Two weeks passed, rather uneventfully at that. Nightmare night came and went, and we all spent the holiday trying to scare one another, with varying degrees of success. Shimmer's attempts at being a 'scary dragon' were met with statements of how adorable she was and pats on the head, while Surprise kept using her shadow manipulation to frighten us, which would have worked if not for our ability to banish the darkness with a quick lumen spell. Oh. And there was candy. Lots of candy. And upset stomachs which Nadene refused to fix for us, because it 'served us right'. To avoid being a hypocrite, she suffered right next to us with her own upset stomach, since she took part in the festivities as well.

"Grif woulda loved this."

"Aw, no use being all down in the dumps. He's probably having all sorts of fun eating candy with the princesses and dressing up in costumes and maybe using his spooky magic to scare ponies!" Surprise replied.

"What do you mean I can't have any candy?" Griffin glared at his nutritionist, Food Pyramid, a creme coloured unicorn mare with what else but a food pyramid for a cutie mark.

"If we're going to get all of that garbage out of your system, you need to be on a strict detox diet. No artificial ANYTHING." She glared right into his eyes, unmoving in her resolve.

"What about this fake meat? That's as 'artificial' as it gets!" He shot back.

"It's made entirely from ground vegetables, all grown organically using no pesticides or growth enchantments." She stated poignantly.

"Then what about natural candy? I know for a FACT there are blueberry covered almonds made with no artificial anything! Nuts are good for you, and blueberries are antioxidants!" He said smugly. Surely there were healthy candies that he could consume, which would satisfy the drill instructor nutritionist.

"You don't have any candy because you didn't go out for Nightmare Night. You need to work for your candy." She pointed out, changing her point.

"Because Mind Mender wouldn't let me! Isn't taking part in holidays part of proper socialization?" Griffin was rather upset that the psychologist wouldn't let him go out, saying it wouldn't be good to have him out and about in the city, as it would be too much, too fast.

"Addiction first, socialization later. Besides, you wanted to avoid the press anyways. Here, have some salad." Food Pyramid passed him a bowl of the bland leaves. There wasn't even any toppings or dressings. Just lettuce and carrots.

"Grr." He growled before munching on a green leaf grumpily.

With Nightmare Night gone, and all our stomach aches gone with it, (along with the ship-wide supply of sugar) we were ready to take on the next den. Well, as it turns out, that den had already been dealt with by Aoi, so we moved on to the NEXT one. The city didn't have any surface structure, instead being entirely underground. Smart move. Dragons and rivals can't find you if there aren't any markings. The only reason we knew it was there was because Growl pointed it out to us, and we could see the small hill. These dogs were rather small, terriers or something, so their holes were small as well. Griffins and cats wouldn't be able to fit inside. Just ponies. The problem is, we have no idea what goes on under that hill. If we went in, we'd get lost, trapped, and that would be it.

"Alright people." By 'people' I meant myself, Maria, Tiras, Nadene, Shimmer, Geirmund, Trixie, Dusty, and Surprise, since the pegasus always has crazy ideas, and one of them might actually work. "We've got a small hole that we need to get in, and everyone with experience is too big to fit. It's a tight squeeze, and it'll probably be bloody, no place for an amateur. We need someone to scout it out, and maybe loosen em up before we go in."

"Will we have...... 'protection'?" Maria and Nadene snickered. Wha.... oh son of a bitch. May as well play along.

"No, you'll be all on your own, so make sure not to get into any 'sticky' situations. Things could get slippery, what with the recent fall rain." At least Shimmer was too young to catch the innuendo.

"Well.... what about Whiskers, Munchkin and Finnegan?" Surprise asked. "They're small, it's dark underground so they can stay there however long they need to, and there's three of them, so they won't get lost."

"Wait... Finnegan? There's three now?" I raised my eyebrow at the blanched pegasus.

"Yep! I dunno why..... I just woke up this morning and there was another one, so I had to give him a name." She replied perkily.

"This.... isn't going to become a problem is it?" I asked worriedly.

"Nope! They don't eat anything or make droppings, and they don't take up any space either, and they live in my mane and style it. Just look how curly it is! Just more friends for more fun!"

'Geez, she's going to wind up with more pets than Fluttershy, and her mane looks exactly the same as it did before!'

"Well, alright. Just tell me if it gets out of control, or, something. Anyways, if you could send your mice friends down into the tunnels to see what they can find out, that'd be great, and then we could make a proper plan."

"Okie dokie pokie!"

With that set, we tossed one of the mooring lines off the ship, and the three mice climbed down from their pegasus mother, down the rope, and then into the hole to explore. They returned about three hours later, after dinner. We laid out a blank sheet of paper along with pencils, and the dexterous little shadow mice went to work drawing a map with their little paws. There was a series of tunnels with several cross sections, most likely a maze to ward off intruders, with guard stations placed at various points. Each guard station had a string that was fed through a small hole, down to a number of bells which, when the string was pulled, would tell the head guard where the intruders were, so he could warn the colony.

After the maze, it opened into larger tunnels for more breathing and working room, with several large chambers in a circle around a larger, main chamber, each of which had crisscrossing stone walkways throughout the dome like structure, and straight tunnels coming off of the chambers. These were work areas. The chambers housed pony slaves, the tunnels coming off of them connected the chambers, as well as served as locations to mine from. The central chamber was where most of the dogs would be. There were several smaller chambers connected to this one, with no other entrances. These were used to store supplies and things that were dug up. Then, finally...... there was a long tunnel under the main chamber, which lead straight down, and only had small alcoves along it's walls. The mice also explained in squeaks only their maker could understand that since it was a tight squeeze, they didn't wear metal armor, restricting themselves to leather.... made of pony hide......

"Surprise, what's down there?" The mice looked to the mare and squeaked. She shook her head sadly.

"Evil. The mice were too afraid to go any further. They think it's evil. There were moving shadows down there that weren't mice."

"It's.... a grave." The realization dawned on me. "They probably dug too deep, and went straight into Tartarus. They can't go down there anymore, so they just throw their garbage, deceased, and misbehaving slaves, straight into Tartarus." Everyone gulped. This did not bode well.

"It does bring up an interesting point however...." Growl said thoughtfully. "WE cannot get in, but, perhaps we will not need to. They are overconfident in their maze and guard system."

"You have an idea?"

"You know I used to be part of a pack, and that pack took slaves, they'll have the keys at the main guard station. There will always be a guard at it. But look. The layout is a good one for efficiency. Slave pens all around, they live close to where they work, then bring what they dig up to the center chamber. Resources are stored, garbage and deceased are thrown down the chute. And it's all protected by a maze system above it, which also acts as their way to get air. Nothing can get in undetected." He began to explain.

"Except for Surprise's mice."

"Right. Efficiency wise, it's perfect, strategically, it is a deathtrap. Notice how they put themselves in the middle of all their slaves. Now, if they lost a chamber, they could cave it in and cut it off from the rest, so they could quash the rebellion, but if they lost ALL their chambers, doing that would only trap themselves in the middle."

"Their only way out would be either down the chute to their doom, or up through the maze, towards us."

"Correct."

"Surprise, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Umm.... that depends, are YOU thinking what I'M thinking?"

"..... probably not. What I'm thinking is you send your trio of mice down to the guard station. Have them use a knockout vial to put the guard to sleep, then chew through all the strings tied to the bells. Finally, steal the keys and spread out and bring them to the different chambers. Let the ponies free themselves for once. While the dogs are distracted, we send Dusty and all the other combat ready ponies down there, through the maze, and eliminate the guards on their way down. Stand at the ready, and when the combat starts, dive in. We'll cut off their route 'up' as well. It'll be either surrender, or go down the hole. We'll need to time it not quite perfectly, but pretty spot on. If one group gets freed before the rest, they'll sound the alarm and put them down. If we go in too early, we'll be outnumbered, too late, and the slaves won't get the support they need."

"Which is why I will coordinate the event." Second Sight added in. We WERE having the conversation in the mess hall, after all. "My specialty is seeing the unseen."

"Me too." Starlight Wisp piped up. "I can go with him. Since he'll be able to use his magic to see what's on the other side of a wall, and I can use mine to walk through them, we can be runners and keep everyone on the same page."

"Good. We'll begin at midnight. Surprise, get Whiskers, Munchkin, and Finnegan ready." The three little mice looked to me and gave adorable little salutes, ran into her mane, and pulled out a vial of knockout gas each, which they strapped to their backs with pieces of string. Instead of smashing them, they'd just pop the corks off and run around with them.

"Now, there's going to be more than one guard at each guard station. Too easy to assassinate one. So, the bell strings NEED to be chewed through before we arrive, or the whole plan goes up in smoke. They're gonna pull the strings regardless, what we need is for them to pull em, but nothing happens."

"I vill be going as vell." Geirmund quipped. "I have spent far too long on zis ship, und I vant to take part in zis mission. I have made certain, modification to mein self that I believe vill be rather, helpful." He folded open his wings, in the classic aggressive formation, and no less than twelve barrels made themselves present on their leading edges.

"I have taken a page from ze pirate era, und have placed guns in mein wings. On each ving, ze inside three are shotguns, und ze outside three are pistols. Single shot, but I vish to test zere effectiveness. Ze lasers are, nice, but against armor, ve need somezing zat pack a little more of a punch. I just vant to see how they vork in the vings, and vether or not I can hit anyzing."

"Understood, you'll go in with Dusty. He's the team leader on this, follow his orders. Dusty. Brief your squad." He saluted and headed off to meet with the combat equines.

'Breathe Gilda, gotta breathe. We can do this. He's not here to help us if we screw up, he's not here to go over our plan. Gotta focus.... even if all the cats and griffins can do is wait, we have to be ready to evac if things go wrong. It sounds like a good plan, but a lot can go wrong..... I hope this works.' I was a nervous wreck. I really want this to work. I really REALLY do. If we fail the first mission Grif isn't with us, what is that going to say about our ability? It'll just prove that we need him, and really can't do it without him. Our morale is low enough as is after losing him, we can't take too many hits or we'll just fall apart.

"Alright. We've been watching the ground like a hawk, and there hasn't been any movement, so they probably don't know we're here. They most likely only come to the surface to catch slaves or trade with allies, but in the event they DO know we're here, be ready to pull out immediately. Wait one hour after the mice enter to infiltrate. Begin the operation."

Three mice scurried through the tunnels, deep under the earth. The dark, rich soil was firm, yet soft under their little paws, not that they cared. They moved like shadows in the dark, for that is what they were. They were wholly unseen. What was visible was merely vials of knockout gas, the very same as the ones the dogs used, so on the couple occasions they were spotted, they held very still, and it appeared that one of the gamma dogs (the ones who lead the small packs of omegas) had simply dropped his vials, and they were paid no mind by those that had much better things to do than to 'pick up some other dog's junk'.

Soon, the three mice arrived at the guard station, where three hounds sat playing with dice. They would hear if a bell rang, so there was no point being bored stiff. To their surprise, a small black mouse jumped onto their table, in the middle of their game. It held up what appeared to be a lost vial, holding it towards one of the dogs.

"Hello mousy. You find lost thing? Good mousy, give here." One of the dogs cooed, trying to make the mouse know it was appreciated. Who knows? Maybe if he was nice to it, it would find other things for him. Maybe his rubber ball he lost a week ago, or perhaps some nice, shiny gems.

To his surprise, (that is a joke, given who the mice belong to) the mouse pulled the stopper from the vial, and dumped the ground 'sleepy herbs' onto the table, which ignited from the chemical reaction with the 'burny juice' inside, making smoke that put all three dogs to sleep. The mouse however, was fine, as it was not a true mouse, but a mere shadow taken physical form. The mouse was joined by two others, and with their help, chewed through the bell strings that made up the den's early warning system. They then took a key ring each, and holding them very carefully so that they did not jingle, set off into the mines.

"Alright, it's been an hour. I hope the mice came through..." Dusty Trails whispered to himself. "Wispy, Sight, what do you have?"

The unicorn stallion's horn stopped glowing, and he opened his eyes. "The bells are cut. Move on to phase two. We're moving down to help organize the slave groups, and have em all go at the same time. We'll be back when it's time to begin. In the meantime, make your way through the maze, but stop before the main chamber. We want to make sure everyone is ready before we begin.

An earth pony mare with a coat so covered in dirt, dust, and blood that you could not see it's colour, lay sleeping on a stone floor. Not the most comfortable, but when you're dead tired from physical exertion, and malnourished to the point that it hurts, sleep is the only respite you get from the painful drudgery that is slavery, so despite your discomfort, the hunger pains, and the sting of the wounds caused by your latest whipping, when you slept, you slept deeply. So, for this mare, it was much to her annoyance that an unknown something seemed insistent on waking her up.

"It can't be morning already.... So.... tired...." She opened her eyes, to see that what was attempting to wake her was not a dog with a whip, about to give her more pain for her laziness, but a tiny little mouse, black as the midnight sky which she vaguely remembered, holding a ring with numerous keys on it, and patting her on the snout. "I must be dreaming. Or insane. Oh no." Her eyes opened in horror. "If I've gone crazy I can't work, and if I can't work they'll throw me in the hole. I don't want to go down there." She began crying in fear and misery, too weak to raise her voice. To her shock, the mouse rolled it's pure white eyes and stuck the key into the manacle which held her to the floor. It struggled to turn it, but eventually succeeded, and with a 'clink' the shackle fell off her hoof.

"Wha? Thank you, little friend, but, it was pointless. I know you meant well, but now all that'll happen is I'll get whipped for taking off my shackles. I.... better put this back on." As she stood to replace what held her to that place, the mouse kicked it away, and stood there, shaking it's little arms with the keys in it, pointing upwards. She looked up, for the first time in many years, and saw two ponies unlike any other. A mare and a stallion, both unicorns. They were clean, their manes brushed and well kept, their teeth were clean, and they were not emaciated like the rest. Above all, they looked WELL, but to this unnamed mare who toiled in obscurity for longer than she could remember, with the confidence and power in their stances, they looked positively regal, like Celestia herself.

"Am... I dead?" The poor mare asked.

"No. You're not. But the ones who did this to you soon will be." She scowled, yet still appeared to be warm. "My name is Starlight Wisp. This is Second Sight. We're going to get you out of here, all of you, but we're going to need your help." And like that, her image of the newcomers was shattered.

"Now I know I'm dreaming. Nopony gets out. Anypony who tries gets thrown in the hole. Nobody can beat the dogs. They have weapons, and they have armor, and claws and teeth and they outnumber us. Nopony can beat them."

"Not even, say....The Griffin Pirates?" And immediately, her jaw dropped. She had heard rumor of the famous liberators who took the world by storm, rumor passed down by the very ones who held her captive, and then passed through the slaves as well, who had been traded from other lands. In their view, the captain was a demon from the depths of Tartarus itself, seeking redemption. The crew, angels who descended into the darkness riding griffins, but no ordinary griffins. No, these were not the same as the meek slaves, starving in caverns as they hid from the dangers of the world. These were winged beasts made for war, and were ridden by angels who used Celestia's light itself to set wrongdoers ablaze, who wore impenetrable armor, and each had the strength of thirty. They wielded nature itself in the war against the dogs, and brought hope to where there was none. They tossed dragons aside and tore the very earth asunder. These beings, one of which stood before her, had done the impossible. They had broken into the den.

The unnamed mare stood and looked at the scene before her. All around her, ponies were getting up, taking off their shackles. The black mouse had brought the keys to a unicorn, who used what magic he had left to set about freeing the others. One by one, they all stood, shook off the dregs of sleep, and stared attentively at the glorious figure of freedom she stood in front of. The mare wept a single tear of joy, which cleared some of the grime from her face to show that underneath, she was a brilliant, healthy shade of leaf green.

"Rally everypony you can. When you hear the sounds of battle, charge the main chamber. They will have nowhere to go."

"Dusty. Everything is going as planned. All the surrounding chambers are ours. The guards are dead, and the central chamber is none the wiser. They're sleeping. Phase three?"

"Phase three. Geirmund, if you would do the honors by blasting this slaver scum into tiny little bits, it would be most appreciated."

"Vell, only because you asked politely."

*Bang*

The corpse of a diamond dog fell from a great height. It missed all the crisscrossing bridges that spanned the cavern, going from the very top, straight to the floor at the bottom. The noise awoke the dogs who, spotting the splattered remains of their brethren, began to howl to alert the rest. But, it was too late. The invaders had already began to descend upon them.

"Terra infirma! Tremor!" The ground began to shift and tilt, throwing the defenders off balance, lowering their defenses.

"Umbra!" The dogs began fumbling around blindly, trying to grasp their weapons, only to be lit ablaze by the searing hot light. They were feeling around on the ground for their weapons, like a blind dog would for their lost cane, and they died on their knees.

"Arma Sanguis! Aqua!" Red needles erupted from their bodies, then turned into a pool as the corpses fell to the ground. Wicked blades rose from the pool and vivisected others, adding the the sharp monster made of the vital essence of the fallen till tendrils of red and black whipped around, shredding any foe they found, and parrying the blades of those who had found theirs and were swinging wildly.

"Ramex du Cor!" Archers took positions in alcoves, under cover from the blood and out of sight. They thought they were safe as they drew their bows, yet they still dropped dead. No wounds whatsoever. The spell that the captain had learned to break balloons, along with the previously known Latin word for heart, made for a deadly combination when combined with a certain stallion's ability to see through walls.

The dogs, finally recovering from the shock of the surprise attack, formed rank to try and defend themselves. One dog charged at a nearby mare, only to pass through her. When he turned around to meet his foe, a hole appeared in his throat, leaking blood with no cause. Suddenly a blade materialized, followed by the very same mare he charged, holding the blade in her hoof before she altogether vanished once more, followed by a dozen more dogs dropping dead.

"FIRE AT WILL!" The dogs drew up their bows, and began raining arrows upon the invaders, only for the projectiles to bounce harmlessly off of a magical barrier made up of the combined spell of a dozen unicorns, while the pegasi returned fire using white hot light from their rifles.

At that moment, more dogs came pouring in from all directions. Reinforcements from the other sections of the den. But, something was wrong. They were not charging into battle. Their weapons were not raised. No. They were fleeing from something. What that something was became apparent as masses of ponies filled the outer rim of the dome, pushing the fleeing dogs to the middle, towards the slaughter.

"Furia!" Came a chorus of shouts from the ponies. In the confusion, the dogs who had just arrived began attacking their kin. Forced to fend off the combined assault of the attacking ponies, the freed slaves, and their berserk brethren, all while trapped in the center of the room while they were ripped to shreds by the plethora of offensive spells, to the dogs it became clear that this was the end.

Some slavers threw down their weapons and raised their paws over their heads. They knew they were beaten. Others continued to fight, but only because they knew the alpha would kill them if they did not, but, where was the alpha? Where was their leader, who had slain dozens, and had the scars of previous battle that proved him worthy of his position at the top of the pack? He was in the middle of the fray, with a blue unicorn mare and an dusty earth pony stallion. In the middle of the bloodbath was Jackal, who stood defiantly against the onslaught of the pair.

In this den, there was a rule. The rule was that you lived in your armor. You wore it always, so that it would become a part of you. He was the only dog with the strength to wear thick steel at all times, so he was the only one that wore it. Fully covered by hardened plates, wielding a claymore in each paw, and a hat made of a pony's skin, the poor mare's face covering his forehead. The thick, heavy plates shrugged off lesser blows of magic and laser, merely burning marks onto its surface. Careless dogs were tossed aside if they got in his way.

As he swung his twin blades, which had ended the lives of so many others, the stallion parried with a blade of his own, the size of his body. He guarded with the flat as he received yet another blow, while the mare blocked one of her own with a shield, before a lance sprang from it and grazed the alpha's arm. He turned to overwhelm the mare's defense with a double sworded strike, only to have a blow landed in his side by the earth pony's hoof. Now, earth ponies are strong, but given the reach he needed, there's no way that could have been more than a glancing blow, yet it was enhanced by magic to make it strong enough to stagger the alpha. This in turn caused him to turn his attention back to the stallion....

..... only to be struck in the head by a ball of brilliant light, which exploded, knocking him off balance. He turned and glared at the mare, who smirked and conjured a dozen more, which went whipping around her and blocked the arrows fired by some dogs who had not yet given up. Their howls of pain came and subsided as they died in various ways, the killing magic used by these ponies was fearsome, and something the dogs had no defense against. Only the alpha, who had once slain a dragon and did not have the tooth embedded near his heart removed, seemed to be immune to the instant death these ponies brought, and thus, the continued struggle.

As the pony attacks struck home, first with glancing blows, followed by full strikes, the alpha was driven further and further back, towards the hole. Finally, he felt his paw at the edge of the pit that had taken the lives of so many others, he looked back to see the endless fall behind him, then forward to see the death glares of the ponies.

Dusty... The captain had once said. Listen, if you ever kick someone into a possibly bottomless pit, you absolutely HAVE to say the following words. The words rang in the earth pony's mind and he smiled in fond memory. Trixie put the alpha dog off balance with another energy ball to the head. Now was his chance.

Dusty trails stuck his greatsword into the ground on an angle, then jumped on the handle. Using it as a springboard, he leaped into the air and wound back his hoof.

"This is EQUESTRIA!" Delivering all the force a magically enhanced, flying earth pony can deliver, Dusty Trails slammed his front hoof into the alpha's chest. Pushing off, the stallion landed back by his sword, while the dog teetered over the edge for a moment before falling to his doom. With a yell of fear, the armored dog fell, eventually landing at the bottom. The steel he wore saved his life, but he was paralyzed. Dropping a torch from the wall sconce down the hole, Dusty looked down and saw the dog illuminated, while dark shapes moved around him. He heard a bloodcurdling scream of terror, followed by a sickening crunch as he looked away. Trixie, and a number of other unicorns, used their magic to lift a large piece of stone and placed it atop the hole, that no one else might fall in.... and so that nothing may climb out, lured by the feast.

Cheers rang out from the slave ponies as the remaining dogs were rounded up to be shipped off to Marble Pillars. In total, around half the den remained. The bodies were cleared up and given a proper burial, including the twenty-seven pony slaves who had lost their lives in the charge to push the dogs to the middle. Their names were carved on a large chunk of rock which was placed atop the hill outside the den, after everyone was lead out, before the slaves were gently lifted onto the backs of griffins, and brought aboard the shining beacon of hope, the Possibility, for food, rest, and medical attention.

In her room, Gilda breathed a sigh of relief. All her crew had returned, the day was won, and there was minimal loss of life on the slave's end. Many ponies would go home to their families, if they remembered who their families were. Many however, would need therapy to be reintegrated into society. It seemed as though Griffin would have a great deal of company in the days to come. So, she pulled out one of her own feathers, dipped it in an ink well, and becan to write on parchment.

Meanwhile, Griffin had just awoken from a nightmare, one about a black river, and a sour taste. He knew what it meant, that there would be tough times ahead. Princess Celestia had woken him after she raised the sun, as was usual for her, since she was keeping a close eye on him personally, and watched as in a puff of flame, he burped out a scroll.

Dear Griffin,

We raided a warren today. We all made it back, and we found lots of ponies. No griffins though. Part of the dog's defense was that they have narrow tunnels. We rounded up the surviving dogs and are sending them to Marble Pillars. We're taking the ponies there ourselves, where they'll be given a ride to Canterlot via airship. Tell Celestia to expect a diamond dog vessel, with tricolour markings, and to not shoot it down. We did it. Just like you said we could, we did it. We're taking as many resources as we can with us, and will give them to Marble pillars in exchange for getting the ponies home, as well as another ship since they have sky docks there. You named me captain, but next time you see me, it'll be admiral.

Sincerely, Gilda.

Ps. I REALLY like the tricorn hat you gave me.

Celestia waited patiently while Griffin read his letter. He calmly folded it up, and put it on his bedside table. Then, he got out of bed, and, with his nightmare completely forgotten, began jumping around the room excitedly.

"THEY DID IT! Theydidittheydidittheydidit!" He dove at the princess who was rather surprised at his outburst, and nearly toppled her in a hug. "I... was so worried they wouldn't be able to do this without me.... but they really can! I thought they could, and I hoped they could, and I tried so hard to make it so they could, and they CAN!"

Princess Celestia smiled warmly at the.... very soft.... griffin hugging her with glee, and when he realized what he was doing, he suddenly backed off and regained his composure. "Erhm... I mean, of course they did it. Never doubted them for a second." He put on a bad poker face, since everyone knew he was pacing a hole in the floor for the past couple days.

"So, are you going to stop worrying about them now, and finally focus on getting better, preferably without grumbling?" The sun princess passed him a bowl of mashed potatoes, with garlic and chives mixed into it, as well as kale, beans, and steamed carrots. His eyes shot wide open at the display.

"Its about time they got me something other than leaves! What do they think I am, a rabbit? Cut you a deal. I'll stop grumbling, and listen to what the doctors say if you promise not to tell anyone I jumped around the room like a little purple filly who just passed her entrance exam and glomped you."

Celestia giggled. "Deal." With that, she walked out of the room to let him eat in peace. Unbeknownst to Griffin, Celestia wasn't the only one watching. As she had just raised the sun, Princess Luna had just finished lowering the moon, and was watching from outside the room as he had his episode, and while her sister had promised not to tell anyone, she had not. Quiet snickering could be heard from Princess Luna's room as she plotted revenge for her sister's latest prank.

Incident Report Regarding 'Griffin (the griffin) North'

Early this morning, Griffin received a letter via belching dragon flames, (rather odd) from his crew. It stated that they had succeeded in raiding a diamond dog warren and liberating the enslaved ponies held within, with very minimal loss of life. In his excitement, he pranced and jumped about the room, before 'glomping' (a hug that is much like a cat pouncing on a mouse, by his explanation) Princess Celestia, before asking how I knew that word, and upon my explanation of how I came to know it, he stated, 'Damnit Luna'.

On another note, he reported that he had a nightmare of a black river trying to swallow him, which he states is the first sign of withdraw. He is worried about the symptoms to come, but says that he'll try and trust us to do our jobs.

Doctor's Note:

Griffin was in a very good mood today, despite his nightmares. He spent most of the day humming a song and 'shuffling' which is a type of dance. I hope he'll be like this after he recovers. He seems so happy. Griffin also likes to spend time awake at night. He says he's a 'night owl' and enjoys the cool breeze that night often brings. This also means he can speak with Princess Luna, as not many ponies are up late at night, let alone enter the courts for debate. He often speaks with her, in confidence of course, so what he says is not known to me or recorded in any way. It seems the 'kindred spirits' evaluation I made previously is correct.

Mind Mender