He lunged.
Twilight instinctively flinched as her magic flared.
When impact did not come, Twilight opened her eyes to find the emperor suspended before her, but rather than his claws at her throat, she found her horn inches from his.
He made an utterance, too quiet for her to hear. She looked up, but rather than the anger of a moment ago she found that his eyes looked almost empty.
"Why..." he asked in little more than a whisper.
"I don't-" Twilight began before seeing that the Emperor was not focused on her, but rather the griffoness.
"Your quest to see me dishonored and bound in shame has succeeded, but why would you see me made a ghost rather than die with honor? Why do you wish me such shame?" The Emperor roared at the Griffoness, sounding almost betrayed.
"Now look here, she just saved-" Twilight started, stepping between the two, before being sidestepped from behind as the griffoness marched past her towards the suspended Emperor.
"For the very same reason you made me one!" The griffoness all but shouted back, prompting Twilight to be ready to suspend her too if necessary, "Because I love you! I could not bear to see you die!"
Unable to process the situation Twilight's concentration broke, unceremoniously depositing the emperor on the stone. Twilight turned, ready to seize him once again, but stopped when she found him seeming no less dumbstruck. Then it processed.
"Wait, you-?" Twilight blurted, gaze rapidly shifting between the two.
After a moment of pause, the emperor lowered his head, beak pointed to the ground, "I am sorry. I did not mean to-"
"There is no need for that," The griffoness said, rearing up to place her forelimbs around his neck in a hug, rubbing her beak to his, "You must consider yourself in this too, our family is not complete without a father, honor or no honor."
Twilight watched the scene in shock, a minute passing before she regained control of herself, "What?!?" she sputtered, eyes darting between the intertwined griffons.
Quickly they broke the hug, lowering their beaks to the floor in deep bows, "Into your sworn service Empress, I follow my wife and my line to where I belong. From now till death renewed release me, I am yours. Never shall I raise talon nor beak other than in service to you, never shall I speak other than in supplication to you, never shall I take breath other than to please you. Upon all that I am I swear, the moment I cease to serve you shall I be struck down. My life is yours."
Twilight's confusion did not lessen as the former emperor and the female griffon spread their wings out so that they partially rested upon the floor before her.
"I beg forgiveness for my conduct, and shall receive any punishment you desire with welcome."
"And I as well," the griffoness added, "I have spoken far out of turn, and shall bear any punishment you see fit."
Twilight recognized their posture from old pegasi artifacts; they were offering their wings to her. For a culture of flying beings, where flight was an important part of life, the meaning of the gesture was not lost on her.
"There is no need for that." Twilight said quickly, but the pair remained in place.
"Actually..." she said thinking it over, "I do have something for you..." she said gathering her magic.
"POP!" The manacle previously on the griffoness's right ankle jumped over to his.
"There, now your punishment is to not die before it's your time. As for you," she said turning to the griffoness, "I want you to continue to make sure he's keeping good on this, alright?" She backed off with a smile, "Now rise, we have a lot of work to do." Her smile dying a premature death as she said it.
The two rose, "I thank you for your generous forgiveness Empress. I did not wish to deceive, but I knew not how to convince my husband that his pride was keeping him from seeing reason."
"I'm glad you did. I would certainly not have carried out his desire, but without your input I may not have known the consequence of my refusal. For that I am thankful." She said in response.
"...in fact," she added with a smile to match her sudden inspiration, "You said I was in control of the capacity of your... uh... service right? Then I would like you both to be my advisors. Who better than those who know the job best?"
"We would be honored." She said alongside her husband consenting with a bow.
"Rise, there is much to be done," they did as she said, while she herself began listing off what needed done.
"...and now I have to arrange both sides of the accord. The troops need to be re-supplied if our stay is extended for too long. The populace is going to need... Yes?" Twilight asked, becoming aware that the griffoness was once again bowing, "There is no need to bow. As my advisor, I ask that you speak freely."
"Thank you your eminence," She said, still bowing, "May I suggest, that addressing the populace be made a priority? I fear that some incorrect signals may have been sent during your arrival."
"Oh?" Twilight asked, betraying a little nervousness, "Like what?"
"You made a point of how you ended the conflict bloodlessly?" The griffoness asked leadingly.
"...yes?"
"Well, I fear that the lack of prisoners in your parade of conquest may have given the wrong impression..."