Wrath · 4:38pm Oct 9th, 2023
It was a pleasant evening, a couple of months after I received NCR citizenship. Not too hot, not too cold, not too windy, and not a rain cloud in sight. A good night to stop by the Gun Runners, though not for my usual reason. Sure, I’d stock up on ammo as always, but I also had a job in mind. Hopefully, a pretty safe job. Certainly not boring, if the tip I got was accurate, but safe. After some news I recently got, I couldn’t afford to put myself in significant harm’s way. However, I needed caps as always.
As the little factory and vendor stall came into view, I hoped to see Lita around. Out of everyone here, I felt I could count on her to be interested in what I had in mind. Sure enough, I saw red-tipped yellow feathers and landed next to the familiar griffoness.
“S’up.” I greeted as I joined her for a smoke.
She gave me a knowing smirk. “Not much, Trickshot.”
My newly ordained title elicited a groan from my beak, which in turn got a chuckle out of the fellow ex-Talon.
“I knew that DJ was talking about you.” She gave me a gentle punch to the shoulder. “He’s full of shit, right? About you bouncing a bullet off a bullet?”
“Nope. Really happened.” I retrieved my souvenirs from that day, two elongated pieces of jacketed lead with matching dents.
My evidence didn’t seem to completely convince her, but she did change the subject. “So, here to stock up? Usual order?”
“Yeah… and I have a proposition.” My attempt to be enigmatic fell apart as I caught her smirk. “Not like that. No, I got a tip off about a place to scavenge a bunch of guns, ammo, and armor. Figured your employers would be interested in exchange for a finders’ fee.”
Carmelita chewed on her cigarette. “They might… Where is it?”
I took a drag out of mine. “Old abandoned town near Rambling Rock Ridge. Raider territory, I know, but hear me out. According to my source, the building in question should be safe. The raiders treat it like it's haunted. Won’t go near it.”
“Place has raiders freaked out enough to ignore a stockpile?” She seemed intrigued, but not sold. “What’s the story?”
My turn to give a knowing smirk. “Ever heard of Wrath?”
Lita snorted and cocked her head. “The old Talon legend? The one they told in basic to scare cadets?”
I nodded, undeterred by her skepticism. “The griffon whose real name was lost to time. Among the first Talons to sign up with Red Eye, decades ago, alongside the love of his life, Hope.”
She continued. “Yeah, yeah, then his lover got killed in a raider attack, and he went AWOL to go on a hunting spree. Killed so many raiders, so fast, that Red Eye and Stern just decided to ignore his desertion and let him do his thing.”
“And then he disappeared.” I waved my claws dramatically. “No one knows what happened. He was never seen or heard from again. Not even a body was found.”
“Please, he probably died.” She scoffed. “If he was ever real to begin with.”
“My source says he was, and where he was last seen. The site of his last stand.” I finally returned a bump to her shoulder. “And you’re gonna help me verify it.” I gave her a smug grin. “If you’re not too busy.”
“Eh… I just took some time off to visit some old friends in Sunburn not too long ago. Might catch some flak for leaving again so soon.” Her excuse didn’t sound very sincere.
I rolled my eye. “Oh, as if you of all people care about that. Besides, this is for work, remember? Salvage! Weapons, parts, whatever. I’m sure your bosses will be happy when you come back with a big haul.”
“All right, all right!” She relented, the grin she’d been suppressing spread across her face. “Head out in the morning?”
*****
Catching up passed the time during our flight. Lita, as expected, wanted more details on the President’s assassination attempt. She remarked how it might temper her enthusiasm to annex every inch of Equestria. I admitted that I hoped that was the case. As much good as the NCR was doing, they shouldn’t be so forceful about it.
I decided to ask about her. “So, you visited some old friends? What was the town, Sunburn?”
She nodded. “What was left of my old squad, from back in the day. It was the first time I’d seen them since, well…”
Yeah… “So, how’d it go? Awkward at all?”
“No, it was fine. Good to see them again.” She snickered. “Kaz and Amy had a kid. Honestly, I didn't expect that. Like, at all.”
I racked my brain, not sure if I recognized the names. “Would I know them?”
“Maybe? Kasimir Longtalons and Amalia Silverwing,” she elaborated.
The first sounded familiar. Longtalons… Longtalons… “Wait, Doctor Longtalons? I think he patched me up once at the clinic. Glad to hear he made it out of that mess alright.”
She smiled, then squinted. “Hold on, how’d you get hurt bad enough to need the clinic? You were the most sheltered griffawn in that whole city.”
“I, uh, flew into a wall.” No one needed to know that the weakened recoil of an anti-material rifle buried in sandbags was still enough to send my scrawny flank to the hospital.
“Uh huh. Maybe you should visit Sunburn and catch up. Sounds like you have some things in common.” Her teasing tone didn’t make it seem like they were good things.
Well, one was. “Oh, speaking of having kids…” I immediately heard her wings flap faster as she closed the distance with renewed interest. “Guess who’s gonna be a dad.”
I felt another punch to my shoulder, which had too much excitement behind it to be gentle. Ow.
“No way! Who’s the lucky hen? Anyone I know?” Lita was smiling ear to ear.
I rubbed my sore shoulder, wondering if I’d need to visit Doctor Longtalons again. “Definitely not, she’s from the west coast and lives in Junction Town. Her name’s Gwen.”
Lita folded her arms. “Kind of sounds like that’s all you know about her.”
My cheeks burned as I stammered. “Ah, well, yeah… It was a one night stand.” I huffed as I caught her mocking glare. “I, just, look… I was riding high off of saving the President, and she was really cute, and…”
The yellow griffoness laughed. “I get it, the hero gets the fair maiden and all that.”
“No! Nothing like…” I sighed. “I plan to do right by her. Support the kid. Be a part of their life.”
“Good on you, then. You’re not the type to be a deadbeat.” She smiled. “Any ideas on a name?”
I nodded. “If it's a girl, yeah.”
There was a long pause. “You’re not going to name them after your mom, are you?”
A choked snort escaped me. “Oh hell no. Might as well name them Red Eye Junior if my plan was to ruin their life before it began.” I waited for her to stifle her laughter. “No, though it will be something… personal.”
We quieted as we entered Rambling Rock Ridge.
*****
Using some clouds for concealment, we flew above the raider turf. There wasn’t much to see, aside from groups of small houses around entrances to abandoned mines. If ne’er do wells were holed up anywhere, it’d be there. Fortunately, that's not what we were looking for. Going off my info, I searched along the cliffs surrounding the area. Sure enough, the large building I was after was tucked away between walls of rock.
“You’re joking.” Lita’s jaw fell agape. “Is that…”
An excited giggle revealed my own giddiness at the find. “A fully intact Brownwing Arms factory.”
The griffoness shook herself. “How the hell did Red Eye miss this? Who is your source?”
“My old boss. Crimson Bloodfeather.” I saw Lita do a double take. “He had a habit of keeping his beak shut about things Red Eye didn’t need to know. For over a decade he kept stuff like this to himself.” I chuckled. “Hell, he might have undermined the bastard just as much as the Lightbringer.”
“Well… shit.” Lita remarked as we touched down in the courtyard. “If the equipment really is intact, the Gun Runners might just pack up and move the whole operation here, raiders be damned.”
Speaking of… we weren’t alone in that courtyard. There were bodies, skeletons adorned in junk armor. Dozens of them. Taking a moment to study them…
“Wow, whoever did this was precise. Efficient.” I ran a talon over a hole in a scrap metal chest plate. It fell directly over where the raider’s heart would have been. Others had the same, or equal-sized holes in their skulls.
“I can see why the locals avoid this place.” Carmelita looked over the scattered weapons, all of varying quality. After being left out in the elements for so long, they’d need a lot of work.
Anything inside the building had to be in better shape, so we moved on.
*****
There were way more bodies inside. We had to tip-toe around the bones and rusty gear.
“Sheesh, somebody was out for blood.” I hopped over the remains of a large pony wearing a machine gun battle saddle. “All those stories about Wrath seem to be true.”
“No way one griffon could do this. No offense, but not even you could pull this off.” As much as her words hurt my pride, she was right.
While the factory, inside and out, had plenty of the typical raider redecorating, something caught my eye. A large mural spanned the back of the lobby, depicting the griffon weaponsmith John Brownwing surrounded by diagrams of all his designs. Painted across it was a taunting remark.
These machines kill for fun!
With access to firepower like this, this large gang must have been a serious problem. If the story was true, this might just be the gang that attacked Filly, killed Hope, and sent Wrath on his crusade.
Trekking through, we found that the offices had little of interest. The factory floor, however, nearly got a squeal out of my companion. Everything was completely intact. Aside from all the bones and dust, this factory was ready to go. If the Gun Runners moved here, their business would skyrocket.
As Lita started examining everything in detail, I made my way to what looked like a floor manager’s office turned pillbox. The dead were all facing it, surrounding it, aiming at it. Metal and sandbags were perforated by what seemed like hundreds of bullet holes. Blast marks evidenced the use of grenades. Climbing inside, I found him.
A lone, skeletal griffon, adorned in black Talon combat armor and still clutching an old but pristine battle rifle. He rested against his fort, holding his weapon across his lap. Still in disbelief that he was real, I reached out and rubbed grime off his breastplate, where his name tag should be. Whatever his real name had been was thoroughly scratched out, replaced with his new one. Wrath.
His armor was absolutely riddled with wounds. It was impossible to know which injury was the fatal one. By now, Lita had joined me.
“I’ll be damned. He is real.” She glanced at the wood and metal in his grip. “He did all this, by himself, with that antique?”
I looked at the rifle over again. Definitely an old, but effective design. Thirty caliber, clip-fed, semi-automatic. Then I noticed… There was something carved, by claw, across the side of the gun. A message? No, a retort. To the defaced mural in the lobby.
Well this machine kills raiders.
“It certainly does.” I gave the legend a respectful pat on the shoulder.
“He must have been wounded long before he made it this far, but he got the job done.” Did Lita sound genuinely impressed? That was rare for her.
“Rage is a hell of an anesthetic.” I noticed her glance. “Just something Crim said sometimes.”
While Lita continued to look around, I continued to pay my respects. I almost didn’t see it, but there was a small chain clung to Wrath’s bony neck. ID tags, tucked into his armor? Pulling it out, no, it was a locket. The front was dented, possibly from a bullet impact. On the back was a name, written with beautiful calligraphy. Hope.
Opening the locket, I was met with a tiny photo of a griffoness. She was lovely, having a light blue coat and blonde-tipped feathers, and the kindest smile I’d ever seen. A smile made warmer by happy amber eyes.
It struck me, all at once, and I had to wipe my eye. This wasn’t some legend, some story… This was this poor kid’s history. Who he loved most was taken away from him, and he threw his life away making everyone responsible pay for it.
I thought about the child I was going to have soon. I’d have someone I could call family for the first time in eight years. If something happened to them, if someone took them away from me… I’d do the exact same thing.
It's nice that Gritt will get a chance to have a family now, and I think you did well with characterizing Lita. And she'd definitely want to help the Gun Runners move their base of operations to a location like that.
5749855
Thank you!
Something else I tried to do with this short was capture the classic Fallout experience of exploring a location that tells its own story.
Do you think Lita would keep This Machine for herself?
5749869
Maybe, but it just depends on what the Gun Runners' policy was on looting and how she felt it compared to other weapons she had. For all of her faults, Lita was a team player and wasn't selfish. She also had a fondness for larger weapons like the anti-materiel rifles and machine guns, though there's obvious utility and practicality in a more general purpose rifle and she used those plenty.
But, of course, she's off technically not on company time here so the Gun Runners may not factor into it at all. She might keep it as an heirloom even if she never intended to use it herself.
5749919
Yeah, if Gritt took it, it would just be hung on a wall. Both the rifle and its owner deserve rest.
5749919
On the topic of big guns, Crimson's hands are literally too large to use anything else.
I feel like griffons can vary in size more than other Equestrian races, and Gritt and Crimson represent the two extremes of that spectrum. Gritt is a tiny twig with 2 Strength, 2 Endurance, and the Small Frame trait. Unarmed, he's about as threatening as a blade of grass. He is highly reliant on his 11 Agility and 100 Guns to not die.
Crim is basically the size of a car. His primary weapon is an M2 Browning, modified with a pistol grip and stock, and he treats it like an assault rifle. If he had access to one, and could afford to feed it, he could probably lug around an M61 Vulcan or even a GAU-8 Avenger, and channel his inner A-10 Warthog.
5750440
It does seem like they vary more than ponies, even if ponies can get quite large too. Bulk Bicep is a rare canonical example, with Brimstone Blitz being a FO:E example.
It probably does matter more for griffons though, since they have to use their claws instead of battle saddles or telekinesis to carry weapons.
5749855
The few times Gritt and Gwen get into arguments, she will end up slipping into her native tongue (Ponish is not her first language) and Gritt cannot understand her. He'll respond as such:
5751481
That's pretty funny, and before her it never really occurred to me that griffons might speak a different language back in Griffonstone (or the general griffon kingdoms, as was the canon before it was introduced), but it does make a lot of sense that they'd have a different native language.
5751602
I imagine it being an amalgamate of European/Eastern-European languages.
There are "west coast griffons" because of an exodus of non-warrior griffons from the griffon kingdoms to Equestria's Vanhoover region during the war. They brought their art, cooking, music, culture, and money with them. Griffons like Gustave le Grand are a good example. The region became a haven for griffons who didn't want to be mercenaries.
Before the bombs, the city of Seaddle held the largest population of griffons outside the kingdoms, hence why Stable 14 was constructed in the nearby Mount Reinier as a shelter exclusive to them.
5749855
The kind of teacher Gritt would be if little Jade asked him to teach her to shoot.
Not against living targets, of course.
5751602
Gwen and Gritt's dynamic is a lot like this. She knows how to push his buttons and mess with him and loves doing so.
5754396
Nothing wrong with that as long as it's in good fun!
5751602
Thinking on Heidi's conversation with Kaz about the griffon kingdoms, a conversation between her and Sabre might be interesting. He as well as most western griffons have a different perspective on it.
"While it certainly didn't help, you can't blame the war. The kingdoms had been collapsing since the death of Grover. If you showed someone photographs of Griffonstone before and after the bombs, they wouldn't be able to tell a difference. They'd been a lost cause long before the ponies and zebras had their pissing match, and they have no one to blame but themselves."
Griffon aristocracy after the umpteenth failed attempt to bring the kingdoms back together into another golden age:
media.tenor.com/m-2XXQuq-OwAAAAC/peace-out.gif
"We give up. You peasants are on your own."
5754638
I'm sure they'd have some very different opinions. Heidi was definitely something of an idealist and historical revisionist, who believed rightly or wrongly that the war was directly responsible for the rot of griffon society and culture and ultimately its collapse after the balefire bombing. It was a convenient thing to tell herself and believe when it let her serve as an officer over an organization that brutalized the ponies in Fillydelphia.
I'm actually not sure how well versed in history she would have been. I'm sure a lot of her knowledge would have been tainted or biased by serving in Talon Company if nothing else. The part about believing honor was all that griffons had left probably speaks volumes, even if debatably the griffons had thrown all of that away during the war or even before it.
In any event as an unsolicited side note, as much as she blamed the ponies and zebras for what happened, even before Fillydelphia's fall she was a pragmatic and practical person who tried to judge people on their accomplishments first. She absolutely looked down on the slaves as lazy and spineless, but had an icy respect for Red Eye and the slavers who ran efficient and tight operations. Fillydelphia's demise and the dissolution of most of Talon Company robbed her of most of what let her sleep at night and it forced her to reassess her values in painful ways. I'm not sure how she would have felt about what was happening in Seaddle if it happened during that time in her life. She'd have probably found the propaganda and speciesm against zebras as misguided as missing the forest for the trees, but she'd have probably tolerated and paid lip service to it. Even so, she'd have found eating sapient beings to be appalling, even then. After leaving Talon Company, she'd have found the whole thing repulsive and a horrifying echo of what led to the destruction of Equestria and her ancestral homeland.
5754772
I'm not sure if you've gotten to it, but Falchion's motives are... understandable. Not excusable, but understandable. The event that led to Gourmand Mignon is also what made Sabre feel the need to get away and move east, and what caused Pierre to bury himself in his municipal work.
It never gets mentioned, but as a little side detail, Gwen's mother was a chef at the Gourmand who was fired and blacklisted by Falchion for protesting the change in menu. After being painted as a zebra sympathizer, she had to move east with her daughter.
5750543
This is where I got the whole "rage is a hell of an anesthetic" thing from. I imagined Crimson's overall demeanor being very similar to Zaeed, he's my main inspiration for his characterization.
This is how I'd imagine Crimson when he's finally retired and attempting to be normal.
"What could possibly be more important than Crimson Bloodfeather not getting bested by some f***ing foal's game!?"
5754772
To expand on Sabre’s involvement in everything, he moved to the NCR in a genuine effort to use his wealth to do some good. He wanted to make Fillydelphia a legitimate beacon of industry when few others wanted anything to do with that city due to its history. For 8 years, Cozy played him like a fiddle with fake orders for "infrastructure" parts.
When we finally discovered he'd been bamboozled, thanks to the keen eyes of some of his factory engineers, he quietly shut it all down, ordered an investigation into what was and wasn't assault-mare components, and did everything he could to get a warning to his father.
Engineer: "Sabre, sir, these actuators aren't for water pumps."
Sabre: "Pardon? What are they for?"
Engineer: "Combat robots."
Sabre: i.imgflip.com/5peayz.jpg
_____________
As for Pierre, he and his wife Flyssa attempted peace talks after Gardens of Equestria ended the whole reason they were fighting the zebras in the first place. Flyssa turned up dead shortly afterwards, evidently at the hooves of cannibalistic zebras.
Pierre immediately suspected foul play. Even from his brief talks with Legate Zaire, he could tell she wouldn't have condoned such a thing. However, he had to stay quiet. He knew that if he was right about Cozy being responsible, and she knew he suspected her, he and his children would be killed as well.
So when Falchion changed the menu, he didn't stop her because doing so would have tipped off Cozy Glow that her deception wasn't entirely effective.
5754951
Yeah, a complicated and messy situation for sure. Leaving Seaddle behind would be the easiest choice, but even that wasn't really an option for a lot of reasons.
5755058
Considering what you said Heidi would think of Vanhoover in general, I can't imagine what she'd think of Cozy Glow herself. A horrifying echo of the past, incarnate. Red Eye at least had the silver lining of "Rebuilding Equestria." Cozy's motivation was simply malice, and other people were nothing to her but cudgels to wield against the focus of her ire.
She'd fooled herself into thinking her genocidal goals were to make Equestria pure and secure, but she just wanted to twist a knife into what was left until she got bored and wiped the slate clean. So much of her plans were unnecessary cruelty for cruelty's sake. Cozy, with that android alicorn body, could have killed everyone she wanted to kill by herself. It was more satisfying to her to get the creatures she hated to torture each other.
Littlehorn shattered her already fragile psyche, and transforming herself into a machine ensured that she stayed broken.
_____
I briefly entertained the idea that Cozy got in touch with Red Eye at some point for a possible business arrangement, even met with him in person. She'd have ultimately determined he'd be an unreliable asset.
I imagine such a meeting would have sparked a significant amount of paranoia within Red Eye about the Enclave and what they were capable of. Whether Cozy came to the meeting alone, or with a Griffonchaser escort, Red Eye would have seen how technologically outmatched he potentially was.
If she did arrive with an escort, the Talons would probably find griffons wearing Enclave armor jarring to say the least.
_____
Speaking of Griffonchasers, it occurred to me. Cozy ironically solved Equestria's coal dependency by figuring out petroleum fuel for her war machines. A few decades late, but still.
Seaddle kind of takes it for granted, but when Gawdyna finds out:
5754772
I have to wonder if Heidi would be impressed with Zaire. The young Legate had been protecting her tribe from a superior force her entire life, allowing them to eek out a nomadic existence, without compromising her honor. The Vanhoover wilderness was their home, and she was sworn to defend it.
Zaire never struck at the Enclave preemptively, only in retaliation, and she forbid her people from targeting civilians. It was only when the survivors of Zimonja told her of the lifetime of horrors they endured that she was enraged enough to plan a direct attack against Seaddle, which Rosegold talked her down from.
Zev was the absolute lunatic of the tribe. A skilled and experienced saboteur with an indominable revolutionary spirit, who was mercilessly brutal. Zaire constantly had to restrain him. If he had somehow been a Fillydelphian slave, he'd have tried to take down the whole operation, and he probably would have gotten pretty far.
5755103
I think Heidi would have respected Zaire in a way, for the reasons you laid out. Of course, she still held some resentment for ponies and zebras, more for the zebras given her exposure to Equestrian history and culture, but she would respect that she'd carved out a nominally peaceful community that wasn't causing problems. Naturally, on the flip side of that, while serving in Fillydelphia she'd have had no qualms about enslaving them all if the opportunity presented itself and Red Eye ordered it. They weren't causing problems, but they would be even more useful rebuilding Equestria.
As for Cozy Glow, Heidi wasn't religious at all but would have still found the idea of imprisoning her soul in a robot to be deeply disturbing, and I don't think she'd have trusted her in the slightest even if Red Eye made a deal to work with her somehow. She'd have followed orders to work with her if it came to that, but only begrudgingly, and under the probably correct assumption that Red Eye would have expected treachery from her and had contingency plans in place. If Cozy Glow provided assault mares or other combat robots, Heidi would have appreciated the expendable machines as freeing up manpower and reducing the risk to the actual people, but I don't think she'd have trusted the robots much either and would have pushed for spark grenades to be issued to as many people as possible.
5755147
Friendly reminder to Heidi that Zaire killed an advanced attack helicopter with a sword on a broken leg. Her tribe isn't causing trouble, but they're definitely ready for it. They're the descendants of soldiers, and have carried on and refined those traditions.
That's how Zev orchestrated the fall of Zimonja so quickly. The majority of the zebras there were POWs, experienced guerilla warriors who knew what they were doing.
5755160
If that's a trick she can repeat then it would definitely be a costly mistake, but if Red Eye was orchestrating the capture then I imagine he'd probably try to arrange for the attack to happen with as much advantage on his side as possible. If the initial attack failed he'd probably try something sneaky afterward, but it's all academic I suppose. Talon Company wouldn't be doing any of that without him ordering it regardless.
5755237
My inspiration for Zaire's sword throwing skills.
5755147
There's one topic I think Heidi would agree on with Cozy.
It would be surprising, but make sense. Her stance on Mega Spells. She was staunchly against weaponizing them. She correctly foresaw that the only possible outcome of that would be the apocalypse.
When Mega Spells were weaponized, Cozy petitioned for them to be used immediately, before the zebras had them as well. It would have been brutal and ruthless, but in that brief period of opportunity, it would have been the right call, and Equestria would still be standing.
When Fluttershy gave the zebras Mega Spells, Cozy was among those who wanted her executed for treason. When she learned Fluttershy was still alive following the events of FO:E, she was this close to tossing out all her carefully planned schemes just to fly to Junction Town and murder her. As far as Cozy was concerned, Fluttershy was "the mare who killed Equestria."
5755867
That's a very practical view that Heidi probably would have agreed with.
Well, she would have probably encouraged the weaponization of megaspells and urged their immediate use to end the war. It would have been brutal, but probably overall less destructive than what ended up happening in the end, and while she emphasized prosperity in the wasteland, a swift and absolute military victory would have easily been her concerns during the war.
As for Fluttershy, she probably just wouldn't have cared what happened to her. It was too late to matter so wasting energy on Fluttershy would have been pointless. Of course, Heidi wouldn't have had the nationalist views of someone who grew up in prewar Equestria like Cozy would have. If Heidi was from that era, maybe she'd have felt differently.
5754772
Falchion does reform after plenty of therapy. She doesn't become zen like Heidi, but she does channel her short temper in a protective way.
She also manages to reconcile with Gwen's mother, inviting her back to Seaddle. Gwen, and eventually Jade, end up lead chefs at the Gourmand.
Being the Whiteclaw heiress, she does fall victim to aristocratic expectations. With Sabre being the way he is, it's up to her to keep the family line going, and unfortunately the only suitors willing to put up with her are those just looking to advance their status. Falchion ends up in a loveless marriage, but she adores the two children she has, Rondel and Stiletto.
5756472
As long as she makes an effort to turn about for the better, that's what matters.
It's also interesting that her family all have blade related names, since that seems to be very Equestrian in culture. Was that something you envisioned was from the cultural divide among the griffons, influence from post-war Equestria, or something else?
5756484
Yeah, their names following a "theme" is something picked up from Equestrian culture. I thought of Sabre's name first, realized the potential, and rolled with it.
5756160
I have a feeling Stern and Red Eye both admire ruthlessness and respect power, so if Cozy had met with them she'd find an opportunity to simultaneously ingratiate herself and assert dominance. Perhaps she'd learn that an execution happened to be scheduled that day, and volunteer to do the honors.
5757126
I'm sure she'd try to cozy up to them (pun intended), and she might even get agreements on paper to work together. Stern may even believe and follow through with them.
Red Eye on the other hand I doubt would trust her at all and would probably seek ways to prepare for an inevitable backstab. I don't know if he'd have much luck with it though. Even if she didn't backstab him, he'd probably plan to backstab her later as a threat that he couldn't risk leaving around.
An impressive display of power would of course help get Red Eye to sign some kind of agreement to buy him time to deal with her.
5757135
If Cozy got invested in Fillydelphia and had an interest in keeping it standing, she'd even help build a copy of Gustave, or even a refined version. Red Eye would likely be very interested in her first-hand knowledge of Raptors and Thunderheads and how to destroy them.
"Assuming you can't find a friendly pegasus capable of rain-booms, your best bet is to construct an exceptionally large gun and aim for the bridge. Your current artillery is... lacking."
If nothing else, Red Eye would see Cozy Glow as an invaluable source of information on the Enclave, because she was one of its founders.
__
Cozy would show quite a bit of interest in the Goddess and her alicorns. She'd have had second-hand knowledge of I.M.P. pre-war and dismissed it as a waste of time, but seeing its results would intrigue her enough to give it another look. She'd find common ground with the Goddess herself in terms of "there's no place for creatures in Unity/Equestria." (Which would be a huge issue for Talon if Cozy let slip how she felt about non-ponies.)
Cozy Glow would even see merit in the idea of converting all ponies into alicorns, though she'd recognize the obvious flaw regarding... longevity. She'd also recognize how unstable the Goddess is (pot meet kettle). Honestly, she'd be quite flabbergasted that a failure like Trixie became this powerful entity.
"You know the Goddess's identity?"
"Trixie. The only insufferable oaf I know of who calls themselves Great and Powerful. A rabbit-out-of-a-hat show pony, and not a very good one. I've been to one of her performances. I wasn't impressed."
5756160
If Heidi got to talking about griffon honor around her, Cozy would slip up and have a bit of a mask-off moment. She wouldn't be able to restrain herself from laughing, and making a comment that would infuriate the lieutenant.
"Your kind are little more than loyalless mercenaries. Your prescious little secretary, Egon? If I made him the right offer, he'd slit your throat in your sleep."
Cozy Glow wouldn't be without cause in thinking this way. There were undoubtedly many instances during the war where griffons turned on Equestria because Caesar made them a better deal.
___
There's a chance Red Eye could find records on Cozy and learn more about who he's dealing with. The numerous projects she was involved in, her pony supremacist ultra nationalism, losing her husband and foals at Littlehorn, arrest records for conspiracy to commit genocide, et cetera.
He might even find Knight.
5757189
Oh, I'm sure Red Eye would milk her for every bit of information she had regarding prewar tech, the Enclave, or anything else. It would probably help him a lot too, especially when the battle against the Enclave occurred. He probably could have extended beyond Fillydelphia too, and it's an interesting thought to imagine what they might have accomplished together.
I can also only imagine how miserable Knight would have been if he found her. He'd probably just keep her locked away somewhere as a source of information and magical healing once he realize she couldn't be weaponized, and while the best thing she could do would be to blast him, I'm sure she'd never bring herself to do it.
Regarding Heidi, Egon, and Cozy... well, yes, that would pretty much enrage either of them if they heard it. Heidi would quickly point out that Talon mercenaries stick to their contract out of honor, but Talons aren't obligated to take any contract. They could argue in circles about which species is worse if Cozy wanted to claim that griffons were just greedy raiders dressed up as mercenaries who'd sell out for more money, while Heidi could point out that ponies are superstitious megalomaniacs that helped blow up the world with weaponized magic. Egon wouldn't get into an argument with her about it, but he'd resent the idea that he'd kill anyone for just money. He took his role seriously in Talon Company, but was thankful he was a noncombatant and would have never joined it on his own.
Now, all of that said, I imagine Heidi mostly avoided talking about griffon history or her beliefs about griffon culture with anyone outside of Talon Company. Ponies wouldn't understand or care, so she'd be wasting her breath.
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I could imagine hearing about the Reinier Massacre would disturb Heidi immensely. Countless loyal and dutiful soldiers callously betrayed and murdered by a megalomaniac for simply being the wrong species.
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In that sense, Cozy and Heidi would both be wrong about each other. While Heidi ultimately placed her loyalty and honor in the wrong place, one can't deny that she was loyal and honorable.
Meanwhile, Cozy could hardly be called superstitious, as such "silly beliefs" were only useful as tools against those who hold them. Hence Knight's outward appearance of resembling Nightmare Moon to terrify the zebras. Cozy's project designation for her was "Nightmare Prime."
Cozy Glow's biggest problem was her inability to, as you put it, see the forest for the trees. In her mind, Equestria was gone. Forever. There was no rebuilding it. All that was left for her was to punish those she perceived as responsible. All the while ignoring how Vanhoover easily could have been better than Equestria ever was. An unprecedented haven of cooperation and co-existence, which could have been a beacon of hope to the rest of the wasteland.
I didn't get to point it out in The Storm, but Cozy is the reason hostilities immediately broke out with the zebra Remnants 30 years after the bombs. Peace between the griffons, pegasi, and zebras could have been achieved straight out the gate otherwise. She picked a fight and caused 200 years of bloodshed because she couldn't let go of her hate.
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As for Knight being Red Eye's captive, miserable would be an understatement. Being surrounded by so much suffering, and being unable to help, would destroy her. Worse still, she might fool herself into thinking Red Eye can be changed.
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For that matter, I could easily see Knight trying to reform him, and he may dupe her into thinking she had so he could manipulate her in various ways. All to a very sad outcome for her I'm sure.
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Storm timeline Cozy's most formative perception of griffons came from Gilda.
Kkat has confirmed that Gilda successfully killed Rainbow Dash at the Enclave's behest. Murdered her childhood best friend because she was paid to.
Cozy knew this, and that's why she saw their kind as amoral mercenaries who'd serve you their own young as an omelette if you made the right offer. Griffons were tools to be used and eventually discarded once she had built their replacements.
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You can't even really blame her for coming to that conclusion given what Gilda did, aside from obviously overlooking that individuals are individuals and she couldn't draw conclusions about every griffon based on her actions. But then that's also part of the tragedy of Fallout and Fallout: Equestria, where nuance like that gets swept away under ever increasing polarization and nationalism.
I'm sure griffons had a sour reputation among the ponies in general by the time the war was reaching its height and the megaspells were used. No doubt many griffons fought against them as mercenaries, and I'm sure they'd have felt betrayed by that even if ponies and griffons had had rocky relations in the past.