The Griffin War

Chapters

Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 1
Chapter 6
Chapter 7

Chapter 2

Several Hours Earlier

The arrival of King Aeris into the Meeting Hall of Gryphus Tower was truly a spectacle. Odd, considering that he and Celestia would be the only ones taking part in the discussion. Sunlight streaming in through the stained glass windows on the western wall scattered into multicolored spots of light, splashing across the spotless floor in a rainbow of separate hues. At least ten different tapestries hung from the vaulted ceiling, depicting great moments in griffin history such as wars, great heroes, and hanging above the door that the king entered from, a scene depicting the unifying of the various griffin city-states that had eventually become the Kingdoms after centuries of war. It depicted a circular table, the very one that sat in the Meeting Hall at this moment. Ten different griffins clad in varying colors stood around it, their posture regal and triumphant. Twenty griffin trumpeters clothed in black leather armor lined the foot of the wall, blowing a brazen fanfare on long trumpets from which hung small pendants emblazoned with the symbol of the Griffin Kingdoms, a white three-toed footprint on a black field. As they blew, the King entered.

King Aeris would have been an imposing figure to anyone else. The griffin was massive, easily dwarfing the griffins and ponies in the room. He was a head and a half taller than even Celestia, his feathers a warm golden brown that caught the sunlight magnificently. Not for nothing was one of his nicknames “The Golden King”. His deep blue eyes were calm and reassuring, but full of authority at the same time. He walked in a stately manner, an easygoing smile on his face as he moved to the small, round table in the center of the room and sat down on the large, plump cushion that had been set out for him. With that done he merely sat there, the golden emerald-inlaid necklace that was his badge of office hanging around his neck and sparkling in the sunlight.

Another bold fanfare rang out across the room, this time blown by the golden-armored pegasi of Equestria. Celestia entered through the door on the other side of the room, doing her own stately walk towards the table. As the fanfare ended her escorts all walked over to the table with her, taking up positions far enough away from the table to not be intrusive but close enough to intervene should any sort of situation arise. Like the griffin guards in the room they were heavily armed both as a show of force and for practical reasons. Lances protruded from harnesses buckled to the sides of their armor, scabbards on their right front legs revealing the presence of hoof swords. Round, golden shields emblazoned with the national symbol of Equestria were strapped to their left front legs. The griffins were similarly armed, though they had more conventional swords in addition to halberds, but lacked shields of their own.

Celestia finally made her way to the table, giving Aeris a warm smile as she sat down. “Aeris,” she said simply, giving him a nod.

“Celestia,” Aeris answered with an equally warm smile. His voice was a pleasant bass, smooth and charismatic, as it should have been; he had led the Griffin Kingdoms for many years, and they had flourished under his rule. “I hope your journey was pleasant?”

“Yes, actually.” Celestia replied as a griffin came in with a tray loaded with a tea pot, two cups, and a number of cakes and small sandwiches. “The mountains are quite beautiful in the summer.”

“Thank you,” Aeris responded with a chuckle. “I’m glad that you could enjoy the scenery.” He snapped his claws suddenly and another griffin came in, this one bearing a beautifully carved wooden case. “I took the liberty of having something made for you. A token of good faith and the beginning of better relations between Equestria and the Griffin Kingdoms.”

Celestia took the case with her magic, floating it over to the table where she then opened it up. Inside the box was a small ring, just the size for the alicorn princess’s horn. It was gold, inlaid with different colors of metal interwoven into thin strands that worked their way around the whole of the ring’s circumference. A diamond-shaped sapphire was embedded in the center, acting as a focal point of all of the different-colored strands.

“It’s beautiful!” Celestia exclaimed as she levitated the ring out and slipped it on. “Thank you, Aeris.”

“You’re very welcome,” Aeris replied, chuckling. He prepared his tea as he continued speaking. “So, I hear that your sister has finally returned?”

“Oh yes,” Celestia replied, mimicking him. “Yes, Luna’s indeed back. She’s adjusting rather well to being gone for a thousand years; I left her in charge of Equestria while I’m here.”

“Well then,” Aeris chuckled, lifting his teacup. “To the health of your sister and you then, Celestia.”

“Thank you Aeris,” Celestia replied, returning the toast and sipping.

Both continued drinking their tea in relative silence for the next few minutes. Finally Aeris put his cup aside and wove his fingers together, looking at the Equestrian monarch. “And now, as much as I would like to continue catching up, there’s the matter of why I asked you to come here.”

“Yes,” Celestia sighed. “I remember. The Merchant’s Guild and the Talos/Derbyshire border dispute.”

“Indeed. You know the circumstances, I presume? The Council of Lords is taking Sharptalon’s side of the issue.”

Celestia nodded. The main cause of the border dispute was that some landowner in Derbyshire had sold off land to part of the Apple family. It was good land, green and fertile and perfect for growing apples. The problem that not only did the landowner not actually own the land, but also (as the Royal Zoning Office had failed to notice as well) was that a significant portion of that land was designated as surplus fields for when the crop fields around Talos itself went fallow, so that the griffins didn’t have to worry about what they would do about food when the time came. Unfortunately before the Zoning Office could realize its mistake it was already spring, and during the time that the Apples had been planting their trees a number of griffins had come to measure out the size of one of their fields, only to find that the Apple ponies had planted their entire orchard on the land that had been set aside by Talos. The Apples had refused to dig up their seeds and plant them somewhere else, and despite Celestia’s personal attempts to compensate the Talosians for the unintended sale of their land, the griffins had refused to back down from their claim. That had eventually driven both cities to go to Aeris for judgement.

“So, what do you think should be done?” Aeris asked, cocking his head to one side. Celestia put her tea down, shaking her head.

“To be honest…I’m not sure. We can hardly ask the Apples to dig their seeds up.”

“And there is no other land in that valley suitable for growing,” Aeris added. “The foothills are already taken by the griffins living in the western cities, and Talos is too big to get by on crops that they grow on the ridges around the city. Perhaps the Apple family could be persuaded to send a percentage of their crops to Talos every year?”

Celestia shook her head “No, I don’t think that would work. If there’s one thing I know about the Apple family, it’s that they’re by and large a stubborn lot. I could hardly ask them to hand over a portion of their crop and not have them do something like send all of the bad apples over. Perhaps if we persuade them to, Talos can pay for the apples?”

Aeris shrugged, a thoughtful look on his face. Then he suddenly looked up. “Oh dear, I believe we’ve lost track of time.” He stood, beckoning to her. “I took the liberty of having a meal prepared before you got here. They should be just about done cooking it by now. We can continue the discussion over dinner.”

Celestia nodded, getting up and following Aeris out of the room. The two ruler’s respective guards followed them, and after a few minutes of walking they emerged into the Tower’s dining room. The room had been built in a huge circle, with more stained glass windows lining the walls. Sunlight, rapidly fading as the sun came ever closer to finishing its journey across the sky for today, reflected off of every westward-facing window in the room in a cascade of multihued light. While Aeris went to the head of the table and sat, Celestia held up a wing. “If you will tolerate me for a moment, Aeris. There’s a duty I must see to.”

With Aeris’s nod she walked over to a window facing the sun. Her horn began to glow with a golden light, and with a mighty flap of her massive white wings Celestia propelled herself upward. She flapped several more times, going higher with each stroke, until finally spreading her wings as the sun rapidly disappeared over the horizon. Her duties for the day done, she landed and turned back around to see a griffin soldier handing Aeris a scroll. “Oh? A message?”

“Yes, actually.” Aeris replied as he neatly slit the ribbon the scroll was wrapped in, then unrolled the scroll to read its contents. “I sent some soldiers out on a mission earlier, ahead of the armies that I have out on maneuvers near the border. They were successful.”

“That’s nice,” Celestia replied. She walked back over to the table and sat down. “So, tell me. How have things been here lately?”

“Oh, they’ve been well enough,” Aeris replied idly. “Everything going the way it should, dreams that I’ve had for a while now coming to light. Plans coming to fruition that have been in the planning for years.”

“Oh?” Celestia asked, giving a warm smile as she cocked her head. “What sort of dreams and plans?”

Aeris grinned back as he stood and looked at her. Unlike his previous smiles though, there was nothing warm in this one. It was cold and cruel, full of sarcasm. “Conquest, of course.”

Celestia’s eyebrows went up, then beetled together. “Conquest? You can’t possibly mean-”

“Yes,” Aeris confirmed, nodding. “I do, as a matter of fact.” He began walking around the table in a slow, measured pace. “You see, Celestia, among most of the world Equestria is known as the ‘crown jewel’ of ponydom. Your fields are perpetually prosperous, you control the very weather itself, and it is home to a pair of goddesses, able to control the sun and moon. All of that…and more.” He gave an amused chuff of laughter, shaking his head and grinning. “And yet…you are almost completely undefended. A country as important as Equestria, yet the only semblance of any sort of army that you have are your Royal Guards. A small group stationed exclusively in Canterlot and numbering only five hundred ponies.”

“And your point?” Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow.

“My point, my dear Celestia, is that Equestria is vulnerable. It has always been, the main problem was merely getting you out of the way. And that,” he said, “is of course the entire purpose of this meeting.” He suddenly raised his voice. “TAKE THEM!”

The griffin guards that had positioned themselves around the room all surged forward, halberds extended and pointing at Celestia. In a flash, the Captain and his guards were in front of the alicorn princess, lances down in combat position and hoof swords extended.

“Protect the princess!” the Captain bellowed. The pegasi charged the griffin guards, and the two sides clashed together in a clamor of crashing steel. Though the battle was a bloody, brutal affair the odds against them were bad from the start. Though Princess Celestia’s escort was made up of some of the best ponies the Royal Guard had, and each of them was a skilled warrior in his own right, the griffin guards outnumbered them at least three to one; while it was even at first, more guards flooded into the room at the sound of combat. Celestia spread her wings and shot forward, flying straight at Aeris as she lowered her head, her horn pointed straight at the griffin king’s chest. Aeris smirked and spread his own wings as well, giving them a mighty flap to conjure a focused blast of air that slammed into Celestia with the force of a freight train.

There was a reason that his name was “Aeris” as well.

Celestia went flying backwards, griffin and pony alike getting out of the way. The white alicorn managed to stop herself before she could slam into the wall, panting heavily as she looked at the still-smirking griffin from across the room.

The air in the room was filled with battle cries and screams of pain, calls of warning and yells of concern. Celestia could only watch as the battle went on, now spread out into the open air above the banquet table, as well as on and around it. One pegasus smashed his shield against a griffin’s helmeted head, knocking the soldier to the side before turning and slashing open another’s throat. Another pegasus threw both rear hooves into the chest of a griffin soldier, only to turn and run straight into a halberd blade that speared the pegasus in the belly, the Royal Guardspony gasping wetly before his blue eyes slid shut as the griffn jerked his halberd out and shook it off briefly before going to rejoin the fight. Celestia could only watch in horror as the pegasus fell to the ground, bouncing limply before lying still.

The Captain was fighting a pair of griffins at the same time. Blocking two sword blows with his shield he ejected his lance at one, spearing the griffin through the leg before swiping both across the throat with his hoof sword. One griffin smashed a pegasus into the table, breaking the hardwood furniture in two. As he stood up on his hind legs and raised his sword to deliver the killing blow the pegasus thrust his sword leg upward, the griffin giving a strangled scream as the blade slid into his body.

“Princess!” the Captain yelled as he spun in the air, his sword beheading a pair of griffins in the process. “Go! We’ll cover you!”

Celestia nodded and spread her wings, her horn lighting up ready to teleport away and back to Canterlot…

And nothing happened.

What? Celestia thought in shock. She cast the spell again, and again, but each time was met with failure. As soon as the glow creeping up her horn came into contact with the ring, it would dissipate in a burst of golden particles, a shimmering cloud of magic flaring from the princess’s horn before disappearing.

“Don’t bother, Celestia,” Aeris called over the clamor of battle. “That bracelet is made of a mix of orichalcum, corundum, and ebony, painted to look like gold. The sapphire itself is the focus for the anti-magic charm that I had my smith enchant the ring with.” He grinned. “So to make a long story short…you’re merely a horned pegasus now. The only thing that bracelet allows you to do is control the sun.”

Celestia looked at him in horror. Her eyes flicked upward to her horn and she immediately moved her hooves to it, aiming to take it off.

I have to save the guards...stop Aeris, put him in a position to negotiate...

ZAP.

The alicorn princess gave a loud yelp as electricity coursed through her, her legs flopping limply from her horn. I can’t take it off?! She frantically looked around for another avenue of escape, but other griffin guards were blocking the door, keeping any of the pegasi (or Celestia herself) from escaping. She doubted she could take off with enough force to shatter one of the windows...Aeris would most likely meet her before she could get to one anyway.

Aeris didn’t even flinch when a pegasus, his throat slashed open by a griffin blade, shot by him to smash against the wall in a bloody smear. Though the ponies had done well at first, weight of numbers was beginning to tell. Several were borne to the ground by groups of griffins, the guards slashing and stabbing with their weapons, or merely holding them down to take them prisoner.

Soon enough, it was over. The dining hall was covered in blood and bodies of both sides. Scattered weapons and armor lay everywhere as well. The remaining ponies had been herded into a group by the griffins, pressed into a corner and surrounded by griffin soldiers that had their halberds pointed at them to create a steel thicket that it would be suicide to attempt to run through. Two of the surviving seven ponies had been severely wounded, one lying on his back and the other put up against the wall in a sitting position.

“Hm. That was messier than I had intended,”Aeris remarked idly as he walked around the dining room, observing the carnage. “But it served its purpose.”

“What should we do with them, Your Majesty?” one of the griffins asked.

“Bind Celestia’s wings and take her to her room. I want a full wing of guards stationed outside of it at all times,” Aeris said as he approached them. “Take the guards to Blacktalon Peak.”

A few of the guards let out anticipatory chuckles. Blacktalon Peak was the Griffin Kingdoms’ most secure prison, in addition to being one of its nastiest. More griffins came in with chains, wrapping them around Celestia’s body and pinning her wings to her sides. Celestia didn’t resist, as her guards were still under threat. Aeris smiled. “Don’t worry, Celestia. Equestria isn’t the only nation being invaded. This is merely the start of a grand ambition of mine; by the time this is over, the Griffin Kingdoms will be the Griffin Empire. Earlier this morning Germaneigh and Prance were both invaded by two of my other armies; they will require a much more significant force than Equestria, but I think it’s worth the risk.”

“You won’t get away with this, Aeris.” Celestia replied, a glare on her face that promised Aeris a slow and painful death. Or banishment to the moon, one of the two.

Aeris barked a laugh. “Please, don’t ruin the moment with clichés, Celestia. I already have gotten away with it. In a few hours the Darkfeathers I sent to ponynap your precious student and her friends will return here and Marshal Blackwing and my son will begin an assault on Canterlot itself.” He grinned again. “So don’t flatter yourself in thinking you have any sort of chance at victory. I’ve already won.”

He waved at her dismissively. “Take her away.”

“Princess!” the Captain cried, struggling against the griffins that had removed the Royal Guard’s armor and were currently binding them in chains. One of the griffin soldiers ducked low and slammed a fist into the Captain’s belly, the fist sinking in to the wrist and causing the pegasus’s white cheeks to inflate hugely before a rush of warm air and spit left his lips. The Captain doubled over with a wheeze, enabling the griffins to finish their work.

“Sire, what should we do with the wounded ones?” one soldier asked as he pointed to the two guards that had been left out of the chain line.

“Better that they die now rather than take up resources in the prison,” Aeris said idly. Two of the griffins raised their halberds and swung them down, Celestia turning away and shutting her eyes as two loud swack noises reached her ears. Two thuds a second later told her that the soldiers had done their work.

Celestia didn’t struggle as twenty of the surviving griffin guards escorted her from the room. She tried to look on the bright side of the situation, small as it was. Twilight Sparkle and her friends were safe. They would be brought here, kept prisoner instead of being tortured. However, another thought was on her mind as she bit her lip, struggling not to tear up.

Luna.

Chapter 3

The screaming of another cannonball reached Luna’s ears as she galloped up the stairs and into the more well-used section of Canterlot Castle. The projectile smashed through a window, flying across the hallway and into the wall, sending a cloud of white dust shooting out from the point of impact. Guards, servants, and socialites ran every which way, the servants and socialites screaming and scurrying for cover while the guards either attempted to help escort them out or scrambled to help defend the capital. Luna looked around frantically as the chaos threatened to overwhelm her senses.

Several other windows were smashed, other walls missing chunks of themselves from other cannon shots. The bodies of several ponies, guards and civilians alike lay on the floor, unfortunate victims of the cannonballs. Looking out a window into the gardens she could see a number of unicorn guards firing magical projectiles at an unseen target. Another cannonball streaked in and hit the ground between two of them, knocking them off their feet as a second shot blasted right through a tree, causing it to splinter and fall in a shower of broken bark and leaves even as the cannonball itself smashed into the wall of the castle, throwing up a puff of white dust.

“Princess!” a voice cried from nearby, making Luna turn around. Full Moon came galloping down the hallway towards her, a cadre of other guards in tow. A cannonball smashed through a nearby window, which hit the floor near one pegasus and threw him to the ground with a scream.

“Full Moon, what’s going on?!” Luna yelled over the noise.

“The city is under attack!” Full replied. The ponies around them in the hallway ducked and screamed as a nearby window smashed. A griffin flew through the hole and into the hallway, a sword in his claws. One unicorn guard fired a magical arrow from his horn, and the projectile hit the griffin in the chest. The griffin fell towards the ground, screaming before a collision with a pillar cut him off. “We have to get you out of here!”

“No!” Luna replied sharply. “Evacuate the city as much as you can. Safeguard the ponies in here and keep the griffins out for as long as possible.”

“Princess, there are thousands of them outside! The main city itself is under heavy bombardment from cannons and the griffins have infantry moving into the outskirts! We can’t evacuate!”

“Then keep them out of the castle!” Luna shot back. “Do what you have to do in order to delay them; I have duties that I must attend to!”

She spread her wings, about to take off when Full Moon stopped her. “Princess!”

Luna looked down at him. Full Moon was looking up at her, a concerned expression on his face. “Be careful.”

Luna smiled and nodded. “I will, Full.”

With that she took off and flew away, flying as fast as she could up the steps that led to the eastern wing of the castle. Full Moon turned to the other guards, yelling orders.
“Protect the castle! Get any unicorn that knows a shield spell together in the throne room and have them put something up to defend against those cannons! The rest of you, gather what guards you can and get outside! I’ll meet you there!”

The other guards nodded and broke up to go to their assigned areas. Full Moon looked toward the staircase that Luna had flown up, mentally wishing Luna good luck before he spread his batlike wings and took off as well, flying out of the hole in the window that the griffin soldier had made and going up to the highest ledge he could find. Landing there and turning, he looked out over the city and felt his heart fill his mouth.

Canterlot burned. Fires raged in many parts of the city, sending up pillars of black smoke that were silhouetted by the moon. Squadrons of griffins circled the city below and the screams and frightened cries both from battle and from the Canterlot citizenry filled the air. There were flickers of light in the streets; not the flashes of cannonball detonations, but of magic. Of course any unicorn that knew how to teleport would do so. Get away from the battle, find safety. Griffin airships moved in over the city, more griffins swarming from them and joining the attack below. Pegasi from the Royal Guard were slowing them up however they could, but they were quickly being overwhelmed through sheer weight of numbers.

Full Moon attempted to swallow and found his mouth dry. Even as he watched the attack a cannonball streaked through the air, smashing against a castle tower. The tower’s stone cracked and split, sending the structure falling to the ground and landing with a deafening crash, a massive cloud of dust and smoke rising into the sky as the shrieks of garden animals and unfortunate ponies that had attempted to take shelter in the area reaching his ears. Full Moon swallowed, his ears lying flat against his head to try and block out the sounds. He spread his wings again and flew towards the gates.

***

Luna ran through the East Wing of the castle, the case that held the Elements of Harmony floating behind her as she levitated it with her magic. Normally only Celestia would have been able to break the spell that was on the door that held the precious artifacts, but Luna knew Celestia’s spellwork and had been able to open it. The Elements couldn’t fall into the griffins’ hands. If they weren’t taken from the castle the griffin army would eventually break the door down, most likely via cannonball.

Luna kept running, heading back to her study. Equestria’s most sensitive data was there; it couldn’t fall into enemy hands either.

***

Rosten stood on top of a rocky outcropping, watching the attack on the city commence. The mountain pathways were being choked with smoke and ash from the cannons, and the smell of gunpowder was heavy in the air. He could hear the chaos in the city even from here, as far away from Canterlot as the pathways were. He could hear screams, roars of battle, the thundering of more cannons, and the howling of dogs as they rampaged through the streets. Equestria had been caught completely off guard by the attack, and were paying the price for their lack of vigilance.

If we had issued a declaration, they might have even evacuated the civilians, Rosten thought to himself even as he lifted a clawed hand and swiped it downward again, signaling the batteries of cannons around him to fire another volley at the city. They had already brought down one tower on the castle; Rosten had watched it fall into the castle’s gardens, smashing them flat with its massive bulk. Birds had flown into the air as the thing came down, and the roars and cries of the various animals that made the gardens their home had been able to reach his ears. Faintly, like all of the other noise in the city, but they had still reached him.

The city was relatively quiet now. Apparently the dogs had overrun the streets and driven the remaining civilian ponies back into their homes.

He turned and looked at another griffin officer that was overseeing the cannons with him. “Lieutenant, order the batteries to shift their aim to the castle exclusively. After that, you have the guns. I’m going down into the city.”

“Yessir!” the lieutenant replied, saluting.

Rosten spread his wings and jumped from the cliff, gliding down towards Canterlot. All the fires burning in the city were causing huge drafts of hot air to come up into the sky, allowing him to glide from one thermal to the other without ever having to flap his wings. He circled the city as a flight of griffins flew by, looking around for Marshal Blackwing.

***
Standing on top of one of the army’s airships, Blackwing let loose with an amused chuckle as he watched the assault. Their surprise had been total; though the Royal Guard was resisting for now, soon they would be overwhelmed by the griffin’s superior numbers. He had left Rosten in charge of the artillery batteries on the cliffs, while he had gone to direct the assault personally.

“Lord Marshal!” a griffin officer called as he flew over to the airship, landing next to Blackwing. “The attack is proceeding according to plan.”

“Good. Particulars please, Colonel.”

“The dogs have overrun the civilian sectors of the city and are heading towards the castle. The Royal Guard is pulling back ahead of them, heading in the same direction. They’ll probably make a stand inside and try to hold us back from it, draw the siege out.”

“Don’t allow them to turn it into a siege at all, Colonel.” Blackwing ordered. “If they close the gates, blast them down. With as few ponies as they have they can’t hold out against us indefinitely.”

A flash from above the castle drew the attention of both griffins. Blackwing narrowed his eyes as a shield lowered itself over the castle, leaving the army’s cannonballs to smash futilely against it. He turned to the colonel again. “Order the airships to broadside that barrier. Some of them have to be keeping that thing up. If we put as much stress on it as possible they won’t be able to maintain it.”

“Yes Lord Marshal,” the colonel said, saluting before flying off. The black griffin turned back to the battle, breathing in the smell of gunpowder. “I love this job,” he whispered, a grin splitting his beak.

***

“Fall back! FALL BACK!” Full Moon bellowed as a number of other cannonballs smashed against the shield. It was already starting to waver; the sextet of unicorn guards that had raised it in the first place were being put under too much strain. Full Moon had gathered the remaining guards in front of the castle’s main gate. He had then sent a fellow Lunar Guard member to open the gate in order for the other guards to retreat inside.

The guards retreated into the castle, the gates slamming shut behind them. Full Moon did a quick headcount. Only fifty of the castle’s nearly five hundred guards were there. He sighed. He had known from the start that they wouldn’t be able to hold the city against such a large force, let alone one not only with superior firepower but also the element of surprise. He looked at them all. “Guardsponies! It has been an honor serving alongside all of you! If we are to die tonight, then I ask that you take as many of these winged bastards with you as you can!”

The other guards let loose with a number of battle cries as a crackle reached their ears, which Full Moon took as the shield breaking. He could hear the barking and howling of the dogs getting closer by the second. The guards turned towards the gate, waiting to receive them. Those that had been able to get to the castle armory readied their weapons, though both they and the guards that hadn’t been able to arm themselves shuffled nervously, several letting out tentative nickers.

Full Moon heard the scream of a cannonball and saw the door splinter. More impacts burst against it, the door cracking and splitting more and more as the ancient wood was hammered by more shots. The few unicorns that were among the guards raised a shield to protect them when the gate went down.

Whoooooosh-CRASH!

The gate finally broke, sending massive chunks of wood flying through the air. They bounced off of the shield, dogs following the debris into the castle. The unicorns lowered the shield, the guardsponies roaring as loud as they could as the two sides clashed with one another.

***

It was quiet on the streets of Canterlot as Blackwing walked through them. The odd squadron of griffins flew overhead, keeping the air secured in the rather unlikely event of an Equestrian counterattack.

The city was a mess. Many buildings were burning and chunks of masonry littered the ground, craters from cannon shots pockmarking the streets. Bodies of ponies and dogs alike lay everywhere, most of the ponies being civilians that had run out into the streets in a panic and had been cut down in the confusion of battle. Guardsponies lay among them, unable to hold the streets against their far more numerous opponents despite their best efforts. Some were lying in the streets, others leaning up against walls splattered with blood and blackened by ash. Some had their eyes open still, misted over in death. Many of the civilians were in their nightclothes, having not had time to dress when the attack had commenced.

Blackwing chuckled. It had been a while since he had had a good battle. The last action that he had directed had been an assault on a rebel stronghold that had opposed King Aeris’s ascension to the throne, five years ago. The rebels had been holed up in a system of caves in a mountain near the city of Pinion, and had been raiding merchant caravans. Aeris had entrusted a company of the Darkfeathers, his personal guard, to Blackwing. The assault had been quick and bloody, the Darkfeathers going in with Blackwing at their head after a short cannon bombardment. None of the Darkfeathers had died in the fighting, slaughtering the poorly-armed rebels with impunity.
Blackwing grinned as he began drawing parallels. Like then, this had been far too easy now that he thought about it. Not that he was complaining.

A flapping of wings drew his attention to the sky as Rosten landed on a rooftop above him. “How goes it, Lord Marshal?”

“Very well, actually,” Blackwing replied, beckoning Rosten down to street level. The younger griffin fell in step beside him as they began walking towards the castle, looking around at the devastation. Blackwing looked at him. “So, how is your first taste of war so far?”

“It’s…different than I thought,” Rosten replied.

“Oh?”

“The tapestries at the Tower always paint war as something glorious. Honorable.” Rosten stepped around a destroyed carriage with the body of a grey-colored stallion with two golden laurels as a cutie mark and a monocle in one eye draped limply over the wreckage as he kept talking. “This…this is so much different…”

“Glory isn’t just limited to an artist’s stylized depictions,” Blackwing replied, pausing in his walk to toe a dead stallion. The stallion was deep blue, with an orange mane that looked as if it were normally impeccably combed. An hourglass graced his flank and his green eyes were half-open. Shrugging, the black-feathered griffin continued down the street. “In war you can find glory in many things.”

“What about glory in not fighting at all?” Rosten asked. “Why are we even doing this?”

“Your father didn’t tell you?” Blackwing replied, looking down at Rosten as one eyebrow rose. “I thought he never stopped talking about this ‘grand ambition’ of his.”

“Well, yes, he did talk about it, but…” Rosten stuttered. “It’s just…I didn’t expect it to be like this…”

Blackwing chuckled. “Don’t worry, Captain. You’ll be able to see plenty more fighting while we’re here.”

Rosten blinked a few times, then nodded slowly. He hoped to himself that it would be more honorable than what had happened here tonight.

***

The remaining eighteen guards ran down a hallway towards the wing of the castle that housed the Royal Family. They had held the gate for as long as they could, but mounting losses and ever-increasing numbers of foes had driven them back and eventually forced them to retreat. One of the few unicorns left had managed to throw up a ward that was keeping the enemy back for now, but there was no guarantee as to how long it would hold.

“Princess Luna!” Full Moon gasped as the dark-furred princess appeared in the doorway, Prince Blueblood hyperventilating behind her. “We couldn’t hold the gate any longer, I’m sorry!”

“You have nothing to apologize for, Full Moon,” Luna replied. “I’ve gotten together every bit of information that would be of use to the griffins, and have taken the Elements of Harmony out of their safe room.” She sighed and looked around. “It pains me to say, but we must abandon Canterlot.”

“What?!” Full Moon yelled. “But Princess-“

“We can’t hold the city any longer,” Luna interrupted. “Our best hope now is to run and hide, live to fight another day.”

Full Moon was about to protest again, but sighed and nodded. “Very well. But how will we get out of the city?”

Princess Luna smiled. “You forget who you’re talking to, Full Moon. Gather around me, all of you! You too, Blueblood!”

As the remains of the Royal Guard gathered around her, Luna’s horn began to glow. A white aura began to flow from it, covering every guard. Luna took a deep breath and released the magic to let it flow.

There was a bright flash, and the small group of ponies was gone.

***

Blackwing and Rosten had set up their command center in the castle’s throne room. They had been visited by most of the griffin officers in charge of the attack, learning casualty reports, damage, status on logistics and on one occasion ordering a courier to be sent home with a message reporting the victory and requesting reinforcements.

They had lost around two hundred soldiers during the attack, most of them dogs. The element of surprise had worked extremely well, as most of the casualties had come during the fighting at the castle, when the guards had been ready for them. They had counted around three hundred and eighty-three dead ponies in the Royal Guard, and taken seventy-four prisoners. The Royal Guard had put up a tough fight, but had been overwhelmed by the superior might of the griffin army. Blackwing allowed himself a little smirk.

When all was said and done, Blackwing settled into the throne that Celestia normally occupied. He gave a contented sigh and leaned back, settling down onto his hindquarters as they sank into the plush, velvet cushion. “Aaaaaaaah…” he sighed. “The Princess must be very comfortable sitting in a throne like this.” He looked over at Rosten. “You did very well in your first command, Captain. I’m impressed.”

“Really?” Rosten asked, looking over at the Marshal.

“Yes. You followed orders to the letter, and only left your command once you were sure that your soldiers had nothing more to do. Your father will be impressed, I think.”

“Thank you, Lord Marshal,” Rosten replied, looking out on the massive throne room. “So…where do we go next?”

“The nearest town. According to our maps it should be a little village by the name of Ponyville.”

“The village that the Darkfeathers were sent to?”

“Yes, on that ponynapping mission. That would be the most likely place that they would run to. After we take that place, then we’ll get the airships together and send them out. Equestria should be ours by the end of the week, and we can begin pacification.”

Rosten nodded, then yawned. “I’m going back to my tent.”

Blackwing made a noncommittal noise as Rosten flew out through a shattered window. Calling for an aide, he pointed at the griffin. “Ready two airships and tell their crews and marines to get some sleep. They move on Ponyville at dawn.”

The griffin saluted and flew off.

Chapter 4

Several Hours Before Canterlot Attack

Night lay heavy on Ponyville. The sky was covered with stars, shimmering pinpricks of light that glimmered and sparkled through the scraps of clouds that floated over the village. The town was entirely silent, the populace asleep. And thus there was nopony to see the twelve shapes that flew through the sky above the village. They were in a V formation, and as they came over Ponyville they split into pairs, each pair making their way towards a separate building in the town. These were the Darkfeathers, King Aeris’s personal guards, spies, and when the occasion called for such a line of work, assassins and kidnappers. They were here for ponies, a certain six mares in particular. Each pair set down on the roof of the building that they had been assigned to, making preparations to enter and claim their targets.

***

The first pair dropped down quietly on the balcony of the Ponyville Library, both silently landing on the platform with practiced ease. Though both were armed, one with a dirk and the other with a fearsome set of steel claws that went over his hands, their intent wasn’t to kill the mares known as the Elements of Harmony; it was to kidnap them, bring them back to Gryphus, and keep them the prisoners of King Aeris until such time that the king saw to release them. The griffin with the dirk dug around in the small satchel that had been slung around his shoulders until he came up with a length of rope, a piece of cloth that he would use to gag their target, and a ring similar to the one used on Princess Celestia. The griffin turned to his partner and nodded, and both quietly snuck off of the railing and onto the balcony proper. The other griffin tested the lock, and the door swung open silently on well-greased hinges. Both griffins smirked at one another. The fools didn’t even keep their doors locked.

Creeping into the bedroom that the balcony was a part of, the Darkfeathers silently made their way across the floor and up the stairs to the loft that held their target’s bed. Moonlight shone clearly through the bedroom’s oval window, illuminating the face of the unicorn that lay sleeping in the bed, blissfully unaware. The two griffins again looked at one another and nodded as one. She looked asleep enough that they wouldn’t need to use the knock-out potion they’d been supplied with.

One gently pulled back the covers and the two began their work. The ring was slipped over Twilight’s horn, and her legs, which were curled up against her body, were pulled upward and bound together with the rope. Unfortunately, doing that woke her up. The unicorn’s eyes fluttered open, then widened at the sight of the two griffins. The one not binding her legs quickly lunged at her, stuffing the cloth in her mouth before she could scream then wrapping another length around her head to keep the gag in. This didn’t stop her from letting out a short scream beforehand.

“Unh…Twilight?”

Both griffins jumped in surprise and turned to see a small, purple-and-green dragon rise out of a basket that was on the floor, close to the bed. The dragon rubbed his eyes and looked up at the bed, his eyes suddenly widening as he took in the scene. “What are you two doing?!” he shouted as he jumped out of the basket and ran at them.

One of the griffins jerked his head in Spike’s direction. Faster than the baby dragon could react the other griffin was in front of him, one black-gloved fist sinking deep into Spike’s gut. The baby dragon’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and he coughed what looked like jewel dust, glistening particles of blue, red, and green that coated the floor in a scintillating carpet. Twilight screamed behind her gag, her eyes wide and frantic as Spike was lifted off of his feet by the punch. A right hook from his attacker smashed into his scaly cheek, plowing into the skin and twisting it into a small mound of flesh and scales. Spike flew off of the loft from the force of the blow, landing face-flat on the floor, unconscious even as Twilight kept screaming from behind the gag as the purple unicorn’s eyes went wide with fear and concern while she struggled madly against her bonds. As Spike hit the ground the other griffin went down with him, tying the young dragon up and gagging him.

The griffin that had stayed to finish tying her up rolled his eyes and dug a small potions bottle out of his satchel, yanking the gag away from Twilight’s mouth long enough to pour a thimbleful of a soft golden liquid into the unicorn’s mouth. Twilight’s eyes widened and she let out a gasp before her eyes fluttered shut; her head lolling backwards as the Darkfeather once again stuffed the gag into her mouth and tied it in place.

Both griffins went out the still-open balcony door and took off, their mission fulfilled.

***

Two other griffins had gone to the area north of Ponyville, towards the far-reaching apple orchards of Sweet Apple Acres. Flying low over the farm’s trees, the pair of Darkfeathers set their sights on the large barn that housed the Apple family. As they approached the fence that separated the barn and the surrounding area from the orchard, the two griffins dropped into the trees. Landing silently on the ground they immediately taking cover behind the tree trunks, where they would be out of sight of any of the building’s windows. A sudden breeze rustled the leaves above them, moonlight working through them in an alternating patchwork.

One of them peeked out from behind his bit of cover and checked out the building. There were no lights on, no sounds of activity coming from anywhere in the house. The griffin looked at his compatriot and nodded, and both ducked out from behind the trees, hopped the fence, and quickly shot across the yard to the barn.

The second griffin made a quick circuit of the house to check for points of entry. All of the windows were closed against the warm summer air. They’d have to use the door, then. He reported this finding to the other Darkfeather, then they both circled the barn until they were at the front door. Like the Ponyville Library, it wasn’t locked. The door opened with a gentle creak, both griffins freezing for a moment, listening to see if the sound had woken any of the Apples, before entering. They covered the ground floor then quietly went up the staircase, flapping their wings gently and quietly to decrease their weight and therefore lessen the chance of a squeaky step.

They finally made their way up to the second floor, which was home to four different doors. One Darkfeather turned to the other, his hands making rapid signals.

“How do we know which room is the right one?” the signals asked. The other Darkfeather sighed and replied in kind.

“Search all of them. DON’T WAKE ANY OF THEM UP.”

The first Darkfeather nodded and they both moved to search the floor, each taking a different pair of doors. The first Darkfeather opened the two doors on the left. One revealed a slumbering lime green pony, her face and body covered in wrinkles and her grey mane done up in a bun. She was sleeping soundly, muttering something about zap apples and how somepony named Filthy Rich had the biggest…

The Darkfeather shut the door before she could say anything else, a faint flash of green tingeing his cheeks. He moved down the hallway to the second door, opening it to see a massive red stallion with crimson fur and a short-cropped, burnt orange mane. The stallion was turned in his direction, clutching a small doll. The doll itself looked slightly ragged, as if it were an old, cared-for treasure of somepony. The buttons that made up its eyes were mismatched, one pink and the other blue, with a pair of tiny, blue-with-white-polka-dotted pants fitted on the back half of its body. The Darkfeather now had an even more disturbed look on his face, tilting his head to one side quizzically before softly shutting the door and blinking in confusion.

The other Darkfeather opened the first door on his own side of the hallway. It was the bedroom of a young filly, colored butter-yellow with a bright red mane that was visibly peeking out from beneath the baby blue nightcap that covered the top of her head. There were two other fillies in the room as well, sleeping in the same bed on either side of her. One was a rust-colored pegasus with a purple mane, the other a white unicorn with a purple-and-pink mane. The Darkfeather shook his head and shut the door quietly, moving on to the last room. In there, he found their target and beckoned his teammate over to him.

Sleeping in the room was an orange mare, her long yellow mane tied back in a ponytail. A dog slept on the bed with her. Both Darkfeathers looked at one another and nodded. Both quickly descended on Winona, the dog not even having time to yelp as a piece of rope was wrapped around her muzzle, a blindfold bound around her eyes, and another piece of rope wrapped around her legs. She was then unceremoniously thrown into Applejack’s closet, both griffins turning their attention to the sleeping earth pony mare.

The first took out a length of cloth and held it out, the other dripping a few drops of a liquid onto it from a small bottle before taking out a coil of rope to bind the mare’s legs. Both moved at once, gently easing the mare’s sheets off of her body before the first wrapped the cloth around her head and across her mouth as the other bound her legs. The motions woke Applejack up, and she grunted and struggled for a few seconds until the potion took effect. Her green eyes fluttered shut and she let out a sigh of breath as she slipped back into unconsciousness.The two griffins nodded at one another and made their way out of the house the same way they came in, going out to the barnyard and taking off, holding Applejack between them and taking great care not to drop her.

***

The third pair of Darkfeathers was flying in the direction of the Everfree Forest, towards the sod-roof cottage of Fluttershy. They set down on the path in front of the house, just past the small river that ran in front of the small home, taking in the black windows and all of the sleeping animals that were visible in various dens around the place. Both looked at one another, each raising an eyebrow before turning back to the front again and marching forward. They quietly slid the door open, carefully entering the small room that the front door opened into. Careful not to bump their heads into any of the birdhouses or various other animal homes that were scattered around the room, both griffins crept up the steps and into Fluttershy’s room. As they did this they also had to step around the homes of various rabbits, ferrets, and even the occasional wombat.

The pink-maned pegasus was sleeping soundly, barely making any sort of noise as her side rose and fell with each breath that she took. The two griffins looked at one another and nodded. They moved forward, only to find themselves each grabbed around a foot. Turning as one to look over their shoulders they saw a white rabbit with a determined look on its face. One of the Darkfeathers lifted a foot and kicked the rabbit in the face. Angel Bunny went flying across the room, slamming through a window and landing on the ground outside of the cottage, unconscious.

“Hrm…hunh?” a sleepy mutter came from the bed. Both Darkfeathers looked at Fluttershy’s bed as the pegasus sat up, rubbing at her eyes. They then looked at each other, and moved as quickly as their compatriots before them to gag her, bind her, and knock her out. They left the house by the way they had come, flying away with nopony in the area the wiser.

***

Unlike the other homes of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, Carousel Boutique had a light on inside it. This light in particular illuminated the design room of Rarity, who had decided to stay up late in an effort to finish designing an outfit that had popped into her head earlier that morning but had proved more difficult to create than she had thought. Wearing her customary red-rimmed design glasses, the unicorn mare bit her lip and sighed as she took the latest attempt to bring her thoughts to paper in her magic’s hold and crumped it up, tossing it into the trash can. It bounced off of the large pile of crumpled paper sticking out of it, Rarity shaking her head. “Oh, this is hopeless!” she wailed melodramatically. “Even with Sweetie Belle out of the way I can’t concentrate!”

She turned away from her work, letting out another sigh. Opalescence meowed plaintively from Rarity’s bed.

“Oh Opal, whatever shall I do?” Rarity asked the cat, one leg across her forehead, the picture of overplayed despair. Opal meowed again in answer, pointing at one of the room’s windows. Rarity raised an eyebrow quizzically. “What on earth are you pointing at, Opal?”

“Meow meow!” Opal yowled, pointing more insistently.

Rarity walked over to the window that Opal was pointing at. Looking out, all she saw was Ponyville, deep in slumber. “Oh Opal, I’m sure you’re just imagining things,” Rarity replied, turning away from the window that Opal was pointing at and instead going over to a different one. She looked out over Ponyville from a different angle, looked out past the slumbering town and across the valley to Canterlot, still glimmering with lights even at that late hour.

Rarity was actually so engrossed in the view that she didn’t even notice the griffins entering through the other window, grabbing Opal, then tying her up in a sack and tossing her in the closet. As the door slammed shut Rarity turned around and gave a startled squeal before managing to calm herself. “Oh! Um, my apologies! You startled me. I’m sorry, but the Boutique is closed at the moment, both of you will have to come back tomorrow morning.”

The two Darkfeathers looked at one another, raising their eyebrows. “We’re not here as customers,” one of them said.

“We’ll need to you to come with us, unicorn,” said the other.

“Excuse me,” Rarity replied haughtily, “but my name is not ‘unicorn’. It’s Rarity, and I would prefer to be addressed as such. And even if I did want to come with you (which I assure you, I don't), I’m afraid I have a business to run.”

“We could burn the place to the ground,” the first suggested.

Rarity gasped. “You wouldn’t! Do you have any idea how expensive some of these fabrics are?!” She immediately ran over to a roll of cloth, a wondrous satin-colored weave that seemed to turn into water at the touch of the light. “This particular cloth was made by the finest weaver in Aloa! You wouldn’t believe the amount of bits that I had to pay in order to get just one roll!”

“Then if you want it to stay in one piece you’ll come with us,” the second Darkfeather replied, Rarity’s dramatics already getting on his nerves. Immediately Rarity was sliding up to him, wrapping her front legs around his.

“Please, good sirs!” she begged. “Please, I beg of you, don’t harm my outfits! Take me back to wherever you came from, I’ll do anything!”

Before she had even finished speaking the second griffin had slipped a ring over her horn. Rarity didn’t resist as they bound her legs, too worried about what might become of the Boutique should she resist.

Of course, that didn’t stop her complaining as the griffins hung her upside down and carried her from the store.

“Turn me right side up this instant, you ruffians! How dare you treat a lady this way! I know important ponies, you know! I’ll make sure neither of you work in Equestria again!”

***

Rainbow Dash’s kidnapping had gone just as smoothly as the missions from the other pairs. Even the last pair had found it remarkably easy to kidnap Pinkie Pie. Despite the extreme hyperactivity they had been told inhabited the pink earth pony mare, she was so deeply asleep that they hadn’t had any fuss at all in tying her up. She’d also slept through the gagging, and every other part of the process that the two Darkfeathers had gone through while kidnapping her. Even so, the extra care needed in order to enter and avoid waking the Cake twins in the process had cost the Darkfeathers a lot of time, and thus they were the last pair to arrive at the rendezvous point with their target.

They had placed a wagon here earlier, large enough for twelve ponies to fit in and lined with iron bars and tough wood. The griffins tossed their captives inside and began hitching themselves up with smooth, practiced ease. As they did, one of the griffins wrote out a small note before taking out a bottle filled with a flickering, green flame. The griffin opened the stopper on the bottle and the flame shot out, engulfing the note and turning it into a trail of glistening smoke that shot overhead, heading back towards the Kingdoms faster than any griffin could fly.

After around five minutes of hitching up, the twelve Darkfeathers were ready to take off. “Anyone have any trouble?” one of them asked as they lifted off, flying back towards the Griffin Kingdoms with the wagon in tow.

One of the griffins that had helped kidnap Twilight Sparkle spoke up. “We had a bit of a problem with Sparkle’s little dragon friend, but it was nothing we couldn’t handle.”

“Anyone else?” the first griffin said. There was a chorus of negatives. The Darkfeathers flew on, heading away from Ponyville. As they did, a chorus of low booms reached their ears.

“Cannons,” one of the Darkfeathers observed. “Blackwing must be attacking Canterlot right now.”

“For King and Country,” one of them called.

“For King and Country!” the rest echoed.

Chapter 5

The young stallion held his helmet in his hooves, staring at it. It was a boiled leather helmet, with a longer piece on the back to protect his neck, and a long piece of metal that would go down his muzzle when he put it on. It matched the rest of the suit of armor that he was currently wearing, more boiled leather with several pieces of metal on vital spots like joints, ribs, and his spine. He slipped it onto his head as he looked around the rest of the camp. Ponies walked to and fro, gathering into companies and marching to the front under the orders of their captains. Spears and pikes and halberds pointed upwards in a forest of steel and wood, banners flapped in what little breeze there was, and unicorns ran back to the edge of the forest, quivers of metal shafts bouncing against their flanks. The few Prancer knights that Watchover and any of the surrounding lords had been able to spare formed up into a line and cantered to the front, their plate armor shimmering dully in the grey morning light. It was overcast; clouds covered the sky, but didn’t threaten rain. The stallion sighed and leaned back against the tree he had been sitting against, thinking back to how the entire war had gotten started. He only knew what he had been told; fortunately, some of the higher-up ponies had loose tongues.

Prance had been invaded by the Griffin Kingdoms only a few days ago. Before being overrun one of the border forts had managed to get a message to the city of Watchover, a fortress town that was directly in the griffin’s path. The city had assembled an army as quickly as it could, and had eventually managed to draw together eighteen thousand ponies from various parts of the province. At the moment the army sat on the borders of the forest that separated the rolling plains of the border territory from Watchover itself. The city was still visible, located on a high cliff with its walls and the Prancer flag visible even from a distance.

The army had been here for three days, awaiting the griffins’ arrival. Pegasus scouts had been able to track the griffin’s approach, and they were still making straight for Watchover. Privately, the stallion wondered if they even knew that an army awaited them before the city proper. Prance was no stranger to war; since its founding several thousand years ago Prance had fought several long, brutal wars against the neighboring country of Germaneigh, and other nations besides. As such, many cities were able to call in armies from the surrounding countryside in case extra hooves were needed for defense. As one of the largest cities, Watchover could field this army, as well as keep another inside the walls themselves.

“Sandstone!” a pegasus called as he flew down from the grey sky and landed next to the earth pony. “Your captain’s calling your company together. Forward scouts say that the griffins are forming up in battle array on the other side of the plains.”

“Right,” Sandstone replied, standing up and picking up his spear, fastening it to his harness in the vertical attention position. “Thanks, Gale.”

The sky-blue pegasus nodded, lightly punching the earth pony on the shoulder with a hoof. “See you after we’ve won, eh?”

Sandstone smiled and returned the punch. “Yeah. Good luck.”

“You too,” Gale replied as he took off again, going off to join the other pegasi that would be engaging any air forces that the griffins had. Sandstone kept walking to where his captain had told them to meet when the time came. As he walked, he caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror and stopped to get a better look. Sandstone was a light-colored stallion, with a sandy white mane and light-colored coat that complemented his deep blue eyes. His cutie mark, a blacksmith’s hammer, was obscured by his armor, which covered his back and most of his hindquarters, along with his forelegs, chest, underbelly, and sides.

“Company, form up!” a voice with the strength and volume only an experienced officer could provide yelled over the general confusion of the camp. Sandstone recognized his captain’s voice and galloped around the throngs of tents and ponies until he had reached the mustering grounds. Various other groups of ponies were there, either forming up or marching out to take up their positions with the rest of the army. His company was still getting together, a small number of other ponies trotting in from all over to report in. The captain, a steel-gray unicorn named Phalanx, looked over the hundred ponies in his command as the last few of them fell in with the rest. “As all of you undoubtedly know, the griffins have arrived on the other side of this plain and are forming up in battle array as we speak. We are doing likewise. This army is the only thing standing between the griffins and Watchover itself. I trust that you will all do your duty to Prance in making sure that the enemy does not intrude any further into our nation’s land! Fight, and die if necessary! Do not falter in your convictions! Ours is the nobler goal!”

With his speech done, he turned. “Company, by your left! MARCH!”

With that the hundred ponies began to march out of the camp, heading towards the battle line that was being drawn up around a hundred yards away. Sandstone looked around as he marched with his fellows, taking in the companies of ponies-at-arms, Watchover’s knights, the Brotherhood of the Watchtower, as well as the squadrons of pegasi hovering overhead. He looked back over his shoulder, seeing the unicorn skirmishers forming up into a ragged line in the woods. Ballistae were moved into position behind the main body of the army, rolled into place among redoubts of piled earth, wooden stakes, and bales of straw. Large harpoons were loaded onto them, ponies turning the wheels at the rear of the devices to increase torsion as they prepared the weapons to fire.

As the company halted among the battle lines of the rest of the army, Sandstone swallowed and turned his gaze forward. He could hear dogs barking and the shouts of orders being given. Very faintly he could see the black-and-white banners of the Griffin Kingdoms, the white three-toed claw on black. He licked his lips and turned to look behind him, at one of the many standards of Prance that hung in the breeze. It depicted a pegasus, wings outstretched with front and back legs pointing forward and backward respectively, inside a circle. The pegasus and circle were colored pure white, the field a royal blue. Sandstone turned back and spotted other banners; Watchover’s flag, the black compass rose on a silver field. The Brotherhood’s standard, a tower standing on the top of a mountain.

Sandstone felt his breathing slow as he took comfort in the banners. He could hear marching now. The griffins were coming.

***

Chapter Master West Wind had been given command of the army by the Viscount of Watchover, and with good reason. West Wind had never lost a battle that he had commanded, and was well-loved among his troops. He had charisma, patience, and had never backed down from a challenge.The earth pony knight was grizzled with age, his chocolate brown muzzle turning steadily more silver with each passing year. Despite this, his grey eyes were as sharp and clear as ever, and well-toned muscles were evident beneath his coat. His cutie mark, a kite shield overlapped by a pair of crossed swords, was as visible as it had been when he had first gotten it. Even so, the Chapter Master sighed as his attendant picked up his armor and floated it over to him. West Wind looked at him. “What’s the situation outside, Pauldron?”

“The griffin army is on the move, my lord,” Pauldron replied, the armor he had been levitating
spreading out and rotating around West Wind as he began dressing his lord. “There are around twenty-four thousand of them. They’re drawn up in battle array and marching towards us.”
West Wind nodded as Pauldron slipped his chest piece over his head, buckling the armor together to cover his back, rear, and stomach. “It has begun, then.” He remained silent as Pauldron continued fitting his armor to him, the grey plates settling their familiar weight on his body. Finally, all was ready. His lance, hoof sword, and shield were all buckled on, his helmet fixed upon his head. With the armoring done he galloped out of his tent, Pauldron following behind him as the Chapter Master ran through camp and up to the front of the line. As they rode they were joined by a number of other knights, more impressively liveried than the ordinary Knights of the Watchtower. These ponies were large and muscular, their armor colored silver and blue. They were the Chapter Master’s bodyguard, sworn to protect him in battle at all costs, even their lives. The army cheered as they saw him, West Wind riding the length of the line before turning back and riding up to a small hillock in front of the main army. He turned to them.

“Soldiers of Prance!” he shouted, his voice reaching every ear. “You all know that our nation is no stranger to war! For millennia we have fought Germaneigh, Canida, and any other country that dared to invade us! Throughout all of those wars, we have remained strong and immovable! True and steadfast! We have defeated all comers, even at the cost of our own lives! And now, we are ready to do so again!”

He had to pause for a moment to allow the cheering to subside. With a slash of his hoof he threw out his sword, pointing it towards the griffin host. “There stands the enemy! A ragtag mob of buzzards and mutts! They may outnumber us, but we have something worthy of fighting for! We fight for our homes, our families, and indeed our very way of life! We owe allegiance to one pony and one pony only! Our great and noble king Shining Star! Even if we are conquered, we will not pay homage to King Aeris, even if he brings the greatest storm that the world has ever seen down upon us! We will never surrender, and never give up!”

Another pause for cheering. West Wind planted his sword in the ground and turned back to his army. “I know that some of you are frightened. Perhaps all of you are! There is no shame in feeling fear, only in letting fear rule you! Try not to look scared and you will find bravery in your heart!”

The army burst into cheers again. Among the ponies-at-arms Sandstone felt his heart soar with hope, an infectious grin coming over his face as he roared his approval with the rest of the Prancer soldiers. Weapons clashed on shields and hooves stamped the earth, the army’s cheers shaking the trees behind them. Even the sky seemed to celebrate with them, a patch of sunlight peeking through a gap in the clouds to shine down on West Wind as he pulled his sword from the earth and raised it into the sky as he turned to face the enemy, the entire army tensing behind him. Everything seemed to go still. Both armies stood several hundred yards away from one another, waiting and watching. Dogs growled low in their throats as drool dripped from their teeth, griffins drawing their weapons and holding them in readiness. Ponies pawed the ground with their hooves and snorted nervously. Somewhere along the line, Sandstone heard a nicker.

Finally, West Wind lowered his sword. A great roar went up from the Prancer army as they charged forward, a huge screaming mass of ponies and iron and wood and muscle. The ground seemed to shake with the fury of their charge, dirt clods flying into the air from the beating of hooves. The griffin army charged as well, the dogs bounding forward with snarls and barks, saliva flying from their jaws in long trails as they pounded towards the Prancers. West Wind leapt off of his rock, followed closely by Pauldron and his bodyguards, their voices ripping from their throats to join the cries of their army. Pegasi shot forward overhead, wings pumping as they propelled themselves towards their opposite number. A hissing noise filled the air over the screams of the two armies as the metal arrows of the unicorn skirmishers shot through the sky. Griffins and dogs dropped by the score, tripping up more of their number as the unlucky souls went down, many pierced with multiple shafts. Ballistae opened fire as well, sending harpoon-sized spears flying into the sky. Pierced by the massive projectiles, griffins dropped from the air and into the charging mass to be trampled underfoot by their fellows in their heedless onrush.

Lances were lowered.

Swords were drawn.

Shields were brought to bear.

***

Sandstone’s company had become spread out in the charge, now merely part of the onrushing mob surging across the plains toward the griffin army. He was in the front row, his spear lowered, his hooves pounding the earth as he galloped ever closer.

The two armies collided in a screaming crash of fur, muscle, armor, and weapons. Some soldiers were thrown over the backs of their opponents, landing on the ground behind them to be finished off by others. Many were killed in the first instant of the battle, being gored on spears or leapt upon to have their throats torn out. Others managed to fight their way through enemy lines for a short while before being overwhelmed. The battle quickly descended into a chaotic mess, blood flying into the air, soaking the earth, the ground being churned up by hooves and paws. Weapons flashed, stabbed, and cut. The corpses of pegasi and griffins dropped to the earth in droves as the two aerial elements clashed. Screams, cries, and roars filled the air along with the sounds of clashing steel.

Sandstone had already fought his way through three dogs. In the initial clash of forces he had buried his spear in the chest of one, not only forcing the weapon out of its back but also snapping the haft, leaving him with a useless stick. Partially useless though; after he had gotten it out of its saddle and into his mouth it made an ideal club. He had cut down two other enemies with his sword, one a dog, the other a griffin. He watched ponies around him cut down by the savage strokes of weaponry, saw a griffin speared in the back and fall to his knees, then flat on his face as his red-crested helmet rolled off his head. He saw West Wind carving a swathe of blood and death through the enemy horde, his bodyguard fighting around him. He looked up and saw Gale held in a full nelson by a griffin soldier, struggling to get free before another came in and sank a sword into the pegasus’s chest. He saw Captain Phalanx form a schiltrom with a number of his company, the ponies forming what amounted to a turtle shell with spears pointing out of it as they cut and slashed their way through the battle. They managed to get about ten feet before a sudden charge of dogs broke their formation, scattering the schiltrom like ashes in the wind. Captain Phalanx cut every which way with his sword, but Sandstone saw him go down under the weight of sheer numbers, blades in the paws of dogs rising and falling as they piled on top of the unicorn.

A battle cry put his focus back on the battle, the sandy-coated earth pony spinning to parry the downward slash of a griffin. The griffin backfisted him across the face, Sandstone’s helmet flying off with the motion. He turned, the griffin bringing his sword up in an upward diagonal slash as Sandstone stabbed for his face. Both of them screamed at one another, their voices lost in the cacophony of war.

Chapter 8

Thirty sets of hooves hammered the gravel path as the platoon of ponies rode toward the earthen redoubt that guarded the Germaneic camp from the southern side. Large piles of heaped dirt reared before them as they clattered to a halt, a large number of wooden stakes poking out at them in a menacing manner. The ponies that walked the wooden palisade on top of the mounds of earth were alert and focused on them, a number of crossbows and spears poking over the wooden ramparts down at the group.

“Hold there,” said one of the guards as the hastily erected gate opened to admit him. “State your name and business.”

The leader of the newcomers smiled disarmingly at the guard. His blue eyes seemed filled with laughter, but not of a happy sort. His eyes would reveal him as the sort of pony that would laugh as he killed an enemy, sharp like steel and cold like ice. His charcoal gray fur and black mane would have marked him as suspicious. Would have, if not for the blue, spread-winged falcon emblazoned on his chestplate, as well as the chestplates of his fellows. The guard’s eyebrows rose and he quickly backed out of the way, bowing. “My apologies, sirs. I didn’t see your emblem at first.”

“It’s all right,” the lead pony said. “I am Bright Blade of the Order of the Watchers. The Grand Master has sent us here to aid the army.”

“Any help from the Watchers is welcome,” the guard replied, nodding vigorously. “If you will follow me, sirs, I will escort you to Lord Iron Ore’s tent. He’s in command of the army.”

“That would be most welcome,” Bright Blade replied, nodding. As the guard turned around and led the group into the camp, Bright Blade dismissed his fellows with nods of his head. The other Watchers split off into small groups, going off to get a bite to eat, patch up their weapons and armor, or merely check around the camp. As they did that, Bright Blade got a good look at the place himself.

The Germaneic camp was extremely busy, even though there seemed to be no sign of impending battle. Blacksmiths’ hammers clanged as their wielders made and repaired weapons. Groups of hooves stomped the ground in unison as companies drilled. Arrows sang through the air as their owners fired them at griffin-shaped targets. Weapons clashed and clanged against each other in mock battle. The air was filled with constant chatter, pegasus messengers flying to and fro.

Finally, Bright Blade and his escort came to Iron Ore’s command tent. It was a lozenge-shaped structure, guarded by a quartet of earth ponies. Two banners flanked the entrance: One depicting the sword-in-a-stone-on-a-black-field emblem of Iron Ore’s province, the other the black-on-yellow crowned stag of Germaneigh proper.

One of the guards opened the tent flap, allowing Bright Blade to look inside. The tent consisted of a large, square table, upon which was a map of the area. Tapestries and pennants hung from the tent’s walls, and the furs of various animals decorated the numerous benches and chairs. Around the table were at least fifteen other ponies of various races, including one unicorn whose gold-and-white, antler-emblazoned plate armor marked him out as a member of the Church of the White Stag’s military arm, the Order of the Forest. The tent was filled with subdued mutterings as the commanders anxiously discussed the situation.

All talk quieted and a large, grizzled earth pony stallion colored sky blue with a messy green mane looked up as Bright Blade entered. “Ah. Watcher Bright Blade, I presume?”

“You would presume correctly, Lord Ore.” Bright Blade replied, entering and walking over to the table, looking down at the map and the various blocks and flags placed in various locations on it. “What’s the situation at present?”

“The strategic situation is this,” Iron Ore said as he tapped the map with one hoof. “The griffins invaded from the southeast, through Blackhoof Pass. They’ve managed to go through the outer provinces pretty easily…though that’s mostly because they’re being joined by our own ponies.”

“Joined?” Bright Blade asked, his eyebrows rising.

“Yes,” Iron Ore replied. “The Lords of Hoofton, Rusha, and Stepparn have all pledged their loyalty to King Aeris. The other lords in the area attempted to hold out against the griffins, but they were all overwhelmed.”

Bright Blade nodded as he drank in the information. The three provinces that had defected to the griffin’s side were three of the largest in the outer areas of Germaneigh. The fertile land and large population of all three combined gave the griffins a formidable force in their corner. “Do we know why the lords there defected?”

“I think you know that very well, Master Watcher,” Iron Ore replied.

As much as Bright Blade hated to admit it, it was true. One thing that he would voluntarily concede to Germaneigh’s Prancer neighbors was that their king was younger, stronger, and more well-liked. While Shining Star had the loyalty of every noble in his nation, King Earth Shaker was old and frail, and had grown increasingly short with his nobles over the years as his age caught up with him. While the vast majority of Germaneigh was still loyal to him, a number of lords, both inner and outer, were likely to pledge their fealty to the Griffin Kingdoms.

“So, how many ponies does that give the griffins?” he asked.

“Around five thousand,” Iron Ore replied. “They’ve split their army in two in order to continue campaigning in the outer provinces, but even so we’ll be hard pressed to fend them off here. Scouts estimate that the army is around thirty-five thousand strong, so that means that there will be around seventeen and a half thousand coming at us.”

“How many soldiers are here?” Bright Blade asked.

“On such short notice we were only able to put together eight thousand,” Iron Ore replied grimly.
“We have reinforcements coming from the heartlands, but it will be several days before they get here. Lord Autumnbark has also pledged his support, but it’ll be a full week for them to be able to get here.”

Bright Blade nodded, pressing his lips together before sighing. “Well that’s something, at least…”

“Though we do have one advantage,” Iron Ore continued. “The terrain is in our favor.”

Bright Blade nodded. The pass into the inner provinces that the army was currently guarding was home to an old Germaneic fortress, one that had served Germaneigh well during many of its wars with Prance. It had been heavily damaged over time, but it was still functional. Adding the fortress itself to the extensive earthworks in the place, and the Germaneic army was in a good position.

A soldier entered the tent behind Bright Blade, looking at Iron Ore. “My lord, scouts have spotted the griffins approaching.”

Iron Ore nodded. “Sound the assembly call. I’ll be out momentarily.”

The soldier saluted and ran out of the tent, and Iron Ore looked around at the other officers. “Well my friends, we have a battle to fight. Good luck to all of you. The White Stag be with us all.”
With that, the tent emptied.

***

Lord Rainstorm of the Griffin Kingdoms looked out over his army from a small cliff. It was more ragtag than he would have liked, ponies mixed in with dogs and griffins. Not that he was complaining. Due to the treachery of the three lords, the army was even more massive than it had been when it first arrived. His scouts had reported that the Germaneic army that waited in the pass was far smaller than theirs. He grinned to himself, anticipating the slaughter.

“Lord Rainstorm!” a voice called from nearby. Raincloud looked up at the trees surrounding the cliff, spotting a griffin clad in the livery of the Royal Courier Service. “I have a message for you from the king!”

Raincloud nodded and beckoned, the courier flying down and landing next to him, presenting him with a rolled-up scroll, tied shut by black ribbon with the Kingdoms’ symbol emblazoned on it. Raincloud slit the ribbon with a claw and unfurled the scroll, his blue eyes scanning the paper back and forth as he read its contents. Finishing, he rolled it shut again. “Hm. Blackwing’s already taken Canterlot. Interesting.” He looked back at the courier. “Tell the king that I am about to penetrate into Germaneigh’s inner provinces.”

“Yes milord,” the courier said, saluting before taking off again. Rainstorm watched him go for a moment before turning and walking down the cliff, over to the temporary camp where the army’s officers were gathered. At the moment the map that they were poring over had their forces in battle array. Rainstorm could hear them debating over how to conduct the actual battle.

“I say that we should focus on the fortress first. Send our griffins up there to attack it, and once that’s done we can hit them from both sides.”

“Which would weaken our forces on the ground by robbing them of aerial support,” said another officer, folding his arms over his chest as he glared at the first speaker across the table.

“Oh come on!” groaned a third officer. “They’ve divided their army in half covering both areas. All we would have to do is just bum-rush them with the ground forces and overwhelm them through numbers.”

“Against an enemy in entrenched positions in a narrow pass?” asked a fourth. “They’d be slaughtered.”

All talking stopped as the officers finally noticed Rainstorm standing there. The griffin walked over to the map, moving the blocks that represented the pony and dog portions of the army. “Form the pony and dog companies into battle array and have them attack, and keep half of our griffins hidden. Put them up in the clouds, where they can’t be seen and keep the rest with the main army to distract their pegasi. Once the Germaneic forces are fully committed, bring the hidden half of the griffin companies around their rear. That is the plan.”

None of the other griffins protested. Rainstorm had a reputation for not liking to have his plans questioned. The griffin lord looked at his subordinates. “See to your commands.”

The griffins scattered immediately, going to the companies under their commands in order to prepare for battle. Rainstorm spread his wings and took off, flying up to the top of one of the nearby trees in order to look out over the battle area. The Germaneic fortress loomed in the distance, a massive white sentinel looking out over the valley that it guarded. The tall cliffs that protected it from conventional ground assault stood tall and proud, as if in defiance of the griffin army.

“This will be fun,” he muttered to himself, smirking.

***

The sky was darkening with the onset of night as the Germaneic army stood in battle formation outside the pass. Torches had been lit and placed among the earthworks, ponies lined up by divisions and roles as they waited for the griffins to appear. War dogs, muscular and fierce with their sharp white teeth glinting in the rising moonlight, stood among the ponies, their handlers keeping them in check until the time came. Here and there was a priest of the Church of the White Stag, walking slowly along the line with an incense burner swinging back and forth in front of them, fragrant smoke gently curling from the hole in the burner’s top as the priests murmured prayers for safety and victory, many soldiers augmenting the sound with prayers of their own.
Bright Blade and Iron Ore stood on a small rise, most of Iron Ore’s bodyguard gathered around them. Bright Blade looked over the army, his eyes picking out each of the Watchers that he had brought to the battle. Instead of all being concentrated into one group, the Watchers were scattered among the army so as to best divide their considerable martial skill evenly on the field.
Iron Ore looked up as a pegasus scout flew down and hovered in front of the group, his wings flapping to keep himself aloft. “They come now, milord.”

“Good,” Iron Ore breathed as he looked away from the scout and towards the tree line. “It will begin soon, then.” He looked at Bright Blade. “Are your troops ready, Master Watcher?”

“They are,” Bright Blade said. Iron Ore nodded, turning his head back to the forest. Bright Blade cocked one ear as a priestpony passed by the hill. He could hear the earnest prayer whispered by the unicorn, asking for guidance, strength, and skill from the White Stag to lead the army to victory.

“Torches!” called a lookout suddenly. Bright Blade looked back towards the forest. A bright orange light was starting to make its way through the trees, and the sounds of marching hooves and paws were beginning to reach his ears.

“Steady!” Iron Ore called to his troops. “Pegasi, lift off!” He turned to a messenger pegasus. “Inform the fortress detachment to be ready.”

“Yes, milord,” the pegasus said hurriedly before spreading his wings and taking off, flying up to the fortress as the rest of the pegasus soldiers in the army took flight, the sound of flapping wings drowning out the steadily-increasing noise of marching hooves and feet. There were a number of archers stationed up at the fortress, as well as footponies to protect the encampment against the griffins.

The griffin army began to emerge from the trees. They stopped a short distance out of the trees, a long unbroken line of ponies and dogs. Griffins hovered in place above the trees, waiting for the word to charge. The Germaneic army tensed up, many whispering a last, desperate prayer as they readied their weapons and stared across the field at the griffins. Bright Blade saw one soldier attempt to back up, only to feel a sword blade pressed against his haunches as a Watcher pressed the flat of his sword against the earth pony’s rump.

***

Rainstorm walked out through a gap between two of the army’s companies, moving onto a small hillock as he looked at the Germaneic army awaiting them. He smiled thinly, drawing his sword and raising it into the sky. The ponies and dogs around him tensed, crouching as they got ready to charge. Rainstorm chuckled. “Let the games begin,” he muttered before dropping the sword, pointing it at the enemy. A loud roar went up from the assembled army as it surged forward like a tidal wave of fur and muscle, hooves and paws pounding the grass and the army’s collective roar echoing off of the cliffs to add to the noise.

***

“So it begins,” Iron Ore whispered as he watched the griffin army get closer. He turned his head downward, towards the army. “Archers!”

“ARCHERS!” came the repetition. Unicorns, their bows wrapped in shimmering magical auras, nocked arrows to string and pulled them back.

“FIRE!”

A storm of shafts flew into the sky, filling the air with a whirring drone as they flew upward, their momentum running out and sending them falling down towards the enemy. Dogs and ponies screamed and fell as the arrows landed among them, followed closely by a second volley, and a third.

“Hounds!” Iron Ore bellowed next.

Germaneic war hounds barked and snarled as their handlers slipped their leashes, sending several dozen of the animals charging forward towards the enemy. They crashed headlong into the front ranks, biting and snapping as they tore at the dogs and ponies that had had the misfortune to be their victims. Swords flashed and dogs whimpered in agony as other soldiers either killed the dogs before they could reach their targets or slashed them with their weapons as they savaged other soldiers.

Iron Ore reared up on his hind legs, bellowing his last command to the entire army. “FOOOOOOOOORWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!”

Germaneic ponies roared and screamed as they charged forward, their hooves trampling the grass flat as they charged straight for the griffin army. Iron Ore and Bright Blade drew their swords and charged down the slope of the hill to mingle with the army, followed closely by Iron Ore’s bodyguards. Pegasi shot forward overhead, their war cries mingling with those of their landbound countryponies as they charged the griffins that flew over their own army.
The two sides met in a clash of metal and muscle, blood flying into the air along with screams and roars as the armies came together. Bodies were thrown over shields or borne backward as they were impaled on spears, weapons clashing together with terrific rings of steel on steel or with a solid thunk as a blade clashed with the solid wood of a shield. Cries of “Traitors!” and “Featherwhores!” made their own mark on the air as loyally Germaneic ponies clashed with their traitorous former comrades. Griffins and pegasi whirled through the air or fell like stones as they fought and died above the main battle. Swarms of arrows shot through the sky from either side, screams and shrieks of pain accompanying their impacts. Griffins that bypassed the main battle with the pegasi flew over the battle before diving towards the bridge that connected the two different sides of the fortress to one another across the pass. The archers stationed there fired one volley that sent griffins tumbling from the sky in droves before drawing their swords as the griffins landed on the bridge, the clashing of weapons echoing off of the ancient, crumbling walls of the fortress and growing louder and more widespread as other griffins made landings in other parts of the fort, fighting with the ponies standing guard there.

A horn suddenly sounded from the left flank of the griffin army, a high, clear “DA-DA DA-DA DA-DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” as a company of heavy hoofponies charged screaming from the forests, the banner of Germaneigh waving high and proud among them and their thick plate armor, massive rectangular shields, and long maces glinting in the moonlight as they smashed into the whirling melee of dogs, ponies, and griffins. The ferocity of the charge allowed them to drive deep into the griffin army, their maces smashing and crushing as they drove deep into the maelstrom of battle. The griffin forces were driven back momentarily, fighting and falling as they were forced back to the tree line step by step.

The sounds of a number of crossbows firing put paid to any Germaneic thoughts of a quick victory as bolts streaked from the trees to find marks among the hoofponies, the high-torsion projectiles easily puncturing their armor and sending them tumbling to the ground, screaming. The griffin forces, emboldened by this success, rallied and drove forward, reversing the direction of the now quickly retreating Germaneic forces.

That was when Rainstorm’s trap closed into place. The second half of the griffin corps that had been deliberately held back from the main battle dropped out of the clouds, screaming for blood as they cut through the ongoing aerial battle to land between the Germaneic earthworks and the Germaneic army itself. The griffins charged into the fray, their flanks quickly enfolding themselves around the now-surrounded Germaneic army. The trapped ponies fought desperately as they were pressed into a tighter and tighter cluster, the army frothing and boiling like a cauldron.

“Rally to me!” Iron Ore shouted as he galloped through the ponies. “Rally to meeeeeee!”

The Germaneic army followed him, and they hurled their full strength against the griffins guarding the pass. Not nearly as numerous as their fellows on the opposite side of their formerly-trapped foe, the griffin corps scattered like ashes as the ponies smashed through them like a rock through a window, driving them away as the Germaneic forces moved back into the pass, not stopping.

“Pull back!” Iron Ore cried as the griffin army vengefully pursued them, a number of ponies turning to fight a rearguard action in the narrowest part of the pass, arrows singing and swords flashing, spears thrusting and axes swinging. The griffin army continued pressing forward, now also besieging the Germaneic forces from above as the griffins that had gained the bridge began firing arrows down into their ranks.

“PULL BACK!” Iron Ore bellowed over the sound of battle. Ponies began to break off from the battle and run, galloping as fast as their legs could carry them as they retreated. The rearguard ponies launched a desperate charge that drove the griffins back to the mouth of the pass, a number of unicorns sending massive blasts of fire from their horns to block the pass entirely as they turned and galloped away as well.

Far away from the main battle, Rainstorm smirked. “Just as planned,” he said, satisfied.

***

A few hours later, Rainstorm stood with his officers as they gave him their reports.

“The dogs and ponies took significant losses, milord,” said one. “Around fifteen hundred ponies and four thousand dogs. Griffin casualties were a bit lighter, around two thousand altogether.”

“So not as bad as it could have been,” Rainstorm mused. “Do we have casualty estimates on the enemy?”

“Around five and a half thousand, milord.”

Rainstorm grinned. “Good. Send a courier back to the Tower with a message. Write that we have defeated a Germaneic army and are consolidating our forces. Ask for reinforcements as well.”

“Yes, milord,” one officer replied, bowing and taking off to go back to the camp to find a messenger.

“The rest of you, order the troops to set up camp, then collect the dead for their last rites. Burn the Germaneic fallen. Set a watch on the fortress as well. I don’t want to be caught by a counterattack in the night.”

The other officers nodded, then took off to follow their lord’s orders.

Chapter 9

The sun was beginning its descent towards the west as Ponyville’s population trudged its way through the Everfree Forest. The sounds of creaking trees, chattering birds, and the odd howl of a timberwolf worked their way through the air and among the foliage, failing sunlight becoming fainter as its source began to move below the horizon. Wagon wheels creaked and hooves scuffed the loamy ground, the sounds following the long line of civilians and guards walking along the trail. Many ponies looked around them constantly, fearful of something suddenly breaking from the trees to attack the near-defenseless convoy.

Up front, Luna and Full Moon kept their eyes on the trail ahead. Full Moon finally chanced a glance at his princess. “Your Highness…Are you sure you know where we’re going?”

“Yes, Captain,” Luna replied, not turning to look at him. “I’m sure.”

“Well then, how close are we? Some of the civilians are starting to get tired.”

Luna glanced behind her at these words, looking back at the column. While the guards showed no signs of weariness, there were a larger number of ponies riding in the wagons than there had been when the group first left Ponyville, mostly just the younger foals and older adult ponies. Luna looked back at Full Moon. “Call a halt for now. Pass out food if anypony’s hungry and send a few guards forward to scout out the path ahead.”

“Yes, Princess,” Full Moon replied, nodding. He turned around and relayed Luna’s commands to the rest of the column, and four guards trotted down the trail as the rest of the ponies gradually came to a stop. Luna spread her wings and took off, flying straight up and through the ceiling of the forest. She felt the leaves brush her fur and branches pull at her wings and mane before she exited the tangle of branches and foliage, hovering in place as she looked out over the Everfree.
The forest stretched all the way from the edge of Ponyville to the foot of the mountains that stretched into the sky nearby, their snow-capped peaks and dark, jagged shapes outlined by the setting sun. Luna turned around back in the direction of Canterlot and Ponyville, looking east back towards the small village. The pair of airships that she had spotted earlier that day had not moved once they had gotten to Ponyville around noon, and she had seen the odd trio of griffins flying around the village on patrol. Nothing had been following them, however. She breathed a sigh of relief as she gently lowered herself back to the ground.

By the time she got back, the scouting party had returned and was making its report to Full Moon. The bat-winged pegasus was nodding as one of the guards spoke to him, occasionally looking down at a small map that the guard was drawing in the dirt. After a few minutes more of this he dismissed the guards, who walked back to where a number of Ponyvillers were doling out food to anypony that wanted some.

Full Moon turned and walked over to her, saluting with one wing before speaking.

“The scouting party reported back, Your Highness. Nothing dangerous in our immediate area but there’s a sizeable river a short distance away. It should be fairly easy to ford, though. The water’s shallow enough to just come up to around a pony’s knees. The foals will need to be carried, though.”

“Very good, Captain,” Luna said, nodding. “You’re dismissed.”

Full Moon saluted again and turned around, walking back to the rest of the wagons. Luna looked back down the road in the direction that the scouting party had been sent in, then gave a sigh.
It’s been so long… she thought to herself. So long since I’ve walked those halls. Of course, there had been that time when she had returned and been freed from Nightmare Moon’s influence, but that had just been for a few moments, and she hadn’t been able to thoroughly explore the castle. But enough anticipating. She still had a duty to perform. Spreading her wings again and lighting her horn, Luna raised herself into the air again, her eyes glowing white with power as she enacted the ritual that would raise the moon.

***

Captain Rosten stood on top of Ponyville’s town hall, watching the moon rise over the mountains. He took a deep breath of the crisp night air, then looked down at the village square. The griffins that had come with him to take over the town were in the final stages of setting up an outpost in the area, converting buildings into temporary courier stations, digging earthworks that would function as temporary defenses until more permanent fortifications could be built, and setting up tents in neat lines for rest stations. He could smell the aroma of cooking meat and hear the chatter of griffins as they worked.

Spreading his wings, Rosten took off and glided to the ground, snapping his claws for a courier. “Take a message to Marshal Blackwing,” he said. “Tell him that Ponyville is secured and that we’re setting up an outpost here now. He can deploy the airships whenever he thinks it prudent.”
“Yes, Captain,” replied the courier, giving him a salute before taking off and flying back to Canterlot as fast as he could. Rosten watched him go before looking around at the town and sighing. They’d arrived in Ponyville around noon, only to find the town completely deserted. While they had only checked the main cluster of buildings, not the farms and homes that lay farther away, the town had been completely and utterly evacuated.

He found the captain of the marines in a small pavilion that had been set up in Ponyville’s park. The captain was with a number of his other officers, discussing deployments of the town’s impromptu garrison to the earthworks being dug.

“We’ll send Starboard’s section to the west defenses, and Cirrus’s section to the north,” the captain was saying as Rosten approached. “I want three-member patrols circling the village at all times. I don’t want to be caught by surprise out here, is that understood?”

“Yes, sir!” the other officers chorused. The captain nodded and waved a hand to dismiss them. As the other officers filed out, the captain looked up at Rosten.

“Something I can do for you, son?”

“Have the scout teams reported back yet?”

“Yes, actually,” the captain replied, tapping the map with one finger. “There aren’t any refugee columns heading in any likely direction away from the town, whether by an established road or through the countryside. They may have taken shelter in the Everfree Forest or Whitetail Wood.”

“So where does that leave us?” Rosten asked.

“Well, my marines are too scared to go into the Everfree, no matter how many of ‘em I say to go in. They’ve heard stories, Rosten. And even taking out all of those, that place is dangerous. There’s even a hydra in a bog somewhere inside it, I’ve heard.” He leaned back from the table and sighed. “Plus, there’s the added complication that we don’t even know where the civilians that were in Ponyville are going.”

“True,” Rosten replied. “What do you suppose, then?”

“We can at least search Whitetail Wood,” the captain replied. “If they’re not in there, we at least know for sure that they went into the Everfree Forest. If we can keep them bottled up in there, they won’t be able to trouble us.”

“Good point,” Rosten replied, nodding. He walked over to the table and shuffled a few of the maps around until he got to one that showed Equestria as a whole. He pointed out the closest cities to Canterlot, tapping each one with a claw. “The Lord Marshal is planning on moving to these cities first. Manehattan, Baltimare, Hoofington, and Seaddle. We’ll be deploying the airships in the morning.”

“Getting it done fast, eh?” the captain muttered. He nodded. “I like it. Not like it’ll be a challenge, though. I hear our boys in Germaneigh and Prance are having a lot tougher time than we are.”
“I bet, considering that those countries seem to be on a semi-permanent war footing,” Rosten said, shrugging. “Carry on, captain.”

The captain nodded, going off to see to his troops as Rosten flew the short distance back to Ponyville.

***

Luna felt a smile grow on her face as she rounded what she knew to be the final bend in the path. Though it looked rather ominous in the moonlight, Everfree Castle still looked as it had when she had returned to Equestria as Nightmare Moon. She turned around as the rest of the column rounded the bend, sweeping a wing behind her. “Spread the word down the column, Captain. We’re finally here.”

Full Moon nodded and spread his wings, taking off and flying back down the length of the convoy to tell the rest of Ponyville’s population. She almost immediately began hearing exclamations of excitement and the rapid thrumming of hoofbeats on the ground as ponies ran around the bend, looking at the castle that stood across the gorge from them. As Full Moon flew back around the bend and landed back in front of Luna, she nodded to him. “See everypony inside, Captain.”“Yes, Princess,” Full Moon replied, sweeping out a wing and bowing before getting back up and turning around to the civilians. Within minutes, guards and civilians were unloading the wagons, carrying them across the rope bridge that connected castle to convoy. Other civilians were making their way inside, looking around at the interior of the castle. Luna stood by with Full Moon, watching the unpacking. Full Moon was talking to several guardsponies, detailing duties.

“Lieutenant Bright Eye, get four other guards and start dismantling those wagons. I want earthworks made up on the other side of that bridge as soon as possible. Lieutenant Phalanx, you choose as many ponies as you deem necessary and get up on the walls. The rest of you, inside. I want regular patrols in every area of the castle.”

As the guards moved off to perform their tasks, Full Moon looked over at Luna. “Do you think we’ll be safe here, Princess?” he asked.

“I’m certain, Captain.” Luna replied. “Equestria isn’t the only place that fears places such as the Everfree Forest. We won’t be followed.”

Full Moon nodded, going back to watch the unloading. “You can go inside, Princess. I’ll supervise the unloading.”

“Very well, Captain,” Luna replied. “Come and see me as soon as you’re done.”

“Yes, Princess.”

Luna walked toward the castle, nodding at the pair of pegasus guards that saluted as she went through the castle’s main door. As she entered the castle’s main hall, Luna took a look around.
The civilians were already doing their best to make themselves at home, setting up bedrolls and shelters in neat rows, supervised by several other guards. Foals ran to and fro, their happy chatter floating through the air as they ran among the makeshift tents. The Cakes had already gotten their shelter up, a sizeable camping stove already lit nearby, out of the way of any fire hazards. Mr. Cake was setting their foals down to bed. As he drew the blanket over the twins, he gave Luna a smile and bow.

“Is everything all right?” she asked, stopping and turning to the family.

“As good as we can make it, Your Highness,” Mrs. Cake replied. “Would you like some bread? I’m making a few fresh loaves in case anypony’s hungry.”

Luna shook her head. “No, not at the moment. Please, if there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask.” With that she left them, walking up to the dais at the head of the room. She looked out over the room, watching the rest of Ponyville’s population thread their way in and start setting up shelters of their own. A few walked over to the Cake’s tent following the smell of baking bread, though the majority kept building. She saw Applebloom and Big Macintosh setting up a small shelter, the bright yellow filly standing on her brother’s back to hook a tarp over a length of rope to make a tent as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo moved boxes and bags around. Spike was with them, handing Big Macintosh things to pass up to Applebloom. As the last of the civilians filed in, Luna saw Full Moon fly in over them, heading towards the dais. He landed at the foot of the stairs leading up to it, bowing.

“You may stand, Captain. I want us to get right down to business.”

“In what way, Princess?” Full Moon asked, looking up.

“Gather any other captains that survived Canterlot and meet me in the eastern tower,” Luna replied, pointing with one hoof to a small, round-topped tower that stood apart from the rest of the castle. “We have much to discuss, now that we’re here.”

“I’ll see to it immediately, Princess,” Full Moon replied, saluting before flying off again. Luna spread her wings, a bright flash obscuring her as she teleported to the tower.

***

Blackwing was not a happy griffin at the moment. Colonel Grimfeather stood in front of him, the grizzled veteran unafraid of the marshal’s wrath.

“What do you mean, the Royal Archives are empty?” Blackwing snarled.

“Exactly what I said, Lord Marshal,” Grimfeather replied. “Everything in the Archives is gone, even the guards. My guess is that they moved themselves and everything in the Archives to a safe location."

"Smart of them," Blackwing remarked idly. "Lots of sensitive information in there that they wouldn't want falling into the wrong hands."

"We do have word from some of the scouts though," Grimfeather continued. "Shining Armor was apparently inspecting the Archives at the time of the attack.”

“Shining Armor…” Blackwing murmured, nodding. While he hadn’t heard of any notable accomplishments of the officer, one thing he did know was that the unicorn had wed Celestia’s niece, Princess Cadance, a few weeks ago. Not to mention that he was the elder brother of Twilight Sparkle, Celestia’s personal student. Such a large magical undertaking as teleporting every single document in the Royal Archives somewhere else would not be beyond the capabilities of such a unicorn, if he was anywhere near as strong (or even stronger than) his sister. “Right, then. Never mind finding the Archives’ guard detachment for now. Focus on gathering task forces to take Equestria’s cities. Once that’s done, we can focus on hunting down any rogue guard elements.”

“Yessir,” Grimfeather replied, saluting and walking out of the throne room, which Blackwing had designated his command center. Mostly because he liked the chair, but still.

One of the guards entered as Colonel Grimfeather left the room, saluting before giving his report. “A courier for you, Lord Marshal.”

“Send him in,” Blackwing replied, settling back in Celestia’s throne.

The courier came in almost immediately, walking straight up to the dais and presenting the letter.

“A message from the King, Lord Marshal.”

“Thank you,” Blackwing replied, walking down the dais’s steps to take the letter personally. “You’re dismissed.”

As the courier retreated from the room, Blackwing walked back and sat down in the throne, slitting the letter open with a claw and unfolding it. His eyes darted back and forth as he read, taking in each detail. It wasn’t much, mostly just an update of how the other six Marshals were faring in their respective theaters of war, as well as an update on the reinforcements that they had requested, along with an update on the status of experimental weaponry being developed by the War Ministry, mainly improved designs on cannons and trial runs of handheld firearms. Blackwing folded the letter back up and sat back in the chair, awaiting the next update from his command staff.

***

Luna stood in the great hall of Everfree Castle’s eastern tower, her hooves planted firmly on the grey stone dais at the far end. The high windows at her back stretched up to the ceiling above her, revealing the night sky that had come out as Luna had raised the moon. Stars twinkled in a backdrop of glittering light and the moon hung massive and full as Luna looked down at Full Moon and the three captains that he had found. Luna looked the three of them over as they stood at attention before her, waiting for her to speak to them.

Captain Stout Heart was an earth pony, colored a warm, sandy brown with blue eyes. His short-cropped black tail protruded from the back of his armor, and his eyes stared straight ahead, not looking at Luna. Captain Rite, a unicorn, was colored white with a blue mane and tail. His eyes were green, his posture mimicking Stout Heart’s. Captain Aileron the pegasus was colored a sky blue with a snow-white mane and tail, his blue eyes facing straight forward like those of his compatriots.

“These three are the only ones I could find, Your Highness,” Full Moon said, gesturing to the three with a hoof.

“Thank you, Captain. You did the best you could under the circumstances,” Luna replied, nodding to him. She turned to the other three captains, then sat down. “You all can relax.”

The captains mimicked her, sitting down as well. Luna looked at all of them, then sighed. “I assume that there’s no point in putting this off any further. Where do we stand currently?”

“The attack on Canterlot devastated the Royal Guard, Your Highness,” Stout Heart said. “Or at least, the section of the Guard that was assigned to guard the rest of the city and the castle itself. We don’t really have any intelligence on what happened to the Archive guards.”

“And what of Captain-General Shining Armor?” Luna asked.

“He was to inspect the Archive guards the night of the attack, Princess,” Aileron said, taking up the explanations. “Though whether or not he was still there at the time of the assault, however, we don’t know. We have no information on Princess Cadance's current whereabouts, though our last check-in before the attack confirmed that she was still in their summer house on Gallopfrey.”

“We can only assume that Shining Armor escaped,” Luna said. “His magical talent exceeds that of Twilight Sparkle’s, and the Archive guards are exclusively unicorns all trained in combat spells. Not to mention that Shining Armor is no fool. He wouldn’t stay in Canterlot if the situation was hopeless.” She looked at all four captains again. “For now, our efforts should be focused on finding out the extent of the situation in Equestria and replenishing the Royal Guard’s numbers. Captain Full Moon, I expect you to recruit as many fit male ponies as you can into the Royal Guard. Volunteers only, mind you.”

“Yes, Princess,” Full Moon replied, bowing his head.

“Captain Aileron, I want you to take a few pegasi and scout out the surrounding area. We can only assume that the griffins have taken Cloudsdale by now. Scout out the surrounding cloud formations, see if there are any pegasi that you can bring back with you.”

As Aileron saluted, Luna turned to Stout Heart and Rite. “As for the both of you, I would like you to start training the new recruits as Full Moon brings them in.”

“Yes, Princess,” the two said together, saluting.

Luna nodded in approval. “Very well. Get to work, all four of you.”

Chapter 10

A deafening crack of thunder accompanied the bright white flash of a unicorn’s teleportation spell, the shockwave from the magical fallout flattening every blade of grass for nearly twenty feet around. As the light faded and the quiet of night returned, a company of unicorns were made visible. Gathered in a large circle around one particular unicorn, they immediately about-faced and set about securing the area, horns lighting up with illumination spells as they checked the area for any griffin activity. The unicorn that had been the center of the group shook himself, his deep purple armor rustling softly as he sat down, then took off his helmet. Checking to see that every member of the Archive Guard was performing their duties, whether they were securing the area or making sure that every scroll and book from the Canterlot Archives had survived the trip, Shining Armor took a deep breath of the cool night air. He could still taste smoke from the Fall of Canterlot, and smacked his lips briefly as he got up and turned around to face the mountains that rose to his left, the moon high above silhouetting the snow-capped peaks of Equestria’s northern mountains.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Shining Armor turned to find one of the Archive Guard approaching him, the yellow hooded robe beneath his armor and the shining sun emblem on his chest plate marking him as the Guard’s Mage-Captain, their commander.

“Are you alright, sir?” the unicorn asked Shining as he approached.

“I’m fine, Arcane,” Shining Armor replied. He looked around. “Any sign of any griffins?”

“No sir,” replied Arcane. “Nopony’s reported any yet.”

“I’m not surprised,” Shining Armor said. “They’re most likely still at Canterlot.”

“Indeed,” Arcane replied. He turned his golden eyes up to the mountains that loomed above them, specifically on the castle situated at the foot of the slope. “Are you sure that Castle Grey is the best spot to make a base?”

“Pretty sure,” Shining Armor replied as he walked up beside the unicorn captain, following his gaze up to the castle. “It’s defensible, in a strong position, well-supplied, has its own well, and has more than enough room for all of us plus the documents from the Archives. And it’s far enough away from Canterlot that the griffins may not find it or think of it as a hiding place for us.”

Captain Arcane nodded. “Good points all. Hopefully you’ll be right about the last part.”

“I hope so too…” Shining Armor replied. As the Archive Guard began returning from their patrols, Shining Armor swept his eyes across them. Many of them seemed distracted, talking to one another in low tones. Many of them were wearing worried expressions. Shining Armor looked at them all, then pointed up to the castle. “Alright, all of you. Form up, double-wide column formation. We’re going to the castle. Quick march!”

The unicorns fell in with the well-drilled discipline that was shared by all of Equestria’s guard regiments, creating a long column two ponies wide and fifty long.

“Company, by your left!” Arcane barked. “March!”

The Archive Guard stepped off, their hooves hitting the ground in perfect unison as they marched up the path that led to Castle Grey. Their hoofbeats echoed off the sides of the mountain, loud in the still night. As they marched, Shining Armor looked up at the castle. It was a medium-sized structure, the main tower of its keep outlined by the moon as it stuck up above the walls. The tower was speckled with small dots of light, illumination coming from windows scattered around the tower’s face. There were more motes of light moving around the walls, torches or orbs of light carried by the castle’s garrison.

As the column finally reached the end of the trail leading up to the castle, a low creaking found their ears as the castle’s gates opened. Ten ponies trotted out, the group made up of a mixed bag of every species. The leading officer was a pegasus, colored with the customary white coat and blue eyes of every pegasus guard in Equestria but with a blonde tail and mane, the latter of which poked out from under his helmet as he glared at the group. Leveling his spear at the unicorns, the other guards followed his lead as he spoke. “Hold there, all of you! State your name and your business!”

Shining conjured a light at the end of his horn, the shimmering orb illuminating the front few ranks of the column and throwing the two unicorn officers into visibility. The pegasus blanched and backed away, raising his spear back into the attention position before snapping a salute at the two officers. “Captain Armor, sir! My apologies. We didn’t recognize you at first.”

“It’s okay,” Shining replied. “Where’s your castellan?”

“He’s up in the keep, Captain,” the pegasus replied. “If you don’t mind me asking, sir…”

“Go ahead,” Shining replied, making a beckoning gesture with his hoof.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Canterlot?”

Shining Armor and Arcane looked at one another. Shining Armor pressed his lips together, then
let out a sigh. “We’ll brief the garrison on that once we’ve informed the castellan of the situation,” he said. “Until then, just go about your duties as you would normally.”

The pegasus still looked skeptical and the rest of the guards looked at one another and muttered amongst themselves, but he nodded and gestured for the rest of the guards to step aside.

“Company, forward march!” Arcane said loudly. The Archive Guard marched forward, moving through the gate and changing formation as they entered the castle’s assembly yard, switching from two parallel columns of fifty to five rows of twenty. The door to the castle’s keep opened, allowing a small cadre of ponies to exit and walk up to the block of unicorn soldiers. As they stopped in front of the Archive Guard a large, goateed earth pony stepped forward. Brown of beard, mane, and tail, the blue-eyed pony walked up to Shining Armor and Arcane, looking them over before bowing with a soft clink of armor.

“Captain-General Armor. Captain Arcane. Welcome to Castle Grey,” he said as he raised himself up from his bow. He had a Trottingham accent and a deep bass voice, and as he stood up and Shining got a better look at his face, he noticed that the earth pony had a thin scar running vertically down from his left eyebrow to his jaw.

“I am Captain Strong Swing,” the earth pony continued. “To what do we owe your visit?”

“Matters of war, Captain,” Arcane said, stepping forward. “We have all just come from Canterlot. It has fallen to an army of the Griffin Kingdoms in a surprise attack.”

There was a widespread gasp from the castle’s garrison at this news. Strong Swing himself took a step backward, his eyes wide in shock.

“What? But we’ve been at peace with the Griffin Kingdoms for centuries!”

“Yes,” Shining Armor broke in. “But apparently that peace is over now. The important thing to do now is discuss our situation and consolidate what forces we have.”

Strong Swing was quiet for a moment, then pressed his lips together and nodded. “Very well. If you two will follow me, we can discuss this in my office. You as well, Lieutenant,” he added to the pegasus that had accosted them at the gate, pronouncing the rank as “Leftenant.”

“Yessir,” the pegasus replied, saluting before falling into step with Strong Swing. Shining Armor and Arcane followed the pair into the castle’s keep, shutting the door behind them as the castle’s garrison began to go back to their duties.

Shining Armor took a look around the keep’s interior as they walked. Castle Grey’s keep was large and spacious, the entrance hall that they were walking through a combination of casual and practical. The windows were only narrow slits that let in thin slivers of moonlight, but the lack of natural light was made up for by an abundance of torches on the walls, as well as a large metal chandelier filled with lit candles. A long, thick red carpet yielded to the group’s hooves as they walked through the room and up a stone staircase, up to the next level.

“Oh, excuse me,” Strong Swing said suddenly after several minutes of walking. “I don’t believe I’ve introduced you. This is Lieutenant Cloud Skipper, my aide.”

“A pleasure, sir,” Cloud Skipper replied, nodding his head.

“So tell me, Captain Armor,” Strong Swing continued. “What is our situation currently?”

“As far as we can tell the Royal Guard stationed within Canterlot was devastated,” Arcane replied before Shining Armor could speak. He looked out of the corner of his eye at his commander, and continued at Shining’s nod. “We don’t know the number of survivors exactly; some could have escaped. In the meantime, we’ve come here to establish a base and hopefully be able to strike back at the griffins.”

“And what about the princesses?” Strong Swing asked. Shining Armor answered this time.

“Princess Celestia left on a diplomatic mission to the Griffin Kingdoms early this morning,” he said. “Princess Luna was left in charge. We don’t know what happened to either of them.”

Strong Swing nodded. “I see… So, what’s our plan now?”

“Right now we need to take stock of our situation,” Shining said. “Find out what all we have nearby, as well as all of the weapons that are here. After that, we need to strike back. There has to be something we can do. If we can’t drive out the griffins we can at least slow them down when they try to move on the rest of Equestria.”

“Good point,” Strong Swing said, nodding. He looked at Cloud Skipper. “Get to the armory. I want everything catalogued.”

“Yessir,” Cloud Skipper replied, bowing his head and putting a hoof to his chest before flying off down the hallway. As he did, Strong Swing turned back to the other two officers. “I have documents about troop strength in my office. Castle Grey is the strongest castle in the area; we can gather our forces here.”

Shining Armor nodded, then looked over at Arcane. “You should get back to your troops, Arcane. We need to get them settled in.”

“Yes sir,” Arcane replied, saluting before teleporting away.

Shining Armor turned back to Strong Swing. “Let’s get to your office, Captain. We have a lot of work to do.”

Chapter 11

Lord Sharptalon was not in a good mood. The griffin Lord of Talos had been given full command of one of the armies that had invaded Prance, a task that he had long anticipated and had vowed to fulfill to the best of his abilities. Unfortunately, he hadn’t anticipated the fact that not everyone under his command would be willing to follow his instructions without question.

The exception was standing in front of him, massive hands on the table that he had set up inside his command tent as his long, grey muzzle bellowed into the griffin’s face. The minotaur doing the shouting was the leader of a sellsword company, one that King Aeris had given Sharptalon for the specific task of acting as shock troops once the gates of a town were breached. Unfortunately, the siege of Watchover, despite early successes in the battle below the town, had been bogged down by the tenacity of the city’s defenders and the formidableness of the city’s walls. The minotaurs were not a patient bunch, and were growing restless and confrontational with each passing day.

“I DIDN’T ACCEPT ONE THOUSAND PIECES OF GOLD TO SIT AROUND ON MY ASS AND DO NOTHING!” the minotaur roared as his yellow eyes glared at Sharptalon, whose own glare matched the bull’s for intensity and far outstripped it in coldness.

“No, but you did accept it to follow my instructions,” Sharptalon said as he shoved his chair back and got up, the better to look the minotaur in the eye. “In case you forget, Commander, you are a soldier in my army. As much as I would like to send you and your lot over the walls, we can’t build anything that would support your weight. The siege towers are for my soldiers alone, which is the specific reason that your troops haven’t been sent in yet.”

“Well why isn’t that gate down, then?!” the minotaur asked, shoving his nose up against Sharptalon’s beak. “Seems to me like you griffins are just too scared to try and do anything to ‘em!”

“In case you haven’t noticed,” Sharptalon countered calmly, “which with a brain your size is no great surprise to me, we’ve lost five battering rams attempting to break the gates down. If you would like to brave the oil and flaming arrows that they send at us whenever we attempt to break the gates, be my guest. I’m certain your men will make wonderfully bright torches.”

“Why you-“ the minotaur snarled, reaching out a hand to grab Sharptalon by the neck. Sharptalon grabbed the minotaur’s wrist in a vice-like grip, his cold grey eyes never leaving the minotaur’s face as he effortlessly held the bull’s arm away from him.

“Attempt to touch me again,” he whispered, “And I will make you regret it.”

“Ha!” the minotaur barked, a snide grin finding its way onto his face. “I’d like to see you try! You griffins couldn’t land a finger on OOOOOOOFFFF!”

The sudden change of tone and word came as Sharptalon’s free hand had sped forward faster than the minotaur could react, slamming into his relaxed belly right on the minotaur’s navel, sinking in to the wrist. The minotaur’s eyes widened and his cheeks bulged immensely before a torrent of spit and warm air exited his lips, the bull gagging and choking as he looked down at the feathery arm protruding from his gut. He looked back up at Sharptalon as the griffin spoke again.

“Now, let’s try this again, shall we?” Sharptalon asked. “This is how it will go, cow. I am in command here, not you. You are here because you follow my orders. You will go in when I say so, and not before. If you ever barge into my tent again without permission and without a good reason, a fist won’t be the only thing in your belly. Understand?” he asked, giving the still-buried fist in the minotaur’s gut a harsh twist that made the minotaur groan in pain.

“Y…yes, sir…ooough…”

“Good,” Sharptalon said, taking his fist out of the minotaur’s stomach. “Now get out,” he ordered, slamming his other fist into the minotaur’s belly hard enough to shove him out of the tent, rather enjoying the elastic quality of the minotaur’s stomach as his fist sank in to the wrist once more, then pulled out as the minotaur stumbled backwards. The minotaur staggered away, holding his belly and clapping a hand over his mouth as he tried not to throw up. Sharptalon hung his head and sighed. He hated mercenaries. No discipline.

He looked up, his gaze passing over the army’s tents until they sighted the defiant walls of Watchover. They had been under siege for at least a week, but had managed to repel the griffins’ initial assault. It didn’t help that West Wind’s army had managed to retreat in good order from the field below the city, despite taking heavy casualties during the battle. While Sharptalon had almost immediately besieged Watchover afterwards, the city had been well-prepared and had thus far defied any attempt to breach it. The fields around the city had been picked clean as well, which Sharptalon took to mean that the city was also well-provisioned. Ordering siege lines set up, he and the army had settled in for a long slog.

Sharptalon left the entrance of the tent and began to walk towards the front of the siege camp. About a thousand feet from the city walls, it was lined with trebuchets and ballistae, along with row after row of tall, sharpened stakes that pointed towards the city. Small gaps were made between several stakes, allowing narrow trenches to move out onto the front lines of the siege positions, where the army’s archers made their positions. As Sharptalon walked, a platoon of archers ran past, longbows slung across their backs and arrows rattling in their quivers. As they passed into the trenches there was a scream of “Watch out!” as a trebuchet shot from within Watchover slammed into the ground. Two griffins were knocked off their feet, one’s head spurting a spray of blood as the rock swiped across his face. The other griffin fell to the ground screaming in pain, his arm crushed as the stone went by to smash against the stakes. Two other griffins ran out of the camp and picked up the wounded one, flying over the stakes and back into the camp, heading towards the medic tent.

Sharptalon watched them with an impassive expression, then turned his gaze to the trenches. They came within one hundred feet of the city walls, and arrows zipped back and forth between both sides like a cloud of hornets. Screams and cries sounded from both sides, arrows either bouncing off of the walls or sticking in the muddy ground around the trenches. Arrows also flew back and forth between the walls and the various cloud banks that covered the sky around Watchover, which were filled with a number of other griffins that had imposed a blockade on the city to prevent any supplies from being delivered by air.

“My lord Sharptalon!” called a griffin captain as he landed beside his commander.

“What is it, Captain?”

“The chief engineer says that the siege towers are almost ready, sir.”

“Good,” Sharptalon said, nodding. “Tell him to wait until nightfall, then start getting those stakes out of the way and move the towers into position. We’ll make for the walls at first light.”

“Yes milord,” the captain replied before taking off again. Sharptalon smiled to himself at the thought of what the next morning might bring.

***

Sandstone winced and hissed quietly to himself as he gingerly rubbed his shoulder. A thick white bandage was wrapped around it, the result of a gash in his shoulder from a griffin’s spear. The sandy-colored earth pony turned his blue eyes up to the parapets, observing the frantic maelstrom of activity as unicorns ran to and fro, firing arrows down at the griffins as the earth ponies operating the various siege engines both on and behind the walls worked frantically to get the next projectile loaded. He turned his eyes away from the wall and looked around the large courtyard that he was in. Despite its proximity to the walls it had been converted into a medical pavilion. Unicorn healers moved around the courtyard, their horns glowing brightly as they tended to the ponies that needed it. Here and there among the pallets holding wounded there would be a white cloth, laid over the body of a pony.

Sandstone looked to his left at the sound of approaching hoofsteps, then attempted to jerk to his hooves as he saw West Wind coming towards him. “My-AUGH!” he yelped, forced to sit down again as his shoulder flared with pain. West Wind raised a hoof to keep the earth pony from rising again.

“No need to rise for me, young’un,” he said softly. He had a wound of his own, a fresh scar on his cheek from a griffin sword that had narrowly missed his eye. He looked up at the wall as a trebuchet shot smashed against it, the ponies behind the wall ducking for cover and yelling as the section shook.

“They’re pressing hard,” he muttered. He looked down at Sandstone. “How did you look to the healers, boy?”

“They said that the wound was fairly minor, milord,” Sandstone replied. “But I still can’t walk on it.”

West Wind nodded. “I see. Get some rest. If the griffins try another assault, we’ll need everypony we can to repel it.”

Sandstone nodded. West Wind turned and began walking back to the keep, stepping around ponies as they galloped to and fro, assisting in the defense. As West Wind got closer he could see the command post that Watchover’s viscount had set up, officers running to and from it as the unicorn issued orders and demanded updates.

“…and you say there are two other griffin armies moving past the borders now?”

“Yes, my lord. Their present path seems to be set on moving past Watchover and penetrating further into the kingdom.”

“Perfect,” the viscount muttered. “Just perfect.” He turned to an aide. “Get to the dragon fire in the library and send a message to Lorrein. Inform the king.” The aide nodded and galloped back into the keep as the viscount saw West Wind walking up.

“Ah, Lord West Wind. Good. I can use some earth pony reason right now.”

“What’s the situation, my lord?” West Wind asked as he walked up and looked down at the map.

“We just received a message from the Royal Scouting Corps via dragonfire that said the griffins have sent two more armies into Prance,” the viscount said. “We would have had an army from Alsaddle moving to relieve us, but hopefully now that he knows King Shining Star will divert them to check one of their advances.”

“And what of the second army?”

“The way they’re moving now, it looks like they’re planning on cutting straight through Prance and heading towards Lorrein. And that army is the largest of the three here now.”

“How many are in each?”

“The one that I hope the Alsaddle army will intercept? Fifty thousand. The other is at least one hundred thousand strong.”

West Wind’s eyes widened. Such a large force would be practically unstoppable. He walked around the table to the viscount’s side, taking in the other two griffin tokens that marked the positions of the other armies. “What road is that one using?”

“The Kingsroad. There are no other major cities in their way.”

“Damn it,” West Wind growled. He looked back up at the walls. “And we can’t ride out to at least try and hold them for a time.”

“We deal with the cards we’re given,” the viscount said. “After we drive the griffins off, we can ride to Lorrein’s aid. But not now.” He looked at West Wind. “I suggest you get up to the walls, Chapter Master. The griffins may try another assault soon.”

West Wind nodded. He walked back towards the walls, shouting for Pauldron.

***

The next morning, the sun had just appeared over the horizon as Lord Sharptalon perched on a spear of rock that stuck up out of the ground. The griffin was clad in his own armor, colored black with gold filigree spinning around it in elegant patterns. On the chest plate the crest of Talos shone brightly, a winged sword with its tip pointing downward. Sharptalon took a long look at the walls of Watchover, brightened by dozens of pieces of armor and weapons as ponies lined up along the parapets. The griffin lord smirked and donned his helmet, then turned to the three drummers behind him. “Assembly call.”

The three nodded, the middle drummer counting off before all three began to beat out a complicated rhythm, the signal to call the army to assembly. Sharptalon watched the camp as griffins, dogs, and minotaurs began to stream from the tents to the siege lines, forming ranks around the rock that Sharptalon stood on. The stakes and trenches that had protected the camp against sorties had been removed and filled in in preparation for the assault, massive siege towers parked just out of trebuchet range of the walls. Sharptalon looked over the army as they moved. During the week that they had held Watchover under siege, reinforcements had arrived to the camp, both replacing the army’s five thousand casualties and swelling its numbers to forty-five thousand. Sharptalon turned back to the walls and grinned. This would be interesting.

***

“Archers to their marks,” Viscount Steadfast called down the wall.

“Archers! To your marks!” the order was repeated as Watchover’s archers stepped forward, readying their bows.

“Nock!”

“Nock!” to the archers. Arrows rattled as they were taken out of their quivers, the small grooves on the butt ends being slipped onto their bowstrings.

“Nock and set!” to the ponies manning ballistae and scorpions lining the walls, causing a chorus of creaking and clanking to arise from the siege engines as their projectiles were loaded into place.

Sandstone gulped and took a deep breath as he watched the army from next to West Wind. The earth pony knight looked down at him, then turned his attention forward again. “Nervous, boy?”

Sandstone swallowed again. “A bit, my lord.”

West Wind had a feeling that it was a great deal more than “a bit”, but smiled. “That’s good. Only a fool isn’t scared at the prospect of battle. Some are just better at hiding it than others.”

Sandstone nodded in understanding, his eyes still locked on the enemy.

***

Sharptalon took a deep breath and raised a hand, the griffins and dogs around him tensing as they made ready to charge forward. Sharptalon took a deep breath, opening his beak to speak. “I have no interest in prisoners,” he said, the army quiet enough for most of the assembled soldiery to hear him. “Kill them all.”

With that he threw his arm down. A loud scream went up as the army charged forward, weapons waving as the assault on Watchover began.

***

“Draw!” Steadfast bellowed as he saw Sharptalon’s army begin to charge the walls. All down Watchover’s main wall the creak of bowstrings sounded as they were stretched backwards sounded alongside the grinding of siege engines being moved along their platforms, aimed at the oncoming horde.

“Loose!” West Wind roared. A cloud of arrows shot from the wall, flying into the air in hundreds of arcs as they fell towards the griffin army. While many of the soldiers raised their shields in the face of the hail of darts, many others were hit by the falling shafts and fell to the ground. Other griffins and dogs raised bows of their own, firing return shafts up at the parapets as another flight of arrows shot towards the ground. Some arrows met one another in the air, their heads shattering as they smashed together or skating off course as they grazed one another. Still others found marks among Watchover’s defenders, sending ponies falling backwards from the wall as they were hit with arrows.

More griffins and dogs dropped as the second volley was fired, though by this time many of them had managed to get up to the foot of the walls, their shields raised above their heads as they got as close as possible to get out of the defenders’ firing arc. The defenders rolled rocks from the walls, sending them falling to the ground. Though a number came down on the head of an unfortunate griffin or dog, the majority merely bounced off of the army’s raised shields. Sharptalon watched the advance from the walls, then looked down to his right, where the minotaur sellswords waited. “Go. Main gate.”

The minotaur commander snorted in satisfaction, then bellowed to his troops. The fifty assembled minotaurs bellowed back and the entire pack moved forward, their massive, rectangular shields held over their heads as swarms of arrows and avalanches of rocks fell from the walls.

Steadfast watched the minotaurs charge at the gate, looking at West Wind. “Sortie. Go now.”

West Wind nodded and turned his head side to side. “Sortie squad, to the main gate!”

A number of ponies broke off from the walls and galloped down the steps, following West Wind as he led the way to Watchover’s main gate. In a matter of moments, the hundred-strong sortie was assembled in front of the massive oaken timbers of the main gate. The pony gatekeepers on either side pulled with all their strength, opening the gate a small crack to allow the sortie out and into the maelstrom of war that had engulfed the area of land before their city. The oncoming minotaurs roared a challenge at West Wind’s company, the earth pony reaching up and slamming the visor on his helm shut as he swung his hoof out to the side, drawing his hoof-sword as the ponies around him readied their weapons.

“Nopony dies with a clean sword this day!” he bellowed, the ponies around him yelling in assent and charging forward with the earth pony knight at their head. The minotaurs dropped their shields as the archers stopped firing, unwilling to risk hitting their comrades as West Wind’s force galloped towards the minotaurs.

The two sides came together in a clash of weaponry and muscle. Ponies were knocked flying by the minotaurs’ massive war hammers and maces or impaled on their massive broadswords, their blood slowly dripping to the ground as the blades burst out through their backs, sending the ponies sliding forward almost to the hilt. Minotaurs were impaled by lowered spears or bucked to the ground by ponies, their weapons and hooves rising and falling as the minotaurs were beaten and stabbed over and over. Weapons and shields clashed against one another, ponies and minotaurs screaming and yelling as the skirmish went on. West Wind smashed his front hooves into a downed minotaur, looking up as he saw another minotaur fall in front of him with a spear buried in its belly. Across the battle he saw the minotaur captain throw a pegasus to the ground, delivering the coup de grace with a stab of his sword.

West Wind leapt off of the fallen minotaur and charged across the field at him, bellowing a challenge to the bull. The minotaur saw him coming, answering the challenge with a bellow of his own, clanging his sword on his shield as he charged at West Wind. The two massive leaders crashed together in a clamor of armor and brawn, West Wind’s charge powerful and fast enough to bull the minotaur back several steps.
The minotaur lowered his head and smashed it into West Wind’s breastplate, the horns luckily not penetrating the spell-imbued armor. Nonetheless West Wind was driven back off of the minotaur, landing on the ground as the bull readied his shield and sword. West Wind swept out his sword again, slashing at the minotaur in a cut that clanged uselessly on the massive shield. A return slash by the minotaur’s own sword smashed into West Wind’s helm, knocking it from the earth pony’s head.

West Wind backpedaled a few more steps as the minotaur kept moving forward, swinging his shield downward. West Wind spun backwards then shot out his back legs, the buck denting the shield and sending his opponent stumbling backwards. West Wind spun back around, his sword knocking the shield to the side as he charged forward, and smashed his bare head into the minotaur’s unarmored belly.

The minotaur let out a loud “Whooooooof…” as the attack hit right on the area where Sharptalon had punched him earlier. The minotaur fell backwards onto his bottom, his cheeks bulging as he vomited from the blow. Vomit splattered the ground in front of him, the minotaur wiping his mouth as West Wind walked up to him and pointed his sword at the minotaur’s throat. The minotaur looked up at him as he did, breathing heavily.

“Do you yield?” West Wind asked calmly.

The minotaur stared at him for a moment, then hung his head and nodded. West Wind looked back up to check on the battle, only to see that the surviving minotaurs were retreating, their shields up against the redoubled rain of arrows and rocks. West Wind looked around at his company; only around forty were still alive. He sighed and signaled the remaining unicorns to restrain the minotaur, the group quickly retreating back through the gate as griffins and dogs poured into the area recently vacated by the minotaurs. The gates slammed shut just as the attack reached them, leaving the griffins and dogs to beat futilely against the gate.

“Ta…take him…dungeon. Lock ‘im up,” West Wind panted to the unicorns, who saluted and began to drag the minotaur back towards Watchover’s keep. West Wind sat down, looking around at the various ponies running around the foot of the wall. “Somepony bring me a drink!”

***

“Can’t trust sellswords,” Sharptalon sighed as he saw the minotaurs retreating from the wall. He looked up at the top of the wall, smiling as he saw that the siege towers (despite being turned into veritable pincushions by the archers on the walls) had nearly arrived at their destination. Even as he watched, one of the towers’ gangplanks dropped, sending a horde of dogs onto the walls, heralded by the clashing of weapons and the battle cries of both sides. Other towers began to follow suit, sending streams of dogs and griffins onto the walls as other griffins flew upwards, landing on the parapets to join the battle. Turning his gaze to the city gates, Sharptalon nodded approvingly as he saw a flaming stone from a trebuchet arced through the air, smashing against the massive gates. Water poured over the walls in an effort to douse the flames that had caught on the wood, though several other catapults and trebuchets had caught on to the strategy, beginning to pound the gate with more stones. He could hear loud cracking noises as the gate’s timbers began to buckle under the assault. He turned his head to the signaling corps on his left.

“Call the archers and sappers to ranks.”

The griffins nodded, trumpets and drumbeats blaring over the noise of battle. Archers engaged with their opposite numbers on the walls began pulling back, dog sappers exiting the camp to form up in the assembly area as the archers flew back over to the griffin lines. Lord Sharptalon flapped down from the rock he had been standing on, not even flinching as a ballista bolt from Watchover slammed into the ground next to him, quivering with the impact.

“Get the barricades from the siege yard. You’re making an assault on the gate.”

The assembled group nodded and ran into the camp to get the materials they would need, Sharptalon returning to his rock to continue watching the battle.

***

Viscount Steadfast ducked instinctively as a flaming trebuchet shot slammed against the wall in front of him, sending a blast of fire shooting up in front of the parapets. His horn flared with magic as he pulled his crossbow from its holster on his flank, loading a bolt into it and poking it over the walls. He narrowed his eyes as he peered around the griffin army, attempting to find its target. The griffins were pressing hard on the siege towers, though so far the defenders had managed to throw back every assault that they had attempted. Even as Steadfast searched for a target another tower reached the walls, its gangplank falling onto the parapets and revealing the griffins and dogs assembled behind it. The ponies facing the tower loosed a hail of arrows inside, felling most of the first rank before the rest charged across, swarming onto the walls. Steadfast switched targets, turning his crossbow to the mob pouring from the tower. His bolt flew from the crossbow, shooting across the empty space between the wall and the tower. It hit a griffin in the neck, the soldier falling from the tower’s plank with a scream. Discarding the crossbow Steadfast drew his sword, charging towards the new assault point to assist.

“Hold them!” he shouted. “Stand firm!”

***

Sharptalon watched with approval as the archers crept forward under the cover of their shields, the large rectangular surfaces protecting those sheltered behind them from every arrow that came at them. Arrows flew back at the walls from behind the barricades, the archers setting them down and beginning to return fire in earnest as the sappers used the covering fire to run forward, taking shelter behind the barricades. The catapults had stopped firing, returning their focus to the walls as the archers and sappers had approached. The archers fired one concentrated volley at the walls, the lull caused by the defenders seeking cover being utilized by the sappers to run forward, the bags of oil hanging from their arms swinging and sloshing with every step.

The dogs reached the gates quickly, hooking their claws into the weakened wood and using the grip to climb the gates, pounding in nails that they then hung the bags of oil from. The sappers then jumped down, running back towards the safety of the barricades as fast as they could. Arrows chased them back, several dogs being cut down by the enemy as they ran.

“Blood for the Kingdoms!” a griffin shouted loud enough for Sharptalon to hear, his cry being echoed by the other archers as the sappers reached the barricades. A small group of other griffins left the camp and ran towards the archers, all of them carrying lit torches and rags soaked with oil. They reached the archers quickly, handing out the rags and holding the torches ready as the archers wrapped the cloth around their next arrows. Each arrow was then lit, the barricades then tilted upwards as the archers knelt and aimed their arrows at the bags of oil hanging from the gate.

“It’ll make a fine pincushion,” began one archer.

“SHINING STAR’S ARSE!” the rest finished, the insult being punctuated with the fire arrows loosed from their bows. They found their targets, several hitting the wooden timbers of the gates but others finding their marks in the sacks. The oil within ignited, sending a firestorm shooting across the gate. Other, missed bags were caught up in the blast, the explosion only growing with each addition. The fire shot upwards and over the parapets, the screams of the archers there reaching Sharptalon’s ears. The griffin smiled as he heard them, imagining the flaming ponies backpedaling from the walls, many of them falling from the walls to the ground far below while others collapsed to the floor, unable to move far enough before the fire claimed their lives.

“Make sure that the fire isn’t put out,” he told the nearest officer. “Keep the archers there and order them to make the Prancer ponies keep their heads down.”

“Yes, milord!” the griffin replied, saluting and running off to the barricades to fulfill his lord’s directions.

***

West Wind felt the blast of heat from the gates as the oil exploded and looked on in helpless horror as the archers above the gates were set ablaze, several falling from the walls to impact on the ground in front of him. Flames were already starting to show through the wood of the gates, bursts of orange and red occasionally slipping past the timbers. Grabbing a passing page, he pointed up at the wall, where Steadfast’s voice could be heard shouting “To me! To me!”

“Get up there and find as many ponies as you can to come down here and make ready to hold the gate. Quickly now, understand?”

“Yes, my lord!” the page nodded, turning and galloping up the steps as West Wind stood there, a number of ponies waiting in the courtyard galloping over to him, led by Sandstone.

“My lord West Wind!” the light-colored stallion said as he looked up at the knight. “What happened?”

“They’re firing the gates,” West Wind growled. “They’ve already been weakened substantially by those catapults. It won’t be long before they come down.”

“Can the fire burn them down?”

“No, they’d still need a ram for that…but we lost a lot of archers when the blast went off. I don’t know if there are enough still up there to stop a ram.” He looked down at the shorter earth pony. “I hope your shoulder is better, Sandstone. You’ll get plenty of work out of it soon enough.”

Sandstone looked at the gate, gulping as more ponies galloped down the steps, forming up around West Wind and presenting a wall of spears, swords, and shields in the direction of the gate.

***

Night was falling by the time the fire had died down enough that Sharptalon could order the hastily-constructed ram into place. The archers had taken heavy losses as they had continued to keep the parapets above the gate clear, dead griffins and dogs littering the area. The assaults on the walls were still deadlocked, the ponies unable to drive the besiegers back down the towers and the besiegers unable to drive the ponies from the walls. Hopefully, Sharptalon mused, breaching the gates would break the stalemate. Ordering the army’s reserve battalions into position behind the ram, Sharptalon watched the ram move up through the archers, the skirmishers abandoning their positions to move up both sides of the ram. The archers had abandoned the walls above them, and the ram was able to approach with impunity.

“Come on, you molting bastards!” one officer yelled as the rammers groaned and strained at the ram. “Move faster!”

***

West Wind stayed still as the ram took its first swing at the gates. The ponies around him jumped at the sudden crash, several attempting to move back only to be kept in place by the ponies standing behind them. “Steady,” the earth pony knight called as a second swing smashed into the gates. He looked up on the walls, where the fighting had died down as more and more griffins and dogs had gathered at the gates, leaving the siege towers abandoned. At the same time, Viscount Steadfast had ordered the ponies on the walls down to the gates, galloping up next to West Wind as the gate swung and smashed over and over again against the rapidly-weakening timbers. The Viscount’s mane was matted against his forehead with sweat, his armor and fur covered in blood and soot. He looked at West Wind and gave a grim smile. “Guess our luck had to run out sooner or later.”

West Wind chuckled. “Indeed.” He looked at the gates again as the smash of the gate was accompanied by a very loud splintering noise. “Make ready!” he yelled over his shoulder.

“Hold the line!” Steadfast shouted. The ponies crouched, ready to meet the griffins when they came in.

***

Sharptalon had switched positions, moving in front of the army to be able to monitor their progress better as they breached the gates. The gates were beginning to crack loudly with each swing of the ram now, the army tensing with anticipation of them finally coming down. The minotaurs stood directly behind Sharptalon, eager to avenge (and if possible, free) their captured leader. The ram was pulled back one final time, swung forward with all of the strength of its crew. It struck the stout wooden timbers with a thunderous boom, followed by an earsplitting crrrrrack as the gates burst open, the ram having done its job. Sharptalon drew his sword and pointed. “CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!”

The army was happy to oblige, running for the gates in an unorganized stampede as Sharptalon stayed still, a triumphant smile on his face.

***

“Here they come!” West Wind bellowed as a cacophony of yelling and screaming made its way to his ears from the other side of the cloud of dust from the breaking of the gates.

“Archers ready!” Steadfast called. The unicorn archers raised their bows, ready to shoot the first enemies that came through the gates. Whether they expected them to be minotaurs was another story. The bull hybrids charged through the dust, their weapons held high as they ran forward, screaming for blood.

“Loose!” West Wind screamed, a cloud of arrows shooting over his head towards the minotaurs. While many of the arrows connected, only three minotaurs dropped, arrows sticking out from all over their bodies as they collapsed. The others were only wounded, and bellowed in triumph as they smashed into the shield wall of the Prancer soldiery. Ponies went flying through the air, screaming as the minotaurs tore their way into their lines.

“Hold! Hold!” Steadfast cried as the rest of the army charged through, griffins and dogs smashing into the broken lines of the Watchover troops. Swords flashed, spears stabbed, hooves bucked, claws slashed, and teeth rent as the battle descended into a chaotic brawl. Ponies were tackled to the ground, screaming as dogs tore at their throats. Pegasi were swarmed by griffins or shot out of the air, blood rapidly turning the stone of the courtyard into a slippery, blood-covered mess. West Wind and Steadfast fought back to back with each other, their swords slaying every enemy they touched. Steadfast flinched as an earth pony next to him had his head smashed in by a mace, splattering blood across the noble’s face. Steadfast grimaced as he backpedaled, his sword shooting upward and parrying a sword strike from a dog before running the canine through with enough force that the blade burst out of its back. He then cut down two other dogs before screaming an order for the ponies to brace themselves. That was when he felt a massive impact on the back of his head, tearing his helmet away as Steadfast fell.

He hit the ground heavily, his hearing deadened except for his heartbeat, loud in his ears alongside his breathing. He saw griffins and dogs storming through the gates, the ponies opposite them starting to pull back deeper into the castle town. West Wind had lost his sword at some point during the battle and was now holding a greatsword in his teeth, each swing of the colossal blade a killing strike.

Steadfast couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer, the unicorn noble drifting into unconsciousness.

He found himself awoken roughly as claws grabbed him by the shoulders, hauling him up onto his back hooves. His body felt lighter; whoever had grabbed him had most likely removed his armor to make him easier to carry. Steadfast couldn’t raise his head, though the sounds of wings and feathers moving told him that his captors were griffins, not dogs. The griffins seemed better-armored than the ones that he had been fighting in the courtyard prior to his wounding; they wore chain and plate, the armor clinking as they walked. Steadfast was dragged from the city, his hooves going from sliding on stone to dragging in mud before he was thrown forward, landing face-flat on the ground.

“Get up, pony,” a deep voice growled. Steadfast pulled himself up off the ground, sitting back on his haunches as he looked up at his captor. It was another griffin, dressed in fine armor and sitting on a spur of rock a short distance away from the gates. Steadfast didn’t get to take in any more details before a mail-clad fist slammed into his eye, the unicorn noble falling over with a yelp and landing in the mud again, causing the gloppy brown substance to splatter across his face. He felt a griffin’s hand grab his horn and sent a magical current through it, drawing a yelp from the unfortunate griffin before he was lifted up by his front legs, a series of hard punches being delivered to his bared belly before the griffin spoke again.

“Enough. He’s no use to us at the moment if he’s dead.”

The griffins threw Steadfast down again, the unicorn giving a soft groan as his rapidly purpling stomach hit the ground hard.

“You only sat up, pony,” the griffin said. “I believe I told you to stand. So I will say it again: Get up.”
Steadfast growled and managed to shakily get to his hooves, breathing heavily as he looked at the sitting griffin.

“Ah,” the griffin said suddenly, his eyes widening in recognition. “I know you. Viscount Steadfast, Lord of Watchover.”

“I am,” Steadfast replied. “And I know you as well, Sharptalon of Talos.”

Lord Sharptalon chuckled. “Indeed you do. I must say, your city has caused me a great deal of bother. I’m of half a mind to kill you where you stand, but if you truly know me then you must know that I’m the sporting type.”

Steadfast was only half-listening. In his mind he was working on a spell. It wasn’t an offensive one for the purpose of killing Sharptalon; if he knew the griffins correctly, every lord’s armor was enchanted against any offensive spells that a unicorn could throw at them, unless the unicorn was an extremely powerful spellcaster, with a strength similar to that of Star Swirl the Bearded. Steadfast, befitting a unicorn of his station, had a good deal of magical strength, but not nearly enough to try and kill the griffin lord.

The spell was a message, intended for the ears of one pony, and one pony only: West Wind. Even as Sharptalon continued speaking, Steadfast was composing the message.

Take as many as you can and get away from the city. You know the way out. Get to Lorrein. Warn the king. Tell him I’m sorry to have failed him.

The message complete, Steadfast screwed his eyes shut and began concentrating. His horn lit up with the white glow of his magic, quickly shooting the message off. It flew from his horn and into the air, shooting over the walls of Watchover and deep into the city to seek out its target.

Sharptalon watched the display silently, and as the spell left, he smiled. “Now, as I was saying, I will be willing to let you and the ponies under your command retreat from the city safely. All that I require is that they put down their arms and bend the knee to King Aeris.”

“They’ll bow to your king when the sun and moon fall from the sky!” Steadfast growled.

Sharptalon nodded, smiling. “So be it, then.” He turned his head slightly to the side and nodded. Steadfast felt a griffin’s hand close around his muzzle and jerk it upward, then something razor-sharp slash across his throat, fur and flesh parting easily before the blade.

Sharptalon watched impassively as hot blood poured from Steadfast’s throat. The red liquid sheeted down the unicorn’s front, Steadfast jerking and twitching before he finally went limp, his eyes going glassy in death. The griffin that had done the deed tossed Steadfast’s body to the side, wiping his dagger on the dead unicorn’s coat before sheathing it. Sharptalon grinned. “I love it when they refuse.”

***

Sandstone ran for his life. The earth pony’s hooves clattered on Watchover’s cobblestone streets, his breathing and heartbeat loud in his ears as he swerved into an alley, then threw himself flat as he saw what was at the end. As the dogs pursuing him ran into the alley after him they were riddled with arrows, fired from the bows of a cadre of archers. The archers ran out of the alley and began moving back towards the center of town, Sandstone getting up and following them. Panting, he managed to pull up alongside one archer. “What are our orders?”

“Lord West Wind has ordered us to pull back to the keep!” the unicorn replied.

Sandstone looked around the streets as the group galloped towards the keep. Bodies lay everywhere, griffins, dogs and ponies alike. Arrows stuck out of the sides of houses and fires burned every way he looked. “Do we know where the Viscount is?”

“We don’t know!” another archer near the front of the group called back. “We lost him in the retreat from the gates!”

“I can see the keep!” the group’s leader yelled. Sandstone looked up, seeing Watchover’s massive keep looming in the distance. The gates were open, ponies streaming inside as West Wind stood over the gates, yelling at the soldiers to get inside.

Sandstone and the archers ran inside, an arrow hitting the gate next to Sandstone’s head as he moved in. The pony yelped and moved in faster, West Wind shouting to close the gates as the barking and screeching of dogs and griffins moved closer. As the gates slammed shut with a thud, West Wind galloped down the steps, leaping from the last few steps as ponies began running up to the courtyard’s walls.

“How many got inside?” West Wind asked a nearby pegasus that wore the insignia of a captain on his hauberk.

“Around three hundred, my lord,” the captain replied. West Wind’s mouth worked for a moment, then he sighed. “Very well. I can trust you with command?”

“We will die fighting if necessary, my lord,” the captain said, bowing. West Wind nodded and patted the pegasus on the shoulder.

“Good. The viscount entrusted me with warning King Shining Star of what happened here. I intend to do so.” He looked at the ponies running around the courtyard and the ones standing on the walls. He sighed. “I would much rather stay here.”

“We know, my lord,” the captain said. “We will make them pay for every step they take.”

“I know you will,” West Wind replied, smiling. He looked around the courtyard. “I should take a soldier with me. Another pony to corroborate the story will strengthen its credibility.” He turned his eyes to Sandstone. “You will do nicely, Sandstone.”

“Me?” Sandstone repeated in surprise. “But, my lord…”

“I will hear no buts, Sandstone,” West Wind replied. “You are coming with me, and that is my final decision.”

Sandstone’s mouth hung open for a moment as he attempted to say something else, before finally closing it and nodding in acquiescence. “Yes, my lord.”

West Wind nodded and turned to the officer. “Give them hell, Captain.”

“Will do, my lord,” the pegasus replied with a grin. West Wind nodded and turned to gallop towards the keep, Sandstone dutifully following after him. The pegasus turned towards the gates as they bucked slightly in their frames. The griffins had already gotten a ram in, then. The pegasus smiled and looked up at the wall as the archers exchanged arrows with griffins and dogs, others fighting against some that had managed to climb the structure, either through the brickwork or via ladders. He drew his sword and leapt into the fight.

***

It took twenty minutes of plodding through damp, narrow tunnels that even Sandstone had trouble moving through on occasion, but eventually West Wind and his young charge came to the exit of the secret tunnels out of Watchover. Originally intended for use by Watchover’s ruling family in the event of the city falling, they had gone completely unnoticed by the griffins. Therefore, West Wind and Sandstone were able to get out of the hole and turn east, running as fast as they could down the dirt path in the direction of Prance’s capital city of Lorrein. As they ran, Sandstone stopped and looked back. Watchover burned behind them, thick pillars of smoke curling up into the night sky. The orange glow of fires was visible even from this distance, and the sounds of battle could be heard through the still air. Sandstone turned away and galloped after West Wind, trying to put the doomed defenders out of his mind.

Chapter 12

“Your move, Your Majesty,” Twilight Sparkle said as she moved her griffin knight onto a different square of the chessboard. King Aeris studied the move for a moment, considering his options carefully before moving a pony pawn forward two spaces, further towards Twilight’s white pieces.

“I must say Lady Sparkle,” the King said, “You’re quite good at this game.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Twilight replied with a hint of a nervous quavering in her voice. “You don’t need to call me ‘Lady’, though. I’m not really anything you’d call royalty.”

“Truly?” Aeris asked as Twilight took his recently-moved pawn with her knight, unfortunately leaving it open to be caught by a long, sideways move from Aeris’s rook. “I understand though that your brother recently married a princess. Mi Amore Cadenza, if I’m correct?”

“Well, yes,” Twilight said, biting her lip as she attempted to think her next move. “He did marry Cadance, but I don’t know if that necessarily brings my family into the nobility.”

“It should mean that,” Aeris said as Twilight moved a pawn forward one space. “And I could make it mean that, if you’re willing to cooperate with me.”

“What?” Twilight asked, looking up at him as Aeris moved a knight out of formation to capture her pawn. “What do you mean by that?”

“We both know that your Princess did not want this war, and that Equestria is virtually helpless without her and the Elements of Harmony: you and your friends. The Royal Guard was all but destroyed in our initial attack on Canterlot, and that only adds to the odds stacked against Equestria to be able to drive my army out.”

“So….what does this have to do with my family and me?” Twilight asked, continuing to look up at him. Aeris put both clawed hands on the table and pushed himself up out of his chair, turning and walking around the solar that the two were playing in. It was a nice, quiet space, cool white marble reflecting the warm, golden sunlight that streamed in through the tall glass windows on the eastern wall. Aeris walked over to one of the chamber’s eight walls, gesturing to the map that hung over a good portion of it. He lifted a hand and placed a talon on Equestria, looking back at Twilight.

“You are Celestia’s personal student, correct?”

“Yes…” Twilight said slowly, wondering where Aeris was going with the line of questioning.

“And therefore she must place a great deal of personal trust in you, and you in her? Such trust that you may have more influence with her than most?”

“Well, I…I wouldn’t say that,” Twilight replied, looking away from the King and walking her eyes around the solar. “She’s just my teacher…I don’t like to think that I can influence her very much…”

“But she does care for her subjects,” Aeris said, walking back over to her. “If she does, she would take every opportunity to guarantee their safety, wouldn’t she?”

“Well, y-y-yes,” Twilight stammered in reply, “I…I guess she would, but…”

“Once we’re done with this, can I trust you to present an opportunity to her?”

“Um…uh…I guess?” Twilight replied, looking up at Aeris. The griffin king put his hands down on the table, his green eyes looking down on her intently.

The gold-feathered king nodded in satisfaction. “Good. Then tell her that these are my terms: She yields Equestria to the Griffin Kingdoms. It will retain relative autonomy and become a vassal state of the Griffin Kingdoms. Princess Luna and any remnants of the Royal Guard that escaped Canterlot will surrender unconditionally. Luna herself will be brought here, to Gryphus Tower, to join her sister. While they will still be responsible for raising the sun and moon, your brother and his wife will be appointed the King and Queen of Equestria in the absence of the royal sisters. You will become a princess, your mother and father Duchess and Duke of Canterlot. In exchange for Celestia’s cooperation in this, I will withdraw my army from Equestria and allow them to govern themselves again, with Celestia and Luna kept here to ensure Equestria’s good behavior.”

Aeris turned to Twilight, one green eye bright with anticipation. “No more harm is done to Equestria, you and your friends are released. It’s a win-win, don’t you think?”

Twilight put a hoof to her chin, thinking for a moment. While she did want Equestria and her family to be safe, was it worth sacrificing Equestria’s freedom? For it to merely become a vassal of the nation that had started the war in the first place? Celestia would never accept it…come to think of it, why was she even thinking about it?!

“Well, Miss Sparkle?” Aeris asked, crouching down in front of her. “Do we have an accord?"

Twilight was conflicted, her thoughts still racing as she thought of a way to possibly get out of the deal. “Why me?” she asked suddenly, saying the first words that came to her mind.

Aeris smiled, standing up. “Because you are the only one that knows Celestia enough for me to be able to trust you to deliver it to her. Your friend Rainbow Dash is the Element of Loyalty, and would therefore not even consider the deal. Your friend Applejack is too stubborn, and the others would never agree to it.” He leaned down close to her. “Do you care for your homeland enough to want to spare it the horror and devastation of war?”

“Yes!” Twilight cried immediately. “Yes, of course I want to, but…”

“Buuuuuutttt?” Aeris prompted, drawing the word out as he got even closer. Twilight backed up, falling out of her chair with an undignified squeak as she hit the stone floor on her back.

“I…I don’t think Celes-uh, the Princess, would accept.”

“Truly?” Aeris said, raising his eyebrows. “Does she not care for her subjects, then?”

“No!” Twilight exclaimed. She then blanched as she realized what she had just implied. “I-I mean, no, it’s not that!”

“Then how do you know that she won’t at least consider it?” Aeris asked, raising an eyebrow. “It’s worth a try, don’t you think?”

Twilight opened her mouth to say something else, but realized that Aeris had just argued her into a corner. She finally sighed and let her head fall back to the floor. “Alright,” she said. “Alright, I…I’ll at least ask her…”

“Good,” Aeris said, patting Twilight’s belly and causing the unicorn to squeak again and roll over, getting to her hooves. “That’s all I wanted to hear.”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. She turned back to the chessboard, analyzing it quickly before moving a rook forward a few spaces. Aeris chuckled and moved his king forward one spot, then stepped away from the board. “Checkmate.”

Twilight blanched and looked down at the board, then leaned back as she realized that Aeris had subtly surrounded her remaining pieces during the entire game. The black special pieces were arranged in a large arc around the remaining white pieces, the pawns blocking any possible counterattack that wouldn’t leave Twilight’s King open to an attack.

“You’re quite skilled, Miss Sparkle,” Aeris told her. “I hope that we can play again one day.”

Twilight nodded. “Thank you, Your Majesty. I…I hope so too.”

Aeris looked up and nodded at Carif, who had been standing guard at the door the entirety of the two’s chess game. Carif bowed and opened the door for Twilight, the unicorn walking out before him.

As the two walked, Twilight bit her lip as she sank deep into thought. While she did want the war to end...was it really worth sacrificing Equestria’s independence? Would Shining Armor and Cadance accept becoming King and Queen if it meant essentially betraying Equestria and giving it over to the griffins? What would her parents think? What would her friends think? Most importantly...what would Celestia think of it? How would she react to it, even if it meant that the war would be over and the ponies of Equestria could go about living their normal lives?

...It’s worth a shot, at least... Twilight thought, biting her lip again. Maybe she’ll see the benefits of it. She looked up at Carif, the griffin pausing at her glance. “Somethin’ up?” the griffin asked.

“Could you take me to Princess Celestia’s room?” she asked. Carif hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

***

“And you’re actually considering it?!”Celestia exclaimed as she glared at Twilight. The purple unicorn shrank back from her teacher’s fierce gaze, looking away.

“I just…I thought that you might…”

“Twilight, you should know me better than this!” Celestia said, sighing and lying down on one of the plush couches that had been provided to her. It was merely one of many around the lavishly decorated and almost sinfully comfortable room, which was filled with hangings of expensive silk, a circular bed big enough for two alicorns of Celestia’s size, and a massive balcony enclosed by glass. “Do you really think that Aeris will keep his word?”

“I’m sorry!” Twilight cried, fighting back tears. “I just…I thought…I just want this to be over, Princess!”

Celestia watched her student as Twilight’s dam burst, tears leaking from her eyes as she turned her head up, her haunches landing on the plush carpeting as she wept.

“I don’t want to be here anymore!” Twilight screamed. “I don’t want to spend every day worrying about Shining or Cadance or my parents or Spike or anypony! I just want to go home!”

Celestia sighed and walked over, wrapping Twilight in her wings and holding her student close. “Oh Twilight…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you. I’m worried for my family too, and all of the ponies in Equestria.” She leaned back, brushing her soft feathers across Twilight’s face. “Dry your eyes. I know that you want to protect those you love…but you have to think of what the rest of Equestria will think of this. You can’t do anything without thinking of what your subjects will think of it. Do you understand?”

Twilight sniffled somewhat, but nodded. “I…I’m sorry, Princess. For crying and…and coming to you with this.”

“It’s alright, Twilight,” Celestia said. “I don't know if your family is safe…but I can say the same about Luna and the rest of Equestria. Right now, my chief concern, the only one that I can focus on right now, is keeping you and your friends safe.”

“But what else can we do?” Twilight asked, still sniffling a bit. “If we don’t know what’s happening, how can we know if everyone else is safe?”

“We can’t,” Celestia replied. “All we can do is wait, and hope.”

Twilight nodded, burying her face in Celestia’s chest. Celestia sat there with her, keeping her wings wrapped around her favorite student.

***

Several hours later, Aeris, a number of lords, and the few marshals and military officials that had not been deployed to the various theaters of war all stood around a circular table. It held a map of four nations: the Griffin Kingdoms themselves, Germaneigh, Prance, and Equestria. Small flags had been placed around the map, representing the various armies that the Kingdoms had deployed at the time.

“Alright, let’s get underway,” Aeris said, looking around the table. “We’ll start with the busiest theater first. What’s the status of our Prance armies?”

“Watchover fell to Sharptalon’s forces yesterday, Your Grace,” the lord of Pinion said. “The Viscount was captured and executed when the city was breached, though West Wind was not among the dead or the few prisoners that they took.”

“Do they have any idea where he is?”

“No, Your Grace.”

Aeris nodded. “Alright. We’ll deal with that later. What’s Sharptalon doing now?”

“He’s consolidating his forces around Watchover at the moment, sending parties out into the countryside to forage for supplies.”

“And what of the two other armies?”

“The Second Prance Army is currently moving on Alsaddle,” one of the marshals said. “Scouts have sighted an army moving to intercept them. The Third Army is still marching down the Kingsroad. No armies have come against it, though the Third’s scouts have picked up ships moving towards Lorrein from various ports around the Prancer coast.”

“He must be getting ready to evacuate the city,” Aeris mused, rubbing his beak with a claw. “Very well. Do we know the size of Lorrein’s garrison?”

“The Crownlands of Prance are the largest and most fertile province of the whole country. As such they have a larger population than even Watchover, though a few of our spies have reported that Shining Star is recruiting as many ponies as he can to bolster the city’s army.”

“I’ll welcome the challenge,” Aeris said, nodding. “And what of Germaneigh?”

“Our army there has moved into the inner provinces, and Lord Rainstorm’s scouts have picked out three different areas of concentrated resistance before he can move on Auxios. At the moment he’s holding position in front of the pass that bridges the inner and outer Germaneic provinces.”

“And what would those areas of resistance be?” Aeris asked, cocking his head to one side.

“Two of them are fortresses, one for the Order of the Forest, the other of the Order of the Watchers. The last one is the Sovereign Forest, ruled by Lord Autumnbark.”

“A deer?” Aeris asked, raising an eyebrow. “Interesting…what’s the size of the forest?”

“About two thousand acres, Your Grace, though we have no idea of how many subjects Autumnbark rules within the forest.”

“What should we tell Rainstorm to do, Your Grace?” asked one marshal, causing the rest to look up at Aeris, awaiting his word. The griffin king was silent for a moment, his claws held behind his back as he thought. He finally leaned over the table, tapping each location in turn with a claw.

“Do we have any indications of the strength of the garrisons for the two fortresses?”

“No, Your Grace,” one of the lords said. “All we know is that they are the main bases for the two warrior orders of Germaneigh, and neither one has ever been taken.”

“The same was said of Watchover,” Aeris said, turning his gaze to the lord that had spoken. He then turned back to the map, tapping it with a puzzled look on his face. “Most of our manpower is already focused in Prance,” he mused, his claw still tapping on the parchment. “We don’t have the numbers to make another army the size of the Third and Second combined…” He finally laid a hand flat on the table. “We’ll need another source of troops.”

“Say the word and we’ll find them, Your Grace,” one of the marshals said.

“I don’t think you all will be the ones to find them this time,” Aeris said, raising a hand to stop him. “I will need to bring them into this war myself.” He looked up at them all. “I will need to go beneath the mountains.”

Silence greeted these words, every other griffin around the table staring at their king in shock.

“B…b…beneath the mountains?” one stammered. “But…my king, surely there are others that could still do the job?!”

“We don’t have enough griffins left in reserve to be able to gather a large enough army to besiege all three locations, and the ponies that live on the western plains aren’t numerous enough to justify recruiting them as auxiliaries,” Aeris said. “They are the only option. Rainstorm can’t bypass those fortresses without leaving three very great threats at his rear, and his forces aren’t numerous enough to be able to be split and besiege all three successfully, which is the only way that they could successfully be attacked all at once. Each one is within a few days’ march of the other, making relief from one or the other all too likely.”

He looked at them all. “So as you can all see, my lords, there are no other options.” He put both hands down the table, sighing. “I don’t like it any more than any of you do. But they have served us well in the past, and their rulers know better than to betray us.”

The other griffins looked at one another, then slowly, hesitantly, began to nod. Aeris nodded back. “Good. Have the royal treasury ready to pay out their fee. I’m going down there now.”

“Be careful, Aeris,” one of the lords said. “We don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t, Gilgamesh,” Aeris said, giving the speaker a warm smile. “I plan on coming back.”

None of the griffins looked very reassured, but nodded and began to leave the room to go about their business. Aeris took a deep breath and turned, going out of a different door, to an area deeper within the Tower.

***

Aeris’s stomach felt like it was filled with butterflies as he reached out and pulled the ancient but well-maintained lever in front of him. He knew the histories; knew how dangerous that these creatures were. But that didn’t stop him from pulling the lever. He needed their services, anything to spare the lives of more griffins. Plus, they were vicious; he needed vicious. Like the griffins they were a warrior culture, though Aeris supposed that the griffins should count themselves lucky that they were content to stay in their present territory.

He could hear a deep grinding from below him. Looking down over the lip of the long, cylindrical column that housed the elevator, he could see its circular platform slowly rising up from the darkness. As the elevator locked into place in front of him, the griffin king gingerly stepped out onto it. The elevator creaked and some dust swirled around Aeris’s feet, but the elevator held. Aeris moved out onto the elevator, more soft creaking accompanying every step. Aeris extended his claw again, this one pulling a lever in the center of the elevator. Something deep below the platform gave a loud clank and it began to descend. Damp, moss-covered walls slid past Aeris as he stood on the platform, the griffin king passing the time by remembering his histories, those he had been taught while he had still been a mere Prince.

Long ago, before the time of the great griffin hero Talon Stormclaw, the griffins had been locked in a constant, brutal war for survival against their mortal enemies. Each race was the antithesis of the other; where the griffins had feathers, their enemies had scales. Where the griffins had beaks, their nemeses had long muzzles filled with sharp, triangular teeth. And where the griffins built rookeries and keeps on the mountaintops, their adversaries built vast cities beneath the icy crags. They were called drakons, not as big as dragons or even their smaller cousins the drakes, drakons were around as big as a griffin, winged but flightless. Thick scales covered their entire bodies, from the tips of their snouts to the ends of their long, heavy tails. Despite the legends making them out to be brutal savages, the drakons possessed a sophisticated society. They built enormous, well-crafted cities beneath the mountains, with masterful smiths forging arms and armor of unheard-of quality. Their warriors were exceptionally skilled, the equal of any griffin on the battlefield. Long, destructive wars lasting for decades at a time were fought between the two sides, thousands dying on blood-splattered fields and gore-covered mountainsides as locations ranging from misted valleys to snow-covered peaks were hosts to battles between the two.

Talon Stormclaw had quickly risen to prominence in one of the greatest and bloodiest battles of that gods-forsaken age, a battle that had spread fire and blood through an entire valley as the fighting had ebbed and flowed, first to one side, then the other, the balance repeatedly shifting until finally on the fifteenth day, Stormclaw and the champion of the drakon army had met in furious conflict in the center of the field. Wielding the greatsword Acheron, Stormclaw had smote the drakon’s ruin upon the field. And he had marched on. Gathering followers with each subsequent victory, eventually Stormclaw had led his warriors into the heart of the mountains themselves, where he met the drakons in battle within their own cities. Countless thousands had died in that maelstrom of war and bloodshed, but in the end, Stormclaw had carried the day. The drakons had been utterly beaten, and so Stormclaw had allowed them to remain independent of the griffins’ influence, as long as they came to their aid when needed.

It was to hold them to that oath that Aeris descended now. The elevator had almost reached its destination, long, window-like slits appearing in the walls of the shaft as orange rays of light had filtered through them. Aeris could hear the sounds of hammers banging on anvils, the sounds of marching claws, and the bellowing of orders in a harsh language that could only belong to the children of dragons.

Aeris took a deep breath and assumed a confident air as the elevator finally reached the bottom of the shaft. He resisted the urge to squint as the bright, orange light of countless forges shone into his eyes, the powers of wind that he wielded subtly shifting to keep the blasts of hot air away from him.

There was a welcoming committee outside the elevator in the form of a brace of drakon soldiers, who for the most part were armed in the customary way: large, rhombus-shaped shields and long spears with long swords strapped to the belts wrapped around their waists. All of them wore chainmail or partial plate armor, with leather pieces covering up any exposed spots. Winged helmets sat on the heads of every one of them. Aeris stepped off of the elevator as a large drakon stepped forward. He was large enough to be almost a drake, a head taller than his griffin opposite. Thick plate armor colored black with red trimming and backed with chainmail covered his torso, arms, and legs, and a winged helmet sat on his head, his dark, pointy ears sticking out of the sides. This was Firestarter, the drakons’ Iron King. The drakon smiled at Aeris as he approached, before finally extending a slim, scaly hand in greeting.

“Wind Waker,” he rumbled, the nickname still reaching Aeris’s ears despite the noise of the forges. “It has been a long time since any of the feathered kings have been brave enough to descend to the Forge-City’s level of your mountains.”

“Most other kings have not been in need of the drakons to fulfill their oath, Firestarter,” Aeris replied calmly. There was a loud rumble from the other soldiers around them, an anticipatory growling from every throat at the prospect of war and blood. Firestarter’s own eyes widened and his lips parted back from his teeth in a savage grin.

“That is the reason for your coming?” he asked, his long sinuous neck moving forward to bring his head to Aeris’s level, scaly muzzle coming point-to-point with Aeris’s beak. “The time for the drakons to march once again is finally upon us? You would call us to battle once more, to relive the glorious bloodshed of our ancestors?”

“I would,” Aeris agreed, nodding. “And I already have your targets here,” he continued, patting the satchel at his waist, filled with the maps from the war room. He looked back up at the drakon, smiling and extending a hand. “Do we have an accord?”

“We do,” Firestarter replied, both rulers clasping talons. Firestarter’s grin grew even fiercer at the agreement. “Show us where you would have us unleashed.”

***

Hours later, Firestarter and Aeris stood on a balcony overlooking a long avenue as the drakon legions marched to war. Row upon row of drakon soldiers marched past, a forest of weaponry poking into the air as thousands upon thousands of warriors marched down the street. Interspersed among the army were the drakon beasts of war; large horned lizards armed with catapults or cannons, though there were many that went without weaponry, instead being ridden by other drakons armed with long spears or bows and arrows. The beasts plodded along slowly, the long, sharp horns on their heads waving up and down as they walked.

“Magnificent, isn’t it?” Firestarter asked, looking down on his subjects with pride. Aeris nodded, a smile finding its way to his own lips.

Chapter 13

The atmosphere was tense in the throne room of Castle Lorrein. Nobles and military officials stood in small groups, urgent whispers and idle chitchat forming point and counterpoint in the air between the throne room's gilded pillars. Hoofbeats echoed off of the spotless tile floor as courtiers shifted their stances nervously or walked around to talk to other ponies, every eye and ear flicking occasionally to the throne room’s massive doors. The guards stationed around the walls of the throne room mirrored the courtiers’ nervousness, though they handled it with an air of professionalism, their spears remaining in place, only the occasional turned ear showing any anticipation of the king’s arrival.

Sandstone and West Wind stood close to the end of the throne room opposite the doors, off to the left of the throne, a masterfully carved wooden chair that stood at the top of a series of steps at the end of the thick, soft red carpet that traced a line down the middle of the room from the doors to the foot of the stairs leading up to the royal seat.

West Wind retained an air of military professionalism, remaining stock-still with his eyes locked on the doors to the throne room. The knight was dressed in his armor, the plate and mail repaired and cleaned and the hauberk he wore underneath it proudly depicting the sigil of the Brotherhood of the Watchtower, mimicked by his chestplate. Sandstone, though bathed and cleaned like West Wind, was dressed a great deal plainer. His hoof sword was strapped to his leg and he only wore a blue-and-white quartered hauberk, his sand-colored mane doing its best to keep itself in front of the earth pony’s eyes despite all his efforts to part it.

“When will the king get here?” he asked West Wind out of the side of his mouth. The Chapter Master kept his eyes trained on the doors as he answered in a similar manner.

“He’s most likely on his way. Be patient, Sandstone. The court scribe said that we’re the first order of business, so we can tell him as soon as he arrives and opens court.”

Sandstone nodded in understanding and did his best to mimic West Wind.

***

King Shining Star of Prance hated getting ready for court. He hated the heavy, cumbersome trappings of royalty, hated the grandiose spectacle that was the norm when he arrived in the throne room. The unicorn king sighed as he felt his wife settle the purple and cloth-of-gold cape around his shoulders, covering his sword-and-shield cutie mark as he looked at her. “Do I really have to wear all of this?” he asked for the umpteenth time.

Queen Aurora of Prance chuckled, the sound like the sound of wind among bluebells to his ears. “You would think that you would have gotten used to this before you took the throne, Shining.”

“I didn’t like it even while I was prince,” Shining Star grumbled as she levitated the crown that was his badge of office off of its cushion on top of the armoire in their room, settling it on the light brown, mop-top of a mane that Shining Star was proud to call his own. “It’s mostly going to be military matters anyway; the generals and the nobles that do the actual fighting aren’t going to care what I look like.”

“But the common ponies do, dear,” his wife replied, turning his head gently with a hoof to have his blue eyes look directly into her hazel ones. “They need a pony to rally behind. And you need to look strong and in control.”

“I just wish that looking strong and in control didn’t involve dressing like a clown,” Shining said, a small smile flickering around his lips as he looked back in the mirror while his wife clasped the cape together with the golden chain at its collar. Shining Star sighed as he felt the soft fur of the cape settle around his neck, looking back at his wife. “How do I look?”

“Silly like always,” she replied with a laugh. She kissed his cheek, then moved down to nuzzle his neck. “Good luck.”

“I’ll be back soon,” Shining Star promised, nuzzling her back. She backed away and Shining Star walked towards the doors to his chambers, lighting his horn and enfolding them in the golden magic of his horn.

***

“He’s coming,” West Wind muttered as two double-wide columns of guards marched through the doors of the throne room.

“How do you know?” Sandstone asked, watching the column split as the guards lined up on either side of the carpet that rolled up from the door.

“That’s the Crown Guard,” West Wind said, nodding at the guards as the doors to the throne room shut again. “They’re all exclusively unicorns drawn from the greatest warriors in Prance, given the finest training in arms and sorcery, and given armor and weapons forged by the finest smiths. They’re tasked specifically to guard the king and his family, and Castle Lorrein itself. Where they go, he’s never far behind. I’ve heard that only five join each year because of how strict the requirements and training are.”

Sandstone watched as the second column marched through the first group, splitting into two lines on either side of the carpet. All of them were armed with elegantly forged (yet still deadly) halberds, and clad in plate and chain barding. The champrons on their heads clad their horns in metal coats, as well as protecting the top sides of their heads from injury. The rest of the armor that they wore was colored silver with gold trim, the rearing pegasus that was the symbol of Prance emblazoned on the chests and flanks of their armor. It covered them from the tips of their noses to their hindquarters, and each guard carried himself with an air of confidence and courage that Sandstone envied.

Finally, the doors opened again, allowing a third double-wide column to enter, this one composed of twenty earth ponies wielding golden trumpets. Lining up on either side of the doors they lifted the trumpets to their mouths and blew a brazen fanfare, their cheeks puffed out enormously as the loud notes filled the room. A herald that had accompanied them inside began speaking as the trumpeters finished.

“Presenting his Royal Majesty, King Shining Star of Prance!”

“That’s him,” West Wind muttered softly. Sandstone watched the doors in awe as Shining Star made his entrance. The king walked with a strong, self-assured air, his blue eyes fixed on the throne at the other end of the room. The courtiers on both sides of the room immediately bowed as he entered, giving a loud cry of “Long live the King!” as they did. Sandstone and West Wind bowed as well, Shining Star walking past them and beginning to ascend the steps. The king turned and firmly planted his haunches on the throne, before nodding at both sides of the room.

“Rise, all of you. Today is not a day that we stand on ceremony.” With that his horn lit up as he shed the cape and crown of his office, allowing his mane to fall freely down both sides of his neck as he stood up and descended the steps again. “Scroll! Who is first?”

The court scribe, an earth pony with a deep blue coat, black mane, and glasses, adjusted his spectacles and looked down at the scroll that he held. “First is Chapter Master West Wind of the knights of the Brotherhood of the Watchtower, along with his aide, Sandstone of Watchover.”

“The Brotherhood of the Watchtower…” Shining Star muttered. He looked at West Wind as he and Sandstone presented themselves to him. “You are both from Watchover, then?”

“Yes, Your Grace,” West Wind said, inclining his head. “We bring a message from Viscount Steadfast.”

“And what would that be?” Shining Star asked, raising an eyebrow.

West Wind took a deep breath. “He apologizes for not being able to hold, my king. Five days ago the army of Lord Sharptalon of the Griffin Kingdoms breached Watchover and took it within a night. This young stallion and I are the only ones that managed to escape.”

There were gasps all around even as the king waved his hoof around to silence the room. As the noise died down he sighed. “I had hoped that they would hold longer.” He looked back up at West Wind. “Did the Viscount manage to escape?”

“No, sire,” West Wind replied, regret heavy in his voice. “When the gates were breached he fought beside me with great bravery and skill, but he was taken during the retreat. If His Majesty would allow me to hazard a guess…”

“He does,” Shining Star replied, nodding at West Wind to continue.

“I would surmise that the Lord Viscount is no longer with us.”

Shining Star hung his head and sighed once more. “It’s a shame. Steadfast was a fine warrior, and an even finer pony.” He looked back at West Wind. “Thank you for bringing the news to us, Lord West Wind. I can only imagine how hard it was to abandon the city to its fate, even under the orders of your lord.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” West Wind replied, bowing. Shining Star nodded at the two that they were dismissed, and as the two earth ponies backed away he looked around the room. “Is that all for immediate business, Scroll?”

“Yes, my liege,” Scroll replied, nodding. Shining Star nodded back.

“Good. Let’s get military matters underway, then.” He raised his head and spoke again, loudly. “The Crown recognizes Heater Shield, Master-Of-Arms, and the Lord Commander Hyperion, Captain-General of the Enlistment Corps.”

A grizzled earth pony stepped forward, walking up the carpet towards the king. He was covered in scars that were clearly visible through his brown fur, a black cloth eye patch covering his right eye. He favored his left front leg, limping on it. Sandstone could see a massive scar that worked its way around half of the entire leg, as if it had nearly been cut off in a past battle. Following him out was a sky-blue pegasus, his mane and tail an icy bluish-white that matched his eyes. He was younger than Heater Shield, but had the hard look of a pony that had seen a great deal of battle.

“Here, Your Grace!” both ponies called as they came to the front of the throne room, both bowing, then rising as Shining Star bid them to stand.

“Alright, since you both have duties that require you to work in concert I thought it prudent to ask both of you for updates at the same time. Hyperion, you may speak first.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Hyperion said, inclining his head. “The recruitment drive is still going well; many of the recruits are displaced refugees from areas around Watchover, as well as several villages that were located in the plains near the western border with the Griffin Kingdoms. Many of them have joined up for the prospect of revenge against them.”

“And how many have you recruited since I gave you this duty?” Shining Star asked.

“Around five thousand, sire.”

“And how many does that leave Lorrein with?”

“We’re approaching thirty thousand ponies, sire.”

“Heater Shield, are they properly equipped?”

“The smithies are barely able t’ keep up, but aye m’lord, we’re keepin’ up with the numbers.” Heater Shield nodded at Hyperion. “Th’ Lord Commander’s been very patient with m’ smiths ‘n I.”

Shining Star smiled. “Very good. Both of you continue with your current duties until further notice.” He waved his hoof to dismiss them. “The Crown now recognizes Duke Chevalier of Normane.”

Duke Chevalier made his way from the crowd of courtiers, striding confidently up the aisle towards the king. Chevalier was a unicorn, and for the uninitiated could be the king’s twin. A butter-yellow coat and elegantly combed brown mane framed his deep blue eyes, the gold laurels that made up his cutie mark also fully emblazoned on the robes he wore. “I am here, Your Majesty,” he said, kneeling before the king. Shining Star bade him to stand, then looked to the side, towards West Wind.

“West Wind, were you appraised of the situation in the rest of Prance before Watchover fell?”

“I was, Your Majesty,” West Wind replied, nodding.

“And what were you told?”

“Viscount Steadfast informed me that two other griffin armies had crossed the border into Prance. One was heading to Alsaddle with a Prancer army moving to check its advance. A second was heading up the Kingsroad, directly this way.”

Shining Star nodded, turning back to Chevalier. “Count Cirrus is in command of the army in Alsaddle. I would normally send you to aid him, Chevalier, but under the circumstances I cannot spare anypony from the Enlistment Corps. I understand that you came here with a force of Normaneic knights?”

“I did, Your Grace,” Chevalier replied.

“How many?”

“Two hundred. I had hoped that Your Grace would have use for them.”

“And I do,” Shining Star replied. His horn sparked, a map of Prance conjuring itself out of thin air. The map unrolled itself and floated down between the two unicorns. Shining Star raised a hoof and with it traced the borders of Lorrein. “The army that even now comes up the Kingsroad will most likely be sending scouts and foraging parties forward. An army that large will most likely have many. I give you and your knights the task of making sure that as many foraging parties and scouts as possible do not return to the army.”

“As you command, Your Grace,” Chevalier replied, inclining his head.

“Good. You will leave immediately. Anywhere you see dogs or griffins, I expect you to attack.”
Chevalier nodded and turned, trotting out of the throne room. A number of other ponies joined him, the group quickly moving out of the throne room. Shining Star turned to Scroll as the doors shut behind them. “Scroll, I have a proclamation to send out.”

“I am ready, Your Grace,” Scroll replied, fishing a quill out of a bag. Shining Star nodded.

“Hear ye, hear ye. By order of the King, all ponies inhabiting the province of Lorrein are ordered to make for the safety of the capital. They are to burn everything behind them and to only take the provisions they need, no treasures or nonessential items. By order of Shining Star, Ruler of the Kingdom of Prance, Duke of Lorrein, Lord of the Crownlands, yadda yadda and all the rest of it.”

The noise of the quill quickly subsided as Scroll finished writing the proclamation, rolling it up and grabbing the parchment in his mouth before galloping out of the room to deliver the proclamation to the castle library, where a bowl of dragonfire would send the message to every village in the province.

Shining Star looked around the throne room. “This morning court is now adjourned!”

***

Sandstone and West Wind watched from the top of one of Lorrein’s walls as Duke Chevalier and his knights marched through the city gates. Normane was one of the more prosperous provinces of Prance, and this showed in the knights’ equipment. All of them wore armor that looked to be on par with that of the Crown Guard, dully shining in the grey light of the overcast sun. Pieces of cloth in Normane’s colors of blue and gold trim hung from various spots on their armor, and many of them carried banners on the ends of their lances. The banners were colored the same blue-with-gold-trim of the cloth on their armor, emblazoned with the Normaneic insignia of a hawk with spread wings over two crossed swords. Chevalier himself was in the lead, clad in the same armor as the knights under his command. Behind him his knights were spread into lines of four abreast, following the unicorn duke in a narrow column as they marched into the forest bordering the open space beyond the city’s walls.

“I hope he’ll be alright,” Sandstone muttered.

“As do I,” West Wind agreed as the column began to enter the forest. “The most we can do now is hope for his safe return.”

Sandstone nodded, looking up at the massive thunderhead that had been sent ahead of the knights by a group of weather pegasi. Rain could be seen far in the distance, quick flashes of lightning shooting from the clouds to the ground, into the forest that stretched out as far as the eye could see. Sandstone had heard that the reason for the storm was to slow the griffins down, the rain making the ground muddy and difficult to march through, the lightning making it too dangerous to fly and also to spark fires and strike down trees to delay them even more.

“Come on,” West Wind said, turning away from the view. “We’d best prepare ourselves. We’ll be stuck here when the griffins come.”

Sandstone nodded, dragging his view away as the last row of knights disappeared into the forest. He followed West Wind down the steps, his stomach twisting into a knot as he wondered when the griffins would arrive.

Chapter 14

To everypony’s surprise, a light drizzle had come out of nowhere to grace the Everfree Forest the night before, and Stout Heart and Rite’s hooves squished on the damp ground as they paced up and down the line of stallions that had volunteered to join the Royal Guard. Stout Heart had counted at least a hundred assorted earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns.

“Right then flunkies!” he barked as he and Rite paced the line. “You have all volunteered for a great undertaking! You lot will have the privilege of making up the new Royal Guard in order to replace the numbers lost at Canterlot! Look to either side of you; these ponies standing next to you may look different than you. They may be a different species of pony. You may not even know their names. But by the time we’re done training you to the best of our abilities, you will all trust each other with your lives! I am Captain Stout Heart. Behind me is Captain Rite! Together, we are going to teach you bunch of feculent maggots how to march like royal guards, how to act like royal guards, and most importantly how to fight like royal guards!”

He stopped short as he reached the end of the line. There wasn’t a pony standing there. Instead, Stout Heart had to look down as he saw Spike standing at stiff attention like the rest of the ponies. Stout Heart closed his eyes and sighed, rubbing his face before looking down at Spike. “War is no place for a baby dragon,” he said.

“But my friends got ponynapped by the griffins!” Spike said, looking up at Stout Heart. “I can’t just sit on my butt and watch everypony else put their lives on the line!”

Stout Heart raised an eyebrow. “Do you honestly believe that you’ll be able to contribute anything notable to the Guard?”

“I can try!” the baby dragon replied, glaring up at the earth pony officer.

Stout Heart rolled his eyes, then turned to Rite. “Sword.”

“Sword,” Rite echoed, conjuring a hoof sword out of the air and floating it over to Stout Heart. The earth pony guard took it in his mouth, dropping it in front of Spike.

“Lift it,” he said simply. Spike looked down at the sword. It was almost as tall as he was, though thankfully it had a handle so he wouldn’t have to grab onto the blade, thick scales or not. He bent over and wrapped both claws around the sword’s hilt before heaving with all of his strength. He lifted the sword off of the ground, clenching his teeth and growling as he struggled to hold it up over his head. The point wavered in the air before its weight sent it falling backwards, its tip plunging into the soft ground. Spike fell on his back with a yelp, his stubby legs kicking weakly as the other ponies in the line began laughing.

“I’M NOT LAUGHING!” Stout Heart bellowed at them all. The ponies shut up, Spike sitting up as he panted heavily even from the brief exertion.

“So you’re not strong enough to lift a sword,” Stout Heart said. “Can you do anything else?”

Spike shook his head and managed to get back on his feet. “No! I can do something! Give me a smaller sword! Like a dagger or something!”

“Even if you could lift a weapon and use it effectively,” Stout Heart said, “What makes you think that you can keep up with the others? Do you know what Royal Guard training involves?” He lifted a hoof and sharply rapped Spike in his chubby belly. The baby dragon went “Oof!” and his cheeks inflated hugely, deflating as he fell to his knees, nursing his stomach as he began coughing.

“It’s enough that that physique wouldn’t be able to stand up to it,” Stout Heart finished. “I have no use for a fat, weak baby dragon in the Royal Guard.”

Spike looked back up at him, his green eyes narrowed in anger. “I don’t need to run! I can ride on somepony! Just give me a chance!”

“No!” Stout Heart replied. “Go back inside, dragon. You can serve as an aide to Princess Luna.”

“I’m not budging!” Spike shouted back. “You have no right to keep me from trying to help!”

“I have every right!” Stout Heart retorted. “To me, until you prove otherwise, you are nothing but a fat, short, weak baby dragon! I am not going to drag down the rest of the Royal Guard by allowing you to train with us!”

“And for the last time I am NOT-“

SLAP.

Spike’s head snapped to the side, his eyes wide and a dent in the shape of a hoof planted firmly in his cheek, rolling the skin up away from the imprint. Stout Heart glared at the baby dragon, setting the hoof that he had slapped him with back down on the ground. “That is your last warning, dragon. Get back inside before you get hurt.”

Spike growled but started running back towards the castle, tears starting to stream from his eyes. The other ponies in the line watched him go. None of them made a move to stop him.

All but one. Spike had his eyes shut and as such didn’t see the massive red hoof that stuck out in front of him, at a height that would be enough to trip a pony, but on Spike placed itself level with his chest. The baby dragon was clotheslined to the ground, gasping for breath as it was knocked out of him by the impact. Opening his eyes and blinking away the tears, he saw a familiar red shape. Green eyes framed by a burnt orange mane looked down at him, a gentle smile on the stallion’s muzzle before he looked off to his left, at Stout Heart. “Ah’ll vouch fer ‘im,” Big Macintosh said.

Stout Heart scowled as he trotted down the line to where the muscular farmpony was standing, looking down first at the still-breathless Spike, then up at Big Macintosh. “And who are you?”

“Big Macintosh,” the stallion replied simply.

“And you vouch for the baby dragon?”

“Eyup,” Big Mac replied, moving his left hoof out to help Spike sit up. “Ah’ve known ‘im fer a while now. Spike may not be big or strong or even a pony, but he’s got a lot o’ heart. Just give ‘im a chance. Sir,” he added at the last minute.

Stout Heart narrowed his eyes up at Big Macintosh, but sighed. “Fine, fine. If you really think that he can be an asset to us, I’ll let him join up.” He then turned his attention to Spike, hitting him in the belly with his hoof again to floor him, then gently but firmly resting the hoof on Spike’s stomach. “But know this, Spike. You slip behind in any part of the training, and you’re out, understand?”

Spike gulped and nodded. “Y…yes, sir!”

“Good,” Stout Heart replied. He lifted his hoof off of Spike’s belly and walked back to his position in front of the line. “Now listen up all of you! As much as I know that you all probably want to start learning how to use weapons and take the fight to the griffins, we have to make sure that you know everything else first! Weapons come last! Your first lesson will be this!” He turned to Captain Rite and nodded. The unicorn returned the nod, then lit his horn. An aura of green magic surrounded a large boulder on the edge of the courtyard. Sweat began pouring down his face as he lifted it with noticeable effort, the boulder rising into the air and floating over to where Stout Heart was standing. Rite released the spell, dropping the boulder down next to the earth pony captain. Stout Heart nodded at Rite in thanks, then pointed at the rock. “You will all attempt to move this rock! Who wants to be first?”

The ponies looked at one another, a bout of nervous whispering filling the air of the courtyard. Stout Heart glared at them all. “I said, WHO’S FIRST?!”

“Um…I-I-I-I’ll go first!” one stallion stammered, a grey earth pony with a black mane and a trio of four-leaf clovers on his flank.

“Very good!” Stout Heart replied with a grin. As the pony trotted up, he cocked his head to one side. “What’s your name, son?”

“Um…Lucky, sir!”

“Well then Lucky, let’s see if you live up to your name on this.”

Lucky trotted forward, facing the rock and taking a deep breath. He then charged at it with a yell, hurling his full body weight against it. The rock didn’t move an inch, Lucky merely bouncing off of it and landing on his side. Lucky got back up and charged at it again and again, each try having the same result.

“Alright son, that’s enough,” Stout Heart said. “No need to hurt yourself. Next!”

A pegasus stepped up this time, with a black coat, golden eyes, and a two-toned-blue mane styled into a mohawk.

“Show that rock who’s boss, Thunderlane!” another pegasus called, a number of other pegasi cheering him on. Thunderlane gave a cocky grin and spread his wings, starting to flap them rapidly before shooting forward, giving a loud yell as he charged the boulder. Stout Heart stood calmly as Thunderlane sped forward, Thunderlane’s roar of challenge changing into a shriek of panic as he tried to stop and failed. Thunderlane hit the boulder head first, bouncing off of it and onto his back legs. Thunderlane staggered around in front of the rock, his eyes rolling in their sockets as he fell onto his back with a groan, his eyes still spinning and his tongue lolling out of his mouth. The pegasi that had cheered him on groaned, many of them slapping hooves to their faces as most of the other ponies burst out laughing at Thunderlane’s failure.

“Let that be a lesson to all of you,” Stout Heart said above the laughter. “Don’t be too cocky. You may end up like him, or worse,” he finished, nudging Thunderlane’s body with a hoof. “Next!”

Rite magically dragged Thunderlane off to the side as a unicorn stepped up to the rock. He scoffed confidently, his horn lighting up as he prepared to lift the rock with his magic. The glow quickly blinked out as Stout Heart slapped his horn, hard.

“No!” Stout Heart barked. “No magic! You won’t always be able to rely on your magic to solve all of your problems, especially if your horn burns out! This goes for all of the unicorns in this group! No magic on this test! You’re using your own physical strength!”

The unicorn groaned in dismay, echoed by the other unicorns in the line behind him. He took a deep breath and charged forward, slamming his shoulder against the rock and having the same result as Lucky, though this time there was also a loud pop as he hit the rock, the unicorn giving a loud yelp as he bounced to the ground. He got up, sobbing in pain as he nursed his shoulder. He cried out in pain each time he put his weight on the shoulder he’d hit the rock with, as it seemed to have collapsed in on itself. Stout Heart shook his head.

“Now y’see what you’ve done? That’s a dislocated shoulder, I’d reckon. Get over to Captain Rite and have him look at it.”

“B…but can’t he-“

SLAP.

The unicorn’s cheek reacted the same way as Spike’s had to the slap, the unicorn yelping in pain and losing his balance before falling down. He shrieked in pain as his hurt shoulder hit the ground, Stout Heart bellowing into his face.

“NO BUTS!” the earth pony roared. “When you’re a soldier you’re going to get hurt and there won’t always be a medic around to patch you up again! You’re going to have to fight through the pain when that happens! Now get your sorry ass up and get over to Captain Rite!”

The unicorn managed to get back on his hooves, biting his lip to keep from screaming again as he had to brace both of his front legs on the ground in order to get up. He started limping over to Rite, tears of pain starting to roll down his cheeks.

“Next!” Stout Heart yelled.

The rest of the recruits suffered the same results. Pony after pony attempted to budge the rock, but several more injuries, KO’s, and regular failures later, the only two recruits that hadn’t tried were Big Macintosh and Spike.

“Next!” came the shout as Caramel the earth pony staggered away, falling onto his rump, then onto his side as his chest heaved for breath following a spirited attempt to move the rock. Big Macintosh nudged Spike forward, the baby dragon taking a deep breath and charging at the rock. He hit it and began shoving against it with all his might, his feet slipping on the grass as he pushed it with everything he had. Finally his legs gave out and Spike collapsed face-flat on the ground, his face red and sweaty as he rolled over.

“Nice try, kid,” Stout Heart said. He nudged Spike with a hoof, the baby dragon getting up and staggering out of the way to lie down. Big Macintosh walked forward, his face the same deadpan expression that it always was as he faced the rock.

“Alright Macintosh,” Stout Heart said. “Let’s see what you can do.”

“Eyup,” Big Mac replied. He turned around to present his backside to the rock, squatting and clenching his leg muscles before shooting them backwards. His hooves struck the rock with a loud crack, the force of it sending the rock flying a short distance. The other recruits sent up a ragged, tired cheer at the sight, Big Macintosh smiling as Stout Heart walked up to him.

“Well, well, well,” the earth pony captain said. “You’re quite the strong one, aren’t you?”

“Eyup,” Big Mac replied happily, closing his eyes and smiling at the captain. Due to this he didn’t see the hoof coming until it hit his cheek.

SLAP.

As Big Macintosh rubbed the hoofprint his now even-redder cheek was sporting, Stout Heart grabbed him around the neck and pulled him downward.

“NO!” the earth pony captain shouted. “WRONG! Showing how strong you are is NOT the point of this!”

“Then what is?!” a brown, sandy-maned earth pony with a palm tree cutie mark yelled. The other recruits yelled their agreement with the question.

“I’ll let all of you figure it out,” Stout Heart replied with a smug smile. “We’re done for the day. All of you go inside and rest. I’ll see you all out here again tomorrow morning. Dismissed!”

With a chorus of grumbles the recruits began moving back towards the castle, many of them grumbling sourly. Even Big Macintosh’s normally deadpan expression had been replaced with a scowl as he walked over to Spike, who sat up, still breathing a bit heavily.

“Wow…” Spike panted, looking up at the comparatively massive farm pony. “Some training, huh?”

“Eyup,” Big Macintosh replied. Spike got to his feet and the two began walking back to the castle, Spike having to take four steps to each one of Big Mac’s.

“Um, by the way…” Spike began nervously, “Thanks for sticking up for me back there.”

“No problem,” Big Macintosh replied. “Everypony that wants t’ help should get the chance. You just need t’ have that chance.”

Spike nodded. As they entered the castle alongside the other recruits, Spike and Big Macintosh looked up at the sound of clopping hooves. A number of pegasi walked into the castle’s entrance hall, Full Moon and Aileron at their head. Many of the pegasi looked dirty, worn out, and bedraggled. Spike could see Wonderbolt uniforms on several of them. Most of them were stallions, though there were a few mares among them as well, along with a number of pegasi foals being carried on the backs of several of the group. Full Moon and Aileron almost immediately trotted off to find Princess Luna, while the pegasi began to mingle among the Ponyville ponies. Spike turned around at two more pairs of clopping hooves to see Stout Heart and Rite move past the pair, following after their fellow officers.

“Interestin’,” Big Macintosh muttered.

“They look like they’ve been through a lot,” Spike observed, noting dirty coats, ragged wings, and minor injuries.

“Eyup,” Big Macintosh said. He jerked his head in the direction of the small lean-to that he, Spike, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were sharing. “C’mon. Let’s get somethin’ t’ eat.”

Nodding his agreement, Spike climbed up on Big Macintosh’s back as the big pony began to thread his way through the crowds.

***

Princess Luna had turned the tower into an apt throne room over the past day. Missing chunks of ceiling and wall had been repaired, and the broken windowpanes had also been fixed. Conjured banners depicting a crescent moon over a backdrop of stars on a purple field hung at regular intervals from the walls, and a long, deep blue carpet had been rolled out from the dais at one end of the room to the doors on the other end. Princess Luna herself sat down on a throne on top of the dais, her custom banner on her right, and the banner of Equestria on the left. As the four captains entered the room she nodded to them all in greeting, getting up and spreading her wings to fly over to them. The four ponies bowed as she landed in front of them, waiting for her to gesture for them to stand before rising.

“I am glad to see that you two made it back unharmed,” the dark furred alicorn said, inclining her head to Full Moon and Aileron and coupling it with a smile.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Aileron replied, giving his princess a second bow in gratitude.

“How went the scouting and searching?”

“Very well Your Highness,” answered Full Moon. “We managed to locate around forty pegasi in the banks around Cloudsdale. All of them are currently in the main building. After we’re done here Captain Aileron and I will begin setting up accommodations for them.”

“Excellent,” Luna said proudly. “Good job, Captain. Now, about the scouting?”

“We saw a number of griffin airships accompanied by squadrons of escorts moving away from Canterlot earlier this morning,” Aileron began, picking up the story. “We don’t know how many enemy troops were on each one, but their headings indicated that they were heading for every city and town in Equestria.”

“Even the ones in the Southern Desert?” Luna asked in surprise, her eyes widening.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Aileron confirmed, nodding. “Should we send out pegasi with evacuation orders?”

“No,” Luna replied, shaking her head. “They wouldn’t get to their destinations in time, and we don’t have that many pegasi to begin with. We can’t afford to risk them.” She returned her gaze to Aileron. “Anything else?”

“The griffins have begun milling operations in Whitetail Wood and the Sweet Apple Acres orchard,” the snow-white pegasus continued. “They’ve also begun digging trenches around Ponyville and are setting up palisades and smaller forts around the town. They are most likely converting it into a forward operations base, or an outpost of some kind.”

“A good assessment,” agreed Luna. “What is their troop strength?”

“I would say around two thousand at present, Princess,” Aileron guessed tentatively. “Many of them are helping in the construction, though there are also a number of ponies that are assisting them.”

“What?!” Luna and the other two captains exclaimed. “Why?” Luna asked.

“They were not doing it willingly, Princess,” Aileron explained. “We got close enough to see chains around their hooves, and griffins with whips were overseeing them. My guess is that they’re using civilians and captured guards from Canterlot to speed up the building process.”

“That’s horrible…” Luna said, her ears drooping. “Why would they do that?”

“Anything to free up more hands to conquer the rest of Equestria…” Stout Heart growled, pawing at the ground with a hoof.

“We can’t do anything about it now, Princess,” Full Moon said, reaching up to take off his helmet to allow his spiky black mane to freely flop forward from the cramped confines of his helmet. “Our primary concern right now should be training to take Equestria back.”

“You’re right,” Luna sighed. “I apologize, Full Moon.” She looked at Aileron for a final time. “Did you see anything that might give us clues as to where Shining Armor is?”

“No, Princess,” Aileron said, shaking his head. “I didn’t see him anywhere.”

Luna hung her head. “I guess it was too much to hope for.” She looked up again, turning her eyes on Stout Heart and Rite. “And what about you two? How did the training go?”

“A great deal of injuries and nothing to show for it,” Stout Heart said, putting a hoof to his face. “I’ve got them working on an exercise, and until they can figure it out I’m not letting them move on.”

“We also had a recruit that we didn’t anticipate,” Rite added. “That baby dragon.”

“Spike?” Luna asked. “Why did he want to join?”

“Believe me, Princess, I did everything I could to try and get him to back out,” Stout Heart replied. “I have no use for a baby dragon in the guard.”

“He has plenty of spirit,” Rite retorted, looking over at his fellow officer. “You shouldn’t doubt him.”

“I don’t doubt his spirit,” Stout Heart replied. “Only the reach of his arm.”

Luna had to fight not to giggle at that. “Captain Rite is correct, though. Give him a chance, Stout. He may surprise you.”

“Hopefully you’re right, Princess,” Stout Heart muttered.

Chapter 15

The sounds of a busy castle parade ground drifted through the morning air as the sun began to rise over the eastern horizon. The long, golden rays of light slanted into Castle Grey’s courtyard, illuminating its semicircular wall and the parade ground that extended in front of the buildings that had been built into the side of the mountain. Armories, barracks, meal halls and larders had all been built deep into the ancient rock, leaving only their facades sticking out of the mountainside. One of the visible windows that had been carved out of the stone belonged to Shining Armor’s room, the snow-white unicorn sleeping soundly on the bed that he had collapsed onto, face-flat, in the wee hours of the morning.

The sun began shining through the window, one small beam of light creeping across the floor until it finally reached Shining Armor’s eye. The unicorn groaned and rolled over, his horn flashing briefly to pull the covers over his head. The flash came again as he threw the covers off of himself, rolling out of bed and rubbing his face. Looking around, he sleepily thought of how his bedroom was missing two things: everything that he owned, and the sleeping form of pink perfection that was his wife. Immediately after thinking that he shook his head vigorously, jogging his memory to a more recent state. That’s right, he thought. Canterlot. Castle Grey. Shining Armor yawned as he walked over to the window, looking out over the parade ground. Most of them wore the burnished gold armor of the regular Royal Guard, though a number of other ponies merely wore tunics or went casual. Shining Armor assumed that these ponies were the castle’s staff, responsible for the fortress’s upkeep and the supply of the soldiers.

Other ponies in the yard wore scale armor, made of boiled leather. Though they drilled with the regular guards they were sloppier and didn’t look as professional. They were a multitude of colors and sizes, much more irregular than the virtually identical Royal Guard ponies. Shining Armor knew their kind; they were Equestria’s Provincial Militia, ponies drawn from the local populations to supplement the Royal Guard garrisons in the region. Provided with lower-quality arms and armor, they were only called up in times of crisis, such as when a threat to Equestria made its way over the Crystal Mountains from the Frozen North.

Shining Armor rubbed his eyes again as he turned away from the window, heading over to the bathroom. As the handle turned, water began to pour out of the faucet. Shining unceremoniously dunked his head in, letting the cold revive him as he shook his head, water spraying from his tri-toned blue mane as he breathed in deeply and let it out. Letting the residual water drip from his mane, Shining exited his room and began walking through the castle’s corridors, heading down to the mess hall. He had only ever been to Castle Grey once, to inspect it following the attempted Changeling invasion. Every member of the garrison had been required to submit to a screening to make sure that no Changeling drones had remained in any Royal Guard locations.

Even so, he still remembered the layout fairly well and managed to get to the castle’s mess hall in no time. The air inside it was filled with chatter. Most of the ponies inside wore the ebony-colored off duty tunics of the Archive Guard. Servers pushed carts along the many long tables stretched around the room, doling out servings of hay fries, spiced oats, oatmeal, and hay for the patrons.

“Good morning, Shining,” Arcane said as Shining sat down next to him, giving another yawn. The Mage-Captain was poring over a number of pieces of parchment, some of them covered in numbers, others showing maps of the northern part of Equestria.

“Morning, Arcane,” he said groggily. He yawned again before looking at the gray unicorn and the papers he was reading. “What have we got?”

“Strong Swing gave me these; it’s mostly force deployment and strength around the area. Lieutenant Cloud Skipper also took a flight of militia pegasi out earlier today; they saw two griffin air flotillas, one heading for Vanhoover and another for Tall Tale.”

“The griffins are spreading out, then,” Shining muttered. Arcane nodded.

“We haven’t sent out any other aerial patrols, but at the moment we’re assuming that the situation is the same everywhere else in Equestria,” he continued. “The griffins will be moving out from Canterlot and taking over the other major cities and towns. They’ll probably spread out after that and move into the wilderness to weed out any remaining resistance.”

“That’ll be our time to strike then,” Shining said. “Ambush their patrols and supply convoys, hope that they can’t pin down our location.”

Arcane nodded. “Strong Swing has also begun drilling the Provincials. Hopefully we’ll be able to make them into something resembling soldiers by the time they’re needed.”

Shining Armor nodded back. “Let’s hope so.” He looked over one of the maps, sighing as he thought of the ponies that were being brought under the heel of the griffins. “I just wish that we could do more, and faster.”

“You’re not the only one, Captain,” Arcane said reassuringly, resting a hoof on Shining’s shoulder. “Everypony in this castle wants to get out and help Equestria. But we can’t. For now, the ponies of Equestria have to endure.”

***

Derbyshire

Colonel Grimfeather looked on in satisfaction as he took in the scene before him. Derbyshire had been subdued fairly quickly, the inhabitants staring on in wide-eyed shock as columns of griffin soldiers had marched down the street, other griffins perched on the rooftops with bows in hand and ready to shoot anypony that made a funny move. The town’s government had been rounded up and kept hostage in Derbyshire’s town hall, heavily guarded against any rescue attempt.

Grimfeather turned and looked to the north of Derbyshire, to the farm that even now was sending pillars of thick black smoke into the sky as the various buildings burned merrily. A number of griffins among the companies he led were from Talos, and had taken out the supposed theft of one of the city’s surplus fields out on the Apple ponies that had bought the land.. Grimfeather remembered flying past them as the flotilla had moved on the town, the family and their farmhoofs out in the yard, looking up in confusion at the griffins flying overhead. He still remembered the makeup of the family; three adult colts, plus the mother and father of the family and the fifteen other ponies that made up the farm’s help. He sighed as he heard a scream echo across the open prairie between the farm and the town itself. “Better go and make sure that they’re not roughing them up too much…” He spread his wings and took off, flying towards the smoke.

The farm was in chaos when Grimfeather arrived. A few of the farm workers were on the ground, either screaming in pain from wounds or dead where they lay. The farm’s three sons had had both pairs of legs bound separately and had then been hung from the doors like slabs of meat. All three had been badly beaten, their heads hanging low, their chins resting against their chests. They still jerked occasionally as a passing griffin would hit them, but for the most part they hung limply, not moving, the odd groan working its way out of one of the trio’s mouths.

Grimfeather ignored them and made for a nearby griffin that sat on the edge of the farm’s well, several other griffins coming and going as they brought him various crates and bags filled with other foodstuffs. The griffin looked up from the clipboard he was using, then jerked and got to his feet, saluting as he did. “Colonel, sir!”

“At ease,” Grimfeather replied, returning the salute. “What are you and your troops doing here?”

“Logistics, sir,” the griffin replied. “Figured that we couldn’t let all this food go to waste.”

“And the farm’s owners?” Grimfeather asked, raising an eyebrow as he jerked a thumb back at the doors with the three ponies still hanging from it. A pair of griffins had apparently either gotten bored or finished up their work and had turned their attention to one of the stallions, a cream-colored one with a mane the color of a ripe apple.

“Well since this is royal territory and all, we thought it prudent to take what was rightfully ours,” the griffin replied. “It wasn’t this lot’s to begin with.”

Grimfeather winced slightly as he heard the loud thump of a griffin’s fist slamming into the stallion’s belly, the unfortunate pony letting out a noise that sounded like “Guelph!” He sighed. “Right. Once you’re finished cataloguing everything, move it all to the supply depots on the town’s western side. And cut those three down before you leave,” he added, gesturing to the three stallions.
“Understood, sir,” the griffin replied. “Anything else?”

“What did you do with the other two? Those three’s parents?”

“Hid in the house, sir. Those three gathered some of the help and armed themselves.”

“They fought you?” Grimfeather asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Yessir,” the officer replied, nodding. “Not very well, admittedly. A few wounded but nothing serious.”

Grimfeather nodded. “Right. Carry on.” He took off as the griffin saluted, flying back towards Derbyshire. He halted in midair, landing on a low-flying cloud and looking around Derbyshire. In the hours since the town had been occupied, its conquerors had been busy. Stakes and earthworks had been set up around most of the town, temporary barricades functioning as security checkpoints on all of the main roads into the town. White tents and wagons that made up the supply depot that the army had set up had been set up on the western side of the town. In the skies around Derbyshire flights of griffins flew high-level aerial patrols, the two airships that the army had brought along floating over the town. Grimfeather nodded at the tableau, satisfied.

***

Ponyville

Rosten nodded approvingly as he looked up at the palisades that were quickly beginning to encircle Ponyville. The construction had been proceeding rapidly, especially once Blackwing had sent additional troops to help with the construction. Already the main walls around Ponyville were nearly complete, earthworks and stakes around the paths to the buildings further out were already halfway done, the digging skills of the army’s dogs coming into play. The other palisades around the forts that were strategically placed around Ponyville had already been completed, various tents and temporary structures already erected inside them. He’d made sure that the prisoners that the new troops had come in with were treated well and fairly, though to be honest only the Royal Guard prisoners, those used to physical exertion, were really of any use. The rest groaned and strained to get a single wooden beam up into position, even the unicorns among them. Rosten had had to stop more than one attempted beating of a pony that hadn’t been performing to the overseer’s expectations.

Rosten turned around, focusing his eyes on the Everfree Forest behind him. The forests’ trees were visible over the walls, the boost in height provided by the hill that the forests’ borders began on.

They’re in there somewhere… Rosten thought to himself. And I guess it falls to me to dig them out.

“Captain Rosten!” said the by-now familiar voice of a courier from above him. Rosten looked up as the messenger landed, handing him a scroll. Rosten cut the ribbon open with his claw, unfurling it and reading it, his eyes shifting side to side. It was a message from Blackwing, calling him back to Canterlot to receive another message. Rosten rolled the scroll up and handed it back to the courier. “Tell Lieutenant Thermal that he’s in charge of continuing the construction until I return.”

At the courier’s nod, Rosten spread his wings and took off, circling the town to give it a final, appraising look before he turned northeast, towards Canterlot.

***

The scene in Derbyshire was the same all over Equestria. Towns were occupied. Lines of dogs and griffins marched down streets, others circling the towns from the air. Flags of municipalities and of Equestria in general were thrown down from their places of honor on top of buildings, the flag of the Griffin Kingdoms being put up in their place. Ponies were rounded up and informed of the new order of their previously idyllic world: their Princesses had abandoned them. Their Royal Guard was destroyed. The Elements of Harmony were not coming to rescue them. They were alone, and under new leadership.

In Canterlot, Blackwing’s smile was growing more and more as courier after courier came in with updates. Vanhoover had fallen. Tall Tale had fallen. Dodge Junction had been taken. Manehattan had surrendered. Baltimare and Fillydelphia were theirs. Derbyshire was occupied. City after city, town after town.

We’ve done it, Blackwing thought as he mentally checked off the lists of Equestrian settlements. Equestria is ours.

Chapter 16

Bright Blade sighed as he walked through the halls of the Order of the Watchers’ fortress. Nestled in the shadow of one of Germaneigh’s small mountain ranges, the castle had stood ever since Germaneigh’s founding, an order dedicated to protecting the smallponies from the depredations of the warrior tribes of ponies that had made up the conglomeration of small, petty kingdoms that had divided the nation into so many individual factions. Eventually the nation of Shetland had become the most powerful of them, conquering the smaller kingdoms that made up the rest of Germaneigh’s present territory, until their jarl had declared himself King. Through it all the Order had remained, defending against attacks both against its fortress and the small villages around it.

The castle itself was surrounded by walls thirty feet high and twenty feet thick, its large gates opening up to a great courtyard large enough to muster the castle’s full strength of two thousand, along with the auxiliary troops of the surrounding villages. Banners flew proudly from the walls and hung from the keep, depicting a white heater shield behind a downward pointing sword, all over a blue background.The hallway that Bright Blade was walking down led to the Grand Master’s study. His hooves sank into the soft blue carpet as the earth pony kept his eyes forward, focusing on the doors at the far end of the hallway. He knew how the rest of the hallway looked: chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceiling, the candles in them augmenting the light from the torch sconces on the walls and the muted sunlight shining in through the glass windows. Above the door was a large stone carving that depicted a pegasus wearing a cloak and cowl. His hooves were somehow wrapped around a downward-pointing sword and his wings were spread behind him. Similar, though plainer statues lined the hallway on either side, stone hooves wrapped around authentic, still-functional weapons.

Finally, Bright Blade reached the Grand Master’s study. Lifting a hoof to knock, he lowered it as the door swung open in a flare of green magic before he could touch it. The door revealed the stairway that led down into the Grand Master’s study, a sunken area that housed the Grand Master’s desk, along with several glass-fronted bookshelves that ran around the circular back wall. Two tapestries depicting the Order’s founding and the crowning of Germaneigh’s first king hung from the two pillars on either side of the staircase’s bottom step. A roost sat beside the office’s desk, the blue-colored phoenix perched on it giving a musical cry as it saw Bright Blade walk down the steps.

Grand Master Spatha was a unicorn, and had led the Order of the Watchers for many years. His previously light grey coat had deepened into aged silver and his brown mane had turned white, but his blue eyes were still as clear and sharp as ever. The unicorn looked up from the map he was reading, smiling as he saw Bright Blade reach the bottom of the steps. “Ah, Bright Blade. We were worried when we heard of Iron Ore’s defeat. I’m glad to see that you made it back safely.”

“Thank you, Master Spatha,” Bright Blade replied, inclining his head. “I regret to report that we lost ten of our brothers during the battle.”

“Such is the way of war,” Spatha replied. “We can mourn them later. We’ve received news from several scouts. The griffins have launched two more armies into Germaneigh.”

“More griffins?” Bright Blade asked, trotting over to the desk to look at the map. Spatha’s phoenix left its perch and instead moved to its master’s horn, staring down at the paper as well.

“No,” Spatha replied, shaking his head. “Different. They don’t fly griffin banners, and there are no griffins or dogs with them. This is a new faction entirely.”

“What are they, then?” Bright Blade asked, looking back up at Spatha. The Grand Master’s horn lit up and a green glow enfolded the doorknob of one of the bookcases. The door opened and a leather-bound book floated out, landing on the desk with a gentle thump. The book cover itself then lit up, opening. Pages fluttered softly as Spatha flipped through the tome until he came to one page in particular. It showed a two-legged draconic creature, its mouth wide open and its eyes wide and feral in an expression of savage glee. A long falchion was gripped in one clawed hand, a long heater shield in the other.

“They’re called drakons,” Spatha said. “Supposedly spawn of the Great Beast during its war against the Two Sisters. When he was defeated and imprisoned in stone they fled north, into the depths of the mountains, below the keeps of the griffins. They warred with one another for centuries before the drakons were finally defeated and brought to heel by the griffins. If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say that the griffins called them to war.”

“And they answered,” Bright Blade muttered. Spatha nodded, pointing at the two small flags emblems that were steadily moving across the map. They were black for the most part, with a red, three-headed dragon forming a rough circle in the center.

“The scout wasn’t able to get an accurate count…but both armies are very large.” Spatha sighed. “We don’t have nearly the numbers to stop them here.” His phoenix fluttered down from his horn, landing on the table and pecking at the two banners.

“So what do we do?” Bright Blade asked, looking up from the map at Spatha.

The old unicorn leaned back and shook his head. “The most I could think of would be to call our Chapters back from every city that isn’t under griffin control. The size of the two armies means that thankfully they can’t move very quickly, so hopefully our brothers will be able to make it back here.” Spatha looked up at his phoenix. “Copper, you know what to do.”

The phoenix nodded and gave its sapphire wings a few good flaps, taking off into the air before disappearing in a flash of fire. As Copper’s embers disappeared on their way to the floor, Spatha turned around to Bright Blade. “Inform the other officers to gather in my study at dusk. We must plan. And send a messenger to the High Sword of the Order of the Forest, as well as Lord Autumnbark. They must know of this threat as well.”

“Yes, Master,” Bright Blade replied, bowing before hurriedly turning and galloping out. As he left, Spatha shut the door and sat down, his horn flaring and a model of the castle appearing on his desk. His horn flickering as he thought of force positioning, Spatha began muttering to himself as the Grand Master prepared to defend his keep.

***

Word of the approaching threat spread quickly through the ranks of the Watchers, sending them into a spiral of activity as the fortress began to prepare for assault. Forge fires were lit and new weapons and pieces of armor were made as others were repaired. Provisions were taken stock of by Order serfs, the wells checked by engineers to make sure that none were dry. Soldiers that made their homes in the villages surrounding the fortress were called up, and soon columns of ponies were marching into the walls of the fortress, mustering in the courtyard. The rest of the villagers were sent farther into Germaneigh, away from the advancing drakon hordes. Order masons combed the walls of the castle from top to bottom, searching for any weaknesses in the structure that could be used against the defenders. Any potential tunnels leading into the interior were sealed, then warded to prevent their use.

Inside the castle, a measure of organized chaos became the norm. Novices and acolytes ran back and forth with messages, detailing errands that needed to be run or duties that needed to be performed. The training grounds were filled with the clash and clang of weaponry as ponies engaged one another in mock battle or drilled through their forms with their swords. The Grand Master was in constant conference with the order’s other high-ranking ponies, making decisions and plans for the defense. Other chapters of the order from other parts of Germaneigh were arriving every few days, the numbers inside the fortress gradually swelling as more and more troops arrived. Pegasus scouting patrols were increased, pegasi coming and going to the fortress with increased frequency, constantly bringing updates. Ground patrols were also sent out on the off chance that anything might have been missed from the air.

And so the days passed. The scouts came and went, with every report the same: the armies were getting closer. The fortress kept preparing, and doubt lingered in the hearts of all.

***

Firestarter breathed in deeply; smoke curled up into his nostrils as he took in the scent of smoke and ashes as the village burned around him. Dead ponies lay everywhere. The various buildings in the village around them burned. Drakons ran amok through the streets, kicking down doors, smashing windows and looting anything that caught their eyes. Ponies that had survived the attack ran for their lives, their fur and manes scorched, their fur trailing smoke as they ran screaming from the enemy that had uprooted them so violently from their peaceful existence. Some were chased down and caught by drakon soldiers, screaming and thrashing as drakon weapons rose and fell, blood darkening them as they fell again and again.

One such enterprising pony attempted to gallop past Firestarter. The Iron King’s clawed hand shot out, the stallion gagging as he was grabbed by the throat. Firestarter lifted the pony up to him, the equine’s back legs kicking futilely, his eyes wide as he stared at Firestarter. Firestarter’s mouth dropped open in a sharp-toothed grin, letting a gust of fetid breath waft out from his maw. The pony’s eyes rolled in disgust and he let out a loud gag as Firestarter’s muzzle moved closer to his face.

“Struggle not, little pony,” the drakon rumbled, his golden eyes being brightened by the burning buildings around him. His free claw drew a serrated dagger from his belt, raising it to the stallion’s throat. “Take solace that you will not live to see what the Dragon-Kin are truly capable of.”

With that he brutally dragged the dagger across the stallion’s throat. The pony stiffened and gagged even more as blood splattered out of his throat, sheeting down his front and into the churned-up ground. Firestarter let the pony drop, leaving the body to land in the mud with a splat, the stallion still twitching weakly as his lifeblood flowed from his throat. The Iron King then strode forward, pressing one clawed foot down on the stallion’s head as he walked down the villages’ main street, leaving the rest of his soldiers to hunt down the remaining ponies. The village had been located on a hill, overlooking the large expanse of plains that rolled into the distance all the way up to the foothills of the mountains, massive and purple in the distance.

Firestarter’s army marched past the village, a wide expanse of black armor and thrusting spears. The army stretched for a significant distance out onto the plains, covering the golden grass in black armor, marching feet, leathery wings, and scaly skin. Pillars of smoke stretched into the sky for a substantial distance behind the army, the remains of other farming communities or villages that had failed to evacuate before the might of the drakon legions. Firestarter turned around again, back west towards the area that he had been assigned to attack by Aeris. It was a pony fortress, the home of the Order of the Forest. He had been told its name before setting out: the Timber Citadel. While the second drakon army was marching to the fortress that housed the Order of the Watchers and Lord Rainstorm’s army was moving on the Sovereign Forest, Firestarter would assault the Citadel with his own army. They said it had never been taken. They said that no army had ever even been able to breach the walls.

Firestarter took that as a challenge. The drakon king turned his head skyward and released a loud bellow of anticipation, the sound echoing across the plains and magnified a thousand fold as the army echoed it.

***

The sound of galloping hooves echoed through the relatively empty halls of Auxios Keep as Prince Cimarron of Germaneigh ran for the castle’s throne room. The earth pony prince’s sandy brown mane flopped into his green eyes as he ran, the stallion not pausing to try and blow it out of his eyes as he normally did. He knew that today was an important day: though it wasn’t a day that King Earth Shaker held court, as it had been indefinitely suspended due to the invasion. The reason that Cimarron was rushing was that, somehow, he had not been told.

Why didn’t he tell me?! the Prince thought to himself. He’s always had me in councils of war!

The throne room doors were finally in sight. A line of eight guards stood in front of it, clad in the grey robes and golden armor of the Hussarian Guard, the official guards of the Germaneic royal family. No expression was visible through the faceplates of their golden helmets, and Cimarron was forced to slide to a stop as two of the Hussarians crossed their spears over the throne room doors.

“Hold, Your Highness,” one of them said, his voice deepened and distorted by the helmet. “You are not allowed to enter the throne room while the council is in session.”

“Why not?” Cimarron asked. “You know very well that I’ve been privy to every council my father has called since this war began! Why has he given you those orders?”

“It is not in our place to question the King,” said a second Hussarian, standing on the other side of the door from the first. “His word is the law.”

“Oh for the love of the Great Stag, out of my way!” Cimarron replied as he bulled forward past the spears and bucked the throne room doors open. As the great oaken slabs swung inward, the five figures gathered around the circular table that had been set up in the throne room looked up in surprise. Cimarron began walking deeper into the room, his gaze locked on the large, silver earth pony standing directly opposite him around the table.

“Cimarron,” the earth pony rumbled. “I believe I told the guards to keep you out.”

“Why?” Cimarron asked as he reached the side of the table. “You’ve always had me in these conferences, ever since the war broke out. Why suddenly send me away?”

“Because it is time that I began running my kingdom, not my son,” Earth Shaker said. “Too long you have been overruling me during this war, and too long have you been refusing my orders. This is where I put my hoof down, my son. I am the King of Germaneigh, not you.”

“But Father-“

“THAT IS MY DECISION!” Earth Shaker boomed suddenly, causing dust to fall from the throne room’s ceiling as his voice reverberated through the ancient stone. “OBEY IT!”

Cimarron took a few steps backward, his eyes wide. The various councilors around the rest of the table exchanged nervous looks with one another, each waiting with bated breath to see how the confrontation would play out.

Cimarron pressed his lips together before turning and walking out, the Hussarians shutting the doors behind him. Earth Shaker stared at the door for a bit longer before turning his attention back to the map.

***

Mere minutes later, Cimarron’s chambers were alive with activity as servants ran every which way, gathering clothing and books from all over the Prince’s rooms. Cimarron had gathered his own small council of war, consisting of several Germaneic lords as well as a number of high-ranking knights.

“You all know that my father would burn Germaneigh to the ground rather than surrender to the griffins,” Cimarron said, his eyes finding the faces of each of his little group. “As much as it pains me to say, if he refuses to allow me to override him or sit out of the defense of Germaneigh any longer, I have no choice but to conduct a war of my own, or at least try to make sure that some portion of Germaneigh survives.”

“How do you plan to do that, Your Highness?” asked one of the assembled ponies, a unicorn that held the rank of Knight-Captain among the order he presented, the Birch Brotherhood. “If I may be so bold…”

“You may,” Cimarron replied, nodding for the unicorn to go on.

“I think that the last thing that Germaneigh needs right now is a civil war. We’re already doing poorly enough in this war with the griffins rolling over any army that tries to stop them, not to mention all of the lords that are defecting over to Aeris’s service.”

“Then we’ll make peace with them, if it’s an option,” Cimarron countered. “Germaneigh didn’t want this war in the first place: if it means that we have to deal with severely reduced territory, then so be it.” He sighed, clenching his eyes shut and hanging his head as he did. “A severely weakened Germaneigh is better than no Germaneigh at all.” He looked back up at them. “I plan on taking any lords that will follow me, along with their armies, to the coast. We can hole up there, hopefully hold the griffins back if they decide to keep going. I’m going to start looking for a location to establish a new capital. In the meantime, I want all of you to return home and gather levies and be ready to march to me when I send you messages. Also, see if you can find any other lords or knights that would come with us. We’ll need all of the strength we can get.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” the others responded, bowing. With that, they all left the room; each going out to fulfill their duties to the prince that they believed would at least preserve their nation, if not save it. Cimarron watched them leave, then turned and called to a passing servant. “Get me a map of all of Germaneigh. Everywhere, even out to the islands.”

“Yes, Your Highness!” the servant replied, galloping off to find such a map. Cimarron moved across the room and opened the glass-fronted windows, opening the way to the stone balcony outside. Auxios lay beyond the stone railing, filled with the glittering lights of ponies going about their business amongst the city’s night-life. The happy chatter of ponies talking to one another in the streets and the warm smells of restaurant food wafted into the air reached Cimarron’s ears and nostrils, the earth pony prince giving a sigh as he went back into his room, letting the scents and sounds fade away as he shut the doors.

It’s like they don’t even know there’s a war on, he thought. He turned suddenly and walked into his bedroom, to the small stone block that was placed at the foot of his bed. On top of the block was a small metal statue depicting a rearing stag with its antlers long and wide and its tines sharp and pointed. A fierce expression had been fashioned onto its face, ferocity not born of anger, but of fatherly pride and protectiveness. Cimarron got to his knees in front of the altar, prostrating himself before the statue. His lips began moving, the words he whispered nearly inaudible.

“Great Stag of the Forest, Leader of my Forefathers, give me the strength to see my task through to its end. I ask that you grant me and those that follow me the protection of your antlers and the keenness of your eyes, and allow us to be able to safely reach our destination and be able to preserve our nation in any form no matter the size of its borders when this crisis has abated. Protect my father and those under him, and if you are unable to make him see the folly of his decision, protect him and keep him in good health. These things I ask in your Glorious Name, so let it be.”

Chapter 17

The night in Everfree had passed uneventfully. Spike had tossed and turned in his sleep, his thoughts filled with what might be happening to Twilight and the others, held prisoner in the Griffin Kingdoms. Several times during the night his nightmares had woken him sending him catapulting up into a sitting position, his cheeks slicked with tears and his body shiny with a cold sweat. While he was awake he would look around, watching the royal guards patrol the shelters, tents, and palettes that had become the new homes of the Ponyville ponies. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were on the baby dragon’s other side, the four smaller forms all nestled into the bulk and comforting strength of the larger.

That morning, Spike yawned as he stood beside Big Macintosh in Castle Everfree’s courtyard. Since Full Moon and Aileron had returned from their missions, a large number of pegasi stallions had joined the group of recruits. Full Moon and Aileron had also joined Stout Heart and Rite in front of the recruits, though Stout Heart still maintained seniority at the moment. The other three captains stood behind and to the right of the earth pony, who was standing in front of the rock. This particular rock was different from the first, as it was half the size of the castle, in order for Big Macintosh to not be able to move it.

“Right, all of you!” Stout Heart called to the ponies, who were all assembled in a large block in front of him, in six lines of twenty each. “Welcome to day two of basic training! I hope you all had a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast, because we still have a lot of work to do! First on the agenda…” he turned to the side and pointed at the rock. “You all have yet to move this rock!”

“We tried that yesterday!” called Thunderlane, who now wore a white bandage wrapped around his forehead. “None of us could move that stupid thing!”

“One of you could,” Stout Heart corrected, looking at Big Macintosh. “But he missed the point of the exercise.”

Big Macintosh narrowed his eyes, Spike looking up at him, then back at Stout Heart as he continued speaking.

“Hopefully some of our new arrivals can shed some light on the situation,” the captain called, “because otherwise, you’re all going to be seeing this rock in front of you for a very long time indeed.”

He looked around the front row of ponies, pacing the length of the line until he came to one pegasus in particular, a pale blue stallion with baggy green eyes and a wind-swept, dark blue mane with a cutie mark of a winged lightning bolt proudly emblazoned on his flanks. He wore a pair of goggles on his forehead, just up against his mane. “Let’s see what one of the newcomers can do…get up there, son.”

There was a great deal of cheers among the crowd as many recognized Soarin’ of the Wonderbolts as he trotted forward to stand in front of the boulder. Contrary to the other ponies of the previous day, Soarin’ did not immediately charge at the thing and attempt to move it. Instead he stood before it, wings out; his baggy green eyes narrowing as he carefully examined the rock. Finally he spread his wings and flapped into the air, turning around and whistling for the other male Wonderbolts. Ten pegasi flew from the crowd, forming up around him as Soarin’ brought them all into a group huddle. The other ponies watched in anticipation, whispering to each other as the pegasi muttered amongst themselves.

“What do you think they’re gonna do?”

“Maybe they’ll try the Buccaneer Blaze on it?”

“Nah, that’s not nearly strong enough to move that thing…”

“Well maybe if you’d all shut up, they could think!” Stout Heart shouted from where he stood below Soarin’ and the other Wonderbolts. The other recruits fell silent, returning their gaze to the group of pegasi above them.

Finally the pegasi broke up, all taking different spots on the face of the rock. Soarin’ looked around at them all, making sure they were all in position.

“Ready?” he called. At the other pegasi’s affirmatives he turned his own face back to the rock. “One…two…three!”

With a simultaneous grunt of effort the group of pegasi flapped their wings as hard as they could, pushing against the rock with all their might.

“That’s it…” Spike whispered, looking up at them all. “That’s it!” He ran forward, running towards the rock himself. As the baby dragon ran forward, other ponies picked up on the idea.

“Yeah…Everypony follow the Wonderbolts!” Big Macintosh called, running forward after Spike. The rest of the recruits gave yells of assent, and soon every pony in the group was shoving at the rock. Slowly but steadily, the boulder began to move and plowing a great, dark furrow in the soft Everfree earth. Sweating and straining, the ponies began cheering as the rock moved more and more, until finally they could more it no longer. Pegasi fell to the ground and earth ponies and unicorns collapsed face-flat in the massive furrow of churned-up dirt that the rock had left in its path.

Stout Heart walked over to the beginning of the furrow, a wide grin splitting his lips. “Very good!” he called to them all. “Very good indeed. You all managed to find the point of the lesson: Teamwork. A pony in the Royal Guard isn’t an army of one; he’s one in an army. Loyal comrades willing to help in times of danger is the greatest asset that a soldier can have. Now that you’ve all learned the first lesson of teamwork…let’s see if you can learn the second lesson.”

He backed away a few steps. “I wager that you’re all too tired to do anything else today, and now that you’ve overcome the first obstacle we’ll be kicking it into high gear from now on. All of you will need to be refreshed for when the real training begins tomorrow. Go inside and get cleaned up, the lot of you. We’ll see you all in the morning.”

With that, the captains retired, trotting into the castle. The recruits got to their hooves and began walking inside, many of them groaning from tired muscles and aching bones. Pegasi wings dragged on the ground alongside earth pony hooves and unicorn horns. Everypony had dirt on their bodies, staining their faces as sweat streaked through them, a surprising amount from such a short exertion.

***

“You wanted to see me, Lord Marshal?” Captain Rosten asked as he walked into Canterlot Castle’s throne room, where Blackwing lounged in Celestia’s throne. A unicorn servant standing next to him had a grimace on her face, screwing her eyes shut to avoid looking at the roasted rabbit legs that Blackwing was lazily taking from the plate to pop into his mouth with a crunch of bone as she held the plate up with her magic.

“Ah, Rosten,” Blackwing began with a full mouth. He lifted a claw and swallowed, a large lump travelling down the black feathers of his throat before he began again. “Yes, I did send for you. We received a message yesterday from Gryphus.”

“A message from Gryphus?” Rosten parroted, flapping across the throne room to the foot of the stairs. “What does it say?”

“It’s an invitation, actually,” Blackwing said, picking the vellum scroll in question up from where it lay on the throne. He tossed it to the captain, who caught it in the air. Unrolling the scroll with his claws, Rosten’s eyes moved back and forth as they scanned the parchment, his eyes narrowing in curiosity, then widening in disbelief.

“A gala?!” he yelped.

“Apparently it’s a celebration for how quickly and bloodlessly we managed to subjugate Equestria,” Blackwing said calmly, daintily taking another rabbit leg from the floating platter and ripping half of it off the bone. Swallowing the mouthful, he shrugged. “I don’t get what you’re so upset about, Captain. Surely you’ve been to other balls before?”

“Well, yes, but…” Rosten said, his white-feathered cheeks flushing red. “I just don’t…”

“Relax,” Blackwing said, waving a hand nonchalantly. “It won’t be that bad. More likely than not they’ll just congratulate us, maybe Aeris will gloat a bit, give a speech, then food, dancing, merriment, possible drunken nookie afterwards.”

Rosten made a choking noise as his eyes widened again.

“Anyway, it’s tomorrow night. I suppose that you have a dress uniform ready back home?”

“Of course,” Rosten said. “Dad’s always made sure of it.”

“Good,” Blackwing replied, nodding in approval. “Then there’s nothing to worry about. As long as you keep calm and present yourself in a manner befitting your status, then you’ll get through it no problem.”

He waved a claw in dismissal at the servant. “Leave the plate.”

The mare quickly set the plate down next to the chair with an audible sigh of relief and galloped down the steps and out of the throne room. Blackwing sniffed derisively as she slammed the door shut.

“Ponies. No stomach for anything but apples and grass.”

“Well they are herbivores…” Rosten mused as he turned back to Blackwing from watching the mare leave. Blackwing shrugged.

“Speaking of ponies,” he began, “I’ve decided to give you operational command of the Everfree Theater. You’ll command the entire area from Ponyville, to the southern border of the Everfree Forest, to the western border of the White Tail Woods.”

“All of that?” Rosten asked, his eyes widening. “That’s a pretty big area…”

“And also the most likely area of resistance,” Blackwing replied. “You said that Ponyville was abandoned when you got there, and the Everfree Forest is the closest place that they could hide, in addition to the area that we’d be least likely to look through. It’s the only forest in Equestria that has a bad reputation. You’re getting two thousand troops to keep the area secure and try and root out any resistance. I expect you to do so with extreme prejudice, Captain. We’re also expecting the first shipment of small arms to arrive by the end of the week. They’ll come with a drill book for you as well as griffins that are trained in their use, so your own griffins will actually know how to use them.”

“Just the griffins?” Rosten asked. “Why not the dogs?”

Blackwing snorted a laugh. “Please, giving those savages guns? They’d probably shoot their faces off. Not smart enough to use them. Anyways, hopefully by the end of the month we’ll have received enough small arms for you to outfit your entire command. You’ll also receive cannon to fortify Ponyville with.” He turned one red eye to Rosten. “Any questions, Captain?”

“What will my duties be as theater commander?”

“Mostly just keeping the peace, making sure that everything passing through your territory gets where it’s supposed to be. You’ll guard supply lines, the roads, the forest boundaries, pretty much everywhere of importance to that.”

Rosten nodded his understanding. “Alright. Thank you, Lord Marshal.”

“You’re welcome,” Blackwing replied. He turned his entire head towards Rosten now, fixing him with both eyes. “Don’t disappoint me, Rosten. I expect you to fulfill this duty to the best of your abilities. Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal, Lord Marshal,” Rosten replied, saluting. Blackwing nodded, satisfied.

“Good. You’re dismissed, Captain. I’ll see you back in Canterlot tomorrow afternoon. We’ll take an airship there.”

Rosten nodded, then turned and walked out of the room. Blackwing stretched and yawned in the throne, putting his hands back behind his head as he smiled up at the ceiling.

Too easy, he thought.

Chapter 1

“Are you sure that you don’t want me to come with you, Tia?” Princess Luna asked as she and Celestia walked down one of Canterlot Castle’s many grandiose hallways. The castle was busy at this time of morning; ponies of all colors and sizes moved around the royal pair, their footsteps loud on the spotless tile flooring. Their voices bounced around the hallway, turning it into a loud cacophony of chatter. Despite the thick mess of activity that the two alicorns were walking through, none of the ponies noticed them thanks to a spell cast by Celestia. With it in place, the sisters could talk privately.

“Yes, Luna, I’m certain,” Celestia replied. “I need you here in Canterlot to run Equestria while I’m meeting with Aeris. I’ll only be gone for a few days, you’ll be fine.”

“But Tia,” Luna said. “What if I screw up?”

“I’m confident enough in your abilities to let you run Equestria for a week, Luna.” Celestia assured her, chuckling as she nuzzled her sister and burying her nose in Luna’s constantly undulating, star-sprinkled mane. “I’ve met with Aeris before; it will be difficult, but I can make him see my point of view. Besides, it’s only a trade rights issue with the Griffin Kingdoms’ Merchant Guild.”

“And a border dispute between Talos and Derbyshire,” Luna added. “I don’t know why they need you for that; surely they can work that out on their own?”

“From what Mayor Orange Juice says, Lord Sharptalon and he have agreed to disagree. The reason that that case is being taken to Gryphus to stand King Aeris’s judgment is because they can’t agree on anything between themselves.”

“Still, that should be a domestic matter,” Luna harrumphed.

Celestia chuckled again. “Like I said, it won’t take long. A few days at most and I’ll be back home in Canterlot.” She looked at Luna. “You’ll do fine. I’ve already briefed all of Equestria’s normal administrators that they are to listen to you while I’m gone. They know how to run the country just as well as I do-“

“So why can’t I come with you?” Luna interrupted.

“Because the ponies need to see at least one princess,” Celestia replied. “And you’re the only princess in Equestria other than me. You and I both know that we can’t trust Blueblood with anything. He’d probably destroy the castle while we were gone.”

The two sisters shared a giggle and Celestia removed the spell as they reached the end of the surprisingly long hallway, walking out of the hallway and into the morning sun, onto the landing pad that Celestia’s carriage was parked on. Sunlight sparkled off of the carriage’s golden filigree, sending patterns of shimmering light up against the castle walls. Thirty members of the Royal Guard, all pure white and blue-eyed as usual, stood around the carriage ready to escort the princess on her mission to the Griffin Kingdoms.

“Everything is in order, Princess,” the captain said, bowing to both monarchs as they exited the castle and entered the landing pad. The other guards mimicked his posture, then rose at Celestia’s nod. Celestia turned to Luna, wrapping her enormous, snow-white wings around her sister’s dark body.

“I’ll be back in a week, Luna,” she said. “You won’t even notice I’m gone.”

Luna smiled and mimicked Celestia’s hug. “Good luck, Tia. Safe journey.”

Celestia smiled as well then pulled away, turning and stepping onto the carriage. “Let’s get underway, Captain.”

“Yes Princess,” the captain confirmed as he spread his wings. Taking off, he turned to the other guards, his burnished gold armor and snow-white coat shimmering in the sunlight. “Royal Guard! Carriage team! On my mark…up!”

In unison, the other guards spread their wings and gave a mighty downstroke, a small gust of wind being generated by the perfectly synchronized flapping as they rose into the sky. Luna waved a hoof at Celestia as the carriage left the ground, turning a circle in the air before moving to the north, in the direction of the Griffin Kingdoms. She could hear cheering from the streets; obviously a rather sizeable number of Canterlot citizens had come to see the princess off. Celestia waved back at Luna and the crowd as the carriage disappeared around the mountains that surrounded Canterlot. Luna sighed and turned back around to walk back to the castle, accompanied by a number of the guards that were stationed at the landing pad.

The hallway was quiet now, everypony having left to see Celestia off on her journey. Luna relished in the near-silence, her shoes clip-clopping softly on the tile floor. A short ways ahead of her a door opened, disgorging a sleepy-looking Prince Blueblood. Despite being immaculately groomed as always, Blueblood’s blue eyes had very conspicuous dark patches under them, and the prince yawned widely as he fell into step next to Luna.

“Eeeeeaaaaaaahaaaaa…” Blueblood groaned as his mouth opened wide in another big yawn. “Eaaah…ha…ha…Good morning, Aunt Luna.”

“Good morning, Blueblood,” Luna replied. “You look tired.”

“I…hoooooaaaaah…apologize, Auntie. I was up late last night. Fancypants was having a little soiree on his yacht and we all didn’t get back until….hooooouuuuuh…late.”

“It’s alright, Blueblood,” Luna replied. “You missed breakfast, you know.”

“I do know, Auntie. I’ll just have a servant bring me some.”

Luna nodded, turning to the side as the two royal family members passed by her study. “I suppose I’ll see you later then, Blueblood.”

“Yes, Auntie,” Blueblood replied. “Do you plan on coming to the Midsummer’s Ball this evening?”

“I’ll think on it, Blueblood.”

Blueblood merely nodded unconcernedly, letting loose with another yawn as Luna shut the door to her study. A simple spell from her horn pulled back the curtains, allowing a golden lance of sunlight to shine through the study’s large picture window and onto the surface of the desk that Luna worked at. The light from the window played across the gilded titles of the many books that crammed the shelves lining the walls.

Luna walked behind the desk, sitting down on the plush cushion that served as a chair with a comforted sigh. She took a deep breath through her nose, breathing in the smell of creamy white pages, the aged aroma of leather binding, the sharp tang of ink. She had been in here many times since she had returned from her exile on the moon, but she never got tired of the smells. She remembered what it had been like after she had returned from Ponyville on the Summer Solstice. She had breathed in and sank onto the floor in near-intoxication, giggling at the smell of books that had long sat in the dust and darkness. In a spectacularly well-timed coincidence, Celestia had had the study cleaned and dusted that morning, and so everything had been immaculate when Luna had been shown in for the first time in a millennium.

She took another deep breath to drink in the smell, then levitated a few books off the shelves. A quill and a roll of parchment soon joined them, Luna quickly becoming engrossed in her work.

***

The air of Widewing Pass was filled with the sound of marching feet, flapping wings, and the constant whooshing of propellers. The army was ten thousand strong, divided among eight thousand dogs and two thousand griffins, as well as twenty airships, each with a crew of three hundred. Armor clanked, rattled, and shifted and weapons poked upwards into the sky like a forest of wood, steel, and leather. Above the valley floor on a rocky outcropping, Marshal Blackwing watched the army with a smug sense of pride playing about his features. He stood out among most of his fellow griffins due to his pitch-black plumage and red eyes. The Marshal wore a suit of steel plate armor, the plates covering his chest, legs, back, and underbelly. A pair of silver greaves also guarded the shins of his back legs.He turned to the griffin beside him, a grin on his face. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“I still think that we should have sent Equestria a formal declaration first,” the griffin said in answer. He was young, only in his late teenage or young adult years. He was medium-sized and compactly built, sharp blue eyes looking out from among a collection of golden plumage that circled each eye. Golden feathers flared out in a crest from the top of his head, and his wings, the feathers of which were tipped with black, flexed and spread as if eager to be off. Unlike Blackwing, he wore a suit of brown leather armor, though it covered much of the same areas. “It just feels…cowardly. Sneaking into Equestria with an army like this without giving them any notification.”

“That would be stupid,” Blackwing replied. At the other griffin’s questioning look, he chuckled as he looked down at the drably-colored strand of dogs marching through the valley. They might not be the most organized soldiers, but they were fierce fighters and knew who was in charge. “By not issuing a formal declaration of war against Equestria, we maintain the element of surprise and therefore will have several weeks of uncontested operating room with which to establish a foothold in Equestria. You may have been promoted to this by your father and raised in formality and ceremony, Captain Rosten, but you’ll come to learn that in war, there is not only no honor, but you get rid of pomp and honor in favor of pragmatism.”

Rosten looked up at the blimps as they passed by, then down below again, towards the rear of the army where the baggage train was. The infantry’s cannons would be in the baggage train, in addition to the other supplies that the army needed to survive in the field. With luck, in the opening hours of their invasion the army would already have a base to use. The airships were also armed with cannons to complement the cadres of griffin marines on board.

“We should be there by sometime around midnight, I believe.” Blackwing mused as he dug around in the satchel slung around his body. Taking out a rolled-up piece of parchment, he spread the worn, slightly faded paper to reveal a map, which he then placed on the ground and weighed down with stones. Sitting down on his haunches, he motioned Rosten over. “Now, let’s go over the initial plan again, shall we?”

“We’ve been over it at least three times before,” Rosten replied, a teenaged whiny tone to his voice.

“And we’ll go over it again! This has to be perfect, understand?” Blackwing snarled. “So shut your mouth and listen!”

Cowed, Rosten nodded as he sat down next to Blackwing, looking over the map as he did. It showed a map of central Equestria, more specifically the border that the Kingdoms and Equestria shared. Widewing Pass was close to Canterlot, exactly where they needed it to be. Rosten merely watched as Blackwing prepared his lecture further, taking out a number of pictures of various spots in the areas around Canterlot. One was at the mouth of Widewing Pass on the Equestrian side, where the rather narrow pass opened up to the mountains around Canterlot, more specifically to the isolated, nearly-unknown mountain paths that ran out of the valley and along the mountains. Griffin scouts had reported that they were wide enough that the army’s cannons and their operators would be able to work efficiently on them.

“So,” Blackwing began in a whisper, after making sure that no ponies were within earshot. “Our first objective is to get through the pass. That much is obvious. After that we need to get our cannons up onto the slopes of the mountains and in position to bombard Canterlot at my signal.”

“And then we can move the infantry into positions around Canterlot, right?” Rosten asked, overcoming his temporary speechlessness to confirm the next phase of the plan.

Blackwing nodded. “Precisely. And once the cannons open up, that will be the signal for the infantry to attack, plus an attack with the aerial elements.”

“And then what?” Rosten asked, looking up from the map at Blackwing.

“Then we spread out. Consolidate our position in Canterlot and the surrounding area, then await reinforcements from the Kingdoms. In the meantime we can send out the air fleet and as many troops as we can spare to take the rest of Equestria. Quick, easy, and foolproof.”

“What about resistance from the locals?” Rosten asked. “I highly doubt that they’ll just sit back
and let us conquer them.”

Blackwing snorted. “Please. The Royal Guard only numbers around five hundred, and pretty much the entirety of that is within Canterlot itself. The rest of Equestria hasn’t had a fight in its life. The only evidence to the contrary our scouts have been able to uncover is a small land dispute in a colony town, and that was pretty much just a pie fight. We have far more than the upper hand; we have every advantage that there is. The Equestrians are weak; they always have been. The only reason that the rest of the world relies upon it is because its rulers are able to raise the sun and moon.”

“Speaking of that, what about the princesses?” Rosten asked suddenly. “Celestia’s sister recently returned, didn’t she? I know that Celestia’s going to the capital to meet with the King, but what do we do if Luna suddenly decides to enter the fray?”

“The Princesses haven’t fought a war in a thousand years. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’d completely forgotten how to fight in the first place.”

Rosten opened his beak to say something in response to that, but Blackwing cut him off with a wave of his hand before gathering the map and photos back up, putting them back in the satchel. “Come on,” the Marshal said. “We need to keep moving and be in position by midnight. We strike in the wee hours of the morning, before dawn.”

Rosten gave a short bow. “Yes, Lord Marshal.”

The two griffins spread their wings and took off, each heading in a separate direction.

***

Canterlot Castle was busy that night. The castle ballroom was filled to capacity with the upper crust of Equestrian society, all arriving in style with the aim to enjoy themselves, socialize, and hope to the heavens that the Midsummer Ball didn’t end up like the Grand Galloping Gala. The ballroom was filled with chatter, ponies making themselves comfortable among their friends, or around the snack table. The music provided by the four-pony band floated through and over the crowd, mostly drowned out by the talking.

“Ah, Mr. Fancypants!” Blueblood called cheerfully as he trotted up to one of the most important unicorns in Canterlot. Fancypants used his magic to take off his monocle, polishing it with a soft white handkerchief before putting it back on, then smiling when he saw Blueblood.

“Ah, Your Highness! I trust that you had a good time at my little soiree last night?”

“Oh yes,” Blueblood replied, nodding eagerly. “Without a doubt! I do hope we’ll be able to do it again someday. I think I may have spotted a possible Mrs. Blueblood there, if you catch my meaning,” he added, punctuating the sentence with a wink.

“Oh-ho-ho, I do by all means, dear boy!” Fancypants replied, chuckling. “Might I inquire as to her looks? Perhaps it was that mint green unicorn mare, the one with the sunrise-and-clouds cutie mark?”

“Right in one!” Blueblood replied. “That figure, those eyes…”

“Well, I do wish you the best of luck, my boy!” Fancypants replied as he slung a leg around the neck of his wife. “If it works out, I wish you the same amount of happiness as Fleur and I!”

“Which is a substantial amount, I might add,” Fleur added smoothly as she planted a soft kiss on Fancypant’s lips. Fancypants returned the kiss with interest, and Blueblood left them there as he trotted off to greet other partygoers. As he did he passed by one of the Lunar Guard, Princess Luna’s personal bodyguard. Holding out a leg to forestall the bat-winged pegasus as he trotted past, Blueblood turned the guard’s head in his direction. “Guard, would you please go to Aunt Luna’s study and inquire if she would like to come up and join the Ball?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” the guard replied, bowing before turning and trotting off, his armor clanking gently as he moved. Blueblood turned and went back to the party as the clock on the wall chimed 11:30.

***

The guard knocked on the door of Princess Luna’s study, the bat-winged pegasus standing back a few steps as the door opened outward. He walked in, his first sight being Princess Luna wearing red-rimmed glasses, poring over a collection of very long sheaves of paper. A red quill pen scribbled vigorously across another long sheaf of paper that trailed off of the desk and an extensive distance onto the richly carpeted floor. The guard didn’t know what it was, but since Luna was writing a lot of numbers he assumed that it was something dealing with Equestria’s taxes. He cleared his throat. “Princess Luna?”

Luna stopped her writing and moved one of the papers out of the way, her expression going from annoyed to pleased. “Ah, Full Moon. What is it?”

“Prince Blueblood requested that I come down here and ask you if you were planning on attending the Ball? Or at least making an appearance?”

“Oh, right, the Ball…” Luna mused, rubbing her chin with a hoof. “Completely slipped my mind…erm…I don’t think so, Full Moon. Give Blueblood my apologies, but I’m far too busy to put in any sort of appearance.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Full Moon swept out leg in front of him and bowed before straightening and turning around, the pegasus’s tail reaching out and pulling the door shut again. Turning right upon exiting the room, Full Moon walked down the hall, his hoofsteps the only ones in the empty hall. Most of the castle’s other servants had gone home for the day, the few that had volunteered to work at the Midsummer’s Ball were all in the ballroom with the ball attendants. Canterlot Castle was huge; it had taken him over half an hour to go from the ballroom to Princess Luna’s study, and as he passed a large grandfather clock in the hallway he looked at it, noting the position of the hooves. It was now a bit after midnight, and Full Moon sighed as he kept walking. The night seemed to be dragging on for a stupidly long period of time. Then again, this was how it had always been in the castle, even after Luna returned. Patrol the halls from time to time, guard the princesses, and do whatever it takes to guard them with your life.

As Full Moon walked across the entrance hall back towards the ballroom, he took the opportunity to stop and look out the massive window at the Canterlot Valley to the west. The moon hung high in the sky, a silver plate that bathed everything below it in soft, pale light. It wasn’t very cloudy tonight, and though a few clouds had been positioned here and there by the pegasi, the view of the stars was almost completely obstructed. Full Moon smiled and allowed himself a content sigh.

I have to give this to being one of the Lunar Guard, he thought to himself as he turned away. The view at night sure is stunning.

As he passed through the door that led into the ballroom, he missed the winged form that zipped past the window, followed closely by several others.

***

It had taken several hours, but the army was finally in position. The various infantry battalions had moved to their designated assault points in the cliffs and the plains surrounding the city. The cannons were in place, and the airships were holding position at various points around Canterlot. High above Canterlot on one of the mountains, Blackwing and Rosten stood overlooking one of the cannon batteries. Both were wearing the helmets that went with their armor. Blackwing was wearing a silver helmet with a black feather crest, while Rosten wore a plain, brown leather helmet to match his armor. Blackwing took a deep breath, the crisp night air filling his lungs. He exhaled slowly, then grinned at Rosten. “A great night for history to be made, don’t you think?”

Rosten smiled and nodded back. “This will go down in the annals for certain.”

“Let’s hope so,” Blackwing replied. He looked over at a griffin officer that was checking over one of the cannons. “Lieutenant! Are we nearly ready?”

“Yes, sir,” the lieutenant replied. “All you need to do is give the word.”

Blackwing smiled again. “Very good.” He turned to Rosten. “Watch closely, boy. This is how you truly begin a war.” He turned to Canterlot and raised one clawed hand, the appendage silhouetted in the silver light of the rising moon. Allowing himself one last grin, he swiped his arm downwards.

***

In the depths of Canterlot Castle, Luna set aside the final roll of paper dealing with Seaddle’s tax deficiency and allowed herself a sigh of relief. It had been a productive day overall, as well as quiet and mostly undisturbed aside from guards and servants popping in from time to time to check in on her, ask if she was hungry, things like that.

But for now, Luna stood up, stretching her wings as she looked at the clock. It was around 2:30 in the morning. Luna gave a large yawn, walking towards the door. I’d better get to sleep. Busy day tomorrow. She walked out the door just in time to hear a muffled boom ripple through the floor and air, causing the crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling off the hallway to start swaying as the fragments of crystal that decorated them knocked against one another to produce a clear, jingling noise. Despite the noise from that, the chandeliers were unable to drown out the sound of several more booms. More commotion began to reach Luna’s ears. She could hear screaming, orders being yelled. Luna tried to remember where she’d heard the sound of the booms before, then finally gasped as she realized the source.

“Cannons?!”

Chapter 6

Seconds After Escape From Canterlot

The relatively quiet air in Ponyville was split asunder as Luna and the remaining Royal Guards (and Blueblood) teleported into the town in a flash of light and a thunderous boom. They left a blackened circle around themselves as Full Moon immediately began ordering the guards to cover the river that bordered Ponyville on its Canterlot-facing side. As the guards scrambled to form a defensive line, Luna looked around the town. Even their thunderous arrival hadn’t drawn anypony out of their homes. Nopony was even around at this hour, most likely too deeply asleep to have heard anything, even the cannon fire from the attack on Canterlot. The mountains had probably helped with the latter.

“We can’t stop here for long, Princess,” Full Moon said, trotting up to her as the guards finished establishing their line. “The griffins could attack at any time.”

“I know that, Full,” Luna replied. “But we’re not going to leave Ponyville to suffer the same fate as Canterlot. We’re going to evacuate them.”

“What?” Full Moon exclaimed. “But Princess, Ponyville has hundreds of inhabitants! It’ll take us hours to get them all ready to leave, and even so it won’t do anything! No matter where we go, the griffins will be able to reach us. And with the Royal Guard destroyed, there’s nopony to stop them!”

“I am aware of that!” Luna snapped at him. The Lunar Guard didn’t back away, instead maintaining his defiant expression. Luna turned to him fully, her eyebrows knitting together. “You were with me when I came here on Nightmare Night, Full Moon. You saw the kindness that the Ponyvillers showed me after I earned their trust. I refuse to repay that kindness with abandonment to the griffins.” With that, Luna turned back towards the village. Her horn began to glow, a soft blue orb forming at the very tip. The orb grew until a pulse of blasted from it with a sound like an enormous bell. Another pulse followed quickly, followed by another and another. Five pulses blasted from Luna’s horn, then the air faded into quiet again. Slowly, doors began to open as ponies emerged from their homes, rubbing the sleep from their eyes and looking around to see where the sudden noise had come from.

“CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE!” Luna bellowed, using the Royal Canterlot Voice. “PLEASE GATHER IN THE TOWN SQUARE IMMEDIATELY! ALL SHALL BE EXPLAINED THERE!”

With that, Luna beckoned Full Moon with one wing, trotting towards Ponyville’s town hall. Ponies whispered amongst themselves as the Princess and her guard walked through them. Neither one looked around until they had stepped up onto the town hall’s porch. It took a few minutes, but eventually everypony was gathered in the square. A number of them carried sleepy foals. Luna looked around at the assembled crowd of a hundred or so ponies. “Is everypony here?” she asked in a normal voice.

There was a quick bout of muttering before Caramel the earth pony spoke up. “The Apple family isn’t here!”

“Neither are Twilight Sparkle and her friends!” Mayor Mare called out.

That caught Luna off guard. She blinked confusedly. “Why wouldn’t they be here?” she mused to herself.

“Twilight’s not here because she can’t be!” a younger, male voice called out from among the crowd. Luna looked down as Spike shoved his way through the ponies into plain sight. There was a large bruise on the baby dragon’s cheek, and another on his green belly.

“What do you mean?” Luna asked.

“The library got broken into last night! Two griffins ponynapped Twilight!”

There was a widespread group gasp from the crowd.

“Are you sure, Spike?” Mayor Mare asked.

“Yeah! They broke into the library and took Twilight! They’re the ones that did this!” Spike replied, pointing at his bruises.

“Pinkie Pie wasn’t in her room when we got woken up, either!” Carrot Cake called from nearby. “And the door to the shop was unlocked! We normally keep it locked!”

Luna bit her lip and narrowed her eyes. “They beat us here,” she muttered to Full Moon.

The bat-winged pegasus nodded. “It would seem so.”

Princess Luna looked back up as Mayor Mare approached the porch. “Princess Luna,” she began. “What’s going on?”

Luna took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She looked up at the population of Ponyville. “Equestria is at war.”

Another groupwide gasp followed, along with an outbreak of panicked babbling. Full Moon stomped his hooves on the porch. “SILENCE!” he bellowed.

Quiet fell immediately. Full Moon looked at them all, glaring. “Give the Princess a chance to explain!”

Luna nodded to him. “Thank you, Captain.” She turned to the crowd. “A few hours ago, Canterlot was attacked by an army of the Griffin Kingdoms. They have taken the city and it is only a matter of time before they move out to conquer the rest of Equestria. We have come here to evacuate you. Captain Full Moon, proceed!”

Full Moon stepped forward, in full-on commander mode. “Everypony is to return to their homes and gather food, water, and anything else that they might need to survive. Essentials only! Do not burden yourselves with treasures! Take only what provisions you need!”

The gathering dissolved into a mass of confusion, ponies running to and fro back to their homes to gather provisions. As they did, Mayor Mare came up to the Princess and the Captain, concern written on her face. “Princess Luna,” she whispered, “Where will we go? What will we do?”

Princess Luna sighed. “I do not know yet, Madam Mayor. I will inform you when we have a destination in mind.”

The Mayor didn’t look happy at this answer, but sighed and went back towards her own house.

Luna turned to Full Moon as she did. “Gather your guards, Captain. Have them oversee the evacuations. Commandeer any wagons that you think you might need.”

“Where will we take them all, Princess?” Full Moon asked, not moving. “There’s nowhere for us to run. The griffins will take over all of Equestria eventually.”

“I know,” Luna replied. “There’s only one place that we can run to. Somewhere that the griffins will be too scared to pursue us to.”

Full Moon thought for a moment. Then his eyes began to widen, slowly reaching the size of saucer plates. “Your Highness…you can’t possibly mean-“

“I do, Full,” Luna replied. “Now see to your duties.”

“Yes, Princess,” Full Moon said after a short pause. He flapped off of the porch, heading back towards the river to gather his guards and help them oversee the evacuation. With the number of ponies in the town and no telling when the griffins would arrive, they had to move fast.

***

“Captain Rosten. Captain Rosten, wake up!”

Rosten jerked awake with a snuffle, the young griffin stretching and yawning hugely as he sat up. Scratching his cheek with a claw he turned to the flap of his tent, where a griffin soldier stood. “What is it?” he asked, rubbing his eye. “And what’s the time?”

“It’s about an hour before dawn, Captain,” the soldier replied. “Marshal Blackwing has ordered you to command the assault on Ponyville.”

Rosten yawned again, nodding as he did so. “Eaaaaaaurh…right, right.” He smacked his beak a few times. “I’ll be ready shortly. Get me some food and get the force ready.”

“Yessir,” the griffin bowed and left the tent. Rosten slung his legs over his cot, stretching and yawning as he scratched his back. He rubbed his face with his other hand, shaking his head. Too damn early for this, especially after last night. He stood up and walked over to the stand that held his armor and began putting it on. As he strapped on his gauntlets he yawned again. He’d only gotten three hours of sleep after the attack on Canterlot had concluded. The feathers on his cheeks were streaked with tear tracts from where cannon smoke had irritated them.
Rosten yawned again as he finished putting on his armor and walked out of the tent. He was handed a hunk of roasted mountain goat as he did. After the attack on the city had been completed, most of the officers had set up camp in the palace gardens. Despite the massive ruin of the tower that had been destroyed by cannon fire, there was plenty of space for the several dozen griffins that made up the army’s Officer Corps.

Taking off towards the plaza that the griffins had designated as their assembly area, Rosten saw the two airships that would be moving to Ponyville to take it over. Their massive shapes hung over the city like a pair of clouds, small specks moving around them as the griffins that crewed them worked and prepared them for battle. Rosten landed in the plaza, looking around the area.

The plaza still bore the marks of the cannonballs that had impacted on its cobblestones. Craters and the odd body dotted the area, though most of the space was taken up by a large amount of supplies and ammunition, not just for the airships but the army as well. A ring of torches surrounded the area, supplementing the light given by the setting moon. Rosten looked around for the nearest marine officer. They had to move out in half an hour, where were the marines? He slapped a hand to his forehead. Don’t tell me they got drunk after the battle…

As if cued by the thought, he heard a loud belch from nearby. Turning in the direction of the gaseous noise Rosten saw one of the marines’ officers. The griffin’s filigreed armor was wet, numerous bottles of wine scattered around him. The officer was draped limply over a pile of boxes, many of them empty or smashed. Rosten walked over to him, grabbing the griffin by the nape of his neck and shaking him awake. Snuffling, the officer shook his head a bit and looked up at him. “Oh…hic, hey Cap’n…Washup?”

“You and your command are supposed to be assembled here and ready to move out!” Rosten exclaimed, shaking him again. “Where are the rest of your soldiers?!”

“Oh…well…we washn’t told o’ dat,” the officer slurred. “But…look at all dish boosh!”

Rosten shook his head. “I don’t care about the boosh-er, booze! Gather your troops and find some way for them to sober up. Be back here as soon as possible, understand?”

“Under…hic…shtood, shir…hic…”

Rosten shoved the officer away, shaking his head in exasperation even as he ripped a chunk out of the leg, chewing it cheerlessly. Soldiers and their alcohol, he thought scornfully. Ripping another chunk out of his breakfast he marched over to the captain of one of the airships. “Your marines aren’t ready yet, Captain.”

“I saw, Captain,” the other griffin replied. “That’s specifically why I had my troops remain aboard their ships. At least we’ll be ready to go and the attack won’t be delayed any further.”

“Don’t remind me,” Rosten groaned. “My second command and already I’m late!”

“Cheer up, Captain,” the airship captain said jovially, slapping Rosten on the back. “At least this is likely to go off without a hitch.”

“Yeah, sure.” Rosten replied, sourly taking another bite of his meal.

***

An hour after dawn the Ponyvillers were almost ready to leave. Everypony had done what they were told, bringing food, blankets, and other essentials to the wagons that had been commandeered by the Royal Guard. There was an air of barely controlled chaos to their actions, the ponies speaking in hurried, hushed voices. Many dropped things in their haste, and they were shorter with one another than normal, yelling at other ponies for getting in their way or bumping into them. At the moment the guards stood around the wagons, checking the items that everypony was bringing. Even as she watched, Luna saw a unicorn guard turn away a brown pony with an hourglass cutie mark that had lugged a grandfather clock in a cart over to the wagon train.

“No,” she heard the guard saying. “We can’t let you take a clock that was made by your great-times-eight grandfather. I’m sorry Mr. Whooves, but there’s not enough room for everypony to take their family heirlooms. All you can do is take it back to your house and hope it’s still there when the war is won.”

“If the war is won, you mean!” Whooves retorted sourly before turning around and pulling the cart back home.

Luna sighed and turned to Full Moon as the captain set down next to her. “Any change, Captain?”

“No, Princess. The griffins haven’t started moving yet, but I’ve got pegasi keeping an eye on
Canterlot from the tallest hills they can find. The moment they start moving, we’ll know.”

Luna nodded. “Good. How is the loading going?”

“Well as can be hoped for,” Full Moon replied. “The Apple family still hasn’t arrived, but I did send a soldier down to their farm to inform them of the situation. Hopefully he can convince them to come.”

***

“C’mon, Granny Smith! We gotta go!” Applebloom said anxiously as she pulled at her lime-green grandmother’s hoof. Big Macintosh had been in a whirl of activity since the soldier had arrived saying that they needed to evacuate. He was gathering food, along with blankets and other necessities. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo had all packed their own bags, mostly with what they had brought for the sleepover at Sweet Apple Acres but also with any food they could fit inside.

Granny Smith shook her head, her wrinkled face smiling down at her granddaughter. “Now now, tater tot. Them mean ol’ griffins ain’t got nothin’ ta fear from an old mare like mahself. Ya’ll gwan an’ git t’ town. Ah kin take care o’ mahself.”

“Nope,” Big Macintosh said as he walked out of the kitchen, his saddlebags bulging at the seams. “We ain’t leavin’ ya, Granny.”

Granny Smith wrapped her hoof around her cane. “Now Big Mac, I’mma gonner lay this here cane ‘long yer backside if’n ya don’t get goin’! Let ol’ Granny Smith take care o’ herself. If ah could take a journey ‘cross Equestria t’ Canterlot then ah kin take a buncha griffins comin’ in this here house! You jis keep AB ‘n her friends outta trouble, unnerstand?”

Big Macintosh worked his mouth for a moment before finally sighing and lowering his head. “Eyup.” He turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “C’mon, girls. We gotta get goin’.”

Applebloom quickly ran over to Granny Smith and hugged her tightly. “G’bye, Granny! Be safe!”

“Ah, don’t’cha worry ‘bout me, sweetie,” Granny Smith replied, hugging Applebloom back. “Ah’ll wager them griffins never tasted zap apple jam a’fore. They’ll want somepony who kin cook for ‘em, Ah reckon.”

Applebloom nodded, hugging Granny Smith again.

“Applebloom, let’s go!” Scootaloo called from the front door.

“Now, AB!” Big Macintosh barked.

Hesitantly, Applebloom let go of Granny Smith and ran out of the front door. Big Macintosh lowered himself enough that the Crusaders could get on top of him. “Get on, girls. Ah wanna get there quick.”

The three fillies leapt onto the big red pony’s back and he reared back, galloping out of Sweet Apple Acre’s gate and heading towards Ponyville.

***

“COME ON YOU LAYABOUTS, GET MOVING!” Rosten bellowed, the griffin red in the face as the now-sobered marine companies scrambled to get aboard their airships. “IT’S TWO HOURS PAST DAWN! I’LL HAVE YOUR HEADS FOR THIS, I SWEAR!”

“Is there a problem, Captain?” Blackwing asked as he landed next to the young officer. Rosten shook his head.

“Not anymore, Lord Marshal,” he replied, attempting to get his temper under control even as he slashed the hindquarters of a marine with his claws. “I have everything under control.”

“You’re late in leaving, I notice.”

“A situation that I wasn’t aware of,” Rosten snarled as the last few soldiers ran past him to the airships. “It’s all taken care of.”

“We’re ready to leave, Captain!” the commander of one of the airships called. Rosten nodded to Blackwing.

“That’s my cue. If you’ll excuse me, Lord Marshal.” With that he took off and flew up in front of the airships, pointing west towards Ponyville. The airships began to move, Rosten flying up to land on one of the airships’ dorsal side.

“Make sure it doesn’t happen again, Captain,” Blackwing called as he flew away.

Rosten raised a wing in acknowledgement, then turned back to the front.

Blackwing smiled as the force moved off. He then turned and began flying back to the castle. There was work to be done. The rest of Equestria awaited them.

***

“That’s everything that can fit in the wagons, Princess!” Full Moon said as he landed next to Luna. “We need to leave now!”

“Has the Apple family arrived?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Full Moon replied. “They just made it. They’re missing two of their number, Applejack and Granny Smith. Smith chose to stay behind, but there’s no sign of Applejack.”

“And what of the rest of the Element Bearers?”

“We couldn’t find them in their homes either, Princess,” Full Moon responded. “All we found was a small cat in the Carousel Boutique that had been tied up in a sack and thrown in a closet.”

Luna nodded, keeping her frustration in check. “I see. Lead the wagons in that direction,” she ordered, pointing towards the Everfree Forest.

Full Moon followed her hoof, his eyes widening. “B…but Princess, that’s the Everfree Forest!”

“And the only place where we won’t be followed,” Luna replied. “Do as I command, Captain!”

“Yes, Princess!” Full Moon replied, turning and running over to where the wagons were gathered. Luna took a deep breath and let it out, looking over the wagons as she did. While all of the adult ponies looked worried, most of the foals treated it as some sort of grand adventure, chattering excitedly and bouncing around the wagons as they formed up and moved towards the forest. Luna flew on ahead, landing at the beginning of the way into Everfree. It took a few minutes, but the column eventually got there. There was a brief pause as Full Moon organized the guards into a formation to protect the caravan, then they stood there, waiting for Luna to speak.

“Citizens of Ponyville! Royal Guardsponies!” she began. “I am aware of what this looks like, and I ask you to please not be afraid of what I am about to ask you to do! I merely ask for you to trust me. Within the Everfree Forest is a safe haven for us. A place that the griffins will be unable to enter, but that I know the way to. If you follow me, I promise that you will be safe. If you do not wish to enter, nopony will think lesser of you for turning back. But be warned; I doubt that the griffins will see it that way. And even if you choose to leave Ponyville and go somewhere else, it is likely that the griffins will find you there as well. No other place in Equestria is safe from them, and they can reach anywhere you can get to, and at a faster speed as well. You can follow me or run, but wherever you go, you will find yourself under the heel of the Griffin Kingdoms. The choice is yours and yours alone. Now choose.”

There were a few nervous glances, but nopony moved. They all looked at Luna, their eyes wide with both fear and hope, as well as a sense of safety. Luna nodded approvingly. “Very well.” She turned around. “Let us begin, then!”

With that she began walking into the forest, Full Moon leading the column after her. As they walked, one of the guards began singing, his clear tenor voice seemingly swallowed up by the close-knit trees of the forest.

Goodbye Dolly I must leave you, though it breaks my heart to go
Something tells me I am needed at the front to fight the foe
See, the boys in blue are marching and I can no longer stay…

He continued singing as the column disappeared into the forest, a few of the other guards picking up the song as they went.

Chapter 7

Dawn was breaking over the mountains of the Griffin Kingdoms as the Darkfeathers and their prison wagon approached Gryphus Tower. A glorious cascade of sunlight filigreed the clouds with golden lining, pillars of light shining out from among gaps in the clouds like spotlights. The Darkfeathers ignored the tableau, however as they set their cargo down on a large landing pad that stuck out from the smooth surface of the tower like a cliff. As soon as the wagon set down, the twelve griffins set about unstrapping themselves from the vehicle. They then picked up their weapons and moved to the back, getting ready to subdue the prisoners if necessary.

Inside the wagon, the six mares that embodied the Elements of Harmony had woken up during the trip. Finding themselves locked within the bars of the vehicle and unable to fly, use magic, or even walk due to their bindings, and with questions asked of the griffins being met with stony silence, they had been forced to sit down and wait to see where they were being taken in between bouts of comforting Fluttershy, calming Rarity, and restraining Rainbow Dash. This last bit was the most difficult, as Rainbow had been at the bars almost as soon as she’d woken up, yelling at the griffins and letting go with insults that nopony in the wagon had ever heard come out of her mouth, though after the latest restraint attempt she’d calmed down someone and laid down with the others. As the wagon set down on the landing pad with a gentle thud, Rainbow Dash jerked her head up and looked at the others. “We’ve stopped!”

Twilight looked out of the bars, seeing the door to the tower proper, the banner of the Griffin Kingdoms hanging over the door leading inside. She looked back at the others, shock on her face. “We’re in the Griffin Kingdoms!”

“Ya’ll mean t’tell me these featherbags took us out of Equestria entirely?!” Applejack exclaimed, her green eyes wide with surprise.

“Apparently,” Twilight replied, nodding. “But what they brought us here for, I’ve got no idea.”

“It can’t be anything good,” Rarity muttered as she tried to move her legs, which had grown numb from the long period of inactivity sitting in the wagon. “Breaking into my shop, tying Opalescence up in a sack and throwing her in a closet…The poor dear, she must be so upset!”

“Cheer up, girls!” Pinkie Pie chirped with her usual optimism as she looked out at the Darkfeathers as they gathered around the door. “For all we know, this could be fun!”

“Yeah, sure.” Rainbow muttered.

“Th…they’re n-n-not going to h-hurt us, are th-they?” Fluttershy asked timidly, doing her best to press herself into the floorboards of the wagon.

“If they wanted to hurt us, they could have dumped us out of the wagon while we were flying or something like that,” Twilight said. “I can’t be sure, though.”

“Well I’m not gonna stand here like a bump on a log!” Rainbow Dash said as she stood up as stably as she could with her legs roped together. “I bet that I can take on all these griffins with my hooves tied!”

The door finally opened, all of the Darkfeathers pointing their weapons inside in a thicket of steel that glittered in the morning’s golden sunlight. Rainbow’s eyes widened and she sat down, cowed at the prospect of attempting to fight through that.

“All of you out. Now,” said one of the griffins, wielding a sabre that he was pointing directly at Twilight. The ponies did as they were told, the Darkfeathers surrounding them as they exited the wagon. Twilight came first, followed by Rarity. Pinkie bounced off next, her customary smile fixed on her face as she jumped out and into the group of griffins. Fluttershy gingerly crept her way out, inching towards the exit before a Darkfeather grabbed her legs and dragged her out roughly, the pegasus giving a frightened squeak backed up by exclamations of outrage from the others. Applejack came out next, her eyes narrowed with suspicion at the griffins, watching them carefully.

Rainbow Dash’s egress was considerably more eventful.

As one of the griffins got up on the wagon’s step to order Rainbow Dash out, she gave a loud roar and lunged at him. She headbutt the griffin in the chin, causing him to fall off of the step with a yelp. Both hit the ground, Rainbow Dash butting and biting as the griffin struggled with her, attempting to get the violent pegasus off of him. Rainbow soon found her body being hauled off of her victim’s and a fist backed up by plenty of muscle rearranging her insides. The pegasus mare’s purple eyes widened and a line of drool fell from her muzzle as she coughed explosively, repeating the sound twice more as another pair of punches smashed into her gut, each blow lifting her hooves off the ground. After the third punch she doubled over, then was smashed to the ground by a hard right hook to the jaw. She was then dealt a few powerful kicks, the other Darkfeathers holding the rest of the ponies back to keep them from interfering.

“Enough,” the lead Darkfeather said as the griffin Rainbow had attacked got up and approached her, his talons ready. “We brought them here to hold them prisoner, not to kill them. Are you alright, Tragon?”

The griffin nodded, rubbing his chin where a bruise was starting to develop beneath his feathers. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

The griffin nodded and motioned towards the others with one wing. The two griffins that had beaten Rainbow Dash dragged her over to the other ponies and dumped her unceremoniously to the ground. As the others gathered around her to make sure that she was alright, the Darkfeather leader looked at them all.

“Listen up all of you,” he growled. “I am Commander Vaynar of the Darkfeathers. You are now at Gryphus Tower, home of King Aeris Gryphonus, the Golden King, Lord of the High Peaks, and Ruler of the Skies. You will remain here until the king sees fit to release you and your Princess. Whether or not that happens is his decision.”

“Princess?!” the six ponies gasped.

“What have you done with Princess Celestia?” Twilight demanded.

“I haven’t done anything,” Vaynar responded tersely. “And do not fear for her well-being. She is safe and well-cared for, so long as she doesn’t try to escape. Just as you will be. Until King Aeris sees fit to return you to Equestria-if he does, I should say-you will live in Gryphus Tower. If you attempt to escape, you will be punished. Severely.” He looked at the other Darkfeathers. “Escort formation. To the throne room.”

As one the Darkfeathers surrounded the ponies, and at another command from Vaynar began walking towards the tower. Twilight craned her head back to look at it, in awe at the sheer size. The tower’s top disappeared among the morning clouds, parapets and turrets dotting the massive structure. Banners hung from the crenellations, flapping gently in the morning breeze. Griffins in ornate yet functional silver-and-blue armor patrolled the fortifications, their eyes watchful for any sort of aerial attack. Twilight counted at least forty assorted ballistae and trebuchets before she lost her place.

“Impressed, little pony?” one of the griffins asked, looking down at her. He had eyes the color of a forest in midsummer, with brown and white feathers creating a speckled pattern on his face. He was young, possibly Big Macintosh’s age, with a youthful energy about him that seemed to light up the surrounding space.

“It’s enormous!” Twilight replied, looking back at him in amazement. “How long did it take to build this?”

The griffin shrugged, smiling. “No one really knows. Some say that it was carved out of the bones of the mountain. Others say that it’s been here since the dawn of time. Yet more say that the gods granted it to King Stormcall for withstanding their fury in a thunderstorm, with lightning strikes so powerful and so precisely placed that when the storm ended, the tower stood in the place of the mountaintop.” He looked down at her, the smile still warm on his face. “Either way, all I know is that it’s really damn old.”

“No chatting with the prisoners, Carif,” Vaynar barked from the front of the column.

“My apologies sir,” Carif replied meekly, inclining his head in his superior’s direction.

They entered the tower, the windswept surface of the landing pad being replaced with spotless tile floors, gilded pillars of marble and gold, high vaulted ceilings inlaid with frescoes of great moments of each of the twelve former city-states that now comprised the Kingdoms. Tapestries made from rich fabric hung from arches on the sides of the hallway, depicting the symbols of each city. Statues of the Kingdoms’ past rulers lined the hall, dressed in armor or robes. Each statue seemed to project an aura of strength and wisdom, a testament to the skill of the sculptors.

After what seemed like hours of walking, they finally arrived at a set of massive oak doors. Commander Vaynar made the column halt a short distance away, then approached the guards by himself. A short conversation later the two guards nodded. As Vaynar walked back to the column, of the guards banged his spear on the floor three times. The heavy wooden haft didn’t mark the tiles in the slightest.

With a sound like a trumpet being blown the doors of Gryphus Towers’ throne room burst open, a massive blast of wind shooting down the corridor. Aeris was revealed as the doors swung apart, his wings unfurled and pointing forward. He re-furled them quickly as the wind he had blasted the doors with faded.The Darkfeathers withstood the gust without any sign of effort and it was only due to their stability that the six ponies were not blown down the halls like so much dust.

“Forward,” Vaynar said casually, as if a gale had not just blown into their faces. The column began walking again, entering the throne room. It was a massive place, larger than the high-ceilinged hallways that the group had walked through before. More tiles and gilded pillars were evident here, tapestries hanging wherever one of the tall windows was not placed. The Darkfeathers spread out into a line, forcing the ponies to the forefront before bowing deeply. As they did, Twilight and her friends looked up towards the dais that held the throne of the Griffin Kingdoms.

Aeris smiled as the Darkfeathers knelt, rising off of his throne and stepping slowly down the steps of the dais. “Well well well,” he said, his voice filling the room as he reached the foot of the steps and walked towards the group. “So these are the famous six ponies that embody Equestria’s Elements of Harmony.”

He stopped before them and lowered his head, coming beak-to-nose with Twilight. “I expected you to be more impressive.” He straightened up and looked at Commander Vaynar. “Well done, Commander. Did you have any trouble with them?”

“Only with the rainbow-maned one upon our arrival, Your Majesty,” Vaynar replied. “We took care of it.”

Aeris turned to Rainbow Dash, taking in the splendid bruise on her cheek. “I see.” He turned back to Twilight. “What are your names, my little ponies?”

“I’m Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight replied, looking up at Aeris, fixing him with a stern glare. “And these are my friends. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. And I demand to know where you’re holding Princess Celestia!”

Aeris looked at her for a moment, then threw his head back in a roar of laughter. Twilight’s glare gradually changed into a look of confusion. After a while, Aeris calmed down and wiped a tear from his eye. “Ah, so much spunk in such a tiny package. Then again considering what you six have done, I would have been disappointed if you had seemed scared.”

“Um…I’m scared…” Fluttershy meekly remarked as she raised her hoof. Aeris’s gaze immediately snapped to her, the butter yellow pegasus giving a squeak of fright and hiding behind Rarity. Aeris smirked and turned around, walking back to his throne. As he sat down, he looked at them.

“To answer your question, Twilight Sparkle, your Princess is safe in this tower, in her own room. I’ve given her all of the comforts she deserves, and she is being well cared-for. You all will be given the same courtesies that she is and free roam of the Tower. You will each be provided with a guard that will also function as your escort if you wish to go anywhere.” He looked at Vaynar. “Take them to their rooms, Commander.”

“Yes sire,” Vaynar replied. He stood up and moved the Darkfeathers into formation around the six ponies again, marching them from the throne room.

***

By the time the six ponies had been shown their rooms, Twilight was the only one left. Commander Vaynar had assigned Carif to her, and so the young Darkfeather kept up a steady stream of chatter while he led the purple unicorn to her room. He was curious about Equestria, having lived in Gryphus all his life. Twilight answered his questions as best she could, and even asked a few of her own. As they talked more, she found herself becoming more attached to the friendly young griffin, with his earnest smile and disarming demeanor. But as she talked, she shook her head.

No, she thought. This griffin is an enemy of Equestria. He helped kidnap us! I can’t get friendly with him.

“Here we are!” Carif said cheerfully as he stopped outside a large door. He turned to Twilight. “I have to guard your room too, so if you need anything don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Thank you,” Twilight replied. “I’ll be sure to do that.”

With that, Carif opened the door and Twilight went in. Twilight gave her room a once-over as Carif shut the door behind her. The room was actually quite luxurious; the floor was covered in soft blue carpet that yielded easily to her hooves, the four-poster bed sharing the same color scheme. A set of thick curtains hung from the wall across the doorway, which Twilight guessed concealed a picture window. There was a desk across the room from the bed, made from diligently polished oak and complete with several rolls of parchment, several pots of ink, and a number of quills.

The only thing it lacked, Twilight decided, was a bookcase. With that she turned around and knocked on the door with her hoof. Carif responded immediately, cocking his head. “Somethin’ wrong?” he asked.

“Not really,” Twilight replied. “But it’d be nice if I had some books…”

Carif nodded. “I’ll send for some.” With that he shut the door again. Seeing nothing else to do, Twilight walked over to the bed and laid down on it. The mattress yielded easily to fit the contours of her body and Twilight sank into it, forcing her to flail around a bit before managing to right herself. She sighed as she took another look around the room.

I guess that this will be my home for the foreseeable future, she thought despondently. However long that will be.