Chapter 20
“Look, Gilda, I’m sorry,” Fortrakt said as he tried to keep up with her.
Gilda glanced at him for a moment. “About what?”
“That we didn’t tell you.”
“That Marco volunteered, or that his partner is Ondrea?” she suggested.
“More on the Ondrea thing,” he said. “Marco thought you’d let the volunteer pass with some resistance, and I agreed with him.”
“Really?” Gilda asked, sounding a little harder than she intended. “You both thought I was fine having him risk his life?”
“Well, it would have been easier to convince you on that than the partner part,” Fortrakt replied. “He said that after explaining his reasons, you’d understand his decision.”
“I do,” she admitted. “I still don’t have to like it, though.”
A trumpet rang through the air. Gilda looked at Fortrakt as both recognized the signal of the enemy finally in view and about to meet the first line of defenses. The tiercel frowned.
“Should I accompany you to meet with the First Spear?” he asked.
“No, go to Giraldi,” Gilda ordered. “Wait for the Marines, then meet me at the western gate.”
“We’ll be there.”
Gilda gave him a nod before he separated from their formation, taking a dive towards Giraldi’s group. She continued on until she came to the Eastern Gate. Landing on top of the wall, Gilda was greeted by salutes, the First Spear with the griffins there. When she gave them an acknowledging nod, the griffins went back to work, mostly checking their crossbows and ballistas. Turning to her back, she saw the catapults being pushed and primed.
“What do we have, First Spear?” she asked.
“Cloven are finally walking to our first line of defenses,” he replied.
Gilda took a look at the vast field in front of her. She could see rows of griffins, led by their centurions, readying themselves. There were Medico wagons waiting in between the spaces of columns, ready to transport the seriously injured back to the heart of the town.
She focused on the first row of defenders. Above them, she saw black specks approaching them. She thought they were Flyers, but as they came closer, she realized they were crows. It was as if they heralded the coming of death, and were eagerly waiting to feast on their corpses.
A few minutes later, she saw them—the Cloven. They were too far away to make out any details. They looked more like a black and green wall rather than a marching horde. She took a breathe.
“Ready catapults,” First Spear ordered. Trumpets rang out again, and she could hear the earth-griffins grunt as they began to fill the buckets with large stones the size of a griffin, accompanied by smaller stones the size of her head. After a while, there was a series of confirmation shouts. Fillius nodded, then shouted, “Fire!”
There was a loud clang and groan of stressed wood as the arms shot up. The stones seemed to float in air as they made an arc towards the fields. Gilda felt oddly nervous, hoping that the aim was true.
It was. Stones rained down on top of the black-green wall, and she could see the Cloven topple down as they were hit. There was a victorious cry around her, griffins happy in taking the first blood of the battle.
“Elevation was good,” Fillius said. “Ready catapults again and fire at will.”
Sky-griffins, which acted as the spotters for the catapults, flew in the air, then came back down to relay any kind of adjustments needed. After a minute or so, the catapults fired again, delivering more death from above.
Gilda took a moment to look towards the sky. Ignoring the increasing number of crows approaching the town, she asked, “Where are the Flyers? I would have thought they would start transporting troops closer, to try and disrupt the defensive lines.”
“They are holding them back, sir,” the First Spear replied with certainty. “This group is just knocking on our doors, testing our defenses. The flyers will appear later over another area, probably to make us overextend. But this group won’t push hard.”
Gilda looked at him. “You are completely confident in that assessment.”
Fillius nodded. “Aye, sir. Our latest intelligence gives me reason to think that.”
“Which is what exactly, First Spear?”
“I’ll explain the details once the Corporal gets here, sir,” Fillius replied. “He’ll want to listen to it.”
Gilda just nodded and continued to watch as the horde finally came in contact with the first line of defenses. She couldn’t see much from her position, but she saw the shields being locked together as they blocked the march. The Medico wagons were beginning to position themselves near the front. Above her, sky-griffins, probably two centuries strong, began to streak forward, making an arc towards the right side, before they flanked the Cloven and shot their crossbows. Hundreds of arrows found their marks.
Behind her, Gilda heard the familiar neigh of Pathfinder. Taking a glance, she saw the battlewagon making its way towards the gates, completely filled with Marines and their equipment, stopping between the catapult columns. Giraldi’s group followed, most of them opting to hover behind the wagon.
She saw Imlay jump down, looking around. Giraldi approached him, then pointed towards her. When the Corporal looked up and saw her, he raised his hand in greeting. He talked to Giraldi again, saying something to him, and pointed towards Gilda. Giraldi called an earth-griffin from the group and pointed at Imlay, then to Gilda. The Guard nodded, and allowed the Corporal to ride her back before flying him towards the top of the wall.
“Evening, ma’am, First Spear,” Imlay greeted as he jumped down the griffin. He looked at the Guard and said, “Thanks.”
“You have my thanks as well, Guard Septima,” Gilda added. The Guard stood proud and saluted.
“What did I miss?” Imlay asked as he came to the wall. Gilda blinked, feeling that there was something different about his armor. When the Corporal took out his binoculars and looked towards the horizon, she noticed a black box hanging at the front of his helmet.
“Nothing much,” Fillius replied. “Standard Trooper attack group. They aren’t even trying too hard and marching at a rather sedate pace.”
“Need my Marines anywhere?”
“Our defenders got this,” First Spear said. “This seems more like a probing force.”
“Yeah,” Imlay agreed. “No Flyers, no Rams.”
“It’s like they are waiting for something,” Gilda muttered.
“They could be waiting for nightfall,” First Spear suggested.
“Makes sense,” Imlay nodded. “When we attacked their Clusters and Stronghold, it was during the day. Maybe they think we humans are only effective when there’s light.”
“Will it be a problem for you if they do bring their main force under the cover of darkness?” Fillius asked.
“Not with these,” Imlay said, tapping on the black box attached to his helmet. “Night Vision Goggles. They’ll help us see in the dark.”
Gilda looked at it for a moment, a little awed that she could still be amazed by her new allies even after all she’d already seen them do. “Good to know.” A thought hit her. “Did you deliberately avoid night skirmishes against them during our raids?”
Imlay nodded. “I thought it would give them an impression of Marine combat efficiency being different during night-time. Granted, it won’t let us see them as completely as we would during the day, but it won’t leave us helpless.”
“There is that, at least,” Fillius said. “I have scouts eyeing the other gates. There’s been some activity at the southern area, but no visual confirmations. Northern area is silent, as expected.”
Imlay nodded. “The mountainous terrain along with the thick forest does make it an unenviable route, but the Cloven have surprised us before.”
Fillius nodded. “We still have scouts at the north. Do not worry. The eastern area is silent, thankfully.” He looked at the Corporal. “Any word on our reinforcements?”
“Facing very stiff resistance, last I heard,” Imlay relayed. “Don’t expect them too soon; we still have to deal with the Cloven coming here.”
Fillius grunted. “I didn’t think there was any other recourse than that.” He paused. “I’m planning to have the Cloven commit, to advance.”
Imlay frowned, while Gilda stared at the First Spear. “Is this about the intelligence?” she asked.
Fillius nodded. “Our scouts have spotted Transporters in the rear. They gauged that the bulk of the Cloven are there, acting as guards.”
Gilda’s eyes widened.
“Transporters?” Imlay asked, confused.
“Huge Cloven that bring their reinforcements,” Gilda said, reciting from the Codex. “From what I gathered, they can transport almost a thousand strong to an enemy’s position.”
Imlay’s eyes also widened. “Shit. How many Transporters have your scouts spotted?”
“Three, under heavy guard,” Fillius replied. “Which is good.”
“Almost three thousand Cloven to reinforce whatever numbers they already brought here. How is that good news?” Imlay asked.
“They won’t be battle-ready for some time,” Gilda answered. “Transporters can only carry cocoons of undeveloped Cloven, that’s why they can bring so many. We have maybe six hours before they hatch.”
“And more importantly, the heavy guard indicates strongly the presence of the Overlord,” Fillius added. “We kill the Overlord, the rest become an undisciplined mob.”
Imlay closed his eyes. “Great. They really are Zerg.”
“I have heard that term repeatedly,” Gilda mentioned. “What is a Zerg?”
Imlay smiled slightly. “They are, from what I gathered, an insectoid race that specializes in amassing numbers as quickly as possible.”
Fillius looked at the Corporal steadily. “You have fought something like the Cloven before?”
The Corporal shook his head. “No, it’s a fictional race from a war game humans play back on Earth,” he replied. “There are other similar fictional races like them, but Zerg is really what stood out to us right now.” He paused for a moment. “So, from what I gathered, you are going to let them overcommit, to thin out the heavy guards on the rear.”
Fillius nodded. “The past few weeks have shown me that your unconventional style will be effective in this type of offensive.”
Imlay nodded. “You want us to attack where the Transports are, to take out the Overlord. Presumably before the Cloven hatches.”
Fillius nodded. “Even if you don’t succeed, taking out the Transports will also help us out in the long-run.”
Gilda frowned. “First Spear, we did that with two wagons. With one, their exit strategy is very limited. You’d likely be sending them to their deaths.”
Before Fillius could speak, Imlay said, “Actually, no, the situation is completely different.” He looked at the First Spear. “Have they entrenched themselves?”
“Not completely,” Fillius replied. “From what our Scouts gathered, they haven’t even put up a Heart yet.”
“So, any modifications in that area is going to be limited,” Imlay said. “Traps should be minimal.”
“That’s just a guess, Corporal,” Gilda replied.
“Honestly, ma’am, it’s better than the alternative.”
“Which is?”
Imlay pointed towards the left side of the attacking group. “Go there and wait for opportunities to flank them.”
“Corporal, I know I spelled my doubts before about your smaller force taking on Clusters,” Fillius began, “however, this is a massive battle in the making.”
“Two days ago, they held up well,” Gilda reminded.
Fillius nodded. “Yes, they did. However, sir, you know from the Codex how Cloven battles tend to go. They’ll come at us with thousands, and battles last hours.” He looked at Imlay. “Can you stay on the offensive that long?”
“No, even if we make a few runs back to Aricia for resupplies,” the Corporal conceded. “While we did bring enough ammunition, sooner or later, we’ll run out.” He looked at Gilda. “Our course is clear, ma’am. Take out their command”
Gilda sighed, nodding in understanding. “It’s like taking out the Hearts in our raids. Though this time the target is a moving, living, thinking quarry.”
Imlay smiled. “A challenge is always fun.”
Gilda snorted.
The Corporal looked at Fillius. “As per usual, I’ll leave one of my Marines with you in case we relay any information of movement and big threats like Rams or Mages.”
“That would be very helpful,” the First Spear said.
“Of course, when we see an opportunity, we’ll give some fire support to your defenders.”
“Thank you, Corporal,” Fillius said. He looked at Gilda. “Sir, are you going with them?”
“Do you need me here?” Gilda asked.
“Maybe for a while,” Fillius said. “Standing on top of the wall while watching the battle will give a good image to any nearby griffins. At least, let them see you involved before you take your group forward.”
Before Gilda could say anything, another signal trumpeted in the air. “Flyers!” was being shouted down the line. She looked forward, focusing her eyes, then finally saw it. Bigger than the shadow casted by the crows, she saw the Flyers coming forward, the blot in the sky increasingly getting bigger.
“In range of the Lightning Orbs?” Gilda asked.
“Not yet,” Fillius replied. “Let them come closer. Send the signal to clear the skies.”
A shrill warning rang out from the gates, and was then relayed forward by the defenders. After a few moments, the sky-griffins strafing the attackers began to move out of the way.
The three waited for what seemed like hours before Fillius finally shouted, “Now!”
Gilda shivered as she felt six mages began to build their magic. Lightning crashed down into the three ready orbs, making them glow in an eerie white-blue light. Three mages in front of the orbs also started building their spells, and almost in sync, they shouted, pointing their staves towards the Flyers.
Three bolts of lightning surged forward, hitting the swarm’s location. Gilda blinked as the attack created white lines in her vision, her ears deafened slightly by the air screaming as the lightning cut through the sky. The attack had carved a good chunk out of the Flyers’ numbers.
“Can’t do maximum spread that far away,” Fillius commented. “However, we still hit them hard.”
Imlay whistled. “Nice. I’ll see if I can remember that signal. Don’t want to get blinded by it later.”
“Corporal, out of curiosity, do humans have something similar to deal with flying enemies?” the First Spear asked.
“I can think of a few things,” Imlay admitted. “Not as flashy, but gets the job done in any case.”
Another signal rang out, and everyone turned towards the defense. It seemed the Cloven finally had enough and were slowly retreating. The shield wall was still dealing with any Cloven that stayed behind, probably to cover the retreat, but initial victory was clear. Some griffins in the wall shouted in triumph.
“First skirmish goes to us,” Fillius stated.
“Too easy,” Gilda said.
“Agreed, sir,” the First Spear replied. “The next group may come at us harder.”
Imlay nodded. “I guess now’s a good time to get to a good position.” He turned to Gilda. “Ma’am, we’ll be making towards the edge near the forest.”
Gilda nodded. “I’ll follow soon.”
“Glad to have you with us as we kill the fuckers,” Imlay said with a smile.
Septima brought him down, and Gilda watched as Imlay had one of the Marines slowly disembark. His movement was stiff, having just recently healed. Septima waited until the Marine was secured at her back before she brought him up. She recognized him immediately.
“Lance Corporal Lenihan, at your service,” he greeted the First Spear. He glanced at her and gave her a nod. “Ma’am.”
“How are your injuries?” Gilda asked.
“Leg’s a little stiff. Didn’t want to slow them down, so I volunteered to be today’s RTO.”
Gilda blinked. “RTO?”
“Radio Telephone Operator,” Fillius, surprisingly, answered. The First Spear looked at Lenihan. “Did I say that right, Lance Corporal?”
“Aye, First Spear,” Lenihan replied.
Gilda looked at Fillius curiously, and he said, “I’ve heard that term a lot of times when your scouting group went out for raids. I asked.” He turned to Lenihan. “Make yourself comfortable, Lance Corporal. It’ll be a long night.”
Lenihan nodded and moved towards one of the crenels. He had his own binoculars and took it out for use. Gilda looked down to the gate, just in time to see Septima join Giraldi’s group. With another neigh, the wagon rode off, the ponies driving it into the spaces between the columns of griffins and making their way towards the nearby forest area, escorted by the earth-griffins at its sides. Any sky-griffins opted to fly in the same direction, following the group to its destination.
“Humans are odd,” the First Spear stated when the wagon was almost like a speck in the distance.
Gilda looked at him for a moment before nodding. “They can be.”
“I find them quite contradictory.”
That got Gilda to blink. “How so?”
“They are a soft race,” the First Spear replied. “Yet they are able to train fine soldiers like those… Marines, they call themselves?”
“Marines, yes,” Gilda nodded. “Though why would you say they are soft?”
“After what happened two days ago, I personally went recruiting near the Inn where they stayed,” Fillius said. “The area was relatively untouched, other than the destruction of the modified wagons. It was a rich place to get recruitments. Griffins, naturally, came forward. Our Equestrian residents were eager to help as well. However, the humans, out of all the civilians, only one came forward and volunteered.”
“Mar—Lakan,” Gilda corrected herself. “It’s understandable. None of them are soldiers.”
“Cloven don’t care about that, sir,” Fillius snorted. “And yes, I do understand they aren’t soldiers. That wasn’t what I was talking about, though. When Mister Lakan stepped forward, I expected some encouragement from his compatriots. What he got was anger and scorn.”
Gilda blinked. “Anger and scorn?”
“Their supposed leader,” the First Spear said, “that man whom you mentioned in your report that Lakan saved two days ago.”
“Mister Raleigh,” Gilda guessed. Sometimes, she wondered about that human.
“Yes, the one with the odd name,” Fillius confirmed. “My Equestrian is rusty, but I could have sworn Rah-lee told Lakan that he was just being arrogant idiot playing hero. That this wasn’t a game like Duty Call, or something to that effect. And that he was washing his—something called hands—clean of Lakan’s stupidity. And it wasn’t just him. One other male and another female looked like Lakan was crazy. The only understandable reaction I saw was that female with red hair he’s close to. She was worried and was discouraging him. Must be his mate.”
Gilda felt herself feeling uncomfortable at that notion. As far as she knew, Tara was only a friend. Shaking her head, she said, “It angers you, seeing that reaction.”
“More confused than anything, sir,” First Spear replied. “If a fellow griffin was brave enough to volunteer to help defend our home, I’d admire them. You lived with the Equestrians, sir. If one of them volunteered to defend their town, how would his friends or family react?”
“Worried,” Gilda answered. “They’d probably try and convince them not to, but would support them.”
Fillius nodded. “The humans’ reaction was perplexing, and yes,” he admitted, “a little infuriating. Lakan strikes me as a decent sort. He didn’t deserve that kind of reaction.”
“Human culture is different from almost anything we’ve seen,” Gilda said softly. “It isn’t that surprising that they would react differently from us.”
Fillius snorted. “Not too different considering how surprisingly popular Lakan is. As alien as his culture may be, he seems to hit off quite well with the griffins and ponies. I felt it was better to assign him to that area, considering he admittedly had no combat experience, and that he was very familiar with that area.”
Gilda took a deep breath to try and steady her voice. “Are you aware that his assigned partner is the Talon he duelled?”
Fillius chuckled at that. Gilda didn’t know whether to find that annoying or not. “Oh, aye. I didn’t know it, initially. I was more preoccupied in giving him a partner that was experienced enough to protect him if things took a turn for the worse. I thought it was rather lucky for me that Ondrea Lucia was too injured to fight on the frontlines and was available. She also had no objections. Imagine my surprise that Lakan was the cause of her injuries.”
Gilda tried to chuckle nonchalantly. It sounded dry, even to her. “Yes, imagine that.”
“He was surprisingly professional about it too,” Fillius recalled. “He was, of course, initially suspicious towards her. When Talon Lucia made known that there were no hard feelings and willing to work with him, though, he quickly accepted her aid and they talked about how they were going to attend to their patrol duties.”
“Why her, though?” Gilda asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
“Well, he is as green as new grown grass,” Fillius replied. “And Lucia is one of our more seasoned Talons. I felt that someone like her would help Lakan survive if he faced the enemy.”
There was an undeniable logic in Fillius’ thought process. Part of her agreed with him wholeheartedly, while another part of her seethed. “Let’s hope that won’t come to pass.”
“I don’t put too much stock in hope,” Fillius offered gently. “However, I am reassured by our preparedness this time around.”
There wasn’t really much to say after that. Deciding to look back at the horizon, Gilda watched as Medico wagons began to converge towards the gate. The amount of wounded they carried was small, considering the numbers on the frontlines, but she still felt gnawing guilt at the injured. Griffins around her were whispering to each other. Some pointed at the sky in nervousness.
Stealing a glance, Gilda saw crows finally reaching Aricia. The began to flock around each other, flying in circles. Their continuous cawing was already beginning to grate on her nerves.
Gilda felt like she needed to do something. Part of her toyed with stealing some time away and flying to the Northern Gate, see how Marco was doing. Then, she shook her head, realizing she was acting like some sort of love-sick griffin. Maybe it was Ondrea’s presence with him that filled her with unease.
Or maybe it was the unease of almost every griffin around her. Impatience seemed to have taken hold of almost everyone, and not just her. She could hear some eager anticipation of the next Cloven group, anger at the sight of the injured. Some were visibly shaking, whether in fear or at the prospect of fighting, she did not know.
It was only a few moments later when she realized that the griffins around her were sneaking her looks. They were watching her, waiting. She knew what she had to do; she stood tall on all fours, firm, and projected the image of a stalwart officer, calm and ready.
Slowly, the whispers began to fade. Noticeably, the griffins around her were mimicking her, standing tall. They still looked nervous, but tempered that with the beginnings of calmness.
Gilda took a few minutes to stand there. Inside, she felt like an actor trying to stand unruffled against the storm. However, the effect was undeniable.
“Thank you, sir,” Fillius whispered close-by, making sure his words were only audible to her.
Turning to him, Gilda raised her voice. “First Spear, the defenses are stellar. From what I’ve seen, I have absolute confidence in the abilities of our griffins and your leadership as we enact the plan.”
Fillius stood straight and gave her a sharp salute. From the echoing sound of metal being hit, the griffins around her did the same. She looked around her, and saw the other griffins practically beaming in pride. Looking back at the First Spear, though, she noticed he wore a rather amused expression.
“Too much?” she beaked silently.
Fillius just gave her grin. Out loud for everyone around them to hear, he said, “Are you going out hunting again, Sub-Tribune?”
“Yes,” Gilda replied, also in the same volume. “I’m going to the front and kill the Overlord.”
“May the Ancestors watch over you, Sub-Tribune.”
A little shorter than usual. I'm now out of drafts, and I'm still writing the next one. Thank you to my pre-readers again, as well as my editors. You know who you are. 
Later guys.
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Commence read.
First wave. Held up well.
Now to await another push.
Looking forward to the next few :)
Looking good so far!
Seriously though. The sexual tension between Gilda and Marco is so thick, you can cut it with a knife.
Can't wait for the next exciting chapter to see what Imlay has in store for the corrupted flyers (PLEASE BE AN M134)
Oh look feathered heart updated. Goodbye whatever it was I was doing.
They should just look into weaponising all that sexual tension between Gilda and Marco.
I'm getting such a Salvation War vibe from it for some reason...
7168886 It would be more humane to just drowned the bugs in white phosphorus.
Makes me wonder whether some griffons will be allowed to observe marine bootcamp at times and then see the results
That's a lotta noddin'.
The griffins' minds would be blown if they ever witnessed true modern combined-arms warfare. Five thousand Cloven troops? Eh, we'll just hit 'em with a cruise missile from a ship a couple thousand miles away.
7168964 And much less damaging to the environment.
I'm very suspicious of those crows...
7169222 make that a [Thermobaric] cruise missile.
or maybe some of these.
poor Ondrea, all the dead flags
And meanwhile the ponies are sitting back, sipping tea and schnaps while their meat shields do all the work.
Very smart... very smart indeed.
Like enlisting Irish immigrants during the Civil War.
Yes indeed, a brilliant strategy for allowing undesirables to eliminate themselves, all in the name of freedom. Truly, as diabolical as my own machinations with my henchmen, Trump and Hillary. (That's right, ALONDRO IS BEHIND IT ALL!!) And it's too late to stop me! BWAH HA HA HA!!
Can they do tests, desperation, with hundred pound flour sacks or 20 gallon supercritical oil drums from the mess tent?
Something needs to be done to show the Flood it can be AOE.
7169605
The Russians supposedly have a "FOAB," similar to the American "MOAB" and claim that it is four times as powerful. The FOAB is a thermobaric bomb with a yield of 44 tons, making it the most powerful conventional weapon created and replaced several tactical nuclear weapons in the Russian arsenal. Russia claims that the bomb's explosive component of the FOAB is seven tons of HE, but expert analysis of the weapons testing records place the bomb closer to a fuel-air bomb than a high explosive.
On another note: new chapter
7168964
It would be less humane when all the white phosphorous poisons the soil and water in the surrounding area killing all of the local flora, fauna, and people. Hence why it's use for anything but small scale smoke generation is banned in modern warfare.
7087703
We could have a spinoff-story about how the humans in Equestria commandeer a train, armor it, fill it with supplies, call it the 'Pain Train', and drive it at top-speed in through the gryphon-lands, Mad Max-style, fending of the cloven with home-made grenade-launchers and flamethrowers, in a badass relief-effort, guitars wailing heavy metal-style the whole time
read that as Galardi's. Was like "wtf is Imperial Guard doing here? And where's Maeteris? What about M'tarr and the crew?" >_(\
I was just playing Starcraft not two hours before I started reading this chapter.
Going for broke and throwing it on Brutal.
Any hints as to what the reinforcements consist of? I would be stoked if a Cobra attack helicopter decided to show up.
7169557 I'm thinking scout units.
7172867 I'd like for a Ram to get sniped by an Abrahms. "Boom! Headshot!"
7172980
Same here. Also a possible diversion when something nasty drops out of the sky, or comes up from underground.
Another great chapter!
You know, whenever I read a new chapter of this fic, this song pops into my head...
I'd actually love to see the Marines marching around singing this, or some other fighting songs of cadences... I wonder what kind of response it would get from the gryphons...
I am wondering when some more advanced human gear is going to arrive... I'd love to see a AC-130 fly over for a bit of air support. But on the other hand, we've never been shown details of how the portal to Equestria works... Or how big it is. Even if Equestria were willing to give the go-ahead for an alien species they've only known for three years to march an army across their land, could the existing portal and infrastructure support it?
Unless the portal is large enough to just fly a B-52 through, and the Gryphon lands close enough to make a round trip back, it would take weeks just to build airfield's in Equestria to support air strikes...
717779 To answer your question. The portal is in equestrian territory. The ponies put restrictions on what could come through (specifically weapons) and used the specific phrase 'only what you could carry' The marines took that as a challenge.
7172987 or better yet the Russians
7175813 Yeah, I didn't even think if they were distractions or not.
Good call!
7179255 Spetsaz backflip hatchet throw!!
7169222 Darn my lack of drawing-skills, that could have been a gif
vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/vampirediaries/images/0/0b/Star-trek-nodding.gif/revision/latest?cb=20140620004742
Good read so far, I hope you won't take too long writing the next chapter :)
Kinda unrelated to anything (and I hope I didn't mention it in 3.5 years it took so far to write this fic), but I wonder if anyone brought a crystal filled to the brim with cola and snacks. On one hand they'd probably reveal it during brief water crisis, but maybe they forgot? Would probably be fun to observe griffons and local ponies reacting to soft drinks, crisps, or maybe even human alcohol.
It could easily be added to the story in the role of morale booster to soldiers before some fight or whatever.
They're Vord. The brain-stealing mini-bugs are a complete tip-off.
They
Also there is an extra space between "to" and "flock"
That's all I could find.
I just realized something: If a human dude is using an artillery-piece, he's manning it, right? If a male gryphon is doing the same, is he cocking it?
Related story box says hi. How are things on your end?
We have not enough chapters.
You must compose additional chapters.
After a reread of what has turned into one of my favorite stories on FIMFiction, the way this chapter ends still gives me goosebumps.
Love the story so far. Can't wait to read the next chapter and see how Gilda's and Marco's relationship further develops to what we first read in the prologue.
OK, I am completely caught up on this story now, after finishing chapter 20. Now I will be completely honest and say that I didn't think I would like this story. For some reason I don't tend to like the "Humanity is common in Equestria" type of stories. This one was different enough and interesting enough to really keep me interested in finding out what was coming next.
To the Author, You have created a very good read, and I like the way you have really flushed out your characters. I look forward to chapter 21.
The Monk
Don't you just hate it when you see a fic you love in the related bar only to click on it and realize that the author hasn't logged on in over a month?
Now to stomp out some bugs!
7878152
Eeyup.
This stuff is amazing and I've been wating for ANY activity.
Also, if this author has kicked the quit bucket, withouth any blog post or message regarding what's happening like alot others then Im gonna flip my shit.
This guy managed to get references and some tradition of good old Filipino-ism and jokes that its one of my favorites
Great story. I hope that this'll be continued at one point or another.
That being said, I do feel obligated to point out that the prologue has a completely different tone than the actual story.
7900952 Looks like he logged in a week after you wrote that and then wen't offline for near another month. I'll just go with the assumption that he's busy with life stuff.
7981483
I was pretty much waiting for anything and maybe a blog post but I guess the consolation of being online recently (relatively speaking) is good enough for now I guess... *Hope levels rising*
Thanks MD!
7981483
Oh and also, new profile cat pic!
7983557 Cat's help fill the void.
Still holding out hope