Death of Generationsby The ShadeChaptersMiracle of TwoMirrors of the PastThe BeatingsThe EscapeMiracle of TwoAuthor Notes: Blame THIS GUYfor any mental and / or physical injuries that happened during this story, read at your own risk. Soundtrack: Gettsyburg Soundtrack: Main Theme I would however suggest reading this with the music stated as they come, have a nice day and Sir Shade out. *** Chapter one - The Miracle of Two *** "Sorry honey, but I must go, if King Fyron were to get suspicious I don't even want to think about what would happen!" The griffin enveloped her in his wings, she calmed down from the warmth that radiated from it. "Bu-" he interrupted her with a kiss. "I'll be back, I promise." He pulled away with a smile, spreading his wings like an eagle he parted ways and flew out using the window as if it were a door, leaving no room to argue. "Please, do come back, Thornforg, I don't know what I would do without you." She smiled down at her stomach, she could feel a small kick and a chuckle escaped her throat. "Who would think that a Griffin would be able to get a earth pony pregnant without the aid off magic?" the question lingered in the air and a heavy silence filled the room for a moment before someone knocked on the door, out of paranoia she jumped into the air and almost drew her wrist blade. "Yes?" She called out, a little unnerved at the thought that it might be griffins coming to take her away, what if they found out about Thornforg and her? Maybe they saw him fly out of the window! What would she do? "Ma'am, you'll have to pay rent tonight if you want to be here tomorrow." The words was like sweet nectar to hear ears, and with a grunt she made her way over to the mirror, her slightly tinted pink eyes shone like two miniature suns, her mane looked a bit disheveled but nothing a bath couldn't fix, the yellow mane didn't stand out too much with the rest of her body, but it's a difference one can easily spot, a thin yellow color adored her coat, her cutie mark off a plate with panckaes and a crystal on top, she snickered a little at the thought of how she got it. She looked around in the room, the gray marble making it almost look like an ancient castle clashing with her silver mirror, a lone bed stood in the far end off the room, the tangled sheets clearly stating she's had a visitor. With a sigh, she called out to the young colt "Yes, of course, i'll be there in a minute, just need to find my bits." this was a lie, she knew exactly where her bits was, she never let them out of her sight for longer then a few hours at max. She went over to her bed and fixed the sheets, her nose wrinkled slightly at the smell of sweat and other unpleasant fluids, ignoring this until later she took out fifteen bits from her coin purse under the bed and made her way over to the door, opening it she instantly saw one griffin and one young colt. A little nervously she handed the young pony her fifteen bits, the griffin watched on with a passive expression, his eyes wandering around the room before setting on her mirror. "Excuse me ma'am, is that your mirror?" he nodded towards it, a faint clinking of metal on metal could be heard as he did so, with a sideways glance she saw the large broadsword attached to his right side. "Why yes, yes it is, it's a family heirloom passed down for a few generations." she prepared herself for an assault, few Griffins had any respect for ponies and those that did was usually sent to be executed under the charges of "Treachery" He nodded slowly before attempting to enter the room, Griffins may be strong but earth ponies held strength and size over them any day off the week, which is why he found himself unable to get past her. "Excuse me, Miss..." He let it hang in the air as he kept his impassive expression on, though she could see a small smile start to form at the side off his beak if you watched closely. "Crystal Pancakes, and I believe that under user agreement one six two page B paragraph four it clearly states that no inhabitant must let any armed resident into their room unless under suspicion of a crime, and I believe that my record is clean." His smile faltered before it was even completed, and a deep scowl replaced it. "Now you listen to me Miss Pancake-" She interrupted him with a smug grin. "I prefer Miss Crystal, my friends call me Crystal." her smug look only made the griffin angrier. "Very well then, Miss Crystal" He spat the word out like a sour poison. "If you expect me to believe that a broke whore of a pony would be able to afford that mirror, even if it was passed down for generations, you're sorely mistaken, you've clearly stolen it, and I know just who's wall it would look so much better on." This time he gave her a sinister smile as his talon moved towards his sword, getting a better look at the blade she could see the poor item, it was dented, bent and slightly blunt, probably something he found on the streets after a gang brawl. "Who knows? Maybe even i'll get a promotion for killing a pony thief who's stolen a high commanders silver mirror." He spat, the small colt slowly started backing away, Crystal Pancakes knew it wasn't long before reinforcements arrived. "Your blade is blunter than your personality, Griffin, I would be surprised if you even managed to cut butter with that thing." She braced herself for impact, knowing the anger problems a lot of Griffins had. "It may not be the sharpest tool in the box, but you're just a pony! I would be surprised if you even knew how to wield a blade." He lunged forward with a downward slash, feeling it connect with something he let out a shout of triumph, before he heard a sigh from underneath him, his eyes went wide as he heard his sword crack, falling to the ground he looked up to see Crystal move towards him, shards of his blade adoring her hooves. He tried to defend himself with his broken broadsword, the kick she sent connected with it and he felt his arm crack. "How shameful, a griffin defeated by a pony? I won't kill you, you'll never live to see the light of day anyways, I know what Fyron does to those who brings shame to his people." He started shaking, thinking of what happened to the weak griffins. "I'll be an exception! I'll bring him your head, Horse!" Crystals eyes went darker, and the aura emitting from her seemed to change from rightful justice to something more... Sinister. "Very well, be that way, bird." She turned around, and with a single swift kick from one leg she knocked the griffin right out. *** Three Months Later. *** Crystal Pancakes was in pain. Yet she couldn't be happier. She was going to be a mother, the only question that lingered in her mind was 'Is it going to be a Griffin... Or a pony?' A question indeed, for the century. If she only knew. *** One hour later. *** Crystal looked down at her child with a mix of sadness, pride and questions, the second emotion winning out. "Oh... If only your father was here to see you now." She smiled down at the griffin and pony hybrid, the rear hooves blending nicely with the rest of his body, a white beak adored his face as he blinked up on his mother. "What to name you..? You're so much like your father, except your little white beak... I wounder what Thorn would have called you?" She giggled and gently caressed his head. "Probably something silly, like Tyron, or Tartian, he always liked names that started on a T, he said it stood for Tenderness, and it's something every warrior would have, else he'dd be just a beast." She read the words from memory as if it was a manuscript, and she was the star actor, perfectly mimicking the tone and words. The small, wooden room with little a single silver mirror adoring it's wall, on top of a desk just beneath the mirror there was a letter simply stating Fyron, she knew that they would find her sooner or later, her only wish was that her child would be far away when they do. She let out a weak sigh and forced herself awake, the grin on her face betraying how tired she felt. "I'm so sleepy... I wish I could just... Just sleep, yes... Sleep sounds good." She looked at her son one last time and muttered her final words. "You're so beautiful, White Beak." Her eyes slowly closed, and with a smile on her lips Crystal left this world. Mirrors of the Past*** Mirrors of the Past, by _Shade_, collab with Horny Horse (Blame him<). *** He barely had time to catch his breath, trudging along the deep and thick waters that reminded him more of oil than something drinkable, the marsh is a truly unforgiving place "at least it's not the orphanage," he barely even muttered it in fear of something, or worse, someone catching his voice in the quiet death-trap ponies and griffins feared alike, it's said to be haunted by Those That Came Before, ancient gods powerful enough to destroy the universe if they so pleased. His brown feathers stuck out in the green marsh like a broken horn, his shallow pink eyes hid his fear well, looking almost like search beacons in the dark. He dodged under a large tree and caught his ear in a branch, ripping it he swore loudly before going dead silent. Off all the things... Having ears suck. Walking forward he had to side-step an evil looking tree, if you looked closely on his beak, you might see a hint of a smile. Silly woods the thought passed his mind just as he exited The Marsh and into something that might once have resembled the ruins of a town. Not that I would know. Looking around his eyes scanned the whittled ruins, a dejected sigh ejected itself from his beak, his mind went back to that book he read in the orphanage, The Six Heroes, oh how I would need them now. He traced a talon on the nearest house, frowning as it dug unto the once-wood turned charcoal, the once beautiful town was everything but gone, it seemed like giant houses had been ripped out of the ground and thrown onto other buildings, continuing his walk he noticed a rather absurb thing, the glass roads stopped and started melding with something white and gray, walking forward he picked up a loose piece of gray/white matter, the texture reminded him of a skull but the shape looked like it had been a part of the ground of several thousand years. About to put it back he noticed it getting hotter, looking down he saw smoldering ashes of what had surely been a fire, they looked alive and only needed a breeze to set the whole world ablaze. His mind slowly made a connection, nothing had moved this one piece of rock in at least several hundred years and even less would even notice it was there. Dropping the piece of rock he winced as he heard the clang, it wasn't that of metal or rock, it was that of bone. Dragon Fire... They managed to melt the bones... He felt sick to his stomach and the smell of fresh ashes upon bones was not helping him. He thought back to the book of the six heroes, of how they bravely fought against the corrupted Queen that plunged the world into the darkness for all eternity to follow. Her name escaped him as the book merely discribed her as The Dark Queen, Harbringer of Anarchy or Wife of Sombra, the only brief mentioning of her name in the entire book was at the end of the first chapter, wherein she was "defeated." He allowed a smile to grace his beak as he reached into his bags and pulled out the thick book and opened the first page, sitting down on a rock. "ეპუ ძშჩ პუკუწძქ ეპუ ვფკო ღგუუიქ ეპუ ვუფეპ წთ აუიუკფეშწიძბ" "Hey, this thing on? Good, i'm not doing this again, Scales and if you muck this up we're going without you." Scales nodded and switched a small red switch on some strange device. "Hey Crusher, can you hear me? This stupid thing malfunctions more than a ღგუუილშაპე(ძ crossbow!" there was a buzzing sound before a voice came through. "Well, both mine and Pearl's working just fine, so you must've screwed up at your end." A voice confirmed the notion in the background. "So, any news on ღგუუი ძეფლლთფლლ? I hear she's busy and that's bad news for us, Blackeye." Scales nodded behind the device and gestured towards a clock on the wall. Blackeye sighed "Well Crusher, the device is out of magic and we're still working on the prototype for our Gazien, gotta dash." "Aye'" the voice buzzed out after the confirmation. Blackeye leaned back on the couch and looked up in the roof. "This is going to take a while, isn't it, Scales?" He sat down next to Blackeye and folded his wing around her. "Yeah, ძეფკთფლლ was the magician and scientist, Pearl's great for making armor and weaponry, but... We simply started too late to finish first," he sighed dejectedly and looked at the emerald green gem, shining there and taunting him with good memories. "We atta move, Blackeye, this location isn't very safe" She nodded at him and both flew out the window, heading in a seemingly random direction. He closed the book and looked towards The Marsh, everything was quiet save the rustling of leaves and the gentle wind blowing through his feathered neck. Shaking his head he went towards a road he saw earlier, the almost beautiful destruction of the Village made him feel kind of bad, in a strange way, he didn't know any of the citizens that may once have lived here nor did he actually care. He moved along the road with the faintest of a smile gracing his lips, the bright eyes stood out in the surroundings so he reached into his bag and put a pair of shades and put them on his beak. This town... It doesn't seem haunted, the thought almost seemed to echo in his mind as he made his way to one of the more... Whole houses, namely it had brick walls but the roof was ripped off it. **************************************************************************************************************************************************** "Ahhhhhhh!" The screech came from closeby as he was rudely ripped from his dreams by the sound. "What the fu-" he bolted outside and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight, a yellow pony with pink mane stood cowering in front of some ugly demon. "Seven Bell's...." He said, reaching for his sword with a talon he had the jank the jagged and broken thing out of it's seath. The demon snapped towards him and charged, the large claws ready to tear his head off, then probably skin him, and if he's really lucky it'll do it in that order. His eyes went wide as he ducked under a swing, not trusting his cheap short saber to protect him from the raging demon thing, he had to trust the poorly made thing to stop the demons foot as it came rushing downwards, the sadly broken blade barely cut through the skin as it blocked. The demon roared as it backed away, his arms were already sore from the strain of blocking such a heavy being. Stupid cheap thing... Apparently mocking the sword was more important than paying attention to the fight and the demon seized it's oppretunity and sliced him across the chin down to his beak, swearing loudly he backed off, guarding with his right talon as he attempted to wipe blood out of his right eye but to no avail. He looked at the demon just as it roared and got an idea, he charged forward even though he was constantly wincing from the pain spreading across his face. The demon noticed him and roared harder, he had to use his wings to keep him from falling over. Pushing a little extra at the end the demon clipped his wing midflight, not even the adrenaline pumping in his veins allowed him to fully ignore the pain yet he pushed on, ramming his nearly broken sword into the demon's throat through it's open mouth, a gurgle escaped it as the life slowly faded from it's eyes. He kept a wing out to not fall over, slowly making his way to the pony that eventaully unfurled from the filly ball she was. "H-hey..." He coughed and pulled his best smile on her. She didn't look at him but rather continued to stare wide-eyed at the ground behind him, the slain demon was oozing out some weird grey liquid. "Hey, don't worry here girl, the demon's not going to harm you any more," as if registering for the first time that there was another being in her company she gulped and turned to him, a scared look on her face. "Thanks... I didn't expect from it to breach the ward," she looked to a circle on the ground, several inscriptions and runes on the corners, she angrily muttered something and kicked some dirt over it. In the meantime, he backpadelled, a shocked expression on his face. "Is that..?" He gestured towards the circle. "Dunno, friend told me to guard it," she shrugged and kept kicking dirt over it. "... And where is this friend of yours now?" He asked with a slight tilt of his head. "Don't know, she just told me to wait here," she walked around in a circle before laying down on the ground like a cat. "How long ago was that? Maybe I can catch up with her?" Maybe I can earn their trust. "She went into the forest looking for a rare ingredient about.... Ohhh three years ago?" He stopped his pacing and fell on his face in shock. Janking his beak out of the ground he turned to her and practically shouted "Three years?!" She just nodded. "... Miss, what's your name?" She smiled at him. "I'm Posey, nice to meet you, terribly sorry for holding you up bu- Wha? Where am I?" Her eyes glazed over before returning to normal. "I mean, I'm Posey, sorry for holding you up but I must be on my way, Mr..." She looked at him with a slight frown. He started walking away, out of town before throwing a look behind him. "White, Miss Posey, White Beak." The Beatings( The Beatings by _Shade_, collab with Horny Horse, Blame him for any/all injuries. ) Appear weak when you're strong and strong when you're weak, for the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting ~ Art of War. White Beak had to excuse himself from Posey, the pony merely going back to watching the thing, and the half griffin walking of to who knows where, with a thought in his mind. Death, it was a natural part of life and one of the few things all species had in common, maybe except dragons, but even they will fall for no one is immortal. For some however, death is something unnatural and should be warded off with all means necessary, White Beak was one of these beings and was therefor highly alerted by his own willingness to protect that mare, he even forgot her name. Am I... Suicidal? he shook the silly thought out of his head, sure he's been through some tough times but he's fine. ...Right? Sighing he trudged along the road and checked his gear, frowning at the broken sword "Well old friend, we had a good run, right?" He kept the broken sword, even though there only was the hilt left. "I'll make it up to you, Big Bro." Despite his now depressed look, the young gryphon... Pony thing continued walking, a sinking feeling in his gut, he walked for hours until the town was no where in sight and a single, lone tree was hanging limply on a hill like it had been facing down great tornadoes, he looked at the night sky and nodded to himself making beeline for the tree, nothing really interesting about the spot, it wasn't good for an ambush and seemed to be a fairly abandoned location, he settled down and slept next to it. ***Thirteen years ago*** "Guys look, it's the freak!" A rather large colt said, White Beak felt his eyes go wide as he instantly dashed down the street, the big colt merely laughed and ran after him, the four hooves and earth pony strength combined proved to be more than a match for the hippogrif as he easily caught up, cornering him outside The Salted Cereal they smiled at his panicked face, the rather narrow alley offered no protection as he bumped into the wall, the constant sound of thumping and moans was heard inside the house next to them practically ensured that no one would hear them, as if to merely add insult to injury a large drunken stallion shambled out of the brothel/pub, looked straight at them and passed out. A swift blow to the gut forced the air out of his lungs as the big colt attacked, the smaller children behind him cheered on such as... "You get him, Glasses!" A small green filly shouted, her wings fluttering. "The beak! Crack it!" The brown colt turned around and kicked him in the face, a sickening crack echoed through the valley. Tears streaming down his face, the poor hippogriff brought his talons up to protect him but they merely buckled as Glasses kicked him in the chest, sending him sprawling, hitting the wall with his head he barely managed to stay conscious, but before he went unconscious his eye managed to catch a gray, hulking shape with sharp teeth behind him, then... It all went black. Waking up some time later he found his wounds treated, the broken bones in his chest still made it clear that it was no time to move around, and his twisted talons prevented him from doing so. "I'm in Haltrin, it's clear..." The pain in his body didn't leave much other options to think. He looked around the room, plain gray walls painted it in a somewhat dull light, a rather obscure axe on the wall seemed to be the only thing here save but him and the bed. There was no windows in the room, yet it seemed as if there was sunlight pouring in from overhead, twisting his neck he spotted more gray. His limbs groaned in pain from exertion, the sloppy bandages didn't look well, he stayed there for nearly an hour before the door opened. "Ei, ye' finalie awake now ye squirt?" Not wanting to anger whoever was here, he nodded. "Good, we 'r woried fer y'e, we had da held Hyper away from ye wit' fire" White attempted to answer, but with his beak bandages a mere gurgle came out. "Na need t' telk, squirt, eim' jus' her' ta grab me axe, ye rest now." He heard a slinking noise from his left, then heavy stomps at whoever that was in there walked out. *** ??? The Alleyway. "Look we're sorry!" Glasses practically wailed at the dragon, " 'ow meny tim's 'e said dat, eh?!" He gestured to the unconscious hippogriff. Glasses went tight-lipped, the other ponies had galloped out of there once the lumbering beast had emerged so he had to face this dragon surely six times bigger than him by himself. "Dats what'a thought!" the dragon felt a grumble in his chest rise, and before long Glasses could hear it too, he just prayed that his friends would get some help. "B-but he's a freak!" "..." The sound overwrote that of the brothel to their left and the colt felt his legs grow weak, the dragon opened his maw and roared. Glasses passed out in a puddle of his own urine He walked out from the alleyway before a groaning was heard from behind him, snarling he went to knock the colt out, yet flipping the piss stained pony showed no emotion other than some relatively ragged breathing. Looking around he spotted the groaning heap, he'dd completely forgotten about him, giving him a quick analyze he figured the child to be alive, sighing slightly he threw the hippogriff over his back and made his way out of the alleyway. *** 'Present' White woke up in a cold sweat and with a rather unpleasant facial expression, quickly gathering his thoughts he slumped onto the ground, "... I hate sleep" he groaned and rolled over, the morning sun filtered through the tree which meant he slept through the entire night. He set out towards the road, luggage over one shoulder and the breeze molesting his other with its gentle touch, ruffling his feathers and picking at his ears White Beak sighed. "Maybe, Greyfeather is on my side this day." he chuckles at the old joke before flinching. "Guess I still haven't come out of this habit, well, you know what they say..." He shudders as the wind touches him in a strange place, he lifts his wing to see how it could have in under there, maybe he left a few feathers out of place? "... Die hard." The EscapeEntire chapter is written in Present Tense, I am aware of this and I have a reason for it. The Escape written by _Shade_ collab with Horny Horse, blame him for the majority of injuries. He forces the little clothing he has into the small backpack, a rusty fork for luck and six bits, his life savings and his first feather. Dig had been clear on the instructions, get out of the orphanage before midnight, and meet them at The Soggy Toast, don't get followed. This proves far more difficult than White thought, not even once before did he attempt to escape the orphanage and for a good reason, any child caught outside at night had sixteen lashings in front of them, it doesn't help that all adults seemingly hates him for no reason and acted fairly violent towards him. Haltrin be damned if he didn't make it though, after all the pain he'd gone through... He takes a calm breath and look out the window, he had managed to open it with a bit of tinkering at the side, he jumps onto the side and looks back at his brown, dirty room once more, scanning it for anything left behind, he smacks a talon across his face and walks to the bed to take his bed sheets and jump out the window, he does not want to be caught by any Republicans scanning the skies. White Beak glides with his wings narrowly open to catch just enough air to stop his fall, he turns around from the tree he landed in and look up at the Orphanage, the window he jumped out of looming ominously over him from the third floor, he shudders and starts climbing down the tree. Crack White Beak's blood runs cold as he slowly crane his neck and sees a guard, Monarchist if he remembers correctly, blood running cold he jumps down from the branch he was on and run, thankfully the pony behind him is a unicorn and can't catch the speeding hippogriff, if you listen closely, you may even hear him grit his teeth. This was not what he wanted at all, if the Solars catches up to him... Well, it may not be as bad as what could happen if it was a Republican Pegasus... Thankfully, years of running from bullies had toned his frame into what one could mistake for an arrow, were you not looking closely. He turns the corner and slams into something head first, a splitting pain makes itself known in his forehead as he looks up at the Monarchist pony. ... Haltrin must hate me. he thinks as he turns around, angry shouts are heard from behind him, of all the nights why did it have to be this? "He's around the corner! He's heading to the Salted Cereal!" A voice shouts, male he believes, not that you'll know with the enchantments. Talons, hooves and wings break the silence of the night, frantic shouting can be heard from where he came, a voice soon follows. "He must have managed to incapacitate her! Send the fliers after him, no use sending the magicians." No time to think, no time to slow down... I'm supposed to turn here... Just as he finished the thought he nearly gets caught by a charging grounder coming out of the alleyway, thankfully his reflexes had managed to pull his wings in. "Alright... Just two more turns..." Even though he was well aware that he'll be charging headfirst into the military's ranks, he had little other choice. Coming out of the alleyway he spreads his wings and uses them to boost his speed in a straight line for nearly half a kilometer, taking a sharp left he spares one last glance at the wooden houses in the rundown town, for now. And runs straight into a dragon. White catches his breath for a second before letting it out, peering around the alleyway he sees some incapacitated guards, all Solars. "Thank Haltrin you're here, I was seriously about to turn myself in" White Beak pant out. The dragon nods and begins leading the way at an even but quick pace, they head through tunnels and soon, the sound of Solars and Republicans die down. A smile makes it's way to White Beaks face, "Finally... No more running."
Miracle of TwoAuthor Notes: Blame THIS GUYfor any mental and / or physical injuries that happened during this story, read at your own risk. Soundtrack: Gettsyburg Soundtrack: Main Theme I would however suggest reading this with the music stated as they come, have a nice day and Sir Shade out. *** Chapter one - The Miracle of Two *** "Sorry honey, but I must go, if King Fyron were to get suspicious I don't even want to think about what would happen!" The griffin enveloped her in his wings, she calmed down from the warmth that radiated from it. "Bu-" he interrupted her with a kiss. "I'll be back, I promise." He pulled away with a smile, spreading his wings like an eagle he parted ways and flew out using the window as if it were a door, leaving no room to argue. "Please, do come back, Thornforg, I don't know what I would do without you." She smiled down at her stomach, she could feel a small kick and a chuckle escaped her throat. "Who would think that a Griffin would be able to get a earth pony pregnant without the aid off magic?" the question lingered in the air and a heavy silence filled the room for a moment before someone knocked on the door, out of paranoia she jumped into the air and almost drew her wrist blade. "Yes?" She called out, a little unnerved at the thought that it might be griffins coming to take her away, what if they found out about Thornforg and her? Maybe they saw him fly out of the window! What would she do? "Ma'am, you'll have to pay rent tonight if you want to be here tomorrow." The words was like sweet nectar to hear ears, and with a grunt she made her way over to the mirror, her slightly tinted pink eyes shone like two miniature suns, her mane looked a bit disheveled but nothing a bath couldn't fix, the yellow mane didn't stand out too much with the rest of her body, but it's a difference one can easily spot, a thin yellow color adored her coat, her cutie mark off a plate with panckaes and a crystal on top, she snickered a little at the thought of how she got it. She looked around in the room, the gray marble making it almost look like an ancient castle clashing with her silver mirror, a lone bed stood in the far end off the room, the tangled sheets clearly stating she's had a visitor. With a sigh, she called out to the young colt "Yes, of course, i'll be there in a minute, just need to find my bits." this was a lie, she knew exactly where her bits was, she never let them out of her sight for longer then a few hours at max. She went over to her bed and fixed the sheets, her nose wrinkled slightly at the smell of sweat and other unpleasant fluids, ignoring this until later she took out fifteen bits from her coin purse under the bed and made her way over to the door, opening it she instantly saw one griffin and one young colt. A little nervously she handed the young pony her fifteen bits, the griffin watched on with a passive expression, his eyes wandering around the room before setting on her mirror. "Excuse me ma'am, is that your mirror?" he nodded towards it, a faint clinking of metal on metal could be heard as he did so, with a sideways glance she saw the large broadsword attached to his right side. "Why yes, yes it is, it's a family heirloom passed down for a few generations." she prepared herself for an assault, few Griffins had any respect for ponies and those that did was usually sent to be executed under the charges of "Treachery" He nodded slowly before attempting to enter the room, Griffins may be strong but earth ponies held strength and size over them any day off the week, which is why he found himself unable to get past her. "Excuse me, Miss..." He let it hang in the air as he kept his impassive expression on, though she could see a small smile start to form at the side off his beak if you watched closely. "Crystal Pancakes, and I believe that under user agreement one six two page B paragraph four it clearly states that no inhabitant must let any armed resident into their room unless under suspicion of a crime, and I believe that my record is clean." His smile faltered before it was even completed, and a deep scowl replaced it. "Now you listen to me Miss Pancake-" She interrupted him with a smug grin. "I prefer Miss Crystal, my friends call me Crystal." her smug look only made the griffin angrier. "Very well then, Miss Crystal" He spat the word out like a sour poison. "If you expect me to believe that a broke whore of a pony would be able to afford that mirror, even if it was passed down for generations, you're sorely mistaken, you've clearly stolen it, and I know just who's wall it would look so much better on." This time he gave her a sinister smile as his talon moved towards his sword, getting a better look at the blade she could see the poor item, it was dented, bent and slightly blunt, probably something he found on the streets after a gang brawl. "Who knows? Maybe even i'll get a promotion for killing a pony thief who's stolen a high commanders silver mirror." He spat, the small colt slowly started backing away, Crystal Pancakes knew it wasn't long before reinforcements arrived. "Your blade is blunter than your personality, Griffin, I would be surprised if you even managed to cut butter with that thing." She braced herself for impact, knowing the anger problems a lot of Griffins had. "It may not be the sharpest tool in the box, but you're just a pony! I would be surprised if you even knew how to wield a blade." He lunged forward with a downward slash, feeling it connect with something he let out a shout of triumph, before he heard a sigh from underneath him, his eyes went wide as he heard his sword crack, falling to the ground he looked up to see Crystal move towards him, shards of his blade adoring her hooves. He tried to defend himself with his broken broadsword, the kick she sent connected with it and he felt his arm crack. "How shameful, a griffin defeated by a pony? I won't kill you, you'll never live to see the light of day anyways, I know what Fyron does to those who brings shame to his people." He started shaking, thinking of what happened to the weak griffins. "I'll be an exception! I'll bring him your head, Horse!" Crystals eyes went darker, and the aura emitting from her seemed to change from rightful justice to something more... Sinister. "Very well, be that way, bird." She turned around, and with a single swift kick from one leg she knocked the griffin right out. *** Three Months Later. *** Crystal Pancakes was in pain. Yet she couldn't be happier. She was going to be a mother, the only question that lingered in her mind was 'Is it going to be a Griffin... Or a pony?' A question indeed, for the century. If she only knew. *** One hour later. *** Crystal looked down at her child with a mix of sadness, pride and questions, the second emotion winning out. "Oh... If only your father was here to see you now." She smiled down at the griffin and pony hybrid, the rear hooves blending nicely with the rest of his body, a white beak adored his face as he blinked up on his mother. "What to name you..? You're so much like your father, except your little white beak... I wounder what Thorn would have called you?" She giggled and gently caressed his head. "Probably something silly, like Tyron, or Tartian, he always liked names that started on a T, he said it stood for Tenderness, and it's something every warrior would have, else he'dd be just a beast." She read the words from memory as if it was a manuscript, and she was the star actor, perfectly mimicking the tone and words. The small, wooden room with little a single silver mirror adoring it's wall, on top of a desk just beneath the mirror there was a letter simply stating Fyron, she knew that they would find her sooner or later, her only wish was that her child would be far away when they do. She let out a weak sigh and forced herself awake, the grin on her face betraying how tired she felt. "I'm so sleepy... I wish I could just... Just sleep, yes... Sleep sounds good." She looked at her son one last time and muttered her final words. "You're so beautiful, White Beak." Her eyes slowly closed, and with a smile on her lips Crystal left this world.
Mirrors of the Past*** Mirrors of the Past, by _Shade_, collab with Horny Horse (Blame him<). *** He barely had time to catch his breath, trudging along the deep and thick waters that reminded him more of oil than something drinkable, the marsh is a truly unforgiving place "at least it's not the orphanage," he barely even muttered it in fear of something, or worse, someone catching his voice in the quiet death-trap ponies and griffins feared alike, it's said to be haunted by Those That Came Before, ancient gods powerful enough to destroy the universe if they so pleased. His brown feathers stuck out in the green marsh like a broken horn, his shallow pink eyes hid his fear well, looking almost like search beacons in the dark. He dodged under a large tree and caught his ear in a branch, ripping it he swore loudly before going dead silent. Off all the things... Having ears suck. Walking forward he had to side-step an evil looking tree, if you looked closely on his beak, you might see a hint of a smile. Silly woods the thought passed his mind just as he exited The Marsh and into something that might once have resembled the ruins of a town. Not that I would know. Looking around his eyes scanned the whittled ruins, a dejected sigh ejected itself from his beak, his mind went back to that book he read in the orphanage, The Six Heroes, oh how I would need them now. He traced a talon on the nearest house, frowning as it dug unto the once-wood turned charcoal, the once beautiful town was everything but gone, it seemed like giant houses had been ripped out of the ground and thrown onto other buildings, continuing his walk he noticed a rather absurb thing, the glass roads stopped and started melding with something white and gray, walking forward he picked up a loose piece of gray/white matter, the texture reminded him of a skull but the shape looked like it had been a part of the ground of several thousand years. About to put it back he noticed it getting hotter, looking down he saw smoldering ashes of what had surely been a fire, they looked alive and only needed a breeze to set the whole world ablaze. His mind slowly made a connection, nothing had moved this one piece of rock in at least several hundred years and even less would even notice it was there. Dropping the piece of rock he winced as he heard the clang, it wasn't that of metal or rock, it was that of bone. Dragon Fire... They managed to melt the bones... He felt sick to his stomach and the smell of fresh ashes upon bones was not helping him. He thought back to the book of the six heroes, of how they bravely fought against the corrupted Queen that plunged the world into the darkness for all eternity to follow. Her name escaped him as the book merely discribed her as The Dark Queen, Harbringer of Anarchy or Wife of Sombra, the only brief mentioning of her name in the entire book was at the end of the first chapter, wherein she was "defeated." He allowed a smile to grace his beak as he reached into his bags and pulled out the thick book and opened the first page, sitting down on a rock. "ეპუ ძშჩ პუკუწძქ ეპუ ვფკო ღგუუიქ ეპუ ვუფეპ წთ აუიუკფეშწიძბ" "Hey, this thing on? Good, i'm not doing this again, Scales and if you muck this up we're going without you." Scales nodded and switched a small red switch on some strange device. "Hey Crusher, can you hear me? This stupid thing malfunctions more than a ღგუუილშაპე(ძ crossbow!" there was a buzzing sound before a voice came through. "Well, both mine and Pearl's working just fine, so you must've screwed up at your end." A voice confirmed the notion in the background. "So, any news on ღგუუი ძეფლლთფლლ? I hear she's busy and that's bad news for us, Blackeye." Scales nodded behind the device and gestured towards a clock on the wall. Blackeye sighed "Well Crusher, the device is out of magic and we're still working on the prototype for our Gazien, gotta dash." "Aye'" the voice buzzed out after the confirmation. Blackeye leaned back on the couch and looked up in the roof. "This is going to take a while, isn't it, Scales?" He sat down next to Blackeye and folded his wing around her. "Yeah, ძეფკთფლლ was the magician and scientist, Pearl's great for making armor and weaponry, but... We simply started too late to finish first," he sighed dejectedly and looked at the emerald green gem, shining there and taunting him with good memories. "We atta move, Blackeye, this location isn't very safe" She nodded at him and both flew out the window, heading in a seemingly random direction. He closed the book and looked towards The Marsh, everything was quiet save the rustling of leaves and the gentle wind blowing through his feathered neck. Shaking his head he went towards a road he saw earlier, the almost beautiful destruction of the Village made him feel kind of bad, in a strange way, he didn't know any of the citizens that may once have lived here nor did he actually care. He moved along the road with the faintest of a smile gracing his lips, the bright eyes stood out in the surroundings so he reached into his bag and put a pair of shades and put them on his beak. This town... It doesn't seem haunted, the thought almost seemed to echo in his mind as he made his way to one of the more... Whole houses, namely it had brick walls but the roof was ripped off it. **************************************************************************************************************************************************** "Ahhhhhhh!" The screech came from closeby as he was rudely ripped from his dreams by the sound. "What the fu-" he bolted outside and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight, a yellow pony with pink mane stood cowering in front of some ugly demon. "Seven Bell's...." He said, reaching for his sword with a talon he had the jank the jagged and broken thing out of it's seath. The demon snapped towards him and charged, the large claws ready to tear his head off, then probably skin him, and if he's really lucky it'll do it in that order. His eyes went wide as he ducked under a swing, not trusting his cheap short saber to protect him from the raging demon thing, he had to trust the poorly made thing to stop the demons foot as it came rushing downwards, the sadly broken blade barely cut through the skin as it blocked. The demon roared as it backed away, his arms were already sore from the strain of blocking such a heavy being. Stupid cheap thing... Apparently mocking the sword was more important than paying attention to the fight and the demon seized it's oppretunity and sliced him across the chin down to his beak, swearing loudly he backed off, guarding with his right talon as he attempted to wipe blood out of his right eye but to no avail. He looked at the demon just as it roared and got an idea, he charged forward even though he was constantly wincing from the pain spreading across his face. The demon noticed him and roared harder, he had to use his wings to keep him from falling over. Pushing a little extra at the end the demon clipped his wing midflight, not even the adrenaline pumping in his veins allowed him to fully ignore the pain yet he pushed on, ramming his nearly broken sword into the demon's throat through it's open mouth, a gurgle escaped it as the life slowly faded from it's eyes. He kept a wing out to not fall over, slowly making his way to the pony that eventaully unfurled from the filly ball she was. "H-hey..." He coughed and pulled his best smile on her. She didn't look at him but rather continued to stare wide-eyed at the ground behind him, the slain demon was oozing out some weird grey liquid. "Hey, don't worry here girl, the demon's not going to harm you any more," as if registering for the first time that there was another being in her company she gulped and turned to him, a scared look on her face. "Thanks... I didn't expect from it to breach the ward," she looked to a circle on the ground, several inscriptions and runes on the corners, she angrily muttered something and kicked some dirt over it. In the meantime, he backpadelled, a shocked expression on his face. "Is that..?" He gestured towards the circle. "Dunno, friend told me to guard it," she shrugged and kept kicking dirt over it. "... And where is this friend of yours now?" He asked with a slight tilt of his head. "Don't know, she just told me to wait here," she walked around in a circle before laying down on the ground like a cat. "How long ago was that? Maybe I can catch up with her?" Maybe I can earn their trust. "She went into the forest looking for a rare ingredient about.... Ohhh three years ago?" He stopped his pacing and fell on his face in shock. Janking his beak out of the ground he turned to her and practically shouted "Three years?!" She just nodded. "... Miss, what's your name?" She smiled at him. "I'm Posey, nice to meet you, terribly sorry for holding you up bu- Wha? Where am I?" Her eyes glazed over before returning to normal. "I mean, I'm Posey, sorry for holding you up but I must be on my way, Mr..." She looked at him with a slight frown. He started walking away, out of town before throwing a look behind him. "White, Miss Posey, White Beak."
The Beatings( The Beatings by _Shade_, collab with Horny Horse, Blame him for any/all injuries. ) Appear weak when you're strong and strong when you're weak, for the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting ~ Art of War. White Beak had to excuse himself from Posey, the pony merely going back to watching the thing, and the half griffin walking of to who knows where, with a thought in his mind. Death, it was a natural part of life and one of the few things all species had in common, maybe except dragons, but even they will fall for no one is immortal. For some however, death is something unnatural and should be warded off with all means necessary, White Beak was one of these beings and was therefor highly alerted by his own willingness to protect that mare, he even forgot her name. Am I... Suicidal? he shook the silly thought out of his head, sure he's been through some tough times but he's fine. ...Right? Sighing he trudged along the road and checked his gear, frowning at the broken sword "Well old friend, we had a good run, right?" He kept the broken sword, even though there only was the hilt left. "I'll make it up to you, Big Bro." Despite his now depressed look, the young gryphon... Pony thing continued walking, a sinking feeling in his gut, he walked for hours until the town was no where in sight and a single, lone tree was hanging limply on a hill like it had been facing down great tornadoes, he looked at the night sky and nodded to himself making beeline for the tree, nothing really interesting about the spot, it wasn't good for an ambush and seemed to be a fairly abandoned location, he settled down and slept next to it. ***Thirteen years ago*** "Guys look, it's the freak!" A rather large colt said, White Beak felt his eyes go wide as he instantly dashed down the street, the big colt merely laughed and ran after him, the four hooves and earth pony strength combined proved to be more than a match for the hippogrif as he easily caught up, cornering him outside The Salted Cereal they smiled at his panicked face, the rather narrow alley offered no protection as he bumped into the wall, the constant sound of thumping and moans was heard inside the house next to them practically ensured that no one would hear them, as if to merely add insult to injury a large drunken stallion shambled out of the brothel/pub, looked straight at them and passed out. A swift blow to the gut forced the air out of his lungs as the big colt attacked, the smaller children behind him cheered on such as... "You get him, Glasses!" A small green filly shouted, her wings fluttering. "The beak! Crack it!" The brown colt turned around and kicked him in the face, a sickening crack echoed through the valley. Tears streaming down his face, the poor hippogriff brought his talons up to protect him but they merely buckled as Glasses kicked him in the chest, sending him sprawling, hitting the wall with his head he barely managed to stay conscious, but before he went unconscious his eye managed to catch a gray, hulking shape with sharp teeth behind him, then... It all went black. Waking up some time later he found his wounds treated, the broken bones in his chest still made it clear that it was no time to move around, and his twisted talons prevented him from doing so. "I'm in Haltrin, it's clear..." The pain in his body didn't leave much other options to think. He looked around the room, plain gray walls painted it in a somewhat dull light, a rather obscure axe on the wall seemed to be the only thing here save but him and the bed. There was no windows in the room, yet it seemed as if there was sunlight pouring in from overhead, twisting his neck he spotted more gray. His limbs groaned in pain from exertion, the sloppy bandages didn't look well, he stayed there for nearly an hour before the door opened. "Ei, ye' finalie awake now ye squirt?" Not wanting to anger whoever was here, he nodded. "Good, we 'r woried fer y'e, we had da held Hyper away from ye wit' fire" White attempted to answer, but with his beak bandages a mere gurgle came out. "Na need t' telk, squirt, eim' jus' her' ta grab me axe, ye rest now." He heard a slinking noise from his left, then heavy stomps at whoever that was in there walked out. *** ??? The Alleyway. "Look we're sorry!" Glasses practically wailed at the dragon, " 'ow meny tim's 'e said dat, eh?!" He gestured to the unconscious hippogriff. Glasses went tight-lipped, the other ponies had galloped out of there once the lumbering beast had emerged so he had to face this dragon surely six times bigger than him by himself. "Dats what'a thought!" the dragon felt a grumble in his chest rise, and before long Glasses could hear it too, he just prayed that his friends would get some help. "B-but he's a freak!" "..." The sound overwrote that of the brothel to their left and the colt felt his legs grow weak, the dragon opened his maw and roared. Glasses passed out in a puddle of his own urine He walked out from the alleyway before a groaning was heard from behind him, snarling he went to knock the colt out, yet flipping the piss stained pony showed no emotion other than some relatively ragged breathing. Looking around he spotted the groaning heap, he'dd completely forgotten about him, giving him a quick analyze he figured the child to be alive, sighing slightly he threw the hippogriff over his back and made his way out of the alleyway. *** 'Present' White woke up in a cold sweat and with a rather unpleasant facial expression, quickly gathering his thoughts he slumped onto the ground, "... I hate sleep" he groaned and rolled over, the morning sun filtered through the tree which meant he slept through the entire night. He set out towards the road, luggage over one shoulder and the breeze molesting his other with its gentle touch, ruffling his feathers and picking at his ears White Beak sighed. "Maybe, Greyfeather is on my side this day." he chuckles at the old joke before flinching. "Guess I still haven't come out of this habit, well, you know what they say..." He shudders as the wind touches him in a strange place, he lifts his wing to see how it could have in under there, maybe he left a few feathers out of place? "... Die hard."
The EscapeEntire chapter is written in Present Tense, I am aware of this and I have a reason for it. The Escape written by _Shade_ collab with Horny Horse, blame him for the majority of injuries. He forces the little clothing he has into the small backpack, a rusty fork for luck and six bits, his life savings and his first feather. Dig had been clear on the instructions, get out of the orphanage before midnight, and meet them at The Soggy Toast, don't get followed. This proves far more difficult than White thought, not even once before did he attempt to escape the orphanage and for a good reason, any child caught outside at night had sixteen lashings in front of them, it doesn't help that all adults seemingly hates him for no reason and acted fairly violent towards him. Haltrin be damned if he didn't make it though, after all the pain he'd gone through... He takes a calm breath and look out the window, he had managed to open it with a bit of tinkering at the side, he jumps onto the side and looks back at his brown, dirty room once more, scanning it for anything left behind, he smacks a talon across his face and walks to the bed to take his bed sheets and jump out the window, he does not want to be caught by any Republicans scanning the skies. White Beak glides with his wings narrowly open to catch just enough air to stop his fall, he turns around from the tree he landed in and look up at the Orphanage, the window he jumped out of looming ominously over him from the third floor, he shudders and starts climbing down the tree. Crack White Beak's blood runs cold as he slowly crane his neck and sees a guard, Monarchist if he remembers correctly, blood running cold he jumps down from the branch he was on and run, thankfully the pony behind him is a unicorn and can't catch the speeding hippogriff, if you listen closely, you may even hear him grit his teeth. This was not what he wanted at all, if the Solars catches up to him... Well, it may not be as bad as what could happen if it was a Republican Pegasus... Thankfully, years of running from bullies had toned his frame into what one could mistake for an arrow, were you not looking closely. He turns the corner and slams into something head first, a splitting pain makes itself known in his forehead as he looks up at the Monarchist pony. ... Haltrin must hate me. he thinks as he turns around, angry shouts are heard from behind him, of all the nights why did it have to be this? "He's around the corner! He's heading to the Salted Cereal!" A voice shouts, male he believes, not that you'll know with the enchantments. Talons, hooves and wings break the silence of the night, frantic shouting can be heard from where he came, a voice soon follows. "He must have managed to incapacitate her! Send the fliers after him, no use sending the magicians." No time to think, no time to slow down... I'm supposed to turn here... Just as he finished the thought he nearly gets caught by a charging grounder coming out of the alleyway, thankfully his reflexes had managed to pull his wings in. "Alright... Just two more turns..." Even though he was well aware that he'll be charging headfirst into the military's ranks, he had little other choice. Coming out of the alleyway he spreads his wings and uses them to boost his speed in a straight line for nearly half a kilometer, taking a sharp left he spares one last glance at the wooden houses in the rundown town, for now. And runs straight into a dragon. White catches his breath for a second before letting it out, peering around the alleyway he sees some incapacitated guards, all Solars. "Thank Haltrin you're here, I was seriously about to turn myself in" White Beak pant out. The dragon nods and begins leading the way at an even but quick pace, they head through tunnels and soon, the sound of Solars and Republicans die down. A smile makes it's way to White Beaks face, "Finally... No more running."
