Dear Gilda,

I've officially finished my recovery. I'm being sent to stay in Ponyville for the time being, till your rounds bring you back to pick me up. Please, be careful. I'll see you then.

Griffin.

"Submitto ad Shimmer." In a wisp of smoke, the letter vaporized and headed to it's destination. The little dragon would receive it, and no doubt pass it along. Taking one last look at the room where I had spent the better part of the last few months, I took a deep breath, then closed the door.

"Well, this is it. It was fun I guess." Inkamina blew her mane out of her eyes. "I'm outta here too. Back to the tattoo parlor, but I'll be staying as part of the reserve."

"I'm staying with.. *achoo*." Chilly sneezed, the 'face shield' I taught him how to do earlier catching what would have otherwise been a projectile. He put it in a tissue before continuing. "I'm staying with the guard. I want to be the best I can be."

"I'm headed home too." Daffodil added. "Back to running the flower shop, but I bet everypony will think twice before making fun of me again."

"I, personally, will remain with the guard, lest I slip into my old habits. I will not bring shame to my family, I will make mother and father proud!" Pish Posh exclaimed. "But I will always cherish the memories I have made. I wish you well." He gave me a salute, then marched back to the barracks.

"Go on bird brain, get outta here." Carton finished.

With that, I picked up my pair of suitcases, and climbed onto the chariot waiting to take me to Ponyville. It was a little cramped, considering my size and wingspan, as well as luggage, but I was able to get in, and once the pegasi pulling my carriage were satisfied I was secure, they began flying towards the iconic little town.

"So, um, how long have you guys been doing this?" I asked to the pair. Their reply was a discontented snort and pointedly ignoring me. That was not acceptable, not at all.

As I waited at town square for the chariot to arrive, I took the time to ready a new book Princess Celestia had sent me, containing the next level of spells, fit for the most advanced unicorns only. It didn't take long before they arrived, though I heard them before I saw them, and what I heard was, to say the least, confounding in it's very essence.

Laughter, oddly enough. When I looked above I spotted the carriage, and the two guards pulling it were in hysterics, tears spilling out of their eyes.

"So he said, 'What to choose?' and I said 'Why not HORSESHOES?' Baaaahahaha!" The guard on the left stated in between fits of raucous laughter, while the one on the right struggled to catch his breath. "Hold on, let's circle a bit, I gotta compose myself before we land." They circled the town for a bit, before returning and landing in front of the main office. Griffin struggled to climb out of the chariot, being a bit too big to fit when coupled with a pair of suitcases. Eventually, he managed, gave the pair a salute, then began walking towards me.

"Hello Twilight." He greeted me with... unexpected poise and grace. He even smiled at me.

"Um..."

"I was told to talk to you regarding living arrangements." Where the hay was this polite attitude coming from? He MUST be up to something. The only time I've ever seen him act like this is when he's scheming.

"Ah, right. Rarity offered to let you stay with her, since she has some extra room." I explained. He stopped, then seemed to ponder for a moment, no more than a second really, before continuing. "Ah, well, that's very kind of her. I'll be sure to thank her."

"Ah, right. Rarity offered to let you stay with her, since she has some extra room." Twilight explained. I stopped in my tracks.

'Rarity? That's unexpected. I was certain she disliked me. For as long as she's known me, I've been conniving, manipulating, uncouth, and pretty much an all around jackass. I was almost certain she had set me up to live with Applejack at the farm. Why would Rarity offer? Most likely is Applejack refused, since I KNOW she doesn't like me, and having nowhere else, generosity took over. Second most likely is that she wants something, perhaps help around the store, or a human perspective on fashion, some sort of service. Most unlikely is that despite her outward statements of refinement, she's actually into the 'rough and tumble' type. After all, I am technically a king at this point, and have a high position in the largest gem export system in the known world, she could be interested romantically. It's highly unlikely, since I already have a partner in Gilda, her personality, as well as my own, being in direct conflict with Rarity's, though she has been known to make poor choices in the past. It's still a possibility however, and I can't discredit it, though I don't need to think of contingency plans.'

"Ah, well, that's very kind of her. I'll be sure to thank her." With that, I continued towards the boutique.

'Now, in the event she does want some form of aid or service, I'd be required to oblige. I refuse to be a freeloader, and since she's giving me a place to stay while I wait for Gilda to return, it couldn't hurt to help out. If she doesn't want anything in return, then that would be me being a freeloader. So, either way, I'll be helping out. Now, how would I assist a dress maker....'

"Griffin?" I was brought out of my reverie by Twilight saying my name questioningly, and a look of worry appeared on my face as I suddenly became aware that she had been talking the entire time we were walking, and I have no idea what she was saying. I really need to not do that.

"Um..."

"The things I would give to know what goes on in your head." She shook her own and let out a sigh of derision. "Anyways, we're here. What I was saying was, try to stay out of trouble, okay?" She made that face people make when they put their hands on their hips and scold someone, but couldn't do the action that goes with it, what with being a quadruped. She knocked on the door, and Rarity opened it.

"Twilight, such a pleasure to see you." She smiled. "I see Griffin has arrived, safe and sound." She said with less enthusiasm.

"Yea, I was a little worried when the guards pulling the coach flew into town laughing. I was afraid they might fall out of the sky." Twilight smirked. "Anyways, I'll leave you to it. I'll come by later to see how things are coming along." With that, she left, heading back to do whatever it is she does.

"Thank you for giving me a place to stay until the ship comes and picks me up. I've already sent the letter, it shouldn't be more than a month before they come to get me. I know you're busy so I'll, uh, try to stay out of your way."

"Mmh." She nodded. "Well, I suppose I should show you around." She allowed me inside. The interior of the building looked, exactly like it does on the show. Frilly, froo-froo, 'haute couture', all those things that make you want to gag. "I know it's not your cup of tea, but this is just the store front. The actual living area is much less... extravagant. It's meant to give me a break from dresses and not have to think about them. Follow me, it's upstairs." And that's where we ran into our first problem. It was a tight, spiral staircase, meant for slim ponies. Attempting to squeeze into it to get upstairs turned into a rather big ordeal.

Noticing my struggle, Rarity raised her eyebrow in question. "Is there a problem?"

"Nothing. It's just that the theme of the day is, 'too big to fit'. I'll be up in a moment, Forma Versus." Having shrunk down, it became infinitely easier to ascend the staircase, and I began to wonder why I hadn't done that in the first place, or with the chariot. In fact, looking back, there were a number of issues that had glaringly obvious solutions that I didn't pick up on. I hope I'm not losing my edge...

"Can I help you with your bags?" The unicorn offered.

"Oh, no, that's alright, they're not that heavy, just a couple odds and ends." She seemed questioning of my behavior, but then let it go as she continued to show me around.

"My room, Sweetie Bell's room, and the guest room where my parents stay on the rare occasion they're not on vacation. Do take care around Opal, she's not a fan of visitors."

"Thanks for the warning." The cat was laying on a pillow, lifted her head to look at me, then laid back down, uninterested. It's simple, cats get ticked off when you don't leave them alone. I just ignore the fuzzball, and she'll leave me in peace.

"So, here's where you'll be staying. Feel free to redecorate as you like, just don't put any holes in the walls. Bathroom is just down the hall. I'm going downstairs to the sewing room to start work. I'll come get you when lunch is ready." With that, she left. The guest room was bland, stale, and had nothing more than a four poster bed, quite a classy one, made of some manner of light wood.

"Not mahogany, drat." Other than that, there was a nightstand and a single large window. Well, at least I know how I'll be getting in and out of this place without using the stairs. Trying out the bed, it was too soft for my comfort, though I'm used to sleeping on what could be considered a blanket and pillows atop rocks. Still, not much I can do about that, and there's no point in complaining.

"Reverti." When I tried to see if it would be any more comfortable to lay on in my other form, something rather strange took place. I heard some creaking. As I shifted around to try and determine where it was, the groaning of wood became ever apparent.

*Crack*

"... Uh oh."

*Whump*

The four posts of the bed, whose solemn duty it was to bear the weight of said bed and it's occupants, apparently decided they had enough of this absurdity, dropped their load, and proceeded to take a nap. The whole thing just fell apart when I laid on it, the pillars clattering to the ground noisily.

"What's going on up he..hehehehaaahahaha...." She began to laugh. I cringed.

"Sorry about the bed. I, well, I don't KNOW what went wrong." I hung my head.

"Oh think nothing of it. I knew that old thing was on it's way out, I just didn't know when it would finally give up." She found it a little too humorous in my opinion, but she wasn't mad so, I guess it turned out. I can only imagine the fat jokes that would come out of this.

"I think I'll just lay the mattress on the floor."

"Alright, well, after that, come down for lunch."

Lunch was hay. Haycakes (like pancakes, but with hay) haymeal, hayhayhayhayhay. Too bad I can't eat it. The parsley garnish was edible though, so, at Rarity's questioning looks, and my explanation of 'I can't eat hay', she let me have a go at her kitchen. I decided some steamed vegetables would agree with my stomach better, so prepared that instead.

Author's Notes:

I know this chapter doesn't seem finished, mostly because I didn't follow my normal style of leaving a cliffhanger, but that's because I've been in a slump and I REALLY want to update to get myself going again.

Now, the next bits are going to be kind of comedy, just how awkward things can really get, before I get to the main arc of the story. EX, Griffin is about twice the height of the average pony, around the height of Princess Celestia. He's also a lot wider, so, that leads to some trouble with tight spaces.

To all you people out there QQing because at this point, I haven't even gone into the mature, 'gorey' stuff, complaining that Griffin is going soft, blah blah blah, whine whine whine, quit it! I mean, come on! Give the guy a break okay? Considering what he's been through, AND later on he falls into Tartarus has lots of fluffy hugs and things and no writhing ocean of bloody maggots at all! They TOTALLY don't crawl under your skin and eat you alive, and your terrified whimpers and screams DEFINITELY aren't the dinner bell that starts their feast. I'm talking three inch long LEECHES that jump onto the boat and gorge themselves on anyone who makes noise. Yeah, none of that stuff...

On a totally unrelated note, about a month back I had a nightmare about an ocean of leeches that could sense fear. It's okay, I just updated, it's not like you guys were planning on sleeping anyways... *whimper*

Also, sorry for not updating in so long, but I've had a lot going on, the point most relevant to me not updating being that my brain somehow turned liquid and spilled out onto the floor. I spent the past month putting it in a dixie cup and pouring it back in through my ear, and now I'm trying to figure out how to make it retain a solid state. I may resort to just putting in earplugs to keep it in there long enough to write.

Aslo, I GOT A JOB! I've been sending out resumes and applications and whatnot for like, three-four years, and again for the past four months since I finished my education, and I finally got hired! Break out the party cannon Pinkie!