Allied armies battered their way into Gryphos. Under a barrage of shell and shot and unicorn spells, Equestrian, Saddle Arabian, and Zebra troops were in the griffon capital. Fires had broken out in the south, and smoke arose above the embattled city.
Shining Armor could see it for himself; he was no longer in a battle for his own life at the moment, and since the griffon forces had been driven back, he could now survey the battlefield without an immediate fear of being killed. His own force, combined with those of the new arrivals, was crumpling up the enemy attack force, which, assailed from three sides and receiving no support from the fourth, was in an unenviable position. Minute by minute, it was being squeezed to death. Sometimes, griffon soldiers simply gave up rather than continue a futile struggle. All too many continued fighting, however.
That makes no sense. They can see that they're losing. Why not give up?
Of course, that was the enemy's position regarding Equestrian resistance at Trottingham not too long ago. Then, Equestria's cause didn't look like it would inevitably prevail. The griffons had been demanding Equestria's surrender. Of course,they were still calling for it, not that that would happen now, but at that point, many ponies had questioned whether victory was possible.
That was different. We still had an entire country behind us. Losing Trottingham temporarily was bad, but it wasn't an unmitigated disaster. Equestria could, and did, fight on, and now look where we are. The Griffon king has nothing but bodies now to fight with, and his city's almost gone, as are it's defenders. So why do they keep up the fight when it is so clearly beyond rescue?
There were certainly concerns of the population of the griffon people that they would be annexed after the war was over. Griffons who might have sat on the sidelines or even helped the Allies instead took up arms, whether or not they loved their sovereign. Fighting had broken out in the city itself as the denizens there woke up to the fact that they were being invaded. However, Celestia and Luna had already decided that griffon independence would remain untouched, though the current regime would, of course, be overthrown. And the Noble Council had spread the word that, at least for the moment, they were the recognized government of the Griffon Kingdom.
Obviously, too few of their own people believed them.
Of course, the soldiers doing the fighting had probably been told that they, and their families, would be killed if they gave up, so their resistance might not be all nationalism or loyalty to the Emperor.
The pocket of resistors continued to fight, even though the fight was a forgone conclusion. "I want the pocket isolated and contained," he said aloud to his aide. "I want everyone else to go around them. If they want to go on fighting, they can, but the majority of our forces need to get in the city. Bring whatever ladders you can round up, and have our boys brought onto those walls by any means necessary."
"Yes, sir. I'll see to it that the necessary field commanders are told."
The order wasn't particularly needed. Already, some of the attacking troops were pulling away and turning toward the walls. But Shining wanted organization, or as much as could be brought to bear, in this assault, and this wasn't a particularly organized result.
He pointed toward the city walls. There would be no retreat this day. The soldiers around him gave a cheer that would have raised the roof if they had been in a building, and they surged forward.
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James ran toward a window, raised the butt of his rifle, and smashed the window open with a furious hit. He wasn't the only one; others smashed in windows, some not even bothering with bashing in the glass first, instead throwing themselves through.
They were met, not by soldiers, but by palace staff, who, until then, had been going about their jobs. Most of them stopped and stared. One, a female griffon (whatever they were called) dropped the platter she had been carrying and screamed; the china tea cups and kettle shattered loudly as they hit the floor.
He looked around; no enemy soldiers so far.
"Sir, where do we go?" an earth pony asked.
That was an interesting question. If I were an evil emperor bent on world conquest, where would I have my throne room? "Probably on a higher floor," he replied. "I think we'll find him there. Someone else, get out a flag. After we take him, wave it from the highest place you can safely get to and wave it as hard as you can."
"I've got one here," a soldier said, holding a banner.
"Alright then, stay close. Come on!"
"What about them?" a unicorn asked, pointing toward the shocked griffon stewards.
"Oh. Right." James turned toward them. "Uh, go hide. Until all the shooting stops. And tell all your friends to do the same."
The palace servants skedaddled, some of them climbing over one another in the rush to get away.
"Um, okaaaaay..."
"You could have been more tactful, sir."
"Well, you don't tend to think so clear when you're in the middle of a battle." And when one of your best friends is... He pushed that thought away as best as he could. "Anyway, let's go!"
He turned to the left and toward a set of stairs leading to a twin door. The soldier's who had broken their way into the palace followed.
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The Emperor's claws dug into the balcony as he watched the city fall. Some southern districts were on fire, true, but there had been no secondary defensive line in the city itself; the plan was to ruin the invaders on the front lines before any penetration had been made, and knowledge of a second line would have just encouraged the conscripts to retreat. Now, enemy tanks and troops were roving the city almost freely, and while some of the populace were putting up a fight, none of it was stopping them. Now the palace itself was under assault.
It was obvious the city could not be held. And, despite everything that had been done, there was no way to reverse the situation.
"Captain, I want you to go to the dungeons," he said, turning around. "All the unicorns and others we were using to better our country... eliminate them, along with the fools who protested my rule."
"I'll see to it, your Highness. Anything else?"
"Yes. Destroy all records of our research. Our enemies shall not have access to it. Finally, set fire to the palace. I will not be taken as a prize."
"Understood, sire."
"Go, then."
As the captain was leaving, another griffon, this one of the palace staff, ran in. "Sire, sire!"
"What is it?"
"Enemy troops, in the palace! I saw them, they just jumped through the first floor windows!"
"So they've done it," said the Captain, who had stopped just beyond the doorway.
"My orders have not changed, other than this; gather what remains of my Royal Guards in my throne room. And tell the squires to ready my armor."
"It shall be done, sire." The captain finally left.
The Emperor drew himself away from the window. The Empire might fall, but it would not die without one last fight.
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The halls were quiet as James and the Equestrian soldiers walked through them. The only sound were his own footfalls and hundreds of hooves thundering slowly through the palace.
"Too quiet." Shield had caught up in the aftermath of the wall fight, and was right beside him.
"I agree." James raised his voice a little; "Watch those doors as well as the windows. If we get ambushed, I don't want us caught napping."
"Wasn't like this in Chrysalis' palace," Shield went on. "We had to fight room by room for that place, and it was half ruined by the time we were done."
"True. Then again, her hive had no choice other than to obey her commands. Griffons have a bit more freedom of action, in case you haven't noticed."
"Oh yes, the spineless cowards who cheered while their armies were advancing, but don't have the guts to defend their own capital now that it's under attack," Shield snorted contemptuously. James knew him enough to know that he didn't mean that; the pressure of the moment was rather intense, and the veteran was probably trying to boost his own confidence.
"How do we figure out where the throne room is exactly, other than just up?" the Guard stallion asked.
"Hmm. I suppose we could check rooms as we go by." James stopped, walked to the right side of the hallway, and opened a door there.
A group of chefs looked up from the meals they were making. For a moment, they just stood there, stunned.
Then one of them chucked a knife.
"Whoa!!!"
James shut the door just in time; the knife buried itself in the other side of the door - right where his head would have been - with a loud thud.
"Nope, definitely not in there," he said quickly. "Let's keep looking."
"Right. I'll post a guard here; those guys are under lockdown, they just don't know it." Shield turned his head around, pointed to two ponies with a hoof, and then pointed at the door. They nodded, and took up position there. "Well, that's one down."
"I'd expect the throne room to be a bit more obvious than that anyway," James said. "An entire hallway leading to massive doors, then probably something like the Royal Sisters have in Canterlot."
"I guess so. We should have asked one of the servants instead of just having them flee like frightened chickens."
"Problem being, how do we know they'd tell the truth?"
"I guess we don't. We could threaten them with punishment, I guess."
"You have to remember, the thought of punishment by their own ruler has been the norm since he came to power, and even more so after he purged the clans. That's not an easy legacy to throw off."
"I suppose that's true." Shield stomped a hoof, hard, on the floor. "We'll have to find it ourselves, then."
Just then, there was a loud explosion outside. The crash of wood breaking apart sounded through the windows.
"What was that?"
James ran to the window, Shield in close pursuit. The main gate was visible for this particular location... well ,that wasn't entirely accurate. What had been the main gate was visible from here. The ornately crafted wood had been reduced to rubble.
"I'd say that Barrel is gate crashing the party."
"Well, we wouldn't want to disappoint our new guests, now would we?" Shield asked mischievously.
"No, I guess not. Let's-"
At that moment, a gunshot ran out; a bullet hit the marble just next to James' head and ricocheted. Turning to look, they saw a squad of heavily armed and armored griffons aiming at the advancing column.
"I think our free walkover has just ended."
"Where did you think it began!?" Shield asked, less benevolently as he ducked, got out a gun, and fired back.
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Barrel smiled as he raised a hoof in the air in triumph. His tanks had blown the gates to pieces. Now...
He pointed the same hoof forward after a moment. There was no need for anyone to ask what that meant. The general's own tank, in the lead, lurched forward, and the ones behind it followed.
As Barrel's tank passed through the gates, some stunned griffon soldiers stood some distance behind the ruined doors. A number were down from splinters and other injuries, but a few brought up their guns and began firing. It was not a good decision; the bullets simply sparked off shields, or else off the armor of tanks that had lost their shields.
It almost wasn't worth it to fire on them, but Barrel knew that if the tanks just passed through these guys, then the regulars would take the fire, and they were vulnerable to bullets, whereas the tanks were not.
A Gatling tank began firing. The enemy went down, one after another, as the gun swept the courtyard. One of them dropped the ground, pulled out some sort of stick with a round object on the end, and tossed it at a tank. The object exploded on contact with the tank's shield.
It was one of the biggest surprises of Barrel's life when the shield simply flashed and vanished.
"Shoot him down! Any of them with those things, shoot 'em down!"
The griffon who had thrown the projectile was blown to pieces by cannon fire; tow others who had begun to do the same thing were gunned down by a combination of tank guns and rifles fired by regulars.
It didn't take more than thirty seconds for the survivors to decide to surrender; they threw down their guns and raised their front claws to the sky.
"Took you long enough," Barrel said as the tank passed by the new prisoners. "Round up the ones with the new bombs and question them," he ordered the soldiers nearby. "I want to know how they did that, so we can negate it's affect on future designs."
The soldiers nodded, saluted, and went off to obey orders.
Good thing they didn't develop those things until now. It might have changed the course of the war some if they'd come out three months ago. Not that these little bombs could do as much damage as their users might hope; the thrower had to come close enough to actually toss them with some chance of success, which left them vulnerable. However, it was only a taste of what the other side was dreaming up. No doubt, when the city was captured and this madness ended, more examples of griffon magitech would appear. And there was next to no doubt that that knowledge had come at the expense of Equestrian citizens.
Barrel forced himself out of his thoughts. A battery of anti air guns wasn't far away. Apparently, they hadn't noticed the break in and were busy trying to shoot down pegasi who were coming over the walls.
The battery didn't last long either. By the time any of the crews realized the tanks were approaching, it was too late. One of the gun crews tried to turn their piece on the advancing vehicles.
"Fire!"
The Gallop's gun thundered. The shell blew up the limber behind the gun; the gunners were tossed in all directions as flame and smoke enveloped their former posts.
The other guns stood no chance. They were utterly out of position to resist. The best option the crews had was to try to get away. Some of them did. Others tried to turn their pieces around. Shells and Gatling fire wrecked the guns and slew or wounded the crews.
Within a minute, the battery was nothing but bodies and ruined limbers and cannons. There were cheers from the sky as the pegasi realized that the menace had been crushed, and they dived on the palace and it's defenders.
"I think we've got all the air support we'll need to win this day," the driver commented.
"I think so too. And they'll start landing on various floors. That'll mess up any defense they were planning."
"With all due respect, sir, don't you think we should find a way in? Now that we're in, it would probably be just as rude to simply leave."
"Yup. We find the doors into the actual palace building, do the same thing we did to the gates, and invite ourselves in. Shouldn't be too hard."
"Hopefully, they don't have any more of those shield draining bombs."
"Or anything else that's especially dangerous. Let's get moving again!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The fighting in the palace was hardly what anyone could call sane. James was taking cover behind a doorway as rifle fire on both sides went through. He leaned over, fired a couple of shots - more for suppression than anything else - and was greeted with two bullet ricocheting off his cover.
Shield was also firing. "Ugh, can't they just give up?" the Guard stallion asked, reloading. "I don't want me or anypony else to die with the end of the war so close."
"Me neither." James raised his rifle and blind-fired around the corner. "But it looks that way."
Suddenly, several of the griffon soldiers fell, all shot in the side.
"What the?"
"The pegasi, sir. They've finally made it through the anti air. Look, they're flying through the window right now!"
Shield had pointed with his hoof, but it was hardly necessary. Pegasus ponies were flying through the hallway that the earth ponies, unicorn, and lone human had been trying to advance through. In an instant, the griffon defenders, who had at least stalled the advancing Equestrians if not stopped them, were in dire straits. they were being attacking from the front, from their right, and from the air all at once. The pegasi, flying fast, weren't as accurate as they might have been on the ground, but they were many, and their guns continued to spit lead.
James took the chance to target a griffon who had been, until a few moments ago, a rather annoying sniper and pulled the trigger. The enemy soldier fell from multiple wounds, and James wasn't sure whether his shot had brought the enemy soldier down. Not that it mattered all that much; the defenders had been outnumbered even before the pegasi had entered the picture. Now it was less of a fight and more of a shooting gallery.
The fight was over pretty quickly. James emptied a clip during the attack, but by the time he reloaded, the enemy were all down, dead or wounded. None had bothered to surrender. Considering that they were probably the emperor's personal guard, and taking into account the ruler they served, that wasn't surprising.
James, Shield, and the rest of the Equestrian troops filed through the doorway where they'd been stalled. The location the emperor's guards had been defending was full of bullet holes, and discarded weapons and armored bodies lay in various poses.
As Shield walked by one of the fallen bodies, the griffon, who had been playing dead, reached over and tried to stab him. however, the attack was badly aimed, and bounced off the keratin of Shield's right front hoof without hurting it or doing more than denting it. Shield responded by stomping the same hoof on his attacker's face. The block of keratin smashed into the griffon's face, and he howled. Shield then took his attacker and put a hoof on his neck. The griffon struggled, but between being both shot and stomped on, he was in poor condition to fight back as his neck was squeezed.
"Submit," Shield demanded. "Or I'll stay here like this till you either do or die."
"Curse... you... Equest... rian!" the guard choked out. "I... submit..."
Shield slowly removed his hoof. "Remember that. We've won this war. Now it's time for peace."
"The Emperor... matters more than the individual..."
Shield ignored that and turned toward a pegasus captain who had flown in. "Have you located the throne room? We haven't found it yet."
"I think I might have seen something... yeah, now that you mention it, my boys flew past a window about four or five stories up from here. There were something like fifty guys in there, and one of them looked pretty important. We didn't get a close look, but..."
"Good. Think you could-"
"We could try, sir, but they have a bunch of rifles pointed out the windows now from that room. It's not as bad as flak, but we'd get hurt going in."
"We have the numbers. I'd like you to try, but don't be heroes."
"Understood, Major. We'll do what we can."
"Meanwhile, we have to find our own way up," Shield went on. "Let's get going."
"You sure you don't-"
"Yes. It's one thing to ferry us up a wall we've all but taken. It's another to try flying us around the rest of the place. It slows you down, and if they get you, they take us down too. I don't intend to give the enemy a two for one deal. We'll just go up the stairs. Have your guys take as much of the palace as possible."
"Yes, sir." The pegasus saluted. "You heard him," he added, raising his voice so the others could hear. "Secure the palace, on the double!"
As some of the pegasi flew out, James marching into the hallway proper. To the right, not far from the doorway they had just walked through, another set of twin doors stood. "We might try checking this way."
"Hopefully, another band of cooks with knives ready to throw aren't just behind it." Shield stepped forward.
James tried turning the knob. It wouldn't open. "Ugh. Locked."
"No problem." With that, Shield spun and bucked the door, which was no match for his hooves, or those of most ponies, for that matter. The doors crashed to the floor, ripped off their hinges.
"Nice."
"Might have done more if my hooves were properly shod, but not bad even so." Shield stretched a little, then noted, "Huh, leads to another, even bigger inner hallway. Why am I not surprised."
"Probably because your job before the war was mostly guarding the palace in Canterlot."
"Good point. Now-"
Off to the left in the new hallway, unfamiliar voices could be heard.
"Alright, guys," James said, "if these new boys are soldiers, we ambush them. If not, we let them go."
He ran through the new hallway all the way to the other side, taking cover behind a rather Gothic-style rust-colored pillar, just moments before griffon soldiers came through yet another door far to the left of the one Shield had just bucked down.
"-en't sit right with me. Killing them-" one of the soldiers was saying.
"The Emperor gave me, and therefore you, direct orders," an officer with numerous medals said. "It is inescapable. The enemy may have won the war, but they will not have access to our special projects. That means all evidence, including the prisoners, must not be recovered."
"Killing unarmed-"
"They are living, breathing, walking evidence of our research. Their deaths will mean that the enemy cannot recover anything from their memories. They must be destroyed, along with the political prisoners. At least we can deny a complete victory to His Majesty's foes. That is final."
The first soldier sighed.
James had heard enough. He took aim just as the griffons were about to pass them by. "Don't move," he said loudly.
The griffons halted, shocked, as Equestrian soldier surrounded them. "Where did you come from?" one of them asked.
"That doesn't matter so much as the fact that you've been caught like rats in a trap. Rats about to go and commit murder. Arrest Mr. Medals. He'll be going to a dungeon, just not the one he planned to go."
"How's that different from prisoner of war status?" a pony soldier asked.
"He'll be staying there. After everyone else has been released."
"You can't do that!" the officer yelled. "I received direct orders from the Emperor himself! I can't be treated as-"
"You were casually talking about killing pony prisoners, along with your own people," James interrupted. "Are you sure it's wise to protest, given who you were about to wrong?"
"You wouldn't dare..."
"You're right. I wouldn't. They might, though, when I'm not there to save you."
That settled that. The griffon officer shut up as a unicorn levitated a rope and tied his front claws behind his back.
"Sir, this is all well and good," Shield quipped, "but don't you think we should send a detachment to the dungeons to make absolutely sure that..."
"We will. Send a platoon to secure the dungeons, which will probably be on the lowest floor possible."
"Right, then. First platoon, second company, front and center!"
About thirty-five stallions came forward. "Sir," the lieutenant in charge of them said.
"There are prisoners down in the dungeons here who need to be freed; ponies and griffon prisoners in for political reasons. Free them."
"What about the real criminals, sir? How do we differentiate the real crooks from the false ones?"
"Don't you think we're already fighting the actual bad guys? Anyway, it should be obvious. You have a couple of Guards in your company, and we've all done time in the Canterlot dungeons. They should be able to sniff out who's in for stealing and who's in for just disagreeing with the emperor. Now, go; we don't know if they have other units on the way to kill our people down there!"
"Yes, sir!" The lieutenant saluted briefly and and then gathered the platoon. "We ought to ask just where the dungeons are. We have no idea where to look, sir."
"And we need to know... yes..." Shield turned to the prisoners. "Tell us the locations of the throne room and the dungeons."
"No," the griffon Royal Guard captain replied.
"I wasn't asking you." Shield turned to the griffon who had been unwilling to kill the prisoners down in the dungeons. "I'm asking you," he went on, pointing a hoof at the griffon soldier.
"Don't answer him," the enemy captain said. "Remember your duty-"
"Quiet!" Shield snarled. "Well, son, where are the dungeons?"
The soldier turned his head away and said nothing.
"Soon, are you going to just stand there and say nothing? You know that what you were going to do is wrong! You have a chance to help us end this. We wouldn't be here now if you people still had any chance of beating us."
"... I cannot aid you in annexing us."
"You won't. I swear, cross my heart," Shield said, using his right hoof to do so, "we're not here to annex you. We want peace, and your emperor won't allow us to have it. You know it's over. Please help us to do the right thing and bring an end to all this, and free your people and our own before they're killed in cold blood."
"Do this, boy, and you'll be executed."
Shield turned toward the enemy captain. "Get him out of here."
"I'll see you-"
"You have no authority anymore, prisoner. Your former rank and privilege are gone, as of now. Like I said, get him out of here."
"I..." the other griffon said as the others were led away.
Shield turned once more back to him. "You won't be helping us to take over your country. You'll be saving it. I've been a Guard for years; I'm no changeling, but I'm pretty sure that you're someone who disapproves of the way the fake emperor on the throne has been ruling since he tried wiping out the clans. If we take him down, you'll have freedom again, and the right to disagree with whatever sovereign comes next without being murdered for it. Safe for your family and thousands of other families, not just in this city, but around the kingdom. No more pointless deaths."
Shield pointed his hoof toward the left wall, towards the door the Equestrians had come through. "Your own ruler has given orders for trebuchets to fling flaming death into his own city to keep it out of our hooves, hands, and claws. He'd rather destroy his nation rather than accept this defeat. Can't you understand, son?" the grizzled Royal Guard went on, voice rising. "He doesn't care about this kingdom, only himself. And he'd see it destroyed. He'd see you, your family, all griffons dead before yielding the throne, after starting an entirely unjust war for world domination against us. How much longer does this stupidity have to go on!? It's over. And any refusal to lay down arms from here on out is just delaying the inevitable, and getting more people killed for no good reason."
Shield turned away from the griffon. "But," he went on, closing his eyes, "if you don't wish to help us, that's your choice. Watch the city burn. Let friends and family die. I'm sure your emperor would approve."
"...Wait," the griffon said, as Shield began to walk away.
"Yes?" Shield asked, head turning and right front hoof raised.
"...The main staircase is three doors to the south and to your left. Once you are at the bottom, the dungeons are just past the wine cellars."
"...I see. And the throne room?"
"...We just came from there. But if I take you, you have to promise that the Emperor does not see me, nor his officials."
"You're going with the group that's going to the dungeons. That said, if we find out you've lied to us, we'll be very unhappy with you. Got it?"
"I've told the truth."
"Hopefully. Now, where exactly is the throne room?"
"Go through the door we just came through, turn left, and go up the big cylindrical stairs at the end. You'll come to a gigantic antechamber to your left facing the west, with the throne room at the very end."
"Good boy. Lieutenant, take him with you. Rescue our people down there, and set free the politicals."
"Yes, sir. Come along." The lieutenant motioned with his rifle. The griffon went.
"Let's go and see if the Emperor's accepting visitors," James said, as the platoon left.
"Wouldn't it be just too bad if he isn't?" Shield asked sarcastically.
"Yes, wouldn't it?" James asked, as they got going, the rest of the unit at their backs. "I'm sure the secretary might let us in, though."
"Secretary?"
James pulled out one of the grenades the enemy soldiers had been carrying, tossed it into the air, and caught it. "Got us a good one right here. She might, er, re-schedule whatever else the Emperor might have going on."
Shield laughed, but sobered up quickly. "Let's get this over with. Too many have died as it is."
"...Yeah," James answered about ten seconds later. "Too many..." His mind focused briefly on the past year, of flashes of battles past. "Too many," he repeated. "Faster. The sooner this ends, the fewer die."
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A few minutes later, James and Shield, and the soldiers they were leading had made it to the top of the staircase that the interrogated griffon had mentioned.
"Wow, pretty big," Shield said as he eyed the antechamber, which was indeed rather large, not to mention long, with numerous white pillars made in ancient Greek style on either side. Suits of armor, some also Greek-looking, others with a more medieval side to them, decorated the walls, along with archaic swords and portraits of griffon kings.
"That one had quite a belly on him," Shield said, as they passed a painting of a particularly wide griffon.
"And that one looks like he was barely tall enough to fit in the picture frame," James noted. "I kid you not, in the medieval kingdom of Poland, there was a ruler nicknamed Wladyslaw the Elbow-high."
"How many people did he punish for calling him that?"
"As far as I'm aware, no one; it was a sort of affectionate teasing, and he seems to have been a relatively decent monarch, unlike the one we're about to deal with."
As they passed through the antechamber, a halberd suddenly came down from one of the pillars, missing James by inches. James reacted by rolling to the right, pulling out his revolver, and firing a triplet of rounds into his attacker, who fell; three large holes in his armor.
Five other griffon Royal Guards came from behind pillars and rushed toward the Equestrian troops, shouting as they did so.
Most of them didn't get far. Four of them were quickly shot down as they came on. One of them, however, a rather large griffon, continued to charge despite his numerous wounds; he brought down his sword-staff on a beige-yellow earth pony, who screamed as the blade bit. James shot the attacker in the head, finally bringing him down, but it was too late. The injured pony held a hoof to his wound, screaming wildly as two medics tried to calm him down enough to patch him up.
"I'm going to have a talk with that kid when we get out of this," Shield said, as one of the medics forced the earth pony to lie on his back while the other, a unicorn, attempted to use his magic to bind up the big cut.
"Let's go, everyone," James said, forcing himself to look at the door at the end of the hallway. "Rifles out, and shoot anything with a weapon!"
They charged forward. James was easily outpaced by the ponies he was supposed to be leading. In response, Shield thrust his head under James' legs and then quickly bumped him onto his back.
"Can you give me a little more warning next time?" James asked, trying to balance out.
"Sorry, but we need to move."
"Point taken, I guess."
They reached the end of the hallway without any more ambushes. Unfortunately, that didn't stop some soldiers from shooting paintings and armor on the walls. "He said to shoot anything with a weapon," one of the soldiers protested to a noncom who had caught him vandalizing a portrait with bullets.
"Remind me to court martial him when this is over," Shield said, letting James off.
"I will, if I remember to do so," James replied. "Now, for the doors..."
"If you leave it at the base of the doors, sir, I can blow it up with a spell," a unicorn said.
"Alright." James planted the grenade. "Get back a safe distance, all of you, and I want the other unicorns to be ready with shield spells if this goes wrong."
The various ponies nearby ran for cover as the volunteering unicorn began to aim. James ducked behind the nearest pillar as the soldier fired off the spell.
The explosion was disappointingly small; when James looked around, he saw that while it had damaged the bottom of the doors, it had not broken them open.
"Oh, come on!" the unicorn shouted. He began shooting other spells, more destructive ones. Other unicorns began following suit, along with other soldiers who fired rifles at the door. The door bent and was badly dented from all the attacks, but did not give way.
"Great," James muttered. "Anyone have something that can cut through metal?"
"We didn't exactly bring a cannon with us," Shield noted. "Wish we'd thought to bring more explosives." He stared at the door. "How was it able to hold against that onslaught anyway? Our combat spells should have done it in."
"Maybe they have a ton of stuff piled against it," James murmured. "It's what I'd do."
"Regardless, we need to get through. What now?"
The sound of galloping hooves met their ears. James turned around. An earth pony was running up. He stopped in front of them and saluted. "General Barrel's compliments, and he's trying to bring some Gallops up a big staircase. They're encountering difficulties, but Barrel at least should be here soon."
"How soon?"
"Well..."
The sound of a light rumbling came from the other end of the antechamber. It got louder and louder, until a blue Gallop tank with a familiar earth pony stallion's head and torso sticking out of the turret came around the corner.
"Hope I'm not too late to the party," Barrel shouted over the noise of the engine. Ponies scrambled to get out of the way. "Sorry fellas."
"You're just in time, actually," James said. He pointed to the doors. "We're having a bit of trouble here."
"I think my tank's cannon can put paid to them," Barrel replied. "Get out of the way, everypony. This could result in a lot of shrapnel, and I don't want more guys hurt than necessary."
There was another short scramble, this time to get out of reach of the incoming shell's explosive range.
"Load HE."
There was the sound of metal screeching and of the breach closing as the tank crew went to work.
"Aim for the center."
The gun jostled slightly.
"FIRE!"
The gun let loose with a roar that made the ears of everyone ring, with an almost simultaneous detonation just following it.
Looking up from behind the pillar he'd taken cover behind, James saw to his delight that the shell had succeeded in badly buckling the doors. They hadn't broken yet, but it was unlikely that they would stand for much longer. Shouts came from inside the room, though given the hammer James had taken to his eardrums, he wasn't quite able to make it out.
The tank fired twice more; the second shot hammered the doors even more. The third shot broke through, actually slamming the doors - and the junk piled behind them - open with it's impact and explosion.
"Come on!" James yelled, running toward the busted doors.
The ponies behind him let out a yell of "Hurrah!" as the galloped forward; the sound of thundering hooves shook the air.
As James entered the room (which was mainly white, except for the throne, which was mostly red with a bit of black lining), he saw that the griffons behind it were still trying to recover; some were on their backs on the floor, others were just now peeking from behind cover...
...and the Emperor was sitting on his red throne, watching the invaders flood in.
James had taken this in at a glance; he quickly took cover behind a ruined couch and took aim at the Emperor as the griffons took up their weapons. "Put 'em down!" he shouted at the defenders. "We've won!"
The Emperor simply stared. The Imperial Royal Guard picked up their weapons and brandished them at the Equestrian troops.
No one really moved. Both sides continued to stare at one another as more ponies flooded in.
"So, puppet of Celestia," the Emperor said, pointing a claw at James. "You've made it this far."
"That's right. Now tell your minions to stand down and surrender yourself." He cocked the pistol. "I'm not going to say it again." He jerked his left thumb back toward the tank just behind them. "We have more than enough insurance to finish this on our terms."
Still, no one moved.
Then, a cackling laugh arose, from the Emperor himself.
"Fools. It does not matter what you've brought. I will not be a toy in a cage for you to play with." With his left, claw, he motioned to someone out of sight.
Two large objects that had been covered by sheets were uncovered, one on either end of the room. Two big cylinders, full of some substance that kept changing color, though the one James saw most was green.
"If my empire dies, I shall not survive it's demise," the Emperor stated. "Nor shall you."
"Bombs!" Shield said, quietly but audibly. "Magic bombs!"
"Correct, pony. These bombs, or so I've been told by my scientists, have enough force to blow this room and the remaining upper half of my palace apart, and rain down the ruins upon this city. Many traitors and fools who challenge me shall perish as a result."
Didn't count on this, James thought. Come on, what to do...?
James put his fist to his mouth... which gave him an idea of how to communicate without the enemy noticing. Another idea came up a second afterward.
"Can you tell a unicorn to discreetly pull the wires on those bombs?" he whispered into his fist.
Shield turned his right eye toward him, but apparently he hadn't heard properly. James repeated himself, again whispering. This time, Shield got it and gave a ghost of a wink in reply.
"Then what's the whole point in this standoff?" James asked out loud. "You know this can only end one way." I've got to stall here...
"Oh, I think not. Celestia, that soft-hearted fool, would not think to risk the lives of the subjects of my empire, not to mention her own, just to see me dead. As a result, she will be willing to negotiate. My empire will live on, under my rule. Perhaps I won't have Equestria, but at least I shall have united a divided nation and crush the traitors who have dared to resist the necessary restructuring of my empire."
"You're crazy. We're on the verge of beating you into the dust. You think we'd give up just like that?"
"You don't know the weak-hearted Celestia as I do, boy. She'll go to any lengths to stop that destruction. She's too soft."
"Then... why are we here in Gryphos, and not in Canterlot with Celestia and Luna being forced to sign a surrender document?"
"Because they couldn't bear to take up the mantle themselves, and gave it to you entirely to bear. The same with the weak race that you've led so far."
"No. It's true that I helped train, organize, and lead an army, but Celestia and Luna gave us the needed support to undertake our campaigns. And if Equestrian ponies were as weak and peace-abiding as you claim, then no amount of training or discipline could have enabled us to come this far, and subdue two threats to peace."
"Fool. You seem determined to view your actions as correct and righteous. I have moved beyond such sensitivities in order to do the work that must be done. Has peace allowed the Griffon Kingdom, divided and squabling with itself, with clans alternatively at war and with a series of differing laws and customs, into one Empire? No, it was I who did that."
"By slaughtering everyone who refused to go along with you. Your orders caused a civil war that have brought you down."
"Wrong. It was traitors and fools who refused to accept a new age who caused the internal conflict. If they had been willing to submit, they would not have suffered, they and their families. It is only these traitors that are blocking the rise to Empire. I will do what I must to crush them and erase their very identities, so that no one will remember them."
"Not going to happen." James cocked the revolver. "You're done. One way or the other, you're done. And the only place you'll be going is prison. Same as Chrysalis."
All the while, James had been watching a Griffon Guard, who had come running into the room from the right on all fours. He had approached the bomb to the right (that is, to James' right, on the Emperor's left) without being noticed. His claws seemed incapable of leaving an almost hoof-like shape, and as the guard approached the bomb, James could have sworn he'd seen fangs poking out. At once, the whole thing became clear.
There must be changelings in this detachment, or among the pegasi outside, and somehow Shield slipped them a message. But I have to keep stalling in order for this to work.
"Bah ha ha ha ha! I'll blow this room, and this palace, to pieces before such a thing happens, or have you not forgotten? You and yours will die and the city will suffer for it's betrayal of me, and the best Celestia and her pathetic sister will gain is an empty victory. But that won't happen. You're not stupid enough to shoot me and thereby trigger my guards into blowing up the bombs."
"So you die without a chance at redemption."
"I need no such thing," the Emperor declared, waving his claw in disdain. "All the wrongs and atrocities you accuse me of are only wrongs and atrocities in your idiotic eyes. I did what I needed to make the throne worthy of sitting on, not just a loose authority, relying on underlings to vote the right way. If it weren't for you, we would be in Canterlot now, forcing the Royal Sisters and their race into submission to our Empire. The world needs a guiding hand to keep it in check, one custom, and one law."
"There already is a Guiding Hand," James replied. "And you certainly aren't fulfilling His goals."
"So, the account of your blasphemy against our gods is true. That will prove useful propaganda in the coming months. But regardless, your words and efforts are in vain. All the griffons and our allies that you have killed, all the soldiers on your side who have died under your orders, have died to no purpose."
James felt a sinking feeling in his chest. He lowered the revolver an inch and turned his head down and to the right.
"Altruistic fool. As I said before, I am no bound by such silly customs as good and honor. I am free of any restraint. And I will do what I must, no matter how many must pay the price. These small lives are of no concern to me. All that matters is my will. And my will is that your victory is nullified."
James raised his eyes slightly; the false guard had bitten through a set of four big wires without anyone else noticing. That was good, but it wouldn't last long; he'd have to disable the other bomb too. Even only one went off, it would likely set off the other as well.
"Perhaps more soldiers under me have died than should have, because of my decisions," James said, raising his head back to it's former position. "I could have done better, and I could have done more. But I accept the responsibility of my actions. And your actions have led your nation to ruin. We will not be giving up what we've fought died for so long to achieve. Those deaths were not in vain. And we have won this war, like it or not. You are going to be tried and punished for your crimes, you and your surviving officials. Nothing," he said fiercely, as the fake guard's horn became visible, along with a green glow around it, "can stop that now."
The Emperor must have noticed the green light, because his eyes turned to his left.
But it was too late. Before he could even say anything, the disguised changeling had grabbed onto the other bomb's wires, all the way across the room, and had pulled. The wires came out, sparking wildly.
"NO!"
"Anyone moves, he's dead!" James yelled, pointing the gun at the Emperor. "Throw down your arms! NOW!"
The griffon guards hesitated.
"Kill them!" the Emperor yelled, pointing at the Equestrians.
The guards began to surge forward....
...only to be shot down. Others were tackled as pegasi came flying through the windows. The changeling who had disguised himself as a griffon dropped his troublesome disguise and fired a number of spells at the legitimate Imperial Guards.
A half-minute later, all resistance had been subdued. James walked up to the throne and pointed the gun at the Emperor's head. "It's over."
The Emperor's eyes glazed over with hatred. Out of the peripheral view of his left eye he saw something in the tyrant's right claw.
BAM!
Something grazed James' left side. He pulled the trigger on reflex. The bullet sliced the side of the Emperor's face, but James barely noticed, dropping the gun a second later and falling to the ground, clutching his injury. At the same time, a pained eagle cry came from the throne.
"Sh-should have known-"
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Silver Shield saw it all, as if time had slowed down; the Emperor pulling a gun out of his cloak, the shot hitting James, James' own shot clipping the side of the Emperor's face, and James falling down as the Emperor clutched his face.
He snapped out of it and lunged at the Emperor, striking him with such force that the entire throne fell onto it's back, with Shield standing over it and it's occupant. He slapped the gun away and punched the Emperor in the face.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH! Damned pony! DAMN YOU ALL!"
"Shut your putrid mouth!" Shield screamed in his face. "I have half a mind to kill you, here and now!"
"You...!"
Shield lifted his head and nodded toward three soldiers, two of them pegasi and an earth pony. "Tie him up."
"You can't do this to me! I am Emp-mrmrmpphrhrmp!"
One of the pegasi assigned to tie him up had broken off a leg of the throne and shoved it in the Emperor's mouth. The other pegasus and the earth pony tied up the former ruler.
"Where's the standard bearer?" Shield demanded.
"Here, sir," said the soldier, a sea-green earth pony, holding the flag depicting the Royal Sisters.
"I want the rest of your squad to go with you; got to the highest place you can and wave that thing like crazy over the palace. It should tell everyone that the war is over."
"Yes, sir!" The soldier and his squadmates, a yellow pegasus, two earth ponies, and a red unicorn, saluted before leaving."
Shield turned back to the captive ruler. "Take him to the Princesses, courtesy of the Equestrian Army. He'll make a fine gift for them, I imagine."
The ex-Emperor screamed from inside his makeshift gag (which his guard had improved on with duct tape while Shield had been preoccupied with the flag bearer), but it was no use. They lifted him up and carried him back through the blown up doors.
"Thanks for coming when you did," Shield said to the leader of the pegasi who had flown in. "We might have taken some losses otherwise."
"All in a day's work," the pegasus replied.
With business seen to, Shield turned back to James, who was lying on the ground, a hand over the wound he'd just taken. There wasn't as much blood coming out as he had feared, but it still wasn't good.
"James? Jim, can you hear me?"
"Hee hee... It's only a flesh wound," James said, so fast that it was difficult to tell one word apart from the other.
The odd laugh and the pace of James' voice convinced Shield that something was wrong. "Medic! Get a medic over here!"
A grass-green earth pony with a red cross cutie mark galloped up, medical saddlebags on his back. "Come on, let's get a look at that wound, son."
James barely moved. Shield and another Guard flipped him over - gently - so that his back was on the floor. James was still conscious, but clearly out of it. The injury had punched a nasty hole in James' side, and blood was flowing out; while not inherently fatal, he needed to be bound up and patched up fast.
"Can you get him to the camp?" Shield asked.
"Not sure he'd make it that far, and until the anti air guns stop firing entirely, we can't be sure of flying him there safely," a pegasus medic who had just arrived answered.
Shield thought quickly. "I think we took over some civilian houses a little while ago. They're not far from the second wall that's just outside the palace. Could you take him there?"
A couple of pegasi, including the medic, thought about it. "Probably. We'd have to dive right away and fly real low, but it's possible."
Sorry, James. I know you hate flying, but you'll die if we don't do this, and I'm too much of a friend of yours to allow that to happen. "Do it, and do it fast."
James didn't really respond, but his right hand began moving, searching for something. It found the handle of his gun and gripped it tightly... or most precisely, gripped it as tightly as he could, which wasn't very tightly at this point.
Shield took the gun and easily wrenched it away. "I'll hold on to it for you," he promised as the medic pegasus lifted James onto his back. "Keep a couple of guys on either side of you," Shield added to the medic.
"Don't worry, Major, we'll get him there safe," a pegasus regular vowed.
The medic spread his wings, James slumped on his back; he had already been tied there, to make falling off less likely, but Shield still felt uneasy as the pegasi took off, leaving the throne room.
Shield lifted the gun in his right hoof. It was probably supposed to be heavy, but it weighed very little to an earth pony who had been in the Royal Guard for years and had gone through rigorous training and exercises. Shield couldn't use it, since the trigger guard blocked his hoof from being able to reliably fire it.
However light it might have been, and however difficult it might be for anypony other than a unicorn or alicorn to use, it had been James' signature weapon throughout most of the war. As a friend, and as a soldier, Shield felt a responsibility to take care of it until James was well again.
Please, please, Lord, grant that he does become well again...
--------------------------------------------------------
Minutes later, Private Spear Mint, Sergeant Blue Skies, and Corporal Bright Beam raised the Equestrian banner over the Griffon Palace and waved the flag for all around the city to see.
At first, it wasn't noticed very easily. However, eventually, the attacking troops saw it, and from various areas around the city they let loose a cheer that some later historians would claim shook the stars; others, more sensibly, noted that it shook the hearts - not to mention eardrums - of those who heard it.
The war was won. Besides a few pockets of resistance, what remained was to make a lasting peace, and bind up the wounded.
------------------------------------------------------------
The sounds of battle became less as Celestia and Luna watched the fighting. Each of them were levitating a pair of binoculars to their eyes to that they could see.
"I suppose that settles that," The Solar sister said as the Equestrian flag flew from the palace.
"Hmmm," Luna replied, less at ease. "Let's just hope this assault cost us as little as it possibly could."
"May it be so."
Just then, a pegasus flew in from the city, landed in front of them, and bowed.
"Speak," Luna commanded.
"Your Highnesses, we have taken the palace and captured the Emperor."
"Ah, so this business is wrapped up," Celestia commented, smiling a little.
"Major Silver Shield sends his compliments, and says that your gift in regards to the Emperor will arrive soon."
"Very good," Luna replied, but then noticed something. "'Major Silver Shield'? What of General Lavigne?"
"I'm very sorry to report, my lady, that the general was wounded in the final fight for the throne room," the pegasus answered, using his left front hoof to nervously rub the opposite leg. "He has been brought to a field hospital established inside the city. Our medics and doctors are doing their best for all the wounded as we speak."
The sisters shared a nervous look. "We will be coming as soon as we can," Celestia stated anxiously. "We must do what we can for our people, and our allies."
"I'm... not sure that's advisable," the pegasus said. "There's still pockets of resistance."
"Could you lead us around them?" Luna inquired. "Obviously, you've come through alright."
"Well," the pegasus said, rubbing the back of his head, "I guess, but just in case, it would be beneficial if both of you used shield spells on the way."
"A good precaution. Fill us in on the details of the battle as we go," Luna said, spreading her wings in preparation to fly.
"Yes, Your Highness," the pegasus said, getting ready to fly as well.
Too many have already given their lives in this war. Please, whatever God is out there, please, keep James, and all of the surviving soldiers and people safe and strong, Celestia thought as she cast a shield over herself, spread her own wings, and lifted off to fly into the city.
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