//------------------------------// // Part Twenty-Two // Story: The Princess and the Kaiser // by UnknownError //------------------------------// Flurry Heart laid on the roof of the grocery store, looking up at the stars above. Katherine sat across from her and looked through an old, battered telescope. Flurry had changed out of her flight suit and was nude. Katherine wasn't bothered by it; she was from a peasant family that couldn't afford clothes. The brisk autumn air blew through the town, and the moon shone gently down on the alicorn. For a moment, she wondered if Luna still commanded the heavens. She certainly never appeared in any nightmares anymore. Flurry had enough of them to certain. The trio of bat pony siblings, Echo, Murky, and Nightshade, kept watch around the roof. Sunglider, Duskcrest, and Dusty Mark were in the hotel with some command staff, now turned from a refugee haven to command tent. Heartsong and Barrel Roller would arrive tomorrow before moving to their assignments. Flurry didn’t know where Thorax was, other than a vague ‘around’ from Dusty. Flurry sighed and Katherine turned away from her telescope. “What is wrong, Princess?” she asked in Equestrian. “The stars is beautiful tonight. No bombers out here.” “The stars are beautiful,” Flurry corrected. Katherine opened her beak and stuck her tongue out. “Bleh, you understand. Your Herzlander is not the best, you know.” The griffon flapped her wings and laid down next to Flurry and waved her claws at the stars. “They are beautiful,” she sighed wistfully. "I saw many stars from my village every night. A good comfort in Katerin, to know the Gods watch us." “I’m thinking about the battle,” Flurry admitted. Katherine turned her head and looked at the pony with narrowed eyes. “We will fight for you,” she promised. “You have given us homes and shelter. Griffons repay their debts.” “It’s not that,” Flurry said. “I sat around the table for hours while they talked and planned things out, but I was just taking up space.” “You have good generals,” Katherine approved. “I don’t understand logistics,” Flurry sighed. “What is that?” Katherine asked. "What do you mean?" “I’m not good with numbers,” Flurry clarified. “I don’t know anything about battle plans, or troop counts, or how much food and water and fuel we’ll need to storm the coast. I tried to pay attention and help, but…” she trailed off. “I’m not there,” Katherine pointed out. “I lead the Herzlanders, but Edvald stands at the table.” “You lead them because they respect you.” “I lead them because I am your friend,” Katherine corrected. “And because I could steer. That is not so bad.” “I was useless at that table." Flurry flailed her hooves. "How can anyone trust me enough to fight a war if it’s clear I don’t know what I’m doing?” she asked. Far Sight had always struggled to teach Flurry advanced mathematics and statistics. The alicorn suspected she would’ve flunked out of class in old Equestria. Her father had been great with numbers. Shining Armor planned battles out weeks in advance, calculating what everypony needed and organizing the supply lines, all while maintaining a shield for the front. Shining always credited Ogres & Oubliettes from his colthood. Flurry couldn't make sense of the books, and neither could her mother, though she did her best. Her mother once admitted she never understood all the dice and fudged her rolls at the dinner table, and it was the only time Flurry had ever seen her parents fight. Flurry Heart had enough shortcomings as it was. She was an awkward, long-legged teen with a mane and tail that was too curly. Her wings fluttered and she glared at them. Don't get me started on you, she thought. “I see,” Katherine nodded and switched to Herzlander. “You wish to be Grover the Great instead of Grover the Second,” she remarked. “What?” Flurry asked, also switching languages. “Grover the Great had a great mind,” Katherine explained. “He outwitted his enemies on the field from his tent or from a cloud in the sky, and had trusted generals lead his battles.” “Like Artur and Roland,” Flurry interrupted. “Just so,” Katherine nodded and propped her head up with a claw, twisting to lay on her belly. “I read much in the library about the legends and stories," she spoke to Flurry. "The earliest versions speak of his commanding presence and the Idol of Boreas, but they do not say he carried the Idol into battle. Only later do they claim he fought beside his knights.” Flurry glanced towards the hotel. “I trust them,” she defended. “Grover II was not a great mind,” Katherine continued, “but his stories speak of his own skill on the battlefield. He trusted his knights to plan his campaigns, and his wife to manage his empire. He led from the front; he was a great warrior that commanded respect and fear.” “The stories the ponies have paint him as a butcher,” Flurry remarked. Katherine shrugged her wings. “How many Reich soldiers have you killed so far? Every great victory is butchery.” Flurry didn’t respond. “That is not my point.” Katherine waved a claw. “Leadership comes in many forms. Grover the Great trusted his knights, but Artur was maimed and sent away. Roland was caught on a scouting mission by the Wingbardians. Roland chose to blow his horn and alert Grover of an ambush, but he died after revealing his position. Grover II completed the conquest of all Griffonkind and the dream of his father; he achieved more than his father ever did.” Flurry paused. “Didn’t Grover II die in the Riverlands? He got speared by a pony.” “Yes,” Katherine admitted. “He was very old, but still wanted to lead his warriors into battle.” The griffon smirked. “I do not think you have to worry about a spear,” she laughed, “or growing old. You are an alicorn.” “I don’t know about growing old,” Flurry said and stretched her wings out on the roof. “Nopony can tell if I’m like my aunts or my mom. She aged like anypony else.” “What about Twilight Sparkle?” Katherine asked. One of the books she had read in Katerin was the published Friendship Journal. Flurry always thought that was strange because it had been banned by the Archon after Twilight spoke against the Reich’s early conquests, but Katherine maintained ignorance of its origins in the library. “Nopony has seen Twilight in years,” Flurry said, “so we have no idea.” Katherine hummed. “An immortal Grover II would be terrifying. He would have conquered Griffonia, Equus, and Zebrica.” “Is that what you hope I’ll be?” Flurry asked with a choked laugh. “What do you want to be?” Katherine replied seriously. “Grover the Great’s knights died for him, but Grover II died for his knights, in a way. For all his flaws, he did not ask his subjects to do something he would not do himself.” "Except plan wars," Flurry joked. Katherine laughed. "Oh, there are stories of him getting angry enough to split the table in half with his greatsword during briefings. Every griffon decided it was best he not attend." Flurry looked up at the stars. I’ve been trying to live up to my family, but I don’t have to follow in their hoofsteps. “I guess I can be a battering ram,” Flurry said, “and trust that I’m pointed in the right direction.” “Just so,” Katherine said and rolled back to look up at the stars. They laid there for a time before Nightshade approached. “Thorax is back, Princess.” Flurry sat up and nudged a yawning Katherine with a wing. “Don’t fall asleep up here. I’ll see you at the hotel.” Katherine nodded, collected her telescope and flew unevenly back to the hotel. “Goodnight, Princess!” she called back in Equestrian. Thorax approached, having ditched his uniform. He held two coffee mugs in his magic and offered one to Flurry. She accepted it and wrinkled her nose at the smell of bitter, awful coffee. “Nopony knew where you were,” she said and took a deep gulp from the mug. “Making up an excuse in Weter, then checking our stockpiles of equipment,” Thorax answered. “A little privacy?” he requested and motioned at her horn. Flurry cast her changeling detection spell as a precaution, but Thorax was indeed Thorax. He nodded happily at her paranoia as the bubble shield came down. “If you were suspicious, you shouldn’t have tried the coffee,” he rebuked. Flurry spat out her mouthful of coffee back into the mug. She hadn’t swallowed it. Thorax laughed. “All right,” he said. “It’s watered-down coffee, but it's not poison. Rationing is awful.” “What’s the shield for?” Flurry asked. “I set some ‘lings up to tail the Republicans,” Thorax revealed. “Sunglider’s a good griffon. He was a pretty fair president, if claw-picked by Kemerskai senior as his successor.” “Do you know him well?” “Not very,” Thorax shrugged. “He said you convinced Kemerskai, but was a little leery on the details of the meeting. Said you agreed to give Weter over and make Kemerskai president.” “Yeah,” Flurry said and shuffled her hooves. “Anything else?” Thorax’s tone remained neutral. “After he’s president, I renounce my claim to the throne and swear fealty to him. Or I leave.” “He probably wouldn’t put it like that,” Thorax guessed. “Doesn’t matter how Alexander would put it,” Flurry grumbled. “He’ll make me a captain and give me an air wing.” Thorax fluttered his wings. “That’s actually pretty generous.” “Don’t tell me you trust him,” Flurry accused. “Of course not,” Thorax shrugged, “but he’ll need you to keep everypony out here from rioting. His beak spat a lot of vile stuff about everypony.” He chittered. "You're definitely due for a promotion after everything you've done." Flurry looked through her shield to the stars. “I don’t trust him. He made the deal too easily. He hates me too much.” “You don’t like him, either.” “He knew about my air mission tonight,” Flurry said. “He had Rainbow and the others reassigned. I checked; Skywatch cancelled the order.” Thorax licked his fangs. “Kemerskai’s been shorting us on ammo and fuel,” Flurry continued. “There’s shortages across the country, Flurry.” “He still shouldn’t have known about the order, or been able to cancel it.” “No,” Thorax admitted. “The Republicans still dominate the air force. What do you want to do?” “Why are you asking me?” Flurry asked, surprised. “This is your plan,” Thorax said mildly. “I didn’t even think you’d convince him to help.” Flurry was quiet and stared back up at the stars as she thought. “What has Sunglider said? Has he lied about anything?” she finally asked. “He’s been pretty honest about available soldiers and supplies,” Thorax summarized, "but he's holding some information back. It's the first night, and the Republicans will never fully trust us." “Ask him about Kemerskai’s war plans after he's president. Ask him about me.” “We can’t expect him to tell us everything,” Thorax chided her. “There’s been a lot of bad blood.” “I didn’t mean to ask him nicely,” Flurry said. “We shouldn’t argue on the first night of the alliance.” Thorax shuffled his hooves. "I have some disguised changelings close enough to tell he's mostly genuine." “You don’t get what I mean,” Flurry nickered. “How long do you need to watch somepony to get a measure of how they act?” Thorax looked around the shield. Aside from the distant bat ponies, they were alone. “Princess, just tell me.” “I am telling you,” Flurry sighed, “to kidnap Sunglider and beat or drain the answers out of him. He’s part of Kemerskai’s inner circle. They spoke for an hour before meeting me, and an hour afterward. He knows things. Watch him until some 'ling can accurately replace him, and the other three griffons.” Thorax stepped back and bumped against the edge of the shield. “T-that won’t last forever,” he stammered. “He reports back frequently, and he’s Kemerskai’s second in command. Any changeling would be noticed in a day.” “The Republicans don’t have any unicorns,” Flurry dismissed. “Flurry, if you’re wrong, you’ll cause a war. We can replace Sunglider and the griffons out here,” Thorax admitted, “but they’ll be found out when they return to the Republicans. We can’t get enough information about how they act in a week.” “Kemerskai’s planning something else,” Flurry said. “I know he is.” Thorax was quiet and looked at the sky. “We're planning to march on Weter in six days. Sunglider agrees with Duskcrest and Dusty. Heartsong and Barrel Roller can be filled-in when they arrive, then spread out to the militias. We need the Republicans.” “Kemerskai’s insistent that the Republicans take Weter,” Flurry said. “If he’s going to be President of Nova Griffonia, it has to be his griffons on the steps of the Capitol Building,” Thorax explained. “Then I'll need to talk to the Aquileians tomorrow and get them up here,” Flurry retorted and fluttered her wings. "If it comes to it, they won't fight with him." Thorax licked at his fangs again. “Flurry, please. If we do this and you’re wrong, it will destroy the alliance after Blackpeak’s dealt with.” “If I’m right, there won’t be an alliance anyway after Kemerskai wins.” “If Kemerskai wins, we win. Sunglider’s a kind griffon,” Thorax pleaded. “I don’t want to do it.” “You don’t want to, or you won’t?” Flurry asked. Thorax swallowed. “As your advisor, and your friend, and your uncle,” Thorax hissed desperately, “I am begging you not to go down this path. If you're wrong, civil war will be inevitable.” Flurry closed her eyes and sighed. She stood in the bubble and thought for a minute. “Watch them for a few days and prepare to take them. Tell me when you're ready, then do whatever it takes to get answers. We’ll send replacements back. I trust that they can maintain their cover for a day. We need to know before the attack.” Thorax shook his head with an agonized grimace. “Now I am ordering you,” Flurry Heart said and glared at the changeling.