It was days like today that Swift Wind loved more than anything else. The air was warm without being too hot, there weren't a lot of clouds in the sky and there were lots of thermals which meant he could glide effortlessly through the sky. Or at least he would have had he not suffered a bit of an accident the other day and sprained his right wing. As such it was bandaged up and he was told to leave it alone for a couple of weeks until it healed. And so he found himself walking along the ground like a boring old earth pony but he didn't mind too much because he had a mission.
Swift Wind was a messenger, his cutie mark was a scroll with wings and when princess Twilight Sparkle had asked him to deliver a treaty to the Griffon Empire he jumped at the chance. He literally jumped at it because when he heard he launched himself into the air only to collide with Derpy the mailmare as she was making her rounds. Derpy apologized profusely but Swift Wind told her it was fine. He just couldn't stay mad at the sweet, yet simple muffin loving mare.
When Nurse Redheart told him that it would be a few weeks before his wing healed he felt down. After all, flying is what made pegasi special but he quickly got over it because he had a job to do. Truth be told he would have done anything for Twilight Sparkle. He had always fancied the princess even before she had become an Alicorn and she was still only the librarian in Ponyville. He was constantly making excuses to go to the library and they had cultivated a bit of a friendship since then. He of course wanted her as more than just a friend but she was kinda seeing a guard pony by the name of Flash Sentry.
Flash Sentry. Just his name alone was enough to put a frown on Swift Wind's face. He was everything that Swift Wind wasn't. He was large, strong, handsome, popular with the fillies and had the most dreamy eyes that Swift Wind had ever seen. He shook his head to get rid of that tiny voice in the back of his mind. No, he wasn't a colt cuddler. It was... just a bit of a stallion crush on another stallion. That is before he started seeing Twilight Sparkle. Yes, that was it. Swift Wind liked the mares and only the mares he told himself that over and over again.
So he showed up at the library where the princess always spent her time while in Ponyville and told her that even with his sprained wing, he was still on the job. Twilight Sparkle looked at him uncertainly but when she saw the resolve on his face agreed and gave him the treaty along with some gold and gems as a peace offering for the Most High of the griffons.
"Why do we need to give an Emperor gold and jewels? Wouldn't he have enough?" Swift Wind asked as the saddlebags were placed on his back.
"I read in a book that you need to provide a peace offering or tribute when visiting a foreign dignitary. It's not like you could just give him a flower you picked up by the side of the road," Twilight said with a smile.
"Maybe not, but a flower would be a lot lighter and if he didn't like it I could always give it to you after..." Swift Wind said in what he hoped was a smooth way. He looked at Twilight Sparkle, hoping to see a glimmer of the same feelings he had for her but all he saw was confusion. "... I mean I know you like daisy sandwiches so you know..." he finished lamely.
"Thank you but it's really not necessary," Twilight said seemingly oblivious to his innuendo.
Swift Wind sighed in defeat but raised his head up high and marched proudly out of the library towards the Griffon Empire. Actually he headed towards the train station. It would have been foal's play to reach the empire had he still had the use of his wings but he didn’t have that option so he had to take the train. If he were to try this on foot it would take weeks instead of just a day so he would need to take the train as far as he could. There were no trains that went directly there. In fact it would still be several hours trot from the closest station to the border of the empire but at least he'd get there soon.
He was dozing in his seat when he heard the conductor call out, "Fort Equus! Next stop Fort Equus!" Swift Wind quickly gathered his things and exited the train. He didn't really know what to expect, but he thought it would be something more than just a tiny town and a wooden fort. Swift Wind looked around but nothing really caught his interest so he shifted his flanks to get the saddlebags in a more comfortable and made his way in the direction of the Griffon Empire.
The journey there was a lot harder than he would have thought. He wasn't really used to walking for such a long period of time and after a couple of hours his hooves really started to get sore. "How do earth ponies and unicorns do it?" he groused. Looking longingly at the sky, he thought that he could have flown to the Griffon Empire and back twice by now in the time it was taking him to walk.
Sighing as much in defeat as in pain he continued on his way but picked up his pace a bit when he heard a babbling brook not too far away. He made his way eagerly to the water where he dipped his head in and took a long drink of the cold, fresh water. He figured this was as good a place as any to take a break so he lay back on the shore, his rear hooves dangling in the water while he looked up at the fluffy white clouds in the sky. One of the clouds looked a little like a unicorn and he imagined it to be Twilight Sparkle. He idly picked up a daisy within hoof's reach and held it up to the sky. "Twilight. I've always loved you from the moment I first set eyes on you but I never had the courage to say anything about it. Would you accept this small token of my affection?" He paused before shifting his voice up to a higher register in an attempt to mimic the mare of his dreams. "Oh thank you Swift Wind, you're so thoughtful and kind. Of course I'll accept it. Flash Sentry isn't half the stallion you are. Kiss me now!" Swift Wind brought the daisy to his lips and kissed it a few times before taking a bite and chewing it idly.
Enough stalling. He groaned slightly as he got back to his hooves and put his saddlebags back on and continued on his way.
Hours later, his goal was finally in sight. The Griffon Empire lay before him as the sign in front of him declared but while there was a guard tower and barrier across the road, there didn't seem to be anypony or griffon in sight.
"Hello?" he called out. "Anypony home?" Not getting an answer he made his way to the guard tower and carefully peeked in the window. The room was a bit of a mess. Chairs were strewn about and a table had been knocked over. There were signs of a struggle but beyond that it was eerily quiet. He looked about a few times just to make sure that nopony was looking and made his way across the border into Griffon territory.
So far, nothing seemed out of order and looked perfectly ordinary as he walked down the only path available. He kept nervously looking over his shoulder just in case some griffon was following him before he remembered that they could fly as well. Looking up he worried that he might run into one and they'd get angry and chase him so he looked forward again. Eventually, after trying to look everywhere at once he just squared his shoulders, set his eyes straight ahead of him and marched forwards. He might not be able to see behind him or see if any griffons were following him but he'd made damn sure that if one was following him, he didn't look like some damned bobblehead.
Hours passed and he felt himself getting tired. He had hoped to have found a town or village by now where he could have gotten something to eat and place to rest. It was because of this fatigue that he didn't catch on quite fast enough what he had been smelling for the past few moments, namely smoke. Where there was smoke, there was fire and where there was fire there was civilization. With a spring in his step he held his head high and trotted towards food, drink and a nice soft bed.
What he found however was different. It was a town, or more accurately the smoking ruins of one. In the distance he could hear crying as griffons searched for their loved ones and a little closer he heard what sounded like somepony... or griffon being hurt. Well he couldn’t stand for that and raced forward, his fatigue and sore hooves forgotten as he came on the scene of a large male griffon beating up a female while she was tied up and unable to defend herself.
"So you gonna tell me where the resistance is or do I needs to help you refresh your memory a little more?" the male said while cracking his talons an a menacing manner.
"Give it up dweeb, you ain't making me talk!" the female coughed. She sounded tired but there was still a note of defiance that gave it surprising strength.
"I was hoping you'd say something like that," he smiled menacingly and reared back to hit her again. She tried to steel herself against crying out and closed her eyes only to hear a dull thunk before she felt his body hit the ground. Cracking one eye open she saw something that really surprised her. A small red pegasus holding a rock in his hooves had knocked out the male griffon cold. He looked just as surprised as she did and stared dumbly at the body of the larger griffon currently lying on the ground.
"Hey, snap out of it and get me out of this!" she called to him.
Swift Wind blinked and shook his head as if to clear it and went about freeing the captive griffon. She hissed in pain as the circulation to her limbs was replaced with pins and needles. "Thanks for that. Not that I couldn't have handled it myself, but he got the drop on me." She stared at Swift Wind for a moment as he just stared at her dumbly. "Whatsa matter with you? Griffon got yer tongue?"
"No... sorry... I've just never met a griffon before. Uhmmm... yeah... my name is Swift Wind. I'm a messenger from Equestria and I was supposed to deliver a treaty to the Emperor but I find this instead," he said indicating the devastation with his functional wing.
"Yeah, it's been hell since the uprising. But looks like yer too late. Th'Emperor's dead. He was killed by his own son who wanted ta take the empire fer himself, we've been fightin' him and his troops ever since. Anyway, th' name's Gilda," she held out a claw and Swift Wind shook it a little awkwardly. "First thing we need ta do is get off th' streets. If any of th' troops find us out in th' open we're in for a heap o' trouble and no offense ta ya, but yer kinda puny and with that busted wing a' yers we ain't gonna be able ta fly outta here."
Swift Wind didn't know how to respond to that. On one hoof she had pretty much insulted him with that puny remark and while it was true he wasn't a very big pony he thought at least she could have been nicer about everything. That of course and the fact that he was still a little shocked with the revelation that the Empire had crumbled. Technically it also meant that his job here was over. He should go back to Twilight Sparkle and tell her the news but at the same time he couldn't leave Gilda alone. Celestia knows that while she might be putting on a tough exterior, she had been beaten quite badly and might need somepony around to help her.
Gilda led the way but Swift Wind noticed that she was favoring her left side and that each time she took a step she'd wince a bit in pain. He moved around to her other side and said, "you can lean on me if you need some support." The reaction he got was not what he expected.
She whirled on him, her beak snapping the air just in front of his muzzle which caused him to pull back in surprise. "I don't need any help! Especially not from some damn puny little pony!" Her eyes blazed with fury but Swift Wind did see the pain in her eyes and the way that her muscles were trembling trying to keep herself upright.
Swallowing his fear he said to her, "I know you're in pain and I won't tell anypony that you are. Being stubborn will not make it go away any faster." When Gilda didn't budge he added, "it's not weak to admit that you're hurt especially to the pony that saved you. Now, you said we need to get off the streets and if you lean on me and let me help you we might have a better chance of making it out of here." He stepped over to her and placed his good wing over her back as well as he could. For a moment he felt like she wouldn't move but then he felt the tension leave her and she hooked her talon over his shoulders allowing him to take some of her weight.
"Don't think for a minute that I need ta do this. I'm only doing this because I want ya to shut up," she said quietly.
"You don't need to worry about that. Now, where do we go next?"
Gilda led him through the streets, staying to the shadows as best they could before they got to an old abandoned building. Looking both ways to make sure that there were no witnesses, Gilda quickly removed some of the boards before slipping inside and letting Swift Wind in after her. Once the boards had been replaced she led him to a trap door that opened onto a set of stairs descending into the darkness.
"Welcome to the resistance," Gilda said before ushering him downstairs and closing the trap door behind them.
