Lieutenant Talon was not a griffon normally intimidated by others, but those who saw him today could see that he was worried about something. Things were going wrong for him lately; his scouts reported that Iron Rook hadn’t left them any messages in their agreed drop-off point for the past few days, not to mention the fugitive Thunderbird was nowhere to be found. But the biggest concern Lieutenant Talon faced was the fact that he was responsible for being the one to allow Captain Ray’s ‘toy’ to escape. The only good news he had was that all the cowardly griffons that left the kingdom were found dead, saving him the effort of having them all executed.

Before Talon had time to think of how to tell his superior that Fleur was gone, Ray burst into the room. “C-Captain Ray, sir. You’re back early.” the Lieutenant said.

“Come with me.” Ray snapped. Talon walked behind him, unsure of what was going on or what mood he was in. They entered Ray’s private office, Talon taking a seat while Ray slammed the door shut and walked to his side of his desk.

Talon gulped nervously as he decided to be upfront. “Sir, I can explain about your slave. I left her in the care of…”

“Yes, yes, the slut managed to escape. I don’t care.” Ray said.

Talon could only sit in relief and shock as he heard those words. “Sir?” he asked in disbelief.

But Ray had something else on his mind. “Lieutenant, you know quite a bit about pony history. How much do you know about their northern territory? How much do you know about the Crystal Empire?”

“It’s a fairly new part of the Equestrian empire, sir. Rumors say that their previous ruler, King Sombra, ruled over it for countless years before Princess Celestia and Princess Luna defeated him and banished. Somehow, he managed to curse his old kingdom and linked it to himself. The city vanished when he did, where it went no one knows.”

Ray nodded thoughtfully. “So is it true that Sombra returned when the Crystal Empire reappeared? How did those ponies overthrow him?”

Talon thought for a moment before answering. “I believe so, yes, but not for long. The ponies sent over that new royal couple and they managed to hold Sombra at bay until the Elements of Harmony arrived.”

“So those ponies defeated him using those Elements again?” Ray said somewhat angrily.

Talon shook his head. “The bearers of those Elements went but didn’t use their powers. It’s believed that the Elements of Harmony had no effect on Sombra. The only way they could defeat him was by finding the Crystal Heart and placing it back in the heart of the city.”

“Placing it in the heart of the city?” Ray questioned. “Why didn’t they use it once they found it?”

“They couldn’t, the Crystal Heart only works when placed in that one spot.” Talon explained.

“So what would have happened if Sombra invaded some other part of Equestria?” Ray asked, now listening eagerly. “Could the ponies come up with some sort of new Crystal Heart?”

“I… I don’t know. I think so, but it would take decades, maybe hundreds of years. But why would they make a new one? Sombra was killed, he’s no longer a threat to them.” he said, somewhat confused.

Ray got up and walked next to Talon. “While on my rounds around our outposts, I was informed that one of our patrols found something quite interesting, or more accurately, where something quite interesting is. It’s deep in pony territory but retrieving it will guarantee our victory once and for all.”

“That’s fantastic, sir! Just tell me what you need. I’ll have the men ready by tomorrow.” Talon said, getting up in excitement.

“Very good, Lieutenant.” Ray said, beginning to turn as if to leave but stopped as if he forgot something. “Oh, and Lieutenant, one more thing…”

Talon turned to see what Ray wanted, but instantly staggered back with a cry of pain. He clutched his face, which was now dripping with blood due to a large gash on the side of his face. He stood in disbelief as Ray lowered his bloody claw, not even bothering to wipe the blood off of it. Turning to leave once again, Ray spoke one cold sentence.

“Don’t ever lose another of my slaves again.”

Princess Celestia returned to her bedroom, exhausted after yet another whole day speaking to the Royal Canterlot Congress. After declaring Thunderbird innocent and helping him and Fleur escape to a secluded location, she had to inform the congress of the decision. As expected, the congressional gathering exploded in anger and fury, and in a rare show of defiance they demanded Princess Celestia to explain her decision. Prince Blueblood and Fancy Pants were especially distraught with the decision, and they instantly demanded a revote. The congress tried to use any excuse or idea they could think of:

“Fancy Pants should have been there, he has evidence against the griffons!”

“Princess Cadence wasn’t there, was she? You need to vote again!”

“Where was Discord? Surely he deserves a say in this also!

“Princess Luna would surely never vote to let him go! I demand she speak to us!”

Celestia tried to calm the angry mob but her efforts proved futile. She tried explaining that Thunderbird had no part in Captain Ray’s plans, and that he had actually helped Fleur escape. But none of them cared, not even Fancy Pants.

Luna and Twilight tried to reason with the Royal Canterlot Congress, but their words also fell upon deaf ears. Princess Cadence even wrote a letter explicitly stating that had she been there for the vote, she would have voted Thunderbird innocent. Even Shining Armor wrote a letter agreeing with his wife, saying that despite all the griffons’ horrendous acts, he too believed this one griffon innocent. But none of these acts satisfied the congresses thirst for blood and revenge.

As she collapsed on her bed, Celestia sighed heavily as she finally was able to relax. Her sister was once again speaking to the ponies in congress, but Celestia knew that there was no hope of changing their minds. Her thoughts were confirmed as her doors opened and Luna walked in, clearly exhausted from her ordeal.

“I take it they still aren’t listening?” Celestia asked.

Luna simply shook her head no, climbing into bed next to her sister. Though Celestia was exhausted, she knew her younger sister was feeling worse than her. Despite having her powers fully restored, Luna was still recovering from her attempt to bring Tank back to life. She was supposed to refrain from getting into any stressful situations, but with the current events going on there was little choice for her.

Celestia pulled Luna against her, hugging her tightly. “You did well, Luna. Rest now, Twilight and I will handle your duties tonight.”

“But…” Luna tried to protest. Celestia silenced her by gently placing her hoof on Luna’s lips, stroking the back of her head with her other hoof. Luna allowed herself to relax, enjoying her sister’s gentle touch. Soon Luna was fast asleep in Celestia’s arms, and as Celestia looked at her she allowed herself a small smile. For now, they were allowed a small amount of peace, and Celestia wouldn’t have it any other way.

Back in Ponyville, Rainbow Dash lay alone on her bed. Her lover and Soarin were out for the day helping, leaving her and Spitfire alone at her house. Despite the recent vicious attack, Rainbow tried her best to remain strong, but the rape had definitely taken its toll on her mind. She rarely talked to any other pony, and she now feared the dark more than almost anything else. Even with her special somepony sleeping next to her every night she now suffered from her nightmares once again, twisting and shaking in her sleep. The worst effect, though, was that she desperately wanted to be hurt and abused while spending intimate time with her special somepony. Despite his best attempts to show give her pleasure Dash refused to accept any pleasure and instead pleaded for him to inflict her with pain.

The only pony that came close to feeling how Rainbow Dash felt was Spitfire. The guilt she felt building inside of her increased drastically as every day passed, and on more than a few occasions she thought about killing herself. She once came close to doing it, but she stopped herself when she realized that doing so would be the cowardly way out of the situation.

Knowing that only Rainbow Dash was in the house, Spitfire walked over to Dash’s room. “Rainbow? You in there?” she called out. Though she received no answer, she knew that Rainbow was in there somewhere. “I’m coming in.” she said after waiting a few seconds.

Rainbow Dash lay curled up on her bed, holding her pet Tank tightly against her. Tank noticed the other pony first and freed himself from Dash’s grasp.

“Tank, wait! Please, please don’t leave. Oh. Uh, hey Spitfire. What’s up?” Dash said, finally noticing her visitor.

“Hey. You okay?” Spitfire asked. Rainbow Dash just nodded and tried to stay calm, glancing frequently at her pet to make sure he was still there.

Unable to hold back anymore, Spitfire got onto the bed with Dash and pulled her into a strong hug. “Dash, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” she said, breaking down and crying.

Dash didn’t know what Spitfire meant and was confused by her sudden outpouring of emotions. “I, uh. Spitfire?” she said.

Spitfire didn’t say anything else. She kept her hold on Dash for a few more moments, unable to stop crying while doing so. When she finally did stop, she pulled back slightly and stared into Dash’s confused eyes. Rainbow tried asking her what was wrong, but before she could utter more than one word Spitfire rushed forward and locked lips with her, pushing her tongue into Dash’s mouth without any warning. Dash’s wings shot open in shock as Spitfire kissed her, and in the confusion she found herself kissing the orange pegasus back.

The sound of the two stallions returning home caused Spitfire to pull back and break the kiss. “I’m sorry, but I promise I’ll make it up to you. I swear.” she said before getting up and leaving the room.

Far to the north in the Crystal Empire, a messenger frantically raced through the streets, headed for the castle. Knocking over a pony on her way home, he ignored the crystal mare swearing at him as he raced on, not stopping to help her back up. Panting hard, he burst through the main doors and raced to the throne room where Shining Armor and Princess Cadence sat, going over plans to expand the farmland around the castle.

“Captain! A message from patrol six!” he panted, throwing a quick salute before retrieving a sealed letter from his pack. Shining Armor levitated it over to himself and read the message. Cadence looked on with concern as she saw her husband’s eyes grow wide. Once he finished, he looked at the messenger with a shocked expression.

“Are you… is this correct?” he asked in disbelief.

The messenger nodded glumly. “Yes sir, I saw it with my own eyes also. The sergeant estimates we have four, maybe five days before they’re ready.”

Shining Armor nodded, getting up. “Honey, I have to go. Send the letter to Princess Celestia immediately, and let her know that I’m on my way to Canterlot now. I love you.” he said to his wife before running off with the other pony. In a matter of minutes Shining Armor led almost the entire guard force stationed in the Crystal Empire out of the city and towards the train station. From there, he would rush to Canterlot to mobilize the entire Equestrian Army to prepare for the unthinkable.

Cadence looked over the letter Shining had just read and felt her heart sink. There was no doubt, though; the griffons were finally preparing for an invasion of a major city. Los Pegasus.

Author's Note

And that's a wrap! Thank you all for coming along for the twisted ride that started in my mind.

Wondering what happens next? Hit up the sequel, A Griffon's Fate. It's a choose-your-own-adventure format, so read the instructions and get voting!