It wasn’t surprising to Astras and Solaria in the least that Luna and Celestia were already up at the crack of dawn, before even Solaria was up to raise her sun. The two excited fillies bounced on their parent’s bed, chanting the same thing over and over again.
“Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP! It’s time to go meet the griffons!” Both girls hollered as the jumped. Celestia once bounced on Astras, who made a loud grunt of disapproval. She immediately quieted down and jumped off the bed. Luna got on top of her dad and got right in his face, sticking her lower lip out in an angry pout.
“WAKE UP! It’s time to go! We don’t wanna be late, do we?” Solaria sat up in the bed and rubbed absently at her left eye with one hoof.
“Luna, we don’t have to start heading off for another five hours. It’s only four in the morning. Go back to bed, my princesses. Do you want me to take you back to your rooms?” Luna jumped off the bed and joined Celestia on the floor, huffing in anger.
“Why can’t we go now?” The younger princess asked.
“Well, first off,” Astras muttered, sitting up, “The griffons will all still be asleep by the time we get there.” Celestia looked at her sister and shrugged. Solaria nodded in agreement with her husband.
“We can set off in a few hours, my daughters. For now, we should all get some sleep. You two will be exhausted five minutes into our journey there! It will be a long trip.” Luna hung her head in defeat.
“But I’m too tired to sleep!”
“You can still lie in bed. Hopefully you’ll drift off on your own, hmm?” Solaria raised an eyebrow at her youngest. Luna sighed and nodded, turning and following after Celestia, who had already departed back to her own chambers.
“Do you want me to put you back to bed, Luna?”
“Yes please.” Luna mumbled quietly through a yawn. Solaria climbed out of bed, graceful as ever, even at four in the morning, and followed Luna through the twisting hallways of their castle to her bedroom door. Luna’s name, written in childish font, was sprawled across the wood, located directly to the right of Celestia’s. Luna swung open the door and took a running start to the bed. The filly took a quick look over the side of the king sized mattress once she landed and breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Luna saw Solaria raise an eyebrow in question.
“The monsters will grab me if I get too close to the bottom of the bed.” She murmured as Solaria laid her down gently and tugged the covers up over her. Luna grabbed her favorite stuffed animal, a timberwolf plushy, and rubbed her eyes.
“Mom?”
“Yes, Luna?” Luna didn’t respond for a few moments.
“You won’t ever leave Celestia and me, will you?” Luna’s eyes were closed.
“Why would I ever leave you?” Solaria leaned forward and nuzzled her youngest.
“What if the griffons try to do something bad to me and Celestia while we’re visiting? What if they don’t like us?” Luna’s words were slowly fading out as she spoke. Solaria frowned slightly.
“You let me and your father worry about that, my princess. We won’t let anything harm you.” Solaria turned and walked to the door. Luna was already asleep, completely passed out from fatigue. The Queen shut the door quietly behind her and went to Celestia’s room, glancing in quickly. Her heiress was sprawled out across her bed, not even under the covers, with her bedroom door still half open. Solaria smiled to herself and shut the door before turning and walking back to her bedroom. Astras opened one eye and peeked at her as she crawled back into her bed, the royal guards in front of their room closing the door for her.
“Did they get to sleep alright?” He mumbled.
“Yes. Celestia was already asleep by the time I got there. Yet Luna…” Solaria paused as she pulled the covers over herself. She pursed her lips as she thought about what Luna had said.
“Luna what?”
“Luna seemed… worried, that something might happen when we get there.” Solaria flipped over to face her husband. Astras’ eyes were both open, and he stared hard at his wife.
“What do you mean, ‘worried something might happen’? What would happen?”
“Well,” Solaria thought before she continued, “she thought that the griffons might… hurt them.” Astras sat up.
“Hurt them how?” Solaria sighed and shrugged.
“I don’t know, my sweet. All I know is that I’m tired and I wish to rest before our journey. It was already going to be stressful enough without the girls coming.” Solaria closed her eyes. Astras lay back down.
“Did you tell them that we would protect them?” Solaria might have murmured a reply, but Astras didn’t hear it. He, too, was exhausted. The two of them fell asleep almost at the exact same time, with her lying away from him wrapped in his arms. And the two slept soundly.
~~~~~~~~~~
Starry Night was present in the room as Solaria went over their things. He, as the Royal Advisor, made a check-and-double-check checklist of their belongings. Solaria stayed behind to assist him as Astras ran off to check on their daughters. Poking his head in the room, he saw Luna yelling and kicking her saddle bag. He pulled the stuffy that she was levitating with her magic out of her hooves. She gasped in surprise as he did so.
“DAD! You scared me! You can’t sneak up on me like that!” She charged against his leg and banged against him. He let out an exaggerated oof and stumbled backwards, dropping her timberwolf on the ground. She giggled in delight at her strength.
“Sorry, moonbeam. You sure are strong. I always forget that about you.” Luna beamed with pride.
“I came to see how your packing was doing. Do you need any help?” He levitated her saddle bag up and opened the pouch. The entire bag was full to bursting point with her stuffed animals. She held her timberwolf in her hooves and pouted.
“I can’t get Wolfy to fit. I can’t leave him behind!” She wailed. Astras grinned to himself and knelt down to her height.
“Moonbeam, you can’t bring all these animals along. They’ll get too scared on the journey. Why don’t you bring one animal along? You should make room for your books and whatnot.” Luna looked at him, exasperated.
“But what will my animals do when I’m gone?” Astras stuttered after a few moments, thinking about what to say.
“They’ll have a gigantic party here while we’re away. And when we’re back, they’ll tell you all about it!” Luna gasped and looked down at all the animals that were stuffed carelessly into her bag.
“Is that true, guys?” She asked her toys. After a moment, she glanced up at her father happily.
“They said that they would love to stay behind and have a party!” Astras smiled at her and put his hoof on her head, ruffling her mane ever so slightly. She scowled at him and stood up, straightening her hair and pulling all of her animals out of her pack. Astras walked to the door.
“Will you need any more help, moonbeam?” Luna shook her head gleefully as she set her animals along her bed in their usual places, at the same time tossing her mane brush into her pack. Astras shook his head and trotted to Celestia’s room.
“Hey princess, how are things going in here?” Celestia looked up from her bed. Her saddle bag was lying on the floor near the door, not overflowing in the slightest. The sun clasp that held it shut wasn’t near-bursting and Celestia looked as calm and collected as ever.
“Yes dad. Why?” She was in the middle of reading ‘The Noble History of Griffonia. She tossed a bookmark in the page she was on and put the book to her side.
“Just double checking. Luna was having some troubles deciding what to bring. I just came to see if you needed help, but I see you have the whole situation under control.” He grinned at her. Celestia beamed in pride.
“I did it all by myself dad, see!” She jumped off of her bed and ran to her dad, unclipping her saddle bag, and throwing it open, revealing a perfectly sorted array of items. Celestia had two books placed neatly beside each other on their spines, a mane brush lying on top of them, and a few other things that Astras couldn’t recognize in his fleeting glance.
“That’s great princess. What were you reading?” Astras walked over to her bed and levitated the book that she was occupied in when he entered. She skipped merrily after him.
“I was learning about the history of the griffons! I want to know all about them when we go to visit! After all, I wouldn’t want to offend them or anything – they have a very noble and proud history, from what I’ve read so far.” She smiled up at her dad, her face looking so much like her mother’s. Astras paused for a moment, her face lighting up and illuminating the room just like Solaria’s did when she smiled. Astras was filled with pride.
“I’m glad to hear that you’re learning more about other cultures, princess. That shows promise that you’ll be a wonderful ruler someday.” She blushed slightly at her father’s compliment.
“Oh dad, I don’t think that I would make a good ruler. I wouldn’t know who to talk to, what to say, what to do if some evil army invaded our lands… it would all be too much for me to handle.”
“Well you aren’t taking over the kingdom just yet, are you Tia?” Astras laughed; his voice hearty and deep. “There’s hopefully still quite a bit of time before that happens.” He looked at his daughter, mock seriousness clouding his face. She giggled along with him.
“Hopefully, dad. Luna would make a better Queen than I would, I think. I hope we don’t have to rule for a long time.” Astras’ face went dark and sad for a split second.
“I hope so too, sweetie.”
~~~~~~~~~~
“Are we ready to go, my daughters?” Solaria called to Celestia and Luna. The two fillies came running out of their rooms at full speed, Celestia with her griffon book in her mouth and Luna trying to tighten the straps on her saddle bag. Solaria caught her eldest as she almost tripped and fell.
“Careful there, my sunlight. We can’t have to hurting yourself before our trip even starts, now can we? What do you have here?” She levitated Celestia’s book up and read the cover as Astras adjusted Luna’s straps for her quickly.
“’The Noble History of Griffonia’. You’ve been studying up, I see.” Solaria smirked in amusement. Astras tapped his hoof impatiently at the doorway, discussing something inaudible with Starry Night. Solaria let Celestia take the book back as the two walked to the door to join the King.
“Are you sure you have everything, Your Highnesses? We wouldn’t want you to get halfway there and realize you forgot something!” Starry Night exclaimed. Solaria giggled and glanced behind her.
“Well, we have Celestia and Luna, so I think we’re all set!” The three elder ponies all laughed together, but the two young princesses didn’t look as amused.
“Let’s go, mom! We’re taking so long! It’ll be tomorrow by the time we get there!” Solaria raised an eyebrow at Luna, who stuck out her lower lip in a pout.
“Ever impatient, my daughter. Just like your father.” Solaria smiled at Astras, who smirked at both his wife and youngest. The King turned and walked out the door into Solaria’s mid-morning sunshine. He breathed in the smell of fresh air, and the palace guards bowed before the presence of their rulers. Celestia smiled bashfully at the guards as she passed, but Luna seemed to always enjoy being treated as royalty. Astras mumbled one last thing to Starry Night before he took up to the sky, beating his large wings majestically. Solaria followed suit, as well as Celestia and Luna. The four royals glanced down at Starry Night.
“Have a safe and enjoyable trip, Your Highnesses. I hope you have a fantastic time.” Starry Night bowed low to them as they took higher to the sky.
“Thank you, my friend!,” Solaria called down to him as she beat higher, “We’ll be sure to inform you when we reach Griffonia! We should be there by evening tonight!” If Starry Night yelled something in response, the family of four didn’t hear it. Amidst Celestia and Luna’s excited chattering, and Astras and Solaria’s diplomatic discussions on their course of action, any and all noise from the outside world fell on deaf ears. They didn’t even notice the citizens of their kingdom kneeling to them far below on the ground.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Are we almost there?”
“Can you carry me dad?” The young princesses’ incessant questions to their parents pestered the two regal rulers for the entire duration of the trip. More than once, they had to stop their journey so that Luna could hop on and off her father’s back because she was either ‘too tired’ or ‘too bored’. Astras sighed, slightly annoyed, as Luna jumped on him for the eleventh time, and he took to the skies again to catch up to Solaria and Celestia.
“Are we almost there, dad? This flight is so boring! We’ve been flying for hours!” Astras sighed in frustration and replied through gritted teeth.
“We’ve almost arrived moonbeam. Look over there;” he gestured ahead with his hoof, “Griffonia should be appearing right over these mountains here.” The young girls stared intently ahead, with Celestia starting to fly slightly faster and Luna urging her father to catch up with her. Surely enough, after only a few more minutes, the mighty kingdom of Griffonia appeared slowly in the distance, foggy at first, but becoming clearer and larger as they drew closer. Griffonia’s high spires poked above most of the other buildings, and their foreign architecture was not unlike back at home, except for a few minor details here and there. Luna marvelled at the sheer height of everything, while Celestia had taken a seat on her mother’s back and was frantically flipping through her book trying to search for the chapter of griffon architecture. The four nobles landed gracefully. They were met by two large, imposing griffons wearing royal armor, who gave them a quick, curt nod of their heads. Solaria and Astras nodded diplomatically back at them.
“Welcome to Griffonia, King Astras and Queen Solaria. We hope your flight went smoothly. Please, follow us to the castle.” Astras nodded gruffly and motioned for their daughters to follow. Celestia kept her nose pressed in her book. One of the guards took notice.
“You are Princess Celestia, heiress of the sun, are you not?” The guard to the left asked her without looking down. She started, glancing at him briefly.
“Yes, I am. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” She smiled at him kindly. The guard’s cold demeanor vanished for a brief moment. A smile from Celestia could make anyone happy.
“I see you’re reading the history of Griffonia. I didn’t know ponies took interest in griffon culture.”
“I sure do! Your culture is so rich and fascinating. I’ve been reading about it ever since I heard that we were coming to visit here! I’ve learned so much in the past few days.” The guard grinned at her.
“I’m glad to hear it. You’re known around the lands as being very smart and quick-witted. It doesn’t surprise me that you’re busy reading, even when you’re surrounded in the very culture that you’re trying to learn about!” Celestia flushed and lowered her book.
“I just don’t want to come off as uncultured, or closed minded!” The guard laughed, earning a disapproving glare from the other.
“Trust me, Princess Celestia, you don’t. I’m sure our King and Queen will be thrilled to hear about how knowledgeable you are.” Solaria inwardly beamed with pride for her daughter. She’s so smart, Solaria mused. You’ll make a fine ruler someday, my sunlight. The six walked in silence the rest of the way to the castle. When they arrived at the giant door, Luna broke the silence.
“OH MY GOSH! It’s so gigantic! Look mom!” Luna fluttered her wings and took to the sky, flying over towards a nearby pillar that was shaped like a griffon holding spear guarding the doorway. Solaria gasped and Astras used his levitation to tug Luna back down to the ground and hold her there.
“Luna!,” Astras grunted in anger, causing her to flinch, “This is neither the time nor the place to behave like a child!” If their escorts were displeased, they showed nothing. They swung open the doors and Astras and Solaria marched forward, with their daughters close behind at their heels. The doors swung shut behind them, and the four royal ponies were in the throne room, with two large, regally dressed griffons staring down at them disapprovingly. Solaria was the first to bow.
“King Penneth, Queen Gildana, it is a pleasure to finally meet face to face.” She said, clear as day. The two griffons raised their heads higher and waited for Astras to bow as well. He, Celestia and Luna all did shortly after. Only then, did Penneth and Gildana rise from their thrones and, without a word, walked out of the room. The escort that was talking with Celestia motioned for them to follow.
“In there is the Meeting Hall. I hope everything goes smoothly for you, Your Highnesses. Have a fine day.” The two escorts bowed their heads and left without another word. Astras shrugged at his wife and took the lead, stomping after the two griffon leaders into the Hall. Luna fell behind to Celestia and started whispering to her.
“They sure weren’t too kind, were they sister? Some royals they are.” Luna sneered. Celestia glared at her, but deep down, Luna could tell she agreed.
“Luna, this isn’t the time nor the place to act like a child.” Celestia mimicked their father’s earlier words. Luna raised her nose and trotted ahead to her father’s side. The four entered the Hall. Penneth and Gildana were sitting in their thrones on one end of the table, a map of the world laid out before them. Astras took note that there were no other thrones present in the room – the griffons wanted the ponies to realize that they were guests in Griffonia and not above Penneth and Gildana in the slightest. Their hosts wanted to assert their dominance, as per usual, and while Solaria expected it, the young princesses obviously did not. Luna looked around the room, confused.
“Where do we sit?” Penneth raised a furred eyebrow at the young filly. Solaria’s eyes jolted open wide and Astras tugged her behind him.
“I apologize, King Penneth, Queen Gildana. She meant no harm. She’s not used to being a visitor, is all.” Solaria bowed her head in respect and apology to the griffons. Gildana snorted and turned up her nose.
“Apology accepted, Solaria, but please, keep your offspring in line when they are in our presence, why don’t you?” Solaria nodded her head, keeping a diplomatic look to her, but her husband and daughters knew her well enough to know that she wasn’t pleased. Gildana motioned a clawed hand to some wooden chairs sitting around the table.
“If you will, Solaria, take a seat. We haven’t got all day, you know. There is a kingdom to be run.” Astras and Solaria took their seats wordlessly. Celestia and Luna followed suit, but Luna grunted in obvious discomfort as she sat down. Astras gave her a subtle glare.
“Now then,” Penneth muttered impatiently, “What is so urgent that you felt the need to waste our precious time with?” Astras cleared him throat.
“King Penneth, as you know, our kingdom is in danger of being attacked by the draconequus. Our enemy has not made it a big secret that they are threatening us, and Equestria has need of allies in case the situation arises. We implore you to accept our offer and become our allies, so that our two nations may become stronger and prevail against this common enemy that we share.” Gildana rolled her eyes and stared out the window, bored. Celestia furrowed her brow in disappointment. ‘This isn’t at all what the book told me griffons were like.’
“Astras, Griffonia needs no allies to defend itself. We griffons are a strong race, unlike you ponies, and we need no help to protect our people.” It took all of Luna’s strength not to burst out and berate the griffons for being so mean. Solaria cleared her throat.
“Please, your majesties, know that we, in no way, mean any offense to your kingdom or your people, but we have seen the draconequus fight before, and they are a deadly force not to be underestimated. The army of Griffonia is but a fraction of the numbers that they can brag. If they chose to strike here, you would have a difficult time defending your borders. Please, think of your people,” Solaria implored, “And know that allying with us is the correct decision to make.” The griffons were silent for a few long moments. It was the Queen who broke the silence.
“Solaria, are you implying that we are weak?”
“No!,” Solaria shook her head, astounded, “That’s not it at all. But take it from us, ponies that have seen the might of the draconequus first hoofed, that all the nations of the land need as much help as they can muster in order to beat them.” Gildana sighed and looked out the window again, just as bored as before and now slightly angry.
“Penneth, these ponies are insulting us. I don’t quite like that.” Penneth placed his arm around his wife.
“I agree. Astras,” he turned to the King of the Moon, “Do you have anything to add onto your wife’s remarkably inconsiderate remarks?” Astras’ mouth tightened and Solaria bowed her head in shame and frustration.
“King Penneth, my wife meant no insult by her words. Please, listen to reason. The griffons are a mighty fighting force, are they not?” Penneth nodded, as if the words Astras had just spoken were obvious.
“The army of Equestria is not insignificant either. Yet even we would splinter under the imposing force. What can we do to convince you to join us, so that both our kingdoms will continue to live on for generations to come?” Penneth turned to Gildana and the two muttered something to each other in a different language. Celestia recognized a few words here and there, but nothing she could make into a full sentence. The ponies waited patiently for their hosts. Penneth turned back to them after a short few minutes.
“Astras, while we appreciate the compliment that you’re in dire need of our help, but we simply cannot be bothered to aid your kingdom. The fighting force of Griffonia can hold itself up. We don’t need your help. Though it’s touching to think that you need ours.” Penneth smirked as the king breathed in and out hard, trying his best not to explode. Solaria shook her head and stood up.
“Well,” The Queen of the Sun sighed, “We’re sorry to hear that that is your decision. We will take our leave tomorrow morning. If you wish to further discuss this, please come find us. I truly think that allying is the correct decision, but if your mind is set against it, we cannot convince you otherwise.” Penneth closed his eyes.
“Finally Solaria, you’re seeing clearly. Now please, we are very busy griffons, and we run a very busy kingdom. If there’s nothing else, I trust that you can show yourselves out?” Astras, who was still seated, stood and turned around, storming out of the Hall without another word. Solaria took one last fleeting look at the griffons before trotting out after her husband, both daughters trailing behind their mother closely behind. Astras slammed the door shut behind them once they left. Alone in the hallway of Castle Griffonia, the four walked in silence to the guest chambers. The silence was awkward and painful. Once they reached their room, Solaria shut the door quietly after the four had entered and leaned against the door, letting out a deep sigh. Astras snarled.
“How dare they insult us like this? Those griffons are too haughty and proud to look past their own beaks and see the threats around them!” Celestia and Luna laid down on their bed, Luna groaning into the pillow. Celestia looked at her book sadly and put it to the side.
“I had no idea that griffons were so mean.” She mumbled to her sister. Luna nodded in agreement. Solaria joined her husband and sat down on the bed, resting her head on the pillow.
“If this is their decision, we cannot change that. We can only hope that our current allies are enough to defend the lands.” Astras snorted.
“The Crystals are a small army. The few donkeys around the land have pledged allegiance to us, yes, but they too are few in number. The dragons have rejected our pleas, as have the diamond dogs. The only true fighting force we have is our army and the minotaurs of Creighton.” Astras put his head in his hoofs.
“That’s still better than nothing, my sweet. We can still defend ourselves with just that. While our numbers may be fewer, we have love and honor, something that our enemy does not possess.” She beamed at her husband, and Astras’ heart instantly felt lighter.
“I suppose you’re right, my sun, as always.” The two hugged.
“We mustn’t let this discourage us, alright?” Astras breathed out slowly and nodded, smiling at his wife. Luna gaped at the two.
“Mom, dad, how can you be so calm about this?!,” Luna spit, “They were so demeaning to us. They didn’t give us thrones to sit in; they didn’t even refer to you two as King and Queen! Even though you outrank them!” The two parents blinked a few times at their youngest daughter. Solaria laughed and put her hoof on her daughter’s head, stroking her mane.
“Oh Luna, you have so much to learn. Your father and I never once expected to be treated with respect while we were here. This is the way of the griffons.” Solaria shrugged. Luna sat down again and stuck out her lower lip in a pout.
“The griffons are stupid.” She muttered. Celestia nodded once in agreement. Astras tugged Luna over towards him with his magic and hugged her.
“Now moonbeam, I know it’s stressful to deal with them – trust me, I know – but this is what being a ruler is. Even when someone is being mean to you, you have to deal with it and not get angry. This is the way of the world.” Luna hugged her dad back.
“I guess so, dad.” The four ponies sat in silence for a few minutes, catching their tempers and calming down. Solaria broke the silence by looking out the window.
“My sweet, it’s almost time to raise the moon.” Astras sat up and looked over his shoulder.
“You’re right. Do you wanna come along, moonbeam?” He looked at Luna. She yawned and rubbed her eyes.
“No thanks dad. I’m really tired. I think I would rather just go to sleep.” Solaria and Astras smiled at her and looked at Celestia. The elder princess nodded in agreement with her younger sister. The trip had tired both young fillies out completely. Astras levitated Luna over to her own bed and tucked her under the covers. The King and Queen of Equestria walked to the door, gave one last loving glance at their daughters who were already starting to drift off, and closed the door behind them.
~~~~~~~~~~
Luna opened her eyes. The moon was high in the sky and the castle was quiet. The Princess of the Moon couldn’t hear any noise anywhere. Glancing over, her parents weren’t in their bed. Celestia slept peacefully beside her.
“Tia, wake up!” Luna nudged her sister, who scowled at her before opening her eyes.
“What do you want?”
“Where are mom and dad?” Celestia rolled her eyes.
“In their bed, Luna. If you’re homesick, go sleep with them.”
“I’m not homesick!,” Luna hissed. “They aren’t there.” Celestia sat up.
“What do you mean they aren’t there? Where are they then?” Sure enough, when Celestia looked over, the large bed where their parents should have been was empty. The two pony princesses trotted over to the vacant bed. Celestia started speaking, but a noise from the outside caught Luna’s attention instead. The younger filly walked over to the window and placed her hooves on the sill, glancing outside.
“What are you looking at, Luna?” Celestia went to join her at the window, but Luna didn’t respond. She was too shocked to speak. She was too frightened to do anything but stare.
Because far in the distance, thousands of griffons had taken to the sky.
Far in the distance, their mother and father were hovering alongside Penneth and Gildana, all four bracing themselves for impact.
Because far in the distance, the draconequus army was flying towards Griffonia.