//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Constanze // by Patience //------------------------------// The ponies on the train shied away from me. Their insecurities show through like the sun on thin drapes. Their disdain was perhaps well placed. Not long ago my commanding office spoke to me of a doing a great service for my nation. He informed me that an intelligent and capable Gryphon was needed to infiltrate Equestria. He did not have to ask me twice. So, yes, their disdain is well placed So they shuffled around me and many even left the train car entirely. Some would stare out their windows, peeking at me through the reflection in the window pane. Others were more straight forward. They glared at me over they snouts. Disapproval in their eyes. I just remained still. Sometimes I would stretch my wings or preen my feathers, but otherwise I was content with waiting for this trip to end. Time wore on and I turned to grooming myself. It was a common pony myth that all Gryphons were the typical brown and white, lion eagle races. There were, in fact, several variations. I belonged to a line of a rather exotic combination; my mother gave to me my White Tiger coat and my father gave me my Golden Eagle feathers. Overall I bore a striking appearance before my own kind, I can't imagine what these ponies think of my coat. I continued being patient and watched the hill roll by through the window. I was a long way from home; I sighed and began to think back on my conversation with my commander. "Atten-shun!" The sound of bodies and their armor snapping to attention rang, briefly, through the air. Once the noise died down the air was still as the commander walked the row. Next to me a, rather troublesome, soldier made a point of making funny faces behind the commander's back. He was caught, much to my pleasure, and the rest of us got to load a piece of our own equipment off onto him. Soon he was weighed down with 40 extra pounds of breast plates. While my comrades offloaded their heaviest equipment onto the poor sap the commander approached me. "Constanze!" I snapped to attention. "Yes, sir!" I barked out, eyes forward, wings clamped firmly to my side, my talons up in salute. "At ease, Private" I dropped the salute, but everything else remained the same. "I want you to report to my office after you have finished your duties, is that understood?" "Yes, sir!" I said firmly, and less than eight hours later I was knocking on his door. "Come!" I entered the room, I cast my eyes about, but then settled them on the commander. I did not speak, it was not my place. "I has come to my attention." He paused to stand from behind his desk and walk over to me. "That we are in need of a dependable and capable soldier." I said nothing. I already knew my answer; I would serve my country any way I was asked. "He needs to be intelligent, brave, confident." He stopped to see if I had any input, I did not. "Well at least I know you are capable of listening well." I became uncertain, did he really want feed back? "Sir, I believe I have those qualities." "Do you now?" "Yes." "So be it." He walked back around his desk and fished from its surface a sealed letter. "This is an official missive to be seen by Princess Celesita's eyes only." My eye almost bulged out of my sockets. "I am to deliver it?" He held out the letter, I tenuously accepted it. "Your train leaves at oh-eight-hundred hours, the missive also contains your orders for after you make the delivery, which the Princess will delegate to you. Go in light, and take this," He passed me a long, thin sword. I nearly scoffed at it. "Sir? This blade. It seems to be wanting." "Nay, it has been tempered with a new process, and it is made of a titanium alloy. Along with a whole slew of military secrets. Trust me, that blade is a lot more than it looks. Finally," He paused to shuffle some paperwork on his desk. "Make no mistake, you are no simple courier, we have runners for that." He stood and walked with me towards the door. "Espionage?" "Enjoy your trip." He said briskly, as he ushered me out and closed the door. Outside his door I affixed the blade, and its sheath, to my armor and I stashed the missive between my breast plate and my heart, only death or Celestia herself will see me relieve this letter. "Ex-excuse m-me." A faint voice squeaked in my ear. I flicked my ear, hoping to ward off the offending sound. "S-sir? Would you c-care for something to e-eat." I opened one eye and looked upon the pony before me. She shook, beneath her stewardess uniform, and offered to me a menu with a quivering hoof. "The prey wants me to eat, of all things." Her eyes bulged. She stammered, backpedaling away from me. I smirked and snatched a menu from her grasp. I rifled through it, enjoying myself thoroughly. "The Autumn Salad, with cranberries and almonds, sounds:" I paused and eyed her, for effect "Delicious." I held out the menu, she grabbed it and squeaked out a 'right away' as she dashed away, forgetting about all the other ponies in the car. I sat back in my seat and closed my eyes once again. "That wasn't very kind." A mare's voice said to me. I didn't even bother opening my eyes. Nor speaking. "And Gryphons wonder why there's so much tension between themselves and Equestria." I cracked my eye open just in time to see a purple flank walking away from me. I watched the mare as she went, she stopped by the car door. Soon it opened, and the stewardess that took my order rattled a car through it, terror in her eyes. The purple mare then stepped out in front of her cart. "I'll take it to him for you." She informed the stewardess as she commandeered the cart. The relief in the stewardess' eyes was immeasurable. Once again the cart began to make its way to me, rattling down the isle. Once again the purple mare stood before me, this time she was conducting magic with her horn, the tray with my food levitated over to me, as a folding table was brought out from a space between the wall and the bench I was seated on. Everything came together smoothly. The mare then backed the cart up and passed it back to the stewardess, the whole time not bothering herself with looking at me. The stewardess thanked the purple mare and then cast a weary glance to me, I glared at her and she scrambled to get away. I looked over my salad. I pulled out the cranberries and almonds and ate them, leaving the rest of the collection of lettuce and shredded carrot to gather dust and rot. A little while later we arrived at the second to last stop, some backwater town called 'Ponyville'. I caught the same purple mare eyeing me as she and her entourage of friends made their way off the train. When I met her gaze she harrumphed and resumed departing the train. I rolled my eyes in contempt. It won't be the last time some prissy mare was gonna get her saddle in a twist over my attitude. I settled back in for what was probably one to two more hours on the train before I arrived in Canterlot. I turned my eyes back to the window and observed as more prey eyed me, of course only when they thought I wasn't looking. I snapped my head around to look square into the eyes of some old grey pony who was staring daggers at me. He nearly fell out of his seat as he tried to turn his head and eyes away from mine. I snickered. Prey. I rolled my eyes again. The train chugged along. I felt the hard corner of parchment press into my breast. I began to get uncomfortable so I swished my entire body to sift the letter. I heard gasps along the isle. It was starting to boggle me. How did the prey last so long when just standing and adjusting my armor was enough to elicit gasps of fear? I looked down the isle to see if I could spy the pony so skittish that they cry out audibly when a Gryphon stands up. None of their faces jumped out at me, they all looked equally skittish. For all I knew all of them gasped. I wondered about the mare I saw earlier. She wasn't afraid of me, or at least she was good at hiding it. Her friends didn't seem nearly half as concerned as the folk on the train, with me now, are. Was she brave, or naive? I was jostled from my thoughts by a suddenly slowing train. I cast a glance at my window and realized that I was in Canterlot. The long, boring trip was over. I peered out the door in front of me and saw the glare of the sun shining off of around 10 sets of armor, all borne by members of the Royal Guard. My escort for sure. The train doors opened and I stepped onto the platform. Who, I assume, is the head of this little battalion Celestia sent to watch me stepped forward. "We are here to escort you." He told me simply. "Oh are you?" He looked uncertain. "What if I did not desire an escort? Are you suggesting I am incapable of finding the biggest structure in this city, with or without my wings and eyes?" "N-not, not at all!" "Ahh and that's it isn't it? You're not here to escort me." I smirked. "You are here to babysit me." I spat. Suddenly a shadow descended over me. Very few ponies were big enough to shroud me in shadow. "Are you suggesting that I would be so uncouth as to suggest that a guest in my city should go unguided, and so naive to believe that a Gryphon carrying a sword and armor embossed with the Gryphon Royal seal could wander my city without ill intentions?" "Of course not." I turned and before me stood the prey Princess. She ordered the guard away and then turned to me. "I shall be your escort. I trust your wings and your eyes are good enough to see and guide you to my castle." She pointed a hoof towards the castle and then unfurled her wings and took flight. I followed. I looked down and saw the prey below me. They crawled about like ants, tending to their queen's ant hill. Some looked up and saw me, more than one ran in fright. At this point I thought it safe to assume the entire guard was warned of my presence; for there is no telling how this city would react to an unannounced Gryphon visit. Nor is it as if we are not allowed to visit. Our, tenuous, agreement with Celestia says we are free to roam her lands. The simple reason these ponies have never seen a Gryphon is because there are very few of us who would disgrace our selves nor suffer the discomfort of being in their infernal lands for more than a few hours. They have very little to offer us. In fact I think the last diplomatic venture was a joint effort flight camp. We sent a few of our more promising cubs to learn to fly with Pegasi ponies. Of course the prey got suspicious and closed the program down without reason, our sources say Celestia was nervous that we were analyzing the young Pegasi looking for intel on Pegasi flying to exploit. It's funny because the Gryphons were indifferent to the whole program, it was Celestia who jumped to the conclusion that never crossed our mind. It's a shame to because we very well may have garnished some good information. I touched down on ornate marble, on a small balcony. Celestia had just landed moments before me and threw open a set of wide double doors, which I made my way through. It appeared as if we were in her personal study. She sat behind a large, sturdy desk, and began to rifle through paper work. It appeared to me as if she outfitted her desk with paperwork just so she had something to fiddle with in the presence of someone else. I waited patiently and she eventually drew out on particular sheet of paper and began to scrawl on it vigorously with a quill. She eventually released her, magical, grip on the quill and turned to me. "Yes, sorry about that. Now I believe you have a letter for me." I drew the letter out, receiving a questioning glance from the Princess as she took note of where the letter was stored. "May I make mention; to the casual, calm," She grimaced at her own ponies poor attitudes, "observer, you appear very aloof and crass, yet what I've seen so far tells me you are very serious, and dependable. You've trekked into territory you considers inhospitable simply to deliver a letter, which you guarded with your own heart." "May I make mention;" I replied, in a snarky tone "You seem to be quite aware of how inhospitable you lands are, and how insufferable your peoples attitudes are and yet you make no attempt to placate or educate." She simply narrowed her eyes and then unsealed the letter. Her eyes scanned back and forth. She would make small 'hmm's and 'ahh's as she went. At one point she flicked her eyes my way. I remained stoic. "Well." She finally spoke, as she let the letter fall to her desk. "It seems you are to be here for a bit longer." She grinned. "What are you talking about?" I frowned. She picked up the second page of the letter and began to dictate. " Pvt. Constanze is to remain in your care and is to act at you discretion." Without my training I would have probably freaked out right there. It took a few seconds to register what exactly she had just said, but I did not react. I mulled it about and then it clicked. Of course, they want me near her, so I can better spy on her, so put me at her command, she will surely make use of me in some manner that will result in some decent intel. "Of course." I replied, a bit delayed. If she observed the delay she did not show it. "Well unfortunately I have no need for a Gryphon private. I have plenty of guards, and why would I put you in my ranks, you would certainly defect in the event of a Gryphon invasion. I have nothing for you to help me with. You are dismissed." "Are you certain!" I said, perhaps a bit to forcefully, but I can't have her sending me away. I need to get dug in. "You must have a task for me." She looked at me seriously for a few moments. Then her face brightened up. "Oh yes! In fact; I have a researcher out in the field. My own protegee, actually. She is working on some important research; you could go assist and guard her and the other..." She paused to search for the right word. "researchers." I was secretly rejoicing, and missed her slight hesitation, and even had I heard it I would have not thought anything amiss. Of course when I arrived in the field where these researchers were researching I realized that I, and the entire Gryphon nation had been played. Touche Celestia, touche.