//------------------------------// // Peyton 1 - A World Away // Story: Lost in a New World // by KingBrony //------------------------------// Greaves. Pads. Gauntlets. Leg Armor. Body Armor. Helmet. Peyton spread his wings, stretching after a night's sleep. He slept on a bed of rocks and straw. He still felt tired, but today was the big day. One step. Two steps. Three. Four. A gust of wind. The sound of a rock hitting the ground. Silence. He spread his wings, ready to take off. With one leap, he was in the air. His sleeping place grew smaller and smaller as he rose higher into the air. Others were awake too, flying in the air ahead of him. Moving towards the same location. Peyton blinked and flapped his wings, approaching the castle in the sky. Every time he looked at it, he thought the same thing: Still broken. The Griffon Empire. One of the oldest kingdoms in the world. With the recent tragedy, it fell apart just like that. Meteors and quakes, acid rain and gusts of wind. Many ancient buildings and structures could not last, falling apart, collapsing with the entire rock formation. The castle itself was in shambles, a ghost of its former glory. However, as destroyed as the Griffon empire was, they knew that Equestria was just as destroyed. They knew so from a small group of ponies who had arrived, seeking their help. They defied the Griffon King and fled. The group that chased after them disappeared. Peyton landed in front of the castle, bowing his head to the guards stationed there. He walked in, looking at the ruined columns and dusty halls. The reconstruction project was delayed until the empire knew exactly what it would do from here. The conference hall was largely undamaged. Thousands of griffons sat in the seats: men, women, children. All shaken up by the tragedy. The King sat at the bottom, in view of everyone. Peyton made his way down with him. "You're late." "I apologize." Peyton lowered his head. He didn't get enough sleep last night. As the griffons settled down, Peyton raised his voice. "Everyone, today you are in the presence of King Griff XXVI, king of Griffonia, commander of the Griffon Force, and our protector!" King Griff cleared his throat and stepped forward. "It's been several months since fire rained down from above, destroying our homes, taking away our loved ones, and scorching the surrounding lands below. Because if it, our food supply has grown thin. As your leader, I am responsible for your well-being and safety. Simply put, we are not safe here. We cannot stay here much longer before we are lost to the wind." Some cries of children could be heard, scattered throughout the audience. "But, alas! We do have hope!" King Griff pulled out a piece of parchment and held it in front of him. "This is a message from Princess Cadence of Equestria. As you are aware, they were affected just as badly as we were. Their princesses of the sun and moon, the ones who keep our days in balance, have been killed by the Sleipnir - our ancient enemy." This was the first time many of the griffons heard that the Sleipnir were back. The chamber soon exploded in conversations and remarks. The fear could be seen on the common griffons' faces. "Silence!" King Griff shouted. The room grew silent once more. "Princess Cadence and Princess Twilight have taken over, guiding whatever of Equestria is left, as the Sleipnir terrorize and take back the lands that were once theirs. And these princesses have asked for our help in fighting back." King Griff looked around the room once more before continuing. "And, we will help them. We will fight against the Sleipnir, just as our ancestors have done thousands of years before!" Peyton wasn't sure what to think. Why would we help the ponies, when we don't like them ourselves, he thought to himself. What is in it for us? Then, the king spoke once more. "We will finally take the lands of Equestria for ourselves, Griffonia. This is the best opportunity! The ponies may be willing to do anything to get us to help them. Without us, they die! And, without their lands, we die!" The audience began to cheer. The most important thing that came out of the meeting was that they may have a chance to survive. No matter what the cost, they will make it happen. Peyton knew that too well. "We will be sending in the Griffon Army," King Griff said. "We will fight against the Sleipnir and destroy them, using whatever resources the ponies give us. Once that is done, we will seize the lands for ourselves! New Griffonia will be born!" As the griffons left the meeting hall, Peyton confronted the King. "Shall I write a response to the ponies?" He asked. King Griff nodded. "Make it go something like this:" To the Princesses of Equestria, There may have been some tension between our kingdoms in the past, but we are willing to look past that in order to help you with the Sleipnir threat, on several conditions: 1)Any resources we may need while in Equestria will be given to us, with no exception. 2)We will be given free roam over Equestrian lands during this conflict. 3)In combat, our authority will go unquestioned. We wish for you to hold out for as long as you can. We are currently trying to regroup our own forces right now. We expect no more than six months before we will be able to come and help. I hope these terms are agreeable. Best of luck for the meantime. Griff XXVI, King of Griffonia, commander of the Griffon Force Peyton finished the letter before giving it to King Griff. He signed it himself and applied the official seal. A messenger griffon arrived to take the letter and bring it to Equestria. With that being done, King Griff turned his attention to getting ready. "We will have to train our forces to fight against a formidable foe," He said, looking into the sky. "Get our recruiters ready as well. We will need as many griffons ready for battle by the end of the month. "But," Peyton interrupted. "Don't we want to get there as soon as possible, to help?" "The longer we wait," King Griff looked right at Peyton. "The more shaken the Equestrian army will be. And the easier it will be for us to take their land from them." His expression was cold and merciless. "I cannot have my griffons suffer like this anymore. We will take Equestria, when the time is right. A perfect opportunity has been presented to us, Peyton." "Yes, my lord." "You sound unsure." Peyton blinked. "I just don't see why we should deceive the ponies like this." King Griff made his way to a balcony, overlooking the sky. Mountains could be seen in the distance, while rock formations surrounded the vicinity. Griffons flew in every direction. There was an eerie calmness about the view that made Peyton feel sick. "Have you ever been in a contest before? A race, perhaps?" "No, my lord." "You see, being a king is much like being the leader of a team. Every team wants to win. In order to win, another team has to lose. You either need to try and win, or lose the game. If you don't make that decision, somepony else will make it for you." A pair of griffons flew side by side - an older griffon and his child. She laughed as her father spoke. They flew off into the distance. Seeing that made Peyton look away, remembering it again. "I like to play ahead of the game." King Griff continued. "Seeing an opportunity to win, I will take it. Of course, that would mean that the ponies and Sleipnir would lose." "What are we playing for? What is the goal?" Peyton asked. "For Equestria." ********* Peyton flew from formation to formation, doing his duties as a guard. If a griffon needed help, he would be there to assist. Since the tragedy, he has helped to dig griffons out of rubble, bring food to the young, cared for the elderly, and spoke with families who have lost their own. Everyone he talked to, Peyton reminded himself of his own family: his parents, his little sister, his wife, and his own sons. When the tragedy struck, Peyton was at the castle doing business as usual. The fire came down on them before anyone could notice, striking several of the formations outside and hitting the largest castle tower. A call to arms was issued immediately as the griffon force assembled. "Get out there! Protect our own at all costs!" King Griff croaked orders at the soldiers, who flew out to assist. Peyton's first instinct was to find his family. He rushed back home, to a formation in the center of a larger collection of mountains. The spirals of his home could be seen from a distance, unharmed. As he approached, he could see a giant one fall from the sky, striking his home with an explosion. Peyton screamed as he picked up his pace, landing on top of the rubble. Digging through. Screaming and crying. "Thank you!" The words of a young griffon snapped Peyton back to the present. He had delivered a crate of food to a hungry family. They lived in the remains of their home, which had collapsed during the attack. The adults were cleaning up more of the debris as the children played and ate. "Will we be able to find a new home in Equestria?" One of the griffons asked Peyton. She had attended the meeting, but was unsure what to think of it. Peyton cleared his throat and nodded. "Yes. Griffonia will survive. We will all survive." One home to the next, one family to the next, Peyton continued his duties. After the attack, many of the mountains that the griffons lived on were inhospitable. Many griffons moved to the remaining ones, while some were fortunate enough to live in the castle. Some griffons chose to live down in the valley, far below the mountain range. As an inhabited land, it was deemed dangerous. Many griffons were not heard from after descending below. After his last run on the mountains, Peyton was instructed to fly down below to give the last crate to a contact. The griffon sank beneath the clouds slowly, looking all around him in case of any danger. The air was still and silent as he descended. The light shrank and the warmth dwindled, but Peyton kept going. He landed on a small hill overlooking a grassy field. Looking up, he could see the wide bases of the mountains surrounding the valley. Forests lined the horizon, all as silent as the air. The point of contact was not there, leaving Peyton alone. He waited for an hour, kicking at the ground and taking short walks around. Growing impatient, Peyton finally called out. "Anyone out there!?" His voice echoed into the distance. After a few seconds of waiting, he heard no response. Did something happen? He thought to himself, leaving the crate at the top of the hill. He walked towards the forest, unsure of what he would find. The air remained still and silent. The creaks of the branches and rustling of the leaves were what filled the air as he took each step. His wings folded in to give him more room after seeing the narrow pathways. A few minutes of walking came and went before Peyton heard a muffled sound in the distance. He took a couple of steps and listened intently. Closing his eyes, he could make out faint screams. A woman and a boy's screams. And the roar of something else. Peyton picked up his pace, dodging trees and heading straight towards the source of the sound. He readied his talons, prepared to take on whatever foe he would find. The screams grew louder and louder as he got closer, eventually seeing a group of griffons on the ground, with a red figure above them. As he got close, he could see the mane and claws of a manticore. The griffons on the ground were all dead, save for two: a female griffon and what looked to be her son, both huddled against a tree. Their wings were clipped, preventing them from flying away. "Hey!" Peyton shouted at the manticore, who turned its attention away from the two. It roared and flew right towards Peyton. The griffon flew up into the air, bringing his talons down on the manticore's back. The manticore screamed and roared again as it turned to face his opponent. Peyton laughed, landing back on the ground. The manticore tried the same tactic again. This time, Peyton dodged to the side and ran his talons along the manticore's side. The beast circled around and tried to attack once more, but this time Peyton took it head-on. With one swipe of his talons at the manticore's face, it screeched and ran off back into the trees, leaving Peyton and the surviving griffons alone. All Peyton could hear now were the cries of the female griffon, who clutched her son tightly. "It will be okay now," Peyton said to her in a calm voice. He placed one talon gently on her shoulder, but she didn't seem to hear him. She only stared at the bodies of the other griffons. Her family. Her loved ones. Peyton didn't know what relationship she had with them, but to see them die in such a fashion... Peyton had managed to dig his sister out of the remains of their home. The rest of his family, including his wife and son, were lost. He heard their screams as he did his best to dig. He was alone; the griffon force was too scattered and common griffons were to shaken up to understand what was happening. "Peyton...Help..." Their voices entered and left his head before slowly fading away, one by one. After he dug his sister out, the voices stopped. She made it through okay, but Peyton blamed himself for not being fast enough. But, even after all of that... The soldier led the other two back to the hill, where the crate awaited. Opening it up, Peyton handed bread to the two of them. The boy ate it quickly as if his life depended on it. The woman stared at it blankly, then took slow bites. "I have to return above," Peyton told her. "I need to get some others to help carry you both back up, since you cannot fly." "Don't leave us!" The woman quickly said, dropping the bread on the ground. She gripped Peyton's arm tightly. "I won't let anything happen to you two." Peyton said. He looked at the boy, who dug around in the crate for more. "Take my son up first, at least!" She insisted. Peyton nodded and picked him up into his arms before ascending into the sky. While the boy was not too heavy, the weight was enough to slow Peyton more than usual. The two griffons approached a stone house on top of a mountain. Peyton landed softly, letting the kid step onto safety. Another member of the Griffon Force was there; seeing Peyton, he made his way over. "Did something happen below?" Peyton nodded. "I'm going to need your help." "It is against orders, but..." The other griffon had an expression of doubt on his face, but he soon spread his wings and took off. The two soldiers made their way into the valley. fog began to collect, making it harder for Peyton to see what was happening. He hoped that the woman stayed put and was still safe. Sure enough, when he made it through the fog, he could make out a figure down below. Peyton slowed his descent as he made contact with the ground. The other soldier followed not too long after. "Where are the others?" The soldier asked. The woman heard this and began to cry once more. Peyton gave a stern look to the soldier, who understood right away. "Help me carry her up - she can't fly in this condition." Peyton ordered. He took one side of the woman while the other soldier took the other. Together, the three griffons lifted off into the air. Peyton grabbed the crate with his hind talons. It was much lighter now that some of the supplies were used up. Again, Peyton reached the top of the mountain. As he dropped the woman off, she immediately rushed to her son in an embrace. There were more griffons at the scene now, with some ready to treat their wounds. "We will take it from here," One of the other griffons offered. Peyton nodded and flew up once more. "Thank you," The woman managed to say. She bowed deeply, with her son following suit. Peyton returned the gesture, then flew off with the other soldier. "There are a group of them down there," Peyton said. "It was a manticore that did it." "You think Equestria is more peaceful?" The soldier asked. "Well, once we defeat the Sleipnir," Peyton joked. However, he knew it was no joking matter. While their ancestors may have been able to keep the Sleipnir out of their lands, that was all they could do against them. They were going up against a race that was much more powerful than they were. Victory seemed like a long shot. However, a joint effort between the griffons and ponies may work in their favor...but, betraying the ponies right after by claiming their land is unjust. Peyton knew it would be wrong, but he would not dare question King Griff. "The sooner we get ready, the better." The other soldier simply said, flying ahead of Peyton. Better for whom, Peyton thought to himself as he carried on.