The Great War

Chapters

The Meeting
Daybreak
Retaliation
Insurrection
Negotiations
The Draft
A New Threat
Preparation and Deception
Cancellation Notice

The Meeting

General Corvus adjusted his peaked officer’s cap, the small bronze eagle and star gleaming in the bright sun. Across from him sat Prime Minister Collins Schmidt, the leader of the Human Republic. Two weeks before, Schmidt had received a letter from the Empress of the Gryphonian Empire and a personal message from Princess Celestia of Equestria, requesting his attendance at a meeting of utmost importance. Both had explained the growing situation of pollution from human industrializing in the past years becoming a problem for both the Gryphons and the Equestrians.

Reluctantly, the Prime Minister had agreed to attend. They rode in a pony drawn carriage towards Canterlot, every now and then asking Silver Tongue, the pony ambassador that accompanied them, a question about the land.

“Prime Minister, if I may ask something of you.”

“Yes?” Schmidt responded.

“Why is the Republic so isolationist? As far as I know, Princesses Celestia and Luna are the only ponies to have even seen your country, and there is rarely ever a human to leave it. Do you not allow it?” He queried.

Schmidt sighed, looking away from the green fields below them. “Well, it’s really a matter of order. We do not restrict emigration entirely, but we do strive to keep it low. We do not allow another species entrance other than ambassadors solely for preservation of order.”

Silver tilted his head, confused by the Prime Minister’s response. “Let’s say there was a large immigration of humans into Equestria. Would your way of life not change? Your species has built a society based upon nature and leisure, while ours is built upon industry and labor. If we were to clash on such a large scale, it would surely throw both nations out of balance. That is why we do not allow foreigners, to preserve the society we have built ourselves upon in it’s entirety.” Schmidt smiled as if it were common knowledge. They drew closer to Canterlot castle.

“I must say, your country’s architecture is quite impressive. With mere hooves at One's disposal, most would not expect such beauty.” Schmidt looked over the imposing structure.

“Well, not just hooves, we also have magic.” Silver pointed out.

“Ah, yes magic. I've heard a great deal about how you ponies use this in everyday life but never had the time to observe it as much as I wish. Pray tell, how does it work?”

“Well, how about I just show you, I am unicorn after all.” Silver grinned at his chance to impress the dignitary. He was about to show him some simple levitation spells when the carriage abruptly stopped.

“Oh, well we seem to be here. I’m sorry sir, maybe another time.” Silver opened the door of the carriage and stepped out. The General was next to exit, standing at attention and saluting as the Prime Minister stepped out. Standing at the base of the castle steps accompanied by two solar guards, Princess Celestia stood smiling.

“Prime Minister Schmidt, it is a pleasure to see you again.” She greeted warmly.

“Ah Princess Celestia, the pleasure is all mine.” He responded. Celestia offered her hoof which he took promptly, raising it a bit more and kissing the golden shoe upon it. As the last human exited the carriage, an armed bodyguard, the doors of it were shut and the carriage was drawn away.

“Welcome to Canterlot. Shall we go inside?” She turned and began to ascend the stairs to the large wooden doors.

~~~

Empress Brynja Goldenbeak sat at a large mahogany table, drumming her talons across it boredly. Sitting at the table with her were Princess Luna and the newly coronated Princess Twilight Sparkle. Twilight was visibly excited. She had never spoken with a human before; sure, she had read about them, their society, their history, it was all very interesting but being able to speak with one was something else entirely, and their leader no less!

“Ooo, I can’t wait! Princess, what are humans like? You've spoken with them before haven’t you?” Twilight queried.

Luna turned to her and smiled, enjoying the new princesses enthusiasm. “Humans are complicated Twilight. They are so easy to get along with, yet so easy to anger. It is strange really, Humans have been around almost as long as ponies have, yet they are such a mystery.”

“What do you mean, Princess?” Twilight tilted her head. Brynja had begun to listen in as well, wondering what experiences the Princess had with humans.

“Well for starters, no human is predictable. Unlike many species, you never know what a Human is going to do in a certain situation until it is done. Something they will say, an action they will take, a choice they will make, it’s never predictable. It’s quite fascinating actually, they are so similar to us, yet vastly different.”

Brynja chuckled to herself loudly. “The way I see it, the only thing humans are good for is fouling things up. It is the very reason we are here this afternoon, their industrializing is polluting our water, poisoning our air, ruining the Earth in every way!”

Luna glared at Brynja out of the corner of her eyes. She turned to her, adopting a stern expression, “May I remind you, the true reason we’re here is deal with this problem in a civilized manner? We are not merely calling them here to scold them for their doings, we are simply negotiating.”

Brynja scoffed, crossing her forearms in a childlike manner. “I see it as easier to force them to stop completely. Both of our nation’s populations triple theirs and we function fine without the need of this technology. Why must we, the stronger powers, negotiate with such a weak nation on a matter that clearly has only one solution?”

Luna kept her expression, years of experience in dealing with politicians had taught her it best not to sink to the level another was arguing from. “Do not let the feuds between your species and humans cloud your judgement, Empress, they have the same right as you to use their land the way they see fit.”

Brynja was about to retort when the sound of hooves began to draw near the conference room. The door handles were surrounded in a golden aura and turned, opening the large wooden doors. Princess Celestia walked in casually, followed by three humans, one in a dark black suit and gray trench coat, the other two in dressed in gray military uniforms.

Celestia stopped and turned to them. “I’m sure you already know Empress Brynja Goldenbeak,” Brynja merely nodded, not granting the humans anymore recognition. “Princess Luna,” Luna nodded as well, smiling.

“Welcome to Canterlot, Prime Minister.” She greeted him. Schmidt nodded to her and then looked to Twilight.

“And this is our newest member of the royal family, Princess Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia finished.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess,” Schmidt spoke. He smiled and nodded, taking a seat across from the the dignitaries. Celestia took her seat as well across from the humans between Brynja and Luna.

“Well let’s not tarry on the point, we are here to discuss the growing problem of pollution being caused by some of your recent moves of industry, Prime Minister.” Celestia spoke bluntly.

“And these problems are? As far as I know we have not interfered with any ecosystem in a damaging way.”

“Actually Prime Minister, Gryphonia’s ecosystem has been greatly affected! Ever since your nations oil spill near the Lower Ironclaw Islands, our fishing waters have been poisoned!” Brynja shouted at him.

“Keep in mind Empress, that was only a few weeks ago and I have had spill teams working round the clock to correct our error. As I have said before, I am greatly apologetic for that accident.” Schmidt pointed out.

“But it never would have been a problem if you weren't shipping oil so close to our waters in the first place!” Brynja shot back.

“Empress please! That is enough!” Luna shouted, “ I've already discussed this matter with you, we are negotiating, not scolding.”

“And pray tell Princess, what is it we are negotiating?” Schmidt looked to her, his gaze hardening.

Luna was about to speak before Twilight cut her off. “We are going to negotiate the slowing of your industrialization, thus lowering the threat of destroying the ecosystem.” Twilight smiled wide, proud of her memorization of the central goal of this meeting.

Schmidt raised an eyebrow. “Is that so, Princesses?” He somewhat glared at them, making both of them uneasy.

“Yes Prime Minister, it is so. With the threat of pollution rising every day, we have decided something must be done. We request that you cease your oil drilling on the Zebrican Coast.” Celestia stated.

“The Zebrican government has given us permission to drill there! They have no use for it and we need it for fuel. We have not been intrusive upon any of Equestria’s or Gryphonia’s territories in search for oil. We are drilling completely legally and you have no right to tell us we can’t.”

“Be wary of the path you tread, Prime Minister,” Brynja spoke up again. “It is not wise to challenge a nation that triples you in size.”

“Are you threatening me, Empress?” Now both he and the General were staring at her, their expression contorting to that of anger and annoyance.

Celestia horn flashed, silencing the two and bringing their attention to her.“No, she is not. We will not turn a civilized council into war room by exchanging petty threats. Empress, I suggest you stop, you are beginning to overstep your boundaries in this matter.”

“Who are you to tell me I am overstepping my boundaries? I am trying to stop the destruction of our ecosystem, yet you sit here and idly talk, trying to work around the only solution!” Brynja spat.

“And what is that solution, Empress?” By now Schmidt was glaring daggers at the gryphon.

“You’re kind’s poisoning of the Earth must be stopped entirely! That is the one, and only solution, Prime Minister.”
There was a long silence amongst the dignitaries. Schmidt then straightened in his chair, “Well, I believe it best I take my leave. This meeting was a waste of my time, and a waste of yours. I will not cease the drilling in Zebrica, it is something you cannot force me to do.” He stood, putting on his trenchcoat and turning to leave, flanked closely by his bodyguard and General Corvus.

As they left, the large wooden doors swung closed and Luna exploded from her chair.

“Have you lost your mind, Empress?! This meeting was meant to peacefully negotiate better environmental precautions and you all but threaten them with war! Do you even understand what kind of mark this leaves on both our countries’ relations with them?”

Brynja scoffed, standing from her chair and walking towards the door herself, flanked by her personal guards. “You may waste your time worrying about petty things such as relations with them, but I have better things to do than negotiate with those destructive beast. If you three cannot come up with a better way of dealing with this, I will be forced to take matters into my own talons. Good day, Princesses.” With that she departed, leaving the three pony princesses alone in the conference room.

Twilight groaned, leaning over the table and covering her face with her hooves. “How could so much go wrong in such a short span of time?” She sighed.

“As I told you Twilight, Humans are unpredictable, but the Empress’s radical intentions and threats certainly did nothing to help the matter.” Luna sighed deeply as well.

Celestia eyes stayed fixed on the door, as if she expected the dignitaries to return and take their seats once more. “I fear we will soon have more than a threat of pollution to worry about...”

Author's Note

As I said, my first story. Criticism and feedback is welcomed with open arms.

Daybreak

Captain Vidar stepped out onto the deck of his ship, the wood creaking under his weight his crimson feathers ruffling in the cool morning breeze. It was still dark as night outside, but he knew the sun would be raised soon. It had taken the Gryphon navy two months to perfect their attack plan. Every ship had to leave port at a precise time, make sure they were traveling the correct routes to make it to the islands as fast as possible, and have enough soldiers to be able to overcome the Humans’ weaponry.

In the entire fleet there were three-hundred and sixty-six ships traveling towards the islands. Most carried ground troops, while others carried the diversion force that would be used to keep the Humans at bay long enough to allow the rest of the ships to land. Vidar smiled grimly. His ship, the Leviathan, had been chosen to lead the fleet on invasion day. It was a great honor, leading the first strike in this crusade for purification, surely one that would win him favor in this life and then next.

He walked to the edge of the ship. Leaning on the railing he took his spyglass from his belt and lifted it to his eye, peering through it at the first refinery island. The coast was illuminated by small lights of coastal guard post. They were nearing the island, it was time to put their plan into motion. They had been ordered to have only several lanterns alight, enough that each ship would not crash into the other, for the purpose of staying hidden amongst the dark waters.

Signal lights had been forbidden from use on this mission for the same reason. Each ship had a messenger that, upon the Captain’s order, would fly to a designated ship, alert its crew, and then move to the next one and repeat this task until the whole fleet was ready.

Vidar turned and cawed lowly, signalling the messenger to take flight. It spread its wings and took off, flying to the nearest ship and speaking with it’s captain before departing and repeating. Before long, the order had been given and that sound of wings flapping filled the air as nearly two-thousand Gryphonian soldiers took flight above the clouds and flew towards the island, taking their positions. Vidar grinned. This was the beginning of a great crusade.

~~~

Joseph sighed, leaning back against a sandbag wall. He slipped his rifle sling from his shoulder and leaned it against the sandbags as well. He hated the night shift. It was cold, foggy, and boring, the exact opposite of what he was expecting when he joined the military. The large 14-inch coastal artillery guns gleamed in the light cast from the floodlights overhead that illuminated the shore.

The low tone of the other men’s conversations buzzed in the air like insects, the only noise that night other than the waves hitting the shore. It was then that something caught Joseph’s eye.
“Hey...look out there!” He said in a loud whisper, trying to get the other’s attention. He pointed out towards the horizon, where there seemed to be hundreds of small lights dotting the water.
“What the hell is tha-” A loud collective screech above them cut him off, all their heads snapping up towards the sky. A swarm of what look like birds was racing towards them from the clouds; until they came into the light...then it became very clear.

“Gryphons!” Everyone frantically reached for their rifles, but the Gryphons were already upon them, hacking and slashing with their swords. The screams of Humans up and down the shore rang out before rifle shots began to drown them out. Some men had been able to grab their rifles fast enough and begin to pick targets, dropping the invaders like flies. Another swarm of Gryphons descended upon them, taking them by surprise, turning it into a bloody hand-to-claw fight.

Joseph slammed the butt of his rifle into a Gryphon’s head, denting the copper helmet it wore and knocking it to the ground. He was suddenly grabbed by the collar of his uniform. He whirled around, ready to bash in the head of whoever was grabbing him. His rifle was blocked by another as he was met with the face of his commanding officer, Captain Pitfield.

“Lower your weapon, Private!” He pressed back with his rifle.

Joseph realized who it was and took the pressure off his gun, allowing the Captain to speak.

“We need to sound the alarm! Bird brains have it locked down last I saw it. If we don’t the whole island will be caught off guard!” Joseph nodded and followed Pitfield.

They ran across the sand, trying to stay in the shadows so they would not be spotted by the Gryphons. The pained cries of the soldiers from both factions tore through the sounds of a raging battle, it was apparent by the sounds of the voices that one faction was slowly gaining the upper hand.

As Joseph sprinted after Pitfield, he was suddenly brought down hard by a heavy weight. The Gryphon that had jumped him squawked as it raised it’s spear. Aiming for his throat he thrust the spear downwards. Joseph jerked his head to the side quickly, the spearhead grazing the side of his helmet and sending sparks onto the ground.

He swung his fist at the attacker, punching the Gryphon in the throat. He hunted for the bayonet strapped to his leg, frantically trying to arm himself. He finally gripped the handle of the bayonet, drawing it quickly out of it’s sheath. As he went for the kill, his arm was pinned down, causing him to release his grip on the blade and groan in pain.
The Gryphon was staring deathly at him as it raised its own blade, a ceremonial war dagger. It plunged the blade downward at Joseph’s chest, only to be caught by his free hand barely an inch from piercing his body. Joseph struggled, trying to hold back the blade, but the Gryphon’s strength outmatched his and the blade continued downward at a painfully slow pace, it drew closer to his heart with each passing moment.

The corners of the Gryphon’s beak turned up into a sickly grin as he pressed the blade downward, his victory imminent. Joseph thought it was over, that he would die a slow and painful death. Suddenly, the Gryphon’s head snapped back violently, a rifle shot ringing out behind him. As the dead creature slumped backwards, he was unceremoniously hauled back onto his feet, the voice of Pitfield sounding through his deafened ears.

“Keep up, Private! I need you alive!” A rifle was shoved into Joseph’s arms and the Captain turned, resuming his sprint towards the alarm tower.

~~~

Ship after ship, hundreds of Gryphon troops were amassed on the decks of each vessel, all awaiting the order to charge. Vidar donned his helmet, the gold and crimson steel that adorned it gleaming in the light of dawn. The timing felt perfect to him. His ships drew closer to the Human shores, ready to unleash the wrath of the Gryphonian Empire on them in crushing force. This was no mere dawn, it was the beginning of a new age, an age of righting and perfection.

He drew his sword from it’s sheath, raising it towards the sky and giving a mighty screech, jumping off the deck and flying towards the shoreline. He was followed by a great swarm of Gryphon soldiers, all brandishing deadly weapons and fueled by Holy War.

~~~

Joseph fired another shot from his position behind a wall of sandbags. It had taken them ten minutes to get to the alarm, gaining a few soldiers along the way to assist them. Their path had been cut off, however, by a large group of Gryphons that had rushed them, taking their attention away from the alarm. All around him it was chaos. Some men were fleeing the overwhelming numbers, while others stood their ground, most fighting back to back as they had been encircled.

Pitfield was leaned against the sandbags beside him, nursing an injured hand. He had lost four of his fingers when a Gryphon had sprung out from behind a concrete wall, catching him off guard and giving him the crippling wound. It had swung at him with an axe, going for his head when he raised his rifle to block the swing, consequently getting his fingers cut off instead.

The Humans’ numbers were dwindling fast. What had been almost fifteen-hundred men along the shoreline had been reduced to only two-hundred. It was now apparent they were losing the shore, and losing it fast. It was then that one of the men among them spotted something in the sky.

“Holy shit! Look at that!” He pointed out to the others before frantically firing his rifle at the mass of reinforcements speeding towards the beachhead. Josephs eyes widened as spotted the swarm as well.

“Sir! We need to get out of here!” He shouted at the Captain.

“Negative! We have to get that alarm up!”

“We don’t have much time! Reinforcements are incoming, and there’s a shitload of them!”

"No, look!" The Captain shouted, pointing at the alarm tower, as well as the Gryphons blocking it.

“If I get some covering fire I can get through." He surveyed the group of enemies, the gears turning in his head.

"But, Sir! The Gryphons are advancing on us! By the time you get through there's gonna be too many to deal with!"

"Exactly! there's too many. If we don't get that alarm up the entire island is going to be overrun! Now I'm going to make a run for that tower, and as soon as that alarm goes off you all fallback and regroup. Understood, Private?!”

Joseph reluctantly nodded, knowing he had lost.

Pitfield peaked over the sandbags, waiting for the opportune moment to make a break for it. Every man reloaded their rifles, making sure they would have enough ammo to cover the Captain.

“Now!” Pitfield shouted, bounding over the sandbags and sprinting towards the tower.

“Covering fire!” All the men rose from their cover, taking quick aim and firing on the Gryphons blocking his path, careful not to hit him in the back.

Pitfield’s legs burned as he ran for all he was worth, the rifle shots whizzing past him and impacting on the Gryphons ahead. He quickly drew his revolver, cocking the hammer back and firing, blasting the remaining Gryphon that stood in his way. He slammed against the door, frantically trying to open it. The door was locked, a protocol to ensure that the alarm could not be set off without reason.

“Fuck!” He slammed his shoulder against the door several times but to no avail, quickly firing into the door handle with his sidearm and blowing it off. The door was slammed against the wall as he burst inside, reaching for the large crank jutting from the wall. He grabbed it, turning it with all the strength he had.

~~~

A blaring siren pierced the sounds of combat, drawing the attention of a particular group of men.
“That’s us! Come on let’s go!” Joseph bounded over the sandbag wall, sprinting towards the treeline away from the beachhead. The others followed suit, retreating to the fallback position. Hundreds of Gryphons soared overhead, some dive-bombing the remaining men and cutting them to shreds.

Joseph sprinted through the brush and vegetation, leaves whipping across his face as adrenaline pumped through his veins. He had a long way to go to the refinery town.

~~~

Vidar pulled his sword from another Human soldier. This was the third he had slain. His troops were crushing the last of the Humans’ defenses, overwhelming them with brutal force. The remaining Humans were fleeing through the treeline, abandoning their posts.

Vidar smirked. The cowards will be met with a coward’s death. He spread his wings and gave chase to them, hundreds of soldiers following his lead over the trees. He saw the smoke from the oil refinery rising high above the trees and into the clouds.

Disgusting, he thought. Beating his wings faster, he sped towards the smoke, hoping to catch the fleeing Humans before they reached safety.

~~~

Joseph burst from the jungle, sprinting down a small slope towards the city centered around the refinery. Many more men followed after, some firing towards the sky where the Gryphons flew overhead. He sprinted across the road, trying to evade the panicking civilians that peppered the streets.The fleeing men merged with the civilians, losing sight of each other and moving in different directions among the crowd.

Joseph ran into an alleyway, near vomiting from his continuous running. He staggered, slumping against a wall and panting heavily, trying to get a full breath of air. Searching frantically through his ammo pouches, he removed his last full stripper clip, opened the bolt on his rifle and slid the five rounds into the magazine. After laying against the wall for a few minutes, he shakily stood, staying close to the wall as he walked back to the corner of the alleyway.

He was about to make a run for it when an ear splitting screech sounded from above him, catching him off guard. A Gryphon descended on him, grabbing him by the shoulders and slamming him into the opposite wall. Rolling to his right, he barely missed the downstroke of it’s axe, cutting his uniform sleeve.

Pushing himself away from his attacker, he managed to land a solid kick to the Gryphon’s face, stunning it temporarily. He scrambled away from it, reaching for his rifle that lay a few feet from them. A claw grasped the lip of his helmet, jerking his head upwards and choking him with the chin strap. He was flipped onto his back again, a scaly claw roughly grabbing him by the throat and pressing him into the ground.

He frantically grabbed for his utility knife, pulling the four inch blade from it’s small pouch and slamming it into the Gryphon’s jugular vein. The creature sputtered, coughing up blood as it dropped it’s axe and clenched it’s throat, trying to keep itself from bleeding out. Joseph pushed away from it, grabbing his rifle and turning, aiming for it’s head. He pulled the trigger, obliterating the Gryphon’s head into a mess of blood and bone.

He panted heavily, the rifle still shakily pointed at the now dead body, as if he expected it to rise and continue to fight. He stood again, checking himself for any severe wounds he might have sustained. When he saw that he was fine, he bent over, removing the small blade from what was left of the Gryphon’s neck.

“Heh, who’s still standing now you fucking anim—AACK!” Excruciating pain wracked his whole body as he looked down, a crimson-stained spearhead jutting from his chest. There was a low growling behind him before the spear was roughly yanked from his body, letting him fall to his knees. His vision became blurry as he felt a copious amount of blood pouring from the wound, staining his gray uniform. Falling over on his side, he panted heavily, feeling the life leaving him slowly. The last thing he heard was the dulled beating of wings as his vision darkened, coughing out his final breath before his body went limp.

~~~

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait, I hope this chapter is a proper apology :D

Retaliation

10:00 am

Canterlot Castle

Day Court is about to begin

A young Pegasus guard burst through the throne room doors, running quickly up to the thrones of the Princesses.

He bowed respectfully before rattling off what had been told to him.

“Your Highnesses! News from ambassador Silver Tongue!” He sputtered out through breathless pants.

“Speak.” Celestia responded.

“Gryphonia has attacked the Human oil refineries! War has been declared between them!”

The three Princesses gasped, looking at each other before Celestia looked back to the guard.

“Thank you for your report. You may return to your post.” Celestia tried to offer the guard a smile to calm him, but could only bring a gentle nod to bear.

The guard nodded and bowed again, turning and quickly trotting out of the throne room, leaving the Princesses to their work.

Both of the sisters looked to Twilight, “Twilight, we need you to be present for the day court, this is a matter of utmost importance that requires our immediate attention.” Celestia spoke.

“B-But Princess, shouldn’t I be present for—” Luna cut Twilight off.

“Twilight Sparkle, you must understand, while you are a Princess of Equestria, this is a matter for more experienced minds.”

Celestia glared a bit at Luna for being so harsh, but agreed with her.

“Luna is right, Twilight, we need to handle this.” Celestia’s tone was much more tender, but still stern.

Twilight lowered her head, reluctantly nodding. The two Princess rose from their thrones and descended the steps, quickly trotting out and down the hallway.

“Sister, I do not believe this! How could she be so ignorant?!” Luna said harshly, the frustration in her voice obvious.

“She is full of pride, Luna, pride and ignorance. She is putting too much faith in her power and she may have set her own undoing into motion.”

They reached the large wooden door that lead to their conference room, swiftly opening the door and trotting inside. A large mirror paralleled the the floor on a wooden stand. They used this enchanted mirror to communicate long distance with their allies via magic. It was almost a copy of the Humans’ radio system, only you could see the pony you were talking to and it didn’t use electricity.

Celestia and Luna took their seats in front of the mirror, both of their horns’ glows causing the mirror’s image to swirl.

~~~

Many miles away, a similar yet smaller mirror on a rolling stand began to swirl. Drawing the attention of a servant that stood beside his Empresses’ throne, he hurriedly told her before pulling the small mirror in front of her.

~~~

The swirling mirror began to take form, the different colors began to take shape, slowly pulling together and revealing Empress Goldenbeak.

“You called, Princesses?” She had a glint of frustration in her eyes.

“Yes, something that concerns us greatly has—” Celestia was cut off.

“Have you gone mad, Empress?!” Luna shouted at Brynja. “How could you be so ignorant as to provoke something you know nothing of?!”

“Luna! Calm yourself!” Celestia scolded her in a hushed tone.

“You insult my judgement, Princesses. There is nothing about the Humans I fear. They are easily outmatched and will soon be put in their place.”

Celestia glared at the Empresses.

“Empress, have you considered what you have done? We know next to nothing about their society, how things work there, or how willing the people are in a time of crisis. Nationalism is a powerful weapon.”

Brynja scoffed, waving that notion away with her claw. “Bah! Their petty ‘guns’ cannot work forever, and once their morale is broken by their losses, nationalism will be no problem at all. If eating away slowly at their war machine is the way to win this war, than so be it.”

She pondered for a moment before an idea struck her.

“But perhaps, that is not the only way. You wanted the pollution gone as well...if your military were to assist mine...the Humans would stand no chance.” Brynja smirked.

Luna was repulsed by such a suggestion, ready to give the Empress a verbal berating like never before...until she felt her sisters hoof on her chest and a stern look telling her to keep quiet.

Celestia turned back to the mirror, “Empress Goldenbeak, this is not our conflict. We attempted to make a peaceful agreement with the Humans on the subject of their pollution. An agreement, mind you, that I am feeling more and more was ruined by your straightforward and arrogant accusations and threats. We will not be allying with you in any sense to fight a war we did not want. That is final.”

Brynja glared at them, her frustration with Celestia’s answer obvious. “Hmph, what else to expect from a pacifist pony.”

Brynja spat the last word with contempt, the image of her fizzling away, promptly ending the conversation.

Celestia sighed heavily, rubbing her temples as she leaned on the table. “Well that went as expected...”

~~~

1:00 pm

Human Republic, Capitol Building.

The doors of the Capitol building were opened, Prime Minister Schmidt walking out onto the white balcony and looking over the mass of people below, all murmuring about what they had read in the early morning papers. Schmidt stepped forward to a wooden podium, setting a small stack of papers on it. Journalists amongst the mass flashed their cameras, trying to get a good picture of what was about to take place. Three microphones were attached to the podium, they would all transmit on a different frequency to broadcast his speech nationwide. He sighed deeply, placing his hands on the podium. He began to speak.

“Yesterday, at four O’clock Western time, the Aichi Oil Refinery islands were attacked. The attack was orchestrated by the forces of the Gryphonian Empire, on unprovoked grounds. Since yesterday, we have lost contact with the islands. I can assure you all, however, that this crime will not pass by on a whim.”

“The arrogance of the Empress of Gryphonia has led her to a rash decision. She is not only responsible for the slaughter of hundreds of good men, she has impeded on Humanity’s right as a species to progress forward for our well being. It is because of these crimes, that on this day, October seventh, nineteen-hundred and twenty, I have declared a state of war on the Empire of Gryphonia.”

His last statement was met with resounding applause, the cameras beginning to flash again as General Corvus stepped up beside him, a symbol of the military for the people. They turned and shook hands before returning inside.

Once they had reached Schmidt’s office, they both took a seat and began to discuss important matters.

“General, as of today we are at war. What with our military being poorly structured, I believe it is time we make changes to better it.” Corvus nodded.

“And what would those changes be, sir?”

Schmidt opened a drawer in his desk, removing two small gray patches with a golden eagle, perched upon a crimson star as well as a foot long baton. He stood, prompting the General too as well.

“As of today, you are promoted to Field Marshall.” He presented him with the patches and baton. The baton was decorated with symbols of the military, the handle crafted out of Black Walnut wood, atop it a golden eagle was perched and the bottom was a red star.

Corvus saluted, taking the baton and patches. “It is an honor, sir.”

Schmidt returned the salute before sitting back down. From the drawer he had opened, he removed one last thing; a bottle of scotch. Pouring two glasses, he handed one to the newly promoted Field Marshal, raising his own glass.

“A toast to the future, old friend.” They chuckled as they clinked their glasses, downing the alcohol.

~~~

6:00 am, October eighth

Human-Gryphon Border

Kurt was roused from his sleep, the hand of his commander roughly shaking his shoulder.

“Wake up, Private. Orders finally came in, time to get blastin’.” He left Kurt and continued waking the others that were asleep.

Kurt groggily stood, walking towards the border defenses. Ever since the attack on the Aichi Islands, orders had been sent in to reinforce the border and wait for the attack command. These reinforcements had included three battalions of reserve soldiers that had finished training only a few weeks earlier, seven-hundred thousand or more rounds of small arms ammunition and lastly, eighteen, twenty millimeter field guns.

The main reason for the artillery guns was because of the dense foliage that covered the outskirts of the Gryphonian Empire. They knew there could be thousands or more Gryphon soldiers hiding amongst the forest, and invading by infantry action would be suicide. They had to break their line before Gryphon reinforcements arrived or they would be bogged down for quite a while.

The gun crews were running hurriedly to and fro, gathering ammunition and ranging targets...not that it really mattered. They had three types of rounds at their disposal, regular twenty millimeter artillery shells, canister rounds for any air retreat, and a new round, a shell carrying a canister filled with Chlorine gas. He trudged over to a small sandbag wall, the middle dipped down to allow the machine gun behind it to fire through and keep the crew safe. The loader, and also his friend Richard was already there. Opening several boxes of ammunition, he lifted one of the belts, the rounds clinking together as he pulled the bolt back and slipped the belt in.

Kurt sat down, leaning back against the sandbags. “So today’s the day, huh?”

Richard nodded, finishing his task he did the same. “Yep, finally we get a chance to give those fucking birds some payback.”

Kurt chuckled, donning his helmet. They both heard the slow grind of metal as the artillery guns were slowly elevated.

He yawned deeply, he was still groggy from the quick wake up. “Whelp, here we go.”

While the sun slowly rose over the horizon he moved to his position behind the machine gun, grabbing the handles and moving his thumb to the small lever between them. Everything became quiet, as if you could hear a pin drop

“Ready!” They heard a voice call out behind them.

“Fire!” The deafening blast of the artillery echoed through the air as a hail of gas and metal was flung over their heads, flying through the air for but a few seconds before impacting onto the forest ahead. Dust and foliage were erupted from the ground with each impact, while yellowish-green chlorine gas slowly crept through the forest. The war was in full swing, and both sides were prepared to do their worst.

~~~

6:10 am

Human-Gryphon Border

Midrad was leaned against a large oak tree, the dark brown of his feathers blending almost perfectly with the wood. He clutched his spear close, peering through the forest towards the Human border. Though it would still be a bit before he could see through the forest, it was important for him to keep watch.

Guard duty annoyed him, he didn’t understand why they were hiding in the forest like cowards. There were enough of them in these woods to easily overpower the Human border soldiers and sitting here waiting was only giving them time to gather strength. When the news of the successful attack on the Human oil refineries had come in, they had celebrated, with such an easy victory over the Humans, surely their ancestors were with them in this endeavor. Midrad smiled at this thought, he could only imagine what honor he would gain in the liberation of the Humans polluted lands. The Sun’s light began to peek through the trees bringing a pleasant warmth to him.

Suddenly, the ground shook violently, ear-splitting booms echoing through the air. His ears rung loudly as he felt the ground lurch, knocking him away from the large tree. Midrad tried to stand, stammering to his feet before another blast near him knocked him back to the ground. Crippling pain started to crawl up his body. Forcing his eyes open he looked to it’s source to find several pieces of twisted metal lodged in his left thigh.

The forest was continually pounded with artillery fire, each impact slinging dirt, rocks, and pieces of trees in every direction. Midrad tried to crawl out of the opening he was in, each blast pressing his body against the ground. He couldn’t fly, when the first shell impact had sent him sprawling he had landed on his wing, breaking it.

While he crawled, he began to smell a strange scent, one of pepper and taste of pineapple. As the scent became stronger, his throat and chest began to burn, feeling as though they were tightening inside his body. Grasping his throat he began to wheeze and cough, barely able to breathe. It was becoming too much, the world around him blurring while the burning in his chest grew more and more painful.

With one final gasp for air, his body went limp, eyes deadening as the hail of metal and poison continued to fall around him.

Author's Note

Updates will be slower because of computer issues, :/ But I'll try to get as much writing in as I can in the given times.

Insurrection

(A.N. I finally got around to finishing this, but I don't expect it to be quite up to par with my previous chapters, I wasn't juggling so many things then. Anyway, enjoy!)

~~~

Kurt trudged through the burnt wood and scorched ground that was once a forest. On his shoulder he lugged the heavy, thirty-three pound machine gun, its tripod strapped to his pack. It had been a day since they had shelled the border with gas and shrapnel, and their reinforcements were now advancing forward. Smoke rose slowly from the ground, small pieces of brush and foliage burning in the aftermath. His squad, ‘Lima’ squad to be exact, consisted of nine men.

Squad leader, Staff Sergeant Mark Connor, a tall, well built man in his early thirties. Next, there was Privates, Nelson and Raymund Sison, the two oldest of three brothers and both rifleman. Kurt of course, as well as Richard Cline, both Privates. Sergeant Dale Ingram, the Model sixteen Flamethrower operator, was a tall, well built man that had a mild temper. Henry Courson a Corporal, their Grenadier or explosives specialist. Lastly, was their medic, Private Norman Marshall, having turned eighteen near the end of basic training because his birthday was so near when the draft was issued, he had been drafted as the legal age. Everyone liked him, his optimistic attitude was a nice change from the dreariness that military service usually brought.

Now, however, they all were quiet, all except Sergeant Ingram.

“Serves you bastards right.” He spat unsympathetically, idly kicking one of the corpses the littered the ground, knocking the bronze helmet that barely clung to its dead wearers head across the scorched dirt. Norman looked pale in the face, as if he was going to puke any second. They had definitely been right about an ambush, there were enough bodies littering the ground, be they in one piece or not, to make a sizable attack force.

The helmet rolled past Norman, causing him to glare back at the Sergeant. Kurt could tell what Ingram had done had upset him. Even if it was the enemy he had done it to, Norman saw it as disrespectful. He was a strange character indeed.

The occasional rifle shot echoed through the air, likely for any survivors of the bombardment. It was highly unlikely that many could have survived it, but there were always a few that had been missed by the gas at least. The weight of the machine gun was already beginning to make itself known. Kurt’s shoulder was already getting sore and they still had two more miles of marching to go.

~~~

Lightning Sparks lay atop a small cloud, peering out over the landscape. His focus was fixed on the two neighboring countries borders. The borders of Equestria, Gryphonia, and the Human Republic all met together on a tri-point, one that was not very far at all from his current position on the cloud. The morning before, there had been low booms in the distance that had, despite sounding far enough away, the abnormal sounds had still managed to wake every pony in the small town of Hayseed.

Lightning strained his eyes trying to see what had made the noises. He could see smoke rising up from the trees the had always covered the Gryphon border, making him wonder if there was a forest fire, and if there was a forest fire, than it was his Colt Scout duty to report it so it didn’t spread. He was about to turn and fly off when suddenly a loud crack echoed through the air, grabbing his attention again. He strained his sight once again, trying to see anything. It was then he remembered that he had brought along his Colt Scout binoculars.

Quickly picking them up in his hooves he peered through them, looking towards the source of the noise. They weren’t very helpful. He wasn’t seeing much closer than he had been before but it was better than nothing. He scanned the area slowly, just like the Scout master had taught him when they were bird watching, something he had resented then but was happy to have paid attention to now.

While he swept over the trees, something caught his eyes.There was movement in the forest. Focusing on where he had seen something move, he was astonished at what he saw. Humans! Just like the ones he’d seen in his elementary school’s libraries, they were moving through the forest at a slow pace. From what he could tell there had to be hundreds of them, but...why were they in that forest in the first place? That land belonged to the Gryphons. Unless the Humans were...no they couldn’t be, could they? Another loud crack rang out, making Lightning jump.

“No way...I’ve got to tell somepony.” He hopped off the cloud he had been on, turning tail and flying as fast as he could back to his home.

~~~

October ninth, 1:16 PM

Gryphonian Empire Capital city, Gryphus

Empress Goldenbeak sat at the head of a table in the royal dining hall, her Generals and Admirals sitting at the long table that spanned most of the length of the hall. Laughs and chatter of the high ranking officers echoed off the stone walls, as well as the clinks of drinking glasses. When the news of their crushing victory had reached the Capital, Gryphus, Brynja had called a victory celebration with the high ranking officers of her military. They all sat at the table, the finest meat and wine that the castle could muster spread across it.

Many of the the Generals conversed battle tactics and plans for the war over their meal while others merely gloated about the victory they themselves hadn’t even won. Reports from the oil islands they now possessed were also pleasant. All captured enemy military personnel had been dispatched of, ensuring there would be no insurgency. The large mineral stocks on the islands, however, were being shipped back to Gryphonia to fuel their Empire. Brynja finished the wine in her goblet, setting it to the side to be refilled by a servant. She leaned forward on the table and smiled wryly.

“General Halvdan,” She called, effectively silencing the room as the older Gryphon turned to her.

“Yes, your Majesty?” He responded.

“Tell me, what are the battle plans for the main invasion of the Republic? I hope they were as well planned out as Admiral Valmar’s naval invasion.”

Across from Halvdan, the Admiral smirked, eliciting a low, envious growl from Halvdan.

“Yes, Empress, it has been decided.” The General got up from his seat, walking over to the large painted map that adorned the entire right wall.

He cleared his throat, all eyes on him as he began to speak.

“I have committed seven legions of Lancers to invade from their South Eastern border, close to the tripoint. I will be deploying them within the next few hours to reinforce the border legions. With overwhelming force, we should be able to gain the upper claw against the Humans and make a fast push into their territory.”

While the General spoke, a gryphon clad in light armor slipped into the hall, mostly unnoticed as he walked towards the Empress. He tapped her on the shoulder, leaning in and whispering something into her ear.

“What?!” She roared, making the courier flinch and cutting off the General. The room was dead silent as she ordered the courier away, which he quickly obeyed. She was silent for a moment before she angrily pounded her claws on the table, before she stood and began to pace.

“Your Majesty, what is wrong?” Halvdan questioned.

“That courier just informed me that Human forces have crushed the border troops! They’re already inside our borders!”

The Generals began to murmur amongst each other, General Egil speaking up.

“How could this have happened? I had seven thousand of our finest Lancers waiting for them, how could they have already broken through?”

“If they were your finest, General, why could they not stop lowly Human soldiers from crossing?” she shot back.

“It is possible they were outnumbered, but that is irrelevant at this point. We need to focus on our counter-offensive.”

“Agreed, but know this General, your failure to defend our borders will not go unpunished.” She responded coldly. Egil bowed his head in shame.

“General Halvdan, deploy your soldiers immediately. We must meet this invasion with swift retribution.”

“Yes, your Majesty.” He saluted and quickly exited the room.

She turned to the rest of her officers, “The rest of you are dismissed, I will call upon you when I require your assistance.”

“Yes, your Majesty.” They all said in unison, standing and filing out of the room.

Once they had all left, Brynja sank back into her chair, massaging her temples slowly with her claws. “What have I done...” She muttered.

~~~

Aronos stood at his post on the sidewalk in the main square of Teneron, the town based around this island’s oil refinery. He was currently stationed on the captured islands of Aichi, their first victory over the Humans. Some Humans walked the streets, but it was mostly Gryphons. The only Humans that still walked freely had either not caused any trouble or proved useful in their current position.

The refinery had been all but dismantled, which had been their main priority after they had brought the Humans under control. Using most of the munitions for the Humans’ weapons, they had successfully blown apart anything vital for the refinery to be operational. The rest of the munitions were to be used in the defense of the islands if the Humans tried to retake them; they were working against the Humans and their technology, but they weren’t above using that technology against its creators.

After several failed attempts, they had finally managed to pry the information on how to use the coastal guns from one of the captured Human soldiers, shortly after they had executed him, as they did with all captured enemy military to ensure there were no threats of insurgency.

The near-deafening sound of the bell tower that was built onto the city hall snapped him out of his trance, drawing his attention. It rang twice, signalling that it was time for a guard shift. He watched the tower for a few more moments; he had to admit, it was impressive architecture. It had been built with the assistance of machines, however, something that marred its design drastically in his book. He looked away, not noticing the quick glint of light that shined from one of the windows below the tower. Walking away from his post as another Gryphon took his place, he sought out his friend, Vigvir.

Vigvir stood at his normal spot as well, stationed at the rationing stand. The few Humans that still walked freely in the streets were rationed small portions of food once a day. Vigvir was in charge of guarding the stand to make sure no Human tried to take off with extra.

“Vigvir, my friend, how has your day been?” Aronos called to him, catching the other Gryphons attention.

“Normal, Aronos, the same as any occupation is I would guess.” Vigvir responded, chuckling a bit.

Vigvir was a large Gryphon. He had a stark white coat that almost shined when the sunlight was hitting it from the right angle. The feathers on his head were the same color, but peppered with gray patches, almost making it look like snowfall.

Aronos had known him since they were chicks. They had enlisted into their glorious Empire’s army together. Though serving for two years now, this was their first active deployment.

“I guess you’re right.” Aronos chuckled as well.

“So, what are you planning to do for the rest of the day?” He asked him as they walked down the sidewalk.

“I’m not sure, maybe I will—” A loud crack tore through the air, making Aronos flinch. A splash of red hit him in the eyes, blinding him. He rubbed his eyes vigorously before there was another crack and something tore past his head, grazing his face as it went by. He was jerked to the ground by it, smacking the side of his head on the concrete sidewalk. His vision was fuzzy and his ears rang, but he could hear more of the booms echoing off the buildings; it was a gun.

He was suddenly grabbed roughly by the collar of his armor and dragged across the hot pavement of the sidewalk. When whatever was pulling him stopped, his head was leaned back against something, presumably a wall.

“Aronos! Aronos wake up! Are you alive?” The sound of his commanders voice made him force his eyes open. His company commander, Captain Farbeinn was looking him square in the eyes with an unpleasant look on his face.

“By the ancestors, son, you’re bleeding all over yourself,” he growled in a frustrated tone. Aronos shifted over to the two other Gryphons behind the wall with them, a tan one that looked to be a year or so younger than him, and the other, a reddish clay colored on he recognized, named Corus.

“S-Sir, what is going on?” He choked out, clutching the side of his face in an attempt to stop the blood running down his face.

“Humans have opened fire on us, we must not have found all their cowardly soldiers when we first swept the island. They’ve killed at least four Gryphons; would have been five if they hadn’t have missed you.”

The younger Gryphon spoke up, his voice wavering if he was about to break down.

“H-Hey, it stopped. W-Where’d they go?” He queried to no one in particular.. They hadn’t got a glimpse of how many there were, or even where they were being shot at from, but it had stopped. That did not sit well with Farbeinn.

“Perhaps they have no more ammunition?” Corus spoke up, “We destroyed it all once we took the island didn’t we?”

“Captain Vidar ordered some of it to be used for demolition of the Human factories, but not the kind they would use in their small arms.” Farbeinn responded.

“Trajius,” The tan colored one looked back at the Captain. “Try to see if you can spot anything around the corner.” Farbeinn spoke.

Trajius gulped but nodded, gradually inching closer to the edge of the wall. With a deep breath he slowly peaked around, scanning the road and surrounding buildings.

“Do you see anything?” Corus whispered.

“No...I don’t.” Trajius answered him, slowly edging around the corner more to see if they were on a blindside to them or not.

“I think they mo—” Trajius was cut off as his head snapped back, a rifle shot echoing through the air as it did. A pink mist was all the other three saw before the Gryphon’s limp body slumped over, half of his head obliterated.

“Fuck!” Corus shouted as he scooted away from the body as fast as he could, his claws digging into the concrete as he pushed himself away. Farbeinn stared at the dead corpse, the gears in his head spinning. The way Trajius’ head had snapped sideways, the bullet had impacted on the right side of his head, not the forehead. If it came from that angle, that would mean it would have had to have been fired...from the Town Hall behind the wall directly across the road.

“Aronos, do you see the window above you?” He leaned over to the wounded Gryphon.

Aronos looked up to see the window a few feet above his head. “Yes, sir?” He answered.

“I believe that our attacker is positioned in the Town Hall. I need you to travel through this building and flank him.”

“But, Captain, what if I am hit?” Aronos asked, the fear was clear in his eyes.

“Then you will gain even greater favor with the ancestors for dying for the preservation of Earth. Is that not enough incentive soldier? Now get ready, we will distract the Human.”

Aronos gulped and nodded. Thinking of that reward made what he was about to do seem a bit more honorable rather than crazy. Quickly getting into position, he crouched and waited for the Captain’s signal, ready to spring through the window and do his duty.

“Corus, grabbed Trajius’ body, we will use it to our advantage.” Farbeinn whispered.

"B-But sir, he's dead. Shouldn't we just leave him be?" Corus protested.

"His body will serve the same purpose his life did. Now grab his body!” Farbeinn ordered harshly, glaring at him. Corus reluctantly nodded and slowly reached for Trajius’ wing, grabbing it and dragging it towards him. Aronos tensed as Farbeinn directed Corus what to do with the body.

“Now!” Corus shoved the body as hard as he could from out behind the wall, a bullet almost instantly impacting into the corpse. Aronos dove for the window, smashing through it and rolling across the floor a few feet. He scrambled for something to hide behind, trying to keep out sight; surely the hidden gunman had noticed the broken window.

He hid behind a desk, his heart pounding at the sheer intensity of the situation. If he made one wrong move he could be shot just like all the others. Slowly edging over to the right, he peeked, around the corner, trying to find a path of exit that wouldn’t get him killed. The only way out he could see would take him through another window, flying as fast as he could across the street, and if the Captain was actually correct in his assumption of where the shooter was, being able to blindside him and take him out. He took a deep breath, leaning a bit closer to the edge where he could get a good push off of the floor.

He dashed for the window, a shot ringing out as a bullet impacted one of the wooden support columns right beside him. Stumbling but keeping his pace, he dove through the glass, shielding his face with his forelegs. He didn’t have time to duck and roll this time, there was too big a risk of being shot. He hit the street running, bolting across the road and throwing himself up against the far right wall of the Town Hall building.

Aronos was panting, holding his chest as he stayed as close to the wall as possible. I almost got hit! he thought; that shot had nearly given him a heart attack. Leaning out a bit, he didn’t see a rifle poking out of any of the windows that he could see. He had definitely been seen by the Human. Had he retreated into the building to try and hide?

Slowly edging his way towards the desired position, he watched the top floor windows intently, hoping to spot the Human’s weapon. A gunshot rang out, causing him to drop to the ground. He could hear a Gryphon begin to scream in pain from down the road before another gunshot silenced it. He had to end this Human’s killing spree now. Springing from the ground onto the window sill, he clawed his way up the side, using his wings to push himself up faster.

It was then that the glint of metal caught his eye; two windows across from him, sitting on the window seal was the muzzle of a gun. He grinned, knowing he would have the drop on the Human this time. He tensed his wings before lunging off the window he was perched on, beating his wings hard and curving into the room that housed the Human.

Aronos crashed into a man, desperately grabbing for the rifle as they tumbled away from the window into a heap. The man wore a gray colored helmet, as well as the dark gray fatigues like that of the shore patrol they had beaten the few days before; apparently one of them had escaped.

“Die, Motherfucker!” The Human shouted, slamming his knee repeatedly into Aronos’ side. Though his armor was taking the worst of the hits, he could still feel the blunt pain it was causing. They rolled over, the Gryphon now on top as they wrestled for the weapon. Aronos knew he had the Human beat now, the Gryphon’s superior strength slowly pushing the weapon downwards towards the Humans throat.

“Just give up, Human, it’s easier this way.” Aronos smirked as he leaned closer, growling lowly as he attempted to choke the man. Suddenly, the Humans head snapped forward as he headbutted the Gryphon, the lip of the helmet cutting into Aronos’ face and dazing him, giving the man upper hand. He threw the Gryphon off of him, sitting up quickly to aim.

Click. “Fuck!” The man shouted, tossing the empty rifle away, digging for something in his fatigues. Clutching his face, Aronos saw the Human stand, brandishing a long bayonet and charge at him. Dodging the mans downstroke just barely, he tackled the man from the side, trying to draw his own dagger.

“Filthy creature!” The Gryphon shouted, clawing at the man wherever he saw flesh. Aronos was punched hard in the beak by the Human, causing him excruciating pain though he continued to struggle, finally finding his dagger and drawing it whilst he slashed at the Human wildly with his other claw, tearing into uniform and flesh. Another punch landed on his eye; he howled in pained and was shoved onto his back.

“Die, you fucking animal!” The Human lunged at him, bringing his bayonet down towards Aronos’ head. Aronos attempted to slash at his throat, the bayonet catching the palm of his claw instead and impaling it, the brute force of the Humans downstroke slamming the blade, as well as the Gryphon’s claw into the floor, pinning it there.

“Ahhh!” Aronos’ bloodcurdling scream echoed off the walls, the pain burning his arm like fire.

The man knew he didn’t have long before other Gryphons would be upon him, he was surprised already that they hadn’t yet come. He was cut deeply and bleeding badly. He needed to leave now. Grabbing his helmet that had fallen off in the struggle, he pressed it on quickly and ran out of the room, leaving Aronos pinned to the floor.

A few moments later, the form of the Captain fluttered through the window, rushing to the Gryphon’s side.

“By the ancestors, Aronos! Could you not kill a single Human alone?!” He shouted, jerking the blade from Aronos’ claw and tossing it away.

“I-I wounded him, Sir...badly.” He sputtered out, his whole face feeling numb. There was a trail of blood that lead out of the room and undoubtedly down the hallway.

“I will go after him once Corus can tend to you. We mustn't let him live. If one can resist than others may resist as well, and if that happens....we could have a real problem on our claws...”

[~~~

Author's Note

As stated at the beginning, sorry for the long wait guys, and sorry if this chapter isn't up to par with the others. On the bright side, I have less than fifteen days of school left, the hiatus will soon be lifted! :D (Despite me posting this chapter)

Negotiations

Brynja sat at her desk, her claws clutching a quill as she scribbled her signature across a piece of parchment, rolling it up and stamping it closed with her seal before she gave it to a waiting courier. She took another scroll from the waiting pile, opening it and skimming over its contents. She was about to sign it when one of her bodyguards open the door, bowing his head before he spoke.

“Your Highness, the Delegates have arrived.”

“Ah, finally.” She responded rhetorically, setting her quill back in its inkwell and sending the courier away.

She got up quickly and followed the guard down the hall towards the courtyard. She had known it would be somewhat of a challenge crushing the Human armies completely, but was confident in her massive military nonetheless. She, however, could not entirely deal a killing blow without getting rid of as many of their oil providers as she could, that’s why she had invited the delegates to her Kingdom, to do what she could not.

She pushed open the large wooden doors that led to the courtyard and there they stood on a stone pathway at the base of the concrete steps.

“Welcome, Ambassadors, to the Empire of Gryphonia,” she proclaimed, descending the few steps from the door to the ground. They both nodded towards her respectfully, which she returned.

“I trust the trip from Saddle Arabia was a pleasant one?” She asked.

“Indeed, though my wife has never been one to travel by air.” He chuckled, recalling the air balloon trip across the small sea that separated the two continents.

“Wonderful. If you would come with me, we have much to discuss.” She turned and began to ascend the steps again, the two delegates in tow.

Brynja led the two Saddle Arabians into a large stone room, barren if not for the wooden table at the center. She sat down with the delegates and offered them some water from a refreshments platter before speaking.

“Now, I understand Saddle Arabia has been locked in a long conflict with Zebrica about a province of land along their coast that both of you claim is your own?” She questioned, knowing the answer already.

“Ah yes....for several decades we have quarrelled over that land...it would be so much simpler to just seize it once and for all, but the Sultan does not have faith in our military.”

The edges of Brynja’s beak curved up into a grin; the conversation had gone right where she wanted it to go.

“That is why I requested to meet with you both. I have a proposition.”

“What sort of proposition, Empress?” Alozza, the female delegate questioned.

“I am willing to commit a quarter of my reserves to aid you in an invasion of the province.”

Ahmad’s eyebrows rose in suspicion. “An offer like that...I assume you have your own interest that you wish for us to help carry out in return?”

“Indeed.” Brynja responded.

“And what would that be?”

“I need your help fighting the Human Republic. By conquering their main oil supplier we can stop their army dead in its tracks, rendering their machines useless.” She answered nonchalantly.

Both of the Delegates eyes widened and they shared a stare before returning their attention to the Empress before them; Ahmad cleared his voice.

“And what on Earth makes you think we would attempt that?”

“Because, there’s a bigger profit in it for your homeland if you do. A lot bigger.”

She leaned forward and took hold of a glass of wine “You will receive thirty-five percent of the Human lands, seventy-five percent of Zebrica, as well as secure water routes and cheaper trade tariffs between our countries. I can make Saddle Arabia wealthier than its ever been before.” She smirked a bit.

This peaked the delegates attention very quickly. The idea of assisting their ally sounded a lot more reasonable now, but Ahmad still tried to press it a bit. “That offer is tempting Empress...but there is still much at stake if this conflict does not turn in our favor with our assistance. Give us half of your reserves, and all of Zebrica, and we promise you we will do our best to sway the Sultans decision.”

Brynja was hesitant. She didn’t want to threaten her own Empire by strengthening another. Allies or not, she had to be wary of that possible future.

“If you are to receive all of Zebrica, then I must retract my offer of thirty-five percent of the Human Republic.”

Ahmad thought for a moment. “Well...it may be simpler to sway the Sultans opinion if the land he is promised is easier to hold. So, do you accept the new terms?”

Brynja was silent for a few moments, contemplating if what she was about to do was a step in the right direction for her Empire. “Yes, I do.”

~~~

The sun was beginning its slow descent towards the horizon. Through the slowly darkening waters, a thin metal tube protruded from the surface of the water about two feet high. Lieutenant Hartwin peered through the periscope, scribbling his observations of the single island part of Aichi. Since the Island had fell out of the Republic’s control the week before, this had been the HRS Hammerhead’s job; to observe and document what the island was being used for, how many ships were docking and leaving daily, what they assumed to be the cargo of said ships, and how well defended the island was. Seeing as how most of the coastal guns were still in their original places, Hartwin documented the island as heavily defended.

Once he had finished writing, he locked the periscope back into place and took his observations to the submarine’s communications officer.

“Transmit these to the Vickers immediately.” He laid the pad down before the officer before turning to go find the Captain. It was a cramped walk through the three-hundred foot sub, and he often had to duck under girders and step over pipes just to walk through the narrow opening down the length of the sub. Submarines were not a new technology in the Republic’s military. The first functioning submarine that had been built and tested before the turn of the century and they had been experimenting and perfecting the original design every since.

“Sir,” He quickly saluted, “Today’s surveillance notes have been documented and are being transmitted to the Vickers.”

“Very good, Lieutenant. Are we ready to surface?”

“Aye, Sir.”

“Excellent, alert the men we are about to surface.” The Captain and Hartwin saluted each other before Hartwin took to his next order, alerting the crew.

In several minutes, the sleek gray hull of the the sub broke the surface. As the water drained off the sides, a hatch near the bow was flung open and several men clambered up a ladder onto the deck. Locked into place on the deck sat a 3”/20 Deck Gun. The men quickly removed the pins that locked the gun in its submerged position, one of them setting down several small crates of ammunition. The Hammerhead had completed its reconnaissance mission and now it was off to rendezvous with its sister submarines, Triton and Greenling, for its next assignment.

~~~

“Smoke lights out!” Someone down the temporary defensive line shouted.
Immediately men began smothering small fires they had built and putting out cigarettes. The sun was beginning to set and they knew they couldn’t have any lights out during the night. Gryphons eyes were very keen and under watch the smallest flash of light could give away their position. They hadn’t seen any enemy forces for the two days they had been dug in but it was still protocol.

Kurt leaned back against the wall of his foxhole, slipping his helmet off and popping his neck twice. They had been sitting in these foxholes for two days, waiting for the 2nd Artillery regiment to drag their guns to their positions via very slow haulers. Having to weave through the thick forest they had made it through probably wasn’t making things any easier for the 2nd.

The sun finally dipped below the horizon, leaving the thinning woods they had currently set up their defense line in dark and shadowy. Richard checked the machine gun over, having nothing better to do at the moment. The frigid night air began to wisp around the men.

“So Kurt...” Richard leaned back and whispered. “Isn’t this your last year in the Army?”

Kurt scoffed a bit, “Yeah it’s supposed to be, but now that this war’s going on they’ll probably write me up for four more years of service no matter how long this thing last.”

Richard thought for a moment and then chuckled, “Hey, let’s hope its over before New Years eh?” He said only half jokingly.

“Yeah I hope so”

The two whispered back and forth to each other, trying to kill time before they could rotate their watch shift and get some sleep behind the line. About half an hour before their shift was to end, a snapping sound echoed through the otherwise silent forest. All the men within earshot froze, listening closely as some made sure their weapons were near.

One of the squad leaders listened very closely. Whispering just loud enough to hear, he uttered the friend or foe phrase, “thunder” of to which the proper response was flash. For a few minutes, the forest was dead silent.

Thwack! Something whistled through the air and connected with the man. He howled in pain before a second noise silenced him.

“Contact!” Someone shouted. Kurt lurched forward, grabbing the handles of the machine gun and pressed down the paddles. The silent night was immediately turned upside down, the repeating crack of machine guns and rifles ripping through the air. The muzzle flashes lit up the forest, and what Kurt saw charging towards them through the trees terrified him. It looked like hundreds of Gryphons were charging at them through the trees, axes and swords drawn. He concentrated his fire on a large group of them, trying to cut the numbers charging at his section of the line.

He was suddenly hit by something hard, throwing him up against the wall of the foxhole. A Gryphon he hadn’t spotted in time had dove into their foxhole on top of him. He quickly went for its arms, fighting near blindly in the flashing lights of their weapons. It was suddenly kicked off of him, two quick cracks and it ceased its movement. Richard had shot Kurt’s attacker twice with his sidearm. Kurt lunged back forward grabbing the machine gun again. Just then a bright flash caught their eyes, the woods were illuminated as a bright burning light slowly descended. Someone had managed to fire off an illumination flare.

Now that the men could see, volleys of fire were returned on their attackers much more accurately. This did not remedy the fact that the Gryphons were drawing closer to them with each passing second.

“Grenades!” Kurt heard someone yell over the gunfire. He knew what the order meant, quickly ducking his head below the edge of his foxhole. A thundering series of explosives detonated ahead of their trench line. The men sprang back up, sending several volleys of rifle fire into the darkness, the machine guns that lined the trenches still spitting their walls of lead.

“Cease fire! Cease fire!” The same voice as before shouted, straining his voice over the continuous cracks of gunfire. The light from the flare before was beginning to dim, the shadows and darkness that had surrounded the men before slowly creeping back to them. A second flare was fired in the air, lowly hissing as it burned away it’s charge.

The whole forest was quiet again, as if the cacophonous engagement had never happened. The rhythmic chirp of crickets slowly returned as each man’s hearing returned to him, near deafened by the gunfire.

“Clear!” Each squad leader shouted down the trenchline, doing a head count of their men.

“I need a body count!” their commander shouted. “Someone get me a runner! I need our second line notified immediately!”

Kurt slumped back against the wall of his foxhole, his chest heaving as he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Reaching over beside him, he felt around until he found Richard’s arm.

“Hey, you alright man?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I think one of em nicked me on the shoulder.” He grunted. “Doesn’t feel that bad though.” He chuckled.

Glad to know his friend was okay, Kurt nodded and leaned back again. Pushing the sleeve back on his left arm, he strained his eyes at the dimly glowing numbers on his watch. His shift had been over thirteen minutes ago. Kurt grinned, finding it funny for some reason. He then closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

Author's Note

Sorry if this chapter doesn't live up to the others. I procrastinated a while on this one. By the way, if anyone can think of a better name for this chapter, I'm open to suggestions.

The Draft

October 29th
Zebrican-Saddle Arabian border

The soft glow of lanterns illuminated the long swath of tents arranged into a form of encampment. Stationed here were nearly a thousand zebras tasked with defending this region of land known by both the Zebricans and Saddle Arabians as The Line. It had gotten its nickname from the hundreds upon hundreds of battles and skirmishes that had taken place over it. Though it could be called puny on a world scale, being only one-hundred and twenty miles long and sixty miles wide, both sides had a reason for it belonging to them.

Both the Saddle Arabians and the Zebricans claimed it to be sacred for their own religions. While the Saddle Arabians believed this is where their race was selected by their god, Al-Quam, as his chosen species; the Zebricans believed it was where their gods had created the first Zebras, therefore bestowing the land to them. All in all, the land had caused much bloodshed, causing a hate between the two races that could only be matched by Humanity and the Gryphons because of their own histories.

While most slept, many were awake and at their post keeping watch for their eternal enemy. One of these many was Abasi. Having finally come of age, he had enlisted in the army as quickly as possible so to serve his gods well and keep the Holy Land from falling into the grasp of the vile Saddle Arabians. As he stood his post a flicker of light caught his eye. Off in the distance, it looked almost like the spark of a fire. Then another nearby the first. Suddenly hundreds of the sparks were made and smile fires could be seen in the distance.

“Wake up! Wake up! The Vilest are here!” He began to shout, taking off from his post towards the tents. Suddenly, hundreds of fiery arrows streaked overhead, raining down on the encampment. The cloth tents quickly caught fire, setting the camp ablaze. Hundreds of disoriented Zebras ran from their tents, some caught in the fires as the small shelters collapsed. Other than the night guards, the camp was unprepared for an attack like this Their enemy had never used arrows before, leaving only two possibilities.

This question was answered when a conglomerate of blood curdling screeches echoed out of the desert. Myriads of Gryphons poured out from the darkness, blades drawn as they dove down on their unexpecting prey. The clang of metal on metal, screams from his unprepared comrades, and the roar of the fires that were consuming the camp rang in Abasi’s ears. He had his sword drawn as he ran through the carnage, trying to find a way to make himself useful in this chaos. A close cry of help caught his attention. He slid to a stop, looking in every direction until he found its source. One of his comrades was trapped under a fallen support beam from one of the actual structures in the camp.

He rushed to him. The beam burned bright as the zebra cried out in pain from the heat. Before he could think about what he was doing, Abasi dropped his sword from his mouth and pushed against the beam with his hooves. It burned more painfully than anything he’d ever known. He whimpered a bit as he tried to hold it up for as long as he could. Just as he was about to drop the fiery piece of wood from the pain, he saw his comrade pull himself barely far enough out from under the beam, a horrible burn across his back, much worse than Abasi’s hooves.

Once he was out of harms way, he quickly dropped it, going back for his sword. He hooves burned and ached horribly, making it hard for him to walk. He would not leave his injured brother behind. Pulling him onto his back, Abasi began to run as fast as he could, which was not much at all. His people had to know what was coming to them, he had to warn them. As he ran farther from the camp, the sounds of his brethren’s resistance died down, saddening him, but only further spurring him on to not let this happen to his people.

With each step he took, he lowly hummed a comforting rhyme his mother had sung for him to sleep when he was young, pressing himself onward for his journey.

~~~

November 4th
Human Republic Capitol Building

Prime Minister Schmidt had truly been strapped for time in the last few weeks. What with having to keep himself in the loop with his Generals and know what he could say to the public and what he could not. In the first week of their declaration of war, he had to cut half of the cities press by executive order so that an office of propaganda could be re-established.By now the city had nearly been covered in recruitment and propaganda posters. Though the public really had no idea what the front was looking like other than by rumor or leaked information, he had to try and keep morale up for industry and the citizens of the Republic when an army nearly three times the size of their own was looming at their doorstep.

A stack of papers nearly seven inches tall sat on his desk, some of the papers getting to be a few weeks old. Proposals, letters of complaint, the things he was used to dealing with, just not in such large numbers and frequency. As he skimmed over each, several knocks on the door caught his attention. He set his pen down, standing from his desk to straighten his clothing a bit.

“Come in” He spoke.

The doors were pushed open, Field Marshall Corvus walking in followed by a younger communications officer.

“Sir.” Corvus stopped and saluted, as well as the younger man.
Schmidt returned the salute, remaining standing. “What is it Field Marshall?”

“Sir, half an hour ago we received a telegram from our embassy in Zebrica.” He answered in a flat voice.

“And?” Schmidt questioned.

Corvus nodded to the younger officer behind him and he stepped forward, offering a clipboard to the Prime Minister.

Schmidt eyed it curiously before taking it, adjusting his glasses before he began to read it to himself. As he read further down the page, Corvus could see Schmidt’s expression changing to that of confusion,realization, then anger.

“Damn it all!” Schmidt suddenly shouted, flinging the clipboard across the room where it smashed against a Zebrican vase, landing in the broken pieces. Corvus stood stoic, though turning and nodding the young man towards the door. Quickly nodding and saluting the young officer turned and made haste for the door, closing it behind him.

Schmidt was pacing back and forth in front of his desk, cursing the Saddle Arabians, Gryphons, even himself under his breath. Soon he spoke.

“Field Marshall, we barely have enough men to hold the Gryphons at bay, how are we to fight them on two fronts with their aiding the Saddle Arabians in their damned religious conques?! The very fuel our army runs on is at stake because of this move!”

Corvus continued to stand at attention, his long years of service had taught him that in the presence of anger it was best to keep himself composed.

“Sir, the Saddle Arabians are a land based force with barely any naval strength. With a weakness such as this, it may be in our best interest to mobilize our new weapon. It has performed well in it’s test, with no way for them to reach it, they could make short work of this invasion without having to move many troops to Zebrica.”

This peaked Schmidt’s attention. While he knew of what Corvus spoke of, he knew little of the machine itself and how it could be optimized for war. Only that it gave Humanity the power to do what it could never do before.

“Hmm....how many of them are ready?”

“Three-Hundred at least, Sir.” Corvus answered.

“That....that might work...but.....what of the Equestrians? They are strong allies with the Saddle Arabians. Surely they would cry for vengeance if we were to unleash something like that on their ally.”

“Sir, if the Saddle Arabians made this choice without consulting with Equestria first, perhaps they have abandoned the Equestrian’s consent for personal gain?”

Schmidt took his seat at his desk, leaning forward trying to think. “Perhaps their consent Field Marshall, but the Saddle Arabians would not be stupid enough to abandon Equestria as an ally. As of now, we don’t have nearly enough men to combat three enemies on the three fronts.”

Schmidt was quiet for a few minutes, trying to think of some possible way this war could be won.

“If we are to strike at Equestria’s ally,” He finally spoke, “than we must have more men. I will issue another forced military draft. All men on record ages fifteen and nine months to seventeen will have to be enlisted into active service as soon as possible.”

Corvus nearly choked. How could he be serious? Sending teenagers to war?

“Permission to speak freely, Sir.” He asked.

“You may always speak freely with me, friend.” Schmidt looked up to him from his desk.

“Sir, how could you be serious? Those young men haven’t even graduated yet, much less are they ready for war!”

“Would you rather our country fall to the actions of our greatest enemy?!” Schmidt snapped back.

“You would damn an entire generation to be ready for something that may not even happen?!” Corvus rose his voice, getting angrier every second.

“We do not have the men if it does! We would be crushed!” Schmidt stood from his chair, leaning on his desk as he yelled just as loud back at his colleague.

“Our reserves could fight the Equestrians! There is no need to take young men from their homes and families!”

“Then the Gryphons would break through our lines and cut straight through our nation! Our men barely have barely been able to advance with all the reinforcements we send them! I will not let the Fatherland fall to those beast!” He slammed his fist on his desk. “Those boy’s most basic responsibilities as Humans are to defend their homeland and ensure the sovereignty of our species! We will not be made slaves again!” He practically screamed, slamming his fist on the desk again.

Both of them went quiet after that, staring each other in the eye as they tried to calm themselves. Corvus stood straight once again, adjusting his officer’s cap before taking a step back and saluting. He about faced and began to walk towards the door. He would follow his orders....but he knew it would be both of their own undoings.

~~~

November 8th

Bonaparte High School

Gregory Harmon sat tiredly in his eleventh grade history class. The class was absent of noise except for the scribble of pencils and the rhythmic click of the clock. As time ticked by, he stared out the window daydreaming, only ever answering a question on the test laid out before him when the teacher glanced his way.

While he watched the birds fly from branch to branch in the trees outside the window, the movement of several large vehicles caught his eye. Buses. New, large forms of public transportation that Gregory was only starting to see in the Capitol. He knew it would be long before they went to more rural places of the country.

As he watched more of the buses pull up in front of the school, he noticed the occupants of some of them. Soldiers? He thought. As they began to unload he saw they were in full uniform carrying rifles as they were led inside by several men in side caps.

He raised his hand. “Mr. Henry....there are soldiers outside.”

The teacher looked up from his book with a confused look on his face. Getting up and walking to the window, he too saw the buses lined up in front of the school, an armed soldier standing at each of the vehicle’s doors. He quickly turned, going for the door presumably to find out what was going on. All the students crowded near the window, trying to get a look at what was outside.

A few minutes later it sounded as if a commotion was being made in the hall. Gregory went to the door, going to open it to see what was happening. As he reached for the door it was suddenly pushed open and a tall man in a gray uniform pushed past him, followed by two armed men and Mr. Henry.

“Now just what’s going on here!” He shouted at the officer.

Paying him no reguard, the man removed a envelope from his pocket, opening it and removing a folded piece of paper.

“By order of the Honorable Prime Minister Collins Schmidt, all men from the ages of fifteen and nine months to seventeen years old are hereby drafted into the Republic Military, to combat a second aggressor,and an ally to our enemy the Gryphonian Empire, the kingdom of Saddle Arabia.” He finished and replaced the paper.

“All of you will follow me to those buses out there where you will be shipped off to fight for your nation. You should feel honored.” He nodded to the two men with him. “Get them lined up.”

The two men began to line up the men of the class, pushing them into a single file line facing the door.

“You can’t do that!” Mr. Henry shouted, stepping between his students and the officer. “This is unlawful! These boys are my responsibility! You will not take them!”

The officer simply sighed a bit. “Private Dunn, Private Clarke remove this man please.” One of the soldiers shouldered his rifle, stepping forward and grabbed Mr. Henry by the shoulders, shoving him aside as the second stepped between them, using his rifle to hold him back.

The officer pulled his sleeve back, looking at his watch. “Come now, we have a deadline to meet. Private Dunn, lead these young recruits to the buses please.”

“Yes sir.” Dunn spoke before pushing Gregory, the first in the line, out of the classroom. He then began filing everyone else out behind him. As he walked down the hall he saw the same thing was being down for all the other classes, from some sophomores to the seniors they were all being lead out to the front. As he was about to turn the hall towards the front door, he heard Mr. Henry shout.

“The police will be involved! This is illegal! You will all be arrested for this!”

The officer retorted with something that silence both Mr. Henry and frightened Gregory.

“We are the police now. The Republic is under indefinite Martial Law.”

~~~

A New Threat

Author's Note

So, finally back to updating this thing. Consider this the revival. Edited by RobertBel98

A New Threat

November 22nd
Masduulaagii Mountain Range

The steady rhythm of hoof falls shook the ground as thousands of Saddle Arabian troops marched in columns, lead by their Gryphon superiors. Though they acted more as commandos, they were ideal guides with their keen eyesight. Many of the Saddle Arabian combatants were weary from constantly being on the move, however, they knew they could not stop lest they give the fleeing Zebricans time to regroup. Saddle Arabia was achieving victory faster than they ever thought possible, their forces had only a single range of mountains between them and securing half of the entire Zebrican nation in almost less than a month. These mountains were known to the Zebricans as the home of the “winged beast”, ancient creatures that would keep Zebrica from harm. Though many believed it to be nothing more than a legend, some believed these beasts were actually desert dragons, long thought to be extinct after they were hunted for their scales which were used for jewelry and other tribal uses thousands of years before.

Nonetheless, not many thought it any more than an obstacle that they must pass if they were to achieve ultimate victory. As the columns reached the foot of the mountain pass, they were suddenly ordered to halt by one of the Gryphon officers in the lead. Zephyr, a young Gryophonian Captain, had noticed a strange, droning noise, nearly drowned out by the crunch of hardened rock and sand against hoof and talon.

“You three, with me!” He motioned to several Gryphons amongst the hundred assigned to this group of Saddle Arabians before spreading his wings and flying onward. He was soon closely followed by the soldiers he had chosen as he flew to the nearest slope in the mountain range.

A very unnatural noise echoed louder and louder as they drew closer, drawing Zephyr’s curiosity even further. Suddenly, the noise grew into a roar as nearly twenty strange flying aircraft swung into view from behind the mountain face. Zephyr and his men stopped immediately, staring in shock at the beast. They did not look living at all. With three sets of wings and what looked to be entirely made of wood, these machines sped towards them at an alarming rate.

Zephyr hadn’t a moment to think as the crack of Human combustion weapons tore through the air. One of his soldiers was immediately hit in the chest, crumpling up around the wound as he fell to the Earth below. Zephyr turned and tried to flee, unsure of what to do against these seemingly impossible aircraft. More gunfire tore past him, several bullets littering the body of the second soldier before a single round caught Zephyr in the wing. Immense pain racked his body as he lost his ability to fly, plummeting towards the ground. He flapped his good wing with all his strength, desperately trying to at least cushion the inevitable impact.

He hit the ground with a sickening crunch, going out like a light. The birds of prey dove on their unsuspecting victims, machine guns blazing as they strafed the Saddle Arabians ranks. The Gryphon reserves took flight, attempting to engage the deadly human machines. As each pilot completed his pass, a second crewman downed any pursuing Gryphons. More and more were cut down as the Saddle Arabians frantically moved into their defensive formations, useless against their technologically superior foes.

The soldiers morale began to falter. With two of their three commanding officers dead, their Gryphon shock troops scattered and outmatched, and nearly a quarter of their ranks obliterated, their feelings of pride and victory were quickly replaced with fear and self-preservation. Many began to break away from the columns to flee.

After barely ten minutes, nothing alive could be seen on the ground by the pilots above. The desert sand ran red with blood as bodies littered the ground, the roar of their engines were now all that could be heard in the desolate waste.Their mission completed, the pilots signalled each other to regroup, turning to pass back over the mountain where they would refuel and return for more of their enemies blood, leaving those dead already to be swallowed up by the ocean of sand.

~~~

Human soldiers lined the docks. Some were armed and some were helping the Zebrican workers unload smaller crates off the large ship that had made port no less than an hour ago. Hundreds of them came off the boat, all marked Ordnance, though some had a chemical warning labels stamped on them as well.

Soon, a large metal ramp was let down from the ship’s starboard side, as the fiercest weaponry the Human arsenal had to offer was unloaded onto the deck below. Twenty, six inch field guns were wheeled off the ship. Though they were old, they were far superior to anything Zebrica had ever used in the history of their military.

The Human Republic had one ally in this war, and they were not about to let them fall. The crates were moved onto trucks brought in by an earlier shipment, and as the docked vessel began to leave port, two more could be seen on the horizon.

The Saddle Arabians would soon come face to face with the greatest military power the world had ever known.

~~~

November 25th
Canterlot Castle

Celestia sat on her throne, reading the letter before her for what had to be the fifth time. The day she had feared had finally come. Before her was a message from none other than Empress Brynja, practically begging for her help.

‘To the High Queen of Equestria, Celestia.’

Not even two lines in and Brynja was already trying to appeal to her with flattery.

‘To my great shame, it seems I was wrong about the Humans. Their rapid advances into Gryphon territory were unexpected, and for every mile we retake they close in by five more. That is why I humbly ask for your assistance. The Humans are brutal in their advance, burning everything in their path, forcing my citizens into the harsh winter. With my military doing everything they can to halt their campaign, I've begun to fear for the well-being of my citizens. Reports from the fronts say that they execute anyone who does not comply with their orders to vacate occupied territory.

My Generals tell me they will soon reach Stavanger, and without its grain stocks hundreds of thousands of Gryphons will not survive the winter. I perceived an alliance with the Saddle Arabians would stretch the Human armies thin enough to push them back on both fronts, but I was wrong again. My intention was to stop the Humans poisoning of our planet with their cancerous industrialization, and I fear if their advance continues it will only grow worse. Smog from their factories will blot out the Sun itself before our nation's next generation are even conceived, and if they grow bold enough, I fear there ambition will become insatiable.

The Humans present a danger to our world unlike any other before. Princess Celestia, it is imperative that you join me in stopping the Humans warmongering. The future of our world depends on it.

-Empress Brynja Goldenbeak

Finally setting the letter down, Celestia stared silently at the floor. She had never desired any of this, she had tried to keep the world from devolving to such brutish practices, but their hatred had grown too strong. War had been inevitable, it was always...inevitable. Now war was standing on the doorstep of Equestria, and she had no idea who to side with. While she wanted nothing to do with Brynja after what she had caused, she could be right in her instincts about the Humans intentions.

Their ambition was already evident in their swift rise to the global stage, they grew with such haste, it was a miracle they could even keep up with themselves. Even after this, she couldn’t bring herself to ally with the Humans. Gryphonia and Equestria had been allies even before her time, back when both nations were just tribes divided amongst themselves. Going to war against them would cause severe upheaval throughout the nation, not to mention an economic fallout.Trade was very strong between Gryphonia and Equestria, even while they lost ground to the Humans, thousands of pounds of Equestrian goods were sent over the border to high paying Gryphon nobility.

‘Brynja must have a very intuitive propaganda office if things are as bad as she says.’ Celestia thought to herself.

Days of discussion between Luna and herself followed over the matter, trying to think of every possible way they could come out of this without any bloodshed. After finally reaching a decision, Celestia sat at her desk, quill rapidly scribbling across the piece of parchment that lay before her.

Quickly rolling it up and marking it with her seal, she called for the castle courier.

“Take this to Captain Aegis. Tell her it is to be distributed to all border guard stations along the Gryphon-Human line.”

“Yes, Princess.” He quickly bowed, taking the scroll and leaving with haste. Taking another from the stack on her desk, Celestia unrolled a second parchment, dipping her quill in ink.

‘To her esteemed Empress, Brynja Goldenbeak...’ She began to write.

~~~

December 10th
Stavanger, Gryphonia

“Incoming!” An iron cannonball whistled through the air as it smashed through brick and mortar, sending thousands of tiny pieces plinking off the helmets of the soldiers below. Stavanger, the second largest city in all of Gryphonia and distributor of almost eighty-five percent of all food stocks to the rest of the country, was in shambles. Three days before, Human artillery had began to shell the city while infantry engaged the city’s first line of defense, an entire division of Gryphon Praetorian Guard. Essentially the city’s private army.

It had almost come to a standstill. The Human military had suffered the worst losses since the start of the conflict. While the Praetorian had eventually been beaten down by the night of the second day, two-thirds of the initial attack force that had been sent in were either dead or severely wounded. While having the upper hand, the decision was made to hold back under the cover of artillery while they waited for the 4th and 5th Infantry Brigades to reinforce them.

On the fourth day, the barrage ceased. And moving like a juggernaut, Human Infantry flooded the streets. In all truth, the days of artillery fire might have done more bad than good for the men. Stavanger was a very tightly knit city, and with mountains of rubble down every other roadway, movement was not the easiest of task. The bitter cold and streets covered with inches of snow and ice proved a formidable obstacle for the advance forces as well.

“Fucking ‘ell!” Sergeant Ingram shouted over the crack of not so distant cannon fire.

“Where have those things been this whole time?! I ain’t seen nothing that size fightin’ these bastards all the way here!” Another volley smashed through the second story of a large building, dropping large chunks of rubble onto several unfortunate soldiers beneath it.

The Praetorian had essentially turned the center of the city into a fortress. Large mansions and government buildings were bottlenecked with the streets ahead of them being blocked off by rubble.

“It’d be a hell of a lot easier to move if we could get some goddam arty on that thing!” Richard shouted.

“Raymund, find me a runner!” Staff Sergeant Connor shouted back to them.

“Yes, sir!” He turned and began to run back down the roadway, looking for a messenger.

“Kurt! I need you up on that building.” A large three-story inn stood at the end of the street, most of its roof and third floor wall having been blown away by the hail of cannon fire. He handed Kurt a pair of binoculars, a small notepad and a map of the city and surrounding area.

“Get up and there and find those gun crews a target, we’ll cover!”

“Yes, sir!” Kurt set the machine gun he carried on his shoulders aside, grabbing the equipment and scrambling over the rubble that littered the streets. He heard a chorus of rifle fire crack behind him as a few brave Gryphons poked their heads out with crossbows drawn. Quickly ducking into the inn, he pulled his bayonet from its sheath, carefully making his way up the stairs. Surprisingly, there were no Gryphons waiting on the upper floors to gut him.

He slowly slid up the edge of the blown apart wall, peeking over to see if it was safe. He couldn’t see any more of the Praetorian taking potshots with their crossbows, so he brought the binoculars up to his eyes, focusing them on the cobbled together fortification. With the map spread out on the floor, he began to scribble down the most accurate coordinates he could, wanting to get out of this leaning death trap of a building as soon as possible.

With the direction and elevation he needed, he pulled together his equipment and took off back down the stairs....smashing right into a Praetorian. They both tumbled down the staircase, swinging and clawing at each other all the way down. Kurt heard his bayonet falling down past him, clinking across the floor several times. He knew he had no chance going one on one with a Praetorian, especially in this close of quarters. Grabbing the binoculars, he swung as hard as he could, smashing them right into the Gryphon’s eye. He then kicked it square in the chest, sending it reeling back several feet. Pushing himself to his feet he sprinted for the door and out into the street, clutching the map and notepad tightly.

His head was spinning, having banged it several times against the stone steps on the way down. He stumbled a bit, looking up to see his squad peeking over the rubble. He was only a few feet from them when he saw Sergeant Connor raise his rifle, looking past him. Before even turning his head to look back, excruciating pain shot through his neck as a crossbow bolt buried itself in his neck, dropping him like a rock. Everything seemed dulled, the voices around him sounded like they were underwater. He didn’t feel anything as he fell flat, vaguely noticing the other hands grabbing him and pulling him to safety as Normann’s shaky hands tried desperately to stop the bleeding.

As his vision began to blur, he felt the notepad slipping out of his hand. While several others from his squad crowded around trying to help, he weakly pushed it into Connor’s open palms, coughing several times before he blacked out.

~~~

December 11th
Occupied-Stavanger, Gryphonia

Pillars of smoke rose out of the city, going up for miles. Grain stocks, excess meat or vegetables, anything that couldn’t be captured and used for themselves, the Humans burned. Many men stood in the streets bearing sledgehammers, smashing enemy helmets and chest plates flat to be shipped back to the Republic and melted down, perhaps even to be reused against their makers. The few Praetorian that had surrendered were marched at gunpoint to a makeshift POW camp, until proper transport could be brought in to ship them to an actual facility.

In the center of Stavanger, where the once tall and proud Gryphonian architecture stood, soldiers tore through rubble and wreck, looking for any important documents, maps, or messages that hadn’t been destroyed. Among them was Sergeant Ingram. He checked the bodies of dead Gryphon officers, emptying any bags they had on them while also checking any desk or drawer they might have died near. His search of room after room yielding nothing, he prepared to turn and leave when a shimmer caught his eye. Barely poking out from under a fallen piece of stone, the edge of a piece of parchment poked out from the rubble. As he gazed at it, he noticed the glint was emanating from a seal that hung from the tattered page. The seal of the Empress.

Quickly pressing his bayonet under the stone, he lifted it up just enough that he could grab the document in question. It was a bit ripped, and covered in dust, but it was still legible. Holding it up, his eyes scanned across the parchment. As the words were read off the sheet, he almost dropped it in shock. Rolling it up quickly, he sprinted out of the room to find the Staff Sergeant.

~~~

December 12th
Human Republic, Capital Building

The room was dead silent. Schmidt sat at his desk, his eyes glued to the telegram that had just been given to him. Across from him sat General Corvus, a copy of the same message in his gloved hands. Both of them seemed to be studying the message, as if looking for a sign that what they held was not real.

Schmidt finally broke the silence, sighing deeply as he picked up the piece of paper, adjusting his glasses.

‘To her esteemed Empress, Brynja Goldenbeak’ He read aloud, as if meaning to prove a point.

‘It has come to my attention that the threat of Human expansion is far more real than I thought. I fear you were correct in your assumptions that the Republic have been seeking a scapegoat to start a conflict for a long while, and now that they have their industry born bravado backed by victory, they will not stop until all they want is under their control. It is with such a threat that I wholeheartedly commit to the cause of stopping their industrialist aggression, and the poisoning of our world. We will join you.’

Setting the paper down he looked up the Corvus and removed his glasses.

“I told you this day would come General. Our prosper has made others envious of us, they want to destroy everything we’ve strived to build. They think we’re dangerous, that we shouldn’t be in control of our own destiny!” He banged his fist on the desk.

“This is why we needed the draft, Corvus! With our reserves fighting in Zebrica, we would have had no defense against an Equestrian invasion! Now with freshly trained men, we can finish this petty war in Gryphonia and show Celestia how powerful we really are. If she wants to fight, we’ll be damn sure to provide!”

Corvus said nothing. He merely stood, tucking his copy of the telegram back into the leather folder and saluted.

“I understand, Sir. I will begin deployment preparations immediately.” He turned, slowly striding out the door.

Schmidt sank into his seat, running his fingers through his graying hair.

“Now...” He spoke to himself. “To announce to the nation their underaged sons are off to face one of the strongest nation’s in the world...”

~~~

Preparation and Deception

Celestia sat on her throne silently looking about her court, glancing at each of the stained-glass windows. Beside her sat Twilight, who was still mulling over the outcome of the meeting with Prime Minister Schmidt three days ago. How could it all have gone so wrong? Surely asking him to cease drilling in such a bad place was not too much to ask. It would keep the risk of oil spills lower, for Goddess sake! Then there was the Empress. Why had she been so unruly? Did she hate the humans so much she wouldn’t even attempt to negotiate with them?

“Princess?” Twilight spoke up.

Celestia turned to her. “Yes, Twilight?”

“Why did the Empress seem so uncooperative? It seemed she was hell-bent on stirring up a conflict between her and the Prime Minister. Why does she seem to hate him?”

Celestia sighed, looking down for a moment. She looked back up to her. “It is because Gryphons are environmentalist, Twilight. You knew of this, correct?”

Twilight nodded.

“Humanity’s growing industry poses a direct threat to the Gryphonian ecosystem. While the meeting was, as you said, to negotiate the slowing of their industrializing, Brynja sees the only way to protect the Earth is to stop them completely.”

“But...how would she manage to do that, Princess?”

“She would attempt to achieve her goal by means of war, Twilight Sparkle.” A new voice spoke, prompting them to both to look towards the door. Luna had entered the room and was walking towards them.

“War, Princess?”

“Yes war, Twilight. Empress Goldenbeak underestimates the Humans’ capacity for self defense. She blatantly makes threats because of the numbers of soldiers she has at her disposal, yet she ignores the fact Humans are centuries ahead of her in technology and weaponry. That was really the purpose of the meeting. We foresaw this possibility and hoped to stop it. It would seem we have failed.” Luna sat down on the other side of Celestia.

“So...does that mean—” Twilight was cut off by Celestia.

“Yes, Twilight, unless the Empress comes to her senses, and solves this problem diplomatically, the stability of our nation could be at stake, as well as theirs.”

There was a long silence before Twilight spoke again.

“Equestria won’t go to war, will it, Princess?” Twilight spoke barely above a whisper, a sliver of fear in her voice.

Celestia hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. “No, Twilight. Equestria will not be going to war. You have nothing to worry about.”

Celestia gave her a quick hug, refreshing Twilight’s confidence. They broke the hug and both sat back, waiting for their influx of the usual day court problems. Celestia bit her lips however. She could only hope what she had told Twilight would be true

~~~

Prime Minister Schmidt sat at his desk, a black ink pen gliding across papers with mechanical motion. Read, sign, repeat. Schmidt had been doing this job for a long while now. It had become like a broken record, repeating the same thing everyday. Several loud knocks on his office door stirred him from his work-induced trance.

“Come in.” He set the pen and documents aside.

The door was opened and General Corvus stepped inside, wearing his usual gray uniform. “You requested my presence, Prime Minister?”

“Ah, General. Come take a seat please.”

Corvus walked across the office, his black leather jackboots tapping audibly on the wooden floor with each step. He sat in front of Schmidt’s desk, respectfully removing his cap to reveal a head of graying hair.

“General, as I’m sure you remember, a threat to our nation was made only three days ago Empress Goldenbeak of the Gryphonian Empire.”

Corvus nodded.

“Now, I am not one to make rash decisions, but I did take this threat into consideration and I fear we may soon be tested as a nation.”

“Aye,” Corvus responded. “I feel it as well, the Empress is so short tempered and easy to anger, we may soon have to take up arms to defend our way of life.”

“And that is the reason I have called you here, General. We need to be prepared if we are attacked by Gryphonia. I will issue a nationwide reserve draft for men ages eighteen to twenty-five, and you will be tasked with strengthening the borders with armaments. This is of utmost importance, General. Do I make myself clear?”

Corvus nodded. “Yes sir.”

“Then take this,” He picked up his pen and his signed a paper, picking up a bronze colored envelope of the same size and sliding the paper in.

“This is the draft notice. Take this to my administration and tell them to send copies to each home with the age requirements enclosed. Also, tell them to include a personal letter of recruitment to each young man with my regards.” He stood and held ot the envelope.

The General nodded and took it, saluting him before he turned and left the office. Schmidt sat down, sighing heavily. There was a storm coming, but they would be prepared for it.

~~~

Empress Goldenbeak sat on her throne, tapping impatiently on the floor with a talon as she listened to a Gryphon noble drone on about his reasons why the taxation systems should be lowered for the upper classes, so that they may contribute more to society in other ways. She knew it was all lies, but she still had to endure it.

All of sudden, she felt a tap her shoulder. She turned to see one of her servants standing beside her throne.

“What is it?” She asked spitefully, already annoyed enough by the noble, now one of her servants was bothering her.

The servant leaned forward and whispered something into her ear, causing the edges of her beak to turn up into a devious smile. She looked back to the noble and held out her claw, silencing him.

“I am needed for other matters as of now, we will continue this discussion later, Duke of Razorbeak.” She stood from her throne, spreading her silvery wings, a sign for all in the throne room, except the guards, to leave.

When they had all left, she descended the steps that led to her throne and followed the servant out of the room. They walked down a long, stone hallway, stained-glass windows casting different shades of light on the floor. The neared a large wooden door, ornate with golden patterns and handles. The servant took hold of one of the handles, opening it and lowering his head in a respectful bow.

Inside, all fifteen of Gryphonia’s generals were seated at a long, oak table. They stood and removed their helmets, bowing their heads as Brynja walked around the table, taking her seat at the head of it.

“Generals, the Humans have gone far enough. There recklessness and disregard for nature must be stopped at any cost. I have tried, along with the Princesses of Equestria, to stop the Humans’ poisoning of this Earth that has been bestowed upon us, by asking them to halt their advancement. This has proved unsuccessful, as I predicted, and now it is time to take action. I have called you all here today...to plan the invasion of the Human Republic.”

The high ranking Gryphons looked at each other, apprehension clear on their faces, though they still listened closely, prompting the Empress to continue.

“This task will not be an easy one, but it is a possible one.” She called for a servant to bring her a map of all Human territories. The map was spread across the table, drawn large enough to cover half of it. “Their war machines need fuel to run, and if they are cut off from that supply, than they will be nothing more than a helpless child. With this advantage, our armies could sweep through the country and end these crimes against against nature in mere weeks.”

Each general studied the map closely, with the Human oil refinery islands circled in black chalk. It was a tactical asset for the Humans. Almost their whole military ran on oil and gasoline, if they were cut off, it would give the Gryphons the upper hand. Still though, there was the power of the Humans small arms. The Gryphons used swords, spears, axes, or bows, but the power a single Human could wield with the weapons they possessed was astonishing. They had always envied Humans for the advancements deep down. The Gryphons still had numbers on their side though. Would overrunning the Humans be a viable possibility?

General Egil was the first to speak. “But, Empress, what of the Humans’ coastal defenses? Their cannons would cut through our ships like a gryphon claw through butter.”

General Halvdan answered him instead. “An attack in the early hours of the day may work. The Humans would be unsuspecting and not hit the ships as easily, though that still does pose a threat of our ships never making shore.”

This time Brynja answered, smiling smugly in self praise for her battle plan. “We will use a diversion. They will keep the Humans occupied long enough for our ships to make it ashore, and release the rest of our troops. The islands would fall in hours if this plan works correctly.”

Each of the generals nodded, some not taking their eyes off the map.

“We have much work to do, Generals. See to it that it is done. I take my leave.” She exited her chair, leaving them all to formulate their plans for war.

Author's Note

Sorry for the short chapter.

There should be longer ones on the way now that the political stuff is done.

Cancellation Notice

Hey guys. Sorry to do this, but...the story's not getting finished. Not really a surprise at this point tho, huh? I should have just owned up to it sooner but I never really planned this out from the get go and was just sort of winging it, hoping to come to a satisfying conclusion. Turns out, not planning a story that people may like with no idea what you'll do next isn't a great strategy and kinda stressful, who'd have thought right? I stopped watching the show for a while and even though I'm back into it now, whatever inspiration I had for this is no more.

I want to thank all of you who enjoyed it, the comments and discussion really helped me get through a rut at the time, especially those of you who've been here since the first chapter, as well as my two editors and several people who came forward to try and help me press forward. It really means a lot. If any of you want to try and finish it for yourselves, be my guest, you'll probably do better than I. Make sure to link me to any of them!