Previous Chapters
Close
A New Adventure4,197 words
Bon Voyage2,864 words
Harvest Time6,012 words
Rule Of Cool9,619 words
Boast Hunters5,655 words
Dragon Busters6,163 words
The Night of Wild Weather6,170 words
Old Aquaintences8,261 words
A Blast From The Past8,775 words
Settling Into Routine11,896 words
A Glimpse Of Things To Come...1,853 words

A Glimpse Of Things To Come...

INTERLUDE: A Glimpse Of Things To Come...

In the dead silence of a cloudless, starlit night, a small village right on the border of the Griffon Kingdom and Equestria had found a moment of respite for sleep. Out in the middle of nowhere, and with enough resources to sufficiently keep themselves supplied, the inhabitants were happy to call their small slice of heaven home.

The town itself was situated deep in a valley, which provided plenty of cover from the elements, such as the wind, and made it difficult to access from any direction but the south.

This town was also one of the last bastions of hope for the Griffon Queen Aquila and her entourage, and what was left of her shattered army after several long weeks of bitter fighting and heavy losses. Camped outside the village proper, the queen sat at a wooden desk under the candlelight, brooding over the circumstances of how she came to be in this weak position.

As the rebel uprising had abruptly begun swinging against them, her husband King Tiberius had given her an entire division of his own personal bodyguard for protection, and had instructed her to make haste for the safety of neutral Equestria for political asylum. Meanwhile, he took the rest of the army and attempted to buy her enough time for her to plead their case before Princess Celestia and procure their assistance.

It was humiliating that the proud Griffons had to turn to their neighbours the ponies of all species for help, and on such short notice, but the future of not only their families, but the fate of the Griffon Kingdom was at stake, on the knife-edge of utter defeat.

Unfortunately, the Rebellion caught wind of her escape, and had been relentlessly pursuing her across the country side. But it wasn’t the rebels themselves which had so far claimed the lives of three thousand of her soldiers. Past experience had proved that on a good day, in a pitched, close-quarters battle, the Griffon Army made mincemeat of the eager, but under-equipped and hastily-trained rebels.

No, it was that… thing they had found deep in the frozen tundra of the Equestrian North, which had done all the damage. Aquila didn’t know what it was, but it was big, quick, and lethal.

A four-legged, bipedal, insectoid beast with skin of solid, purple-coloured steel that shrugged off armour-piercing arrows; almost as tall as a Minotaur in stature, but with an underwhelming build that severely understated its true strength. Eyes (if they could be called as such) that possessed a piercing red gaze mounted either side of its broad, flat head, with a gaze that could strike fear into the heart of even the bravest knight.

A beast with a small, oddly-shaped cannon mounted on its back which packed power beyond their comprehension, firing energy projectiles of such explosive power, that even an Alicorn pony would shiver with awe. At the end of its arms were metal claws that could cut through plate armour like a hot knife through butter.

There were even rumours that it could fly, despite not having any wings.

Aquila had seen this beast but once before, and it came so close to claiming her life, were it not for the valiant efforts of her guards, which suffered appalling losses to procure her getaway.

No… ‘beast’ was not the most fitting word.

‘Monster’ had a much more appropriate ring to it. A monster that stalked and toyed with its prey, ripping away and devouring her world piece by piece, even as her goal of desperate hope drew nearer.

A weapon the rebels called…

Genesect.

A loud horn blast disrupted Aquila's pondering, and every light in the town flicked on.

A chilling fear shivered up her spine as the guards all at once started organising themselves into defensive positions. Voices barked orders, and metal clinked against metal as the guards scurried about like ants.

“M’lady! The rebels have found us! You need to get out of here now!” A voice exclaimed from behind, startling her.

She turned about to face the guard, and the two briefly shared horrified stares as the danger of their predicament weighed down heavily upon them.

With a dry tone, she muttered, “May the gods help us all.”

How did they catch up so quickly?! She was sure they had eluded them for good this time…

“M’lady!” The guard urged, offering his hand, “C’mon! Once you cross the border, you’ll be safe! It’s not that far!”

Snapping out of her stupor, Aquila gathered up the few belongings she had left and dashed from her tent.

"Where's Alexander?" She asked worriedly.

"The young Prince is already heading for the border with the Nanny and a squad of guards," the guard answered dutifully, "Now make haste, and don’t look back! The fate of the Griffon Kingdom depends on you! We’ll hold those bastards here if it’s the last thing we do! For the King and Queen!”

“For the King and Queen!” several other soldiers chorused.

“Stay low, less the beast spot you, and everything we have worked for will have been for nothing,” the guard advised, leading the Queen through the camp.

"Don't worry, I have faith that Prince Alexander will still be able to plead our case to the ponies," Aquila murmured determinedly, "As long as he is still alive, there is still hope for the throne of the Griffon Kingdom."

A loud roar erupted from the skies as hordes of rebel warriors, brandishing a broad range of weaponry and snarling with fury, descended upon them with terrifying speed and ferocity, followed by the clanging of steel against steel, and the screams of the dead and dying as they fell. The bulk of them charged towards the oncoming guards, but a small portion broke off and veered towards the village, easily overcoming the stunned guards stationed there and began laying waste to everything in sight.

"These vermin have been harbouring the enemy!" a gruff voice yelled from the village, "Leave nothing standing!!"

“Those bastards..." Aquila shivered in fury as several buildings were set alight, and their fleeing occupants were mercilessly slaughtered like lambs, adults and chicks alike.

"Something’s not right…” She murmured warily, glancing around at her surroundings, “Where's that monster? They never attack without their secret weapon! Where is it now?”

An explosion rocked the campsite, throwing equipment and screaming bodies in all directions, throwing the camp into chaos as Guards split themselves up between the three different attacks.

“Whoop, there it is,” the guard muttered wryly.

Amidst the terrible din of clanging metal and yelling voices, he wrapped his talons around Aquila’s wrist and forcefully dragged her towards the east, towards the border. Under any other circumstance, she would’ve berated him for disorderly conduct, but right now, being dragged about was the least of her worries.

The other guards formed a defensive circle around their queen, as the sounds of the fighting and dying closed in on them at a gut-wrenchingly rapid rate. Aquila craned her neck around for a glimpse, and in that moment, locked eyes with it.

There it was, standing a head and shoulders above the rest as its claws glowed brightly with energy, slashing apart several guards in a single swipe. The mounted cannon on its back twisted about, blasting large swathes into the dense crowd of guards and rebels alike, decimating all unfortunate enough to be caught in the way. It was almost oblivious to the guards trying to hack their axes and swords into its knee joints from behind, to no avail. The guards themselves were then set upon as rebels surged from several different directions and attempted to drive sharp daggers into the chinks in their armour.

It wasn't even a battle.

It was a ruthless, one-sided massacre.

Time slowed as Genesect took a moment to steady its stance, the mounted cannon on its back swiveled about towards her, and a warm, red glow began building up in the triangular nozzle, accompanied by an increasingly-high pitched whine.

Aquila’s guard’s eyes widened, and he forcefully shunted the queen aside as a beam of bright-purple energy erupted forth, blasting the ground between them with tremendous force and throwing them both several meters off into the distance in either direction.

Aquila grimaced in pain as she was thrown into a tent, causing it to collapse with a crash. An intense pain in her wing instantly told her that she wasn’t flying again for a while, which wasn’t exactly going to help her case in the coming few minutes.

As the heavy fighting raged around them, Genesect’s metallic feet made a heavy thud with each footstep as it approached the fallen queen at a purposefully slow pace, carefully studying its prey down to every minute detail.

Aquila shivered in fright, thrashing to untangle herself from the ruins of the tent and scramble away from the danger.

Genesect’s eyes glowed with bright intensity, and a horrible screeching sound split the air as visible, deep-red sound waves burst from its cannon, directed at the Griffon Queen. Aquila screamed in agony, doubling over as she clutched at her throbbing head.

Genesect took several steps closer, until it was standing right over her, flipping her over onto her back and planting its foot into her chest, holding her in place.

"Yeah!" A voice growled from off to the side, "Blast that bitch into Tartarus! The Army is destroyed, and once the last of this pathetic monarchy is dead, nothing will be able to stop us!"

"Sir, there is no sign of Prince Alexander," someone else spoke up.

"Ugh, of course not!" the first voice grunted irritably, "I wouldn't be surprised if he's already crossed the border by now... but not to worry, we'll catch him. The Griffon Kingdom is just a testing ground, you see. Equestria will be our true prize, and once they feel the might of our new secret weapon, their precious Princesses will surely surrender to us once and for all."

Aquila swallowed the large lump of bile, feeling short of breath as she stared the Pokemon in the eye; putting on a brave, defiant face to mask her fears.

Genesect made a sound not unlike a disappointed ‘tut’, and increased its pressure on the Griffon’s chest, cracking several ribs as it did. Meanwhile, the cannon on its back began charging again.

"Alexander..." She wheezed inaudibly, "It all rests on you now, my son."

Genesect removed its foot from Aquila’s chest and took a step back to give its cannon the adequate angle for a finishing shot. There was a brief pause as a deep, guttural voice muttered “Say goodnight, Gracie”.

The last thing Aquila felt was a terrific blast of heat, before everything went white.

Author's Note:

2,162 views

142

Previous Chapters

Comments ( 21 )

Viewing 1 - 50 of 21
- Newest First
- Oldest First

Scarlet Scales

Scarlet Scales #1 · Mar 16th, 2014 · · ·

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

MoldyShishkabob

MoldyShishkabob #2 · Mar 17th, 2014 · · ·

Good for you, sir. I'm happy for you.

ShadowCelebi

ShadowCelebi #3 · Mar 17th, 2014 · · ·

4092633 correction: YEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Cloudy Serrano

Cloudy Serrano #4 · Mar 17th, 2014 · · ·

Oh thank God this is still alive. I can't wait for the next update, too. I believe a reread is in order. Away I go!

LakieLegion

LakieLegion #5 · Mar 18th, 2014 · · ·

'tis a great story, i'm glad it's back, I just hope it won't take this long for the next update

SuperWeegeeWorld

SuperWeegeeWorld #6 · May 15th, 2014 · · ·

I knew that the secret weapon was Genesect before the name was mentioned. Also, isn't it technically classified as a legendary? Well, whatever. This is an excellent story and I'll keep a lookout for more.

GoldenCyclone4