Chapter 26: Mirrored History
(Warning: Miscarrage/Stillbirth)
“This… was our camp before launching the attack. The day before…” Mido trailed off.
“It’s ok Mido,” Luna said, leaning her head down. “We can easily spend days in here and it be only a few minutes outside. Take your tim— Vegeta?! Where art thou going?”
Vegeta ran off after the marching column of Felis. He caught up to them and began jogging backwards next to them. He pointed at them and moved his finger up and down.
Then Vegeta repeated the same motion with another group of Felis before standing in the camp fire, slowly turning and examining each drunk griffon carefully one by one.
Everyone had turned to watch him.
“Vegeta, what are you doing?” Celestia called out.
Vegeta jerked his head at the shout, then ran back.
“Warrior!” he shouted as he came back. He knelt in front of him and drew a symbol in the sand. “Do you know what this is?”
“Isn’t that the Buddha symbol?” Prince Rasheed said, looking over Mido.
“Did I draw it backwards?” Vegeta quickly altered it.
“I did not know the direction mattered,” Rasheed said. He tilted his head to look at Mido. “Have you seen this in the gryphon empire?”
“I remember a museum piece or two as part of history classes as part of our training. It’s an old symbol from before the fall of the Western Roaman Empire.”
“So it hasn’t been resurrected in any meaningful way in the modern day?”
He shook his head confused.
He drew two faces and pointed between them. “And this type of mustache? Not the huge ones everyone seems to be wearing?”
“I think that small one looks absolutely ridiculous,” Mido said.
“Ok…” Vegeta sighed relieved, putting his hand on his chest, “That’s good to know…”
“What is this about,” Rasheed glared at Vegeta.
Vegeta stood. “Our planets are tidally locked through time. Meaning despite some differences due to supposedly free will, we are identical. History. Cultures. Languages. Everything I’ve rattled off, the princesses have found mirrored copies of. It’s how they were able to trace what to them is a completely unknown weapon in just a few hours.”
“Vegeta! Stop blabbing,” Celestia scolded.
Luna sighed and took a step forward. “Vegeta is correct. Our worlds are twins through space and time, even though there is one major difference.”
“Which is?” Mido asked cautiously.
“We have no magic,” Vegeta said coldly. “So we are far more advanced.” He pointed at the griffons, “German Empire,” at Mido, “Egypt,” at Rasheed, “Saudi Arabia,” at Celestia, “Either the United Kingdom or the United States.” He raised his hand gesturing to the scene, “The uniforms, gun-tech, hair styles, complete absence of that,” he pointed at the sand before erasing it with his foot. “Which I will not explain.” He lowered his arm, “All of this was 500 years ago for us. The dawn of the 20th century. 200 years before unification.”
“Was ther…there a war?” he stuttered.
“Yes,” he answered honestly, “A bad one.”
Mido looked down.
“Why are you hanging your head?” Vegeta raised his fist to shoulder height, “I say fuck destiny and let’s get this started. I’ll strangle fate to death myself to stop history from repeating.”
Discord jumped in the air joyfully, arms high and wide, fluttering his wings, “And that’s why you’re my favorite kind of Chaos. You have the power to actually do it!”
Vegeta looked over his shoulder at Discord and gave a grin that stopped Mido and Rasheed cold. “And if fate still demands blood, I’ll rip its tribute from the griffons’ feathers.”
“Vegeta, watch your face,” Celestia scolded him again.
“What?!” Vegeta turned to her exasperated. He pointed at his head with both hands. “This is my face. I only have one face.”
“Let’s just calm down, siblings,” Discord said. “Be annoying later.”
“Our apologies, Prince Rasheed,” Luna said. “Their personalities bring out the worst in each other.” She looked down at Mido. “Mido, please begin the tour.”
“Yes, the weapons cache is over there. I did not pick up anything though.”
“If thou have held or seen it being used, we will be able to interact with it,” she said calmly.
They walked to a set of tents. There were many rifles leaned against each other like teepee poles.
Vegeta stopped and looked at them.
Mido noticed he had stopped walking first and turned around halting the others. “Yes?”
“These all have wooden stocks,” he said, squatting down. “The ones I saw related to the incident were solid metal.”
“Oh, yes. The newest models of feuerwaffe are saved for griffons only. We are basically given overstock, but it’s still the most advanced weapons in the world minus the empire. I assume for the death papers you’re talking about a sturmgewehr? There are some in here.”
“Alright,” Vegeta said standing. Then something caught his eye. “What the fuck is that Roman legion cosplayer?” he said pointing.
Mido looked. “Oh, he’s a noble. After Celestia destroyed the previous northern empire almost to a feather, the Lombirds and Ostrogriffons of the south took control over northern griffon lands. The nobles and empirical family are all direct descendants. They are more Roaman than the horses of Bitaly and see themselves as the true heirs of the old empire and civilization itself. Unteroffizier and every rank below comes from the lower language and is the highest a peasant can rise in the army without a patron. And the highest a non-griffon can rise period.”
“So, you are a very important man?” Vegeta looked down at him.
“Yes… … I was…” Mido answered after a long pause.
“Take us to the tent,” he ordered.
Mido and Vegeta entered, but Rasheed raised his hoof, stopping the princesses and Discord.
“You seem to be allowing the dark mage to take an unhealthy lead.”
“Which is why we have been looking so desperately for other sources for the same information,” Celestia said.
“He said this was 500 years in the past for him. Meaning he claims to know the future?”
“History does not repeat, but it often rhymes,” Celestia said. “While insight is valuable, we will not be blinded by easy answers in the upcoming conflict.”
“I wasn’t lying about Vegeta being capable of killing Fate,” Discord said. “Even I couldn’t do it.”
“That… wasn’t a metaphor, was it?” Rasheed asked.
“Nope,” he said before turning to Celestia, “And no,” he said harshly, “Fate is not the spirit who keeps sneaking into the palace and punching me in the face. I haven’t seen that red suited reindeer and his three daughters in eons.”
Rasheed tried to say something, but he just clicked his teeth shut.
“Hey Discord! Get your ass in here so you know what to look for on your next spy mission!”
Celestia’s feathers unconsciously puffed up.
“Sister… breathe…” Luna said, putting her wing over Celestia’s back.
~~***~~
The group entered the tent.
Vegeta was holding a familiar looking object. He removed it from his shoulder. “The butt is definitely not meant for a straight shoulder, but not uncomfortable.” He then played with the safety and the top pull to expel stuck casings.
“Yes, the stocks do need to be modified before being gifted to us.” Mido said, “You are familiar with feuerwaffe?”
“I’m a Ki master. My wife is the ballistic expert. But I’ve been dragged to shooting ranges enough.”
He looked disturbed at the weapon.
“Either humans were more advanced than I thought at the time, humans suddenly lost all imagination afterwards, or griffons are smarter than humans… well, normal humans…”
“Are you alright, Vegeta?” Luna asked.
“Yeah…” he said. He walked over to Discord. “Get a good look at this crap this time,” he said, handing it to him.
Discord immediately looked down the barrel.
Vegeta ripped it away from him, “Are you trying to kill yourself?! That’s the killing part you just stuck to your eye!”
“Well how am I supposed to know that, smart guy?” he said, crossing his arms.
“But we’re dreaming. It’s perfectly safe, right?”
“Yes, Mido. Vegeta is just reacting out of instinct,” Luna said. “Vegeta calm down, this is a learning experience.”
Vegeta balled his fists; the only reason the gun survived was the dreamscape. “I’ve already almost lost one friend to a gun on this planet. I don’t want a second, third or anyone else!”
“Which is why we are here,” Celestia said. “Mido, if you will explain what these are.”
“Ah, yes! What Vegeta is holding is a sturmgewehr. While normal gewehr only shoot one, what he calls a bullet, at a time, it is ‘automatic’. Meaning once started, it shoots nonstop until you stop it or it runs out of bullets.”
“My language it’s called an assault rifle,” Vegeta added.
“There are multiple kinds,” Mido said. “There are multiple manufacturers.”
Celestia picked one up in her magic, “It must take many skilled craft artisans to make so many.”
“Yes, I’m sure the machinists in the factories are very proud of their work,” Mido said.
“Why do I smell a misunderstanding?” Vegeta thought.
“What’s next?” she asked.
“Well, let me find other gewehrs in the piles.” Mido began climbing over boxes looking inside. “Here’s the new Eff-Gee,” he said, jumping down with a gun in each hand, “I don’t know what it is short for. And this is the Em-On. It’s the replacement of our karebines you saw us marching with.
Vegeta grabbed the FG and again looked it over. “Fuck it… these birds are good.” Vegeta held it out and Luna took it in her magic. “Next,” he ordered.
Vegeta almost instantly dropped it.
He took a step back.
“Vegeta, you’re frightened. What’s wrong?” Celestia demanded.
“That’s… a goddess damn M1 Garand. Perfect clone minus the shoulder butt. My wife has a replica. Taught me to shoot with it.”
“And the significance?”
Vegeta looked up from the ground. “The M1 is from a later war, and created by one of the allied nations that destroyed the German empire. I knew this wasn’t going to be a one-to-one copy of World War I,” he looked back down, “but… World War II or even later? This is a huge mismatch of technology. Easily a 100 year gap from what Discord showed me.”
“100 years does not sound worth panicking over.”
“Says the immortal!”
“Enough!” Celestia shouted. “History does not repeat. It only rhymes. The only thing that has happened is YOUR assumptions on what the griffons are capable of is wrong. That has no effect on us who are seeing this with fresh, untainted eyes.” Celestia moved her head, “Go wait outside the tent. That’s an order.”
Vegeta sighed and walked out.
Discord put his talon behind his back. One of the fingers popped off and he grew a new one. The tour continued as the finger wormed away.
Another Discord popped into existence outside the tent. He looked around and spotted Vegeta running away. Discord teleported next to him a few moments before Vegeta slammed face first into an invisible wall.
“Son of a…” Vegeta cursed as he fell to his knees grabbing his nose.
“Seems we reached the end of his knowledge.”
Vegeta looked up and noticed Discord for the first time.
“Why aren’t you in the tent?!”
“I split myself, don’t worry.”
Vegeta sighed and slipped onto his butt. “You can split form. Good to know.” He pulled his knees up and rested his arms on his knees.
Discord sat down next to him. “So, why are you all the way over here?”
“Chasing after that legionnaire. They’re in charge. So they are the ones I need to check.”
“From what I saw putting you back together, it takes a lot for you to react like that. What’s so seriously wrong?”
“The M1 is from World War 2. The same war those drawings were from. If things are appearing from that war, and history only rhymes, then asking about those specific symbols means nothing. I need to check… I need to know… because it changes everything.”
Discord noticed his shaking fists.
“This world doesn’t deserve it. Fuck you Shen Long…”
“Yeah, yeah, innocent little foal story,” Discord said sarcastically. “But still,” he said with a softer tone, “What’s wrong?”
Vegeta sighed and turned his head away. “Do… you know what genocide is?”
“I’ve never heard that word before.”
“Figured…”
Discord was about to speak after the long pause, but Vegeta continued on his own.
“How about extinction?”
Discord’s ears fell. “I don’t like where this is going.”
“World War 1, the war I thought we were heading towards, was a war of empires and ego. A fall equal to its height. World War 2 was a war of revenge and extinction just two decades later, on an industrial scale. Huge factories dedicated to solely killing tens of thousands of war prisoners a day, for years. And when the war turned, and the nations saw what happened to the innocent civilians of their now completely empty conquered lands, it was returned in kind. Like I said before, destroyed the German empire.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Discord said. “Griffons historically enslaved and ate other races, especially ponies and horses. And ponies still disappear in Prance and Trottingham prior to major holidays. It’s in the back of everyone’s minds.”
Vegeta whimpered and looked up.
“Celestia has dealt with this before. She will do it again.”
“But there are anti-magic weapons now. Maybe even armor. They’ve been preparing for this a long time.”
“And we have you and your friends now. None of what they have can stop ki right?”
“No.” Vegeta looked back at the ground. “Any armor that can protect against ki can barely be made on Earth today and the cost of hundreds of millions of zeni, and mass production is a pipe dream. Only magic has half a prayer of doing anything against ki in this circumstance, and it needs to be highly specialized.”
“Then we’re fine. Plus, there’s the resurrection you’re planning.”
Vegeta did not respond.
“I may be a clueless former cartoon villain,” Discord said, “But I know what mourning is. You’re mourning the image you had of us, and you’re thinking about your daughter and her image of us.”
“You’re not as clueless as you pretend.”
“I am Discord. But I’m also a spirit. Most ponies don’t quite get the concept.”
Vegeta side-eyed him for a while.
“Would you like to hear about my friend Piccolo?”
“Oh, do tell.”
~~***~~
The group walked out of the tent, and were greeted by the other group walking up. The two Discords waved at each other as Rasheed and Mido rapidly looked between the two. Celestia and Luna looked annoyed.
Vegeta’s Discord snapped his fingers and vanished while the other Discord hunched forward slightly and looked confused for a moment.
“Buddy!” Discord suddenly shouted jumping in the air. He then popped next to Vegeta, wrapped his arms around him like a snake, lifted him up and started hopping foot to foot.
“Didn’t we already do this?” Vegeta looked away, visibly frustrated and blushing.
“Never hurts to do it again.”
“Boys…” Celestia’s eyes twitched.
Discord dropped him.
Vegeta landed on his feet.
“So what’s next on the agenda?”
“We will be progressing through his memories, stopping as needed,” Luna said.
“Remember I don’t speak Germa—er, Griffon, whatever.”
“We will translate as needed,” Celestia gave a curt smile. “Mido, take us to the first memory you want to show us.”
“It-it happened over there,” he pointed.
Discord leaned down. “He couldn’t visualize it on his own,” he whispered to Vegeta.
The group walked towards the drinking griffons.
Suddenly Discord stopped and began hopping on one foot. “What did I just step in? Yuck…”
Celestia lowered her head. “Smells a little like raw griffon fire,” Celestia lifted her head and put her hoof over her nose, “but definitely distinct.” She lit her horn and it disappeared.
Celestia then noticed everyone watching Vegeta, who was on his knees in the sand. He then stood, measured the distance between where he knelt and the thin black line, hopped over it and began looking at the ground at the same distance.
Celestia rolled her eyes, “I’m sure whatever wagon tracks you’ve discovered are fascinating. But we have other more pressing matters.”
“Says the woman who fell on her ass seeing my motorcycle.”
“Motor… cycle…” Mido muttered. “Do you me—”
“Mido,” Rasheed stopped him. “As much as Princess Luna says it will not matter in the dreamscape, we still are on a time limit in the real world. Let’s not waste time.”
“Yes, sire.”
The group followed Mido until he stopped. “He-here…”
“We are ready when you are,” Luna said sweetly. “Close your eyes, and think just like we said in the tent.”
Mido closed his eyes.
He began to cry when he heard the voices, but kept his eyes closed.
The new Mido was chatting with another Felis.
“Ahmed, I’m sorry…” he muttered.
The drunk griffons from before walked up to them.
“They are not in the same uniforms I’ve seen so far,” Vegeta said.
“Hessians. Mercenaries, in Equestrian,” Mido said. “Minus the Centurion instructor and his entourage, every griffon you’ll see will have nonstandard kit.”
Mido and Ahmed stepped aside and bowed, but the griffons went out of their way to shove them to the ground. They held them down, spit on them, insulted them while playing with the gorget hanging from their necks.
“Our gorgets have a wind talisman embedded. SchieBpulver creates a large amount of smoke that can blind a battlefield with fog in just a few volleys. Using magic in the empire is frowned upon and even outlawed in many cases if there is a viable alternative, so our wind talismans make us targets for harassment.”
“That is quite hypocritical. They must use their own powers to dispel the smoke if it’s that bad,” Celestia said.
“Some kind of powder with less smoke has just been invented, hasn’t it?” Vegeta cut off Mido’s answer.
“Yes… I think it’s called SchieBbaumwolle. Just a small white puff… I did not know it existed until the battle.”
Vegeta smirked at the annoyed Celestia.
A legionnaire suddenly landed shouting. After briefly shouting at the griffons, he became aggressive with Mido and Ahmed, picking them up and shoving them off.
Neither spoke as they hurried away.
Discord leaned down. “They were told to keep their mouths shut and the birds were told to watch what they say until after the battle.”
While Mido continued the vision, Vegeta suddenly walked over to the group.
“Vegeta, what do you want?” Celestia asked.
Vegeta glanced at her and stopped next to Rasheed. “I have a question,” he said, motioning him to lower his head.
He did and Vegeta whispered in his ear. “This cat unit was eliminated after the fact? This sounds like a covert weapons test with plausible deniability with the mercenaries.”
Rasheed's eyes widened and looked at him. “You predicted that already?” he mouthed.
Vegeta could not lip read a horse, but his eyes told him he was right.
“I’ll assume the cat doesn’t know and won’t mention it,” Vegeta whispered back before returning to Discord.
Rasheed kept a close eye on Vegeta and Discord the rest of the time. They seemed to have hand signals between them. He did not know what holding one or two digits up meant, but the more Vegeta held up two fingers, the more frustrated he got.
And the more color drained from Discord’s fur.
~~***~~
“This is a very small camp,” Celestia said, “No more than 300 beings.”
While they spoke, Vegeta examined a lamp hanging from a stick.
“What’s so interesting?” Discord asked, leaning in. “The funny shap— That doesn’t smell right. It’s not vegetable oil.”
“I think it’s kerosene,” Vegeta whispered.
“Dietz,” Discord read the letters on the lamp. “That the craftsman’s mark?”
“You’re fucking kidding,” Vegeta said loudly. “That’s what those symbols say?”
Everyone turned to look at them.
“Forget them for a moment,” Celestia said. “You were about to say?”
“358,” Mido said. “My unit of 100 and 250 Hessians. Eight others are the centurion trainer and his staff, but they did not fight.”
“You said you were a scouting unit, correct?” Luna asked.
“Yes.”
“Did you ever visit the main camp?” Luna asked.
“This… was the camp. This is all we had.”
Celestia looked at Rasheed. “Are you saying a city twice the size of Ponyville was taken by 350 soldiers?”
“How big is Ponyville?” Vegeta whispered.
“Just under two thousand,” Discord whispered back.
Rasheed bristled. “Yes…” he said reluctantly. “Most of our forces were at Sharm el-Shagya, but there was still a garrison of 1,896. Or at least that was the number of severed heads delivered to the Sultan.”
“A battle of 5 to 1. How many mages?”
“Papers say 300 battle mages were deployed there at the time of the battle.”
Celestia looked at Mido, “How many did you lose?”
“No casualties. It… was a massacre. Less than an hour, maybe even half an hour…”
“Nearly two thousand of the finest Arabian horses wiped out in less than thirty minutes?”
“Most… probably…”
Vegeta noticed his arm become transparent again. Then it vanished, and to Vegeta’s surprise, a leg.
Vegeta caught Mido as he dropped the rifle and toppled over.
“I see you have lost much more than I thought.” Vegeta placed him on a bipedal chair that wasn’t there a moment earlier. “Just rest and calm yourself,” he said, staying kneeled next to him to stay closer to eye level.
He glanced over him, “Do you have prosthetics or are you wheelchair bound?”
“I have a wooden peg leg and a crutch,” Mido hung his head.
Vegeta gave Rasheed the side eye, “You serve royalty but that’s all you’re provided? I’ve seen some pretty advanced shit in Equestria.”
“It’s not his fault!” Mido jumped to his defense. “Ponies can power their limbs through their own magic, other races need crystals, and those are expensive and need constantly recharged by a mage. And I’m a bipedal. Even griffons can’t recreate their claws, what chance does a bipedal have?”
Vegeta gave an obvious fake smile, sending chills down his and Rasheed’s spines.
“Well,” Vegeta said, barely hiding his rage. “Lucky for you, in the rest of the galaxy the dominant blueprint is bipedal. In fact, out of the thousands of planets I’ve visited, this is the first time I’ve even heard of a quadruped reaching sapience. When this fuckery is over, I’m going to get you something proper if you’re willing.”
“But… I’m a Felis. Not whatever you are…”
Vegeta looked at his remaining arm. “Well, the basic joints look the same. My wife could have a prototype 3D printed in a couple hours after an exam. And feet only really need to look like feet for clothing sake. A lot of people will choose spring blades for ease of movement. And something tells me you’re not the vain type.”
Mido sat straight and smiled.
“And who will do repairs once you’re gone?” Rasheed glared.
Mido deflated and hung his head.
“What? Do you think we’re just going to walk away once things are resolved?” Vegeta glared back. “Sorry Bud, this planet is in it for the long haul.” Then he smiled, menacingly. “Maybe we can even put the embassy right next to yours?”
“Enough, Vegeta,” Celestia said. “Mido is crying now.”
Vegeta looked back at the cat.
He took off his helmet and rubbed his eyes. “I’m not scared, princess. *sniff*”
Vegeta’s heart quietly dropped when Mido’s arm phased through one of his ears.
~~***~~
After a short break, Mido stood again, limbs returned.
“Are you ready to continue?” Luna asked.
“Yes…” he answered. Then he looked up at Vegeta, who had just stood himself. “If the prince would stand next to me, support me,” he hesitated. “Hold my paw?”
Vegeta walked around to the other side, braced Mido against himself with a side hug, and took his real paw.
“Don’t hesitate. I’m right here. And I’ve seen war like this before, don’t worry about me. This is about you.”
“Ok… I think I should show you this battlefield in daylight.”
It was suddenly midday. While everyone blinked, Celestia and Luna took to the air. There was distortion because he had not seen things from this angle, but the placement was mostly sound.
They landed.
“You are west of the city?” Celestia asked. “The valley road is a much more defensible position with the cliffs. You are completely exposed here.”
“That was the point,” Mido said. “This was a trap. We looked stupid, helpless. A few dozen Felis and a bunch of drunken griffons. Everything about us was meant to be seen and draw them out. We are about 5 miles away. Too close to not go after, but also too far to retreat in time.”
Celestia looked over the completely flat, open, and cracked desert plain. “How is this a trap?”
“The weapons,” Vegeta said. “It’s not a war crime the first time.”
“War… crime?” Rasheed said.
“Deeds so horrible that the victor has the right to try, imprison and execute individuals who committed the acts. And just following orders is not a defense.”
“That would assume that is not the normal course of action to begin with,” Rasheed said, eyeing him suspiciously.
Vegeta sighed, annoyed. “Well… that concept didn’t really exist until World War I anyway… This planet hasn’t pissed itself over its own depravity yet.”
Vegeta felt Mido grip his hand tighter.
Vegeta moved his hand from his waist and rubbed his back. “It’ll be fine. Take your time. We’re ready when you are.”
Mido took a deep breath. Then everything went black.
A wave of drowsiness washed over them, felt them being shaken and talked to.
The scene became visible as Mido opened his eyes and pulled his knife from under his pillow.
He quickly dropped it. “(Cornicen! My apologies.)”
“(I would be more disappointed if a Unteroffizier didn’t draw his claws upon waking. The lookout has spotted an illusion wall in front of the city gates. Start slipping in between tents to get your men ready for the horn blast.)”
“(Yes, sir.)”
The griffon disappeared and the first thing he did was grab a pair of goggles and put them around his neck.
Mido began going from tent to tent, sending his subordinates around to speed up the process. Soon he was back in his tent and put his jacket, boots, and bullet satchel on. He had his helmet next to him on the cot and stared down at his pocket watch.
The face was glowing to Vegeta’s surprise.
“(Dawn in thirty minutes…)” he muttered.
~~***~~
The darkness vanished like a switch the second the clock hand hit the hour and red tinted light entered the tent. He put his watch away and grabbed his helmet.
Soon the warning horn blared and Mido ran from the tent.
In what looked like it had been practiced hundreds of times, the cats grabbed their rifles and lined up perfectly on the outside of camp. The griffons, surprisingly competent for the amount of alcohol in their systems, threw their assault rifles over their shoulders and hid in camp.
The dawn sun was blinding until Mido put his goggles on. Suddenly the sun was just a speck while everything else was as clear as noon.
“How?” Celestia asked.
“Polarized glasses probably,” Vegeta thought.
Then Mido flipped a second lens down over his left eye. Everything took a slight green tint, but many things started to glow.
“That exposes the magic,” Luna gasped. “You can even see the spell lines.”
“Naddaarit shams!” Mido shouted. “Balloor!”
Everyone who had not put their goggles on did and flipped the lens.
In the meantime, the huge line of charging chariots was making extremely short work of the five miles. Pulled by two horses, a third was in the back with staves and star filled robes.
The stave tips were glowing bright green and lines were visible attaching them to various floating spell circle medallions. The first line’s were wide and gave the area a general glow. The second line had dimmer glowing staves with no connected medallions.
Behind them were hundreds of horses with swords in their mouths or two horse teams with what looked like to Vegeta small cannons on wooden poles.
“Sawwaba!”
The second row’s staves began to brighten.
“Yidrab naar!”
A hundred loud thunder claps ripped next to their ears causing the two princesses and Discord to flinch.
One hundred heads exploded. And after an almost simultaneous two clicks, so did another. Then the last.
In seconds the chariots were in disarray and the wards were gone. A horrible screech came from behind them as the griffons took to the air and charged forward.
“Iislah alhirabi!”
The felis put their bayonets on.
“Hajama!”
The unit charged across the battlefield.
The shots had ended by the time they reached the battlefield. They weaved through the mangled messes without much of a glance as they raced to catch up with the griffons.
Everyone else, not so much. Except for Vegeta.
The griffons swarmed the fort as the felis ran into the unprotected village.
“Where’s the shield?” Celestia said, surprised. “Why didn’t they evacuate the village into the stronghold?”
“This obviously wasn’t taken seriously,” Vegeta said. “They even left the gate wide open during the charge. The ruse of being an easy mark obviously worked.”
“Yes…” Rasheed said, gritting his teeth. “The local sheik had already transmitted his victory at this point. Because so many deserters looked at their watches like Mido, we know he did it even before the horn blast.”
Being just a few minutes past dawn, most inhabitants were just waking up, if they were up at all. 100 soldiers were not enough to secure every home, but a few key marksmen kept things under control while the rest went house to house. Bravado left many widowed and fatherless while stampede panic finished the creation of orphans, but Vegeta was impressed with the arguably very clean operation.
Then an explosion drew everyone’s attention behind them.
Despite griffons managing to fly through the gates once the spells were destroyed, a shield had gone up at the fort. But it did not look like it would last long.
“And that’s an RPG,” he thought, watching 5 teams of griffons rain fire from above. Like the bullets, the shield was useless. “Who or whatever is making it won’t last long with the lines giving way their location.”
As if on cue, the shield dropped, and the flying army descended.
The noise did not last long.
“And that was the battle…” Mido said. The scene froze and washed out, the people disappearing and only leaving the buildings.
“This was very clean from an operational standpoint,” Vegeta said. “Even if the local commander wasn’t such an idiot, the weapons more than made up for the manpower imbalance. His stupidity only shortened the inevitable.”
“Yes,” Mido said, “The military leader here was a frustrated youth from a disgraced family and the local sheik old from the era before gewehrs. A hero that won several battles by personally partaking in champion duels.”
“Very David and Goliath,” Vegeta said. “You have my sympathies, Prince Rasheed. My people’s emphasis on personal honor led to a lot of stupidity. Which I was definitely not immune from,” Vegeta closed his eyes, “And if my wife was here, she would definitely glare at me and vehemently question my use of the past tense.” He looked at Celestia, “May I look around? Considering where this is heading, I believe Mido could use a break.”
“Do as you wish. We can question Mido without you.”
Vegeta made a chair and sat Mido down. “I’ll be right back.”
Rasheed and Mido stared shocked as Vegeta jumped and never came down.
“Well, this is a dream,” Mido said.
“No Vegeta can really suspend himself using ki,” Discord said. “It’s an interesting power to say the least.” He then snapped his fingers and a replica appeared next to him. He waved goodbye and flew after him. “Now,” the original said, “Ask away.”
“How did the goggles see magic?” Celestia demanded, with no warmth in her voice.
“I don’t know the specific name, but there’s something in pechblende that will make things glow in the dark without magic.” He pulled out his watch, “Like the paint in my watch. It was a toy for the nobles until someone noticed it glowed around magic.”
“That’s the name for the waste rock from their silver mines,” Celestia said. “It literally means deception in griffon. But all it’s good for is yellow paint. And it doesn’t glow at all.”
“Their alchemists obviously found something, sister,” Luna said.
“I know Luna.” She turned to Rasheed, “What do you know?”
“Their alchemists started using a strange chart for ingredients. Looks like a young bull’s head made out of boxes. We’ve never understood it. They follow a philosophy called ‘atomic’.”
“That was discredited by Starswirl’s predecessor Borealis Ribbons,” Celestia said. “I remember the story of the duel where Borealis killed Leucippus in his youth at the Alexandrian wizard council.”
“Yes, and killing the grandson of the king of Thrace did wonders for making him the last Sorcerer Superior until Starswirl revived the council a thousand years after the city was burned to ashes,” Luna said, “We still remember the words his student Democritus screamed vengeance over his body. Was used to scare foals in our time. Now nothing is remembered.” She glared at Celestia. “And now ignorance seems to hath bitten Equestria in the arse.”
“Luna?!”
“Those are Grecian names,” Rasheed said forcefully. “Thrace was a griffon kingdom. The area always was, always will be, even without the empire creating that new puppet state after taking the Bosporus.”
“As was his mother and Democritus himself,” Luna said. “The old barbarian Griffons and Grecian horses mixed freely long ago in the great sea ports on the Raven Sea. Hippogriffs and Hippalectryons are Grecian words after all.”
“Ah what?”
Celestia sighed. “Normally a quarter griffon or later if there’s enough ancestry, but unicorn types can be born as a halfling when the unicorn magic becomes dominant in the unborn child.” She looked at Luna. “Hippogriffs marry each other or other griffons nowadays. I haven’t heard of one in over two hundred years.”
“Oh, do you mean the feather dusters the hippogriffs always drown?” Rasheed said. “We always assumed they could not live long due to being misshapen, but they have a name?”
Luna puffed up. “We art going to find Vegeta.” She flew away.
“Prince Rasheed,” Celestia looked at him. “Have you heard of the scholar and poet Linus the Golden of Constampedople? He lived a thousand years ago.”
Rasheed scratched his chin. “Wasn’t he the unicorn killed for insulting the future sultan by wearing flamboyant yellow feathers in his tail in his presence?”
Celestia gave an angry smile. “Is that how it is remembered in your country? Linus was a hippalectryon born to a Thracian-descent horse and Roaman unicorn. Thracians hippalectryons had a bit of a superiority complex compared to the newer foederati-born hybrids. They were cherished by the empire and proving your ancestry was a fast track for a family into the nobility. He was a very important stallion in his time. His shimmering mother of pearl fur, silver scales, and golden mane and feathers made him quite the heart-throb as well.”
She took a step forward. “I have had many dears over my uninterrupted life. My sister, has only had time for one. And for her it has only been five years since Linus was invited to your embassy to teach the young lord only to be supposedly beaten to death with his own lyre by a cranky foal. But your confession makes me think he was murdered before he even had a chance to take off his cape revealing his back feathers and wings. Be careful of your choice of words in the future.”
Celestia flew off after her sister.
“Seems both princesses are grieving,” Mido said.
Rasheed grimaced. “And emotional mares don’t think straight…”
“Whatever you’re thinking, don’t.”
Rasheed looked and saw Discord glaring at him with his arms crossed.
~~***~~
“So, what are you looking for now?”
Vegeta turned and saw Discord.
“Just getting a bird’s eye view. Just because there’s two near identical cultures doesn’t mean geography is the same. But judging by what I’m seeing, I think it is. Or at least close enough. Seas don’t end in needle points like this except in two spots.” He turned around, “The mountains are a surprise though.” Vegeta turned back around. “There’s a railroad station and it looks like the horses were in the beginnings of building up and dredging the fishing dock to make it available to larger boats. On Earth, whoever controls the sea between Egypt and Saudi Arabia has the entire planet dead to rights. And here it is under enemy control at the dawn of the era it will become important.”
Vegeta suddenly gripped his chest in pain.
Discord eyes widened. “Is it Pinkie?”
“No,” Vegeta doubled over, “Where’s Luna?”
Discord looked around. And spotted them on the ground outside the town.
“There.” He snapped his fingers.
~~***~~
Meanwhile, Celestia caught Luna and had gotten her to come down.
Celestia had Luna’s upper body completely covered in her wings like a tent.
“How could he say that… my baby… my tiny fluffy baby…”
“LuLu, your emotions are valid. But while history records you were his muse, the truth and the miscarriage were never public. Please calm down. It’s bad enough I had to explain Linus to him.”
“… Why do the stars let you have family after family while everything is taken away from me…”
“And you will never have the chance again if we don’t handle the current crisis. We can sob together over our losses later. Right now, we must be the rulers of Equestria. Leaders of the pony world.”
“*sniff* Not everyone can compartmentalize like you. You were always Starswirl’s favorite because of it.”
“What’s wrong? Luna!”
The women looked up and saw Vegeta run up and Discord land.
Vegeta slid to a stop in the sand. “Ok, who made the moon princess cry?”
Celestia raised her wing to block his view of Luna. “She’ll be fine. Give us a moment.”
A blue light pushed her wing down.
“Tia…” Luna said, turning off her horn. She wiped her eyes, “Thou saw us from the sky?”
“No. I felt you in pain. Discord found you.”
Luna looked up. “Thou felt our pain?”
“He was completely bent over,” Discord said. “I thought something happened to Pinkie.”
Luna gave a painful smile, “We can speak once this is all concluded.” She stood, “Did you find what you sought?”
“Yes, but that’s not important now. I don’t know what messed you up, but this trip down memory lane is going to get worse before it gets better and I’m already emotionally babysitting the cat.”
“We will right ourselves. Let us return.”
Luna spread her wings and took to the sky. Vegeta followed.
“Discord, wait,” Celestia ordered.
He dropped back down. “Yes?”
“What did Vegeta want? Quickly.”
“He wanted to see the scenery. He said on Earth, whoever controls the sea between Feligypt and Saddle Arabia can control the entire planet. And it became important during the war he thinks we’re headed towards.”
“I don’t see how… Yes, Feligypt now controls all the ports on both sides of the land bridge, but other than local trade, everything goes around Zebrica. Has since the Ottomanes took Constampedople. Even Saddle Arabia won’t be especially hard hit. Most trade reaches Bridlebad through the Pursian Gulf.”
“Well, the Griffon Empire didn’t put decades of time and money into Feligyt out of the goodness of their hearts. We know that for sure. They and Humans see something here in these 200 miles of desert that we can’t.” Discord snapped his fingers and vanished.
Celestia sighed and flew back.
~~***~~
Discord lurched forward. Then shook his head. His eyes kept spinning afterwards until he hit the side of his head twice. He glared daggers at Rasheed. “You are so lucky Celestia won’t let me turn you into a chicken for a day.”
Luna landed. Followed by Vegeta.
“Princess Luna,” Mido took a knee and bowed. “I am so sorry for your loss. I had no idea you were grieving as well.”
Vegeta looked wide-eyed at Luna.
“Rise, noble Mido,” she smiled softly. “While it is recent to me, it has been a thousand years… and it was not like politics allowed for any justice at the time.” She looked at Vegeta, “Or miracles in the future.” She then stood tall, stretching her neck majestically, and subtly tilting her head turning her nose up at Rasheed. “As royals we can neither give nor accept apologies without representing our nations. But I will assume over all this time Saddle Arabia lost the knowledge hippalectryon-style hybrids were viable children, or you would have prosecuted the culling of the newborns like any normal, civilized nation. Take the knowledge of your sins back to your nation, and I hope make the proper adjustments to your laws.”
Celestia landed next.
“I will inform my brother of this horrible tragedy,” Rasheed said, also stiff as a board, but with fear in his eyes.
“Well,” Vegeta smiled cheerfully, “Let’s end this awkward conversation about death with even more death! How are you feeling, Mido?”
“Vegeta! Sarcasm,” Celestia scolded.
Vegeta put his hands on his cheeks. “Gasp! The dark mage has a dark sense of humor?!” He then rocked back and forth, “Who would have thought?!”
Luna tittered through her teeth, then covered her mouth embarrassed. She trembled, failing to hide her need to laugh.
Vegeta looked at Celestia with a gloating smirk, then turned around back to Mido.
He had his paw over his mouth and tears in his eyes. “You’re definitely a soldier… but I don’t know of a griffon who would mock himself like that…”
Vegeta crossed his arms, “Sucks to be them then.”
Mido raised his head, a dawn behind his eyes. “Griffons suck.” He tittered. “Griffons suck.” He began to laugh, becoming more frantic and louder with each repeat. “Griffons suck. Griffons suck. Griffons suck!”
Vegeta’s eyes widened, then he smiled. “That’s the spirit.” He began pumping his fists in the air. “Griffons suck. Griffons suck. Griffons suck.”
Magic suddenly wrapped around Celestia’s and Rasheed’s mouths.
“Don’t,” Luna said softly but sternly. “This is psychologically important.”
Discord, hearing this, snapped himself a cheerleader’s outfit with a griffon’s head under a crossed-out symbol on the shirt. He began hopping back and forth with the pompoms high.
He joined Vegeta in the chant. “Griffons suck. Griffons suck. Griffons suck.”
Mido was now in hysterics. Screaming, laughing, and crying all at once.
Luna let go of her magic.
“May I remind everyone we are on a time restraint,” Rasheed said softly but sternly.
Luna rolled her eyes. “And I am saying we have all the time in the world.”
“Is there a way to speed things up then?” Rasheed was insistent.
“I already cast the swiftest possible without darkening the magic,” she said indignant.
“What do you mean?” he asked, suddenly remembering he was standing in front of Nightmare Moon.
“Dreaming is adjacent to waking. It is not an accident that those rescued from various mind controls describe it as a dreamlike state.”
“GRIFFONS SUCK! GRIFFONS SUCK! GRIFFONS SUCK!”
Mido was now rolling on the ground gripping his stomach.
“GRIFFONS SUCK! GRIFFONS SUCK! GRIFFONS SUCK!”
This continued until Mido was out of breath and hyperventilating.
Vegeta stopped chanting and waved for Discord to stop. He did not at first so Vegeta glared at him and cut his arm swiftly through the air.
Discord finally got the point and snapped the outfit away.
Vegeta knelt down. “Feel better?”
“A little…”
“Good.” Vegeta sat crossing his legs. “Catch your breath. No pressure. We have plenty of time.”
“You’re really good at this…”
“No. I have a good wife…” Vegeta clarified, pride in his voice. “And in-laws,” he added. “You like cookies and tea? Once Mom spots you, she won’t let you out of her sight until she feeds you.”
Mido tittered. “Sure… we can eat while getting my new leg.”
“So, what’s next on the agenda?” he asked.
Mido sat up. “Well… about an hour after we took the fort, a transmission came from Camelscus saying three trains of reinforcements would be passing—”
“Mido, that won’t be necessary,” Rasheed cut him off. “Let’s focus on this battle.”
“So you got your ass beat to a tune of what, another three, four thousand men?” Vegeta smirked.
“Blowing up bridges causing derailments is hardly a battle.”
Vegeta looked at Mido. “Do the words dynamite, TNT, and C-4 mean anything to you?”
“Yes, I know of dynamit. Not the others, though.”
“How, do you know about dynamite?” he stressed.
“It was introduced to us for mining and construction along with everything else after the treaty thirty years ago.”
“Then let’s assume the griffons have developed something more powerful if dynamite is public knowledge.”
“That… is a good inference,” Rasheed said reluctantly.
Vegeta stood. “Since we are being denied the spectacle of some steam engines bungee jumping without the bungee, let’s get back to the aftermath.”
“Yes…” Mido said, looking at the ground. He raised his paw.
Vegeta helped him up.
“So, what will you share with us next?” Luna asked.
“The griffons were gone most of the day. It was a completely normal occupation of a village. Yes, there were issues, but a few volleys made it clear it was futile. We moved everyone into the temple. Allowed for food and water. Temporarily returned confiscated earth-moving tools for proper burials. Took rotations praying five at a time with the prisoners at the calls…
“Then they came back…”
Vegeta immediately went to support Mido hearing the crack in his voice. He steadied him.
Mido looked up at Vegeta, who smiled and nodded. Mido looked down, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes.
Suddenly Vegeta heard a buzzing sound.
“Hey! It’s me. Let me be a little fly in your ear so you know what’s going on. The felis are also speaking their version of Arabic when there’s no griffons nearby.”
Vegeta looked over at Discord, who started to whistle.
Vegeta rolled his eyes.
~~***~~
The sun was low, but not close to sunset.
Then Vegeta reminded himself that meant absolutely nothing here and it could be dark at any moment.
The flock of griffons returned.
The mercenaries were manic with fresh blood on them, including their beaks.
Vegeta remembered what Discord had said and took a sharp breath.
Several had crates suspended in a net and gently lowered it. They then pulled off the lids and one grabbed a bottle and screeched holding it high. The others rushed over and began grabbing bottles out of the hay.
Vegeta guessed it was more alcohol.
One of the roman cosplayers shouted from the air. “(Unteroffizier! Where are you? Report!)”
Mido ran up and the griffon landed.
“Centurion,” Mido saluted.
“(Your report.)”
“(52 civilian deaths. 27 from assaults. 25 escape attempts. 4,018 prisoners. 930 stallions: 113 elderly, 572 prime, 245 of age youths. 1,860 mares. 1,228 children and infants. All prisoners currently being held in the temple. All magical artifacts not of immediate utility destroyed, non-magical weapons seized. Only magical artifact of power is the crystal powering the water well. That has been successfully drawn down to three weeks’ worth of magic. The civilians were given ceremonial burial in family plots. Soldiers were buried where they fell with the local cleric being brought out to bless the battlefield once completed. No unusual events.)”
The centurion nodded. “(By the book as always. I wouldn’t expect anything less from the 5th Hawara. Have the earth moving tools been destroyed yet?)”
“(No. Only the offensive weapons, per regulations.)”
“(Good. We have been ordered to deliver the soldiers’ severed heads to the Sultan. Should be close to 2,000 for an outpost this size. Get men together and start the process. Tomorrow we will select any remaining strong individuals to pull those carts and escort them along the coastal road before blowing it up behind them. They should reach Tabuck before hunger and thirst become an issue.)”
“(And those that don’t have heads anymore?)”
“(Gather what’s left in cloth confiscated from the homes. Include part of the neck and mane to get the point across.)”
Mido saluted and ran off.
~~***~~
Mido skipped forward without prompting. The sun was even lower the next moment with partially dug up bodies and piles of heads around. The felis had taken their jackets off in the heat as they breathed heavily on enchanted shovels and horse-sized swords.
“(I’m tired…)” one said.
“(Just think of what it would be like without the dirt magic,)” the one next to him chuckled, wiping her brow.
“(Don’t let the griffons hear that,)” Mido said, walking over with a clipboard. “(How many we got over here now?)”
“(The two stacks of 25 and whatever is in the third. Hey! What’s the tally marks in the wood?!)”
“(Just threw the 18th,)” another shouted, carving a notch in a stick. “(It’s the last one over here!)”
“(Then come help with these!)” he called back.
“(58 in section 9, incomplete)” Mido mumbled, writing it down. He then pulled out his watch. “Sun goes down in about 25 minutes, take a break until I get back from my report.”
“(That won’t be necessary.)”
“Centurion!”
Everyone saluted.
“(How many now?)”
“(Let me add this up real quick…)” He looked up at the griffon. “(1786. And I still haven’t checked sections 10 and 11 yet.)”
“(Excellent. From the records we found there were only 1900 soldiers here. With the ones we took care of ourselves in the fort, you should have 64 heads left to find. Your unit did fast work for two hours.)”
“(We are honored by your praise,)” Mido bowed his head.
“(We have also successfully taken Sharm el-Shagya. They are sending one of their mag-trains up to us with another 25 hessians, the reward for your unit, along with a few other things. I need you and your direct underlings to wait at the station to unload while I—)”
Suddenly a huge explosion came from the town, and water began to fall from the sky.
The centurion was not amused. “(While I deal with the drunken idiots who just blew up the sole water crystal for the village…)”
“(Yes sir!)” Mido saluted.
“They blew up the water purifier?!” Celestia gasped. “Do they expect their reinforcements to drink mud or sea water?! The nearest city is only a week by hoof.”
“Do they hate all magic so much…” Luna muttered.
“The answer to that is yes,” Rasheed said.
Mido grabbed Ahmed and two other felis and went to the station to wait.
“(So, what do you think we’re going to get?)” one asked as he hopped on a hay bail.
“(Probably just a medal and some extra pay,)” Mido said. “(That’s all we got when we took Constampedople.)”
“(Ah, yes, the conquering hero of Constampedople and Clysma,)” the second said.
“(Don’t let the griffons hear you call it that,)” Mido chuckled. “(They’ve already renamed it Suet.)”
Vegeta flinched.
“(What do you think they’ll rename Sharm el-Shagya and Aqabarb?)” the first said.
“(Who knows. I mean, changing it back from Istanbit was symbolic. And Suet is technically a new fortification while they’re stripping the old city down to its foundations. They may not do anything, at least for a while.)”
“(Mid… Unteroffizier,)” Ahmed asked. “(Is this normal… for griffons?)”
“(For Hessians, it’s touch and go. Some are as professional as soldiers; some are kitten comic book barbarian wannabes. But the military? No.)” He shook his head, “(The decapitated heads idea probably came from some newly appointed edgy teenage noble.)”
Ahmed sighed relieved.
“(Did you see the new gewehrs the griffons brought? They just evaporated wherever they hit the horses. Some of my bodies didn’t even have a neck, forget a head.)”
“(And what about those things that shot fire out the back they used to take the shield down? Those look fun to shoot.)”
Mido chuckled, “(We only get the leftovers. You’ll have arthritis in your paws before you ever get the chance to hold one.)”
Ahmed stood and walked down the platform.
“(Where you headed, Stabskorporal?)” the second said.
“(Bathroom,)” he said walking into the building.
“(I’m going to take a piss myself,)” Mido got up and followed him.
~~***~~
Mido found him hiding in a corner behind boxes.
“(Hey, Ahmed.)”
“(Unteroffizier.)”
“(No one’s here right now,)” he said sitting next to him. “(Just uncle is fine.)”
“(I don’t think I can do this anymore… the new gewehrs, what they do, it’s too much.)”
“(It’s definitely gruesome…. More like artilleriefeuer than a feuerwaffe.)”
“(How can you stand that?)”
“(The training you need to do in the empire gets you used to blood.)”
“(I don’t want to advance anymore… I think I see a desk job in my future. Wait?!)” he looked at him. “(You didn’t send the recommendation letter yet, did you?)”
Mido shook his head, “(I haven’t had time. Just catch yourself. You’ll be in a lot better position going forward with a combat medal. You’ve taken five towns and Mitla Pass. The entire central peninsula is ours because of this unit.)”
“(And the griffons…)”
“(They didn’t catch up to us until they captured the northern road. We got here so fast we even took Al Kuntillah from under their beaks.)” He hugged him, then pointed up, “(The Central Road and the Wadi Gerafi are ours and cannot be taken away.)”
“(Do you really think heaven would find honor with what happened today?)”
“(Don’t worry about the pagans. Their actions are theirs. Ours is ours. Ok?)”
A head peeked over the boxes. “(And to that I agree.)”
“(Centurion?!)” Mido shouted. He bowed on his hands and knees, “(Please forgive Ahmed, I take full responsibility as his uncle.)”
The griffon flew over and landed in front of them. “(Rise, the both of you.)”
They both got up at attention.
“(Stabskorporal, do you know what most Hessians are?)”
“(No, sir…”)
“(Military rejects and dishonorably discharged. If you find a good hessian, odds are they are a veteran or a relative trying not to dishonor one even further. Don’t let their behavior discolor your uniform.)”
“(Yes, sir!)”
“(Unteroffizier, there has been a change of plans. I’m being called back to Caitro to personally report on your successes. The commander that is escorting the new hessians will take over temporarily. I and the staff will return in three weeks.)”
“(Swift travels to you, Centurion Alaurence.)”
He grinned. “(I’m going to miss that mispronunciation while in Caitro.)”
“(Farewell, Centurion Lorenz.)”
Centurion Lorenz nodded and looked at his watch. “(Still 45 minutes until the train comes. Gather everyone and spread the word we are leaving. Keep an eye on the time and return promptly.)”