Chapter 5

Canterlot

The reinstated General Black Apple had finally arrived on Canterlot’s grounds. He gave a grunt of annoyance and a puff of smoke from his cigar as his hooves stepped upon the city.

“Hey- who are you? Looks like you came from a far way off.” Black looked to the voice and found a Royal Guard.

“Who am I? Somepony that you would’ve never met under normal circumstances. And Faust help you if you remember who I am.”

“Remember? Remember you? What... would I remember about you?”

“Look here, ceremonial armor stand, just know that I’ve got clearance to enter the castle.” Black started walking away, muttering to himself. “Well that’s one thing that Celestia did right I suppose. Or not, depending on how you look at wiping history from records and minds.”

The guard, only hearing the first sentence, was left standing confused. Meanwhile, the pony walking away was pained with memories- knowing the few that retained the knowledge of his existence, and worse, the ones who didn’t.

Black walked into the castle, still remembering his way around, if only because he hated being there. He found the War Room, the closest place to feeling comfortable for him. All the other generals stopped what they were doing when they heard him enter.

Anchor Weight was the first to react. Huffing before he spoke, “Welcome back, you traitorous bastard.”

“Didn’t ask to be back, I’ll tell you that. I’m only here to break a curse.”

The four other generals gave a collective look, remembering the details of how Luna convinced him to return... and how far downhill things could go because of their current predicament.

Anchor continued. “Right... well, we’ve got some pressing matters on strategy. And,” Anchor hesitated for a moment, “I remember your rank before you decided to do that stupid revolt. Supreme Commander. Don’t know how the hell you were, but we’ve been told you’ve been fully reinstated. So you’re in charge of putting everything together.”

Black Apple relaxed a bit and sighed. “You know, Anchor Weight, if you remember, those old days were much, much different, but I won’t go into detail. Did that white unicorn pegasus thing wipe only the better memories of me from your head?”

“Nah, it was me trying to forget them. You used to be somepony else. Granted, you always smoked and drank, but at least it was in happiness.”

Black’s cold eyes looked down, and decided it was time for business. “Alright then. Now that all that’s out of the way, let’s get to work. As much as I hate to ask, anything non-combat related I have to factor in? Politics, hostages, anything?”

Stonewall visibly cringed at the second item, and it didn’t go unnoticed.

“You- General Stonewall... see you were promoted from Brigadier.... what do you got for me?”

Stonewall thought it’d be best to keep the information as shallow as possible. “Yes sir. Griffons have some important ponies hostages.”

“Who are they? Do we know where they are?”

“No, we don’t know. And they’re important ponies.”

“Why are they important General?!” Black slammed his hoof on the map table.

Stonewall sighed. “They’re the bearers of the Elements of Harmony.”

“And they do what again?”

“They’re one of our greatest defenses against dark arcane arts, I guess.”

Black Apple grew up a simple, rough farm pony. He never really had much to do with magic, but he respected its power. Then he rose through the Equestrian military ranks, and learned things about it. He knew that even though magic might’ve seemed silly or annoying sometimes, it was definitely a serious topic.

“Right... I haven’t heard much about that, but that definitely sounds important.”

“Yeah, their involvement with Equestrian history was only fairly recent.”

“Who are they specifically? Names.”

Anchor heard the question and asked one back. “Why would you need to know that?”

“Need to know who we’re dealing with. Backgrounds. Type of family. Never know if their family’s gonna make a great fuss about it with the press. Psychological strengths. If we need to rush over there and prioritize their mental safety or if they can hold on. Come on you colts, didn’t they teach you to look at every angle in academy?”

The four generals gave a frightened look at each other. Names.

“Hey, hey, what’s with that look? If you try and lie, I can tell ya it’s not gonna work.”

Anchor built up some courage and started listing names. “Right. The six bearers are all close friends. The first is Twilight Sparkle. Personal student of Princess Celestia-”

“Oh great...”

“- her brother is Captain Shining Armor-”

“Oh, interesting.” Black’s face turned to thought.

“Very intelligent and avid magic user. Element of Magic.”

“Okay. Continue.”

“Rarity. Seamstress from Ponyville. Don’t have much on her off the top of my head. Does some work for the Royal Guard every now and then though. Element of Generosity.”

“Next.”

“Fluttershy. Animal caretaker. Personality, if I remember right, is very timid, but can be very aggressive within correct circumstances. I believe analysts said she has incredible hidden mental strength. Element of Kindness.”

“Intriguing. Next.”

“Pinkie Pie. Baker in Ponyville for Sugarcube Corner-”

“- That place. Huh. I remember that. Proceed.”

“Personality is difficult to place, though possibly slightly unstable.”

“Unstable how?”

“Psycho unstable?” Anchor said in an unsure tone.

Black Apple looked up a bit. “Really now? Okay... keep going.”

Anchor was getting nervous. He was running out of names.

“Rainbow Dash. Brash pegasus. Showy. Shown to be self-confident in front of others-”

“If she’s got her friends with her, then she’ll do fine.”

“- Basically. Element of Loyalty. Aanndd, that should be it.” Anchor kept a straight face, hoping it could work, or at least buy time.

It didn’t. “You useless pony, Anchor, that was five. There’s six. Who’s the last one?”

Storm Thumper spoke up. “Stupid navy general, you forgot the Element of Honesty. Hardworking, strong pony. Confident, dependable, and strong willed.”

Anchor breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh yeah. Thanks Storm. Damn this war’s getting to my head.”

“Name,” Black Apple said.

Stonewall looked worried. “Sorry sir?”

“You didn’t say what her- I’m assuming it’s a her- name was.”

Spear spoke for the first time. “How important is a name, really?”

“You told me all the others. Might as well complete the list.”

“Well, let me tell you this Commander. You’re better off not knowing.”

“Why is that? Is it the daughter of one of my most hated enemies, and I’d prefer to leave them to the griffons?”

Silence.

Anchor gave a hopeless chuckle. “Yeah, if you count yourself as your most hated enemy.”

Black rose an eyebrow. “The hell does that mean, Anchor?”

“You want to do the math or me tell you straight out?”

Black rolled his eyes. “Just get on with it, General.”

Anchor Weight shook his head and gave another weary chuckle. “Applejack. That’s her name. Applejack.”

Supreme Commander Black Apple stood silent for a moment. “What is the meaning of this, General?!”

“What do you mean? You wanted information. I told you.”

“You’re telling me that my daughter’s been taken! Are you trying to make me angry?!”

“Face it, Black! It’s the truth. They’re gone! They’re not in their homes anymore! Anything else?!”

“Well fine, Anchor! How did they get captured!” Black Apple was staring daggers across the table at General Anchor.

“Apparently some Gryphons came across the border and took them. Or maybe they were already in our territory when they got their orders. We don’t know. All we know is that Applejack and the other elements are currently somewhere in Gryphon territory, likely in the capital city.”

Black Apple closed his eyes in thought. He made no movements or facial expressions. The four Generals stared at him curiously. After about a minute, Black Apple opened his eyes and raised his head.

“I need a courier.” He said.

“What are you going to do?” Anchor chuckled. “Write them an angry letter?”

A deathly silence fell for a few seconds as the old general fumed. He let the rage build up inside him. Then he released it.

“COURIER!!” Black Apple made sure his voice was heard all the way to the edges of Canterlot. A grey pegasus flew through the doorway. Apple saw him, only recognizing his uniform. “A Royal Scout. I asked for a courier, not Special Intelligence and Recon.”

“Anything that the Supreme Commander shouts throughout Canterlot about is probably too urgent to wait.”

“Fine. I can respect that. Besides, I hear you guys are fast flyers. You’ll probably do better than a courier.”

“I’m guessing it requires going into Griffon territory?”

“Into the heart.”

The pegasus rolled his copper eyes. “Dammit, I just came from there.” He sighed. “Still, a mission’s a mission. Captain Stardust, 1st Royal Scouts. What do ya got for me?”

“A message. General Anchor Weight, take a letter.” At that, the unicorn took a quill in his telekinetic reach and some parchment.

“Who should I address it to?” Anchor asked.

“I don’t know. This is just a preliminary message. Let them know what they’re up against.” Black turned directly to Anchor. “Write this down.”

“I don't know who exactly you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you that we’re not giving in that easily. And what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for ones like you. If you let my daughter...”

Black Apple paused.

“...and the other Element bearers go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will march the entire Equestrian army unneededly through the entire Griffon Empire and back, and I will personally look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.”

Anchor looked up. “That it Commander?”

“It’s enough to let them know that I’m coming.” Black turned to the Royal Scout. “Captain Stardust. Take this to their monarchy.”

“Yes sir,” Stardust responded. He turned out the door.

Just before the special forces pony left, a thought occurred to Black Apple. “Hey- Captain.”

The pegasus stopped in his tracks. “Yes sir?”

“How’d you know I was Supreme Commander? I just arrived today, and the only ones that remember me are specific, high-ranking military leaders. Not even special forces was spared from memory wipe. And I don't remember allowing your memory restored.”

"Oh we know all about you, Commander. Your impressive combat record, that revolt, and your curse. Celestia's mass memory wipe. How you can personally restore a pony's memories of you at your will and command. We know all that. And yes, you didn't restore my memory."

"So how?"

“Celestia still keeps written records of things, you know.”

“But that’s restricted and classified.”

“We’re Special Intelligence. Nothing is restricted and classified from us.” Stardust gave a wink as he continued on his way out.

The old general understood what it meant. “Heh. I think I kinda like that pony actually.”

<<+>>

Gryphon Empire, 1 day later

The Gryphon Emperor, Lord Talonnius, was sitting on his throne, simply acting as an ornament. He had no duties at that time, so he had no need of being in the throne room. He simply liked to feel important, which was why anyone looking for him on his off hours could find him sitting on his golden, jewel-encrusted throne. He was about ready to take a nap when a Gryphon courier entered the room.

“My lord, I have a letter for you!” He yelled from across the room.

Talonnius was stirred from his half-slumber quite violently. “Can it wait?” He said. “I was about to have a nap!”

The courier approached the throne and stopped in front of the emperor. “It’s from the ponies, my lord.”

“Blegh! Ponies...” He turned his head and spit on the ground. “Give it here. Let’s see if they’ll comply with our demands.”

Talonnius skimmed over the letter quickly. “Hmm...no ransom...set of skills...long career...nightmare for me...blah blah blah...wait! Daughter? What are the odds, huh? One of the elements happens to be the daughter of some government official. Talk about lucky. Anyway...let them go...march my armies...yadda yadda yadda...signed:...” The back of the emperor’s beak curled into a menacing smile. “Black Apple.”

Talonnius put the letter away and took out some parchment and a quill. The courier observed the emperor while he wrote his reply. Talonnius finished writing rather quickly and handed the letter to the courier.

“See to it that this letter is placed directly into the hooves of General Black Apple.” said Talonnius.

The courier looked at the letter. On it were only two words. ‘Good luck.’  The courier bowed and left without saying a word.

Talonnius walked to the window overlooking his city, smiling to himself all the way there.

“Black Apple, you may be a formidable opponent...but your family will be your undoing.”

Talonnius erupted into a maniacal laughter, one that could chill the blood and shake the foundation of even the most battle-hardened soldier.

<<+>>

Griffon Empire Border

Zee Captain strolled through the destroyed griffon checkpoint. It had been so long since he had been in battle. He took in a deep breath of the air around him before taking a sip of his tea. The smell of the smoke, brimstone, and blood gave him a warm feeling that he had dearly missed. From the time of his new deployment orders, there had been little to no action where he was. It was as if the generals actually wanted him gone from the military and Equestria. All that he had done was encourage the factories in Stalliongrad to develop new technologies, crush the Germanie uprising, and help stop Black Apple’s revolution. In the end he had let the former Supreme Commander live and turned his attention towards stomping out the troublesome diamond dogs. A small moan pulled his attention from his thoughts. Down on the ground was a griffon that seemed to be barely holding onto life.

“Who are you?” The griffon barely muttered.

“Who am I! You steal my weapons while I am away from my spot in the war room of Canterlot and expect me not to notice! I am Zee Captain and I will stop at nothing until I find what is rightfully mine!” Captain boomed before tossing his tea into the face of the griffon.

He continued his way into the Griffon Empire as the screams of the griffon sounded behind him. A strange feeling pierced through his thick blanket of nostalgia, as if he was not the only one heading into the griffon Empire for something. The feeling was noted and placed off to the side, Because right now was the time to do something he had not had the pleasure of doing since he was moved to oversee the defense of Stalliongrad. Off in the distance was his first stop for his investigation. It was an old castle that once guarded the border of the Griffon Empire back when it was not the large size it was today.

Upper Atmosphere, three miles above Canterlot.

‘After I created the worlds largest ice cream mountain,’ Discord was saying to Luna as they soared on crisp night wind. ‘The Zebras made me their god. Then I went on to solve world hunger. What I don’t understand is why you alicorns decided to overthrow me after I did so much good.’

“Because the evil that you did greatly outweighed all of the good.” Luna paused in the sky and peered over the horizon at the distant Griffon Empire. “And if I remember correctly, you took away all of that food and caused a great famine shortly afterward just to see how they would react.”

‘Hey, I got bored.’ The image of Discord shrugging passively flashed momentarily in Luna’s mind. ‘I never saw you alicorns with your resources and power doing anything for the lesser races. You just sat in your far away lands and watched. I was just getting your attention and it worked... with side effects.’

“Stop trying to justify your actions Discord. And please stop talking for a while. I’m trying to use a very difficult spell.”

‘My “mouth” is shut’ The distinct sound of a zipper closing filled Luna’s mind. ‘Hmmmhrmmph Hermphhumm.’

The Princess rolled her eyes and proceeded with the spell. Her eyes and horn glowed just as the moon rose above the horizon. Everything the moonlight touched suddenly became visible to her and it was as if the moon had become her eye. She first took a look at the presumed location of the rescue team headed by Zee Captain. At first Luna couldn't find them in the snow storm, but as her vision passed over the High Pass Fortress she was surprised to see the imposing castle in flames.

‘I am not going to ask how he succeeded in eliminating the garrison, but oddly I’m not surprised.’ Luna shifted her gaze from the fortress and to the gathering armies forming on both the North-East and South-East borders. Something caught her eye as she looked at the southernmost army. ‘What in Equestria are those?’

‘Hmm, what?’ Luna felt the Draconequus push in and share her vision. ‘I don’t know. Lets check it out!’

“Wait wha-”

Discord snapped his mental fingers and the sharp noise echoed through the Princess’ head. Moments later she found herself standing next to the unknown items.

“I feel sick...” Luna moaned.

‘Shh, are you crazy, we are in the enemy camp!’

Luna’s eyes went wide. ‘How?’

‘Chaos magic, it’s so cool! All the hipsters have it. And I had it before all of them! Hah!’

‘I-what?... Never mind.’ Luna turned and started to examine the item. ‘I will talk to you about it later.’

Luna had exceptional night vision and she could easily make out the shape of the items. They were elongated cylinders with a rounded tip and halfway surrounded in a heavy brass casing. They were instantly recognised as thousands of large artillery shells but their sheer size and odd shape confused the Princess. She peered at the writing on the side and shook her head in exasperation.

‘I never knew that you didn’t know how to read Griphonian!’ Laughed discord. ‘Here, let me help you.’

Discord snapped his “fingers” again and the words instantly changed into Equestrian.

“Sulfur Mustard?” Luna muttered to herself. “What is this?”

‘Sounds tasty. I love the zangy-tangy flavor of mustard! It’s good on everything! But isn’t sulfur toxic?’

‘Yes.’ She lifted one of the artillery shells magically. ‘Could you take me back to Canterlot. I need to show this to my sister.’

‘Yes Captain Looney, it shall be done,’ Discord said playfully.

‘Call me Looney one more time and I swear-’

Luna disappeared into the night a split second later leaving no trace that she had been there other than the single missing artillery shell.

HMS Honesty, Manehattan Naval Yard

Seasalt’s mood had not improved over the past few days, if anything, it had gotten worse. True to his predictions, HMS Honesty had failed to sail with the rest of the fleet. To make matters worse, when the higher ups learned that she wouldn’t be able to sail, they had made the decision to transfer most of her crew to the other ships. Leaving behind a very small crew to try and make repairs and get her seaworthy.

To add insult to injury they had also informed Seasalt that his ‘failure’ to get his ship ready in time would be reflected upon next time promotions came around. Guess I can kiss ever being an admiral goodbye. Groused the frustrated captain.

Turning away from the window he was about to retire to his cabin when an out of breath messenger ran up and exclaimed. “Captain Seasalt!”

“What?” he asked.

“The fleet’s been destroyed!”

Seasalt felt his blood run cold at the news. ‘How...how could that have happened? Intelligence said that the Griffons didn't have a fleet capable of matching ours! And after Luna’s moon caused all that coastal devastation they shouldn't have even have means to destroy ours!’

Quickly shaking his head he wiped the shocked look off his face and calmly asked, “Do you know anything more?”

The runner hesitantly nodded. “Y-yes, sir. A few ships managed to escape and they reported that the Griffons were using some sort of new all metal ship. The initial report says that it shrugged off every spell that was thrown at it! In addition, they said it was using gunpowder cannons that could blow a ship apart with just a few broadsides.”

Seasalt sighed, with the loss of the fleet to this iron warship, Equestria’s coastline was now unprotected. Not to mention the nations pride was severely wounded. However, and he hoped he wasn’t in error. If the Griffons had one one of these monstrous warships, then it was possible that there was still time to fully mobilize the rest of the navy. One thing was for sure. The new ‘magical cannons’ had to go. Seasalt had never really liked them to begin with, conservative by nature, he vastly preferred the old cannons to these new ones.

Having made his decision he turned to the courier and said, “I want you to gather all of the other ships captains had tell them to get their flanks over here now. After which I need you to deliver a message to the War Council in Canterlot informing them of these new developments as well as what I am doing to try and fix the situation. Did you get all of that?”

The courier nodded. “Yes sir, gather all of the remaining ships captains here aboard Honesty  and then inform Canterlot of these latest developments”

“Very good, dismissed.” the courier gave a sharp salute and bolted out the hatch way.  

Seasalt meanwhile had resigned himself to a rather long evening.

Unknown Location, Gryphon Empire

All six ponies were fast asleep, their dreams being the only escape from the hell they found themselves in. Each of them had accumulated their own set of bruises, cuts, and scars. Gryphon talons weren’t known for being dull, after all. Twilight Sparkle woke up slowly, wanting to fall back to sleep and avoid the daily pain. The Gryphons were kind enough to remove the bags from over their heads, even though there wasn’t much to see in the room. It was dark, musty, and had stone floors and walls. It seemed like a typical dungeon. Twilight looked around at her sleeping friends. She couldn’t help but smile.

‘They almost look... peaceful.’

Suddenly, Twilight heard the voice of her dear friend, Applejack.

“Twi, you awake?” she whispered.

“Yeah.” she responded, “I’m awake.”

“How’s Fluttershy holdin’ up?”

Twilight looked over to Fluttershy. Her yellow fur was stained with blood, and the fur under her eyes was matted down with tears.

“Honestly, I don’t know, Applejack.” said Twilight. “If I was to guess, I’d say not well.”

“Yeah, well that goes fer all of us, I guess.” Applejack’s gaze shifted to the floor. “Twi? Can I ask yuh a question?”

“Sure, Applejack.”

“Whadda we do if they aren’t comin’ ta rescue us?”

“Don’t say that! They’re coming for us!”

Applejack looked into Twilight’s eyes. “Do you really believe that?”

It was Twilight’s turn to avert her gaze to the floor. She remained silent for a few seconds and let a single tear fall from her eye. After heaving a long sigh, she said, “I have to...”

Both Applejack and Twilight hushed up when they heard footsteps closing in from outside the door. They could overhear tidbits of the two guard’s conversations.

“So, did you hear about the Equestrian Navy?”

“What Equestrian Navy?”

They both erupted into loud guffaws.

“Yeah, I don’t think they’ll be bothering us any time soon!”

They tried to suppress their laughter and put on a mean scowl as they opened the door. They looked over the six pathetic-looking creatures across from them. Twilight and Applejack were already awake, but the others didn’t hear the gryphons coming in, and didn’t wake up.  One of the gryphons remedied this by slamming the door behind him. The four remaining ponies immediately woke up.

“These ponies have no respect!” Said one of the guards. “They won’t even wake up when we enter a room!”

“We should teach them some respect, huh?” The second guard looked over the six ponies and smiled cruelly.

“Nah, that’d take too long. Besides, we only need one of ‘em.”

Fluttershy could be heard pathetically whimpering. The first gryphon walked up to her and raised her head so they were looking into each other's eyes.

“Aww, what’s the matter?” He said in mock kindness. “Need another beating?”

Fluttershy shook her head.

“Well, whadda ya want?”

Fluttershy mumbled something inaudible.

“Say that again?”

“I... I...”

“C’mon, speak up!”

“I...I wanna go home....”

The gryphon let her head fall back down and immediately clawed her across the cheek. Three fresh cuts stained her yellow fur once more, and she let out a yelp similar to a whimpering dog.

“Fluttershy!” yelled Rainbow Dash.

“Well, you don’t get to go home!” he yelled.

“You’re lucky I’m tied up, you overgrown chicken!” said Rainbow. “If I wasn’t, I swear I’d put you on a Faust-damned roasting spit and feed you to a manticore!”

The gryphon chuckled and walked over to Rainbow. He lifted her head up by her chin so that they maintained eye contact.

“I’d like to see you try.” He raked his talon along the bottom of her chin quickly, causing another superficial cut. He turned to the other gryphon, who was standing by the door. “Hey, which one did he say he wanted?”

“I think he said the white one.”

The first gryphon looked over to Rarity and examined her. “Ooh yeah, I can see why...” He slowly walked over to her with an evil grin on his face. Rarity’s heart started pounding.

‘Whatever he’s got planned, it’s not good.’ She thought.

The gryphon began to cut the ropes that bound Rarity to her chair.

“What are you going to do?” She asked.

The gryphon chuckled at her question. “Well, lets just say that...” As he finished cutting, he looked her dead in the eye. “...we’re gonna have some fun.”

The gryphon grabbed her by the mane and violently pulled her across the stone floor towards the door. She knew all too well what the gryphons wanted, and she was mortified at the fact that they could.

“LET ME GO! PLEASE, LET ME GO!” She struggled against the gryphon’s mighty grip, but to no avail. “HELP! SOMEBODY HELP! FOR THE LOVE OF FAUST, HELP ME!”

“Forget it, bitch, nobody’s gonna help you here.”

Suddenly, a normally quiet voice erupted from the corner of the room. “LET HER GO!”

Both gryphons turned to the source of the voice, a blood-caked yellow pegasus. Her teeth were clenched, and she stared at them with all the murderous intent of a tiger hunting its prey.

“I don’t care what you do to me, but you do not! Harm! My! Friends!”

The two gryphons looked at each other and chuckled before turning to leave. Unfortunately, they failed to see that Fluttershy had broken the ropes. She used her back legs to kick up into the air. She then rotated forward to plant her back legs on the wall. Using her wings for extra power, she sprung off the wall and towards the gryphon that wasn’t holding Rarity. She soared through the air like a missile, quickly closing the distance between him and her. With her shoulder, she slammed into the gryphon’s neck. He was now sandwiched between Fluttershy and the wall. There was an audible crack as his neck snapped. Cracks had started to form on the wall behind him.

The second gryphon tried to draw his sword, but before he could even get it half way out of the sheath, Fluttershy had landed, sprung up with her back legs, and delivered an uppercut to the gryphon that sent him to the ground. Before he could get up, Fluttershy was straddling his chest. She proceeded to, for lack of a better term, pummel the ever-loving shit out of him with a flurry of left and right punches. His eyes quickly swelled, and a multitude of lacerations and bruises appeared on his face, one after the other. Fluttershy’s hooves were stained with blood. Even when the gryphon stopped moving, she didn’t stop swinging. Everyone else looked on in horror as their once-lovable Fluttershy turned into a cold-blooded killer before their very eyes.

“Fluttershy!” yelled Rainbow. Fluttershy froze in mid punch and looked up towards her. “Please...that’s enough...” Rainbow was on the verge of tears from watching her best friend be reduced to the level of an animal.

Fluttershy slowly eased out of her rage. As she calmed down, she could see what she had done. Now, two living beings were dead, their blood staining her hooves a bright crimson. She slowly backed herself into a corner and curled herself into a ball.

“What have I done?” she whispered over and over again.

Rarity, meanwhile had collected herself and fetched the blade of the fallen gryphon so she could cut her friends free. The first one free was Rainbow Dash, who immediately flew over to Fluttershy to try and comfort her. Rainbow took Fluttershy in her embrace and quietly soothed her while they dampened each other's fur with their tears.

“Uh, girls?” said Applejack, who was now free. “This is nice, and everything, but we need tuh go real fast.”

Pinkie was examining the back wall very closely. “Say, Applejack, you think this wall is on the outside of the castle?”

“Huh? Uh, maybe. Why?”

“Oh, no reason.” From out of thin air, Pinkie pulled out a large, sky-blue colored cannon. “I just have an idea, is all.” Pinkie pressed a button, and instead of confetti, a large cannonball burst forth from the muzzle with a fiery flourish. The ball ripped the wall apart, turning it into rubble. “Alright, girls, we have our exit, let’s start running!”

Rainbow put Fluttershy on Applejack’s back, and they proceeded to run as fast as they could. The six ponies ran out of the area where a wall once was just as a group of Gryphon guards opened the door. They knew that gryphons were going to be on their tails at any minute.

<<+>>

Griffon fortress

The four stallions paving their way through the Griffon Empire now stood in front of a giant wooden door reinforced with metal bars. They all stood there looking straight up at the top of the gate where they could hear two griffons chatting away the afternoon watch.

"How are we going to get by this one?" Snippy mumbled, watching to see if one of the griffons would look over the edge.

"Why do you always question Zee Captain? Don't you understand yet that he is great space wizard! There is always a way!" Pilot shot back at Snippy.

"Easy there Pilot, Snippy will be excused of his insubordination. Engie, I believe it is time for another shoe." Captain said as he turned to the ski goggled pony.

Without a word Engie dropped his large pack and opened up one of the pockets. From the pocket he magically pulled out a shoe box. He removed the lid and tossed aside the box to reveal a block of what looked like clay. Engie molded the clay onto the giant gate and attached a small array of wires. After a quick look over, he gave a nod before grabbing the bag and moving back behind some of the surrounding boulders. The other three dispersed to their own spots knowing what was going to transpire. The device on the clay soon flashed a red light before detonating the clay it was attached to. Large pieces of the gate and the surrounding wall were blow up into the air and also back into the old fortress. Zee Captain walked inside the fortress, past the recently destroyed gate.

"This is not how you treat your guests. Where are those manners that your mothers taught you?" He scolded to the griffons that seemed to be pouring out of the walls.

He watched as they hastily charged towards them with swords, axes, and spears. Casually, captain pulled out his old ceremonial pistol that was given to him in commemoration of the end of both Black Apples uprising and the Germaney revolution with the help of the newest line in weaponry. The pistol was a .45 with golden trim seeming to flow like ivy across the outside. Zee Captain admired the craftsmanship before pointing it out towards the first griffon. Two shots later the griffon laid on the ground with two holes crushing the griffons skull. Six more bullets went out and ripped the poorly protected griffons.  The metal plates and chain mail stood no chance against the flying shots of lead. If anything, it just made more shrapnel to go digging through their flesh. Pilot sped forward with his katana in mouth. For a jet pilot, he was amazingly skilled with the blade. Behind him, Zee Captain could hear the quick, short bursts from Snippy's Cladesdale automatic rifle.

The smells of Captains past began to fill the air and fill him with joy. Not even two minutes passed before the once empty courtyard was now almost covered with the bodies of dead griffon guards. The four stallions then moved inside the fortress doors to the castle, ready for what might meet them inside. They moved through the castle with little resistance until they came upon a set of double doors with the words 'Officers Quarters' imprinted above the doors. Engie and Pilot made a quick dash to the door before turning and bucking the doors off their old hinges. Inside a group of five Griffons were arguing over a wooden table with maps spread across every inch of the surface. Zee Captain strolled in with his usual calm demeanor with mug in hoof.

"Tell me where you have taken my weapons and I might be generous with the prize." He stated before he took a sip through his gas mask.

"Don't forget about those 'Elements of Harmony'. They sounded important as well." Engie added.

"Oh yes, don't forget to tell me about those either." Captain said in a light conversational tone. "Or else I will have to bring out an old game of mine!"

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Okay, things are getting... odd. But a good odd if ya know what I mean. Next Chapter: Hormones and War... Estimated time remaining: 22 Minutes