-=[::] Xarith's General Goods [::]=- [Closed] (Dated)

Xarith twisted and turned as he rocketed down the streets of Manehattan on cobalt blue dirtboard that he had acquired some time ago. The zebra was crouched low on his hind legs as he aimed to lower his profile and gain speed. He had been out on an early morning restock from one of his far away sources. Unfortunately, that particular source had run extremely low on just about everything Xarith needed. Oddly enough though, the source had a large supply of coconuts and booze... The source was desperate to get rid of all the excess coconuts and booze. Of course, the merchant took advantage of this by almost clearing the source of it's booze and coconuts. This would be his 8th and final trip to his small shop.

Xarith shifted his shoulder mounted saddlebag to the side as he slowed down and rounded the corner and flew down main street. His satchel was full to the brim with an odd mix of coconuts and booze as well as his usual assortment of crap. He skated past ponies who just moved out of the way when they saw the familiar zebra roll towards them. They had come use to the spectacle by now having seen it many times before. To them it was just Xarith on another stocking trip.

The zebra finally reached his shop and crouched low to power-slide to a stop kicking up some dust that had settled nearby. He dropped down to all fours and threw the board over his shoulder and onto his back. Taking out the keys with a hoof, Xarith unlocked the two padlocks to his humble abode. Trotting inside and humming a happy tune to himself, he put his dirtboard to the side next to the door and relocked the padlocks. Then he went and piled the coconuts in a nearby shelf and stuffed the remaining booze in a large ice box under the counter.

Xarith just sighed contently as he pulled out a high stool and pulled up the metal door that blocked the shops open window. He pulled out a rag and busied himself with cleaning his already clean counter.

"Just another day at the stand," Xarith said smiling.

Spoiler:

Zweihander was thirsty. But, not just any kind of thirst; he required the most holy of liquids. Liquor. Flying above the town, he had a strange feeling. The feeling that someone, somewhere, is going to make an excellent drinking buddy. And that sense was going haywire. Landing, he shook himself off. When he started to get that itch, he had to scratch it. However, the only place nearby was a small shop.

"Xarith's General Goods" it read on the sign. Zweihander hoped they sold liquor. Opening the door, he entered the shop.

Freyia walked through the streets, just coming off of duty. It had been a long, tiresome one, and she really could use a break. She was never one for drinking, although there was that one time in training, and again after each battle, and that other time...she stopped thinking about it. SHE did not consider herself a drinker, though her old buddies might disagree with that.

She walked past a shop, "Xarith's General Goods", and stopped. She did not know what it was, but she had a feeling. The kind of feeling that told her someone, somewhere, would make quite the drinking buddy.

She turned and looked inside the shop. The windows were too dirty, but she did see some food. "Well, I did just get paid, why not?" She proceeded into the store.

Xarith quietly sung to himself as he bided his time waiting patiently for any signs of activity in his shop. He was about to get to the chorus as he grabbed his dirtboard and pretended to punch out some power chords when he heard something around the front of his store. Quickly kicking his dirtboard backing to its place standing against the wall, the zebra pulled out a rag and looked to see who would be joining him today.

He was surprised though when he saw a gryphon walk into his shop as well as a pegasus mare right after. Xarith was just a little puzzled. These weren't his regular costumers. Only a few ponies that Xarith knew quite well came to the shop often. Keeping his thoughts and looks tucked safely behind his mask of composure, he shrugged to himself. He put his rag away and greeted his new guests.

"Hey there," Xarith said, "Welcome to the shop. What can I do for ya?"

Zweihamder looked around. In front of his own two eyes, laid the largest bounty of coconuts he had ever seen. Big ones, small ones, some as big as his head...

Zweihander immediately took out his premade flashcards for pony bartenders, shopkeepers, and griffon fathers.

Can I... marry your daughter? Can I sleep with your daughter and/or wife? No, no, no, AHAH! With a flick of his wrist, he triumphantly produced the desired flashcard.

May I marry your grandmother LIQUOR. Give me your bloody LIQUOR.

Freyia just walked in and looked around. She noticed the large quantities of booze and coconuts, and she also noticed the lack of anything else really. She waited for her turn, wondering why the griffon was taking so long to speak.

Xarith was slightly confused when he saw the gryphon frantically pull some flashcards out of nowhere. He started through the thing until he held up a card to the zebra. Xarith scratched his chin with a hoof before shaking his head in agreement.

"Hold on one sec pal," the zebra said pulling out a coconut and a bottle of rum from the icebox. With a swift [/i]smack[/i], Xarith cracked the coconut in half in on stroke. He then pulled out some wine glasses, a spoon, and a small metal capsule. He popped open the top of the capsule and scooped out a bunch of coconuts into the thing. Xarith then poured some rum into the mix as he closed the capsule and stood on his hindlegs grabbing the metal with his forehooves.

"I also work as an alchemist, and potions aren't the only things I know how to mix," the zebra said with a smile. Xarith then shook the capsule violently. After a minute or two, the zebra opened the metal back up and pulled the wine glasses over and poured out the Pina Colada into the glass.

"That'll be 6 bits my good sir."

The zebra then poured out some of the drink for himself in another glass and took a light sip. He then looked over at the pegasus who had been standing by for a fair bit.

"Looking for anything in particular?" Xarith asked her.

Freyia looked at the drink he was making GODS that sounds good.

When the Zebra finally addressed her she was ill prepared, but knew what she wanted. "I, um, guess I'll try one of those. I didn't think this place was a bar." She stepped up next to the griffon. She recognized him from around the HQ, never spoke a word to anyone. She wondered why he was here.

Zweihander took the thing, that was held in a glass. Taking an experimental sniff, he shrugged. Downing the thing in a single gulp, he slammed the glass and twelve bits on the table. Clicking his beak as he did so, because that always seemed to get the point across.

*click*

Xarith just swiped the bits of the counter and flung them into a nearby bin with a meager pile of bits in them. He nodded a slight gesture of thanks as he poured out the last portion of the mix into his last glass and nudged it over to the mare.

"There ya go," Xarith said. "This place isn't a bar, but I usually like to keep people happy and get them the things they need when they need it." The zebra then looked around around his shop. Everywhere there was a coconut in any space it could fit on the shelves.

"Then again, I am going to need a reason to use all these coconuts..." Xarith said with a warm laugh. "Well, that'll be 6 bits if you choose to actually drink the thing." With the, Xarith slightly tipped his glass to the mare as he took another light sip from his glass.

Freyia took the glass and gently sipped the rim. It was not bad. A little bland, but ain't exactly getting any high class drink in this city. And anyway, it was alcohol, so who cares. "Thank you," she said as she placed the money on the counter. She continued sipping from the glass gently, taking a peek at the griffon. This was the real reason she was staying. She knew that this griffon was up to something, maybe even with that other griffon that came to see her at the meeting. This was her chance to get a sneak peek at what she was getting into.

Zweihander glanced at the zebra, and the pegasus while he awaited his drink.. He knew the Pegasus by name; he knew everyone the Praetor and Prudentate had met. She was native to the Griffon homeland, was fixated on natural beauty through force of will and arms, and was fairly good with a spear. Her name was an older one, from when the Kingdoms was little more than a collection of tribes. Freyia... if his knowledge of ancient customs was correct, that was the name of a warrior-goddess of Valhalla.

Chuckling, he held out a claw in greeting.

Steel walked down main street. He hadn't had any luck trying to find any amethyst dye. Steel had hoped that at least one of the shady stands would have the item her required. But not many were out today, and even less selling items related to what he needed. He had passed by a few shops but none that had what he needed.

His eyes fell upon a small General Store. There was a slim chance that the store held what he desired but he was getting desperate at that point. He walked in and saw coconuts everywhere. That and a large amount of booze bottles. Steel sighed, as it seemed things weren't going his way today. Reinforcing this fact, he saw...Oh no. he thought quickly. It was the griffon from before. After a quick moment of panic he calmed down. The pony and griffon didn't notice him behind the shelf, although the Zebra(Obviously the owner) might have. Theres no way he'd rat me out now. he thought. Of course that didn't mean he didn't want to have a go at him. If it came to that he hoped the other pony there would help. Wait a minute, is she wearing griffon armor? That can't bode well. he thought.

In the end Steel Strike walked up to the counter. If they attacked, at least he'd have a witness. "Um, excuse me. I don't suppose you deal in dyes do you?"

The zebra noticed his new costumer trot in with a slightly confused look on his face.

'Probably the coconuts,' he told himself.

When he heard the request from the new unicorn, he just smiled and spoke up after throwing some things in a sink in the back room.

"I think I got what you are looking for my good fellow," Xarith said as he head into his potion room in the back. He closed the door behind him as he began to open multiple drawers and cabinets looking for the right ingredients. In the process he almost knocked over some of his more volatile potions. Jumping around making sure to make a mess, Xarith finally found what his was looking for. He pulled two small vials of silvery powder from his cabinets. Then returning to the front counter, he trotted around and approached the unicorn.

"Here you go pal. These two vials contain something that will to the trick," the zebra said hoofing a vial to the unicorn. It held a sizable amount in the vial, most likely a couple hoof fulls. "That on is nickel. Just a bit of it added to glass should give you what your looking for. Too little, blue. Too much, black. Just right is what your looking for."

"That vile would cost around 100 bits. If that is a bit much, I have this," Xarith said hoofing another vile over and taking the old one. "That's manganese. Same thing as the nickel, but the color is not as intense." Smiling, Xarith took the vial back and spoke once more to the unicorn.

"Well that one cost about 60 bits. That's about all I have to dye things with that colour." Xarith then turned to see the two others that were in his shop. "Take time to consider which you'd like if any. I'll be at the counter tending to my other costumers." And with that Xarith set the two vials on his counter and returned to his counter.

Steel Strike was almost appaled at the price. Nickle couldn't be that rare. It just couldn't. 100 for the vial would take all the money he had earned from the mare, and still leave him in a hole, profit wise. He had to summon all his smithy might, and haggle the price down. "Now whens the last time you had a colt in here asking for Nickel? I doubt it was recently." he said with skepticism. "Also, I doubt that small itty bitty vial costs 100 bits. It MIGHT be worth 50 bits at that." he said, stressing the might heavily.

"Last time I asked for nickel it was 30 bits for something twice that size. I realize in the current economy, that prices increase." he said with a wave of his hoof. "But never would I think Nickel would cost so much. 50 for the vial." he said definitively.

As Zweihander extended his claw in greeting, he was interrupted by the two stallions haggling over nickel. Rolling his eyes, he returned to scoping out a potential rival.

Xarith just smiled politely as he trotted back over to the unicorn.

"Please sir, no need to get a bit angry over something as nickel. Like you said yourself, it is not as worth as much to you as it is to me." Xarith then put the nickel powder back on the counter. "Now I understand that you may have already gone over things like this with others, and you may have gotten a different option." The zebra started, "But this metal is what I use in my alchemy and other crafts and I can't just be using low purity materials." He then went to the counter and set the vile off to the side in a safe place.

Xarith then grabbed the larger vile of manganese from the counter and showed it to the unicorn. "My offer for the manganese still stands sir. I would think that it is a good amount for what it is. I have been ordering much of this for a while now and I do not have many uses for it with my alchemy. So for this you can still get it at 60 bits. I've got another container in the back full of manganese if you need more," Xarith said keeping a true friendly expression on his face.

Steel sighed. "Im sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just 100 bits is what I'm making off the item I'm using it for. And if I bought it for that amount, I'd automatically be losing more money than gaining some." Steel Strike put a hoof behind his head. He then got an idea. "Say, you're a decent business pony...er, Zebra. How about this: I buy the vial for 50, and you'll get a reduced price next time you're at my Smith. I can do repairs, and such, as well as craft specific items. It'd be useful for someone in your position." said Steel convincingly. He hoped the Zebra took the offer, as he wanted the very best for his customer, while not losing money.

Xarith just laughed as he stuck out a hoof for a shake.

"Seems like a deal my friend," he said hoofing the vial to the unicorn. "Names Xarith Treviant, glad to get acquainted."

Getting out a small pouch for the vial, Xarith spoke. "Who do I owe this this to, and where can I find this smith?"

Steel Strike shook his hoof with a grin. "Names Steel Strike. You can find my Smith Downtown. It's fairly easy to find. It looks busted up, but its suits me fine." he said, happily.

Steel took out his sack of bits. He had put 25 bits into each pouch, bringing a total of 75 bits with him today. It seemed a fair trade off. He wanted the best for his customer. He slid the two pouches on the counter, as the Zebra gave him the precious vial.

Freyia turned her head slightly so as to catch the Smith's eyes as he went to pay the money. The look on her face was intrigue, but it could easily be mistaken for a glare. She never trusted the griffon smiths, other than the one that was in her squad, but he was halfway across Equestria, and it had been years since she had repairs made.

She turned away, making sure to not stare too long. She may have to stop by there some time. She continued sipping her drink. Taking a peak at the griffon, she could she that he wanted another, and that he did not like the interruption from the two business ponies. She smiled a little and went back to her drink. This may get interesting

As he waited for the zebra to serve him again, he glanced at the mare again. Having been interrupted by the...smith? How did he know that? He smelled...oh by the gods. He would drink this zebra out of house and home then. He needed to forget. Sighing, he extended his hand, and put on a smile, like he used to do as a noble. He would scope out the potential threat of this mare. And possibly make an ally. You never knew with alcohol.

Freyia noticed the claw as she was taking another sip. She placed the drink down and looked at the claw, then the griffon. She couldn't read him too much, except that this griffon had seen better days, and much worse days. He kind of reminded her of one of her friends from the squad. With that reminder she smiled and returned the gesture, placing her hoof into his massive claw.

"I am Freyia, soldier. What is your title griffon." She didn't even notice that some of the drink had gotten on her nose. Lucky for her, white does not show up very easily on white.

Zweihander smiled broadly at the mares "straight as a nail" attitude. Putting her hoof in a firm grip, he shook it briskly. Staying still, waiting for a few seconds, Zweihander's face lit up with embarassment. Fumbling around in his harness, he produced the flash cards again.

Hello my name is Zweihander, Free Agent for the Griffon Kingdoms. In case you have wondered why I am not talking, I will show you why. Looking up at the ceiling, Zweihander showed his large scar to the mare. On his neck, directly where the vocal cords were, was a large patch of magically burned skin. The feathers had not grown back, and it was an unsightly mess of scar tissue.

After producing that travesty, Zweihander sighed, and turned to his glass.

Freyia watched confused as the griffon fumbled with his harness. Upon being handed the card she read it, aloud. She looked up at all the right spots, then returned it to the griffon. "So, you can't speak, at all? That must be terrible." She grabs her drink again and begins drinking it, all the way, without stopping. Once empty she raised it to the griffon. "To the war. That god awful mess that took something from all of us." She smiled at him, a sincere, strong smile. She was no stranger to drinking, and no stranger to drinking a lot.

Zweihander liked her attitude! Raising his head from his misery, he sincerely grinned, raising his glass, and draining it again. Putting twenty four bits on the table, he waited for the drinks. He planned on having a new drinking buddy in the Griffon Kingdoms this day. And may the gods be praised if she could hold her liquor!

Freyia looked at the bits on the table. She smiled. Pulling her bit bag on the table she pulled out the same number of bits. Lets see what he can do.

Zweihander pushed the mare's bits into the bag. Smiling, he wrote on a nearby scrap of paper with his quill;

First rounds on me.

"Well the," She pushed her bag to the side, "How can I pass that up? Zebra! If you would be so kind, we require more drink." She smiled, oh yes, this was going to be fun.

Xarith just smiles as he hops back over his counter and started shaking up some more drinks. Soon enough he had 8 Coladas ready for the two costumers in a flash. He threw four to each and just smiled politely.

"Now have fun. I'll be in the back working on some potions."

Zweihander smiled. Time to do some friendly small talk. Getting a spare piece of paper, he began to write.

What brings a Griffon Kingdoms pony like yourself down here in Equestria? I assumed the pony immigrants were not to move until at least two years have passed? Or, are you stationed here?

Zweihander knew fully well why she was here, in Manehatten. The question was; did she? Passing the paper down to her, he took a swig from his glass.

Freyia looked up after reading the paper, then looked to make sure the zebra was out of the room. She looked back and grabbed her drink. She took sips in between her explaining.

"I joined the army two years before the war. When it started, I was placed on the front line of ever major battle. Well, me and my squad. We fought through the whole eight years. Then once it was over, I was pulled from my squad and stationed in various outposts, cities, and castles. Now I'm stationed here."

With that last line she took a longer sip from her drink. She starred into the distance, thinking over how shitty the after war has been.

"What about you? What's your story?" She turned to face him. "Oh, and I'll wait for you to right it down." She laughed a little. The idea of a mute griffon trying to tell of his past life was pretty funny.

Zweihander took a long drink from his glass. Placing it down on the table, quietly, he began to write again, his smile no longer as big.

I was a member of the Griffon Army Stormtrooper Divisions. We were on the frontlines in several notable engagements, including Stalliongrad. I was my squads Talon, the Heavy Weaponry and armor expert. But, during the battle of Stalliongrad, I lost most of my squad. The only ones left were Schreiber, our medic, and SangWing, the special operations expert. I myself lost a talon from a failed parry. We eventually took the city, but, in my personal opinion, that it was the hardest fight in the war. A culture that was as battle-hardy as our own, and even had a similar religion, is always a tough foe.

Passing the paper to Freyia, he drained the remainder of his drink, and picked up a new one.

Freyia reminisced on the battle of Stalliongrad. So too lost a lot of her friends in that fight, half her squad was either dead or too wounded to continue on after that battle. "Yeah, that was a rough one." She too finished off her drink. Grabbing another one, she finishing that too. "So how'd you lose your voice?"

Zweihander stiffened. A single tear dropped from his eye, and he made no move to respond. Slowly draining every single one of his drinks, he looked to the mare. Grabbing a large stack of paper, and a quill, he began to write.

I suppose it had to be talked about sometime. It was during a special operation, where I alone went into a dangerous unicorns lair. The events of that night are quite hazy, but...

Mikael Haldenschloss, Talon of The Griffon Kingdoms, stares at his captor. "You will never get away with this. You think you, can capture a noble of the Haldenschloss Duchy, and not get hurt?" His voice was that of high class nobility; refined, with an air of culture. His body, however, was that of a hardened warrior. Heavy armor covered his form, a burnished grey, with crennaltions engraved on the pauldrons to make it appear his shoulders were castles themselves. His large, fluted helm of griffon-make was discarded on the ground, beside his paws. Leaving his face bare for the one unicorn in the room to see.

"I'm sorry, Mikael, but you are far too important." The pony's voice was distorted by magic; it was impossible to tell whether or not it was a stallion or mare. "Now... let's shut you up. I tire of your feminine voice" Mikael opened his beak to protest some more, but quickly began to scream. He felt a deep, unwholesome pain in his throat, as something was being torn out. With an audible *snap*, almost like a Zebra alchemists rubber strip breaking, he felt something, almost like a roast, come out of his throat, and onto the floor. Looking down, he stopped screaming for a second. It was a large, pinkish object, very long. It was his tongue. Zweihander could feel the blood pouring down his throat. Yelling like an animal, he attempted to get rid of his restraints.

"Let's stop that pesky yelling too, while I'm rooting around in there." Feeling a warmth at the base if his neck, Mikael felt his voice deepen, lower, and go all places in between, while the unicorn toyed with his vocal chords. He felt the unicorn break them. Trying to scream, all that came out was a hollow breath...

...and when I awoke, I was alone. Tears were running freely from Zweihander's face as he wrote his story, and his demeanor showed what he was feeling. Passing the essay to the mare, he looked sullenly at his cups. Maybe he should stop.

((This is my apology to you guys, ask me about what happened tomorrow over TF2. I'll explain then. Until then, enjoy the story of how Mikael lost his voice))

Freyia watched in disbelief as the griffon cried silently. It was all she could do.

So let me get this straight, I get stationed in a city that is supposedly having trouble with a rebellion, and almost imediatly I get aproached about a secret job, I get rushed by another pony in the ranks, and I meet a griffon who immediately beings crying as he tells me his story. These creatures are CRAZY!

I mean, it isn't bad, not at all. Just didn't see any of it coming. At least I was right, this place IS interesting

She drank the rest of her drinks all the way while she thought this, still starring at the griffon. After finishing them she finally responded. "Um, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to open such a deep wound. I knew of stories similar, the torture. I even had a few friends die to it, and not by the ponies." She grouped her glasses at the edge of the counter and grabbed her bag of bits, "This next rounds on me eh? Lets drink till all of the shit smells like roses." She gave him a smile as she let the bits fall on the counter. It was enough to ensure they both are drunk enough to forget everything. It was also loud enough to let the owner know they wanted more.

"What about before the war?" This was her attempt at cheering him up. "I was nothing much, my parents were ambassadors and we lived in the rural northern tundra. It was rough, but we made do. I even met a small group of griffons who lived a few miles away as a kid. It took some convincing, mostly fighting, but eventually they let me join them in teaching, stories, and feasts. My parents were too busy for me. That is how I came to be a griffon in pony flesh." She laughed at her last comment.

Zweihander was surprised at this ponies upbringing. Smiling at what she told him, he hoped she would not judge him for what he was to write.

Back in the Kingdoms, I was the youngest son, a princeling, of the Haldenschloss Duchy. We were located in a fairly isolated section of the Kingdoms, and mostly kept to ourselves. My brother, Friedrech, was the heir, and I was expected to go to war when the Kingdoms did. So, I fought a year after the war was declared in Equestria. My duchy was always fairly different from other griffons; even our accents differed. If you could hear me, you would notice a more complex air to my accent, rather than the heavy, droopy speech of the central Kingdoms. As you could imagine, it caused several problems for me at training...

"MOVE GRIFFON MOVE!" The trainer was yelling his soul out at the brown griffon who was making his way through the obstacle course. Wings bound, and with full armor on, he was expected to run the complex course. He was not doing so well.

"Oof!" As the armored griffon tripped on a piece of unsteady ground, the jeering catcalls from the other recruits could be clearly heard.

"Inbred freak!", one white and grey griffon shouted.

"Isolationist!" A big red griffon said that one.

"Your brothers a runt, Mee-KY-HALL!" A muscular Griffoness said this, mocking his family and his pronunciation of his name.

Not a single one of these claims had a speck of veracity; however, they still burned. Pushing himself up, he felt a rushing pain from his left paw. It appeared that he had rolled his ankle. Clenching his beak, he trudged through the pain to finish the course. As he moved forward, one voice could be faintly heard cheering for the injured griffon.

"You can do it Mikael!"

...I managed to finish the course that day, with the support of my...best friend, Klara.

Sliding the note down with a smile, he looked at the pegasus in thought. She did not seem to have the rampant naïve nature most ponies owned; she seemed introspective, and wise beyond her years. And those years appeared to be kind to the warrior, she appeared to be no more than twenty. However, he knew that to have fought in the war, that she must be at least thirty, maybe even more. Waiting for his answer, he idly played with a glass, waiting for some refills.

Freyia read the note. It was almost like she was there, as him. Maybe because she was. She turned the paper over, grabbed his pen, and began writing.

During my training, During my first years in the army, I was never given a chance to do anything. To be honest, I was only allowed in because I was able to hold my own in a fight against an NCO. I had killed his son's friend and wounded his son. They were going to harm me, so I did what I had to. In retaliation he killed my parents, then was going to do the same to me. So I fought him. I must have done well because after some time, he stopped and offered me a swift execution, or entry into the army. I guess I didn't feel like dying then.

"Move you stupid maggot infested piece of meat." The griffon pushed her out of his way and into a mud pool. The brown sludge staining her white coat. She did not look up, nor did she retaliate. All she did was slowly pick herself up.

The griffon and his buddies had moved on and she was alone on the path from the mess hall to the barracks. She didn't eat in the mess hall, of course. She prepared the food. Now she was off to clean the latrines. She never looked up to make eye contact with any of the other griffons.

"What the hell is this?" A familiar voice came from behind. It was her NCO, the NCO. "What the hell are you doing maggot?"

"Nothing sir. Heading to the latrines now sir." She faced him with her head down, mud slowly dripping off of her body and onto the cold wet ground.

"That's the problem," he said as he walked right up to her.

"Sir?"

"You do nothing. You walk around like a limp dick pony from the southern lands. This is not the fighter I offered into my ranks. You better fix yourself."

"I-I don't understand sir." She finally looked up, and it was then she could see the smile on him. Not a mean or malice smile, but a sincere one. This confused her more.

"I seen what those griffons do to you every day. You better fix yourself. Become the fighter I saw when we fought. Or I'll make you join your parents." With that his face had the slightest hint of malice.

She began to become angry. Her look changed and her stance began to take shape. She lowered her head ever so slightly.

"That's it!" The griffon patted her on the shoulder. "You want to be garbage all your life? You need to show those griffons that you can beat any of their asses at any time. Then they will respect you."

He began to walk off, "hell, it worked on me."

Freyia still hated him with a passion. But now a sense of respect began to well up in her. She spent the rest of the night mulling over this in her head.

The next day she broke two griffons wings, dislocated three shoulders, cause temporary blindness in one, and broke a couple claws.

After that, they never went near me. Then the war started.

Freyia finished writing and passed the note to the griffon. She smiled as she began to play with her empty glasses too.

Zweihander mulled over what she had just written.

So, this is how a pony joined the army... Glancing at his empty glasses, and back to his quill, he began to write a response. After he was done, he did the familiar motion of sliding the finished paper to the pegasus.

I had no idea that yare parents died from your own people. However, by defending your honor, it sounds like you won something greater than his respect, giving you a chance like that. Was he a native Kingdoms griffon, or did he come from one of the provinces?

Before she could read it, he hastily began to scrawl some rapid calculations on a second slip of paper. He was never as good as his brother in mathematics, but he could do basic math. By his reckoning, he had more than enough to buy quite a few more drinks. This would be a good night.

"He was a native, at least I think so. To be honest, the sergeant never talked about his home life, and no one was stupid enough to ask." She laughed a little. "During the war though, the guys and I had a pool going for who could get it out of him, and when it would happen. It wasn't until the end was near and he had been promoted to captain that he gave us some hints. I had no idea where he was talking about, but the others said it was just outside the capitol, in a rural farming area. Jab won the pot." She laughed again as she starred into the empty glasses, but it was quickly killed. "He fell in the battle right before this. We sent the money to his family." Now a look of sadness became her. She was still starring into the glasses.

Zweihander shuffled his claws. He was quite sobered by the melancholy feeling emanating from the mare. Wait... he recognized her... The Siege of Horsehitcher Pass. She had fought there, he was sure of it. Quickly jotting down a note, he slid it to her rapidly.

Was your squad present at the Siege of Horsehitcher Pass?