Crimson’s eyes burned in the afternoon sun as beads of sweat trickled down her fur; the air had grown hot and sticky in a manner characteristic of the continent and so foreign from that of the cool mountain air of Canterlot, the city where she had been raised. Even after she had spent months in the sweltering climate, Crimson never truly got used to the oppressive heat which had felt as if it had been strategically designed to make the life of ponies as uncomfortable as possible. ‘It is like trotting through Tartarus,’ remarked Able, who wiped his brow with a hoof and silently prayed to himself that the princess would pull her sun farther away and grant them respite from the heat.

The two would walk until they came across the cannons which sat menacingly aimed at the walls. A group of fifty or so ponies serviced the weapons, a few noticing them and putting up a salute which they would dismiss. After they had observed the engineers for a couple of minutes, the Corps Colonel of the Royal Engineers, Sturdy Load, would approach them. She was a wide and dense mare who was significantly shorter than average. She had bushy silver fur that was black with oil and dust. Her ashen mane was cut short and styled like that of a stallion and she had a silver ring ear piercing in her right ear. ‘Sir, Ma’am,’ she said with a salute to them both. ‘Colonel,’ Crimson responded as they returned the salute. ‘What brings you two over here?’ Sturdy asked, her gray eyes running between them. ‘We were just making our rounds, seeing how everything is.’ Able said. Sturdy Load sighed and started walking down the lines of artillery motioning for them to follow. ‘You could have saved yourselves the trip, not much has changed.’ Sturdy said as she walked. They followed and watched the ponies work on the cannons before she stopped and turned toward a cannon whose large cast iron barrel had a long and prominent crack that ran up the middle and splintered out like shattered glass near the base. ‘This is our latest casualty…,’ Sturdy gestured toward it, ‘…she gave out on us last night; the heat makes it harder for them to cool down and some idiot did not clean it properly.’ She turned to face them, ‘Not that it matters, these cannons have not made so much as a dent in the walls since we hauled the over here.’ She said spitting on the ground.

General Verdant Cornet was lazily laying in a tub to cool down. He felt the warmth much worse than most, having grown up on the border between the Crystal Empire and Equestria where it rarely rose above a frigid 30 degrees on the warmest of days the Griffonian heat was like torture. He splashed himself with water, letting the cool droplets run down his green fur. As he soaked, he read a book on Musical Composition which floated lazily in the air in front of him and hummed along to the pages. Unlike many in his position, he had not wanted to be a soldier. When he was still a naïve foal, he had dreamt of being a composer and performing in the grand shimmering theaters in Canterlot; however, his father was head of the royal guard and had firmly pushed him into a military career and not wanting to go against the patriarch of the family he had agreed to do so. ‘Sir,’ a pony would call from outside his tent. Verdant swallowed a sigh and while putting down his book but remaining inside the tub would yell out ‘Come in!’ The tent opened with a flap and a young pegasus would enter whose eyes bulged upon seeing his commander in the bath and with reddening cheeks, he hurried out, ‘I can come back later, if this is a bad time,’ as he turned his back and started making his way out the tent. Verdant gave a chuckle which rolled its way off his tongue in the stereotypical northern fashion. ‘Nonsense…,’ Verdant said, ‘…now is fine.’ The pegasus hesitantly turned back, and with measured steps walked fully into the tent until he stopped just outside of the tub. ‘So, what is it?’ Verdant Cornet asked. ‘News sir, from Lord Amber Crest.’ He produced a letter from his satchel and offered it to the general who picked it up with his magic. Verdant tore the envelope open and made sure to eye up the pegasus as he unfolded the letter with a melodramatic pause.

General Verdant Cornet,

It is with great displeasure that I, Lord Amber Crest, must inform you of the unfortunate events that have transpired. You see, my magnificent forces were engaged in battle with a rather bothersome griffon army, and it seems that their uncouth determination, coupled with the most unfavorable conditions on our end, has led to a temporary setback in our strategic advances. I assure you it is a mere aberration, as my troops shall not be deterred for long.

However, this very same griffon army, which I believe has had a lucky break in our recent engagement and is thus now full of the merriment of victory, is now marching toward your position, intending to lift the siege on their precious griffon fort, Xorti. Clearly, they remain ignorant of the insurmountable force they will face when they encounter your elite battalion.

Nonetheless, it would be unwise to discount their sheer numbers and apparent tenacity. Therefore, I must order you, General Verdant Cornet, to make a tactical withdrawal from your current position toward the village of Festa where we may regroup. I trust that you understand the significance of preserving our troops for the many battles ahead, rather than engaging in a futile standoff with these creatures.

I expect your immediate compliance with this order, and I shall require an update on your progress as soon as possible. Remember, our ultimate victory shall not be marred by this temporary inconvenience, and her majesty’s will shall be done in the end.

Signed,

Lord Amber Crest

Verdant tore it up in anger. ‘That idiotic… Does he have any idea… How does one even manage…’ he swore to himself loudly, falling angrily in his bath and splashing water on the pegasus messenger who stood still with his eyes cast downward. After a few minutes, the tantrum would subside and with a calm apology toward his guest, he would dismiss the pegasus who would give him a hasty salute and all but fly out of the tent. With most of the water now outside the tub, Verdant would get out, dry himself, and sit heavily on the end of his bed. ‘How could I tell this army to retreat?’ he thought to himself.

Having sat on the bed for twelve minutes, Verdant Cornet felt as if he could not think inside of the tent and needed some fresh air so, using his magic to pull his tan mane back into a bun, he shot up and marched outside. He walked around the camp absently while muttering to himself. As he walked, Verdant watched the soldiers, who had sat sprawled out wherever they could find shade. A group of stallions had chosen to lay about in the grass underneath a tall and wide tree whose dry leaves crackled in the wind. One of the ponies, an orange stallion with a beige mane, saw him and quickly snapped into a quick salute while simultaneously nudging his friend who had apparently fallen asleep and awoke with a start, looked around, and upon seeing everyone else standing at attention quickly followed suit tripping over his gear and stumbling forward a few steps before righting himself. Verdant put them at ease. When he did not leave the orange one spoke up, in the soft but stern manner that only a soldier could, a questioning ‘Sir?’ Verdant smiled at the soldiers, which seemed to have calmed them a bit and asked: ‘What do you think of this siege?’ The three looked at each other confused. A gray stallion, the one who had been asleep, sensing that no one else was going to answer responded. ‘I think it is great sir, the griffons have been quiet for a while now so they should be close to breaking…,’ and with a crooked smirk that revealed a gap in the right side of his mouth he added, ‘…I just wish we can get to them sooner.’ Verdant watched to other two stallions nod in agreement, ‘Is this the consensus around camp then?’ He asked. ‘Yes sir,’ the gray stallion responded. ‘Well then, you should be careful what you wish for,’ and with that Verdant Cornet said his goodbyes and continued to walk through the camp.

Author's Note

The plan is to write two Griffon chapters and two Pony ones and just alternate between the two. So the next two chapters will be a continuation of the first two and the next two after those will continue where this left off.