To make the time go by faster, Artex decided that he would try to P.T. with the Marines. He figured that he had been trained by Rainbow Dash so he could at least keep up. He quickly discovered that it was only his altered Earth Pony endurance that allowed him to keep up. He managed to complete the long runs but the situps and pushups were difficult for him. Thanks to his body's ability to heal, he built up muscle quickly. Where he actually shined was when the Marines were practicing with the tools they had appropriated as weapons. They were used to working to firearms and knives; axes, hammers, and sickles were new to them. Thanks to his time and experience with ancient weapons, Artex was able to prove his worth and teach the Marines the basics of intimate melee combat using archaic weapons.

Razor Wit had to hide the engagement ring in her saddlebags since the sight of it would spark far too many questions from the still adjusting Marines.

Day seven dawned. Artex woke from his sleep and dressed then walked out of his tent. Unlike the previous days, there was no pile of food waiting. He approached one of the Marine sentries, "I take it the Gryphons haven't left any food today?"

The sentry never even turned his head, "No, nothing. Good thing we've been saving any extra we have..." he trailed off as he stared at something in the distance, "What?"

Artex followed his eyes and beheld a dark cloud moving toward them. The cloud seemed to be undulating and moving like a writhing mass. It was darkly colored but glimmers of silvery light reflected off of it sporadically. It almost seemed to be alive, 'Wait a second...' Artex shielded his eyes and peered closely at the quickly moving mass, 'It's not a cloud...'

"That's not a cloud." he said quietly, "That... is a metric shit-ton of Gryphons."

The sentry turned and began to shout out the alarm.

* * *

The Marines were alarmed at the sight of several thousand Gryphons flying toward the field. They stood ready with their impromptu weapons and waited patiently to see what would happen. Razor Wit stood apart from the Marines. She stood away in the field waiting for the Gryphons to land.

King Myrmidon came in first, followed by a dozen older Gryphons and the rest landed behind them. Razor Wit galloped out to meet with them. Artex, Darryl, and Rose stood with the Marines. Oriana merely waited far to the side with the medical Gryphons in their tents.

Razor Wit and King Myrmidon were too far away for anybody to hear, but the Marines were concerned. Razor Wit had told them the story of the Balzak and they were worried that there might be a repeat incident. The fact that there were at least four thousand Gryphons present did nothing to ease the tension. After some minutes, the Gryphons marched toward the Marines in proper military form. The Marines held their weapons as close to 'attention' as they could, but there was little uniformity to be had. Arrows were set to bow strings, axes were held in both hands, sickles and hammers were held next to make-shift wooden shields. The Marines were dressed in poorly fitting clothes, were half starved, and were outnumbered at least two to one, but not a single one flinched or cowered. They stood their ground, unmoving and unflinching. Darryl held his shotgun against his shoulder, but kept the muzzle pointed at the ground. Artex refused to draw his khopesh, but he was ready in case it was necessary. He severely doubted anything would end in violence though. He was certain it was a show, but a minuscule part of his mind could not help but be concerned.

The Gryphons halted eight Fathoms away from the Marines. Razor Wit, King Myrmidon, and the older Gryphons took two more steps and stopped. Celestia's translation spell had worn off so Razor had to translate.

The King spoke a single sentence and Razor projected her voice over the field, "The King bids you a good morning Major."

Major Heartford nodded his head respectfully, "Good morning Myrmidon." he answered plainly, "We're here just like I said we would be. I can't help but notice the small army behind you. I thought we had a sort of understanding, but if your army is here to do battle, I think you'll find us to be a tough nut to crack."

Razor translated. Artex and the Major noticed that the older Gryphons were paying just as much attention to the Unicorn's words as the King was. Myrmidon responded and Razor spoke for him, "The King says you stand against a force with superior numbers, weapons, and armor. Are you really prepared to fight such odds?"

The Major flashed his teeth in a half smile, "Win or lose, Marines never back down." He raised his voice, "We only know surrender when the enemy is kneeling at our feet! Am I right Marines?!"

"OOH-RAH!" The sound of more than two thousand voices thundered out in the morning light.

The Major smirked and flourished his carpenter's hammer, "We'll probably die out here but we'll give a good account of ourselves. So, are we going to do this or stand around here all day talking?"

Razor Wit translated his words to the Gryphons. The twelve older Gryphons began talking amongst themselves. Everybody waited patiently until the older Gryphons seemed to come to a conclusion. Myrmidon turned his head and barked an order which Razor translated into, "Bring out the accused."

A bound and gagged Gryphon was drug out of the gathered Gryphon numbers and left on the ground between the two groups. King Myrmidon spoke and Razor translated, "This Gryphon was spreading claims that you and your Marines tortured the Gryphons you had captured. His life is in your hands, we know he was lying."

The Major sneered openly, "Well then if you know he's lying, then YOU deal with him. We don't know your laws and I can sure as hell tell you that Marines are not executioners."

Razor Wit translated the Major's words and the twelve older Gryphons began talking again. One asked what sounded like a question and twelve talons rose into the air, Myrmidon's included. The older Gryphons all nodded firmly and spoke to the King. Myrmidon then turned and spoke as Razor translated for him, "All proud warriors have an anthem that speaks for them and their actions. Songs and tales abound within our land of great warriors and great deeds. What is yours?"

The Major's face broke into a true grin, "The Marine Corps Anthem?" Artex had to hold back a chuckle as the Major responded, "Very well, I shall sing you the song of my people." He turned toward his Marines, "Well they asked for it. In-place, MARCH." The assembled Marines began marching in-sync.

Razor translated as the Major led his Marines in the anthem,
"From the Halls of Montezuma,
To the shores of Tripoli,
We fight our country's battles,
In the air, on land, and sea,
First to fight for right and freedom,
And to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title,
Of United States Marine.
Our flag's unfurled to every breeze,
From dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in every clime and place,
Where we could take a gun;
In the snow of far-off Northern lands,
And in sunny tropic scenes,
You will find us always on the job,
The United States Marines.
Here's health to you and to our Corps,
Which we are proud to serve;
In many a strife we've fought for life,
And never lost our nerve.
If the Army and the Navy,
Ever look on Heaven's scenes,
They will find the streets are guarded,
By United States Marines."

Razor Wit translated every word and the assembled Gryphons listened closely. As the song came to a close, Razor continued to speak. Artex assumed she was explaining some things from the song since the Gryphons likely had no idea what 'Heaven' was.

The older Gryphons fluffed their feathers as she spoke and many an eye looked toward the Marines in a new way. King Myrmidon then addressed the Marines with Razor speaking for him, "You are the first in our history to ever be given this offer. Celestia has spoken with the Council and myself about how Equestria opened its law books to change. Once we return to Cha'rheid, our own law books will be open and ready to be altered, within reason, to allow a union of our peoples. It is with great pleasure that we offer you the opportunity to become recognized citizens of Gryphonvale. Your acceptance of citizenship will confer to you all the privileges and responsibilities, all the duty, protection, and consideration as any other Gryphon. As far as the law is concerned, you will be Gryphons. What say you?"

The Major held his head high and spoke loudly to his people, "What do you say Marines? Do you want to give these over-sized chickadees a chance?"

"SIR YES SIR!"

* * *

Artex couldn't help but grin as he listened to two thousand plus Marines whoop and holler excitedly. They were all strapped to Gryphons in harnesses as they flew toward Cha'rheid. Oriana was not happy and convincing the Marines to trust the Gryphons to carry them had taken some time, but once they were in the air they loved it. Artex was worried about Oriana. Her fear of heights was intense and he felt bad about forcing her to experience it twice. She had been fine with the Air Carriage but she was terrified of flying under a Gryphon. He promised himself that he would speak with her about it once they had the time.

Once they touched down in Cha'rheid, Artex had to stifle a laugh at the Marines' long faces since the flight was over. They landed next to the castle in what was obviously a wide, flat training ground of some sort, "What is this place Razor?"

Poor Razor Wit was swamped with questions from all directions. Most of the present Gryphons did not speak Velensovth, so she was effectively the only translator for several thousand curious beings. Only a few Marines had removed their harnesses but the one who had were swarming all around Razor Wit and their number was growing as more and more Marines freed themselves from the harnesses. Artex pushed his way through the crowd until he reached his love. He held up his hands and raised his voice, "Calm down Marines. She's the only translator and there's only one of her..."

"Lay off the civilians, Marines!" the Major's voice cut through the air above like a knife, "Give them some space!"

The Marines instantly backed away from the swamped Unicorn mare. Half a second later the Major himself landed on the ground and half a second after that, King Myrmidon, his carrier landed next to him. Back on the field before they returned to Cha'rheid, Artex had puzzled over the reasoning for the King specifically asking to be the one to carry the Major. The answer Myrmidon gave still rang in Artex' memory, 'My positions is that of an elevated servant. My place is to serve my people and as of today, these Marines are now my people. I will serve them in the same manner I would any other citizen of Gryphonvale.' Artex smiled at the memory, 'That's what a ruler is supposed to be.'

Myrmidon called orders to his Gryphons in Areophene and they began to go about their business. The ones who had transported Marines took up the discarded harnesses and flew back up to the castle. The ones who had not carried any passengers simply dispersed. The majority of the huge flat area cleared of Gryphons in less than twenty seconds leaving behind curious Marines. King Myrmidon began taking off his harness, "Emissary Artex," he addressed in Velensovth, "Kindly ask the Major to lead his Marines over to the far side of the training grounds. There are doctors there who have to perform physicals on the Marines. I know the medics from the field are already with them, have the Marine medics..."

"F.M.F. Corpsmen," Artex corrected him, "It means Fleet Marine Force Hospital Corpsmen. They're the equivalent of your medics."

Myrmidon nodded, "Have the Corpsmen take Razor Wit with them and translate everything. Our medics need to understand Human biology and ensure they are healthy before they start training."

Artex quirked his left eyebrow, "Training?"

"Of course. All citizens of Gryphonvale, no matter what species, must serve a minimum of five years in the military. We have Ponies who have done so, Minotaurs too, the few that live here." the King replied calmly.

Artex shrugged, "I'll organize it."

* * *

The Marines were lined up in front of a series of more than fifty doorways carved right into the face of a sheer cliff. Within each of the doorways was a spacious room with a heavy curtain between the outside and the room within. Within each of the rooms was a medically trained Gryphon, an F.M.F. Corpsman, and a Marine. Razor Wit was busy running from one room to another while Rose, Oriana, Darryl, and Artex stood out in front of rooms where the Corpsmen needed a translator. The process was finished before nightfall despite the constant need for Razor's expertise. The Gryphon medics wrote down the names and vital information of every Marine before they were sent back into the main training ground where the Marines decided to do P.T. not that anybody was surprised.

After the medics finished with the last Marine, one of the Corpsmen called for attention. Marines, the Emissarial Staff, and even the Major flocked around the young man. He was a well-built young man of Arabic decent, "While I was helping the Gryphon medic I had to reach for a charcoal stick. It was out of my reach, but before I even leaned for it... it came to me." He held up the charcoal stick, "I didn't say anything since we had to finish, but I occasionally tried it several more times throughout the day... look." he held the charcoal stick in his open palm for a few seconds before it flew straight upward like a little dark missile. It came back down to the ground and tapped against the head of a nearby Marine. The young Corpsman continued, "Do we have magic?"

All eyes slowly turned to Artex and Darryl. Darryl took the lead quickly, "We didn't know for certain that you would develop the same kind of magic we did in Equestria. We didn't say anything about it because we had to be trained to use it. One of us manifested magic without training and ended up killing several dozen Diamond Dogs. Granted it was during a battle and the Diamond Dogs were rabid, but magic is dangerous, I mean REALLY dangerous. We didn't want any of you experimenting with anything and accidentally causing fires or anything."

Artex quickly added his two-cents, "No two Humans so far have had the same magic and it's different from what Unicorns have. Some of us have magic that we cannot turn off, like me. My hands cancel out any magic of anything I touch and I cannot turn it off. We can have some of our people come here and teach you how to use it." he chuckled, "We actually have a group who have dedicated themselves to studying magic. They were trained by a very powerful Kavim named Catalyst. She's the Arch Magister of Equestria and I'm pretty sure she cleared them to tutor others." he looked to Darryl for confirmation.

Darryl nodded, "That's right. We can have them here fairly quickly but before that we need the permission of the Gryphons. I need everybody to promise me that you won't experiment with magic until the tutors come."

Major Heartford looked none too pleased at the explanation but he raised his hand to his mouth, "You hear that Marines? No playing with your little sparkly tricks until the tutors arrive."

Many of the Marines groaned in disappointment, but they would comply. A screech from the side of the training grounds closest to the castle, drew the attention of everybody in the field. A female Gryphon was waving the Humans toward the doorway she was standing in. The Marines all looked to Major Heartford for permission. The Major broke into a jog and the Marines followed him across the training grounds. They jogged over to the Gryphon and followed her through the door. The Gryphon led them to a huge Mead Hall and gestured for the Humans to make themselves comfortable. The Marines and sat down at the various empty tables and waited, looking confused. The Emissarial Staff were the last ones through the doorway. The Mead Hall was colossal. It could have easily held five times the number of Marines within. The Emissarial Staff members all sat down close to the Major.

Major Heartford leaned over to Darryl, "Is this the mess hall?"

Darryl chuckled, "Close Major, this is a Mead Hall. I don't know if they'll serve you any hard drinks right now, but the food is excellent."

A pair of double doors at the far end of the Mead Hall opened up with a loud bang. Gryphons carried out huge steaming cauldrons on poles. They set the cauldrons down as more Gryphons brought out stacks of large earthenware bowls and spoons and set them down on the ends of the tables. The Gryphons began to ladle out what looked suspiciously like thick stew into each of the bowls. They passed the first bowls to the Marines closest to them and the Marines in turn passed the bowls down to their neighbors without being told. Artex watched with suppressed glee. Despite the language barrier, there was a synergy between the Gryphons and Marines that he could not explain. The two groups just seemed to 'click' somehow. He suspected there was some Natural Magic at work, but he kept his opinions to himself. It would be an ordeal to completely integrate the Gryphons and the Marines, but he had hope that it would happen, no matter what came between them.

* * *

On the second day while the Marines were going through their drills down in the training grounds, Artex decided to speak with Oriana about her fear of heights. They had all shared a room together so it was easy to engage in a discussion. They had all decided to go jogging around the castle as a group but had split up to shower after they finished. Razor and Rose went to shower first while Artex took the time to talk to his Zebra girlfriend.

They were both seated on the floor cooling off when he cleared his throat, "I uh, wanted to ask you about something."

Oriana blinked and cocked her head to the left, ears perked, "What about?"

"Well I wanted to talk to you about it before now, but there has just been so much going on recently that I haven't found time to do so. When we had to strap ourselves onto the Gryphons you had a panic attack." Oriana's ears wilted like sun dried flowers as he continued, "I wanted to know if you're alright? You were so upset you were crying. That's not a good thing Ori and I'm really concerned about you."

Oriana lowered her head and looked away, "I-it's just... I like to keep all four hooves on the ground."

Artex was not convinced. He leaned forward and rested his left hand behind her ears, "I know it's more than that Oriana. You're not some simpering foal, the only time I've ever seen you cry was when you were in the air. You didn't have any problems with the Sky Carriage and you've ridden in one of those Sky Chariots before too. You never had a problem with either of them..." he gently caressed the velvet of her ear leather, "Come on, tell me what's wrong, please."

Oriana heaved a huge sigh, "I'm terrified of having my hooves off the ground. It's something I've had all my life. My parents told me that even as a foal every time they went to pick me up, I screamed. I've always walked everywhere I go. I cannot have my hooves off the ground or I panic. I always have to be standing on something. When I lay down I'm fine because I can feel the bed or the floor. I know I'm safe." she briefly looked up at Artex, "Have you ever even seen me jump or skip?"

At the question, Artex realized she was right. He had never seen her do either, "But why didn't you tell me? We might have found another way..."

Oriana shushed him with a hoof to the lips, "It's my problem Artex. I'm not going to burden any of the rest of you with it."

Artex pushed her hoof away from his mouth, "NO!" He took a breath and calmed down, "What affects you affects all of us Oriana. We care about you. If you've got a problem then we all share it."

Oriana lowered her head completely down, almost to her chest, "It isn't that simple Artex. I've been afraid of having my hooves off the ground for as long as I can remember." she mumbled, "It's not something that can be fixed. I didn't want to bring it up because I was teased about it when I was little. I don't like it and I don't want to talk about it." She turned her head so that her right eye was staring at Artex, "Can we please drop it?"

Artex brought up his right knee and leaned his elbow against it, "I hate seeing you so upset. It hurt me when I heard you crying."

Oriana nodded her head, it was so small Artex almost missed it, "I know. I could see it on your face. I know you care about me but please, please just leave this alone. I can live with this, please..." she raised her head just enough to look him in the eyes, "Please respect me enough to leave this alone."

Artex bit his lower lip and turned his head away, "Fine," he conceded, "I'll drop it for now, but we're not finished with this."

Oriana huffed irritably, "Why are you pushing for me to talk about this?"

"Because I love you Ori. I hate seeing you suffer, it tears me apart inside." He rested his head in the palm of his right hand, "I'm sorry if I sound insensitive right now, but I'm worried about you."

Oriana rose to her hooves and leaned over to Artex, "It's alright." She nuzzled the left side of his face, "I've learned to live with it. Nobody is perfect. I need you to accept that this is just one of my imperfections." She planted a chaste kiss on his cheek, "I know you're worried Artex, but I'll be fine." She sat down and leaned into his chest, "I'm a grown mare. I can take care of what I need to and I know what I want to deal with. My issue is one of those things you have to accept. We accept you with your strange body and your face. You have no control over either of those, but we love you anyway. This is a part of me, this is who I am. I'm asking you please, just let it go." She gently wedged her head underneath his chin, "I love you."

Unable to argue any further, Artex lowered his leg and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, "I love you too sweetie."

Please inform me of any typos.