TheCustodian

Gaston grumbled as he got back onto his feet to glare at his foe, his nemesis, the creature that dared knock him down! THE GATE...

[colour=#ffa07a]~A gate?~[/colour] well that certainly was em- No. A griffon such as himself never made mistakes like this. Somehow it was the fault of someone else that the griffon had not looked where he was going.

[colour=#a9a9a9]"I do believe these metal bars won't ever again dare to commit any ultimate offends against you. [/colour][colour=#a9a9a9]You've shown them for good."[/colour] The griffon grinned at that completely missing the sarcasm and regarded the pony who had spoken. Of course he had show them. He was Gaston! If there was a deity that had created them the griffon was that beings ultimate gift to the world. A creature that was the embodiment of everything a griffon would aspire to be.

[colour=#b22222]"Of course i did! No piece of steel is going to stop Gaston!" [/colour]sure enough the part of the gate he had impacted was heavily bent. Not that Gaston cared, he didnt have to fix this mess... Brushing himself the griffon paused for a moment wishing he had a mirror to ensure his perfect looks were still... Perfect?

[colour=#ffa07a]~Wait a sec~[/colour] without pausing for a moment the griffon bent down to peer at the handsome reflection he saw in Ardent's armor. Running a claw over his head feathers the griffon flashed a winning smile (Thankfully no mares were around to see it... Last time that happened the griffon was forced to flee Canterlot for the week)*

[colour=#b22222]"You may resume your duties pony. Nothing to see here, well besides that dragon over there"[/colour] he calmly stated flicking a claw over to Huscarl. Despite the dragons attempts to stay hidden he was not about to escape the notice of a seasoned hunter like Gaston. For a brief moment the griffon considered attacking the red dragon but decided that it was not worth his time. He only challenged himself with adult dragons. Monstrosities that only a heroic creature like himself could defeat.**

The griffons thoughts*** on the teen dragon were interrupted however with the arrival of a peculiar garbed mare, at least she showed the griffon proper respect causing Gaston to smile [colour=#b22222]"Unfortunately my dear the Duke is away on business. However I can definitely be of help to you. After all my father plans on on me succeeding him and as such I am more than qualified to perform his duties in his absence"[/colour] Gaston boasted in response while striking a pose. THis was exactly the kind of thing he had been looking for. [colour=#ffa07a]~Sister will be nothing once father learns of what i have done here. Whatever it is.~[/colour]

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* It is highly unlikely that Gaston had to leave because of any crazed mares. Despite what he thinks the griffon does not truly attract that many females (Although a small fan club does exist, headed by a rather crazed grey unicorn seemingly obsessed with the griffon. Restraining orders have been placed but they do little to stop her advances)

** Gaston does indeed hunt dragons... However it is unknown weather he has ever suceeded in taking one down. It should be noted he has no trophies of the creatures unlike the dozens of antlers and bear pelts he has laying about at home.

*** The term is used rather generously here

I dont see why Crystal ponies couldnt be made OC's... That said they dont seem to have much aside from the crystal in the eyes and a body that seems to act like a mood ring ~.~

What im more worried about is the whole 'dark magic thing'...

It was yet another fine day in the city of Canterlot. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and the streets were bustling with life as ponies went about their daily business.

[colour=#ffa07a]~How dull~[/colour]

High above them all a griffon flew lazily between the towering spires of the city, his wings flapping only from time to time as he used thermals and other rising air currents to keep himself aloft. Calmly Gaston peered at the masses below him seeming like some sort of bird of prey ready to pounce upon an unsuspecting citizen. IN reality however the griffons mind was elsewhere, its nerves working overtime as its owner tried to think about events that had recently transpired at his home.

[colour=#ffa07a]~That foolish child! Who is she to intrude upon what is so obviously mine!~[/colour] Gaston thought in irritation not considering that the 'child' in question was the same age as him. Ever since his sister had moved in with Gaston and his father things had gone steadily downhill for the griffon. Where the position of ambassador to Equestria had once been a guaranteed thing now his father was beginning to doubt in his sons abilities to succeed him.

[colour=#ffa07a]~And all because that bird brained sister of mine had the guts to help him out! The nerve!~[/colour] Gaston growled. He had reviewed his fathers proposals earlier and they had seemed perfectly fine. The demands upon equestria had been clear and blunt, in other words the norm for what the griffon kingdoms demanded in their trade agreements with Equestria.

[colour=#ffa07a]~The griffon way! Only cowards hide behind fancy words and sentences... Pah! Equestria must fear us! How could they do that if we try to use trickery and... And.... stuff~ [/colour]pouting the griffon began to descend lower down where the air traffic was a little busier with pegasi coming and going as they delivered messages or other business.

[colour=#ffa07a]~Ill show them... But how...~ [/colour]As his mind worked overtime trying to figure this out the griffon landed suddenly in front of the Aquellian embassy, scattering a small group of ponies who had been shocked by his appearance. Gaston payed them no heed though. For now all he cared about was finding something to do that would upstage his sister. His father was out of Canterlot for the time being meaning his office was empty... Surely there was something in there he could help make better!

With this new goal set the griffon charged forward, only to run smack dab into something and fall to the ground.

[colour=#b22222]"Who dares!?!"[/colour]

Cantrip suppressed a groan as the teacher began to pair them all up. She didn't want to know anything about her classmates, the filly couldn't care less what they liked, their histories, even their names... Unless that information helped her escape at a later date Cantrip figured there was no point learning it.

~Oh well~ she thought in defeat and turned to regard Gold Standard.

"You know my name, I like ice cream, magic and cats..." she explained quickly , of that list only the magic part was truthful. "Now tell me your information so that we can get this over with..."

Changed.

A million books? And each holding information about this land, its people, and culture... While Snowdrift was not a fan of how the ponies stored their information he couldn't fault them for having so much of it. Idl the caribou wondered if it would be possible to ever read them all? Probably not but that didn't mean he couldn't try! Despite his high hopes though Snodrift knew he still needed to figure out how to read...

As the pair approached the group of young ponies Snowdrift couldn't help but smile a bit as they began to bombard him and Gerrard with questions. The caribou had always liked calves, and it seemed that pony children were no different. Curious, loud, and full of energy. That said he was amused to see they were quite tiny compared to caribou calves, then again Snowdrift himself was larger than regular ponies.

"Yes my horns are odd, they are called antlers actually" he calmly told one of the children with a hint of amusement in his voice. Turning his attention to their supervisor he nodded in greeting "Hello, sorry that me and my companion and disturbing you" he said slightly apologetic.. He didnt mention why he was here, it didnt seem important but Snowdrift did not feel that embarrassed to be learning to read. He was a stranger to these lands, he knew this wouldnt be his first awkward experience. "So where should we start Gerrard?"

App switched to FInal since Gaston got his stamp As i said i nthe other app the feud between the siblings will not get into any serious territory and... Yeah

Crystal. Its not really gonna get that bad. (Mostly gonna be funny really as Gaston stumbles about trying to be witty and show up his sister)

Snowdrift shook his head at Gerrards explanation. How could they all live like that? Acting to one another like predators? Honestly the griffon seemed to be one of the friendliest creatures in this city... Which was saying quite a bit considering the caribou still couldn't bring himself to trust him completely.

"It all seems... Stupid really..." he muttered with a sigh before returning his attention to the books "THere must be thousands of these books here... Where does one start?" well probably at reading. Snowdrift would need to figure that out before he could even attempt to digest the information contained here "And I can take these books away from here?" he added hopefully. While the building interior was nice he still like to stay outdoors under an open sky...

Ok...

What...

Just...

Happened?

Snowdrift stood there in complete confusion as the mass of ponies rampaged away leaving much of the library empty. Events had moved so fast, one minute the students had been angry with him, the next they were chasing one of thier own over a small misunderstanding..

"I don... WHOA" the sentence never finished as the caribou was yanked by Gerrard into a bookshelf. Flailing his hooves in worry he eventually calmed down seeing that he was in no real danger and it was all just a prank... Frowning at the laughing griffon Snowdrift bent over picking up the book he had dropped and replaced it on the shelf

"Oh ha ha..." he muttered with a bit of annoyance but remembered what he had been thinking about before the prank.

"Can you explain to me what just happened?" it certainly did not help the caribou to see ponies as anything less than weird.. If anything they seemed even weirder now.

Cantrip only payed a little attention to the colt as he made his way to the front, her focus for the most part still being the wall, then the window. Then... Well lets just say her gaze wandered allot. It didn't take a genius to see that the filly was rather bored with everything. The idea of hearing every colt and filly introduce themselves and show off a spell or two did little to excite her.

Sighing the fillies eyes finally reached the front of the class where she watched the colt's trick with slight disinterest [colour=#ee82ee]~When are we gonna start learning something? Or at least see-~ [/colour]Cantrips thoughts were interrupted for a moment she watched Gold Standard waver and eventually fall, only to be caught by Misty Magic... As the rest of the class applauded the save Cantrip sighed but joined in half heartedly. While she didn't really want to see anypony hurt she couldn't help but feel that maybe the Colt shouldn't have done something so silly to get himself in that position that he would need saving.

AS mentioned at the start of the app Im waiting for the other app I made to be accepted before this goes to final

~What?~

After listening to Gerrards explanation (And still not really getting it) the caribou finally noticed how the ponies around him and how they all seemed to be angry at something. Perring down at the pony in front of him the caribou couldnt help but smirk somewhat. If he was trying to be intimidating he certainly was not doing a good job of it.

"Im here because i was curious as to what a library was and my companion here decided to show me around." he replied bluntly while gesturing to Gerrard. The comment about his antlers however...

"I don't have horns... They are antlers. And while they may be strange by your standards ill have you know my rack is quite impressive to those within my tribe" he replied calmly trying not to sound condescending or rude. it was a matter of pride for the caribou. BAck home ones antlers tended to denote ones importance and position. For Snowdrift to have such large antlers at this age was surprising and many had expected great things of him... If he hadnt been so prone to wandering.

"By my standards the tiny nubs you call horns are something one would find on a calf."

Roleplay Type: World of Equestria

Name: Gaston

Sex: Male

Age: Young adult

Species: Griffon

Eye colour: Blue

Feathers: Red

Mane/Tail/Markings colour & Style: Black and Brown

Physique: Well built, a little larger than his sister (Roughly the size of a barge). You'd be hard pressed to find someone half as manly... For there's no one as burly or brawny, (If he could give them away hed have biceps to spare). Not a bit of him's scraggly or scrawny. Perfect, a pure paragon. Has quite a thick neck. Never has Gaston met another griffon with a thicker one. Lastly every last bit of the griffon is covered in hair (or feathers)

Origin/Residence: Talonpolis, Now residing in Canterlot

Occupation: Spoiled Brat? Protege? Hunter?

Motivation: To eventually be ambassador and replace his father.

Likes: Females, himself, anything that would boost his ego, hunting, parties, Eggs (eats about 4 dozen a day... Er, make that 5, hes grown up now)

Dislikes: Being beaten. Others who don't think hes all that. Those beneath him, his sister, 'boring things', being upstaged, thinking (A dangerous passtime), Reading (There arnt enough pictures usually)

Character Summary:

Our tale begins with their parents Duke Guillaume and his wife Gislain, two griffons who’s relationship was one purely out of convenience rather than love. They didn’t hate one another or course however the nature of the Dukes profession kept the pair separated for months at a time and over time any love between the two faded away.

Duke Guillaume was and still is ambassador for Aquellia to Equestria. His wife however did not wish to live a life travelling about and decided to stay at their home in Talonpolis. As time went on the two slowly drifted apart, but not before having their two and only children Gaston and Gabrielle.

Right from the get go the two griffons were unique. Twins are a rare thing for griffons, true twins. The chances of two gryphlings emerging from the same egg, and surviving, are almost unheard of, then again Gaston is no ordinary griffon. It only makes sense that his birth be something as unique as he is.

Taking particular interest in his son, Duke Guillaume would often take him away to Canterlot and beyond seeing the young Gaston as his potential successor. Gaston grew up taught to be the very image of his species. Prideful, arrogant, and unyielding Gaston is everything a pony thinks of when they think of griffons.

Gaston spent most of his life in Canterlot, mingling with the elite of pony society with his father and touring the nation. The duke made sure that if his son was he would be able to play the political game and also know as much as possible regarding the creatures he would be spending time with.

For awhile this continued, Gaston would only return home to Aquila every now and then to spend brief amounts of time with his mother and sister. During these periods Gabrielle would often try to make a connection with her twin but with no success. Gaston was simply too different, too perfect a griffon to have any sort of a sibling relationship. Where one was loud, flamboyant and brutish the other was calm, quiet and thoughtful. In the end Gaston really didn’t like his sister, a feeling that would increase as events would lead to the two living with each other.

It was a couple months after his birthday when fate would scheme to bring the two together. Gislain had contracted a terminal illness and would pass away later that winter. While Gabrielle was technically old enough to live on her own the Duke decided to take in her daughter to live with them in Canterlot, feeling somewhat guilty for not having spent enough time with his family after the loss of his wife.

For a while things were fine in the family. Gabrielle tended to keep to herself, something Gaston was perfectly fine with. He had functions to attend, ponies to bedazzle with his presence, and female griffons to woo (whenever he could find them). So long as his sister stayed out of his way Gaston was happy. Of course once again fate would intervene to make sure she did just that.

After Gabrielle’s successful counseling to the Duke her position within the family changed dramatically (See her application for more details). Guillaume saw that his daughter was very capable of playing the political game and even had the potential to outmaneuver his pony counterparts where he himself had failed. As an ambassador Guillaume was rather blunt about what he wanted from Equestria and was little more than a thug at the negotiation table. Traits he had groomed in his son.

The change was something Gaston despised. He was fathers favorite, he was supposed to be the next ambassador to Equestria. Not his sister. Determined to get his way Gaston was not going to give up his inheritance without a fight. Lately he has been thinking of ways to remove his sister from the equation but no concrete ideas have surfaced. Given time though something will certainly work. After all no one plots like Gaston!

Personality and Abilities: Gaston is… A jerk. While he is brave, strong and a prime example of Aquila he has also inherited many traits from his father that most would find… Disturbing. Brutish and egotistic Gaston does not take no for answer and when he wants something you can be sure he will do whatever it takes to get it. Having been born in the lap of luxury he has a tendency to think everything should be handed to him on a silver platter. That said Gaston does know how to lie through his teeth and ‘pretend’ to like others like any politician. No ones slick as Gaston or capable of putting on a convincing façade to make others think him as sincere or genuine when he really could care less.

Aside from his acting Gaston is an avid and skilled hunter, to him there it is more than just a way to get food. It’s a sport. He makes no attempts to hide his carnivorous ways from the ponies often displaying trophies of his kills for those who visit so that he could boast (He tries to use antlers in all his decorating). Often the griffon will venture out into the wild to find 'beasts' he can defeat and bring back home as trophies. Lastly Gaston enjoys fighting and wrestling for sport (Be it a bar fight or something more, structured) in the ring he has no equal, and even if there were such a thing he isnt above playing dirty to get an advantage (Many foes have left the ring with bite marks). Gaston is a great hunter, often venturing out in to the wild to find 'beasts' he can defeat and bring back to his home as a trophy.

Pic: Face and body design may change in the next couple days. Needs a manly cleft in his chin for petes sake! (among other things)

Roleplay Type: World of Equestria

Name: Gabrielle

Sex: Female

Age: Young adult

Species: Griffon

Eye colour: Blue

Feathers: Red, slightly darker than her brothers

Mane/Tail/Markings colour & Style: A mix of Brown and Black

Physique: Much slimmer than her brother but not quite smaller.

Cutie Mark: N/A

Origin/Residence: Talonpolis, Now Canterlot

Occupation: Student of Political Sciences at Canterlot university

Motivation: Unsure. For now to simply do well in class and graduate. She doesnt particularly want to inherit her father position

Likes: A good book, quiet, being right, learning, winning, flying (not going fast or anything. Just flying around freely)

Dislikes: Arrogance, her brother, being wrong, those who would harm hers or her family's pride

Character Summary:

Like her twin brother Gaston, Gabrielle is the child of Duke Guillaume and his wife Gislain. For the most part she had a rather average life growing up. Where her brother was taken away to Equestria to live with her father, Gislain raised the gryphling like any other griffon would. She attended school, made friends… Kinda. For the most part Gabrielle was a bit of a loner, usually found reading a book or studying.

For the most part Gabrielle did quite well, her grades were high and was looking forward to continuing her education. Her mother had done a great job raising her to be a smart if somewhat reclusive griffon. Unfortunately things would take a turn for the when Gislain fell to illness. Like her twin it was only a couple months after her birthday and the death impacted both Gabrielle and her father deeply. Guillaume regretted not spending more time with her wife while Gabrielle lost the most important figure in her life. Even Gaston mourned despite never getting along with their mother.

When all was said and done however a problem remained. Gabrielle had nowhere to go. While she was certainly old enough to live on her own Guillaume made the offer for her to stay with him and her brother in Canterlot. Using some of his influence the Duke was able to secure her a place at the university, it was a pointless gesture though, Gabrielle could have gained admittance on her own thanks to her high marks.

Days turned to weeks, which then turned to months and years. Gabrielle, at the suggestion of her father, studied political sciences at the university. As for her brother the griffon made a couple attempts to form a friendly bond but they were rebuffed. The two personalities clashed too much and Grabrielle found herself disliking Gaston a fair bit, not that he noticed.

Their relationship would sour even more a couple years after their mothers death. One night the griffon came home to find documents left behind by their father detailing a trade agreement between Equestria and Aquellia. Having studied these things, Gabrielle took the opportunity to look them over. Usually it was Gaston that was forced to study and even then he did so with mild enthusiasm. Her brother was more interested in the parties and social events that frequently dragged him about Canterlot. That or some new pony or griffon female Gaston had set his eye on.

After much examination Gabrielle went to her father with suggestion on ways to improve the document so as to skew it in favour of the griffons over the long run. Amused by his daughters suggestions the Duke decided to try them out, they certainly seemed harmless to the average observer. The result however surprised them both.

Duke Guillaume was a very blunt politician. Over the years he had built up a reputation among his peers of being straightforward and unsubtle in his dealings with Equestria. So it came as quite a surprise when the trade agreement manages to pass through the ranks of government, its changes unnoticed by the ponies who did not realize that the document was weighted in Aquellia favour as opposed to a fair and balanced trade benefiting both nations equally. The fact that it reached the highest levels of Equestria’s government before being rejected was shocking.

The results cast Gabrielle in a new light for the Duke. For years he had tried to train his son to be his successor and despite some shortcomings the griffon was well on his way to being a clone of his father. Gabrielle however… She had the mind to scheme and be subtle. With a bit more training and time the Duke figured she would be able to assure Aquellian dominance instead of the equality and stifling balance that the ponies tried to maintain. Gabrielle doesn’t mind this. She had wanted to be close to her father for a long time and this seemed like a great way for them to bond. Her brother however feels threatened by this turn of events and its only made their relationship worse.

Personality: Gabrielle is… Quiet. Where her brother is loud and boastful, she is silent and calculating. Where Gaston would display himself for the world to see , his sister would prefer to remain unnoticed so that she could work in peace. She is quite literally his opposite. Some would say it’s almost ungriffon like… And in a way they are right. Gabrielle tends to keep to herself and her studies, only disturbing others when she absolutely must. That isn’t to say shes a push over. Like all griffons she can be quite fearsome when angered or her pride is harmed, it just takes allot for her to get in such a mood.

Pic:

Snowdrift couldn't help but grimace as he spat out the vine. He'd never eaten the like before but he knew plants didnt have such a dry plastic taste. "Its fake... Unless vines are supposed to be dry and tasteless" he muttered somewhat confused. Fake plants... Well the caribou supposed it was better than having real ones lying about just asking to be eaten. But even then it was confusing to him. Why would they feel the need to pretend that these things were the real thing?

"Ponies are weird..." he muttered knowing the griffon could probably hear him. His thoughts were interrupted though as they entered the library. It was massive! Easily the largest structure he had ever been in (not that he had been in many.) He didnt even hear Gerrad's words and began to wander away, his eyes glued to the building itself. How could such a space exist inside what had looked much smaller from outside? Perhaps it was a trick of the eye?

And then there were the books. So many books! Looking around Snowdrift grabbed one at random in his cloven hooves. He hadn't even noticed the pony he had accidently bumped and was now staring at him. The pony wasn't the only one. The entrance of not only a griffon but an alien creature was bound to garner attention. Snowdrift though was too busy trying to make sense of the book he was holding to notice.

"How do they even understand this giberish?"

"Both" he muttered in response to the first question as he gazed around. The amount of food here was truly astounding and really the fact none of the ponies were eating it was the only thing stopping the caribou from grabbing a snack "They dont seem to act like the rest of the ponies in the city... And really i am starting to get hungry now" If the tribe could see this... Usually in the winter food was scarce and sometimes the tribe would starve if it was a harsh year... This however...

"But how does a piece of paper... Actually never mind. I guess its like your books." he sighed rolling his eyes. Readin... That would be something he knew he should learn. It seemed like it was a mandotory skill needed if a pony wanted to get ahead in life.

"Anyway lead the way to the library..."

Once again the fillies thoughts were interrupted. Not by an adult though... Glancing beside her Cantrip gave the golden colored unicorn who's name she did not know, nor did she really want to learn either.

[colour=#dda0dd]"Yeah... Just peachy" [/colour]the filly muttered sarcasticly in response as she returned to staring at the wall as if expecting it to dissolve away giving her a chance at freedom. No such luck. Although the filly was rather amused by a spider she noticed making a web, to her it seemed to be loads more interesting than learning her classmates names and what they could do. Arrogantly the filly thought herself above them, she really didn't even need to be here.

A few thousand? Snowdrifts tribe would only number a couple thousand at most when it was time for migration. To have so many ponies staying in one place... Where did the resources to sustain such a population come from? It boggled the caribous mind. Thinking about this he almost bumped into a unicorn pair as they rushed by. Muttering an apology he was surprised to see the two had not even slowed, too much in a rush to notice the near miss...

"Weird..."

As Gerrard spoke to the guards Snowdrift couldn't help but notice how they looked almost identical to one another. Was it an illusion? Did they only recruit white stallions as guards? The later seemed silly but who knows what really goes on in the land of magical ponies.

"Do you carry that thing everywhere?" Snowdrift asked once they passed the guards. The framedpiece of paper must have been important for the guards to just let them go by. "What makes it so important?"

Its pegasi only though right? Im hoping to make this group rather mixed in membership. (especially if we get enough griffons, cynogriffs or hippogriffs, then it can be aquilan in a way)

Right. So im pitching this out there for ya'll to consider and to gauge popularity for this little idea.

So.. The idea is in the title. A group of characters banding together with the aim of creating their own aerobatics group similar to the bolts. Originally this idea had been griffon only, say Aquila decided that they wanted their own group, but I think making it available to all characters is better.

So yeah. Im looking for ponies, griffons, hippogriffs... Anything capable of flight, and want a reason to be part of the group. They need to be rather skilled not only at flying but also teamwork.

Let me be clear. This is not a group setting out for vengeance on the bolts or anything. There's no fighting them, or violence. At most I would like for there to be friendly rivalry between the groups. This group is here only to do performances and shows.

Roster: (Looking for 12 at most. 9 on duty with the rest either training, resting, or whatever. If interested just post name, race... Desired position)

1:The Twins

2:The Twins (Both these characters will be created in the next couple days. They are a pair of Griffons)

3:

4:

5:

6:

7:

8:

9:

10:

11:

12:

Doesnt need to be 12 exactly. NPC's can be used to fill in empty slots.

Other things:

I need things like name, a logo, colors. (Im leaning towards red as a theme).

I also will need things like a coach and public relations things. So dont just think that non fliers are exempt. These would be outside the 12 member roster.

History. Should be easy enough to brainstorm something out. You want this group to be completely new? Or something old that only now is making its way into the public eye.

Theres many things we can do here so any ideas you have let me know.

Snowdrift listened attentively as the griffon spoke wondering what he meant by leaving his mark all over the land. Farming was another concept new to him and he wondered what the griffon meant "How exactly did you leave your mark? These farms... Did you make them?" he asked curiously as they began approach the university.

It was not like anything Snowdrift had expected. The large buildings were no surprise but in some strange way they seemed to stand apart from the rest of the city. "Wow... How many ponies go here?" here muttered quietly not expecting an answer from Gerrard. There was another thing that struck Snowdrift as odd. All the vegetation in this city, an no ponies seemed to have any desire to eat it. It was as if they put it there as scenery. This university had tons of it...

Snowdrift raised an eyebrow in amusement at Gerrards first comment "Well until now all your kind did was eat use. We've never seen anything to believe otherwise" he replied with a bit of a laugh. "And to be honest it will take more than one tame griffon to convince the rest of my tribe that griffons might be worth speaking to. I just happen to be odd in that sense." really odd. Snowdrift knew he was the only member of the tribe willing to follow a griffon to who knows where. Well... Except maybe Eir.. And that's only if she was following Snowdrift to begin with. He wondered what his sister would say if she were here...

~Probably try to convince me to turn around and run home...~ Snowdrift thought in amusement but felt a pang of sadness remembering that he still had family back home that thought him dead or lost...

"Ive always thought of life to be one large adventure, to see the world and experience things no one has ever experienced before. And hopefully at the end of it you will have left some kind of impression on those who follow you after you are gone." it was a noble thought and Snowdrift was thinking his exploration of Equestria might do just that for his tribe if ever he found them again.

As he ducked low to avoid catching his antlers on some low lying plants Snowdrift frowned "I see... Many tend to fear the unknown. In my land we do the same, living is large tribes that roam the tundra. Rarely does any single caribou leave and when they do they are likely to be killed by a predator. I just happen to be lucky..." he replied. Very lucky... Snowdrift knew he should be dead after that fall into glacial waters.

Snowdrift nodded at his explanation. It made sense for a culture that stayed in one place but for him "My tribe does not stay in put for long. Usually moving on to better grazing lands and we don't often return to an area for years. And snow is not permanent, a simple gust of wind can easily erase all traces of your work... Or a hot day... The Speech, our magic, ensures that what our history and knowledge does not get changed over time or forgotten so long as there is someone to accept it." he explained hoping that it made sense to Gerrard. That said Snowdrift was rather interested in learning how to read. If it helped him learn more about this land.

Alumni, university, student... The last one Snowdrift understood clearly. It was common for others in the tribe to become apprentices to an elder in order to learn what they know. As for what a university was Snowdrift got an image of a large place of learning where many elders and wise ponies gathered to pass their knowledge to the masses... No matter, Snowdrift knew he'd find out once they arrived. Silently he began to follow Gerrard as they made their way through the city. Snowdrift still to enthralled by the architecture and layout of the city to really pay them any heed.

"I take it griffons are not common here as well?"

Sighing the filly looked at the tissue box and concentrated, her horn lighting up with a light pink aura that enveloped the tissue box lifting it a couple centimeters off the ground and staying in the air for a couple moments before Cantrip released it letting it drop back down. Hopefully this would be enough for the teacher to move on and bug some other unicorn.

[colour=#dda0dd]"There."[/colour] she muttered and returned to brooding in her seat watching the others. Now at last the filly could get some peace as her mind returned to figuring out a way out of here... That and food. For some reason her thoughts seemed to constantly drift towards the topic as Cantrip wondered what they would be eating tonight. She hoped it would be spaghetti. Or something with tomato sauce in it... Really it didnt matter so long as she didnt have to deal with onions or peppers, Cantrip hated those.