"I spy, with my little eye, something... blue!"

"The sky."

"Right! Now, I spy, with my little eye, something... green!"

"The grass."

"Wow, you got it! Okay, a harder one this time. I spy, with my little eye, something... wispy!"

"The clouds."

"Holy crap, how are you so good at this game?!"

"We've been walking down this road for an entire day and night now, and the only thing we've seen are rocks, bushes and trees. The only things around us that's a different texture are the clouds!"

"Hmm, that's true... Okay, I got one you'll never guess!"

"Please shut up."

"I spy, with my little eye, something... bustling!"

"Th- Wait, what? Bustling?"

"Yeah, look!"

"Huh, would you look at that..."

Orion and Sharpe were standing on a small dirt road looking over a ridge. Just below them was a small village, full of ponies and griffons. More of the latter were present, and the few ponies present had a somewhat downcast look to them. The houses were made of some kind of stone, and most of the small marketplace was a mixture of logs and thatch. It looked sturdy, but hastily built at the same time.

Orion pointed to the small town. "Let's go down there! I see pies on that stand!"

Just as Orion jumped, Sharpe caught him by the back of his robes and held him back. "No! We can't just run down there, you idiot." He set Orion down and put his hand to his chin. "I think we should just ignore this village all together. We have food and drink, and we don't need anything else other than that. So let's jus-"

"Adventure!~"

And before Sharpe could do anything, Orion rushed forward, jumping off of the small cliff and right at the town.

Sharpe slapped his face and groaned. "I hate my life." He took an easier way down, choosing to slowly climb down the edge of the cliff.

***

It was a beautiful day in the village. The sun wasn't too bright thanks to the clouds, but it wasn't terribly cold. It was Winter, but the griffons have long since decided to manipulate the weather to favor the seasons, instead of suffering through them. This way, they could raise crops most of the year, and farm animals even longer.

If it weren't for their beloved king, as well as his only male heir dying, they could almost go as far as saying they were in a golden age. The one thing that could make these times better would be a war. Griffons loved war almost as much as they loved prosperity. War brought good fortune, wealth, food, land, slaves, and other riches. But most of all, it brought honor to those who fought. Even those who died were remembered as great warriors that would be celebrated with feasts and dancing for generations to come.

Even small villages like this one thrived from wars. Actually, small towns like this one do especially well, for they are right on the border of other lands. And even though it's only a rumor, talk of a war with the ponies of Equestria has all of the townsfolk excited as they do their daily chores.

One such chore was stocking up on food for the next few weeks in the market. Even though Winter is far less troublesome for the griffons, it still isn't something to be taken lightly.

The middle-aged griffon placed her bits on the stand as she stuffed her bag with an assortment of chopped meats. Lamb, pork, chicken, it was all so delicious. Just as she was thanking the vendor, she spied a small berry pie sitting behind a basket of juicy red apples. "How much for the berry pie?"

The vendor eyed the pie for a second before answering. "Five bits," he grumbled.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Five bits? That's a bit steep for a tiny little pie, isn't it?"

He shrugged. "It's harder to find good berries in Winter," he calmly explained.

She let out a low growl as she eyed the pie again. It did look good... "I'll give you three bits for it."

He raised a feathery brow at her. "Miss, I'm not negotiating prices on a pie. Five bits, or nothing."

She looked at the pie and a bit of drool leaked out of her beak. "Four bits, or I'm walking."

He just stared blankly at her.

She growled at him viciously. "You're only doing this because I'm a female!"

He gave a snort of laughter. "So? What if I am? Females aren't supposed to be wasting money on pies, they're supposed to be in my kitchen or in my bed."

She snarled at him and struck him across his beak with her talons. "Do you have any idea who I am, boy?! I'm battlemaiden Twilly! I fought in the Wyvern Wars! I was one of the Hard Blades that took down Y'Sylvis!"

His eyes widened slightly as she screamed at him. He was so surprised by her yelling that he didn't even see her tail snaking across the stand and snag the pie. "I- I'm sorry, miss. I didn't know you were a warrior..."

She let out a barking laugh. "Boy, you wouldn't know a warrior if she stuck a battle ax up your rear end!" She then walked away, "accidentally" knocking over a barrel of his cabbages.

Then the barrel exploded into a cloud of dust and green mess.

Everybody looked at the sudden explosion with wide-eyed curiosity. Was there some kind of explosive in the barrel? Was it an attempt on her life? Why was there a large cloaked figure staring at Twilly like some kind of demented serial killer?

Twilly looked at the figure standing in front of her with a raised brow. She'd seen some strange things in her time, but this was by far the strangest. It was like a mostly-hairless ape dressed in a seer's garb. But underneath that she could clearly see some kind of light armor. She gave it a slow look up and down. "Now, what have we here?" she mumbled to herself.

The figure smiled stupidly and waved at her. "Hi! I'm God!"

She looked at him oddly. "You're a god?"

He put a hand to his chin. "I'm not sure... I was technically married to a goddess for a few hours before I killed her, so I might not be God, but I can still be a normal god. Does killing another god make me God? Or does it just make me a better god? What kind of benefits does a god have over God? Does God have more stuff than a god? Hmm, I don't know..." He blinked and stared at her. "Anyway, my name is Orion! Can I eat your pie?!"

The sound of gasps and laughter broke out across the market.

Twilly's feathers took on a slightly red hue. "W- what did you just say to me?!"

He got closer to her. "That pie you stole from the market stand over there," he said, jerking his thumb towards a now-furious vendor. "Can I have it? It looks really good!"

She took a step back from him. "I don't know what you're talking about. You're crazy! You destroyed his cabbages!" she accused him.

He waved his hand at her and she felt a tug on her tail. The next thing everybody saw was a small berry pie floating towards Orion. He caught it in his hand and took a bite from it. "Snitching on people isn't nice, y'know. That'll cost you one pie to remain my friend!"

The people of the town now formed a loose ring around Orion and Twilly. From this crowd a burly griffon stepped forward. He was taller than most griffons and had feathers of a charcoal color. His eyes were narrowed to dangerous slits. He carried a large battle ax on his back and wore light metal armor.

Orion stuffed the entire pie in his mouth and waved at the griffon.

The griffon came slightly closer to Orion. "I don't know what or who you are, but if you think you can steal from this town and destroy the property of an honest vendor, you're sadly mistaken," he said in a gravelly voice.

Orion smiled at him. "Are you the mayor, or just doing your civic duties to the fullest of your abilities?"

He snarled at Orion. "My name is Rage, and I'm the appointed Jarl of this town."

Orion snickered at him, drawing gasps from the crowd. "You're name is Rage? Why? Did somebody steal your slippers and it pissed you off?"

Rage reached behind him and gripped the handle of his ax.

Orion laughed even harder. "Oh no, wait! Somebody put an embarrassing picture of you somewhere everybody saw it! Was it you taking it up the ass, or w-"

The blade of the ax came faster than Orion could see. It hit him on the chest so hard he felt it. Then the blade shattered into tiny pieces and fell on the ground.

Rage, as well as everybody in the crowd, looked at the broken blade in disbelief. "That ax cut through the scales of a Wyvern..." He looked up at a smiling Orion.

He pulled back his fist. "My turn!" he screamed. Then he punched Rage in the face and sent him flying backwards into one of the vendor huts, making fruits, veggies, meat, and other items scatter in every direction.

The crowd around Orion all went wide-eyed at his display of strength.

Rage stumbled out of the small hut, shaking his head and groaning. "What are you made of, steel?"

Orion poked his sides experimentally. "I think the Human body is like, seventy percent water, actually."

Rage looked at Orion for a long time, not really believing he just got his flank busted by this foolish thing in front of him. Then he laughed. "Boy, I haven't been hit like that since the Wyvern Wars! Anyone that can pack a punch like that is okay in my books!" He walked over to Orion and pushed him in front of Twilly.

She looked at Orion. Then she looked at Rage. "What am I supposed to do with him?"

Rage laughed at her. "Well, he likes you. Treat our new guest to a feast and a good night!"

She recoiled from him in shock. "Are you serious?! I'm not doing that!"

He raised a brow at her and smirked. "Are you refusing a direct order from your Jarl, Twilly?"

She snarled at him. "He doesn't even like me! All he did was talk to me for a second and take my berry pie!"

Rage laughed. "See, you're already one step ahead of the game!"

She let out a loud growl and looked to Orion. "Tell him! You don't actually like me, do you?"

Orion's eyes flashed brightly and he gave her a predatory smile. He let out a rumbling growl that seemed to vibrate through the ground and into her bones.

Rage backed away from him slightly, chuckling to himself. "I think that's a yes."

"Actually, that's just one of his ways of saying he's horny."

Everybody turned to the voice and took a step back.

Orion waved at Sharpe. "Hi Sharpe!"

Sharpe walked into the marketplace and looked around. "Quaint. Anyways, we'll have to take that feast to go. We're on a mission, and until we're done we can't take a break. Thanks though." He turned towards a path leading out of town and started walking. "C'mon, we need to keep moving."

Orion looked between Sharpe and Twilly a couple times. "Eh... No. I'm going to stay here for the night." He pulled Twilly into a tight hug that made her growl at him and stood his ground. "You can go, but I'm staying here for now."

Sharpe turned around and scowled. "You wanted to come here in the first place! Now that we're this close we have to keep going!"

Orion gave him a confused look. "Why? This place has free food and women!"

Twilly growled at him again and tried to kick free of his death grip.

Sharpe growled and stormed up to Orion. He leaned into his face and whispered to him. "We're being followed, and if we stay here we might get attacked!"

Orion pushed the griffon woman into Sharpe. "Let them come!" he yelled. He turned to the surrounding wilderness and cupped his hands over his mouth to amplify his voice. "You hear me, you little pricks?! Come and get me! I'll be waiting for you!"

The town was silent as he stood facing the woods.

He then turned around and looked at Sharpe. "There, now there's no reason why we can't stay here! They know we know they know we know they're on to us! So now, we just have to outwit them!" he rubbed his hands together and chuckled like an old-timey villain from the picture shows.

Sharpe tried to slap his own face but realized he was still holding the griffon. He looked at her with a deep scowl and barred his teeth at her.

She pulled away from him and stayed at a safe distance.

Rage clapped his wings together and smiled happily at the amusing turn of events. "Well, now that it's settled, Orion and his companion will be staying in our town for the night! I expect everyone here to make them feel welcome!"

Griffons came up to Orion and patted him on the back, talked with him, complimented him on his strength, questioned him about his armor, and many other things. The Jarl had all of his cooks start on the process of setting up a feast for him and his friend. After all, it's not every day that Rage meets someone that can knock him around like a ragdoll. And anybody who can, he wants as a friend. They could be invaluable in the upcoming war. It's only a matter of time before Equestria would fall, and if he makes friends with these creatures, he could get farther than ever than if he were alone.

***

Sharpe stood to the side of everything, glaring at Orion as he laughed and joked with the crowd of griffons. They drank strong ale and ate deliciously cooked food as they enjoyed themselves. The griffons boasted about slaying Wyverns and trolls and minotaurs, and conquering lands, and pillaging and looting and raping and killing. Orion told them of world destroying powers at the tips of his fingers, of killing thousands with a wave of his hand, of becoming a god and traveling through time, of seeing more stars, planets, and peoples grow and die than he can even count, of dying twice and coming back to life both times, of sleeping with more species of aliens than there are hairs on his chin, of sailing through space, nebulae, asteroid fields, of flying higher than any bird, and going deeper into the sea than any normal fish, of seeing strange and fantastic creatures that people only find in your worst nightmares or in old horror stories, of wielding energy in its rawest and purest form and cutting down hundreds of foes with it, of his friends fighting beside him, of those friends occasionally falling in battle or dying in other ways. After he finished his tales, the griffons stopped boasting about what they did and contemplated what it really meant to be a warrior.

One of the griffons just finished telling a joke about another's mother and the entire table broke out laughing. Then the insulted griffon tackled the offending griffon to the ground and a bloody fight broke out as everybody else started passing out bits and cheering them on.

Orion downed his thirty-somethingth pitcher of ale and tore off another strip of meat from the leg of lamb. "Twenty credits on the fat one!"

A few griffons cheered while a few others jeered.

The fight went on until one of the griffons took hold of a carving knife and stabbed the other in the neck with it. He then pounced on the other griffon and proceeded to stab him to death. The whole room cheered loud enough to hurt all of their ears.

Orion jumped up and yelled in victory. "Give me my money, you feathery bastards!"

All of the losing griffons grumbled and handed him small pouches of jingling coins. They didn't look happy.

Orion sat back down and took another swig of his empty pitcher. "Aw, I'm all out!"

The griffons booed and called over a serving girl.

It was a small earth pony mare. She had a light purple coat and a dusty grey mane and tail. Her eyes her on the floor, but an observant person could make out golden irises. Her Cutie mark was a small purple flower with a golden center on top of a bright green leaf. She quickly trotted over to Orion with a wooden tray on her back carrying what looked like too many things. She didn't say anything, only waited for Orion to take his drink.

Orion grabbed five pitchers and set them on the table. He rubbed the mare's head softly. "Thanks for the drink!"

She gasped and looked at him with wide eyes. "Uh... y- your welcome, sir," she said quickly.

All of the griffons at Orion's table got quiet.

Orion smiled at her. "You don't have to call me sir, y'know. Just call me Orion!" he said cheerily.

One of the griffons put his talon on Orion's shoulder. "You don't have to be nice to her. She's a slave, worth less than an animal."

Orion looked to the griffon. Then he looked back at the mare. "You're a slave?"

She nodded and looked back down at the ground.

Orion let a ghost of a smile grace his lips. Not his normal smile, but one filled with malicious intent. "How many slaves are there in this town?"

She bit her lip. "Seventeen," she said quietly.

Orion nodded very slowly. "Nice... Very nice..."

The mare stood there, feeling Orion's eyes burn into her. She started sweating slightly.

He put his hand on her head and ruffled her mane roughly. "Stay close to this building, I want to talk with you in a little bit."

She nodded and spoke. "Yes, sir."

Orion gave her a tiny flick in the head with his forefinger. "I told you, call me Orion."

She nodded and backed away from the table. "Yes, s- Yes, Orion."

Orion smiled his normal smile and faced the griffons again. "Now, who wants to see me chug these drinks?!"

All of the griffons cheered.

***

Sharpe picked up a roasted piglet and stuffed the back half into his mouth. He ripped it into shreds and pulverized the bones in seconds with his teeth, allowing him to swallow everything. He heard steps to his side but he knew who it was. He remembered the smell from before.

"So, enjoying yourself?" Twilly asked.

Sharpe ate a pear whole. "No."

She sat down next to him, regarding him curiously. "Why not?"

Sharpe drank an entire pitcher of ale with one gulp. "I have my reasons."

She stared at him with a small smile. "Is it the same reason you're over here, all by yourself?"

Sharpe looked at her with a cold glare. "You're smarter than you look."

Twilly laughed and took what was left of the roasted piglet for herself. "I will admit to hearing that one a few times."

Sharpe's glare didn't waver. "Have you also heard that you're rude?"

Her smile dropped from her face. "Yes, I have. Have you ever heard that you're ugly?"

Sharpe flicked his tongue at her and hissed quietly. "Once or twice, but only from people who are dead now."

She scowled at him. "Is that a threat?"

He leaned towards her, getting right in her face. "I don't make threats, I make promises."

She pushed her forehead into his and tried to push him back, but discovered that it would be easier to move a building. "If you think you can take me on, make a move."

He pushed her back with his head, almost making her fall over. "It would be too easy killing you. Like crushing a roach."

She snarled at him viciously. "I could kill you with my wings tied behind my back and only one eye open."

He stood up and pushed her back against the wall. "You couldn't even hit me if you had an army behind you."

She pushed her talons into him, but couldn't move him. "I don't need an army, I only need my fist and your face."

He hissed at her.

She growled at him.

They both glared intensely at each other for a full minute.

Twilly clacked her beak and gave a low growl. "Do you wanna go back to my place and rut my brains out?"

Sharpe barred his teeth and hissed at her. "More than anything else in the world."

***

The serving mare was bringing more ale to the table of griffons where Jarl Rage was sitting. She had to be extra careful around him. He didn't like ponies, and would look for an excuse to hurt her.

She slowly approached the table carrying at least a dozen pitchers on her back. Each griffon took one. All the way down the table until she got to Rage. She could feel his eyes on her neck as she stood there. Sweat stared running down her back and her sides, making her worry if the tray would slip off of her back before he got his drink. She almost cried in joy when he lifted a pitcher off of the tray on her back and turned back to his conversation. She let a smile cross her lips as she moved to the last griffon at the table. Then that smile disappeared when he knocked over his pitcher and swore loudly.

A large griffon with more scars than Rage and a wild look about him got up from the table and stood in front of her, giving her a look that could kill. "You did that on purpose!"

She looked up at him in fear as she backed away. "N- no, sir, I didn't! I'm sorry! I'll g-"

He took a step forward, almost bumping into her. "And now you call me a liar?!"

She shook her head furiously. "No, sir! I'm not doing anything like that! I-"

He pushed her over harshly and stood towering over her. "You just did it again!" He pulled a wicked dagger out of a sheath on his leg and held it in front of her face. "I've had enough of your stupidity! I'm going to-"

"You ain't gonna do shit!"

The griffon, the mare, and everybody else looked to see Orion glaring at the griffon holding the dagger.

The griffon waved the blade at him. "You stay out of this! She insulted my honor and now she's going to pay!"

Orion smiled coldly. "Insulted your honor? How's this? Your mother was a pigeon and your father was a mangy alley cat. You'll never have a proper child and every woman you sleep with will think of other men when you're in them. You're the guy your friends make fun of when they're drunk. Oh, and for my grand finale! While the war was going on, you were too busy crying into your pigeon-mother's feathers from fear to fight, and everybody you know thinks you're a great, big, pussy for it."

The room was so quiet you could hear pleasurable screaming in the distance.

"I'll kill you!" The griffon jumped into the air and charged at Orion, pointing the dagger right at his heart.

Orion's hand lifted into the air as he made a crushing gesture with his fist. When he did this the griffon stopped his flight and put his talons to his neck, making choking noises. Orion closed his fist and turned his hand to the side, making the griffons neck collapse and his head to spin completely around.

Orion looked at the mare, still on the ground and waved her over to him. "C'mon, I think it's time to have that talk."

The mare looked around and saw that every eye in the building was on her. She pushed herself up and trotted quickly over to Orion's side and stayed as close as possible, scarcely even caring that she was brushing up against him.

Together they walked out of the building and out into the chilly night. They kept going until they were far away from anything but a small group of buildings that looked to be some sort of food storage barns.

Orion turned to her and looked her in the eyes, smiling like a lunatic. "Where are the slaves kept?" he asked her.

She pointed a little ways down the street at a large stone barn. "Over there. All of the slaves are kept in there."

Orion put his hand on her head. "Stay close to me." He walked with her down the road to the barn. It was run down. Not just run down, but run down to the point that it would be easier to knock it down and make a new one instead of trying to repair this one. The grey stones were cracked and the roof had holes in it. Even the door was broken, barely hanging on its hinges.

He pushed the door open and they both went inside, and instantly all of the slaves inside cowered to the back of the room from a stranger in their home. The only time anyone except another slave came in there it was to drag one of them off to the chopping block.

Orion closed the door behind him and looked around. There were indeed seventeen of them. Twelve mares- counting the one standing with him- and five stallions. Odd... He looked to the mare that followed him inside. "They let the mares and stallions live together?"

She took on a pitying look. "All of the stallion are gelded when they're brought here. They usually only take mares, but if they need workers then they keep them around."

Orion nodded slowly and rubbed his chin slowly. He then pointed to the huddle of bodies in the back of the barn. "All you stallions, go help with the cooks at the feast!"

There was a rushed mumble of compliance as the stallions ran out of the building with their heads down and their tails between their legs.

By now, all of the other slaves figured that Orion wasn't there to kill them and started to come closer to get a better look. They had never seen a being like him before. Was he their new owner? Was he there to set them free? Was he there to give them better living spaces and more food?!

Orion smiled at all of them. "Now, I want all of you to line up, nice and neatly."

They did as they were told, even the one who was walking with him.

Orion walked up and down the line of them, carefully observing each and every one of them. He would put his hand to their foreheads, or check their teeth, or sometimes even look into their eyes like he was looking for something. He stopped in front of an oddly young mare. He looked at her for a few seconds, making her start to worry. "How old are you?"

She looked to the mare next to her and received a panicked look. "Uh, I- I'm fifteen ,sir," she replied meekly. When Orion didn't respond she smiled shyly at him.

Orion "Hm"ed and kept walking down the line. When he got to the end he took two steps back and cleared his throat, making them all look at him. He held up his hand and swirled his finger in circles.

They all turned around, letting him inspect their backsides. As Orion's boot's echoed off of the floor, they all became more and more red in the face. They didn't know what he was doing behind them, but they did know that they weren't allowed to turn around to look. Was we simply inspecting them, or was he doing something... else? As he went down the line, the air seemed to be getting hotter as they began to panic more and more. He reached the end of the line once more, ending where he started. His silence made them wish that a screaming griffon were here to make some kind of noise.

He clapped loudly.

All of the mares either shrieked or screamed in fear.

He spoke in a serious voice, but they could hear the smile. "Now, I'm sure you all work very hard here. And I know that you don't get the appreciation you deserve. So that's where I come in."

All of them felt a spike of cold run up their spine.

Orion spoke in a silky voice, like he were whispering. "I'm here to let you know that you are appreciated. Well, by me, at least. And so, even though I know you may not completely agree with my method of giving thanks, I'll tell you one thing before I start: You will enjoy this immensely. This, I can guarantee. Now, I want you all to lower your chests to the ground and keep your flanks in the air."

They all did as they were told, letting their front halves rest on the wooden floor as their flanks were raised in the air.

Orion chuckled darkly. "Now, move your tails and let me get a better look at what I'm working with."

They had no choice but to do as he told them. They were slaves, and he was giving the orders.

Orion smiled widely at what he saw. "Very, very nice... I think these are some of the best examples of pony cunt I've ever seen! You girls should be proud of yourselves. You have exquisite bodies, and I'll enjoy making you feel appreciated."

All of them wanted to tell him no, but they couldn't.

The sound of straps was heard, then Orion was behind the first mare. It was the serving mare.

She dared to look behind her. Just a peek. She saw something like she's never believed existed before. Despite knowing that she had no choice in this, a shiver of excitement went through her. She thought she'd seen big. Well, she's never seen Orion.

He grabbed both flanks in his hands and pulled her onto him as hard as he could.

She screamed.

***

Orion was sitting in the corner of the barn, using a bottle of water and a small bar of soap he got from his backpack to wash his upper-half. He had never had twelve women at once before., and now that he has, he needed to clean himself. He was humming to himself happily and just putting his shirt back on as a pair of hooves wrapped around his waist.

Orion smiled. "I figured you'd be asleep a while longer. You must have done that before."

The serving mare, Violet, hummed happily as she kissed the back of his neck. "Never with more than one other person."

Orion laughed. "Well, you're a natural at orgies then."

She kissed him again. "Thanks for that. I'm sure that's a compliment somewhere."

Orion pulled away and put on his armor. He stood up and looked at her with a goofy smile. "Well, me and Sharpe need to keep moving. I'll see you later!" He started to walk away but was stopped.

Violet was grabbing his hand and holding him back. "Orion... please don't leave me here."

He looked back at her. "Is it really that bad here?"

She bit her lip. "I- I think they'll kill me when you leave. It's because of me that that griffon died, and they'll kill me and-" she quickly cut herself off.

Orion turned to fully face her. "And?"

Violet sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

Orion looked up and saw a loft full of hay. He also saw a pair of eyes staring at him.

Violet called to the eyes. "It's okay to come down now. Come meet Orion."

The pair of eyes jumped forward, becoming a head, then a body, then a full pony. Then that pony shakily landed on the ground next to her mother and tucked her tiny pegasus wings against her sides. She had a dark blue coat with a shiny black mane and tail with golden eyes. Eyes like her mother has.

Orion stared at the tiny filly with a bright smile. "Is that... your daughter?" Orion asked slowly.

Violet nodded and pulled the pegasus closer to her with a hoof. "I had her just a few months before they made me a slave. Since then I've had to hide her and feed her as much as I could without anypony noticing food missing from the tables or vendors. It's hardest during the Winter."

Orion went down to one knee and smiled at the filly as she tried to hide behind her mother's leg. "Hey, tiny! What's your name?"

The filly mumbled an answer that Orion couldn't hear.

He leaned in closer to her and smiled wider. "What was that?"

The filly mumbled her name once again, but Orion still couldn't hear her.

He leaned in uncomfortably close and smiled so wide it hurt to look at. "You don't have to be scared of me, tiny pony. I only eat the naughty ponies, like your mother!" he looked up at a blushing Violet before leaning in closer to the filly. "Have you been a nice tiny pony? If you have, I'll give you a present!~"

The filly looked up at her mother. Then back to Orion. "I'm a nice pony," she mumbled in a sweet voice.

Orion closed one eye and used the other to look at every inch of her body. "Are you sure you're a nice pony? Nice ponies tell other people their names. If they don't people think they're rude, and rude ponies aren't nice ponies!"

The filly giggled softly, almost making a quiet music with her voice. "My name is Harmony," she told Orion.

Orion reached out and snatched the filly up, holding her in front of his manically smiling face. "Excellent! Now I know who to give this tickle to!" he yelled.

Harmony's eyes went wide.

Orion put his mouth on her belly and blew out air, making an interesting sound and causing the filly to giggle and laugh uncontrollably. While he did this Violet watched with a mixture of adoration and amazement. "OMNOMNOMNOMNOM!!!!!!"

Harmony laughed loudly at the ferocious tickling, unable to keep herself under control.

Orion took his mouth away from her belly and started nibbling on her hooves "You're tiny pony hooves are delicious! They taste like candy and cake! I must eat them!"

She laughed and tried to kick at Orion. "N- no! Those are m- my h- ho- hooves! You can't ea- eat them!"

Orion gave a ridiculous roar and pulled his head away from her. "I won't even chew you! I'm going to let my tasting guts absorb your tastiness!" He then stuffed her into his shirt, leaving only her head poking out the front, smiling widely. He rubbed her head and turned his smile at Violet. She was smiling and crying at the same time.

She smiled so wide it looked like it hurt her. "I haven't heard her laugh in so long... Thank you for that."

Orion smiled wider. "It's my pleasure, really. I have two girls back in Equestria waiting for me to come home." He took on a dark look. "But I can't go home to them until I'm done here."

She smiled at Orion pityingly. "I'm sorry. I can only imagine what that's like."

Orion waved a hand at her and smiled again. "Eh, don't worry about it. I'll be back with them before too long." He looked down at Harmony, still smiling while comfortably sitting in his shirt. "I'd do anything to get back to them..."

Violet trotted over to him and put her hoof on his leg. "Then you know how I feel," she said, desperation entering her voice. "Please, take me and Harmony with you. It doesn't matter where, just away from here."

Orion looked at Violet. He smiled devilishly. "And what will you do for me in return?"

***

Sharpe and Orion were running down the path as fast as they could go with Orion carrying Violet on his shoulder and Harmony in his shirt.

"You're an idiot!" Sharpe yelled as he fired another bolt of energy at the perusing griffons.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Violet had been repeating herself for the last ten minutes of sprinting, saying that same thing over and over again.

Sharpe fired off two more rounds, dropping two more griffons. "You just thought that they would be okay with insulting the Jarl's family, killing his brother, then trying to steal his slave?! How could you think that was a good idea?!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Sharpe threw a frag grenade over his shoulder and shot it as it passed a group of griffons, killing most of them and maiming the others. "I'm not talking to you! But now that I am, you're lucky that Orion's carrying you, because I would have left you by now!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Sharpe turned his rifle to rapid fire and dropped most of the remaining griffons. "If you ever do this again, I'm going to skin you alive!"

"I'm sorry!"

Sharpe looked down the scope of his rifle and saw the furious face of Twilly. He smiled to himself as he pulled the trigger. "Sorry, it never would have worked out. It was you, not me." The rest of the griffons were easy targets, dropping out of the sky as bolts mangled their bodies.

Violet threw her head back and screamed into the air. "I'M SORRY!!!!"