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Post by Red Charge on Feb 16, 2014 23:56:14 GMT -5
Admiral Tesla turned curiously to the pony, she noticed she attracted stares not only from Griffons but from ponies as well. She was there under orders from the Field Marshal though wasn't she? Starling was the highest authority in the military other than the Princesses themselves. Doesn't that mean that regardless of anything else, she had business there?
"Oh, he did didn't he?" Tesla smiled knowingly, "Well then, little one, what did he send you to me for?" His bodyguards grinned to each other, as though knowing something that Glide Heart did not. The lower officer Tesla was just talking to crossed his talons on his chest, seeming rather annoyed that his conversation was interrupted.
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Post by Glide Heart on Feb 17, 2014 1:19:39 GMT -5
She relaxed from her salute and wished she hadn't of said that so loud. "I..It's not urgent sir but um...he told me that you could train me to fight..I want to learn how to defend myself and my patients if there was a situation." She hated having ponies stare at her, and the griffons stares were a totally different and much worse story.
The guards did not put her at ease as she continued. Their looks gave her the chills. "He told me that you would be able to help me." she finished. This was not turning out to be a very comforting day, from meeting Field Marshal Starling to Admiral Tesla her nerves have been played and her comfort zone neglected from her not being in it most of the day. Then again not many ponies in Canterlot had the time or place to be comfortable and relaxed.
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Post by Red Charge on Feb 21, 2014 5:53:25 GMT -5
At that Tesla and his guards began to laugh, it wasn't a malicious laugh and wasn't intended at her, that much she could tell. "Sweetheart, I'm a griffon, as much as I want to help you, how am I going to teach you how to fight? You don't have talons, you have hooves. Don't you think it would be better if one of your own trained you?" He asked, the officer next to him however, raised an eyebrow.
"Hang on, Admiral, I think I might be able to do something with her."
"Oh?" Admiral Tesla asked.
"Ponies are strong and all, but there's no substitute for Griffon ferocity in battle. I could give her some pointers that'll make her pony friends squeal a bit. Of course, if she thinks she's up to some Griffon training. I won't be holding back just because you're used to Sunshine and Snapdragons over here in Equestria."
"I think that would be a good idea," Scimitar Razorwing limped over, "The Field Marshal certainly seemed to think so. It's been a while since we had any sort of cooperative exchange projects, don't you think?" He asked Tesla.
"As I recall, the last one you had was Starling himself." The griffon admiral replied, "I wouldn't say it turned out too bad. Well, fine, I guess, but I hope you don't have Starling's... lust for life, as he calls it." He shrugged, his guards exchanged amused glances.
"Alright get your stuff and come meet me at the edge of the cliffside in about two and a half hours, we'll be training you on an airship at high altitude so you better not get airsick." The lower officer said to Glide Heart then as an afterthought added, "You're a doctor right? Maybe later you can have a look at this strange boil I have on my talon."
"No one wants to see your boils Avitus." Tesla waved him off, "Ignore him, you can go on your way now. Good luck." At that the admiral turned back to speak with his cadre, Razorwing now joined in on the conversation.
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Post by Glide Heart on Feb 21, 2014 23:46:02 GMT -5
Glide Heart smiled as her eyes twinkled for a moment. Her wings fluttering as the saluted and said with enthusiasm "Yes sir! and if it's festering make sure you wash it first.". Quickly turning with a giggle she galloped out the door. Stopping by the construction ponies she flew into them into a hug before quickly taking off high into the sky. Airsick pegasus ha! She loved the sky. She wasn't sure why she was so overly happy about it, but she didn't care. She flew high in the air rolling and diving for speed and pulling up just before impact. Shouting as she flew "Whooo hooooo!!!!" She had met so many important ponies and griffons in just those few minutes.
Finally reaching where the outpost used to be, she landed carefully searched for a few objects. A bag, some paper and a pencil. As well as plenty of basic medical supplies of course clean and packaged such as bandages, stitching supplies, water bottles and a few pain killing herbs. She also grabbed her white overcoat she had left in a locker that remained relatively undamaged. She always liked to over pack. Better to have it and not need it then need and not have it. And last but not least she grabbed a large knife that she had stored in the locker and his it deeply tucked under her white coat so it wouldn't be seen.
Looking into the sky she realized she had been searching for supplies for well over and hour and a half, and figured it was time for her to head for the cliff side. But before she left she wrote a letter to her husband Lens Flare and colt Frost Zone. Describing to them what had happened, where she was going, what she was doing and being sure to tell them that she loved them. She stopped at a mailbox and dropped off the letter before continuing to the cliff side. Saying goodbye to Canterlot as she flew by. Reaching the cliff side she looked around for the airship she would be boarding.
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Post by Red Charge on Mar 2, 2014 16:40:13 GMT -5
Avitus the griffon was quick to join her there upon her arrival. Though how he knew exactly when she arrived she could only guess. Probably due to his sharp griffon eyes. The griffon gestured at one of the few ships of Tesla's that was still in the air after the last battle, Admiral Tesla had refused to down their entire fleet again, learning from his last mistake. Instead, he had them fixed on rotation, so there would always be battle ready ships up in the air in case of an attack. A somewhat redundant measure, some thought, since Blackmane was no longer around.
Avitus' ship was one of the smaller destroyers, but it packed, at least according to Avitus, the longest reaching punch of them all. They could launch a Tesla Bolt at another ship miles further than any of the other destroyers. At that the griffon began to fly high up in the air, barely paying any attention to the lowering pressure or the powerful drafts. For Glide it was more of a problem and she found herself faltering once or twice. Griffons sure liked being high, this was higher than Cloudsdale!
Avitus landed on the zepplein's higher deck, where Glide Heart saw several Griffons working out and sparring. "Since we're a long range vessel," The griffon explained, "We are often targeted for flanking and boarding. I keep my griffons at peak physical condition to repel enemy marines."
Leading her towards the drilling Griffons, the griffon officer began recounting some boring strategy or other in case they were boarded. Glide Heart noticed the Griffons were giving their training everything they had, from the very basic workouts to the very intense sparring. The entire deck was windy, cold and generally as uncomfortable as the Northern Barrens would be, which she assumed was its purpose to begin with.
Glide also noticed that no griffon turned to look at her as she passed, despite the unusual business of her being up there. They were completely focused on their training and paid no heed to distraction.
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Post by Glide Heart on Mar 2, 2014 17:32:17 GMT -5
Shrugging off the oddness of being watched by Griffons she flew up and joined Avitus on deck. Breathing harder through her mouth she looked around kind of wary of what was in store for her on this ship. Boarding? Enemy marines? Luna help her this was going to be a long trip. "Avitus will you be putting me through the same training as your Griffons? Not saying I'm not up for it, but just out of curiosity." Looking around at the Griffons and their general lack of interest about this stranger with Avitus was sort of comforting, not being the center or attention was a good thing. She shivered and wished she had brought a heavier jacket. The only way to stay warm may just be to join the Griffons in exercise.
Glide couldn't help but admire their physical condition and drive. She would love to give all these Griffons a medical exam before anything bad happened...Just in case she had to know what she had to do to fix them. Also for her own personal curiosities. Griffons were something different and fascinating for her and she wanted to know more.
"Another question Sir if I may, Were will I be sleeping? Do you have a place where I can have an area on the ship for on board doctors office? I would be happy to provide all your fliers with medical care." She tucked her wings against herself and tried to stay warm and calm own her breathing of the thin air. She enjoyed being high just not this high....
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Post by Red Charge on Mar 8, 2014 12:34:25 GMT -5
Avitus laughed heartily, though somewhat haughtily. "Sleep? We sleep when we die and even that's too much sleep for a good griffon to have." The burly griffon raised a talon in the air in a nonverbal command and his soldiers, though non were looking at him immediately stood at attention.
Glide Heart noticed the griffons perfect stances at attention, chin up, gut sucked in, upright, statuesque. That's despite the fact that they were just doing incredibly difficult workouts and their muscles must have been screaming for mercy. There were males and females there, so it seemed this wasn't some sort of macho unit, they respected only two things it seemed, strength and discipline.
"These finely tuned military mechanisms do not sleep, they wait. They do not rest, they keep vigil. They are the scornful eye of the Throne, they are the ear that listens to the storm and the hand that strikes blood and thunder. They are the 5th Fleet's Myrmidons."
"Hefnigjarn stormur, blóð og þruma!" The griffons shouted, some sort of ancient griffon dialect no doubt. Their simultaneous voices made a crescendo that ran a shiver down Glide's spine, it conveyed discipline and power of the types she's never encountered before. There was no doubt this was a terrible force to be reckoned with.
"You want to be like them you need to let go of whatever perceptions you have of what a soldier is. A soldier is nothing but a weapon, sharp as any blade and powerful as any warhammer. But it is just that, a weapon, it is the arm of its commanders slicing into the enemy. A weapon does not fear death, it only fears failure. But enough of these pathetic slogans, pick a sparring partner and line up."
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Post by Glide Heart on Mar 9, 2014 21:52:55 GMT -5
Listening to Avitus she began to sweat. She was in way over her head but if she was anything she was stubborn enough to stick to it. The Griffons voices sent a shiver down her spine and excited her. Dropping her bags she made a pact to herself that she would work as hard as these griffons and take her new commanders words to heart. She was his newest weapon and she would work her absolute hardest to be included with his other weapons and seen as an equal to them...though it would take some serious time....also, she did find it hard to believe that they really didn't sleep.
Keeping her thoughts to herself she said "Yes Sir" and dropped her bag off to starboard side of the deck, keeping her white coat and blade on her and flew over at the end of the line falling in at attention. Trying to imitate the Griffons stance, sucking in her gut, raising her chin, back in line attempting to be statuesque. Her own muscles were aching and she hadn't just been working out. She couldn't help but look at the griffon towering high above her, his smooth feathers and rippling muscles almost scaring her with his raw power. She stood there and thought to herself "I'm gunna get creamed..."
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Post by Red Charge on Mar 18, 2014 20:21:14 GMT -5
When it was time to begin, Avitus gave a high pitched whistle, one that pierced through Glide Heart's ear painfully. The griffon opposite her immediately fell into a combat stance. The ones next to them spread out on deck and immediately a brutal melee began. Despite so, she noticed that each pair stayed in their own 'circles', imaginary boundaries which they didn't cross, to avoid disturbing other pairs. The griffon opposite her did not make the first move, he waited for her to make her own.
Of course this was just sparring, but everyone else seemed to take it so seriously, it seemed impossible for Glide Heart to get out of this without at least getting a black eye. Avitus didn't stick around, he took off to another part of the ship, leaving the griffons to train alone. How often they did this was anyone's guess. But it was apparent that Avitus' marines were well adjusted to this type of training.
It was probably best if Glide Heart made the first move instead of waiting for the griffon to make his.
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Post by Glide Heart on Mar 19, 2014 18:40:27 GMT -5
Gulping to swallow her fear and taking a deep breath she leaned over in a combat stance lifting her wings up and leaning down on her front hooves.She closed her eyes for a moment and when she reopened her eyes she launched herself forward using a quick flap of her wings to propel her faster toward the griffon. A head first approach wasn't probably the wisest thing to do but she went for it anyway. Who knows what the griffon would do.
Feeling like a complete rookie, which she was, she landed just before the griffon and put her weight on her front right hoof and used it as a pivot point to swing herself to the left and kick across the griffons body. From there she followed through her kick and flung her upper body so her front hooves would follow the path of her hind legs with a sweeping punch across the torso. Hoping to at least land one hit on the griffon was the first step. Baby steps Glide for now one hit at a time she told herself.
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Post by Red Charge on Mar 29, 2014 17:35:42 GMT -5
After she had said that to herself, the next thing she realized was that somehow she had found herself on the other side of the deck and that she now had a tooth knocked entirely loose, leaving a gap between her teeth. She didn't know whether it was the shock or the adrenaline that made her not feel the pain from whatever blow the griffon had landed on her, but she knew she was definitely going to feel it later. No one was looking at her but her opponent, who stood, still in combat stance, expecting Glide Heart to get up. Though she was dizzy, Glide could catch a glimpse of the other griffons. Despite their incredibly well practiced motions, there was absolutely no order in the fighting, they sparred ferociously, violently, giving each other no quarters... this didn't feel like training, it felt like war. The glare sent by her opponent to Glide Heart's way made sure she understood that if she was not going to come to her griffon sparring partner, he was going to come to her.
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Post by Glide Heart on Mar 30, 2014 22:18:13 GMT -5
Wincing and wiping her hoof across her face dragging blood with her hoof and staining her fur. She wiggled her tongue through the hole in her jaw. She shook off the lost tooth and figured she would search for it later. She was a little preoccupied at the moment. She had never seen anypony take training as seriously as these griffons, and she went to med school were one misplaced cut and it's lights out! She figured that in this situation if you didn't train hard and take it seriously that could also lead to a lights out.
She shook her head to sweep away the slight pain in her jaw and took a breath before switching tactics. She unfolded her wings and took off flying just a couple feet above the deck then quickly bolted through the air at her opponent. She used her wings to accelerate her forward and positioned her foreleg ahead of her for a crash face to her high speed hoof. She didn't have as much mass in comparison but her speed would have some kind of effect. Aiming for his head would surely make him see stars, at least momentarily wouldn't it? Maybe at minimum a black eye?
She knew that once she made any kind of contact with her sparring partner she would have his talons and beak to deal with. She made mental note to avoid those and aim to more seemingly tender spots. Swinging kicks and punches for softer tissue like the belly and the throat would be a better idea than skull and arms. Once she made the hit she quickly swung her legs under her for an upward kick to the throat.
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Post by Red Charge on Apr 17, 2014 17:54:31 GMT -5
Once more the first question that came to Glide's mind was "what did he do?" as she found herself once more on the deck of the ship with a severe head ache in her side. All she felt was the slightest tap from the Griffon but that was enough to completely divert her off course and crashing into the deck. Whatever CQC technique that griffon was using, it was incredibly effective. Of course a griffon would probably know better than most how to protect himself against air attacks.
His defense seemed impenetrable and Glide had to remind herself that he had not made an offensive move the entire time they were sparring, yet she found herself bruised, missing a tooth and with a growing headache. She was hardly as fit as she wanted to be and found that already she was getting wheezy and exhausted. The griffon's eyes darted on her body, locating weaknesses, taking note of where she was injured.
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Post by Glide Heart on Apr 17, 2014 18:35:40 GMT -5
Glide tried to shake her head but that only caused her more pain. She tenderly rubbed her hoof against her head and felt glad that she brought some pain killers on the ship with her. It was going to take some time for her to be able to fight well enough to even land a hit on this griffon. It was also going to take some time to heal from this. Glide was getting frustrated now at herself and at her opponent. She was just thrown into combat with a griffon was above her fighting level and she wasn't learning anything at this point!
She groaned and flapped her wings stretching them out a bit and making sure they weren't damaged. If her opponent attacked, her wings were probably her only way of dodging his hits. She crouched back down and twisted her neck, popping it with a satisfactory snap sound. she flapped her wings slightly to ready them to dodge. She decided that it was his turn to attack since all of her attacks were being brushed off. Her smaller stature should help her dodge his hits. She may be able to get a few jabs in while dodging him.
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Post by Red Charge on Apr 17, 2014 18:39:19 GMT -5
The griffon however did not attack, he stood at the ready, waiting.
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