Orion never poked his head out for the entire estrus season. "Not doing that bullshit again."

Instead with the increase of privacy he went back to his notes on artificing and enchanting. His time spent only drawing up plans and then stuffing them under the floor of the library had paid off.

He had come up with a easy way of dissipating the heat build up in his body when he casted Amplification, but he chose to hide it away for the time being. The ornaments went into his mane, and acted as a sort of heat sink to allow air to pass over them, Even with these however, there was only so much he could take. At current iteration he could last two minutes with the Amplification at moderate power.

He got the idea partly from the Princess herself. The day she got livid at him in the throne room, her hair was acting as a way to dissipate heat build up from her body. Though what she could do was far and away beyond what Orion was capable of. Though from earlier observations, he believed he knew why and just didn't have the resources or power available to him at the moment.

The waiter never showed up again. Celestia obviously knew he had known who he was. But the last two weeks he had not detected him. Which meant that she had given up once again, though he believed it was only because he was prone to getting into trouble that she had him watched, not that she suspected him of anything. No need to do anything stupid regardless.

The leather bracelet was on its fourth iteration, and this one seemed to be lasting far longer then the others.

Orion had been noting each total failure every enchantment he had made thus far. The flashlight, melted through the floor of the basement. He had covered that up with a stack of wooden crates. The leather bracelets he had made, melted like a slimy oil. The first time that had happened had been in class, fortunately during chemistry so he played it off as an accident of the chemical compound he was making.

That one irked him because he had to dispose of perfectly good fluoride toothpaste he was making. It was going to be mint. A vast improvement over the pure baking soda everyone seemed to want to use.

The gun he had managed to make, he stared at for three weeks. Then melted it down to slag. The chemical composition of black powder did not work. At all. Not even a spark. It was as if this world refused to allow for combustible materials. No that was wrong. Nitroglycerin still ignited. But it was only really good as a general explosive. He had to swipe it from the school science lab. He only got one use out of it and that was when he bated the wolves out of the forest the first time.

There was another reason he slagged the gun. He had a nightmare of the firearm falling into the wrong hands. The bang and the sun dying scared the ever loving shit out of him. The moment he woke up he turned the heat up in the makeshift kiln in the basement to as hot as he could and tossed the weapon in.

He would not make another. So he made a bow instead. A recurve bow. One he had caste from metal. The spring he enchanted into the metal allowed for an even harder draw, one he was capable of doing but other then practicing with it drawing the line back and then easing up. He had read somewhere it wasn't wise to just release a taut bow line, rather ease off the tension till it was back to its initial position.

He had no idea how hard the bow was going to hit if and when he might be able to practice fire it. So the arrows were produced with the same durability the bow had. The arrow heads had cut him way to many times. Causing him to have to have to use his admittedly shitty skill of healing. But by the end he had stashed away the bow and 35 arrows in a small cubby hole he had made in the basement concrete wall.

Something had been bothering him immensely. It was during the making and later destruction of the gun he had made that a thought occurred that made him uncomfortable.

For a race of people with magic, they seemed to progress only to the point of achieving a needed desire. Then abruptly stopping all progress in that field. The train, was at best mid to late 1800s, was not that efficient. The engine itself constantly broke down from wear and tear. Often bringing the whole line down for weeks at a time while engineers tried to get it back up and running without actually doing any meaningful repair.

Then there was the power distribution. They had electricity. But it was produced in two ways that he could figure out. One was the hydroelectric damn in Ponyville. Which was an odd development in and of itself. They had built only two turbines for a facility that could house twelve if they had actually tried. They were also pitifully small. The dam was in Ponyville, but it powered Canterlot instead. The locals near the dam seemed to prefer, or at the very least had no choice, the old fashion way of lighting their homes.

It was odd because they had essentially created a turbine. But never thought to use it for anything else other then the dam itself. They didn't bother with air travel as they had pegasus to move from town to town any cargo that needed to be transferred. People the same as well.

There were rumors of a airship fleet that Celestia had mothballed for some reason. No one had seen it in sometime. Or if they did they were sworn to secrecy. Apparently the fleet was as old as the nation itself. Heavy stuff, as Orion could only think of one use for a hidden fleet. War.

The other way they generated electricity was actually rather ingenious, if he did say so himself. Many homes in Canterlot, Ponyville, Manehatten and even Stalliongrad had small power units. A unicorn only had to come by once or twice a month depending on house hold usage to charge, change the fluid in the chamber, or replace the crystal itself.

The power units seemed to be made up of a step up transformer, an isolated chamber with a liquefied copper solution with a crystal suspended in the center of the chamber. At first he wanted to call shenanigans on the idea that ponies had lost the art of enchantments. Then he found out about crystal magic in his seventh year of school.

Apparently while the original crafters of crystal magic had long since vanished in the north, the skill still persisted today. Many had the ability to use the basic skills to use crystals as video recorders, cameras, even vocal diaries. Orion himself was easily capable of using it. The teacher, Mr Cloud Hopper who was not a pegasus, made a joke that if nothing else he had an excellent future in repair. Har har har har har. Fucko.

Still, they advance just enough to accommodate them. Then relied on their own natural abilities to see them further. They, were a stagnant race. Which might bode ill for other races now that he thought about it. If Equestria was not advancing themselves, then other races were likely just as stagnant as they were. There was nothing to copy for their own uses. If the ponies hadn't figured out a problem, then no one else was trying either.

That meant no way to cultivate crops in arid climates without pegasus. No way to power homes without unicorns. No way to grow food with consistency without earth ponies. The globe was completely dependent on pony power in order to live. Which meant Celestia had total control. Even if it wasn't obvious to other nations. Was she purposely doing this? Or was it just because she lacked the imagination to allow for further innovation.

The more he spoke with her he was beginning to realize that it was a likely combination of both. She did not know the possibilities. But she didn't want other nations to advance beyond her. So it was a product of ignorance and purpose at the same time.

But all this lead up to one conclusion. Whether through intention or willful purpose most if not all nations where likely subject to mass starvation at anytime, if even one thing went wrong, a community might see the end. That was a sobering thought. A frightening one that such a being holds that much sway.

Orion smiled. He had just solidified what he was planning to do once he graduated.

He put on the new bracelet, still leather but inside the seemingly innocent tag was a gold disk, a tiny amethyst gem in the center. No more melting leather for him.

He put the other enchanted items away. And began drawing up new blueprints. Not for enchanted items. But for improvements to the first problem. A new steam engine that could properly vent the expelled gases without stressing the system out. Then others. Many others.

Those four weeks had likely been the most productive he had been since first getting into school.

Mrs Evergarden's return to the orphanage was a welcome one. She made a huge fuss over him, getting the full details of what he had done in Ponyville. She was clearly upset, but she wasn't able to yell at him.

With her came spring in full. And school too. He had gotten used to the smiles. The stares made him want to smack them, but they never went beyond that. His time in the cafeteria was still filled with fillies and the occasional colt wanting to sit with him. But it seemed they had given up on the idea of cornering him. Thus, he once again sat alone on a corner table. The status quo once again finding balance. No more cold ass roof tiles for him.

Classes weren't much to pay attention to. It seemed to just be refresher courses at this point. To prepare students for the schools they were going to be divided up according to ability and interests. Orion was set to go to advance classes. Though there was some resistance to that. Once it was known his range was limited to ten or twelve meters, the school didn't want to bother pushing for his advancement.

In fact they were actively getting in his way, by filling out paperwork in his name for other schools. That suddenly stopped after a casual conversation with Celestia over tea. That afternoon she had left with a very dark look on her face.

That Monday he had walked into the main campus. His Jr High school was small by comparison. Apparently not only did high school students attend, but it was where the college course in superior academics occurred.

He signed up personally for his courses. He was getting some rather dark looks from many of the teachers he passed by. It felt, right. Natural. He grinned at everyone, making sure they saw his teeth.

"I was lead to believe you were being transferring to another school Mr. Falls. One back out in Manehatten, if the memo was to be believed." The Principal of this school, Miss Quill, was an all white mare. Her mane and fur both shining in the afternoon light as her eyes bored into him from across the desk of which they both sat next to. She had opted to wear a black mares business suit, no tie.

"Oh you know, folks seemed to want to decide whats best for you without your input and all that nonsense." He smiled lightly. "Its not like I have my own plans and all that, you know?"

She did not share his smile. "I would know considering I did not want you here to begin with. You are trouble. If I had my way I would send you out to work in a mine. That brute strength would be better suited to it. You are not suitable for my school. You would better be-"

Orion hadn't realized he was in her face till she was staring wide eye less then an inches from his own. "Hey hey hey.....fuck you first and foremost. You ignorant sack of shit. I will go out of my way to make your life a living hell." His voice was calm to his own ears. This was a new level of pissed off for him.

Miss Quill eyes nearly bulged out oh her head. He loomed over her. He had managed to push her away from her desk and against the wall without tipping the chair over. "Y-y-y-you can't j-j-j-just-," he silenced her lips with a finger.

"Yes, I can." He sat himself down in her lap, one leg on either side of him. It was uncomfortable, "Do you think your special? That you have rights granted to you that are above others? I can tell you, honestly and for true, that would be a big fat no. You're not special. In fact I took a look at your own scores when you first applied here fifteen years ago. Does it piss you off that some brat from no where out scored the entire professional tenure of this academy when I applied?"

Judging by her eyes she had not. So this was a class issue alone. Not born of jealousy, but of elitism. He had just given her another reason to hate him. Shit.

"Now you can go run and tell the Princess all about what I did here in this personal little interview. You'll find that I care very little about her opinion on me and punishments she might enact. I know she came down on you for trying to bar my way into this school." He adjusted himself, she was too small and sitting in her lap like a stripper was starting to make his back hurt from looking at her at such a painful angle he was sitting in. "If you do somehow, someway manage to get me from coming into this school, I will go to your home, and shit in places that will leave you confused for the rest of your life. I will make things disappear that would normally be impossible. You Will wake up with my piss in your cereal."

He stepped back, standing above her once again, her face had somehow gotten a little whiter. "I don't actually wish to waste my time putting my waste in your home. I want to study. Learn. Possibly impart some knowledge I may figure out in my lessons with the faculty of this school. I seem to have a knack for it, according to the Princess at least."

He walked back behind the desk and sat in his seat.

"How about we start over, I am Orion Falls. I am applying for entrance to this academia in the hope of furthering my understanding of magic and the effects it has in our world. I am applying for Combat Studies 101. Advance Alchemic Theories 103. And Modern Applications of Magic Fields and Their Effects. I know that last one is more of a one off but I am hoping to branch that into Illusion courses the following year." He smiled pleasantly. He felt like beating her with the desk.

She blinked rapidly, color slowly returning. Now a rosy pink of embarrassment.

"I-i." She stopped closed her eyes and composed herself. He could read her lips as she counted to ten. "I will be happy to have you in our school. I am Miss Violet Quill. Principal here at main campus of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns." She was trembling. He had really put the fear of god into her.

He couldn't bring himself to feel sorry, or he thought he couldn't. There was a little worm of, something, wiggling around in his chest. He didn't like it so he ignored it, maybe that donut at Donut Joe's was disagreeing with him. Have to deal with it later.

The rest of the brief meeting was general expectations he would have for school, what was expected of him and conduct. During all of that, that nagging wiggling feeling he had in his chest seemed to grow. Once finished he got up with a small thank you and walked to the door. He paused. Somehow, someway, he felt guilty. That was what that feeling was. He didn't like it.

He turned around and looked at her, her hands were trembling as she was looking down at her desk, trying to organize the mess he had made when he leaped over the piece of furniture at her. "Oh this just sucks, now I feel like shit."

Somewhere along the line Orion had forgotten how big he was compared to most in Canterlot. His years of physical training had left him rather imposing. The scar on his face most certainly would not help in making him less frightening.

"Miss Quill. I have to apologize." She looked up at him, suspicion and fear in her eyes. "I didn't come to this meeting to insult you. Or scare you. I knew you were the one that was blocking my entrance. But you were not the only one and was likely pressured by the other faculty in this school to do so." He slowly walked back to her desk, a pensive look crossing over his face. "I came here hoping to be funny and witty, to smooth over any tensions that may happen. Get you to like me for my stunning and winning personality." She looked like she wanted to smile, a start.

"That obviously didn't work." He ran his hand through his mane, sighing. "I am, prone to anger. I'm not gonna lie about that. But I have no intentions of ever harming students or faculty. Or you. I know I am the odd pony out considering my history. But they way you acted did not warrant my reaction. I was way over line. I am sorry. My frustrations at being unable to move forward have made me short tempered. " He hung his head and sighed heavily. This apologizing thing sucked, feeling guilty as hell sucked even more.

The silence in the room seemed to stretch on. She was looking at her desk and biting her lip. Her hands had stopped their shaking, hopefully a good sign.

"Orion," a pause, "I contributed to this, incident as well. My, up bringing has instilled in me a sense of... superiority. Princess Celestia put me in this position because of my administrative talents. My ability to see past ones current place and what they can be in the future makes me feel entitled in my own opinion of others. I allowed the papers, both memos from others, and the public news color my opinion of you. I did not look at your transcripts and see a colt pushing hard past his limitations. I saw an intruder. I too am sorry."

They looked at each other bashfully. Neither knowing where to go with the unexpected conversation that was born of regret and guilt.

"I would make a request of you Mr Falls." He cocked his head, waiting for the other shoe to drop. "Please don't defecate in my home. I just had all the curtains redone. I fear the stench would never leave them as silk tends to hold on to smells particularly well."

He chuckled, then laughed full throated, holding onto the back of the chair to keep him upright. She was giggling herself. A hand covering her mouth. Definitely not shaking anymore. The whole thing was almost to surreal to be real. "I won't I promise. I will just rearrange the entire house in your sleep instead." That got another polite laugh from her, eyes twinkling in amusement.

He walked out feeling better then when he had gone in. Maybe another donut?

Twilight was pacing back and forth in her room. She had been mulling over this issue for almost a week and it was beginning to make her panic. The issue in question, was that fact that once she graduated from secondary, she was going into full time tutelage with Princess Celestia. A joy and excitement rolled into one to be sure. But that meant she would likely not see Orion but in passing.

What was she going to do?! She had cried four times so far, she had become listless in class the last day, her mind going back to her dilemma. What was she going to do?!

He was on a full scholarship ride to his primary classes. She was never going to those courses as she was already beyond many of them. She would never see him again at this rate.

She began to cry again for the fifth time that day. It first started slowly, as salty tears dripped from her already reddened eyes. Flinging herself into her bed, burying her head into her pillows. She wailed into them. She didn't even hear the click of the door but did feel a weight settle on the bed next to her. A gentle hand running through her mane and down her back.

"Twilight...what is wrong? I don't think I have ever seen you this distraught on anything before. Did something happen at school today?"

Twilight whipped around and buried her head into her teacher's lap. She didn't say anything for awhile, just wept quietly.

Celestia had sat there, with her student's arms about her, head still buried in her lap. What had gotten her this upset? She had been crying for more then an hour.

"Ori-on....." She hiccuped.

Oh what had the menace done now. First Miss Quill and now Twilight? Though he had told her himself of what happened, and she never heard a word of the event from Miss Quill, but she had already sent a letter requesting her presence at her earliest convenience.

"What did Orion do?" Her face that of judgment, her voice the gavel ready to fall.

"N-nothing...he's....I-i-i-i'll never see him, af-after we graduate. H-he's going to h-is school, and....and I'll be here with y-you. Not, not that I am not happy ab-about learning fr-om you. Just...I'll never see him again, and...and and andand it's tearing me apart." She went back to crying new tears into Celestia's lap.

She sat there, mechanically petting her student's head. Her student, was in love with the fool colt. She had thought there was nothing going on other then a friendship between the two. Then her mind turned to what she was trying to do with getting a herd to approach him. All the failures that were slowly mounting up. The frustration, even rage at the herds who allowed themselves to be chased away.

Then her mind went to the fact that for the most part he had nothing but good interactions with Twilight. He even went out of his way to make her happy more often then not. The solution to both her, and to a small extent her students, problem was slapping her in the face. Why hadn't she not thought of this sooner. She didn't need a herd of noble fillies to ensnare him close to her. Who was closer then her own protege.

If she could wrap him around her finger just a little more, he would be as close to Celestia as she could hope. A devilish smile sprouted on her lips. "This could work out nicely indeed."

The final week of school ended in a whisper. It was almost anti-climatic the way it seemed to go. As if next week they would be back in school again. And for some it would, summer classes would be starting up for those who wanted, or needed, the extra credits to pad their academic files.

Orion himself did not need any of that crap. He was happy with his solid 4.1.

It always surprised him, the fact that there was this strange parallel between his former word and this one. He wondered if there might have been some bleeding effect on a spectrum of reality neither side had yet to detect. It was one of those thoughts he often found himself thinking about in the quiet of the night, when he could not find the sleep he needed.

Shaking himself from the thoughts of the existential. He could think more on it on the long train ride ahead.

The morning sun found him inside the train station, he had slipped away from the orphanage early that morning with a note on where he was going. The six am train to Griffonstone came early. He had been putting this trip off for awhile just because it seemed tedious, that and studies were always at the forefront of his mind. Would have again this year, but Screaming had gone and sent him tickets in her last letter. One there, one for the return. He couldn't let her waste her money so here he was, yawning, waiting for the conductor to began taking boarding passes.

He stayed out of direct sunlight for the moment. He was sure if Mrs Evergarden found the letter early she would have the city guard on his ass so fast he would still be spinning. So he wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible.

He hadn't seen Screaming Rush in years, not since he first arrived seven years ago. But without fail she sent two letters a month. She usually wrote about the usual. Wondering how he was, what she was doing, begging him to come see her in the summer.

Truth be told he had thought about it. But he wanted access to the school library and lab during the summer. He couldn't afford to lose the time to figure out which chemicals still functioned like they should, and which did not. There were even several new chemical compositions due to the plant and animal life of the Everfree he found he had no reference for. That was actually exciting.

This year he did not have the excuse. That and he just about exhausted all he could in the library. So he decided a visit to Griffonstone was finally in order. Not to mention that chick made it quite clear that he was coming if she had to come down from the north west and drag his ass back with her.

"Holy shit, shes got to be twenty by now, or near enough. What the hell did she want with me now?"

The fact that she had remained in contact all these years still surprised him. He thought she would get bored after a year, considering her erratic nature when she still lived at the orphanage. He figured she had ADHD the way she acted, constantly flicking from one subject to another. He chuckled to himself, she had seven years to percolate in her weirdness. This was gonna be an experience.

He did have another reason to go. He wanted to see the world outside of Celestia's influence. To see the effects of the policies she has pushed, the economic impact. It would all be very interesting.

He tried reading up on the the nation of Griffonia. Like the people of Ponyville, the griffons were certainly not the most imaginative bunch when it came to naming things. But what he could read, he committed to memory.

They were a prideful race. Patriarchal despite the fact that females outnumber the males three to one. It seemed honor, duty, and a sense of duty to the nation itself drove much of their interactions with one another. They were very combat orientated. At one point some eight hundred years ago they boasted the largest military that had ever been recorded at the time. Fifteen thousand. Seemed laughable to him considering the the US had a standing army of around one point three million soldiers. Still, impressive when compared to the current forces of Equestria at only twelve thousand.

In recent years, Griffonia barely had more then three thousand at any given time, according to the books. Most of those tied up in bandit duty. His forays into the local barracks had yielded a more accurate picture of the nation. The army was likely no more then eleven hundred strong now. The outlier towns and villages were mostly poor. Many in a state of disrepair. It wasn't good.

He sighed, the information had left him depressed.

The blast of the whistle from the train signaled the boarding had begun. Orion climbed in and hid in the back, just in case Celestia decided on a surprise visit. She's done it a couple of times now. More publicity. It was annoying is what it was. Considering he was still sleeping naked in his room the first time it had happened. She pushed the door aside with a loud bang startling his ass right out of the fucking bed. He was on full display for her, Mrs Evergarden, and several guard mares.

He didn't bother getting dressed quickly. The subsequent argument about proper bed clothes and being polite in knocking ended with the next time he would be sure to masturbate when she showed up. Really make sure she got her monies worth. She had stormed off in a huff the guards had been laughing. One gave him a high five, that was a first.

The journey north west was long. Nearly two days with a couple of stops to let the passengers stretch their legs. The further they went, the less ponies and more griffons seemed to occupy the cars. The griffons. They looked like they had scrapped the bottom of their barrels to pull the little bits to afford the line. Many were so poor the clothing they wore was threadbare. The children were what broke his heart the most. They were looking malnourished.

They were moving further into the griffon kingdom proper. The hushed conversations he had managed to overhear seemed to tell the tale he feared. Whole communities were falling apart. Seemed to be going on for centuries.

A young griffon chick was watching him over the bench in front of him. Her eyes were curious, but she looked like she hadn't eaten in a week. Her mother, kept glancing at him too. Most likely trying to figure out what a colt was still doing on the train this far north. Looking back to the child he rummaged into his bag and pulled out the jerky he had brought with him. "Whats a little hunger for me, this kid needs it more then I do."

Glancing around he noticed more griffon chicks watching him. The rustling had drawn their attention, the mother who was with the one the closest watched as well.

"Excuse me ma'am," She blinked. "Could you maybe pass this out to the kids? They look like they haven't seen food in over a week." Her eyes widened as she accepted the package from him. They seemed to bulge out of her head when she saw what was inside. Her eyes darted back to his, He just grinned and pulled his cheek back revealing his canines.

The rest of that trip seemed to breathe some life into the passengers of the last car. Children were laughing, the adults had more life in their eyes then when they had first boarded. The occasional smile he would get from them would brighten his day. Even if it only delayed the inevitable, it was worth it to him. He settled into his seat with a book, 'Principals of Spell Standing'. A dry read to be sure, but the idea behind stances when casting certain spells intrigued him.

Screaming Rush was pacing in front of the station. It had been seven years, what would he look like now? Would he be the same short colt she had met all those years ago? Would he even remember what she looked like? She was so nervous she feared she might begin to molt. Constantly checking for errant feathers. She smoothed her dress what had to have been a thousand times now.

Her guard had tried to calm her nerves but had very little success. She looked at herself in a glass window pane for the tenth time.

Her feathers had been preened to a lustrous shine. The oils she used not only helped with the glossy look but the smell of lavender and field berries hung around her wherever she walked. Around her eyes and ears her feathers had a lovely shade of red, soft and gentle eyes stared back at her from the window. The dark red shirt and black skirt she wore went well with the feathers of her wings that had darkened over the years naturally.

Many males looked at her with a hunger as she was growing up. Her aunt, Gabriele had told her that she was very beautiful, and that she was attracting the attention of many suitors. A smile graced her face, the window showed the same gentle smile she held.

She didn't care about what other griffon males thought. Would Orion find her pretty? Would he like her dress? Were her breasts too big? That last one worried her the most. Growing up she found most of the girls her age were much slimmer. She was tall, but her breasts and hips seemed to develop much more aggressively then the others. She endured teasing till the young drakes took notice. Then she had to endure years of hateful female antagonizing.

That was in the past. She smiled more confidently, then spoiled it by nearly leaping out of her feathers at the sound of a train whistle blast. She smiled in hope, had he actually come?

The train began to unload its passengers. Her heart hurt, there were so many refuges from collapsing communities on the outskirts of the nation. It was a sad story being replayed over and over again. The little chicks in the last car held a different energy, however. The parents seemed to be smiling, eyes brimming with life. The little ones were hanging onto what had to be one of the largest stallions she had ever seen.

He stood at least a head taller then the largest griffon in her fathers household. All black with a rich brown mane that held more then a little orange. There seemed to be a similar colored fur on his chin. He wore a button up shirt of white, with tan colored pants. There was a nasty looking scar across his face, it cut just above his left eye, passing under the horn and below the right. Then she focused on the eyes.

Those same stone gray eyes, that had always been buried in a book so long, now sparkled with mirth as he walked around like a giant hoisting the chicks up, making roaring noises as they squealed in mock terror and laughter.

This was the colt she had left back in Canterlot? What happened to his face? How in tartarus had he gotten so tall!? She marveled at the changes. Then she noticed how he filled out the shirt. "Oh Celestia, he hadn't stopped with the gym." A blush ripped its way onto her face, the way he had stayed glued to his books she figured he would have given up on the idea of working the body at some point.

He had most certainly did not. She hesitantly approached, coughing politely.

A cough caught his attention and he looked up into the blue green eyes of a rather buxom young griffin woman. Grabbing a child from around his neck and gently setting them down he smiled at the newcomer.

"Can I help ya miss?" The blush that was there seemed to increase. "Wait, no it couldn't be her could it?" He looked her over more carefully. The wings had darkened from the deep tan that he had remembered, her eyes and ear tips had a pretty red color makeup applied to them. "Scream? Is that you? Fucking hell you turned into a bombshell holy shit."

Her mouth dropped open. Apparently she was not ready for the tirade of vulgar obscenities that Orion was prepared to dish out at a moments notice. Neither were the parents around him who gasped in shock as one little hatching asked what shit meant. He chuckled over that.

"Ask your mother kiddo." The look he got from the hen was priceless. "What? I am a good guy in action but I never learned to mind my manners in polite society. So still a little savage. So go on. Tell him what shit means." He was grinning teeth flashing in the afternoon light.

The father, was chuckling to himself as he pulled his wife and children away. Shaking his head at Orion. They both waved by to each other as the old rooster began to put up with his mates indignation. "You know if I don't listen closely they really do sound like a couple of chickens arguing in a pen." His own thought had him laughing harder.

The rest of the group dispersed to find somewhere to bed down for the night in hopes of finding work to feed their families tomorrow. They wished him well and he wished them the best, a sad smile on his face. If things didn't change for them soon, the winter would likely take many of their lives. That thought hurt more then he could ever put into words.

Turning back to the now identified Screaming Rush he smiled gently. "Long time no see feather head. How's adopted life?"

She had managed to collect herself, clawed hands clutching at her skirt. "I am doing pretty well book worm. How's orphan life?"

"Eh can't complain to much. But the food is still terrible. You look, well amazing. Clearly rich people food is treating you very well." He grinned as she hit him.

"Are you calling me fat!?" He could tell she was not truly angry. A little indignant but she seemed to absorb his snarky humor in good stride.

"Naw just seems your body really hung onto the food you ate in all the right places." She blushed heavily looking down. A cough caught both their attention to a loan female griffon. Judging by the clothing coupled with a breastplate of steel, and a heavy and slightly curved blade at her hip, he figured her for some type of guard. Like back in Canterlot.

"Uh yes officer? Something we do wrong?" The look he got in response was a bewildered cock to her head and a ruffling of the feathers. He had no idea how to read that. But he was going to go on the assumption that he somehow got that wrong.

"No, Orion." Scream was laughing softly. "That is my personal guard, Gilda Broadwing. She is assigned to my retinue and was chosen to escort me today to meet you and pick you up."

Guard? A retinue? Who the fuck adopted her? Looking between the two women he could only shake his head in wonderment. "So, what? You got adopted by a noble or something?" The blush seemed to fade as she looked away. "Wait, how high up on the food chain are you?" Nothing.

"Sir if I may? Lady Screaming Fairheart is twelfth in line for the the throne of Griffonia." LADY? Twelfth in line?! Wait when did her name become Fairheart?

He stared at her, then back to Screaming. His eyes must have been bugging out of his head. Because she was giggling again.

"So, it turns out my parents were part of the royal line. No one could identify who I was at the time so I became some no pony-" Another cough from the personal guard. "I mean no body. Sometimes I slip up still. Heh. Anyways, I became a no body. I was too young to really remember much about my parents or who I was. But my Uncle found me and brought me back home."

"You, never said shit about this in your letters to me.... The hell Scream this is a pretty big bomb to drop on someone for fuck sake. If I dare ask, who in the hell is your Uncle?"

She looked away again in embarrassment. So Gilda answered for her. "King Bloodbeak Fairheart."

"Wut?"

Apparently Screaming Rush Fairheart, her full name, was the daughter of the King's brother and his wife. Her parents had been Lord and Lady Rush Fairheart. But at the time all Screaming could remember of her last name when she was found was Rush.

An incident on the border between Griffonia and Equestria between the refugees and the her families personal guard resulted in the death of the couple. Truly an accident by all accounts. But in the confusion Scream was picked up by a refugee that crossed the border into ponyland, and through a chain of events, she had ended up in Canterlot with no one to care for her. She was still in shock of her parents death at the time. Eventually the even itself was blocked and she forgot much of who she was.

For years she stayed with Mrs Evergarden's orphanage hoping to get adopted. Till the King's agents eventually traced her back all the way to Canterlot. The two griffons he had encountered with her in the hallway of the orphanage, were in fact the two agents that had found her. With permission from Celestia, they took her home, and the rest is history.

"You're like some fairytale fucking princess." He was still reeling. "No way is that fair. Where in the hell is my crazy noble family looking for my ass?!" It was purely a joke, not that any of the present company would know that.

"Sir, I would ask you to not swear in the presence of the Lady."

"Can it fuck buck. Scream and I both know that's never going to happen. If Celestia can't make me stop what makes you think you can?" The hen guard just glared angrily back at him.

"Wait, Orion, you sound as if you personally know Princess Celestia."

It was his turn to grimace and turn away. They had been walking slowly up a mountain of stairs to get to the castle that sat at the top of the cliff face. His legs were starting to hurt. But she had insisted on showing him all of Griffonstone from the vantage.

"Wait, you actually know the Princess?!"

"Well....funny story."

Screaming was having a difficult time processing what she was hearing. He, in the seven years they had only been writing, had met and yelled at a princess. No not just any princess. THE Princess. He was even having tea with her as if it was normal every couple of weeks.

"Wait, why were you even in front of the Princess to begin with?" That gave her a sheepish explanation on what he had done on a fall afternoon in school.

Her own guard had stopped and just stared at him. How does one even beat someone else with another? It didn't seem possible.

When she asked about the scar on his face, in which she asked if he got it from that fight. He had a new story to tell. And her jaw dropped. Her guard fingered her blade meaningfully. How, how had he managed to killed over a hundred timber wolves. When he got to the reason why he had chose to bait and outright kill the denizens of the Everfree, her heart swelled a little. He went out looking for justice.

She could see Gilda nodding in silent approval, and began resuming the trek up the moment. She was beginning to wish she had taken him up on teleporting the three of them up. Her calves and rear were screaming at her for mercy. Orion seemed fine. Stupid gym pony.

Gilda didn't know what to make of the stallion. Technically he was a colt but with that look, build and if his history is true, his abilities, he was more of a stallion then many of the pretentious jackasses that visit from the land of the ponies. Thus she had decided to fixate in her mind just who and what he was. A stallion.

When she was told what she was going to be doing today, she had set herself for a LONG and boring duty making sure Lady Fairheart would be safe. Instead she found herself enthralled with the tales of his exploits. He was certainly no unicorn she had ever heard of. She wanted to laugh when he spoke of using the child of BlueBlood as a weapon against the others. The image in her head was almost to much to maintain decorum. That and it was Blueblood they were discussing.

When the Lady's questions turned to his scars, and the reason behind them, she grew worried. This stallion willfully engaged in combat with over a hundred timber wolves in a night. On their own ground. And won. The reason behind it filled her with an odd sense of confidence. Should she fall she had no doubt he would be more then enough to defend her Ladyship from any harm. His own honor was no longer in question either. Despite his vulgarity, he had a strong moral compass his majesty would more then appreciate.

Arriving at the castle proper, the portcullis rose at their approach. The courtyard had at least a dozen guards milling about going through their daily routines. All was as it should be. Lady Screaming's retinue had set out two others, both drakes. Their armor polished to a proud shine as they each held their halberds at the ready against their shoulders. They took up positions besides her charge and her guest. The stallion looked about with a speculative glance. His eyes moved about like a veteran of wars. With a nod to the two guards, she broke off to a servants path. After three turns left and one right she found herself in front of the King's study rooms.

She had been ordered to learn of the stallion and report to his majesty the moment they arrived. This was going to be an interesting report. She identified herself to the guard posted in front of the door, was granted entrance. She squared her shoulders and marched in. Interesting report indeed.

Orion had watched Gilda break off after the two male griffons formed up a post about both of them. Drakes, he though they called the males. Stupid, the were at best roosters, he chuckled, or better yet cocks. Bunch of penises running about.

His thoughts drifted back to the hen that had left them. He knew what had happened. Her duty was not just to guard but to report on him, made sense if he thought about it. The King would want to know who was speaking and hanging out with his niece. Holy shit. She was royalty. That just made him cringe inside. How and why was he always getting involved with royalty?

He wanted to climb back on the train and head to Minos or something. But this was his pen pal of seven years. He wasn't about to make her feel terrible just after arriving. So he smiled and made small talk with her, as he scanned the entire castle for escape routes. He also looked for cover on his way up to the structure with them. Never hurts to have as many plans to run as possible.

The castle was spartan for the most part. Oh it had the scrolls, the paintings, the tapestries. Even some stain glass windows depicting ancient victories. The certainly had a lot of those. At this point it seemed a bitter reminder of what they once had. He noticed more and more the corners that no one went to, in disrepair. The kingdom was in a very bad state.

The walk to the stairs had shown him much. The streets seemed to be relatively clean. But it was the alleyways that told the real tale. Filled with trash and the bodies of sleeping refugees and homeless. Hatchlings peering at him from behind their parents. Fuck, that tug on his heart. He regretted forfeiting all his jerky on the train. These kids needed food just as much as the ones he rode in with.

The coughing got his attention. This city was on the verge of an epidemic. With so many sick and poor they were on the verge of losing a large portion of the population to disease. Many of the citizens he passed shared the same coughing as they worked.

He touched the book of notes at his hip. He had read about all this before he hopped on the train. They didn't have grain silos for long term storage. The fishing industry was in shambles the further out into the country it went. Fish didn't last long enough to make it inward farther then a couple of days. The city itself was on the coastline, the people had a magnificent view of the sea. But due to the state of the city, it was the only pretty thing they had.

He had decided to try his little experiment right here in the nation, somewhere. Though access to a King was not what he was expecting. He was hoping that her new father was a rich merchant or something. He had no idea how he was going to sell the ideas to a king. Appealing to his greed would not be enough. This would be an individual motivated by whether or not he had love for his people or power.

Shit, he was going to have to goad another monarch just to see how they ticked. Nothing goaded royalty like being brutally honest. Double shit.

"Here is where you will stay." They were in a long hallway away from the royal wing. Scream had to go and speak with her aunt, so she had departed a little earlier. Leaving him with a guard that had absolutely zero humor. "Curfew is at nine pm. Do not be outside your room by that time. Morning meals are at eight am. Do not be late. Lunch is at noon. Do not be late. Dinner is at six. Do-"

"Yeah don't be late blah blah blah, go and pound a wall." That was getting annoying. He had been glaring at him the entire time he spoke. He didn't need this shit from what was essentially, to him, a mall cop.

The guard made to grab him and he just flowed around his hand. That Gray Blanket, the unicorn he payed for instruction in combat really knew what he was talking about when it came to flowing around a target.

"Don't. You will get hurt, and I will just get into trouble for hospitalizing a guard."

The cock huffed, and left back down the hall. Orion could hear him grumbling about not being paid enough. He opened the door and was presented his temporary room, that looked exactly like the one he stayed in back in Canterlot. The window was even in the same place. But at least it had one hell of a view. He opened it to let in some fresh air as he began putting away his clothes. He would have to figure out the laundry system here to make sure he had clean clothes.

Then he would have to see about whether the castle had a gym that he could use. He was not about to let his time in the gym be wasted, even in Ponyville he had a farm to bust his ass on.

A knock on the open door drew his attention. There Gilda stood. She opened her mouth to speak, but he interrupted her. Confident in what she was about to say.

"He wants to see me already? That was quick." This King didn't waste time. That might bode well.

"Yes." Her eyes had widened a touch. Did she think he was that unobservant? "Come with me, his Majesty will see you in his private study."

"Lead the way oh quiet one." He shut the door as the proceeded down the hall. To meet, a King.