The Frontier

> The sunlight peers in through the shutters, waking you
> You leave Lyra snoring gently and dress yourself quietly
> Taking a second to admire her sleeping form, you then slip your sword onto your belt and leave the cabin
> Dawn greets you in all its glory as it rises over the forest
> Hope's leaning up against the wall and smiles at you.
> "Fifteen years today," she says, meeting your gaze.
> "I wasn't counting," you lie. Hope laughs, her voice shattering the quiet of the dawn.
> "You suck at lying Dad," she grins, moving in for a hug. "That's why you're the mayor of this place."
> As you gladly return the hug, you have to admit that she's right. Since Hope's banishment, and the decision of you and Lyra to follow her out into the wilderness, you've all built a hell of a life for yourselves.
> At first it was just the 3 of you, but soon more followed. Lyra's parents came next, along with a series of idealists and rebels who dreamed of a life outside of the normal regime
> Many were lost due to the cold, hunger or attacks by predators
> But the simple bloody-minded determination of a father determined to keep his daughter safe can be a powerful thing
> A rough tent became a covered pit, a covered pit became a simple wooden structure, and a simple wooden structure became a series of cabins
> Where you live is only known as The Settlement, no other names have stuck
> You were elected Mayor and leader, and although you still worried about her as any father would, you have to admit Hope has made a hell of a sheriff.

> Both you and Hope set off for your morning patrol
> You check for signs of Diamond Dogs burying through or other creatures
> It happens rarely, but out here not being careful can mean ending up dead
> Your route first takes you down what passes for a main street
> All of the craftspeople are here, including the brewer
> And it's outside her house you find your first piece of work for the day
> A purple pony lies snoring in the dirt, an empty bottle nearby
> Hope prods him gently with her hoof
> "Hey Dusky, you've been told once already that you can't sleep outside," she reminds the now-awake pony
> "Buck you," he slurs into the ground, not bothering to look up and clearly still drunk. "You ain't no Guardspony or Princess, I'll do whatever the hay I want."
> Hope glances over at you and shrugs before turning back to the drunkard and aiming a powerful kick at his stomach
> The pony's eyes burst open as he rolls away and clutches his midriff, crying out in pain
> The commotion has drawn a few spectators and shutters have tentatively popped open as curious eyes watch on
> "Damn right there ain't no Princesses or Guards here," Hope snarls, "but there's sure as hay all sorts of other nasties out there waiting to do you harm and we've only got each other to stop them. You know why we don't sleep in the open? Do you?"
> Dusky looks up from the ground, still doubled in pain from the kick and the alcohol. "It's because..ow...it's too...dangerous."
> "It's too dangerous," Hope repeats louder, also addressing the townsfolk gathering around and listening. "What happened to the last pony who tried to sleep outdoors?"
> A tearful stallion speaks up. "My Shimmermist slipped out one night, to 'commune with the night' as she called it. A Griffon swooped down and took her."
> Sympathetic hooves quickly surround the stallion, who becomes wracked with sobs. All of the colour from Dusky's face drains as he catches Hope's eye.
> "We had Griffons circling overhead for weeks after that,"Hope continued, "because they had sensed weakness for a moment and thought we were easy prey - but were we?"
> "No!" A few call out.
> "Did we lose anyone to the Griffons after that?"
> "No!" More join in with the chorus.
> "And we will tolerate anyone who puts our herd in danger?"
> "NO!" Now the whole crowd is yelling , and Dusky is visibly shaking.
> Hope leans down and cups Dusky's face with her hand, staring right into his fearful gaze.
> "Out here we've only got each other, and no-one else. You help everyone by following the rules, and by breaking them you lose the right to be protected by them." Her voices takes on a vicious edge, "If you take one more step out of line then so help me, I will personally see to it that you never put anyone in danger ever again." She pats her sword hilt twice for emphasis.
> Most ponies lead a gentle life, one without violence, so it's not surprising that this was the first time Dusky had ever been threatened in this way. He cowers in fear, and he bursts into tears.
> "Someone get him cleaned up," Hope orders, and two ponies come forward to lead him away. "Anyone else have business with the Sheriff?"
> No hooves are raised, and so everyone disperses to begin the day's tasks
> "Keep that up and you'll have my job," you murmur proudly.
> "Hush Dad," Hope blushes and grins at you. "Just doin' my job," she winks, tipping her hat at you, "now how's about we.."
> A horn blasts
> It's the sentries
> You both start running

> There's a plan for when the horn goes off
> The young and old get indoors
> Able bodied ponies and others get their weapons and prepare for a fight
> Newcomers, often still unwilling to do harm, are issued with clubs
> But they soon start carrying spears once they fully understand where they are
> You don't have any truly strong magic users here, but even simple telekinesis spells can be deadly
> It takes a lot of effort to set something on fire, but to throw a rock or a knife? That's a lot easier
> You're still proud of that idea
> As you and Hope near the gate, one of the sentries calls out to you.
> "Mayor, we've got a situation here. There's a couple of Griffons down here and they look hurt. Seems they want to talk to the boss."
> "They haven't ever wanted to speak to us before," you ask Steeljaw. "What's changed?"
> The former Guardspony shrugs. "Beats me. You're the one who's good with words, you ask them."
> Hope raises her eyebrow at you.
> "You can't be fucking seriously considering going out there," she asks. "They're killers and monsters."
> It's true, Griffons have killed scores of your people over the past fifteen years
> but your oh-so-human curiosity has gotten the better of you.
> "They said the same about you Hope," you pointedly remind her. "Open the gates and close them behind me, I don't want anyone else exposing themselves."
> "I'm coming with you," she protests.
> "Like hell you are," your rebuke is gentle yet firm. "Now do as I say."
> Smouldering with frustration, Hope pulls you into a brief embrace.
> "Be safe," she whispers, and for a second you see the fearful girl she used to be
> "I'll be back soon," you promise her, "now let's get this done."
> Hope and some others open the gates and you stride outside the relative safety of your walls towards your visitors
> Days on the frontier are never dull, but this one promises to be extremely memorable
> Back on Earth you played a lot of games
> You remember that in one of your medieval-themed games, you learnt that you had to create a clear killing ground around defensive walls so that enemies couldn't sneak up on you
> So you did that at first with your little homestead, and as the settlement grew you expanded it as needed
> This means not only can you see that the two Griffons are alone, but your people up on the ramparts have a clear line of sight to them
> Whether they'll be able to hit the Griffons at about three hundred yards away is another matter
> The Griffons see you approach. One of them is lying on its side and moves to stand, but the standing one waves for it to stop
> As you get closer, you can see that they're covered in scratches and missing feathers
> The standing one has a nasty gash down its face, and the reclining one appears to be pressing a makeshift bandage into its side
> Unlike the other Griffons you've seen, these two appear to be wearing clothing, or at least the remnants of it after several clawed attacks. The reclining one has a red sash running from left-waist to right-shoulder.
> They seem to be carrying very little, apart from the standing one who appears to have a quiver on its back
> You can't see any sign of a bow
> Not that they need a bow to kill you, experience has taught you those talons will rip flesh as easily as a hot knife through butter
> Nearing the Griffons, you call out to them.
> “I'm Anonymous, Mayor of this settlement. You wanted to speak to me?”
> You're close enough now to see the Griffons more clearly. The reclining one is clearly in a lot of pain.
> “I am Gareth, forrmerly of the House of Biting Blades,” the standing Griffon anounces with remarkable clarity despite half his face being covered in blood. “This is Gwendolyn, formerly of the House of Eternal Vigilance. It is an honour to meet The Human.” The other Griffon, presumably Gwendolyn, is barely able to meet your gaze and only manages a nod.
> “Well met Gareth,” you hope that's the proper response. “Care to explain to me why you're not circling overheard, looking to make a quick meal out of us?”
> “As if a proud member of the House of Biting Blades would do such a thing!” Gareth looks offended. “Our Houses have far better things to do than play with weaklings! Such is the domain of outcasts and renegades! Why...”
> A soft whimper of pain from Gwendolyn brings the rant to a swift end. Gareth's hard expression fades and he places a claw softly on her shoulder.
> “Hold on my love,” he gently reassures her. The gesture touches you and you're surprised to learn that these creatures have emotion after fifteen years of being their prey.
> “We belong to two different Houses,” Gareth continues, turning his gaze to you. “Our love is obviously forbidden, but we could not stop ourselves.” He smiles wistfully, presumably remembering happier times. “And then of course we had our chick...”
> “Chick?” You blurt, surprised.
> Gareth nods and moves behind Gwendolyn
> Your hand instinctively goes for the sword at your belt, but Gareth produces a sleeping infant
> It wasn't a sash that Gwendolyn was wearing, but a papoose or something similar, designed for carrying babies and children in flight
> “When Gwendolyn gave birth, her mate knew at once it was not his. She was locked away and scheduled for death along with our young, so I rescued them both, but we can never go back. If we did they'd kill us all.” He cradles the chick and gently brushes its feathers before visibly swallowing his pride.
> “Human, we need help. Gwendolyn is injured and we know nothing about living in the wilds nor raising a child. Please, help us.”
> You came out here today expecting to find...well you don't really know
> But you didn't expect to come out here finding parents willing to do anything for their child
> Your first instinct is to tell them to go away, after all how many friends have you lost to the Griffons?
> But you remember what you promised to yourself and the others one day
> That everyone would have a home here, no matter what they believed, what they had done or who they were, as long as they followed the rules
> Out here you have so very little apart from your principles
> Can you afford to throw those away?
> “Will they come looking for you?” You ask.
> “I doubt it,” Gareth asks, “the last anyone saw of us we were plummeting into the forest. We've been working our way here on foot and the only Griffons who come out this far are renegades, bandits and other outcasts.”
> Thinking for a second, back to those fantasy games you used to play, you get an idea.
> “I want an oath of allegiance from you both, your word of honour that you will do no harm to my or my own, that you follow my commands and in return you shall be accepted into our community.”
> Gareth nods quickly.
> “Done! I so swear, Gareth, formerly of the House of Biting Blades, swear for myself and Gwendoyln, formerly of the House of Eternal Vigilance, that we take this oath so we might be joined into the House of...” he pauses for a second, “what is your House's name?”
> “I don't have one,” you blankly state.
> Gareth thinks for a second, then continues.
> “...that we might be joined into the House of Anonymous.” He kneels. “We and our offspring will serve you until death.”
> Gweondlyn coughs, and you see that she's coughing up blood. Time for action.
> You turn around towards the settlement.
> “HOPE! GET A STRETCHER OUT HERE RIGHT NOW! WE GOT WOUNDED!”
> You start to hear shouts within the town and you kneel down, touching the wounded griffon on the shoulder
> “Help's coming.”
> She hears your promise.
> “Thank you,” she whispers painfully.
> “Thank you,” Gareth echoes his wife's sentiments.
> You start to wonder what on earth everyone's going to say when they find out they're going to be living with some Griffons from now on.

> You and Hope had a blazing argument about the whole thing later when you got home to the cabin
> She screams that you had no right risking yourself for those monsters
> You yell back, telling her that you've never turned anyone away before now for being different, and you're sure as hell not going to start now
> Hope counters by saying that in fifteen years, not a single Griffon has spoken to you or anyone here, and that this could all be a trap of some kind
> You snort with derision at her, asking her to imagine what sort of trap you'd want to spring that included a child being present
> Lyra slowly enterthe main room, her eyes tired
> Her presence makes both of you calm down, if only for Lyra' benefit
> “Here's a suggestion,” Lyra says to you both. “They're here now and there's nothing we can do about it. We keep a close eye on them and if they make one wrong move we...we...” She struggles with the next word before swallowing. “...kill them.”
> You feel your jaw drop, and you see Hope has exactly the same reaction.
> Even in the dim flickering light of the dying fire, you can see Lyra looks shaken, as if she's had a physical reaction to giving a voice to a concept that goes against the greatest taboo of the society she was raised in
> Ponies naturally abhor violence, which is one of the greatest obstacles in getting your community to defend itself, there's only so much you and Hope can do by yourselves
> Even Steeljaw, a Guardspony with many years of experience and training, struggles with the idea of actually killing another being, even in self-defence
> You move over to your wife and gather her in your arms just before she breaks down into sobs that shake her whole body
> Hope joins you and slowly strokes her mother's mane, telling her that everything will be okay
> Will it?
> Lyra was the first to openly welcome you to Equestria when you arrived
> The first to put aside her fears and suspicions
> The first to openly offer you friendship
> Now she's the first to suggest killing creatures who swore their lives to you
> You weep as well, for that lost innocence
> Innocence can't survive out her on the frontier

"I must say Hope, I expected more of a reception," Twilight Sparkle pondered aloud as they walked down the main street.
"Isn't that the normal proceedure for greeting royalty?"
Hope stayed silent, taking a deep breath but continued walking.
"We don't have time for that," she forced through her gritted teeth, trying to maintain at least an air of civility.
"Winter is coming and we need everyone in the fields."
"Surely you mean everyp0ny...oh that's right! I'd forgotten you had these eccentric speech patterns. What a fascinating study that would make!"
Twilight's mind wandered for a second, lost in academia. "After all, it's not fair to yourself and your father to use language that doesn't include
you. I suppose though you could also argue it's another example of the failure on the part of you and your father to properly adapt to Equestrian society..."
This was too much for Hope.
"Lemme stop you right there," she snarled. "You're either here to visit Dad and do some bargaining, or you're here to make pointless fancy talk. That might be sweetcakes in Canterlot, but out here we call it what it is - horseshit."
Twilight's jaw dropped, as did any townsfolk within earshot. They might not be in Equestria anymore, but many still felt a form of loyalty to her.
"How. Dare. You. I'm Twilight Sparkle, heiress to Celestia and bearer of the Elelement of Magic!" Twilight's eyes flashed with magic, yet Hope did not flinch.
"And I'm the uncivilised, barbaric offspring of a savage and violent race," Hope spat on the ground in front of Twilight, making her recoil in disgust, "so don't expect any better of me. Now how about you just shut up and I take you to my Dad so we can get this over with."
"Sounds perfect to me," Twilight sniffed haughtily. "Lead on."
The rest of the journey was silent, with townsfolk hastily clearing a path for the fuming sheriff and the incensed alicorn until they reached a structure that was only remarkable for its having a carving saying "Mayor's Office" hanging on the outside wall by the door, otherwise it was of the same single-storey wood construction that made up the rest of the town. Pushing open the door, Hope removed her hat as she strode inside, Twilight following closely behind.

>It's been sixteen years since you last saw Twilight Sparkle
>She was the first pony you ever saw
>She was the first friend you had in Equestria
>She was the first to congratulate you on your getting married
>She was the first of your friends to hold your baby
>She was the first to worry about Hope's occasional outbursts of violence
>She was the first to call for Hope's exile
>And now she's the first contact you've had with the Equestrian government in all this time
>Sure, you've had a few more exiles, outcasts and pioneers, but no official representative
>"Anonymous," she nods respectfully in greeting, her voice betraying no emotion
>You stand up from behind your makeshift desk and extend a hand in greeting, which she shakes with her foreleg.
>"Twilight."
>Despite herself, she smirks. "You know, it's been too long since anyone called me that. These days it's always 'Princess' or 'Your Highness', Canterlot is so very formal."
>Despite yourself, you also smirk. "I remember the first time we went to the Gala. The looks we all got when Celestia announced me as the guest of honour, I thought they were all going to faint."
>You and Twilight share a smile that belongs to happier times.
>An irritated cough from the back of the room drags you back from pleasant reverie
>Hope's standing there, clearly irritated
>"So what bring you out here then Twilight," you ask, "I thought we were all banished and exiled forever?"
>"You all are, at least technically, but circumstances have evolved beyond what the legislation provides for. A hnadful of exiles is one thing but you're drawing good, honest ponies away from their lives," Twilight inhales deeply and her voice hardens, "and I'm here to stop that."

>You see a flash of motion at the far end of the room
>"Hope, no!"
>Years of living out in the wastes have honed Hope's reflexes to an incredible degree
>If you hesitate out here, you're dead
>And right now Hope has just heard her home being threatened
>She's drawn her sword and is lunging at Twilight
>Your shout alerts Twilight to what's happening, and she spins around
>Upon seeing Hope, she ducks and instinctively raises one of her wings for protection
>Flesh and feathers don't provide much protection against steel
>Twilight screams as she recoils in pain, and you see the pure fury in your daughter's eyes as she pulls out the sword and raises it above her head for a coup de grâce
>Before you know it, you're diving towards your daughter
>There's just enough time for surprise to register on Hope's face, followed by betrayal, just before you crash into her
>Rather than hit the floor, you both find yourselves floating, surrounded by purple light
>Oh fuck
>The light spins you around, and you're facing Twilight
>Her eyes are burning with pure magic
>Her lips are curled back in rage
>Her body's shaking from the adrenaline
>Her wing is bleeding profusely
>"HOW DARE YOU STRIKE YOUR PRINCESS!"
>Yup, she's pissed alright
>You try moving, but you're frozen solid
>Seems that you can still breathe though
>You wonder how long you'll be able to do that for
>Twilight walks towards you both, nostrils flared
>"I knew it!" She screams, stamping her hoof. "I knew you were always angry, dangerous and violent! Why did you have to hurt so many people Hope?"
>Twilight's eyes return to their normal colour and her voice softens
>"Why couldn't you brave and kind, like your father?"
>Her voice drops to a near whisper
>"Why did you take him away from me?"
>Wut
>Her eyes return to their normal colour and the magic fades
>You and Hope collapse to the floor just as Twilight breaks out into tears
>As you both find your feet, Hope angrily grabs you on the shoulder
>"You'd better damn well know what you're doing Dad. Just remember who she is and what she did to you, me and mum."
>She picks up her sword and strides out, wiping the blood off as she goes
>You turn your attention to the broken princess lying on your office floor
>You make your way over to her
>She lifts her head out from under her hooves, her cheeks damp with misery
>You have no fucking clue what to say, so you sit next to her and hug her
>You feel the body of your old friend shudder with every sob
>You feel her cries buffet against your chest
>You feel her blood drip over your fingers
>What the fuck are you going to do now?