Now, nopony ever expected someone with a high government position to ever have a completely stress-free life, but even so, the look of utter tiredness upon Gabby was as clear as day. Looking down at her desk, the former Queen of Griffonstone was writing on paper after paper, all while the sound of her wall-clock permeated the room. Around her were members of the Lunar Guard, disciplined and professional, keeping watch so as to ensure that no harm came to her. She felt safe, but also exhausted, as evidenced by the long sigh she'd let loose every once in a while. But, there came a time when her work was, to her great relief, finally done. The papers were finished, at least for now, the requisitions complete, and at long last, she could relax. Leaning back into her chair, she let out a sigh that was far deeper than before, covering her eyes and giving them a slight rub. And it was in that moment when the door of her office opened, catching her attention. Lightning Dust, her closest aide and the Captain of her personal guard, entered, a confident smile on her as she did so.

"Finished, Governor?"

A dry chuckle escaped the Griffon.

"It took a while, but yeah."

Lightning nodded, then gave a look to her subordinates. Many of them gave instinctive salutes to their Captain, before marching in an orderly fashion out of the office. Within moments, the door was closed, and the two females were now alone together. Again, Gabby let out a long exhale, and this prompted Lightning to raise an eyebrow.

"You look terrible."

Gabby nodded in agreement to that.

"You don't need to tell me, Lightning. All this work..."

Lightning gained a somewhat sympathetic expression to her.

"I know Lunar documents can be difficult to get through sometimes, but..."

However, Gabby soon shook her head.

"No! This was Griffonstone paperwork!"

Raising her claw, she gestured not only to the pile of papers she'd just worked through, but also the subsequent piles that littered the other side of her office, reaching high enough to almost reach the ceiling. Lightning, as one would expect, seemed rather taken aback by this.

"Wow, that's...um...quite a lot."

Gabby gave her a deadpan look.

"Yeah...I know."

Chuckling nervously, the usually-confident mare walked over to the papers, giving them a quick glance before looking to the young Governor.

"These papers...they're dated all the way back to your Father’s reign. Actually..."

She squinted at some of them.

"...I think I see some from the time of his Father!"

Leaning back into her chair, Gabby gave a solemn nod.

"Yeah...let's just say my Father wasn't the first Griffon King to neglect his duties."

Very carefully, Lightning chose one piece of paper in particular, looking to it carefully and reading its title aloud.

"Requisition for additional materials for...sewage repair?"

Gabby nodded again.

"Yep. That one got ignored for a long time. It's only now that the work is getting underway."

Lightning looked to her.

"Yeah...I wasn't going to say anything, but...that smell really didn't make my early days here that great."

Turning, Gabby looked out of her window, out into the main street of Griffonstone. Sure enough, she could see several of her kind out there, digging up roads and doing all they could to repair the pipework underneath. A smile came to her beak as she considered that.

"Griffons working hard...fixing infrastructure...I honestly never thought I'd see the day."

Putting the paper down, Lightning walked beside her, looking out of that same window. For a time, neither said anything, but after a while, the green mare turned to face her.

"Do you miss it? Being Queen?"

Gabby frowned to that.

"The crown of Griffonstone was an empty ornament long before I ever took it. It was once a symbol of a monarch’s duty to their people...but by the time my Father wore it...all it was to the people was a symbol of those...who didn't care."

She looked to her colleague.

"Believe me...nobody in this country is going to miss royalty here."

Lighting thought on that, giving a short nod. But, before she could say anything further, they were both taken aback at the sound of somebody knocking on the door. Turning together, they looked on as a younger Griffon female began to enter, carrying a tray that bore a pot of tea, complete with an already-filled cup beside it.

"Shall I leave this here, Governor?" the female asked.

Gabby nodded.

"Yes, thank you, Gilly."

The other griffon gave a slight bow, then placed the tray to the side, before promptly leaving the office, closing the door as she did so. Now once more alone, the two made their way over to the tea, and Gabby then poured a second cup, offering it to her Captain. Though Lightning might not have been the kind of mare who usually went for tea, she nevertheless accepted, giving an appreciative smile. Before long, the two were taking simultaneous gulps of their respective drinks, all while Gabby had a thoughtful look to her. She moved her cup about in her claws, watching the drink sway from one side to another, before frowning slightly.

"...Did you know I'm a bastard?"

Lightning looked to her, surprised.

"Oh...I'm sure you needn't pay attention to whatever insults your country's malcontents have for you."

But Gabby raised an eyebrow to that.

"No...I mean I'm a literal bastard. As in, my Father never married my Mother?"

Understanding, Lightning chuckled, scratching the back of her head nervously.

"Oh...right...sorry."

But Gabby seemed in no way insulted by her misinterpretation, and instead simply sighed.

"My Father...he liked his females. Often he would go out into the city and frequent the taverns. One night, he came upon my Mother, who was a serving girl, and...well...I don't need to explain what my Father would have wanted of her that night."

Lightning nodded, though it was clear that the conversation had taken a somewhat uncomfortable turn for her. Even so, she remained quiet as the Governor continued.

"Some months later...my Mother got me. My Father..."

She narrowed her eyes.

"I never knew him...at least at first. Mother and I lived in...well...let's just be generous today and call it a hovel."

Slowly, she raised a claw to her own head, patting the top of it.

"I still remember the drops that would come through our ceiling and land on me when it rained."

She turned, looking out of the window.

"One year...Mother got sick...and I was, I think, about four or five at the time."

Sadness came to her.

"She died...and I was all alone."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Then...he came. My Father."

Lightning could feel the resentment in her voice, but stayed quiet all the same.

"He never helped her...he never came to speak with her...he just picked me up after she'd died. He'd never managed to get any children from other Griffon females of the city...so I was..."

A dry laugh escaped her.

"...I was the lucky one."

At last, she turned to look back to Lightning.

"He finally brought me into his life. Made me his heir. I was the only child he'd ever had. The one to be able to carry on the great and noble bloodline of Griffonstone's royal family."

Her grip of her cup tensed.

"But my start in life...it made me very aware of what state our people were in. Squalor...illness...all while ruled by a King who couldn't care less. He only ever came for me because he couldn't get himself a more...more suitable child."

The bad feeling was almost palpable in the air right now, and even Lightning, battle-hardened as she was, couldn't help but feel very uncomfortable right now. But, as the moments passed, Gabby's expression relaxed, and she let out a long sigh once more.

"But...if nothing else...my Father did put me in a position to be able to do what I've done. To take actions that have benefitted my people. Spending the rest of my childhood in this palace made me very aware of how things in this kingdom have gone...and what needed to change."

Slowly, a smile came to her, and she looked to her window yet again, raising her cup to it.

"No Griffon child has raindrops falling on them now, do they?"

Lightning too smiled, and as Gabby looked back to her, she finally managed to get a word in.

"You may be the first leader in your people's recent history to actually care about what they go through. Heck, you've been through it yourself. No offense to your Father..."

"Oh, by all means, offend him. I won't mind," Gabby interrupted.

Lightning blinked.

"Um...well...the point is...there may be those in your kingdom who resent you, they may look down on you for bringing my people in...but I have no doubt that you have their best interests in mind. Thanks to you...this kingdom isn’t falling apart anymore."

She placed a hoof upon her shoulder in a comforting manner.

"You're doing good, Governor. Never tell yourself otherwise."

Gabby smiled to her, clearly appreciating that.

"Thanks, Lightning. It's...nice...to have someone say that to me every once in a while."

Lightning nodded back to her, but again, she said nothing, for the door of the office once more opened. Both females turned, just in time to see one of the Lunar guards poke his head in.

"Apologies for the interruption, Governor...but word has come from your Father. Apparently the winds we went through the other day rather did a number on the garden outside his retirement villa, and he...well...requests that somepony go over to give him some new trees."

Gabby sighed, a look of tiredness once more returning to her, after which she gave her Captain one last dry laugh.

"Well...can't have the great King Grover the Twelfth without his trees, now can we?"

Hearing the obvious sarcasm there, Lightning chuckled.

"We'll see it done, Governor. And then..."

A sly smirk came to her.

"...how about we poke a few holes in his ceiling...for when the rains come? Just for a little while?"

Slowly, Gabby matched her smirk.

"Yes...that would be nice, wouldn't it?"