The cold winter snow bit at the bare paws and claws of Griffins as they went upon their day. The wooden town had been stuck in a snowstorm for the past month and would have killed everyone inside it, if it wasn’t for their arrive. They were bipedal beings that had technologies far beyond anything the Griffins could produce. If it wasn’t for them the Griffins would have starved and froze to death.
They had come lost and confused. The Griffins offered them shelter in exchange for their food and protection. They agreed and ever since then both Griffin and Human strived to survive the storm. Sadly MREs we're starting to run low as other supplies began to dwindle.
Azure, a Griffin hen walked down the streets with a heavy fur coat around her. As she passed other Griffins who were brave enough to bear the cold a large human patrol walked down the street. She honestly didn’t mind the humans, they were kind and forthcoming in helping them. However, she just wished they weren't so…. anxious. They never let down their guard or put down their weapons. No one had ever seen a human without some sort of weapon on them at all times.
Then again she could see why. Though how ridiculous it sounds they believe they are from another world, so they would be on alert all the time. They are somewhere they have no knowledge of besides this town. Luckily they didn’t react how ponies would have reacted exposed to an unknown species. They were hesitant when they first arrived and very cautious around her kind. However, in the following weeks they soon grew to become dependant on each other.
Not only was the cold a threat, but beasts that would stalk the ice would attack the village just for a snack. If it wasn’t for these humans they would have lost many fighting off the beasts. Somehow they could detect these hunters from afar and put them down before they even got close to the village. The hunter became the hunted as they soon began to hunt the beasts for food and their coats.
Speaking of hunting, a Hunter MRAP slowly drove in the street as it’s 12.7mm turret slowly spun. It was soon followed by HEMTT that had a large tarp over something. The smell of something metallic soon met her nose confirming her suspicions. It was most likely a Akhlut, they were common in the north and would hunt anything that dares cross the lands. Giffins and humans alike got out of the way of the vehicles as they moved through the streets. Their once light grey paint had been overlaid in snow.
They soon drove to the north of the town where the humans had set up all sorts of things. Vehicles that Griffins had yet to see we're covered by tarps to keep them from being damaged. Makeshift barracks also scattered the northern part of the town in which humans would sleep.
She entered a building, it’s bell ringing as as she opened the door. Entering it warm air rushed to greet her, if there is one thing that she was glad the humans brought back from their patrols was firewood. A normal Griffin would have perished before reaching the forest, but those machines the humans used easily allowed them to gather wood and bring it back.
“Father, I’m home!” she said hanging her coat on a coat holder. However her younger sister soon ran down the stairs to greet her.
“Sister!” the little Griffin called out as she jumped into Azure’s arms. Unprepared for her sister momentum Azure fell onto her back. The little Griffin let out a giggle as she hugged her sister tightly and Azure soon returned the hug.
“Shade!” called out a rough voice from upstairs, another Griffin soon climb down the stairs. Time had not been kind to the older Giffin, the tips of his feathers had turned silver as his left hind leg had a limp to it. “What did I tell you about running down those stairs!”
“Sorry papa…” replied Shade looking towards the ground. The older Griffin sighed before picking up Shade and giving her a tight hug.
“I’m not mad at you Shade, I just don’t want you getting hurt! I mean, you don’t want to end up like your father do you?” he said with a chuckle. He had fallen down those stairs when he was younger and his hind leg had suffered from it for the rest of his life. The silence in the room was broken when a third set of steps came down the stairs. However, instead of a griffin a human came down. His boots made his steps a lot louder than they would without them as his uniform blended in with the wood.
Before they had come here they had been in a desert environment. Luckily they quickly adapted to the cold conditions of the north and used Akhlut fur as coats.
“Should I come back later?” he asked, the man had a soft yet sharp voice. His uniform showed he was an officer of some sort and by the looks of it he was a high rank.
“Nah, don’t worry about it son.” said the older Griffin putting Shade on the ground. “Azure, meet Major Jackson. He is one of the officers of… oh what did you call it?”
“NATO.” supplied the Major. Though they were labeled under NATO most of the forces we're American. There were a few Germans and British thrown into the mix but that was about it.
“Oh yes, of the NATO forces here.” Azure lifted a brow, wondering why a man that high of a rank would waste time here. “He is here to offer you a proposition.”
“A proposition? For what?” she asked.
“For navigating through the snow, we need someone who is an expert on the geography of the land around here and according to the rest of the town you are that expert.”
“Why?”
“Straight to the point eh?” the man asked before walking over to a window. “If what the mayor says is true and magic does exist on this world this could be the cause of the storm. We believe this storm isn’t natural, according to the records of your town hall the longest snowstorm in this towns history only lasted a week. Others have lasted only a few hours to days. We have also spotted heat signatures in the clouds above. However, they have stayed at a range as if they are waiting for something. Since we do not have GPS at our disposal we have to rely on something else to navigate, and that something is you.” explained the Major.
“Then how do you navigate back to town when those patrols go out?”
“We keep them close enough for they can spot the town from a range.” Azure mouthed an ‘Oh’. “Think of it this way, you would be assisting us along with the villages well being.” This got her thinking, on one hand she could assist them and hopefully lift this snowstorm. On the other she would be leaving her injured father and younger sister behind. Torn between the two she finally came up with an answer.
“Fine, I will help you. If you assign someone to look over my family.” she said.
“These terms are agreeable, I’ll have one of my lieutenants look after them.” he replied before walking towards the door. “Arrive at the barracks fifteen at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning and look for a man named William Garrison. He will be your escort for the mission.” with that he opened the door and walked outside. Closing the door behind him the room fell silent.
“Sooo….” said Azure, wondering if her decision was OK with her father. He only chuckled under his breath as he approached her.
“Look at that, my oldest daughter taking up responsibilities like the strong hen she is!” he said bringing her into a tight hug. The situation was a bit awkward but she soon returned the hug. The two stood in silence before her father pulled away. “Words do not express how happy I am, to think my own daughter would be saving the town with a bunch of aliens. If someone told me that eighteen years ago I would have thought they were crazy! But here you are going to just do that!”
Azure felt something squeeze her arm, looking down she saw her sister with the biggest smile she had ever seen. A smile soon formed on her beak as confidence filled her. Picking her sister up she held her close as they made their way towards the kitchen.
“Now, who’s hungry!?” yelled out her father as he walked into the kitchen.
“Me!” yelled out Shade. They enjoyed a family dinner before going about their business. Azure went to study various maps and landmarks. Getting ready for the day ahead.
_____
Azure grunted as something jumped onto her stomach. She soon identified her sister had jumped on her.
“Time to get up!” Shade called out cheerfully. Though Azure loved her sister dearly she was quite annoying at some points. Slowly sitting up she soon left the warm embrace of the wool covers and onto the cold wooden floor. Letting out a yawn she and her sister soon climbed down the stairs and into the living room. An aroma flowed from the kitchen, a smell she was familiar with. The smell of bacon. She licked her beak as she approached the kitchen. How her father was able to get his claws on it she didn’t know, but hey! It’s bacon!
Entering the room a sizzling sound came from the stove. She found her father beside t putting various things into the pan, along side the bacon was a some eggs slowly absorbing the juices that fell off the bacon. This had to be a dream, bacon and eggs?! In the middle of a snowstorm with no way of contacting the outside. But, her father had always been one for stocking up on supplies. Walking over she gave him a quick hug before placing Shade in her chair.
A few minutes later breakfast was served. During the time her father gave her encouraging compliments and other sayings. When the time came for her to leave they shared a group hug before she made her way outside. As she walked down the streets shouts of encouragement we're sent her way, from griffin and human alike. Heck, there was a few ponies who inhabited the town that also encouraged her.
Confidence once again filled as she marched through the town. Entering the military district of the town she made her way towards the barracks. Though it was called the military district she would see chicklings run around playing on various human vehicles. Under human and their parents supervision of course. It was surprising how fast the humans had grown accustomed to them, if it were the Royal Guard they wouldn’t have allowed them to even stay in the town. It was surprising really, how could a species that was so gentle and kind need such weapons of war.
Maybe not all humans were not like them or something deeper, possibly even both. Whatever the reason she did not know. She soon arrived at her destination. Knocking on the door a few times she waited a bit before the door opened. In front of her stood a fully uniformed man, his face was covered by a cloth and pair of glasses hid under a thick goggles.
“Hello, I’m looking for a man going by the name of William Garrison.” she said nervously. In all the time since they arrived she had ignored the size difference between griffins and humans. Being right up next to one made her feel small compared to them.
“Oh hey! You must be Azure right?” he asked.
“Um, yeah.” she said. He quickly motioned her in. Inside she noticed various other humans in uniforms are just starting to get dressed. She also noticed one of the humans skin color was a shade of brown.
“Guys, this is Azure. She is the one that we are assigned to escort. So if you would please introduce yourselves.” said Liam.
“Hi, I’m Marc. I’m the rifleman of this fireteam.” said the one sitting on a bed putting on his dress uniform. His skin was tanned, he had black hair and brown eyes with a short mustache. Ever since they had arrived they had encouraged them to grow facial hair to combat the cold.
“I’m Tyler. I’m the fireteam’s medic.” said the one with darker skin. He also had brown eyes but his hair was cut very short.
“And I’m Jonathan and I’m the designated automatic rifleman. Call me John though.” said the last one of the fireteam. He carried a much larger weapon than the rest. She believed they called it a Mk200. His skin was light much like Liam’s who had just taken off his headgear. He had blue eyes and brown hair.
“I should formally introduce myself then.” said what she assumed to be the leader of the fireteam. “I am Sergeant William Garrison and I am this fireteams leader.” He extended a hand towards her in which she shook. “Now, we already know who you are. Major Jackson briefed us last night on who you are and our mission. From now on you will call me sir and you will respond with ‘yes sir’ or ‘no sir.’ Whatever you do stay close to us. Hell, I want you in the middle of our squad at all times is that understood?” his tone drastically. Going from calm and collected to strict and enforced.
“Yes.” she quickly replied.
“I said, is that understood?!” he yelled.
“Yes sir!” she yelled out herself.
“Good, now, do you know how to wield a gun?” he asked returning to his calm tone.
“No sir…” this earned a sigh from the man who soon unholstered his pistol.
“We have an hour until we are to report to the convoy. So for now I will teach you proper gun safety and how to properly used this weapon.” Motioning towards the door they soon left the barracks. Pulling out a few cans seemingly out of nowhere he placed them on top of a parked Hunter before making his way towards her.
“Before I allow you to shoot I will run you through the basics of handling this weapon.” he said holding the said weapon in his hand. “This is a ACP-P2, a single action self loading pistol that is designed with materials that gives it better speed, precision, and increased durability than it’s predecessor. Firing .45 ACP rounds it has an effective range of up to fifty meters. Until I can get you your own pistol you will use mine, so please take care of it.” For the next forty five minutes he went over the basics of reloading it, aiming, and various safety lessons.
Once she had gotten the gist of how to handle it only then did he allow her to load live rounds. Taking the safety off she aimed for the cans. She slowly pulled the trigger, the gun fired but the bullet missed the cans meer inches. Unprepared for the recoil she nearly dropped the weapon. Worried that he would be disappointed with her she looked towards the ground. However, she didn’t expect the hand that placed itself on her shoulder.
“Not bad for a first try, but next time try and steady the sights on the cans before you pull the trigger.” After a few more tries she was able to land a shot on one of the metal cans. The can had a hole put into it as a smile broke across her face. “Nice shot, again.”
The next five minutes she spent knocking off every single can on the truck. Once done they soon returned to the barracks. Marc, John, and Tyler each we're fully geared up as William tore grabbed his scoped MXM. Making sure everything was in place William grabbed a spare kevlar vest and holster before handing them to Azure.
“Put these on.” he said flatly. She looked at the items in his hands before taking them. How was this supposed to protect her? It was basically cloth! Deciding not to ask the sergeant she quickly put them on before putting the P2 in it’s holster. It was quite snug really, the vest covered much of her chest and abdomen but left her arms and legs bare. They soon made their way out of the building towards a gathering convoy. Some vehicles she recognized at first sight, however some others she did not know. She made a mental note to ask the sergeant later.
Climbing inside one of the vehicles she found herself in the front passengers seat next to Liam, the rest of the fireteam climbed into the back. Starting up the engine it was soon followed by the other vehicles. The armored behemoth in front slowly rolled forward and was soon followed by theirs. As they left she caught a glimpse of her father and sister waving towards her, she waved back before they exited the town.
“It’s going to be a long drive, I would suggest you get some sleep.” William said keeping his eyes firmly on the tank in front of him.
“As much as I would love to, I think it would be best to stay awake for I can remember some of the landmarks.”
“Very well then.” the next hour they sat in silence. Only the winds and hum of the engine could be heard. They had entered the forest just south of the town and snow covered trees raced by them. Bored Azure tried to break the silence.
“Can I ask you a few things sir?”
“Sure.”
“What do you call the machine in front of us?”
“That is a M2A1 Slammer, a main battle tank. It has a 120mm gun that would tear into this vehicle like a hot knife to butter.” he replied.
“And the ones behind us?” she said looking through the side mirrors. William quickly looked towards the rear view mirror before returning his attention to the road.
“Those are Cheetah anti-air guns. It is armed with two 35mm auto cannons that will blow literally anything out of the sky.”
“Why would we need them?”
“According to intel we are facing something that is above the clouds at the epicenter of the storm. Thus they brought them just incase if things go south.”
“And the Slammer?”
“Standard procedure with large convoys.” with her questions answered she went back to looking out the window. A yawn exited her mouth as her eyes became heavy, slowly closing them she fell into sleeps embrace.
_____
She woke up with a jolt as the Hunter came to a stop. William and the rest of the fireteam quickly opened their doors and climbed out.
“Azure, stay in this Hunter and whatever you do don’t exit this vehicle.” with that he closed the door. Walking towards the front of the M2A1 she soon lost sight of him. She leaned back in her seat before looking behind her. Outside the Cheetahs auto-cannons we're pointed towards the sky. Their turrets moved in a way that suggested they were tracking something. The sound of distorted talking soon filled her ears as she looked towards something in the middle panel of the Hunter. Reaching over she turned the dial that was on it before the talking became more clear.
“Hotel 1 through 2, do you have eyes on contacts?” said a voice, sounding awfully similar to the Major’s.
“Affirmative, we are tracking them now.” replied another that she could not recognize.
“Alright, if they get too close to the convoy you are clear to fire a warning shot.”
“This is fireteam four, I think I saw movement in the trees at 283. Can someone with thermal check it out?” said a voice sounding like Liam’s.
“This is Echo, we see them too. Plus fifteen contacts within the treeline each armed with what I think are spears.” the Slammers turret had turned towards what she assumed was the area he was talking about.
“Blue team move into the field separating us from the trees as red stays with the convoy.” said the major as a large amount of infantry moved into the snow covered field, her escort along with them. Some crouched down as other laid on their stomachs. Each one of them aiming towards an enemy she couldn’t see.
“Sir, we have one dropping down from the clouds! Should we engage?” said one of the Hotels.
“Negative, allow it to approach but if it makes any threatening moves you are clear to turn it into red mist.” replied the Major. An arrow came screaming out of the clouds and struck the Slammer in front of her, but it simply bounced off. More arrows fell from the sky, colliding with the Kevlar armor of the humans. Most just simply bounced off and only made the wearers stagger, apparently she had underestimated the material.
“You are clear to engage!” The 35mm guns roared to life as traces filled the sky. The 120mm gun of the Slammer fired, sending a HE shell into the charging line. Half of of the chargers were killed in an instant as the rest we're torn apart by rifle and machine gun fire. Bodies littered the field where they fell making the snow below them crimson.
Dive bombers we're immediately turned to gore as the 35mm rounds collided with their weak frames. Others we're picked off by infantry, the luckier ones being killed instantly as other plummeted to their deaths. The fight was over in seconds, blood of the fallen already starting to freeze. However, the snow did not stop to fall, but it did slow. In the time Azure had ducked under the window and waited for the gunfire to stop. Slowly peeking out she got a good look at what had attacked them. Ponies, not just any ponies but what looked to be Solar Guards dressed in winter armor.
Due to the low stallion population of Equestria most Guards were mares and not stallions. The Royal Guard was supposed to be the most advanced and best trained military on Equus, but here they were. Dead. Easily torn down by a far superior military force that they had clearly underestimated.
She had never seen death in such a scale before and felt a wave of nausea fill her. Opening the door she gagged a few times but lucky her stomach empty it’s contents.
“We have a few still alive, orders?” she heard over the radio.
“Gather them up and load them unto the HEMTT, we can question them once we RTB. For now scan the terrain for anymore contacts.” replied the Major. For the next hour they did just that, medic tended to the wounds of the survivors as blue team patrolled the forest. Finding nothing they soon began to move back towards the town, prisoners along with them.