My Little Paintball: Rise of the Griffon Kingdom

Chapter 1: S.B.D.D.

2 years after Equestrian Paintball War

-Canterlot, Equestria-

It was a bright and sunny day in Canterlot, many of the city's populace enjoying the warm glow of the sun. Clouds dotted the sky as pegasus ponies scrambled to and fro in the blue expanse to get the puffy white things where they wanted them to. On the ground, earth ponies and unicorns went about their daily business in the streets of Equestria's capital. Fillies and colts sat in schools, many having to endure the torture of learning Crystal Empire geography. On the castle grounds, royal guards patrolled the perimeter of the palace, their spears and golden armor glinting in the sunlight. In the courtyard of the castle, however, one such occurrence would have been rarely seen two years ago, but nowadays was becoming more and more commonplace. Dozens of ponies from all over Equestria had come to volunteer for the Equestrian Paintball Corps. With the experiences from the conflict two years prior, Celestia and Luna had decided to form a joint paintball organization for the defense of Canterlot, should another paintballs zip through the air once more in Equestria.

Celestia watched the recruits from the castle tower's balcony, her magenta eyes scanning the recruits like a hawk watching its prey before swooping. A group of forty, maybe fifty, earth ponies was doing push-ups on the yard, a single drill instructor marching up and down the line barking at any potential slackers. To the right of that, a smaller group of unicorns was practicing calisthenics, stretching their legs and various other body parts to warm up for the next exercise session. And finally, a group of pegasi was performing wing-ups, their bodies rising and falling as the strength of their wings held them just above the tips of grass underneath them. Farther off in the distance was a firing range where all three species of pony had taken positions, shooting their practice paintball markers at paper targets. Celestia smiled at the pop pop pop that was heard from the firing range as the recruits trained their marker's sights on the hostile paper.

"The more things change, the more they stay the same." Celestia stated, her eyes continuing their scan of the multihued crowd below her as her smile faded. "Boundaries shift, new players step in, but power always finds a place to rest its head." Her mind travelled back to the maps she would strategize over with her advisors during the paintball war. The balance of power was always shifting, the Lunar Eclipses would take a few positions, her Solar Flares would take them back and then some, then the Eclipses would retaliate and so on, so forth. She thought of the sheer number of volunteers that joined either side. And it wasn't just normal ponies either. Fanon OCs had commissioned themselves into the ranks of both Eclipses and Flares, fighting alongside their canon brethren. And yet, amidst it all, victory still would have been an absolute factor no matter who claimed the battlefield.

"We fought and sweat alongside the griffons. We should've known they'd hate us for it." Celestia said, closing her eyes in thought. Even though griffons had fought in the Equestrian Paintball War, they didn't receive nearly as much credit as their pony counterparts. As a result, resentment began to grow amongst the griffons. True, many ponies had taken it upon themselves to say that they were better on the battlefield than the 'featherbrains' they fought next to. The insults hurled at them only churned the silent anger of the griffons. Even though Celestia had tried to reason with the griffon monarch and convince him that the insults of a few didn't reflect the majority's opinion of griffon kind, her pleas had fallen upon deaf ears. So once again, pride was the culprit for ill will towards others.

"History is written by the victor, and here I am thinking we'd won. But you bring down one enemy and they find someone even worse to replace them." Celestia wondered who she would rather be fighting against, her sister's Lunar Eclipses or the army of the Griffon Kingdom. No contest. The griffons were far more disciplined and skillful in the art of warfare than the average pony was. So if they were to be armed with paintball guns and they marched on Equestria, ponies wouldn't stand too much of a chance.

"Locations change. The rationale. The objective." Celestia said as she opened her eyes again, the mountains to the east catching their attention. Instead of two army camps like in there was two years ago, there was now a single paintball training facility for Equestria. It was no longer civil war, but cooperation. Instead of seeking the defeat of Flares or Eclipses, it was a single force for bolstering the defense of Equestria's capital. "Yesterday's enemies are today's recruits. Train them to fight alongside you and pray they don't decide to hate you for it too."

The alicorn princess turned around to face a hard-faced olive green earth pony with a black buzz cut mane adorning his head and a short cut tail in the rear. Printed on the stallion's flank was a red exclamation mark. The Equestrian Paintball Corps sergeant snapped at attention as Celestia regarded him with a stern look.

"Same bit, different day. You know what I'm looking for, Sergeant Foaley. Keep your eyes open." The princess ordered.

Foaley nodded in reply. "Got a new batch hitting the pit today, ma'am. I'll send you the best I find."

Guess who's back, mothabuckas! I hope y'all are ready for some more paintball 'cuz it's coming to ya real soon! For those of you that haven't read the first My Little Paintball fic and wish to get in on the action with this one, leave a comment/PM describing your OC. Name, species, appearance, likes/dislikes, paintball weapons of choice, favorite kind of cheese, whatever. You submit your OC and sit back while I'll use it in the fic's story. And to those of you that were part of the fun last time, just resubmit your OC the same way you did the first time. On that note, bring on those OCs and I'll see you all in the next update!