Aegis hated this route. Of that, there was no question. Unfortunately, there was no way to get out of it today. The research team, wanting to chronicle all they could of the flora and fauna of the Everfree forest had wandered far, far off the path — if that's what it could be called — and were now days late. Aegis had been hired to go in and find them.
Why, oh Celestia why, had he accepted the assignment?
Of course he knew why. The bits were good, and the researcher's sponsors really wanted that report.
The researchers hadn't been hard to track since their sponsor had given him the route they were to have followed, but they'd only followed that route a couple days before leaving the path. After that they'd seemed to just go wherever their hooves had led them. Up one game trail, down another; following whatever (hopefully) little animal had made it. Aegis had lost the trail for a while at the top of a waterfall, only to find it again at the bottom. All Aegis could figure is they'd decided to simply leap off.
Aegis flicked his tail, swatting yet another mosquito that had tried to work its bloodsucking way beneath his dull, bronze-colored armor. His brick-red fur was matted beneath; sweaty and itching, much like the short, messy brown mane currently compressed beneath his helm. No dye-job for him, magical or otherwise. He wasn't a conscript after all, but a freelancer, taking what jobs he could for whoever had the bits and a problem needing solved.
Well, within reason anyway. He wasn't a killer-for-hire. The very thought left him wishing he'd had a lighter breakfast.
The sooner he found Flora and Wildlife the better. Earth ponies like Aegis were built for hard work and heavy loads, but he sure could use a pair of wings or a horn right now, if only to keep the bugs away for the briefest of moments. Aria had gotten a horn after all; why couldn't he? Nopony knew how far back a unicorn had been in the family, but everyone knew there was one somewhere back there now. His other sister, Alamode, had admitted a little jealousy over the years.
Flora and Wildlife's tracks had remained steady, making regular stops to study and occasionally camp for the night. Aegis had made considerably better time. Surely he couldn't be too far behind the team by now. Even their tracks seem to be hurrying through the vine-riddled green expanse, pace quickening as if to catch up to their owners. Aegis quickened his own pace, glad to surely be close now. The tracks had gotten fresher and fresher as he threaded through a particularly thick patch of vine. Suddenly, he burst into a clearing and found what he was looking for. A pair of forms lay together in the small patch of sunlight that had managed to break through the thick overgrowth, peacefully still. Aegis approached, a grin finally plastering his face.
“Well, about time! How are you ponyfolk do-” Aegis slowed to a stop. Peacefully still. TOO peacefully still. A shadow flickered by from overhead, and a thump behind him had Aegis whirling about.
“Welcome to the buffet, my little pony.”
Aegis lowered his head and snorted, never taking his eyes off the griffon before him.
“You! Who are you? What have you done here?” Aegis looked the griffon up and down. Gold-laced black eagle feathers, typical tawny lion's fur – not that unusual for a griffon. Scruffy overall, this one didn't appear to spend much time preening.
The griffon began pacing to the left, returning Aegis' critical eye with one of his own. “Ah, some sort of errand-pony. A lost escort, maybe? I'm just here for my lunch. What's your excuse for being late to the party?”
A small, sniffling, sobbing sound broke the repartee, leaving both parties silent for a split second. The griffon spoke up first.
“Oh-ho, and what's this? An hors d'oeuvre? Or, heh, HORSE d'oeurve?” The griffon chuckled. Aegis did not. Even on the best of days, that pun was terrible.
Aegis flicked his ears about, trying to pick out where the sob had originated. But the Everfree was...weird. Sounds could sound like they were everywhere and nowhere at once. The griffon had the same problem, however, and for that Aegis was grateful. The griffon had begun cocking his head about. Suddenly, Aegis remembered why griffons were considered an apex predator.
Lion's cunning. Eagle's flight. Lion's strength. Eagle's eyes. And it appeared those eagle's eyes had spotted something Aegis had missed. Aegis braced himself, preparing to leap into action. He risked a glance in the direction he thought the griffon was looking and saw it: a slight movement in the brush, and perhaps a glimpse of purple.
With the first sob, Aegis' mission profile had changed. There was a reason his cutie mark was a dark blue shield with a tri-pointed orange flame. Aegis pawed at the ground and snorted again, hoping to draw the griffon's attention back to himself. Negotiations were breaking down.
The griffon, for his part, seemed to be growing bored. But griffons are half cat, and cats are never as they appear. The griffon leaped into the air and with a stroke of powerful wings dove at Aegis. Aegis had been waiting for a move of some sort, though perhaps not this exactly. Aegis kicked up with powerful legs, leaping straight at the diving griffon.
This was, of course, the last thing the griffon had expected. Ponies were supposed to be a prey species; they certainly were supposed to fall on the “flight” side of fight or flight. What was wrong with this pony?
“This pony” collided solidly with the griffon, armored peytral driving into the griffon's own chest and forcing the griffon backwards and into the ground. Aegis landed with four solid thuds, each hoof easily finding purchase in the leaf-covered ground. The lightly built griffon had been driven back by the stout earth pony but was already back up upon it's own mismatched limbs. The snarl upon its beak was of a particularly nasty sort.
The griffon charged at Aegis, forgoing the aerial route in favor of the traction afforded his clawed limbs by staying on the ground. Aegis held his ground this time, waiting for his moment to strike.
Earth ponies are strong as a whole. That was a given fact. Pegasi were built lightly so as to be able to fly, and unicorns hardly ever built up their muscles thanks to their powers of levitation. Aegis was an earth pony, and he was an earth pony who constantly carried the weight of armor. Heavy armor.
With a spin on his fore-hooves, Aegis drew his rear legs forward, then drove them back in an upward arc, a powerful buck slightly off-center to their now mutual left by plan. The griffon saw this, and flared out his wings, diving to the right in an attempt to clear the hard hooves.
It almost worked. The griffon had made only the smallest of errors in his avoidance strategy. In flaring his wings out and adjusting his run to the left, he had brought his wing in line with the powerful kick. A sickening pop and a gut-wrenching snap met the griffon's ears first, arriving just before the nauseating wave of pain. The momentum from the impact whirled the griffon in a counterclockwise half-circle, causing him to lose his footing and tumble over onto his right side. The screeching and writhing began before the agony had even registered.
Aegis huffed and puffed, his adrenaline high draining away slowly as he took in what he'd just done. He trotted over to the griffon, whose all-too evident pain was driving it nearly beyond capacity for thought.
“Hold still, you great buzzard. You're hurt.” 'Hurt' was an understatement, as even Aegis could see. He'd managed to break the twin long bones of the griffon's wing, the radius and ulna; judging from the angle it was flopping around at, he'd also managed to dislocate the wing's shoulder joint from its shoulder blade.
The griffon lept up, pupils constricted in anguish and swiped at Aegis in desperation, succeeding only in scraping a trio of shiny lines in Aegis' armor. The griffon began backing away slowly.
“H-hey, wait! If those breaks breach your skin-” The griffon screeched at Aegis, all signs of intellect driven out of his mind by the pain, and turned tail, fleeing into the forest as fast as his terrestrial limbs could take him. Aegis drooped his head. He'd caused severe injury to the griffon, and even if the griffon had done...that...to the research team, it didn't deserve to go untreated.
Aegis strode to the researchers and gathered their saddlebags, slinging them across his back alongside his own. It wasn't much more weight than he was already hefting, and practically nothing compared to his armor.
Aegis waited another brief moment then turned to the undergrowth where he'd seen the bit of purple before. Aegis wasn't a great tracker, so it was likely he'd missed a third member of the team, possibly an intern or some such. Or maybe it was someone who they'd picked up to haul equipment. In either case, Aegis would escort the survivor back to civilization.
“Hello? Are you still there? It's okay now, the monster's gone. Come on out.” Aegis nosed through the bushy undergrowth. After a minute, Aegis finally found the purple he'd seen: a ribbon tied in a bow. Aegis stopped, momentarily stunned. No one had told him that Flora and Wildlife had a little filly.
The earth pony filly was a mess, her dark brown, nearly black mane tangled in the thin-branched spidery bush. Her yellow-tan fur was in bad need of a curry comb. She was sniffling quietly, large brown eyes looking up at Aegis with fear.
“Um, h...hey there, little gal. Uh, I'm here to take you out of the forest and back home.” Never mind that Aegis didn't know where “home” was, in her case. He supposed his client, Flora and Wildlife's sponsor, would likely know. He glanced back in the direction the griffon had fled, then to where the filly's parents lay motionless, thankful that she couldn't see them from there.
“I wan' go home. I don't like it here, it smells funny.” The little filly, no more than four, looked up at Aegis with tears in her eyes. “I'm hungry.”
Hungry. Of all things, hungry. “Ah, then, uh, come on, kiddo. Let's get something to eat.” Aegis picked the little filly up by carefully nipping her mane, then swung her around to ride on his back. He then cautiously picked his way around the clearing, sparing the filly from the sight of her deceased parents.
“So, do you have a name, little one?”
“Salianura”
“Sally what?”
The filly giggled. “Daddy says that's fancy for Leapfrog. Mommy says it's Daddy for over-edgy-cated.” Aegis chuckled., but found himself losing that lightened mood quickly. It seemed that he would have enjoyed Flora and Wildlife's company. Instead, he found himself leaving them behind.
“Well, Leapfrog, They call me Aegis. It means...uh... well, something, I'm sure.” Aegis trotted on, finally coming back upon the tracks he'd followed before. He began backtracking them and soon enough, he'd reached the path that would lead back to town. The town couldn't come soon enough, as the little filly hadn't let him forget he'd promised her food.
“I'm still huuuuuungry,” whined Leapfrog.
“Soon enough. We'll be back in town soon enough. Until then, I think I have some alfalfa sprouts in my right-side saddlebag, if you simply can't wait for a proper meal.” Aegis felt her shift over to his left side. “Your other right, darlin'.”
“Oh.” Aegis felt her shift again, nearly falling off his back. He moved a little, leaning the opposite direction to keep his charge from tipping completely over. After a moment of digging around she righted herself, a small bag of green and white sprouts perched on her hoof while she happily munched away on the contents.
Aegis's stomach rumbled loudly. Leapfrog looked up in concern.
“Wow, you must be hungry, too. You want some? It's yours anyway, after all.”
“No thanks, Leapfrog. I appreciate it, but I can hold on for a little while longer. You enjoy, ok?”
“Are ya sure?”
“Yeah, I'm sure.” Aegis smiled, then trod forward, making decent time on the open path. Not having to pick through the undergrowth made this leg of his short journey that much easier. Leapfrog and her parent's saddlebags were no heavy burden, though the news he bore was a burden unto itself. Having not known Wildlife or Flora he was able to remain detached. Aegis hated that feeling, but without it he would have a very hard job indeed.
Finally, another hour and another snack for Leapfrog later, The forest's edge drew near. An half-hour after that (and after the consumption of Aegis's emergency rations) they had finally arrived.
“Well, Leapfrog, here we are. Welcome to Snaffleton.”