Silence fell immediately. There was a moment of confusion, as the ponies still hadn’t realized what had caused the noise they had all just heard.
“What…What was that?”
“I dunno…”
“Is everything okay?”
“Was that supposed to happen?”
“Um…What’s going on?”
Hushed murmurs were going about the crowd. Nopony knew what was about to happen; if they had, they wouldn’t have stood around whispering. They would have fled as fast as they could.
Even the royal guards were perplexed as to exactly what the source of the sound was. All were on guard, ready to defend the citizens of Canterlot against any threat that may dare to cause harm.
That’s what they thought, anyway.
Though she would never allow it upon her countenance, especially in front of so many her little ponies who loved and adored her, a wave of fear shook Celestia to her core. Not for herself, but for the other ponies. She had immediately recognized the griffon’s war cry. Of course, she also recognized that there may be little she could do in such a short amount of time.
There was no time to react.
The guards were caught completely unprepared. Years of training had done nothing to prepare them for what was happening.
As if appearing out of thin air, the griffons began the attack on Canterlot.
By the time the first few had realized what was happening, they were already dead.
Screams of terror erupted from the startled crowd.
The guards immediately sprang into action, fighting off hordes of griffons. The guards were tough and able fighters, but they were hopelessly outnumbered.
The griffons attacked mercilessly from all directions. Ponies ran in all directions trying to escape the onslaught. It was to no avail. Razor sharp talons slashed through the helpless ponies. Jagged, powerful beaks shattered bones and severed limbs with ease. Visceral gore flew through the air. Ponies were crushed beneath the sheer strength of the griffons. Those pegasi who thought to fly away only plummeted back to the earth, raining blood down on to those below. There was no escape. It was a complete massacre of ponies.
Princess Celestia did all that she could to protect her subjects, but even with all her power she could only do so much. There seemed to be no end to the griffon army. Worse still, there was no way to contact the main bulk of the royal guard; nopony had even begun to plan for such a catastrophe. Still though, Celestia thought to herself as she fended off masses of griffons, where is the captain? He was supposed to be heading the guard for the event and he is nowhere to be seen…
The griffons departed as quickly and spontaneously as they had appeared. They were clearly the victors of this encounter; they needed no longer to stay. They had proved their strength and what they were capable of. The message was delivered.
The whole ordeal took less than ten minutes.
Nopony was shown mercy. Stallions, mares, fillies and colts all fell victim to the barbarous griffon attack. Blood poured out into the streets. In the morning sun, the grass shone crimson. The lifeless corpses of so many ponies were strewn about the courtyard. The few survivors were just barely so, having been left for dead.
One of the few guards to survive the attack made his way towards the princess.
“Your majesty,” he started, a noticeable strain in his voice, “What shall you have done?”
“First, we need to get the survivors treated at once. Send word to the barracks of what has transpired here.” The normally cheery and playful princess was somber and serious. Her ethereal mane was dripping with the blood of fallen griffons. It was a side of her that not many ponies had seen before, and it almost caught the guard by surprise. Out of context, it most certainly would have. “Then gather as many troops as possible. As soon as the preparations can be made, we shall head towards Eyrie.”
“Yes…yes ma’am.” The pegasus took off and made his way towards the castle where news of the massacre had not yet reached.
It took little time for an entire medical team had assembled at the courtyard. Most of the survivors were badly injured, barely clinging to life. Some of the guards were checking the bodies, making sure the dead truly were dead. The rest assembled into large groups of fifty to sixty ponies, patrolling the surrounding areas in case of another attack.
Meanwhile, the citizens of Canterlot, the few who chose not to attend the festivities, had started to gather. Many of them were scared that their friends or family had perished. Most of them knew that they had lost somepony close in the massacre. Friends, family, neighbors, all gone.
Within the next week, word had spread across Equestria of what had happened. Ponies from all corners of the map made their way to Canterlot, wishing to help strike back against the Griffon Kingdom. The citizens of Equestria were outraged that something like that could happen. They weren’t upset with Celestia or the royal guard, they couldn’t have known.
During this time, only lists of the living were distributed. The royal guard thought this would be the best way to handle the situation, considering the overwhelming number of deceased. In addition, they would only release the names of those ponies that were conscious and confirmed to be survivors. There were a great many of those who survived long enough to begin receiving medical treatment, but were still fighting for their lives. It would have been cruel to tell somepony that their family was alive, only to have them die days later.
The medical ward itself was absolute chaos. A great many ponies were very nearly on their deathbeds. Using the word “survivor” would almost have been a joke. A majority of the injuries were not healable. Despite having lived through the initial attack, ponies died every day. It was gruesome. Doctors were rushing back and forth doing their absolute best to ensure the survival of the few who lasted throughout the assault.
“Excuse me, what are you doing?” one of the doctors asked a particularly suspicious tan earth pony.
“I’m making sure the universe and the entirety of time and space stays intact! What did you think I was doing?” replied the stallion, waving around an odd silver rod with a glowing blue tip.
“Yes, that’s all fine and dandy, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave. You’re disrupting us doctors.”
“Oh! I’m a doctor!”
“Then why are you wasting your time with this silly contraption?!”
“Wait, not that kind of doctor.”
“Then please get out.” The medic was starting to lose his patience.
“Okay, fine. I’m done here anyway.” The tan stallion quickly turned and departed, his tie flailing around wildly as he dashed out.
The doctor (and those who became distracted by the encounter) quickly got back to work. There was so much work to do.
“Blast, there goes another one…” muttered one of the doctors. Despite their best efforts, some of the ponies were beyond saving, even if they had managed to survive the last week.
One of the ponies began to stir. “Hey, somepony get over here! This one’s starting to move!” The pony continued to move around.
“What’s…going on?” slurred the stallion as he started to regain consciousness.
“Do you remember anything?”
“Ugh….My stomach…”
“You were stabbed by a griffon and left for dead.”
“Was…I? Wait…what happened?” He was slowly returning to a state of lucidity. More or less.
“You don’t remember?”
“I…was sitting with Rose…just after the sun…then nothing.”
“Griffons massacred the whole celebration. Almost nopony survived.”
Storm Chaser looked at the doctor, his eyes still hazy. No, that can’t be…she was right there next to me. “Where is she?” he asked, his voice still smeared slightly.
“Where is who?”
Storm Chaser focused hard, struggling to speak clearly. “Where is Rosebud?”
In the back of his mind he already knew.