//------------------------------// // 335. Life in Friction - Part 2 // Story: Blaze the Pony Tale // by Wolven5 //------------------------------// At Soarin's instruction, Cyclone had one of his guys, a unicorn named Starshot, send a message via enchanted arrow to Iron Wing, requesting a meeting at a neutral location, an old abandoned warehouse that used to be a storage for excess clouds used to construct cloud houses. It caught fire several years ago and was left to molder. Once the hour had arrived, Soarin led Cyclone, Harvest Maize, Boulder Brawn, and Starshot to the warehouse, and Soarin was satisfied to see Iron Wing had accepted his invitation. She was a tall and lean griffoness, her lion body coated in shiny black fur, her raptor beak was sharp and dark yellow, her plumage and head were snowy white while her wings were a pale metallic white color, and her eyes were faded silver. She was a tough-looking bird, carried herself with an air that showed she was an in-charge sort of gal, her talons clicked on the warehouse floor, and accompanying her were two larger griffons, both were ugly bruisers yet were obviously the sorts of griffons one didn't want to meet in a dark alley. Not that meeting in an abandoned warehouse was all that better, but still. The two sides stared at each other with four pony lengths between them, the tension so thick you could cut it with a knife, until finally... "What's this, a three ring circus?" Iron Wing narrowed her eyes. "First off, thank you for answering the invite to this meeting," Soarin responded, ignoring Iron Wing's tone. "My name is Soarin, Knight of Harmony, and I am here to help work out this issue between your two groups so that things in Stratusburg can go back to normal. "Frankly, I have to mention however the extent of how you've all allowed for this to go on and reach this point, that I'm hoping you have some semblance of sense to-" "Oh blow it out your ass, motherplucker!" Iron Wing snarled harshly. Cyclone, Boulder Brawn, Starshot, and even Harvest Maize got riled up, only for Soarin to raise a wing, telling them to stand down. "Now listen up, griffon..." Soarin said with a low tone of warning, "I don't give a damn how things worked for you back where you come from, but in Equestria we do things differently. You actually have a chance to turn your life around and become a decent and better person, but only if you apply yourself and use your skills in practical and beneficial ways rather than use them to extort and threaten others." "And you damn pests don't know how to keep your snoots out of matters that don't concern you!" Iron Wing shrieked angrily, raising her wings in an intimidating manner that didn't work. "Because some ponies stepped in where they weren't wanted, there's a new king in the Griffon Kingdom and his frickin' knights ran me and my crew out of our town! You ponies screwed up my life and cost me my territory! Way I see it, it's only fair I do the same and take a town from you!" "Why I oughta...!" Cyclone growled, only for Soarin to gesture him to stand down yet again as he stood up to the full of his height and looked Iron Wing in the eye. The griffoness suddenly felt a twinge of fear, looking into Soarin's eyes, seeing the promise of war as he warned, "Hope your bank's got the money to cash the checks your beak just wrote. Let's blow this joint, gentlecolts." Iron Wing watched them as they left, feeling stupefied, wanting to tell her griffons to rough them up but found herself unable to give the order. "Now what?" Cyclone huffed to Soarin as they exited the warehouse. "Method 2," Soarin responded. Stratusburg Market Square was always a nice place to do some shopping and mingle. Lots of ponies had set up stands to sell food, produce, wares, merchandise, and of course shoppers out looking for ingredients to make tonight's dinner, grab new paints for their latest art projects, a gift for that special somepony or perhaps as a surprise for a son or daughter. Otherwise, the ponies just enjoyed being out and about, sharing in each other's company. That bright and friendly atmosphere was immediately marred by the scream of an eagle and everypony looked up and gasped in horror to see Iron Wing along with four wicked-looking griffons drop out from the sky, everypony backing up as these five landed in the middle of the merry day they'd so rudely interrupted. Iron Wing stood disturbingly still apart from her head, which she angled in ways no pony could do that obviously likened to her raptor-like side. She kept looking this way and that, her eyes scanning these frightened equines until she fanned out her wings, everypony gasping in alarm before she yelled out, "TEAR THIS PLACE APART! ANYONE WHO GETS IN YOUR WAY? MAKE THEM SUFFER!!!" The griffons all raised their wings and let out raptor-like screams and shrieks, and immediately everypony in the square screamed and panicked as Iron Wing and her gang started ransacking the place. They overturned fruit stands, tore through cloths and blankets on display, threw crates and buckets and anything else they could get their talons on in random directions, already injuring ponies who were trying to get away. Iron Wing just stood there, drinking in the chaos and the panic and the fear. Oh how she loved this, exerting her will, flexing her might, seeing the weak run and scream in her presence. She was so enamored by her boys' enjoying themselves that she forgot to watch her back. "Aren't chickens supposed to stay nice and safe in their coops, laying eggs like good little birdies?" She growled to herself and slowly turned to see Soarin standing there, casually leaning against an overturned stand, smirking as he added, "Oh, but you're not just a chicken, aren't you? You're also a scaredy-cat. Honestly, I'm not sure which fits you more because comparing you to either would be an insult to chickens and cats." Iron Wing fluffed up her plumage in an angry effort to make herself look a little more intimidating as she hissed, "I'm going to pluck your wings bare and choke you with your own feathers..." "Really? A dainty little thing like you?" Soarin goaded. "If you had nerves for something like that, you wouldn't be hiding behind your own thugs." Snarling, Iron Wing lunged, her talons poised for Soarin's throat, only for the sky blue pegasus to easily maneuver around Iron Wing's attack and suddenly bring his hoof down hard to the back of her neck, causing her to stumble and trip, crashing into a fruit stand. Groaning in pain from the attack and disgust from the sticky fruit staining her fur and feather, Iron Wing forced herself onto her feet and threw a murderous look at Soarin. "You'll pay for that, pony!!" "Bits or Raptras?" Soarin wisecracked. "But seeing as how I don't have either on hoof, would you accept an I-O-U?" Iron Wing shrieked in fury as she charged Soarin again, only for him to quickly take flight, and yell, "Catch me if you can, featherhead!" Growling in outrage, Iron Wing let out a rallying shriek to her griffons, all of them hearing and looking to her as she pointed at Soarin who was already flying away, "AFTER HIM!! I want his wings for a trophy!!" They all took flight and began to pursue Soarin. Strangely enough, they began to catch up to him until he was only two or three pony-lengths ahead of him but he always stayed will out of their sharp and murderous grasps. Soarin wasn't worried. He wasn't trying to lose them, because as a Knight of Harmony he intended to teach these oversized vultures a lesson in humility and decency. He flew towards a field of farmland that was no longer used, but it was a safe distance away from the locals of Stratusburg and other private properties. Nopony would get hurt, no property would be damaged. He landed in the middle of the field, and soon enough Iron Wing and her griffons had him surrounded. "Tired of trying to outrun your death, pony?!" spat Iron Wing. "Not at all, just wanted to make this party a little more... exclusive," Soarin shrugged, obviously unfazed by the way each of these griffons were poised and ready to pounce. "Well, I hope you enjoyed your yuks and your little flight here because it's the last enjoyment of life you're gonna get!" "You'll understand if I beg to differ, Iron Wing," scoffed Soarin, "I intend to live a good long life with my friends and my family. I still haven't popped the question to my mare." "You should've thought of that before you tried to make a fool out of me!" snarled Iron Wing. "Tried? Looked more like I succeeded," corrected Soarin. "Either way, I've decided to give you one more chance, Iron. Stand down, turn yourself over to the authorities, and I'll put in a good word for you. You'll serve time but you'll still have the rest of your life ahead of you." "What the FRICK are you talking about?!" shrieked Iron Wing, "I am about to kill you! You're gonna suffer for insulting and humiliating me, and then I'm gonna parade your sorry corpse around Stratusburg as a warning to everypony there about what happens when you cross me! "I'll admit you have some skill, but you're still outnumbered!" "Am I...?" Soarin responded with a smirk and raise of his brow. Then, one by one, Iron Wing and her guys soon realized that they were surrounded! They saw Cyclone, Boulder Brawn Starshot, Harvest Maize, and six more ponies appear to pop out from underground when really they'd been covered with blankets charmed to appear as ground, grass, and weeds. The other six ponies were three pegasi (two stallions and a mare), two unicorns (twin brother and sister), and one more earth pony (a tough-looking mare who rolled her shoulders), and immediately Iron Wing realized she'd been had! "You sneaky little...!" she hissed hatefully at Soarin. "Ah-ah, a lady shouldn't swear," Soarin teased, "let's settle this like mature creatures." "Are ponies always this spunky or am I just lucky?" Iron Wing smirked before she shouted, "TAKE THEM DOWN!!!" Immediately, one of the griffons screamed as it lunged for Soarin, who flapped and flip-kicked the griffon smack in the beak, sending him back and clutching his beak, fearing it was broken while Cyclone and his comrades all ran in to back Soarin up. Iron Wing's remaining three griffons screamed loudly and flapped their wings, trying to be intimidating but they knew they were outnumbered and likely outmatched. Iron Wing wasn't going to have it however. She noticed Boulder Brawn charging her way, and she met him head-on, except she grasped him by the withers, racking her talons down his shoulders, making him cry out in pain, as she threw her weight around while retaining her grip and brought Boulder down hard. She sneered down at him, enjoying his agony, something Soarin noticed and was about to summon his sword when the griffon he'd bucked in the face roared as he leapt up at the knight, who quickly avoided his claws. Cyclone meanwhile had already come to his friend's rescue, tackling Iron Wing to the side, and as the two leaders glared each other down after disentangling themselves from each other, Cyclone snapped, "Go back to being a bitch in your own nation, chickenblood!" "I've come to like it here in Stratusburg, so I think not..." Iron Wing hissed, clawing at the ground beneath her. "You'll just wind up another wanted criminal here in Equestria," warned Cyclone, "the authorities would have come down hard upon you eventually. Soarin just got here before them." "Screw you," hissed Iron Wing. "Flattering, but I don't do inter-species relationships," Cyclone retorted, "Tell me, whattya think's gonna happen to your little pride? Or is it a flock? For that matter, what have you been eating since you started screwing up our town? If you're eating pony meat, Merciful Haydes, the authorities will put you down like a rabid animal!" Snarling in offended fury, Iron Wing charged Cyclone, only for the young pegasus to raise his hooves and knock her talons away. They traded blows, both getting shots upon the other, flapping their wings furiously to stay upright. The ferocity they displayed soon caught the attention of everypony and every griffon present as both sides watched their leaders duke it out. Soarin had to admit, The kid's got talent, but if he gets too many cuts he might bleed out! Indeed, Cyclone was bruising and battering Iron Wing pretty badly but her talons continued to slash him wherever she could, and some of the wounds he sustained would most likely leave scars, and all of them were bleeding profusely. Brave and determined as he was, Cyclone was in trouble. Looking around and seeing the other griffons were preoccupied, Soarin took the chance and once he saw the opening he acted without hesitation. He tackled Iron Wing away from Cyclone, catching the griffoness completely off-guard as he shouted, "Take care of Cyclone!" Harvest Maize ran to his bleeding friend while Soarin scored a mighty hit down on Iron Wing's head, leaving her dazed and shaky on her feet. Shaking it off, Iron Wing glared bloody murder at Soarin, "I HATE you...Everything was going perfectly, and then you show up!" "I gave you a chance to leave peacefully or live peacefully," Soarin responded coldly, "You've brought this on yourself. I'm going to turn you and your gang over to the authorities and you are going to prison, whether here in Equestria or back in the Griffon Kingdom." Snarling like a savage beast, Iron Wing lunged for Soarin, who misjudged his timing and got his shoulder raked by Iron Wing's talons, causing him to cry out in pain but more so in surprise as he fell to the ground, clutching his bleeding shoulder. Turning around from her lunge, Iron Wing smiled viciously as she slowly approached, enjoying the rising panic on Soarin's face while saying, "I'm going to rip off your wings and then I'm going to mount your head on a pike for all of Stratusburg to see!" Seeing the bloodlust in her eyes, Soarin knew she wasn't bluffing. He struggled to stand, but slipped in the mud, to Iron Wing's amusement... when Cyclone, Boulder Brawn, and Starshot stood in her way. She looked past them and hissed in vexation to see her griffons had been incapacitated, with one knocked out, two others tied up, and the last having obviously surrendered. She glared back at Cyclone, and took pleasure to see him in pain despite the way he stood before her. "If you know what's good for you, stand down..." Cyclone panted, doing his best to tough out the pain, even as some of the bandages he'd been patched up with were reddening from overexerting himself. "If you know what's good for you..." Iron Wing responded as she raised her talons, "allow me to put you out of your misery!" No! Soarin couldn't hesitate, he had to move, he had to protect them! Soarin's will brought forth his sword without him even realizing it as he propelled himself forward to stand between Cyclone and those deadly talons, when the instinct to defend his comrade sparked something in Soarin's mind... "Rend the skies... Stormreaver!" in his hooves, Soarin's sword gave off a prismatic flash before it burst with light and tempestuous winds, blowing Iron Wing back, and she gaped in shock, uncertain of what had just transpired and feeling oddly tingly all over her body, as though she'd been struck by a current of energy. There he stood, the light dimming to reveal his armored form... and the Wingblayds attached to his wings! They were fastened to his wings by faux-leather straps, composed of a metal that was almost as light as a feather and yet as durable as the stoutest steel, the blades resembling large primary feathers and adding an extra hoof in length from each wingtip. They reflected a prismatic sheen under the sunlight and at the same time gave off the foreboding promise of a coming storm! Cyclone and his friends, Iron Wing and her griffons, they all gaped in utter disbelief at what they were seeing - A Knight of Harmony had come into his own. "Awesome..." Cyclone was truly in awe. This stallion he had so foolishly dismissed at first had suddenly, in a literal flash of light, become everything he wanted to be. A noble protector, an honorable pony, and the fact he wielded the signature weapon of the Ancient Pegasus Empire's most elite warriors seemed absolutely appropriate. Iron Wing however found herself feeling... afraid?! Afraid of a grass-grubbing pony?! The very idea filled her with self-disgust and further incensed her hatred of these miserable creatures! As much as she wanted to tear his throat out, she knew she had to be wary. As for Soarin, he stood there, gazing unflinchingly at the griffoness with a near dismissive air before he smirked... and then span `round, the Wingblayds flying off his wings and hurtling straight for Iron Wing, who squawked in panic at the spinning blayds! They were coming from both sides and appeared to be zooming in on her. She immediately flew straight up, the first Wingblayd missing but the second immediately veered upwards, the wind whistling as it cleaved through the air... and then scored a cut on a sensitive spot on Iron Wing's left wing, causing her to cry out in pain! She tried to ignore it and keep flapping, only for the pain to flare into agony, and her wings locked, no longer able to flap! She'd only made it two stables high into the air, so she didn't fall too far. Except the fall hurt her even more due to all the injuries she'd already sustained. Lying there, bruised, battered, and bleeding, Iron Wing struggled to raise her head when a blade point tapped her beak, and she gazed up to see Soarin. "Listen up, because I'm only going to say this once..." Soarin said with a stone cold expression, "You are going to surrender yourself to the authorities and answer for your crimes. If you comply, maybe we won't tell the Sky Knights we have you in Equestria, so you won't be charged with whatever crimes you committed in the Griffon Kingdom. "You'll do time, but you'll have a chance to make a fresh start in life. Or you can go back to crime and I'll throw your ass back into jail... Get the picture?" Pain and fear overwhelmed her, but with her wing injured to the point that she couldn't fly, Iron Wing had become deflated of all brazen defiance, as she lowered her head in submission. Soarin instructed Cyclone to send one of his friends to alert the authorities, and before long officers arrived and took Iron Wing and her griffons into custody. At Soarin's... encouragement, Cyclone and his friends surrendered themselves as well, due to how their previous fights with the griffons had led to vandalism and damage to private property. While Iron Wing and her griffons were sentenced to jail, with Soarin's vouching for their good intentions, Cyclone and his friends were sentenced instead to community service after they pled guilty, and were promised that if they fulfilled their community service fully and without incident their records would be wiped clean. After Soarin reverted Stormreaver to its sword form, his armor vanished into it before the sword was absorbed into his body. The next day he was ready to go home. This time, he opted to take the train, and Cyclone and the others came to see him off at the station. "Thanks for everything, Soarin," Cyclone said on behalf of his friends and of Stratusburg, "If you hadn't come along, I don't think things would have ended well." "Your hearts were in the right place," Soarin assured as he patted Cyclone on his uninjured shoulder and gave them all a proud look, "I think Hurricane himself would have been proud to have you all in his army." "Yeah, maybe not," Cyclone shrugged, "From what I know about my ancestor, he was a bit of a tribalistic, somewhat paranoid, asshole. But who doesn't have an icky side to them?" Everypony there chuckled, and Soarin asked, "So how's the community service gonna go?" "We're gonna clean up the messes we made, repair the damages we caused during our fights with Iron Wing's gang," Cyclone replied, "and... maybe we'll also work on improving our community, some new paint jobs, plant some flowers... We started this group to look out for our neighbors but we wound up adding to the problem. We've got things to make up for." "You'll all get there," Soarin assured, "How we fight is just as important as what we fight for. Remember that, and who knows? Maybe the Thirteenth Legion will serve Equestria after all." He then gave them a wing-salute, and they smiled and saluted back, feeling honored and grateful, when the train conductor called out, "ALLLLLL ABOOOAAARRRDD!!!" The train whistled, and Soarin picked up his saddlebags, "That's my ride home." He boarded the train but paused at the doorway before turning to give his new friends a wave of goodbye, "Be seeing ya, legionnaires!" Cyclone, Harvest Maize, Boulder Brawn, Starshot, and the rest of their friends all called out goodbyes, thank yous, good lucks, and waved to Soarin even as the train pulled out of the station. Soarin waved back until he couldn't see them anymore before heading into the passenger car to take a seat, into which he collapsed with relief. "When I get home, I'm gonna shag my Dashie senseless..." he smiled to himself and leaned his head back to enjoy the ride home.