***

“There we go! Another gesture of good cheer from the relatives!” Gabby replied, sliding the small collection of envelopes into the mailbox of another griffon. She neared the end of her route as mail carrier for today. While many letters were delivered, she still had one more left weighing down her bag. “Now that just leaves this final package for...uh...huh?”

The griffon blinked as she pulled out the remaining item from her mail bag. She held it closer, peering at the address written in neat cursive.

“Gabriella, 114 The Crescent, Griffonstone.” Gabby read, furrowing her brow. “Wait, this one’s for me?”

The young griffon turned the package on its side, then turned it upside down. Sadly, neither side revealed any illusions or tricks. This was definitely her package.

Situating the package right side up again, Gabby scratched her head.

“Strange. I’m pretty sure my birthday isn’t until next month.”She pondered. “I sure haven’t ordered anything lately.” Hefting the package, it felt slightly heavier in her claws than its small size would suggest...not that that gave her any clue as to what could be in it.

“There’s no return address...oooh..could this be from the Cutie Mark Crusaders?” She said, her usual excited attitude returning in fine form. “Oooh maybe they sent me something to show they’re still thinking of me! I know being world famous takes up a lot of one’s time, but the truly wonderful never forget their fans!”

Now filled with fresh glee, Gabby stared at the package like it was a new treasure.

“And the postmaster was nice enough to stow this where I wouldn’t find it until I was done for the day! Ooh, I knew deep down he liked me! Despite his constant complaining that I’m way too chipper and conversational, and that I take too long to do my rounds!”

Carefully tucking the package back in her mailbag, Gabby spread her wings and flew off to her home like a rocket.

Reaching the modest little abode she called home, Gabby locked her door. Wasting no time, she threw off her mail uniform and grabbed for the surprise gift laying in wait in her mailbag.

“I wonder if it’s a framed and signed photo of our last time together! Or maybe something from their clubhouse! Or maybe...”

Gabby paused her elated ponderings, tearing off the package’s bale twine bow and plain brown paper wrapping. She found herself looking at a rather expensive looking ornate box. Made of some manner of polished, rust red stone, with fancy gold trim along its edges, the box glimmered in the sunlight coming from the nearby “window”.

Gabby held it up, her voice rendered mute as she took in its splendor.

“Or...wow. They really went all out to buying this!” She exclaimed with a smile. The smile was quick to fade as a thought struck. “Though I hope they didn’t spend too much on it. It looks like it cost a fair amount...which is really nice of them! But they didn’t need to...oh?”

Gabby’s fingers encountered what felt like a latch. She applied pressure on it, and the lid of the box flew open.

“Oh!” She exclaimed, finding herself looking at a neatly folded slip of paper. She plucked it out, then unfolded it. She discovered a short letter in the same neat cursive found on the box.

“Dear Gabby,

Congratulations on discovering your special talent(s) in life. As a gesture of good wishes for the future, please find enclosed what you will need if you still desire to hone your talents at potion making. If used properly, it should complement your latent ability for helping others.”

The griffon paused in confusion as she saw there was no signature at the bottom of the letter. Only a fancy squiggle with no letters at the end.

“My talents at potion making? But that was...well...not one of my best ideas but...”

Gabby turned from the letter to the box in her other claw. Her eyes widened as she beheld two additional items inside it, hidden under the letter.

“What’s this?” She said, plucking out a short instruction booklet, and then something she definitely had not been expecting.

“Oooh! What IS this?” She said, holding up a very exotic looking artifact.

It looked, at a glance, like an orb. One made of, what appeared to be, some form of teal colored glass etched with artistic black lines that wove and twisted their ways continuously around the circumference of the artifact. Peering closer, Gabby was amazed by the faint glow of thin white toned letters stamped eloquently along the black lines...though the more the griffon looked at them, the more she found they didn’t correspond to any language she knew of.

“Huh. Well, this certainly is pretty.” She held it up to the light from the window. “I hope the girls didn’t spend too much on this. I really should send them a thank you card!”

She made to set the orb down, then looked to the booklet in her other claw.

“The Beginner’s All-In-One Alchemy Aid?” She said, reading the title printed on the cover. Flipping the booklet open, Gabby cocked her head as she saw what was on the first page.

“For those seeking to take their first step into the mystical art of alchemy, this artifact should provide all that is needed to learn the basics. Please review the following instructions carefully and it will provide you with years of insight into the many wonders of potion making and ingredient cultivating.”

Gabby blinked, then shrugged.

“Okay, let’s see...” She turned the page. “Chapter One: Using the “Horn of the Damned” for ideal temperatures...wait, what?”

Gabby furrowed her brow.

“A key facet to mixing an effective potion is keeping your cauldron at the optimum temperature to allow proper mixture of your ingredients. The artifact is specially tuned to allow you to adjust the heat source of your cauldron to be hotter or cooler as needs be.”

Gabby turned the page, finding herself staring at a diagram showcasing first the orb, then a flowchart on how pressing a certain section would apparently cause it to transform into a...well, from what she could tell, it looked like the same musical instrument she’d seen played at a few of the concerts hosted by the people from Equestria’s more southern regions. A didgeridoo, as Gabby remembered it being called.

“So...” The griffon looked to the orb, picking it up again. “I just push this circle here and...”

It reacted the moment she pressed the circle. The orb lit up like a Hearth’s Warming tree. Gabby fumbled with it, almost dropping it as the multiple sections framed by the black lines split apart, twisting and re-configuring themselves into the recognizable long, tube-like form of a didgeridoo.

“Uh...okay.” She exhaled, turning the freshly formed musical instrument over in her talons. “That’s interesting.”

Setting the didgeridoo against the table, Gabby picked up the instruction booklet.

“To lower the heat of your cauldron, aim the mouth of the manipulator at the heat source and play the following notes on page 4 slowly, repeating as needed until it is at the correct temperature. To increase the heat of your cauldron, perform the process for lowering the temperature and play the notes depicted on page 5 as fast as you can, ideally in one breath. Repeat again as needed until the cauldron is at the correct temperature.

Warning: Do not blow into the instrument while angry. May cause destructive results.”

Gabby flicked through the two pages of sheet music. The notes themselves seemingly sparse, spread with whole notes throughout the sheets. Her feathers ruffled in unease.

“Well, I’m not really much of a musician...but it looks like all I have to do is basically blow into the instrument...”

Gabby turned another page.

“Chapter Two: Using the ‘Pipe of Inspiration’ for fun and profit.” She read. “The artifact comes complete with a full archive of recipes for all basic potions and an encyclopedia for the four basic applications of all known alchemy ingredients. To bring up a recipe or an ingredient entry, puff upon the artifact and inhale deeply while keeping what you wish to make in your mind. It will give you the knowledge needed to make the specific potion.”

On the next page was another diagram. This one depicted the orb being turned into what was clearly some form of ornamental smoking pipe.

“Seriously?” Gabby asked as she looked to the didgeridoo. She grabbed it and pressed on the same circle that had turned it from a basic sphere into the musical instrument. The artifact immediately folded itself back up into a smooth round ball again. Turning it over in her claws, Gabby found a square-shaped section and cautiously pressed it.

“Seriously.” The griffon mused as the artifact reconfigured itself into a pipe. “Umm...my mom always said smoking was bad for you..but...”

She looked to the instruction booklet again.

“Note: If you wish to add a new entry to the artifact’s archive, puff twice on it then imagine what you wish to add as clearly as possible. To remove an entry, puff three times and do the same as above.” Gabby read, arching a dubious eyebrow as she held up the pipe in her claws.

“I’m not so sure about this... and yet...” She clicked her beak in indecision. “Maybe if I try it once?”

Gingerly, the gryphon brought the stem of the pipe to her beak.

‘What if I think on that potion that helps you grow out pinfeathers?’ She thought. Closing her eyes, the griffon concentrated on the image of a bottle, containing the very thing every griffon needed when the hazards of molting season was upon them. She inhaled lightly, and, to her surprise, the pipe heated up in her claw, prompting the rush of hot vapor filling her beak.

A little too quickly.

“ACK!” She screeched, coughing after it entered her lungs. “Argh...oh...oh that was not a good idea...as bad as adding too much prickly pear to...wait..what?”

Gabby blinked her now watering eyes, then shook her head as she felt her thoughts swim about in a haze.

“Ugh...wait...ngh...I remember, four chopped up prickly pear leaves, four ounces of dried chrysanthemum petals...and...uh...one ounce exactly of powdered droopweed...boil in water for six minutes and...now wait a second...”

Gabby held her head as information swirled in her mind, things she was quite sure she never knew before.

“That’s...how the heck do I know that? No one ever told me that! But...it’s exactly what goes into the formulae for pinfeather tonic...what the...”

Coughing again as she felt the burn in her lungs slowly dissipate, Gabby held up the pipe.

“Right so...what else can this thing do?”

She picked up the instruction booklet and turned to the next section.

“Chapter 3: Using the Ice Staff function.” Gabby read. “The Ice Staff serves three vital roles: 1) To stir ingredients together for potions. 2) To channel ice magic for rapidly cooling supplies and mixtures for long term storage, or to create edibles. 3) To create pure water.”

The griffon made a weird face.

“What if I just want some ice cubes for a cold drink on a hot summer’s day? Can it do that?” She pondered while turning the page and finding another diagram of how to transform the artifact into what appeared to be a long mage’s staff with a big scoop on one end. Putting the instruction booklet down for a moment she returned the artifact to its default sphere shape again, then turned it over till she’d located a triangle shaped section. Pressing gently on it, the artifact stretched itself out into the aforementioned staff and scoop shape. Gabby noted the smooth glass faces immediately began fogging up as the artifact started to feel rather cold in her claws.

“Okay so...” Gabby picked up the booklet. “Uh...hmmm. Well, I guess I can’t really see if this thing works without an actual cauldron, and some ingredients for potion making.”

Gabby looked to the clock on her wall. She reached for her coin purse and checked how much money she had.

“I hope the Quick Fix Elixir Mixes is still open.” She said while putting the artifact aside and rushing out of her house.

An hour or so later, Gabby hauled a small size cauldron through her front door. Sweat ran down through her facial feathers as she was gasping desperately for air, dragging the heavy cast iron vessel across the floor to her kitchen. With one final utterance of raging exhaustion she managed to heave it onto the open fireplace she used for cooking.

“Ugh...finally!” She panted, mopping her brow as she turned and stumbled back to where she’d left the bags containing the other treasures from her little shopping trip. “As nice as it is that they let you rent these things out for a few days, couldn’t they also offer some sort of service for getting them home? Even the postmaster lets me use a hand truck whenever I’ve got lots of big packages to deliver.”

With a relieved wheeze, the griffon dropped her bags in front of the cauldron and began pulling out their contents.

“Think the first thing I’m gonna whip up is an energy drink. My wings are killing me.” She lamented, feeling the aforementioned limbs scream in exhaustion from having to carry both her and the cauldron back across Griffonstone.

She picked up the orb, pressing the square to form the smoke pipe. She sighed.

“Well,” she said, “here goes nothing.” She carefully inhaled the pipe, letting her mind focus on the recipe of the energy drink. Her mind swam as the idea of the potion poured into her mind, using what she knew she had or could easily get in mind. Her eyes fluttered in wonder.

“Whoa...” Gabby exhaled all the smoke from her lungs. “So making one is that easy? I got salt, fruit juice, and sugar. I can use the staff for water...” She raised a brow. “Zap Root from a zap apple tree? Where would... oh!”

Gabby flew into the pantry and looked through the jars. “Where is it where is it where is it... AH! Here it is!” She held up a jar with a single root, which spark from time to time. “The root Applebloom sent me before!”

The root in question came from a fallen Zap Apple Tree. The trees themselves were hard to handle when living, but are not as dangerous when they were off the ground. Despite this, their parts still held some value. The bark could be used to shield houses from electrical storms, the wood itself held a beautiful pattern no other wood could have. The roots, as Gabby had just learned, when used properly, could be used for drinks for a quick pick-me-up.

“Okay, so first...I need water.” She said while swallowing and making a face at how dry her throat felt. “Ngh, lots of water.”

She converted the artifact into its staff mode, holding it to her head to help cool her down a bit as she grabbed for the instruction manual.

“Water...water...ah here it is.” She began reading. “To create ice for pure water, hold the artifact horizontally by the midsection. For best results, either hold it over the cauldron or hang a bucket or other receptacle on both sides.”

Gabby place the instruction manual on her kitchen counter and held the staff over the cauldron as instructed.

“With your right hand/claw/hoof, twist the midsection towards you. With your left hand/claw/hoof, twist the midsection away from you.”

Gabby looked to the staff.

“So I wring it like a wet cloth?” She said while twisting her claws in opposite directions. Cold mist began pouring off the staff as she did so, bringing the griffon to blink as chunks of solid ice began building up on the staff, gradually growing larger and heavier till their weight caused them to break off and fall into the cauldron.

“Oh...huh.” The griffon said in amazement as she twisted the staff again and was rewarded with more ice falling into the cauldron. “Wow, and it’s so easy too! Doesn’t even feel like I’m putting in any effort! Just twist and fill and...AAAAHHH!!”

The griffon screamed as her claw slipped mid-twist, sliding onto the portions of the staff where the ice was forming. Gabby felt the scales of her fingers adhere to the frozen surface, prompting her to drop the staff and screech as she struggled to detach her now stuck digits.

“AAAAH...mother...ngh...mother pluckin....AAACK!” The poor griffon yelped in pain as her claw finally yanked itself loose. She cringed and held it gently as she stumbled over to the sink, turning on the hot water and running her stinging digits under it.

“Owwww...” She meeped, before catching sight of the instruction booklet. Her pain was momentarily shoved aside as she read a section at the bottom of the page, outlined in red with huge exclamation marks on either side.

“WARNING: The artifact will get very cold in order to create ice. When you are done using this function, set the artifact down on a level surface and take your appendages off the midsection. Do not touch the sides until the artifact has warmed up.” The griffon glared as she rubbed her fingers. “No kidding. Argh.”

A few more minutes under the water and the griffon felt the pain subside. Her finger were still pink and a little raw, but at least she didn’t feel she needed to go to the emergency room.

“Alright, well. I got a decent amount of ice at least.” She commented, looking into the cauldron. “Now to heat it up.”
Wood was gathered from a basket by the fireplace and arranged under the cauldron. Gabby struck a match and soon had a nicely sized fire burning away.

“Now...first the water needs to be really boiling, so...” She looked to the artifact. Her previously frozen claw tingled like crazy as she recalled what had just happened, yet the griffon summoned her courage and very gingerly tapped the end with the scoop. To her relief, it only felt mildly chilly and safe enough to handle.

Gabby picked up the artifact and converted it into its didgeridoo form. Her beak clicked in unease as she turned to the booklet and flipped back to the section with the sheet music.

“I hope my neighbors don’t hear this....” She prayed while bringing the instrument to her beak and playing the notes to make the fire burn hotter.

The flames fluttered madly as wind rushed out of the didgeridoo and blew them about. Blowing as hard as she could, Gabby adjusted her beak to change the pitch of the droning noise coming out of the instrument. To her amazement the flames began burning brighter, climbing up the bottom of the cauldron to spread more heat across its circumference.

Gabby’s eyes widened as she kept blowing, watching as the cauldron’s bottom gained a very faint red glow to show how hot it was getting. It distracted her so much she soon found herself falling forward, the didgeridoo slipping from her beak as she suddenly became aware of her lungs screaming for air.

The ice in the cauldron steadily melted into a pool of clear, pure water, completely indifferent to the griffon who now lay sprawled on the floor beside the cauldron, coughing painfully as she struggled to breathe.

“Pluck...*cough*...pluckin...*cough*....damn....” Gabby raised her head and sucked in an enormous breath. “Guuuuuhhhhh...okay....”

She shakily pushed herself up onto her knees, clutching her breast as she gulped in breath after breath.

“Okay...so, that worked perfectly...just daaaamn...no wonder they say breathe through your nose while playing wind instruments.” She panted, letting her claw drop as she heard the tell tale sound of bubbles rushing up through boiling liquid.

Gabby got back to her feet and held tight onto her kitchen counter as she regained her balance.

“What was I supposed to do next? Oh right...” She looked to the ingredients laid out around her shopping bags. “Lets see.... Pinch of salt.” She took some salt and tossed it in. “Cup of sugar..” She grabbed a cup, scooped up some sugar and poured it in. Converting the artifact back to staff mode she began mixing the ingredients. “Fruit juice... I have some mangos!” She took the mangos and juiced them, squeezing them until all of the drops fell into the bubbling cauldron. She tossed the peels aside and wiped her claws clean with a towel. “And finally.... The root.”

The zap root in the jar was opened and carefully placed into the liquid. She was careful not to actually touch it. She watched the colors swirl and light up.

“Now I just let that boil and stir every so often for about 20 minutes.” She said, looking to the clock on the wall again. “Probably should use the time to read what else is in the instructions. See if there’s any other nasty surprises.”

Gabby picked up the booklet and began leafing through it.

“Let’s see...safety guidelines...Do not use the artifact on pets...well duh...Do not combine the artifact’s powers with other magical items, as it may result in unpredictable side-effects...okay easy enough...”

Gabby turned the page.

“Do not use artifact on dairy products.” Gabby furrowed her brow at this. “Using the artifact to freeze milk, cream or cheese will result in the product being aged and spoiled upon thawing.” She shrugged. “Huh, weird but okay.”

She flipped to the next page.

“Do not use bleach based products to clean artifact. The artifact’s properties will result in the bleach immediately vaporizing into a poisonous cloud. If bleach does get on artifact, set artifact down, open all nearby windows and vacate premises immediately.”

Gabby looked at the staff.

“Okay that’s...concerning.” She said while thinking of the basic, run of the mill bleach based cleaner under her sink. She made a note to grab something more environmentally friendly when she next did her shopping.

“Do not allow open flames to come into contact with artifact’s Pipe of Inspiration setting. The combined heat of the pipe and the flames may result in the artifact exploding. Injuries from flying shrapnel may occur.”

Gabby nodded incredulously.

“Do not use the Horn of the Damned setting on Kirin. The sounds causes them to go on a murderous rampage. If used on a group, vacate the area immediately or use the ice staff.”
Gabby paused as she thought this over.

“Well I have no idea what a ‘kirin’ is, but I’ll remember that if I ever run into one.” She shrugged and turned to the next page. “Let’s see...Maintenance and Caring...To keep the artifact lubricated, make sure it is in default setting then soak it in a mixture of two parts mineral oil and one part water after each use, then wipe dry...Okay, easy enough...If the artifact becomes dirty or smudged, spray it lightly with a generic glass cleaner and wipe dry...When not in use, store the artifact in its box in a cool and dry enclosure....Alright so at least it’s pretty straight forward.”

Gabby shrugged, then checked the time.

“Well the energy drink should be about done by now.”

Gabby took a pair of tongs and pulled out the root, placing it back into the jar. It looked like it had a few more uses left in it. After that, she took her staff and slowly stirred it to cool it down. Once it was at a decent temperature, she grabbed a cup and filled it with the elixir.

“Okay, here goes...” She took a few sips of the drink. Her eyes widened. “Whoa!” She looked down at the drink. It was delicious! Not only that, it filled her body with energy. It was like she just woke up! “This stuff is amazing! I can’t believe it worked...”

She took another sip, feeling the previous ache in her wings just vanish as the feathered limbs stiffened and then popped out from her back to their full span.

“Wow...damn! Another cup or two of this and I feel like I could fly to the moon!” Gabby declared, before she looked out her window. “Erm, if it were night time that is.”

Gabby pondered as she stared at the slowly setting sun.

“That said...an evening soar around town is sounding pretty good right about now.”

She grabbed the cup and drank the rest of the elixir. Her whole body promptly shot to the ceiling as she felt every muscle swell with burning energy.

“Oooh yeah! I am definitely in need of some quality air time!”

The griffon shot for her front door, grabbing the knob and almost ripping the entire thing out of its frame.

“Look out, Griffonstone! Here I come!”

The backblast from her take off did Gabby the service of wrenching her front door shut again.

Weeks past since that day. Gabby used that time to learn and expand her knowledge of potion making; Both to improve herself, and the lives around her. After gaining enough material and ingredients, she opened up her very own potion shop. While it didn’t have the energy drink she first used, it did have various medical and nutritional drinks to choose from. At least now she no longer had to work as a mail carrier.

With the help of her potions, it helped boost local griffons’ morale. Some of them getting off their tails to clean up the streets, at least around their houses; it was a start.

With enough time and effort, Gabby believed that the town could return to its rightful glory. Even without the Idol of Boreas. Then again, it couldn’t hurt to have it around. She had plans to make an elixir which would boost her arm strength enough to climb down the gorge. All she would need is some minotaur horn shavings and a few pieces of dragon scales. It couldn’t be that hard, right?

Author's Notes:

=Stats=

Name: Gabby (Gabriella)
Race: Griffon

Powers used for story: https://powerlisting.fandom.com/wiki/Demonic_Sound_Manipulation
https://powerlisting.fandom.com/wiki/Artificial_Element_Magic
https://powerlisting.fandom.com/wiki/Ice_Generation

An artifact which has these powers. However, it must transform into three different forms to use.

Form one: The didgeridoo helps her direct air like a bellows to the fire of a cauldron, adjusting the temperature to be just right for a given potion.
Form two: The smoke pipe has a hallucinogenic effect that opens her mind to the intricacies of potion making (what each ingredient can do, how mixing them will affect the resulting potion, what potions cause what effects, etc).
Form three: The staff is used to generate cold, ice, and pure water. Can also be used to stir.