Equilibrium shivered as she looked out across the jagged, snow-covered mountains that surrounded the capital city of Razorclaw. They glowed in the moonlight, cold and stark, so unlike the rounded, gentle peaks of her home and native land. She'd mentioned the mountains of Canterlot to her gryphoness liaison, but she'd just laughed. 'Such things aren't mountains,' Stoops From High Places had said, 'they are just hills.' She'd had a chance to go walking one day while the team was waiting for a replacement spellcraft module to repair a faulty controller; sore hooves and a mild case of hypothermia convinced her that the gryphoness was telling the truth.
This floor of the hotel was designed for the non-gryphon -- it actually had heating and glass in the windows -- but despite these comforts she still felt the cold, even if it was in her mind rather than her body. Part of that came from the locals -- oh, they were friendly enough when you got to know them, but even those she worked with on a daily basis seemed to treat her with a mixture of pity and contempt. She was sure that part of it was down to her lack of wings, but she couldn't shake the feeling that somewhere deep inside they saw her as prey.
"The fact that I'm pregnant must make me an even more attractive target," she muttered darkly, looking back where her once sleek flanks bulged. Her time was still a few months off, although the exact date was always uncertain for a first foal and she could hold it back for a couple of days if absolutely necessary -- at least that's what the nurse had said, how that was supposed to work she didn't know. Hopefully my body will figure it out, and I should be home long before that, she thought. At least it doesn't slow me down and, as all these rooms are built to gryphon scale, they won't have to widen any doors.
It was far too early to be up, but the odd twitches from her belly had driven her awake and so she stood, gazing out at the icy splendour of the mountains under a waxing moon, feeling lonely. "Watch over him for me, Luna," she whispered to the sky, "keep him safe." Keep them all safe.
Equilibrium sighed, puffed moisture across the glass and used the tip of her horn to draw random patterns in the droplets. She hadn't really wanted to go on this trip -- the company had given her the choice and she had intended to turn them down, but she'd seen the look of suppressed fear on Neighmann's face when she'd mentioned her thoughts to him. She'd stared at him for a long minute before asking him if he'd prefer it if she went, and would always remember the way he looked away, unable to face her, then nodded.
She knew what he was doing for Equestria, knew the horrors that might be unleashed if he made a mistake -- would be unleashed within the next few years, like it or not. After that first indiscretion on the night he'd received his job offer, Neighmann had always confided in her, unable to keep from sharing his burden with the one he loved. She'd welcomed it, of course; they were mates, partners in everything. Even if it had resulted in some sleepless nights.
She'd searched his face for the information she needed and remembered their late night conversations about Discord. 'He likes to play with his food' and 'he has a special affinity for ponykind and the Princesses in particular' were the two phrases that stuck in her head. So she'd agreed to go away, far away and surround herself with as many non-ponies as possible.
Turning away from the window, Libi closed the shutters and settled back down on the sleeping pad, turning up its built-in heating elements before lifting her computer from its case. "Well, Junior," she said to her swollen belly as she waited for the machine to start, "if we're both awake, I guess we should at least get some work done."
===
Stoops From High Places -- fortunately she didn't mind being called 'Stoops', a fact that relieved Libi no end -- came for her an hour after dawn. The gentle knock on the door roused the mare from the light doze she'd fallen back into, lulled by the luxurious warmth from the sleeping pad. Jerking upright she glanced around confused, then slumped when she realised where she was.
"Celestia dammit," she muttered, yawning mightily while arching her back and stretching out all four legs. "Coming," she called out, blanking her computer and struggling to her hooves.
Opening the door with her magic she waved Stoops inside and trotted over to the vanity stand to at least attempt to make her coat presentable. "I'm sorry, Stoops, I didn't have a very good night -- only managed to fall asleep a couple of hours ago." She applied the brush to her mane, watching the gryphoness in the mirror as she did so.
"Ah... the little one keeping you up already?" Stoops said, mesmerised by the movements of the brush in Libi's telekinesis. The gryphoness' Equuish was a little stilted, but she'd improved quickly over the last week of technical discussions. Better than my spoken Gryphic, anyway. Libi had no issues understanding the harsh, subtle language but, lacking a syrinx, actual speech was far more of a challenge.
She stayed in the doorway, not wanting to crowd the unicorn; Stoops was average size for her kind, but that made her bigger even than most stallions. She was only a little taller than Libi, most of her extra size coming from the length of her torso and the pair of chestnut wings that seemed massively oversized to the Libi's eyes. Like the vast majority of Razorclaw's inhabitants, Stoops had the white-feathered head and tawny hindquarters of the most common eagle-lion gryphon, indicating that she hailed from the southern end of the coastal country.
Equilibrium grinned slightly as the gryphoness' great yellow eyes tracked the brush. Unlike many gryphons, Stoops From High Places had done some travelling -- probably why she was in this job -- but obviously not for a few years. Even in the more cosmopolitan areas of Razorclaw's capital the overt use of magic would attract stares; just think of the show she could put on for a crowd of farmers or backwoods gryphons! Probably get lynched, she thought, grin fading a little. Gryphon folklore was riddled with stories of witches; they never had happy endings.
"He has his off days, just like the rest of us," she said, running the brush in long curves through the cream fur of her rounded belly and along down her tail, careful of the mating band still at its base. "There, that will have to do. I'm afraid I haven't eaten yet, do you mind if I grab some breakfast? I'd love for you to join me, but..." Equilibrium trailed off, looking embarrassed.
Stoops laughed, much to the Libi's relief. "I understand." She leaned forward conspiratorially, one set of fearsomely sharp talons held up in a mock attempt to shield her beak from onlookers. "Tell you truth, the stuff you ponies eat make me feel a little ill, not to mention the quantities! Why, if a gryphon your size was eating that much, she would be stuck on the ground for a month!" She reached back into the corridor and produced a bulky package. "I hope you do not mind, but when reception said you hadn't been down for breakfast, I took the liberty of ordering for you."
Equilibrium smiled broadly, stomach taking that moment to rumble loudly. "I think that answers your question; you have my everlasting thanks." She dropped her panniers onto her back, grumbling slightly as she had to let the straps out another notch, then placed her computer in one side and the food parcel in the other. Reaching back into the pack she pulled out an apple and bit into it noisily, sighing with contentment and smiling inwardly at the expression of mild distaste that flitted across Stoops' face. "Lead on," she mumbled around a mouthful of fruit.
===
This part of the world was mountainous, with little in the way of farmable land. Gryphons were creatures of the high, cold places -- and for the most part of their history this had suited them perfectly. Obligate carnivores, they had preyed on the abundant fish and animal life of their harsh land and flourished. The modern age had seen a proud people undone by their success; improvements in medical care and the reluctant introduction of farming had resulted in a booming population over the last thousand years.
Equilibrium mulled this over as she stared at the chariot with its four gryphon pilots dropping down on the roof landing pad. Not a chariot, she thought, more of a palanquin, then tossed her head and wickered a greeting as Rheostat joined her at the edge of the pad.
Rheostat was a dark red earth pony, probably viewed as even more useless than she was by the general population. Fortunately he didn't give one horseapple for what, in his words, 'the feathered, friendless masses' thought. He was her right-hoof stallion, with a level of expertise in the engineering that went along with spellcraft converters that dwarfed her own. Rheo gave her a tired nod in return, ignoring the blank-faced looks the gryphon pilots were giving him, then jumped up into the compartment and dropped himself into one of the four padded recesses that were the only concession to comfort. Lost in his own world, he pulled out his computer and settled down to work through some hardware routing issues in the plant model.
Libi joined him more sedately, slamming the doors with her magic, much to the apparent irritation of the closest pilot. Unwilling to start work immediately, she pulled out her breakfast pack and placed it on the floor between them. Opening the bag she rolled a bundle of carrots in his direction; almost stereotypically for an engineer he often forgot about food and Libi was sure he'd not eaten since yesterday morning. Without taking his eyes off the screen or stopping his manipulation of the touch interface, Rheostat reached down and picked up one of the orange roots, holding it in his lips and biting it off in chunks. Equilibrium watched for a second to make sure he was going to take another, then turned her attention to the city.
Through the scuffed windshield -- a necessity in this icy air -- she watched the buildings start to move. Unlike a pegasus chariot, the gryphons only had enough magic to lift themselves and whatever they could hold in their claws; there was no subliminal tingle of natural magic here. A pony team would be able to pull just from the front; gryphons needed teams front and rear for balance.
Razorclaw, like Goldenwing and the other gryphon states it bordered, had a turbulent history by Equestrian standards. They fought, sometimes with each other and sometimes between themselves, building up and tearing down hierarchical societies that tended towards military juntas. The last such coup had been a few decades ago, and the current political landscape was a more-or-less democracy, abet one that heavily favoured the incumbent. The military was still a powerful part of the state, and took a more-than-reasonable share of the economic output.
She'd expected to have her own transport, and it had been an unwelcome surprise to discover that was not going to be the case. When she'd discovered this, shortly after entering Razorclaw, Libi had asked the Consul about the lack of available powered transport and he'd rolled his eyes. They were a proud people, he'd said. If you can't get about on your own you were a burden and didn't deserve to live. Used to Equestrian ways this sounded appalling and she'd almost accused him of prejudice. He'd smiled sadly at her expression, going on to explain that as carnivores they needed a lot of land for their population; there just wasn't that much of it around.
All of this explained why she was alone with Rheo in the chariot; there was no way Stoops would dream of being flown about like cargo. From the horror in her eyes when Libi had asked her if she was going to join them for the flight on that first day, the gryphon would rather cut her own wings off. Libi hadn't asked again.
After that conversation, Equilibrium had formed her own theory as to why her transport was gryphon-powered, and not one of the noisy double-rotored flying machines she occasionally saw over the city. This must be a not-so-subtle insult, a method for the locals to feel superior, despite the fact that the Equestrians were here to help them. And they are almost certainly agents of State Security, she thought, then grimaced. I suppose there would be no need for us if they spent more money on development and less on guns.
The sweep of the city became visible as the palanquin banked, bringing the consul's words flooding back. Unlike a pony city, it hugged the rugged mountainside in the steep little valley; there was very little ground-level access, and the buildings were packed together with only a thin and underfunded excuse for a road network between them. When all of your population can fly, why bother with roads? she thought. Gryphon architecture tended towards the monolithic slab riddled with wide openings, every face an artificial cliff. As the half-cat, half-birds didn't seem to feel the cold -- or at least wouldn't admit to it -- nothing was heated, so at least they didn't have to air-carry fuel to the buildings.
The reason for the precipitous construction was obvious if you thought about it; why waste good land on buildings when it was needed for cattle? Libi shuddered a little at that. There hadn't been ponies living in these mountains for thousands of years, but she knew there had been once. Unlike the cattle they'd been smart enough to leave, leaving the harsh land to those best equipped to deal with it. Were some of my ancestors hunted by some of yours? she thought, staring along the mist-shrouded valley visible over the backs of the gryphon pilots.
Despite knowing the fate of the cattle in the narrow farms on the valley floor, Libi felt glad to have left the city behind. Stoops From High Places had told her that the 'product' of the cattle farms was expensive; it was a special occasion food for even the moderately wealthy. Equilibrium had asked the obvious follow up question -- what about the rest of the time? She'd regretted hearing the answer. Fish, Stoops had said, and rabbits from the warrens in the basements of most of the city buildings.
For several nights after that Libi had suffered from some quite horrifying dreams and a tendency to imagine scratching and rustling from behind the walls of her room.
"I can't blame them for their biology," she muttered, "but I don't have to like it." This trip had made her mind up; she'd apply for a post in the Canterlot design centre when she got back. Discord be damned.
The flight was long enough that she could do all of her pre-work for this site visit and still have time to gaze at the passing mountains. Almost an hour later they touched down at the feedstock converter site, met by Stoops and her other workmate, who'd been racing ahead of the lumbering palanquin. Their pilots ignored Libi's attempt at thanks, nodding instead at the lilac pegasus as they dropped their harnesses from the traces and flew back to the city.
Equilibrium trotted over to the pegasus, Stirling Cycle, and gave him a twisted smile. "They only like you for your pretty wings, you know," she whispered, gesturing to the departing pilots, "I think you're in there, if you want to try for some intercultural exchange."
He sniggered, then guiltily glanced over his shoulder to made sure Stoops wasn't listening. "I don't think I'd survive the night," he muttered back.
Her spirits lifted, she trotted into the factory to start the day's work.
===
The day passed mostly uneventfully, first with project meetings to talk through any issues the gryphon installers were having, followed by a facility walk-round to inspect some of the more critical steps and get hooves-on with any intractable problems. The building was typical gryphon style; a single large block five stories high with minimal ground access apart from the feedstock conveyor and large openings at roof level for the workers to come and go.
Rheostat, a bit of a student of history, said it reminded him of some old pony buildings back from the time before the clades had unified under the Princesses. At that point, Equestria hadn't been anywhere near as peaceful as it now was, and raiding had been fairly common. She'd put the question to Stoops and was surprised -- and more than a little concerned -- to learn that it was for the exact same reason. The gryphoness had seen her expression and laughed; 'don't worry,' she'd said, 'it has been years since the last trouble, it is more of a tradition now.'
It was late in the afternoon and Equilibrium was aligning the field output of the main converter -- something only a unicorn could do and the main reason for her presence -- when she overheard one of the engineers talking in hushed tones to Stoops. It wasn't deliberate -- it was in Gryphic and they obviously had intended the conversation to be private, but they really didn't understand just how good a pony's ears were. With her attention half on adjusting the field geometry, her brain went into a sort of autopilot, swivelling one ear around to catch the little whispers of sound.
"They say it's the Presidium," the engineer muttered.
Libi had seen him around; like many of the better educated among the gryphons he was able to look past her 'disability' and treat her like a professional. He'd always seemed a solid, unimaginative sort, one of those people you'd dread being trapped alone with, but invaluable on a project where attention to detail was essential. He went by the unfortunate name of Screamer In The Darkness, and Libi had often wondered if that was because he'd kept his parents awake while he was a chick.
"How'd it happen?" Stoops replied, glancing furtively at Libi.
Along with underestimating her hearing, gryphons also had trouble remembering how wide a field of view a pony had. Even with her head almost facing away from the pair, Equilibrium could easily see the worried expression on Stoop's face.
"Looks like a gas explosion. The outer walls held but I bet there's nothing inside left in one piece."
"Crap. Who was in there?"
"That's the good bit. Parliament was in session," Screamer said.
"You're kidding, what about--" Stoops said this at normal volume, then stopped suddenly and glanced guiltily at the unicorn mare, seeing the pale yellow nimbus around her horn flicker. "Sorry Equilibrium, didn't mean to distract you," she said, in Equuish this time.
"No problem, nearly... there, got it!" Libi let her magic die and tapped the indicator panel on the side of the spellcraft module. A little row of red lights blinked and flickered, each turning a solid green. "Perfect, aligned to within seven parts per million; they'd have trouble doing that in the demo lab back at Canterlot." She turned towards the pair of slightly worried looking gryphons. "Did you say there'd been an explosion?"
Stoops and Screamer exchanged glances, then Stoops sighed. "Yes. Think someone blew up the government centre in the capital--"
"--and there's been no one of cabinet level seen since." Screamer broke in.
Libi's head whirled and she sat down with a thump. "What, deliberately?" she said weakly.
Screamer nodded solemnly. "Best guess is gas down the roof vents, followed by an incendiary."
"How many were inside?" Libi was starting to feel ill; these weren't ponies but they were all people, they all had families.
"Hundreds probably. That's not the issue, Equilibrium. Our government is... is... gone," Stoops said, pacing in tight circles in the confined maintenance bay.
"Who's in charge now?"
"Whoever did the job, I'll bet. Must be the military or State Security, no one else could have managed this," Screamer said, reaching out to pat Stoops on the shoulder.
"Not the Red Talons," Stoops muttered with a shudder, switching back to Gryphic. "Things will get ugly if they're in charge."
"Blood... ah... Red Talons?" Libi said, confused.
"Red, yes. Is State Security's nickname for itself; comes from time when policing had a more... direct approach." Stoops held up one foreclaw, the fifteen centimetre black claws glittering in the harsh lighting.
Libi shuddered, unconsciously edging away from Stoops' built-in knife collection. "What do we do?" she said quietly.
"Sit tight," Screamer said, "let them fight it out. When it all blows over they'll still need food. We may be stuck here for the night though, I don’t doubt."
Libi relaxed slightly. Very true, she thought, the cattle feed this plant will produce from the endless and unfarmable forests will still be very much in demand. "Okay then, I guess it would be best if we get as much done as we can to look good for the new management."
===
Work, however, was slow. None of the gryphons seemed particularly keen after the news spread across the facility, so in the end the ponies gave up and collected in one of the meeting rooms that had been set aside for them.
Rheostat seemed oblivious to the tension in the air, spending the idle time in the plant's virtual model and fine-tuning the already close to optimum pipework and wiring routing. He lay on folded legs, eyes covered with spellcraft goggles and one hoof meandering through the projected command cube of his computer's 3D input field.
Stirling sat with Equilibrium, the pair flank to flank for comfort, staring out over the darkening valley. Both jumped when Rheo abruptly stood and shook vigorously.
"Well, that's all I can do for now. Can't download the updated firmware for the converter with the data link out," he said.
"When did it go down?" Stirling asked, exchanging glances with Libi.
"Don't know, only just noticed. It was a bit patchy before -- but nothing odd for this backwater."
"That link is a direct line to the embassy, isn't it?" Libi said, her ears drooping, "that can't be good."
"Might be nothing," Stirling muttered, brow wrinkled in thought, "they might be jamming everything until the new command structure is in place."
"Celestia dammit!" Equilibrium shouted suddenly, "why now? Now, of all times!"
Stirling wrapped one wing around the mare, stroking it comfortingly down her back. "Hey, don't worry, babe, we'll be fine. They need us; Razorclaw gets far too much aid from Equestria to do anything stupid. Worst case is they'll kick us all out and we get to go home early."
Libi's head drooped and she closed her eyes. "I know, sorry. It's just, just..." She gestured along her swollen flank.
"We know, don't worry," Rheo said, moving to sit on her other side.
I'm really too old for a cuddle, Equilibrium thought, but what the hay.
All three ponies lay down together in a tangle of legs, tails and feathers, the unicorn mare in the middle of the pile. Libi's last thought as she drifted off to sleep was that, no matter how uncomfortable or undignified it looked, the feeling of being surrounded by ponies she trusted was the best sedative ever.
===
Princess Celestia was seated on a comfortable pad in one of the more secluded gardens on the grounds of Canterlot Palace. She had her eyes closed and a passing observer -- should there ever be one who eluded her Guards, assistants, spellcraft surveillance systems or her own personal magic -- would have thought her asleep. A unkind observer would have put it down to the weight of government on a pony of her extreme years, an old mare -- albeit one who didn't look a day out of her twenties -- dozing in the sun.
They would be wrong, of course. Celestia was meditating, feeling the flow of the world around her and gentle arc of the sun over all of it. There was a gentle cough near her shoulder and the Princess inhaled deeply before letting the breath out in an extended sigh. She knew that cough, knew that its owner wouldn't disturb her one break of the day without good reason. She could picture him standing there at her side, all short-cropped white mane and earth pony grace. I give myself fifteen minutes, she thought, can't the place cope without me for that long? "Yes, Charter," she said to her equerry, "is there a problem?"
"My apologies, your Highness, but there is an urgent intelligence briefing waiting for you."
"Of course there is. Lead on my good pony." With a grace born of ten thousand years of economical motion, the Princess rose to her hooves, now towering over the green and white earth pony, who wheeled and trotted smartly off to the conservatory that backed onto the garden. Another ten aeons and I might just start to match the inborn grace of earth ponies like him, she thought with a smile that didn't leave the privacy of her own mind.
Like the rest of the Palace, the conservatory was built for a pony of Princess Celestia's size, that is to say, huge. The glass-walled room was comfortably large enough for a state function, should she choose to hold one there. Full-sized trees lined one wall, carefully trained up what had been the outer ramparts of the castle, tended into a semblance of wildness that could fool the non-expert; these and other plantings almost made the elegant metal-framed glass disappear.
Charter raised one hoof and tapped a discrete spellcraft panel, pausing for a second while the embedded enchantment confirmed his identity and the presence of the Day Princess. A good-sized section of weathered stone shimmered and flattened into a mirror-smooth surface, turning black then flashing into a full-colour, life-sized, image of General Buckler.
"My apologies for interrupting you, your Highness," the chocolate-coated unicorn mare said, nodding politely to the Princess. "There has been an incident in one of the gryphon kingdoms."
"Carry on, General." Despite her relative youth, Buckler was one of those ponies that Celestia privately suspected of hankering after the past; a soldier of the old school, when the Princess was absolute monarch and the actual head of the Equestrian armed forces.
"Approximately eight hours ago we lost contact with our Embassy in Razorclaw's capital. High-altitude clairvoyant surveillance showed widespread, if minor damage, to the city -- and these two things." A pair of images popped up over Buckler's shoulders, both showing an aerial view of clusters of buildings. As with all gryphon cities it was all squares and rectangles, separated by an afterthought of a street system. At the centre of the first was a ruined building, a big one, while the second held a single, perfectly circular patch of bright pink at the centre of a green square. "As far as we can tell there is a coup underway."
Celestia blinked in surprise. "Have they attacked our Embassy, or is the force field up just as a precaution because of damage to the other buildings? The demolished building is the Presidium, isn't it?"
Buckler inclined her head. "Yes, Princess. The whole area has been blanketed with heavy jamming and we have no communications in or out, but according to the published schedule their parliament was in session. There's certainly been no announcement, and it's suspicious that the jamming is still active. We believe that the coup was at least partially successful, but the jamming must mean they are still hunting for someone."
"Any idea who is in charge now?"
"Not really, although we're not seeing much movement from the traditional military, there are lots of aircraft flying about."
This, Celestia knew, was unusual for the gryphon states; fiercely independent and proud of their ability to go anywhere and do what they needed to do by sheer strength. Vehicle movements were normally limited to heavy cargo lifters.
"There is this," the General said, pulling up a collection of pictures of a number of insectile aircraft and highlighting an indistinct symbol on the side of each. "The resolution isn't very good, but our analysts match it to the Office of State Security."
"The Red Talons," Celestia said, saying the name like it had a bad taste. She'd done her best to spread the Equestrian ideals outside the borders of her own country; sometimes it worked, sometimes it did not. Gryphons had always been too hostile to make much of an inroad; it wasn't just ponies they didn't like, she had a sneaking suspicion that the only way the average gryphon would be happy was when he or she was out of eyeshot of any strangers. Razorclaw was not really any different from any of the other gryphon states; they didn't trust their own people very much, so tended to have multiple, independent branches of the armed forces.
The Red Talons had almost as much available firepower as the normal military.
"How many ponies are inside Razorclaw's borders?"
"Several hundred, mostly in the capital. A more worrying thing is the presence of the airship 'Canterlot Dreaming.' It's currently on a round-the-world cruise, with a full complement. We know it's making full speed for international airspace, but have yet to raise the Captain."
Celestia started to pace in front of the communications screen. "Well, that's easy to fix. Charter, please rearrange my schedule, I will go in person to retrieve our citizens."
"No, you will not, your Highness," the General said in a serious voice.
Celestia twitched. "Excuse me, General Buckler?" she said in a deceptively soft tone.
"This is a pony problem, Princess. Ponies will handle it. The law is quite clear on this; we run our own affairs with your guidance. These are your laws," she said, voice firm.
...and I am not a pony, Celestia thought darkly. She's right enough, I suppose. "Have you spoken to the Triumvirate about this?"
"Yes, Princess, just before I called you. Would you like to confirm this with them?"
"No, General. I believe you," Celestia said with a sad smile. I've been trying for so long to wean them away from calling me in to solve all their problems, and now they've done it, she thought. How many will die unnecessarily because of this? She had written the precursors to those laws, back in the dark days after Luna's banishment when the responsibility had been a crushing weight. It was necessary, of course: there was no way even she could be everywhere, especially in this expanded, populated world. So they limited themselves to 'existential' threats, things requiring their own special talents to fix. Luna... Luna will not be happy with this.
"Have you spoken with my sister?"
For the first time in the conversation Buckler looked uncertain, even slightly nervous. "No... Princess Luna is still asleep."
"You'd best let me break the news to her. She is quite... zealous in her protection of ponies and probably won't care too much about breaking a law she thinks was put in place to protect the world from her."
"Thank you, Princess," the General said, looking distinctly relieved. "There is also another reason why we'd rather you stayed away from Razorclaw. Things are looking sufficiently unstable that we're not sure they still have control over their nuclear arsenal. If they should decide you are taking advantage of their chaos, they might get desperate enough to test your supposed invulnerability."
Celestia opened her mouth to put Buckler at her ease, but then paused, looking thoughtful. "I'll be honest, General, it's not a test I'm eager to run -- if nothing else because of the innocent bystanders who will suffer." Given enough time to prepare she was sure she could survive such an event; after all, magic was quite capable of overriding the strong nuclear force that governed fission and fusion reactions. Assuming I can locate the bomb first, she thought.
The Day Princess knew she wasn't invulnerable; that had been proven several times in the last fifteen hundred years. Thus far it had required a similar level of magic to her own to cause a significant threat; no group of unicorns could ever hope to stand against her, not that they'd ever try. Having said that, she'd seen some of the spellcraft devices in the hidden laboratories Luna sponsored. There were things coming out of those facilities that might give even her pause.
No magic suppressors yet, thank the Maker. She shivered, use of the ancient phrase bringing back her own part in the Dawn War, all those millennia ago. I must remind Luna that not all things need to be rediscovered. She sighed, thinking of all the advancements that had been made, things that had improved the lives of generations of ponies. Maybe one day they won't need us at all, she thought wistfully, what would that be like, to not be needed?
She abruptly realised the General was speaking and her attention snapped back to the screen. "I'm sorry; I was just lost in thought for a second. What was that again?"
"I said that this would be a useful opportunity to complete the commissioning of our latest aircarrier. We don't expect any problems -- as far as we can tell their armed forces are focussed internally -- but it's our fastest and most capable response package."
"It's also the only one on that side of the continent."
The General shrugged. "True. The Diplomacy In Action is still dealing with that equatorial storm system, and the Mutual Grooming is about to start its refit cycle. It's only the weather systems on the Express that need certification, and we'd have to do that mid-ocean anyway. They have the full complement of ponies and aircraft already."
"Very well, General. I know you don't need my blessing but you have it anyway. Send the Friendship Express."
===
Equilibrium was awoken by a strange pulsing roar, faint at first, but rapidly getting louder. She lifted her head; ears twisting this way and that to try and identify the sound, but it was completely outside her experience. Beside her, Rheo was doing the same, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"What is it?" she whispered.
"Trouble," he said, "come on, get up. I need to take a look."
His sudden movement brought the state of her bladder to the forefront of her mind, reinforced when Junior decided to give it a kick. "Oof! Me too. Back in a minute."
The noise was very loud now and, as she trotted to the toilet stalls attached to the meeting room, Libi caught a glimpse of an angular machine settling onto the grass in front of the plant building. A square, armoured-looking hull, it flew by means of a pair of large fans in shrouded housings on each side, the rotor disks swivelling back and forth as the machine fought the ground-level turbulence. Painted a flat, uninteresting grey, it had a stylized gryphon talon in bright red on the side. The talon appeared to be grasping a beaked skull.
Well, that can't be good, she thought, but I can't hold it any longer. Determined not to appear completely helpless in front of their new 'masters,' Libi turned away from the window and hurried to the stalls.
Business complete, she was just about to re-enter the meeting room when she heard the door slam open and the scrape of claws on the bare wooden floor. Hesitating, she put one ear to the wall and listened.
"You, flightless pony!" came the voice of a male gryphon in clear Equuish, "Identify yourself."
"My name is Rheostat, I am chief hardware engineer working for Fancypants Industries and on contract with your government," the earth pony replied calmly, "and who are you?"
There was the sound of something striking flesh and a grunt of pain. Equilibrium reached for the door, but froze, uncertain if her appearance would make things better or worse.
"Hey, what--"
Stirling's protest was cut off suddenly and Libi could hear the sound of hooves shuffling backwards across the hard floor.
"There's no need to get like that," the pegasus said in a suddenly frightened voice, "we'll do whatever you want, just don't shoot."
The gryphon snorted. "Yes, you will. Now where is the unicorn?"
There was a moment's pause, then Rheo answered. Libi listened intently, heart in her mouth.
"She went outside just before you arrived, wanted a bit of air," the earth pony said carefully, "didn't you see her when you came in?"
There was the sudden sound of pawsteps then a thump, followed by an indrawn hiss of breath.
"I'm telling the truth!" Rheo said through clenched teeth, "Stoops From High Places is our liaison, she'll confirm it."
"The flightless one is correct, Reaper Of The Weak" the gryphoness said, after a brief hesitation, using a tone of cold indifference that made Libi shiver, "probably ran off when aerodyne arrived. You know how cowardly these ponies are."
"True," Reaper said in a thoughtful tone, "Sergeant, sweep the area, find the fugitive. Detail someone to search these ponies and their possessions for spy equipment."
"We're not spies; that's stupid! Your government invited us in for Luna's sake!" said Stirling.
"Don't speak of your false goddess in front of me, pony," Reaper said, spitting the last word. "Not spies, eh? Then what do you call this?"
"A computer," Stirling said patiently.
"Yes, containing an unlicensed communications device."
"Well, of course--"
"So you admit your guilt?"
Stirling wisely kept silent at that.
While this exchange was taking place Equilibrium was frantically looking around the bathroom, hunting for somewhere to hide herself before the search inevitably extended to this location. Although the room was built to the usual heroic gryphon scale there was nowhere that wouldn't be detected within a couple of seconds. Unless... She looked into one of the stalls, eyeing the window at its rear; it was too small for a gryphon, but might be big enough for a pony.
Returning to the stall and closing the privacy door behind her, Libi quietly reared up onto the sill and poked her head out of the glassless opening and into the night, glancing around. The window was halfway up the outside of the building, an impossible climb for a monkey, let alone a pony. The grounds were dimly lit -- the full security lighting had yet to be installed -- and she could just see one tail fin of the aircraft poking around the corner of the building. Lucky that meeting room was next to the corner, she thought, otherwise they'd see me in a heartbeat.
From what she'd seen the vehicle wasn't that large, so couldn't hold many soldiers. Wait, what was it Stoops had said, 'rather cut my own wings off than be carried?' Libi suddenly grew more nervous, casting her eyes up and around the empty sky. They came with transport for nonfliers, she thought, they came for us! There was a thin, high cloud, thin enough that the moon cast wide halos across the sky, and more than enough light for her to see by. There were no gryphons in sight, either on the ground or in flight. The sound of their belongings being scattered in the room next door settled it for her.
I can't go back into the room, that would make liars of all of them -- and Celestia only knows what would happen to Stoops, Libi thought. Window it is. She swallowed hard. It was a long way down.
Leaning forward as far as possible, Equilibrium pushed her forelegs out the window and kicked off with her back legs, horn glowing as she used her telekinesis as a lever to pull her body through the opening. Head and shoulders through, she was now balanced on the rim, wriggling desperately to get her bulk through the hole.
Behind her the outer door to the bathroom banged open, the sound of claws scratching on stone startlingly loud. Expecting to feel a talon wrap around her fetlocks at any moment she reached out with her magic and forced it into the cracks and crevasses formed where the stones of the outer wall butted together.
Come on Junior, she screamed inside, breath in or we're both for it! With an almost audible 'pop' she burst free and was falling head first, stonework rushing past at horrible speed. Panicked, her horn flared bright enough to cast shadows, her telekinetic grip slipping half way down the wall before she could provide enough force to halt her descent. With a thump that knocked the wind out of her and almost made her lose concentration, Libi flipped head over hooves to dangle from her magic five metres above the ground.
Gasping at the sudden pain in her neck, she let her magic fade, scraping down the rough wall until her hooves touched the ground. Horn light now gone, she huddled at the base of the wall, trying to catch her breath. A sudden change in the dim lighting made her look up. There, backlit by the bathroom lights was a streamlined head that ended in a hooked beak. Its owner looked down the wall, straight into her eyes, then disappeared back into the building.
Libi moaned in distress, waiting for shouts and the flapping of wings, but nothing happened. She'd been close enough to count the little feathers on his white crest. What the hay? she thought, how could he not spot me? Then a half-remembered snippet of gryphon biology surfaced in her mind. They were diurnal hunters, with fantastic day vision, but at night... Superior race my tail, she thought, giddy with relief. To her, the landscape was a bright greyscale, dark forests coating the steep mountainsides hemming in the narrow strip of paler grey grassland.
She shivered; with her adrenalin rush fading the cold was beginning to bite. They'll find me as a frozen lump right here if I don't get moving. "Oh Luna, I hope this works." Equilibrium skirted the darkened feedstock conveyor and headed for the edge of the forest.
===
Equilibrium was fifteen kilometres down the valley when the aircraft took off. She watched it lumber into the air with a throbbing roar, pause, then start to quarter the land near the plant building. They must really want me, she thought, I might be able to hide from an eyeball search, but that thing is bound to have thermal cameras. Libi looked around -- there was really no way to hide from infrared unless she went for a swim, but in this temperature she'd be better off just surrendering. Catching sight of a herd of cattle, great big shaggy-coated things with wide horns in a nearby field, she had a sudden idea. I'm too small to pass for a cow, but what about a calf?
One eye on the aircraft, she galloped out of the forest, squeezed under the lowest bar of the perimeter fence and trotted towards the herd. The cows, all slightly spooked by the flying vehicle's noise, stared at her suspiciously, nostrils flaring as they tried to identify her. Nervous herself -- and having next to no experience with anything quite that large and mobile -- Libi slowed to a hesitant walk, edging closer as the cattle calmed down and started paying more attention to the aircraft.
The thing was getting closer, flying back and forth over the chaotic grid of fields. Abruptly a beam of blinding light stabbed out, illuminating a herd of cows a kilometre away. Libi looked down at herself; she was a completely different colour to the red-brown cattle. Her cream and tan coat would stand out like a beacon under that searchlight. Without a second thought she dropped to the churned up ground and wriggled in the dirt and other, smellier, material that covered it.
Shaking vigorously to remove any loose material, the unicorn sighed and pressed her head into a patch of icy mud, stabbing her horn into the filth until its normally pristine length was blackened and invisible in the darkness. I hope so, anyway, she thought, as something nasty ran off the base of her horn and down her muzzle. The smell, already pretty bad, became indescribable, and she started to breathe through her mouth.
This did have one beneficial effect: the cattle became a little less wary of her, no longer moving to keep her at the centre of a suspiciously empty circle when she approached. Carefully she slipped between them, their large, shaggy bodies blocking the cold wind and providing a measure of warmth.
Over the next fifteen minutes -- although it seemed like a decade to Libi -- the aircraft quartered the farmland, working its way up the valley. It was visible enough in the reflected glare of its searchlight, and occasionally she could see the much smaller shapes of gryphons swooping around it. If the -- what was it Stoops had called it? -- aerodyne finds me, it will be these gryphons that will come for me, she thought. What in Celestia's name do I do then?
The clattering roar grew abruptly deafening as the world turned a blinding white, the downdraft of the rotors blasting Libi's clogged mane and tail into stinging whips. Deliberate, she thought for an instant, they're trying to spook-- The already nervous herd panicked and ran. Eyes watering and vision completely gone, the mare galloped, trying to keep in step with her nearest neighbours. The uneven ground and the random motions of the much larger cows soon had her bouncing off the flanks, hips and legs of frightened animals.
Bruised, gasping and surrounded, it was only seconds before the inevitable happened. A blunt cloven hoof struck Equilibrium on the side of the head, sending her cartwheeling and ending up in the muddy bank of the pond that served the field as a watering hole. The chaos of cow-screams and thundering hooves vanished along with her consciousness.