//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Emancipation // Story: Forever Is a Long Time // by Hoosier Brony //------------------------------// Rapid Quill just couldn’t handle it. He had finished chapter nine of his story only two days ago, sharing it with Twilight Sparkle and the girls yesterday, and last night, inspiration struck. He had dispelled their attempts at gleaning any clues to what would come next, joking about Rainbow Dash and Applejack attempting another break in, but couldn’t help himself. All the time he walked home, having left the intimate party within Twilight’s library, after enjoying the festivities a little, he couldn’t help but wonder just how the next chapter would play out. He went to bed, these thoughts swirling around constantly, almost driving him crazy, and was surprised that he could sleep at all. All through the night, his dreams flashed before his eyes: Justice locked in a battle with a griffon, a riot breaking out inside the campgrounds, and a painful, yet pleased, smile on Justice’s exhausted face. He awoke with a start, unable to shake this dream, and quickly ran over to his desk. Grabbing a fresh scroll and some quills, he set about writing down the dream, before it was forgotten. In the process, he began writing chapter ten: Beaming Justice knew that his role in the plan was the most dangerous of ones, one that he wouldn’t take lightly. When Adelram had explained his idea, using his insider knowledge as to the workings of the labor camp, Justice was able to connect all of the turning wheels to see the final solution. The plan was perfect, but required both perfect timing, intricate movement of many pawns, and a little luck. The plan required Justice to draw the attention of the usual griffon guards that enforced the mine shaft labor. This distraction would allow Blowing Storm the chance to explain the plan to many of the workers there, rallying the troops for the fight to come. Justice played this role perfectly, constantly complaining of the working conditions, refusing to work immediately when ordered, or even bumping into some of the guards. He was rewarded for his task with much abuse, feeling the sting of the whips, spear shafts, or taloned slaps coming from the guards. After the majority of the miner ponies had been informed of what was coming and what they were expected to do, many of whom were terrified yet ready to do anything to change the horrendous life that had been thrust upon them, the rest of the plan was ready to begin. This section, if completed incorrectly, could result in Justice’s eventual demise. Justice was well aware of this fact. The day had started just like any other. All the ponies of the camp were awoken by the guards, stretching from their cramped quarters to start yet another day of misery. Unlike most days though, a commotion rang out from one side of the camp. Reports of a fight reached up the ranks to Commander Mihsori, who enjoyed watching the ponies fight among themselves. When he had arrived to the scene, he was pleased to see that one of the fighters was the physically impressive, defiant pony from Willowhill. Oh how he had wanted to see this pony in action, his well defined muscles rippling as he attacked this other pony. Finally, after seeing that both ponies were too exhausted to do any real damage to each other, Mihsori ordered that a guard go in to split them up. With a strong kick, Justice struck out at the guard, catching him by surprise, and breaking his left arm and wing. The guard screamed out in pain and anger, causing Mihsori to turn an inquisitive eye towards this newest development. He stepped in himself, tackling the pegasus to the ground, holding him down while other guards shackled him up. They dragged the pony off, laughing at his struggles as they informed him of his new job: joining them for a little training. The griffons threw Justice into their training ground, loosening his shackles and laughing as a guard strapped himself into armor and grabbed a spear. They told Justice to survive for as long as he could, telling him not to even attempt to escape, as they had trained fliers prepared to capture him if he flew off. The griffon was ready, stepping into the circle, prepared to enjoy the murder of this aggressive pegasus who thought attacking the guards was a smart idea. Unbound, Justice smiled, watching as the cocky griffon approached. Justice had only ever seen a griffon fight once, an exhibition put on by the royal guard once long ago, so he had an idea as to how this griffon would approach. He waited, watching for the griffon’s first strike, a simple thrust of the spear, and spun away, knocking the spear from the griffon’s talons. The griffon continued staggering forward, surprised by the sudden move that the pony had shown, and only realized he had been disarmed when he felt the sharp pain of the spear in his flank. The laughing from the guards who were watching ceased immediately, cut off by the screech from the griffon inside the training ground. Two guards jumped in, determined to shield the injured griffon from any further harm the pegasus could do. Justice, not intending to strike again, broke the spear in half, throwing it to the side of the arena. He turned, smirking up at Commander Mihsori, just begging for him to fight him himself. He was confused when the griffon leader’s look changed from slight shock to one of pure excitement, sure that he was instead going to be angry or upset. With a swing of his talon, two more guards quickly jumped into the arena, skipping the armor but still getting their spears and shields. Justice was prepared, but two on one was going to be a challenge. He watched as they surrounded him, angry about not finding a way to stop one from getting behind him. He calmed himself down, watching as the one in front of him stared deep into his eyes. Justice waited, unable to hear due to the cheering and jeering from the ever growing crowd of guards watching the event. Suddenly, there was a small movement in the eyes of the griffon in front of him. Justice noticed the eyes flicker ever so slightly to the right and jumped quickly to his left, just inches away from being run through from behind. He recovered, turning to face the two griffons, one amazed at his agility, the other perturbed at missing his mark. With an impressive speed, both griffons took off, flying towards Justice on either side, spears at the ready. They pulled back, swinging with all their might as they approached, one high and the other low. Justice jumped up, flapped one wing hard, and rolled in mid air, just dodging both strikes. He landed, noticing that one of the griffons was still within range, and bucked with all his might. The blow would’ve made Steel Hoof proud, as the lightly armored griffon felt his collarbone snap, intense pain causing him to writhe in agony. Justice took this time to pick up the spear the griffon had dropped, throwing it as hard as possible and with accuracy that had not diminished since his time training the royal guard. The spear flew true and fast, striking the other griffon through his shoulder, tearing through his muscle. A griffon guard rushed in, pulling the guard from the arena, knowing that without immediate attention, he would suffer life-long damage. Justice turned towards the griffon leader, a smirk on his face, while he broke both spears in half, tossing them aside. He nodded his head, challenging the griffon to a duel all his own. Mihsori cackled, his blood lust and adrenaline pumping like never before. He quieted the group around him, staring down at the defiant pegasus below. “So, you think you can tangle with the likes of me?” he screamed, drawing some slightly fearful looks from his own subordinates. Justice just smiled, hopping side to side, stretching his wings. Mihsori called out for assistance, donning his armor and grabbing two spears. He tossed one into the arena, landing it right at Justice’s feet. “You’ll need that if you want to stand a chance.” Justice just smiled, snapping the spear in half and tossing it to the side. Mihsori laughed a devilish cackle and, snapping his spear as well, ordered the arena cleaned of all debris. A guard came through, cleaning up the five broken spears, and rushed out of the arena. By now, almost every available guard had come to the arena, intent to watch their commanding officer fight this worthy opponent. Mihsori, dressed from beak to tail in battle armor, jumped down into the arena, standing opposite of Beaming Justice. “Would you like to explain just who you are before you die?” he asked, grinning. Needless to say the entire arena gasped when Justice announced that he was the former Chief Lieutenant of the royal guard. Mihsori laughed again, slowly walking towards Justice, who was down in a fighting stance, waiting for the eventual strike. As Mihsori picked up speed, slowly building into a run straight at the pony, Justice dodged left, directly into the strike. Mihsori was a worthy opponent, having faked an attack to the right only to strike hard when Justice had dodged. Justice was thrown across the arena, the hit knocking the wind out of him. He staggered to his feet, noticing that Mihsori had waited, laughing at the not so tough pony. He realized that this would be an intense fight, one that had might lose, but couldn’t help suppress a grin of his own. He charged towards the griffon, purposely passing him to direct a kick at his head. Mihsori dodged enough that the kick harmlessly hit an armored shoulder pad, and lashed out, feeling his talon scrape across the pony’s shoulder. He couldn’t help but be impressed at the stunned moment his own shoulder felt, the blow doing some damage even through the armor. The blow to Beaming Justice was shallow, nothing more than a surface scratch that caused only a little blood to spill, yet the crowd of griffon soldiers treated it like the death blow. Their cheering could be heard across the camp, drawing the attention of the guards away from the slaves and towards the arena. The noise was so large, no one heard the warning alarms being rung by the watchtowers. As the fight between Justice and Mihsori raged on, a squadron of pony soldiers, about one hundred trained guards, were being led towards the camp by Shining Light and Princess Celestia herself. In the most recent meeting between the two leaderships of the griffon and pony nations, an elderly delegate, one by the name of Adelram, who had been a guest in Canterlot's Grand Hall many times before, dropped a note, unseen by any but Shining Light, on his exit. Shining Light had noticed the small piece of parchment as it softly flittered to the ground, stamping a hoof over it to cover it up until the griffons had left. The note had two words, the name of a nearby café, and a number on it. Shining Light was confused, staring at this note for some time after the departure of the griffon delegation, before taking the note to the café in question. He approached the counter, showing the note to the pony on duty and questioning the meaning. The pony shrugged, producing a piece of paper that a griffon, who frequented the café whenever in town, had left, instructing the attendant to provide this document to only the pony who brought such a note. Shining Light thanked the worker, walking out of the café gingerly and back to his quarters. Once safely inside, he opened the letter, finding within the plans that Adelram and Justice had concocted. There was to be a riot within the walls of the enslavement camp that the griffons ran, a riot that would take place on a specific day at a specific time. Shining Light was provided the exact location of the camp and instructed to bring enough soldiers along to defeat the number of guards within. Shining Light couldn’t believe his eyes. For months he had searched for the location of the ponies captured from Equestria and now, thanks to some slight of hoof, or talon in this case, his search was at an end. Not only that, he knew the number of guards within, and was promised a distraction, in the form of Beaming Justice no less, and a riotous mob attacking at the same time. Shining Light brought the note to Princess Celestia, who insisted on being present for the attack, against his better judgment. “I must be present for two reasons, to ensure the success of this operation, and to get a personal look at the conditions within. This will be vital to any and all charges that will be applied to the griffon empire for their injustice.” So it was that all troops were called back as quickly as possible, briefed on the situation, and marched towards the griffon border. The forward-most watch towers had seen the arriving forces and attempted to warn those within the nearby camp to prepare, yet their calls were going unanswered. Before a single guard or soldier inside the camp would see the arriving army, they would be within one hundred yards of the main fence. Justice continued to fight Mihsori to no avail. Every time he charged, he wound up with a small bruise or cut, not being able to land a blow on the soft griffon hide. Every time Mihsori charged, Justice just could not avoid a hit, usually painful, but never deadly. Mihsori was taking his time, enjoying the first real fight he had had in a while, even if it was a lost cause from the beginning. This pegasus, no matter what his background training, was no match for the griffon. Suddenly, word reached the arena of the impending attack from the pony army. Guards scrambled around, grabbing whatever weaponry they possibly could with no notice. Hardly any armor was able to be worn, the impending attack too imminent. The guards’ rushing around drew the attention of the blood thirsty commanding officer within the arena. Mihsori flew up, shouting orders to all of his soldiers, his fight with Justice long since forgotten. As the soldiers flew out, prepared to meet the pony horde, Mihsori turned his gaze back to the arena, shocked to find Justice absent. Justice flew down from the impressive height he had managed in the confusion, landing a blow hard on top of Mihsori’s back. Had the armor not been thick, the griffon would’ve been paralyzed on the spot. Instead, the blow knocked Mihsori into the ground, effectively stunning him long enough for Justice to swoop down next to him. Mihsori grabbed a nearby spear, swiping towards Justice’s face. Justice dodged in time, jumping back out of reach of the enraged griffon. With a mighty flap of his wings, Justice took to the sky, grinning a challenge down at the commander below. Mihsori laughed. No griffon had ever been able to keep up with him in the air; this pegasus had just sealed his fate. Mihsori was a powerful flier, reaching speeds Justice just could not keep up, his flight training still not up to par with where it had once been. Mihsori flung himself wildly at the airborne pegasus, who deftly dodged before being hit. With a mighty swing of the spear, Mihsori struck out, hitting Justice upside his head with the shaft, knocking him off balance. Justice flopped down, hitting the ground hard, the stunning shot from the spear getting intensified by the impact. He staggered up, trying to get his eyes focused, and felt the hard shot as the griffon landed on his back with authority. “You pathetic little thing,” Mihsori said, frothing at the mouth. “Did you really think that you could defeat me? None have ever defeated me, and none ever shall. I’m going to kill you, stop your pony friends at the gates, and then find those other two ponies I found with you the first time we met, and I will kill them slowly. Oh, I promise, they will wish their death was merciful, but I WON’T ALLOW IT!” Justice felt like the world had come to a crawl. His rage built up inside of him, the idea of Chase being hurt all that ran through his mind. He could hear the sounds of the battle taking place on the other side of the main fence, griffons and ponies screaming and dying. He looked up, watching as the griffon commander wound up for what would be a final blow. He quickly looked around, his eyes seeing a broken spear shaft just off to the side. Dodging his head at the last second, causing Mihsori to painfully strike at the ground, Justice shook the griffon off of him, grabbed the spear shaft and thrust it straight and true, hitting the griffon just between two armor panels, the shaft tearing through the soft, feathered hide and lodging itself deep into Mihsori’s rib cage. The griffon commander gasped, pulling back and retching from the pain in his chest. Luckily the shaft had not hit anything vital, but it severely limited the griffon’s movement. Mihsori grabbed at it, trying to pull it out, but was unable to, the shifting armor panels grasping it tightly. Justice stood, feeling more in control even with the severe bruising and painful, possibly, broken shins. When Mihsori had landed hard on top of him, the blow had done more damage than Justice had thought. Justice tried to shake the pain, knowing that his opponent was reeling in pain as well. The two staggered towards each other, both exhausted from such a tremendous fight. Justice tried to swing his hoof at his opponent, missing as the griffon dodged, thrusting forward a talon of his own. Justice was only able to pull aside a small bit, feeling the horrendous pain as the taloned strike cut deep into his side, tearing into muscle. He fell, unable to withstand the pain, and writhed on the ground. Mihsori took this time to jump over, standing above the pony and looking down, victory in his grasp. He laughed, weakly, but triumphantly, as he said, “You were a worthy adversary, a fighter when I first laid eyes on you, but now, you will die. Any hopes you had of escape die with you, as do the rest of the ponies here today.” With that, he wound up yet again, raising both taloned arms over his head, leaning back on his hind paws, ready to deliver the final blow. Justice struck with all the power he had left, which by this point was very little. His strike was planned, calculated, and exact. Justice’s hoof hit the broken spear shaft dead on, pushing it deeper into the griffon’s chest, the shaft splintering into two pieces, each puncturing a lung. The griffon’s expression turned to one of pure shock, his grin faltering as he coughed up some blood. He slumped down, falling next to Justice, who stared back, his chest heaving and his world clouding over. He had lost quite a lot of blood, and was unsure if he would survive this one. Justice looked over, sure that his death was imminent, and smiled. He smiled at the griffon next to him, watching as he slowly tried to suck in air, desperate at finding his breath. Justice couldn’t help but smile, knowing that such an evil would perish alongside him. He rolled over, looking in the other direction at the battle taking place nearby. The ponies had pushed the griffon soldiers back, their numbers too great and prepared. When the griffons had turned and tried to flee to the safety of their camp, they had come face to face with a large group of organized slaves, armed with what little they had. Five were armed with spears, broken and discarded from the battle arena, broken by Justice himself. Those five were the ones leading the charge of slaves, pushing their griffon captors back to the trained soldiers of Equestria. On that day, many griffons were killed, either at the hooves of their once captive slaves or the capable hooves of Shining Light’s troops. There, alone in the middle of the terrifying camp, sat Beaming Justice, watching the scene and smiling, knowing that the plan had worked perfectly, watching as the corners of his eyes filled in with darkness, smiling as death approached. He was only somewhat aware of the approach of a shadowy figure, one calling out his name, his deep voice so familiar, yet fleeting to the memories shutting down in Justice’s head. Blowing Storm rushed to Justice’s side, seeing the deep wound on his side, and watched as the faint smile spread across his face. Shouting his friend’s name, Storm watched as the light in his eyes seemed to flicker, almost like it was going out. He shouted for help, grateful when a medical unicorn came through, pushing him aside. The pony began to set wounds, checking vitals, and shaking her head. She was prepared to call this one, dead before she could even arrive, when suddenly he gasped. She wasn’t sure if this was some post-mortem convulsion, for this pegasus seemed too far gone to survive. Checking his vitals again and getting some weak, yet present, improvements, she set about trying to do whatever was required. The pony had suffered some broken bones and minor internal bleeding, but the first thing that must be addressed was the large cut, deep into his side. She set about applying bandages, using her most powerful spells to try to speed up the healing. Finally, the eyes shot open, the pony thrashing wildly. She was able to restrain him, preventing him from undoing her assistance, but was not prepared for what came next. Finally, after seconds of trying, the pony was able to suck in a breath, and let forth a massive scream. The scream was one that started with pain, but moved towards anger and power, before ending in fear. The scream would haunt the medical unicorn for years, yet the pony would survive. After letting loose the scream that was heard across the camp grounds, turning many heads in confusion, Justice passed out, unable to withstand the pain. When next he awoke, he found himself in one of the griffon’s quarters, lying in the middle of a soft, hay bed. He tried to roll over, to observe his surroundings, but was surprised by the intense level of pain coursing through his body. He cried out, the pain too much to contain, and was greeted by a lovely earth pony mare, wearing a nurses outfit. “Oh, you’re awake,” she said, standing over Justice and taking his pulse. “We were unsure if you were going to recover. Actually, it is a miracle you aren’t dead, seeing as you were in a rough shape when we found you. But you pulled through, somehow.” “What happened?” Justice said, his words coming out unsteadily, croaky, and slowly. “How did we do?” The nurse smiled, nodding at the brave pegasus before her. “The camp was freed, the griffons captured or dead. There were casualties both within the camp and outside, but most everypony was saved. I’ve been told you helped plan this whole thing. Get your rest, you have somepony that would like to see you, but only when you are better.” Justice nodded, weakly, a small smile beginning to cross his face. Now that the pony mentioned it, he did feel pretty tired. He shifted some weight off of his wings, wincing in the pain that accompanied the movement, and fell into a deep sleep. The last thing he saw, before his eyelids closed mercifully, was the beautiful smile of the lovely nurse watching over him. That smile filled him with a warmth that he knew would help see him through his recovery. Rapid Quill put down his quill. He couldn’t help but smile, getting up and stretching his aching muscles. Never before had he sat so still, doing nothing but writing without a break. He had the previous chapter playing out in his head so clearly, that he had to get it down on paper. Now that is was, he felt relief and pride, pleased with the latest installment of his story. Beaming Justice had just helped lead to the safety of many ponies, proving to himself, and those around him, that he was still capable of planning a strategy and seeing the strategy through to the end. Unbeknownst to Justice, he had also had his first experience with death, one that would not subside for the many adventures ahead. Rapid Quill couldn’t help but smile, thinking ahead to what would come next.