Author's Note

Woo! Bigger chapter than the last few. I had a blast writing this one.

I am sure some of you noticed my blog post. Well, I got exciting news for you all. The book cover for Blurring Realities is currently beginning. I cannot tell you how excited I am for the final result, and finally getting it done.

You see, a donation made by a very generous reader has sat unclaimed for months because I did not have the money to match the gift. Now, with my taxes filed, I can finally get the ball rolling. Final details are being hashed out. But I suspect within the month I will have something lovely to show you all!

Again, thank you for your patience, and enjoy the chapter!

As always, leave a comment with theories and conspiracies. Anything from aliens to inside tower jobs will be accepted.

Have a great week!

Peace!

Bloodstained Floor

"She will see you now."

The expected announcement pulled a small sigh of relief from Twilight, and she had been waiting for over an hour in a rather cramped chair.

"Finally."

Her former foalsitter was surprisingly busy these days, but then again, her role as a princess was much larger than her old duties of watching over a little purple filly who struggled to learn to walk.

She nodded to the secretary, a stallion named Pencil Grinder, and stepped up to the door. A pair of mares in the familiar pinks and yellows of Princess MI Amore Cadenza's personal guard pulled the door open with soft smiles for her.

The Princess of Love's armed forces were known to be especially kind, to foals most of all. It was well known that Twilight Sparkle's relationship with the Alicorn was one more of an older sister to a younger one, and her treatment by the royal had long begun to bleed over to her troops. They were not shy about their own affections.

The purple filly blushed at the gentle reminder of that special consideration. It was embarrassing whenever she encountered a troop of her near sisters, as the moment they spotted her, they would descend on the hapless pony to dote and give advice to, like a pack of timberwolves. Sweet timberwolves, but ones she could not hope to dissuade or avoid.

Stepping into Cadence's private study, she noted no real change since her last visit.

Like most rooms in the palace, the Princess of Love's rooms were white, lined with gilded columns that curved with the chambers in big circles, and possessed many windows. The only difference was the color of the tapestries and the choice of plants.

Heart Blossoms of all colors exploded around her; they hung from the ceiling, the banisters that led to a small library above them and even covered the front of the mare's desk.

Their floral scent spilled into her nose like a tide, bringing an old and familiar comfort from easier days when all she had to worry about was what book she would next dive into.

There was a picture frame nestled in amongst the floral array; however, it was laid down almost buried under them.

Still, mystery picture aside, the familiar sights and smells pulled a heavy sigh from the purple pony.

"Twilight, I would think a mare of your age would not have so world-weary of a sigh just yet." Came the sultry rich voice of her oldest confident.

Turning with a start, she noticed the Princess she had come to see sitting on the veranda to the left of the entrance. The wide-open balcony displayed a stunning view of the city below in the midday sun.

Cadence smiled ruefully, no doubt noting her startlement, and rose to greet her. The smile broadened into a grin as she assumed a very familiar stance that Twilight could not help but mimic with a giggle bubbling in her throat.

The Alicorn insisted they do this every time they met up. But luckily for her, it was only done in private, so far.

"Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake, clap your hands and do a little shake!"

The pair descended into a fit of laughter together as they performed the otherwise awkward song and dance, their secret little handshake.

"C-candy." She struggled to say the old nickname that had stuck during her early years when she had been unable to say the mare's full name properly. "When…hehe…when are we going to give up that silly little game?"

The Princess of Love giggled back. "Never! You shall be old and gray, and I'll still pull you from the wheelchair they stick you in. It's our sacred pact!"

That brought on another round of tittering between the two.

"Come, sit. It has been too long since I've seen you last." Excitedly, her old foalsitter gestured excitedly to the other chair across from where she had been sitting. Tea had been prepared and was waiting on a silver tray on the table between them.

A basket covered by a cloth that could not stop the smell of fruit pastries sat next to that tempting her to take one immediately. She had not eaten since early this morning, so the smells were affecting her ability to concentrate, if only a little.

"Y-yes." Twilight stuttered and then mentally chastised herself for it as she blushed furiously.

Despite the years of knowing the mare, the filly could still find herself on the off-hoof with her. She felt like she did not belong in the same room with a pony like her, much less in the same building.

It had always been like that despite their closeness; just the reasons for the self-consciousness changed.

Before, it had just been simple nervousness when dealing with anypony not in her family.

However, as she got older, it was the realization of just how gorgeous the Alicorn before her actually is began to affect her in other ways.

Princess MI Amore Cadenza was beyond what most ponies would call beautiful. Better or worse, as some may say in whispered groups, it was a natural beauty that seemed to be untouched by time or age.

Given that she was near, or even over, a thousand years old was a testament to her agelessness.

There was, of course, Princess Celestia. And she, too, was another example of ageless beauty, but for whatever reason, Cadence still came out ahead in most ponies' eyes, and the purple filly couldn't help but agree. Though she felt a traitor for those thoughts in some way.

"Twilight, you're staring again." She paused, then smiled. "You are thinking again." The mare before her gently chided. Another flush stained her cheeks and ears.

It was a talent, one often underlooked by others. Mi Amore Cadenza was capable of telling the emotional state and even predicting what one might be thinking from a glance alone.

The prediction ability was trained one of years of experience, but Cadence could see what she described as an emotional spectrum. A kaleidoscope of colors that only she could see and interpret.

From there, the Alicorn had learned over centuries of trial and error how to interpret the spectrum of an individual pony. Thus, predicting what they were thinking.

Like she was doing now, they both knew that Twilight was focusing on the difference between them and not just that one possessed the qualities of all three tribes.

"Sorry."

She felt small, small, and unattractive, and the issue with Orion made it all the worse, knowing there were others out there that may come close to her old foalsitter and surpass her.

"Hehe, still doing it."

Another blush renewed the fading color in her ears.

"Twilight," she began, "I can safely assume you are here for advice. Advice about a certain black colt who is currently on a little adventure to our neighbors to the north."

"Yes. I…I don't know what to do." It wasn't a question of how the pony embodiment of love knew of her issue. In fact, it brought a small amount of comfort, knowing that she didn't have to explain everything to her.

Cadence giggled. "Of course, you don't. Otherwise, you would not have come to me in the first place."

"I wanted to see you earlier!" Twilight protested. "I just…I had-"

"Twilight, it's okay. I understand. More than what your aura is telling me." Leaning forward, she braced her elbows against the table and put her chin into her hands. "Life gets in the way, and we all become distracted by our own lives. Our own duties. I am no different. Otherwise, I would have long sought you out myself."

She nodded; her old foalsitter was right, and while she did still feel some shame at coming to her only when she had a need, it was abated somewhat.

"So, ask your question, Twily."

"Do I love Orion?"

"I do not know, do you?" The mare before her replied with a cheeky grin.

"Candy, please?"

Sighing, the Princess of Love leaned back and frowned.

"Twilight, this isn't something I can just tell you. One lesson I have learned over the years, when dealing with matters of the heart is not to tell somepony whether they are in love or not. It places a certain level of expectation upon themselves and on the object, or persons, of their affection. That an unhealthy way to approach love, and life in general. The idea is to explore our hearts and grow from there. Not have everything spelled out for us. There is no adventure in that and it can get quite dull." She smiled gently. "Now, do you love him? Try and think about how he makes you feel when you are with him."

Sitting back, the sole Alicorn in the room lifted the cloth from the basket and snagged a raspberry pastry from the collection of goods and, popped it into her mouth with a pleased smile, then raised an already-filled tea cup to drink while she watched on as her not-baby sister dwelled on the question set before her.

For herself, Twilight thought furiously, brow furrowing in concentration. She did as instructed and thought back to the moments when they were together, alone in shared study or in mutual inquiry.

Orion thought a lot like her and was interested in learning, like her. There was a companionship between them that she did not have with her filly friends in school. Nopony could make her feel like she was on top of the world when she learned something new, quite like him.

On the other hand, no one could bring her down as easily as he could. The disparaging remarks about certain interests she held, and his lack of desire to simply meet up when asked, those truly did hurt.

However, she knew his deepest secret, and while he had used their friendship as a cudgel to keep her silent, he only did so out of desperation for his situation.

It was likely the reason he kept his distance and only came to her when she either really begged, or he had exhausted all other avenues available to him.

In those moments, he genuinely seemed remorseful about it all.

He never demanded anything of her. He never wanted more out of her than just herself. It was freeing in a way to realize that.

Was there love? A little. Maybe not the love of romances in those books she avoided at all costs but could not help to overhear from classmates, but true affection was there.

So what kind of love did that make it?

"He's…my best friend…" She whispered. "Despite everything, he makes me laugh, and his words hurt the most when he is at his most cynical. Yet, I could not imagine my life without him. And I love him. Not…not like I'm head over hooves for him, but…."

"Like he is the one pony you can share everything with and possibly get judged for but still be accepted?" Cadence said with a knowing smile. "Yes, Twilight. There are loves like that in the world. Though, it is difficult to form those with the opposite sex in normal circumstances. Still, that does not mean you can not love your best friend."

"Even if he is sometimes an insensitive…prick?" Twilight said with a sheepish smile of her own.

The Love Alicorn's eyes shot open wide in surprise.

"Twily! Where in Tartarus did you hear that!?" She shouted in mock outrage.

"From an insensitive pony, you might have heard of him." She giggled back, inwardly happy to harness Orion's natural snarkiness for a bit.

"Oh, my poor foal! Gone are the days of your innocence! Stolen away by that evil little colt!"

Twilight knew what was coming because Cadence had risen from her chair, a grin stretching her face. Hunched over with her large wings flared out, she took a familiar stance. No matter her age, Candy would be Candy.

"I must save you!" Cried the Princess of Love. Diving forward to scoop her up to the laughter of both as the mare's wings came into play to tickle her through her dress.

"S-s-stop it! Candy, please!?" The filly cried out, doing her best to fend her off with waving hands.

"No! I must cure you of this vile tongue!" She turned her head, never stopping her feathery assault. "Guards! Fetch the Royal Soap!"

Over her own shrieks of laughter, she could hear the muffled howls of amusement from the other sides of the door.

Twilight was certain that this would be added to whatever torments they visited on her in future encounters. Of that she was sure.

The moment the double doors to her private study shut behind the little filly, the smile that curved her lips during her visit fell away with a heavy sigh of her own that mimicked her near-sister's earlier exhalation. There were so few moments for her to enjoy truly, and she hated another ending so soon.

Most of all, she missed her little Twily.

True, the filly had, at one point, been a means to an end for her. A fact that still left a heavy amount of shame within her and created a rift between her and Celestia for some time after she had acted upon it. After all, it had been her suggestion to use a foal to grow closer to the stallion, who at the time was still going through military school.

However, the moments shared with that burgeoning mare were some of the greatest she had been treated to in over millennia.

Her innocence, coupled with her insatiable need for knowledge, did not make her a burden but a joy. The inquisitive purple pony was always picking up a new interest, a new path of knowledge.

Cadence touched her stomach softly, the gentle smile making a return. It was such a joy that she hoped to one day have her own. Maybe even have Twilight foalsit for her instead. That would be a treat.

"It is very rare for a stallion not of higher power to create life within one like us, Cadence."

Those had been Celestia's cutting words. Words spoken long ago and meant to dissuade her from seeking a family for herself like the High Princess herself, she was certain.

But it had the opposite effect. The Love Princess had chosen instead to seek out the correct stallion that would not only compliment her but provide for the life she so desperately sought to create.

There were, unfortunately, many misses and accidents, however.

The average pony would be surprised at how magic directed at the pursuit of love could become so dark. While the cost was never too steep, the hidden scars on her body reminded her of those painful mistakes. Worse, that path ended up being pointless in the end, for it did not seek out what she most wanted.

Cadence had stumbled upon Shining Armor quite by accident. In fact, after so many bitter failures, she hadn't bothered even to try this century, resolving to simply take a break from her pursuit and focus on more worthwhile endeavors at the time.

However, there he was during a routine troop inspection of the Celestial Military Academy. Fidgeting in place in the third row. He was sweating profusely under the hot sun, despite both the white uniform and his own whiter fur. He was nervous, she discovered later that it was his first week, and he had no clue what to do in formation or how to regard one in a station above such as hers.

He was a trembling, sweat foamed, covered mess, and he was beautiful. In the Alicorn’s eyes, she saw the cascade of colors that surrounded him and realized with clarity that they were a complete match.

It had been such a shock to suddenly find him there, that she had just stopped dead in her tracks and simply stared at him.

Fortunately for her, the commander with her that day, Commander Hard Stone, noticed and assumed it was because of Shining's state of being. Unfortunately for the poor stallion, he was subjected to three weeks of latrine duty on top of extra exercise routines.

After their initial encounter, learning who he was and his family had been simple. What wasn't so simple was trying to figure out how to approach them.

Cadence very much doubted that walking up to him and stating in specific terms her intent to court him would go over well. Two possible outcomes had immediately come to mind.

The first and likely worst outcome would be him being too terrified to respond and marking him a target to other more powerful rivals who sought her affections.

The second, and nearly as terrible, would be that he would have become an insufferable lout with far too big of an ego. The Alicorn could live with that, as she would end up getting what she wanted out of him anyway, but having to put up with it for up to a hundred or more years would undoubtedly be taxing.

Not to mention how that might influence their offspring.

Her worry over it had become a distraction in her duties, and that was when Celestia offered her advice. Advice, that while rather clever, more than showcased the older monarch's inner deviousness.

"The family had a foal recently, did they not? Why not simply pose as a normal unicorn mare and offer to foalsit? You must make it look legitimate, though." She had paused for a moment, a slim finger rising. "Pass out cards. Both in their neighborhood and the surrounding ones Should anypony other than them ask, you can merely claim that you are all too busy with other families who got ahead of them."

At the time, Cadence had not really dwelled on the fact that the Princess of the Sun knew far too much about Shining and his family. She was far too distracted by his discovery and her own desires to dwell on how excited the High Princess had become when she finally broke down and told her what was bothering her.

If she had been more perceptive and not so eager to seal her claim on Shining Armor, perhaps Twilight would never have gotten so entangled in Celestia's web.

Sighing, she turned to her desk; rather than the tea and pastries she had prepared for her almost-sister's visit, those were mostly gone as it was, and the leftover banana ones were neither of their favorites.

Sitting, she leafed through documents that had been brought to her by one of many royal clerks.

Her first encounter with Shining, in a clever disguise designed to hide much of who and what she was, had gone amazingly well. However, he did comment on the feeling that he had met her before. Centuries of political intrigue had helped redirect the subject in a way he would not realize was a deflection.

That fateful first meeting in the kitchen and himself back from the eleven months of the required initial military officers' training had been wonderful.

He was exhausted, which made the more reserved stallion more open and honest. That evening she had learned a great deal about him. His earnest desire to help others with his talent. The way he tried to hide his interests in Ogres and Oubliettes was absolutely adorable, too.

"Okay, he may have more than an interest." She chuckled at her own memories.

Every little detail she sussed out under the guise of a pretty mare interested in a military stallion pushed her to higher highs. Not only had she found her destined pony, but he was an absolute sweetheart.

Shining's love for his sister is what really opened her eyes to what she was doing, though.

Wanting to check in on the sleeping foal, he tip-hoofed to her room, Cadence right behind him.

Opening the door slowly, he peeked in, and she could see his smile in the semi-darkness grow wider. The tired eyes she had kept up far too late with her inquiries reigniting when he saw his little sister laying in her crib.

It didn't take long for the pair to settle around the little bed and for him to reach over and pet her mane.

Twilight, not yet old enough to form true sentences, smiled in her sleep and murmured her brother's name in almost a whisper, her nose flaring to take in his scent.

It struck the disguised Alicorn then that what she had done was wrong. Seeing the colors of love and affection between the two had brought into stark reality what she was doing. Manipulating the love of a family to get what she wanted, and it broke her to her core.

Shortly after they left the room of the little filly, she bid him goodnight and left the home in a rush to return to her own rooms. Where she cursed and wept in equal bouts of self loathing.

Celestia, of course, learned of her behavior far too quickly and had appeared in her chambers directly. Which was a breach of normal decorum in the castle, however, neither cared.

Cadence raged at her then. Spewing forth her hatred of what the mare had convinced her to do, to manipulate the hearts of others. It was a thing she had vowed to herself never to do, and once the opportunity had arisen, she did it anyway.

"Cadence, do not direct your anger at me. I have told you time and time again that in order to get the best outcome, one must bend others in order to get the desired results. The right results." She tsked in annoyance. "A lesson I feared you would only learn once everything had fallen apart in one of your goals. If anything, we are fortunate that it happened now in this manner."

"How can you say that!?" She had cried into the cool features of her mentor.

"I can say such things because I have watched too many kingdoms and ponies fall to unattainable ideals. Unable to bend and adapt to the realities of life." There had been a hint of despair in her tone. Bitterness too.

"There…there has to be a better way…." Cadence found herself moaning and falling to her knees in front of the High Princess.

"My dear, sweet Cadence." She knelt with her, wrapping her massive white wings about her. "If there is, it will be far smarter ponies than I who will discover it. For I have already failed in that task."

The Alicorn of Love could only weep into the wings of the pony that, at that moment, she hated most of all.

Eventually, that hatred turned to understanding in the coming years. Though resentment still remains to this day.

During that time, Cadence slowly worked Shining over till she felt it was the right time to confess everything. To come clean with her lies to him.

Never had she imagined that the young stallion would be the one to take the lead.

He kissed her on the balcony just after the pair had helped each other put Twilight to bed. He kissed her and confessed to feelings she had known were there but never thought he would act on first.

When he was done, she explained everything. The revelation of who she truly was more than a little stunned him. Yet, he listened intently to her explanation of the deception and why.

To her surprise, Shining asked her to leave. For the first time, she couldn't see the colors of his emotions. It was as if the stallion had somehow figured out how to shield his heart from her. It terrified her, and while she tried to plead with him to let her remain, he remained steadfast with pained tears in her eyes.

For weeks afterward, there was no contact. No messages. When she visited Twilight to sit for her parents, he was not there.

Reaching into the drawer on the left-hand side of her desk, she pulled out a well-worn letter. One she had shed tears upon that first day it arrived on her desk.

"Dear Princess MI Amore Cadenza,

"I am not good at writing much more than a standard field report. I am not very good at most things beyond my talent and what you referred to as my “singular drive”.

"When you told me who, and more importantly what, you are. I will confess I panicked. Learning that the sweet unicorn mare I had come to adore and cherish was actually the Alicorn of Love overwhelmed me.

"I was a coward. I thought I was being brave for confessing my feelings; when you have been hiding your nature for fear I would treat you differently.

"I have hurt you, and for that, I am sorry. However, i was hurt too. I no longer knew who the mare before me was, and that was when my cowardice consumed me. I want this, I feel that despite the shadowed truths, you wer being genuine in your love for me. But if this relationship is to continue, there cannot be any more lies between us. I understand that your position means you cannot tell me everything. That might jeopardize something important. You can simply tell me you cannot talk about it. Believe me, I will understand.

"I love you, Cadence.

"Yours, Shining Armor."

He later admitted that not only was the letter the twenty-eighth version she had received, but his own mother, Twilight Velvet, ended up sending it for him.

They kept the truth from Twilight for another few years and even upon revealing herself to the filly, kept it in the home only.

She sighed wistfully at the pleasant memories before stowing the letter back in its home inside the drawer and picking up the first of the afternoon's reports.

Her eyes twitched, a sour frown forming on her lips.

Minos was on the move for the first time in her extended memory. Politically at least.

Emissaries from the isolated kingdom had suddenly cropped up in a dozen realms, both large and small. How they arrived without being detected beforehand was even more disturbing but far from the most bothersome news.

That being that of the pony nations currently in good standing with Equestria, only two were reported to have been approached.

Marussia and Saddle Arabia. It was not merely a coincidence that the pair were selected either.

Of all of Celestia's machinations, unifying all the pony lands had to be the largest and most convoluted of her plots. It had to be, or the populace of those nations would realize that the Sun Princess ruled far more than just Equestria itself and may express dissatisfaction learning that fact.

While beloved in Equestria, she was not seen favorably in many others.

However, Marussia and Saddle Arabia were the only two to resist the High Princess's manipulations outright.

In the case of Marussia, there wasn't one ruler but ten, each with their own fiefs and business in their control. Nearly all were corrupt beyond reason. In order for Celestia to even gain a hoof-hold in those lands would require military intervention, and she did not want to do that.

Her image was far too important to commit to war, even if such a conflict was waged under the guise of saving the innocent.

Then there was Saddle Arabia. Only one ruling family and they ruled with absolute impunity. Oddly enough, they were a patriarchal society, though the mares and stallions both seemed to hold equal sway regarding day-to-day affairs.

A single battle with them would also prove to be a disastrous attempt.

There were few unicorns, and even pegasi, among their number. However, their tactics and standing army size of roughly eight hundred thousand would prove Equestrian forces too weak to compete without unified help. Due to the manner in which Celestia ruled, she could not simply demand other nations in her grasp to send forces to her aid.

Whatever the Minotaurs were up to after so many years of political inactivity on the global stage, it did not bode well. They seemed all to aware

A new document caught her eye amongst the reports on Minos's activities.

Gnokas Bellfounder was on his way to Griffonia.

Shining was in Griffonia, hunting Orion Falls under orders from Celestia. Now she had a new fear to worry about, added to the already dangerous task the High Princess had given him.

Try as she could, she could not get her poor betrothed out of the assignment no matter how much fuss she threw, and that made her even angrier.

This hadn't been the first time one of his vacations had been cut short, or him being sent on some dangerous excursion out of the country at the Sun Princess's whim. The fact was, Cadence, despite her station as an Alicorn, had no real power in Equestria.

She had been kept purposefully out of the public limelight for centuries; thus it limited her influence in politics to an uncomfortable degree. Nobles knew of her, but other than a few parties, she rarely had any contact with them.

Celestia claimed it was for her protection, claiming her sister's demise at the hands of the Nightmare was reason enough to keep her safe and out of harm's way. The Love Princess was not convinced, but with no real military authority other than her small force of personal guards, she could not act too independently.

What she needed was a land of her own. More to the point, she wanted the land of her birth.

Dark magic of the foulest nature had robbed her of her mother and her homeland.

In the common tongue, it was known as the Crystal Empire. A wondrous place where the magic of earth ponies had shown through to create a green utopia in an otherwise snowy Tartaruscape. She was too young to remember those idyllic days long since lost. But she knew full well who was responsible.

Sombra.

The very name boiled her blood. How he had managed to steal the land on the cusp of his defeat, even Celestia knew not. What few eyewitness reports there were, spoke of the land shimmering just before it vanished off the face of Equis as if it never was.

Taking a moment to still her heart and mind, she fingered through the other reports. What she found made her smile in shocked surprise. Maybe all was not truly gone as the High Princess claimed after all.

Rocking Archive, an earth pony whose ancestors came from the stricken land of her birth, had finally sent in a report. No doubt, Celestia's agents had already gone through it, but they did not know what to look for quite like she did.

A pulse of magic, so weak as to be imperceptible, had been detected by his team. Only a pony with Crystal heritage could have felt it regardless, and she had purposefully sought out every descendant of that lost land.

The report pushed her guilt for Twilight away and her worry for Shining too. There was little time and too much to do.

"Now, how am I going to even get close to there without Celestia noticing?"

"I swear to Christ, Balo, you dig that thing any deeper, and I am going to castrate your ass with it!"

It had been twenty minutes since Barney had literally barked an order that had driven a surprisingly sneaky Balo to knock Orion to the ground and then sit on him, a knife held rather firmly to his neck.

Twenty minutes where Screaming, and the Diamond Dog leader leveled threats at one another. Meanwhile, both Eberhard and Tilly did their best to calm the situation.

From his position on the ground and in front of the cave, he couldn't hear much of what was being discussed, mostly because the other dogs were adding their cries of outrage and anger into the mix as well.

Calls for the return of kids and mates pulled at his heart like little plucks on a cord.

"This is fucking stupid! Why won't anyone let me talk?!"

He had tried and failed to get anyone's attention beyond Balo, smacking him in the back of the head and being told to shut up.

Tilly Barker was the only one that knew what his plan was. What could be between the two species, and he was stuck on the ground between the musky legs of a dog with the intelligence of a pillbox.

The more Orion focused on the situation, the angrier he got over it all. It didn't help that Grendal Plumage was here, egging the twelfth in line on with her own brand of vitriol. Her words occasionally reached his ears, and what she was saying made him want to strangle the retch.

"Pony, stop that." The knife dug in a little deeper, and he noticed for the first time that he had embraced his magic again, an obvious futile effort, but he had to do something. He could feel the nullstone vibrating around his horn once more in a hum just out of tune.

Ignoring the knife and the threat, he really focused on what was happening between him and the stone blocking him from casting. It was as if the two were vibrating somehow, at different wavelengths.

"Pony. Stop." The knife drew a little blood as it split the fur and flesh.

"Or what?" He growled back, rage flooding his mind. "You're gonna hurt me? Kill me?!" He laughed darkly as he tried to tune the raw power in his horn with the ring, playing on an earlier thought he had forgotten during his interview and Aspen’s tongue bath. "We both know Barney would have your nutsack stapled to a wall if you did. Now put up with it, you lu-"

He hadn't realized he was that close to synchronization with the nullstone; in the middle of his mocking tirade, the two frequencies merged, and a hollow boom rippled out, knocking Balo off of him in the process.

His skull felt like someone had pounded on it with a hammer. And the anger flooding his veins only made it pulse worse.

Picking himself up slowly, shaking his head as he looked around, not yet realizing he was looking for a target to vent his frustration and suffering on.

Most of the mutts were down, holding their ears, their faces a mask of pain. Those not on the ground howling in agony held their crude weapons in shaky hands.

Pointed at him.

Barney was, of course, unharmed. As was his sister, who cowered behind him. He would have really loved to have seen the little prick go tumbling, but not at the cost of his sister sharing a similar fate.

The ground around him hadn't been on fire beforehand, but now small patches of flames danced around him where the grass hadn't just been simply blasted away by the force of the raw magic he had accidentally released.

Looking up at Screaming, he could see the young nobles' astonishment in the gaping shock shared by others around her..

He took a step forward, and almost landed on his face. Stumbling, he righted himself and pulled at more mana to help steady him and found the vast pool he was used to at his proverbial fingertips.

" Oh yeah, they hadn't been able to remove my armbands…." He thought wryly, a plan forming in his head.

"ORION! COME QUICKLY!"

His long-distance pen pal must have gotten over her shock quickly, now stepping forward and calling out to him. She wasn't alone either. A chorus of voices joined with hers in a cacophony of noise that made his already-pounding head ring like a gong struck with a tree.

He took another step forward, then paused.

If Orion let them take him away, then nothing would be solved. In fact, it may make it worse. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves and shook his head at them.

"No? Why the fuck is he saying no?!"

Grace was beside herself with shock. One moment she was shouting at an increasingly hostile Barney Barker over his treatment of her only remaining pony friend. The next thing she knew, she was sent stumbling back as a wave of air pressure washed over them all.

The Diamond Dogs fared far worse, and many were sent to their knees screaming in agony, from what she did not know. Those not sent flying by the explosion of air, at least.

Suddenly, Orion was up, standing amongst a field of burnt grass and small flames, and she only thought how terrifying he looked at that moment.

His mane was floating oddly; though that had settled quickly, it still held that strange glow deep within.

His teeth were barred in a snarl that reminded her of a stray dog she had found in an alley outside the palace. The beast had been out of its mind with hunger and had attacked her. The guard with her had quickly put the poor mutt down, but the image of those teeth presented in such a threatening manner stuck with her.

But his eyes are what really frightened her. The gray in them had been replaced briefly with something dark before switching back. The only word that came to mind was murder. It was frightening enough to make her breath hitch.

"Orion…w-who are you?"

At least, he still seemed to be himself, though his refusal to rush to them was confusing and off-putting. Instead, he had turned and approached Barney Barker.

The Diamond Dog leader had managed to stay on his paws, but he was clearly stricken with fear at his one-time hostage's approach.

Grendal stepped forward, past herself, and shouted at Orion.

"YES! BREAK THAT FUCKING MUTT!" Grace could only gape in astonishment at the Burgermeister of Aviary.

It had been true in the past day her rhetoric against the Dogs only seemed to increase, going so far as to call for them all to be executed, not just a few hours before this began.

The pony stopped abruptly and craned his neck to stare in absolute fury at the griffon, whose next shout seemed to have become caught short in her throat, judging by the sound emanating from her beak.

Orion glared hard and vanished in a series of explosions of dark light that brought him closer to her side of the field. Suddenly, he appeared right in front of Grendal with a loud pop and seized her by the beak.

"YOU WILL SHUT THE FUCK UP!" The black pony roared into the struggling hen's face. "YOU WILL SHUT THE FUCK UP RIGHT NOW! IF I HEAR ANOTHER WORD OUT OF YOU, THEY WILL BE MASHING UP YOUR FOOD FOR YOU TO EAT FOR THE REST OF YOUR MISERABLE FUCKING LIFE! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

Whatever answer she could have given never came. Readjusting his grip, he slammed the griffon head-first into the ground with one hand. Standing back up, he leaned over her.

"Had you showed just an ounce, a sliver, of fucking compassion, this would never have happened. None of it. But don't you worry ya ugly little head, bitch, Daddy Orion is gonna make it all better. Then I am gonna stomp a hole in your skull." He hissed past clenched teeth.

Turning, he flashed a brief look of what seemed like apologetic remorse to Grace and approached Barney again.

"What by the Winds is going on?!"

"Maybe I shouldn't make good on that last bit..." It would do no good to up and murder the leader of the other faction he was eventually going to try and make see his side of things.

Perhaps, a new election would see to that issue.

Orion still felt more than a little bit pissed off. He was so mad at the situation that certain parts of him worried about breaking a tooth with how hard he was clenching them together.

He needed an outlet. A way to vent before it was too much, and he began screaming at everyone. His eyes found Barney, and he felt his lips quirk into a smile.

"He does owe me for that little beating below, right? And I think a break from all this hostility would definitely help out…."

Orion didn't bother thinking about it further. Swinging his right hoof back, he brought it forth into a kick to the diminutive mutt's testicles. Lifting him into the air to sail into a group of his still-recovering guards, knocking them all down again.

"GOD, THAT FELT FUCKING AMAZING!" He crowed.

"May want to stop shouting too."

Stopping, he cleared his throat with a cough. Already feeling the strain he had placed on the vocal cords, he proceeded to speak in a more normal yet still loud enough tone to be heard voice. Hopefully, by all.

"All right. I think this shit has gone on to the farthest reaches of stupidity it needs for one day." Glancing back toward the griffons, he called out. "Put up your weapons!" Spinning, he pointed at the few Diamond Dogs still holding onto their own. "You too, chucklefucks. Put 'em away."

Neither side moved a muscle.

Looking to Scream, he did his best "If-you-would-please" look and got a hesitant nod from the twelfth in line.

"Put up your weapons. Stand down."

"BUT YOUR LADYSHIP-"

"I SAID PUT AWAY YOUR WEAPONS!" She roared over them.

Ignoring the struggles of command behind him, he looked to Barney and had to bite back a chuckle. The poor fucker was out cold, drool falling from the corner of his mouth, his eyes crossed in a comic fashion as his hands still clutched at his bruised jewels.

"Too hard."

Looking to who he was hoping was second in command, he asked Tilly nicely.

"Tilly, nothing is going to get solved today with the spilling of each other's blood, would you..?"

Nodding curiously, though he could see a flush of anger staining her cheeks and ears, he spoke to her, no doubt pissed at what he had just done to her brother.

"Barker Den, no fighting today. Put them away." That got some grumbling, but none of them failed to listen.

Soon enough, both sides were about as disarmed as they could get, with their weapons holstered or put near to hand.

Nodding, more for himself than anything else, Orion began his scheme.

"Scream. I know you kidnapped a bunch of their people. Let them go, please, no more of this hostage nonsense. Otherwise, we will be right back to it."

She had opened her mouth a couple of times in an attempt to speak, but he had rolled over her. It was best if he cut the arguments short, as it felt like the headache was becoming worse.

"Please don't argue. Just do it." Her angered look pulled the first true grin from him in days. "Trust me. I got a plan."

Eberhard may not have had a clue as to what he was up to, but the old bird had obviously realized that whatever it was, both sides being equal was paramount.

"My Lady, I believe we should do as he says. Something tells me that this may just be worthwhile to listen to."

The much cooler tone of Lonelycall must have been a better balm than any of his smiles, as she thought only a moment.

"See to it, Master Lonelycall." Nodding, he rushed off over the hill behind them.

"Awesome. Okay, while that's going on, here's what I recommend. We take a little break. Not many might be able to tell, but I got a splitting headache that I need to get looked at. Besides, everyone here is probably still running hot. I think a chance for all of us to cool our tempers might be in order."

Tilly was a lot less put off than Screaming was. The noble griffon verbally exploded on him.

"What do you mean take a break!? They foalnapped you! Are you insane?!"

With a weary sigh, and a rub to his temples, he faced his friend.

"Scream, there is a whole mess of shit going on that you and I had no clue about. A lot of it has to do with prejudice from the villagers in Aviary. More specifically, to the fucko over there." He gestured at Grendel's prone body dismissively. "What I propose is we take a day to calm the hell down and come back fresh in the morning to negotiate.

"Negotiate? Negotiate what?!"

He grinned at her.

"You want to do what?!"

Three hours later, Orion was propped up in bed, a cold compress pressed to his head, and his horn lightly glowing to show others he was helping aid the foul concoction that he had forced himself to drink before Screaming had finally had enough of waiting on him, and stormed into his room.

Eberhard came in with more stately grace than the incensed griffon noble, shutting the door calmly behind them. Judging by his face, he had tried reining her in before this inevitable confrontation.

The black colt still remembered that wicked-looking warhammer she had been casually holding when he had first seen her. A quick once-over showed that the weapon wasn't with her.

"Oh good, she'll just beat me to death with her fists."

Raising his hands in a placating manner, he gestured for her to sit on the stool he had kept at the side of his bed.

"Scream, please don't shout. I don't think you understand just how much breaking that fucking stone hurt." He winced. "Just calm down, okay? I will explain my idea, but can we please speak in lowercase for a bit?"

Her shoulders sagged, but she did not take his offer to sit. Instead, she came beside his bed and ran her claws over his bedding, and the bandages wrapped around him.

"Okay, I'm…I'm sorry I just…when you were taken I-"

"It's okay, Featherhead. I'm okay, just a little banged up. The truth is, I did more to myself than they did to me." He chuckled wryly.

"And the reason as to your...assault on their leader?" Eberhard politely asked, a small quirk to his beak.

"Prick ordered a knife to my throat. I think that was the least I could do." He smirked back. "I'd have given him the double tap if his ass would have stood back up."

"I see. Considering what had happened, I think that is justified. But now I must ask, why did you erupt on Grendal Plumage, and attack her in such a manner."

Scream had finally sat, but the look on her face shared the same question.

"Because part of this is her fault. In fact, had the rest of fucking council been there, I'd have beaten the hell out of them too." Taking a deep breath and settling his heart rate a moment, he continued, grateful they hadn't interrupted him. "A few years back, the Diamond Dogs had an incident. A massive tunnel collapse. Knowing they didn't have the capability to help themselves without medical assistance, they came to the village of Aviary to get that help. Guess what happened?"

Eberhard thought for a moment, but his friend had the answer right away.

"They were rejected."

"Exactly. From the way Tilly tells it, that's Barney's sister bee tee dubs. They were chased away with fire and stones. From what I have been told, Grendal had been shouting that she wanted them dead." Shifting, and adjusting his bedding for something to keep his hands busy instead of clenching around someone's throat, he went on noting a weird look passing between noble and servant. "When we first arrived and started working on everything, I had heard about the Diamond Dogs living northward. Lots of hate directed at them. When I asked why they never had any good answers. I think some of them were surprised at it even being questioned about their beliefs." He sighed. "I get it, though. In Equestria, griffons and other species are often demonized in our textbooks. Any good another race has done has been painted as sheer luck. Scream, you've seen that shit for yourself, don't deny it."

"Yes…I have…" She confirmed sadly.

"My question is, why? Why does everyone have this massive hate boner for each other but are all smiles when stuck in a room together? I think the only reason we saw what Grendal was truly like was because it was only us in a conflict situation. That bitch wanted me to kill Barney, for fucks sake."

"That is a most curious line of inquiry, Mr. Falls. One I'm afraid I cannot answer at this given time. Though rest assured, I have my own inquiries about her. However, now that I know your reasoning for the Burgermeister’s assault, I have only one last question. What did you mean by employing the Diamond Dogs?"

Orion grinned.

"Why, dear Master Lonelycall, our project requires a good deal of labor, does it not?"

It was still a couple of hours before their scheduled meeting with the Diamond Dogs. Word from the scouts Scream had with her said they hadn't moved other than to get their people back inside the safety of their tunnels.

Guards were still posted at all entrances, and Tilly had even been seen several times that morning.

Orion took that as a good sign that Barney was at least listening to her. Whether he would agree was something else entirely.

But before they could get to that meeting, there was the little matter of Grendal Plumage and her little village council. Though it was his turn to have the details kept from him.

Since her awakening after having been slammed into the ground by the black colt, she had been in a right fit of temper and had already attempted to breach his room through the window. Unfortunately for her, Gilda had been there, and had demonstrated to him that he had gotten off lightly with their tussle in his rooms back in the castle.

"Jesus, who knew birdcats knew judo."

Now, he sat off to the side of a miniature throne. That throne was housed in the only building in the little village that had tile roofing and yellow-painted walls. It was a big t-shaped place too, with massive lead windows and mini garden terraces underneath them.

The perks of being a mayor, he supposed.

Said mayor was currently standing with her back hunched before them. Behind her was a few of the council members who had sided with her against Grace over their removal from authority the moment that had learned of what happened.

His friend, of course sat on the throne, really, it was more of a glorified kitchen chair, but it was a symbol of authority for the not so well to do hamlet.

Her eyeshadow for the day was a mixture of gray and black. A color combination that matched well with the deep red dress she wore and if he remembered correctly, it meant that she was both taking this seriously, and meaning to mete out justice.

The one person he thought should be there was Eberhard to advise and keep his friends' anger in check. But no, the dry-looking griffon left just before the prisoners were brought in, muttering something about fishing producing any results.

"Grendal, why did you attack Orion in the middle of the night?" He winced. His friend's voice was hard, and full of repressed anger.

The sudden question silenced all murmuring that had been previously going on.

Grace Fairheart had decided to allow the village to attend, those not working in the field at least. The reason was simple. It did no good to hide what was going on from the public. Thus she allowed them to see and hear the charges laid before their leaders.

The thing that confused him was, why had she not yet stated the charges?

"Bah, I don't need to answer to you!" Grendal spat, the sheer venom in her words made Orion's eyebrows rise. What had happened in the past couple of days he wasn't here?

"No. You do not. You need to answer to your fellow griffons. The ones who trusted you to lead them, the ones you betrayed." She stated calmly.

He turned to look at her.

Something had clearly happened, and he was purposefully left in the dark. He remembered the look the pair shared when he explained why he was pissed off at the mayor of the old forge town.

"What are you up to?"

"What are you talking about?! I have done nothing. It is you who brought that…pony…into MY village! A pony, mind you, that is ordering YOU around!" The mutterings started up in earnest, and Orion could only run his hands across his face.

His secret was out now if it wasn't before.

"Then he gets eggnaped, and you lose your wits! I say you should have let the mutts have him, but no! You have to drop everything for him!"

The lone pony in the room very carefully let her tirade go on without challenge. He wasn't stupid enough to call out her own behavior during the stalemate when he had finally been freed, because from the look on Scream's face, calm and secure though still smoldering, she had something on Grendal. Something big.

What had happened? Before he had been taken, they were all smiles and companionable company.

In the middle of Grendal Plumage's attempt to turn the trial against his friend, Eberhard slipped in a side door, carrying papers clutched to his chest. He quickly paced around the crowd of onlookers and slid up to the other side of his Liege Lady.

Whispering something in her ear, he handed over the paperwork, and she began to leaf through it, completely ignoring the continued accusations from the Burgermeister. Whom which was now facing away from them and addressing her fellow villagers for whatever support she could glean from this situation.

After a moment, the hen spun around and pointed an accusing finger at himself. "And you! I think you've done enough for Celestia's benefit, don't you? Pitting griffon against griffon, disgusting!"

Orion merely blinked at her in surprise.

"Where had she gotten that idea from? More to the point, when had she gotten to ranting about Celestia's sorry ass?"

"I think…that is quite enough posturing, Miss Plumage." Grace had yet to look up from whatever it was she was reading, but judging by her eyebrows' steady journey to her top feathers, it was interesting reading.

"W-what?!" The overstuffed parakeet squawked.

"I said that is enough." She held up aged parchment, merely one of a dozen which Eberhard had given her. "Do you know what this is? What am I saying? Of course, you do. Perhaps I should just inform everyone else in attendance."

Grendal opened her mouth to obviously object, but when her eyes took in the paper, they bulged, and all that came out of her throat was the sound a strangled cat makes.

"You are right, honesty is the best policy." Lady Fairheart held up the rest of the pages that had been given to her. "Friends and fellow griffons, what I hold here is proof of the duplicitous nature of Grendal Plumage, Boris Whitewing, Charl Greytip, and Edith Purplesong. In these pages is the sum of their contact with one, Lady Rosebreast of Icewall." She stepped down to stand before the assembled crowd. "Now, in itself, that is not a crime. However, it is the nature in which these communications were done, and their intent, that is."

"Oh my God." Orion thought. "I thought only bad guys in movies or video games kept their records. Are these people really that fuckin' stupid?!"

"On my first visit, I was too unfamiliar with how griffon villages sustained themselves. Too new to my role. So when I arrived, I believed myself lucky to be allowed to see Aviary and its surrounding farmland so well off." She chuckled. "I am fortunate that I have much smarter griffons working with me. Otherwise I would have remained ignorant."

She turned and faced Grendal, who had managed to look pale in morning light spilling in from a high window.

"Grendal, you have sustained this village against the rules of the Accords. While it is true that I do not bare full authority in this region, it is also true that Rosebreast is similarly restricted. Not only have you and your fellow conspirators accepted her assistance but you yourself were sent by her. To maintain the illusion of supporting me and my efforts to reclaim my family's land while also restricting my ability to do so."

"What!? She's not from Aviary?" Cried a voice from the crowd. Orion could see some expressing disbelief at the notion.

"No, she is not. Her claims of coming from a little farming community to the west is a false one." She spun to face the audience again. "There was one, but it was torched in bandit raids years ago. Somehow, while I have no proof, I do not believe that it was a coincidence as it happened the year of my return."

"Daaaaammmnnnn."

The black colt was more than a bit surprised, even impressed. Margarete Rosebreast's little scheme was actually well thought out and covered a great deal of just-in cases that could have cropped up. The noble hen knew that this land would eventually be given over to Grace somehow, so had implemented a plan to keep her off balance.

Clever.

"L-l-lies…" Came the breathy response from Grendal.

"Lotti Eagleheart, you will be silent." Scream said sternly. The former mayor recoiled as if slapped. "Yes, I know your name. At least I do now." She shot a glare at Eberhard, who just shrugged apologetically. "My steward had been unwilling to tell me until he had confirmed your true identity for himself. Thanks to these documents you have so helpfully provided from beneath the hearth stones of your fireplace, we do."

"H-h-" She had apparently forgotten how to be quiet.

"How?" Grace Fairheart smirked for the first time since he saw her this morning. "Let us just say Master Lonelycall has a very long memory. You have sabotaged this village by keeping crop yields low. It is why you balked when Orion Falls suggested a different way of farming. You also dragged your paws when it came to re-establishing the forges. Your constant remarks against my guest, which I may remind you is only here on his own account, not Celestia's, have sown distrust only among the villagers against him." She paused and then looked at him. "Though, he did himself no favors by pretending to be a fool."

"Okay, ouch." He shrugged and gave the same apologetic look Eberhard had done before.

"Regardless, you have acted against the interest of this community and their Liege. As such, you and your conspirators will be held accountable and held in bonds until such time as a proper and fair trial can determine your fate."

With that, Grace turned away and marched toward the throne with more poise than he had ever seen from her.

"Sergeant Broadwing, see to it that Lotti Eagleheart and-"

Instead of being in awe at the change in his friend, he should have been more focused on Grendal, no, Lotti. With an animal like howl, she produced a knife from somewhere and lunged for Grace Fairheart in a blind fury.

Orion shot to his hooves, his magic bursting along his muscles and bones, knowing he would be too late for anything other than revenge.

His assistance turned out not to be needed.

Before the hen had made two steps, Lady Fairheart was on her, it only took a single overhanded blow that dodged around claw and knife, and the would-be attacker was down.

Not just down, she was dead. Lotti's head connected with the floor in a sickening crunch that reverberated within the tightly packed audience chamber. She struck the floor so hard that her pulpified face broke through the wood.

"HOLY FUCKIN' SHIT!" He shouted, taking a step back in alarm.

And here he thought Gilda was fast, but Grace was on a whole other level.

"What…in the fuck?" Gabriele Fairheart had warned him. But she didn't say anything about her being capable of that level of viciousness.

"Damn." She cursed suddenly.

The crowd was stunned to silence. Any doubt of who she was and what it meant was dashed away in those few quick moments.

"My Lady. Your training has paid off, but was it really wise to kill her?" Eberhard spoke, with all the calm of a person not in a room with a dead person as he approached with a towel. Blood from the impact had splashed acrossed her dress and face.

"It wasn't my intention. I reacted without thinking." She said casually.

Orion gaped openly and was joined by the majority of the populace of Aviary, those not rushing out the door in a panic. When his friend from across the border glanced at him, she blushed in embarrassment. As if she didn't just murder someone.

"Ah, sorry Orion. A lot of things changed with me over the years…." She turned away.

"Do tell…" He breathed.

"So that's not the first time that happened?!"

He was floored. Not literally, as they were currently flying toward the agreed meeting site, Barney had chosen, right in front of his people's den. Go figure.

"Oh, by the Winds, no." Said, Eberhard. "I think that is…what do you think, my Lady, sixth or seventh time now?"

Scream grunted and adjusted her grip under his arms.

"That would be the sixth." She replied, then added. "The first was when I just arrived back to my homeland. I hadn't even disembarked the train when a pair of Kein Zuhause attacked me and my escort. I got lucky that day, and vowed never to be caught off paw again."

"Kein-doll what?"

"No Home. It is an old slur against bandits. However, that particular pair of bandits happened to be contracted out for her death." The steward chimed in. "Her escort fell giving her a chance at life that day."

"Oh…damn…"

"It was also the day I vowed never to be that weak again." Orion wanted to mention how much her grip under his arms was beginning to hurt but kept quiet.

It was now obvious that the annoying little birdy that bothered him far too often in the past had grown up to become a dangerous bird of prey. A very dangerous bird of prey.

"Okay, one thing bothers me though." He gave a glance at Eberhard. "Can you give us some space?" Looking up he asked his friend. "And can you slow down? I can barely hear you guys as it is." If it wasn't for the Feather Fall spell and his own capability to land with his pseudo-Ironman landing spell he had worked out. He might have been worried about the distance from the ground they were at.

Currently, they were flying over the woodland, of which name he forgot, that separated Aviary and the Diamond Dogs' territory. While not a big forest, they were running late, Scream and her steward were pushing hard and high to get there on time.

A team of six guards was trailing after them, their bulky armor making it difficult to keep up with the less armored pair despite the one's physical burden.

"Oh, sorry." Fanning her wings out, his friend slowed to a more manageable pace. "What did you wish to ask?"

"Was it all an act?" He could see her head cock in confusion, so he elaborated. "I mean that demure, go-along-with-everything I wanted…thing you were doing before, back in the capital and when we first arrived. Was that all an act?"

"Kind of…" Her voice said she was uncomfortable. "I read that stallions like their mares to treat them kindly. And ponies are softer than any other species I've met. So…yeah."

Now it made sense. She had been trying to display the best side of herself. In doing so, she not only put a strain on her emotions, but when those expectations were not met she lashed out. Became more emotionally unstable.

"Scream…no, Grace. You don't have to hide yourself from me." He felt her stiffen. "I'd rather know the real you than some false image you think I would accept." He chuckled. "When have I ever given you the impression that I, of all people, was soft?"

She said nothing for a moment. Then she started giggling. It was initially quiet and subtle, but as they dipped lower toward the clearing off in the distance, those giggles became more pronounced.

He couldn't help but smirk and join in.

As they circled to come in for a landing, one Diamond Dog standing alone in the field, Grace spoke.

"My aunt is very wise. But in this, it was entirely a mistake."

"Her idea to be sweeter than sugar?"

"Oh, yes. Entirely. I had forgotten what you were actually like. I should have remembered." She commented dryly.

"You're gonna rub her…beak in it, aren't you?"

"Oh you can bet on that."