John Sampson Returns Chapter Nine

My cosmic alarm clock is on the job. Thirty minutes to sun raising. I stand and fold my wing. Galinda stirs, stretches, and stands. Oh! My! I can see the difference. She steps over and rubs up and down my neck.

“Wait a minute! John, did you get shorter last night?” exclaims Galinda.

With a large smile, “Nope. But you did get taller. I bet your wings got bigger too.”

She spreads them and sure enough, they’ve grown. I start for the toilet and she races by me.

Through laughter, “Yes, your gut got bigger and stronger too. Get used to being empty just before every meal.”

I take my turn then step out on the balcony, “Look around, Galinda, tell me what you see.”

She looks and, “I see Griffonstone. It seems quiet but all the shops and neighbors are right where they belong.”

“Where’s the sun?”

“I don’t know. Isn’t the sun your job?”

“Okay, let’s go take care of it,” and I launch off of the balcony. Galinda follows close behind me as I circle the castle and town ending on Lonely Crag.”

The now expected crowd is there. We walk through them toward the end of the rock that have left clear for me. They are bowing and murmuring, “Your Majesties.”

When we get to the clear area, Galinda asks, “What’s going on, John?”

“Your subjects are adoring you. They recognize the change. Get used to it. This is your life now.”

I take my stand and do my job. When I turn, I see more crowd on the streets and buildings of Griffonstone.

Galinda is amazed, “John, are you saying all of those Griffons are here to see me?”

I nod, “Yes. This is the job. You protect them and keep their little lives safe and happy. They pay homage to you and obey without question in return.”

“They’ve never acted like this for my father?”

“You father isn’t a god. Wait until they bring you their foals for a blessing. Come on, we need to greet your subjects so everypony can get some breakfast.”

We fly off the rock and around to the main gate to the city. Landing, we walk up the main street toward the castle. They bring their young to the front so I touch them lightly with my wingtip as we walk slowly by. Galinda watches then matches my moves on the other side of the street. When we reach the walk up to the castle, there are armored Griffons standing on both sides of the walk with spears crossed over the walk forming an arch.

“After you, my budding goddess.”

We walk into the main room of the castle to find extra platters of meat waiting. Granger and Gerald are at the table but they step back and bow. Galinda is shaking.

I step up and rub against her saying, “Come on, you two. She’s had enough shocks already this morning.”

Gerald starts giggling and the tension is broken.

A very annoyed Galinda speaks, “You want your butt thrashed? I can do it now.”

I caution, “Be careful. You wouldn’t want to hurt your little brother.”

Confused, Galinda looks at me, “But . . . He’s . . .”

I explain, “Not anymore. Remember what I said about hunting with Alicorns? Fights are the same. This why I wanted to ease you into it. I had to make this adjustment myself and it’s tough. But the sun bypassed me.”

Galinda returns my rub, “You’re right, John. I will try to remember.”

We take places side by side at the table and finished off a platter apiece. There is a little teasing and tidbit stealing along the way.

Granger finally couldn’t stand it, “John, I see you have beautiful, graceful mate by your side. So where did you leave my daughter?”

Galinda glares at him briefly then turns to me, “Are you going to let him get away with that?”

“Aren’t you glad you don’t have a horn yet? No matter how far you go, he’s still your blood. I am curious what you wanted to do, though.”

Galinda pouts a little, “I was going to dump his tea on him.”

“Why?” I ask, “He just described you as beautiful and graceful and you are.”

Galinda rubs against me and rubs her head up my neck, purring loudly. I groom her ruff a little and the purr gets louder.

“I think you two should take that show on the road. Go shopping or just sightseeing,” Granger suggests.

I agree, “Yes, and we really need to do some flying so Galinda can get used to her new wings.”

That catches Gerald’s attention, “New wings? Let’s see.”

Galinda steps back and spreads. Gerald is shocked, “Dammit! Little sister, you’re catching up with John. And you’ve got the muscles to match.”

I smile and add, “And every single one of you including Galinda missed the other change. We flew around the town and over to Lonely Crag this morning in pitch darkness. Everypony else had torches.”

Galinda protested, “There was light. I could see just fine.”

Smiling, “Yes, you could see just fine. Then you watched me raise the sun. Every time you gain strength, you will see more. Let’s go for a walk.”

Taking our leave, we stroll out the door and down into the town. Griffons are coming out to watch us and bow. We’re nodding and thanking them. Then I spot a jeweler and steer Galinda in there.

A young Griffon is at the counter but she takes one look and runs into the back. Seconds later she returns with a middle aged male Griffon.

Bowing, the Griffon asks, “How may I serve Your Majesties?”

I reply, “I am looking for a suitable gift for my new mate. Give me traditional ideas.”

The jeweler fumbles and thinks for a minute and, “Have you been a hunt yet? Something to remember the first prey you took together is one tradition.”

I reply, “Yes, we have been on a hunt together but don’t see much chance that it will be forgotten.”

The jeweler asks, “What did you take?”

Smiling, “Four Dragons. And we scared the Lord of Dragons into ending the raids.”

A very startled jeweler asks, “You faced the Lord of Dragons and he feared you?”

I nod, “There were four of us, myself and Twilight representing Ponies and Galinda and Gerald representing Griffons. We were hovering twenty yards in the air to be nose to nose with him and he was looking for a place to hide before it was over.”

The jeweler stutters, “Oh my. That is brave.”

I continue, “It was on that hunt that I decided to take her as my mate. She stood in front of a live Dragon eating Dragon flesh and taunting him. She scared him so bad he barfed up all the Ponies he had eaten and started screaming about the horrible monsters attacking him.”

I rubbed against Galinda and groomed her ruff, “This is my kind of Griffon.”

Galinda nuzzled me and, “This is my kind of Pony.”

Examining Galinda, I ask, “What do you wear to a formal affair. You know there are going to several of those shortly after we get to Canterlot. A breastplate? Pendant?”

“A light breastplate or collar is traditional,” Galinda answers.

“Give me a light breastplate of gold with a sun on top and a Pony facing a Griffon below with jewel highlights on a silk collar. How long will it take?”

“To make? One or two days. To get the materials here? Two or three weeks.”

I’m not impressed, “Give me a list. Be sure to order extra of everything.”

The jeweler is concerned, “That is going to be expensive, Your Majesty.”

Looking the jeweler in the eye, “Did I ask about price? Get busy. We’ll be back in an hour or so.”

Out the door and into the street, I say, “Let’s fly for a while.”

Taking off, we circle the town smiling at the Griffons looking up at us. I spiral for altitude then level out to an easy cruise. Galinda matches me.

“Have you noticed that I’m not sweeping at all?” I ask Galinda.

“Yes, how are you doing that?”

“Just glide then feel for the air behind you and give it a push.”

Galinda leaps ahead and laughs, “This is fun. Now I see how you can fly so fast without working at it.”

I caution, “Pull your wings in as your speed increases. To much wing will drag you down. And don’t try to go too fast. You need to learn shields before you go fast enough to tear feathers off.”

We zip around the sky playing tag and doing aerobatics for the fun of it.

Galinda pulls up next to me, “You’re getting me ready for a cloud dance, aren’t you?”

Smiling, “Of course. And you need to learn how to use your new strength. Try pushing sideways for a sudden dodge.”

We have a little more fun and entertain the locals then it is time to check back in with the jeweler.

“The list is fairly straightforward, Your Majesty, except for the jewel to represent the sun. That should be a diamond but diamonds that size are hard to come by. If you can find a number of smaller matching diamonds, I can cluster them and get the same effect. How many and how well they match is a judgement call.”

“That’s not a problem. I have a debt to collect that will more than take care of this.”

We exit the shop and take off. Galinda is curious, “Where are we going?”

“We are going to visit the Lord of Dragons. I’m owed four Dragon hoards.”

We get enough altitude to be comfortable and I teleport us to Dragon’s Lair.

I instruct Galinda, “Stay above me and keep watch. If anything even slightly suspicious happens make a loud noise.

Dropping down to even with the Lord of Dragons’ lair, “Wake up Great Sleepy Lizard. We have unfinished business.”

Nothing happens so I crank up the command voice, “Bring your lazy ass out here right now alleged Lord of Dragons.”

The familiar large head pokes out of his cave and asks, “Why do you torment me, Pony Monster?”

I remind him, “Last time we spoke, you rushed off to take care of something important to both of us. We didn’t get to address all of the business that we have between us. So I’m back to take care of the rest of it now. Specifically, you owe me four Dragon hoards.”

Trying to look sly, the Dragon says, “You know, it’s possible that there may not be much left of those hoards. Another Dragon may have taken them.”

I smile big, “That’s alright. I can just kill that Dragon for stealing my property and go home with five Dragon hoards.”

Still working on the sly look, the big Dragon says, “It might not be that easy to get a Dragon out of his lair. He’s got a lot of mountain protecting him.”

Laughing, I answer, “That would be a bonus. I’ve been trying to find a replacement for the mountain I accidentally destroyed in the Crystal Empire. I’ll just teleport your mountain there a piece at a time until I uncover the foolish Dragon.”

Giving up on sly and going straight to worried, the Dragon moans, “What about all the other Dragons? None of them would have a place to live.”

We both know he isn’t really worried about anypony else but it tells me I’ve got him desperate. So, time for a lifeline.

I look concerned, “That is a problem. I guess you’re going to have to come up with some place for them. Unless you think you might have a way to work something out for me. I’d give you part of the hoards in return for help collecting them.”

Now we get a real crafty look as the Dragon asks, “Just how big a part?”

I think a minute and, “I get to pick the part I want first, you get the rest.”

“No, no, that won’t do. You’ll grab all the big stones and leave me gravel,” moans the Dragon.

I point out, “You’re not thinking. Look at the difference in size here. I want a few big gems but most of what I want will be the size of my eye or smaller.”

He’s hooked now, “Really? If that’s so I could do it for half.”

I’ve got to make him work for it on principle, “No, that’s way too much for a few minutes work. I’ll give you a quarter.”

He ponders for a moment, then, “I’ll do it for a third and you never bother me again.”

“I can’t promise never. You are going to live for a very long time and I am going to live even longer. I will promise that whatever I don’t take of these hoards is yours and I will never speak of it again.”

The Dragon is on the edge, “How do I know that I can trust you? You could attack me and take all my hoard.”

“I don’t want your hoard. I don’t even want the other hoards. I want some specific jewels to make some pretty presents for friends,” I explain.

Now he’s really confused, “You plan to give my jewels away!”

Calmly, “No, I plan to give my jewels away. You can keep yours. Dragons hoard jewels, Ponies don’t.”

He’s straining his brain now, “If Ponies don’t hoard jewels, why do you need so many?”

Smiling, I administer the coup de gras, “I have a lot of friends. That’s how it works when you’re generous instead of greedy. Just think of all the fun we could have if we were friends.”

He shakes his head then, “I have to come out to turn around. Then you can follow me in and we’ll divide the hoards.”

I fly up to Galinda, “We’re going into his lair to divide the hoards. Just don’t notice how all of the hoards are already in his lair.”

We drop down and land in the mouth of his cave as the Lord of Dragons disappears into its depths. It seems large to me but I can hear the Dragon scraping and grunting in front of us. In about sixty yards it opens into a large cavern. There are neat piles of jewels and metals along one wall.

I have an idea, “Hey, Dragon, is this cave getting a little tight on you?”

He examines the idea and finds no tricks, “Yes it is. The last four hoards may have been a little too much but there are no bigger caves so what can I do?”

“You can show me where it’s too tight on the way back out and I’ll ‘adjust’ it for you,” I suggest.

“You would do that?” he wonders.

“Sure. It’s almost no effort. I mean, if I can take a mountain apart, how hard is it to trim a few rough edges?”

“The first four piles from that end are the hoards you want,” and he sits back to decide just how he wants his cave modified.

I start sorting, choosing metal and small high quality gems. I find a few large gems but most are too rough for my purposes. I’ve made three piles in front of the original piles when I stop.

“Hey Dragon, I’ve got a problem. I need some large diamonds and there are none in these hoards. Got any you want to trade?” I inquire.

He ponders a moment, “I might have a few but those big diamonds are extra valuable.”

I’m game, “Show me. I’ve got four piles and some heavy duty magic to offer.”

The Dragon goes behind the biggest pile and comes back with a mouthful of diamonds. I count twenty two, all bigger than my hoof.

“Let me find some more small diamonds and the rest, two thirds of the four hoards, is yours for the service and the twenty two big diamonds,” I offer.

I sort out about fifty small diamonds while he thinks about it.

“I tell you what, I’ll throw in a luxury tunnel in place of your cave to the outside,” I sweeten the offer.

“It’s a deal,” the Dragon agrees.

I load all of the gems and metals into my pocket then study the cave and the Dragon. Putting up a shield that doesn’t do anything but make some colored light, I shape it to the desired tunnel size and put it against the rock. Wherever the rock is colored, I trim it off and send down the tunnel. About ten yards in, I stop and back out.

Turning to the Dragon, “Try that for fit.”

The Dragon steps into the hole and wiggles a little.

“Can you make it a little wider?”

“Sure. That’s easy,” and I adjust the size of the shield. When the Dragon is clear, I do it again expanding the hole I had cut then continue on at a slow walk. When I get to the outside, I cut enough from both sides of the cave to make a small platform at the mouth of the tunnel. I take off and hover with Galinda beside me.

The Dragon comes out and turns sideways on the platform, “Hey! I can turn around without going down the mountain. I like this.”

I say, “Remember this next time we meet. It’s not like Dragons and Ponies can’t get along. After all, I have a Dragon colt.”

I reach for Griffonstone and Galinda and I come out just in time for lunch. Granger and Gerald are both at the table already.

Granger greets, “Hello there. Have you two been having fun?”

I just grin, “We did a little shopping. I’m having some jewelry made for Galinda to wear and I was disappointed in what was locally available so I have corrected the problem. Do you have a large, secure storeroom I could use?”

Granger is a bit puzzled but cooperative, “How big a room do you need?”

“Enough to hold several cubic yards and store it neatly,” I reply

“Several cubic yards of what?” Granger asks.

“Gems and jewels with some gold and silver,” I answer.

Granger looks at Galinda, “Can you explain it? Please?”

Galinda grins, “You remember the four Dragons he killed? We went back to Dragon’s Lair and claimed their hoards. Then he did some trading with the Lord of Dragons. We brought back the pick of five hoards.”

Gerald is rolling on the floor laughing. Granger is completely speechless. And Galinda looks like the Eagle that ate the canary. I just float some meat over for Galinda and I.

After lunch we look at rooms until we find one I think will be big enough. It has some shelves in it so I start unloading while Gerald goes looking for more shelves. Granger just keeps shaking his head. It all fits but not by much. I pick out a large diamond, a large gold platter, and an assortment of small stones.

Turning to Granger, I say, “Use whatever you want out of that. I’ve got what I wanted.”

Granger is choking, “John, do you realize that there’s more cash in that room than in my treasury?”

“Granger, now that Galinda is ascending, you’re running with the big Ponies. Get used to doing things on a different scale. I got all those jewels because I didn’t want to let the Lord of Dragons off light. If I had, he wouldn’t respect Ponies.”

Galinda and I head off to the jeweler’s. He is more than a little surprised to see us back the same day.

“Yes, Yes, I can work with this,” he’s happy.

Then I show him the big diamond. His eyes get so big they rival the diamond.

“Can I touch it, please?” like he’s worshiping it.

I pass it to him, “Touch it, hell. I want you to mount it. Here’s your sun diamond. Use the smaller stones for stars. Etch the images of Pony and Griffon lightly and add subtle rays from the sun. Can you get the silk?”

“No problem. Give me three days,” he’s still in awe.

“You can keep the leftovers and you also need to strike a deal with King Granger. He’s got a closet full of stones and metal you can deal on,” I suggest.

“Thank you, Your Majesties, thank you so much.”

“We’ll see you in three days,” and we’re back out on the street strolling. After a couple of blocks, we are in a residential area.

It’s quiet until, “Incoming!” as I duck to avoid a very small Griffon flying erratically overhead.

Landing roughly in front of us, she asks, “Hey, what’s that thing on your head? I almost hit it.”

As I lean forward and light my horn with magic, “Do you mean this?”

Impressed, she exclaims, “Sweet! Yeh, that. What else can it do?”

“Just about anything you can imagine.”

After some serious thought, she asks, “Can it make it rain?”

So I call up a small rain cloud and dump it on her.

“You could have just said ‘yes’!” shouts a very exasperated young Griffon.

“Hey, be happy you didn’t ask for lightning.”

Galinda is having trouble with giggles when an adult Griffon comes rushing up, “Grissel, are you bothering these nice . . . Your Majesties.”

Through giggles, Galinda pronounces, “I’m not sure who is bothering who here. I am sure they are both having fun.”

I smile, “Hello Grissel. My name is John.”

Grissel speaks with great seriousness to the adult Griffon, “He said he could do anything,” turning to me, “Can you make yourself go away?”

I nod and teleport to five yards behind where we are standing. Walking back up, “Was that far enough?”

A very frustrated young Griffon yells, “No!”

Being very careful not to laugh, I ask, “Would you satisfied if you could be at tonight’s sun lowering. I could arrange for you to stand close. It’s the biggest thing I do with my horn.”

The older Griffon speaks up, “Your Majesty, she wants to go but she can’t fly well enough to go to Lonely Crag yet, especially coming back after dark.”

“How many youngsters do you know of in a similar situation?” I inquire.

She replies, “About a half dozen, Sire.”

I nod, “Can you have them all together and ready to go twenty minutes before sundown?”

She considers and, “It depends on where.”

I explain, “It doesn’t matter where as long as you tell me. I’m going to open a door to Lonely Crag. It will work just like any door in your house except that the other side of it will be Lonely Crag.”

“Turn right at the next corner and go one block. There’s a school there. It may be full by twenty minutes to dark and some may bring parents. Would that be alright?” she asks.

“If we can’t fit everypony onto the rock, we’ll do it again tomorrow,” I promise.

Bowing to Grissel, “Please excuse us, Milady. We must go and secure the rock.”

Galinda and I start up the street with a purpose now. When we reach a clear area, we take off and head for Lonely Crag. There are already two Griffons waiting on the rock. We land and approach them.

I direct, “Please tell everypony that I have promised a school full of youngsters a special trip tonight. I will be bringing them here by portal. Adults can come over if there is any space after the foals are here. You two can stay as thanks for doing this favor for me.”

We’ve got about an hour to go so Galinda and I head back to the school. There are several youngsters and a couple of adults waiting. They marvel at Galinda and the whole idea that we might want to spend time with them. I get lots of new supporters for the Pony / Griffon union. Galinda gets a look at another aspect of the ‘job’. And then it’s time to go.

I open a portal and step through saying, “Follow me.”

We’ve got twenty youngsters and six adults by then. A few hesitate but Galinda is standing there to reassure them. Everypony lines up nicely on the rock and Galinda stands behind me just in case. The lowering is routine other than the sun sneaking a peek through my eyes with great amusement.

I reopen the portal and we return to the school. There are going to be a lot of stories crisscrossing the neighborhood tomorrow. Galinda and I have an appointment of our own with a couple of platters of meat.

After hearing the story of our afternoon, Gerald can’t stop giggling and Granger is amazed.

“John, you aren’t wasting a moment, are you?” Granger marvels.

I explain, “It’s part of my talent. I’m really good at taking random circumstances and making useful plans out of them. This day should prove that.”

Galinda and I retire to our room and set up for another mind walk. This time I visit Galinda and theme is red. She’s got the floor and the windows but her floor is dark red under a scarlet sky.

“Whoa! I’m impressed. I’ve seen a lot of minds but you are the first to come up with a new color scheme. Did you change it yourself or is this a Griffon thing?” I quiz.

Galinda replies, “I wanted something different than plain white and experimented until I found this. Does this change anything?”

“Yes it does. It gives me confidence in your control. When your horn develops, the same kind of willpower will translate to strength of magic. Have you opened Twilight’s present yet?” I ask.

Galinda responds, “I’ve been too busy with life and finding new ways to use my own memories.”

“Open it and experience life as a Royal mare, as my mare,” I suggest.

She pulls the package in front of her and touches it. It expands to show windows into Canterlot and the Castle. The windows swirl and now I’m in all of them. I see one that I know she’s looking for but all it shows right now is me and Twilight at the dinner table.

I say, “I’m going to take a nap while you go through all of that. I suggest a thorough study because there will be a lot of scattered clues and hints,” and pull out, relaxing on the pad. Turning my attention inward, I study my modified organs and assure myself that my control still functions as I turn my fertility off. Chores done, I slip off to sleep.

Something is happening. I haven’t made to awake yet but something is stirring, my heart rate is up and I feel certain tensions. If this is a dream, it’s a wild one.

Then it happens again and my eyes snap open to see Galinda standing over me gently stroking my horn with the soft feathers of her ruff. I growl and she jumps back as I come up to my feet. She has officially earned her cloud dance. Advancing on her, I stretch to my full height and rumble deep in my chest. My focus is total, I drink in her scent, the motion of her wildly active tail, the sound of her throaty growl. She retreats before me until she feels the wall behind her. With a loud snarl, she leaps at me and we tumble across the room. Jumping up, she breaks for the balcony door and leaps into the wind. With a roar, I follow.

She’s nowhere to be seen but the only way to hide that fast is to use the castle so I spiral up and right reaching out with all my senses. Yep, I see a tail curving around the castle ahead of me so I reverse and kick in thrust. She sees me above her and closing in so she lets out a loud yowl and accelerates away from the castle and across the town. I’m right behind her but closing in is hard. She’s lighter and has a more compact wing structure so she can maneuver between buildings better than I can. My strategy is to keep her moving in one direction. If she can’t double back, she’s going to run out of buildings. She’s yowling and snarling as I force her closer to the edge of town. Lights are going on everywhere.

When she reaches the edge of town, she dives straight down over the cliff with me close behind her. In open air brute force rules and I’m brute force personified. Hanging back, I wait to see which way she is going to turn when she gets to the ground. She goes left then straight up. That’s what I’m waiting for. Accelerating hard, I position myself directly over her and start closing in. She can’t dodge without hitting the cliff. A quick grab with my front legs and she’s mine just as we clear the cliff edge. I reach forward and take a firm bite hold on her neck as her body goes rigid with her wings straight up.

Lifting her up to altitude, my horn begins to fizzle and my body curls to bring my hindquarters closer to her. Her tail is against my left side curving over my back just behind my wings. My erection has reached her backside but all I feel is fur. I keep probing as she wiggles her hindquarters under me. She’s growling and snarling with great enthusiasm then I feel skin. Thrusting, I slide in. Wow! She is hot and tight beyond my wildest imagination. My body just spasms driving my erection deeper into her. I want to pull back for another stroke but I can’t. It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m pumping my load into her as my horn sprays magic like a fountain. Three hard spasms pushing my load into her and my body begins to relax. That’s what she’s waiting for.

She twists under me and starts moving her wings. I’ve been locked into a glide as my body spasms through orgasm but now it’s time to go. I sweep hard as I release her and rip my erection out of her. We both roar to the heavens as she zips off through a series of barrel rolls and loops. I stay close and wait for her to calm down. After a few minutes, she pulls up in front of me. Her tail is straight up and my eyes are drawn to a bright red target in the center of her backside. Her scent is divine. I feel that certain tension building in my body and move forward. Just as I can almost touch her, she shoots forward and the game is on. There must be a goal. She’s not diving into the town but she is dodging and darting too much to make it easy to catch her.

Then I recognize her goal, she’s heading directly for the beacon on top of the castle. This is going to be fun. Rising above her flight path, I prepare to strike. She slows just a little directly over the castle and I make my move. Scooping her out of the air, I put myself into an orbit around the beacon and fifty yards higher. Her wings are up and her body stiff already so I tilt my head to lay my horn on top of her’s. Contact! There is an incredible, overwhelming lust for my god mate. She is feeling my strength wrapping her body and mind and is craving more. My erection shoots forward as I curl my body and I feel it poking my backside beside my labia. A small correction and I thrust home feeling the most glorious pain as my erection embeds into my body. Instantly I orgasm in two places at once. My orgasms feed upon each other and build. Then I realize that it’s full daylight below us. My magic is radiating like a small sun from both of us. I’m struggling to maintain enough control to keep our flight level when the peak finally passes and the light fades. As soon as Galinda’s wings move, I sweep and pull up, jerking us apart. We roar loudly at each other in salute.

Galinda loops and rolls again but I have other business that must be attended. She lands on Lonely Crag a few seconds after my landing, purring loudly enough to rattle rocks.

“Eight minutes. We’ve timed that rather well,” I pant.

Our audience is staring at us with undisguised awe and Galinda is basking in it. She leans against me and wraps her head around my neck. I fold a wing over her and pull her close.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” I warn.

She looks up at me and breathes, “I’m not worried. I’ve felt your strength and your desire.”

Looking down, I notice a small bald spot on top of her head. Life is about to get interesting. Then it’s time. I step off and take my stand. The raising is unremarkable save for an extra strong feeling of mixed amusement and approval.

I turn my focus to Galinda, “I’m not all that interested in breakfast right now,” as I stand tall and loosen my wings.

Galinda screeches at me and dives sideways over the edge of the rock. I run to the edge and follow her. Griffonstone comes to a complete halt for a day watching us. We go as far north as the railroad station and west to the coast. It’s loud and it’s fun. Eventually, lowering time comes around. Galinda lands half a minute after me and is clearly winded.

“Whoa there. You need a break and a meal. Let’s get this done and we’ll go to dinner.”

I gently rub cheeks with Galinda for a minute then step off and turn on my ‘sun suit’. The lowering is routine with more of that immense amusement and approval. I turn off my raiment and step to Galinda. She’s catching her breath but has clearly been worked hard. After a quick magic cleaning, I teleport us to the front door of the castle.

Granger and Gerald are at the table when we walk in.

With a large grin, Granger asks, “Well, John, are we going to get any sleep tonight?”

“Some, but no guarantees on how much,” I respond, “And we need lots of water. We haven’t stopped since last night.”

“Granger laughs, “We know, John, believe me, we know.”

Two platters and two pitchers appear almost immediately. My pitcher lasts less than a minute and Galinda’s is close behind. We make quick work of the platters too and start on seconds. Galinda almost finishes the second platter when she slumps against my side. I check her carefully and satisfy myself that it’s normal sleep. I grab the last bites from her platter and lift her with my magic.

Gerald is trying to see what is going on so I explain softly, “She’s sound asleep. I’ll take her up to our room and get comfortable for a nap. She’ll jump up and rush to the toilet in about six hours. After that . . . ?” I shrug.

Carrying her gently, I take the stairs and lay her on the pad in our room. Settling down next to her, I cover her with my wing, lay my head over her, and drift off myself.