Bred for War

by LupoMikti

Broken and Proud

Bred for War

By LupoMikti

Chapter 2: Broken and Proud

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The sun was now above the horizon in full as I looked out over the plains currently occupied by several thousand Griffons. I had decided to give them the time they needed to organize their troops into battle formations. It was quite impressive actually. The army had been sectioned off into large blocks. A long, rectangular portion about two thousand strong made up the front line. After that came three columns with a thousand each spread across the same width as the first block. The rear was composed of four squares made of five hundred forces each.

The army was now fully mobilized and marched to where the remaining Ponies were camped. I wasn't exactly sure of what exactly I would do once I came face to face with them. Actually, all I thought about at the time was what I would have to report to the Princesses. It wasn't going to be a pleasant experience to say the least. But with that in mind, I readied a teleportation spell and waited for just the right moment.

I didn't have to wait long. The Griffon army liked to announce its presence when engaging in open combat, and this was no different. They sounded their war horns in one long bleat. The trees shook with the reverberation of the air. The deep sound seemed to flow through my body, imbuing it with an extra bit of bloodlust I’m not entirely confident wasn't there before. I took one last breath as I stood overlooking my opponents, and then teleported a few dozen meters in front of the front line.

A quick full stop was issued and the army came to complete standstill. Just a few tense moments went by without myself or any of them doing or saying anything. It was as if they were expecting something. Probably a message of surrender after what they did the previous night. But when it became painfully obvious that I was not forthcoming, they finally addressed me.

“By decree of the Commander of the 248th regiment of the Royal Griffon Empire’s Specialized Forces, we issue you a final chance for total surrender so that we may preserve any further bloodshed on this day! What say you, envoy of the Ponies?”

“I refuse! There will be no surrender on this day,” I answered.

“So be it!” was his quick reply. “We will, however, allow you to return to your forces seeing as you are but the messenger of such disappointing news.”

“I am no messenger, Griffon,” I said, the tone of my voice dropping to enforce the weight of my words.

“And what is that supposed to imply?”

“It means the forces you speak of are already here before you. I suggest you prepare yourselves. I’d like this to at least be somewhat of a challenge.” The upturned corner of my mouth as I spoke seemed to garner not just a fresh wave of confusion in the Griffons that were within earshot, but laughter and incredulity as well. The Griffon that had been speaking to me was the most boisterous of them; his laugh was full and carried far on the wind.

“You cannot possibly be serious. We have over seven thousand soldiers. You are but a single pony. We understand if you have some sort of suicide wish because you know victory will be ours.”

“Enough. The only way you’ll ever see the truth of my words, is by experiencing it for yourselves.”

At that I reared up on my hind legs brought my forehooves down on the ground, channeling my magic through the earth. It took only a few seconds before an earthquake was in full swing and the ground began to split in fissure large enough to swallow a third of their army. But this was ultimately a tactic to demonstrate my power. Griffons do happen to have a certain advantage over earth based attacks: they have wings.

As the entirety of the army took to the skies I conjured up some protective wards. But they were quickly shown to be ineffective as thousands of spears were launched at me. I saw how they were all imbued with enchantments to pierce certain magics. I needed to examine one more closely to learn what they could get through.

Dodging a blanket of spears falling from the sky may seem tricky, but it was actually just as simple as teleporting far enough away to escape. Once I reappeared I caught one of the spears in my magic and studied the enchantments closely. They were effective, but simple, and easy to work around. I made the necessary adjustments to my shields and focused on the first dozen Griffons charging straight for me.

I made short work of one by throwing the spear back faster than he could dodge. Another volley of spears is launched but they pass through me as if I was made of smoke. Seeing that their long range strategy was now useless, the Griffons turned to close combat with sheer numbers to overwhelm me. I was going to have to do some quick thinking now. It looked like their armor and swords were enchanted as well, and with different spells no doubt. Add to that how Griffons are naturally resistant to telekinetic, frost and aero based magics and I might have had a bit of a situation on my hooves.

The first two struck quickly, one going for my neck, the other my limbs. I dodged the more fatal of the two and touched my horn to the other’s breast plate, examining the spells placed on it. It seemed that the armor was protecting them from all other elemental magic, light based magic, and basic dark magic. I also learned that their swords could cut through magic and any wounds inflicted by them could only be healed an hour after they were made.

I teleported once more to safety some hundred meters away. I almost thought that I was going to be in trouble when I remembered that most unicorns aren't skilled in gravity and magnetism based magic. Therefore, the Griffons weren’t likely to be protected from them. I decided those would be my trump cards. I still needed something not as taxing to use against small groups though. The answer came quickly enough when I remembered that lightning was not part of the realm of light magic. The Griffons here weren't protected against it because the only unicorns that could use it were of commanding rank. Therefore, only Griffons of commanding rank would be protected.

A small smile adorned my visage as the forces charged for a second time. I gathered up the required energy, converted it to the proper school of magic, and released it as a wide blanket of lightning that took out the first block of two thousand. Their corpses were nothing more than charred masses falling from the sky. The next three blocks were now hesitant about attacking but charged forward nonetheless.

If there was one thing that was bound to doom an army it was that its armor and weapons were all made out of metal. I teleported into the center of their ranks and cast an overarching spell of attraction that made the tips of all of their weapons attracted to their armor. Thanks to all of the enchantments present, the swords easily went through the armor, killing their wielders. Another three thousand had been disposed of.

At this point, only the high level warriors were left. To make matters worse, they were all accompanied by Griffon magicians that had modified the enchantments to resist lightning and now magnetism. But it mattered little. I teleported right in front of them and played my second trump card.

Every single remaining Griffon except for the commanding officer was pinned to ground under the force of extreme gravity. A multitude of grunting and struggling could be heard as they attempted to stand against my power. I took out the magicians so they couldn't counter the spell by ramming them through with a plethora of enchanted weaponry. I was in control now, and no one was going to stop me.

“What’s wrong?! Aren't I just a single pony? Stand up! Stand and show me what the mighty and proud Griffon warriors are capable of!” When I finished taunting them I reversed the pull of the spell and trapped them in an anti gravity field. They flailed around trying to fly and get back into control, but it was just wasted effort. I slammed them back into ground soon enough and repeated the process a few times. I was just toying with them now.

“Stop this!” I heard the commander shout. “Stop this at once! We surrender, just stop what you’re doing!”

“Sorry, commander. I’m not taking any prisoners today.”

With that having been said, I felt my way through the enchantments on their armor and began to disable them. The commander stood there, watching as I concentrated but never took my eyes off of him. When I had gotten through, I decided their deaths should be slow. I focused my magic once more and heated up their armor until they began to glow faintly. Unable to move, the shrieks of pain and suffering echoed across the land as a symphony of cruelty. They were not simply being burned to death, they were being cooked alive.

Minutes passed before the final scream died out. The commander was frozen in place at what had just taken place before his eyes. I was contemplating killing him as well, but I thought it better that a message be delivered to the Griffon Empire: this war is coming to an end. I turned my back to him and teleported back to the edge of the forest.

---

The trees were just in front of me as I made my way back to the camp but the presence of another pony I wasn’t exactly excited to see halted my progress. General Sharp stood beside my position his jaw slightly agape as he stared at me. I had half a mind to just teleport away at that moment, but I reasoned I had used enough magic for one day.

“Are you going to say something or just stand there looking the fool, Sharp?” I directed at him giving my best ‘I’m not interested in talking to you’ glare.

“I don’t know how you managed it, but somehow, you just slaughtered over seven thousand Griffons in what was probably only ten minutes. How is that even possible for one pony? If you were an alicorn I’d understand, but obviously that’s not the case.”

“Obviously,” I deadpanned. “Look, all you need to know is that myself and the few others like me are here to put an end to this war as quickly as possible. Now if you don’t mind, I have a report to give.”

The wind picked up and blew a patch of dust between us as I turned my back to him and made my way deep into the forest. I needed to get to a large clearing for the spell I was about set up. A few minutes of soft hoofbeats on the ground heavily laden with fallen pine needles and I found just the clearing I was looking for.

I lit my horn aglow with its deep gold aura and began to burn a magic infused circle into the ground. It was a simple pattern and was done quickly. I took up my spot just outside the center-most circle and uttered the incantation that would link me to the Princesses.

A spark leapt from my horn and set the center circle ablaze with a purple fire. A few seconds later and the Princesses established contact as well. There they appeared, almost like faded ghostly versions of their actual selves in the flames. They both wore their wartime regalia, which appeared more like pieces of full plate armor, as was necessary since they participated in many important battles alongside their soldiers. Though she was clad to the contrary, Celestia still managed to exude an almost motherly presence as she smiled down at me and began the conversation.

“General Nova, ‘tis good to hear from thou so quickly after being dispatched. We take it all has gone well?”

“In a way, yes, your highness. Though I must sadly report that many casualties did result from an ambush attack in the middle of the night. Only a few hundred soldiers remain. I am pleased to report, in light of this tragic news, that the enemy forces were dealt with appropriately and with relative ease.”

“We are curious as to how exactly thou disposed of them so quickly. Wilt thou please elaborate on thy methods and spells used in battle?” Luna had spoken this time around and her stern expression did not bode well. She continued, “We sense that thou hast wasted much magic. The armor that thou possess alerts us should the wearer’s reserves go below a set point.”

“Certainly, Princess. I started off with a mix of magic analysis and teleportation to get around the enemies’ enchantments. Once I had devised a defense to them, I attacked a large number of their soldiers with a blanket lightning spell. I proceeded to dispose of the next large group using magnetism and their own weapons against them.”

It was here that I knew I was going to come under fire for what I was about to say, but it is always best to not lie to the Princesses. I reluctantly continued my report anyway.

“The last group I dutifully repaid for the ambush by repeatedly slamming them into the ground with gravity, then lifting them up with antigravity, removing the enchantments of their armor and heating them up to burn, and cook, them alive.”

I finished speaking in a low monotone, being sure not to let on that I actually enjoyed the cruel display of power I just described. Princess Luna remained stoic as ever, but it was the anger of Princess Celestia that I was more concerned with.

“Nova, we do not toy with our enemies or torture them cruelly! Explain thyself and thy actions immediately,” she ordered. She was fully standing now and towering over my rightfully smaller form. She wasn't angry yet, thankfully. Incurring the wrath of either Princess was certainly not a way to live longer than a few more minutes, and yet it was one of the most difficult things to do. Therefore, I chose my next words very carefully.

“I was only honoring the ponies that had been slain in the night. I thought it appropriate to send a message to our enemies: that we are not weak and that this war is coming to a swift end. If we don’t instill fear into their hearts–”

“Enough,” she interrupted. “Thou art to report back here for further evaluation and discussion of duties. There is much to talk about, Nova.”

“Yes, Princess. Right away.”

The fire extinguished itself in that instant leaving me alone surrounded by trees and silence. I stood there for more minutes than I care to admit contemplating the repercussions of my actions. My best hope was for an oversight of the issue, but that definitely was outside of the bounds of being likely.

The sharp retort of twigs snapping nearby reached my ears and brought me out of my stupor long enough to notice the general behind me. I was none too pleased to see him right now.

“What is it that you need, General?” I venomously directed at him.

“I came to see if you could assist in healing some of the wounded what with your level of power and all. It’s amazing that you're not even winded after that battle,” he mused.

I noticed just how much of a distance he was keeping between us as he spoke. Is he afraid of me? I asked myself, almost surprised that he was, considering all that he saw. I decided that I needed to assuage his worries.

“You're right and wrong about that, General. I used up nearly all of my magic in that battle. Gravity and magnetism manipulation tend to be extremely draining, and coupled with the amount of teleportation I've been doing, it’s no wonder Princess Luna noticed how much was gone. You see, this armor is meant to block fatigue as well as protect. This way, I never feel or appear winded or tired from exerting myself. But I can assure you, if I were to take this armor off, I'd be unable move for hours.”

“Heh, even the mighty have their limits then. Look, we haven't exactly been on the best of terms since you got here, but we’d be more bucked than an orchard of apple trees if you weren’t. Thanks for taking care of things.”

“You're welcome. Now, let’s see what we can do about those injured ponies.”

Comments

[LupoMikti]

2571881
I definitely appreciate the review. Worry not, for I will finish this story. As for the part about showing Nova's emotions: you hit the nail on the head, to use one of my favorite cliches. The next chapter should actually address that point a lot more. If I'm going to show him slowly turning into something he currently isn't, I'm gonna have to get more in depth with his thoughts.

And I have a nice little surprise for wrapping this one up.

Thanks for your words of encouragement and I hope you continue to enjoy the story through its completion. There are more to come, especially in this Inspired By Music series.

[LupoMikti]

2579534

Thank you! That's pretty reassuring considering what I see as minor flaws abound. I'm glad you're enjoying it and I'll hopefully have something new soon (after finals being the definition of soon).