The next morning, I had woken the household with a combination of music, a rice and vegetable stir fry, (not exactly a breakfast food but, I digress), as well as burning some sprigs of lavender which I picked from the potted plants on the windowsill. The first one awake, besides myself, was Opal, who lazily wandered into the room and set about finding the perfect position on her own personal cushion. Rarity and Sweetie Belle came down at the same time, to which the former asked. "Is this going to be a daily occurrence?"

"I don't see why not. Just thinking about all the times I could have done this and never bothered to, it seems like such a waste."

"Well, I certainly don't have any objections. I find it quite pleasant."

"Yeah, what she said!" Sweetie Belle added. I turned back to the pair and smiled warmly, before serving their plates, and one for myself. I ate quietly, though Rarity seemed to be curious about something. She decided to speak her mind and find out.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, putting down her fork.

"No, I don't think so. Why?"

"You seem glum."

"Hmm... I was meaning to ask..." I changed the subject. ".. when exactly is Winter Wrap Up?"

"A week from Thursday. Is that what has you bothered?" I nodded.

'Yes, but not for the reason you believe.'

"Oh, don't worry your head over such things. I'm certain that with your many talents, we can find something for you. We won't have a repeat of what happened with Twilight." I shook my head.

"It's not that. I... well, I don't want to participate."

"Why ever not? The entire event is about coming together as a town, to accomplish a common goal. It would be wonderful to take part i..."

"It's a personal reason, okay? Please don't ask any more about it."

"Oh... alright."

We finished our meal in silence, and then I left the boutique to go to Twilight's, while Sweetie Belle went to school, and Rarity got to work dressmaking. One problem I foresaw was the presence of Spike. I may not have needed to watch my magic, but I wasn't too sure how I'd do in regards to cravings. I was about to find out. I knocked on the door to the library, which was opened by Twilight.

"Wow, you're here early. I... was actually expecting you to try and get out of it."

"Hey, I said I would do it, and I may not be perfect, but I don't break promises. Ready to get started?"

"Of course. Spike, come here and take notes." The little dragon came down from the second floor, quill and parchment in claw, ready to transcribe whatever the unicorn told him. Just seeing him there made me flinch. It wasn't anything major, a twitch here, a wince there, but it was enough to be noticeable. I clenched my beak shut and my claws into fists. "Griffin, are you alright?" I shut my eyes tight, swallowed hard, and began breathing heavily. I mean, he was RIGHT THERE. So small, and helpless, and full of life, and it would be so, so, easy and.... no. No. I've been through this before. I can handle this. I've gone for months without, and I don't need it. I'm not going to break now, to throw all my hard work away.

"Yes. I'm alright. I'll be fine. Can we just start? Where should I begin? Basics? Word combinations?"

"Actually, no. I got all the notes on your magic from Princess Celestia. While useful, I already know unicorn spells to do all those things, and if you recall, you offered to help me with my magic." She smirked. Apparently, she found, and is exploiting, a loophole. I did say that...

"Okay, so, now I'm lost. What could you need my help with? I don't know anything about unicorn magic." Her response was to pull out a very large, very old tome. It slammed to the table with a thud, kicking up what must have been centuries of dust, trapped within the ancient pages.

"Princess Celestia gave me an advanced spell book for the next level of my studies. There are spells in here that can only be cast by the highest caliber unicorns."

"Okay, but I still don't see how it involves me." I questioned. I really should have just run away when I had the chance.

"Chapter 1, Transformation spells."

...

...

...

"Oooooooh no. I am NOT being a test subject! No way! Not gonna happen! I like myself as I am."

"But I can't cast it on myself, who knows what could happen? If it's with someone else, at least I can reverse it."

"But why me! Why not someone else?"

"Because YOU promised to help me, remember! Besides, you at least have a magical background, even more so than most unicorns in town. You'll be able to give me a unique, informed perspective."

"Damnit." I cringed, thinking about all the horrible things that could happen. "Okay, let's just get this over with all right?"

"It'll be fine. I'm Princess Celestia's student after all. What could go wrong?" She smiled confidently. Her visage changed when she saw the look of absolute horror on my face. "What's wrong, don't you trust me?"

"I simply cannot believe you just said that. The four forbidden words, which set a curse upon any endeavor." I glared at her. "What could go wrong?" I hissed. "If I die, you're taking care of the baby."

"Oh, stop being such a drama queen. It'll be fine. First spell, age spell. Make the target old or young. Ready?" She brought a mirror into the room, so at least I could see myself, and the changes that would be taking place.

"Just do it."

I closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable. Several minutes passed with no noticeable change on my part. When I peeked to take a look, everything seemed as it was.

"Oh, look at that, it doesn't work. Oh well. Guess we're done here."

"Your protect spell, Griffin. You have to remove it." The mare growled.

"Uh... fiiine. Try again."

This time, the change was immediate. I felt as though I had faded away, into a shell of my former self. I could no longer see properly, as the majority of my vision was obscured by black spots, and the remainder was blurred out, most likely from cataracts. I struggled to stand, my limbs shaking under the strain, as my entire body drooped. Finally, the nail in the coffin was that almost all my feathers and fur had fallen out, leaving me bald and shivering. The blur that was Twilight was saying... something, but I wasn't able to hear it. I must have gone deaf.

Just as suddenly as the change had taken place, it was gone, and I was back to my normal self. I was laying on the floor of the library, curled up in a little ball.

"So, what was it like?"

"Cold..."

"Cold? That's it?"

"I couldn't see clearly, I couldn't hear anything, I was naked, it's early March, I was lying on a wooden floor. Cold and sore. All my bones and muscles hurt. I hurt things I didn't even know I HAD. Please don't do that again." I whimpered. "Please."

"Okay then. No more age spells." She cringed. It's good she was at least feeling guilty about the state she put me in, even if it was only for an instant. "Next up, species. This one should, at the very least, not be so disturbing."

"Yeah... alright."

A flash of magic, and the thing I saw in the mirror was... not nearly as bad as I was expecting. An earth pony, the same red as my coat, with a mane white like my feathers. I had a medium length tail, thin and wiry, a muscular build, and some faint scars running along my chest. I turned to look at the mare responsible for my transformation, who seemed a bit distracted.

"Uh... Twilight?"

"Oh! I almost forgot! Spike, camera!" The little dragon reached into a drawer and pulled out the old style device, which Twilight levitated around me, to take pictures from numerous angles, several of which she looked at with a bit of a blush on her face. When she had finished that, she got back to the interviewing process. "Alright, so how does it feel?"

"Weird. I don't like noh hawing fingers oh claws, the teeth are all flat, which feews strange, and my tongue keepth flopping awaound in my mouf. Ith huge compared to mah nowmal one." I stuck it out to emphasize my point. It was a completely different jaw structure compared to a human or griffin, and while larger, there was a lot more control possible with it. "I think... I think I'm getting it. Maybe earth ponies have bigger tongues because they pick things up with their mouths? Anyways, that's enough of that."

"Agreed." With a flash and a pop, I was back to my feathered self. "Just one more, and I'll let you off the hook." Twilight said.

"Alright. That last one wasn't so bad. Lets keep going."

"Okay, next." Another flash of magic. I checked myself over, and didn't find anything fundamentally different. Still had feathers, claws, beak and all that, so I was still a griffin, and checking myself over, I couldn't really find any differences. That is, till I looked in the mirror. My form was, daintier, than before. I was a bit smaller, had leaner muscle, a smaller beak, and definitely more noticeable curves. Checking myself over again, I noticed a distinct piece of equipment was missing, replaced by...

"... I'm a girl?" As soon as I heard my voice, I clapped my claws over my mouth. It was higher than normal, but it was smoother as well, almost like a song bird. I felt a little woozy, and noticed me center of balance had shifter further to my rear. I turned myself around in front of the mirror to get a better look.

"So... how are you feeling?" Twilight asked.

"... I look hot. I sound hot."

"Okay? Um... yeah, I guess you kinda do... But, how are you feeling?"

"Um. Okay. Let's see... I want to braid your mane, which looks FANTASTIC by the way. Seriously, what conditioner do you use? You should really grow it out."

"Griffin.. stay on topic..."

"Griffin sounds so... I don't know, masculine.. I think I like Elise better... Sounds classy."

"Answer the question!"

I turned to look at the now frustrated unicorn yelling at me, and found myself tearing up.

"...do you hate me?"

"Wha... what?"

"All I was trying to do is help you, and you're yelling at me..." At this point, I lost all semblance of control and just cried it out. "You're just like everyone else! All I try to do is help, and then you just get mad!"

"Griffin, I..."

"No.. *sniff* It's not your fault. Maybe if I wasn't such a fuckup..." I buried my face in my arms.

"Griffin."

"I can't do anything right. Nothing I do ever turns out how I want it to! Now everyone hates me and I hate me too." I felt a hoof on my shoulder.

"Come on, it's not so bad... Nopony hates you..."

"Applejack hates me..."

"Why do you say that?"

"She called me a 'lying, cheating, no good scoundrel' And she's RIIIIIGHT! I'm worthleeeeess. I can't get anywhere in life without cheating! I should just die!"

"You know about that, huh..." She began rubbing the outside of my wing to try and sooth me. It didn't work. I threw my arms up in the air in frustration.

"Oh come on! The whole TOWN knows about that! Applebloom heard Applejack, and then she told Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, and if all three of them know something, you can bet that EVERYONE knows it, because they don't know how to keep their mouths shut, and neither do I. I'm just a big, dumb, blabbermouth." I fell back to the ground, crying again.

"Is there... anything I can get you?" Twilight offered, trying in vain to make me feel better.

"Yeah... a tub of rocky road ice cream, a bubble bath, and a stallion with a big..."

"Aaaand that's enough of that." Flash, pop, I'm suddenly back to normal.

"... heart. I was going to say heart." After some time, spent getting over the awkwardness of what had occurred, I finally managed to regain my wit and continue the conversation.

"No, you weren't." She deadpanned.

"... yeah, you're right. I wasn't. Also, if you ever tell anyone what just happened... I can't think of a proper threat right now. Use your imagination. That goes double for you Spike."

"R...right. Anyways. Thanks for the help. This was... interesting. Let's not do it again."

"Yeah. Okay, but if it does happen again, next time, you're the test subject." I began to walk away, but was interrupted by the little dragon chasing after me.

"Oh! I almost forgot. I somehow wound up with a letter for you." He passed me a neatly rolled up scroll.

"Really?" Maybe it's from Gilda. I was wondering why I didn't get a reply, maybe it's because I don't have dragon blood anymore, so I can't receive messages? "Let me take a look."

Opening the letter, I could immediately see that it was NOT from Gilda, as the writing was more careful and elegant, flowing instead of harsh. Clearly the penmanship of someone who takes great care and diligence.

Griffin,

I regret to inform you that you have inspired a group of look-alikes. A number of griffins, all dying their feathers and styling them to match your own, attempted a raid on our airship earlier today. We defeated them, however, during questioning, the surviving attackers stated that they had the 'real' Captain Griffin on their side, and that they would never betray him. I will investigate further.

Aoi Myoujin.

"Son of a bitch..." I looked to Twilight and Spike. "Sorry. I know, language. I did not need this. Especially not with the mood I'm in." I grabbed a spare parchment and quill to write a reply.

Aoi

Dammit... I do NOT need some crazy wannabe's going around and ruining my good name. I do things MY way. If they wanna join, tell em to head to Signal. If not... I trust you'll use proper judgment. Meaning, if they're just misguided, 'guide' them to a correctional facility, and if they're assholes looking to cause trouble, exterminate with extreme prejudice.

The 'Real' Griffin

"Here Spike. Think you can send this to Aoi?"

"Yeah, sure." With a puff of fire and smoke, the message was on it's way.

"I'm gonna go brutally murder some clouds now."

Author's Notes:

So, these next couple of chapters may take a while, as I'm getting into the plot and I want to do it right, and the chapters may be longer than normal, so, be patient. I'm trying to make sure everything is in order.

This chapter was NOT a shot at women, it's Grif's personality. Rocky Road is the official ice cream of misery, bubble baths are relaxing, and Griffin hasn't gotten laid in over 6 months. (Her) requests to Twilight were entirely reasonable.

Also, next chapter we finally get to see what Gilda and the rest are up to! Yay! Adventure! Violence! Grape Soda!

Aslo, it's 4:00 am! I'm staying up late tonight/morning so I can sleep all afternoon, and then be up all night at work. (Altering my sleep schedule) So, I'll be super tired and miserable this morning at breakfast, sleep all afternoon, so I can go to work for 11 pm-7 am, then sleep all morning and go back to work for 4 pm.