//------------------------------// // Part 8 - Face to Face // Story: Before the Storm: The Rise of Firefly // by Firesight //------------------------------// They say one never forgets their first time in combat, and they are correct. Mine remains etched in my mind even after all this time, and ’tis not a happy memory for me. ’Twas my trial by fire and even though I passed the test, the price I paid and wound to my heart would long linger. Coming to terms with it was not easy or instant, but in the end another challenge for me to meet. But ’twas not one I could overcome alone, and ’twould require the aid of my friends, both old and new, to do. And the first step in that process would be to face my fears and enemy directly. To see them as they truly were. Pyrrhic Victory I awoke slowly to a series of concerned but strangely familiar voices. “Sergeant! You’re awake!” Sundiver’s relieved voice broke through the din. My eyes fluttered, the light in the room painful. I realized quickly I was lying on a cot in the outpost infirmary with my armor removed. But why was Sundiver here? And why was there sunlight streaming through the ceiling? “Sir… what…?” I started to ask as he helped me sit up, only to groan as my memories returned and I immediately wished they hadn’t. I remembered the battle, the threat to Blindside, how I swooped in, my wingblades deployed… Bile rose in my throat as the last clear memory I had before the blackness swallowed me registered. As I began to retch, I found a bucket placed in my hooves, and promptly emptied the meager contents of my stomach into it. It didn’t help. I had killed, and nothing would ever change that fact. “No…” I buried my head in my hooves, trying to hide my tears before the two dozen Corps ponies in the room. “No…” “You fainted after the battle,” Sundiver told me, a worried look on his face that mirrored the other Corps pegasi around him. “And you’ve been out for nearly twelve hours now.” ‘Twasn’t long enough as far as I was concerned. At that moment I wished nothing more than to retreat back into that slumber, let the inky blackness take me forever and spare me the agony of my own actions and failures. “Ma’am, please…” Fell Flight offered, stunned to see me in such a state. “You’ve nothing to be ashamed of. ’Twas your first true battle, and you both fought and led us well,” she offered, to immediate agreement of the other ponies around her. “Be proud.” “You saved me, Firefly,” Blindside spoke up next, tears in her eyes as she watched me grieve. “You saved the base. You saved us all.” At her words, I cried openly. I couldn’t help it. The battle was won, my friend was safe, and the outpost still standing. And yet, at that moment, none of it mattered to me. All I could think of were the lives lost… and the life I’d taken. Did she have a family? Did I just orphan her cubs? Was she somehow put up to the attack? Could I have taken her out without killing her? Why couldn’t I have just knocked her out the same way I did the mage…? “Everypony clear the room!” Sundiver ordered the Corps pegasi crowded around me. “She needs space. I will speak with her alone.” Reluctantly, they did and I found myself alone with him as he closed the door behind them—a slightly useless gesture given the gaping holes in the wall and ceiling, blood stains and a few feathers, both pony and gryphon, on the floor around me. There were no other patients present, as I was later told the actual wounded had already been evacuated to civilian healers in nearby towns—a necessity given that the infirmary was all but destroyed and most of our healer team was slain. Turning back to me, Sundiver came over to the bed and, to my surprise, gently took me into an embrace. He then held me as a parent would a crying foal, letting me sob into his shoulder. “How m-many dead…?” I had to know, as much as I didn’t want to. He hesitated, but only briefly. “Sixteen,” he admitted, making my eyes squeeze tightly shut in pain—not only had I killed, I had lost nearly a sixth of my command. A command Sundiver had entrusted me, now ended in bloody failure with his base all but reduced to rubble. How could I ever wear my armor again? “And that many more wounded. But you are not to blame yourself for them, Firefly. Nopony could have foreseen this. If I had gotten that message, methinks I would have reacted no differently than you.” “I should have known,” I told him, finally voicing the thoughts that had been going through my head over and over on the flight back to the base. “I should have suspected a ruse! I should have left more forces here! I should have rushed back immediately and not wasted time with messages…” I broke down crying again, unable to go on. “And run into an ambush with your flyers exhausted and command having no idea what was happening?” Sundiver asked gently but pointedly. “To do any of that would have been folly. You had to take enough force to Gallop to defeat sixty raiders. You had no inkling ’twas a ruse and neither did anypony else. They’ve never subverted our communication crystals before, and command ’tis now in a panic trying to figure out how.” I knew he was right on all counts, but I still couldn’t accept it. For there had to have been something I could do! Somehow, it just had to all be my fault, and I said as much again. “Sergeant, stop!” he ordered me, placing his hooves on my shoulders and giving me a sharp shake, forcing me to face him. “There was nothing else you could have done. I’ve already received after-action reports from Fell Flight and Blindside. They had nothing but praise for you. You realized the ruse quickly and took exactly the steps you should; devising a devastating counterattack that netted all the raiders and even took down an enemy mage,” he recited, cold comfort though it all was. “Sixteen are dead, but twenty more are alive thanks to you. Your quick thinking and rapid reaction took out an entire raider group and saved the base, giving the gryphons a bloody beak that will make them think twice about ever trying this again. “They expected an easy victory and instead found a hornet’s nest thanks to the altered patrol routines and extra readiness drills you implemented. That they were able to hold out as long as they did is therefore also thanks to you.” I didn’t want to think about the fact that if I hadn’t done all that, then perchance they would simply have been captured and still be alive, returned unharmed after paying ransom. And maybe then I would not have had to… I stifled another sob. “I’m sorry…” I told him as he pulled me close again and I found myself clutching him like a foal would her father. “Sir, please t-tell me… does killing ever get easier? Does the blood on my hooves ever wash away?” I sniffled, imagining I could see it all but dripping off them. “No.” He didn’t mince words even as he squeezed my hoof. “Nor should it. Those who enjoy killing have no place in the military, Sergeant, let alone pony society in general. I know it seems impossible now, but I promise you shall come to terms with it in time, as we all have. However…” he hesitated, then decided his next words had to be spoken. “However, ’tis certain you will never be the same, either in mind or in spirit. “’Tis a lesson we have all had to learn—that innocence lost cannot be regained,” he said, a note of sorrow in his voice. “’Tis no glory in what we do, Sergeant. But ’tis also no less necessary for it. Good ponies sleep soundly because we stand ready to protect them. Because we take the burden of the warrior on ourselves to keep them safe and spare them the horrors of war.” I closed my eyes tightly as the truth of his words registered. ’Twas hard to hear such words, but that made them no less necessary. “Th-thank you for giving it to me straight, sir,” I acknowledged, still staring up at the ceiling, struggling to blink back my tears. “Forgive me, but… methinks I need to be alone right now.” “Of course,” he said gently, giving my hoof a parting squeeze. “And Sergeant…?” “S-sir?” “I’m going to arrange some immediate leave for you to clear your head. I’ll send the request up to division and we’ll see if we can get you home in time for Hearth’s Warming.” I teared up again, thinking ’twas hardly fair with all the Corps ponies who would not be so privileged. To say nothing of those who would not be returning at all. “But sir…” “No buts,” He told me. “Methinks you’ve more than earned it and should anypony complain, I’ll simply point out how many more would be dead were it not for you. So stay with your loved ones, and whilst you’re there, I want you to remember that they are who we fight for. Remember that by being out here we protect just not princess and province, but our friends and family.” I sniffled again, not wanting to tell him I had no family and but one true friend. And yet, I knew he was right, and that I needed that one true friend. Wind Whistler… I found myself suddenly pining for, seeking her smile, her friendship and embrace. But could even she help me now? How could she understand what it was to take a life or watch your comrades die? “But before you go…” Sundiver broke back into my thoughts. “The gryphons have contacted us. They are requesting parley and the return of their prisoners at sunup in two days’ time. Their message and offered terms seem unusually… respectful. ’Tis not an order, but… we do need some Guardsponies for the meeting and it may do you some good to see the true face of the gryphons. So methinks you should come.” I didn’t know why Guardsponies were a requirement, and at that moment could not have cared less. “I… I shall think about it,” I promised him, staring up at the hole in the ceiling as he departed, wondering if I would ever know peace or sleep soundly again. The darkness of the following night found me in a transport craft along with Sundiver and a single squad. Fell Flight was left behind to command the base and clean up the remains of the battle, and in hindsight, perchance that was why I accepted Sundiver’s offer. Everywhere I looked at Epsilon was a reminder of what had happened and coming to terms with ’twould take some time and distance. In the end ’twas a relief to leave. You would think that meeting the gryphons face to face would not help matters, but some part of me couldn’t help but feel that Sundiver was right and I needed to see them up close… know the true face of my enemy. So though I had neither eaten nor slept since awakening in the infirmary, I joined Sundiver on the early evening flight to Outpost Gamma, located nearly three hundred miles away, dead center of the border. Though called an outpost, Gamma was in fact our largest border base. Nearly five times the size of Epsilon, it housed a full Aerial Corps brigade and the bulk of the Corps ready forces on the gryphon frontier, overlooking the widest part of the border canyon and in range to interdict most major ground and air invasion routes. It even boasted a regiment-sized Equestrian Army contingent for additional ground defense, consisting of earth ponies and unicorns. Upon seeing them, I reflected bitterly that we could have used them at Epsilon to counter the mage and earth gryphons. As we assembled for the meeting before dawn that morning, it became clear that all branches of the Equestrian military were represented. Aside from three Aerial Corps pegasus squads, there was also an army platoon from the outpost contingent. It consisted of three heavily armored earth pony squads, all mares with swords slung on their sides paired with small but powerful crossbows affixed to their forehooves, and one squad of unicorn mares, who wore lighter chain mail armor beneath enchanted hoods and cloaks that defended against magical attacks. Their horns were their weapons, as they could wield a wide variety of offensive and defensive magic, though they were also armed with longbows and a quiver full of arrows strapped to their backs. The arrows themselves were enchanted with various spells that had been placed on them, indicated by the color of their crystal tips—exploding, guiding, armor-piercing, and magic-neutralizing amongst others. There were even three other Guardsponies present, and I was surprised to recognize one—Corporal Hexblade, who had apparently been attached to the Gamma army regiment. We weren’t able to exchange anything but a brief nod as we took our positions, but ’twas good to see a familiar face. I hoped for the chance to speak with him before we left. Rounding out the contingent were a score of naval pegasus and unicorn troops they’d somehow scraped up, and even some local militia, though I couldn’t imagine the gryphons would be any more impressed with them than I was. Thankfully, they were put in the back, where they belonged. With the horizon beginning to lighten as Celestia raised the sun, we flew out to a large mesa in the middle of the canyon and assembled in a hybrid formation on the Equestrian side of it, the earth ponies and unicorns carried in two naval transports along with the captured raiders. The mesa was considered neutral ground, I was told, and that made it an ideal meeting place, one that had been used repeatedly for parleys and prisoner exchanges in the past. Despite that, ’twas a very nervous time for me—I’d received some very odd instructions on how to behave in predawn briefings, ones I thought were certain to make conflict more likely, not less. “Surely they would feel threatened by this show of force?” I asked Sundiver as we landed and took our place front and center at the head of the hundred-strong mixed-service formation. “Quite the opposite,” he told me as the Army troops formed up behind us, earth ponies in the center and the unicorn squad split with half on both wings. “A show of force ’tis a show of respect to them. In truth, they’d be insulted if we didn’t make one, but methinks the reverse holds true as well—if they come with a large force for a simple parley, they’re showing respect and deference to us,” he whispered. Somehow, that didn’t make me feel much better. Parley Dawn broke over the canyon and a series of black dots appeared in the distant air, coming from the direction of a barely-visible gryphon base located directly opposite Gamma on the other side of the fifteen mile-wide gorge. Within a minute they had resolved into a large force of gryphons flying right at us and my heart leapt into my stomach to see them. As I stood rigidly at the head of our now-grounded formation, every instinct I had was screaming at me to get airborne, certain that by staying grounded I was leaving myself an easy target. But I had my orders, and Sundiver had reassured me repeatedly that they would not attack—“They’ll preen and posture, but ’tis only a game with them, Sergeant. We just have to play it. And methinks if they did attack us here, they’d pay a heavy price and they know it.” As they began to land in front of us, I could see these weren’t a motley group of raiders. These were real soldiers. Warriors. Just by their look and manner I could see they were far tougher and more disciplined than any raider group, and as they landed in sequence, I found myself categorizing their troops. The first gryphons to arrive landed furthest back, forming up quickly into two ranks. They were a mixture of tiercels and eaglesses, consisting of both earth and sky gryphons. By the light blue shoulder pauldrons and the swords and spears they were armed with, I recognized them from Sundiver’s training briefings as the Empire’s Auxiliary Guards. ‘Guards’ meant something entirely different for them than it did for us—they were reservists used for internal security, not front-line troops, though they certainly appeared to be of far better quality than the average earth pony militia, judging by their build and bearing. The generally better-trained pegasus militia of Cloudsdale might have been a match for them, though. Next to arrive were three dozen heavily armed ‘Talons’, their regular army forces, taking position in front of the guards. Generally larger or sleeker, they were dressed in immaculate silver armor, though I recalled from my briefings that how much armor an individual soldier was given tended to denote status—lower-ranked members got less armor but earned more as they advanced in position; they’d start with light leather pauldrons (which they skinned certain game animals to get!) that protected little but could eventually be given steel foreleg braces and heavy metal chestplates as they rose through the ranks. Like the Guard, they were armed mostly with spears and the ubiquitous gryphon scimitars; unlike the Guard, they tended to be used offensively. Talons were well-trained troops that could move rapidly by ground or air and thus posed a dual threat, able to quickly turn defenses and strike from unexpected directions. Sundiver had told me after the first failed raid that had we been hit with Talons instead of undisciplined raiders, we’d have all been killed or captured, and as I studied them, I realized he was only too right. Arriving third to flank them were an equal number of the more specialized gold-armored Knights. On the ground were the heavily armed and armored Fortis Knights. They were powerful earth gryphons wielding heavy weapons like war hammers and large shields, though their preferred arms appeared to be spears or enormous double-bladed battle axes. Their strength nearly the equal of earth pony Guardsponies, they fought in phalanx formations and could use their interlocking shields to form a nearly impregnable defense, but were also shock troops on the attack, able to smash and sweep aside defenses for exploitation by the Talons. Then there were the three Magus Knights hovering above the formation, dressed in violet-tinted armor and holding their staffs at the ready, electricity and fire crackling around them menacingly. Their display caused the Army unicorns on our side of the mesa to lower their heads to present their horns in defense, half projecting shields and the other half drawing their bows while notching an enchanted arrow, taking aim. I’d been warned this would happen—they were just testing our nerve—but my heart still raced at the sight of it, half expecting a thunderous strike of lightning to come crashing down into our ranks and a volley of arrows and magical beams to counter. Magus Knights were mage gryphons like the one I’d taken out at Epsilon; gryphons born with an unusual affinity for magic. They were able to wield it using a special staff or stave to focus their power, not unlike a unicorn horn. The offensive magic they used included elemental attacks like wind, fire or lightning; arcane spells which were no longer taught in Equestria after the War of the Celestial Sisters by royal decree. One mage gryphon was hard enough to deal with, but without unicorn support, two or more could just about win a battle by themselves. The magical standoff lasted just a few seconds, but it felt like a small eternity until both sides abruptly withdrew their threatened spells and retreated into ranks. Then came the next phase of the game as two dozen Wind Knights appeared above the ground formation, crossbows leveled as the hovering Aerial Corps pegasi around us deployed their wingblades in response, ready to engage at the first launched arrow. Well-trained and well-armed sky gryphons wielding crossbows for a ranged attack and armed with steel claws they wore over their talons for close-in work, Wind Knights were the biggest gryphon threat to pegasus dominance of the skies, possessing superior stamina and strength as a counter to pegasus speed. Their ability to strike from distance with their crossbows also gave them a definite advantage at times, though they were of limited use against pegasi given our agility and elusiveness. Wind Knights were used for everything from long-range reconnaissance to launching lightning raids deep into enemy territory, and could hit very fast and hard. Then the final four gryphons arrived, swooping in to take their place at the front of the formation, causing my eyes to widen and my thudding heart to momentarily stop. Two earth gryphons and two sky; two tiercels and two eaglesses, dyed head-to-toe black except for the crimson stripes on their flanks, and the last third of their blackened wing feathers painted blood-red along with their front talons and tail tassel. Instead of metal, their armor was made of polished and enchanted onyx, black and gleaming in the morning sun; their hooded eyes looking at us coldly from under their equally dark and gleaming helmets. With two crossed scimitars on their back along with a red-striped crossbow and quiver for the sky gryphons and a pair of massive battle axes for the earth gryphons, they looked like demons dredged up from Tartarus itself, and if their reputation was any guide, they fought like them too; their very names striking fear into the hearts of those who faced them. I’d read about them before, but to now see them up close and personal was to sense that all the stories about them were true. They were the Red Talons, the strongest and most dangerous soldiers in the entire Gryphon Empire, single warriors capable of taking out entire platoons of ponies single-hoofedly. They were said to number but a hundred, and entry into their ranks was only gained by an incredible combat feat or defeating an existing member in a duel to the death. The hundred-strong gryphon force now fully assembled and facing us, their uniformed commander stepped forward, the Red Talons flanking him two to a side as he moved up. Seeing that, Captain Sirocco, the mare commander of the Aerial Corps’ fifth division followed suit, motioning us forward. “Go with her, Sergeant,” Sundiver prompted, speaking softly. “As the gryphons are meeting us with their best, ’twould be an insult if we did not do the same.” Despite my misgivings, I obeyed and trotted forward along with the other three Guardsponies, our formation roughly reflecting their own. We met in the middle, with four Guardsponies facing the four Red Talons, who drew their weapons and immediately tried to stare us down. Hexblade and the other veteran earth pony Guardspony met them with snorts and lowered heads, the former presenting and igniting his horn and the latter bringing his hoof down hard enough to shake the ground around us, whilst I and the other pegasus Guardspony deployed our wingblades as we’d been told to do, crouching menacingly like we were ready to attack. Methinks I couldn’t fathom how this was taken as a show of respect or would end well, but after a few tense moments the gryphon commander nodded in satisfaction and signaled his warriors to sheath their weapons and step back, at which point Sirocco did the same to us. It was with no little relief I retracted my blades. I really wasn’t in any shape to fight then, still trying to come to terms with what happened at Epsilon. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at least slightly intimidated by the menacing black-and-red warriors before me. And Windshear had actually beaten one of them? “Greetings, Captain Sirocco,” the gryphon commander, an earth gryphon tiercel dressed in a silver Talon uniform with a gleaming command chain around his neck, said in surprisingly good Equestrian, making a gryphon gesture of salute by hitting his armored left shoulder with his right fist. “Greetings, Legate Nero,” Sirocco replied evenly, nodding slightly, returning the gesture with a standard pony salute, addressing his counterpart by rank. I remembered from another briefing that Legate was roughly the equivalent of an Aerial Corps Captain, a rank at which you could command entire divisions, or legions as the gryphons called them. “I see this day finds you well. Regretfully, I cannot say the same for the ponies your hired thugs slaughtered.” The commanding mare of the Aerial Corps’ fifth division was clearly not one for small talk or beating around the cloud. From what I’d heard she was a minor legend in her own right, a sand-colored mare with a dust devil cutie mark who had a service record and citation list nearly as long as Windshear’s. “We want answers, or by order of the Princess herself, there will be retaliation. And methinks you will not like the form it takes.” To my surprise, the gryphon raised his head slightly to present his neck—a gesture I was later told indicated deference. “And methinks you have every right to be angry. However, we deny having anything to do with that attack,” he told us perfunctorily. “Nevertheless, we agree what happened ’twas… regrettable. And we wish to avoid any further incidents.” “Regrettable?” I couldn’t hold back despite Sundiver’s warning look, my temper flaring for the first time since basic. “You threatened a raid on civilians, struck my base, killed sixteen ponies four days before our holiest holiday, and all you have to say is ’twas regrettable?” I stepped forward and stomped my hoof, causing the Red Talons to shift towards me, ready to defend their leader. Nero didn’t immediately acknowledge my outburst, instead studying me curiously. “A Guardsmare?” he noted in some surprise. “How interesting.” “Sergeant Firefly was the commander of that base,” Sirocco pinned me with a stare, an icy glare that ordered me in no uncertain terms to step back and stay silent. “And from all reports, she is also the only reason ’tis still standing now. She, too, has every right to be angry. And you should be grateful she spared the lives of some of your mercenaries. ’Twas far more than I would have allowed.” “I see… so, ’twas she who defeated the mage,” he noted dispassionately, studying me again. “An impressive feat. One almost worthy of our Talaeus here,” he mused, glancing at the Red Talons flanking him, one breaking his bearing to give the Legate an insulted look. “And methinks that brings up another issue,” Sirocco moved on. “Perchance you would explain exactly why a mage was aiding your raiders? All gryphon mages are supposed to be in military service. And thus, her presence could be interpreted as an Empire-sanctioned attack.” For the first time, there was a look of anger in the Legate’s eyes. “Be assured ’twas not. Our investigation is incomplete, but ’twould seem that Cadet Chilea sought some profit on the side. She was hired by the group whilst out on leave, and offered part of a prospective ransom would she take part in the raid,” he announced darkly. “Do you have her?” Sirocco nodded behind her, and the captured mage, now struggling, was brought up by two Army soldiers. To my surprise, she looked far from being happy at being returned alive to her homeland; she bore a look of stark terror and was desperately pulling at her chains. Watching her, I had no doubt if given the chance, she’d slip her restraints and bolt with all her speed back towards Equestria. Thrown at his paws, Nero looked at her in barely disguised contempt as she trembled and desperately bared her neck at him in a gesture I recognized even then as one of sheer supplication. He spoke in his own language, then repeated his remarks in Equestrian. “So, Cadet Chilea, methinks you are not just a mercenary, but a coward…” He stalked around her, then spoke in his own language again in a tone that suggested he was passing sentence on her. A suggestion that was only confirmed as he switched back to Equestrian, repeating his words once more. “There is no place in the Imperial military for those who serve themselves first and not the Empire. As you were already charged with desertion after failing to return from leave, you were tried in absentia and found guilty. And your sentence will now be carried out.” With that, he nodded at the black-dyed warriors, who pinned the mage’s crying form down as a Red Talon eagless drew one of her scimitars and approached her. I did not know the gryphon language of Aeric, but her pleas for her life came through loud and clear all the same… Only to be ignored as she was beheaded with a single powerful slash that caused me to flinch. The sight of gouting blood and her head rolling on the ground gave me flashbacks to my own act of decapitation two days earlier. ’Twas all I could do to maintain my bearing, wondering what in all the pits of Tartarus I’d been thinking by coming here. “In the attack on your outpost, an error in judgment was made. That error… has been corrected,” he announced, pinning me with a stare. To my shame, I was shaken enough I was forced to look away, making him and the Red Talons smirk. “And the others?” Sirocco was utterly unmoved despite the gruesome sight before her. “What of the raiders we captured? Perchance you’ll just dispose of them too?” she said in a tone that suggested she would not mind in the least if they did. She might not, but I did. I spared their lives, and despite all they had done I did not want to see that mercy rescinded. “No,” he said, to my relief. “They are not soldiers, so they are not subject to military justice. Instead, they will be face a civilian tribunal, which will doubtless sentence them to life at hard labor for their innumerable crimes. They shall be thrown into the mines, and ’tis certain they will never again see the light of day. You have my word on that,” he bared his throat to his pony counterpart again. “Is this acceptable, Captain Sirocco?” She regarded him for a moment. “Only if there is a guarantee there will be no further attacks in the future.” In response, he brought out a rather ornate scroll from his gold uniform jacket. “I offer you a formal apology, signed by the Empress herself,” he told her, passing it to her with his talons. “It also contains a royal promise that we will respect the border and punish those who may breach it.” Sirocco looked almost impressed as she unrolled and scanned the document, sitting back so she could hold it in both hooves. “Is that all?” “Not quite,” Nero said, then pulled a rather distinct gem from his pouch and simply tossed it on the ground in front of her. The gem glowed for a moment and suddenly a large object appeared in its place—it was a storage gem, I realized, and within it was a large chest. It was then opened to reveal separate compartments overflowing with gems, rocks, and coins. “These are rare gems and magical minerals, useful for your nation. We have also included monetary compensation for the families of those slain,” he told her. “What happened should not have happened. And though we deny involvement, you may be assured it will not again.” Sirocco looked surprised, then suspicious. “’Tis uncommonly generous of you.” “You may also be assured there will be no further border incursions for the foreseeable future. Unless, of course, you wouldst breach that trust yourselves,” he smiled unpleasantly, ignoring his counterpart’s previous statement. “Give us your remaining prisoners, and I believe our business is concluded, Captain.” Sirocco stared at him a moment more, then nodded back again. At her order, the six remaining captured raiders were brought forward, all looking more than a little fearful after seeing the execution unfold. Talon regulars moved forward to collect them, then shoved them into a single air carriage to transport them, with several sky gryphons hooking into harnesses to pull it. Two minutes later, the gryphons had departed with them, flying back towards their home territory. We watched them leave until they were out of sight before breaking formation ourselves. I suddenly felt very tired, letting out a deep breath to release tension I didn’t even know I had, only to snap back to attention as Sirocco came up to glare at me. “Methinks you have a temper and a knack for speaking out of turn, Sergeant!” she all but snarled, then her expression softened. “Still, ’tis a rare pony indeed who would do so in the face of four Red Talons. I admit I was uncertain you had truly earned your place in the Guard, but ’twould appear you did. You saved the outpost along with many lives, and for that I thank you, Guardsmare.” She bowed her head to me. “Thank you, ma’am,” I told her and saluted before departing with Sundiver for Gamma, brooding and lost in thought. To my surprise, I felt a moment of regret and compassion for the gryphon raiders, considering what they had to look forward to. And I did not think I would ever forget the look of fear on the mage’s face as she faced the final moments of her life, suddenly wondering if ’twould have been more merciful if I’d slain her myself. And yet, something else was bothering me. Something that didn’t quite seem right... Suddenly my brow furrowed as I locked onto an apparent contradiction in the proceedings. SIX other prisoners? I repeated the count to myself. But wait—weren’t there SEVEN? Interrogation Greetings, my Equestrian friends. And know that my part in this tale begins an hour after that fateful parley, when a single unicorn mare entered a secret passage deep beneath the command bunker of Outpost Gamma. Though she wore the hood and cloak of an Equestrian Army unicorn soldier, and in fact she was one, I had come to learn she had another, far more covert role and position few knew of. Reaching her destination, she opened the locked door with a special spell and then stepped inside where there was little more than a single weakly lit table and a pair of chairs on either side. In one sat a single trembling young sky gryphon. Said gryphon was lanky and barely past puberty, his wings bound and legs manacled, struggling desperately to stay awake. He was just fifteen, the youngest of the captured raiders having joined them but two weeks earlier, having no parents. No home. And now, no hope. His name was Gavian Ravenoff, and he was me. An impressionable teenager seduced into joining the raider group by promises of eaglesses, gems and glory, only to be thrown into a meat grinder he was in no way ready for, leaving him not just orphaned but alone, cut off completely from his own kind and country. “So, Gavian…” the unicorn mare began in perfect Aeric, magically removing her cloak and longbow as she entered, putting them aside before taking a seat opposite me in the holding cell, located in the most secure sublevel of the base. “I assume you saw everything?” she nodded at the back wall, where her telepathic feed had fed a special projection gem and displayed the events of the parley before me. The quivering of my beak told her I had—but then again, how could I not have seen it? It was seared into my memory given she’d only replayed the execution of the mage a dozen times! “Wh-what do you want from me?” I asked, my voice shrill and breaking. They’d told me ponies were weak and had no stomach for bloodshed; I’d learned the hard way the lie of that statement two days earlier as they fought like demons and their reinforcements all but slaughtered us like so many swine. “I-I told you I don’t know anything! I just d-did what I was told!” I answered the mare in my native tongue, not knowing any Equestrian. “W-we were just trying to take a few more ponies, th-then everything w-went to the crows…” I offered again, my eyes squeezing shut in pain, the memories of that night still haunting me. I knew then I would never be free of them; would never be free of the sheer terror and fear for my life I’d felt that night. And ‘twas a fear I still felt then, knowing my life was now in the hooves of the unicorn mare before me. “You know, I would almost believe you, Gavian…” the orange-eyed, green-maned pony told me as she got up, circling me like a predator, and appropriately, her cutie mark was a series of stars arranged in the pattern of a longbow. “I would think you too young to know much. Except that we found exact copies of our communications gems on you. Except that according to your compatriots, Mistress Hildyra had a taste for younger tiercels and you were her favorite toy… meaning you might have been privy to more than most,” she added with a salacious grin, causing me to shudder and look away. She was correct, and the memories were far from pleasant ones for me. “And except that you said something very odd when we initially spoke… something about ‘a place where ponies are taken’?” she reminded me, causing my drooping and very bloodshot eyes to go wide. “Methinks I’ll leave the first two questions to my fellow mares in the Equestrian Intelligence Service, but me? I’d very much like to know more about that place.” “Wh-what about it?” I struggled to remain focused and not giving anything more away to the cunning and clever mare before me. I had not slept since the failed raid, for whenever I closed my eyes, I saw enraged white-furred pegasi mares diving on me with bloodstained blades. Saw them cutting down my comrades one by one and then coming for me as well; ’twas only the shouted order of the commanding Guardsmare that spared my life. And my waking hours were little better; I could still clearly see the murderous looks on the pegasus mares’ faces as they captured and held me and the endless fear for my life I felt until other ponies arrived to take me for interrogation. An interrogation that was now in its third day, leaving me ever closer to my breaking point. “It-it was just some old building! I-I mean th-there was barely anything there except for…” Too late, my beak clacked shut. The mare grinned and leaned forward, causing a fresh pit to form in my empty stomach. “Ah… so you do know something. ’Tis good. Because you see, methinks there was much more to these raids than a simple kidnap-for-ransom plan. And methinks you can lead me to the truth.” she told me with the surety born of long experience in her craft. “Y-you can’t protect me…” I shook my feathered head hard, now struggling to stay awake, my head lolling repeatedly, knowing what she was suggesting was tantamount to treason… and an instant death sentence in the empire. “If I say anything, they’ll kill me!” I was trying hard not to cry. “Come now, Gavian,” the mare said, only too aware of my predicament. I didn’t know her name; I only knew that she held the power of life and death over me at that moment. “Only if they know you’re here. And ’tis certain they don’t, else they would have demanded your return at the parley or sent an assassin for you. We’ll hide you. We’ll treat you well despite your crimes. But if you still don’t want to talk? Well, I guess I can’t force you,” she shrugged. “The Princess does have certain rules against coercive interrogation, after all. In that case, we’ll simply release you back to your own kind, explaining that we found you wounded and hiding in the canyon. We’ll even break your wing and a few ribs to keep up the ruse,” she suggested with a sly smile, causing me to whimper. They had barely patched up what wounds I did have, leaving me in pain as well as insomniac; clearly whatever rules there were against ‘coercive interrogation’ didn’t preclude sleep deprivation or letting me languish in pain. A pain that only deepened as she continued. “Of course, even after all that they won’t believe us. They’ll assume—correctly—that we were holding you, and then they’ll interrogate you far less gently than me. “In the end, you’ll break and admit you talked to us, and then they’ll charge you with treason and kill you exactly as they did your mage,” she grinned again as my eyes began welling up. Much as I wanted to believe I was a brave warrior, much as I’d wanted to believe the sword and old armor they’d given me made me invincible, I was now being forced to face the truth: that I was still but a helpless cub, lost in an alien realm and at the mercy of those I’d thought inferior to my race. “In fairness, I suppose we could just let you go without telling them,” she mused idly, causing me to look up hopefully. “But sadly, there’s nowhere in Equestria a gryphon can go, and should you try to return to the Empire, they’ll be alerted by their own intrusion detection spells the instant you cross the border. “They’ll find you… realize you were here… interrogate you… and it all ends up the same,” she noted in mock sadness as she sat before me and pursed her hooves, her look triumphant as she sensed she had me. “You now have no future, Gavian Ravenoff. Except for what I may grant you.” With that, I buried my head in my own manacled talons and began to cry. I was a gryphon. A predator. Ponies were supposed to be weak and little more than meat to us. And yet here I was, reduced to a mewling cub by them, trapped and dependent on their good graces for my very life. And even worse, I was ready to give them what they wanted to keep it. At that moment I cared not for honor. I cared not for patriotism or pride. I was just a fifteen year-old tiercel, and all I wanted to do was live. “There, there…” she told me, her horn flaring to raise my chin with her aura. “It’ll be alright. We’ll hide you. We’ll feed you. We’ll keep you safe. We’ll even give you relief from the nightmares so you can sleep. You can keep your life. You can live comfortably. And all you have to do is help us. All you have to do is talk…” she cooed softly in my ear. A Plan in Motion To you who now read this, know that I, too, am a gryphon, and my name is both revered and reviled for it. Know also that though then-Sergeant Firefly began as my hated foe, our rivalry born in blood and spanning the entire conflict to come, in the years that followed we became comrades… even friends. I now pen this at her request, for she wishes the gryphon side of this tale to be known in her story as well. She showed me great honor and respect over the course of the war, and I now happily return the favor, recognizing her as a true warrior and one of the few beings, pony or gryphon that I could truly call my equal. I cannot say it started that way, of course. Celestia’s sun had reached its zenith as the gryphon Captain Sirocco knew as Legate Nero landed in a sprawling military base near the large port city of Cirrus Cassida, the main base of supply for the gryphon colonies and military camps on the Equestrian continent. Upon arriving, he was immediately saluted by two seemingly higher-ranking gryphon officers who bared their throats and pounded their right fists hard against their opposite shoulder. They attended him as he exchanged the tunic of a Legate to don in its place, a new uniform bearing the two stars and gold eagle insignia of a Consul. Commanding not only the base but thirty legions of soldiers, Consul Salvio Gaius then bade his aides goodbye and flew to his tower office with a single Red Talon Centurion following, landing on his balcony and then walking inside. That Red Talon Centurion was me, Layan Kaval, former Wind Knight and a fifteen-year veteran of the Consul’s campaigns. I had been a Talaeus for eight of those, having earned my black armor by slaying a dragon raiding our northern mines. Since then I had seen action in many battles, defeating all those who would threaten our still-expanding Empire. An Empire that would soon double in size were the well-thought plans of the earth gryphon before me come to pass… An Empire that would all but rule the world were we victorious in the war to come. “A good meeting, all told,” Gaius mused as he sat back and poured himself a drink, then offering a second one to me, his then-adjutant and bodyguard. “So what did you think of that female Guardspony, Centurion Kaval?” the Consul asked me almost leisurely, addressing me as his equal as he so often did. “’Twas something of a surprise to see they are now accepting mares into the Armored Guard.” “Weak,” I pronounced in disdain as I accepted the drink bowl. There weren’t many I commanders I truly respected, but the Consul was one of them. “’Tis uncertain to me how she gained entry to their Guard, but you saw how she reacted to carrying out sentence on the mage. Like so many ponies, she has no stomach for this business. She would crumble easily in battle,” I was only too certain back then. “The fact that she defeated our raids say otherwise,” the Consul reminded me mildly as he tilted his bowl backwards slightly, taking a long draw. I did not partake with him, annoyed at the implication that a mere mare was in any way my equal. “With respect, my lord, I am hardly impressed by beating up a few mangy mercenaries or a half-trained magus cadet.” “Nevertheless, methinks you misjudge her, Centurion,” Gaius didn’t back down. “To my eyes, she reacted as one who had seen blood spilled for the first time. Or perhaps had spilled it herself for the first time. “If she could take out a mage and by all reports defeat the earlier raid almost entirely by herself, then she is indeed a force to reckoned with. Do not discount her,” he warned, to which I grunted, sensing some truth in his words, though I had no idea that day how prophetic they truly were. “The ponies do have some warriors to be wary of, both in the Guard and out of it. Need I remind you of what happened in an engagement with the Aerial Corps six years ago?” My red-tipped wings twitched. “’Twas but a fluke,” I replied in some anger, feeling the sting to my group’s honor… and thus my own. “Miyal Calea was a criminal and an overconfident fool, but still a Talaeus. And worse, you never gave us a chance to avenge his defeat!” I curled my talons inwards and brought my fist down hard on the stone desk in front of him, causing drink to slosh out of my bowl. “Be patient, my friend,” Consul Gaius replied evenly, unperturbed by the display. “All in due time. Our interests are not served right now by having the ponies belligerent. Currently they are none the wiser to our plans and we wish to keep it that way. “’Tis a pity we could not wring one or two more raids out of Hildyra’s group, but ’tis no real loss—we already got most of what we wanted out of this business. They were occasionally useful, but ultimately expendable. And best of all, the ponies already destroyed most of the evidence for us by killing or returning to us all those who might have been able to give them some hints,” he grinned. Long experience as the Consul’s adjutant allowed me to read between the lines quite easily. “Then you will indeed put the remaining members of her group to death?” “Of course,” Gaius confirmed. “We simply couldn’t do it then and there, or that would suggest to the ponies we were trying to cover something up. But worry not. By my order, they will all be dead by nightfall.” “Good,” I grunted as I sat back on my haunches and took my first sip from the bowl—he always had the finest of rums available, and though I was on duty, ’twould be an insult to refuse his generosity. “Still, I say Sirocco was right on one point. You were overly-generous to the ponies,” I accused, my red-tasseled tail swishing behind me. “That alone may make them suspicious. And even if not, some on our side might see that as showing weakness to an inferior race of leaf-eaters.” “It matters not what some may think,” Gaius replied as we walked back on the balcony to survey the base he commanded. As always, he was unruffled, secure in his place and plans. Brilliant and cunning, he had confidence and charisma to spare, which was no doubt why he had been made the Empire’s top strategist and had the ear and favor of the Empress herself, charged with planning the coming compaign. “The ponies may be suspicious, but they will find nothing because they know not where to look. The seeds for Equestria’s destruction have been laid right under their noses. It will take some more time for our remaining preparations to come to full fruition, but once they do…” The Consul couldn’t help but grin as he tipped his bowl to me. “Equestria will fall. Celestia will surrender. And the gryphons—not the ponies—will be the preeminent race of this world.” “As you say,” I replied with a grin of my own, looking forward to the battles to come and tipping my bowl back to him. Our plans were already in motion, and by them, the full military might of the Empire would be unleashed against Equestria in but three short months. And when it was, ‘twas certain to me that the ponies stood no chance.