My Son, My Soldier, My Hero

by That_Random_Pony

Fall of an Empire (III of VIII)

A howl drew the attention of several wolf packs in the area. They met with their eldest, who had assembled a vast majority of the surrounding wolf packs. Joining them were fliers and terra dragons. The army crept through the forests leading to their objective. Commander Moon sniffed the air, smelling hundreds of griffons some miles up ahead. He gave off another loud howl, causing the wolves to disperse around the area as scouts. Once each of them were positioned, he turned to his five generals, who saluted at his attention.

"Tell the dragons to ready themselves," Moon ordered. "We move out in two hours."

"You have a plan, yes?" General Tomb asked.

Moon nodded, grabbing a stick and drawing the layout of the camp/garrison. "The griffons have an entire army set up here," he said, pointing to the main building. "If we attack head on, we'll undoubtedly sustain heavy losses."

"Our dragons can handle it," General Rook snorted.

"This isn't about what they can handle," Moon said. "We need as many dragons as we can to take Gryphos. So instead of sending our forces on a suicide run, we'll head to the prison cells."

"Now we're rescuing POW's?" General Hack chuckled.

"King Draco told Commander Ember and Draco of griffons rebels. If they are still alive, they'll definitely be held here," Moon explained, pointing to the southern side of the base. "We send a small infiltration unit, led by myself, to free the griffons while our main force drives in from the east and north sides."

General Chuck nodded, a smile coming to his snout. "We can pincer their forces," Chuck chuckled. "I think the boys will be ready for this."

Moon nodded. "We'll move out when the moon is at its peak," Moon announced. "Make sure they're ready for a fight."

"Yes, sir!"

Moon crawled through the grass, his armor sliding along the ground. The dragon king spared no detail in allowing his stealth skills to be used through his armaments. The metal over his muzzle protected him from enemy arrows, and the metal fangs allowed for an addition kick in his bites. The armor around his body was tightly fitted, and the leather padding made it comfortable. His hind legs were only covered on the sides and frot, while his front legs were covered with foreleg gauntlets and joint protectors. The armor on his back curved past the sides of his head, making him a set of installed spears.

Beside him were four of his best dragon scouts. They crawled through the tall grass, coming up on the large wall. Moon gestured to the archers on the platforms, then went to the wall. He dug faster than a dog, quickly forming a pile of dirt behind him and a burrow leading to the other side. The slams of bodies hitting the earth reached his sensitive ears, and the scouts followed him under the hole. Sticking close to the wall, Moon and his team avoided the patrols of griffons, making their way to the fenced areas. Moon extended his front claws, slashing through the fences with ease.

"Spotlights!"

Moon laid flat on the ground, along with the scouts. The wailing of a siren across the base rang in Moon's developed ears, forcing a whimper from his throat as he clawed at his helmet. The sounds of battle reached him, signaling their distraction coming into play.

"Come." Moon galloped and bounded towards the nearest building, scratching the wall in several places. "Place the charges here."

The dragon scouts placed the bombs into the dents, waiting for the all clear from their Commander. He nodded, and the fuses were set. Leaping back a distance, Moon covered his ears as the blast rocked the ground, sending debris all around.

They sprang into action, slashing down the dazed griffons. Moon tackled a warrior and clamped his jaws around his neck, thrashing his jugular out of place quickly. He let go, looking up to the imprisoned griffons giving him weird stares. Their feathers were painted red at the tips, matching King Draco's descriptions.

"Where is your commanding officer?" Moon questioned.

"A better question is, what are you?" A black and red griffon stepped forward, his large stature giving it away.

"I am a wolf-pony. I can answer questions later, but for now, will you help us?" Moon asked.

The rebel leader nodded with a smirk. "So you're the ones who's giving these assholes hell," he chuckled. "As long as I've got that emperor's head on a pike, I'm in."

"You'll have to wait your turn," Moon laughed. He put his claw in the lock, slashing it in half and opening the cells. "Commander Moon."

"Shadow Beak," the griffon said, shaking his paw. "Peck? Peck!"

"Comin'!" A griffoness pushed through the warriors and smiled. "We bustin' free?"

"Yep. This is Quick Peck, my best Lieutenant," Shadow said. Peck nodded, giving Moon a once over. "What's the plan of attack?"

"Our forces are attacking from the east and west, while we drive up the south," Moon said. "We'll trap them, and slaughter them."

Shadow nodded with a content smirk, but Peck thought it over. "What about the north end? No squads?"

Moon smiled slyly, moving towards the window and smashing it open.

AHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The wolf packs perked their ears up, growling to one another as they leaped out from the woods and towards the burning base.

"Grab anything you can from the armories and let's go!" Moon ordered, a chant eminating from the rebel group.

The warriors strapped their stolen armors on, which were made of leather instead of the irons of the empire. Shadow formed up with Moon, and as they opened the prison doors, all hell was shown to them. Chariots were crashing through dragon lines, wolves were pouncing on the unlucky griffons, the griffons were being set ablaze by dragons and everything in between. Moon howled as he charged forward, a pair of alpha wolves forming up beside him.

"CHAAAAARGE!" Shadow cried, flying ahead and tackling a griffon warrior.

The Empire's griffon warriors were trapped between dragons, wolves, and their own kind. Their sloppy and frantic lines were cut down as the well organized army closed the space between them. Dragons tore through their ranks, wolves pounced, and the griffons landed in the middle of them all. Moon slashed a griffon's throat, dodged an axe that was meant to cut his back open, then pounced on the wielder. After breaking his neck with a sharp twist with his jaws, he whimpered as arrows knicked his exposed front legs.

Dodging arrow after arrow from the archers, Moon bounded between the clashing griffons and dragons to get closer. He climbed the side of the building, his claws acting as climbing gear that dug into the stone. Moon pulled himself onto the roof, rolling out of the way of a trio of arrows. The griffon yelled as he swung his bow, then pulled out a dagger and slashed at him. Moon's ears laid flat as a piece of his fur fell. They circled each other, just like Moon had in so many territorial bouts with the other alpha males. He'd learned the trick to these sorts of encounters, they even worked on Draco.

The griffon charged first, and Moon bounded forward. As soon as he reached his talon back, Moon spun around and bucked as hard as he could. He felt his claws slash through flesh, then hooked onto the griffon's jaw. Slamming his hind paws down, the griffon's skull dislocated and he slumped to the ground. Moon went back to the edge of the roof and looked over the battlefield.

"Let none of them live!" General Chuck roared.

Moon realized that some of the warriors were surrendering, and the generals were continuing the fighting. "STOP!"

The dragons continued slaughtering the griffon army, while the rebels did their best to pull them away.

"I SAID STOOOOOP!" His blood-curdling roar ceased the violence, and the griffons threw their weapons down and laid flat on their bellies.

Moon leaped from the building and landed on General Chuck. "What-?!"

"THEY WERE SURRENDERING!" Moon snarled. "WHY DID YOU CONTINUE?!"

"They-"

"He's right," General Tomb said.

"These bastards must pay!" Chuck growled. Moon snarled louder, silencing the General.

"These bastards have paid. With their lives," Moon growled. "We're trying to free this place of its tyranny. Do not stoop to the Empire's level. From now on, any surrendering griffon is to be left alone. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

"Yes, sir." Moon nodded to the other four General's, placing a claw on Chuck's head to emphasise his point.

"Yes… sir," he forced. Moon nodded, stepping off of the dragon and walking to the rebel leader.

"My griffons are still trapped in the garrison at-"

"Dubley," Moon finished. "We were planning to free your griffons and take the capitol."

"You guys are taking Gryphos?" Peck asked. "You'll need more than this to take the captiol city!"

"We know," Moon said. "I'm here to gather your group. Commander Draco is leading the distraction, and Commander Ember is taking out their supply lines."

Shadow and Peck's eyes widened. "Draco and Ember?!" they asked in unison. "They're leading the attack?!"

Moon stepped back, a bit confused that the two knew who they were. "Yes. Ember will be hitting Graphite and the Bostogne farmlands. Draco should have hit Minite, and when he hits Gearhead the Empire will be lacking in weaponry. After each of us destroy our targets, we rendezvou at Windawn and launch an assault on Gryphos."

"And Ember came up with this?" Shadow chuckled.

Moon shook his head. "No. Draco, actually." The two laughing griffons ceased when he clarified.

"Draco? The little colt that was the quietest?" Peck asked. Moon shrugged.

"You went to school with him?" Moon inquired.

"We both did," Shadow said. "But… I didn't think he'd join a war."

"Me neither," Peck agreed.

Moon looked off to the side, remembering his first weeks with Draco. "Time changes us," he said in a low tone. "And many of us change with it, for better and worse. But you'll see how he's changed since then."

"Let's get to it then."

Moon shook his head. "We will camp here for the night," he said. "The dragons aren't nocturnal, and they are tired. We'll leave at dawn; no sooner, no later."

Shadow mulled it over silently, glancing to Peck. "We still need time to feed the rookies and find enough weapons," Peck sighed. "We can haul ass tomorrow."

Shadow nodded, turning back to Moon. "Fine. Crack of dawn, this place needs to be deserted," he grumbled.

"It will. Do what you must to prepare." Moon let loose another howl, signalling the wolves to form a perimeter once again, and the dragon army to settle onto the worn earth.

Moon walked out into the woods, deciding it would be best to patrol with his true brethren. His mind, however, was not focused on his original goal. He wondered what life would be like after the war. Would he go back to the forests in the Kingdom? Would Draco leave them and go back to his mother in Equestria? Would Ember take his departure lightly?

The thing that bothered him most was the fact that Draco would no longer need him, or Ember for that matter. He could control his temper, he was strong, handsome (as most dragonesses had giggled) and self-dependent. He was much older than Draco, but growing up with him gave Moon a sense of adolescence he had never experienced. And he never grew without his mother, but the growth spurt he'd had was confusing.

He wasn't jealous of Draco. His mother had always taught him that jealousy can destroy a pony. So he looked at it as if they were brothers. Draco was becoming something he had never seen before, aside from his looks. He was kind, thoughtful, caring, but he was strong, determined, and brave. They were all the traits of a great leader, which he would undoubtedly become. The only reason he had decided to show the griffons mercy was because Draco would have done the same. Draco was vicious and relentless when it came to a fight, but he knew when his opponent couldn't handle any more.

Moon looked up to the full moon. The formations of craters and dunes made the apparition of a unicorn mare. It was strange how it had always been there for the past 999 years. It reminded him of his mother, how she would raise the moon and lower it, falling asleep with him cuddled up beside her. She had a beautiful, starry mane that flowed as if a gentle breeze wafted through it. When he learned of the concieving process, he had always asked who his father was. His mother had always said he didn't have one, but he still held hope there was some way he had a dad.

It was a bit amusing how he and Draco had a loving mother but no father. And they both grew up to become strong, tactful, and caring. Draco wasn't one to pick up on feelings unless he saw the signs, but that was Moon's specialty. Every little detail he picked up from Ember and Draco didn't go ignored. He did everything in his vast amounts of knowledge to make them smile… and even get them closer.

Taking one last glance at the moon above, he sighed softly. "Goodnight, Mother."

Author's Note:

I got out of class early, so here we are! Like, fav, comment, and have an awesome day or night!

Comments

[UnderCoverismyname]

Grinffons gonna get pwnned

[midnightshadow1]

shhhh don't worry moon you'll see your mother again soon

[Dragon Blaze-X]

dragons and wolfs rule!!!!!

[F-22 Raptor]

When it b updated?

[The Boss]

Where can I enlist to fight! I wish to spill blood myself! The griffons will suffer at my hooves! UUURRRAAA!

[Mylittlebronyhood]

I'm here to kick ass and eat apples, and I'm all out of apples.

[pony3391]

is the story coming to an end or its just an arc? (sorry for the bad gremmer english is not my first lengege)

[That_Random_Pony]

3342692 I have no clue what an arc is (I'm assuming it means part of a story or a story that joins with others as a whole trilogy or series) but it's definitely not ending. This is gonna be one helluva long story, I will promise that. And don't expect a sequel. This is just an alternate to my original.

[Blackshadow of Abys]

3343901 i fucken knew it moon's mom is luna great story bro keep it up

[Dredgen]

3335615 hell yeah!

[Oubliette]

one more year... Just one more year, moon...

[TG Growl]

Why is it every time I read Moon's name the first thing to pop in my head is "God dammit, who brought Moon Moon along?"

[KillerShadow 15]

That was kind of a twist, learning about Moon's linage. But, I'm calling it here, something tragic is going to happen to Ember to break Draco's heart. (The kid, not the King.)

[GordonFreebrony]

6237654
I caught it when he said he was a thousand years old and only knew his mother as Mother...