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Nearly a half hour later, the Equestrian party was sitting in a corner booth at The Green Dragon that had been specially designed for pony groups. They were all nursing clear ice waters and slowly eating some soup, salad, and bread rolls and scones bought from the inn’s menu. The booth was covered by a magical dampening field which blocked out the majority of the noise from the now rowdy tavern.

Celestia ate slowly but thoroughly. She had to admit, the food here was quite good and the ingredients tasted fairly fresh. They’d gotten a lentil soup with a variety of ingredients in them. Aside from the lentils, she could taste garlic, onions, tomatoes, some collard greens, and a hint of lemon juice. It was considerably better than most soups she’d had in the past. And it was also a reminder to her of just how much this new human had apparently changed the city for the better. A part of her wondered if humans were simply better at ruling. Not only had Jason defeated Chrysalis and become the Changeling Emperor, but this Gregory had somehow become a Chancellor of a neighboring kingdom. And she’d not even known about him. She also knew that if they ever came into contact with this Gregory, the truth would have to come out about their treatment of Jason.

Twilight was thinking along similar lines as she ate a freshly baked bread roll after putting some salted butter on it. She was constantly reminded of how different things could have been if she had better represented her false title. If she’d had better control over her fear of other creatures and better control over her mistrust of the humans she’d seen, what could have been? What could have happened? Ponyville might not only still be standing, but it might be a much better place. And she was conflicted on what to do in regards to him. If they were to find a friendship problem in Griffonstone, they’d have to ask either him or this imperial council. And what was forefront on her mind was what they should say to him? Especially if he knew about Jason Wright. She knew that even if her former friends disagreed, they’d probably have to tell this new human about Jason and what they’d all done to him.

The silent and stoic Applejack stared at one of the apples she’d asked for, a high altitude variety she’d never heard of before. The orange tinted apple was surprisingly in season and had been called an Orange Sweet Apple. And the apple did indeed have an orange color to it. She’d been told it was grown on an orchard in the nearby town of Griffonville and were being imported from there since they could apparently be stored for long periods of time. She’d taken a bite of it and discovered that it had a sweet yet tangy taste. Apparently, the apple had once been thought extinct until Zecora found a small grove of them in the Evertide Forest a month ago. She’d found a way to help the apples grow extremely fast and, with the help of that Starlight Glimmer pony’s magic, had helped them to grow on the only orchard in Griffonville. Her mind wandered then as she solemnly chewed on the apple. The face of the new human came back into her thoughts and she wondered just what they could do in regards to him. She was at a complete loss. She knew that they had to tell him what had happened eventually. Her conscience was screaming at her to do that, but she didn’t know how.

Fluttershy was sipping slowly on the water, having hardly touched her food. She’d had half of her soup and a portion of a scone. The food was good, but she just wasn’t hungry. All she could think about was the happy faces she saw in the crowd earlier. Especially the human. Gregory. She was scared, but not of him. But rather, she was scared of how he’d react when he was told about the circumstances behind the attack. But she was also conflicted. Could she really tell him about this? Could she really hurt this other human in that way? And how would he react? He was in a position of power here. What if he attacked Equestria? Or what if he teamed up with Jason? She shook her head clear of those knee-jerk thoughts. It wouldn’t be very kind of her or anypony to hide the truth from him.

Rarity was sipping on some of the wine that Cadance and Shining Armor had provided for them. She was the only one who hadn’t gotten anything from the tavern’s menu despite it smelling appetizing. She took another swig of it and sighed in her normal dramatic fashion. Another human…and this one was living as a leader in a foreign nation. She grit her teeth. He looked happy and well fed. And well dressed, too. It got under her fur and angered her. She couldn’t comprehend why it did, and a part of her hated herself for thinking such selfish thoughts. But it was hard for her not to think such thoughts. Why should he be living happily and well while the ponies suffered? A part of her didn’t want to even meet him, but the map had called her and her former friends. They would have to see him at some point.

Rainbow Dash stirred her cooling soup with a blank expression on her face. She didn’t know what to think about this new human. She knew she wasn’t the smartest pony, but even if she wasn’t worthy of being the Element of Loyalty, she knew better than to hide the truth about the events of Ponyville’s downfall from this new human. Even if everypony else disagreed, she’d find a way to tell this human what had happened. She didn’t care what he did to her after that.

Pinkamena felt sick. She felt like she’d throw up everywhere despite there being nothing in her stomach aside from a few sips of water. The new human could very well have been Jason. Her self loathing only increased as she saw Gregory’s smiling face, heard his joyful tone once more. She’d never even heard or seen something like that from Jason, except when he was smiling in victory and derision. She knew it would be the right thing to do to tell this human the truth, but she didn’t want to be the one to do it. She didn’t want to wipe the smile from his face. But she also knew it was the right thing to do.

Spike, who was sitting at a nearby table by himself but still within the magic bubble, was thinking about the human too as he ate another scone. But unlike the others, he was focusing on something that the Dragon Lord said to the human. He couldn’t even begin to think about what the term ‘dragonrider’ meant. And why did it apply to the new human? He was probably the most eager to meet and talk with this new human, even if he had to tell him about what had happened to Jason. There was no doubt in his mind that he needed to know.

He was the first one to speak up. “Someone needs to tell this human the truth.”

That brought the others out of their own thoughts as they stared at the dragon. However, he didn’t stare back, instead watching the drinking and merriment in the bar. The ponies didn’t move for a bit then began looking at each other for probably the first time in months. “Y-Yeah, somepony does,” Twilight agreed hesitantly.

“Why?” Rarity asked with a growl. “So he can imprison us? We’re not in Equestria right now, Spikey-um, Spike.” She quickly corrected herself when the young dragon quickly gave her a withering glare. She took a deep breath.

“Miss Belle, I highly doubt that this Gregory Graystone is that petty,” Celestia said, completely surprised by the former fashionista’s bitter tone. “He couldn’t become a leader like he is if he wasn’t smart.”

Rarity scowled, but didn’t say anything. Applejack spoke up next. “Ah’m not that smart, and ah agree with Spike, but how do we do it?”

“All at once and get it over with,” Rainbow said. “Like a bandage.”

“Let me play Tartarus’ Advocate here, then,” Rarity said. “Sure, we could tell him what happened, but what if he’s already been told? You saw those ponies out there. A lot of them are from Ponyville. Roseluck could easily have told him. You saw her and her friends in the crowd, plain as day. What do you think will be his reaction? He’s a human, after all.”

“Rarity Belle!” Celestia’s angry tone silenced the purple maned mare immediately. She calmed down and stared at the now frightened unicorn with a cool, level gaze. “It is exactly that sort of behavior that destroyed Ponyville and caused a once kind and happy human to become who he is today. I’d have thought you learned something from this ordeal. But it seems you’re the only one here who can’t see past her own muzzle and can only blame others for your failures.”

“It was Discord who did this to all of us,” Rarity said in a trembling tone.

“He only gave us the slightest of pushes,” Twilight said. “Even before he was released, we reacted the same way to somecreature who wasn’t a pony, and now she’s the first zebra citizen of Griffonia. Remember what I said that day? We burned down Ponyville. We destroyed everything we represented without a single thought for a single creature’s wellbeing.” Twilight turned towards Rarity and gave a dark glare. “Don’t forget it. Because if you do, you’ll only make the same mistakes.”

Rarity looked down at her half drunken wine, scowled at it, then grabbed it in her magic and down the entire thing in a single gulp before pouring another glass. “Fine…do what you want,” she said. “Maybe it’ll work…maybe it won’t.” She took another drink of the wine.

“How should we do it?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, we shouldn’t do it today,” Celestia said. “There’s a celebration going on. Tomorrow we should all go down. And I do mean all of us.” She gave Rarity a knowing look.

“Yes, your highness,” the white unicorn said after a few seconds.

At that moment, Spike noticed the crowd outside the bubble of magic cheering and facing the door. Curious, he craned his neck to see what was happening. And gasped when he saw Gregory walking in with a group of other creatures, some of which he recognized. He saw Zecora, Gilda and the one griffon who had kissed Gregory on stage. The latter was actually riding on Gregory’s back, grinning like a schoolfilly with a crush. Gregory, too, was blushing a bit, but he was also laughing. The two other griffons he saw were ones he didn’t recognize. One was a younger griffoness with dark green fur and wings, dark red plumage, bright yellow eyes and red claws. The other was a young griffon male about the same age as the griffoness. He had azure eyes, cerulean coat, and yellow claws. His head feathers were spiked up and seemed to go from the cerulean to a dark yellow which matched his eyebrows. He lifted his claws and pointed. “Guys, he’s here,” he said quietly.

Everypony at the booth turned and looked at the human. He wasn’t wearing the same clothes as before. In fact, he was wearing just some blue pants made of blue denim and a bright red zipper hoodie, which was unzipped, and underneath a bright green shirt with a large depiction of what looked a lot like a Hearth’s Warming Tree. He was wearing the same kind of red and white stocking cap and was waving towards the bar where Garble and Smolder were busy.

As Celestia lowered the barrier so they could all hear what he was saying, they caught the tail end of the human shouting, “…if you’re not drunk, ladies and gentlebeings, then get ready to get fucked up! Let’s do it, ha ha!” Gregory pulled out a large brown leather bag and opened it, walking up and slamming a few coins onto the table. “Gargle, get the best stuff out of the basement!”

Garble raised an eyebrow, then smirked. “Having another arm wrestling contest with Gilda, again?”

“Damn right I am!” he said, turning and giving the aforementioned griffon a slug on the arm. “I’m gonna last thirty seconds this time!”

“What, been exercising that arm of yours by jerking off?” Gilda said with a smirk.

“While thinking about that sexy ass of yours,” Gregory grinned back as he smacked Gilda’s backside, causing her to yelp and smack him on the arm. Before she could say anything, he turned to the crowd who was watching him with anticipation. “Hey, don’t let me distract you from your drinking and celebration, everyone!”

“They’re waiting for a song,” the young griffon male chuckled.

“You sing so much now that they expect it,” the griffoness on Gregory’s back giggled as she rubbed his hair.

Gregory closed his eyes, crossed his arms and sighed, seemingly tired. However, everyone in the bar leaned forward in anticipation. He uncrossed his arms and smirked. “One! Two! Three!” he chanted.

As one, every other patron in the bar began to sing, “Beer, beer, beer! Tiddly beer, beer, beer!”

The griffon on Gregory’s back got off as Gregory began to sing, “A long time ago, way back in history, when all there was to drink was nothin’ but cups of tea! Along came a man by the name of Charlie Mops, and he invented a wonderful drink and he made it out of hops!”

By this time, the entire crowd was either clapping or stomping their hooves to the beat. There was a piano in the corner where an older griffon was now playing the tune. Everyone in the room joined in for the next set of lyrics. Someone brought out a tambourine and shook it. “He might have been an admiral a sultan or a king! And to his praises we shall always sing! A’look what he has done for us, he's filled us up with cheer! The Lord bless Charlie Mops, the man who invented beer, beer, beer! Tiddly beer, beer, beer!”

Gregory, who by now was jaunting through the room to the beat, took up the song again. “The Curtis bar, the James' Pub, the Hole in the Wall as well! One thing you can be sure of, its Charlie's beer they sell! So come on all me lucky lads, eleven o'clock ye stop! For five short seconds, remember Charlie Mops!” The music stopped and he held out his hand. He chanted, “One, two, three, four, five…”

The music started again and the crowd began to sing the chorus along with him. Many raised their mugs or forks of food as they sang. Spike began to bob his head to the beat and the tune. He was too young to drink any kind of alcohol, sure, but he still found the song catchy. “He might have been an admiral a sultan or a king! And to his praises we shall always sing! A’look what he has done for us, he's filled us up with cheer! The Lord bless Charlie Mops, the man who invented beer, beer, beer! Tiddly beer, beer, beer!”

When the chorus was over again, Gregory sang out. “A bushel of malt, a barrel of hops, and stir it around with a stick. The sort of lubrication to make your engine tick! A’forty pints of wallop a day will keep away the quacks! Its only eight pence hapenny and one and six in tax!” The music stopped again and he once more held up his hands, counting with his five fingers. “One, two, three, four, five…”

Even Spike couldn’t help it. He sang along to the chorus. “He might have been an admiral a sultan or a king! And to his praises we shall always sing! A’look what he has done for us, he's filled us up with cheer! The Lord bless Charlie Mops, the man who invented beer, beer, beer! Tiddly beer, beer, beer! Tiddly beer, beer, beer! The Lord bless Charlie Mops!”

The song ended and the crowd hooted, whistled and clapped to the bowing human who was panting and grinning. Smolder was flying over to him with a large wooden mug full of some frothing liquid. Gregory took it, raised it, and said, “Here’s mud in your eye!” With that, he began downing the entire mug. A dark brown liquid spilled out of it and a bit ran down his cheeks as he completely chugged it.

Celestia could only watch in amazement. Ponies weren’t known for their alcoholic tolerance, which was why they only had very low proof beverages in their bars or salt bars. Griffons, she knew, had a very high tolerance. She had no idea how much tolerance a human had, but it must have been a lot since when he put the mug down, Gregory looked lucid and was still standing.

However, at that moment, the Equestrians felt a pair of eyes focusing on them. And not in a good way. They all looked around and saw the young griffoness glaring at them with wide eyes full of fear mixed with utter hatred. She was clenching her teeth and Celestia could see her body trembling. A few moments later, she tore her eyes away, then her face calmed. A smile appeared on her face and she walked over to Gregory. She pulled on his pants leg, then when his attention was on him, she leaned in and whispered something to her while at the same time pointing at the griffoness who’d kissed Gregory. He raised an eyebrow, looked down at her with some confusion and said something else. She nodded insistently.

He shrugged. “Well, Gracie, if you think it’s a good idea, sure,” he said. “But I don’t have the sheet music. Just the musical accompaniment.”

“Starlight can cast the spell to make the song sound like…what did you call it? Stereo?” the now named Gracie said.

“If she’s strong enough,” he said. Turning to the dark gray-blue griffoness, he waved. “Gabby! Wanna sing that duet I rewrote from my world?”

Gabby, who had been sipping on a small mug of something, came over. “The one by Forest Rain?” she asked.

He nodded. “Why not?”

“Whatcha gonna sing now?” a random patron asked.

“Well, it’s not a drinking song,” Gregory said, “but I think after what happened today, it’s an appropriate song to sing.” He pulled out a small black object from his pocket and touched it a few times. “Okay, there we go.” He sat it down on the piano and motioned for Starlight to join him. “Starlight? Think you can cast that spell that makes my speaker sound like it’s coming from all around the room?”

Starlight chuckled. “Sure thing.” She raised her horn which glowed a light turquoise. The object glowed for a bit as well before the magic stopped. “It’ll last for about ten minutes.”

Gregory nodded, then turned to the crowd. “Like I said, this song is not a drinking song. It’s one about overcoming feelings of being different. It’s a song by an artist called Forest Rain, but I’ve changed a few lyrics to fit better. Ladies and gentlebeings, listen as Gabby and I sing Great To Be Different.” He tapped on the object. Music began to play through the entire tavern. Everyone in the bar put their mugs or utensils down as they began to listen. Gregory bobbed his head to the beat. Finally, when a drum was heard, he began singing. “It was a dark day when I lost my faith. I wasn't the man that I thought I'd be. And it seemed that no one could relate. There was nothing left for me to see. So I took a walk to the edge of the town, and thought of leaving it all behind, when I saw a little letter fall right out of the sky, as a cute girl hovered way up high.”

He pointed to Gabby, who was smiling widely and blushing slightly as he continued. “I thought I was crazy when I saw her wave, and then simply fly away. So I opened the letter and looked inside, and what was written made my day…it said-”

With that, Gabby and Gregory began to sing together. The ponies were blown away by the way Gabby’s singing voice was soft and melodious. The two were staring at each other as they both sang, “Isn't it great to be different? Isn't it wonderful to be exactly who you are? When you learn to start accepting yourself, you'll become a shining star!”

As the ponies listened to the lyrics, they all sank deeper into their seats. Celestia, however, couldn’t help but stare at the griffoness called Gracie. And was shocked to see said griffoness staring back at her with a small triumphant grin. She knew immediately that this one knew about the truth.

Gregory turned back to the crowd and continued singing, obviously oblivious to the ponies and young dragon in the corner. “To this day the writing on that page is mottled by the tears I shed. Cuz at that moment something inside me changed and a bright new path I lead. I ran back home and I picked up my old guitar and I started strumming these chords. And I sang her words along with this song and I heard someone sing along. And we sang-”

Gabby once more joined along and the two looked at each other. Everyone in the Equestrian group saw the love held between both human and griffoness. The bar patrons were moving their heads back and forth, including three familiar flower ponies who’d come in near the beginning of the song. “Isn't it great to be different? Isn't it wonderful to be exactly who you are? When you learn to start accepting yourself, you'll become a shining star!”

With a smile, Gregory faced the crowd and saw the three ponies who’d come in. He smiled warmly and waved at them. They waved back as he continued, “I turned around and I saw her at my door, that beautiful girl with the gorgeous stare. She said-”

At that moment, Gabby took over and faced Gregory, who faced her again. “I've heard you play and sing before, and I heard a sadness I could not bear. I just wanted to tell you that the hardest thing I've faced wasn't the teasing or the pain. It was convincing myself I wasn't stupid, strange, or lame and helping others do the same.”

The music went soft as Gabby spread her wings, flew up and wrapped her arms around Gregory. The two danced a bit as the crowd clapped at this, even whistling and hooting and congratulating him. The ponies, all save for Celestia, turned away and covered their eyes. Seeing this kind of display was too much for them. Spike also watched the song, a small smile on his face. Now he really wanted to meet this Gregory.

When the song began picking up again, Gregory put Gabby down and faced the crowd. “These last few months flew by just like a blur. I'm now exactly where I should be. And I know I owe it all to her, the lovely griffon who believed in me.”

As he put his hand on Gabby’s back, the two began singing again, “Isn't it great to be different? Isn't it wonderful to be exactly who you are? When you learn to start accepting yourself, you'll become a shining star! Isn't it great to be different? Isn't it wonderful to be exactly who you are? When you learn to start accepting yourself, you'll become a shining star (Isn’t it wonderful?)! You’ll become a shining star (Isn’t is great?)! When you learn to love just who you are.” With that, Gregory turned to her as the music faded out. Celestia and Spike watched some hushed words exchanged as the crowd went wild and applauded their performance.

It was during this applause that a deep and angry female voice said, “I believe it’s best that you not meet him. Your presence will only make his smile turn dim.”

Celestia and everyone else turned to face the barely restrained furious zebra who had somehow appeared before them. Celestia had never spoken to the zebra before. She’d seen her a few times, most notably at Cranky and Matilda’s wedding, but that was only in passing. Twilight flinched at the look she was getting from her. “Ze-Zecora, I-”

“Be silent and listen for once, you pony brat,” Zecora interrupted with a snarl, “Now is long past the time for a chat.”

“She’s not wrong,” a higher pitched female voice said from behind the booth’s wall. Everyone else turned and saw Gracie appear from behind it and walked over to stand beside Zecora. “You all fucked up with Jason, and we won’t let you do the same with Gregory.”

Celestia pursed her lips, drawing on all of her diplomatic experience. They obviously knew about what had happened over the past five years with Jason Wright. And obviously he’d made friends with these two and several others. She sat up taller and faced them. “We aren’t here to do anything to the Chancellor,” she said calmly. “But we do need to speak to him or the council about an important matter.”

“Closing the borders wasn’t enough for you?” Zecora hissed. “What else do you now wish to do? Perhaps take over the land I now call home? Haven’t I too long had to roam?”

Twilight shook her head quickly. “Nopony here would want to take over Griffonia!” she said.

“Pfff, nopony,” Gracie spat. “Excluding this little dragon here, are we? What would Darth Vader say? The xenophobia is strong in these ponies.”

The ponies all winced at this. All except for Rarity, who by now was wobbling and drunk. She gave Gracie a withering glance. “Aaand zzjjust what giiives you zaa riiight to talk like zzat?” she said with a slurred voice.

Twilight winced and moved over to where Rarity was sitting. “How much have you had to drink, Rarity?” she asked.

“None ovvv yer bizzness,” she shot back, grabbing at the now nearly empty bottle. “Vvvvor yer invermasion, Dissscord made uzzz dew it!” she shouted. “Zzzo get away vvrom ush! You…you FUCKING CUNTS!”

And that was the very moment that Gregory became aware of them.

Next Chapter: 15: The Dragonrider Estimated time remaining: 17 Hours, 25 Minutes