Griffons and The Art of Hurrying Up To Wait

by Metemponychosis

The Piercing Cry of Harmony

The recruiter guy was nice enough to give me a voucher that entitled its owner to one night, a bath and a breakfast in one of the inns in Whitelake. It was the worst inn in town, but I supposed it was better than a non-existent cardboard box.

The bath was cold, the night was too short, and the breakfast was a cream-cracker (hard to chew when you have a beak rather than teeth) and coffee that was, ironically, too hot.

When I was done, I went to the tram station. From there shuttles pulled by earth ponies or teams of griffons would take travelling groups of griffons elsewhere. I was supposed to show up before eight and a cart would take us (me and the other guys) to Fort King Grover, next to Griffonstone.

The cart was a cart. It had two wheels and a box with a pair of wings. A griffon guy, brown and sand, wearing a beret that was in the middle between both colors and with a checkered pattern held a paper with my name ‘Geordi’.

There was something weird about that picture. Wasn’t that when one arrived somewhere that someone would hold a sign with their name? Anyways, I approached the dude in the sunny and hot morning pawing lightly on the beaten sand of the patio next to the administrative building with the ticket booths.

“Hey.” I said in my unwillingly youth and excited voice. “I’m Geordi.”

“Awesome.” He threw the sign away. “Hop on aboard and let’s get going.”

“Uh…” I looked around to see other groups and different methods of transportation, but no one else near us. “Where are the others?”

“You’re it.” He mindlessly hitched himself to the cart.

“I mean… They could just tell me where to go and I could fly there myself!” I flapped my wings to show them off.

“Yeah, they pay me to haul your ass, not to be reasonable.” He explained with dull indifference, fastening the strap to his belly. “Let’s go, bro. I only get paid after I leave you at Fort King Grover.”

With a sigh I hopped aboard and held on to the edges as he took flight and made a sharp turn towards the green covered hills under the morning sun.

The sun was warm, and the wind was nice enough as he didn’t fly too fast. While I was typically tired all the time, after eating something and drinking actual coffee, not to mention after a decent night of sleep, I didn’t feel like taking a nap, or something. I just sat there and watched my hometown become smaller and smaller in the distance with its calm lake, the small town square and the downtown neighborhood where I grew up, went to school, got rejected by every single griffon girl in existence and learned I had a passion for soft tinted silk.

I had often dreamed of moving to Griffonstone and striking it big in the capital, but that wasn’t how I had envisioned it. I imagined I’d save enough money selling my scarves, then I’d buy a store in Griffonstone’s market, make my brand known from Canterlot to the Crystal Empire, marry a cute cosmopolitan, sophisticated Griffonstone girl, get rich, old and tell my grandchildren of how I made it by making others happy with my art.

Instead, I was riding a glorified wooden box with wheels that flew due to being attached to a griffon and heading towards a fort with the name of a dead dude and without a single Bit to my name.

Shouldn’t have left my dad’s home by the lake. Fucking dreams.

The time passed and my chauffer didn’t fly too high, nor too fast, and it was a pleasant travel, despite my mood, which improved because of that, and I propped myself in the front, closer to the guy pulling me, somehow still with his bonnet on his head.

“Hey, you’ve been doing this for long?” I asked friendly. “I mean, transporting guys for the recruiter?”

“Nah. I just started a couple of years ago.” He kept flying straight and didn’t look back.

“What happened? Lost your job to the economy too?” I insisted on a conversation since he was okay with it enough that he didn’t tell me to shut up.

“Kinda.” He finally looked back at me. “I already worked hauling stuff here and there. One day I joined the GSA, but it was in the time before they had someone haul dudes to the Fort.”

“Really?” I frowned. “You gave up on the army? Can you do that?”

“Yeah. Back when they asked that you presented yourself in the Fort.” He looked forward again. “Now they don’t trust you enough to do that because you’ll think about it while you’re travelling.”

“Oh…” I sat back on the floor.

***

Griffonstone was huge. Like many times the size of Whitelake, even with the lake included. It was a monster of a city! I imagined it would be a large city, but it was larger than I had imagined. My chauffer explained we had to fly around the city because there were rules about flying above buildings if you were hauling stuff. Apparently having a cart strapped to yourself was reason enough that the local militia would ruin your day and confiscate your cargo.

So, we circled around at a safe distance. Still, I could see the rich estates around the city, the ruins of an old castle my ‘guide’ told me was the place King Grover actually lived, the different districts that made the city with the large mansions and vast walkways surrounded in large well-known stores, and also the more traditional neighborhoods with varied homes and other commercial districts, some office buildings and also apartment ones peppered the city and seemed to be concentrate around the downtown, getting taller. It looked a bit like the Manehattan I had seen in the news. Though I suspected the pony city was even larger.

A large central square in the middle had King Grover’s statue and I could see it from afar, so easy it was to see in the empty space. There I also saw the well-known Griffonstone Hospital and the Chancellor’s Palace. It was, of course, not the same place where King Grover had lived and there seemed to be a gathering of griffons in there.

There was a sarcastic remark to be made around there, somewhere, about the king’s castle being in ruins, kinda forgotten by the suburban zone, but I was too enthralled by the big city to think of it.

Also, my guide directed my attention elsewhere. “Hey, there it is. Check it out! Almost makes me regret giving up!”

To the westside of Griffonstone was a river, nothing particularly impressive, but it was rather sizeable and had several houses that grew from the city, following a beaten dirt road that snaked close to the river as it streamed northward, skimming the city.

But, to the South… First of all, kudos to the Engineering Corps… They had carved the river around the fort, so it formed a running water moat around its star-shaped walls and then streamed down the soft hills to the city.

But the fort itself was huge. Epic huge. With tall, fortified walls topped by cannon emplacements. The star shape had cannons pointing in every direction and with overlapping fields of fire, and it was so obvious even a dumbass that had never seem that sort of thing could see it. Huge beasts shining in the sun with griffons in green uniform dotting the areas around them, posing for the photographers.

The sort of thing they sang about in the Manehattan Opera House. White walls, stained by the age and ancient combat scars made it seem even more real, and as we drew closer, I could make out the individual cannons on top of the walls and also the many flags that dotted the battlements with a black crowned griffon head against the green background that was the Griffonian Standing Army’s flag.

Inside, several buildings of many sizes and shapes, but what drew all attention was the tall pole with a large griffonian flag in the wind showing the tan background with the crown and griffon wings in golden and white, and the formation of griffons in uniform, perfectly spaced between themselves in front of it.

“Wow… That is so cool!” I blurted out, my beak hanging and my paws holding on to the edges of the cart.

It looked almost like one of those trippy works of art that made you go cross-eyed! As the guy pulling my cart spiraled around the fort, I could see moss growing in certain parts and it all made the whole thing seem so real. Those were real cannons, and I didn’t know the details, but they looked just so cool, and in a few of them I could see the blackened muzzles of real weapons, used in combat before. It gave the place such a cool aura of authenticity!

I wasn’t sure what was up with me, but the place was just so awesome. Maybe I was hyped. I never really thought about joining the military before they literally bought me with promises of a clean bed and warm food, but there was something about that place that was just so… Endearing? Maybe I was just an impressionable young idiot, but if anything, that place seemed powerful. Like someone, somewhere, knew what they were doing. And they were the ones that helped protect their world. From magical monsters, and also from some dickhead griffon that thought that the solution to the problems Griffonia faced was to replace the elected leader for an authoritarian dick nobody, but his friends liked.

You know what? It sucked. It really sucked. But at least I could be part of the solution, because it was damn obvious that the Chancellor was not good, but he was better than his opponent and, in the end, I wasn’t going to defend the Chancellor. I was going to defend my right to choose!

I was going to fight for freedom!

“Hey, I gotta set you down near the path. They don’t let you fly too close to the fort.” My conductor said and pointed a claw to what seemed a gathering of tents by a path that led into an open gate. It was the road that snaked close to the river and led to the fort.

“What’s that? Are they having some sort of festival?” I kept staring down, trying to see more than a few griffons and the coverings of some assorted colorful tents.

“Yep!” He eased the cart to the ground, right at the beaten dirt path conveniently by the entrance to the fair, as he said. “They’re having a fair. It’s meant to commemorate our victory in the last deployment of the Army some ten years ago.”

“Well… Thanks.” I hopped off the cart and waved at him as he soared without delay.

“Good luck, buddy!” He waved too, before he turned and flew away as fast as he could towards the city that was quite a distance away. Huh…

Well, there I was. No turning back.

I spun on my legs to see the tents. Welcoming music lured me in and so I trotted up the snaking path. It smelled of food and sounded of merry children. For a moment I almost forgot I was there to enlist.

I also remembered I had no money, so I just rushed past the tents with the foods, drinks, games and whatnot until I drew close to the fort’s proper. Its gates opened invitingly and was flanked by more tents where small griffon kids and their parents listened to big, muscular and impressive griffon guys holding their beaks high and proudly talking of the proud Griffonian Standing Army. The first line of defense whenever monsters attacked.

Which almost never happened in Griffonia, since most of the evil bad supervillains always attacked the ponies, but yeah…. I got the feeling they meant to transmit. They were the stout defenders of Griffonia, damnit! I doubted Princess Twilight and her friends would show up with the Elements of Harmony when the northerners failed to get their guy made king and things went south!

Go GSA! Yay!

That put a spring in my step as I still ignored all the tents that required me to have any money whatsoever, and I honestly wasn’t interested in the ‘propaganda tents’. Fortunately, I found what I looked for right by the drawing bridge that allowed passage over the river-smelling moat. The gatehouse looked gargantuan, by the way. I could see the pointed ‘teeth’ aiming downwards from the lifted gate and the place where they would fit the ground and the steel-reinforced hardwood doors wide open in that day.

A large sign with red letters won white painted planks welcomed all.

WELCOME TO FORT KING GROVER!

Open gates day!

And right next to it was a small green and black tent with a table covered in the same green linen and a pair of cute griffon girls wearing the green uniform with the black cap. Delicate reading glasses in front of emerald eyes that went great with her uniform and green coat and plumage, while the other also wore the uniform, but the plumage in her head was an alluring shade of lavender with pink highlights at the tips of her forward-swept feathers that topped her head to compliment her lividly pink eyes.

It was as though someone had paw-picked them for the job.

Why did I suddenly have the urge to stop and think about things?

Then the green one winked at me and made a cute small smile with the edges of her shiny beak. When I came to me, I was already at the table staring at her and the sign that said ‘RECRUITMENT’.

“Hey there, cutie.” The lavender one smiled so sultry I was led to believe she wanted to offer something other than the chance to fight for my country.

“Hi!” I blurted out. “I’m here to… You know. Join!”

“Awesome!” The other squealed and dove under the table to return with a clipboard and a pencil. “Name? Age? And identification number, please?”

“Oh! Sure!” I gasped a little at the surprise question. “I’m, uh… Geordi! I’m eighteen and…”

Someone’s strained loud and obnoxious coughing interrupted me. On the other side of the drawing bridge was another recruitment booth, but instead of a tent of green linen, it was white linen with a rustic and bulky wooden table. Behind it was an older looking griffon lady, but damn did she look strong and fit. Silvery fur and a pristine white head with gray eyes behind glasses she adjusted with a smirk.

Next to her was a cute young thing with a cyan coat and deep blue eyes to go with the silvery-blue plumage in her head, but with blue highlighted back-swept feathers on her head. Both wore a curious looking blue satin cape held on their necks with small chains made of iron.

“Are you sure you want to die fighting for a corrupt politician, young tom?” The older griffon lady spoke with a croaky voice and whistly, pleasant accent while her younger companion flashed her pretty eyes at me.

“Wait a fu… What the heck?!” The green griffon girl in the uniform babbled out and I looked at her and her. Damn… She looked like she was ready to breathe fire at the other two. “You can’t do this!”

“Yes, we can.” The older griffon explained plainly. “There is no war yet and the Chancellor does not even have the approval of the Hall of Friendship. We are well within our rights to recruit among the general population as per the Hall of Friendship’s resolution that grants griffons the freedom to chose their leadership. Sanctioned by Princess Celestia more than a week ago.”

“Oh… Ex-cuse-me!” The younger griffon with the blue cape snerked, despite her accent and made me look at her. “I’m pretty sure that there are no laws which forbid us from coming here and offering an alternative to your filthy corrupt Chancellor.”

The lavender one in the green uniform of the GSA gasped loudly, which drew my attention and she pointed a pink finger at the two griffons behind the other desk. “Lies! All accusations against the Chancellor are still under investigation and there is no reason whatsoever to believe that he is either corrupt or disloyal to his wife!”

“Actually…” The older griffon sat behind the wooden table deadpanned at them. “We didn’t know that.”

“Well, it’s still not true!” Lavender insisted and her friend shoved the clipboard on my chest.

“Here Geordi! Sign this and you’re ready to go!” She tapped insistently at the signature line at the bottom.

“Wait!” The northerner girl put up her paw. “You want to be with us! We’re much cooler than these losers siding with the corrupt Chancellor!”

“No! They’re not!” The lavender griffoness cried and pulled my beak to stare back at them. “They’re evil griffons that want to enslave the good griffons that are friends with the ponies!”

Okay, that was going well! I hadn’t even joined yet and there were three cute girls fighting over me! I guess that the recruiter was serious about cute girls liking griffons in uniform.

Hum… There was the GSA with two cute girls but on the other side there was the northerner griffons with a cute and different one, with the sexy accent and the badass-looking MILF. But the cute lavender girl was right… I had heard that the northerners didn’t really like the ponies. And the ponies are really, really important for the stability of our country!

Guess I was signing in with the GSA, after all.

“Now, now… There is no rush!” The big older northerner griffon lady with the cute accent waved a paw at me and them held her paws together in a demure way. “Remember that we are a different and exotic culture inside your own country that you don’t fully know. You’ll be part of an exotic and exciting culture in the snowed mountains. We will make a proud warrior out of you, not a mindless soldier that will do nothing but follow orders. Our leaders care about us!”

I held my beak in contemplation. That was a good argument. I already knew what waited for me with the Griffonian Army. I mean… Griffons were griffons anywhere, but the guys I knew... Let’s say that I was never very popular and with that came bullies. The ponies never really cared that I got bullied in school or that people made fun that I liked making scarves.

Had I been born in the north I would be a badass warrior that hunted monsters! Yeah! My mind made again, I turned to the northerners.

“Whoa, whoa!” The green one with the glasses yelled and drew my attention back. “That is some bullshit! The ponies are the reason we have a decent nation! They helped King Grover unite the griffon kingdoms and made us strong! Together we are all stronger! Not to mention that it is thanks to us being part of the Equestrian Confederacy that we have public schools, hospitals such as the one in Griffonstone, and griffons can get life-changing treatments for free!”

“Oh, that is rich!” The young northerner griffoness laughed. “Chancellor Gail screwed all that up!”

“Yeah!” The lavender one shot back. “Because you northerners are making this mess!”

That was a good argument. None of that would be happening if the northerners hadn’t put it inside their heads that their governor should be the king. I supposed that was settled then, and I picked up the pencil to sign my papers.

“Wait!” The younger griffoness on the other side shrieked and the older griffoness smiled all superiority.

“You want to be on our side. We have meat!” Her friend grabbed a huge, whole cut of red meat and put it on the table as the older showed it with a flourish of her paw. “Bacon… Barbecues every day. Spiced sausages.”

Hmmmm… Bacon…

“This is dumb!” The lavender one accused. “We have meat too! Our mess hall here on Fort King Grover is packed full of meat dishes!”

“Why, yes…” The older griffoness insisted. “But I mean quality meat. Roasted, right off the bone, or cooked with exotic raspberry mead… Real food, for real griffons.”

“Yeah!” Her younger friend grinned. “Not like that pony-approved crap!”

That thing did look delicious, and my mind flooded with all sorts of luxurious meat cuts to the point I thought my beak leaked.

“Oh yes, you know what you like, do you not, young tom?” The older one grinned. “Good food, good drinks, and pleasant company are the hallmarks of The Lion’s army.”

“That the heck is a tom, anyway?” Green whined. “Your northerners are so creepy!”

The lavender one raised a finger and spoke all professorially. “Never mind that! Remember that the Norhterners wish to remove all our friends of other races from Griffonia. Not to mention that Sultan Withen of Saddle Arabia and Queen Novo of Hippogriffia are very justified in their fears of ethnical cleansing and plain genocide if The Lion is made our king!”

“Did you hen just accuse us of war crimes before the actual war?” The young northerner screamed. “For real?!”

“I merely pay attention to the rumors!” The green one with the glasses adjusted them and both raised their beaks in disdain.

And to be fair, that did sound right and really bad. I certainly didn’t want to associate with griffons that thought it was okay to openly hate the hippogriffs and antagonize the saddle arabians. So, I frowned at the northerners and turned to the lavender and green girls. Both nodded at me and saluted.

But then the younger northerner griffoness tapped their table nervously. “Waait! We have revolver muskets!”

She dropped one such weapon on their wooden table. And it was a marvelous thing. A shiny barrel and silver inlays for decoration and that characteristic cylinder. The northerners really had some seriously superior weaponry, didn’t they?

And it didn’t stop there! The younger griffon placed on a table an ornate and badass axe with cool looking carvings and a sword with bent guard that looked so awesome.

Meanwhile the older griffon smiled superiorly again and showed the weapons with her silvery paw with metallic silver talons. “Northerner waraxe. Notice the traditional runes, shimmering with magic, or the griffon skysword, so nimble, so deadly. Not to mention the traditional northerner revolver musket, right out of Stormvalley Armory; its revolving mechanism mystifies pony forgeries and weaponsmiths to this day.”

The lavender griffon on the other side didn’t even give me time to process that. “The Griffonian Standing Army has superior tactics and superior numbers!”

The other one nodded and crossed her forelegs. “Not to mention that we don’t use our weapons as tools of discrimination! Fight for freedom!”

Before I could even turn to look at the GSA recruiters, the older griffon smiled and raised a finger. “I will personally give you a tour of our capital, Griffindell. I will explain to you all the culture that the ponies have robbed from you and I will present to you tales of the creation of your race, forgotten, and lost to the Windigos.”

But just as soon as I had stared at her, the lavender griffon on the other side showed me a bunch of vouchers. “I’ll give you tickets for premium meals at the mess hall! Only the best soldiers get them, and you deserve them for staying with the good guys!”

“I’ll get laid with you!” The younger northerner cried.

“I’ll…” The green one in the GSA uniform started, putting out her paws, but then she closed her fists and made a disgusted grimace. “Screw that… I’m not getting paid enough for that.”

I stared ostensibly angry at her, and the northerner girl let out a despondent “Ha!”

“What? Do you seriously believe she’s gonna put up for you because you’d be enlisting on their army?!” She blinked her eyes behind her glasses and shouted at me. “Are you that horny or just dumb?!”

I cocked an eyebrow as I seriously considered which one it was as I looked inside myself, when the older griffon cleared her throat and I looked at her knowing smile. “Yes, young tom. We treat these things different from the southerners. Exotic and different culture, remember? My young associate is quite skilled. If you accepted her proposal, I would even teach you a few things. For your mutual enjoyment.”

Well, that was… Uh…

The lavender griffon pulled at the feathers in my head. “Seriously?! They are evil!”

The other grinned desperately. “Come on Geordi! What would Princess Twilight Sparkle do?”

Yes… She was right! Those griffons were evil! What was I thinking?!

But then again… She looked so cute with that blue cape, and she had such a cute accent. Her older friend sure looked like she knew stuff… And I always had a ‘thing’ for older females… Oh, man!

“Are you still thinking?!?!” The lavender griffon shrieked desperately at me while she shook my shoulders.

Well, I was. But then, it struck me.

Under the Celestia’s sun and by the soft grassy breeze that smelled of unhealthy carnival food I realized that it wasn’t about me. That was about something larger than me and my boner for the northerner accent.

Okay, really bad choice of words…

But it really was about… More!

I squinted and I could see it, in the valley bellow, right in the middle of the large city. The statue. His statue, reminding griffons that it was better to be together. King Grover, the one that made Griffonia what it was in the present. It was about his legacy! It was about making the right choice!

I inhaled deeply and made the bravest expression I could. “I am sorry, northerners… But you are wrong!”

The green griffon lady with the uniform gasped with a hopeful expression and her lavender friend smiled, joining her pink paws together.

“This is bigger than any gift or privilege one side or another could give me!” I spoke, as sure of myself as I had never been in my whole life! “This is about doing the right thing! Choosing the right side! The one that stands for unity and for all that is good! That will defend the hippogriffs from discrimination and will not…”

I frowned fiercely. “I repeat: WILL NOT! Allow for the shadow of division and authoritarianism to darken the bright skies of Griffonia! I will, so help me Harmony! Stand with the right side! The good guys! I will fight for a united and strong Griffonia!”

In that moment griffons cheered all around me! Some whistled and pumped their fists at the sky. Others flew above and pirouetted in the blue sky to the sounds of whoops and piercing cries of joy! Damn, I could swear I heard a piercing cry in the distance.

The lavender griffon girl offered me the clipboard with my papers and a proud smile in her face while her friend in the green griffonian uniform offered me the pencil with tears in her eyes.

I signed with gusto to the sound of more cheers!

“Congratulations, Geordi!” The lavender one held my paws and smiled. “You are now a griffonian soldier!”

“Thank you, girls! You really helped me see the light!” I smiled at them.

Finally, the green one gave me the paper with my information and a stamp. “Get a move on… They’re waiting for you inside.”

“We still got hundreds of griffons to sign in!” The lavender one pointed at the gates.

I looked at the paper, and then at the pair talking to the griffons in the line. I looked at the two northerners and one guy talking to the younger one while he held the revolver musket with a huge grin.

I looked back at the paper and then at the open gates into Fort King Grover.

Well, I did make a choice for what was good, and I did say that it was bigger than me…

I raised my beak and took another deep breath. Then I took the first decisive step towards the open gates.

Comments

[Heavy Weapons Guy]

Genuinely laughed at the back and forth in this chapter, love it

[Metemponychosis]

10910445
Goal has been achieved.

[Backlash91]

consider me intrigued by the synopsis.

I just hope its a male/female sex thing....

[fechlin]

Brave hero overcame the ravenous temptation of horny to embrace republican ideals, godspeed.

[Metemponychosis]

10910719
Let me explain this better. I can see how the short description can give that idea.
Geordi's actual story is called Gwen, and it's sitting pretty in my laptop waiting. This here story is actually an expanded version of the introduction to the other story because I realized that I could afford to give him a short story about how he ended up in the military and then in the army that was captured in Snow Mountains Hold, that is where Gwen starts.

While Gwen will be rated mature, the sex tag in this one is just for references of sex such as the dialogue between the recruiters and further conversation in the future. The broke and horny thing is a joke about how he had no money and got infatuated with the recruiting officers by the fort's entrance. And it's just a joke about how he's just so unlucky with the girls.

Maybe I should say that in the description... The sex tag is weird in this site.

[Heavy Weapons Guy]

10910798
It is the northerners that will prevail in the end, of course!

[Backlash91]

10910806
wait...what other story?

is this a prequal? or a side story to a bigger one?

[Metemponychosis]

10910960
The main stories are Piece of Parchment and Fólkvangr. PoP follows Twilight and Cadance as they uncover what Celestia did with King Grover to change the historical records and hide Grigor's Empire and The Harpy (and something else that she needed hidden). It's basically coming back to bite Celestia in the ass (remember The Harpy said she orchestrated the whole situation because she planed on taking over Griffonia?). That story also outlines the whole world, the Equestrian Confederation and the northerner lands of Griffonia. It also shows Celestia dealing with the whole mess that threw Griffonia to the wolves.

Fólkvangr shows what happened to Gilda leading to and after her meeting with Master Gabriel, which is a scene in PoP, but from his point of view.

In PoP there is also Discord saving a griffon expeditionary force that was captured by the northerners (mentioned in Fólkvangr) and Geordi was with them (or will be). 'Griffons and the Art of Hurrying Up to Wait' is the story about how Geordi got into the army, and once it is done, I'll publish Gwen, that is the story of what happened to Geordi in the meantime, before Discord finds him again in Griffindell in PoP.

And that is what I can say without much spoilers.

[Heavy Weapons Guy]

10911006
You have a very detailed and rich universe that you keep building with these multiple stories- cant wait to see where it goes

[Metemponychosis]

10911742
Thanks. If anything, it is a work of passion. I love it.