Prologue: Primary Sources
#1 of The Griffon of Paradise: The Full Account
A complete rewrite and expansion of the one-shot smut fic "Griffon in Paradise," this erotic adventure details Gilda's survival of a shipwreck, and her new life upon a mysterious tropical island.
"Disaster in the Celestial Sea: Search Underway for Survivors of North Star Sinking." Canterlot Post. 4 January, 1135.
BALTIMARE - Pegasus search teams were deployed late last night in search of survivors from the SS North Star. The passenger steamer, which departed from Baltimare on December 30th with over one hundred passengers and sixty crew, was en route to Griffonstone when she encountered a freak winter storm. Shortly before 11:30 pm on December 2nd, the freighter Calliope reported to Manehattan Station that the North Star had disappeared from radar. Attempts to hail North Star by radio were unsuccessful.
Searchers believe that the ship broke apart and sank around the time _Calliope _reported her disappearance. The lack of a distress call suggests that the sinking was sudden and swift. Veteran Wonderbolt Fleetfoot has been coordinating the search effort. So far, she says, the pegasi have only found scattered debris.
"We're getting ready to widen our search," she told the Canterlot Post, "Time is of the essence here. We know approximately where the ship went down, but we have not found any survivors yet."
Fleetfoot is cautiously optimistic that they will find survivors, but noted that the odds of doing so grew slimmer with each passing hour. "The hard truth is that anyone who survived the sinking is out on the open ocean in rough seas in the middle of winter," she said, "If we don't find someone by the end of today, it is unlikely we ever will."
Despite this assessment, the search is expected to continue into next week. The cause of the sinking will likely remain unknown until the wreck can be located and examined. In the meantime, a vigil for the passengers and crew is planned for 7:00 pm on January 6th at the Our Lady of the Sun Chapel in Baltimare.
"Lost and Found at Sea? Alleged Writings of Shipwreck Survivor Found." Manehattan Times. 12 August, 1142.
BALTIMARE - Today, the maritime community is reeling from the revelation of writings purported to be from a survivor of the sinking of the SS North Star. The text was presented to Baltimare officials yesterday by a flock of hippogriffs, who claimed to have recovered them while on a fishing expedition into the deep sea.
"We'd surfaced to take a break, when we spotted something floating in the water," reported one of the hippogriffs, who spoke with us on the condition of anonymity, "It was a small pleather journal or diary wrapped in a plastic tarp and bound with hemp."
The fishing team brought the journal onto dry land to read. They then brought it to Equestria at the advice of friends and family. In addition to the journal and the tarp it was bound in, the hippogriffs also presented a corked glass bottle containing a letter. They claim it had been found by an acquaintance several months after the North Star sank hundreds of miles north of where they found the journal.
"My friend held onto it all those years because she was sure that whoever had wrote it was dead, but she didn't have the heart to throw it out," explained our source, "When we brought the journal home, she realized that might not be the case."
Both the letter in the bottle and the journal are alleged to have been written by one Gilda of Griffonstone. A review of the North Star's passenger manifest confirmed that there was a passenger of that name on board at the time the ship departed Baltimare. The writings have been turned over to Canterlot authorities for investigation.
Even within 24 hours of the journal's delivery, it is already embroiled in controversy. Many are understandably skeptical of its authenticity, including Captain Sea Salt. The retired mariner assisted with the extensive search for North Star survivors seven years ago.
"Setting aside the fact that these hippogriffs are unwilling to identify themselves for the public record," he said, "Had anyone survived that shipwreck, we would've found 'em. We had hundreds of pegasi in the air and dozens of boats on the water combing a thousand square miles of ocean, and all we found was bodies and debris."
Princess Twilight Sparkle has already volunteered to oversee the case personally. She felt it appropriate to do so, as their alleged author was a close personal friend of one of her own friends. "If the journal is real, we have an old friend to find," she said in a press release. The Princess of Friendship is expected to release a full official statement at the conclusion of the investigation.
"SHIPWRECK SMUT: North Star Diary GRAPHICALLY Describes Survivor's SAVAGE SEX LIFE." The Daily Tattler. 15 August, 1142.
Equestrian officials investigating the newly revealed "North Star Diaries," written by a lost survivor of the SS North Star were startled by how overtly sexual its contents are, according to one trusted anonymous source with access to the writing.
Our source stated that the journal seems to document one Gilda of Griffonstone's survival on a tropical island, and her subsequent descent into debauchery and deviance. He further revealed that in addition to mental changes, the griffon underwent physical changes that can only be described as "pornographic."
"It's almost like somebody's fetish come to life," said the official, "This journal details an otherwise normal woman devolving into a savage, sexual beast!"
The Equestrian government has not commented on the allegation at the time of publication. However, our source has additionally provided an excerpt from the journal turned over to Princess Twilight Sparkle. This excerpt was, of course, far too explicit to be published. A censored version will be made available in the following issue. It's a Tattler-exclusive scoop; you won't be able to read it anywhere but here!