//------------------------------// // A Nice Relaxing Vacation // Story: How Luna Adopted a Hatchling (Against Her Will) // by Hokusai3211 //------------------------------// “Silver, what is it doing now?”  “Just smile and wave princess,” Silver Tongue muttered through his clenched teeth. His face contorted into a forced, cheerful, and wholly fake smile. They both stood on the hastily erected stage, off to the side as he and the princess waved woodenly towards the mass of onlooking ponies, all gathered at the station to see Princess Luna's departure. “I am trying, but it keeps assailing me with its claws.” She growled back through her own forced smile, her right eye twitching every few seconds. In front of her, laying inside a little sling around Luna’s neck was the newest princess of the realm. Who was playing with the mane of her stepmother.  Despite never being able to actually touch it, she seemed wholly engrossed by the sight of it. Every few seconds Silver could hear a giggle as she stuck her tiny claws inside and tried to grab at the stars. Totally oblivious to the roaring and cheering crowd gathered around the train platform. “This was not part of the deal.” She said, a shudder passing through her back as claws clutched her fur. “No pony said I had to be this close to this gah unruly creature, I bet it’s not even been thoroughly washed!” Silver could see the usually smooth hairs on Luna's back had all stood to attention, a barely contained shiver of revulsion rippled through her as one of the lioness claws went wide and lightly grazed her neck. “Forgive me,” Silver said, his fake smile forming now into something close to a real one.  "I couldn’t find a stroller in time.” He said, enjoying the sight and finding some sort of cosmic justice in the role reversal of their situation only a week ago. Outside the usually calm train station, ponies were clambering over one another for a better view of the newest edition to the royal family. Some were even trying to shoulder past the small retinue of guards who were valiantly holding back the tide of multi-coloured onlookers, like a breakwater against a tropical storm. Silver even noticed one stallion with a scar across one eye and the tattoo of a heart with the words ‘muther’ misspelled and etched rather poorly on his foreleg. He gave an unimpressed look at the stage and everyone on it, only to meet the little hatchlings' gaze for just a moment. Whereupon the stallion let out a rather high-pitched scream and swooned backwards, dragging three ponies behind him onto the floor in the process. It seemed despite the haste and the mystery, or perhaps because of that mystery, the little princess was already quickly winning the hearts and in that case, brawns of her new subjects. It didn’t help that she was practically made for the royal stage, aloof, brash, and wholly comfortable being in front of a crowd. Fields above, she really was her mother's daughter. It was nice to know that at least some pony was warming up to the new situation. Silver on the other hoof, despite the moments of satisfaction at seeing Luna uncomfortable for a change, was shaking and sweating profusely. Not just because he naturally did that whenever he had to stand for longer than a few minutes. He knew right now this facade was all balancing on a knife's edge. The sooner he got those two out of the public eye the better. “It is with a fond, if slightly melancholy feeling that I bid my sister and my niece a fond farewell for the next coming months. I wish them only the best and I already await their return.” Celestia announced loudly, from behind a podium on the other side of the stage. Normally he loved hearing her make a fine art of his speeches. But for once in his life, he wished she would just cut to the end already. None of his nerves were helped by the fact that he had never been more tired in his life. Even after the impromptu return of the alicorn standing right beside him, he had not had to work so tirelessly. I thought it could get no harder than nearly a week without sleep. He had bribed every troublesome reporter he could find. He had done every back door deal with the nobility he could meet, and had set up as many press conferences as he could fit in a day. All the while lying through his teeth to the point he was almost wondering which parts were actually real anymore.  But now there was nothing left for him to do but to let fate drive on and hope it didn’t decide to take a ‘U’ turn on the fly. But so far, everything was working. The ambassadors of Griffonia had seemed placated. They had, at least for now, ben willing to accept this new turn of the night princess’s leaf. Despite all evidence to the contrary. Griffons where even more proud of their royalty than the Equestrians after all. So having a native-born lioness in the pony royal family went a long way towards sweetening any apology. Silver had been betting on that very fact after all. Well, that was if she was in fact native to Griffonia. The griffons certainly wanted to believe that and Silver certainly did little to dissuade the notion, happy to let the ambassadors think whatever they wanted. But in truth, neither he nor the headmistress of the orphanage had any idea really. As far as she knew the little lioness, had simply turned up one day in a bassinet on the doorstep with a single note that simply read 'Pride Novabane,' not even a name or anything else.  Sure she technically might have been found in an Equestrian orphanage, but the griffons didn’t need to know that part, it was practically on their borders anyway. It wasn’t exactly lying. Every public relations advisor worth his salt knew that no one really wanted the truth anyway, the truth was sort of like paprika, nice if used sparingly but often sickly if too much got into it. It was the idea of it that was important. Yes, he also supposed it might have helped that a sudden mysterious change of mind regarding the trade policy which now surprisingly favored Griffonian exports had somehow come into effect conveniently at the same time. But Silver wasn’t going to let Celestia take all the credit. All he had to do now was make sure someone didn’t cock it up in the time between now and stepping on the train. Which was why he was at this moment sweating profusely. Because despite all of what had happened. This was the one thing he could not have planned for, this was the part he could not control, Princess Luna.  He tried to focus back on Celestia and the crowd when a gasp startled him and he turned to see a swaying paintbrush tail sticking out of her mane.  “Silver, what is it doing!” Luna squealed, looking like she was somehow trying to crawl out of her own skin. Silver glanced down at the cub, who had somehow wriggled her way out of the sling and was nestled into Luna's mane. “I believe the term is playing.” He said as the cub crawled further onto her back. She certainly was a wily one, they had practically sown the lioness into the swaddling, but somehow she had snaked through it all. “How much longer do I have to suffer this, can’t you hold it?” she said, her left eye twitching as the Cubs stared out at the crowd for a moment from the top of her mane.  “Hold her” he corrected, “She’s your daughter, Luna, please at least act like you care for the cameras.” He pleaded, “I told you before we started, they need some photos of you and her together. It’s only for a few more minutes, then after that, the other maids can handle the little princess. But for now, try and at least look content.” “I’d like to, ah, see you look happy with eight daggers sticking into your blubber.” She growled, eyes twitching as the little princess clapped her claws together excitedly, before diving back into Luna's corporeal mane.  “Now my dear sister would like to say a few words before departing.” Celestia's voice announced with that practiced sly smile that Silver admired so much. The mare could have fleeced a fox out of its burrow with that smirk of hers. “Finally!” Luna exclaimed, just loud enough so that only most of the audience heard it. Silver leaned forwards and whispered into her ear, “Just read what it says on the paper Luna, then we can depart.” He added hastily. Somehow Luna actually managed to scoff whilst also grimacing, “Please Silver, gah, I have been doing this since you were not but a sparkle in the postman’s aye!” She turned towards Golden who seemed to wince as they locked eyes for a moment, then Luna lit up her horn and lowered the cub towards her.  “But… my father wasn’t a postman?” Silver said, scratching his thick jowls as Luna reached the podium.   The little Lioness looked confused for a moment that she wasn’t amongst the nebula of stars anymore. But then seeing who was holding her, promptly latched onto Golden’s face with a happy squawk. Silver winced at the sight, even if his niece said she didn’t feel it, having a face stretched out like a slingshot was not a pleasant sight. He wondered if that was something hatchlings did often. If that was the case, griffon mothers must have been pretty tough indeed or at least had several eye patches on standby.  The roar of the crowd slowly dimmed as they watched Luna ascend the podium. If Celestia projected grace and elegance of the throne, her sister was the one that projected the strength and nobility of it. He knew she was not as seasoned as her sister was at this game, but she was right in the sense that she was used to this as well. Though she would probably have felt more comfortable dressed in armor and brandishing a sword. Thankfully Celestia had vetoed that idea a long time ago.   “My fellow ponies.” Her tone was soft but somehow projected throughout the crowd, “tis heartening to see so many of you come to bid me farewell on my departure.” She paused as a wave of cheers washed over the stage. The loudest came from a mare holding a sign crudely depicting what looked like a chicken with a cat's face on it, with hearts dotted all around. Silver raised a puzzled brow, either that was a badly drawn griffon or she had mistaken this for the Basilisk appreciation society. (1) “I am grateful not only to my sister.” It was only a testament to Silvers's familiarity with the princess, that he could tell her cherry delivery was somehow also laced with contempt, “for taking this burden while I spend time with my…” She paused, her smile dipping down just a fraction, as she squinted down at the paper again. Silver gulped, he knew this would be the hardest part. “My beautiful daughter…who I am blessed to have in my life?” She said quizzically, shooting a lightning-quick glare back at Silver. Mercifully she recovered quickly, forcing out a strained smile, in the same way one does when they were expecting a wristwatch from their grandparents, only to revive a poorly knitted sweatshirt. Not that Silver had an experience with that of course. “I think this is going rather well,” Celestia said by his side.  Silver flinched, fields above when had she moved there? Oh, he needed sleep. Silver didn’t turn, his eyes fixed on the potential disaster, liking watching a speeding train hurtling towards him. But he nodded hesitantly. Things were transpiring something close to smooth, but in his profession, it did not pay well to rest on your laurels, despite the fact he had a rather large laurel to rest on. “I’m still waiting for the stage to catch fire.” He muttered, eyes flickering from the crowd to Luna and then to the little lioness who was now running around in a circle on Golden's back, chasing her own tail. “I’ll have a pony with a bucket brought out just in case.” Celestia said with a smile, which seemed to morph into concern as she gazed at him, “Silver… When was the last time you took a vacation?” Silver blinked the sleep from his eye, “What year is it?” he asked. “If you were asking the Panda’s, they would say it’s the year of the platypus.”  “Then three wombats and one snake ago, plus seven years.” He caught her worried gaze from the peripherals of his vision, “Everyone needs their rest, my dear friend, even you.” Silver rolled his eyes, his idea of rest was dealing with something simple, like an affair or a public indecency claim. “I’ll rest when I’m… oh fields above she’s going off script again,” he muttered through his hoof as they gazed back at the night princess. “-and it is with thus, on the topic of foal care, that we put forward the motion that every foal be taught not simply quail and paper but spear and mettle. As my grandfather once said, when he valiantly charged the great library of Zebraca, ‘by Jove we will give those weedy quill pushers a proper thrashing!’” Luna roared, much to the consternation of both Silver and Celestia.  “Sometimes, it’s as though grandfather never left…” Celestia shook her head softly and turned back to Silver, who was dabbing the sweat with his necktie. “If you won’t take vacation time, then would you consider taking time to plan the next move in the countryside.” Silver raised his brow, “I don’t do country, too much grass, animals urinate on it you know?” He said, taking the slightest pride in not having touched anything green in over ten years. But then the suspicious part of his brain, which was bigger than most other ponies by nature of dealing with the nobles for a living, began to kick into gear. “Wait… you’re asking me to accompany Luna, you want me to be the royal babysitter now?” “Hardly.” Celestia said, chuckling, but her laugh was just the slightest bit too forced for his liking. “A babysitter is not required, your niece has already kindly agreed to look after our little one as per your recommendation. All you would have to do is kick back relax and-“ “-Keep Luna from doing anything else to cause a political scandal?” Silver finished his eyes narrowed in a deadpan glare. “I was going to say keep an eye out for her,” Celestia said, but they could both read between those lines, “But it’s just a precaution, she can hardly get up to that much trouble so far from hom-“  “-Thus all free-loving ponies can rise up, each having a fundamental right to bear halberds against any invading foe, such as the founding father of Equestria would have wanted. Any foe will have to take them from our cold dead hooves!” Celestia sucked in a breath, as Luna snatched a spear from one of the guards and held it over her head. “H-How about I throw in my personal chef to accompany you?” She added quickly. Silver blinked, “You mean the one who makes those Fig leaf pies, the ones with the frilly bits on the crust?” “The very same,” Celestia said with a touch of resignation. He knew that must have been hard on her, going two whole months without her Achilles heel. That was the same as saying she had finally agreed to go on the diet.  Silver stuck his tongue into his bottom lip and hummed. “Fine-fine, I suppose it’s the most prudent plan. I can work better at the epicenter, but only so long as I can come back the moment something happens… when something happens.”  “Agreed,” Celestia said far too quickly for his liking. “It will be good for you Silver. You should try to relax, the hard work is done.” “You of all ponies should not be the one telling me that princess.” He muttered.  She gave a tired but well-meaning smile, “Even I have to let go and trust in fate sometimes Silver. If I tried to micromanage every little detail of life, I would have pulled my mane out years ago.” Silver furrowed his brow as he stared up at Celestia's mane. He had often wondered why both hers and Luna’s were so, for lack of a better term, magical? Both Princess Cadance or Twilight manes were normal. Though now that she had put the image of a bald Celestia in his mind that was suddenly all his tired brain could think of, as he stared into her translucent mane.  And it was exactly because of that thought that he caught what happened next. As he glanced through her hair draped around her neck and towards another princess. One who had at that moment forgotten about chewing on her little paint brush tail and was instead, now entirely focused on something floating right in front of her beak.  Something that to Silver's eyes looked exactly like a Death’s Head moth. Silver had very little time for hobbies, ones that didn’t involve outsmarting the chief's defenses in the royal pantry and raiding the kitchen by candlelight. But there was a time he had remembered being fascinated by nature as a foal. In the same way, others are morbidly interested in understanding what terrified them, like the ocean or small talk in elevators. He knew a thing or two about butterflies and moths; he still had his Canterlot Wildlife monthly magazine collection somewhere at home. But there was no mention of the winter Death’s Head moth in any of them. Because they had gone extinct hundreds of years ago, around the same time the royal red squirrel had mysteriously vanished from Canterlots castle gardens.  So what was it doing here and now in Canterlot, out of season and more importantly, out of time? It seemed he was not the only one who had taken an interest. The little lioness turned on Golden's back and was watching it intently, her tiny little wings were slowly opening out, her back arched, front paws down, and back side raised much like a puppy who was ready to pounce. All at once an ominous feeling slithered through Silver's rotund body. “Are you alright Silver, you look like you’ve seen a ghost?” Celestia asked, a puzzled frown on her face. Even Golden was looking at him with a worried expression, behind the giant red lipstick smile. Which was why neither of them noticed the little lioness as she jumped off of Golden's back and towards the moth. They both fluttered in mid-air as it slipped through her claws and onto the stage curtains. The cub claws caught on the red curtains of the stage not a moment later. She dangled there for a moment before righting herself with her paws. Spotting the moth just above her she clawed her way up with such speed she would have started a Cheetah. “That is why,” Luna continued, shuffling her scrolls, “as a newly, emm, loving mother of a…” she squinted her eyes at the scroll and cursed under her breath, “proud and wondrous people that I hold in high regard, oh fields above.” “Oh fields above,” Silver Tongue gasped as he watched the Lioness scaling the curtains.  “I grant you it’s not the most convincing speech,” Celestia said, eyeing her sister on the podium, “she was never very good at selling points, but it will all come out well in print.”  “Not that!” Silver muttered pointing towards the stage curtains. No sooner had he pointed towards the chick, the lioness had already made it to the top with frightening speed. He watched in horror as the moth took that second to flap away into the open air knowing what would happen next.  Silver swore he heard sniggering laughter coming from that very mouth. But it was the last thing he was focusing on. It all happened so fast that, before Silver could even suck in a breath to shout, she had already lept into thin air. Her tiny wings flapped as she stayed in the air for half a second, before she plummeted downwards. As with many things in a dramatic narrative in Equestria. Time, that unusual and metaphysical construct that it is, chose that exact moment to slow. Well, not so much slow, time itself was consistent; it could only move ponderously in a horizontal line. But that did not mean that it could not expand upwards on the graph, and expand outwards into all other timelines.  Often, when this happened, it had the same effect as slowing down time just… Wobblier.  Fortunately, as time stretched into the endless possibilities of all the other horizontal timelines, Silver, wired up on enough coffee to power a small town, had just the right amount of time to get Golden's attention.  Unfortunately for Silver, in this section of the timeline, none of them were hyper-fast light-bending creatures. So instead of having a chance to catch the little cub, they could only watch in horror as the lioness flew downwards and landed claws first into the rounded rump of her new stepmother.  There was another second of silence, a slight pinging in the air of real-space as time seemed to contract back into itself and then causality and chaos took the reins once more. Princess Luna did not so much scream, she wasn’t really built to scream, she roared. Her front hooves reared up as she gazed furiously around and confused as her daughter clung on for dear life. She thrashed around for a moment dropping the spear but recovered quickly. She lit her horn up and pulled the hatchling up towards her face and not for the first time stared in confusion and incomprehension at the Cub staring right back at her.  “Why you-“ Luna snarled her words slowly but building up to a tirade that Silver knew would sink all of them. Thankfully at least in this time line though, Silver and Golden were both Earth ponies. Whilst Earth ponies were not hyper-fast light-bending creatures. Their evolution had taken on something more of a practical element to their natural defence mechanism.  For instance, besides the ability to shatter rock with their hooves which was indeed a plus. They had developed a lesser-known skill, passed down from their ancestors to understand one another on a deeper level beyond words.  Instead of being able to fly or teleport, Earth ponies had an uncanny ability to read facial expressions and body language better than any other creature. After all, if they had to wait until language was invented before they could warn others that a giant dragon was coming down from the sky. The whole subspecies would have been a black smear on the sidewalk before they could invent the phrase, “doesn't that bird look awfully scaly to you?”  It was because of this, that Silver was able to turn to Golden and have a full conversation in the space of three seconds, which went something like this. “Golden I know I promised I would never ask you to do something like this again but-” “-Oh no, no please uncle, I told you I gave that up.” “Golden, listen to me, this is an emergency, Princess and country are on the line!” “But it’s embarrassing and besides I’m out of practice.” “Do you want all of us out on the streets? Because that’s what’s going to happen if Luna finishes that sentence, Golden please I’m begging you here!” “Uncle…” but it had been decided, Golden winced but her hooves were already moving.  “-Little stinking son of a-“  Before Luna could finish her tirade, Golden leapt forward towards the stage. Somehow perhaps a trick known only to red-nosed practitioners of comedic magic, a banana peel materialised in her hooves. She threw it in front of her.  Then with subtle acrobatics of an expert gymnast, she slid across the stage on one front hoof balancing her body upright.  “Wow, ahh, help,” She said, delivering the line in an almost painfully embarrassed tone, as she spun towards the podium. The whole crowd quietened down in stunned silence and watched as Golden's hoof let slip of the banana peel. Then, with the precision that would have put a veteran stunt pony to shame, tucked her head between her legs, rolled and promptly crashed into the podium.  It broke apart sending the microphone and wood hurtling off the side of the stage, and more importantly away from Luna's mouth. Luna's words died on her tongue as she flinched backwards and then glanced down at the maid in front of her. “Oh hi princess,” she said wiping away the chips of wood from her curly green mane, “Have you seen your daughter around anywhere?” She blinked owlishly up at the cub as if she had only just noticed her, “Oh there you are!” She said, slapping her cheek as though she didn’t already know, “gosh you gave me such a worry.”  She jumped up and brushed her maid's outfit lightly, plucking the lioness from Luna's magic. “Oh you are such a little troublemaker,” she said softly towards the cub who simply giggled. Then Golden looked around at the damage she’d done and the thousands of stunned ponies in front of her, all silent now. “Oh…” she said slowly as if she had only just noticed what she had done. Silver had to hoof it to her, she was convincing at playing a fool. “Whoops my bad princess, were you in the middle of something?” She said with an aloof smile, “Guess this little one just wanted to say hi to Mommy.” She said holding up the hatchling who was already looking back at Luna, arms stretched out towards her mane. Clowns weren’t inherently funny, but they have the effect of uncomfortable laughter which is far more powerful. Some of the more clued-in ponies or perhaps the ones with lingering Coulrophobia began to nervously chuckle. This sent a ripple along the sea of denizens, until the whole crowd began laughing and cheering.  Silver watched as Golden made her exit with the little princess. Luna quietly seethed as she glared at her rump. There was nothing firm to Silver's frame, his body rippled like water, but somewhere inside, something relaxed. “Somehow… I don’t think this vacation is going to be very relaxing," Silver said sardonically back to Celestia.  Celestia, who had been watching the scene play out with a wide open jaw, gave an uneasy smile. “As some of the youth say today, no Take-sees back-sees.”   Before Silver could argue that no pony had said those words in at least twenty years, Celestia was already moving towards the stage to bring the ceremony to a close.  Silver swallowed as he gazed from the disgruntled Luna, to his niece who was already picking out bits of splinters from her mane. Then to the Cub who was already fussing and looking for the next thing to entertain her. Silver wondered to himself, if he had made the greatest PR move of his life, or the worst.  Canterlot crowds had a knack for finding entertainment wherever they could. It was like a sixth sense for the city. Be it a celebration, festival, or magical world-ending disaster, entertainment was entertainment. It seemed this had been a combination of all three. As such, most of the citizens of Canterlot were trotting away from the princess's speech with the excited and hurried tones of ponies who had watched a train wreck unfolding in front of their eyes, and couldn’t wait to tell everyone else all about it.  But high above, in a distant clock tower overlooking the station, three hooded figures watched the spectacle with utter contempt and disgust. “Look at ‘em chief.” One of them said, pointing down towards the stage in the distance. “Can you believe this chief, can you? We should go down there right now and show ‘em all.” He thundered, his voice booming like a summer storm.  “Ye-ah, look at them. Makes you sick, walking along parading one of ours as one of their own!” Another one sneered, with that snivelling cocksure type of voice that seemed to imply someone who would flee from strength, but attack weakness without mercy added. “We should go down and teach them a lesson.” “Shut up, you idiots,” The last figure snapped, this one was tall, gaunt, and dower. Slowly he lowered the telescope from his vision and snapped it shut. “What are you going to do, walk down to the two most powerful creatures in the land and snatch the cub. You’d be a black smear on the floor before you could even get ten paws away.” The other two considered this for a moment, but not for very long. Concepts like ‘planning’ weren't much use to them, evolution had deemed them to be what you would call natural henchmen. Things like independent thoughts simply got in the way of other important things like robbing and bludgeoning. “So then, what are we gonna do, we can’t just stand here and watch,” the wedeling voice complained, “and also, why do you get to be the one who holds the ‘make things far away appear bigger glasses.’” He said, eyeing the telescope with a greedy stare. “I want to see.” The tall figure turned slowly and regarded him with patient and lifelessly dark eyes, “Sorry, who's the leader here?” The smaller one flinched back. But before he could speak, the one with a voice like an avalanche knitted his meaty brows together in deep concentration. Then, after a moment asked, “You are?” “Correct Ulf,” The tall one said, not breaking eye contact from the weakest of the three. He leaned over and prodded his chest, “and who was assigned to lead this task?” Another long pause as the few remaining neurons went into overdrive at this complicated conundrum, “…You were?” “Correct again Ulf, do you know why?” The figure asked, but this time he didn’t wait for an answer. Asking three rhetorical questions in a row was likely to short circuit Ulf’s brain. “It’s because I’m the one who gets things done, I’m the one they call when others are too scared to do the dirty work and I know you know what I’m capable of… right Hendrik?” The tall one said.  Hendrik felt a sharp pain in his chest, a single razor-sharp talon dug into his plumage. It lingered there, threatening to dig in a heck of a lot further with only the minimal amount of effort, if the owner so wished.  “Y-yes chief, s-sorry chief.” Hendrik pleaded quickly.  Those black eyes lingered for a moment longer. Then with an almost gentle smile the sharp pressure against Hendric’s chest subsided, but the throbbing pain stayed as a reminder. The leader frowned as he watched the cub being brought towards a large train billowing with steam. He narrowed his eyes as that damned sun witch kissed the cub on the head. “Trust me, I will make these weak leaf-eaters pay for stealing one of our own and parading her about like a trophy, but now is not the time.” He cocked his head slightly and spat off the roof, smirking as somewhere below him a pony yelped.  “Yeah,” boomed Ulf loyally, “they turned her into a performing umm, a performing umm, what do you call them, those hairy things with long arms that eat bananas?” “Fruit bats?” Hendrik said, rubbing his chest. Ulf, who had never been a fan of books, unless he was hitting someone with one frowned, “They don’t have arms, do they?” Hendrik blinked, but not to be outsmarted in this sort of thing added, “Yes, ‘course they do, in um, The Crystal Empire, they’re attached to their wings.” “They are?” Ulf said, taken aback, his tail flicked with consternation, caught unaware and not very happy about it, “Great Emperor, what kinda' thing has arms and wings?” There was a moment's silence where irony passed them by like a bad smell in the wind.  “Enough,” the leader said, shaking his head and wondering what he had done to deserve such early-hatched dunderheads as pride mates. “We will wait for the right moment to present itself, find a time when the night princess is alone, then we will strike.” “But she ain’t never alone,” Ulf added, “besides I hear she is a famous warrior and she never sleeps.” “Everyone sleeps.” Hendrik snapped. “But…how does she raise the moon then?” Hendrik thought about this for a moment longer. “She obviously sleeps during the day, she is the night princess after all.” “But…Why is she up now then?” The leader messaging the bridge of his beak, the sooner he could get this over with the sooner he could deal with these idiots and take the reward for himself. But for now, these fools were useful, as cannon fodder if nothing else. “She has to sleep and when she does, we will be ready. She might have been a warrior once, but these weaklings don’t even have an army, we’re trained warriors are we not? Are you afraid of some mare?” “No!”  “No?” The figure allowed himself a smile as he touched something against his chest, a stone etched with the ancient runic carvings of the shamans. “Alicron or no, we will be back in Griffonia with that cub before the end of the week.” Though he himself had no intention of going back. Griffonia would be too dangerous once they had finished, what with the enviable war that would be raged after the disappearance of pony kind’s newest princess. But these idiots didn’t need to know that part. “Right,” the other two said in unison. The leader smirked, spreading out his wings to take flight. But before he could take off, Hendrik said, “Hang on, is that some sort of cat chicken?” They all turned back towards the empty stage where indeed some sort of chicken-like creature with a scaly underside was walking up the stage stairs. This was strange enough, but what was more odd, was the plastic cat ears stuck poorly onto its head. It pecked at the ground several times, then, for no reason that either of the three could fathom, it belched fire onto the curtains. In the distance, a mare holding a makeshift sign began to cheer.