Pretty Pond doesn't know much about the struggles of the world around her. She's just a young, idealistic mare caught up in another stallion's destiny. What room is there left for magic in these exciting times? How will she fare in the war to come?
This story focuses on the aftermath of the Longsword civil war and the following Violet Revolution orchestrated by Golden Morning and the Naujoji Grifonija against Starry Night. The story follows Golden Morning's favorite military unit: The ISO (Interspecies Service Organization) made up of Griffon Knights from the former Rosewood Order, Pegasi warriors, Earth pony engineers, and unicorn mages all working in harmony to produce spectacular battlefield results. The story follows several different characters, but focuses on Pretty Pond.
Golden Morning took a moment to adjust his gentle eyes to the brightness. The Vaideva was meeting with journalists from all over the world in a library in Swordsson; he chose this location for its architectural beauty and as a symbol of Longsword’s progress in the months since the civil war and Violet Revolution, as well as the fact that Morning himself was an illiterate revolutionary up until a few weeks ago when he got his first grasp on reading and writing. Outside, there was a revolutionary commotion sweeping across all of Longsword. Violet guards, most of them very young or even teenagers, were walking through the streets in roaming bands. Ever since the violet revolution swept into power, each town in Longsword had become a hive of revolutionary activity as the young accelerationists got to work reshaping everything to the will of their Vaideva. Golden Morning was proud of them.
“Golden Morning!”
A young mare stepped forward from amongst the assembled journalists,
“Our readers in the Equestria Daily would like to know if this Revolution has more in common with the one in Stalliongrad, or is closer to Wingbardian Fascism!”
She spoke with a small smile and the typical journalist curiosity that one finds amongst young mares.
“The Violet Revolution cannot be boxed into any other ideological corner."
Golden Morning replied calmly,
"We have borrowed from Communism what Communism has to offer, and we have borrowed from Fascism as well. However, I would argue that Naujoji Grifonija is unlike any other movement across the world, with the notable exception of Amilcare Fetivola’s Traditionalist movement in Talouse, but he and I have plenty of differences as well.”
The young mare went on with her question as a handsome griffon journalist approached from a different angle, preparing to ask his own question soon.
“Could you elaborate on that further, Vaideva?”
“Of course. Fetivola and I are what you might call Esotericists, but we are polar opposites in one specific aspect. He is a Radical Traditionalist and I would consider myself a radical Accelerationist, or perhaps even a Futurist. In correspondence, I have argued back and forth with Fetivola about our two philosophies, and we have reached an understanding of sorts even though we do not fully agree on the direction society should take.”
Before he could elaborate further, the young Griffon approached,
“My readers from Cloudbury are curious as to the relationship your government has with Hellquill, Herzland, and the Riverlands. What is your place in this world?”
Golden Morning looked at him with determination in his voice,
“The Reformisten and their ilk must be stamped out forever. Naujoji Grifonija does not expect assistance from anyone, especially the Herzland Imperialists.”
Golden Morning thought about openly announcing his ambitions to annex the Riverlands and the Herzland, but decided to keep a tight lip about it. Developing Longsword and securing Hellquill were his immediate concerns, although he was monitoring the unfolding civil conflicts in the neighboring lands with cunning interest.
Morning then spotted a Marksist Stallion among the assembled journalists and noticed the Stalliongrad pin on his coat. Morning approached the pony,
“I will show you Communists how to make a real revolution. In your nation, there is tyranny and materialism. You promise the Equestrian ponies freedom, but you will only tear down their culture, their magic, and their faith. They will have little to live for in your new world. The Violet Revolution embraces all creatures, and will provide a role for each race to play, both magical and technological.”
The Stalliongrad stallion stared back at Morning with an unamused, blank face,
“In your fledgling nation, Vaideva, there is an emerging personality cult parallel to a restructuring of religion according to your ideas. I can’t help but think you’re not too different from the Reformisten you claim to oppose. How do you respond?”
Morning briefly bit his own tongue. It stung like a wasp to be compared to the Reformisten, but the pony had a point.
“Marksists always tend to identify religion with supremacist politics, but you are mistaken. Our faith welcomes all creatures and is a well from which all of my warriors draw strength from, griffons and posniaks alike.”
The Cloudbury griffon spoke up again,
“No doubt, they will need this strength in your looming war against Wingfried. It will be a very bloody battle… you may inherit a Hellquill reduced to ruins.”
Golden Morning quickly turned back to the griffon, rounding right onto him with the spark of religious ferocity in his eyes.
“We the creatures of Longsword are not afraid of ruins. It was us commonfolk who built up the magnificent palaces of both the East and the West, and are rapidly developing Longsword as we speak. The Reformisten can try to defy us… they can destroy their entire world before exiting the stage of history.”
Golden Morning paused for a moment before looking through the windows outside. There were Violet Guards, almost all of them young adults and teenagers, who were parading through the streets with their hooves and talons in the air, cheering and chanting. He continued,
“We have a new world growing in our hearts. It grows day by day, minute by minute. It’s growing now even as I speak to you…”
Pretty Pond slung her rifle around her body and joined the crowds of Violet Guards who were celebrating the anniversary of the Visaginas Uprising here in Swordsson. There was a large parade of the armed forces of Longsword making their way through the streets, using what few trucks and assorted automobiles they could find to ferry loads of creatures riding on the back and on the sides. The atmosphere was euphoric; not as euphoric as the initial victory over the hated Reformisten and the misguided Rosewood Order, but euphoric nonetheless.
Pond always was pleasantly surprised at just how many young ponies and griffs had joined Naujoji Grifonija in the months since the coup against the partisans. Many people had deep sympathies for Starry Night, especially in the immediate aftermath of the war. It was shocking and almost disturbing how quickly Golden Morning had not only swept into power, but also captured the hearts of the youth. If anyone had any private doubts and questions, you just didn’t hear them. Pretty Pond herself remembered only that she was in Swordsson at the time it happened, a naïve and ignorant mare who didn’t know anything of ideas, only that she was ready to fight for the people of Longsword. Many of the Communist partisans rushed South to Visaginas when the coup went down and Starry Night was murdered. No one ever saw those partisans again, only that Golden Morning’s handsome portrait was now on every street corner, and there were suddenly far more supporters of Naujoji Grifonija than there were before.
Pretty Pond followed the parade, but did not cheer. She merely kept a small smile on her face and tried to maintain a healthy sense of optimism for the future. She heard a masculine voice call out to her from aside the main parade, “Pond! Pond! Over here!” She turned to glance at the sidewalk nearby where among the crowd of onlookers and Violet Guards, she saw a childhood friend, Radiant Flash. Flash was now wearing a violet uniform with a submachine gun around his form. Pretty Pond made her way over and greeted the Pegasus.
“Radiant Flash? I didn’t know you were out of prison! You look nice in that uniform!”
“Can you even believe I’m still alive? I was liberated by the partisans after Swordsson was taken. I’m so happy to see you alive again! Come then, let’s go for a walk!”
He then embraced her in a hug and gently led her away from the parade. They hardly had time to socialize with each other when they were ushered over to a military checkpoint by an officer in Morning’s military. There were several pegasi gathered around a small table set outside what appeared to be a police station. The officer in question was none other than the deer general Felix, perhaps the only one of his kind in all of longsword.
“Soldiers, the Vaideva is putting together a new special forces unit, and you’ve both been assigned to it… to the ISO.”
Pond was taken by surprise. “Me? Special forces? I’m just an idealistic unicorn!”
Flash simply smirked and gave a salute. “Sir! Private Flash sir! Where are we headed?”
Pond suddenly forgot the formalities that Felix was owed. She clumsily saluted the deer and introduced herself as Private Pond when he slowly walked over to them, speaking;
“The ISO is The Vaideva’s new joint commando unit. Some of the Griffon Knights from the old Rosewood Order have pledged their allegiance to our cause. We are pairing them with pegasci airborne infantry and deploying them together along the Griffking to guard the border with the Reformisten.”
Pretty Pond spoke up, “So… where does a unicorn like me come in?”
Felix nodded and said nothing about Pond’s mistake. She felt that if she were across the river with a face full of feathers and wearing a black cloak, she’d probably get beaten for failing to salute an officer properly.
Felix proceeded to answer her question,
“Originally, we were only throwing in artillery and engineers to support the unit, but the Vaideva has replaced the artillery support with mages in order to make it more mobile as well as bringing unicorns into the ISO. He likes the idea of Earth pony engineers and unicorn mages supporting griffon knights and pegasi infantry. I can’t help but agree with him. This is a great opportunity to put the Violet Revolution’s ideas into action. Here, take this truck to the frontline just North of here, I’ll mark it on a map for you.”
He gestured to the truck behind him where the pegasi were loading up additional supplies. Flash nudged Pond and the two ponies looked at each other. “Well how about that? We’re together again after all!”
“Let’s make the best of it… for our friendship, for Longsword, and for our Vaideva!”
They went over to the truck where the assembled pegasi were just about finishing their loading process. A few of them took off and departed, flying North. One of them, the sergeant by the looks of him, approached with a wide smile.
“Greetings comrades! I am Swift Bolt! I’ll be leading up the Pegasus soldiers in our squad! It’s an enormous honor to be chosen for the ISO, so I hope you both can hold your heads a little higher for being selected for this. You, unicorn, are you good with magic?”
Pretty Pond nodded and smiled. “Yes indeed! I don’t know if you have seen my record, but I am equally comfortable with offensive and defensive spells. I saved a few lives during the last war with healing magic too!”
“Excellent! You will be put to good use in the ISO, I assure you! Take this truck and drive on up to the Griffking river, my pegasi will meet you there and do all the heavy lifting with the Earth ponies once you get there. Radiant Flash, you’re flying with me to the front.”
“Respectfully sir, may I ride shotgun with my friend here? It’s dangerous to let mares go alone, and we have a lot of supplies in the back there!”
Pond rolled her eyes at the stallion’s sense of masculinity, but she didn’t mind the company, especially his.
Swift Bolt took a moment to look at Flash, then to Pond, then back to Flash. He smiled and nodded his head towards the truck.
“See you both at the front. Don’t take too long!”
Radiant Flash and Pretty Pond walked past their sergeant and climbed into the cabin of the truck. They drove through the streets of Swordsson in friendly silence, sometimes crossing paths with mobs of young violet guards. After they got clear of the city, Flash broke the silence.
“So… Pond… I’ve been out of the loop for the past few years ever since Dusktalon’s minions locked me up… would you mind getting me all caught up on what’s going on with Naujoji Grifonija and the Violet Revolution? I just got busted out of prison a few months ago; they handed me a gun, a stylish uniform, and asked me if I wanted to hunt down Black Cloaks!”
“And you accepted without any further questions asked? Hmmm!” Pretty Pond chuckled. “You were always such an eager butthead, Flash… alright I’ll tell you everything on the way to the Griffking…”
The Griffking river is vast; and here it was stretched out in front of them all. Oskar peered out across the river through a pair of binoculars. On the other side, he could see the earthworks being set up by the Reformisten, as well as Reformisten soldiers of the Ordenstaat Hellquill moving about behind their fortifications. He saw dozens of black helmets and a few peaked caps with the all-too-familiar griffon skulls emblazoned on them moving about from behind the sandbags.
The crack of gunfire broke the silence. He quickly turned his binoculars to the East when one of his fellow knights and a couple pegasi came right up beside him. “What is it this time, noble sire?”
Oskar used his binoculars and his excellent griffon vision to spot a squad of junior violet guards taking potshots across the river, shooting at the Reformisten. Oskar described what was happening to his equine comrades with inferior eyesight, “Violet Guards… looks like the battalion from Varena is guarding our right flank…”
The Reformisten wasted no time returning fire. The fluttering banners on both sides helped mark their positions amongst the sandbags. Oskar continued. “And the return fire from the Reformisten bastards and their professional army discipline…”
Oskar then turned his attention towards to towering temple spires in the not-so-distant horizon. The city of Hellquill itself was just across the Griffking river, and he could see its beautiful Herzland architecture from his position in the trenches from Longsword. The griffon knights around him decided to take a few shots of their own at the Reformisten positions in support of the inexperienced violet guards further East. One of his knights took aim across the river and asked, “When are we getting our reinforcements and a hot meal?” He then cracked a shot off across the Griffking.
“Soon… before Hellquill falls.” Oskar said jokingly in response. Longsword and Hellquill were not officially at war with each other yet, but already there were skirmishes breaking out all across the border as both sides knew it was only a matter of time before hostilities would ensue. Many Reformisten from Longsword had escaped across the river as the Visaginas partisans approached Swordson. Oskar himself still had bitter memories from the Longsword civil war, yet here he was with his former enemies fighting against the hated Black Cloaks. “First one among you who can hit Wingfried von Katerinburg from this distance wins a special prize from your knight-captain!”
Several griffons, pegasi, and a few Earth pony engineers immediately picked up their rifles and began shooting at the Reformisten in response to Oskar’s joke.
Pretty Pond and Radiant Flash finally pulled up in their loaded truck and parked it amongst a group of small trees close to their squad’s position. They could hear shooting up at the trenchline ahead, about 20 meters away. Upon climbing out of the cabin, they were greeted by a couple Earth ponies who went straight to the bed and began offloading munitions, sandbags, and rations. Pond and Flash got to work alongside them, but after hustling one sandbag over to the earthworks, Flash just laid down on his back and wrapped his hooves around the back of his head, then quickly put a pair of shades over his eyes with one hoof before reclining again. “Right then, I think this pony is done for today!”
One of the Earth ponies passed by him on her way to retrieve more supplies, “You going to make the revolution just sitting around all day? Pegasus?”
“Well… we can make the future of the revolution by laying around together!” Flash said as he gently slapped the mare’s haunches as she walked by him.
She let out an annoyed equine snort. “Keep dreaming… and don’t dream too deeply stallion… maybe one night, us mares will have to pay you a visit!” She was suddenly right above him, and dropped a box of rations right between his legs from a short distance above him.
“AGH!” He yelped before quickly rolling over and clutching his pride in his hooves.
Just a couple seconds later, a machine gun from across the Griffking cut loose and bullets sprayed all over the position of the ISO creatures. Pretty Pond was just on her way back to get more supplies when she noticed the temporarily crippled Radiant Flash moaning for help with bullets landing only a few feet away from him. Pond immediately rushed to him as their squadmates either took cover or attempted to get some shots off in return, but were quickly suppressed by the hailstorm of bullets being put out by the dreaded Reformisten machine guns.
“PRIVATE! Get to cover!” Swift Bolt was shouting over the gunfire as well as the Knight-Captain yelling orders to the Rosewood knights in a Herzland dialect that the equines couldn’t understand.
Pond got to Flash’s side and used her powers in defensive magic to put up a shield. Just an instant later, another volley of bullets shattered against the shield, making plinking noises and causing sparks to fly right where she was standing. Pond felt her heart rate fly through the roof, almost like her heart was in her head! She helped Flash up to his feet and the two of them hurried themselves into the trench where they were embraced by a few of the pegasi waiting for them.
Bolt spoke up as the griffons slowly stopped firing at the Reformisten. “Pond! What did you just do?”
Pond looked up, worried that Bolt was about to admonish her. “I’m sorry sir! I just… I just used magic to make my own cover! “
“Pond, that was absolutely brilliant!” Bolt gave her a paternal pat on the back. “You just saved your comrade’s life! Remind me to give you an official commendation for bravery once we’re on leave!”
Pond was surprised to hear those words. She was even more surprised to see one of the knights approach her and offer his forearm, “Can your magic tend to gunshot wounds?”
She smiled softly, took his arm in her hoof and used her powers to remove the shrapnel from the griffon’s arm and close his wounds. She looked over at the other knights, “Anypony else need tending to? Anygriff else?”
All she got were silent stares from the assembled knights. She looked around and noticed that all the ponies were standing on one side, behind her, and all the griffons were on the other side, in front of her. She was the center of attention!
The Knight-Captain of the griffons approached Pretty Pond and Swift Bolt before taking his helmet off. The knights always looked so very stern and intimidating with their armor and helmets on, so it came off as deeply personal to look at the griffon in his handsome face and hear the words forming in his beak without the helmet filtering everything out. “What’s your name, soldier?”
“It’s Pretty Pond, sir!”
“You may call me Captain Oskar. Pond… my griffons and I have always considered ponies to be a frivolous and ill-disciplined lot. However, what I just witnessed from you… I think I can speak on behalf of all my brothers when I say that I really appreciate having you in this squad.”
“Really, Oskar? I just… it’s a basic spell… I just did what I felt like I had to do…”
She felt a hoof on her shoulder and spun around to see Swift Bolt with a cheeky smile, the kind of smile that young pegasi stallions put up when they get optimistic about their next great endeavor. “What he’s really trying to say is that you’re one of the bravest people he’s ever met! Throwing yourself into the line of machinegun fire like that! And he really respects your magical powers, am I right Oskar?”
“I suppose so. You ponies always have a way of putting things so cheerfully…” Oskar stated; the tone he used to deliver those words gave Pond the impression that he had a small chip on his shoulder, but also a peculiar kind of respect, possibly even admiration for the equine folk. She thanked the Griffon before slowly walking away to the other side of the trench with Swift Bolt.
“Hey Swift Bolt… what’s the deal with Knight-Captain Oskar? I can’t tell if he respects ponies, dislikes us, or both.”
Bolt smiled in that semi-smug pegasi way again. “Well… if you must know,” he briefly checked to make sure that Oskar was out of earshot and then lowered his voice, “Oskar used to be in the Reformisten, back during the civil war. He was captured and about to be executed, but Golden Morning stayed his execution, and after speaking to him in his prison cell for almost an hour, Oskar was reinstated to lead a squad of knights from the Zeltstadt uprising who also pledged their allegiance to the Vaideva.”
Pretty Pond’s eyes lit up like the full moon. She could hardly even believe what she was hearing. “Oskar used to be a knight in the Reformisten!?”
“SHHHH! Keep your voice down!” Bolt exclaimed as quietly as he could. “It’s not something he likes to talk about.”
Pond couldn’t help but wonder aloud, “And now he’s commanding our unit against his old Black Cloak comrades? Who’s idea was this?”
“The Vaideva’s idea.”
That shut up Pretty Pond pretty quickly.
After an awkward moment of silence, the earth pony mare from earlier stepped over and broke the tension.
“Sergeant Bolt… I respectfully request that we wait until dark before finishing the fortifications. Maybe after din-din?”
“Agreed, Private Beetle! Let Knight-Captain Oskar know that it’ll be apples and hot oatmeal tonight, unless he wants to go fishing in plain view of that Reformisten machine gun nest!”
Beetle allowed herself a small smile before trotting off.
Swift Bolt turned back to Pond. “By the way, I’ve seen the way Radiant Flash looks at you… and I’ve seen the way you look at him…”
Pretty Pond was already recovering from the last awkward moment and then her own Sergeant had to just drop this on her! She gave him an anxious look, again, and decided to let the question hang in the air for a hot second before finally mustering up the courage to answer.
“The two of us go back to a childhood spent in a communal village. We… we were dating when he was dragged away by the Reformisten. Partisan sympathies.”
Swift Bolt nodded.
“I just hope you can show the same amount of courage for the rest of us as you did for him. Not every unicorn has the guts to willingly dive into machinegun fire! I understand he’s a childhood sweetheart of yours, and I’m happy for both of you, I just want you to understand that there’s a lot of risk that comes with this… for the two of you and for the squad.”
“I understand sir. I have it under control.”
Swift Bolt smiled just a little. “That’s what I like to hear. Now, how about you get to meet the rest of the squad? We can finish unloading the truck after sundown and a warm meal.”
YOU WHO IS IN SERVICE TO AN ARMY WHICH HAS MOBILIZED AGAINST THE PEOPLE!
YOU ARE THE PEOPLE!”
Scarlet Beetle walked up behind the Griffon shouting through the megahorn to the Reformisten soldiers on the far side who had no choice but to put up with the propaganda. “Zephyrus… your oatmeal is getting cold…”
He shooed her away with his wing, “Back off! You’re messing with my speech!”
Scarlet Beetle snorted lightly and trotted off to sit down next to Pretty Pond as the morning sun came up over the Griffking. The ponies and griffons had assembled together for breakfast, which was really just more apples and oatmeal that didn’t get added to the cooking pot last night. Beetle was still tired after all the work she put in last night to get this position up to speed, but it was honest earth pony work.
Zephyrus continued screaming at his feathery fellows across the river.
“RAISE YOUR TALONS ON HIGH AND DECLARE PEACE! FAITH! BROTHERHOOD!
GLORY TO THE VAIDEVA! LONG LIVE THE VIOLET REVOLUTION!”
Surprisingly enough, one of the Reformisten griffons acquired a megahorn of his own and shouted back across the river.
“TAKE THE STALLION COCK OUT OF YOUR MOUTH BEFORE SPEAKING TO YOUR BETTERS, RACE-TRAITOR!”
That really got Zephyrus worked up. Scarlet Beetle already knew where this was headed; two males screaming insults at each other usually ends up going straight down the toilet.
“I’LL COME OVER THERE AND SHOVE THIS HORN UP YOUR ASS IF THAT TEACHES YOU SOME RESPECT!”
Beetle looked up from her meal and noticed that a few of the other creatures around her were rolling their eyes at the shouting match between Zephyrus and the Reformisten griffon on the other side. Certainly it was unbecoming of a knight to lower himself to lewd toilet talk, even if it was the Reformisten on the receiving end. Even Beetle was starting to get annoyed by it all. Nevertheless, the shouting match continued.
“COME OVER HERE, AND WE’LL TALK ABOUT YOUR MOTHER TOO! SON OF A CUCKOLD!”
HOW MUCH DOES WINGFRIED AND EDLER PAY FOR THE WRETCHED WHORE OF A GRIFF YOU HAVE FOR A MOTHER!?”
At that point, Beetle put her food down and walked over to pull Zephyrus down from his elevated post (he was standing on an ammo box to shout over the trenches with his horn). “Zephy, dear, you’re not going to convince anyone by appealing to their bad nature.”
“If it was up to me, comrade, I’d have gone over there and finished them all off already! Why are we even waiting for an official declaration of war? We already take potshots at each other every day, so what’s the waiting for?”
Beetle and Zephy went back to sit with the others as they ate, with Beetle sitting down right next to Pretty Pond. She looked up at Zephyrus and spoke up, “It’s immoral to kill, no? And they’re creatures too. ‘The people always generous, and the enemy lusting for vengeance, will break bread with all who have stayed in its bosom, exploiters and exploited. This way, when work begins anew, former bitter enemies will be side by side in the same workshops… in the same farms.’”
Everyone was looking at Beetle as she spoke those words. Then they started to look at each other. The griffon knights here were all former members of the Rosewood Order, and participated in the Zeltstadt uprising against Count Dusktalon. Just a year ago, these creatures were at each other’s throats, and now they were here defending their common home from the greater evil.
“Where have I heard that before?” Another Pegasus named Arctic Meadow spoke up.
“The Conquest of Rice. Filip Redglad.” Beetle replied bluntly. It was dangerous admitting that you had indulged in any literature written by Griffonian Socialists, but the truth was out now. Beetle was one of the Socialists who did not join Povner during the fighting at Visaginas. She regretted not going there when Longsword needed her most, but it was pointless to stew over it. Everyone in Longsword who was not a Reformisten zealot living in hiding was focused on keeping the Black Cloaks out of Longsword. There were many people who opposed Golden Morning and Naujoji Grifonija; few remember that before the Constitutional Convention, they were just a fringe group with Esoteric ideas and a lot of popularity among the armed forces.
Nowadays, it seemed like everyone was a Violet Guard from the very beginning. The Vaideva had an iron grip on the youth, that much was evident enough already with all of the posters and banners that seemingly appeared from nowhere. In the span of a few short months, almost the entirety of Longsword’s youth were marching. gun-in-hoof (or talon).
“You should go tell them that,” Radiant Flash said to Beetle, pointing with a hoof to the position that Zephyrus previously occupied, “tell them what you just told us and see what they think.”
Scarlet Beetle put her food down again and trotted over to the megahorn. She repeated the quote from Redglad’s book after giving a short introduction,
“IN THE NAME OF ALMIGHTY BOREAS! A PLEA FROM THE PEOPLE OF LONGSWORD TO THE NOBLE GRIFFONS OF HELLQUILL!
TURN YOUR RIFLES AROUND, BROTHERS! THE ENEMY IS BEHIND YOU AND THE FUTURE IS BEFORE US!”
There was a long pause from the Reformisten trenchline. Beetle wasn’t about to get her hopes up, but it would be nice if the Refor-
“SILENCE YOU EQUINE WORM! NOBODY ASKED YOU TO SPEAK IN PLACE OF THE GRIFFON!”
Scarlet Beetle just sighed and went back to sit down with her comrades.
Pretty Pond flipped through her spellbook and did her best to learn more about the subtleties of magic. In war, even the slightest edge could end up saving someone’s life. It had been a few hours after the megahorn incident when the supply truck returned from Swordsson. A griffon jumped out of the driver’s seat and hurried around the back to begin offloading it. This was odd, as the truck was supposed to resupply them only once per week. Pond just sat and watched in silence as the griffon rushed over to them with excitement.
“Comrades! We’ve got new gear for you all! Special delivery today! And have you heard the news from Equus?”
That was interesting. Way out here in the middle of Griffonia, news from the other side of the world didn’t come through very often. Swift Bolt walked right past Pond and spoke up “Slow down there, griff, what’s going on here?”
“The Changelings have invaded the Kingdom of Olenia!”
That got everyone’s attention.
“That’s… damn… that’s worrying, but you mentioned something about gear?”
It was another awkward moment for everyone eavesdropping on their conversation, but it was understandable for the indifference on display by Swift Bolt. Equus was so far off, it may as well be on the moon itself, and Olenia was especially distant from everyone’s concerns.
The griffon then led Swift Bolt back to the rear-end of the truck and a few other soldiers followed. Pond glanced to her right and saw Oskar scanning across the river with his binoculars again.
Now was her chance.
She got up and trotted over to the stern knight-captain while everyone was focused on the truck. “Oskar… what do your avian eyes see?”
“Beakstadt on the horizon… far on the horizon… my hometown.”
Pond’s heart sank. “I’m terribly sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll be marching through its streets soon enough.”
Pond couldn’t help but spread a very wide smirk across her face. Oskar was not a comedian by any stretch of the imagination, but he had his own kind of comedy, the kind that only a griffon knight could muster. Oskar noticed Pond’s facial expression and allowed himself only the softest of smiles.
“Listen, Oskar, I really shouldn’t be asking you about this, but Swift Bolt told me about your story. I’m just a curious and nosy little pony, but I really wanted to ask… why?”
Oskar’s smile and enthusiasm vanished almost instantly. He put down his binoculars and turned to face Pretty Pond with a neutral expression on his face.
“You want to know why I left the Reformisten? Hmmm. Well, I suppose I can tell you why in a word: Vaideva. I used to think that it was impossible that ponies and griffons could ever truly live together in peace, especially out here on the frontier. I’m assuming Swift Bolt told you a little about the fact that I was slated to be executed before being visited by Golden Morning? It’s true…”
Pond and Oskar both saw that the other pegasi and griffons were approaching from the truck, and Oskar patted Pond on the shoulder before finishing in a hurry.
“The short story is that I believe that Golden Morning is on a mission from the gods themselves. He certainly has the willpower to convince me that a better world is possible; not only possible, but that it’s worth fighting for it. I never would have believed it from anyone else.”
Pond took Oskar’s words to heart. She didn’t really know the Vaideva herself at all outside of propaganda. The testimony from Oskar, short as it was, filled Pretty Pond with hope in the cause she had committed herself to fighting for. Suddenly, her head was filled with a romantic and handsome image of a young and strapping stallion leading his people into battle like the kings and chieftains of old.
Before she could daydream more about the idealized image of Golden Morning, Pond was interrupted when Radiant Flash walked right up to her.
“Hey Pond, what are you thinking about?”
“Oh! Hi Flash! I was just thinking about uhhh… the Revolution… and the war to come against the Reformisten. How are you?”
Pond was struggling to hide her surprise and her anxiety. Truth be told, she really liked Radiant Flash, but it was poor form for a mare to be daydreaming about a stallion that wasn’t the one in her immediate interest. Flash smirked at her, and that made her anxiety get worse.
“Well, Pond, have you seen what they brought in for us on that truck back there? Enchanted armor for our knights, first-aid kits for you, new guns for everyone! Word has it, we’re going to test these things very soon!”
Pond’s interest was piqued. She knew that the second truck in two days was odd, but the arrival of new equipment was what really spelled things out for her. She walked with Flash over to the small pillbox that acted as an impromptu bedding area for the ISO soldiers here. There were several creatures gathered around, handing out new and interesting pieces of equipment. Swift Bolt was among them when he saw Pretty Pond and Radiant Flash walk over.
“Pond, new medicine kit for you to supplement your magic. Catch!”
He tossed over a slingbag which Pond caught in her hooves. Before she had a minute or two to figure out what exactly she had been handed, Flash was right in front of her with a submachine gun, as well as a dumb smile on his face that always made him look so handsome.
“Tommy guns! I already got one when I was busted out of prison, this one is yours!”
He handed the SMG to Pond like he was handing over a bouquet of flowers and asking for her hoof in marriage.
“Alright everyone, listen close…” Swift Bolt spoke up as more creatures in their squad were milling about, sorting through their new weapons and armor, “The war against Hellquill is coming up sooner than we expected, and high command needs a probe across the river.”
There was an instant murmur amongst the assembled ISO commandos, especially the pegasi. Pond didn’t understand why, but the griffons of the Rosewood Order were mostly silent about the revelation. Griffons were always more grim and more stern about these types of things, but these knights especially stood out from other griffs like those in the Violet Guard.
“That’s where the ISO comes in. We’re going on a night raid tonight! Pond, I need you to come with us. Griffs and Pegasi, get your shit together and prepare for action after sundown. We’re staying up extra late tonight!”
“Will knight-captain Oskar be joining us?” One Pegasus named Smoky… Smoky something? (Pretty Pond couldn’t remember his name. She was always more of a face person, and never a name person).
“No… he will not… as well as a few others who will stay behind and man these posts. Radiant Flash, Scarlet Beetle, Oskar, Mythic Vision, von Teufel, and Erik.”
Well then, Pond figured she better get her magics ready, as well as figure out what exactly she just got promoted to, the squad medic? She sifted through her new sling, and found all sorts of basic medical utensils. Supposedly, these were to supplement her magic, but she couldn’t help but feel like these were more of an improvement on her limited healing powers.
Shortly after figuring out how to work with her new kit, she was bumped from behind by, of course, Radiant Flash.
“Looks like I’m staying here this time, and you’re the one going over. I really hate that I can’t be there to watch over you, but I think a few of the other pegasi stallions will do my job for me!”
“Flash, you were always a goofball. I promise I’ll make it back in one piece. I’m just a support soldier anyways. That’s all that us mages get to do anymore these days…”
“Just get through this raid, promise? I love you, Pond.”
“Flash! Not in front of everyone! And.. I’ve always loved you…”
Oskar shook Swift Bolt’s hoof and saluted the soldiers on their way across the river. It was in the dead of night, about two in the morning if Oskar’s watch was accurate, and the sneak attack was now underway. All across the Griffking river, small squads of night raiders would be making their way over via flight (good luck swimming across the mighty griffking without a pair of wings or some winged friends to help you out) and would begin probing the Reformisten defenses, trying to find gaps in the line where they might not be defending very closely.
Within an hour of the departure of the expeditionary force, Oskar was back at his usual post, scanning the opposite bank of the river with his binoculars. He could see the Reformisten flags on the far side, but he had totally lost track of where his commandos had gone. Pretty Pond was the only one in that party without wings, so Oskar had figured that she was getting a lift to the other side via the pegasi. The remaining soldiers at their posts here were essentially forced to stay awake just in case the Reformisten were thinking the same thing. Everyone knew that war was coming, it was now a question of who will strike first.
Scarlet Beetle was looking over the trenchline she had designed for the ISO and was thinking about how she could improve it.
“All good earthworks need an emergency-escape trench…”
She scanned the trench and thought about where she could make any possible improvement. She found one spot in particular that would be ideal… if she had some better engineering technology besides shovels and a keen sense of earth-pony instinct. Soon, she began to wonder if earth-pony magic would be necessary at all in a few years from now. A Reformisten Griffon with some handy mining equipment could probably make a trench just as good as any Earth pony.
“Yeah, well, we’ll always be superior to them in at least one aspect!”
“Superior to them? You mean us?”
Beetle spun around and suddenly realized she had said that out loud within earshot of a griffon squadmate, von Teufel. She had been watching this particular griff for a few days. He was rather odd.
“Oh! Von Teufel! I didn’t see you walking up right there. I’m sorry, I was talking about griffons and earth ponies…”
“It’s fine. I take no offense. I’ve said the same exact thing about ponies in the past, I think we all have, and a little snarky comment here and there is far preferable than constantly walking around on eggshells.”
That made Beetle smile. A griffon who not only understood his place, but also didn’t mind some casual racism every now and then? He was suddenly far more appealing now that he was speaking Scarlet Beetle’s language. He was just starting to shrug and walk away when she stopped him.
“Hey wait a minute, birdbrain… can we… can we spend the night together? I actually want to talk to you some more…”
“Sure thing, pone, you want to head back to the sleeping den?”
“No, that’s way too close to Oskar… actually, let’s head over to that grove of trees over yonder…”
And so they went that-away. Beetle wasn’t entirely sure how griffons were like as boyfriend material, but she had been curious about that question for years. It was a huge taboo in Dusktalon’s Longsword, and now that he was gone, and especially with Golden Morning running things, the love laws were all abolished, and she was secretly very grateful for that.
Pretty Pond had been carried to the far banks of the Griffking by two pegasi. Upon landing, they immediately began sneaking their way up to the Reformisten positions. Pond was hanging back from the other knights and airborne commandos. It felt weird to be the only person in the unit besides Scarlet Beetle with no wings, but she was already something of a heroine amongst all of them for her proven bravery (although if she was being honest with herself, she was heavily motivated by the fact that Radiant Flash had his life on the line).
Swift Bolt swooped down from above her, landing close by, where he immediately asked another pegasi, Arctic Meadow, to pass along the Communist banner of the old partisan uprising. Pond wasn’t sure why they brought the thing, but she figured she was about to see why. The two pegasi unfurled the flag together and then flew back up above to the top of the banks. That would put them right at the Reformisten line! Surely they had some kind of night watch out on patrol tonight?
Before she knew it, the entire squad came back down to the banks of the river and hustled about on the river’s edge, beneath some large rocks. Swift Bolt apparently had ordered a Communist flag to be brought along with them, and as he explained…
“Yes, before anybody asks, we’re using the old Communist flag to bait the Reformisten. We’re going to wait until just before sunrise when griffs usually are up and about, and when they see the flag and leave their trenches to go get it, that is when we strike!”
Pond was wondering about how this plan fit into the probing attack, but nobody bothered asking Bolt any questions about this plan, only a murmur of agreement and one comment about how Swift Bolt is everypony’s favorite Sergeant (she thinks a griffon said that).
Oskar had been waiting for hours to see anything through his avian eyes, or at least hear something with his acute hearing, but there was nothing coming from the other side of the Griffking. Radiant Flash was sitting close by, cleaning out his gun. Mythic Vision and Erik were both manning their posts on opposite sides of the trench from each other with Oskar in the middle, in his usual spot. A short distance away, Scarlet Beetle and Von Teufel were passionately making love to each other amidst a grove of trees. If Oskar were his old Reformisten self, he’d have gone over there by now and whipped them until they put their pants back on. They probably thought that Oskar wouldn’t see them or hear them at this distance, but the knight-captain saw everything that happened within a kilometer of his position at all times. His senses were sharp, even by griffon standards.
Well, he could see and hear everything except for the whereabouts of the squad. And that made him worried.
“Would be a real shame if the Reformisten stumbled upon us here tonight. They would just find a small handful of us at our posts and those two lovebirds over there.”
“You know, that’s funny private Flash, I always figured you would be the one who couldn’t keep his pants on at the frontline. Swift Bolt and I actually bet money on you. Looks like he owes me.”
Radiant flash snorted and rolled his eyes. Oskar finally diverted his attention from the Griffking for once and allowed himself to start snacking on rations. The sun was going to be up in a few hours, and there was no further point in waiting around for something to happen.
“Knight-Captain, can I ask you something?” Radiant Flash spoke up.
“Of course you can, Flash. Just call me Oskar.”
“Do you have family at all? Maybe a wife and a few chicks waiting for you somewhere?”
“Yes… yes I do. Four chicks, the oldest is probably almost done with primary school by now. Why do you ask?”
“I’ve thought about starting a family of my own, but I’ve also heard that our Vaideva is encouraging more and more interracial couples to promote his new, utopian Longsword. I wanted to get your advice on the matter.”
“I thought you were madly in love with Pretty Pond? What exactly do you want my advice about?”
“Well, yeah, but you see after this war with Hellquill is over, and if we’re both still alive by the end of it all, I think there’s going to be a lot of griffon orphans who lost fathers to ‘those damn pony swine in the South’ you know?” (Flash doing his best Wingfried impression). “I’m not sure if I should raise some foals of my own, or perhaps adopt some griffon chicks and show them some love from equine parents.”
Oskar thought about what Flash had said. A dark part of him still felt that ponies and griffons shouldn’t mix with each other for the sake of purity. Another part of him, the seed that Golden Morning had planted, gave hope for a better world where both races had transcended tribalism. Oskar still wasn’t sure if it was even possible, especially after the long history of enmity between the two species. How on Earth would one begin to evolve past tribalism? It was the most basic instinct inherent in all creatures. He had to search his memories back to the day he was awaiting the firing squad when Golden Morning stepped into his cell and outlined his grand plan for Griffonia before formally inviting Oskar to leave his past behind and to join him in this crazy quest.
It would take the strongest personality, the blessings of the gods, and totalitarian social engineering in order to accomplish this goal, but damnit, if there was anypony who could pull it off, it was Golden Morning. Oskar knew that the Vaideva’s plan involved the conquest of both the West and the East. It seemed absolutely insane, but the only alternative was everygriff and everypony slaughtering each other for reasons of petty hatred and vengeance quests. No, there was no alternative. The victory of the Violet Revolution would be achieved, or the mindless mass-murder of all creatures on Griffonia would continue forever.
F-O-R-E-V-E-R.
“Oskar, you going to answer my question?”
The griffon snapped out of his flashback and turned to look at the actual Flash sitting beside him.
“I think you should do both, Flash. Also, can I ask you a personal favor?”
“Of course, Knight-Captain!”
“If I die in this conflict, can you promise me that you will find your way to Beakstadt, where my family lives, and take care of them to the best of your ability?”
The pony looked at Oskar with an anxious look on his face. For the first time, Flash appeared to have something worrying on his mind.
“Oh… OH! So that’s why you’re constantly scanning the horizon?”
“Well… uhhh… it’s one of many reasons, yes.”
“Hmmmph. I can’t promise you anything, but if worse comes to pass, I’ll do my best.”
Oskar never thought he would be grateful to a pony, but the words formed in his beak,
Swift Bolt exclaimed softly. The Reformisten were taking the bait. Several of them had spotted the flag planted on their side of the river and had sent a couple of their soldiers out to capture the banner. They had no idea there was an entire squad of the Vaideva’s finest right below them, waiting for them to take the bait.
“NOW!”
Instantly, a number of pegasi and knights flew up high and opened up with their tommy guns on the Reformisten positions. The soldiers who had left their position to grab the flag were riddled with bullets and point-blank range, and dropped instantly. Pretty Pond immediately began hurling magic bolts at their fortifications, destroying them methodically.
She then scrambled up the banks of the river, at one point asking for a lift from some of the pegasi, who happily obliged. After she was lifted to the top, she could see a firefight had erupted between the two sides, and that there was an entire platoon of Reformisten arrayed against them! Pond had no choice but to dive onto the earth immediately and empty her magazine in the direction of the enemy.
“Constant suppression! Knights, advance!”
Swift Bolt had to shout over it all for his command to be communicated effectively. The griffons in the unit hesitated at first, but they eventually stood up and began slowly and methodically moving forward. Pond was about to put up a magical barrier when the enchanted knightly armor of the griffs effectively did her job for her. The griffons were sprayed with bullets from several different angles, and nothing came of it besides so much sparks. It was honestly quite uplifting to see large, powerful griffons absorbing bullets on behalf of their equine comrades!
This morale boost quickly dissipated however, when one of the Reformisten officers raised an odd-looking weapon, and fired a bolt of what Pond could only know was pure magical energy at one of her knightly brothers, the blast piercing through the enchantment and felling the knight!
“NO! Pegasi! ATTACK!”
Upon Swift Bolt’s command, the pegasi warriors rose up from cover and sprayed the hillside with bullets! Pond raised her own submachine gun and dropped the officer who was wielding the sorcerous gun. Her anger had finally gotten the better of her, and she stood up out of cover and rushed forward. She was practically screaming praise to the Vaideva at the top of her lungs when she took a bullet to her stomach, and keeled over in pain. The last thing Pond’s vision started to go black, the last thing she saw being a couple pegasi standing over her.
When Pond opened her eyes again, she found herself in a hospital bed being attended to by an earth pony medic. She tried to sit up, by a jolt of pain forced her back into bed.
“Swordsson general hospital? What happened? I was just at the front! Can anyone tell me what happened!?”
The pony walked over and began administering some kind of drug to Pretty Pond.
“I’ll tell you everything if you promise to remain calm! You’re a very brave, possibly very reckless unicorn! I can’t have you lunging out the window, back to the front, before you’re patched up again!”
“I promise, just please tell me what happened? Did we win?”
The earth-pony sighed and shrugged his shoulders.
“My information is limited, but it seems that the attack was a success, despite a few casualties. As you may or may not know, the Reformisten is preparing to cross the river soon to attack us here, so we’ve been trying to undermine them for weeks. Your squad performed well.”
That hardly answered Pond’s question. She wanted definitive answers and the small details, not something that was so brief and vague!
“Can you please tell me more? I went down in the middle of the firefight and… one of our enemies had this strange gun… do you know anything about that?”
“No, I’m afraid I do not. You’ll have to ask your comrades later. I’m sorry.”
And with that, the Earth pony finished administering drugs and trotted off, leaving Pretty Pond to stew in frustration in her hospital bed for a couple of hours.
Just when Pond was about to punch herself silly from frustration, the door to her room swung open. A couple of brilliantly-uniformed ponies marched in and took position on either side of the door, where they proceeded to announce
“His grace, the Vaideva!”
And in walked the pony, the myth, the legend: Golden Morning.
He was a bit shorter than Pretty Pond had expected, but he was every bit as handsome as the propaganda posters made him out to be. He strode forward with a proud, neutral smile before sitting down on his haunches by Pond’s bedside.
“I must admit, after reading your after-action report, I couldn’t help but wonder what drives ponies like you and I to fling ourselves into danger so often.”
Pretty Pond’s eyes were wide open. Of all the hospitals of all the places in Longsword, he was here! He was visiting her one-on-one! She wanted to squeal her
“Isn’t it obvious, my Vaideva? I believe the answer is friendship, the purest form of magic there is!”
“Well, yes, that’s the simple answer. Everyone in the armed forces across all nations is motivated by strong desires to protect friends and families from the invader. However, a few of us go even beyond that. A few creatures throw themselves at danger with faith and fury that inspires those around them, and carries them to victory. I think you are one such case, and I think I owe you this…”
Golden Morning brought out a small bin in his hooves, and opened it to reveal two combat medals. The Silver Star and the Violet Heart. He took them out of the bin and pinned them onto her tattered uniform. Pretty Pond could feel tears of happiness and pride welling up in her eyes.
“I was informed that you were desperate for information regarding your squad’s victory over the Reformisten. Shortly after you passed out from pain, the remaining Reformisten surrendered. We lost one knight and one Pegasus, Hansel and Smokey Haze. Another two Pegasi injured, Swift Bolt and Arctic Meadow.
Furthermore, we recovered some interesting and spectacular weapons from the Reformisten. Weapons that can harness the power of magic and channel magical energy, regardless of the user’s powers or lack thereof. We have sent these weapons to military intelligence for further analysis and perhaps even adaptation.
The main goal of your night raid was to slow down the Reformisten’s war preparations, but this was also the first test of my new ISO commando units, and your performance exceeded expectations. You have done your Vaideva proud.”
His face was the most reassuring tone you could imagine; It felt like honey to Pond’s ears. She was expecting the Vaideva to be grandiose and overly prideful, going off all of the propaganda about him being the child of destiny and a literal son of the gods. Yet, that was not the case. He seemed to be the most down-to-earth pony once you got to meet him face-to-face.
“My Vaideva, I have to ask you something…”
“Of course, my child…”
“I see magic fading more and more from the world. Where mages once directed the courses of battles, now we are only support soldiers in the age of firearms. And you see all these new and terrifying weapons… magic… in the hands of ordinary soldiers. Even my healing spells are being slowly subsumed by medical advances, defense gives way to enchanted armor.
What place do we have in this world, my Vaideva?”
Golden Morning smiled down on Pretty Pond and placed one hoof on her shoulder.
“Pond… there will always be a place for magic in this world. Take a look at the application of magic and technology, you will see that both of them are two sides of the same coin: creatures wielding power over nature, and bending it to their will to serve the needs of the people.”
That gave Pond a small amount of hope and a lot of insight. Still, she wasn’t entirely confident.
“I… I understand my Vaideva. I’m still worried about what the future may hold for gifted unicorns like me… if there even is a future?”
“All creatures have a place in the Naujoji Grifonija. Magic and technology will continue to march into the future side by side, just as the creatures of the frontier shall do the same. We will all stand together as one, arms linked against the wind, or it’s everycreature for himself.”
Pond just stared up at Golden Morning as he loomed over her bed. They clasped their hooves together, and tears were running down Pond’s face.
The Vaideva then got up and went to the door before turning back to look at her.
“One last thing before I go. Your faith and willpower are comparable to my own. If you would like, I could have you reassigned to my personal honor guard. I could use a skilled mage such as you in my security detail.”
“With the utmost respect, I must decline, my Vaideva. My place is at the front with my comrades, with my friends. That is where the future of magic will blossom for all of us. Thank you for your insights and your wisdom!”
Golden Morning gave her a warm smile and nodded.
“A wise pony once told me that a long time ago. Friendship is the purest form of magic.”