Chapters As the remnants of the special expeditionary force exited the cave, the griffons heard a deep rumble coming from back somewhere where they had just been, and moments later the last griffon emerged from the cave.
Taking a dramatically deep breath of the cold mountain air, Captain Ray smiled as he looks out over the barren land of ice and snow. His eyes glowed unnaturally and a smoky trail seemed to be coming from his feet and tail, but none of his followers dared to mention the new appearance of their leader. Ray took one last glance back at the caves entrance before he spat at it and unleashed another magical attack at the top of the cave, causing the entrance to collapse and hiding the new tomb that lay inside from view.
“A pity, he was quite the interesting pony.” Ray muttered to no one in particular, remembering the stallion he had left for dead back. His reminiscence didn’t last long, and without any further pause he turned to his remaining griffons and spread his wings. “You all are lucky to witness the rise of the next ruler of all of Equestria! Once I have overthrown those two pony princesses, I shall rule as emperor! But for now, let us go join our brothers in battle!” he declared, taking off into the cold sky.
His small force cheered and screeched in celebration and all flew off after their leader, headed southwest towards the city of Los Pegasus. As they left the cold north lands, none of them bothered to look over towards the Crystal Empire, where a lone dragon could still be seen circling the protective shield surrounding the entire city. Ray did not care to conquer the Crystal ponies nor did he consider their existence a threat to his kingdom or his plans, despite the castle being home to the Captain of the Royal Guards. Instead, his focus was concentrated on conquering warmer, more fertile lands, not to mention he had heard of the power that the Crystal Heart held. While he was not superstitious, he was also not willing to risk losing his new-found powers just yet.
It was a long, tiring flight, but Ray and his griffons managed to fly nonstop to their destination, but they eventually landed at the crude headquarters set up by the griffons. As soon as Ray landed, the griffons around him quickly stopped what they were doing and saluted their leader, all of them trying their hardest not to stare at his newest acquisition. However, Ray loving the attention and looks of awe he was receiving, and as he basked in the spotlight he decided to show off his new powers.
“Lieutenant, how goes the attack?” Ray asked one of the nearby officers.
The griffon laid out a map of the city and tried his hardest to keep his eyes on the paper. “Sir, we have split the enemy forces in two, right down the middle. We focusing our attacks on the northern line since our scouts report that they have almost no supplies and should be easier to wipe out than the ponies to the south. We’re, er, finding the resistance a bit more difficult than anticipated, but we do have air superiority.”
As Ray looked over the maps, the lieutenant slowly backed away, worried that the army’s progress was too slow for Ray’s liking. However, Ray smiled and nodded in satisfaction. “Good, good. My show of force will have that much more of an effect.” he said confidently. Before his officer could find out more, Ray turned to leave, signaling his personal guard to follow him. “Tell your griffons to hold their positions until further notice.” he declared before taking off for the front lines.
Confused as to why Ray would order a cease to the attack, the lieutenant dispatched his messengers to inform the rest of the army to hold their positions. One of the sergeants approached him with a confused look and asked what was on every griffons’ mind; why had Captain Ray ordered the cease? What was he planning now?
Sighing, the lieutenant sat down wearily. “I’ve only seen him with that look in his eyes once before, back when he threw that rainbow colored pegasus to the timberwolves. He wants blood, and he’s gone out to seek it himself. I dare not imagine what he has planned with those new powers of his.”
The griffon lieutenant was right; Ray wanted blood, and he found what he wanted. With his personal guards trailing behind him to finish off the few ponies left alive, Captain Ray was a one-griffon army, slaughtering any of Celestia’s Royal Guard that stood in his way. With many of the pegasi already wounded or too scared to take to the skies, Ray was able to concentrate his attacks on the ponies who never knew the wonders of flight. The unicorns tried their best to stop the abomination that stood before them, but their magic was no match for the powerful griffon. The earth ponies were completely helpless; the first few to see him charged at him, only to find the horrific trap Ray had set for them. Using the mystical traits of Sombra’s cursed horn, any pony that penetrated the faint bubble around Ray were turned to smoke, Sombra’s curse painfully disintegrating their flesh until nothing remained of them. The griffons took care to stay out of range of this devastating weapon, as they too would be screaming in agony should they get too close.
It only took a little over a day for Ray to wipe out every pony in the northern half of the city. As Ray made his way back to the command center, the ranking officers let out a rousing cheer for their leader.
“Congratulations, sir! That was an amazing show of power, one none have ever seen!” one of the commanders said excitedly. “The rest of those weak, useless ponies are sure to surrender now.”
The wild look Ray shot him was quickly overshadowed by a savage strike to his face. “Fool! Why would I wish to take any prisoners? They would be nothing but a hindrance to my grand plans! No, we wipe every single one out now!”
Clutching his bloodied face, the commander shrunk back. “B-but sir, the soldiers need rest, they’ve been holding off some surprising counter-attacks from the forces to the south!” he said. “There’s no need for further casualties, I know the ponies will surrender if we offer them an ultimatum.”
“Oh, is that so? How about MY ultimatum…” Ray said. Using a variance of the devastating spell he used before, Ray cast out a cloud of black smoke that shot towards the feet of his commander. Frozen in shock, every griffon present watched in horror as the commander screamed in agony as his flesh began to disintegrate and disappear as his body was enveloped by the growing cloud. Only Ray watched with a sickening smile on his face, seeming to enjoy the screams of his commander until silence fell upon the command center. The smoke dissipated after a few more seconds, and with a muffled gasp every griffon present saw that the commander was no more.
Turning to the next officer in command, Ray gave his orders. “The entire line attacks in one hour. I shall be leading the center and wipe out the enemy headquarters personally. By sundown we will wipe out every living creature in this city. Do you understand?”
The officer gulped and nodded before running off as quickly as possible to relay his superior’s orders. Smiling with satisfaction, Ray looked out to the front lines, watching as five of his griffons ambushed yet another pegasus foolish enough to try to take to the skies.
“Victory is mine.” he said confidently.
Author's Note
After the long awaited anticipation, yes, the story continues...
As the griffons moved almost effortlessly forward, they soon only faced heaps of dead bodies as their only real challenge. Many of the griffons on the left and right flanks found their advancement completely unimpeded as most of the ponies had fallen back to their makeshift headquarters to regroup and try to break free.
True to his word, Ray led the push in the center of the line, making his way directly through the strongest of the pony’s defenses and straight to the enemy headquarters. As before, nopony got even close to touching him, and with maniacal laughter Ray began to explore the different horrendous spells he now had at his control.
It was almost as if all Ray had to do was think of how he wished his next victim to die, and Sombra’s horn did his bidding. One pony found his legs ripped from his body before his head was crushed in, almost as if a one ton boulder had been dropped on him. Another pony was set on fire, and despite his comrades trying to extinguish the flames the fire would not die until the pony did first.
Once Ray reached the barricaded doors, Ray blasted away the meager fortification and began to wreak havoc once again. His elite guard followed their ruler obediently, but the regular soldiers froze as they realized that almost all the ponies present were wounded, lying helplessly on cots or on the ground as medics and nurses tended to their wounds.
Before any of the griffon officers could speak up, Ray had already slaughtered another six ponies who had been closest to the breached door. Looking back angrily at his soldiers, Ray yelled out his orders. “Kill them all! Finish them all and kill them!” he shouted before turning back to continue his slaughter.
The elite guard spread out and finished off any pony that Ray had missed, but the soldiers were much more hesitant to obey their leader. One griffon sergeant tried to back out of the killing spree but was startled as a pony missing half of his face struggled to grasp his talon.
“H-help m-m-me!” the pony managed to gasp.
The griffon recoiled in horror as blood from the pony’s face dripped onto his claw, but the pony wouldn’t let go. Suddenly, the pony let out a bloodcurdling scream in pain as his stomach was ripped open, his organs spilling out onto the floor and soaking the sergeant with fresh, hot blood. Completely caught off guard, the griffon looked around wildly, only to find Captain Ray standing behind him, smiling his twisted smile.
“Kill him.” Ray commanded.
The griffon was too shaken to move, but he saw Ray’s horn begin to glow.
“Kill him. That’s an order.” Ray said again.
The griffon sergeant nodded, looking down reluctantly at the pony at his feet. The pony no longer had the strength to move and grovel for help, and with a single thrust the griffon thrust his spear through the pony’s chest, puncturing the heart and finished off the pony.
Nodding with satisfaction, Ray wordlessly moved on to continue his rampage. Left alone, the sergeant looked down at his victim. The pained face frozen on the deceased pony burned itself into the griffon’s mind, and with gentle care the griffon shut the pony’s eyes before turning to leave, hoping to never have to set foot in this city ever again. However, before he could escape, one of his soldiers ran up to him. “Sarge, what do we do with the survivors here?” he asked somewhat in a panic.
Looking around, he saw that Ray had left the area as had the elite guards. All that was left was a handful of griffons, most of them ones under his care, and all around them were countless bodies of the Royal Guard ponies. A few cries signaled that there were a few survivors, probably barely enough to be counted on both claws, but as the griffons found those survivors they found most were beyond saving, even with magic. One pony was missing all his skin, another seemed to be melting like ice, a third turned inside out yet somehow still alive…
“Kill them all, as quick as you can.” the sergeant said.
“But…” the soldier began to reply.
“Do it.” the sergeant interrupted. “These ponies are beyond saving, we’re doing them a favor by putting them out of their misery.” he said.
The griffon soldier nodded with some uncertainty, but as he approached the skinless pony he was horrified at what he heard.
“Kiiilllll mmeeeeee.” the pony begged. “K-kkiiiilllllll mmmeeeeeee.”
Almost dropping his spear in horror, the griffon hurriedly thrust his spear through the pony’s exposed heart, finally silencing the pony and giving him peace. Shaking from the experience, the griffon turned back to his sergeant who nodded grimly.
“Let’s get out of here. There’s no reason for us to stick around this tomb.” the sergeant said. All of the griffons followed him out, leaving the dead in silence.
By the time the sun began to sink below the horizon the griffons had begun to start packing up all their supplies in preparation to leave the city. At first glance it may have looked like the griffons were giving up and returning to their homeland, but a closer look at the entire city would reveal the truth; the griffons were headed home because they no longer had an enemy to fight.
Every pony in Los Pegasus was dead.
Back in the command post, the griffon officers were completely baffled by Ray’s decision to abandon the conquered city. “Sir, I still don’t understand… why are we completely pulling out of this city? We’ve won, we can now rebuild it and claim it as ours. There’s no way the ponies can mount an effective counteroffensive after their losses here.” one of the lieutenants said.
All eyes were on Ray as he looked out on the devastated city. Almost every building had suffered damage, but nothing that would take more than a few months of repair. The city could become the largest and most profitable city in the Griffon Kingdom, not to mention the conquering of Vanhoover could be easily accomplished now that it was isolated from immediate help. However, Ray had other plans on his mind.
“No.” he said. “We leave this place now. Tell the soldiers they may do as they wish, but at sunrise we leave immediately.”
All the officers were stunned by Ray’s decision. Not only was he giving up the city they had just conquered, but allowing the soldiers to run freely would result in uncontrollable looting and destruction. “But, sir…” the lieutenant tried speaking up again.
The angry glare Ray shot at his officers caused them to immediately go silent. “You fools, we’re not here to take over some rundown city! We’re here to show these weak, pathetic ponies my new power!”
The other griffons looked nervously at one another. They had been excited by the prospect of having a city outside the grips of the cold north and possibly being able to live and work in a warmer climate, but now hearing that Ray had no plans of occupying the fallen city raised many questions and caused severe doubts over their ‘victory’.
“But our casualties… what did they die for?” one of the second lieutenant’s asked.
All the other griffons held their breath, sure that Ray would lash out at his bold question. However, their leader instead broke out in a twisted smile. “Their sacrifice shall not be in vain. When all is complete, I shall have a monument built for all the griffons who sacrifice their lives for me.”
All the officers nodded, still not satisfied with Ray’s explanation, but who were they to question their leader. “So we shall begin construction when we return home?” another officer asked.
Ray’s grin widened. “No… we have only begun.” he said cryptically. “Dismissed!”
Saluting, all the griffons left to inform the griffons under their command of the new orders. However, before one certain officer could leave he was stopped by Ray.
“S-sir?” the nervous commander asked.
Ray looked at him sternly. “Before you go, I believe there is still one matter you have yet to take care of.”
The griffon thought hard about what Ray meant but drew a blank. “Um…”
Ray increased his grip on his subordinate. “I believe there’s still the matter of one of your soldiers who needs to be brought to justice for the crimes of desertion. A certain griffon named Thunderbird.”
The griffon officer’s fears proved to be true; with no orders but to prepare to abandon the city at first light, the entire griffon army began a merciless campaign of looting the devastated city.
As the hundreds and hundreds of griffons moved through the city, no building was safe from their destruction. Store windows were smashed and doors were broken down as everything of value was taken as spoils of war. As soon as there was nothing worth taking left, the griffons would torch the building and cheer as the fires spread, and soon almost half the city was ablaze.
With almost all the stores now empty and on fire, the griffons shifted their focus to the entertainment district. The grand music hall was immediately ransacked, but as the looters found nothing of value they began to simply begin smashing everything in sight. Musicians across Equestria would weep at the loss of a collection of four hundred year old stringed instruments on display in the main lobby, one of them being the prized possession of a certain earth pony cellist…
Next to fall was the West Equestria Museum of Art. Hundreds of priceless paintings were torn to shreds, intricate statues were smashed, and relics that were hundreds of years old were thrown to the ground as if they were garbage. No amount of bits would ever be enough to repair the damages done by the griffons, and as before the building was set ablaze once everything of value was destroyed.
Hovering in the air viewing the destruction of the city below, one of the griffon commanders watched helplessly as the fire in the Museum of Art spread to the top floors. He winced as the growing flames blew out the windows on the second floor, and as the griffon soldiers cheered at the destruction the commander turned his head away. He was familiar with the layout of the museum and knew that the Marechelangelo collection was housed there, and as the flames reached their peak he shed a few tears as his favorite exhibit was burned to ashes.
Sauntering up behind his commander, a sergeant carelessly tossed a six hundred year old diamond necklace into his bag of loot and grinned at the destruction. “Guess I won’t be taking a vacation here any time soon, huh?” he laughed.
“No. I guess not.” Commander Wind sighed wearily.
Shrugging, the sergeant rushed off, eager to get his claws on the treasures that lay in wait in the next building that was to be looted. His commander, however, didn’t wish to see any more destruction and headed off to retire to his tent. “Morning cannot come soon enough.” he said to himself.
By the time morning did come, Los Pegasus was no more. Having left hours ago, Ray and his elite guard were nowhere to be found, but that was of little concern for the soldiers. Having brought only their weapons and bare-bone supplies, the griffons only had their loot and stolen treasures to bring home. As they were ordered, they finished packing and left the ruined city behind with no remorse. Only some of the commanding officers looked back at the city with regret and sadness, but they had their orders and they carried them out dutifully.
As the last few griffons departed the city, two griffon commanders hovered over the ruined city while overseeing the last few griffons depart. Both of them tried their hardest not to look at the once-glorious city or the destruction their highly trained soldiers had caused, but it was hard to avoid looking the only thing as far as the eye could see.
“So, this is a victory, huh?” one of them said, finally breaking the awkward silence.
The other commander nodded. “King Berg would have never allowed this to happen, even if it was to avenge his death.” he said.
“Best you not let Captain Ray hear you say that.” he warned, looking up as his last squads departed. “All of mine are out. I’ll see you back home for the victory parade.”
Commander Wind nodded, left alone to oversee the last griffon troops leave. It didn’t take long, and soon he was the only living creature left in the city. Taking one last look at the rubble below, his eyes fell once more on the smoldering remains of the art museum.
“If only I had been able to save just one piece.” he sighed heavily as his mind thought of his favorite piece of art; a relatively unknown marble statue of a pegasus, a unicorn, and an earth pony with bowed heads, standing around a pool of water. At the bottom of the water a faint design could be seen, and only when the water was perfectly still could the viewer make out Princess Luna’s cutie mark carved into the stone. He had seen it while touring the city as part of a delegation, and though he didn’t know why, the statue spoke the most to him out of all the pieces he’d seen. Not many others seemed to give the statue a second thought and moved on, but one certain pony did stay behind with him to look at it a while longer, her words still fresh in his mind.
“It’s my favorite, also.” Princess Celestia had told him.
As expected, the griffon army returned home to a hero’s welcome. Thousands of civilians cheered as the griffons flew overhead back to their barracks, and the next day every shop remained closed as every single griffon in the city turned out for the grand victory parade.
A deafening roar rose as the castle gates were opened and the soldiers began marching out into the streets. Taking up the entire street, the column of battle-hardened soldiers paraded through the city, each company led by their commanding officers. The highest ranking officers were seated alongside the dignitaries and politicians in the main square, and as the army marched by they saluted and applauded their heroes. The parade didn’t end until almost late afternoon, but the celebrations were far from over; countless parties and gatherings took place all across the city, every griffon high in spirits and wanting to celebrate their massive victory over those barbaric ponies.
With all the celebrations going on, not a single griffon realized that one important griffon was missing; Captain Ray. The new leader of the Griffon Kingdom was supposed to be leading the parade, as well as be officially crowned as King Ray, but the powerful griffon chose not to participate in the festivities. Instead, the magic-wielding griffon was shut in his bedchambers, pacing back and forth impatiently as he dwelled on his next move.
A knock at his door caught his attention. “Enter!” he commanded, not bothering to turn around.
The door creaked open and a female officer entered. “Sire.” she said, bowing with respect.
Finally turning, Ray saw that his newest lieutenant had arrived. “Ah, Lieutenant Windsheer, I see your new armor has been finished quicker than expected.”
The white griffon nodded, spreading her black-tipped wings and bowing again in gratitude. “Yes, thank you, your-”
Ray held up his talon to cut her off. “I do not have time nor need your gratitude. You know what is expected of you.”
“Of course.” Windsheer nodded. Despite being newly appointed to her rank, she knew perfectly well that Ray meant that failure of any task given to her was not an option, no matter what. Her predecessor, the late Lieutenant Talon, was slain in the attack on Los Pegasus, but while he was officially listed as Killed-In-Action, there were rumors that Ray’s bodyguards killed the lieutenant in his sleep the night before the final attack. However, there was no proof to support the claims, nor was any griffon willing to bother looking into the matter.
Motioning to her two subordinates, stood back as two griffon soldiers dragged a struggling pony into the room. “Sir, we did as you ordered and found a suitable ‘candidate’ for you.” Windsheer said, looking with disgust at the mare they had found.
Throwing the helpless pony in front of Ray, the mare looked up in horror and froze as she found herself in front of the most feared leader in all of Equestria. She felt a shiver shoot down her spine as Ray looked her over as if she was simply a piece of meat, and the words Windsheer spoke didn’t help her uneasy feeling.
“We found this one trying to make her way back into Los Pegasus just before our attack. As you commanded, we brought her back here without being seen.” Windsheer said, lifting up the pony’s tail. “I believe she fits your criteria?”
The helpless mare’s pink coat turned red as her marehood was exposed to her captors. She had heard rumors from her friends and neighbors that the griffons were notorious for their sexual appetites, but of course she blew it off as just rumors. However, now she found herself miles and miles from home, alone in the heart of enemy territory, exposed in front of their leader.
“What were you doing around Los Pegasus?” Ray inquired out of curiosity. “You’re far too young to be one of those guard ponies.”
Trembling slightly, the young mare managed to find her voice. “N-no, s-sir… I was l-l-looking for my parents and b-brother.” she stuttered in fear.
“Oh?” Ray said with an unusually calm tone. “Are they part of the Royal Guard?”
“M-my brother R-R-Red C-Canyon is.” she replied. “My… my parents d-d-didn’t want t-to ev-evacuate the city.”
“Is that so?” Ray said in amusement. “Well, let me tell you a little secret. They’re all dead. I had every last pony in that city killed before we left.”
Tears started to fall down the mare’s face as she shook her head in denial. “No! No! You couldn’t have. They’re still alive, they can’t be dead!”
Taking advantage of her lowered guard, Ray walked behind the crying mare and grabbed her tail yet again. Too upset to notice anything going on to her, the pony offered no resistance as Ray forcefully mounted her, only realizing what was going on once Ray began to insert his hardened cock into her unprepared pussy.
“Wha-! What are y-you… OW!” she cried out. “Stop! Stop it!”
The mare started to finally struggle but stopped when she felt Ray’s claw circle her throat and dig slightly into her vulnerable flesh. “Don’t move.” he hissed savagely into her ear.
The mare did as she told, freezing in fear while tears continued to fall down her face. She began to relax as she felt Ray’s grip loosen, but Ray took advantage of the moment and sunk the rest of his shaft into her body, ripping through her hymen like a spear through a piece of tissue paper. Her mouth hung agape in a silent scream for a few seconds, but she eventually found her voice and started crying out in pain and humiliation, begging for Ray to stop and take his penis out from her hurting body.
Ray held his cock deep inside of his victim, closing his eyes and enjoying the pony’s screams. Only when her cries began to subside did he begin to withdraw his dick from her bloody hole, only to thrust back into her savagely. The pony’s cries turned into soft sobbing as the sharp pain began to subside and she resigned herself to being completely helpless, her only hope being that Ray finished using her soon.
Watching from the side, Windsheer shuffled slightly side to side, trying to hide her arousal as she watched Ray continue his assault. She tried her hardest to concentrate her attention on only Ray’s cock as she found all ponies disgusting and beneath her own standards, but the knowledge that her leader was taking his victim against her will proved to be more of a turn on than she wanted to admit.
Almost as if he could sense how she was feeling, Ray turned to look at Windsheer and cracked a crooked grin. “Enjoying the show, are we?” he teased her.
Her face turning red from being caught, Windsheer coughed nervously and looked away. “Of course not! I just think that a slutty pony such as her doesn’t deserve your glorious cock inside of her.” she said.
Ray let out a small chuckle. “Well, don’t fret your head too much.” he said while still savagely pounding away at the crying pony’s body. “I’m just simply breaking her in.”
Windsheer simply nodded while Ray turned his attention back to his conquest. He had to admit that she had a nice tight pussy, though he knew that it would not stay like that for long. Still, he’d enjoy her body while he could, and seeing the streaks of blood on his cock was definitely a nice bonus. Keeping his quick, rough pace, Ray continued to violate the pink mare at his leisure until he heard the pony’s crying finally begin to quiet down.
It only took a few more moments for the sobbing to stop completely as the mare lost all hope and resigned herself to whatever fate lay ahead of her. Ray knew he had broken her completely and sped up his thrusts, feeling her body tighten in reaction to his increase of force. “That’s a good girl, just the way I like it.” he said.
No longer holding back, Ray gave a few last forceful thrusts before he let out a rough growl as he came, his hot, potent seed flooding the pony’s sore hole. The mare gasped as she felt Ray cumming inside of her, but in her current state of mind she was unable to even protest, let alone try to wriggle free. All she could do was grimace and keep her eyes clamped shut and pray to Celestia that she wouldn’t become pregnant. Ray kept his cock inside of her for a few moments after he was done, and as soon as he withdrew his member from her body she tried to squeeze as much of his cum out as she could.
Windsheer and the two other guards waited for Ray to strike the pony for such a showing such disrespect, but instead Ray walked over and stood over her, looking at her pussy. Seeing her still trying to squeeze his cum out of her, Ray pushed her on to her back, her sex in plain view. “Go ahead, try to get it all out.” he said.
The mare wasn’t sure if he was going to try to trick her, but she didn’t want to become pregnant with his offspring. Grimacing, she squeezed her lower muscles once again, trying to get all of his cum out of her. There was still a sizeable amount left inside of her, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t manage to get it out. Her eyes began to tear up again. “I don’t want a baby.” she said softly to herself.
“Oh, you don’t? Then allow me to help.” Ray said. Before the mare could ask what he meant Ray raised a clenched talon above her body and struck her lower abdomen, pressing down hard right above her uterus and bladder.
With a cry of surprise the pony felt something coming out of her. A small trickle of Ray’s cum managed to creep out from her pussy, but another type of liquid was surging forth. Unable to stop it, the mare turned red in the face as she began to uncontrollable urinate in front of the four griffons. Ray laughed at the demeaning act, having added the final insult to injury to the pony and causing her to cry once more. “Hmm, looks like I was wrong, guess you may have my offspring after all.” Ray said to the broken mare.
Having finally finished with her, Ray turned to his subordinates and motioned for the two soldiers to take the pony away. “I’m finished with her. You two may use her for as long as you like, and then toss her to the soldiers tonight once they return from the parade. Tell them to try to not break her, it may be a while before they get another.”
The two soldiers nodded eagerly, rushing forward to drag the pony off to somewhere private. The mare could only let out a whimper, knowing that what these two griffons were going to do would only be a thousandth of what an entire army would do. She let out no protest, not even when she was dragged away through the puddle of urine and cum, and in a matter of moments only Ray and Windsheer remained in Ray’s chambers.
“Not bad, bonus points for finding me a virgin.” Ray said to Windsheer. “However, she was a bit… lacking. I prefer a pony who has more spirit, more fire. I like a bit of a challenge… it makes everything more fun.”
Windsheer nodded and bowed. “I shall try to do better next time, sire. Is there a specific pony you have in mind?”
Ray thought for a moment before a smile crept onto his face. “As a matter of fact, yes. There is.”
Equestria was in absolute panic. News of the Royal Guards' defeat in Los Pegasus was now common knowledge and nopony knew where the griffon's would strike next. With over a quarter of the guards now deceased the pony's could no longer even think of mounting any offensive without leaving over half of their major cities wide open for another slaughter, causing a flood of ponies to abandon the large cities and seek out smaller, less appealing military targets.
Those ponies that did stay put in the large cities began taking steps to fortify their homes. Cities began to form militias, many of the stallions joining almost immediately in a sense of patriotic duty. The mares and foals also joined in the effort by rationing many everyday items and either saving the surplus items or fashioning them into weapons, armor, or other critical supplies should war find its way to their home. Even the smaller towns did their part by sending anything they could to the larger cities in hopes that their combined efforts would be enough to prevent another massacre like the one they just suffered. However, there was one question that loomed over everypony's head like a dark raincloud, one question that nopony knew the answer to;
...what would the Princesses do?
"For the last time, sister, we have no other choice!"
Luna slammed her hooves on the solid wood table with an echoing boom, causing the guards present to flinch at the noise. Celestia, however, retained her royal posture, though she did wince slightly at Luna's outburts.
"We have to act now! No more waiting! We must conscript every single able-bodied stallion and march for the Griffon Kingdom and strike back!"
Celestia shook her head no. "Luna, please calm down. Like I have said before, we have grossly underestimated Ray's capabilities and ruthlessness, but we must try to save as many lives as possible. Invading his land will only lead to more lives lost."
"No sister, YOU have underestimated him, not I! Had you allowed me to carry out my attacks this war would be over already!" Luna snarled angrily.
"We had no way of knowing Ray would be capable of this magnitude of destruction." Celestia tried to reason. "Besides, taking the offensive first would never be justifiable to the Canterlot Congress. They're still concerned with the report Soarin filed in regards to the griffon massacre he witnessed."
"That was no massacre, Celestia, that was my guards and I protecting Equestria! Something you do not seem capable of doing!" Luna declared proudly. "For once, dear sister, I know that I am correct, and from what our citizens all across Equestria are doing I would say they agree with me. The time for delegation and talks is over. It is time for war. Accept it."
Celestia sighed. "It is my duty to preserve life the best I can, Luna. It is your job as well. Whether it be pony, griffon, or any other species. You know that if there was any sure way to stop this war I would do whatever I had to do."
"Then let me lead the rest of our guard North." Luna begged. "With our combined forces, and whatever ponies Princess Cadence can spare from the Crystal Empire, we can then march on the Griffon's capital city. There will surely be many civilians that wish to join us in revenge and can bolster our forces. We cannot lose!"
"No." Celestia said almost immediately. "Luna, you read that report from the sole survivor of Los Pegasus, Swift Wing. It is clear that Ray has found Sombra's horn. It is clear that he has still yet to master Sombra's powers and is unpredictable."
"Then that is all the more reason to attack now!" Luna interrupted. "You did not choose to act when he committed those acts of barbarism on those two pegasi, and you still refuse to act with thousands of ponies dead. What will it take for you to do anything, sister?!"
Celestia could feel the tension reaching its breaking point in the room. "I need you here, Luna. Twilight is already at her breaking point with traveling across Equestria trying to keep everypony calm, and Cadence is needed in the Crystal Empire to prevent the griffons from moving straight East. I cannot oversee Equestria by myself, Luna. I need you here to help."
Luna gritted her teeth in anger. "There's no reasoning with you, is there, sister?" she says dryly before getting up. "We're done here."
"Luna, wait!" Celestia called out. The princess of the night stopped and looked back to see what her sister wanted, her patience all but gone. Celestia looked at her with pleading eyes. "Please, don't do anything rash." she begged.
Luna's stern expression didn't waver. "I shall do what needs to be done." she said before leaving the room, slamming the door shut.
Celebrations in the Griffon Kingdom went on well into the night, and as the next few days passed morale remained extremely high. The soldiers were treated as heroes of the fatherland and were free to do almost anything they pleased and rumors ran rampant over what pony city would be the next to fall.
In the privacy of the castle walls the griffon soldiers also got to enjoy a secret benefit to their victory; the captured mare that Lieutenant Windsheer had brought back was a popular spoil of war that all of the soldiers enjoyed. Once the two griffon soldeirs had finished using her and had dumped her in the barracks, the other soldiers quickly pounced on her. She was used non-stop, never going more than ten seconds without at least one griffon cock inside her body. The only way she was able to sleep was when she passed out from the brutal treatments she received, but her tormentors always found a way to wake her back up as playing with an unconscious pony was no fun.
There was no fight left in her anymore; even if she managed to escape, there was nowhere for her to go. The cold would instantly kill her before she could find her way back to Equestria, and besides... her family was all dead. With her spirit crushed, she resigned herself to a fate of remaining a fuck-toy for the griffons for the rest of her days.
At least until she found a way to kill herself.
A knock at Ray's door interrupted the griffon leader's meeting with a small group of his closest, most trusted officers. The unfortunate griffon tasked with delivering the message for the powerful griffon felt his heart almost stop as Ray cast a stare more intense than a cockatrices at him. "You better have a good reason for being here." Ray snarled.
The griffon shakily brought his talon up to a salute as he held out the sealed scroll in his other claw. "S-s-s-sir! My... a thousand apologies, bu-bu-but this needed your att... attention immediately." he managed to spew out.
Ray made his way over to the messenger, and as he took possession of the scroll his mind thought of how he could make the helpless griffon suffer for barging in on a top secret meeting. However, as Ray's eyes took in the words scrawled on the parchment his mood relaxed and a crooked grin slowly began to form.
"Well... this is quite the interesting turn of events." he muttered more to himself than any other griffon in the room. Glancing back up, he was annoyed that the messenger was still present, frozen in a nervous salute. "You're dismissed. Leave, NOW!"
The griffon's departure speed rivaled that of the late Rainbow Dash's racing speed, and he dared not stop until he was safely back in his barracks. Ray instead calmly turned to his officers and tucked the letter under his wing and addressed his group. "It appears that we have been delivered quite the gift. Our southern patrols managed to intercept a small flight of pegasus ponies, and if the intel in this report is correct, we just captured the leader of the Wonderbolts." Ray said.
In the dungeons below the griffon castle, three pegasi found themselves locked up in three separate cells. Ray's intelligence was correct; the leader of the Wonderbolts, Soarin, was now in the custody of the griffons, along with another well known Wonderbolt, Misty Fly. However, the two pegasi had only eyes of hatred for their third companion, the one responsible for their capture and current predicament; Thunderlane.
"You filly-fucking coward! If I weren't chained to the wall I'd kill you right now!" Misty Fly yelled out to the groggy pegasus.
Thunderlane breathed a sigh of relief as he found himself isolated from his two teammates. There was also the strange fact that, unlike his two fellow pegasi, Thunderlane was free to move about his cell while the others were chained down. However, the presence of the chains did not stop the shouts of anger and sense of betrayal the bound pegasi felt...
"Thunderlane, what the buck did you do? You... you..." Soarin asked in confusion.
Soarin's already fragile mental state was already being pushed to his limits. It had been weeks since he had last heard from Spitfire, Rainbow Dash, or that other pegasus courier. He was more than capable of leading the Wonderbolts, but Spitfire was the true lead flier, and Soarin wouldn't have it any other way. Still, though he missed her terribly, he refused to believe that the three pegasi were dead and kept telling everypony else that Spitfire would be back soon.
One of his duties had been to help survey the damage and utter loss in Los Pegasus, but on his way back to Cloudsdale his small group had been ambushed by a griffon patrol. Half of his escort was killed in the initial attack, but as three griffons had descended down on Thunderlane the cowardly pegasus pointed to Soarin and blurted out that he was the leader of the Wonderbolts. The chance to capture such a high value target was too good to pass up, and though the remaining Wonderbolts valiantly tried to buy Soarin enough time to escape he couldn't abandon his teammates. The three imprisoned ponies were all taken prisoner; Misty Fly only because she was found alive on the ground with a broken left wing.
The sound of a door opening and approaching griffons caused the three ponies to turn their heads to the hallway. Each of them felt a shiver jolt down their spines as the unmistakable figure of Ray appeared, the powerful griffon eyeing each pony one by one. He stopped at Soarin's cell and silently looked at the bound pegasus stallion.
"Don't touch him, you scum!" Misty Fly suddenly yelled out, compelled to protect her leader.
Soarin winced, expecting Ray to savagely attack his team member for her outburst but Ray surprisingly simply chuckled.
"Such fierce loyalty, even in the face of uselessness." Ray said. "Just know that such attempts are useless and will only get you killed faster. However..."
Every creature watched as Ray walked over to Thunderlane's cell and unlocked the traitor's cell door. "If you cooperate with me, you can find yourself in a seat of immense power in the new world I will create. Surely you wouldn't mind ruling your own city or two with an entire battalion of griffons at your command?"
The offer didn't have any effect on Soarin or Misty Fly, but Thunderlane was almost drooling at the offer. To rule a city and order around every citizen and soldier under his command... there was no way he could ever achieve that as a Wonderbolt. Nopony but a princess could ever achieve that kind of power.
Misty Fly watched as Thunderlane slowly walked towards Ray's outstretched claw. "Don't you dare. Don't you bucking dare..." she threatened, but the stallion reached out and accepted Ray's offer with a happy grin.
Soarin felt tears of betrayal fall from his eyes. "Thunderlane! How could you? Betraying the Wonderbolts was one thing, but to betray everypony in Equestria?! Just wait until Spitfire hears about this!"
Soarin's statement caused Ray to roar with laughter. "Hahaha! Oh, you mean that mare whose mane looked like it was on fire? Thunderlane, my friend, you don't have to ever worry about her. Ever. Again."
"No... NO! You're lying!" Soarin yelled out, struggling uselessly to break free. "There's no way... she's not dead!"
Ray laughed again. "Oh, she's past dead by now. I imagine by now their corpses must be frozen solid, though they'll never be found. Oh, yes, you heard me correctly. She's not alone. That rainbow slut and foolish pegasus courier are with her."
Soarin ceased struggling as he felt all of his energy drain away instantly at the news. Misty Fly struggled against her chains, wanting to do nothing but console her leader and try to motivate him to remain strong and to look for a way out, but Ray could tell that he had made great progress in breaking down the Wonderbolt's leader in such a short time. Adding one last insult to injury, Ray turned to his newest spy and motioned Thunderlane to follow him. "Come, my friend. Let's talk about your first mission, as well as which Equestrian city you would like to rule."
"Another round for the heroes of the Battle of Los Pegasus!"
The declaration from the bar owner caused a massive cheer from the armored griffons that took up half the seats. Despite the massive financial loss he was sure to suffer from giving away so many drinks, the bar owner happily served yet another round of drinks to his esteemed guests, taking the time to pat the back of the ranking officer present.
"Those pony scum killed my sister in the Canterlot Massacre. Make them pay for killing her." he said through teary eyes.
"You hear that?" the officer called out, waving his mug in the air dramatically. "Are you all willing to avenge this griffon's sister in repayment for his hospitality?"
A deafening roar rose from the soldiers as well as a torrent of death threats for any pony they crossed. The officer patted the bar owner on the back in return and offered a reassuring smile. "Don't worry your feathers, they won't get away with their crimes. Our new king will surely bring those alicorn ponies to justice."
Lieutenant Windsheer was furious. The griffons under her command at the moment were very aware of the griffon's legendary temper, almost rivaling Ray's, but no griffon ever wanted to be able to say they knew the answer. Just trying to avoid Windsheer's fury was difficult enough, especially with the rumors that she had murdered the last soldier who had questioned one of her orders.
Windsheer cast another hateful glance at the pegasus pony her and her small squad were escorting. The pony tried offering her a small smile of friendship, but his attempt was met with eyes full of hatred and a sinister motion of dragging a sharp talon across her neck.
"Lieutenant, we're here." the lead griffon announced.
All the griffons halted and the pony flew a few feet farther ahead before stopping himself to receive his last orders from his handler. "Alright," Windsheer said through gritted teeth. "you know what is expected of you. A scout will meet you at the predetermined spot every other day. If you fail to show up, your cover will be assumed to be compromised and we WILL kill you. Understand?"
Thunderlane nodded, glad that his Wonderbolts uniform prevented the griffons from seeing how sweaty he was from nervousness. His time spent with Ray had been surprisingly pleasant, but this Lieutenant Windsheer had tried to kill him on more than one occasion, though every time her attempts had been ruled 'accidental'. Now, he was being escorted back to the blurred border between the Griffon Kingdom and Equestria, free to fly off to complete his new mission for his new nation.
"Now for the final touch..." Windsheer said, eyeing the pegasus in front of her. Before Thunderlane could ask what she was looking at, Windsheer lashed out with her razor-sharp talons and tore open the front of his flight suit. It took a few seconds but bright red blood began to ooze out from Thunderlane's chest, causing him to clutch his chest in pain.
"W-w-what was..." he began to ask, but he was quickly silenced as Windsheer raised her talons again.
"Now go. NOW!" she yelled out.
Not wanting to stick around to find out what would happen if he stayed any longer, Thunderlane bolted off and flew as fast as he could for Equestria. He was no more than twenty seconds away when Windsheer turned to the griffons under her command and issued her next order. "Let's go, hunt the pegasus." she said.
"Um... I thought we were supposed to give him a few minutes head start so he can be seen by the ponies." one of the griffons said.
Windsheer shot the griffon a glare of death. "We want this chase to be realistic, don't we? Besides, losing one pathetic pony won't lose the war for us. In fact, an extra month of leave for whichever one of you catches him and rips his wings off, plus I'll take the blame if Ray has any major objections."
The offer too good for any of them to pass up, the griffons raced off after Thunderlane. Though they were slower than pegasi, the injury Windsheer had inflicted had caused Thunderlane to slow down considerably, though his pace picked up as he saw the group of griffons bearing down on him much sooner than was planned.
"Halt! You are entering Equestrian territory!" a loud voice announced.
Dropping down from the cover of the clouds, a platoon of pegasus ponies appeared fully armed and ready for battle. Thunderlane quickly raced over to them, allowing three of the ponies to shield him from the approaching griffon squad.
Seeing the sudden appearance of the ponies, the griffons halted their advance and hovered in place for a few moments. Though outnumbered two to one, the griffons figured they still had a good shot at bringing down their foes but Windsheer's sudden order left no room for doubt.
"Griffons, fall back!" she announced. Slowly flying backwards, the griffons backed away from the pegasi, turning to fly back north when they were sure the ponies had no intention of pursuing them. The ponies stayed on their guard until the griffons disappeared from view, only then finally turning their attention to the wounded pony.
"Are you okay? What happened?" one of the guards asked.
Thunderlane looked down and whimpered as the patch of red coming from his chest slowly began to increase in size. The guards noticed the injury and quickly began bandaging him as best as they could while slowly guiding him backwards to a nearby cloud. Laying him on it, they were then able to rush him off to the nearest outpost to have a unicorn properly treat his wounds and find out just what had happened to him and if there were any more casualties.
His arrival at the outpost caused quite a few rumors to begin spreading. Was he another survivor from Los Pegasus? Did the Wonderbolts carry out some top secret mission? Did this pony try to single-hoofedly infiltrate his way into griffon territory?
The outpost commander wanted to speak to this Wonderbolt as quickly as possible, and after waiting for the nurses to patch up his chest he was finally able to find out some answers. After making sure that Thunderlane was comfortable, the commander began to grow impatient as the gray pegasus seemed to be dodging every single question by feigning memory loss. Finally getting fed up, the commander sighed and threw up his hooves. "Is there anything you have to report?" he asked.
Thunderlane almost forgot what Ray had told him to report but thankfully remembered just before he shook his head. "Yes, sir. The griffons are holding one of the Wonderbolt's hostage." he said.
The commander's ears perked up. "Do you know who?" he asked eagerly.
Thunderlane nodded. "They have Spitfire." he said.
Author's Note
Due to stuff, story will be indefinitely delayed.
A lone stallion raced through the empty halls of Celestia's castle, his hoofs echoing loudly as he made all haste for Princess Celestia's chambers. He came to a screeching halt at the doors that led to her side of the castle as he was motioned to halt by the guards posted to that area.
"The Princess is not to be disturbed." one of the guards said flatly.
"It's important!" the messenger panted, showing his seal that identified him as a runner for the Royal Guard. However, his attempt yielded no results.
"Princess Celestia is not to be disturbed." the other guard echoed. "Take your message to Princess Luna."
"I've tried! Nopony knows where Princess Luna is." he said impatiently, having expended the past hour trying to uselessly find out where the princess of the night had gone. Everypony in Canterlot knew that Princess Celestia had holed herself up in her castle upon hearing news of the massacre in Los Pegasus, but nopony had seen her leave her room the past few days.
"Whatever your message is, it can surely wait. Why don't you bring it to-" the first guard started to say.
"This can't wait! It needs to be delivered now!" the messenger yelled out, finally losing his patience. Despite the letter being for the eyes of Princess Celestia or Luna only, he knew that he would never get to see at least one of the sisters unless he took drastic measures. Breaking the wax seal, he opened the scroll and held it up for the guards to read. It only took fifteen seconds for the guards to scan the letter and quickly move aside to let the messenger through. The stallion quickly raced forward, his goal finally in sight, and despite the chance of being severely punished for what he did next, he burst through the final set of doors without stopping to knock and barged his way into Celestia's private chamber.
Princess Celestia and Twilight looked up at the sudden intruder, their faces less than amused by the unorthodox entry by the messenger. "I had thought I had made it clear that I was not to be disturbed." Celestia said unusually coldly.
The nervous messenger immediately dropped to the floor in an attempt to beg for forgiveness. "Princess, please don't banish me! Please! I just... you have to see this message!" he begged, knowing very well his life could possibly be on the line.
Twilight quickly intervened, placing herself between her furious mentor and the helpless stallion. "Whatever the message is, it must have been important enough for him to have to barge in unannounced." she said.
Celestia gave an extremely short, quick nod before levitating the message in question over to herself. She viciously opened the letter, ignoring the fact that the seal had already been broken, but as she read the words hastily written on the parchment she clearly changed the expression on her face.
"You may go." she said softly.
The messenger nodded as he hastily scrambled for the door, not daring to see either princess' mood once the contents of the message had sunk in. The door slammed shut loudly behind the messenger, echoing in the silent room as Twilight looked at her mentor in curiosity.
"Princess Celestia, what's wrong? What did the message say?" she asked.
Celestia glanced up at her faithful student sadly. "Twilight..." she said almost silently.
"Did something happen? Is it from Princess Luna?"
"Twilight... I... I'm..."
"Is she okay? She didn't try to go to Los Pegasus, did she? She knows you already sent a team out there, right?"
"I'm sorry." Celestia finally said.
Twilight cocked her head to one side. "Huh? Princess, what are you talking about?" she asked. "What does that letter say?"
Celestia felt Twilight grasp the letter with her magic, and though the princess of the sun had more than enough strength to stop Twilight, Celestia couldn't find the willpower to try to do so. Twilight effortlessly levitated the letter over to herself and read the words hastily scribbled on it before losing her own concentration, the parchment falling gently to the floor.
"What... I... no..." Twilight said in disbelief. She sat down on the cold floor, looking down at her hooves, unsure of what she was supposed to say, or do, or even think.
"Twilight..." Celestia said again, slowly approaching the young princess and wrapping her in a hug with her wings. Twilight failed to move, still with a blank look on her face as her mind failed over and over to register any thoughts. All she could do was wait for the news to sink in, and after a few moments the first few tears began to fall down her face.
"No... no! No no no no NO!" Twilight screamed, her horn lighting up and causing the lights and windows to instantaneously shatter. Despite the billions of shards of glass falling all around them, Celestia and Twilight didn't move a single inch, nor did they budge as the bedroom doors flung open and four guards burst into the room. Despite fearing for their lives for disturbing the Princess, their duty to protect Celestia came first. They all breathed a sigh of relief as they saw no immediate danger, but as one of them glanced at the forgotten letter on the floor his eyes went wide with shock.
Captain Shining Armor has been killed in combat.
Morale across the Griffon Empire was at an all time high. The first few caravans of traders were just returning from their long flights overseas, the crates that had once held the spoils from a certain pony city now replaced with bags heavy with coin. Even the smallest of villages felt the impact of the booming griffon economy and were finally able to invest in improving their homes and businesses, paying no mind that countless lives had been taken to accomplish such tasks. However, the most noticeable improvements took place in the capital city, with hundreds of griffons moving into the sprawling city as they wanted to show their support for their new leader. Already towering new buildings were being erected throughout the relatively small capital, though of course the castle the king called home remained the tallest structure and would remain so.
However, not every griffon was happy with the kingdom's turn of luck. Deep inside the castle, Commander Wind tried his best to stare down his visitor, but there was no way he, or any griffon could stand up to Lieutenant Windsheer. Well, no griffon except Ray.
"We can't do that, it'd lead to a catastrophic loss of life on both sides!" he objected, but Windsheer wasn't listening.
"The King has decided and it is your job to carry out his orders!" Windsheer snapped.
Commander Wind pushed forward the charts and scout reports he had been looking over all morning. "For the last time, we can't! It'd be impossible to take over a city of that size with only two platoons! We'd need at least a full division to take that city!" he protested.
Windsheer impatiently swiped her claw across the table, sweeping all the papers to the floor. "And I told you, all you have to do is destroy that crystal heart that powers their defense. Even an old crow like yourself should be able to figure out how to do that."
"But that means fighting straight into the center of the Crystal Empire. Again, I can't do that with such a small force." he tried to explain again, but he found himself cut off by the younger, more aggressive griffon.
"I already took care of their captain and his best fighters, even a newborn nestling could find a way in." Windsheer shot back. "If you're unable to do such a simple task, maybe you should step down and hand over your command to me."
Commander Wing sighed, having guessed that his new task was a ploy for him to surrender his brigade to her. "Very well, then. The King's orders shall be carried out." he conceded.
Windsheer nodded with a sly grin. "Good. I'll tell the King that you finally see things our way. It'd be a shame if I had to tell him that my own father is a traitor." she said coldly before taking her leave.
Alone in his office once more, Commander Wing sighed heavily and buried his face in his claws. His mind flashed back to the day his one and only daughter had been accepted into the military academy's accelerated officer training program, but now he wished that he had never allowed it to happen. 'She may be my daughter, but she is a monster.' he thought sadly as he collected the scattered papers on the ground. He looked at each page sadly, knowing very well that following the orders written on each one would result in many deaths of ponies and griffons alike.
His own included.
But either way, he was doomed to die.
7. Retaliation and Infiltration
7. Retaliation and Infiltration
The northern winds blew fiercely, the sharp coldness enough to make even a polar bear shiver. For the ponies shielded by the power of the Crystal Heart, just the howling of the wind outside of the city limits was enough to start lowering morale. The number of guards standing mere feet from the extreme cold was almost ten-score, but each pony knew that there would be no reinforcements should they fail. Every guard available was present, not to mention more than a few crystal ponies who had volunteered to defend their home. For everypony present, this was their once chance to defend themselves... they most likely would not be given a second chance.
On the other side of the protective bubble, no more than three hundred griffons had assembled and stood motionless in the cold wind. Their thick feathers provided all the warmth they needed to hold out in such harsh conditions, but the large fires they had lit behind them served as both a source of warmth and an effective form of intimidation. However, the most imposing figure remained the one griffon standing just forward of the griffon force; the leader himself, Ray.
Without a single command uttered, Ray stepped forward a few paces. He remained silent and still, waiting for his prediction to come true. The only motion from the opposing side was a few ponies shuffling in place nervously; it was of no surprise as they had all heard of the massacre in Los Pegasus.
After a few moments of no activity, another griffon stepped forward and took her place just behind the monstrous griffon leader. "Sir, she's not going to bother. She's a pony, a coward." Lieutenant Windsheer hissed as she eyed the ponies like cattle for slaughter.
Ray remained motionless as he spoke. "Quiet." he said calmly yet sternly. "Your previous mission here will draw her out. Be patient."
The violent female griffon couldn't help but speak up. "We can crush them all right now. We outnumber them and have better fighters." she said as she tightened her grip on her favorite dagger.
"I said QUIET." he said as he turned his head towards her, his eyes glowing with impatience.
Windsheer immediately bowed and backed away. She couldn't help but smirk once Ray had turned his attention back on the ponies; she knew that he was much more viscous while angry, and though she had to do so carefully she always enjoyed helping in making his temper worse to increase his violence.
To the lieutenant's dismay, she saw the line of ponies part near the middle to reveal a pink alicorn walking forward. The princess was flanked by six heavily armed guards, but the princess halted her guards so she could walk the final steps forward alone. Ray glanced back at Windsheer very briefly, his face reading 'told you so ' before he strode forward to meet the princess.
Both creatures eventually halted, the two leaders no more than eight feet apart, the protection of the Crystal Heart separating the two. It was clearly evident that Princess Cadence was still grieving the recent loss of her one true love as her eyes still held evidence that she had been crying not too long ago. Ray adopted a mock look of sympathy before speaking. "A shame about Captain Shining Armor, I was hoping to take him on myself. I would have killed him off quicker, but my lieutenant assures me that it only took a few minutes for him to bleed out."
The words stung Cadence's heart worse than any weapon or spell could but she remained firm as best as she could. "What do you want here?" she asked. "We pose no threat to your kingdom and we have no resources that you don't already have. This entire war is going to gain you nothing, anyway. Please, stop this violence and I'm sure Princess Celestia and the rest of us can help you."
Ray paid no attention to her words. "This is your last chance to surrender yourself and your city to me. If not, I shall take everything by force." he said as his horn glowed menacingly.
Cadence noted the appendage of one of her previous foes before looking Ray sternly in the eyes. "If you wield Sombra's power, then you should already know that his powers will do nothing to help you take the Crystal Empire." she said confidently. "Your soldiers have also no doubt been tainted by his magic and won't be able to penetrate our city. It's futile to even try."
"So be it." Ray said indifferently. "So sad that your husband's death will have been for naught after all."
There was no way Cadence could remain silent to such a remark. "He at least died with honor, unlike how you will! You have to resort to taking parts from dead ponies like some scavenger!"
Ray smirked at the useless insult before he heard a sharp hiss fly by his head. Cadence let out an involuntary shriek and stumbled backwards as one of Windsheer's daggers embedded itself in the protective bubble. The line of ponies rushed forward and formed a shield of bodies around their princess as her personal guards quickly rushed her back to the palace, leaving Ray nothing to do but to return to his own lines.
Windsheer slowly trudged through the snow with her king and bowed her head. "My apologies for not being able to kill her right there, sire." she said. "I'll be sure to hit my mark next time."
Ray remained silent, but not out of anger towards his lieutenant. No, instead he was deep in thought; he knew that Princess Cadence was right, that his soldiers were tainted by Sombra's magic and wouldn't be able to get past the barrier made by the Crystal Heart, but Windsheer's dagger managed to partially penetrate the barrier when it should have bounced harmlessly off of it. However, Lieutenant Windsheer smiled as she realized that her theory on killing Shining Armor was in fact correct.
If you can't hurt the Crystal Heart, hurt the princess who powers it. Sombra couldn't destroy the power of love, but she could kill Cadence's lover.
And she did.
And it worked.
Night had fallen, plunging the snowy northern land into darkness, but the winds had mercifully died down as the sun had sunk. A shadowy figure made her way along the rocky river and watched the water as it emerged from the rocks that helped protect the very outer limits of the Crystal Empire. Though the water was surely freezing cold, it also provided the valuable gift of life to the crystal ponies that inhabited the city, as well as a hidden underground cavern pool below the castle. The griffon didn't dare touch the water as she knew very well that its coldness was enough to kill even a griffon with enough time. Only a complete fool would dare enter the forceful current.
Windsheer's eye caught sudden appearance of something being spit out from the small tunnel where the river was emerging from the rocky wall. Her face remained expressionless as she watched the bloated corpse of a drowned griffon wash away past her and into the darkness. Moments later another body emerged and was swept away, followed by another. She watched as a total of twenty eight griffon bodies flowed past her and off into the darkness, not bothered by the fact that not all of them had been dead. A few of the 'lucky' survivors had reached out to her and let out pitiful pleas of help but Lieutenant Windsheer simply ignored their cries. Once they were swept downstream the sounds of their voices stopped; whether they were simply out of earshot or they had succumbed to the cold water, she didn't know, nor did she care. Only when one certain body appeared did Windsheer flap her wings and take off. She reached into the frigid water and grabbed the limp body before dragging it to the shoreline and dumped it just inches from the river. The griffon she had saved still had life in him, but he hadn't reached out for help or cried out to be saved. He had wanted to die with his soldiers, having unknowingly led them to their deaths.
The older griffon coughed weakly as his lungs filled with air finally. "What have you done?" Commander Wind asked in exhaustion.
Windsheer stared emotionless as he fit all the pieces together finally. "Y-you... you sent us into a trap. You knew that T-t-there was n-no air in t-t-t-the river t-tunnels." he shivered.
Windsheer only smiled wickedly. "There was also that security grate over the pool under the castle, wasn't there? I must have forgotten to mention that was there." she smirked.
"My s-soldiers... they all d-d-drowned." Commander Wind managed to say solemnly. "There w-wasn't enough room fo-for... only eight c-c-could breathe at a-a time."
Windsheer chuckled. "And I'm sure the guards in the cavern eliminated those who tried doing so." she said accurately, proven right by a nod from Wind. "Oh well, I guess I must have misheard that pony captain's intel. His gurgling as he drowned in his own blood was hard to hear."
Commander Wind bowed his head as a tear fell for his fallen griffons. "Why?" he asked.
Windsheer reached forward and unsheathed a knife that was strapped to Wind's side. She held her family's heirloom carelessly like any common weapon as she spoke. "They were not fully loyal to our King and had to be dealt with." she said as she twirled the sharp blade in her claw. "There's only one more traitor to deal with now."
Commander Wind had no time to even speak as Windsheer silently but swiftly moved forward and sliced open the elder griffon's neck. He offered no resistance nor did he struggle; whether it was from the cold water that had sapped away all his energy or he had already accepted his fate, Windsheer would never know. Nor did she care. She simply shoved his body away and let it sink into the icy river before tossing the dagger in after its owner before turning away to fly back to camp.
As soon as she landed an imposing figure strode up to her. "Well?" Ray asked her expectantly.
Windsheer knelt as she addressed him. "Sire, I followed Commander Wind and confirmed that he had been attempting to sneak into the Crystal Empire to defect to the enemy."
Ray nodded once. "Did you take care of him?"
Windsheer smiled as she recalled slicing her father's throat open. "He and his loyal followers are no longer a concern to you, sir."
Ray allowed a rare smile and stepped towards Windsheer. "Good work." he said as he caressed the side of her face with his talon.
Windsheer couldn't help but feel her heart flutter as he touched her almost lovingly. She tried nuzzling her cheek into his touch but he withdrew his claw all too soon. Her body ached for more contact with him, but she held back the urge to ask for more contact, especially with so many of her subordinates close by. The last thing she needed was one of them to spot her with her guard dropped; she had worked too hard to earn her reputation and she wouldn't lose it now. Instead, Windsheer remained standing solid and looked at her leader. "When do we attack?" she asked, eagerly looking forward to the upcoming bloodshed.
To her dismay Ray shook his head. "We leave in the morning." he said.
"What?" Windsheer cried out in surprise. "We outnumber those scum easily! Sir, I swear I can have this city conquered in a single day!"
Ray's eyes seemed to redden as he savagely threw her to the ground and held her down by her neck. "Do not question my decisions!" he snarled at her as his grip tightened.
Windsheer's eyes betrayed her fear that she may die, but she soon felt his hold release her and she scrambled back up. She gasped for air and rubbed her throat gingerly as Ray turned to look upon the shimmering castle off in the distance.
"They're weak." he said quietly.
Windsheer cautiously stood just out of his reach. "Yes, and now is the perfect time to strike! We can eliminate them in one single battle! They're weak without their precious captain. If I can kill him, you can surely take this city as your own."
Ray turned to his lieutenant once more, his eyes angrier than before. "No! Don't you see? I ordered you to kill that pony captain to enrage the princesses, to have them fight me! I need them at their strongest to prove my powers are absolute! I wanted her out for my blood so I could defeat her myself, but she's nothing but a weak, pathetic worm!"
Windsheer was slightly taken aback by this sudden outburst and knew that Ray could technically blame her for Princess Cadence's lack of will to fight. "S-sir, I... I didn't know..." she stammered.
"No, you wouldn't know. No griffon ever thinks that far ahead." he said sourly as he cast one last glance at the shimmering city. Sick of the sight of it, he turned back to Windsheer and strode towards his tent.
"We fly towards Canterlot tomorrow." he said as he passed Windsheer.
