Midday, Day Three of the Invasion
“Get in there you dirty mules!”
A Griffon soldier said as he shoved the last of the town’s inhabitants into the common building. The takeover had gone off with out a hitch, and they didn’t even have to fire a shot. The able-bodied stallions and mares were off fighting the Hellquill Knights in the north, meaning only those that were either too young, too old, or had to take care of infants and couldn’t otherwise fight were there to greet them.
One Griffon stood on the balcony of the town hall, Lord Vladik Darkclaw, leader of this operation. He sneered coldly as he watched the helpless ponies being forced into the building.
‘They’d probably be sold for a quick bit or two. Shame there weren’t more pretty young mares, they’d be worth a fortune in that rat’s hole in the deserts south of Equestria. No matter, business is business.’
A Griffon, one of his lieutenants, said from behind him.
“Lord Vladik, we have just located their food stores, it’s mostly vegetables or fruits. The troops can eat it, but after eating mostly bread and field rations, they wont be happy.”
“Yes, I don’t blame them. Send a few foragers out, there must be some decent meat in these damn woods.”
The Griffon saluted and went to disperse orders as Lord Vladek simply stood and watched the goings on below, sneering once again.
Three Hours Later, Day Three of the Invasion
Zek suppressed a yawn as he watched out from his guard post at one of the entrances to the town. He’d been here for two hours now, making sure the road stayed clear. He had bundled up as the sun started to set over the tree laden horizon, more then a little chilly. His mind began to wander as he sat, shivering.
‘Damn this cold, who’s bright idea was it to invade so close to winter? The ground’s already covered in snow for Gods’ sake! The majority of the fighting was in the north anyways, across the river, so this post was pointless.’
He sighed miserably.
“This blows….”
He complained quietly. He heard padding coming from behind him, and a familiar female voice asked.
“You doing okay hun?”
He smiled and turned to look at her, a female soldier stood behind him, holding two streaming mugs in front of her. He made room and motioned for her to join him.
“Better now that you’re here Kiya. That for me?”
She rolled her eyes quietly and joined him in the post, handing him one of the cups, which he took with a nod and sipped. He said as he looked back out toward the forest blearily.
“It’s been quiet since I set up here. It’ll probably be quiet until the Ironbacks get here…hope one of them bulldozes a house, that’d be awesome!”
The Ironbacks he was referring to were an armored division assigned to their side of the river known as Grover’s Ironbacks. Currently they were holding position just outside the forest, preparing to take the road to link up with them here before bull rushing straight into the capital for a crushing victory.
“Well it’ll be a while, the road’s only big enough for them go through in single file. We’ll be in constant contact with them of course.”
“Great, looks like I’ll be out in the for a few days. So…did you consider my offer?”
Zekk looked at Kiya with a curious look. The Griffoness looked at him and responded.
“About us moving here when we win? I’ve thought about it. I love you Zekk, I really do, but don’t you think we should WIN the war before we consider doing anything?”
“I know babe, but doesn’t hurt to plan early, now does it- “
He was interrupted by the loud, distinctive crack of a gunshot from the forest. The echo lasted for almost a full minute before it dissipated. Both soldiers jumped and pointed their weapons toward the tree line, now on high alert.
“What the Hell was that?”
“I think we’re under attack!”
They waited several minutes, hunched behind the barricade, waiting for the inevitable charge. None came, just the dead silence of night. Yelling came from behind them, reinforcements to help them.
“Status Report!”
Ordered their sergeant as he and his Griffons secured the entrance.
“Gunshot, it sounded close, that way.”
Zekk, now in full soldier mode said as he pointed with his rifle to the left claw side. The others began taking positions, ready to go in. The sergeant said.
“Kiya, stay here. If anything goes wrong, get the rest of the platoon ready for an attack.”
“Sir!”
“Everyone else, move in!”
The soldiers quickly began to enter the forest, ducking behind trees and slowly heading toward the sound. As they got further in, they began to smell it, the metallic smell of blood. They followed the smell until they came across a body, face first in the snow. The sergeant crept up and looked over the body. It was one of the foragers. His body was surrounded by bloody crimson as his lifeblood poured from where his head used to be. The steely eyed soldiers immediately formed a perimeter, taking what cover they could. Zekk said, his voice keeping cool.
“Orders sir?”
The sergeant took in the grisly scene, then said carefully.
“Leik, take the body back to the village, the rest of you, fan out. I want a 30-meter perimeter sweep. Look for any signs of who did this. If you don’t find anything, regroup back here and we’ll head back. Move out!”
“Yes sir!”
The soldiers made their sweep. But at the end of it all, they came up empty taloned, the sniper was long gone. The sergeant swore and lead them back home on full alert. The tension was so thick one could cut it with a knife. However, they got back without incident, much to both their relief and their worry. Needless to say; the sentries were rotated by the hour while everyone else slept with an ear open. Clearly it was going to be a long night…