One would say that sleeping the pain away doesn't always work nor is it a good thing because you just might not wake back up if ones injuries is severe enough, but for me I was able to fall asleep long after my recent surgery from the surgeons and medicine ponies that came into my room and patched me up before leaving.
With my eyes shut and my mind wandering off to places unknown, I soon found myself standing in the center of an empty dreamscape with nothing around but myself and the vastness of white space.
The landscape around me shifted and changed, cracked and bended as it transformed into a different plain of existence.
An old memory of my past, the emptiness was soon replaced a snow covered village, the landscape shifted and morphed to a village of large proportions as everything changed around me. The houses look different from the ones in the Crystal Kingdom and its outlaying towns and villages, they almost remind me of the village of Whiterun in Skyrim, except bigger to accommodate the ponies living in them.
I found myself standing at the gates of a village of the giant ponies, many of these villages exist within the north but only a few have pledged themselves to the Crystal Kingdom for both protection and trade along with bragging rights to the other clans on who is the closest to the two goddesses that rule the sun and moon.
My reason for coming to this particular village?
To cement their allegiance to the kingdom and also to see a friend. And just who is that friend that I have here in the village of giant ponies?
The chieftain's daughter, Forge, firstborn daughter of Chieftain Skull Taker and the next in line to Clan Shatterbane if she manages to defeat her father in a trial by combat.
And the reason why I am her friend? Because she is the only pony here who managed to beat me to a standstill in every single competition there ever was during the festival of the spring harvest. I don't know how she managed to tie with me in every single game of strength, but she did it and that earned my respect for her, the other thing that made her earn my respect is that she is straightforward and blunt with everything.
An example of her straightforwardness? Near the end of the strength contest, she said that if she wins the last one, she will take me to her room, throw me on the bed and claim me as hers. I don't know why but for some reason that made me laugh because out of all of the mares (and stallions) out there in this world that have tried to hit on me or proclaim that I will be theirs, Forge was the most blunt and forward out of all of them.
That and she succeeded in her proclamation.
Anyways, with me standing at the gate inside the giant pony's village I stared at everyone that was present at the time, the four guards guarding the gate, the farmers that work the terraced farmlands on the mountain, the foals playing and chasing each other and of course on this particular day, standing before me was none other than the clan chieftain himself.
Giving the giant stallion a curt bowing nod I waited for him to address me and when he did he was all smiles and smugness.
"Skolas of Tartarus and of the Crystal Kingdom, you have been a friend to our clan for a short time, but in that short time you have helped us immensely. With your knowledge you helped us stay closer to home instead of having to travel down from our mountain to the flatlands below, with your windmills it made it easier for us to make our bread, your knowledge of that special armor...what was it you called the damn thing...chainmail? Bah, whatever you called it, it made fighting against the manticores and timber wolves much safer and with our hunters coming back with less injuries and less scars you have made many mares and stallions happy."
"You did a lot for us here Skolas, and I must say for a non-pony from the seven rings of hell, you are not so bad. You may be a bit a pain in the flank, you smell bad half the time and you also broke the guest bed, but you also are one of the few outsiders that we have allowed in here and not caused any problems."
"And for that I am giving you my daughter. Treat her well and I won't have to gut you for harming one piece of mane on her head." The giant said with a gravelly tone, this stallion has been alive for a long time, and seeing how Forge told me that the giants could live for almost three hundred years so as long as no one rams a sword into anything of importance that is.
"Don't worry, I won't let any harm come to her, but I can't say the same for any harm coming from her. We both know that your girl is feisty and also short-tempered when annoyed." I know this from experience when we first met. If I stood two inches to the left that spear would have hit something of utmost importance to me and I would not be pleased.
She still owes me a new pair if trousers, those crystal ponies put in a lot of time and effort to sew that thing together for me.
Shaking my head of the thought I turned back to the chieftain and continued where we left off.
As we started to talk back and forth as to why I have to take Forge with me, for the most part it wouldn't be so bad but I know Forge, she wants me and she has a mean streak on those that she thinks that are her competition. If she insults somepony its alright, but if she hurts them or worse outright kills them, this will be a diplomatic situation and it might not end well.
"So let me get this straight, when we leave for home today, you want me to take your daughter with me? Any particular reason as to why you want her to come with us?" I asked as I shifted my weight on my feet, I don't exactly like the chieftain but then again the two of us never saw eye to eye.
Hell, when I told him of the ideas to better his village and to be more self-reliant he scoffed at my ideas and told me to shove it where Celestia's sun doesn't shine. I had to prove him wrong several times when it came to the terrace farming, the windmill and the other crap I told him, that pissed off expression on his face, the redness of it all, it was worth it.
What was not worth it was Forge constant throwing herself at me whenever another female pony was around, be they giant or normal size.
"Is it so wrong that I just want my beloved daughter to go out there and see the world as it is instead of relying on secondhoof stories and through books? Nay! I want her to learn the world as she travels with you and your little ponies, that and it will do her some good to get out of the village and go knock some heads elsewhere." Skull Taker said as he motioned one of his trusted guards to go fetch his daughter.
I couldn't help but ask this one question before she would show up and go with us back home.
"Are you sure she isn't just obsessed over me? I already had to exile one crazy mare for obsessing over me to the point of declaring possession on me and also for assassinating any possible competition that may prove a threat to her. And to let you know that same mare is also stuck in the Misery Mire for her heinous crimes and for the abomination that she became." You brought this on yourself and may your life forever be in a maelstrom of hellish proportions Lilac Moonbeam.
"Aye, I know she isn't obsessed over you, all she ever talks about is you, she is mighty smitten with ye and I must say, if you were a stallion like myself then I would have told her to go all out and claim you as hers through fighting prowess, such is our customs. But seeing you are a demon of tartarus and well...I don't exactly know of your demon rights and customs for such thing...just don't ruin her." Oh please, like I am ever going to have sex with a horse, I may have been here for seven years now but I haven't fallen into depravity just yet!
Well...okay I might, a man could only live on his hands for so long before he gets that craving for female company...I just wish it was a woman with a more humanoid shaped body...well beggars can't be choosers.
"Skull Taker, that is the last thing on my mind, and besides she actually has to beat me and so far she is no where even close to beating this beast of the underworld." That and I am still on the fence on such things with a sentient animal.
Before we could continue our little debacle I saw Forge coming up the rear with one of Taker's guards, all sunshine and smiles, a saddlebag filled to the brim with her things, and a big fucking axe strapped to her back. I don't know why she will be needing that but if she wants to carry it fine, I just better not hear a peep out of her complaining about how heavy it is.
She stopped in front of me before turning and gave her old man a hug, I can't even remember the last time I gave my dad a hug...oh right, eight years ago.
"Ready to go Skolas? I am just itching to see what lies beyond the woods and whatever else is out there!" The giant mare said with a shit-eating grin as she jostles her battle axe wiggles a bit on her back.
More like her intentions is to start fights with new people beyond the forest and get drunk at the same time.
I'll let her have her fun, if only for a few moments at a time.
"Yeah, I am ready Forge." I said to the happy mare as she trots beside me and as innocently as possible, wraps her tail around my waist.
Rolling my eyes I separate myself from Forge before telling Skull Taker farewell, and with a nod from him the twelve of us plus Forge left the mountain village behind, the walk down the mountain and back to Providence will take a week or two at most.
I wonder how long it will take for Forge to try and put her moves on me.
I woke up from my rest, my eyes blurry and unfocused as I let out a yawn and looked around my room, making sure that nothing has been taken out of it or is out of place, and although my vision is distorted I could tell that nothing has changed while I recovered from my injuries.
Letting out a groan of pain I slowly sat up, my lower left hand immediately clutching across my chest as I felt a stinging pain in my abdomen and regretted it as I felt new pain lancing through my shoulder.
"Take it easy sir, you've been out for a while and your injuries still haven't fully healed." A voice spoke to me from the blurriness and for a moment I couldn't for the life of me remember who it belonged to, but after a few moments more of fish-eyed lens vision I turned my head to the source of the voice only to see my medic from the war.
"Tell me Patchwork, how bad is it?" I asked in a semi-serious tone, the only time I ever had to see him was when I took a ballista bolt to the chest when I stormed the fortress city of Sky Talon. That siege lasted for two years, we had the griffons on the run and the supplies to keep it that way, but to actually take that fortress from them though...that was hell on earth for me.
So much blood...
"Well, with the numerous lacerations, punctures, blood loss, blunt force trauma to several locations across your body, concussion and also a popped testicle." The retired field surgeon said as he trotted over to me and started to change out the bloodstained bandages around my forearm.
I only could look at the doctor when he said that last one, really? A popped nut? God damn it Sombra, bad enough you hurt my body to the point of me needing actual medical assistance, but now you actually managed to pull of a nut shot? Forge is gonna be upset when she hears this news.
"Are you sure Patchwork, I mean I know you are hardly ever wrong when it comes to these things but are you absolutely positive that my testicle was destroyed?"
"Skolas let me be blunt with you, if you were a stallion I would have told you that having any foals would be harder for you but seeing that you are not a stallion and are something else entirely. Your body regenerates at a far better rate than anything I have ever seen before and seeing how I once saw you regrow a severed finger, I can safely say that your ruptured ball will either regenerate the damaged tissue or it will recycle and regrow it. That or it won't happen at all and you would be having a harder time to have foals."
"So are my balls alright?"
"Yes, they are alright, just next time you decide to...enjoy yourself with Forge, do go easy on yourself and come tell anypony in the hospital wing of the palace about any irregularities you encounter." Patchwork says as he prods one of my injuries with a hoof, for an earth pony he sure knows his way around a scalpel and bandages.
Nodding at the good doctor I waited for him to finish his diagnosis of my injuries all the while checking on them and replacing the bandages, normally I would have requested an actual doctor but seeing how Patchwork helped me out in the past before...
"So do I just keep on resting till the pain goes away?"
"Eeyup, and don't agitate your injuries or else imma knock you out with nightshade extract." The good doctor said before tightening the last of the bandages on my torso before leaving the room.
With Patchwork gone I laid back down on my bed and closed eyes, it was time for me to relive more of my memories, better to remember the past than get condemned to repeat em.
"Hmm...this place could use some more color..." I thought out loud and almost immediately the blank scene imploded on itself and transformed into a frozen tundra, hundreds of tents aligned themselves into haphazardly neat rows as ponies started to appear, all of them huddling together near campfires to keep warm.
My memory of the war with the griffons almost twenty years ago, and not a single thing looks out of place.
Turning my gaze from the freezing ponies I moved my eyes towards a massive war tent and walking out of it was none other than Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, both of them wearing their battle armor as Luna waved me over to begin the war meeting.
Walking towards the command tent I walked by a group of ponies prodding a griffon prisoner, its beak tightly wrapped and its wings tied up and bound, its eyes glaring into my own for a second before realizing exactly who it was glaring at and backed up as much as it could before being pulled back by its chains. The griffons feared me because they knew that they couldn't stop me with physical pain nor with their wind and lightning magic and they then declared me among their highest priorities to kill when seen on the battlefield and behind the lines by any means necessary.
Strutting past the captured bird I pushed open the flaps and stepped in to see several ponies standing around the table with an enlarged map of the region and on it was multiple different colored blocks that also came in different shapes. Currently where we are located there are only two lines and neither side could budge or move in the current weather condition along with what has happened to our side specifically.
Our supply lines have been halted by rapid griffon strikes and because of that we are slowly starving out along with our wounded succumbing to their injuries and before long their won't be enough fighting men and women to stem the tide of griffon claws from engulfing the southern lands and that of the Crystal Kingdom.
Looking at the map I spotted the vast griffon army that sat before us and with each red block with a griffon head on it I saw two thousand griffons and with each pony head I saw two thousand ponies...and we only have nine thousand ponies left, less than a third of that are wounded and immobilized while the griffons have well over twenty thousand. The numbers are not on our side and we are also running out of time with our wounded keeping us in place and further weakening our position.
We didn't have the high ground, the griffons had it and now they were taking full advantage of it by occasionally sending thunder clouds our way and having them explode right over our positions, injuring those that couldn't get away from the blast zone in time.
"Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, did you have an update on our current predicament or is this just a house call?" I said which earned me a few scoffs and glares from the surrounding officers, many of them hate me for what I have done on the battlefield for the past four years, but they also know that if it wasn't for me then the war would have ended four years ago back in the Crystal Kingdom's capital city. On the first day of the siege no less if it wasn't for my intervention.
"High Warden Skolas, we called you here because we just received word from our caravans to our north. More than half of them have been destroyed when a griffon raiding party flew around our position and burned the caravans along with the supplies we so desperately needed and those few that managed to arrive are of no real use to us as they are merely materials to repair our arms and armor along with few medical supplies and food. None of it is enough to go around and if these attacks keep happening, we will be starved out before the cold kills us all." Celestia said as she placed her hooves on the table, her weight causing the table to tilt slightly towards her as the ground wasn't entirely stable as the legs sunk in an inch into the dirt.
"And you called me here to deal with that?" I said as I placed my hands on the opposite side of the table and pushed down, evening the table out as my side sunk into the dirt as well.
"I would say no but your aim with your massive bow would surely help stop these raids in their tracks and give us some respite long enough to come up with a plan on how to beat this griffons back and out from our borders." Rolling my eyes at this I placed a note down to bring my dragon-slaying metal bow and a few dozen javelin arrows.
I just have to hope that they back off when they see one of their own get impaled on a two meter long arrow would make them rethink on their raiding plans.
"Anything else princess or will that be all for now?" I said as I rolled my shoulders, getting them ready for a long day of killing griffons and hanging their corpses on the trees to rot as deterrent against any spying griffons.
Gazing up at me from the map I saw that her eyes are heavy and tired, my guess is that she was in the thick of it a few days ago and the fighting is taking its toll on her badly.
"Yes...that will be all, go forth and do what you do best." And with that said I was dismissed, turning my back to her I left the tent before walking to my own sunken tent, the tent itself blending into the pony camp to avoid being firebombed first by the enemy.
The walk to my tent was slow as I had to sidestep several ponies from varying towns and villages along with the few giants who took up residence with many of the others, one such giant was in my tent who was busy rubbing herself against my bedding.
Again.
Sighing explosively I stormed over to the heavy-duty cot before turning it over, tossing the massive mare onto the floor in the process before throwing the cot sheets back where they belong while hearing the mare in question curse and shout at the sudden surprise attack.
"Ah, what the seven hells Skolas! I was sleeping there!" The giantess shouted at me while I moved away from her and towards a weapons rack that I had placed beside the bed, dislodging the massive bow from its hooks along with the equally large leather quiver from its housing before sliding it on my back, the bow to my left hands as I turned back to look at the mare lying on the floor, too lazy to pull herself up and properly glare at me.
"You were on my bed, go sleep in yours." I said while pointing at it with my right hands as I looked down at her.
In her current position I could see everything on display, and although I am a man of honor and integrity (NOT!) I couldn't help myself but stare at the goods on the store front and when you see melons as big as those ones mind tends to wander places and what can I say. I have been here long enough to know that I will never know the touch of a woman again and must now get what I can from the locals...no matter how strange it might be knowing that back home they are nothing but mindless beasts.
But sadly I have things to do and I can't let the temptation of hot mare flesh and teats distract me from my current objective...maybe another time.
"God damn it Forge, what did I tell you about rubbing your scent upon my cot?" I reprimanded the giant mare as she stayed on the floor, one of my sheets firmly underneath her rump and I know that I will have to boil that in snow water to get the possible stains out.
"Hey! You said not to make a mess on your sheets, and I didn't!" I call bullshit on that because you made a complete mess of my cot and my tent...why is my helmet partially buried in the dirt?
"Then what the hell is that smell?" I asked as I started to notice a new scent in the air, this one was much sharper, spicy even and it was making my body feel hotter than it should be...and antsy.
My eyes opened wide as I put two and two together and came out with the only logical explanation other than a drugged keg of wine.
"Umm...surprise?" Was all that the large mare said with a sheepish grin as she slowly spread her hind legs while I let out a sputtering cough and retreated back to the tents entrance, opening the flaps to let some fresh cold air in to hopefully dilute the rapidly growing scent of heat brewing inside the tent.
Coughing up a storm while also trying to give an armor-piercing glare at Forge for pretty much hot-boxing my tent, if I was one of their stallions I would either become a mindless rutting beast or be passed out on the floor on my back with a raging erection...neither of the two I would ever want to imagine in my head.
"Oh come the fuck on Forge! Seriously?" I shouted while airing out the tent, I would have been frothing at the mouth in anger but seeing how the tent wasn't completely hot-boxed I couldn't exactly be totally angry at her, but I was damn near it though.
Before she could utter a word out I watched as her horn glowed an eerie orange and I knew exactly what was going to happen next. Pulling the tent flaps shut along with latching the cover to prevent the warmth of the tent from leaking out.
"Oh Skolas, I am sure that you can make some time in your busy schedule for me, can't you?" With a flutter of her eyes and a warm smile I knew exactly what she was planning.
While she was busy trying to seduce me with her looks and over-powering scent, she was busy with her magic trying to undo the armor locks and harness but to no avail as her magic keeps sliding off of the alien alloys and magnetism-based locks.
Shaking my head at her with nothing but a wry grin I pull back to let her magic fall off of me as I activate my protective shielding and undid the tent flaps before turning my head back to look at Forge one more time.
"Sorry Forge but your husband has to go out and kill some bird-brains that seem to be plaguing our supply line. I will be back soon with a few more skulls to add to my collection and some of their armor and weapons to study." I said but as soon as I take a step out of the tent I felt something grab my hand and turning my head to see what it was I found it to be Forge's mouth.
She was biting my hand to prevent me from leaving.
Spitting my hand out of her mouth I waited for her to chew me out and did she use the wife card.
"Oh! So you have time to follow those two royal whorses around and act at their beck and call! But whenever I want you to do something for me it is always later! What do those two have that I don't that makes you listen to them over me!"
"Well, first off Forge they are assertive when they need to and that they don't keep trying to seduce me in the middle of a war. Also when we got married it was a complete accident, how was I supposed to know that when I tried to force you to comply to my orders that it was to your clan a freaking mating ritual!"
"So now you don't want this binding then?" Forge says as she picks herself off the tent floor and is sitting beside my cot, staring at me with angry eyes.
I know what she is doing, and boy does she know how to really twist my screws into place.
"I know what you are doing Forge, and although I seriously hate that you are doing this..." I said as I stepped right before the giantess and kneeled down before her, my left hand creeping up her hindleg as I cupped her cheek with my right hands.
"When I get back from my mission...you are so going to get it." I said with a toothy grin, my left hand trailed up her spine before stopping on her other cheek and gave her a fat, sloppy kiss right on her lips. The resulting whinny of delight and also the increase in the heated-spicy scent came as a side-product but if it can calm down the horny mare sitting right before me, well then it is a calculated risk that is well worth it.
Pulling back from Forge I watched as she let out a sad, needy whinny, her eyes glistening a bit with tears of want as I moved back and I knew what was going to happen next.
"Damn it Skolas your such a bucking tease! Here your mare is all horny and rearing to go and you just bucking tease me like that! I swear when you get back your pelvis will be paying for it!"
With a smirk on my face and my helmet closing up I step halfway through the flaps and smugly looked at her one last time before leaving.
"I know, and you better have the salve ready just in case you go overboard!" I shouted the last part, earning me several passing glances from the ponies that are outside my tent going their own ways, a few whistled or even gave me congratulated me for pretty much snagging a mare and about to get laid.
Shaking my head at the behavior of the soldiers around me I pushed myself through the steadily growing crowds of ponies as I made my way to the back of the army and headed towards where the supply line is located. I swear what would these ponies do if I wasn't around?
Oh yeah.
They would have surrendered to the griffons and been either made into slaves, livestock or second-class civilians with no rights or any say in their new griffon-ruled society.
Trudging through the thick snow that is outside of the pony camp, the snow is at least two feet thick from here and as I go further away from the camp that isn't on the dirt road it only gets deeper to the point where I can stand on it without sinking an inch due to how tightly packed down it is. Pulling out my massive bow and relieving an arrow from its quiver I notched the arrow into place before stopping beside a slow rising hill that resides beside the road towards the camp behind me.
I didn't have to wait long for the griffons to arrive as I heard the war horn from the camp a few miles behind me go off, and I just barely heard it as the wind started to howl in my direction. The exact opposite direction the griffons just so happened to be flying in.
The griffons that are coming to raid our supply lines are going to be paying dearly for their persistence...
As soon as the first griffon came into view through the biting wind, I let loose my first arrow, the javelin length projectile spun like a serrated drill and after a few moments I watched as a body fell from the sky, and although I can't see it from here I can tell that the arrow almost went all the way through the body and is sticking out of its back. The other griffons in the battle flock didn't see where exactly where the arrow came from but soon after the first griffon was killed another one was shot down but this time the arrow went all the way through them.
The rest of the flock scattered in an attempt to search for me but for me I was just standing in the snow, bow in hand and another arrow ready to let fly. Out of the fifty griffons that came to destroy the supply convoy, half of them separated themselves from the group to search for me while the other twenty-five went straight for the convoy.
Seeing what was going on I started to quickly fire at the griffons hunting for me, twenty-five of those flying bastards might not be able to completely destroy the convoy but it is still enough to damage our efforts. The hunt for me didn't last long as I lit a fire next to me, the sight of an illuminated target immediately alerted every single griffon that was in the sky and near the ground to my location and for a moment I thought this might be bad, but then I remembered one thing.
They don't have protective shielding, and I do.
The blood of thirty-six griffons soon painted the snowy fields around me, their bodies already locking up and freezing in the frozen wastes as I ripped my bow from a griffon's skull, the grip was firmly embedded in his cranium and for a moment I thought I would have to drag the corpse back to camp but after a few shakes the body relented and fell off my weapon. I swear its almost like corpses are fond of hanging onto my weapons and just refuse to let go of the very thing that killed them.
Thirty-six griffons lie dead all around me, their bodies destroyed and ruined, limbs severed and wings chopped off, everything that was theirs laid bare upon the snowy plains. The winds and snow already began to cover the dead and dying with their fluffy deposits, those that dying desperately try to staunch the blood loss but it is no use as one by one they succumb to their injuries, they are not worth saving or wasting a single bandage wrap.
Once the deed was done I turned around and started to trek back to the pony camp and along the way I crossed paths with the caravan and they greeted me with a warm smile and hoof waves. Many of them thanked me for keeping the griffons off of them and for also saving their hides from getting killed out there.
The walk back to the camp was quiet as the wind started to die down, I don't know which side is responsible for the constant shifting of the weather around here but for the moment it worked out well in our favor for the moment. It was during this walk back that I eventually found myself standing back in front of my tent and the flap was only partially open but it was all that was needed for me to catch the scent floating in the air and for me to push aside the flaps to see Forge exactly where I left her. This time though she had set herself up in some strange legwear that reminds me of something from back home, I just can't remember what it is but from what it looks like it is meant to cause arousal.
"Remember what you told me before you left big boy?" Was all Forge said before I tossed aside my bow and quiver and pounced onto my mate, and just in time to because with flap barely open we both heard an applause from outside our tent.
Totally worth the pelvic pain and bite marks.
One would say that angering your wife is a one way ticket to sleeping on the sofa for a long time.
One would also say that angering your wife would also result in getting your balls cut off.
But for me, I ended up with a sore pelvis and back, my tongue is aching from overuse and from being chewed on, and my body is smelling like mare musk, sweat, and shame.
My walk through the camp was constantly met with stallions nudging me and asking me how it went and my response was "Worth it", and as for the mares who asked me who had it in them to take me for a ride and I told them "Forge".
You know as they say, angry sex is best sex but not without its downsides, one of them being that you will be in pain during and after, your partner or yourself will want more, or maybe it might lead to something else entirely.
During my limping walk through the camp I bumped into a runner who then told me to go to the war tent, that I was needed immediately. Turning about face and limped toward the war tent I overheard a conversation between Celestia and Luna, I stopped just outside the tent so I could listen in on what was being said.
"If we can't march forward and we can't fallback, what can we do?" I heard Celestia speak loudly to somepony, I don't know who she was addressing it to but I can fathom a guess.
"We agree Sister, what can We do?" And my guess was correct.
"I don't know, our provisions are low, our soldiers are freezing, weak, and wounded. We won't survive the retreat back to our supply lines nor would we stand a chance if the griffons realized our weakened state and attack." Celestia said as I heard a hoof get placed on the war table, pointing to something that I couldn't see.
"So this is it than....isn't it?" I heard a dejected Luna say in a somber tone, the sound of a defeatist.
"I would think so...our last stand." Celestia said with the same weak tone.
My god, just cause you get your teeth kicked in doesn't mean you can't fight back to the point where you can't fight on anymore!
"No." I said as I walked into the war tent, Celestia and Luna looked up from the table and stared at me while the rest of the military leaders looked up from the map and were giving me a glare, most of them hate me for my brutal non-pony tactics but they can't argue because it worked so well so far.
"No? I am sorry to say this Skolas but how is this not our last stand? We are trapped here, we have no means of escaping nor fighting back, so how is this not our end?" Celestia said as she reminded everyone in the room of their current dire situation.
Stepping towards the table I placed my hand on the map and pointed at the griffon lines and our own.
"We are a fair distance away from them, I know that they keep their supplies in the rear away from the fighting but they also keep it unguarded and it is also highly flammable." I said as I pointed a bit further behind the brown colored lines, my leather covered finger pointing at a cluster of squares.
"And just how are we supposed to reach such a target? Our unicorns are exhausted from keeping the worst of the snow at bay, our pegasi are weak from pushing the snow clouds away from us and keeping the griffon scouts away and our the earth ponies can't make the trip and back without passing out or dying from exhaustion!" Luna shouted at me as she pointed a hoof at me, apparently she didn't like my idea.
"Simply, none of you are going." I gestured to the map again but this time pointing at the cliffs covering their flanks and giving them the best defensive position in the region.
"What do thou mean? Thou come up with a plan and nopony is going? Then who is doing it? Thee?" Luna said, clearly confused by what is going on.
Rolling my eyes although they can't see it I pointed it out immediately.
"I am saying that I am going to sabotage their supplies." I kept my finger on the map, moving it from the cliff on the southern side of the camp and made a wide arc around the camp before stopping at the supply area.
When they looked at me then to the floorplan that I just made they were confused until they realized what I was planning.
"That's suicide!"
"Nopony is that stupid to scale a cliff in the middle of winter!"
"You will die from hypothermia before you'll even reach their camp!"
"If you can even reach the camp then those griffons will tear you apart!"
"Ten bits says that he dies before he even makes it to their camp."
"Skolas..." Celestia started to speak but I stopped her with a hand covering her muzzle.
"Princess Celestia, it is winter, I know these lands because I have been hunting the beasts that once roamed this land for the past twenty four years. I know exactly what I am getting myself into let alone knowing what will to happen to all of you if I fail to set their supplies to the torch and cause enough chaos and disarray within their ranks then all of you will die." I grunted as I pushed myself away from the table, the murmurings coming from around the table was loud and I could hear everything that was being said.
"But Skolas, if you do this then you might not be coming back!"
"Celestia, I signed up for this didn't I? I knew exactly what is against me. And besides, this would be great for the history books right? A foreign entity fought alongside the Crystal Kingdom and won a war for them. I just hope I get a statue for this because this goes beyond a suicide mission." And by goes beyond suicide, I mean easy as pie. I mean sure my real armor is back in the crystal palace but this thick iron plating that was made for me can easily handle whatever comes my way, just as long as it doesn't penetrate the thin sections and get me in the armpits, behind the knees and other articulated joints.
"We agree with him Sister." Luna said as she sat down and looked at the map, her horn glowing and bringing a quill over to it.
"Luna?" The white alicorn turned her gaze from me to her sister, I guess she wasn't expecting her to agree with me.
"Celestia, if the Warden of the Wilds can pull this off and kill as many of their knights and officers as thee can, their forces will be disorganized and crippled like our own. But if he can pull this off...Skolas, are thou sure that thee can do this?" Luna said as the tent grew quiet, every single pony within was waiting with baited breath.
All it took was a nod from me and with it they all breathed a sigh of relief.
They all knew it was a suicide mission, but they also knew that I was pretty much the only one that can do it and do it successfully.
I just wish they would stop throwing me to the griffons to solve their problems. The griffons are starting to get wise to my appearance and have started to use acidic urns on the ponies and myself, the casualties are stacking and are only getting higher and higher with each passing engagement in the field.
Without uttering a single word I reached under the table and hoisted out the sealed container that Celestia and Luna carry with them. Pressing my hand on the flat crystal gemstone I watched it split in half as the lid folded in on itself and laying within it was the weapon that took from me when we first met.
Reaching in and grabbing my familiar weapon, I pulled out my shrapnel launcher and with the flick of a finger the ignition flame at the very end of it sparked to life as I turned around and exited the tent. I had a job to do.
Or I would had, if something hadn't changed the memory and made it more lucid than it should have been.
Without warning a blur of midnight blue flew in front of my vision before spinning on itself, I don't know what this is but from as far I can tell this thing is a threat that needs to be expunged before it can do anything to me.
I drew out my shock blades from sheaths that weren't there before and with my upper arms a shrapnel launcher in my right arm and the most hated weapon the Guardians has used against their enemies, the Gjallarhorn. This rocket launcher has been stylized with totem-esqe carvings and I have seen the damage it could do to people first hand.
And by first hand I mean watching my guardian die and see his body ragdoll off the side of a cliff.
The mysterious midnight blur slowly materialized into a familiar form of a pony, whoever this being is, seeing how I am asleep at the moment, is clearly a dreamwalker and only unicorns or alicorns that is sufficiently trained and is powerful enough can freely leave their own dreamscape to wander the void and enter someone else's. I waited for the form to be more clear and as I waited I saw that it was indeed a unicorn but it was much larger than the crystal ponies I have seen along with the regular ponies that lie beyond the empire's borders to the south, maybe it was one of those ponies that hailed from across the ocean? Those ponies are taller than the average pony but are much more slender in form and more delicate looking.
And also better at tricking someone out of their belongings with that silver tongue of theirs.
Waiting with baited breath I watched as the form slowly grew itself out, it was as large as the ponies from the oversea lands but its horn was longer than theirs, but what quickly caught my eye was the fact that wings were spewing forth from its back and in an instant I realized at this was no average pony nor an average dreamwalker mage.
This was an alicorn, and I only knew of one such being that had any kind of dreamwalking experience.
The mysterious figure finally materialized to reveal a tall, six foot tall midnight blue alicorn, a female alicorn might I add as I could tell her exact gender by recalling on the key fact that there was ever only two alicorns that I know of, and this one matches the exact description of the younger of the two.
For the life of me I couldn't really think of anything to say to her, well...maybe these words could be spoken to her in my stunned surprise.
"Luna? Is that you?"