We set up around the small shore waiting for the gryphons to arrive, thirty of us stand in the open; including me and Luna, while the rest lie in ambush in the nearby jungle.

About two hours later, the ship stops and forty gryphons fly over to the shore.

"What's this?" the lead gryphon asks while eating what looks like a freshly severed pony arm.

I remain silent and so do the others.

"Hagriff!? Where are ya you old buzzard!" he yells out with a mouthful looking around.

"He and his companions have been dealt with and the town is back under Equestrian control. You will surrender yourselves or face death," I tell him. I then notice a pony woman gagged and tied up behind him held by two gryphons, but the worst part? She's got the same coat colour as the arm he's eating which she is missing as she silently cries.

My anger rises, not only have they taken more of our people from elsewhere, but he has the audacity to mutilate and eat them alive in front of us!

'Gaia, can I change the shape of the bark on my combat form?' I ask my aspect.

'With enough mana and practice yes, but if I were to be in control, I can take on the form of my champion. You'll only be able to watch as I take control while you power the form with your mana, but as we've never done this before, it could collapse at anytime,' she replies with her own hint of anger.

After staring at us for a while, the gryphon laughs. "You what? Don't make me laugh! Pathetic little ponies like you killed one of our best hunters? Now tell me where he is or I'll kill you all here right now," he demands.

'Do it, show them the futility of their actions here,' I tell Gaia.

'Very well,' she says and I begin channelling my mana to her.

"Luna, Gaia is taking over, I want you to get to their ship with our airship and rescue anyone else on board while taking out any who resist. When Gaia has taken over, signal the others to attack," I tell her.

"Alright, Adrian. Please be careful," she tells me.

'I am ready, Adrian,' Gaia says.

I turn back towards the gryphons who are glaring at us. 'Do it,' I reply.

Bark grows around me and my height increases to that of a small house, the bark on my arms extends to long thick trunks with long fingers and the same with my legs.

The transformation only takes a minute, but once it was done, I towered over the stunned gryphons.

---

---

'By our stars, he's a giant!' I think to myself as I look up at him.

'He has allowed Gaia control and she has released her champion's form. It shall not last long as it drains a significant amount of mana to keep stable,' Umbra tells me.

'Can we do that?' I ask in reply.

'We could, but I don't think you would be ready to allow me total control again are you?' she asks me.

I shudder as memories of Nightmare Moon briefly flash across my mind.

'No... no we art not...' I reply with sadness in my tone.

'It's alright, it'll take time, but we are now friends. I have entrusted you with my life, and I hope that one day, you can do the same,' she tells me.

I smile faintly. 'We thank thee, Umbra,' I reply.

Adrian's eyes glow a bright orange as his right arm rises up and quickly slams down onto the gryphons, the leader manages to avoid it while dropping the mare's arm, the two gryphons beside him weren't as lucky as they get crushed.

The human mages with us all cast their nullify spells shattering their barriers and I teleport behind the gryphons holding the injured mare, I swing my scythe and decapitate the right one while my blade lodges itself into the skull of the left.

I wrap my left arm around the mare and teleport us back over to the mages where they begin healing her wound.

Adrian, or I guess Gaia is trying to kill the leader while the gryphons begin to panic due to his sheer size.

I raise my right arm up and cast a green flare spell, signalling the airship and the hidden guards to attack.

"We require ye all to aid Adrian in the battle here, do not let any of them escape!" I order the guards and mages who cry out and charge into the fight.

Rifles and scatterguns go off as they fire into the gryphons, some of the shots kill while most just wound them. The airship flies overhead and I fly up onto the deck.

"Helmspony, set course for the sea vessel, we are to rescue any prisoners on board while slaying all of it's crew," I order her.

"Yes, your Majesty!" she replies and heads straight for the boat.

---

---

In all my years I have never met such a despicable race as these gryphons! I understand the need of predators hunting to survive, but to mutilate and eat another while they still live? I shall not stand for this cruelty.

The leader is evading all of my attempts to grasp him, I hold both of my arms out and launch a barrage of vines from my palms which entwine some of the other gryphons he uses as shields. I raise my arms up and slam the five gryphons I have caught into the ground which results in a cacophony of broken bones and fleshy squelches.

'Adrian, increase your mana flow, the form is destabilizing,' I warn him.

'Alright,' he replies with a grunt and the flow of his mana increases.

My champion’s eyes glow brighter and I roar out in rage, shaking the very air itself as I stride towards the gryphon leader hovering in the air.

"You will suffer for the atrocities you have committed against life here today, gryphon," I rumble out in a low tone befitting my champion.

I can actually see and feel the fear behind his eyes, he will find that with Adrian, the Queens, we Aspects and with the alliance of Terra, they will come to regret their barbaric choices.

I lunge out my right arm and he attempts to flee, I reach out with my vines again and just grasp his hind legs. I reel him in and hold him in front of my face.

"Please spare me!" he begs. He has the nerve to beg for his life after he took that woman's arm?

"And what of the female's arm you severed and devoured in front of her? Did you listen to her cries for mercy?" I question him.

He now has a look of realization as to what I am about to do, I grasp his right arm and rip it straight off as his cries of pain and anguish I ignore.

"Now you know the pain and torment you have wrought, but do not worry, I shall end your cruelty," I say and crush him within my grip.

His bones shatter and his flesh mangles together as his blood flows between my champion’s fingers.

'Gaia, I can't give you anymore... I'm done,' Adrian tells me with a strained voice.

'You have done well, let your friends and lovers take it from here, you need to rest,' I reply and cancel my champion’s form which kneels slowly and breaks away, revealing Adrian coming out of the back.

---

---

We arrive at the vessel which is quite large, a frigate most likely.

"Pegasi! Carry the unicorns, earth ponies, and human mages down so they may neutralize the gryphons defences, ye shall then eliminate all resistance ye encounters and secure the vessel. Once secured, turn the boat towards the Ponilulu docks!" the pony Queen exclaims.

I've only been in this world for three weeks, but so far, it has been a wonder to see and meet the ponies who live here.

A pegasi woman grips me around the waist from behind and I look back at her, she has deep green fur and bright blue eyes, her hair is blonde with a white stripe going through it. Her name is jade wing, she's been very friendly towards me on the way here and back at the pony Capital.

She winks at me with a smile. "Hold onto your pants, Jandal, we're going in hot," she tells me.

I gulp and grip my staff tightly. "Ready when you are, Jade," I reply.

"Go!" the Queen orders us and Jade jumps overboard.

I feel my gut turn as we plummet down to the ship where there are several gryphons waiting for us and I channel the elements necessary for the nullify spell. Twenty of us land on the deck and four other mages along with myself cast our spells.

The barriers these gryphons use shatter and I cast an arcane beam at the closest one near us. He bloats and blisters until his chest bursts open.

"Woo! Nice one, Jandal!" Jade cheers me on making me smile. I can see why their King stayed with these ponies, they're much more energetic and kinder than most Terrans are.

She draws her rifle off her back and gives me a grin. "Let's keep going and show these tossers what for!" she says nudging me forward, I regret ever swearing in front of her, she's picked up a lot of my bad habits.

The other guards fight the gryphons on the deck as we head down below with four others. The hallways are wide enough for two people to walk side by side due to how big the gryphons are.

"So do we split up looking for the captives?" I ask.

"Stay in pairs of twos, watch each other's backs," a unicorn officer tells us.

"Yes sir!" Jade replies and drags me off into the ship.

I keep three water elements ready to blast back anyone who might jump us. So far, two gryphons attempted to ambush us but I blasted one away and then zapped him with a lightning element while Jade shot the other in the head.

"This is going easier than I thou... Urk!" she says behind me and then chokes.

I turn around and see her looking down at her stomach where a spear is coming out from the back.

She touches the bloody tip and looks at her hand and then at me. "Jandal?" she asks scared and collapses as her legs give out from under her.

With wide eyes I look behind her to she the gryphon she shot is back up with a smirk, but how? She shot him in the head... Unless the bullet curved around his skull.

I growl and charge up an arcane with two fire elements and cast the beam at him, he screams in pain as I burn a hole right through him in my anger.

Once the gryphon hit the floor, I focus on Jade who is coughing up a lot of blood. "Hold on Jade! I'll help you!" I tell her and with a wince, pull the spear out of her.

She cries out in pain and I quickly cast a life beam at her, the wound slowly closes but she's lost a lot of blood. She's breathing shallow but she's alive, she looks at me with a faint smile and beckons me over with a finger.

I lean down and she grabs the back of my head and forces me to kiss her. "That's in case I don't get a second chance again," she tells me quietly. "Thank you... what do you say about going on a date when we get back home?" she asks me with a small smile.

I just kneel there surprised, I shake my head and return the smile. "Sure, I'd love to," I reply with a chuckle and pick her up. "First I'm getting you back on the airship," I tell her and carry her back the way we came.

---

---

I watch as the guards and mages search the vessel. So far, we've found twenty-three ponies down below.

"Medic!" one of the human mages calls out carrying one of the pegasi guards.

I look on worried but a small smile graces my lips as the pegasus leans into the human's chest with her own smile.

"What has happened?" I ask them.

"She was run through with a spear, I closed the wound but she's lost a lot of blood," he informs me.

"Very well," I say and turn to two of the other pegasi guards. "Carry these two back on board the Kestrel and tend to her condition," I order them and they salute.

After they're lifted up, I look back to the shore and see Adrian crush a gryphon in his bark covered grip. He then kneels down and the bark around him falls apart.

'Please be safe.'

---

---

I pull myself out of the torso of the husk left behind, I then stumble and fall to the ground with a light thud. A couple of the guards help me up and place my arms over their shoulders, I can't move my arms or legs and I feel exhausted, I ain't doing that again anytime soon...

"Are you alright, my King?" a unicorn man asks me.

"I'm fine... I need to rest... I can't move," I reply.

"Take his Majesty back to the town, we can deal with the rest of these pests," he tells the guards holding me up.

"Yes, sir!" they reply and gently carry me away.

I look over my shoulder and see the gryphons going down quickly thanks to the guns the guards are using and the mage's spells. We've lost a few guards to them as well, but I knew it was unavoidable, at least the wounded can still be healed.

Looking over my shoulder one last time, I see the airship next to the gryphon boat and smile, knowing Luna has it covered. My eyes grow heavy as I fall asleep from my lack of mana.

---

---

We can hear the fighting from here, the gunfire and explosions from spells going off in the distance. I see three ponies approaching the town but realize one of them is our mate.

"Adrian! Is he alright?" I ask the two guards carrying him.

"Yes, your Majesty. He is just tired after what we witnessed him do," she replies.

"What did he do? Will you show me?" I ask her.

"Of course, my Queen," she replies and holds her hand out.

I hold her hand and cast the memory reading spell. I only read the specific memory of his transformation and gasp.

'Ah yes, the champion form,' Lux tells me.

'What is that?' I ask him.

'It is the form of our chosen champions, it is when we take control and our chosen mortal channels their mana into us to fuel the form. We then follow your commands, but the form doesn't last long, mostly minutes at a time and once it is done, the host will be extremely tired,' he explains.

'I see,' I reply. "Please place him on the bed, we'll take care of him," I order the guards.

"Yes, my Queen," they reply and carefully put him on the bed in a house a family has let us use during the battle.

Once on the bed, I carefully remove his armour and lay beside him, he's sleeping so peacefully despite the battle still going on.

Cadence and Shella sit on the side of the bed with worried expressions. "I hope Luna is okay," Cadence says.

"I'm sure she is, I can feel her and she's just fine," I reply.

'How goes the battle, sister? Adrian is back in town and is asleep from magic exhaustion,' I ask Luna and inform her.

'We have taken their vessel which is on its way to the docks with pony captives on board. Prepare a relief team for them, we are heading back to shore and into battle,' she replies.

'Alright, stay on guard and show those animals no mercy,' I tell her.

'With pleasure,' she replies grimly.

After talking to her, I order some guards to prepare relief teams before cuddling up to my husband and await for my sister to return.

---

---

I fly back to the battle on the shore where some of our guard has fallen while more than half of the gryphons have been slain. I land in the middle of four gryphons and draw my swords, I then spin around slicing into each one, taking wings and limbs.

A gryphon attempts to pounce on me from behind, but I avoid him by teleporting behind him and plunge both blades into his spine. I rip both swords out with a splash of blood following them.

I face another and levitate her into the air with a grunt and throw her into another where four guards finish them while they're entangled.

The battle starts to die down as the last few gryphons fight to the bitter end, I guess we were lucky that Hagriff surrendered to us then.

I order the guards and mages to pile the bodies and burn them, while collecting our dead to be brought back to Canterlot. I'm afraid Adrian is in no condition to revive any of them, and to be honest, I don't like it when he does as he risks his own life in the process.

I return to the town and find my herd mates and husband lying on a bed together that barely holds them.

'We have returned, Tia. Victory is ours!' I tell her telepathically.

She cracks an eye open slightly and looks at me with a relieved smile.

'Lulu, I'm so glad you're safe, how did the battle go?' she asks me.

'As well as we could have hoped, we lost a few guards, but all the gryphons have been dealt with,' I answer.

'I guess that's the best we could have asked for, Adrian has been asleep the whole time since he arrived,' she informs me.

'From what we saw him do, he needs it. We shall go and wash ourselves before returning, we have a lot to do still,' I tell her.

---

---

I yawn as I open my eyes, I look around, but find my vision blocked as I have my four lovers pressed up to me tightly. I smile faintly as I try to hold them closer, except Cadence and Celestia both have my arms trapped against their chests.

I decide to wait for them to wake up... but the urge to use the bathroom wins.

"Erm... girls? I need to use the bathroom," I tell them and shake myself lightly.

They all mumble in protest and cuddle up even closer, if that is even possible.

"Come on! I really need to use the bathroom..." I whine at them.

"Arg... fine! We shall get up," Luna complains and rolls off the bed with a light thud. "Ow..."

I chuckle quietly as Cadence then gets up and Celestia let's go, I quickly get off the bed but realize I don't know where I am.

"Where's the bathroom?" I ask and start fidgeting in place.

"Second door," Celestia covers her mouth as she yawns. "to the right," she tells me.

"Thanks!" I reply and get out quickly.

After a good five minutes to relieve myself and wash up, I head downstairs where the others are now up.

"So, how did the battle go? I take it since we're all here that we won?" I ask them as the family that owns this house is making us breakfast.

"It went well, we suffered fifteen deaths, and twenty more lost some limbs, but the gryphons were all slain," Luna replies.

"I see. I suppose that's better than what it could have been... what about the boat?" I ask.

"It is in the docks and is currently being searched for documentation, it will then be dismantled and the resources given to the town," Celestia tells me.

"Alright, anything important found so far?" I ask as the family's mother hands me a plate with some scrambled eggs, toast, fruits, and a glass of nice cold water. "Thank you," I smile at her and she nodded back to me.

"Not yet, but the Captain's quarters are still being searched," Luna replies and takes a bite of her breakfast.

"Ah, so I take it we're waiting here until something is found?" I inquire.

"For four more days, Shella will lay her eggs in ten days time so we'll need to leave before four days to get home in time," Cadence says and burps quietly. "Excuse me," she excuses herself with a light blush.

"So, what are we going to do while we wait?" I ask them.

Celestia smiles as I feed Shella and Mavis with some of my love and life element. "Nothing, we've had enough excitement for a few days, we're just going to go back to the Condo and relax," my Queen of the Sun tells me.

"Sounds good to me, my mana still needs to recover from yesterday," I reply and after breakfast, we head back to the Condo.

Next Chapter: Chapter 68: Heading Home Estimated time remaining: 6 Hours, 25 Minutes