On our return to Equestria, the first place we decided to go was Wingsconsen. Our home. The little apartment we had been renting got squished when Tirek stomped on it. Also the Sweater shack where Gilda worked, and the tailors where I had my job. Most of old Hoofton had been wiped off the map. It was taking them a bit longer to rebuild, given the more secluded location and the fact that there wasn't a magical princess doing the heavy lifting.

"Yeah... can you imagine if we came back here instead of going to Signal?" I motioned to the ruins of our little home. "That could have been us."

Bluster and Gale chirped to each other that they'd have to get a new home as well, since the birdhouse they'd been using got crushed along with our place. Thankfully, something like that is easier to replace, and I eased their concerns.

We stopped by the post office as well. Since we'd been gone, and our house was gone as well, any mail sent to us would have been held there. Thankfully, since the postal service is run by pegasi, the main mail storage was up in the clouds, and survived the attack. There was only one piece of mail, it had arrived only recently, and it was nothing more than a single page.

Griffin,
In light of recent events, there are a great many things we need to discuss. Please come to Canterlot at your leisure.
Princess Celestia.

"Well, I guess she made her decision."

The next stop was Ponyville. The main reason for this, Tirek was headed right for Canterlot, Ponyville is within a stone's throw, and when giant rainbows explode across the sky to get rid of villains, we all know who's responsible. Basically it's where the shit hit the fan, and I wanted to see what the aftermath was.

Most of the town seemed fine, a couple busted up buildings that had long since been repaired, some deep furrows in the fields outside of town, and a big-ass crystal castle where the library used to be. Looks like somebody found a magic plot device, used it to save the day, and got a new house out of the deal. I didn't bother stopping in to say hello. I was satisfied just seeing how things had turned out. So, the next stop was Canterlot.

When we arrived, there was no fanfare, thankfully. The guards just let us in, and we had to wait in line for half a day because Celestia was busy dealing with issues regarding rebuilding towns that got destroyed. I didn't mind waiting. It shows that yes, I may be a king but I'm still a normal person. That and I didn't really care for what she had to say. There was no rush.

When it eventually was our turn, and I do mean 'our' as Gilda, Seth, Bluster and Gale were all with me, the rest of the ponies seeking audience were dismissed and told to come back in an hour.

"I trust you've made your decision?" I asked before she could even begin.

"Currently Griffin, our little spat is the least on my priorities. We're still in the process of rebuilding after a major incident."

"The damage of which could have been minimized if you'd taken any precautions whatsoever but still, go on." I chided.

"In any case... the fact that we were caught unawares like this disturbs me."

"As it should." I replied.

"Then you understand the importance of what I'm about to ask you. In my efforts to quickly and quietly solve a minor issue, it escalated out of control and became a major incident. While nopo... nobody was killed, there was extensive damage to property and livelihoods. Before you left, you made a point of declaring my incompetence in protecting my people. You said it was my strength and wisdom that was lacking. Your challenge to me was to prove that point yes? I'd say Tirek has done a fine job of proving that."

"Get to the point please. My patience is running thin."

"I'd like to officially appoint you as the head of Equestria's emergency tactics council."

"I refuse."

"What?"

"I refuse. I will not advise Equestria on matters of national security."

"If it's due to the conflict of interest, because of your ties to the New Dominion, we can draft an alliance and..."

"I said it before and I'll say it again, I refuse. If you want me to take that position, then make that the stake for our match. If you win, you'll have earned it. I'm not just going to hold your hoof for the heck of it."

"Why must you be so difficult? Having you as an adviser would solve a large number of problems."

"I have my reasons."

"Care to explain them?" She asked hopefully.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because the machinations of my mind are beyond pony comprehension." *ahem* "Woo. Ghost noises." I added sarcastically at the end. Celestia face-hoofed.

"The other matter, your demand for a duel. You said that if you win, I will no longer be 'Princess' Celestia. That is impossible. As long as I am an alicorn, ponies will see me as Princess Celestia. Even if I officially give up my title and position, ponies will still see me as their princess, and there is no magic that can turn an alicorn into a normal pony."

"I see... hmm." I really hadn't thought of that. I must be slipping. In which case, what do I want? What do I want? The obvious answer is more power. Those without power always suffer. If I want to protect my family, I need more power, or, more precisely, more control over the power I already have. My power has been compared to the power of two other beings. Discord, who's power is chaos and totally uncontrollable, and Sombra. Sombra was an ordinary unicorn, not an alicorn, but he had such power that it took both princesses to defeat him, and even then, He didn't die, he pulled the entirety of the crystal empire into a pocket dimension.

"I want King Sombra's library and laboratory."

"Pardon?"

"If I win, I want King Sombra's library and laboratory. I don't mean I want 'access' to it. I don't mean I want to borrow it. I mean I want it to belong to me, to be my own personal possession."

"That is the property of the Crystal empire, not Equestria. you cannot ask me for what I don't have." Celestia replied.

"Well then you better start sending Cadence letters because those are the terms. If you want me to be Equestria's adviser in the event of emergencies, then you better be prepared to give me what I want when you lose." Before she could retort, I turned around and began to walk away.

"Griffin, I won't pretend to completely understand why you refused, but I do think I get it a little. Having you as an adviser means it takes the responsibility off her, and the whole point is that she needs to shape up, not get other people to do it for her." Gilda stated questioningly.

"Yeah, that's part of it. The other part is that I'm really just getting sick of her attitude. 'Oooh, we had a crisis because I'm an idiot and didn't warn anyone. Somepony get someone smarter to do my job for me, whaaaaa.' Oh hey, I know, lets choose the guy who I've already pissed off. I'll pretend I've learned my lesson, then he'll swoop in and rescue me from the overwhelming responsibility of leadership.

When I went to the New Dominion, I told everyone a giant centaur monster was coming to steal their souls. Nobody panicked. Not the griffins, not the diamond dogs, not even the ponies living there. They said 'What can we do?' I told them what we can do, and we did it. If ponies in Equestria caught wind of it there would be a mass riot. Ponies in one town didn't even know that the next town over was getting ransacked. If they did there'd be hysteria."

"Is it.... because of confi... confi... confettii...?" Seth began.

"Confidence?" Gilda added hopefully.

"That's the one."

"Ponies in Equestria are so used to looking to Celestia for protection, but time and again when they're in danger she does nothing. Nightmare Moon? She got imprisoned in the sun. Discord? Powerless. Changeling invasion? She wound up in a goo pod. Tirek? Again nothing. Ponies don't have confidence in Luna because they still remember 'Nightmare Moon'. Twilight only just became a princess so she doesn't have a reputation yet. Where as I've been there for the New Dominion since the beginning. Everyone there was actually hoping Tirek would show up so we could collectively kick his ass.

Ponies are already starting to lose faith in their beloved Celestia. If I'm right about this, I'm going to completely thrash her, and that's going to crush the last bit of confidence they have in her. Maybe then they'll start standing up on their own. Speaking of which, I need to find an old quarry."

"What for?" Gilda asked.

"I wanna see what I can really do if I go all out.