//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Tribunal // by Carnifaxy //------------------------------// Word spread throughout the castle mere moments after Agathon's death, the alarm bells ringing loudly. Spike awoke with a start, mumbling as he rolled out of his bed and onto the ground. He rubbed at his eyes as he walked over to Luna who was staring at the door. “Princess, what's going on?” “Spike, when the guards come just stay quiet and do what they say.” “The guards? What's happening?” Her face contorted into a grimace. “King Agathon was murdered by Night Shade.” “What!?” “Night Shade left for his usual walk, and next I hear is shouts of the king being slain in his den and Night Shade has not returned. Likely is that he murdered King Agathon.” “But why would he do that?” Luna lowered her head, eyes closed. “I do not know.” It took just a moment longer for the guards to barge into the room, weapons leveled at the princess. When she made no motion of resistance, they clapped her hooves and horn into irons, capping her horn completely to prevent her spellcasting. “Princess Luna, you are hereby charged with the murder of King Agathon Goldenclaw,” the guard captain said with a snort, the large griffon pushing Luna roughly to get her walking. “Take the whelp to the other Equestrians.” A griffon gave a sharp salute before picking up Spike, the baby dragon struggling as best he can to try to escape. “Let go of me!” “Quiet kid,” the guard snapped, shutting his beak sharply. Spike gulped and nodded, letting himself be carried off. Chrysalis awoke in a daze to two very powerful hands wrapped around her throat and the burning rage in Slaar's face, the dragon-prince throttling her. He had such force in his grip that her chitin started to groan from the force. She kicked her hooves out, looking up at him with a hurt, confused expression, attempting to pry his hands from her neck. “He killed him, he killed him! Your fool of a changeling killed Agathon! What the fuck were you thinking?!” He could hear the cracking of her black chitin before letting go of her, tossing the changeling queen hard against the wall with a sickening thud. Slaar started to take in deep breaths as Chrysalis groaned and tried to move up onto her hooves. “H-he what?” “He KILLED Agathon! He was only supposed to attack him but now Agathon is dead! My... my friend is dead...” With a shake of her head the queen tried to walk toward Slaar, only to fall to her knees to catch some more air. “That... wasn't supposed to happen.” “Of course it wasn't supposed to happen! And what's worse is that I don't know if he was really Night Shade all along or if he killed the unicorn and dumped him somewhere!” “Night Shade was certainly not one of mine.” Chrysalis began to rub at the cracks along her neck, frowning from the damages. “We can only hope the body was disposed of properly.” She glanced up at Slaar, feeling the mixture of rage and sorrow coming from him. It was such a bitter taste, even normal food was preferably to the disgust she felt, bile rising in her throat from the emotions. “...Plans have changed, Chrysalis. I do not have as much influence over Gilda as I did Agathon.” Slaar spoke with a low, deliberate manner. “We will have to protest for Luna's innocence and blame the attack on Celestia instead.” “What?! Why not just let them think Luna did it and have them execute her?” “No! Luna is far more powerful than the griffons, if she can find a way to escape she'll take it. No, we get her to come with us back to Mana, yes. With her off the map the griffons will be agitated and blame Equestria. Mana is cut off from the rest of the world, which is where you and your infiltrators come in.” “You want us to spy on Equestria and Griffdonia then.” “Exactly, mostly Equestr-” Talons and hooves rattled against the stone as the silhouettes of several griffons and ponies made there way down the stone steps to the prison. “We'll continue this later!” Slaar whispered out before focusing his magic and disappearing in a subdued flash and pop. Chrysalis settled back into her hay bed, half-lidding her eyes to look as if the noise had woken her up. “Mm, visitors to my humble abode?” Two guards snorted as they opened up the changeling's cell, tossing in Princess Luna, her wings tied down firmly and an iron circlet fitted firmly onto her head and horn. The dark alicorn looked worse for wear, sporting a swollen left eye and several scratches along her body. Her royal regalia had been removed from her, further indignities to the princess. “The king has been assassinated by a pony, the Tribunal's been dismissed. You're free to go.” Chrysalis had felt such glee a handful of times in her life before. To see an enemy broken in such a way, at her very feet! She buzzed her wings to see if the injuries were as severe as she thought, but with no pain along she smiled widely. The changeling leaned over to Luna, baring her fangs. “A lot of bad luck has befallen you it seems, and no Elements of Harmony or other princesses to help you. Is this how Equestria falls then, by picking you princesses off one by one?” Luna turned her head away as Chrysalis walked out of the cell cackling as the changeling queen took her leave of the prison. The wisp of magic filled Celestia's ear as she looked over to the horizon, horn aglow and helping the moon ease up into the sky over Equestria. Once the task was complete she picked the scroll up from the ground, the parchment scrawled hastily and not even sealed properly. Panic rose in her, the solar princess reading over the letter and her worry and fear only grew. She could feel the blood drain from her head as she grew faint and as she nearly collapsed Roland was there to support her. “What is the matter?” He asked in a gentle tone. When she didn't answer he picked up the dropped letter and read it, the hasty writing made it a little difficult for him to understand at first glance. Princess Celestia, the griffon king is dead and they're blaming Luna! Chrysalis is free and the rest of us are in prison! Roland frowned as he kept supporting Celestia, gently guiding her to sit and relax. He had seen her like this several times before, in the distant past... “My lady, fear not. Your sister is resourceful. Whatever may come to pass know that my sword is at ready to serve you.” Her eyes shifted slightly to look at him, unsure if his declaration of loyalty was reassuring. The war against Nightmare Moon was so long in the past, then a thousand years of peace and stability. Now a proper international crisis has sparked and the wise solar diarch felt lost for the first time in centuries. The Elements of Harmony could not quell a nation's anger at the death of their monarch. For griffons, only blood could pay for blood. “Get Blueblood and Shining Armor.” Roland nodded as he left to find the two unicorns, his armor jingle echoing through the massive halls of the castle. It took some time for him to find and relay the messages to both stallions before he made his way back to Celestia to see her having had set up a strategy map of Equestria, surrounding territories, and several other maps of the southern lands and across the sea. Shining Armor and Prince Blueblood arrived at the same time as each other, the two unicorns being addressed of the situation as soon as the door closed. Blueblood paced back and forth in thought. “This is quite a difficult situation Princess Celestia. As you know, the Equestrian forces haven't actually been used in... well since the Nightmare Moon incident! We have a merchant marine but they're mainly just focused on peaceful trade and logistics. We'll need to greatly expand the army and navy immediately. No doubt we'll have a deluge of glory-seeking pegasus to protect Equestria from the air, but the pegasus lack the discipline of their pre-Equestrian ancestors. We can be thankful in that the minotaurs do not have a strong naval presence at least, and that most of the griffon warmachine is dedicated to doing petty acts of violence elsewhere.” “The Royal Guards, Solar and Lunar, are at the ready to serve.” Shining said with a salute. “Admittedly, our numbers are relatively small even compared to the current military reserves. We can only really serve as we have so far, Princess.” Celestia was seated in front of a map of the world showing the distances between Equestria, the Bad Lands and the lands further south, and Griffdonia across the sea. “With their king dead the griffon nobles will be locked in bloody murder to claim the throne for themselves, unless this Princess Gilda truly does bear the Roc's Cry. Coupled with the help of an actual dragon claiming to be a prince as well...” She shook her head, her ethereal mane shifting. “What IS this Cry, auntie? And the Roc for that matter.” Celestia's lips pursed a little in thought. “It has been so long since I witnessed it. The power of the Roc is the power of storm itself. It is rain, it is gale, it is thunder and lightning. The weather manipulation both pegasus and griffon make use of stem from the power of the Roc. His Cry is channeling that but through the voice. Last we are aware of, Princess Ermengilda is the currently only known wielder of this power, but Agathon's family had a long and storied history of similar feats and why he adopted her.” Roland stroked his beard in thought. “Such ancient powers are often needed to be found, or are granted after vigorous quests. For such to be bestowed so, lightly...” Blueblood chimed in. “Then this 'Roc' has something planned. Griffons warring against Equestria could be something for such powers to see, if only to 'shake up' the status quo of the world “The Roc, nay, all of the Old Ones have not been seen since, a very long time.” Celestia said as her bottom lip began to quiver. Dutiful as always both Roland and Shining Armor went to her sides, Shining offering her some water while Roland gently rubbed her back. “Deep breaths now, deep and hold them my lady. Anxiousness hitting like this after the last is not a good sign, you should delegate your duties to others and rest.” She looked at the map forlorn, tingling numbness in all four hooves as she breathed rapidly. “I'm a princess, I need to be strong for my little ponies.” “And you are princess, but for now you need to rest like Roland said. We should get you to bed.” While the other two escorted Celestia out Blueblood kept looking over the map, frowning. “Far, far too many unknown variables in all of this. We can't form a proper defense plan without knowing anything about the changelings and humans. Ah, well. I'll send out a conscription call. At the very least the populace should be trained for war if it comes down to it. I shall have to see if those scouts have returned yet.” Windgust, Downdraft, and Mist had been greeted by the human populace of the village with confusion, but warmth. Their colorful coats made them far more appealing than the menaces that engulfed the land in biting chill and snow. The farms outside of the village faced the worst of it, but the village itself seemed to be more gripped in an autumn twilight than a winter's blizzard, the warmth of a stone building bearing Celestia's cutie mark the source of the magical heat. It was there they had been offered shelter, an old man calling himself a priest gave them food and water and immensely pleased to see them. “We have kept stories of your people. Of the pretty horses full of magic, the favored servants of the goddess. You are pegasi, yes? You can control the winds and the rain at her behest. But you alone cannot ward away the windigoes.” As leader of the little group, Windgust took to the talking. “Right. It was only the unity of the three tribes that pushed the windigoes away. None alone could do it.” “Mm. And here we Celestians are at odds with the Lunarians and the Royalists.” The priest said as he sat down gingerly. “Oh, the good prince tries, and we appreciate his efforts, but he is no goddess.” “Couldn't you try to make peace with the others?” “With the Royalists, yes. But they want us to stop feuding with the heretics, the Lunarians. It was their demon that caused brother to turn against brother, and any that still follow that monster cannot be trusted. We've seen the signs, that it was freed from its prison but nothing else after. Did the Unconquerable Sun finally vanquish the foe?” Windgust let out an uncomfortable cough. “Ah, well, the nightmare as it were, was defeated.” “Praise be to Celestia then!” “But she was purified and redeemed and sits at her sister's side again.” The revelation made the priest furrow his brow and frown. He hummed a little as he poured himself some cold wine and swirled it in his glass. “Truly?” “Quite so. I was one of the few to be transferred to her service temporarily before she could organize her own guards.” A gentle sip from the glass. “This changes some things. For the better, I should hope. Hmph! Perhaps you should join me and tell the other congregations across Mana then. It would be, at the very least, heartening for some to learn that we can unify without Prince Slaar's interference.” They were military scouts, not diplomats, and yet Windgust couldn't help but be curious about humanity and their leader. For the report, of course. “You're not overly fond of your prince?” “That would not be inaccurate. He wields great temporal power, that is true, but he constantly steps in on the realm of the divine in ways that are, disconcerting. He's treated both Celestians and Lunarians equally which, for much of our history, is rather abhorrent.” “How come he hasn't dealt with the windigoes.” The priest closed his eyes. “He's tried, so the stories go. But if what you say is true, that the people need to be unified, then his efforts would be for naught regardless. Still, he does infuse the land with his own power, letting us grow crops even in the bitter chill.” “You don't consider him a god in that case?” “Pshah! Any wizard with the training in the earth could do it! It's nothing compared to being one with the sun!” Mist leaned over to Downdraft to speak out of earshot of the priest. “I haven't heard of any unicorn doing something like that.” Downdraft whispered back. “That's 'cause there's no unicorn that would bother with crops in the first place.” Distraught wasn't the right word for Gilda's state of mind, it was too weak for the range of emotions she was feeling so soon after Agathon's murder. The king had adopted her into his family, gave her a new life to shed her old one from, and now he was gone, as cold as the stone the castle was made from. Worse, news of his death would soon spread and challengers to the throne would begin to appear. Cry or not, Gilda was still a young hen with only basic military training. Many nobles had scars and experiences from their forays into foreign lands. Challenges that were refused were considered signs of weakness, and would make her unworthy of being listened to anyways. Phaitos was already preparing to return to his people after pledging support for war with Equestria over the assassination. Slaar was as torn up as Gilda was- no, he was in a much worse state. His clothing had been torn and he was crying almost all the time. Chrysalis herself stuck around as well. She had no way of getting back to her people for the time being, and while she had no love for Agathon she didn't make such feelings public, but she was gloating over Luna's imprisonment. At least until Slaar threw the changeling at a wall. Before he could do anything else Gilda had slapped him across the face with her talons, leaving bleeding lines in his skin. The strike itself wasn't much, but the blood put him in a daze and he sat down. “Will you two get a hold of yourselves?! You're rulers of entire nations, I'm the one that should be acting up!” Gilda snapped before slumping back into her chair, holding back another round of tears. Chrysalis hissed as she got up onto her hooves, feeling more subtle cracks in her chitin. It would be some time before those closed up, unless she got to feed. The previous injuries throbbed in fresh pain. Slaar was looking at the blood on his hand from the scratches on his face and he burst out into soft, choked giggles with fresh tears. “He hit me like this before. We were arguing, he cut me real bad. I punched him in the beak and we just, wrestled each other off of a cliff!” It took him a moment to continue. “We panicked as we fell, then we remembered we could both fly right before we hit the ground!” The dragon prince rubbed his face, mixing the blood and tears together and not caring. “Gods, we were fools. Wouldn't have had that bastard any other way...” He closed his eyes and turned his head. The guilt was eating him up, but he couldn't let anyone know what he and Chrysalis had done, had planned.. This did mean she could blackmail him if she thought she could get something out of it, but such a thought was far from his mind. Not just Agathon's death, but Luna's imprisonment. That could not be avoided in the plan, but did they need to have been so harsh on her? Of course they did. The griffons lost their king, and the ponies were the immediate suspects to blame. “Gilda, who will be the greatest challenger to your rule?” He asked as blood dripped onto his disheveled clothing. “Other than Princess Celestia at this point? Lord Nikola of the Black Iron Mountains. He's contested the throne for ages.” “Chrysalis, you have a target. Get to it.” Gilda's eyes widened while the changeling just looked peeved. “I am not allowing a changeling to act inside the borders like that!” The griffon snapped as she rose from her chair, getting ready to cut Slaar again. “Can you fight this Nikola, Gilda? Can you fight every challenger that will come you way, Cry or not?” She clenched her beak and flexed her talons as anger flashed in her eyes. “As I thought. We take out the biggest threat to your rule now by forcing him to become a friend.” Gilda began to pace around, mind racing. She was too young for this sort of thing, that she was sure of. Plots and plans fit for dragons, changelings, ponies even! But not griffons. “No. If he comes here for the throne I'll defend it. I can't use such methods. Father-” “You're right. He wouldn't use such tricks.” Slaar sighed out. Chrysalis snorted. “What am I going to do for food?” She felt so, helpless, seeing the moon cross the sky without her assistance. Luna's eye still ached from the punch, but it was healing. The others of her group had been separated from her, and she could only hope they were all right. The iron seal placed on her horn kept most of her magic locked down. Most. By closing her eyes she could still cast her gaze from the moonlight to witness anything the light touched. Movement was nothing out of the ordinary but... there was Slaar, his clothing in tatters and dried blood all along his front, moving through the halls toward the dungeon. Despite knowing he was coming down, hearing the rattle of the bars and seeing his bloody visage made her stumble backwards. “I want to get you out of here and I know how. It's just, going to be a bit.” She eyed him warily as she got back up to her hooves. “Pray tell what thy plan is.” “Like I said, it'll be just a bit. First we need to get the griffons to be mobilized enough for war to start moving their forces across the ocean. Queen Gilda will have to lead them directly, given her having the Cry.” “Thou shall help mine escape after the griffons are off to war?! Art thou mad?!” Slaar took in a deep breath. “Listen, there is no way to get you back to Equestria right now or when they're crossing the ocean. The best I can do is to smuggle you with me to Mana for a time first and from there we can make the journey back to Equestria.” Luna steadied her breathing as she looked at the disheveled prince, cut up and covered in dried blood like some rogue from the more realistic novels she'd gotten her hoofs on. She could not deny the predatory gaze in his eyes, or the fangs he could not conceal. The human guise worked poorly for him, she believed. With her breathing more calm, her speech calmed as well. “Why do you want to help me?” “I know you're innocent, and had I known the moon to be so beautiful I would have done something sooner.” That would have made her bluish if she weren't sitting in a cell with her eye still aching. “If you were so smitten with my beauty then you should know I cannot allow my subjects to be at risk of harm, and you would be doing everything you could for me.” Slaar smiled sadly. “Unfortunately, sweet Selene this plan will require some sacrifices.” The hairs on the back of her neck bristled. “Where did you learn that name.” “Ancient ruins scattered around Zebrica.” Slaar said, a little hastily. “Agathon and I plundered many such places in his younger years, the tales of Sol and Selene still are rumbled there, as well as in some isolated parts of Knossos.” “You will not address me by that name ever again.” Her voice was stern, eyes narrowed. For his part, Slaar looked a little surprised and bowed. “My apologies.” “And I will not see a pony harmed through this either.” At that, his lips pursed. “Night Shade is already dead, princess. There's no turning back, either you sit in this cell until this unnecessary war ends or we do things my way and smuggle you out to Mana.” “And not Equestria.” “Not until the war is over, at least. Otherwise there are other nations that will see it as that Equestria is involved in the murder of a foreign monarch. Mana would thus be the safest place for you until then...” “But Agathon was your friend, and the griffons will expect you to march with them. Gilda will expect you to march.” A pained looked crossed his face. “The only help I can give is assure Gilda's control of Griffdonia. Mana lacks the manpower. The distance is too great, the people divided between worshiping you, your sister, and myself.” There was a pregnant pause as Luna gingerly laid down. “Having me there will encourage the Lunarians to side with you. The Celestians will then either need to give in, or grow more stubborn. I will be, protected, from the wrath of the griffons and minotaurs for this debacle. Many will die regardless.” As she closed her eyes he could not help but admire the sparkle her tears made in the moonlight. “Who are you, Slaar?” He looked up to the moonlight pouring through the barred window, soaking in its radiance before he looked back to her. “A prince, a dragon... a fool.” Slaar took his leave, his steps slow and unsteady. For all of his years, few things have affected him so deeply. His stewardship over what remains of humanity, his friendship with Agathon, and now his attraction to the lunar princess. An ancient desire for revenge battled with his new desire for something more. With a deep breath he made his way to where Luna's entourage were confined. The guards watched him as he approached. "You two are dismissed, the Queen wants these prisoners freed and sent on their way immediately." Neither griffon moved and kept looking at Slaar, who grew increasingly annoyed with their silence. "Do I have to get her to come down here herself for this? Do you really want to risk her wroth?" Both guards looked to each other before they shrugged. "If you say so, Prince Slaar." The one of the left said before they both walked off. With that situated Slaar hurriedly opened the door to the room where Spike and Luna's guards were sequestered. With weary eyes he blinked and saw Slaar there, covered in blood and tatters. For some reason it didn't make him as afraid as it should have. “Get up, all of you up. Queen Gilda is allowing you all to go back to Equestria immediately.” He said as he walked around the room before holding a hand out to Spike. “I'm sorry all of this happened Spike. Your first foray into Griffdonia should have been far more pleasant.” Reaching up, the baby dragon took the older one's hand and stood up. “It's okay Slaar, it's not your fault this happened. I bet it was that scheming Chrysalis!” Slaar winced. “Regardless, you'll be out of here post-haste. The trip back will take longer than it did to get here though.” The older dragon looked to the guards as they readied their things. “The griffons will be claiming the Azure Archipelago, your ship will need to circumvent that area. You're being freed, but you're not being given an escort.” Two of the guards murmured at that. “The Azures? They're key to controlling ocean travel. If Griffdonia gains control of them-” “Then the griffons and minotaurs will be able to use them as a staging point for incursions against Equestria, yes. That's why you need to be on your way immediately, while the griffons still need to gather their wits.” “Your majesty, if you don't mind us asking-” Slaar glanced behind him into the empty hall. “I'm helping you because the sooner Equestria can move the sooner I can get Luna out of here. Trust me.” Spike walked up to Slaar, looking up to him with trepidation. “Is Princess Luna going to be okay?” The dragon prince knelt down and put a hand on Spike's shoulder. “I swear to protect her until she can return home little one. I swear on the graves of my family.” On the edge of Mana's borders, a smithy was operating late into the night. A man with dark hair and scars across his arms and face hammered ancient metal into a crown fit for royalty with sockets for gems. Once in the shape he desired he quickly doused it in oil to cool it off immediately and then pulled it out. He examined the crown, the metal a strange midnight blue, and set it down next to some gems along with other bits of shaped metal. He killed the forge to let it cool down, the chill from outside seeping in rapidly. Uncaring he picked up gems as black as pitch and went to work slowly insetting them into the regalia, a smile on his face. ”How long has it been? Brother went north, of course, but the stars guided me south. That, pretender. She is not you, my goddess.” Even in the dark light reflected off of the gems. “I will meet her again someday no doubt, and you shall be reborn. My goddess. My Nightmare.”