Hayden watched the Stonebeaks come. It was just one ship, as they had thought—but as they assembled before the city, an increasing number of vague outlines appeared there. They weren’t getting close to menace the city this time. Apparently there had been enough survivors of that first attack to guess what might happen to them if they got close enough for the canons.
A shame. They might’ve been able to score several kills before the Stonebeaks got coordinated enough to attack. There would be no way to hit them at such a range. No doubt they would stay far away until the battle began.
The embassy ship moved slow enough that Hayden’s troops were able to deploy a pavilion on the undamaged road leading into the city. There were crops growing out here, crops Hayden somehow knew would never grow long enough to be harvested. “Even if we win, this battle will be terrible.” How many lives had she taken already? How many was she willing to take?
She knew the answer to that last question. Evening Star would protect Icefalls no matter what enemies stood against it. She would tear down the sun if that was what it took.
There weren’t many of them out here. Hayden, and Luna, and four of the Blackwings with their armor and rifles. It was the first time Luna had noticed them. “These soldiers… their unit is unknown to me. And their equipment. Who are you, soldier?”
He straightened. “I’m Sideswipe, Princess. Sargent Sideswipe of the Blackwings.”
“They’re special forces,” Hayden supplied, before Luna could inquire further and make the soldier uncomfortable. “Trained using human techniques. They fight hopeless odds and bring victory every time.”
“Oh.” Princess Luna seemed to look him over for a moment longer, then she shrugged. “You accomplished so much up here in so short a time. If only there hadn’t been a war… I can only imagine what might’ve been achieved.”
“When the war is over, we can still achieve it,” Hayden said. “Everything I’ve done to fight—these were the things I never wanted to bring to Equestria. You saw my first invention—it wasn’t a weapon. It was something I want everypony in Equestria to have one day.”
There was no more time for banter. The Stonebeak ship tossed a massive hunk of metal overboard, which landed with a crash in the field of wheat. It dug up a row, spraying dirt the whole way, before the ship high above had come to a stop. Then someone tossed a rope ladder over the edge. Three birds lifted off the deck, their wings almost transparent as the sun caught them. They circled once around the ladder and the pony struggling to use it without falling, before descending to the base and waiting.
“Who is that?” Hayden squinted at the figure. It was a female earth pony, with splotchy fur and a heavy collar around her neck. It was a small miracle that she could climb down a rope ladder without falling to her death.
“Translator,” Luna spat. “They have griffons who know our language. But they’re mocking us. They want to show off the fact they’ve enslaved ponies. Anger makes a pony stupid. If we’re stupid enough to violate a flag of truce, attacking the city seems justified.” She looked up, addressing the soldiers. “Unless they attack us, do not retaliate to anything they do. Don’t raise your weapons except in self-defense.”
Hayden nodded as subtly as she could behind the princess, in case any of them might be having doubts about obeying her. They didn’t seem terribly concerned about the ordinary chain of command.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Hayden muttered. “Someone with the authority to make decisions. Will they keep their word?”
“Yes.” Princess Luna didn’t even hesitate. “Griffons always keep their word. Personal honor is critically important to their social structure, since it allows relationships in their society to exist. So long as we’re careful with the wording of any agreements we make, it’s safe.”
“Good.” Hayden took a step back, behind the princess. The pavilion over their heads was big enough for twenty ponies to stand inside comfortably, with a large white flag hanging overhead. They stood almost in the middle of the pavilion, with the other half empty and waiting to receive their guests.
“Just try and stall with me,” Luna whispered, very quietly. “If we can get them to come back for negotiations tomorrow, that should probably give the Equestrian army enough time to get here. Less time we have to fight them alone, the better.”
A few moments later, and the griffon delegation strode in.
Hayden could smell the stink of them before she saw them—they stunk like vultures, and it was no mystery why. Some of the bones wedged into their armor looked sickeningly fresh.
The tallest and largest, the one leading the other birds, was a male taller than Princess Luna. A full pony skull was mounted to his helmet, bleached white by time but still frighteningly real.
She could see her guards tense—though they remained where they were. All four of them watched the griffons, rifles slowly turning to track them as they entered. It would be trivial to kill these birds, as they had killed so many ponies.
For their part, the birds carried only primitive weapons. Crossbows, swords, and a gigantic trident in the claws of the lead bird. Nothing else, though. They filed in, dragging the earth pony along by a chain. The lead bird spoke in a low, gravelly voice. Hayden found she could understand him, even though she had never heard the language before.
“Sister of the sun is here to die with her city. It is good to see the face of a pony who is not afraid of suffering.” He laughed, and the other birds laughed with him—Hayden couldn’t see what was funny about it.
A second later and the tiny earth pony muttered an approximate translation, never looking up into Luna’s eyes. She looked like she’d been beaten many times, parts of her fur no longer growing back.
This is why we have to fight, Hayden thought. I hope we can free you. But even if they couldn’t, they could prevent these griffons from taking any more land. Prevent them from locking any more ponies in chains.
“Your confidence is unearned,” Princess Luna said, her tone as icy as the moon ever had been. “Considering what my flagship did to your fleet. How long do you think it would have taken us to go through the rest of your ships? An hour?” She glanced to the side, feigning curiosity as she met Hayden’s eyes. “Evening Star. How long?”
Is this really how diplomacy with griffons works? “Not long,” was all she said, voice low. She didn’t look away from the griffons as she said it. Even though she knew it wasn’t true. Of course it isn’t how diplomacy with griffons works. Luna already told me they haven’t done this before. Maybe she should try to reign the princess in. Her confidence in Hayden’s abilities was either bluffing, or outright misinformed.
The pony muttered in the griffon language—another imprecise translation. The bird holding her collar yanked on it slightly, and suddenly none of the griffons were smiling. All of them glared at Luna, sharp beaks glittering. One of the birds in back—the only female—looked for a second like she might spring forward and attack Luna right here. Hayden wished very much that she would. The Blackwings probably did too.
“Your information is out of date,” said the bird in the helmet. “My name is General Graeham. I am nephew to the Khan, ruler of all creation. You do not know what you will be fighting here.”
“If you came to threaten us, you’re wasting your time,” Luna said, her voice scornful. “I have seen into the gnawing abyss, Graeham. I have heard the terrible mysteries of the Unmade. I have flown in unhallowed skies. There is nothing aboard your stolen ships that can frighten us.” She gestured behind her with a wing, to Hayden again. “We have a new High Marshal of War in the north. Perhaps you’ve heard of her. Tell them what you told me about your kind, Evening Star.”
Princess, I really hope you know what you’re doing. There could be no arguing with her now, though. She couldn’t present even an appearance that they might not be operating in total unity.
“I have come from another universe,” Hayden said, without emotion. “I come from a land where our wars consume millions of lives. My kind wield weapons that could destroy all life upon our planet if we wished it.” She met their eyes, unblinking. “When I came to Icefalls, the ponies here were as weak as those you fought in Vanhoover, or anywhere else.”
Now she could feel it. The seed of Luna’s anger. It came from the sight of this enslaved pony, and it burned so hot she couldn’t help but feel it too. “If you come against Icefalls, I won’t just destroy your army. I will slaughter your soldiers like animals. When I’m finished, I will go north and reclaim what was stolen from us. I will burn every city and plough salt into the earth, so nothing will ever grow there again. Corpses will pile so high that ponies will name it Desolation evermore.”
She could see the eyes of the birds move from Luna to her. She felt their barely-contained anger in the way they shifted on their claws, breathing hard. It was like watching a bull trapped inside its pen, ready to break out and crush everything that got in its way. But they didn’t, at least not yet.
“I’ve been sent to accept your surrender,” said Graeham, his voice tense. He didn’t seem to think they could understand him, because every line or two he would stop and wait for the translator. “We know what you think is going to happen. You think the Solar Fleet is coming to fight beside you. Our spies see differently. Celestia will never come. She will leave you to die. We will not be frightened away from this place with words alone. We know the truth. We know there is only one ship in your city. We know your weaknesses.
“But If you open your gates and allow the fleet in, then Khan will offer you the guarantee that not one pony will die. You will take your place in servitude, yes. But it will go far better for you than if you fight.”
Princess Luna seemed stunned by this threat. Hayden far less so. We don’t know he’s telling the truth. There’s no reason to take his word for it. It’s what he’d want to say regardless of the truth. But there was no way to explain game theory to the princess just now. “I don’t understand how you could claim to keep that promise,” Hayden said. “Griffons eat ponies. You can’t promise that none of our citizens would die.”
Graeham laughed again. Apparently her question revealed something, though she couldn’t guess what it was.
“You believe everything you hear,” Graeham finally said, his tone amused. “Those are stories from ancient days. Before King Sombra, before King Grover. Before we discovered cows. Why would we still eat ponies in an age when we have something better. Cows weigh as much as four of you, they don’t rebel, they don’t complain when you feed them only grass. They don’t try to escape. The only ponies eaten today are in ritual.” His beak split in a sneer. “It is the ritual of a conquered enemy. The ritual waiting for you if you do not surrender.”
Princess Luna finally seemed to recover. Maybe she’d figured out what Hayden had been thinking. Or maybe she was just in denial. “You are a liar,” she said, voice as flat as Hayden’s. Hayden could see from the bird’s reaction that Luna had been right about the importance these birds put on personal honor. “If you really know our plans, you should flee while you have the chance. Flee into your wastelands before more of you die. You will not set hoof inside our gates.”
“We will see,” Graeham muttered, turning sharply away. “You do not know where to find a liar, princess. But you will know her soon enough.” Their delegation turned back towards the ship, and left the ponies behind.