Golden Sunset

August 20th, 1051, 2PM

Grover sat in what was by military standards a luxurious office, the amenities he was granted at the base were substantial ever since his late arrival yesterday, with him and Blossom being granted a large room and luxuries they could not afford at home, nothing too fancy just yet but having meals cooked for oneself without even asking was not something anycreature would be unhappy with.

Him being seated in such a place was no coincidence, he was awaiting the explanation he was promised before his drive here, after being treated the way he was Grover needed to know what happened to cause his life to be so massively shaken up, and thankfully he would not have to wait long as through the doors to the office came two creatures, one he already knew, Clara, the dog commander of the squad that had taken him from his home, the better lighting revealing her fur to be of a greyish colour, the second he was unfamiliar with, a green pony mare with a pitch black mane, based on the uniform she was dressed in Grover assumed that he was dealing with an officer of fairly high rank.

“Well, if it isn't Grover the sixth. Pinetree Shadow” said the mare waving her hoof towards herself as he glanced at the already sitting griffon, her voice lacked outright enthusiasm, but there was still a clear interest in it, she quickly made herself welcome by sitting down on one of the two chairs opposite Grover.

In contrast when Clara entered behind Pinetree she simply lightly bowed before making her way to the other chair, and right as she sat down the first question blurted itself out of Grover's beak. “Why?”

Pinetree Shadow raised her brow and smirked, while Clara seemed to think for a second before responding. “Let's start with the most important thing, Golden Morning is dead. A sudden stroke took him in the late hours of August 18th, it was to be expected considering his age. The news is not public yet, largely because any semblance of government unity has been lost, but army units like this one needed to choose a side in the struggle, and you my Emperor are a very important part of that struggle.”

Grover looked at the dog in disbelief, he was of no importance any more, basically a peasant, he never even got to hold real power after all. “What do I of all Griffons have to offer you? What do I have to offer to anycreature on such a scale?”

He asked, still in disbelief, and this time it was the pony before him who answered. “Legitimacy Grover, legitimacy. You think that memory of you, of the empire, faded in just 40 years? You were placed in an idyllic Pony village disconnected from the rest of the country, chosen by Golden Morning personally as one that would accept you and turn you into a model citizen. The many Griffons of the Herzland still remember you, and Bronzehill... Well, Bronzehill's dogs would not lose loyalty to the Grovers in a hundred years, let alone 40.”

The answer was cold, logical, and importantly, backed up by the enthusiastic presence of Clara. It made some sense to Grover, but that does not mean he was happy with it. “So what? You want to just use me as a propaganda piece? A pawn forced to obey all orders?!”

Pinetree's response was swift. “Yes, to some extent that is the role you are expected to play, however we don't want you to just be that, you will be a figurehead yes, but not just in propaganda, we plan to crown you as Emperor of the Griffking. Golden Morning died childless, and in his stubborn old age he never appointed an heir. You are the best option we have.” The words hit Grover like a sledgehammer, ever since yesterday his mind was consumed by hypotheticals of the intentions behind his kidnapping, the possibility of being used for propaganda was one of the many options he considered, but the thought of being Emperor?

Before now, it was there, he acknowledged it, the thought being spurred on by the dog's clear reverence and use of the old title, but he wrote it off as an impossibility. Now what had previously seemed an outrageous scenario had materialized, there however still remained doubts in Grover's mind. “Would this not cause a revolt of the Riverponies?” He thought out loud.

“Oh no my Emperor, this scenario has been considered and deemed highly unlikely, the fact that all 3 of your children are ponies is what saves us from that fate, since your heir will obviously be one of them. Installing you on the throne is the exact unification of East and West that the New Griffonia movement sought, you are the perfect Golden Morning continuity candidate.” Clara quickly corrected.

“That much is true” Pinetree cut in. “Now don't think that means absolute authority, you are being installed, and not by your own power, so...”

Her more detailed explanation was interrupted by a light rumble coming through the room, followed by distant sounds of shooting and screams. Both Pinetree's and Clara's ears perked up, and their faces switched from relaxed to concerned, the pony cursed under her breath and quickly stood up, shortly followed by the dog beside her, “Clara, lead the Emperor to the underground shelter, we are likely being assaulted by a hostile army unit.” Pinetree Shadow ordered with a cold voice before sprinting out of the office.

Grover stood up quickly before realizing that he had once again become terrified, looking at the Dog now standing beside him however he saw a face of raw determination staring back. “After me, my Emperor” she said through her tensed up face and started walking out of the room, paw reaching for her holster to pull out a pistol, Grover at this moment felt only one thing, the need to survive, and he carefully followed the dog out of the room.

The treck had only begun, Clara quickly told Grover that they had around 300 meters to cover in order to get to the shelter, but right as they made their first turn towards the exit of the building, the world collapsed. Dust and debris were suddenly everywhere, Grover's ears were ringing, he was on the floor, the earth was shaking and behind him a significant portion of the roof had collapsed, through the ringing more booms and crashes could be heard, though thankfully all were more distant than the first. He then felt his front claws being lifted and Clara's fur, now completely coated in dust, occupied the majority of his field of vision. He was being lifted up from the ground, and as he attempted to stand back up the dog began pulling him forward again, Grover stumbled forward after her, moving through the cacophony of war, with the sounds all melting into one alongside the ringing in his ears.

Clara led Grover out of the building onto the grounds of the base, pistol raised. Grover had recovered from his knockdown enough to move independently again, but right as they began their dash towards the shelter they noticed that the sky today held more than clouds, as they saw anti-air beam batteries scorching through the sky, hitting what could only be one thing, paratroopers, Grover and Clara began a mad dash towards the concrete shelter, it's door heavily guarded by troops attempting to help against the airborne assault but quickly losing ground, with some paratroopers finding themselves on the roof of the shelter, and with that a positional advantage against the troops on the ground. They were now close, but the majority of the guards at the door lay dead or incapacitated, slaughtered by the forces above them, through they had taken heavy casualties as well, with only a few remaining, engaged in a battle of finding cover, but it looked like Grover and Clara would make it to the shelter, which would be able to hold off the attackers for as long as was needed.

And then a bright red streak flashed from above, Clara had just a few milliseconds to respond, and the response was swift, almost instinctual, she threw herself between the speeding red pegasus and her Emperor, a single shot simultaneously sounded and the 2 bodies collapsed on the ground in a crash of blood and 2 tangled creatures. The red Pegasus was getting up, and Clara was staying down, blood streaming from a bullet wound in her chest. Grover had turned to look, and when he saw Clara's pistol laying on the ground mere meters away from him, he threw himself at the gun, and just as the Red pegasus had picked himself up, he went down in a flurry of somewhat inaccurate pistol fire, collapsing in a heap on top of Clara. A paratrooper who had cut his strings, but Grover had no time to think, he saw the remainder of the guards in front of the shelter gesturing frantically for him to run in, and after what felt like minutes of running exposed he made it inside the concrete shelter, being quickly ushered downstairs towards the deepest levels. Grover's eyes were still choked with dust, but that did not stop his from shedding a tear. Even as he saw his wife in the shelter, he was still disconnected. He had taken a life, and saw another snuffed out protecting him. The least he could do was to make the deceased dog's death mean something.