Author's Note

Welcome! Welcome to the first of a double chapter Sunday. Stay tuned for the second chapter to be released later this evening!

As always, leave a comment, and tell me what you think!

Thanks for Reading.

Peace!

The Art of The Deal

Dorothea took a moment to order tea. Despite the casual urgency with which she implied to the colt, there was time to enjoy the pleasing taste of Ardaka Hibiscus Tea. Especially when the tea was key to the plan. The goal here was not to make him nervous. Sadly, her guest either had an amazing intuition, or her suspicions were correct, for he was fidgeted in his chair, obviously struggling not to be the first to speak. It seemed he was intending to force her to make the first play, though, she was playing a far different game.

Impatient yet intelligent, Conard had been right. The fact that she now sat across from a potential threat to not just the nation she called home, but the known kingdoms of the world themselves, took all the diplomatic experience garnered for the past fifteen years she had not to tremble.

If her suspicions were proven true today….

When the pony had first appeared in her periphery, her spy chief had been adamant that Orion Falls was more than just some lost orphan in the world. In truth, she saw nothing important about another foolish and alone Equestrian. She was more interested in watching the political gambits Celestia was making, and how they might affect Griffonia. Anything that mare produced in favor of her precious ponies was something to be concerned about.

The majority of the known nations of the world submitted to her, after all, in one form or another.

Conard had noted him first. Just after Grace Fairheart's return, one of the agents assigned to retrieve her mentioned how unusual the pony fledgling was. The letters they sent, going back and forth, were easy to intercept and read before returning them to circulation. The subject and tone in those letters were what drew his attention.

Dorothea did not have the resources of the Crown, of Gabriele herself. So her network's ability to observe was reduced greatly in comparison. Instead, she had devoted her resources to the internal workings of her homeland, only paying attention to the happenings inside Canterlot as a necessary precaution.

So when her spy chief came forth with information about Mr. Falls, she had chastised him for wasting her coin on a fruitless endeavor. It was only after a rather tiresome evening of evading marriage proposals for her eldest daughter that the noble hen had even glanced at her desk. Noticing with distaste that his ill-advised initiative was still in her inbox.

Out of curiosity, and with the help of some wine she had procured for her self-isolation, she flipped it open expecting very little.

Lady Hardwind had been forced to read the short document twice. There were alarming details she had not realized he had. Most notable was how unusual a pony he actually was. He was aggressive, highly aggressive, even by some griffon standards. Though by the time she had the forced-upon pleasure of meeting him, much of that had been tamed.

Although she now suspected that was all a ruse judging by the speculative frown on his face.

She had apologized to the aged drake who had been with her for the greater part of forty years and redirected his pursuits to a conservative construction of the colt's life, while curious, the baroness was not willing to paw a bill that may end up going nowhere. It was still only curiosity at that point.

What Dorothea got in return was the same as Gabriele, only they drew different conclusions from the data. That may have been because one had their family roots deep into the legends and stories of the land. The other was simply a third-generational fledgling of wealthy immigrant parents who quite literally bought their way into nobility.

He was far too intelligent. Somehow, despite him being born into squalor and with no parents, he was fully capable of reading and writing at an adult level at the age of five. From copied education transcripts, they learned his mathematical capabilities were far beyond his peers. Interviews with his former instructors in Manehattan told of his rather advanced understanding of social dynamics despite not participating in normal foal-like activities.

The Queen and her Listeners seemed to believe he was a genius. A savant, the only one born in a generation. What landed weight to this belief was another famous pony, Starswirl the Bearded. At first, Dorothea was inclined to agree as the pony of ancient lore had been an incredibly bright stallion of substantial gifts. Who was to say another might not rise eventually?

The issue was the odds that two would be born in the same generation. Twilight Sparkle, the Princess’s own personal student, was the other.

Then there was his vernacular. It was atrocious and far too aged for one such as he, and that had been what caught Conrad’s attention originally. The realization that he sounded like a griffon, or even a minotaur, was only a portion of her surprise. It was certain words he used that made absolutely no sense to anyone.

The verbiage was unlike anything anyone knew. This indicated the pony was not born on the outskirts of Stalliongrad; of this, she was certain, and it was his teeth that had clenched her certainty the night of Margarette’s party.

Before that first meeting, she had devoted a number of agents to finding anything that might have come from the east of Marussia. Old legends, many more rumors than truth, spoke of the departure of certain creatures. Creatures that had disappeared into the far east, never to be seen or heard from again.

Had he come from beyond the Wall? Was that where the others had gone? If that was the case, how? And possibly, more importantly, why? Now he sat before her. Sharp of teeth and a scowl more hostile than any stallion she had met.

It was hard for the Baroness not to drum her fingers in anxious nervousness.

She was comforted by the fact that her eldest, Palatine, had taken up a direct position behind him. A nullstone ring in the palm of her hand. Six guards were arranged in the hedges around them, ready to strike if he attempted to leave before she could, or would, allow.

His eyes flickered to the bushes, and her heart froze. He couldn't know, could he? Was Orion Falls what she suspected?

Hette finally returned with the requested tray of tea, looking disgruntled at having to handle maid work.

“Tea, Mr. Falls?” It was the first thing anyone had said since he had sat down, and Dorethea was ashamed at how her voice shook ever so slightly. Had he heard the tremble in her voice?

“No, thank you, I’m afraid I already had coffee this morning.” He responded his face a mask of calm. But his gray eyes were iron-hard.

"If he isn't going to drink the tea…" Her eyes flickered to her daughter's, and the world went white.

It was a trap. Why he couldn't know, but his radar showed six heavily armed griffons surrounding them in the bushes, and more inside the house, converged on windows and doors just out of line of sight. Palatine had placed herself directly behind him. From what he could tell with his enchantment, she had reached her hand into a pocket and pulled something out, of what he could not tell, as it left a hole in her hand, almost like an absence of everything. The fact that the absence seemed to hum with no noise was only a mild worry compared to the more present concerns.

When he refused the tea, Lady Hardwind's face tightened, and her voice shook ever so slightly. She looked at her daughter. That was enough for him to know something was wrong. All thoughts of an international incident were flushed out of his brain as instinct took over, and he reached for his magic.

Orion had never tested the Flash Bang spell on anyone before. Hadn't had a chance, or a need to before. But in the bowels of the sewer system that was his training grounds, he had worked out his own protections from the effects of the spell. He called them PPS, or Personal Protection Spells.

Casting both near simultaneously, he was rewarded with a shaded view as six soldiers, in the blue and green tabards of House Hardwind, burst from cover and subsequently dropped their cudgels. Behind him, he felt a rush of air, while his enchantment gave him the full picture of Palatine attempting to take to the air and instead falling to her knees, her mouth open in an unheard cry as she grabbed at her ears. It had been a solid idea to project the spell a foot above his head, after all.

Taking a moment to orientate the attempted assault, he decided it was best to remove the military force before him first before the ones inside the manor could react. They were already moving.

Most were down on the ground, their mouths open and likely screaming in agony from what was likely too much power for the spell. He may have panicked a little when throwing the well-practice math together. Their pained cries were quieted by a blow to the back of the skull once he activated the other spells of PPS.

He really hoped he hadn't killed any of them.

Mere seconds had passed, and he was already winded by focusing so much magic into his body. Holding another flash bang in reserve, which taxed him even more, he spun around and released it as the expected wall of steel, and angry bird faces poured out of the windows and doors. They dropped their weapons and grabbed at their eyes just like those that had been stationed in the bushes, some at their ears.

He made short work of them, too.

Huffing, he walked over to Palatine's writhing body, releasing the PPS as he approached. Hers, along with many others, wails slammed into his ears. A dagger lay before her as the downed hen clutched her head.

"Bitch was going to stab me!?" Next to the dagger, was a nullstone ring. That explained why he couldn't see what was in her hand. Nullstone absorbed magic, a dead zone in the natural ambiance of life. He cursed himself for forgetting that.

Needless to say, Orion Falls was pissed.

Miraculously, Lady Hardwind had remained in her seat. She was not screaming like her people. That was an incredible amount of control for one who had been presented with the unexpected. She had ducked her upper torso down to her legs and was holding her ears as well, but otherwise did not make a peep.

Thinking, he charged a Bolt in his hand and zapped Palatine with it. He felt the spell had been miss named. It was more of a taser that rendered the target unconscious, rather than stunning them.

"Time to get some answers." He growled to himself. Walking to the Baroness, he shoved her back in her chair. She gave a squawk of fright but had no time to really react as he shot her with Sandfairer's Touch. The weakest healing spell known to him, and the only one he could make work successfully.

Her eyes became focused, and she glanced around herself in increasing horror.

"Relax, no one is dead.” His glare fixed her to the seat as if she had grown roots. “Just unconscious." He breathed heavily as he pulled his chair towards him and sat down again. Somehow, the patio table had been tossed aside, so it allowed him to pull his seat very closer to hers. Her eyes swung to him in terror.

"Artificer." She breathed.

It was Orion's turn to stare at her, though he had the presence of mind to make sure his face looked confused. His world was crashing down arou- He slammed that thought process down immediately. There was no way she could know.

"And how the hell do you figure that?" He asked, trying not to sound shaken, only pissed off.

"There was no way for you to know what was about to happen beforehand. Your horn has been quiet since you got here." That was not an answer, and it seemed she believed pony spells lasted only as long as the horn was a glow. While that might be true for simple spells like levitation and such, it was not true for more complex spells. Those tended to linger on an object or person it was cast on. She had given him an easy out.

"Ah, thank Christ! I might have had to do…best not think of that."

He laughed, in relief more than mockery. Hopefully, his murderous host wouldn’t notice.

"Yeah, no. I cast a detection spell before I left my rooms.” She chose to interrupt him before he could continue.

“Impossible!”

“Noooo.” He said in enforced patience. “It’s not. How much of pony spellcraft do you actually know?” He leaned back in his seat, keeping a careful watch on the fallen soldiers around them.

“I am well aware that life detection spells exist, colt, but-”

“Then you may not be aware they can last a long time depending on how they are cast, and what they are anchored to.” She did not like being interrupted herself.

"That's…impossible. I may not be able to use unicorn magic for myself, but I do know those spells are highly difficult. A colt such as you can not possibly..." She finished, her gaze narrowing on his face.

He was grinning at her. Judging by the way his lips were twisted, he knew it to be an evil thing. He loved when the truth served his purpose.

"The spell itself requires very little power, though I agree it is a complicated spell often taught to final-year students. But I have a friend that's so smart, so overpowered, that she has difficulty understanding what is difficult for normal unicorns and easy for her. She slammed me with so many spells that required so little magic, that I ended up learning that one a bit earlier than expected." He chuckled. "In truth, she still had to help me with the damn thing, some of the math...a little bit much for me."

He leaned forward.

"You tried to attack me." She winced at his accusation delivered in a shout. “I would know why? What the fuck is an artificer?”

This was a gamble to see if she bought the half-truth he had spouted out his ass at her.

Her eyes widened in shock. "You…you don't know?!"

"Know what? What the hell is an Artificer?" He asked again. Keeping his hopes beaten down till he had confirmation. His heart pounded in his chest and ears. He wanted to reach over and slap the bitch.

"I…was so certain." He arched an eyebrow, and the Baroness blushed. "An Artificer is a special kind of magic user. One that can come from any species, as it is skill and knowledge, not an innate magical ability, that determines if one can do it or not. They can create tools, and machines, all powerful beyond measure, beyond what they themselves could ever do. Or at least that's what the old texts say."

He knew all that, but it was more complicated than that, not that he was about to open his fat mouth.

"Well, if that was what you thought I was, why the cloak and literal dagger?" He gestured at her niece's weapon, still laying uselessly on the ground.

"Their kind can't be allowed to live." She simply said. He blinked.

Were Griffons the ones killing the enchanters that occasionally popped up?

"Wait…why kill them? If they can make tools and machines, why would you not seek to employ them instead of killing them?" He looked at her owlishly, trying to sell his innocence as his insides still roiled in fear.

"Because of the Sun." The Baroness said soberly, now seeming to be completely composed. "Princess Celestia will claim them, whether by deal or fire she will take them from anyone who might possess them."

Dorothea von Hardwind was speaking about Equestria's early history. What he suspected was the true history, the one he heard whispers about amongst the non-ponies of Canterlot.

For several millennia, pony nations were a fractured, waring, collection of city-states, welding enchantments and powerful spells in pitched battles against one another that began to alter the landscape itself.

Mountains had been leveled, and lakes existing now had once been craters of devastation from the weapons born of an artificer's talented fingers and used by those they served.

Celestia, and the missing Princess Luna, appeared out of nowhere roughly two thousand years ago, with a massive aerial fleet that laid waste to cities and military encampments. They imposed martial law, forced the regional rulers into peace, and imposed their own rulership over them eventually.

But that was not the end.

No, in a bid to secure their lands from any opposition, the Sisters turned their fleet on their neighbors and overseas territories. For years, assaults on prized land wrestled control from rightful owners, and several races had been moved right off the continent itself. One simply vanished. In response, the minotaurs withdrew from their original territories, building a wall with weapons powerful enough to strike down any incursion. Others simply capitulated to deals that made them practically slave states in all but name.

Or at least that was what he was seeing with the janky ass way the history books were put together, and the current laws governing international dealings.

"Holy shit." He breathed. He had suspected something, but to hear it so direct and without any hint of deception that he could tell, was another thing entirely. The details made his balls want to shrivel up in terror.

"Indeed." The Baroness nodded soberly.

Several guards stirred around them. One lifted his head, eyes glazed, but the moment his eyes landed on the only pony in the garden, they hardened into steel points.

"Hold." Hardwind's hand raised to stop him. "I was mistaken. This pony is not what I thought he was."

The soldier blinked in confusion. "But…my Lady. He-"

"Defended himself from our misguided attempts to eliminate him. To kill an innocent individual." She said, chastisement was evident on her face. Her eyes fell on Orion. "Mr. Falls. Words cannot begin to express how sorry I am for what almost occurred here. What can I do to…" She shrugged uncomfortably.

The colt bit the inside of his cheek in thought.

This was not something someone could simply brush off, he was too pissed off to let himself do that. The noble had been too damn close to the truth, and if he looked like he wanted to sweep the whole thing under a rug, her suspicions might be rekindled, if they were not still there. That would fuck his whole week up.

An idea struck him.

"Fine." He fixed her with a look of disgust and gestured about them. “You now owe me. So you’re gonna help me with my little scheme.” He had been looking for an in, and she was perfect. She had contacts, a way to get supplies, and everything he would need in order to carry out his venture and win Scream’s forgiveness for acting like an ass. There was no way in hell he was not about to let this go. "But I think this is going to work in your favor more than you believe."

Her face had a momentary look of anger, however, at the mention of her getting something out of it, she arched an eyebrow. Her beak pursed in thought.

"But first." He looked around them, at the slowly rising guards, all being told by the first that the danger was over. Palatine was still down for the count. "Let's do this privately."

She nodded and rose. Orion followed her out of the garden doing his best to suppress the rage in his heart, and the fear in his stomach. This could all still go to hell in a matter of seconds if he screwed anything up.

She couldn't believe it. How could she have been so foolish? The simple answer was her fear. Fear of Gabriele and Sigurd mucking things up and missing what had at first escaped her own notice. Dorothea had been so certain, and in parts of her mind, she was still suspicious of him.

“This was foolish of me. I did not yet even have proof!” The truth was, with the righting of the nation's wings, through no small effort of her own, things were beginning to get complicated. Equestria had finally noticed that their crippled country was no longer hemorrhaging blood and coin as much as it had once had.

Then this pony appears from nowhere and begins making waves strong enough for the Princess of the Sun herself to notice. The discovery that had made Griffonia’s noble class hold their collective breath, there was an artificer on the loose, with no way to track him.

The only truly bizarre issue was the mysterious crafter’s lack of desire for attention.

“Wait…what if? Could he have known what I called him from the beginning?” Thinking back to moments before they took this journey into her home, she thought over what he said and did. “His eyes…”

Dorothea glanced back at her guest. The moment she did, he looked sharply at her and smiled, a sickly thing. There was still a lot of anger in his eyes, but she could see something. Fear?

“Something wrong?” He asked testily.

“No, I was just thinking about how sorry I am for this whole mess.” She faked a sigh as she lamented her supposed slip-up of decorum.

“Yeah, that's on you. However, I got an idea that will benefit all parties involved, and make us somewhat even.” The impertinence! But she admonished herself, she would not give in to her emotions again.

“I do hope so. Otherwise, this was all for nothing.” She turned back and kept her own visage neutral, while she cursed herself for not paying attention originally.

The night of the party had been one of many lessons. The first being that sometimes, rumors were true. However, the one lesson she hadn’t looked for and had somehow forgotten, was that the eyes can give more away than words and deeds can in a night. To be fair to herself, she had not had much close action with him, instead relying on proxies to carry on her investigation. She had gleaned much and yet missed everything.

What was he like when he lied, and when he was honest? Today, she had at least accidentally gotten half the answer before the questions had occurred to her.

Orion Falls was lying. But there was no telling how much he was doing so, or what about. Perhaps he is not the enchanter, just merely an apprentice. Or, her original idea was the correct one after all….

Stopping at the correct door, she gestured inside. “Please, have a seat. I shall have more tea brought in.” He gave her a look.

“And how do I know this won’t be drugged?” He said heatedly.

“I give you my oath that I shall not attempt your capture or…murder again.” He hesitated for just a moment before nodding.

She rang a small bell at the entrance to the lushly furnished sitting office of grays and greens and had one of the servants speeding away with their orders. Sitting across from him in her study. The Baroness mentally berated herself. She still had her suspicions, but his easy explanation of his abilities and the certain knowledge that he was distrustful of any and everyone, had seeded doubts into those suspicions.

Some information was required.

"Before we begin, may I have an explanation on those earlier spells?" The Lady had never heard of a spell that could blind and deafen a foe, and if Equestria had a new weapon, she needed to know of it. He looked up, his horn still a torch that spoke of his extreme distrust for her. That orange-gold-black flame was highly unusual. Nothing Dorothea had heard of matched it.

"You mean the bright blast and ear-shattering one?” She nodded. “Well, I suppose there's no harm in telling you. Have you ever heard of a camera?" He asked, adjusting his seat, so the door to her private study remained in sight.

"I have, though it's still a recent invention from Equestria. It takes a still image, though the how is a mystery.”

Orion Falls smirked.

"It does indeed, using a crystal to flash the targeted object. The spell inside that crystal actually reflects off the surface of the person or thing it's directed at and hits the receiving crystal lens. It imprints on the paper inside the image." He spread his hands and shrugged. "However, I feel it's inefficient, you have to replace both the lens and the crystal after every use. Not to mention they are tuned to one another. You can't use a lens from one package, and a crystal from another."

She was intrigued by the knowledge, yet frustrated.

"What does this have anything to do with what you did?"

"Well, you see, when the picture is taken, it emits a bright flash when activated. I've noticed that the flash leaves folks disoriented on occasion." He passed a magic veil over the biscuits and coffee that she had requested for him. No doubt he knew what the original pot of tea had been intended for without the need for magic.

"That still doesn't answer why I, and my guards, lost our hearing." Poor Palatine. She had been the closest when he did whatever it was that he had cast.

"Yep, I was getting to that. Do you have any griffons that can work the weather?" He picked up a biscuit and dunked it into his coffee. The etiquette instructor in her recoiled.

"To a very limited degree. We cannot manufacture rain clouds, we are restricted to only working with what is there, and it takes time for us to put a proper squall together." She cocked her head. "Why?"

"What happens if they happen to be too close to a thunderclap?" He bit into the now soggy confection. Was he trying to upset her?

No. Dorothea worked over his line of questions, her head down. She gasped.

"They are struck deaf…some even fall to their deaths being unable to orientate themselves in the air." She looked at him. "You hit us with a thunderclap?!"

"Half right. I hit you with a Flash Bang. The flash of a crystal amped up to completely blind a person. The bang of thunder to deafen you." He grinned and bit into another soggy biscuit.

Dorothea von Hardwind took a moment to appreciate just how intelligent an idea that was. The sheer deviousness.

"Who came up with it?" She dreaded that next question, but if it was a new weapon Equestrians had created and not yet ready to use, perhaps-

"Me. And no, for your next question. No one has any idea it exists. Considering your stance on the average pony, I doubt you're gonna go tell anyone."

He had created the spell himself? A fifteen-year-old pony had created such an effective weapon that could down an entire brigade of armed griffons. It was almost too much to believe.

"Wh-where did you come from?" The Baroness said shakily, her throat dry.

For a long moment, she thought he wasn't going to answer her.

"I actually can't give you an answer on that. I'm assuming you're trying to ask about the time before Stalliongrad. The truth is, I don't know." Orion grimaced like he had bitten into something foul and looked away. No telling if he was giving her an honest answer. "It's a complete mystery to me how I got there the way I did. Why do you ask?"

She thought of how to answer. He had been far more forthcoming than Dorothea had originally expected, considering what just happened. Was it the truth? She did not know, but the answers were a bit too detailed to be such a blatant lie.

"As far as can be determined, you simply appeared one day inside the walls of that city. No family, no idea of who you were other than a name. However, that is not why I am curious. I could accept all of that as fact, save for one glaring problem. It was your countenance."

"My countenance?" He parroted. "You mean the way I acted?"

"Yes, Gabriele and her agents may have written it off as the eccentricities of a foal born to the streets, forced to mature too fast. But I saw something else." He nodded for her to continue. "The language you employed, while Equish in nature, has cultural phrases I have not found anywhere else." She lifted up a hand and began ticking off the fingers with the other. "Hell, God, Jesus Christ? Who or what are these names? What are their meanings?"

"Huh, you know what? Other than hell, I am not really sure what the others mean, if I am being completely honest." She snatched at the single word he confessed to understand.

"What does Hell mean?"

"It simply means, "Tartarus"." He spread his hands and shrugged. "From what I do know, it implies a place of eternal damnation. Where one is tormented for all time."

She paused and thought, looking away from him.

"It would make sense. The context in which he was recorded to say those words do match. Could "God" and "Jesus Christ" be some type of invocation of a deity along with this place of eternal suffering?" If what he said was true, and she was beginning to believe some of it, then he would either be unwilling, or unable to give an answer to certain questions.

"Why are you so curious as to where I came from?" His question broke through her spiraling thoughts.

Dorothea took in a breath.

"I believe you may have come from beyond the Wall."

There was a gravity to that word as if it had some great meaning that he couldn't fathom. The Baroness must have seen the confusion on his face because she saved him from answering just yet.

"I see, you have not heard of it. I suppose such an understudied place would not make it into the common curriculum of the average student." He bristled at that. “Especially if you have truly not come from there.”

Despite his handicaps, he felt that he was an extraordinary student. He shook his head.

"She means the normal everyday student, not you, idiot."

"No, I have actually never heard of it. What is it?" He asked, getting his swinging mood under control.

"Its official name is Burgandraw's Wall. It sits beyond the Upheaval Lands." He blinked. He didn't even know what the hell the Upheaval Lands were.

"Um. Yeah, my education in geography is apparently sorely lacking. What the hell is that?"

She giggled at him.

"And here I was led to believe Celestia had her ponies instructed properly." She sat up straighter.

Up to now, the hen had been cagey, every word that came out of his mouth, she seemed to dissect like a surgeon. Perhaps he was not yet out of the woods with her. However, with questions that seemed to settle in her personal interests, she had regained much of her former poise.

"The Upheaval Lands is a stretch of territory that butts up against the lands of Marussia, and Burgandraw's Wall. Often called the Lands Between, it has no set elevation. The earth there is fractured in such a way that has formed a massive maze of canyons and short plateaus. Oh, I should mention that the Minos also have land connecting to that broken place. They have even built a gate into it, called the Maw, and the place is known as the Labyrinth to them."

He was careful not to let anything else, but curiosity stay on his face.

Forager had spoken often of the Labyrinth but in hushed mystical tones filled with dread. Apparently, monsters existed inside so terrible that only the condemned minotaurs were sentenced to walk within.

"If so many people know of this, why isn't it more talked about?" He asked, hoping not to drag this topic on for too long.

"It has been there since long before written records. Long before even that, I suspect. Orion, the land has never been explored. It is full of monsters and creatures warped in their birth by something no one can explain. Unholy abominations walk in those crevices and canyons. Beasts that make other, more common creatures, run in terror." She took a breath. "Even worse, there is something in the skies above that wreaks havoc on any airship sent to investigate. Few have ever survived. One being Burgandraw himself."

"Damn, it sounds like nightmare fuel." He said quietly, vowing to himself never to get within a hundred miles of the place.

"An ancestor of mine once witnessed it. She was not left unscathed." The Baroness shook her head.

"If it was enough to mentally scar people just looking at it, why go there at all?"

"Because someone pointed out that at night, during the coldest times of the year, one could see a bright light, of green and purple flashing in the late hours. People grew curious. Eventually, once airship travel had been discovered, people of all races with the means to attempt a journey across the Lands Between from above." It was her turn to spread her hands.

"Not many came back."

"Yes. Burgandraw and his crew were the only ones to make it to the Wall. What they saw there…" She trailed off as if she was recounting seeing it for herself.

"Saw what? Please don't leave the idiot in suspense over here." He pleaded. Much to his chagrin, he had become invested in the tale, his anger momentarily forgotten.

Lady Hardwind shook herself, feathers puffing up in what he assumed was an embarrassment.

"I apologize. The reading of the account when I was young left my mind fraught with terrifying imagination." Settling herself, she went on. "A massive wall, higher than the very clouds that top us all. From what Burgandraw wrote, he described it as if some ancient titan carved away the land, pushing the raw earth ever higher into the sky."

"That…is big." His mind was struggling to comprehend the enormity of such a natural structure. "It's like…the Olympus Mons, only actually here instead of some distant planet."

"How far does it stretch?" He found himself asking.

"Too far. It's as if it divides the world in two." She said solemnly.

"And you believe I came from beyond it? How?" That question seemed to be one she had been waiting for.

"Do you remember how I mentioned flashes of light during the winter months? Of greens and purples?" He nodded. "That is because there is a Gap in the wall. Soardin's Gap, to be precise. Named after a crew member who attempted to fly through it. The Gap is more of a breach in the wall than a portal to the possible lands beyond."

"What happened to Soardin?" Orion suspected he already knew.

"Struck down. It turns out, those lights were lightning strikes between the walls of the Gap. No one knows why, only that the lightning is a pure magical force in its nature." The Baroness tapped her beak. "As I said, not much is truly known, for the sheer danger of the region is enough to keep many away."

He scoffed.

"And you think I was somehow lucky enough to survive all of that?" There was more than a little scorn in his voice. In truth, the suggestion was ridiculous. How could anyone make it through something that was apparently that terrifying?

"I can understand your doubt. But you have no other history, and you appeared at the mark of early spring. You have a culture, no one had ever seen or heard before, on your tongue. Your mannerisms are completely separated from pony society." She leaned forward. "And, your very biological nature is different from theirs as well."

Considering it from her point of view, he wanted to take back his scoff. She was wrong completely, of course, and the truth was far stranger than the fiction she produced. Still, it might pay to go along with it.

"I'm…not certain how to take all this, to be honest. It's certainly a stretch, though." He gave her a narrowed look. "Is that why you think I was an…Artificer?"

Orion had to be careful not to appear purposefully vague on the subject. It made him nervous just mentioning the skill set out in the open like this, and he was certain the sword of Damocles was hanging somewhere above him.

"Yes. Orion Falls, over a thousand years ago, enchanters from the world over, vanished. As if stolen away in the night. Celestia, recently suffering the loss of her sister after her battle with the Nightmare, targeted kingdoms with assassinations and direct threats. Even Starswirl the Bearded, one of the greatest, disappeared. Rumor’s abounded that they traveled east, across the sea. Never to be seen or heard from again."

"There was that name again." He mused. "Okay, let's think about this for a minute. She believes I come from a place that is impossible to pass, all because of the disappearances of a lot of enchanters. My manner of talking was what helped that belief. Something isn't adding up."

"When was the wall discovered?" He asked, suspicion of a coincidence heavy in his mind.

"Just before the disappearances." Baroness Hardwind had a quick answer.

That made an odd kind of sense. So he went with it.

"You…maybe right…I honestly don't know. I have no memories of the Wall, or Gap, or anything that might be beyond both." He thought for a few more minutes as she took her first sip of tea, but couldn't come up with anything to keep that belief in her mind. "I think we've done enough history, just…do you have any books on the subject?"

"I do. They are yours."

"Good, good. Okay. Let's get back on track here. You," he pointed at her, "tried to kill me, and books are not going to sway me. I’m not Twilight fuckin’ Sparkle. I have half a mind to tell the King and Queen about today." He waved her attempt at protests away. "However, as you and others like you might have guessed, I came to Griffonia for more than just visiting Screaming."

"I had…thought as much. You seemed to be on some sort of mission." She spoke slowly, obviously expecting a type of trap in his words, or searching for any lies he had constructed.

"I suppose you can call me a missionary." He grinned. His grandmother liked to donate to those kinds of people all the time. "But yes, I wanted to see my friend, originally, but my plans changed when I began to do some research on your nation. Let's just say, pony school education seems to gloss over a lot of things. Like the fact that nearly sixty-two percent of your population is so poor that they can barely afford to feed themselves."

The Baroness's eyes widened slightly. "Are you saying you are attempting to be a charity for us? That is all well and good, but that is temporary at best. Let us not forget, you are but one colt, an orphan at that, are you going to ask me to get my fellow nobles to pitch in?"

"No. As that is, as you say, temporary. No, what I propose is information, perhaps even a demonstration. My original idea was to sell my plans to a merchant or other wealthy and influential leader in the community. Finding out that Screaming is nobility has changed that, and because her uncle is actually King of Griffonia, I can't simply walk up to him and say; "Hey, I gots an idea"." He air quoted with his fingers.

"So, you want me to help you with what? Finding a merchant?" He shook his head, she wasn't actually attempting to guess, more prompting him to get to the point.

"Nope. Give a person a fish, and you feed them for a day. Teach a person to fish, and you will feed them for a lifetime." He chuckled. Bible mumbo-jumbo really was working for him. "But first, tell me. What is Screaming lacking when it comes to gaining her land back? What is she doing wrong?"

"That is complicated,” she said slowly, “but I shall try and simplify it. She has to prove she can lead. And she has, but it's been limited. My fellow council members can see it, but are unsure if it is a fluke or not." She shrugged, taking a sip of her tea for the first time since this second half of the meeting began.

"I see." He hummed. "Was that why she was given a portion of the land back?"

"Yes, to see what she was capable of doing with it. So far, she has not been able to do much. Her family’s financial woes leave her unable to affect much in the region, however, and her uncle cannot be seen as helping her."

"That doesn't stop anyone else from helping, does it?" He watched her eyes narrow on him.

"My coffers are not endless either, colt." Dorothea von Hardwind said. "Enough avoiding the rising winds. What is it that you want?"

"One more question and I will answer you." As they were speaking, his mind had worked over an idea, a solution to satisfy him and his plans, and possibly help his friend secure her position. "Do you have up-to-date survey reports on the land given to Lady Grace Fairheart?"

She blinked in surprise.

"I do…why?"

Taking a deep breath, Orion took the plunge.

"Because I can do two things with that knowledge. First and foremost, help Screaming in securing her land by proving she can lead by delegation, if not by example. She doesn't need to do the work, but she can authorize it. Second, proving that my ideas work to your King so he cannot ignore what I say."

His speech got the expected reaction. Her beak flopped open as if losing all support in her jaw.

"And what could you possibly give us that would warrant my support?" She likely didn't mean for her voice to be breathy, but it was. He had her, now to sink the hook.

He smiled. "Steel." Orion let the anger go, now was time to cut a deal.

"Orion, why is it that you are the one dragging me about?" Scream said as her only real friend carried her baggage in his magic while tugging her toward the carriage. The carriage was outbound to a tiny flyspeck village known as Aviary. A farming community she had already visited in the spring.

Since Monday, he had been near frantic in his attempts to try and reach her. Every letter, was a declaration of apology. After two days, she finally relented, mostly because she felt bad for taking so long.

The young hen had forgiven her friend but had held onto her hurt longer than she should have. Her aunt was right. She had placed far too many expectations on him and saw more than was there in their relationship. It still burned her heart to look at him, but a noble was nothing without their determination.

At their first meeting since Saturday, however, she had been startled by his announcement that they were going on vacation, within a vacation.

"Scream, you've been cooped up in this castle for months, from what I gathered. You need to get out. I figure we can go sightseeing, and get away from political nonsense for a while." He said with a grin that said he was only speaking half the truth.

She should have resisted. But it had been almost a year since she last had an opportunity to get out of the capital.

Her uncle had not objected, only insisting that she take a full complement of soldiers with her. Gilda, thankfully, was one of them. Over the years, she had grown close to the Sergeant and felt she could trust her with her fears and worries. Though, she was still upset with her attempt to gain justice on her behalf.

Her aunt had been the one to tell her, and as she was Sergeant Broadwing's vassal, she had to be the one to administer punishment. She had yet to figure out what to assign her for suitable recompense.

Her aunt had been the strangest by far. Gabriele Fairheart had been almost angry, but not at her leaving the castle. At Orion.

Something had happened that neither one was willing to speak to her about, but when they had passed her on the way to leave, she had glared daggers at the back of his head.

What had Orion done?

The only other issue she could see was the fact that they were leaving by night, and from the seldom-used east exit. Almost like they were sneaking away.

"I figured you had tried to drag my happy ass about back in Canterlot so much, that I would show you how it is really done." He laughed at his own joke.

Screaming did not find it funny.

Arriving at the head of three carriages, and a troop transport, they stopped in front of Gilda, who had posted up next to their assigned ride.

"Is everyone set to go?" He asked warily of the Sergeant.

"He must still be worried that Gilda is going to attack him again." Scream couldn't help the smile that turned the ends of her beak up.

"Yes….sir." Her friend said through a clenched bill. Then shrugged. "Master Lonelycall will be a little late. Said to go on without him, that he would catch us up on the road before too long." She finished a bit less angry.

"Oh? Must be grabbing some extra bags of coffee." Orion mumbled. Shrugging his shoulders, he opened the carriage door and offered his hand. "Best to get going. We have a long night ahead of us."

Taking his hand, and placing a paw on the step, she turned and searched his eyes for any hint of the plan he had.

He simply grinned back, a twinkle in his eye, and half forced her inside.

"I cannot believe you agreed to this!" Gabriele practically hissed at him as she came through the lookout door.

Sigurd sighed. "Peace, my Fire." He groaned. This hadn’t been the first time she had brought up this argument.

She had been in a fury since the colt's return from Baroness Hardwind's manor Monday afternoon. Orion had been so tight-beaked about the meeting that even he was growing frustrated.

He almost refused his request. Then Dorothea herself contacted them.

The scope of Orion Falls's plan was much farther-reaching than he dared imagine. At first, he wanted to lock him down immediately. That knowledge was dangerous. Eberhard had been right. The colt knew how to make steel.

Gabriele had gone so far as to nearly arrange for the pony to simply disappear before he managed to stop her. Because of one arrangement the enigmatic pony himself had made.

His goal was to make Grace look good to the council. If he managed to have a forge built correctly, and it managed to churn out even one ingot of steel, there would soon be a new garrison placed in those lands. One that Celestia herself would find it hard to move against without worldwide outcry.

It was a little funny. The monarch of the ponies had created for herself an image of a kind and benevolent ruler in the years since the disaster of the Battle of Manehattan. She was boxed into the persona.

As long as he, or his descendants, did nothing against the Equestrians, they had nothing to fear. At least in the short term. The mare was patient if nothing else, and she would find a way to disrupt their interests eventually.

"Peace? Peace?!" She practically screeched. "Don't tell me, Peace! How could you agree with this?! If he really does know what Dorothea indicated, he should be locked away in the deepest reaches of our kingdom where not even that Whorse can get to him!"

Not for the first time did he remind himself that he had already sent the guards away, yet still he found himself wincing, placating hands in the air.

"Gabriele." He spoke sternly, bringing her tirade up short. "I understand your concerns. I share them. However, if we do as you suggested, Celestia will have leave to invade to save an innocent foal. Not to mention I think it is important not to place him in more trouble than he is already in. Likely by now, she knows he has left." He turned to her. "It is very likely she has already sent someone to retrieve him.

His Queen steadied herself with some deep breaths.

"I do not understand what would be so important about one pony, that she would send someone to retrieve him. Even if it is an orphan colt." The look he gave her, an arched eyebrow, made her sigh. "Yes, I suppose it's his proximity to her student." She tapped her beak.

"What is it?"

"I just remembered. I got a report this morning. I know how she found out about him being missing." That pulled a giggle from her. "She wanted him to visit for tea. Apparently, she was bored."

That made Sigurd's own beak pull into a smile. Perhaps she is closer to him than anyone really realized.

A cough behind him drew both royal's attention.

"Yes, Eber? Is everything ready?"

Eberhard came around a pillar, no doubt waiting for the right timing to not interrupt anything important.

"Yes, your Majesties." He bowed. "There are no agents of Celestia's amongst anyone in our entourage. In fact, I do not believe they are aware of anything at all. A few are deciding with themselves that perhaps they should take Orion in hand and return him to Equestria themselves. So far, they have refrained, for fear of the Princess's wrath at their exposure."

It was hard for Celestia to garner any kind of observation network in his kingdom for one simple fact. No ponies that lived in his lands had a position high enough to know anything. Only a few griffons willing to sell their souls for Equestrian gold were available to her, and they could only be trusted so far.

"I doubt they would be able to interfere. But best, they do not know. I think we were wise to schedule a nighttime departure." Sigurd muttered.

"I still think this is foolish." Gabriele groused.

"My Queen, if I may?" She nodded, and Eberhard continued. "This is actually the wisest course. If a steel forge were to start up here, inside Griffonstone, it would not take long before her agents were to learn of it. No one is that blind. Celestia only monitors this city. And Aviary still has their foundries, if long since decayed. There may still be a solid foundation he can make use of. That could accelerate his plans greatly."

His bride nodded after a moment.

"I am supposed to be better than this." She lamented. "Yet in the last week, I seemed to have lost my wits completely. You are right, Eberhard. I apologize." That last was meant for Sigurd instead.

"No injury was inflicted, my Fire." He turned back to Grace's Steward. "Is there anything else?"

"Actually, a pleasant surprise. I am not sure if he intended to or not, but I managed to get a glimpse of that notebook Orion carries with him."

That surprised both monarchs. It had been frustrating to even learn of the nature of the contents inside the satchel he did not allow to leave his side. They had learned through Dorothea that it was a small notebook, stuffed with extra papers.

"Well, please don't leave us in suspense, my friend. What is in it?" The King found himself asking eagerly. He cared not how his Listener had done it, just that he had.

"My King, he has ideas beyond just the agricultural, or forge. The plans inside that book could revolutionize our entire country. From the briefest of glances, he has ideas on how to improve air travel, roads, and a new design of what I believe might be a rolling printing press!"

It was one of the few times he had ever seen the reserved steward excited about anything.

"Nothing on…enchantments?" That had been an ice-cold claw to the heart. One of the other revelations Dorothea von Hardwind had confessed to had been the suspicion that Orion Falls may actually be an enchanter. The fact that she was willing to jeopardize the nation itself for her suspicions angered him greatly, but her hesitant confirmation that he was not what she thought, eased his own fears.

Still, now the seed was planted within his own head, and like a worm, it was eating at him slowly.

Thankfully the only thing that came of her actions was the colt's demonstration of a new ability, one her soldiers had no way of countering. It was terrifying to know Orion could simply reduce a force to pitiful cries and dropped weapons in an instant like that.

But the Baroness's belief that he may hail from beyond Burgandraw's Wall was a stretch he held little motivation for believing in.

"No, my Queen. Crystalmancy was the only magical skill he had written down. His knowledge on that subject is rather expansive." She waved any further explanation away.

One thing both he and his bride could agree on was that Orion Falls bore closer watching regardless of what happened in Aviary.

"Is there anything else of note?" He finally asked, wanting merely to find his bed and the few hours of peace that came with it.

"No, sire. As soon as I learn anything, the Eyes shadowing us will rush to tell you." He bowed deeply.

"Go then. Watch over them, my friend." Sigurd spoke quietly. The nature of the moment settling into him.

With a powerful flap of his wings, Eberhard Lonelycall darted silently from the lookout post carved into the side of the mountain.

Both monarchs stepped forward to watch as he descended down the mountainside at a breakneck speed before leveling out smoothly across the grassy planes. He would likely meet up with the carriages within the hour.

"You are right, my Kindling. This is the best path." She laced her fingers with his, squeezing them tenderly.

"And yet I feel as if I have set dominoes in a way that will only incur disaster, my Fire." He whispered, giving his own squeeze.

Neither ruler spoke of the hidden fear that was revealed by Dorothea von Hardwind. That Orion Falls may just be the enchanter, they had been looking for.

"What do you mean that Orion Falls is not in the palace?" Margarete kept her voice carefully calm. She had a reputation as a cool and well-controlled ruler, and she was not about to lose it over one individual.

Even if that person had nearly spoiled her dinner by not losing their wits.

Drystan's report had been accurate, but like any proper servant, had not mentioned it. The Duchess still could not get over the fact that his only discrepancy with the room she had chosen that night, was the purpose of the hunts.

"I-i-i-i mean," the maid before her stuttered out, "that…that the the…their rooms were found em…empty." She wanted to slap the hen.

Stilling herself, Margarete looked to Drystan, who stood behind the griffoness that had delivered the news. Grendel Razortip was one of two spies she had managed to weasel into the castle. The other had gone missing completely.

"Drystan, can you make sense of what this fool is trying to tell me?" She asked the drake.

Grunting, he placed a hand on the diminutive maid's shoulder, who was still dressed in the King's colors and spoke in his deep voice.

"Orion Falls and…the Hen," like her, he never used the chits name, "were discovered missing. From what I have gathered, for three days, they were said to be confined to their quarters, sick with something. I now believe that to be a ruse."

She barely bit back her snarky reply. Of all her servants, he was the most steadfast. It would not do to be rude to the one she relied on most. Other nobles could make that mistake, but not her.

"Have you anything to add?" The Duchess asked carefully.

"At this time, I am afraid I can only remark on the depletion of the castle guard." He spoke in an angered tone, and by the pained expression on Grendel's face, his grip must have increased significantly on her shoulder. Just like her, he did not like not knowing. "There is no definitive mention in the records of when a contingent of thirty combat-capable soldiers was dispatched. As of now, they seem to be still recording them as present."

Her grip on the ornate chair's armrests, shipped in from Neighbon, increased to the point where her claws dug in and destroyed the intricate carvings of grapes on vines.

She didn't care.

"What is that bastard up to now?!" She seethed inside. This had not been the first time the inept King of Griffonia had done something that had gone completely unnoticed by her till it was too late.

In fact, his habit of doing the unexpected had passed to his son. Prince Gerhard had launched his campaign against the bandits in the northwest so quickly she was still having trouble keeping those mercenaries in check.

Their commanders were beginning to grumble about their losses, and it was costing her more and more to keep them from simply abandoning their original mission.

She had only meant to destabilize those regions to show how weak the King's defense of the land was. Now, the bandits were juggling her commands of continued chaos, with the attempt to kill the Prince in any way possible.

Her thoughts were pulled back to the here and now by a cough. Drystan looked like he had more to say.

"What?" She spat, knowing it showed a crack in the facade she was trying to hold, and caring less about it the longer the meeting went on.

"I think there may be a correlation with something I heard Monday." Her tight nod was his only go-ahead. "Monday morning, Orion Falls arrived at the manor house of Baroness Dorothea von Hardwind. As of yet, we do not know what happened. There are rumors of a pair of loud explosions at the residence, though we cannot confirm as the streets were cleared by her personal guard moments before. However, soon after that supposed meeting, message traffic between House Hardwind and the castle increased exponentially."

Margarete's eyes widened. "Dorothea!"

The Baroness of Eastperch had been a thorn in her side since the day she had her husband died.

The Baron had fought hard to keep her claws off the late Lord Egon and Lady Petra Fairheart's land. So she had the old griffon killed in a hunting accident. The only one not to buy that particular tale was Dorothea von Hardwind herself.

Since then, the hen had made it her mission in life to thwart her at every turn. Her voice had stopped the full turnover of rights to the land early on. With the unwanted return of Grace, her attempts were now leaning the council to the upstart harpy's heritage, and not to her own more sensible leadership.

"Do you know what is in those messages?" Her voice shook with anger.

"I am afraid not, my Lady. They seem to be taking extreme caution. The letters are being burned the moment after they are read, and the messengers themselves are only the most trusted. We have no way of knowing what they are planning."

She pounded the armrests with both fists, snapping the wood supports off completely. This only fueled her rage.

"YOU!" She bellowed at the now terrified servant, pointing with a finger that shook. "GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

Needing no other prompting, the spy scrambled out of the study, falling onto the floor only once in her dash for safety. She glowered at the door that slammed from the spy’s departure. The Duchess would have her killed later.

Margarete fixed her most loyal servant with a glare. It slid off of him like water. She clicked her beak loudly. Partly in amusement, mostly in frustration.

Drystan had weathered her rages with the same calm as a boulder in a storm. The fury of her tirades only washed away the unnecessary bits of him, making his ability to serve her even better.

"What…do you think he has planned?" She hissed vexedly. The Duchess didn't need to mention who she meant.

"With so little information to go on, I can only speculate." He spoke calmly, whatever anger he had suffered suppressed. "However, I have a theory."

She raised her eyebrows at him. If he had a theory, it was likely a more accurate summation of what was going on than what anyone else was likely to give her.

"Proceed."

He nodded. "When I say I have a theory, it is one of two. The first is simple, and may actually be what is happening. King Sigurd is attempting to bolster his son's recent losses in troops. From what our agents in the field have said, he has roughly lost around the same amount that is currently missing from the castle." She nodded. That made a lot of sense.

"The other?"

"The other, though, as I think about it now, might be more likely." Margarete's eyes narrowed. "Do you remember what Orion Falls did his very first day in Griffonstone?"

She searched her memory of what Drystan had told her of his arrival. "What is he asking…" She looked back at him in shock. Taking that as confirmation of what he was implying, he went on.

"The assistance he rendered to those refugees has spread to others in the city. For the first time in decades, there are more going out, than coming in." He paused, taking a breath. "My second theory and this would explain why both Falls and She are missing, is that they have traveled into the coastal lands to the east-"

"Where Grace Fairheart actually holds sway." She interrupted, and he merely nodded in confirmation. "You believe that she might attempt to use the knowledge Orion Falls has to improve the lives in the region."

"Yes, and with Hardwind support, they are effectively skirting the rules laid out in the Accords." She cursed.

It made perfect sense. "That sun-cursed pony is going to ruin all my plans! But how? It will take more than just helping some simple farm communities-" Her mind recoiled. "It couldn't be…" The land of Seacrest is rich in iron, according to the last survey, and Aviary has a forge. Three of them, in fact, though two are too far gone for any actual use.

"My Lady?" He must have noticed her look of alarm.

"Do we…?" She licked her beak nervously. "Do we have any spare mercenaries?"

"We do, my Lady." He waited on her to give the order.

"Who are they?" She stalled her command she needed truly expendable soldiers for this gambit.

"They are a recent hire. We got them at a reduced cost because several in their company are ponies. Their leader, Forgotten Conclusion, is one herself." His mouth twisted at the mention of a pony-led mercenary company. She had to agree with his sentiment, it was detestable that they were forced even to employ such a force.

"How long ago did we contract them?" She asked, ignoring her inner disgust. This could turn out very well.

"I believe we brought them on only last week." He offered one of his rare smiles. "It seems fortune has favored us with a solution to our predicament, and may even give us a cudgel to…persuade the council to our means, my Lady."

For the first time that evening, Margarete Rosebreast smiled.

Spitfire groaned, stretching her limbs out in all directions as she stepped off the train.

Her wings smacked Shining Armor in the face as he came out of the rail cart from behind her. He gagged as one of her primary's practically thrusted itself down his throat. He had been in the middle of a yawn.

"Lieutenant!" He spat, recoiling in disgust as he tasted the oil most pegasi liked to use to weatherproof their wings.

"Heh, sorry, Shining." She responded sheepishly, trying in vain to shake the unwanted drool now coating her wing.

Grumbling to himself, he turned to address the three-pony team that accompanied them. Three members of the Rover's special operations, all mares, came off the train, giggling as they gave sly glances between the unicorn and pegasus. Shining closed his eyes and counted to ten.

The trip up had been a stress test on the limits of his patience. All four mares had made it their mission to see how much they could get the young officer to blush. Spitfire being the worst, practically climbing into his lap any chance she got.

That didn't make the other three any less of an irritation. The specialists held a unique dynamic in the fact that they represented the three races of ponies in one herd. A herd without a stallion.

He suspected the only thing that kept them from outright propositioning him was the fact that he was the commanding officer for this mission. It would be fraternization. But the earth pony was beginning to get less humorless with the last few of her passes at him.

He was more than likely going to have to reject their Letter of Offer later.

Despite the restrictions, there were still heavy implications, mostly made by Earnest Hearts, about needs needing to be satisfied. Not that they were entitled to him.

Earnest was an Earth Pony and, shockingly, the smaller of the three operators. The dirt-colored pony always seemed to have a smile on her face.

The most outgoing of the group, Pestle Break, was a unicorn. She was known far and wide for her tendencies to shoot first and ask questions later, if at all. He would have to be extra specific in his instructions with the cherry-colored mare.

Storming Wing was the last, and the most unusual. Unlike most pegasi he had met, the pegasus had been subdued since learning of their mission's objective. A brief inquiry revealed that she had stayed in the same orphanage as Orion Falls. She left a year later, being adopted out to a family in Cloudsdale.

Something had happened between them, and she had expressed her reluctance to be in the same room alone with the target.

While he was musing, the group had stopped to look about them with interest. Babbling excitedly with each other as they pointed out the more gothic architecture not seen back in Equestria.

Shining instead had noticed how quickly the streets were emptying out. He sighed heavily.

Initially, Command had wanted them to arrive in full gear. To impress upon the griffon people the importance of their mission.

Fortunately, Captain Broadblade had vetoed that asinine idea. Stating their already negative standing with the Griffonians would likely worsen if that proposed plan had been implemented. Shining Armor had agreed with the stallion.

Changing strategies, the First Lieutenant had advised civilian clothing for the mission. That had been a tough sell in the three hours up to departure, but Command had relented as long as they carried chainmail under their garments.

Watching the citizens of the broken nation clear the streets, it was clear that they could not hide their militant nature. His father had once told him it was in the way they held themselves that was difficult to disguise.

In this case, it was likely the flood of griffonian refugees that had poured out of the carriages ahead of them. He had not been able to keep their nature hidden from them, as mares will gossip and loudly. Still, they had to go with the original plan.

Turning back to the three-pony Rover team, he addressed them.

"You three will make your way to the mercantile district. Orion Falls may be there, as he is a known window shopper." He gestured to himself and Spitfire. "Spitfire, and I shall head to the castle. Remember, no ranks or titles are to be mentioned within earshot of the common griffon." He turned to go after they all gave nods, then stopped. "Oh, and don't buy anything that will weigh you down."

That last command was in case the colt had, for some reason, skipped town and went to another location for reasons unknown to them. From his single conversation with Orion, he got the feeling that the colt would not be able to stay in place for too long. Being on his own for over three weeks was a long time.

The three mares turned away, giggling and walking toward the ticket counter. They began quietly bickering with each other on what to purchase.

He wanted to smack them. It was like they hadn't even listened.

"Are you sure that's wise, Shining?" Asked Spitfire, flapping her wings lightly, likely adjusting them so she could walk properly.

The pony's wings were a bit larger than normal, so she was prone to adjusting them periodically when not in flight.

He shook his head and joined her in heading down the street on a direct course for the castle.

"No, but at the same time, we cannot just walk into King Fairheart's castle. I doubt very much that we will be able even to meet the griffon if there are more than two of us." He sighed. "Plus, those three are rather loose-lipped. I don't need them overwhelming any royals we may meet there."

"Makes sense, I suppose. You really think Orion might not be here?"

Spitfire was not stupid. She knew exactly why he had commanded them not to purchase anything larger than a knickknack.

"The colt has a habit of doing things he shouldn't." Was all he said, shrugging his shoulders under the weight of his pack. The wrapped sword between his shoulder blades just barely reminded him that he was not unarmed in this unfamiliar territory.

Weapons had been a touchy subject, like with the armor, command wanted them to go in with their tools fully displayed. This was an idea he shot down just after they departed when no senior officer could overrule him in front of his team.

If not for the fact that he was in charge of the mission, the mares would have likely balked at the idea of keeping their armaments concealed.

Spitfire and Storming themselves had to keep their wing blades in their packs entirely, opting instead to carry a pair of long daggers on their belts wrapped in a wide cloth belt.

"Come, we need to get to the castle early. King Fairheart is likely to make us wait enough as it is. I don't want to be leaving near midnight." He grumbled.

When he was still a Second Lieutenant, he had been forced to stand in for a state dinner. Griffon nobles and Equestrian gentry had been invited to dine in the castle in an effort to renew the bonds of friendship.

Shining had felt it was more of a reminder to everypony there just who Princess Celestia was. That had been odd to him at the time, as he was still new to having to deal directly with royalty.

Upon seeing Griffonia's King for the first time, he realized why.

King Sigurd Bloodbeak Fairheart was a proud ruler. Even with his kingdom in shambles. He never once bowed to the Princess, which rankled more than a few lords and ladies above him, and all the nobles agreed.

The griffon gave off the impression of a mountain. Every look the Princess sent his way seemed to crash harmlessly off him. Like stone weathering the sun.

He would likely deal with them on his own time.

"I just wanted to enjoy my vacation…"

"Why can't you just teleport?" Spitfire asked for the tenth time since they started up the mountain.

The fiery-maned mare had taken to flying sometime after they had reached the third platform, and had been complaining of the slow pace ever since.

"Well," he huffed, "for two reasons." He placed another hoof forward and shoved off, forcing himself by sheer direction of force alone to go forward. In truth, while he was a bit winded, he could carry on this way for hours more. His instructors had been brutal in their task, mostly trying to get the stallion to quit rather than pursue a career in the military as his father had done.

They made it to a landing, and Spitfire landed to stretch her wings while he stopped to explain his reasonings.

"First and foremost, I can teleport. However, I am not as talented as my sister, it takes a lot out of me in order to cast." He said in a rush, sucking in air. Maybe he wasn't in the best of shape.

Sergeant Pepper would be seething at him.

"And the second?" She smirked at him. The diminutive pegasus belongs to a race of people so light, they might as well be made of air. Little effort was needed to fly for them, or run.

"The second." He said with more poise than before. "Is the fact that it is rude to cast magic around griffons. They're rather sensitive to the fact that they have less control over the weather than your race. Add in a unicorn performing acts that would leave the strongest amongst them put out, and you have a recipe for hostility. Or at least noncompliance."

"Um, I hate to say it, but who cares? We're ponies. What do we care about other species' hang-ups?"

The fact that she said that with the sheer cluelessness of a foal made him ground his teeth.

In his time of traveling the world, performing different missions, and interacting with local officials in those areas, he found that ponies had a rather insular way of looking at the world.

He had been no better at first. It hadn't been till he was a part of a rescue mission saving some Zerbricans from an Abyssian attack that he came to realize that everypony had their troubles, wants, and desires. Those people were no different.

"As far as you are concerned, we want cooperation." He didn't have the time nor patience to try and educate the arrogant mare on the nuances of diplomacy, which she should have already known as she went through nearly the same training as himself.

"Oh. Well, look! We are almost there!" She pointed.

Sure enough, not twenty yards away was the main gate.

"Thank the Tree."

Once he had adjusted himself, and gotten his breathing back under control, they proceeded to the gates.

"Is the Officer of the Watch available?" He asked the griffon guard, who had lowered his spear to block the way once they reached them. The old armor, with its few rust spots here and there, did not lend much to an intimidating presence.

"State your business." That was all he said. Shining could see Spitfire rustling. He was beginning to worry he was with a pony supremacist. He gestured for her to remain calm.

"My name is First Lieutenant Shining Armor. This is Second Lieutenant Spitfire of Equestria's Air Defense. We are here on orders from her Highness, Princess Celestia, to make contact with His Majesty, King Fairheart."

The soldier eyed their clothing, then stared into both ponies' eyes. Nodding once, he turned to his companion.

"Keep them here. I will get the lieutenant." Once out of sight, the other guard turned and gave them a considering look.

"You’re here for Orion." That was not a question.

"We are. He is away from Equestria without permission, he must return."

The griffon grinned. "From what I've heard, he's an orphan. Whose permission does he need?"

Shining debated how much to tell the soldier, and shrugged.

"He departed Canterlot without the permission of his matron, with no escort. As a minor, he does not have the privilege of doing as he pleases."

Spitfire simply watched the exchange, carefully keeping her expression neutral, but her eyes were indignant.

The gate guard simply shrugged. "Likely not gonna get him to come back till he's ready." The stallion deigned not to answer that remark.

Soon enough, the other guard returned, an officer in tow. The hen looked annoyed.

"What's this I hear about official business for the…Princess?" The pause was noticeable, as was the implied disrespect.

Before his pegasus companion could open her mouth in an angry retort, he shot her a glare so hard he might as well have struck her.

Once he was certain of her silence, he turned and address the cantankerous Officer of the Watch.

"We are here on official business from Her Highness, Princess Celestia. This business is directed toward King Fairheart, and the parties involved."

The officer sneered at him, taking in his clothes and dress. "And what if the King doesn't wish to see the likes of you?"

"Then, per agreement through the Treaties of Neighbon, we will be forced to remain longer within your nation's borders to complete our objective, possibly send for more soldiers to speed our mission along."

Those treaties essentially allowed Equestrian armed forces to march across Griffonian soil as they pleased, as long as the reasoning was well put.

The hen's sneering look soured.

"Fine. Follow me, and do not fall behind. You unicorns, I hear, are a lazy lot." She huffed and spun to march into the castle, both ponies staying right behind her.

Spitfire shot an angry, questioning look which he swiped a hand ending it before she said anything.

Explanations would come later.

The explanation, turns out, was to happen once they were left alone in front of an ordinary iron-bound door down one of the darker halls inside the keep.

"What…was that?" Spitfire hissed at him, completely ignoring protocol.

"That was diplomacy. You cannot get upset at every slight somepony else says. We have an image to uphold."

"Even at the cost of slander to the Princess?!" She took a threatening step toward him.

"Absolutely. Remember, this is not her land. It is theirs, and considering the history between our people, that was a better outcome than I expected. I half believed they would leave us at the gate until the King could make time for us."

"But-"

"They are just words, Lieutenant. Just. Words." He said in his most soothing voice. "Yes, I agree it's disrespectful. But it is not our place to judge them. We cannot dictate their beliefs."

She deflated.

"It's not right." She muttered quietly. He merely nodded.

The door cracked open, and a guard peeked out at them.

"His Majesty will see you now." Shining blinked in surprise. Had they actually caught the griffon monarch on a free day?

"Thank you." He nodded, looking over his shoulder to be sure Spitfire followed.

She was, looking defeated.

Inside was the office of a busy ruler. And he had to admit, he was surprised by how small it was.

In Canterlot, the lowest government functionary had personal offices three times this size. For the King to choose such small accommodation said a lot about his character. Simple, and straightforward, the furniture was from a variety of hands save for the desk and chair that Sigurd Fairheart currently sat at, busily writing something down.

At a gesture from the guard, Shining stepped forward to give a small bow and was relieved to see his sullen companion doing the same.

"Enough of that. You are not mine to command. You are not mine to give regard to." He said as he watched them from the corner of his eyes. Setting his quill into a holder, the monarch of griffons finally looked at him. "I am informed that you are here on Princess Celestia's orders. For the colt Orion Falls, yes?"

"That is correct, your Majesty. Orion Falls left the safety of Canterlot, more importantly, the orphanage there, without a word or leave request. Merely leaving a note indicating his intentions and where he may have gone."

"He did mention that to me." He tapped his beak, one Shining was familiar with. It meant the griffon was thinking about how to proceed and wanted their guest to wait. "As it is, I am afraid he is no longer in the capital. He and my niece, whom he came to visit, wanted to visit the slopes of Sheertop, on the Garberithian Mountains southwest of here."

That was too easy an answer, and, more than likely, a lie. The question was, why? And more importantly, where had they really gone?

"Do you have an itinerary of their journey?" He asked evenly. Calling him out would be a bad idea. He had no proof of the King’s deception.

"No, I am afraid not. Though I do know that they took West Pinion Road. That area is currently rife with banditry, and that was the safest path. Still, I sent a large contingent of guards with them, so they should not be too difficult to follow."

"Then, I thank you for your assistance, your Majesty." He sketched a quick bow and turned to leave, already running what the griffon said in his head, trying to sift fact from lie.

"A moment, if you would, Lieutenant." Came the King's heavy voice.

"Yes, your Grace?"

"Why does the Princess care so much about one colt? So much so that she would send three members of the Rovers, an EAD officer, and you." He smirked. "A candidate for betrothal to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza."

He could practically feel Spitfire's eyes bulge from behind him. Shining suppressed a groan.

"In truth, I do not know. He is, as you say, one colt. Not even one of much note." The griffon king grinned, a disturbing display. His look said he knew the white stallion was lying through his teeth.

"Very well, be well and safe journeys, Lieutenant. May the winds favor you."

Shining quickly pushed the Second Lieutenant out the door.

Sigurd suppressed a laugh. He had certainly gotten one over on the pony. From the way his companion had swallowed her tongue, it was clear that no one had known.

Well, nothing like a little social disruption to keep that Princess on her hooves.

He could hear his wife's soft laughter from behind the bookcase. She had insisted on sitting in on this one. Pushing aside the false shelf, Gabriele stepped out with a wicked smile. "Could not help yourself, could you, my Kindling?"

"No. I suppose I could not." He chuckled.

"He did not believe you." He nodded at that. Shining Armor's eyes had narrowed just a fraction at his contrived lie. A quick one, that pony was.

"Are your people in place?" He meant the Speakers. Agents whose sole duty was to spread misinformation or give commands to agents in the field.

"Yes. I've been reliably informed that each member of the Rovers has been speaking only to my agents." She smirked, and he mirrored her expression.

They had been expecting their arrival for some time and may have gone overboard, infiltrating shops and businesses with their own. Gabriele had thought there would have been more, but the Princess may not have wanted to draw too much attention.

Still, this was good. They would not encounter anyone they were not supposed to.

"I will ask. Do you think it is wise to attempt to send him and his team westward?" She asked, settling herself into his lap, her dress hiked up. "I thought we had agreed to let them twiddle their thumbs here in the capital."

Snaking his arms around her waist, he smiled up at her. She had forgotten her undergarments today.

"It was, till I saw who she had sent. That stallion is a surprisingly earnest young drake. Much like our niece's young friend. The difference is, he is much more inclined to be respectful. His willingness to help others has been well noted by you and your agents."

It was true. Shining Armor had demonstrated a remarkable willingness to help any, no matter the species. He has been accredited with numerous rescues of the Zebrican people alone.

Gabriele nodded thoughtfully as she popped one of his buttons off. Moments like these often left his bride heated. Successful manipulations and the occasional surprise were often followed by long moments spent behind closed doors.

"You clever old bird. I suppose sending him west is two-fold?" Delicately, he undid the ties on her corset. She could destroy his clothes all she wanted, but if Sigurd tore a single thread, he would never hear the end of it.

"Our son just happens to use that road to achieve his own objectives. It would not surprise me if the two met up, and he could finally capture the ringleaders of those damnable bandits."

“My, oh my! You are learning to be clever!” she giggled. “I liked that. Knowing the good Lieutenant Armor, he will likely render assistance to Gerhard in hope of earning a boon.”

“My thoughts exactly, my Fire.” He spread the corset apart, allowing her to slip it over her wings and arms with ease. Though still covered, her breasts bounced delightfully.

“Now that, is worthy of a reward.” She said heatedly.

Their beaks nestled together, and all thoughts of political intrigue left their minds for a while.