didn't get any sleep last night. My Queen... needs me to..." His words trailed off as his eyes drifted closed.

I reached over to shake him lightly but a grey hoof pulled on my shoulder. My good one, luckily. "Let him sleep." He said quietly, "He needs it. Luna told me what they were doing with him and his Queen. I can explain it."

I moved my hand away from the changeling and turned back to Chrome. "What are they doing? He's completely exhausted!" I whispered.

"In short, an in non-magical terms, -" Finally, someone who knows how to talk to me. "-his Queen is getting 'food' and they don't know why. It doesn't feel like love, but it's similar, apparently. Ebony's been experiencing the same thing. It's coming from the north east, which is where that other Queen went off to after you teapotted her like a bea-" I quickly placed my hand over his muzzle, squeezing his jaw shut.

"Can we skip this sentence?"

He shook his head, I felt a smirk spread across his face with my palm. I narrowed my eyes and pushed my palm forward onto his nose and placed my thumb under his chin. His eyes widened when he realized I now had full control over whether or not he could breathe.

It was an old method of subduing dogs; block the nose with the palm, keep the mouth shut and you've got a dog at your mercy with just one hand, as long as it wasn't a particularly strong dog. I had learned it from my old boss, back in the music shop. He practically collected dogs and knew a lot of people with dogs, so there was often people coming into the store with them, since he allowed them in as long as they were behaved. He didn't want me to get caught off guard though, so he taught me a few of his techniques.

Usually, I'd have used my other hand to hold the scuff of their neck, or keep their paws down. But since it was in a sling, I couldn't really do that with Chrome. But he seemed too shocked to think to use his hooves.

I held Chrome's breath for him until he caved and nodded rapidly along with a few muffled 'okay's.

As soon as I let go of him, he gasped for breath, but tried his best to stay quiet, glancing at Ebony, who was still asleep. "Don't... ever do that again." Chrome rasped, still catching his breath.

"No promises." I said, "You were saying?"

Chrome took a few seconds to collect himself. "Basically... they are trying to find out what the 'food' is. And they need all the information they can get. Ebony's one of the two ponies who can even have any, so their's a lot of information they need to get from him. They were planning on taking a small trip up north tomorrow, just the two of them."

I turned to Ebony, who was still passed out in a very uncomfortable-looking position. "Why didn't I know about this..?" I mumbled.

"Let him off, he's been really busy." Chrome wagered. "It's not like you had anything planned."

I was about to answer when a collection of clicks and clacks started to echo from the hall outside of the room, along with a few chuckles of laughter. Me and Chrome looked to eachother, he pointed at Ebony worriedly.

"Chrome, hide your innocent eyes!" I shouted, pushing him over with a firm shove to the chest before turning to Ebony and throwing myself into his shoulder chin-first, wrapped my good arm around him until it rested on his other shoulder.

Ebony jolted and let out a short yelp. He looked down at me with wide eyes before he figured out what was happening. "Oh, I haven't had enough of this." He said, turning in my arms arm and returning the gesture.

"I know," I said quietly as I heard the sound of claws on stone reach the door, "I need you awake, we've got company."

I pulled away from him, leaving him with a wide smile and a little more will to stay awake. I composed myself, sitting up straight before looking to Chrome, I saw he was already back up and smiling at me. "Shut up." I mumbled.

"It's nice to see!" He said in an offended tone. "You two don't-"

"I will push you again."

He rolled his eyes and crossed his front hooves to his chest like a spoiled child. I could still see the small remnants of a smirk emerging though. I ignored this and turned my attention to the crowd who had just entered the room.

Thirty-odd griffins came in and immediately dominated one side of the pews, luckily, the column were weren't on. I tried to decipher what they were saying, but after a while I realized most of them were actually just communicating through a series of avian chirps, purrs and clicks. They were a very diverse group, some were larger than Steve and more bear-like in stature, while some were no bigger than the average pony. Their bird-like features also varied, some were regal looking eagles with angular, chiseled faces and large beaks, while some others had more rounded features, smaller beaks and larger, more circular eyes. Their colors ranged from black, brown, white and some more red or purple hues. Nothing overly saturated though.

Their vastly differing appearances were enhanced by the strange apparel some of them were sporting. Some of the older females had wooden beads dangling alongside the long feathers atop their head and many of them had what looked like hand-knitted scarves and ponchos made out of waywardly mismatched colors of thread. A few of them had small pipes held in their beaks, causing small columns of grey smoke to rise from the crowd.

Each of them had a small band around one of their arms, each with a flower tucked into it which was reminiscent of those on the walls.

Me and the two ponies sitting with me observed in silence. Me and Chrome were taking quick and frequent glances at the griffins, while Ebony, probably unaware of himself, stared at the group. As I took another look at the griffins, I was taken aback slightly by a pair of amber eyes staring back at me from across the room. Slowly, the twittering quieted down as more and more of the griffins noticed us and began to stare back.

The guards around the room shifted on their hooves. The movement of their armor was the only sound in the room for a split second. But since staring at eachother was probably not going to help at all, I decided to take the situation head on and speak up.

"Do any of you know..." I paused mid-sentence and leaned towards Chrome and quickly whispered, "What do you call this language?"

"Equestrian! Equestrian!" He whispered back through his teeth.

I rose back up into my seat and acknowledged the griffins again. Their eyes collectively shifted from Ebony to me as I did so. "Do any of you know, er... Equestrian?"

The group all looked to eachother and mumbled to one another. A particularly large drake sat up slightly and pointed to an older-looking hen. "We all speak little. She is best." He said in a voice that rivaled Midnight's on the bass-scale. The group all turned and nodded in mutual agreement.

The female lifted her head to pear over the crowd. "I suppose I am." She sounded regale, but had the aged look of someone who was at very least down-to-earth. "Which do you know, Rosewood or Dawn Skies?" She inquired. "Or are you here merely to observe?" She followed her sentence with more avian sounds, after watching the expressions of the griffins around her, I think she was relaying what she had said to me in their language. The group's eyes darted between the three of us, though Ebony was getting a lot of attention he wasn't too comfortable getting.

Chrome decided to speak for us all and stood on his chair to peer over me at the griffin. "We're friends with both of... them." Chrome said, starting off strong, then losing confidence mid sentence.

I decided to back him up, or at least distract the griffins from his flopped sentence. "Yeah, Steve hasn't told you about us?"

"St...eve?" She stuttered, causing a few mumblings to start up in the surrounding griffins.

Chrome groaned and smacked his hoof into his forehead. Ebony gulped nervously and shuffled away from the griffins slightly and pressed up against me, all the while keeping eye contact with the increasingly skeptical griffins. They were still eyeing us with peeked interest.

I decided to take a little gamble, "Er... 'Steve' is somewhat of a nickname. You can blame me for that one." I said, raising a hand honestly, "It's a name from my... erm... culture."

The old hen stayed silent and scanned my face. Less than a second later, her expression lighted and addressed the griffins around her with another round of clicks and chirps. They all seemed to nod in approval and a few small conversations started within the crowd.

"What's going on? What are they saying?" I asked, slightly concerned. I don't think anyone would be too comfortable with that many griffins in one place. Steve was rather threatening on his own, let alone his family and friends.

The older griffin turned back to me, a proud smile on her face. "We are just happy that little Rosewood has managed to settle here. We were skeptical when he left home..." She said, a touch of sadness leaking into the last few words.

A small smirk had to be pushed back at the word "little". It wasn't the word I would have used to describe Steve. It did make me wonder what her relation to Steve was though.

An avian whistle and a single click came from the doorway. All the griffins sat in the pews instantly turned and responded with the same whistle and click. They all briefly lifted their chins as they did so and it seemed subconscious, telling me it was probably a greeting of some kind.

Turning to the doorway, I was rather surprised to see Feather walking into the room, giving quick waves and acknowledging gestures to the griffins.

A few metal badges swung on Feather's chest as she walked. They were clipped to her fur and were very clearly of military origin. I decided not to ask her what they were for, she probably wouldn't appreciate that.

As she made her way to the pew infront of us, a few griffins shot some statements at her which I, obviously, couldn't understand. A small smile promptly appeared on Feather's face which could only be described as 'bashful', which was odd to see on her usually composed complexion. It made me curious as to what they must have said to elicit such a reaction, or more importantly, why?

Part of me didn't want to know.

"You three are here early." Feather said, sounding somewhat cheery. "How are you doing?" She asked, aiming the question at no one in particular as she sat infront me.

Chrome shrugged limply and Ebony passively mumbled something about being 'fine'. I just pointed to my sling.

"The usual then." She sighed, turning back around to face the front of the... let's call it a church.

The church fell fairly silent, since the avian language being tossed about by the griffins next to us was fairly quiet, aside from the occasional ruckus of boisterous laughter. In the echo-y chambers of the church, I could here the tapping of hoofs idly walking around in the large hallway outside of the room.

I realized something, before giving a short glare at Chrome. "What about you?" I asked Feather, "How are you doing?"

Chrome looked slightly ashamed. Ebony thumped my side with a hoof, defending Chrome in a somewhat sarcastic manor.

She turned around to look at me, slightly shocked, "I'm, uh, fine." She said, before forcing a toothy smile and returning her attention to the front of the room. As she turned her head, her eyes caught something which caused her to double-take for a split second. During her second take, her eyes were harsh and calculating, narrowing into a suspicious glare. For that tiny moment, I could see the machinery inside her head turning at full capacity. As she looked at the front of the room, she didn't give the area so much as a third glance.

Chrome's eyes were bulging and he was frantically trying to get my attention with a rapid tapping of my shoulder, but I ignored him momentarily and looked to the area Feather had been distracted by for that split second.

There, standing in his post, was Midnight. He had the face of a child who got caught stealing cookies and was having his punishment decided in the other room.

I gave him a questioning look, to which he simply gestured to Feather with a few movements of his terrified eyes. There was a small amount of excitement behind his terror, probably because his chosen mare just looked at him. The terror was probably due to the way she looked at him.

Since I couldn't really help Midnight in any way, I leant my head towards Chrome and whispered, "What?"

Putting a hoof to my face, he forced me to look at him. "She said 'uh'." He mouthed silently.

I remembered what Chrome had said about Feather stuttering; it meant something was wrong. And since she said it before she noticed Midnight (who was probably just giving her gooey eyes or something) it can't have been him. She stuttered before she left to find Dawn, an action that came out of nowhere. Dawn had been missing for years by then, so randomly searching for her didn't really make much sense to me.

I made a mental note to ask her why she did that if I were put into a position where it would be polite to ask.

The trotting I could hear outside of the room began to pass by the door. Half of it stopped. "Look at the pretty bird-ies mommy!" A small voice said from the doorway, gaining the attention of everyone in the room.

It was a small earth-pony colt. He didn't even flinch as everyone turned to look at him. The same could not be said for the mare just ahead of him, who I assume was his mother. She froze and smiled nervously at the hall full of predatory stares coming from the griffins.

Chrome had whipped his head around a lot faster than the rest of us at the sound of the voice with a hopeful expression on his face. This expression faded once he had time to look at the pair in the doorway.

Feather, who seemed eager to distract herself, waved her hoof at the mare, gesturing her to come into the room. "Come on in! I swear, their harmless enough." she called, referring to the griffins.

Not exactly helping Feather's point, a few deep chuckles came from the crowd of griffins. The mare didn't look too convinced as she slowly began to shuffle towards her son.

"Come on mommy!" The colt whined, "Look, they've got kids too!" He said, pointing a stubby hoof into the group. Turning my head, I saw a small griffin who's head and feet were far too big for it's fluffy body, peaking over the back of one of the pews and staring curiously at the foal.

The mare looked about frantically for a split second before looking down at her wrist. "Why... Won't you look at the time... We'd best be off! Come on!" She called nervously to her son.

I would like to point out that her wrist was completely void of anything watch-like.

Her son sighed as she dragged him away from the door by his tail.

Half the griffins laughed, while the other half sighed in what sounded like disappointment. There was a clear relation between the griffin's reaction and their gender, as the laughter was distinctly male.

Feather just smiled and huffed, falling back down into her seat.

The tiny griffin looked crest-fallen.

As the mother left, foal in tow, a small crowd of ponies came into the room. Their hooves were light and respectful and most of them wore similar badges to Feather but most were a little more lack-luster. They filed in and filled the spaces either side of Feather and the large space to the left of Chrome. As they passed us, Ebony got quite a few unsavory looks, though most stopped when I responded with a look of my own.

I also got a few looks, probably either because I was... well, a bipedal monkey or because I was wearing clothes to a wedding.

Soon after them was a similarly sized crowd made up of relatively normal looking ponies, they filled the pews behind us and I couldn't shake the feeling of having holes burned into the back of my neck. I gave a glance to Ebony, his expression proved he was feeling the same.

Idle chatter filled the room. The griffins continued their chirping and Feather began to do what looked like some catching up with the veterans surrounding her. She gestured to Ebony a few times, so I assume she was explaining why exactly there was a changeling at their friend's wedding. The rows behind us began to mumble, but they stayed rather hushed.

I thought I'd contribute to the ambient noise, "You doing okay Eb?" I asked, turning to him.

He blinked his heavy eyes, as if having to process what I had said for a while. "...Very tired." He whispered.

"How 'bout you sleep now? I'll wake you up if stuff starts happening, promise."

He gave a dopey smile, nodded and simply collapsed in his seat. He laid down on the hard wooden seat, somehow making it look rather comfy, and used my knee as a pillow to rest his head on. By the looks of it, he was out in seconds.

"So," I said quietly, turning to Chrome. "Why'd you turn so fast when that kid spoke?"

He looked a little solemn for a second, "I thought I recognized the voice." He paused and forced his face back into a semi-neutral state. "You keeping those on then?" He asked, changing the subject and gesturing to my clothes with a hoof.

"Yes!" I kept my voice down for Eb, but it was obvious I wanted to yell. "It's making me insecure just being in a room full of naked things, especially when I'm made aware of it."

I caught sight of a wicked smirk spreading across Chrome's face.

"You have something witty to say, don't you." I sighed.

He didn't deny it. "You haven't been outside on a windy day, have you?"

I paused to think, "I... Have. Why?

He continued as if I hadn't said anything. "Oh I remember my days as an adolescent. Looking out the window on a gusty day, watching the ponies and waiting for a well-timed gust in the right direction. It was hilarious to watch with a couple of mates, when we weren't out breaking or climbing stuff."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused as to where he was going with this.

"Well," he said, "A pony's tail, if the wind is strong enough, works a lot like a flag." To help me visualize, he put up two hooves, then moved the front hoof out of the way, revealing the hoof behind it.

It all clicked. "...Chrome you pervert." I whispered. He just chuckled. "I will never unsee that now."

"Hey, I was young and immature!" He said defensively with a smile still on his face.

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, now you're just old and immature." I could see him formulating a response before I even finished my sentence.

"Says the one who's species refuses to take their clothes off. And judging by your age I bet you'd do anything just to see one of your kind naked."

"I'd do anything just to see one of my kind, period." I retorted. Chrome stared at me in silence, his eyes became slightly moist. "I was joking... Too far?" To be honest, not my smartest move, I mean, he had what basically amounted to a mental breakdown because he separated me from my kind.

He nodded and wiped his eyes with the back of a hoof before the moisture could gather. "Too far." He sounded like he just took a speeding anvil to the gut.

"Sorry." I whispered, then decided silence was probably the best course of action and used my mobile hand to idly scratch at Eb's ear.

After a little while of waiting, during which time a few wandering ponies had gathered by the door and were simply watching out of interest, an elderly pony walked up the isle and stood on the raised platform.

I shook Eb, who was practically putty at that point, by his shoulder. "Come on, Eb. Something's happening."

Slowly sitting up, Ebony rubbed at his face and looked around. Realizing where he was, he sighed groggily and sat back up into his chair, leaning on me heavily. As much as this was pulling on my bad shoulder, I thought it was best that he got as much rest as possible.

This rest, however, was short lived.

"All rise for the bride and groom!" The elderly pony called. It was more of a request than a command, but everyone in the room who was sitting stood, and all those who were standing straightened.

I felt rather out of place standing in a place like that. Being about one-point-five times taller than the tallest griffin in the room made me feel like a blot on a landscape. Like a pylon in a forest.

Ebony had a particularly hard time standing, but after a few sluggish movements, he was there. Basically.

"Bride and groom?" I whispered to Chrome, crouching slightly to reach his ear, "They come out at the same time?"

Chrome turned to me to respond, but Feather shushed us with a less-than-subtle "SSHHH".

Hearing footsteps, the two columns of pews, myself included, turned to the doorway. There, walking somewhat casually, through the doorway was Steve and Dawn.

Now, when one imagines wedding attire, one thinks of sharp suits and long, flowing dresses.

Here, that was only half right.

Steve was in the suit I had seen him in earlier, navy blue with a white shirt and black tie. It seemed to have been loosened since I had last saw him, as his chest looked less restricted and he looked a lot more comfortable.

Dawn however... She simply wore a few white bands of fabric haphazardly tied in knots. There were two equally spaced on each of her legs and one passing over her forehead and behind her ears, keeping her hair back.

It was quite literally what she had worn when she was prepared for that battle that got called-off. Which, much to my displeasure, had been dubbed 'The Battle of Teapot' thanks to Chrome's new-found political influence. The perks of having a princess under your belt, I guess.

Needless to say, she didn't have the array of knifes she had last time she wore those. She did however have Ellie, her hammer-knife-spear hybrid weapon, balanced between the feathers of her outstretched wings.

It was slightly unnerving to see a fourteen-inch blade and a block of metal almost the size of a loaf of bread on the end of a pole in a church, of all places.

As they walked, a few of the griffins cupped their hands around their beaks and called in an avian tongue. Whatever they were saying, it put a smirk on Dawn's face, caused Feather to roll her eyes so hard I could tell she rolled them despite me being behind her and had Steve fighting not to laugh.

Once they reached the platform, they stood facing eachother either side of the elderly pony who made a downward hoof-motion, to which the two crowds both sat back down into their seats.

Ebony was very thankful to have something to lean on and took full advantage of the opportunity.

As we were sitting, Dawn whispered something into the older pony's ear. He nodded and seemed relieved.

"At the bride's request," The old pony said, "We'll skip the old-fashioned stuff, and get right to the point." There were a few quiet cheers of approval, most came from the griffins. "Do you, Dawn Skies, take this griffin as your husband."

I decided not to inquire on the differences between weddings here and the one's I am used to. Asking questions is kind of a waste of time if the answer is just going to be 'That's just the way it is here'.

Dawn smiled, but one of her back hooves was tapping against the floor rapidly, not hard enough to make a sound, but noticeable. "I do." She gestured to Steve with her eyes, clearly things were not going fast enough for her.

The elderly pony turned to Steve, "Do you-"

"I do." Steve interrupted, giving Dawn a smile.

The pony cleared his throat, "Okay, do either of you have memorial trinkets you would like to exchange?" They both shook their heads. "Then I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kis-"

"Oh jesus..." I sighed and I buried my head in my hands as Dawn shoved the pony out of the way and leapt at Steve.

Judging by the cheering and applause coming from the pews around me, again mainly the griffins, they were really going at it.

I peaked to my left, Chrome was doing the same as me and gave me an uneasy smile. I peaked to my right, Ebony was just watching with a small smile, though he did lick one of his fangs briefly. I assume the room was simply radiating love, among other things, but at least he was a lot more awake.

"Have a little respect you two." Feather scorned from the pew infront of us. Me and Chrome just shared another awkward look and shook our heads.

***

"So... party time?" I asked, looking to Chrome.

Me, Chrome and Ebony stood outside of the ceremony hall's entrance as the room poured out onto the streets, there were two distinct lines made of griffins and ponies heading in different directions, one male, one female. Both groups were making quite the ruckus and ponies were clearing off the streets, making way for the riot.

"Yep." He said, cheery as I'd ever seen him. "Anything you need to do beforehoof, do it now, I'll wait here."

I thought for a second and looked to Ebony, "I don't have anything to do, what about you?"

Ebony sighed, kicking at the cobbled street under his hooves. "I've got to get back to my Queen. I don't want to leave you but..." He glanced at the stream of ponies and griffins still pouring from the door embedded in the cliff. "I don't really like loud parties."

Chrome nodded understandingly, "It is a pretty big one. At least it should be. I don't blame you."

Ebony looked to me, his eyes were sad and searching for understanding. I nodded, "You do what you need to do Ebony."

He grinned and reared up into a hug, careful not to hit my arm, "Thanks, Dan." He said quietly as he dropped back down onto all-fours. I patted his head as he passed me, on his way to the palace.

"You ready?" Chrome asked, a scary grin on his face.

"I hope so." I said as we joined the male crowd, following the current of bodies through the streets.

After a few minutes of walking, we followed the group into a area of the city I hadn't been in before. Even in the midday sun it seemed dark, it looked as if the palace itself was casting a shadow over the whole area. As we passed a few particularly dingy bars, I got an idea of what kind of a 'party' I was in for.

That idea was thrown out of the window and instantly replaced as we rounded a corner and were assaulted by an array of pink neon lights.

One detached building, like a ruby in the bottom of a trash can, stood proud surrounded by the dank decrepit streets. 'The Shackled Mare' read the large neon sign above the door.

It was a large single-floor building with no windows. In an impressive display of craftsmanship, an image made of neon lights stood above the previously mentioned sign. It featured a mare on her hind legs, swinging off of a pole with one forehoof. Two broken handcuffs hung from her forehooves.

I turned to Chrome suspiciously, we had managed to stay side-by-side despite the bustle of the crowd around us. "Does Luna know you're doing this?"

He shrugged, "She said I could. It's tradition. Well, for griffins anyway."

"Huh, I assume Dawn has gone somewhere similar?"

He nodded.

"So the first thing griffins do after marriage is... Go to a strip joint?" I asked.

Chrome seemed quite surprised I knew what the building was. "Yep, it gets the thrill of cheating out of their system, makes the marriage last longer apparently."

I snorted, "That, or neither party really wants to complain. This is one awesome tradition."

Despite my apparent enthusiasm for the situation, I couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable. I had spent a couple of months in completely clean and innocent surroundings, now I was approaching a damn strip club.

Steve was at the door, welcoming everyone in. As the door opened and closed with each griffin or pony that went through I only got glimpses of darkness and pink hues. Me and Chrome were among the last to go in.

"Hey you two," Steve said, opening the door for us. "Go on in."

We both nodded thanks and began to walk into the club. Steve caught my left shoulder at the last second. "You... sure this is your kind of place Dan?" He asked, "I thought you'd be off with Dawn and the others."

I had no right to be offended, with me and Eb and all, it was a good assumption that I'd prefer to go with the girls.

"I don't think I've been here long enough to know... 'Which club to go to'. Figuratively and literally." I responded, "I'm just following Chrome's lead."

"Fair enough, don't let him get you into trouble." He said, giving my shoulder a pat before letting me go in.

I took my first steps into the club. The first thing I noticed was the music. It was very distinctly club music, electronic, with a heavy beat, but it was at a very respectable volume, so I could not really work out the details. It was really just a thumping in the background. I saw no speakers, so I assumed magic was to blame.

The place was massive, a corner obscured the other half of the building, but from what I could see, there was a bar serving drinks to my right, booths with draw-able curtains to my left and dotted around the room in fairly equal intervals were raised platforms with poles reaching to the ceiling. Needless to say, they were occupied.

The whole place was occupied.

I walked further into the fairly brightly lit club, past the very full seats, and peered around the corner. The room continued to the left, making an upside down 'L' shape. Around the corner, there were three raised isles with more poles at the ends. Even though, to me, the beings expertly straddling the beams didn't look too special, they seemed to be the main attraction. Many stallions and drakes crowded the seating areas lining the isles.

The griffin-to-pony ratio was probably 1:1 in both customers and performers, though the two seemed to keep to their own race, somewhat.

Seeing a spare seat at the bar, I quickly sat, eager to get out of the way of the many roaming females. As much as I wouldn't have minded a little bit of female company, I had only just gotten there and I was way, way out of my comfort zone.

I swiveled in my chair, looking out across the room. Either side of me were two rather large griffins, already drinking away. I noticed something was missing as I looked around the room. Bouncers. The were no bouncers, unless they were disguised as clients. This made me a little wary of the two griffins next to me.

The barista, a unicorn mare scrubbing a glass clean in her magic, walked up behind me. "You after any drinks? Or just a place to sit, ey?" She asked, her tone was more understanding than accusatory. Her voice was sweet, yet held a certain authority to it. She also had a rather airy accent that just reeked of 'Northern'.

Turning back to face the bar, I considered my plans of action. "Erm, sure." I said, "I'll have... Ah..." I noticed, as I put my hands into my pockets, I had no money.

The barista smiled, "Don't worry, whole place has been rented out for the wedding. Drinks are on the house."

I blinked, "Oh, sweet. Erm... A pint of beer I guess, I didn't have breakfast this morning, I need the calories."

That's how it works right? Either way, tick that off the bucket list. Beer for breakfast. In a strip club no less.

She looked at me oddly, then seemed to drop whatever she was thinking about. She was probably used to being hit on, and here I was explaining my day to her. "Beer? What kind?" She asked.

"Um... The... third most expensive. I have no idea what the brands here are, so just give me that one." I said, shrugging.

She laughed slightly, the griffins either side of me both gave me a short glance that reeked of jealousy. "I could tell you were new here, what brought you to Equestria?" She asked, using a pump to fill a clean glass.

I thought for a second, "I... Can't really answer that. I'm pretty sure my whole life here is one big scientific experiment or something. There's a scientist guy here somewhere," I said, gesturing to the room, "grey pegasus, complete doofus when it comes to anything except physics, ask him if you really need the answer to that question, I probably shouldn't say."

She smiled as she slid my glass to me, it had a very large handle, probably designed to fit hooves. "I'll keep an eye out for him. Anything else I can get you?" She asked, leaning over the bar slightly. The two griffins almost choked on their drinks and began to glance between me and the mare.

"I'd like to speak with the owner of this place, if they're available." I said, causing one of the griffins to give me a disappointed expression while the other slapped his own face with a palm.

The mare backed off of the bar and gave me a suspicious look, "...I can get them for you." She pointed across the room, "There is an empty booth over there, sit there with the curtain drawn, they'll be with you eventually."

I turned to look where she was pointing. There was a booth, a 'C' shaped chair inset into the wall with small semi-circular table in front of it. There was a small curtain which was pushed to one side next to it.

"Thanks for the drink, hope this isn't too much trouble. I just have a few concerns." I said, standing with my drink and making my way over to the booth. I took a sip of my drink before setting it on the small table, leaning forward, pulling the curtain shut then sitting.

I was half way through my cup before anything happened. The drink was rather nice, though it had that expensive taste that kind of lingers in the back of the throat like a looming debt. I had a feeling that I would have a looming debt if it were not on the house.

Ducking under the curtain, a pegasus mare entered the small room. She had rosy cheeks, half lidded eyes and a tail that refused to stay still. She sat across from me and began to shuffled around the seat towards me. "What can I do for you?" Her voice was heavy and wavering in a deadly mixture of alcohol and lust. "Can I-"

I reached across the table and put a finger to her mouth, stopping her in her tracks. "I'm just waiting for the owner." I said calmly.

Her face straightened sharply. "Thirty seconds. Don't move." She said in a painfully sober voice before resuming her drunken act and leaving the booth.

For someone pretending to be drunk, she sure smelt like she was. Who knows, maybe they have alcohol-scented perfume here.

I had a feeling I just passed some kind of test. I rewarded myself with another quarter of my drink. While drinking, I lost count of the seconds.

"Still waiting, huh?" The barista said from across the table as I put my drink down. I jumped a little, but I imagine the little alcohol I had drunk helped dumb down my reaction.

"Mhmm," I mumbled before swallowing the mouthful I still had, "Yep, still waiting to see the owner. There a delay?" I asked.

"Nope." She said, shaking her head. "In fact, you're in luck. You're speaking to her."

"Heh, nice undercover work." Said, gesturing to her with my cup.

She grinned, "Thanks. Do me a favor and don't tell anyone, ey?" I nodded as I took another sip. "Great. So, what are your concerns?" She asked, leaning across the table slightly.

In the brighter light of the booth, I could work out her colors. Pure white coat, a light pink mane with thin two white streaks in it and a few black speckles on the bridge of her nose. Her cutie mark was a hollow heart-shape being filled by a cup pouring red liquid. Her eyes were the same color as her mane.

Overall, she looked like some sort of strawberry-topped dessert with that coloration.

"My concern is that there are no bouncers. I respect the performers, they make good money. But, you know, they've got to be safe." I explained.

She seemed to relax slightly, "Oh, don't worry, they're safe."

"How so?"

She smirked slightly, "All the dancers here are trained in self defense and general offence." She said as I finished the last of my drink. "They are the bouncers."

I hummed as I set my empty glass down on the table. "You seen rather proud of your little army."

She eye'd my glass for a second. "I am. Hang on-" She poked her head around the curtain. "Can we get some wine in here ey? Thanks." She leant back into the small room. "I am. They save me money, and they get paid handsomely."

A hoof reached out from under the curtain and placed a wine bottle and two glasses on the table. After that, it patted around blindly on my side of the table. I shuffled my empty cup towards it with a tentative finger. The hoof patted the side of the glass, searched for the handle, then snatched it away under the curtain.

She used her magic to lift both the glasses and the bottle, filling them both half way with practiced ease. I was slightly unsettled by her using magic so close to me. She seemed rather competent at it too.

"I think I saw your scientist." She said as she landed our glasses infront of us. "Over there." She said, pointing through the curtain.

I lifted the bottom of the curtain, peeked under it and looked in the direction she pointed. Sure enough, there was Chrome, sitting like a king with six mares surrounding him, two by his back hooves, one laying either side of him on the long seat he was sat on and two leaning over the back of his seat resting their heads on his shoulders.

Feather was there too, I noticed. Which shocked me for a moment, before I remembered how she was. She was sitting at the bar, happily watching over the crowds with a small glass balanced on one hoof. Midnight was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he never left the church?

"That scientist guy," I said as I pulled myself back into the booth, "do those mares go for anyone? Or is he really that good?" I asked.

She snorted, taking another look under the curtain, "Jealous? The girls do as they wish, he must have done something to get their attention for the moment." She waved a hoof, "They'll move along eventually."

"Huh... This a family business of yours?" I asked as she pulled her head back into the booth while taking a sip of her glass. "Or'd you build it?" I took a swig of my drink also. It was a particularly fruity red wine, not really to my tastes.

She rolled her eyes, "Enough questions from you." She said, topping off each of our glasses a smidgen. "I want to here about you. How'd you get here, ey?"

"I told you, I can't..."

"Please?" She sweetly pleaded, "I told you my secret. Tell me yours."

I sighed, "Fiinne." I muttered, smiling as I took another sip of wine. The fruity taste was growing on me.

She tapped her hooves together in glee.

I explained my general situation. I kept things rather positive, as not to kill the vibe. We slowly worked our way through the bottle. She seemed genuinely interested, it probably wasn't every day she saw something that actually surprised her, since I imagine owning a joint such as that one is pretty strange work sometimes.

"...And I'm making a band." I concluded.

"Really?" She asked. I nodded to her as she finished another glass. "I sing a little myself actually." She poked her head out of the curtain again and called for another bottle. I turned and found the current bottle empty, along with another bottle I didn't even remember drinking.

That's when things start getting fuzzy.

***

A few memories of the day before echoed through my head as I woke up.

***

"What's your name?"

"Oh, sorry, mine's Dan. Your's?"

"Ponies just call me 'Wha's'ername'. I prefer to keep my name to myself, keeps the club under-wraps."

***

I groaned and checked my shoulder, it was still in the right place, and feeling a lot better. Still hurt to move though. My sling wasn't on. Must have fell off at some point during the night.

I reached to my right, pushing through the sheets. "Hey, Eb, what's the time..." My hand, instead of reaching a changeling, reached open air. I achingly rolled to my left as I sluggishly opened my eyes, "Ebony, why am I on your side of the be-"

I froze as my eyes locked with a pair of pink irises staring back at me widely.

We both lay there frozen as the realization dawned slowly on us.

She broke the silence, "You... remember anything?"

"Nope. You?" I responded.

"Me neither." She sighed as she sat up in the bed.

The room was lit by an early morning light, the hues you only get from a rising sun. The room was compact and tidy, judging by the slanted window in the ceiling, we were in a converted attic-space of sorts.

She stared at the floor infront of the bed, "Oh Celestia." She whispered before looking back to me.

"What? What is it?" I asked, sitting up also. "Oh." On the floor, resting in a heap, were my clothes along with my sling.

We both just stared until She turned to me. "Hey, could be worse, right?" She said, surprisingly chipper. "Trust me, I am not an easy mare, even when I'm drunk. This doesn't happen often."

I flopped back down onto the pillow below me, placed my hands over my face and groaned. "Where are we? And why are we not hung-over?"

"Oh, this is my resting space for when I don't have time to get home but need to sleep. Party's through that door and down the stairs. As for the hang-overs, a year or so ago some surfer-dude came in and placed a spell over the whole place. I still send him cheques." She paused. My clothes were magically slapped onto my still hand-covered face. "Come on, quickly. It's only eight, there's still time to get back to the party. If they ask, just tell them you scored the barista." She said, stepping off of the bed.

As I got dressed under the covers, she trotted to a small desk loaded with cosmetics and backed with a large mirror.

I stood once I was dressed, there were a few red stains on the shirt. Looking over, I found her messing with her eyelashes. "Is this... going to come back to bite me?" I asked, checking my clothes for any other stains.

She didn't move as she stared into the mirror, magicking utensils around her face in complete concentration. "Probably not, unless you go spreading my identity. No telling anypony I own this place, ey?"

"Got it." I nodded to her reflection. I pointed to the stains on my shirt. "What do you recon? Wine or blood?" I asked jokingly.

"Let's just assume it's wine so I don't have to kick you out." She said only half jokingly. "You get back to the party, I'll be back to serving drinks in about an hour or so."

I made my way to the door and let my hand rest on the handle. "Thanks, erm... W'as-'er-name." I thought for a second. "Can I just call you Wasser? What's-her-name is a bit of a mouthful."

She snorted, "Sure, and no need to thank me, you're not the only one who had a good time last night. Probably. Actually..." She swiveled in her chair to face me. One eye was beautifully made-up, the other was bare. "One last thing. This place is somewhat 'under-the-radar' due to a deal 'the boss' has with the Canterlot guard. You ever get in trouble, need a safe-house or just a place to stay; come visit me, ey?" She said, a suggestive smirk on her face.

"I won't think twice." I said as I opened the door. Beyond the door was a steep, narrow staircase leading to a black door.

A wall of guilt hit me as I closed the door behind me, causing me to stop. I sat on the top step.

I mumbled to myself under my breath. "Damnit, I didn't want that to happen... What's Ebony going to think? I was drunk, I didn't have control of myself. I've been drunk before and I know what happens, I should have stopped after the second bottle. What about Wasser? She was making advances even before we got drinks. Maybe she's just so used to being hit on that it's special when someone comes in without subtly demanding sex... I don't know... I hope this all just blows over."

"Well, if anything," I said, standing up, "I've got a place to stay if Celestia decides I need to pay for that rug... Or the doors... Or the prison... Or the crimes that sent me there... So that's nice."

I collected myself and headed down the stairs, the music slowly got louder as I approached the door.

I pushed the door open and found myself back in the main room, coming out of the wall that separated two of the booths. The outside of the door was crafted to match the wall perfectly. Noticing this, I quickly shut the door behind me and walked away, as not to gain attention.

The party had died down a little, and a few ponies and griffins lay on the seats and bar stools asleep, while most were still either drinking, or enjoying the show. Feather was passed out, face down on the bar with Chrome next to her, barely awake.

Seeing a spare stool next to them, I decided to join them.

"You two seen Steve at all?" I asked as I sat and waved over a timid mare that seemed to be filling in for the barista. "I need to talk to him for a bit."

Chrome sighed, a smile plastered on his face. "He's... around." He didn't seem very aware of his surroundings at all.

The mare behind the bar gave me a questioning look. To which I said, "You serve food?" He silently shook her head and recoiled like I was a wild animal ready to pounce. "Oh, okay, some of that wine that me and What's-her-name had given to us earlier. If you know what that was."

She nodded and walked off.

I noticed one of Feather's ears perked up to attention at the mention of Wasser's name.

Chrome turned to me, it was as if he was in slow motion. "What were... you doing with Wha...sher-face?" He slurred. Close enough Chrome. Close enough.

I rubbed the back of my neck as a small glass of wine as shuffled towards me timidly from behind the bar. "I don't remember exactly, but uh..."

Chrome's eyes widened. In his very drunk state, that meant his eyelids were almost at their normal height for a second. "You didn't." Feather's ear twisted towards me, ready to funnel in the sound of my response.

"...Yeeaaahhh..." I croaked, breaking eye contact with Chrome to look around the room. I spotted Steve stretching his arms as he woke up on one of the sofas, he was wearily looking around the room. "Ah, there he is." I said, standing, taking my glass and making my way to the griffin. I was lucky I spotted him when I did, Feather might has well have given herself whiplash with how fast she removed her face from the bar to stare at me.

Steve rubbed at his face, then tapped his head. He was missing his hat.

Much like people are with glasses, it was strange seeing him without it. He clearly wasn't all there, since he couldn't seem to spot the hat lying on the seat next to his.

As I passed it, I picked up his hat and set it on his head. He blearily looked up at me, and gave me a 'one second' gesture with his talon. He closed his eyes and concentrated on something. It was like he had tapped into a special 'griffin willpower', because he came back much more sober, or at very least, a little more awake.

Adjusting his precious headwear, Steve gave me a grin. "Oh, Dan. You havin' a good time?" I could clearly smell the alcohol on his breath, but he seemed lucid.

"Sure, it's been... Interesting." I said honestly. He smiled in approval. "You want to head out someplace? I'm starving and I need to talk to you for bit."

Steve shot me a tilted glance, furrowing his brow, "What kind of talk?" He looked behind him to the bar and turned back to me after seeing Feather, who was still staring at me blankly. I couldn't tell if she was drunk, shocked or both. "It got anything to do with why... Er..." He snapped his fingers, clearly trying to think up a name.

"Feather?" I offered.

He pointed at me and grinned, "Tha's it." He continued. "-why Feather is looking at you like that?"

"No, but we can talk about that too if you want. It's more of a proposition than anything." As if on cue, stomach grumbled at me. "Plus, I haven't eaten in an unhealthy amount of time."

Steve put a hand to his own belly with concern, "Ah, I'm rather hungry too. Okay, how's a place with meat sound to you?" He asked, getting out of the chair he had well and truly sunken into. He left a very Steve-shaped crater.

"Sounds great." I said, following him, "Lead the way."

***

A few minutes later and Steve had led me to a small cafe nearer the base of the palace. It was tucked away between a few larger shops and had a small sign of a griffin in a red circle in the door next to another that read "We are OPEN!"

I waited until we had food infront of us before bringing up the topic I needed to discuss.

Me and Steve had the same dish, simply because I had no idea what to get. It was simple, plain, strips of beef with the fat expertly trimmed. It wasn't all that tasty and was in need of a few condiments, but it worked as a filling breakfast. It certainly kept Steve busy.

"I need your help with something." I sighed.

Steve peered up at me from his plate with a peice of meat hanging from his beak. Steve's gaze seemed to be harsh even at it's tenderest, but he seemed rather curious as to what was bothering me.

"I'll probably need Dawn as well. It'll have us out of Canterlot for a couple of days, and in a place a lot less safe." I said cryptically, I didn't want the details out unless I knew he was down for it. "Which is why I need you two with me."

Raising and eyebrow, he wiped the stray piece of meat off his beak. "What exactly would we be doing in this... 'less safe' place?" He asked skeptically.

"Retrieving an item." I said, again keeping the details to myself for the time being. "In exchange for a prize that'll benefit all of us."

He narrowed his eyes, "An item for who?"

I huffed, looking to Steve, he was eyeing me expectantly. "...Discord."

His beak clamped shut. Leaning back in his seat, he crossed his arms and looked at me cock-eyed. He stared at me for a few seconds, his breathing was slow and methodical as he appraised me.

After a full thirty seconds, he snorted and shrugged. "I'm in."

I was taken aback slightly, "You don't want to know more?"

He rolled his eyes, "I know the game, you weren't going to tell me any details before I'd said I was definitely going to do it. So news wouldn't spread as fast, or at all."

"Wow, er... Okay. What about Dawn?" I asked. "Would she be willing to help out too?" I couldn't really take one without the other.

He laughed, "Trust me, if she wasn't so darn good at surviving, I would'a assumed she had suicidal tendencies. She has a wanderlust like no other when it comes to places that might get her killed, or worse." I decided not to ask what the 'or worse' was. "Most of her military days were spent doing missions she wasn't even meant to be doing. She has a lust for danger." He put a talon to his chin, "Actually, it'll make for a good honeymoon."

She has a lust for danger. Never before had I heard that term used so literally, and considering how scary Steve (or griffins in general) could be, it wasn't hard to believe.

"Want a quick run-down? Since you're in?" I asked, Steve responded with a shrug.

Pulling out my journal, I set it on the table and opened the page of the day before. Inside was a map, folded scruffily Inbetween the pages. I spread it out across the table, it was no bigger than the plates we were using, so it easily fitted between us and our plates. It was a drawing, by discord himself. The whole thing was drawn in fountain pen, I was pretty sure he only did that to remind me how much I was missing using a pen to write with, since here I only had a choice of pencils or quills.

It was a top-down view of the whole mountain in staggering detail, including Canterlot and the train-tracks. It extended to the left, past the base of the mountain and into the forest which was labeled "Everfree" in cursive. Rather deeply I to the mass of trees, was a small "X" mark with an cartoon-ish arrow pointing at it from the north, above the arrow written in what I swear to god was comic sans was "in there somewhere". No capitalization, no punctuation.

I explained to Steve what exactly this meant. Basically, Discord wanted a 'non-descript' orb from a temple deep in the Everfree forest that was left behind by a long-dead ancient civilization. According to Discord, ponies had never been there due to how deep it was into the forest.

"So... What is this 'orb' he wants?" Steve asked as I folded away the map.

I shrugged, "He said I'd know it when I saw it. So it probably glows or something, I don't know."

"And the prize?"

I smiled, "You know those pots and pans Dawn is ruining by drumming them to hell and back?"

He blinked, "Yeah? We've actually ran out after she managed to put holes in the last few."

"It's the instrument those pots are mimicking. So hopefully, she won't break that one."

"Huh..." Steve sighed, "So why does he need this orb anyway? How do you know it's not some sort of artifact or weapon or something?" He asked, slightly concerned for probably the safety of all of Canterlot, knowing Discord and whatever he gets up to in his free time.

I shrugged. "He said something about wanting a new door-stop."

This fic was being slow, so I halted the progress on my other project and focused solely on this one. I had planned for this to be 5-6k words... Well, you saw how that turned out. I got waaay to distracted this chapter. It was fun to write though.

This chapter had some very slow moments, and for that I apologise. I'm really not all that good at this "describing" business. Trust me, I'm trying to get better.

I'm trying to bounce the characters off of eachother more. You know, put a little friendly banter in there.