Chapter 1: A Grifforian Legend

It had been a month since the adventure at the treasure filled cave. The group of nine that had gone on that journey had spent the money that they had earned. Rainbow Dash built a training ground for herself so that she could try to improve her chances of becoming a Wonderbolt. She had filled it with obstacles and all sorts of things. She made sure that she could train herself in every single way possible. Being a fast flier was very important but Rainbow Dash also needed to be agile and have fast reflexes. Her obstacle course trained all of that and more. Her two friends Gilda and Lightning Dust used the area a lot as well since they both shared that very same dream. The two of them were just as passionate about joining The Wonderbolts as Rainbow Dash was. Meanwhile Lightning Dust used her share of money to expand her house quite a bit. At first the daredevil's home had been a really small building with only one bedroom, one bathroom, and a rather poor kitchen. The daredevil didn't even have a living room in her house. However after some major renovations, Lightning Dust's house had gotten a much needed upgrade.

Lightning Dust's house now had a very large living room as well as two bathrooms. The living room sported two blue sofas with very soft cushions as well as a red rug. The bathrooms had white ceramic toilets, sinks, and bathtubs. The daredevil had a large bedroom all for herself as well as another smaller bedroom for her guests. Her kitchen had been upgraded by quite a bit to include a better refrigerator and stove as well as a dining table. The house itself was also a lot nicer looking on the outside since it had been given a fresh coat of paint. However majority of the money was spent on a very interesting new feature in Lightning Dust's living room. One day the daredevil invited her friends over for a party. Then she flipped a switch and something really incredible had happened. The floor flipped over to reveal a really bright and multicolored dance floor with several tiles that would change their colors every couple seconds or so. There were also plenty of bright and colorful lights beaming down on the dance floor as well as some catchy music playing. Lightning Dust could now turn her living room into her own personal dance club with the simple flick of a switch. She confessed to her friends that she had wanted something like this for a long time.

The others also found ways to spend their money. Spike had used a good portion of his money on his date with Rarity but he still had a considerable amount leftover. He only sold the gems that he'd need to sell and he kept the rest of them for himself. He baked a gem cake and it was delicious. Spike had loved every single bite of the dessert that he had made. His mouth was watering the entire time he was making the cake. Thankfully Rarity had worked with him and she had made sure that Spike didn't eat all of the gems that he needed for the cake. The white unicorn had used up most of her gems as part of some new designs that she was working on. She gave the remaining gems to Spike since he loved them so much. Applejack had used all of the bits that she had made to help out her family as well as the farm. They had gotten some much needed improvements to the equipment that they had which had helped them get work done faster. This would make their farm much more productive. Applejack had also built a building for Apple Bloom and her friends to practice their music. Though this had been very generous it was also due to the fact that the foursome's practice got very noisy since they were a rock band. Fluttershy used her bits to give her animal friends a much better environment to live in. Now their homes were a lot more comfortable than they had been before since they had a lot more space. Pinkie Pie had spent her bits on various ingredients for a new batch of cupcakes. When they were finally ready she shared them with her friends and all nine of them said that they were very delicious. Gilda had decided to save her bits since she didn't need anything for the moment though she did decide to treat herself to an expensive piece of salmon from a restaurant. Twilight Sparkle had used her own share of the treasure to hire some extra help around the castle. While Spike was undoubtedly a really fantastic assistant, Twilight Sparkle knew that the dragon couldn't do everything. She also didn't want his job to interfere with his new relationship with Rarity since the duo were getting along extremely well.

Finally there was Trixie. The showmare had spent half of her bits on new equipment for her shows. Her equipment would create very flashy effects which Trixie would use for her performances. After this, the showmare decided to buy herself some new clothes. Trixie loved her cape and hat but she felt like she should have other things to wear besides her stage outfit. The blue unicorn had bought herself two new outfits with the bits that she had had leftover. One of the outfits was something that she could wear casually whenever she wasn't performing in front of a crowd. The ensemble consisted of a blue zip up hoodie with light blue stars on the elbows and a yellow waistband, a light purple undershirt, a purple and light blue skirt, blue and purple boots, and a star shaped accessory that was placed in her mane. Trixie had also bought herself a somewhat fancy blue dress which had been styled similar to her cape. She had also bought similar clothing for Twilight Sparkle though her clothes were purple instead of blue. Trixie had made sure that Twilight Sparkle's clothing were designed like her own stage outfit. Instead of five pointed stars Twilight Sparkle's outfit would have six pointed stars like the ones on her cutie mark. The adventure also brought the group of ten closer together. They had become much better friends as a result of the treasure hunt.

The group of ten were inside of Lightning Dust's house as Twilight Sparkle read a story that she saw in a book that she had bought. It was a fantasy story but everypony enjoyed it. It was a legend like Nightmare Moon but much more fantastical and interesting. It was a bestselling story so Twilight Sparkle decided to read it to her friends. The alicorn read as her nine friends listened to her intently. They enjoyed hearing these types of stories that held their attention. Everypony applauded when the story was finished. All of them talked amongst themselves as Rainbow Dash turned to her best friend Gilda and spoke.

"Hey G." Rainbow Dash said. "Do they have any stories like that in Grifforia?"

Gilda drank down her glass of cider and thought for a moment. She didn't know many Grifforian stories and most of the ones she knew would not be appreciated by her friends since Grifforian books often portrayed ponies in a very negative light due to the general hatred of ponies amongst griffons.

"Not many." she replied. "Most of 'em are pretty bad. But there's one good one. The Legend of The Golden Griffon."

This caught the attention of the other nine friends. All of them wanted to hear about this story. Gilda didn't have very many stories from Grifforia so this was a rare treat. Gilda was never much for storytelling yet whenever she did tell one she always kept her audience's attention. Every single one of the nine friends was excited to hear the story. Gilda smiled slightly at the attention and spoke to her friends.

"I don't have the book." she said. "So I'm only gonna tell ya what I can remember."

Gilda looked thoughtful for a moment and then she started telling the story to her friends.

"A long time ago." Gilda began. "There was a pony that ruled over Grifforia with an iron hoof. Every single griffon was terrified of him. He treated all griffons horribly. He had his throne and everything he wanted while griffons got nothing. Any griffon that tried to fight him got destroyed."

The nine friends listened intently as Gilda continued telling the story. They weren't sure if it was true or false but it was certainly interesting. They had never imagined Grifforia being ruled by a pony dictator. Grifforia and Equestria had a very tense relationship and most griffons hated ponies with a passion. Gilda was a rare exception to this and she was pretty friendly to most ponies.

"For years no one could beat him." Gilda said. "Dozens of griffons tried but all of them lost. Eventually they all gave up hope and felt like they were going to be under his control forever. Then one day she appeared out of nowhere."

"Who?" the nine friends asked in unison as they hung on Gilda's every word. This story had certainly caught their attention and they were eager to hear more about it. The brown and white griffon was definitely surprised and just a little bit flattered by how enthralled her friends were by her tale.

"The Golden Griffon." Gilda replied. "She lost her husband to the pony ruler and she wasn't happy. She stood up to the pony and they fought. No matter how many hits she took the griffon just wouldn't quit. She wanted to take that pony down for herself and every other griffon. She wanted to free Grifforia."

Gilda's voice changed as she recited the conversation that took place between the two as they fought the battle that would decide the fate of Grifforia. The young female griffon had a tan body and a white head. Her emerald green eyes glared at the pony that she was facing. The pony dictator was a muscular earth pony like Big Macintosh. However his body was a dark jet black color with a long dark brown mane and tail. His cold steel gray eyes glared angrily back at the griffon as he fought against her.

"Surrender you insolent little whelp." the dictator pony had said angrily as he lunged at his opponent. "You have no chance of beating me."

"I'll never give up." the female griffon replied in a voice of fierce determination as she quickly dodged his ferocious attack and countered with her own. "You destroyed my husband."

"And what a pathetic creature he was." the pony replied nastily as he blocked the griffon's punch. "He had no chance of stopping me. Someone that was so weak and worthless couldn't hope to accomplish anything. He wasn't fit to trim my mane let alone defeat me."

"That's when the griffon started glowing." Gilda said as her friends listened to her with awe on their faces. "Her whole body was covered in light and then she changed her colors. Her entire body was golden. Then she fought against the pony and destroyed him the same way he destroyed all of the griffons he fought."

The dictator pony was on the ground. He had finally been defeated. Many griffons came out of their hiding places and stared at their fallen enemy. His cold gray eyes could no longer strike fear into their hearts anymore. He had truly been defeated by The Golden Griffon. All of the griffons looked right at The Golden Griffon who was standing triumphantly next to the defeated dictator glaring down at him.

"It is over!" The Golden Griffon shouted in a loud and clear voice as she stared at the surrounding griffons. "The evil pony's reign of terror has come to an end! Grifforia is finally free!"

The griffons cheered and they hailed The Golden Griffon as a hero. She was then quickly chosen to be the new leader of Grifforia. Her story had been passed down through generations and she was a legend. Every griffon knew about the story of The Golden Griffon and how she had saved Grifforia from the evil pony. This had led to Grifforia being able to protect itself. It also led to a massive distrust of ponies which was part of what caused the first war between Grifforia and Equestria over fifty years ago.

Gilda's story came to a close and her nine friends clapped. They hadn't expected a story like this but they had really enjoyed it. Gilda wasn't usually a storyteller but she had done an incredible job at keeping the group of nine interested and entertained. Every one of the nine friends who had been listening to the griffon's story was now wondering the same thing: was the story actually real?

"Did it really happen?" Rainbow Dash asked in a curious tone.

"No idea." Gilda replied. "No one knows if The Golden Griffon's real. I don't even know if there was a pony dictator."

The group of ten hung out together for a while and they were in high spirits. Lightning Dust's house was perfect for parties. Since her house was on the ground, anypony could visit not just pegasi. All of the friends chatted with each other as they had a good time. They might not have had much in common with each other but they always did enjoy each other's company. The ten friends were all in very good moods as they went back to their houses and fell asleep. Everything was quiet, tranquil, and peaceful in Ponyville as the night went on. Nothing could bring down the positive moods of the ten friends.

Or so they had thought.

Meanwhile many miles away in the country of Grifforia, two griffons stood plotting a very malicious and evil scheme. One was a large and muscular male griffon while the other was a light and agile female griffon. The two half lion half eagle creatures were alone as they had their discussion.

"Tonight's the night." the male griffon said in a determined tone.

"We shall finally have our revenge on those ponies." the female replied excitedly.

"All of Equestria will bow before us and serve us just like they're supposed to." the male continued with a very wicked grin on his face.

"And that traitor Gilda will learn her lesson." the female finished with a malicious smile.

The two griffons laughed maniacally as a group of five griffons took to the skies and flew off into the distance on their way to the city of Canterlot inside of Equestria. The griffons had been planning this for a long time so the five that were now flying didn't even need to be told to go to Equestria. The two griffons were confident that their plan would be very successful. This was going to be a very big catastrophe for the citizens of Equestria.

Author's Note: Trixie's outfit is pretty much what she wears in Equestria Girls. (I haven't seen EG yet but I did see a picture of FiM Trixie wearing her EG outfit and I thought it was cute so I decided to include it.) Also Lightning Dust having a dance floor in her house was a random idea that struck me and I decided to add it in just for entertainment reasons.