Commander Mist and Major Bolt reached the top of the hill, and looked down into the valley. Major Bolt couldn’t believe his eyes, “Is that Gryphus?”
Commander Mist smiled and replied, “That’s Gryphus… what were you expecting?”
Major Bolt replied, “I wasn’t expecting it to be so… massive.”
Commander Mist replied, “Gryphus was the main kingdom back when Equestria was formed. It’s only natural that it would be much bigger. Four major sectors of the city, each one surrounded by a wall that is one hundred feet tall and thirty feet thick, and to get to the main castle in the center you have to break through all four sectors. This fortress is the only city in the entire kingdom that has never been under an enemy nation’s control, despite all the wars that have been fought on this soil… I guess this is just one more.”
Major Bolt shook his head, “Well a city like that looks really tough, I wonder if they can fight off the rebel army.”
Commander Mist started trotting down the hill as he replied, “With The Cutters as our enemies… I'm worried the city will fall, but we will warn the king and see what he’ll do about this.”
As the rest of the military formation made its way over the hill following Commander Mist, all the soldiers marveled at the sight of the large fortress that was deemed the Capital City of the griffin kingdom. The Equestrian soldiers made their way closer and closer to Gryphus, when they were almost a mile away from the city’s surrounding molt, Major Bolt asked, “Commander? you say you have been here before right?”
Commander Mist replied, “Not too long ago, I attended one of their ceremonial war balls… I wouldn’t call it a glamorous time, but it wasn’t bad, why do you ask?”
Major Bolt replied, “I was just wondering, what kind of king is King Harpy.”
Commander Mist replied, “Well King Harpy The Third was a stuck up war monger who loved to brag about how his soldiers have never lost a single war during his reign. However, I don’t know how his son is… in fact, I didn’t even know he had a son.”
“Oh, well I was just curious of how he might trea…HEADS UP!!!”
When Major Bolt called the warning, Commander Mist looked up to see a large number of griffins flying towards them in four full V formations. As the formations approached the Equestrian soldiers, two of them landed on the ground and pointed their spears and swords at the ready, while the other two started to circle above them like vultures.
Remembering their training all the soldiers in the equestrian formation immediately gathered in the center of the circle of griffin, drew their weapons and held them at the ready. Major Bolt griped the short sword on his side, while Sergeant Major Storm reached into a wagon; pulled out Commander Mist’s spear and his morning star, then he tossed the spear towards Commander Mist as he called out, “Commander! On your flank!”
Commander Mist caught the spear with his magic, moved it to his side, and held it as if he was going to address the griffins. Then he called out, “My name is Commander Chrome Mist of the Equestrian Royal Guards! If the leader of your formation will stand your forces down, then I'll gladly call off my soldiers as well! We are not here to fight!”
A griffin stepped forward and replied, “If you’re not here to fight, then why are your ponies armed… you’re a funny looking group of peace keepers. Go home, and take that cowardly attitude with you… it won’t last long in a real kingdom.”
Major Bolt was already at his limit, he yelled, “YOU DISRESPECTFUL…”
“MAJOR! Stand down!”
Major Bolt nodded his head and stepped back but he didn’t remove his hoof from his sword, as Commander Mist replied to the insult, “We are here in the Griffin Kingdoms to offer our assistance as soldiers. In the name of Equestria, we will fight to support our allies during this time of need. We wish to speak to King Harpy the Fourth!”
The griffin replied with a serious tone, “If what you say is true, then you should have linked up with Commander Shriek in Javelin Falls. Tell me… why isn’t she escorting you?”
Commander Mist lowered his head, “I'm afraid… Commander Shriek, her army, and the entire town of Javelin Falls have fallen to the rebel forces. When we arrived they were all dead… killed by the enemy rebels.”
The griffin shook his head, “That’s the fifth town this month… how do I know you’re telling the truth? Maybe she is alive and you ponies are here from another part of the kingdom. What proof can you give me that says she is dead?”
Commander Mist reached into his saddlebag and held out the broken sword. The griffin soldier took the sword and carefully examined the weapon until he saw a small emblem that was on the grip, signifying that it was made at a griffin factory. Then he called to his soldiers, “It looks like this pony is telling the truth! All soldiers stand down; these ponies are here to assist us… but then again such a small formation of such a weak species… I think they all add up to maybe two griffin soldiers, am I right?”
The griffin surrounding the pony formation started to laugh at the joke, as they lowered their weapons. Major Bolt held himself back from charging the cocky griffin; however, he didn’t notice that through his frustration, he had already drawn his sword halfway from its sheath. Commander Mist turned to Major Bolt and spoke, “Major, Need I remind you of your promise to Princess Luna?”
Major Bolt realized what he was doing, so he fully sheathed his sword and replied, “No sir, you don’t.”
Commander Mist looked back at the Griffin leader and took the broken sword from him, “I hope you will allow us passage to see the king now… he will be expecting us, and we mustn’t keep him waiting.”
The griffin leader smiled and turned to his soldiers, “All griffin return to the castle and resume your normal duties! When these ponies arrive, let them into the kingdom and notify the king’s personal guards of their approach!”
The griffin looked back at Commander Mist and spoke, “The kings guards will allow you passage to the king himself, but only you and two other ponies may see him at once… the rest of your army will have to wait in the courtyard. If you will be assisting us, then I'm certain we will meet again soon. Carry on commander.”
With that said, the griffin took to the skies and flew back towards Gryphus, as the griffin formations that were both on the ground and circling above turned and followed him.
Commander Mist turned back to his soldiers and announced, “Convoy! Move out! It’s time to meet the king!”
Commander Mist used his magic to return his spear to the weapons wagon as they continued to travel further to the large city. As they approached the main city gate, a few griffins were already waiting for their arrival. Without any kind of acknowledgement, the griffin stepped to the side as the massive gate opened allowing the pony formation to travel into the city. As they continued down the road through the first tier of the city, Commander Bolt looked around at his surroundings and spoke; “There are a large number of factories here. what exactly are they making commander?”
Commander Mist replied, “Whatever they need to fight a war. weapons, armor, even rivets for their catapults and trebuchets. I’ve also heard rumor that some of these factories are used to produce and test new forms of weaponry.”
Sergeant Major Storm heard the commander and stepped closer, “New forms of weaponry? Like what kinds?”
Commander Mist Replied, “I hear they are making new types of weapons that can be used in other ways than just by their talons or paws. In fact I’ve heard they have been experimenting with weapons that use black powder to operate.”
Major Bolt asked, “Black Powder? What’s that?”
“Black powder is a powder that reacts violently to fire or heat.”
“Oh… and uh… I guess I understand?”
Storm sighed, “It’s what makes fireworks go boom.”
Commander Mist shook his head, “It seems harmless from a distance but I hear the griffin are attracted to its violent nature. Though I also hear they have yet to successfully create a weapon that uses it.”
As the small army reached the second gate Major Bolt replied, “If a nation seems so abscessed with power then… then… the… uh…”
Major Bolt stopped talking as the formation went through the gate and began trotting through the second tier of the city. This is where the sides of the streets greatly resembled Trottingham. All up and down the streets were griffin refugees who managed to evacuate the nearby cities and take refuge in Gryphus. The surrounding buildings were smaller factories or cheaply built homes that could be easily described as the slums. Major Bolt spoke, “What in Luna's name is?…”
Commander Mist spoke as they continued, “Don’t acknowledge them… let’s just get through this without any problems.”
As they trotted through one of the griffin refugees on the side of the road, approached Commander Mist, “Please sir… my wife, cubs and I are down on our luck. I know you probably only have bits to offer as currency and the Griffin Kingdom doesn’t accept them, but could I make a plea for some gems if you have any?... if not then some food would be helpful too.”
Commander Mist only shook his head and continued trotting past the griffin without any reply. The griffin only gave him a disappointed look then went back to his family and sat back down.
Major Bolt was concerned about the griffin’s plea, “Why didn’t we help him commander… I thought that as royal guards it was our duty to…”
“We don’t have enough food to help… if we helped him then more of them would approach us and ask for food too. we don’t have enough to help the entire kingdom. what should be happening, is that the king should be seeing to the care and safety of his subjects… but I didn’t see any of the griffin soldiers helping those less fortunate at all, did you?. It’s as if he didn’t care about them anymore.”
Major Bolt shook his head, “It’s a shame that this is what this world has come too.”
Commander Mist replied, “No… this is what war brings. Nothing but pain and misery. And the king just sits back and watches it unfold.”
“Having second thoughts commander?”
Commander Mist shook his head, “No… I'm already over those thoughts. Let’s just continue forward.”
After the formation approached and went through the third gate, into the third tier of the city, Sergeant Snow caught up to the lead and spoke, “Now this is more like it… this area is a lot more sophisticated than the last.”
Major Bolt looked around at the fancy homes and shops in the area and spoke, “I see that the part of the city that is most protected is the area where the nobles live. I even see some trebuchet sitting near the towers.”
Sergeant Major Storm spoke, “With their average range, they could easily hit any enemy formations just outside of the main wall, which is a pretty good distance from here. I have to say… with a city this big, that is an ingenious defensive strategy. I'm looking forward into studying the other military techniques that the griffins use.”
Commander Mist smiled, “Your interest in weaponry is very easy to see Storm… maybe when we get some downtime they will show you a trick or two.”
Storm smiled and replied, “Here’s hoping you’re right commander.”
After about ten minutes of traveling through the third tier of the city, they finally reached the main castle gate. As the large doors opened, they entered a very large area that resembled a garden, only there were a large number of griffin soldiers training in the area around them. Some were sparing on a concrete platform, some fighting in the air above, while most were practicing military movement and swordplay. As the small pony formation made its way up the road towards the castle, it seemed like every griffin soldier who was training stopped to watch as the Equestrian formation make its way to the castle. Some pointed and laughed, while others gave them an unwelcome glare, but no matter what the griffin did to greet their guests, Commander Mist confidently led his soldiers to the castle without hesitation or any signs of intimidation from the surrounding griffin. The rest of the formation felt uneasy being the center of attention for the griffin royal army, but they followed their leader’s example and continued through the area with their heads held high.
As the pony troops reached the Castle doors, Commander Mist stepped towards the King’s guards and spoke, “My name is…”
“We know who you are and why you’re here… just choose the two soldiers who will assist you and go into the throne room and meet his majesty.”
Commander Mist turned to his soldiers and spoke, “Major, Sergeant Major, you two will come with me. As for the rest of you, wait here until we return.”
The formation held its ground as Major Bolt and Sergeant Major Storm followed Commander Mist through the large gates and into the griffin royal castle. As they travelled through the long corridor, Major Bolt looked at the paintings of the past kings. He then spoke, “Hmm… that’s funny, it seems like each and every portrait of the past kings shows him either addressing his army, or wearing his royal armor.”
Commander Mist replied, “That’s because each king is known for either fighting in, or starting a war. I guess it’s some kind of tradition. Just remember where you are major, I don’t want you saying or doing anything to disrespect the king, is that understood? We represent Equestria, Princess Celestia and Luna… we can’t give them a bad name, despite our opinion of the griffin king.”
Major Bolt replied, “Understood sir, I'll do my best.”
As the three ponies approached the doors leading into the throne room Commander Mist replied, “You better.”
The griffin guards who were standing at the doors sneered at the three ponies, then one spoke, “Watch what you say to his majesty, ponies… if you know what’s good for you.”
The two griffins opened the double doors and allowed the three ponies to pass. As soon as the doors closed behind them, a loud noise echoed through the long throne room, “THIS IS BORING!!!!”
At the end of the throne room, sat a young cub who was sitting in the throne, wearing the royal crown, and looking at the chess game that was on the table beside him. On the other side of the table sat a very nervous looking griffin who tried to speak, “Your majesty, you must learn the basic rules of this game, it’s these rules that wi…”
“WHY SHOULD I!?! this game is not only boring, but it’s too complicated! I want to play something else!”
“Your majesty, to be a great leader you must understand and master the rules of Chess, just as your father did before you, and his father before him, and his before him, and so on, and so forth.”
The young king sighed, “Fine! Then tell me what are the rules of this game that I must master that have anything to do with this war!”
The griffin teacher replied, “Well… the first rule is to know your enem…”
“My enemy is the stupid rebels who oppose me! NEXT RULE!!!”
“Well… next you must know and understand both yours and your enemies’ goa…”
“They want my crown! I want to kill them! NEXT!”
“Next.. you must look ahead at what they will try to do and sto…”
“Hello… We are in the strongest castle in the world! They can’t get to my crown here, so they are stopped! NEXT!”
“Well the next thing to do, is to have patients…”
“I AM PATIENT!!! That’s why they aren’t dead yet! NEXT!”
“The final thing to do is to find a way to trap your opponent, rather than destroy hi…”
“WHAT A STUPID RULE!!! That’s it! I am done playing this boring, pointless garbage! Remember that book you were reading that I said was boring?”
The teacher looked at him and replied, “Yes your majesty?”
King Harpy replied, “Get that book and read the rest to me! I want to know what happens at the end!”
The nervous griffin started to put away the chessboard as he replied, “As you wish your majesty.”
After hearing the conversation, the king and his teacher had, Major Bolt mumbled quietly to himself, “Little brat.”
Commander Mist turned his head and shushed him. Hearing the commanders shush, the king turned toward the pony soldiers and spoke, “Um… colonel? What are these weak looking creatures in my throne room? And uh… why are they wearing armor? Are they here to entertain me?”
The griffin guard stepped closer to the king and spoke, “These ponies, are the soldiers sent by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of Equestria. It would appear that they are part of a small force of soldiers here to support us in this war.”
the king didn’t look amused as he replied, “You! Pony with a horn! Who are you?”
Commander Mist bowed as he replied, “Your majesty… my name is Commander Chrome Mist of the Equestrian Royal Guards. I am the commanding officer to the equestrian forces that are here to support you.”
The king still seemed unamused as he replied, “So… you’re here to help me, correct?”
Commander Mist nodded his head, “Yes your majesty, that’s right.”
The king shrugged his shoulders, “Well you don’t seem like you will be much help at all… hmm I guess you could take the place of griffin lives lost in battle. I would say those cowardly princesses aren’t a waste of life after all but…”
Commander Mist turned his head to look at Major Bolt out the corner of his eye. It was easy to see that the major was already enraged at the kings words, but he kept himself calm, so Commander Mist continued, “We are the best Equestria has to offer.”
The king felt intrigued, “Really? How many of you total?”
“Fifty your majesty.”
The king and his colonel started to snicker at the reply, “Fifty? You might as well have stayed home rather than waste my time with fifty measly ponies… just because you come here doesn’t mean that I'm in need of soldiers, I have plenty of commanders who will gladly…
“You have one less!”
“What?”
Commander Mist pulled out both the broken sword and the banner then tossed them both forward. King Harpy sat up in his throne while the griffin soldier rushed towards the broken sword and banner. When he picked it up, he looked back at Commander Mist and yelled, “YOU MURDEROUS D…”
“OREM!!!”
The griffin colonel looked back at the king , “But… your majesty?”
“SILENCE!!! Bring me that piece of cloth!”
The griffin took the banner and handed it to the king who then spoke, “I’ve seen this emblem before… a pony who helped my father in the last war had it on his armor… is this pony responsible for my recent commander’s death?”
Commander Mist nodded his head, “Yes your majesty… the pony’s name is Traipse he is one of the three members of the mercenary group known as The Cutters. I think that your enemy hired them for this war.”
The king didn’t know much, but all leaders knew about The Cutters and their reputation, so he stood up and spoke, “Very well. while you are here you will stay out of my way and command your own soldiers to do whatever you please, as long as it is beneficial to my army and you don’t do anything to disrupt my involvement in this war, is that understood?”
Commander Mist nodded his head and replied, “Yes your majesty, we understand.”
The king replied, “Good… I guess since you are here to help me… I guess I should give you and your fifty ponies a place to stay. Colonel?”
The griffin soldier replied, “Yes your majesty?”
“Is there any vacancy in the western tower for our guests?”
The griffin colonel smiled and he replied, “Yes your majesty… we executed the last one just this morning.”
The king smiled, “Good then escort the pony commander and his soldiers to the tower, and… to show our hospitality, give them each a fresh blankets and pillow. I don’t want them to return to Equestria saying that we didn’t give them any sort of luxury.”
The griffin colonel nodded his head with a smirk on his face, “Of course your majesty.”
The griffin king turned back to Commander Mist, sat down in his throne, and spoke, “Return to your soldiers and await Colonel Orem’s return, he will be with you to show you your new sleeping quarters soon.”
The three ponies were a little confused at the reason for the king’s and the colonel’s smile, but they just disregarded it while Commander Mist replied, “Yes your majesty.”
As the three ponies turned around the griffin king yelled out, “WAIT!!! YOU!!! Dark gray pony with wings!”
Both Mist and Storm felt nervous as Major Bolt turned back towards the king, glared at him, and replied with as little anger as possible, “Yes… Your majesty…”
The king stood up from his throne and smiled, “You have a funny face… it actually reminds me of a griffin rebel I executed a few days ago. He gave me the same face right after he called me a tyrant and a terrible king… tell me. what is your opinion of me? And don’t lie!”
Now both Commander Mist and Storm started to sweat as Major Bolt sighed and replied, “It doesn’t matter what I think of you your majesty… I must follow my orders!”
The king smiled, “Your orders? Your loyalty lies in your princesses, right? So what was their order?”
Major Bolt replied, “Their order… was to follow your orders… your majesty.”
“… Such an obedient mongrel, aren’t you? Well then, so long as that leash of yours stays strong… then you and I will have no problems. Nevertheless, remember if you disobey your orders by disobeying mine, then you are committing an act of treason on your princesses, so by right, I have the authority to carry out her punishment… which by the way is death. Am I understood?”
Major Bolt was completely furious, but he continued to hold his anger in as he replied, “Perfectly… your majesty.”
The king smiled, “Good… now be gone!”
As Major Bolt turned around to leave the throne room, an arc of electricity jumped from the bottom of his hoof and made a connection with the ground. Luckily, only Storm and Commander Mist saw this so they were relieved the king didn’t notice. Once the three were outside the throne room and trotting back through the corridor, Sergeant Major Storm spoke, “Did anypony else nearly faint when the king asked the major about his opinion of him?”
Commander Mist sighed with relief, “I almost did… I'm proud of you Sparky… you even held back the lighting orb from your rage… I guess we can rest easy now.”
Major Bolt sighed, “That disrespectful, unworthy little, Sh…”
“Calm down Sparky… it’s all over now. All we have to do is stay on a battlefield and we will have nothing to worry about… why does that sound funny when I say it like that?”
When the three ponies got back to their solders, they waited for the griffin colonel to return to escort them to their new quarters. When he arrived, the colonel led them to a lone tower that wasn’t connected to the rest of the castle, but it still sat within the closest wall to the castle. As soon as they went in, the colonel approached two guards who were talking next to a staircase in the middle of the tower, then they spoke, “Are these the new prisoners colonel? There are quite a number of them aren’t there?”
The colonel replied, “The king had ordered that this tower will be used as quarters for the equestrian forces. Be sure to give them blankets and pillows while you’re at it, and give them the keys… I wouldn’t want them accidently locking themselves in. Oh… and by the way… the king would like you three ponies to attend the Royal ball tomorrow night in honor of the griffin war and blah, blah, blah, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, just don’t be late.”
The colonel left through the tower entrance, then the two griffins handed the keys to Commander Mist as one spoke, “Have a good sleep… ponies.”
As the two griffins left the tower, Major Bolt got angry, “THAT LITTLE CUB GAVE US A DUNGEON TO SLEEP IN!!!”
Commander Mist sighed, “To be honest… it’s better than I expected, I figured he would give us an outhouse.”
Major Bolt continued complaining, “I swear, if I had just one clean shot at that little brat I would make him regret even seeing a pony in his hall.”
“Will you stop your complaining already… at least we have a place to sleep, even if it’s not the most helpful, I’d rather sleep here than in the street with the refugees.”
Major Bolt sighed then replied, “I guess your right Storm… those poor souls. So what now?”
Commander Mist looked around and replied, “The griffin will be back with our blankest soon… I hope, but we still have some of our own supplies so let’s just find a place and get some rest. Tomorrow we will probably spend the day getting ready for the ball, so let’s enjoy this break while we can.”