//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: The Griffon War: A Soldier's Memoirs // by Dusk Quill //------------------------------// Canterlot Castle never failed to awe Fleethoof. The massive corridors, artisan stonework, and intricate detail woven into every nook and cranny of the monarchial structure were almost too much for him to take in at once. He briefly considered how amazing it must be to live in such a structure. He’d never been inside the castle itself, save for his graduation commencement in the gardens. But this time, the castle wasn’t so extravagantly prepared. No band greeted his entry, no crowds applauded, and nopony seemed happy to see them. Whatever they were here for, it wasn’t good. He followed behind Captain Phalanx, maintaining brisk steps to stay close to his commanding officer, lest he fall behind and get lost in the labyrinth of hallways and rooms. The captain was walking so fast that Fleethoof was having difficulty keeping up. Were they late? No, they’d made sure to arrive with plenty of time. What was going on? Why were they in such a hurry? Up another staircase, down another hallway, a couple nods from the stationed Royal Guards, round a corner, up some more stairs, more hallways—it never ended! Finally, another pony came up and walked alongside them, dressed in the same silver armor Captain Phalanx wore. Fleethoof recognized the traditional officer's armor when he saw it. “Cuirass,” Phalanx greeted with a solemn nod. “Phalanx, you’re right on time,” Cuirass greeted with a glance back at Fleethoof. “Your bodyguard?” “The pony behind this discovery. I figured he deserved to be present for this matter.” Cuirass shook his head with a stern scowl. “You know only officers are allowed in the Situation Room, Phalanx.” “Then yes, he’s my bodyguard,” Phalanx said, drawing a wry smirk from his compatriot. “You never were one to follow protocol... Just through here.” Cuirass led them through a set of solid doors, four guards posted sentinel outside. Fleethoof entered right behind the two officers and stared in awe at the sight beheld before him. The Situation Room was a large domed chamber, more than enough to rival the Cloudsdale stadium. The room was entirely stone, but it wasn’t the same as the castle. It was more natural-looking rock illuminated by large chandeliers hung overhead. Bookshelves and cabinets lined the walls of the room, all filled with various scrolls and what looked like military records. At the center of the room sat a large circular table on a raised tier. A giant map of the world was rolled out across its surface. The ponies seated around the central table all wore ornate armor and medals, clearly ponies of great importance. At the table sat Princess Celestia herself, her practiced pleasant smile replaced by a look Fleethoof had never seen the monarch wear before. The emotion in her magenta eyes was impossible to read. She still wore the complexion of a mother, kind and gentle, but the look in her eyes was intense and calculating, like those of a chess master plotting her next move. “Come on, son,” Phalanx said to Fleethoof, nudging him to snap him out of his stupor. “Where are we?” Fleethoof asked once he was pulled back into reality. He ducked when another pegasus darted over his head. “The Situation Room. This is where all of Equestria’s military intelligence is stored. It's also where the princess' military cabinet meets. It’s built right into the mountain to keep it hidden and protected from enemy attacks.” Both ponies walked up the stone steps and joined the others at the table. Fleethoof took a seat beside his captain with great apprehension, keeping his head low. He felt out of his element like a snowball in Tartarus. He didn’t belong amongst his superiors. He was just a soldier. But his want to know what was happening and his curiosity beat his humility, and he shifted a little more comfortably in his seat once he decided to stay. “Fillies and gentlecolts, we have a very grave matter in our hooves,” Celestia said. Everypony was deathly silent while she spoke. “Yesterday, we received reports of griffon activity along our coastal border—hostile activity. The griffons murdered a civilian in cold blood and opened fire on our soldiers.” “Were the griffons apprehended, your majesty?” asked one of the officers. Celestia shook her head. “No, they were killed in combat. We were unable to arrest and interrogate them.” “Do we know if they were simply bandits? Outlaws?” Captain Cuirass asked, putting a theory out on the table. “I would hate to think this was a deliberate act of violence by the Griffon Kingdom.” Several other ponies at the table murmured assent. Celestia sighed and levitated a document with her magic, passing it to Cuirass. His eyes scanned its contents, then his eyes went wide and jaw dropped. “I wish they were just outlaws, Captain. Then this issue would be settled. But they were not.” Celestia's voice was grim, her eyes dark. “If everypony would take a look at the documents in front of you now, it should all become clear.” Everypony at the table opened the sets of scrolls before them in near-perfect synchronization. Captain Phalanx opened each one with his magic, laying them out on the table for Fleethoof to see. Despite trying his best to remain out of the matter, Fleethoof glanced over at their contents. He felt his face fall the same way Cuirass’ had. The scrolls were covered in notes and observations about the coastal cities of Equestria: population, military presence, nearest settlements, where their supplies came from, and more. Included were diagrams of Royal Guard patrol patterns and photographs of the cities and military camps. Fleethoof recognized one of the diagrams as his station, including his patrol route with Steel Shield. They were espionage documents, and each one bore the letterhead of the griffons’ king. “As you can all see, these griffons were spies for their government, which means we can only conclude that this was deliberate and preparations for an invasion.” Celestia placed her hooves on the table and leaned across it towards her cabinet. “Fillies and gentlecolts, we need a plan.” “Who was the pony the griffons killed? Was it circumstantial or is that important?” Phalanx asked. “The RIS has been investigating into it, but so far we think that she was under the employ of the griffons as well,” one of the other officers at the table said. “Without knowing too much, I think we can safely assume she was a willing spy for the griffons. They were probably tying up loose ends when they were finished.” “A pony spy for the griffons would be less expected than seeing a bunch of giant birds taking pictures of everything,” Phalanx agreed. Cuirass nodded assent. The table was quiet for a moment as everypony recovered from the initial shock and began thinking of options. Fleethoof was silent and still, finding it difficult to breathe as he took everything in. A few days ago, he would have given his left hoof for something to let him be an actual soldier. Now that it was happening, he wanted to take it all back. What had he discovered? What had he done? “Have we sent emissaries to the griffons yet?” Phalanx asked after a moment. “Yes, as soon as I received your report, Captain,” Celestia said with a nod. “They should return any hour now.” “Well, I think it’s obvious what needs to be done.” Captain Cuirass straightened up a bit. A fire burned in his eyes, one that demanded vengeance and action. “We need to launch a counter offensive against the griffons. We can’t let them know we know what they’re up to and let them get away with it.” “A war would terrorize the public. Equestria would be in pandemonium in a matter of days,” somepony retorted. “If we don’t do anything, the griffons could launch a full scale attack on us now. We’d have to fight them on our shores and risk our civilians’ lives,” Captain Phalanx pointed out. “They’re going to know we caught them. If war is on their mind, they’ll have nothing to lose by striking at us.” One of the officers put his face in his hooves and shook his head in disbelief. “The griffons have never shown hostility towards us before. Why start now? What do they have to gain?” “Equestria,” said Cuirass, straight to the point. “Long ago, the griffons owned the coastal regions of Equestria. They used them as fishing farms. When Equestria was first settled, the griffons didn’t take to ponies well at all. Our ancestors fought them and drove them back into their homelands. This has to be their gambit to take back what they lost. I'd bet my horn on it.” Discussion and debate broke out amongst the officers like a wildfire. Fleethoof just continued to sit in silence, looking around at the chaos. Was this how war began, with older ponies bickering like foals while younger ponies waited in the dark for a scrap of information? He looked over to Celestia, surprised to see the princess with her head hung low, her eyes sad and tired like she already knew what the outcome was. She probably did too. After a long while of arguing over what course of action to take, the doors to the chamber opened and in flew a gray-coated pegasus pony with a bright gold mane. She flittered through the air in every direction before coming to land on the table. She then smiled and trotted across the map toward Celestia, seemingly ignorant to everything she was walking over as she pulled a scroll out of her saddlebags and handing it to her before flipping back into the air and gliding head first into the wall beside the door. She shook herself off and darted back out. Celestia smiled a soft smile as she watched the pony fly away. She opened the scroll and lifted it to read. The entire room fell silent as a tomb while everypony watched the princess’ eyes move across the text on the page. Fleethoof unconsciously held his breath while he waited for something to happen. The seconds slipped by like minutes, each one longer and more painful than the last. At long last, Celestia rolled the letter back up and set it down. Fleethoof could see tears in the corners of her eyes as she cleared her throat. “Fillies and gentlecolts, King Alaric has made his stance known. As of now, we are at war with the Griffon Kingdom.” The room erupted into chatter and activity all at once. The gravity of what was happening finally hit Fleethoof like a ton of bricks. His heart was pounding fast and strong in his chest. War—he had just witnessed Equestria officially go to war for the first time in an age. “A counter offensive is the only thing we can do now,” Cuirass all but shouted, pointing at marks across the map. “The griffons have shown they have no problem attacking us, and now they’re going to with full force. If we let them come to us, they have an entire coast to attack. We'd have to spread our defense thin to cover every beach. But if we bring the fight to them, they know there’s only one place to go and we can concentrate our forces there.” Phalanx's forehead creased as he frowned. "Bringing a fight to the Griffon Kingdom is going to cripple our army. Their lands are imbued with arcanate, and we haven't included exposure to that stuff in our training for years. Our unicorns will be hindered to the point of uselessness." “But letting the griffons come to us so we can be at full strength will put us at an instantaneous and greater disadvantage. We'd have no space for retreat if we needed the breathing room.” Several ponies voiced their agreement. Celestia remained silent. Phalanx and Fleethoof’s eyes roamed across the map before them. “So, we should release an announcement to the public, so we can—” “No.” Everypony looked up at Celestia suddenly. Cuirass continued, plainly questioning, “No, your majesty?” “No, we aren’t releasing an announcement yet. I agree, we must fight back, but I also agree that worrying the ponies of Equestria and putting fear and doubt into their hearts will only lead to discord, and we cannot allow that at any cost,” Celestia said, then looked upward at the ceiling. Fleethoof noticed she wasn't so much looking at the ceiling as she was looking through it. “Especially if anything else were to happen... I fear Equestria would lose its harmony and fall into a state of discord.” “How do you plan to keep an entire war hidden from everypony in Equestria?” asked Cuirass, leaning across the table toward his monarch. “Almost everypony in the Guard has family. How are we going to hide their sudden departure or deaths to them if there is no war?” “I’m not,” said Celestia. “I will tell them when the time is right.” Cuirass stared at her as if the princess had two heads. “Your highness, no offense, but that's insane. How will you know when the time is right to just reveal a bloodbath going on across the sea? What could you be so worried about other than war? This will tarnish your reign!” “I understand, Captain. But if it will protect my little ponies and the peace in Equestria, then despite what I think of it, I will do it. With any luck, all the griffons will need is a little push to see the error of their ways and talk peace with no major casualties. I have known Alaric's family for generations. Perhaps he can be reasoned with as well. When the moment is right, then I will let my little ponies know the truth.” The look Princess Celestia gave her captain with those final words emphasized that the discussion was over. “...Very well, your majesty...” Celestia sighed and stood up. Everypony at the table followed suit and rose as well. “Fillies and gentlecolts, thank you all very much for being here today. I am sorry it had to be under these circumstances. Go and prepare your soldiers. We will begin distributing the new weapons immediately in Fillydelphia, Manehatten, and Baltimare. All summoned troops are to report to any of those cities for immediate deployment.” Celestia swept her gaze over each pony at the table. “Please be careful, everypony. Come back safely, and take care. You all carry the fate of Equestria with you. Dismissed.” Everypony gathered their belongings and began to head out—save for Phalanx, Cuirass, and Fleethoof. The two captains looked at each other in dark understanding. Cuirass crossed the room and pulled Phalanx into a hug. “Take care, my friend,” he said, his words terse, yet heartfelt. “I’ll see you out there on the battlefield.” “Likewise, Cuirass. Take care of your soldiers, and look out for yourself too.” The two exchanged one more smile before Cuirass saluted and walked out of the room. Fleethoof watched the officer leave, then looked to his captain, surprised to see a few tears touching the eyes of the hardened pony. Phalanx took a deep, steadying breath before turning to the young stallion. “Fleethoof, right?” Fleethoof nodded. “How’d you like your first wartime meeting?” “I... don’t know, sir? It was... informative?” Phalanx chuckled at the pegasus, then looked past his shoulder and saluted. Fleethoof turned around and nearly tumbled over when he saw Princess Celestia standing behind him. “Are we bringing new recruits to restricted meetings now, Captain? I must have missed that memo,” Celestia remarked, the gentle smile touching her lips indicative of her joking demeanor. “Only when they start wars, your highness,” Phalanx returned the joke. Fleethoof cringed in guilt. “This is the pony that made the discovery of the griffons. I thought you would like to meet him—and I thought he deserved to know some of what he uncovered.” Celestia looked over Fleethoof. She smiled at him. But behind her smile, he could see the sorrow and sympathy in her eyes. “You are very brave, young soldier. You have done such a great deed for Equestria. What is your name?” Fleethoof was stunned silent for a moment, before forcing himself to untie his tongue. “Fleethoof, your majesty. Private Fleethoof.” “A private? Such a new soldier made such a tremendous discovery? And still a private?” she asked, looking to Phalanx. “Captain, I think this pony’s service at great personal risk has earned him a rank, don’t you think?” “I agree wholeheartedly, Princess.” “It’s settled then!” Celestia decreed. “Corporal Fleethoof. Corporal comes after private, does it not, Captain?” “Technically, lance corporal would, but you can make him whatever you like, Princess.” Fleethoof could feel his mouth hanging open, but couldn’t bring himself to close it. Or blink. Or breathe. He finally managed to give a shaky salute that made the princess laugh softly. “Please be careful out there, gentlecolts. The griffons are not to be trifled with lightly,” Celestia warned. “Come home unharmed, my little ponies.” Her goodbyes said, Princess Celestia walked out as well, leaving a shocked Fleethoof and a snickering Phalanx to gather their belongings and head out. The two ponies were silent for most of the walk out of the castle even though Fleethoof’s head buzzed with questions. It was only once they neared the foyer did he bring himself to speak at last. “Captain... what’s happening?” he asked, not sure how to phrase his question. “We’re being deployed, Private—er, Corporal. Everypony in the Guard will begin meeting at the coastal cities and we’ll travel to the griffons by boat over the next few days,” Captain Phalanx said in calm explanation. “And when we get there, we'll show the griffons why no creature, pony or otherwise, threatens Equestria.” “I get that, but where are we going? That other captain... Cuirass, he said there was only one place we could go.” Phalanx nodded and glanced at the pony beside him. “Have you never seen a map of the Griffon Kingdom?” Fleethoof shook his head. “The griffon coast isn’t like ours. Their entire shoreline is mountainous, much like their mainland. It’s sheer and impossible to climb unless you can fly. But there’s one point on the coast where the mountains break and the land slopes gradually to the water. A city rests there. That’s where we’re attacking, since everypony can get up that beach.” Fleethoof was beginning to get the idea, he thought. “And what is that city, Captain?” “Skyfall. Named for where the high mountains fall into the ocean.” Skyfall. Fleethoof committed the name to memory. If it was going to be his first major battle, he never wanted to forget it. Two other things bothered him though, and as they walked across the main foyer he worked up the courage to ask them. “What was Princess Celestia talking about, not telling the public?” Phalanx looked at Fleethoof very seriously for a moment, scrutinizing his expression closely. Fleethoof recoiled under the severity of the look in the stallion's eyes, and he regretted asking anything at all. The captain waited until they had stepped outside before speaking. “The princess works in mysterious ways, son. What she's planning, I don't know,” he said in a hushed tone. He glanced about quickly, making sure nopony else was within earshot. “She’s only done this once before, during the Frozen North Offensive. She cuts off any mail distribution to and from the Guard until she's revealed the truth. Families think their son or daughter is guarding some barren place when they’re actually fighting a war.” “I’ve never heard of the Frozen North Offensive, sir.” “Exactly.” “That sounds a little underhoofed, sir.” Phalanx laughed. “It's very underhoofed, Corporal. But the princess has been doing this for a long, long time. She wouldn't do anything she hasn't practiced before. It does make me wonder though… She must be truly afraid of something worse than the war happening here.” There was a moment of silence between the two. “But what happens if they... die...?” “Then it gets tricky...” Phalanx released a heavy sigh. “I’m not sure the specificities of that, but she handles it in some form. She probably tells the family and offers her sincerest apology or something. Hell, I don't know. If too many die, I don’t think she could hide it then.” “And what is arcanate?” Phalanx's eyes darkened and a small frown touched his lips. “Do you know how unicorn magic works, Corporal?” A chuckle left the pegasus pony. He flapped his wings in an exaggerated manner to make his point. “I can't say that's something covered in Flight School, sir.” “All across our world, there are reserves of intangible mystical energy called aether pools. These pools are like lakes of energy all over the world. They are connected by rivers of this energy called ley lines. This is how our world is enveloped in magical power,” explained Phalanx. “Unicorns have the ability to tap into this energy. Our horns are sensitive to this stuff. They act as conductors for the aether. Depending on how we manipulate it is how we can cast different spells. “Now, arcanate is a mineral in the ground found only in the Griffon Kingdom. For whatever reason, it acts as a buffer for this aether. I don't really know the science behind it, but it does. The greater the amount present, the weaker a unicorn's magic becomes until it is rendered useless. The Griffon Kingdom is covered in arcanate and has no aether pools. All it has are a couple very weak ley lines. It's a land devoid of magic. Now picture trying to cast even the simplest spell there when the ground you're walking on is practically soaking up the aether.” Slowly, Fleethoof felt he was beginning to grasp the concept. “So unicorns can't cast magic there?” “Nope,” Phalanx said with a shake of his head. “Weeell, not exactly... We used to have a training regiment in the Guard that taught unicorns how to focus energy around it, and some unicorns are more sensitive and have stronger magic. They can get around it. Of course, our spells were much weaker and were usually only effective to the caster, but we could do it. For whatever sagely reason, it was cut from the program. Deemed unnecessary, I suppose, and saved on the budget…” “So only some of the Guard can cast spells in the Griffon Kingdom?” “Precisely. Only those who were enlisted prior to the cut, and even then they would be limited to weak personal shields and short-range teleports at best. Maybe a stun spell. Nothing major—unless they're some sort of second coming alicorn. Ha! Can you imagine?” In the timeframe of one conversation, Fleethoof had found himself very grateful for being born a pegasus. He could only imagine how the unicorns were going to take to being stripped of their magic. They'd have to rely on their strength and accuracy. He couldn't imagine life without his wings and sympathized with the unicorn soldiers. Silence passed between the soldier and the officer again. They stepped through the foyer and past the threshold, back out into Canterlot. “I wonder why she said she was worried something else would happen... like she knew something would...” Fleethoof speculated out loud. It had since turned night. He glanced up at the moon overhead, the pony-shaped craters a familiar sight across the surface, as they had always been. “Like I said, the princess works in mysterious ways. It's like she knows things, but pretends not to know them... Don’t worry yourself about the politics of the matter too much.” “I’m confused, Captain...” Captain Phalanx smirked at Fleethoof as they boarded their carriage back to camp. “Welcome to war, Corporal... Get used to it.” Corporal Fleethoof 3rd Company, Royal Canterlot Reserve Baltimare, Equestria Dear Journal, This is it... As of today, we are officially at war with the griffons. I’m scared, Journal. I am so very, very scared. We were all given new weapons today in Baltimare. A bunch of officers went around handing them out. They’re rifles, but designed differently, and they can fire multiple shots just by pulling the trigger. I don’t know how that works, but it does. No more bolt reloading, so they’re faster and a lot easier to handle. That’s good, right? We also got pistols and new armor. The uniforms we got are a lot lighter than our dress armor, more form fitting I guess, and it’s gray instead of gold. I suppose it works better for camouflage in the mountains? I don’t really know. It feels more like a shirt than armor though. I’m worried, Journal. What if I’m not good enough? What if I get killed as soon as we hit the shore? What if I die bleeding out in some city I've never even heard of all by myself? I keep thinking of my parents. What would they do? How would they react if they got a letter saying I was never coming home? I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous in my life—but I knew it was coming, sooner or later. Soon, we’ll be sailing across the sea to the city of Skyfall. I’ve written that name down in you about a dozen times now. I just can’t believe it’s going to be the first battle of an actual war and nopony will ever know about it. Oh, Steel Shield won’t be coming with us. At least not into this battle. He’s still recovering and can’t fight just yet, so I have to do this without my friend. Thankfully I still have Captain Phalanx to guide us. I trust him. He seems to have a lot of experience and know what he’s doing. I guess I’m going to see just how he got to be a captain tomorrow. If I don’t write in you anymore, Journal, it means I died I failed, and I am so sorry. Mom, Dad, I love you both. Just know I did what I loved, and I don’t have any regrets. Goodbye, Equestria. Maybe someday I’ll come home.