Heroes of Atria

Everything was fine in the village of Timal. Every pony was doing their jobs and going about their day as usual, it was a simple job for any guard pony. Solar Rain, being the typical white stallion Earth Pony guards, got along well with every pony in the town. Crime was completely non-existent. He loved when he was tasked with guard duty far from the castle, less effort for the same pay. He and the other guards always got some snacks from the baker every time they went there as a thank-you gift for keeping the town safe. Like most outskirt villages, Timal had only the basics, a baker, butcher, a few farmers, and a hunter. Blacksmiths went completely out of business after the peace treaty, with only one royal blacksmith in the castle to make armaments for city guards. It was a very calm existence for the entire kingdom.

Solar was walking down the road when a little colt asked if he could play tag. As much as it hurt him to let down the kid, especially with those big, pleading eyes, he still had a job to do, albeit a boring one. There was a sudden shriek down the road behind him. Solar, along with the two other guards accompanying him, turned around, shocked at what they heard. It's been weeks since they've had to actually do anything.

"You guys keep going down the road, I'll go see what's up." Solar said, heading off towards the noise. The other guards shrugged, assuming it was just a mother horrified at something that their child broke, and headed on down the road.

Solar trotted the other way, towards the scream. It sounded out of town boundaries, which was weird. Other than the merchant, no pony in Timal had any reason to leave. It couldn't be the merchant either, because he's a stallion, and the scream was definitely from a mare.

"Dear god, you have to help me!" a red unicorn cried as she jumped out of the nearby woods and ran straight for Solar.

"What's wrong miss?" he asked, "Is someone injured?"

She shook her head. "You would...wouldn't....believe..." she coughed and blood splattered on the ground.

"Are you okay? Did you eat anything in the woods?" Solar grabbed her chin with his hoof and looked her over for any sign of illness. That's when he saw several wounds all over her body. "What happened?" he asked, eyeing her up entirely. Then he noticed a large wound on her side.

"Griffons." she croaked. Then her body went limp. There was a puddle of blood all over the ground, and now Solar was covered in it.

Solar sighed. "Must've eaten some hallucinatory plant and got attacked by a bear. I am not looking forward to the paperwork." he muttered to himself. Then there was a high-pitched wail from above, and a quick moving shadow passed by. He looked up and saw a griffon. Oddly, the griffon's head and body were both a dull brown color. It landed right in front of him, shaking the ground from the impact. "Hello there griffon." he said, a hint of fear in his voice.

The griffon stared.

"If you need my assistance, I am legally obligated to first ask you if you have any information on this pony's death." he gulped. Even though peace had been going strong between the two kingdom's for many generations, the giant predatory creatures were still a terrifying sight to the smaller pony.

Without a word, the griffon opened it's beak, showing many tooth-like serrations. It then picked up the deceased pony and flapped its wings, taking to the skies and soaring away.