It was evening at a lonely port on the coast of Griffonia. A foggy evening, just like any other. Griffons and other assorted creatures shuffled about on their daily routines, then a lone frigate came into the dock. This was not unusual. The light-yellow pegasus with a greyed mane and beard was a regular visitor to this place, being a ferrypony. This was also not unusual. What was unusual, however, was a rather large group of Griffon soldiers flying immediately onto it.

The lead Griffon, a rather big brown one with black feathers on his head and wings, clambered over to the aged pegasus captain in his heavy armor, and nearly shouted,

“I am Lieutenant Buzzbeak and the passengers are under arrest. Give them up peacefully, or we will take action, old pony.”

Several hours earlier...

“Hmmpffh. So you say war has been declared?”

“Yes. We should expect a fight when we dock.”

“I’d rather not risk the ship excessively, thank you.”

...

"You have lifeboats, right?”

Present...

“Raagh!’

Buzzbeak had this one chance at a promotion, and it had just slipped past his talons. There were supposed to be those cursed humans on that frigate. That specific frigate, yet. After having the third search conducted, the pony pointed out that he couldn’t conduct any more searches due to Griffon Law.

That pony is too smart for his own good, methinks.

With the threat of an arrest hanging over his head, Leutinent Buzzbeak returned to his garrison, leaving behind some guards to watch the dock for any other humans. Blasted things either hid too well, or somehow cloaked themselves from the eyes of the Griffons. That would not surprise Buzzbeak, given the remarkable amount of conflicting scuttlebutt about the humans. One moment, they were a force of unrivalled power, the next, they were little better than dirt. Buzzbeak didn’t know what to believe. Buzzbeak looked around his office, then settled in for a night’s work.

Paperwork again. It’s always more paperwork around here.

“Everybody ready?”

Rowboats that were supposed to be used for emergencies only were arranged in a straight line, ropes dangling along the formation. Oars slowly and silently churned the dark ocean water, nearing the lights of the town that was obscured slightly by the fog. After having gone into the lifeboats, the light of the frigate had guided this convoy until the sound of wingbeats was heard. All lifeboats immediately stopped, as per the plan. The front boat had Orator and Marcus riding in it, having made themselves battle-ready. The men in the boats behind likewise also had readied themselves for a fight. Soon, a message was passed down the line.

“”

The decision was not made lightly, but Orator and Marce calculated that if they proceeded with their original plan of simply fleeing back to their homelands, they would lose more than half their command to the constant fighting and hard marching required to make it back. Therefore, the decision was made to go back to Equestria, but the provisions aboard the frigate were not sufficient. They hatched a sneaky plan.

A plan that seems to be proceeding smoothly thus far. The men heard the wingbeats again and, after a time, the sound of a lone flute in the docked frigate.

That was the signal. All the men pulled on the long, thick rope securing them to the frigate. The silence was broken only by the waves and the sound of beating of men’s hearts in their ears. Eventually, the dock came into view. The little boats rode to the port of the frigate, where the ship was secured to the dock. The aged pony captain received the men, and threw over a rope ladder. The pony then rushed to his ship, beginning preparations for a fighting departure, if necessary. Ropes and clutter was scuffled about on the ship, and men disembarked from the lifeboats, abandoning them to the waves. There was too much to be done.

Footsteps indicated the approach of a Griffon patrol. Marce pointed to the Auxiliaries, then pointed in the direction of the incoming patrol. The lightly armed and armored youth ran into the fog to slay the Griffons. Upon sighting them, they threw their javelins. Practice and luck meant that they hit their mark, and four Griffons collapsed onto the dock, the heavy javelins awkwardly jutting out of them. Making sure to keep everyone together, Marce and Orator then began phase two. The Legionnaires took point, their thick soles clattering on the dock. The Auxiliaries retrieved their javelins, Auxiliary Attius among them. He took his blade and sunk it into the neck of the Griffon he had felled with his javelin. Looking into the face of the Griffon for a moment, he could not help but feel a pang of guilt at what he had done. He had slain monsters before, but this was like slaying a man. He was shaken from his thoughts by the Legion progressing, and his training and duty took over. He joined the formation of friends and brothers-in-arms. He would need their collective strength to last through the night.

The Legion, as silently as they could, approached the garrison, slaying any griffon they saw, including unarmed Griffons. Had they spotted the legion, they would’ve raised the alarm. In this they justified their actions. Their destination was the city garrison. The faster they could complete this objective of eliminating possible pursuers and get out, the better.

Making sure to remain quiet, the Legion progressed.

Boring, boring paperwork. Buzzbeak got up from his desk and worked his idle muscles. He circled the room a few times in contemplation. He then sat down and had another look at the papers, hoping something would make itself clearer to him. Frustrated, he worked long into the night.

*Thunk*

Until he collapsed fast asleep onto his desk, that is.

The Pawport City Garrison was finally in sight. No man knew how many griffons were inside, so a careful advance was ordered. The young Auxiliaries went first, and Attius was on point.

Peeking around the corner, Attius spotted two griffons acting as guards. He looked to his pals and mustered his courage. He jumped around the corner and threw his javelin, the other Auxiliaries following suit. The guards slumped over, several javelins jutting out of them. Some javelins missed their mark and impaled into the wall. The Auxiliaries rushed to the guards and recovered their javelins. Then they entered the Garrison Campus. Rushing towards cover, the Auxiliaries took stock of the situation. They could see buildings that could be the mess hall, or the barracks, or even the armory, but they weren’t sure which building was which. Attius ran outside and tapped his shield. After the legionnaires walked up, Attius said,

“There’s no activity inside the garrison. Want to sweep the barracks?”

Legionnaire Primus grinned, then said,

“It would be our pleasure. Legionnaires, on me. I’m on point.”

Legionnaire Primus, as per his namesake, was first into the line of long buildings. Attius heard some dark chuckling, then the sounds of struggle, with the occasional sound of a gladius hitting its mark. Attius shook off the dread he was feeling and progressed to what looked to be an officer’s cabin, if the decorations and flags were any indication.

Attius approached the structure and pressed his ear to the door. Nothing. Either the enemy was in wait or was unaware of the attack occurring. Both warranted a slow approach. He tested the door. It was locked.

So much for that.

With a grunt, Attius bashed the door down. No one in the lobby. Attius charged up the stairs. A griffon guard with a spear appeared. The guard “BW’AK”d in surprise, but then thrust his spear at Attius. Attius bashed aside the spear out of the guard’s clutch, and it fell to the floor with a clatter. The griffon only had enough time to give a look of disbelief before Attius drove his javelin into the guard’s heart. The griffon guard fell to the ground, clutching desperately for a means to save himself. Attius silenced the griffon with a swift stab from his knife, then proceeded.

*BANG*

Buzzbeak got up with a start. Those clumsy guards were up to no good again. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and he heard more scuffling and banging. Buzzbeak got up to deal with partying griffons again, and was startled to see a human advancing past a downed griffon.

Training taking over, Buzzbeak unsheathed his cutlass and swiped at the sneaky little mammal. The human ducked under the strike and punched Buzzbeak with his small shield. Buzzbeak recoiled, then backed from the quick jab from the human’s knife. Buzzbeak then jabbed at the human with his own weapon. The human backed away, and readied his shield.

Seems like a decent strike will destroy it, and the hand underneath.

Buzzbeak raised his sword for a downward strike. The human backed away further. Buzzbeak then leaped forward and swung. Buzzbeak put all he had into the swing. The human leveled his shield, so the cutlass was deflected at an angle. The human jabbed at Buzzbeak’s sword arm, but he withdrew.

Both combatants backed off, each having reached an impasse. Buzzbeak saw the human reach behind him, withdrawing a javelin. With a warcry, Buzzbeak charged at the human, preparing a stab. The human hastily threw the javelin, and it fell wide of the target. Buzzbeak pumped his wings once to gain extra momentum. This would surely end the fight, with him as the victor. The human ducked, but the sword nicked his shoulder. Then the human did something Buzzbeak didn’t anticipate.

Attius had invested into a dangerous game, one which he hoped would pay off. He had dropped his knife and his shield and had tried to duck under the griffon’s sword. Just before the griffon went to the other side of him, Attius grabbed the griffon by the midsection and pinned him to the ground. Then began a fierce wrestling brawl. The two tumbled about as they threw punches and kicks at each other. They clawed at each other, leaving marks in the other. The officer griffon had abandoned his sword and was fighting for his life, as was Attius. The two even resorted to biting each other, drawing blood from the other.

Eventually the tussle paused when the griffon officer pinned Attius. The griffon spied the knife of the human auxiliary, and grasped it. The officer then stabbed downwards. Attius barely caught the griffon’s wrists. The knife was aimed at Attius’ face, and it was all he could do to prevent his own knife to strike down its lifelong owner. Attius pondered the irony of fighting off his own knife for a heartbeat; just then, he was struck with an idea. Attius forced the knife away from his face for a moment, causing the Griffon to redouble his effort. Attius then relaxed some; the sudden movement made the griffon slip. Attius then guided his knife into the gut of the officer.

Ugh.

It could not be. Buzzbeak, a proud Griffon Officer of the Skies, had been bested by this animal. Previously unimaginable pain shot through his whole body, with his gut hurting the worst.

Obviously.

Time seemed to slow for Buzzbeak as he fell from his position onto the floor. In his state, it seemed that the young man took his time in recovering. He then clambered on top of Buzzbeak, rage overtaking the animal’s face. The human withdrew the knife from the guts of Buzzbeak, even more pain somehow overtaking Buzzbeak’s consciousness, along with the worst sensation of his lifeblood oozing from him.

That was soon the least of his worries, though. The human drove the knife down again and again, striking Buzzbeak in random places. Buzzbeak was too much in shock at this point to resist, so he gave in to the blackness that encroached his vision.

Attius finally decided that he had stabbed the griffon enough times, and slid off. He inspected his shoulder.

That’ll have to be patched up immediately.

He then looked to the dead griffon which he had just fought. His beak was open, but his eyes were shut. It almost looked peaceful, if it weren’t for the multiple stab wounds. Attius chuckled, then said to the griffon, partially mocking,

“”

He laughed heartily, then went on his way.

Author's Note

fine jeez