"Okay, so..." Twilight leaned forwards over the small table in the living quarters of the retreat where she, Trixie, Rainbow, Lightning, and Vapor, were getting a crash course on Griffonia's leadership over breakfast. "Emperor Hergest is the supreme ruler, no questions asked. That's easy enough. His brother Eustace is in prison for conspiring against him, which was discovered by Equestria from the Emperor's disgraced and disowned son, Theron, whom Eustace was conspiring with." Luna gave her a nod as she finished.

"These griffons all have weird names," Trixie moaned quietly. "They have no meaning to them. They're just... a-a collection of syllables! I don't know how I'm going to keep them all straight."

Twilight looked sideways at Trixie, "There's only three names. Four if you include the ambassador, Deetra."

"Actually, there's five," Cadence corrected. "The heir to the throne, Crown Princess Clarissa, is also a name you will have to remember. The Emperor always keeps his daughter close."

"Uh-huh," Twilight nodded, "and there's a fair bit of political strife going on there."

"You could say that," Luna confirmed. "Eustace had gotten a lot of griffons riled up with his forward thinking ideas, claiming the Empire to be too stuck in its ways, and too eager to give in to the whims of other nations like, well, us. The truth is that Eustace just wants power, and was willing to lie to get it. The fact that he conspired with Theron was all the proof the Emperor needed to imprison him."

"And what was that conspiracy, exactly?" Rainbow asked, a slice of toast held halfway to her mouth.

Luna shrugged, succinctly conveying that she hadn't the foggiest, and said as much. "We can only speculate. Theron wanted Griffonstone, which was once part of Griffonia until we took it from the Empire in centuries past. My guess is that Eustace wanted to reclaim Griffonstone for the Empire, making him look good to the rich and wealthy supporters of the Emperor, many of which want a return to the old expansionist way of thinking. I'm not sure how many griffons actually want that, but it's money that matters with griffons. If he could get the support of the upper echelons of griffon society, he could stand a chance of getting the Emperor forced out."

"But didn't Theron say that his uncle getting put in prison was part of the plan?" Cadence said, confused. "Surely if that was his plan, prison doesn't help."

"Then he must be planning something worse," Twilight told her. "What better way to appear innocent than to be in prison at the time of an assassination attempt?"

"Indeed," Luna agreed. "Unfortunately this means we will have to tread very carefully. If Eustace gets it into his head to pin an assassination on us while we're there, we will be in dire straits indeed. Honestly the timing of this is atrocious, but there we go."

"And what does Commander Theron get out of this?" Lightning asked.

"Eustace has no children," Luna replied. "An heir will have to be named, and who better than the reclaimer of Griffonstone? I imagine they plan to stop Faust by means of conquering Equestria after that point, since Theron must at least be aware of some of her intentions. It will only bring them ruin, and our chances of success will be greatly diminished."

Trixie rubbed her temples with her hooves, putting on the appearance of a headache, rather than actually having one. "Why did it have to be political? I hate politics. I do have a question though. What about the Emperor's wife?"

"Sadly deceased," said Luna. "I was still enjoying my sabbatical on the moon at the time-"

"Like fun you were!" Nightmare shouted from next door.

Luna rolled her eyes and continued, "-but I do believe my sister mentioned there were complications laying her second egg, and she died shortly thereafter."

Trixie's face screwed up as she tried to picture that, and it was pretty clear she wished she hadn't made the effort. "Uh, is that really how it works?"

"Quite so. That's what you get when you mix avian biology with mammalian. Griffon hens give birth to their eggs at six months, then incubate it for the remaining three." Luna snorted with mirth, "Now that we know about it, you can almost see Discord at work right there."

"Well that's horrific," Trixie said glibly. "Anything else we should know?"

"What about griffon society?" Twilight asked quickly. "What should we expect from that?"

"Hostility, mostly," Luna answered with a laugh. She stopped at the look Twilight gave her. "It's not too dissimilar to our own. No griffon is really poor, and can all live comfortably enough, but the difference between those that have enough, and those that have whatever they want is larger than what you would see in Equestria, and it is those wealthy few that have the political clout that Eustace wants behind him. Common griffons have very little say in how their country is run."

"I don't know, that sounds familiar enough," Twilight said blithely.

Luna ignored the jab. "Pointing out the flaws in their society isn't going to make us any friends, so all of you do your best to nod and smile, and maybe we might pull this off."

"I get the feeling this is going to become a recurring thing," Sunset said to Twilight as they stood in the portal chamber. "Staying here doing research while you go off on adventures. Curse my brilliant mind for lumbering me with this task."

Twilight smirked at the cheeky grin Sunset had given her, "You can come next time if you feel the need to stretch your legs, although there's no saying when that next time will be. Who knows how long this'll take us?"

"Hopefully not too long," Trixie commented. "We got shit to do, y'know? Faust ain't going to beat herself."

Twilight pushed Trixie away, "You just take care of yourself and the others, and have some good news waiting for us when we get back. Oh, and on the off chance that Nightmare starts making trouble, come find us."

There was an anxious sounding buzz from Mayfly, drawing their attention to her. "Are you sure you won't need me? This one is quite adept at spying."

"I think we're trying to do this with honesty," Twilight told Mayfly as Cadence looked back at them out of the corner of her eye, although the sight of Flurry sitting on her back blowing bubbles with her mouth ruined the image. Or improved it. It was really a bit of both. "Believe me, I'd bring all of you if I could, but the less ponies we have with us, the better."

"But... I'm not a pony."

"I know, but being with us kind of limits your disguising abilities to being a pony, otherwise it will look weird."

"What about Ember? Also not a pony."

"Alright, I'm sorry," Twilight apologised, taking the hint. "The less people with us, the better. And I'm pretty sure bringing a dragon anywhere with you is viewed as making hostilities, no matter how well intentioned that dragon might be."

"It's a gift," Ember said as she leant against the wall and inspected her claws.

"Quite." Twilight looked around, but couldn't find what she was looking for. "Is Moondancer not coming to see us off?"

"No," Sunset sighed, "but she does hope that none of you get killed, or eaten."

"Oh, well, it seems like she's finally warming up a bit," Twilight joked. "You can tell her we appreciate her concern."

"Uh, sure." Sunset pricked her ears as a subtle tone filled the air as the portal to Griffonia was activated by Luna. "Guess that's it then. Good luck."

"Thanks, and I'll see you soon." Twilight smiled at Sunset, Mayfly, and Ember, then turned away to pass through the mirror. Luna went first, and Twilight swore she could hear the hint of a shout as she went through, and again as Cadence did the same with Flurry. She glanced at Trixie and the others, but only got shrugs in return, so decided to find out herself what was going on. She stepped through the mirror, and shouted as the ground disappeared from beneath her.

"What the hell?" Twilight shouted as she caught herself on her wings. She was staring down the side of a mountain, having appeared in the crumbled ruins of half a tower. The mirror was stuck inside the remaining half of the tower, the floor beneath it having fallen away, meaning there was nothing to stand on once you passed through.

"What's all the shouti-waah!" Trixie started to say before plummeting down several feet. Twilight caught her quickly, but Trixie's fear of heights caught her first. "Wah-hah-hah-haah!"

"Trixie."

"Waaahhh-ahhh-haahh!"

"Trixie!"

"Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Damn it Trixie! Shut up!"

"Huh?" Trixie opened her eyes to find she was hovering safely in Twilight's magic, and not plummeting to her death. "Oh. Sooo... where'd the floor go?"

"Starsy could have perhaps informed us that the mirror wasn't in the castle," Luna said, keeping an eye on the mirror as the Wonderbolts came through and quickly took flight. "It seems the tower it was kept in hasn't stood the test of time. It would serve us well to move the mirror once we have a place to move it to."

Rainbow turned in the air as she looked about, seeing only snow capped mountains around them. "So if this isn't the Eyrie, where are we?"

"We're close." Luna gestured for them to follow her. "Very close."

She led them in a flight around the side of the mountain the had arrived on, and it soon became clear what Luna meant as they arrived in a verdant valley that lay between three large mountains. The valley floor was all farmland, green and lush from the water that trickled down from the mountains, but the real action was on the mountains themselves.

Built on the sides of the mountains, and surrounding the upper end of the valley, was a sprawling city, that was near vertical at times. It started from the ground and reached to not far below the snowline, although the highest part of the end mountain was taken up by a large castle dug into the rock of the mountain, looming over the rest of the city below it.

"This is the Eyrie," Luna said as they started the flight towards the castle. "Makes Canterlot look like a child's plaything by comparison."

"I'm guessing this is why you wanted ponies with wings to come with you," Trixie said, her fears temporarily forgotten as she took it all in. "Whoever thought of this must've had a tiny penis."

"Actually, there's no one griffon responsible for this. The Eyrie is a result of centuries of growth."

Twilight, while suitably impressed, was also sceptical of what she was seeing. "I'm guessing the higher you live, the wealthier you are?"

"And vice versa," Luna said cheerfully. "Just like Canterlot, and just like Canterlot, anyone can move up so long as you can make the money to do so. It's surprisingly fair in that regard at least. There's no caste system, or tribal issues to keep a griffon down. Just their ability to fill their coffers."

"But I'm guessing that once you get rich, you stay rich?"

Luna levelled a hoof, "It's not perfect. There are also plenty of wealthy griffons that like to keep the poor from rising to their level. Still, we're not here to try and change that. We're here to get help."

Twilight said nothing, although her thoughts steered towards darker places like the griffons not being interested enough in helping their own to help others. Those thoughts slipped away as they neared the castle, and what had been carved into the mountain around it. A massive griffon head, its beak hanging over the castle, surveyed the land before it, and firmly held its claws at the edges of the main wall that protected the castle. Twilight felt surprisingly small as she flew into its shadow.

A dozen armed griffons flew up to confront them as they made to fly over the wall. A razor sharp collection of spears encouraged them to stop as a large griffon came forward to speak with them.

"State your business here, ponies," he spat, reminding them that ponies weren't exactly the most popular beings in Griffonia.

"We seek an audience with the Emperor," Luna replied in a clear voice. "It concerns the threat of Faust."

All of them caught the look in the guards eyes, because he made no attempt to hide it. He was laughing. Not externally, but inside he was rolling on the floor. "Ah yes, you lose that war and come limping to us. This should be go-"

"Hold your tongue!"

All of them jumped in surprise at the shout that came from below them. A silvery hen flew up, staring daggers at the guard until he backed off a little. "Apologies, Ambassador."

"These ponies are to be allowed entrance into the castle, without interference from your guards, Captain."

The Captain spluttered for a second at the order. "You haven't the authority to allow that! Only the Emperor can give the authority to admit entry to these ponies."

"The Emperor has." The hen held a scroll bearing the seal of the Emperor, the same twin headed griffon that adorned the red flags fluttering in the wind around them. "Let them in."

The Captain locked eyes with the Ambassador for a moment, then waved for his guards to disperse, a displeased caw slipping from his beak. The Ambassador waited for them to go, then turned an apologetic smile onto the ponies. "Sorry about that, princesses. The Emperor's desire to grant you entry to the castle wasn't disclosed to the guard to stop them thinking of ways to creatively ignore the order. There are plenty that would see you walking the halls here as an insult, and a threat."

"A threat?" Cadence asked, surprised at such a notion.

"We know full well what Faust wants thanks to the griffons your Director of Equis sent our way. Unfortunately, if ponies weren't treated with suspicion before, they definitely are now."

Twilight smiled and silently cheered for Fleur for possibly making their task a little bit easier. "You were expecting us then?"

"We thought you might come this way eventually. I was asked to wait out here for your arrival, which wasn't the most exciting task after a week of waiting, as you might imagine. Thank goodness it wasn't longer." The ambassador blinked, realising that she was being rude. "Apologies. Follow me, and I shall try and get you in to see the Emperor."

"Thank you," Luna said earnestly. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Deetra."

"And you as well, Princess Luna. I'm surprised to not see your sister with you."

"Celestia is... missing, and is most likely in the hooves of Faust."

"Oh, my deepest sympathies, Princess." Deetra sighed heavily, seeming far too theatrical with it, even if it was genuine. "Unfortunately that may make things more difficult as the Emperor was expecting to be greeting Celestia."

Luna didn't care what the Emperor wanted, or expected. "Then he shall simply have to be disappointed with us other princesses."

"I'm sure he'll be quite accommodating to you."

Luna said nothing, not wishing to point out the obvious doubt in Deetra's voice. From that alone, Luna was already beginning to paint a picture in her mind of how this was going to go. It wasn't very pretty.

There was a short window of quiet as the group flew down to the main entrance of the castle. An imposing edifice in its own right, with carvings of griffons sat each side of the entry, keeping a silent vigil. They were about to enter the castle proper when one of the guards spoke up with a rough accent.

"Weapons, please," he asked sharply. Luna was impressed that he even bothered to say please.

"You can't be serious," Deetra started, only to get interrupted by the guard again.

"Very serious. Ponies give up weapons, or don't see the Emperor."

"You do realise that there are three alicorns and a unicorn here, yes? Their horns are far more dangerous than what the pegasi are carrying, or would you like their horns to be removed as well?"

"Hey," Rainbow whined quietly, "we're dangerous too."

"Weapons. Please," the guard reiterated.

"Relinquish your weapons," Luna ordered the Wonderbolts, not wishing to waste any more time on this minor issue. If the griffons sought to harm them, they would quickly learn the error of their ways from Twilight, Trixie, and herself.

It took a minute for the Wonderbolts to extricate their weapons from their uniforms, and give them over with a faint promise of having them returned upon their departure, with a fainter warning that their departure could in fact come in many different forms.

"They seem to be taking our presence very seriously," Luna said to Deetra as they proceeded deeper into the castle, ignoring all other paths to take the one before them. "I was expecting us to be treated as laughably non-dangerous."

"Uh... typically, yes, but the Emperor is no fool. Faust's sudden rise to power, and subsequent conquering of Equestria has made a lot of griffons concerned. While we expected to be visited by yourselves, we have no idea what capacity that visit might be in, or on whose behalf."

"We are no servants of Faust if that is what you are thinking."

"As I am now aware, but the story your griffon agents gave us was quite detailed, and concerned quite a bit of mind control. Without magic of our own, we have no way of verifying whether you are being controlled or not, other than to take the word of your agents that you're immune, and have taken steps to protect your subjects as well."

Luna nodded, not able to disagree with their concerns. "I can assure you we are not under Faust's sway, and have come to ask assistance in combating her, rather than aiding her. If she had her way, I would be confined to something worse than Tartarus right now, rather than be a tool she could use."

"I understand." Deetra stopped them at the final door, and looked nervously at the two Imperial guards standing stiffly to attention outside it. "Things are still rather tense around here, so I will advise you to be patient, and not make any threatening moves. The castle guard might tolerate it, but the Imperial guard won't."

"We shall all be on our best behaviour," Twilight assured the ambassador. "Isn't that right, Trixie?"

"Trixie isn't about to go and screw this up for us if that's what you're thinking."

Deetra nodded at the guards, and they pushed the doors open to the throne room. Most of them were put straight on edge as only prey animals could when walking into a room full of predators. The lingering smell of cooked flesh did nothing to help.

The only one unperturbed was Luna, who wore the friendliest smile she could muster as she followed Deetra through the throne room to the opposite end, ignoring the eyes on her as she looked at the collection of banners that filled the rafters, one from each province of Griffonia. She couldn't stare at them for long though, as she reached the throne where a brown and white crested griffon lounged on a cushion, a golden crown on his head, rings on his claws, and a thick red cloak on his back that failed to obscure how obscenely fat he was.

All of the Emperor's chins jiggled as he set his beady eyes onto Luna, and a nasty little grin spread across his beak. Luna was frankly disgusted at the sight of this misshapen blob occupying the throne. She suspected from his build that he had been quite the fit, strong, and athletic griffon once, but that was naught but a memory after years of overindulgence.

Luna stopped short of the four Imperial guards that lined the bottom of the raised throne, and dropped into a bow that her companions, including Trixie, by some miracle, followed her into. "It is an honour to meet you, your Imperial Majesty, Emperor of Griffonia."

The Emperor bowed his head to Luna, "As it is an honour to meet you, Princess Luna. Please though, your Majesty will suffice."

"As you wish." Luna stood again, carefully maintaining her smile. "Your Majesty, as I'm sure you are aware, Equestria has fallen to-"

"Ah-ah! I am fully aware of the troubles that have befallen Equestria, and I suppose I should thank you for taking the time to warn me of the treacherous antics of my son, and brother. However, that does not mean you can waltz into my country and ask for my help."

Cadence stepped forwards and raised her head to make sure she was heard. Flurry was sat on her back again, and was peering at the Emperor like he had offended her. "Your Majesty, you must realise that Faust poses a threat to you, and your country. If we do not work together to stop her, we will all lose."

"But you have already lost," the Emperor reminded her. "How could you lose again? And what interest would she have in us griffons? If she wants your pony lands, so be it. You, the Mareitanians, the Mustangs, the Saddle Arabians, even the zebras, none are of any concern to us."

"She wants the world," Twilight said loudly. "She isn't just seeking to conquer the pony nations, but the entire world. Ponies, griffons, minotaurs, dragons... all of it, and if we don't stop her now, she'll have it."

"And how could you possibly know that? Unless you are working for her?"

"We know, because she's told us."

"Was that before or after you released her?"

"Father! You know the Equestrians aren't responsible for Faust's release."

All of the ponies looked over at the newcomer into the conversation. It was a hen, similar in colour to her father, if more of a golden brown, and unlike the one she called father, was slim and sleek, and was probably quite beautiful by griffon standards.

"Silence, Clarissa, and do not speak over me again." The Emperor stared his daughter down until she looked away, then went back to the ponies. "Did you release her or not?"

"No," Luna answered. "We were aware of her prior to her release, but sought to keep her contained due to the threat she posed. Unfortunately her existence was made known to the Mareitanians, many of whom revered her as a goddess, and they released her. I imagine you know the rest from there."

"Oh indeed, and had I not been beset by betrayal, I would've been watching events unfold with great interest."

"Surely you must have seen enough to know how dangerous Faust is?" Twilight asked as the Emperor smiled smugly. "She will come for you, and on your own you will be defeated."

"My army outnumbers hers near two to one," the Emperor spat gruffly. "She would stand no chance against us!"

"Your ancestors thought that too," Luna said lightly. There was a quiet smack as Deetra covered her face with a claw. "Multiple times."

The Emperor stood, and narrowed his eyes at Luna, before letting a smile creep onto his beak. "Indeed. Is that perhaps not reason enough for me to let Faust do as she wishes? Why fight her if I stand no chance?"

"Because we don't want you to just fight her," Cadence explained. "We have a plan to defeat Faust, but we can't do it alone. We're hoping to form an alliance to defeat her, and we wish for you to be part of it, along with our other neighbours."

"Three deposed princesses do not make a country," the Emperor reminded them. "Even if Celestia were here too, which I note she isn't, I would still say to her what I will say to you. The griffons need no help from ponies, so unless you have something to offer me, I have no interest."

"That will be part of our alliance," Luna tried to explain. "Favourable trade agreements between nations, increased security from all threats, and other benefits that do nothing to harm your country. Our alliance would be made with an eye to the future, but that is a future that will not happen if Faust is not stopped."

The Emperor chuckled deeply, making his chins wobble most disconcertingly. "Have you heard nothing of what I said? We, the Griffon Empire, have no use for you. I could order an invasion of Equestria and claim your country for my own if I so wished. Then we'd both get something we wanted. Me, Equestria free from ponies, and you, Faust defeated."

Luna shook her head sadly, "Except you would never defeat Faust. You might see her as like us, but in truth she is far beyond any one alicorn. You would lose. As to you conquering Equestria, would it give you a hint on how Faust concerns us if I told you I'd rather see Equestria in your claws, than in her hooves?"

There was a hint of respect in the Emperor's expression after that, although none of the ponies there truly believed Luna had meant what she'd said. "Intriguing. Perhaps we shall have to have a more in depth discussion about this, but not right now. Unfortunately you've arrived just before I am to depart tomorrow for a short visit to the south with my daughter, and I have much to do before departing, so you shall have to wait until I have returned to discuss it. In the meantime you shall be my honoured guests. Chamberlain, find them some rooms."

"Actually, father," Clarissa interrupted, coming forward to stand next to the ponies. "Might I show them to their rooms? I wish to learn more about ponies."

The Emperor stared coolly at his daughter for several long seconds, before granting his permission with a wave of his claw. Clarissa bowed to the princesses, and directed them back out of the throne room, then left to another part of the castle.

"Oh my goodness, you are just the cutest!" the hen gushed suddenly, catching them all off guard with her sudden change in attitude. "The foal I mean, not the rest of you, although you're all pretty cute too! Uh, if that's alright to say?"

"Well," Trixie said with a sly grin, "a pony can call another pony cute, but when a non-pony does it, eeehhh..."

"It's fine," Twilight said quickly, giving Trixie the eye. "Although, it's a little demeaning to be honest."

Clarissa blushed with embarrassment, "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry! I've never met ponies before, so I'm a little unsure of what's appropriate, and what isn't. Is it okay that I called the foal cute?"

"So long as you don't say she's cute enough to eat," Trixie whispered, getting an elbow in the ribs from Twilight for her troubles.

"That's fine, yes," Cadence said with a smile. "And thank you."

"You're welcome! I'm sorry about my dad by the way. The Emperor, I mean. He's probably not going to help you."

"As I may have suspected," Luna said evenly, neither surprised or disappointed, as it was almost exactly what she expected. "What do you think?"

"Me?" Clarissa asked, like she was shocked anyone wanted her opinion on anything.

"Yes you. You are the crown princess after all, so you should really have an opinion on this."

"Oh, well, I'd help. I don't know what everygriffs problem is with ponies, and I'm tired of them dragging along a centuries old bias when what happened back then doesn't affect any of them now. That said, I don't know about this alliance thing you're proposing, but I've heard enough about Faust to know she's bad news, and needs to be stopped."

"First bit of sense we've heard from a griffon all day," Trixie laughed.

"Trixie!" Twilight shouted.

"What? It is!"

Twilight swatted Trixie on then side, then smiled awkwardly at Clarissa. "Sorry about her, she's... an idiot."

"It's fine, really. I'm curious what ponies think of us though. It can't be that bad if you want to make an alliance with us."

Luna looked ashamed for a moment, but it was gone in a flash. "For the longest time, my sister tried to make peace with her enemies. She may be gone right now, but her message is more prevalent than ever. If we are to stop Faust, we must all become friends and work together."

Clarissa waited a while before speaking, and Luna hoped it's because she was considering her answer. "That didn't answer my question. What do ponies think of griffons?"

Luna laughed quietly, having been caught out. "I imagine that most ponies opinions are different than mine, because for the longest time I only ever encountered griffons on the battlefield. It wasn't very pleasant, and while I say I might I prefer Equestria in the claws of griffons, I don't want that to happen."

"Why not?" Clarissa asked lightly, making it clear she was curious rather than offended.

"Because historically speaking, griffons have used ponies as food at times, and taking prisoners was seen as a way of keeping that food fresh for longer. Excuse me if I fear a return of such barbaric acts amongst even a few scattered griffons."

"Oh." Clarissa hung her head, "That's reasonable I suppose. I hate to say it, but I wish you were more wrong about what might happen if we invaded Equestria."

"Why do you say that?" Cadence asked, sorry for the young hen that seemed determined to bear the guilt for her people's worst sins on her shoulders.

"Because we had a small border conflict with the zebras about ten years ago, I think? Zebrica hardly touches Griffonia, but it stemmed from a zebra mare being captured and... eaten. The griffons responsible were punished, but nowhere near to the degree they should've been. Father seemed quite bemused by it really."

"He stopped the fighting though?"

Clarissa nodded, then shrugged. "The zebras attacked us, and Princess Celestia was able to talk them down with a promise of compensation. Father never actually wanted a war, but there's no lie in saying he probably would've won."

Twilight felt sympathy for the hen, as she was clearly unhappy about the way other griffons thought about those with hooves. "Perhaps we should change the subject. Where are you and your father going tomorrow?" Twilight winced at the expression of guilt that Clarissa now wore. "Bad question?"

"Tomorrow is my parent's wedding anniversary. My father and I travel to mother's grave in the province of Pelegrin. It's a pretty private affair, which is why father didn't tell you exactly where, or why we were going."

"But you don't mind us knowing?" said Trixie.

Clarissa shrugged, "I never knew my mother, considering laying my egg was the reason she died. She'd been gone for months by the time I hatched. I know it's a big deal for him though, so I just go along with it. Theron used to come too, until father cast him out. He never forgave me for killing mother."

"You didn't kill her," Cadence said gently. "Unfortunately these things just happen."

"Speak for yourself, little miss alicorn," Trixie grumbled under her breath.

"I know," Clarissa said back to Cadence, "but it sometimes feels like everygriff thinks I did." She shook her head, "I'd rather not think about this."

It wasn't much further until they reached their rooms, and they were split off into three different rooms. The Wonderbolts shared one, while Twilight, Trixie, and Luna shared another, leaving Cadence alone with her child. Clarissa didn't say much past that, merely giving each of them a feeble smile before slinking away.

"That was awkward," Trixie commented cheerfully, jumping onto her bed and bouncing on it for a few seconds before sitting. "Do you think she meant it when she said the Emperor wouldn't help us?"

"Sadly, yes," said Luna. "The problem we have is that he thinks we have nothing he wants that he cannot get himself, including Equestria. He won't see the danger Faust presents until she is sitting in his throne. By then it'll be far too late to do anything."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that Faust is far likelier to go for softer targets first. Probably Zebrica, then Saddle Arabia, then Griffonia, using their additional strength to conquer Griffonia, then using the further strength of Griffonia to attack further afield in places like Abyssinia and Minos. Once Griffonia falls, our hopes would die with it."

Trixie sat in quiet thought for a little, "You mean there's nowhere else with the strength to stand up to Faust?"

"I mean that there'll be nowhere with the strength to stand up to a union of Mareitania, Equestria, Zebrica, Saddle Arabia, and Griffonia."

"Oh." Trixie turned thoughtful again, "Does anyone find it weird how all those countries end in an a?"

Luna rolled her eyes and turned to Twilight, catching her wearing an odd expression. "What do you think Twilight?"

"I think we're in trouble." Twilight rolled onto her bed and stared up at the high stone ceiling. "We need to speak with the Emperor as soon as possible if we're to get some headway, and convince him that he needs us to stop Faust. I get the feeling that he couldn't care less about an alliance, so we need something to sweeten the deal."

"And what might that be?"

"Give him Griffonstone."

Luna choked, "You must be joking! Give the Empire a foothold in Equestria like that? No chance!"

Twilight shrugged, spreading her wings out over the bed, "I'd say it's a fairly small price for getting Equestria back."

"But- Ngh... damn it, you're right. We'll try and hold that back in the negotiations though. Hopefully the Emperor is feeling more amenable than we all think he is."

Twilight stared up at the ceiling, barely able to make it out in the dark. Supper had been hours ago, and consisted of whatever the omnivorous griffons had that the herbivorous ponies could eat, although Luna had suspected it was left poor on purpose to annoy them. Twilight didn't care.

Something was wrong here, and it didn't involve their visit. Not entirely. There had been plenty mentioned about the troubles that Griffonia was having with the Emperor and his brother, but that had been taken care of in the Emperor's view, whereas his brother was apparently exactly where he wanted to be. One of them was right, but which one?

There was also the issue that Twilight had seen no evidence of any problems. She had no reason to doubt what she had been told, but at the same time it did seem like something that would be mentioned more, and it was bothering her to the point that it kept her awake. The Emperor was departing for a short excursion the next day, and Twilight was beginning to feel like that was a bigger deal than the Emperor knew.

Twilight sat up, taking care to stay quiet as to not disturb the others. Trixie was snoring loudly, half covered with blankets with two of her legs dangling over the side of the bed. Twilight felt a short pang as Trixie's face creased up and her legs moved in a faint running motion, but the unicorn soon settled again, so Twilight moved onto Luna, who was looking right at her.

"...!" Twilight almost shouted, catching herself just in time to not wake Trixie. A tight smirk from Luna had Twilight pouting as she rolled out of bed, keeping her steps light as she made for the door and gestured for Luna to follow her.

"Is there a problem Twilight? I see you too weren't sleeping."

"I'm just thinking about things. Why weren't you sleeping?"

Luna glanced at the door between them and the room, "Trixie was having some troubling dreams, but I'm not sure she'd appreciate me interfering. She fears for herself Twilight."

"Likely with good reason, but we can't really do anything about that right now. At the moment I'm more concerned about the Emperor's trip tomorrow. Something doesn't feel right about it."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"I don't know." Twilight sighed and kicked the floor, "I have no reason to think this way, but us coming here just before the Emperor leaves, the thing with his brother... it all feels far to convenient to just be a coincidence."

"While I agree that's not much to base a suspicion on, I would encourage you to follow your instincts. At the very least it wouldn't hurt to have a little look around, if only to assuage your concerns."

"And yours?"

Luna smiled sideways at Twilight, "It's in my nature to be suspicious of everything. Go, have a look around, and try not to get caught."

"I'm sure you'll hear about it if I am." Twilight tossed a quick wave at Luna, and left, travelling back the way they had arrived to their rooms, unsure of where she was intending to go. What she thought she was going to find just wandering about, she didn't know, but there had to be something that would put her mind at ease somewhere.

The thought arrived soon after that. The Emperor's brother, Eustace, was being held in prison somewhere, and that somewhere was likely within the castle where the Emperor could keep an eye on him, except for while he was away. If there was anywhere to start looking, it was there. The only issue then was that Twilight didn't know where the dungeons were.

"Stealth, Twilight, stealth," Twilight said to herself, keeping her steps light and her stance low, perceiving that she, and the others weren't likely to be allowed anywhere but their rooms during the night. Unfortunately there didn't seem to be a lot of places to hide either, so no matter how stealthy she thought she was being, the odds were still very much against her.
Her luck seemed to be sticking though, and her progress was swift and unnoticed. The guards were few and far between, likely being concentrated in more important parts of the castle. Apparently she and the others weren't important enough to be protected, which made no sense, especially if you considered that the ponies could be a threat, but what griffon would ever think that?

Twilight found herself in the main corridor through the castle which led to the throne room. There seemed to be a bit more traffic here, but none that seemed to be paying too much attention to anything. Unfortunately there didn't seem to be any signs saying where to go either, so Twilight picked a direction, waited for the guards to turn their backs, and teleported across the hall.

She quickly regretted her choice. Even at this time of night the lingering smell of cooked flesh hung in the air with a greater intensity than anywhere else in the castle, leading Twilight to think that she must be headed towards the kitchens. She was about to turn back when she remembered what Luna had said earlier, and suddenly had a terrible sense of morbid curiosity take over her.

The large kitchens were thankfully empty when she reached them, although there was a selection of leftovers left on the side for the guards to pick over. Twilight gagged at a plate of sliced meats, and forced her mind elsewhere, spotting at the rear of the kitchens a heavy door. She could smell blood as she got closer.

"Why the hell are you doing this, Twilight?" Twilight asked herself, neither turning from her path, nor speeding any faster along it. She reached out with her magic and tentatively turned the handle, opening the door and fighting down her stomach. "You've killed ponies Twilight, why is this getting to you?"

"Probably because I wouldn't eat them," Twilight answered herself, edging down the short steps beyond the door. She lit her horn, and bit her tongue to stop herself shouting at the collection of butchered bodies hanging from hooks within the room. Twilight closed her eyes, and thanked... something that the room was actually quite clean. If the floor had been sticky with blood, she might have lost her dinner.

"They're just bodies Twilight, you've seen Trixie do worse. Heck, you've done worse yourself. Stop being a wimp and open your eyes."

Twilight did as she told herself and opened her eyes, forcing herself to look at the carcasses. Most of them obviously weren't ponies, or even similar. Most of them were chickens, and other fowls, although it was hard to tell what exactly they were with their bodies stripped of feathers, and their heads missing. The larger bodies were harder to tell though, although none seemed to have the hooves of a pony, which was all Twilight needed to see. All she could hope from there was that they weren't sapient, like cows, sheep, or even the elusive deers that inhabited parts of the world.

Twilight fled from the grisly scene, although she would have called it a hasty retreat herself, and leant upon the door once it was closed. She found herself wondering if carnivores were Discord's idea, or something from before his meddling. She fervently hoped it was the latter.

Twilight pushed herself off the door and away from the kitchen altogether, and was about to head back the way she had come when she considered the opposite direction. The prisoners would need feeding, so that meant there had to be a way from the kitchens to the prison. It wouldn't make a massive amount of sense to drag the prisoners meals halfway across the castle, so maybe if she continued in her original direction it'd bring her closer to the dungeons. It was at least worth a shot.

The corridor past the kitchens turned into a stairs, with some heading up, and some heading down, which Twilight took for logical reasons, and much to her pleasure, found herself coming out at the bottom into another short corridor that split in two directions. Left went down again, while right went back towards the castle if Twilight's sense of direction was worth what she hoped it was. The sound of voices coming from the left also worked to confirm her hopes.

Walking slowly and carefully, Twilight worked her way down the stairs, stopping when the voices dropped, and resuming when they did, using the noise to mask her approach. Light spilled onto the ground in front of her as she made it to the bottom, and the voices were quite close, making Twilight think that there had to be a little area for the guards to use. She could hear three distinct voices within.

"You up for another round?" one of the griffons asked, a male.

"Yeah, sure, just let me go for a piss," another male replied, his voice having a strange whistle to it. "No robbing my chips while I'm gone."

"Ugh, you say that every time, and we haven't once." The third voice was feminine, but had no remarkable qualities beyond that.

"And I like to think it's me reminding you that keeps it that way. Back in a minute."

Twilight was already pressing herself against the wall of the stairs as a shadow passed through the light in the corridor, and thankfully went the other way. Twilight shifted across and watched the griffon go, and decided to use the opportunity to incapacitate the others while there was only two.

"Do you think it'd be funny to add more chips to his pile just to mess with him?" the hen asked.

"And give him an advantage? No way."

"Oh come on, it's not like he ever wins anyway."

"I know. That's my job."

The male griffon went to reply, but only blinked as a fog filled his mind, and he felt himself having to stifle a yawn. His companion seemed just as stricken with exhaustion as he was, if not more so as she planted her face on the table and started to snore. He went to smack her to wake her back up, but his own arm betrayed him, failing to move when commanded. "What the hell?" he murmured, slumping onto the table himself and falling into a deep sleep.

Twilight shook her head at how easy that was, then hid again as the other griffon returned. She waited a moment for him to try and wake his fellow guards, then put him to sleep as well before coming out of hiding. He'd fallen with his beak hooked on the edge of the table, suspending himself by it, and showing the chip in it that was probably responsible for the whistle in his speech. Twilight unhooked him and let him lie comfortably.

"I should probably wake them up before I leave," Twilight told herself. "Last thing we need is them getting found and thinking Luna was responsible."

Twilight stood watching them a moment longer, then moved on once she was sure they wouldn't wake up. The dungeons here seemed a bit better maintained compared to her experiences with the ones with High Rock keep, but there was still a smell of unwashed bodies that lent the air an unpleasantness that Twilight had no interest in experiencing for longer than necessary. Moving slowly, Twilight went deeper into the dungeons, quickly inspecting each one. Only half were occupied, and the griffons within asleep, but she knew she hadn't found what she was looking for until she found one with better furnishings than all the others.

The griffon within the cell before her slept in an actual bed, and had a small writing desk and a dresser taking up some of the space, along with an actual toilet, where the other prisoners had to make do with buckets. Twilight frowned at the sight, then shrugged as it was no business of hers. She placed a bubble of silence over herself and the door, and rapped a hoof on the metal bars separating them until the griffon started to stir.

"What do you think you're doing?" the griffon growled.

"Waking you up of course. Are you Eustace?"

The griffon popped an eye open, quickly followed by the other when he saw who was talking to him. "And what is a pony doing here?" He shifted his head sideways, noticing her wings. "And a princess no less. To what do I owe this dubious honour?"

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to meet the griffon trying to remove his brother, the Emperor, from power. Sounds like a good griffon to know."

"I could just call the guards."

"You could, but even if they were awake they can't hear you."

Eustace sat up, leaning on one leg to give Twilight a long, cool stare that lasted several moments. "What is it you want?"

"As I'm sure you're aware, since you sent your Nephew to assist her, Faust has conquered Equestria. We need Griffonia's help to stop her, but your brother is unwilling to listen. I was wondering if you'd be more willing to help."

"You said it yourself, pony, I sent Theron to assist Faust. Why would I want to help you?"

"Because you're using her. She helps you take Griffonstone, you use that as leverage to get others on your side, then you use that leverage to remove your brother as emperor, giving you the chance to rule."

"Hmm, an admirable guess. I often wondered why you ponies were so behind on news about Faust. I knew about her a whole month before you did."

"And how did you manage that?"

Eustace smiled smugly, "My position as Director of Griffon Intelligence provided me with ample opportunity to find out. Just as it allowed me to deny news getting back to you in Equestria. I sensed an opportunity in Faust, and I wasn't about to let you ponies ruin it."

Twilight hid her surprise, as hard as it was. It wasn't quite as hard to hide as her impulse to smash his face against something, but hard enough. "Clearly you hold no love for Equestria then. Why though?"

"Because I despise you, frankly. Faust may have conquered you, but she'll be in for a surprise when she is conquered in turn. You're half right in your guesses about my intentions, but Griffonstone wasn't taken to build my good graces amongst our griffons. I have no intention of letting her attack us here, so at the very least you don't have to worry about Faust taking over the world, because I will be stopping her."

"So this is about Theron then?" Twilight asked, letting some of her confusion show.

"This is about Griffonia! No more will our Empire be undermined by my brother's weak policies and pacifist manner, wasting our strength! Theron is just a small part in this, as you'll see."

"So you intend to assassinate your brother then?"

"My intentions are no business of yours, and I assure you that my brother shall be hearing about you coming down here."

"Except he won't," Twilight said with a smile. "In fact, you won't even remember us having this conversation." Twilight lit her horn, the beginnings of a memory removal spell forming around it. "Sorry about that."

Eustace opened his beak with the start of a shout, but Twilight cast the spell before he could get it out. She laid him back down and tucked him in, then left quietly, casting a spell to wake the guards up slowly once she was gone, then teleported back to her room. She needed time to think about this, and then she needed to discuss their options with Luna.

Author's Notes:

Finally, some more dragon lore. About damn time. Kinda fits with the canon I put towards natural growth vs greed growth, which is nice, and his stone cocoon thing runs with dragons being born of the earth. *fist-pump*

So we're off on the first major leg of this journey, and off to visit the griffons. Should be fun hopefully.