The Champion Of Longsword

It was very early in the morning as a pony walked alongside a river. So early probably that not even the Kaiser of the Griffons Grover V would be getting up for a few more hours. However in order to ensure that the current meeting between several partisan resistance cells would remain a secret to the Black Cloaks or Reformisten it was necessary to host it at this hour. The pony glanced behind him to make sure all of his fellow revolutionaries we're still there, being the leader of this squad it was his responsibility to watch over them after all.

There we're 5 of them in total, the first being the sharpshooter/sniper of the group, Quick Shot. He was a unicorn stallion with light blonde fur and a black mane, his cutie mark was a target with an arrow hitting a bullseye. The second was the medic, Bandage Heart. An earth pony mare with red fur and pink mane, her mark was a simple bandage. Then there was Red Dusk, another earth pony with red fur and a dark grey mane. He managed the more heavy weapons and explosives, such as one of the few machine guns the partisans had, as well as a few grenades and other much more destructive weaponry. His cutie mark was simply an illusion of an explosion. The second to last was Swift Wing, the only pegasus in the squad. She typically was their scout who made sure the area they we're in was safe, and like Quick Shot as well as himself she brandished a Hinterladerbuschse Model 98 Griffonian Rifle on the right side of her body as her sidearm. She had a light purple coat with a blue colored mane, however she didn't have a mark.

Lastly there was him, the commandant or commander of the squad. He had a silver coat with a dark brown/black mane, and unlike his comrades who just let their manes flow naturally he had actually styled it in a slick back fashion, although it still fell down to the back of his neck. The more he thought about it was actually kind of funny, how they we're being forced to fight for their right to survive every single day as well as having to conserve countless resources and yet he still found the time to style his hair... eh there we're worse things than being a little vain. Plus it had started with him just wanting to look good in front of mares anyway so he'd always just let it slide. He then glanced down along his side to look at his "uniform" if it could even be called that. It was basically just a dark brown leather coat to be honest. The ponies of his squad wore similar coats, although his had two small red epaulets underneath his muzzle and around his neck, which signified he was an officer/commander. The coat went down to just above his hooves which themselves we're covered in leather encasements. Why you may ask, well many reasons to be quite honest. Although the main reason being that if you stepped in a Reformisten pitfall trap then the leather would prevent your hoof from getting punctured and infected, leading to it needing to be amputated or death would soon follow. It also helped with keeping your hoof sore from constantly being on the move which was a bonus.

His coat only went back to his hind legs stopping a few inches from his cutie mark. He remembered when he had first gotten the mark after leading a group of partisans out of an ambush when he was 6, it was also the first time he had killed another creature. He had always understood what it meant but was never able to actually understand why he had gotten this symbol. It was the famed Griffonian Knights Cross with oak leaves and diamonds imprinted upon them, along with a pair of swords crossing below. Then there was the actual cross itself, it almost looked like the internationally recognized medic cross. But this one had curved lines that led toward the middle, that and it's color was not red but dark grey. With the leaves being green and the diamonds light blue.

He knew what it symbolized, and that was great bravery and leadership skills on the field of battle. That wasn't what confused him, as he had demonstrated both countless times. No... it was the fact that this was a Griffonian medal that was on his flank. With The Griffonian Empire having been the country that originally invaded his nation while at the same time been attempting to colonize it for the last 200 years and... well it had always left a weird taste in his mouth so to speak.

He had been called out on it many times as well, as many partisans simply didn't understand what it meant and thought he was a sympathizer with the Black Cloaks or just had blind hatred towards them, with him then needing to correct them. Which differed in several ways. He could understand their anger though, those Griffons had taken everything from them. Ranging from their families and friends to their livelihoods and everything they had spent their entire lives working to achieve.

However after a while both pony and griffin understood what his mark meant, and the allegations all but ceased. Although it could also have just been his close relationship with Starry Night, he had managed to garner the eternal respect of nearly the entire IIA. Speaking of Starry the meeting him and his squad were going to was actually being hosted by her. These didn't happen often as it gave them the opportunity to extinguish the entire revolution's leadership if the location was ever found out. So whatever was happening or being discussed tonight was apparently important enough to risk it all.

They had left the major town of Kupiskis a few days prior and we're now heading west along the Sheiswald River as the river originated in the Sheiswald Forest within the Katerin Principality to Longsword's west. It also provided an excellent hiding place from the Black Cloaks or Reformisten.

Led by Wingfried Von Katerinburg, who himself actually happened to be from the Katerin Principality, we're a group of radical Griffonian Knights who we're dreaming of a "pure" state. One where ponies we're either exterminated entirely or put to work in slave labor camps until they died from exhaustion, malnutrition, or we're simply beaten to death or executed. For nearly 20 years now the Reformisten had been the dominant force in Longsword. Originally invited by Count Pallas Dusktalon, who as the story goes was "interested" in their ideals, eventually Pallas was converted to their creed and began to let them target and eliminate any pony who they saw within Longsword's borders. Night had been 6 when they first targeted his village and annihilated it from the face of the earth, and he had soon begun fighting in earnest a month later. He was now 15 and not much had changed, other than the fact that nearly every pony who was still alive within Longsword was now actively fighting the Black Cloaks along with some sympathetic griffons.

Meanwhile as he and his squad continued to hike along the riverside while staying just within the tree line so they would be harder to spot they began to smell something, something they we're all too familiar with... blood. After sharing a quick glance with each other they unconsciously made a decision to made a quick dash to what they assumed to be the aftermath of a battle since they had yet to hear any gunfire, the purpose being to see if they could still save a partisan or two. Soon enough they we're able to see blood being carried in the river downstream, and since there we're no bodies in sight yet the battle had probably taken place a while ago.

After going around a small bend in the river they saw it, not a battle like they we're expecting but a mass execution instead. Around 20 ponies in general looked to have been lined up at the rivers edge and then shot, one by one. There we're stallions, mares, fillies, colts... foals, it didn't matter. To the Black Cloaks they we're just ponies, who needed to be exterminated. There were also some ponies who we're in different positions as well. One light green mare with a silver mane was propped up on a rock, face down, with her back legs spread. This gave the almost obvious impression that she had been raped before being killed. Likely by her own rapist as there was a clean cut that went straight across her throat that had been done likely by a griffon claw.

This group looked to have had a few partisans in it as far as he could tell, but it seemed to mostly have been comprised of refugees from the war who we're probably just attempting to leave Longsword. Although why they we're going west towards Herzland instead of east to the Riverlands he had no idea. Perhaps they we're trying to join the partisans and we're going towards the Sheiswald as many a creature knew that they used it as a place to hide like any of other forest in Longsword from the Black Cloaks, but he of course knew that the answer died with them.

Night's anger began to rise as he continued to look upon the massacre. It also wasn't a surprise when he heard a gag behind him. He also didn't need to turn around to figure out who's it was. Bandage was a good medic, but she did not like death one bit, especially gore. However her tendency to want to prevent death all together had actually welded her into an excellent medic. Who was all to often putting her own life on the line not just to help save her own squadmates, but other fellow revolutionaries whom she didn't even know. In Night's opinion there was no higher honor than that, and not just being able to do that but also actually being able to pull it off successfully multiple times, and yet Bandage Heart had done just that despite her horrible ability to stomach death. He knew that this is what war did to ponies, it changed them. One day you can't stand the sight of death itself and the next... you can stand there and look it in the eye as if it was an old friend.

There we're three other ponies that looked like they had been raped as well, two more mares and a stallion. It also looked like that a colt had been trying to stop, likely his mother from being raped and received special attention for it. As his body was covered in massive, deep cuts. As well as several of his teeth and an eyeball we're missing.

For a while nopony spoke, so eventually Night just grunted and gestured his head in the direction that they needed to go. Already knowledgeable of the fact that they couldn't do anything for these dead ponies the rest of the squad reluctantly followed suit. But just as Night turned around he felt a liquid drip onto the tip of his horn and run onto his head, fearing the worst but still expecting it he looked up and was greeted with a grisly sight. Above him hung a small filly from a tree with a rope around her neck, one of her legs appeared to be missing as well as where her cutie marks should have been where two massive cuts in her flanks with a knife sticking out of the right one.

Night was now thoroughly enraged, he also was on the verge of crying. Bandage was by this point hyperventilating, Quick Shot and Swift Wing seemed just as pissed off as him while Red Dusk just seemed lost in it all.

Boom
A gun shot suddenly rang out from within the tree line and the five ponies immediately took cover within some bushes or hid behind trees. With laughter soon being heard, and not long after they saw two Griffins walk out of the tree line laughing to each other. One appeared to be male while the other was female judging by size, and both we're dressed in the typical Reformisten uniform. Which was basically the average Griffonian army uniform but with a different helmet and what they called a "gas mask" over the face, a new invention but what it's purpose was he had no idea.

"Did you see how he begged for his life, how pathetic can a pony honestly get" the female stated. "Quite right Gloria" the male replied. "If I wasn't so busy relieving myself with that slutty mare over there I would have gladly helped you shoot the others" he added and gestured to the light green mare. Night immediately wanted to give these griffons a slow and painful death... and then burn their bodies until they we're an unrecognizable, burnt husk of their former selves. However fate had other ideas.

"She probably was enjoying it deep down, the little cum-slut. I know from experience how easy it is to enjoy your cock" the now named Gloria said. "Hm, your right once again it seems" the male griffon chuckled. Night really wished he could send these two griffins directly to Tartarus as that was the only place they quite clearly belonged. Actually wait he did have the ability to do that. Only it wasn't a magical ability but a mechanical one, and it hung at his right side. However before he could pull the trigger of his own H-98 rifle a shot rang out to his right, striking the male right directly in the head while the female took to the air with a panicked squawk. It seemed somepony in his squad had beaten him to it. But Night would be damned if he was going to let that pathetic excuse for a griffin just get away.

"Loot the male for anything useful, I'm going after our little friend" he called out, and with that he was off, he ran out of the forest and immediately jumped and flapped his wings hard in order to get airborne. The griffin meanwhile flew over the river and bolted north.