To the nation of Equestria, its ruler and her subjects:

By the grace of our ancestors,
By the skill of our warriors,
By the strength of our race,
And by the will of our exalted Empress,

The Gryphon Empire announces its intention to invade the Dominion of Equestria and depose the Alicorn Princess Celestia. We do so not just for our own sakes, but for all nations and races who fear her unchecked power and suffer under centuries of pony selfishness and neglect.

To this great and noble purpose, we summon the full military might of our Empire to the field of battle, and call upon all our soldiers and subjects to make the utmost effort in attainment of our honorable aims. It is to our great regret that we must resort to such a severe course of action, but we can tolerate the intolerable no more.

For those who may doubt the justness of our cause, we offer our reasons here. Know our grievances with Equestria are too numerous to list, but include the following:

• They have stockpiled massive quantities of storm clouds and threatened to unleash them upon us in the form of devastating superstorms that would not discriminate between soldier or civilian, military base or simple village.

• They have starved our farms of rain and moisture by blocking normal weather patterns, forcing our settlers to eke out their existence from artificial deserts, in turn callously starving our cubs in an effort to force us from our colonies.

• They are ruled by a pony princess who controls the very sun, moon and stars at her whim, a member of an unstable alicorn race whose own sister once went insane. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and should she succumb to such insanity herself, the entire world may be lost.

• They have oft treated both their own kind and neighboring races poorly, oppressing all from the Buffalo of their southwestern badlands to their own bat-pony brethren, hating them for simply not sharing their herbivorous diet.

• They have had a history of aggressive conduct and wars of conquest, ranging from the depredations of the Crystal Empire to the atrocities of the Overmare.

• They have hoarded the vast mineral and magical wealth of their nation and refused to trade or share it with others, not even fellow Equines like the Zebras or Saddle Arabians.

• They have engaged in very disproportionate responses to minor border disputes, to the point of invading Gryphon lands and inflicting far more death and damage than they suffer.

• They have proven themselves treacherous in dealings, subverting our soldiers and commanders when they can, all too quickly willing to resort to raids and assassinations instead of duels or diplomacy when they cannot.

• They are unworthy of the power they possess, built on the backs of other races and nations, taking far more from them than they give back.

For these reasons, for the safety of our Empire, for the sake of our descendants and for the survival of all life in this world, we will risk all in what is not a war of aggression, but an effort to ensure our existence as a species. An effort we undertake on behalf of all races of the world, as none would doubt that we are the only ones who can overthrow the Equestrian despotism. To that end:

• We call upon our soldiers to stand fast and strike hard in the face of unnatural magics and pony weather control.

• We call upon our allies to answer our call for aid and to join our noble cause.

• We call upon all races of the world to support our campaign to rid the very skies of the Celestial tyranny and restore the world to balance.

• We call upon Equestrian soldiers to come to their senses and surrender, renouncing their service to a dishonorable cause and leader.

• We call upon Equestrian subjects to see the unnatural state of affairs they toil under and willingly submit themselves to Imperial rule.

• And above all else, we call upon the spirits of our Ancestors to guide and protect us in our appointed task.

To Princess Celestia—if you are any part of the just and noble ruler you claim, we call upon you to lay down your power in place of the lives of your ponies; to surrender your throne and spare your subjects the agony of invasion and overthrow. Do so and our occupation will be gentle; on our warrior honor, we will treat your ponies well.

Resist, and we will use all means necessary to impose our will and crush your cities and armies. Know we do not wish to enslave Equestria, only to end its oppression of others and bring about peace and prosperity for all. How costly an affair that becomes for your corrupt and decadent nation is up to you.

Destiny is upon us. We will not falter. And we will not fail.

In the name of our hallowed ancestors,
In the name of our noble race,
In the name of our just cause,
In the name of our immortal Empress,

The Gryphon Empire declares war on the Dominion of Equestria.

Author's Note

Welcome to the end of the initial release! And I hope your appetites are whetted for more...

The thing about this war declaration is, as unfair and outright misleading as most of it might be, most of their grievances do have at least some grain of truth in them, as the Gryphons truly do feel threatened by Celestia. They consider this war less an attempt at conquest than an existential struggle against a nation and ruler that might turn on them at any time. Celestia showed them her power in the previous book, as returning readers know, and they were scared half out of their wits by her. They consider her the gravest of threats, one that must be dealt with or their very survival is at stake. No matter what else they may say, in the end, they’re acting out of fear for their future.

Celestia will respond to this declaration with her own war proclamation in due course, but first... well. The next chapter will tell that part of the tale, but suffice it to say for now... something from Celly’s past is about to return to haunt not just her, but all Equestria.