“In all my years, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them as agitated as this before,” Celestia muttered. Standing on the balcony of her private chambers, she gazed down upon the streets of Canterlot, her ears twitching at every sound that was emitted from the mass of ponies below. Individual cries were lost in the cacophony, but they all carried the same message. ‘Take action!’ they screamed.

“Sister!” Luna cut in, entering the chambers. “The crowd is getting closer to the gates and the guards are starting to feel threatened. We have to do something!” Celestia sighed, watching as the mob drew nearer.

“You and I both know that we can’t afford to give them what they want. It would bring more suffering than it would healing,” Celestia mused, her eyes glancing over towards an issue of The Canterlot Times that rested at her desk. Her eyes skimmed over the front page, rereading the headline for the fifteenth time that morning.

“Your Majesties,” a stallion’s voice echoed from the closed doors of the chambers, “The crowd is within twenty feet of the gates; should we withdraw?” Luna turned her gaze to her sister, searching for an answer - but instead, she found naught but turmoil in Princess Celestia’s face; it was the very same face that had struggled to decide what her best course of action was during the brief reign of Nightmare Moon.

“Ten feet!” a guard yelled from below, catching Shining Armor’s attention.

“Princess Celestia?” Shining Armor asked, waiting obediently for an answer. Celestia bit her lower lip, worry and panic momentarily breaching her expressionless mask, before she sighed.

“Withdraw our troops; get them behind the gates. I will go and address the crowd personally,” the princess commanded. “We need time, and that is something I believe they are not going to give us. Luna, write a letter to Princess Twilight. Inform her and the other Elements of Harmony of the situation, and that they should report to Canterlot at once. We will need to discuss this matter in person.” Luna nodded, using her magic to levitate a quill and a piece of parchment towards her as she began to write.

Celestia followed Shining Armor through the castle and towards the gates. The guards bowed to her as she stepped forward, but hastily moved away from the gates as projectiles came dangerously close to piercing the magical shielding. Seeing the princess seemed to calm the crowd somewhat, though Celestia could still feel the tension in her subjects. She felt a shiver run down her spine, and she shook the feeling off before addressing the crowd.

-------xxx-------

“What is the situation?” a tall zebra queried as she acknowledged the newcomer in the room. As she spoke, she continued to look over the various maps of Equus that cluttered her desk.

“Mother, my brothers and sisters outside are demanding that you take action against the threat,” the guard replied, gripping his spear tightly. Emerald green eyes glanced, hopelessly, over the papers below once more before flicking to the side. The slight rattle of bones within her satchel shook her from her reverie.

“We cannot take any action at all. If we were to act rashly, we would surely fall…” the zebra thought aloud as she began to pace back and forth, “We certainly don’t have enough hunters to choose, but I’m sure that the ponies we know we could use…” the zebra mumbled.

“If I may, Mother,” the guard began. The matriarch motioned for him to continue. “Do we have even the slightest clue as to who did this?” She shook her head.

“There is no choice, now hear my voice: we cannot take up arms as they say, so we must find a way; to ease the tensions here in our homeland - that should appease my sons and daughters’ demand,” the zebra spoke after a moment of silence, massaging her temples. “I will need you and the other hunters to watch the outskirts carefully; be sure that no one takes matters alone with all their thoughts free.”

The guard nodded, bowing his head before slipping out of the tent. The zebra turned her attention back to the table before her before shaking her head in frustration. Turning to leave, she stepped outside into the warm sun, shielding her eyes as she glanced over the crowd gathered at her tent. She watched on as the zebra she had just spoken with left with a few other guards.

She turned her attention back to the crowd - and the crowd slowly approached with an ominous aura of restlessness.

-------xxx-------

“Cyrus!” A deep voice boomed through the many halls of the griffon palace. The acoustics of the stone walls aided the voice in its echoing, before being dulled by the many tapestries adorning the halls. The griffon waited for his general to arrive. A nearly silent fluttering of wings was heard, and then talons scraped against the polished floor.

“My Lord; you summoned me?” A new voice inquired. Turning, the owner of the first looked towards his general. A sideward-glance at the guard standing at attention, and the door closed. As it did so, Cyrus approached a table covered in a thick lacquer of deep mahogany, and saw that it was littered with papers, maps, gold coins, and shreds of newspaper.

“Do you know why I have summoned you?” the elder griffon asked, absentmindedly playing with a golden necklace that hung around his neck; he relished in the feeling of his talons gently scraping over the symbol of his kingdom - of Griffonia.

“It’s about the increasing tensions between Equestria, Zebrica, and our great Griffonia; is it not, my King?” Cyrus replied, a hint of doubt in his voice. The older griffon gave a curt nod.

“And you are aware of how our people have been acting since the… event?” Cyrus nodded, though was confused as to why King Goldbill was taking so long to get to the point. It felt to him like his leader was purposefully avoiding something - he usually wished for matters to be solved before they had even become a problem.

“They’ve certainly been getting more, hmm, rowdy, Majesty. Causing small fights and even harassing the palace guards,” Cyrus answered, “and they’re beginning to get impatient. They want you to do something, and they want it done now.” A soft chuckle was heard from the other side of the table.

“Were it that simple, Commander, then I would have already done something!” The King roared suddenly, slamming his claws onto the table and scattering quills, papers, and gold all around. “I work the hardest of all in Alexiares to keep this kingdom safe. I make the calls that no other griffon has the balls to! I take everything that my people throw at me, whether it be good or bad. Do they believe that I care not about our situation?” Cyrus flinched from the angered and pointedly directed stare Goldbill was giving him. It was a stare that the king was known for. Growling in frustration and irritation, the older griffon whipped around, snatching up various pieces of newspaper that had surrounded his desk.

A knock on the door was heard. “What is it? I’m busy,” the king snarled.

“I am d-deeply sorry, Your Majesty, but I really must have y-your attention,” a voice spoke through, “b-but there is a crowd g-gathering outside the palace gates - they’re demanding that we u-uh…”

“I’ve heard enough, Lieutenant,” Goldbill replied. He sounded calm - Too calm, thought Cyrus - and the pair of them remained silent as they marched towards the castle’s courtyard.

This is going to get very ugly, he thought, as he watched the older griffon burst through the doors and stare at the unruly mob before him. Shouts and cries echoed throughout the courtyard - if but for a moment - before a sudden deafening roar silenced them. The guards covered their sensitive ears as best they could, but the anger of their lord was not that simple to stop. Once Goldbill had ceased his bellowing, and the cacophony of griffons had recovered their hearing, the populace of Alexiares found themselves being glared at by an extremely angry king.

Goldbill, you never cease to amaze me, Cyrus mentally chuckled while keeping a straight face. “My Lord, shall I order my men to remove these interlopers from the premises?” He asked. The king nodded, but held a claw up to Cyrus as he was about to do just that.

“When you’re done, return to my office. We have matters to discuss,” he growled before storming off. Cyrus nodded, barking out the order and surveying through the gates as the guards began herding the other griffons out. Then he turned, and began to make his way back to Goldbill’s office, unsure of which horrible fate it was that awaited him.

Author's Note

Well hello! I'm Helloman892, one half of this wonderful partnership.

We're kicking off our Equestrian Voyages series with a prologue fit for a king (not really), or even a princess (definitely not)!.

Anyhow, we'll be bustin' out new chapters at a decently speedy rate over the next few weeks.

~Yukiman892