The two fillies stared out the window for a good long time, neither of them saying anything. Thousands of griffons filled the sky, each one of them adorned in elaborate battle armor. They all held spears – the favored weapon of the griffons – and each one had its pointed tip poised towards the enemy. Solaria and Astras were at the lead of the army, directly behind a tall and gruff griffon that the princesses didn’t recognize. Even the king and queen of Griffonia were dressed in armor bearing the royal seal of their nation on the breastplate. Any and all anger towards the griffons had faded from Astras and Solaria’s faces, and was instead replaced with hard, determined expressions. Celestia pulled back from the window and collapsed onto their parents bed, her mind reeling.
“Luna, what are we gonna?” She cried. Luna just stared. Every filly in the land had heard of the draconequus – tall, terribly deformed creatures with the head of a pony, bat and Pegasus wings and a snaked tongue that slithered out of their mouths constantly, just to name a few of their characteristics. But Luna had obviously never seen one, let alone an army of them that was bent on destroying Griffonia. Yet here they were, the monsters out of a storybook that everypony hoped would never come true.
“Tia… mom and dad are out there.” Was the only thing she could manage to say. Celestia was shaking, despite the beads of sweat that came from her forehead, matting her coat together.
“What are we gonna do?” The Princess of the Sun repeated.
“What can we do?”
“Nothing, that’s what.” Celestia answered her own question. Luna turned to her sister.
“Tia, there’s always something we can do. We’re alicorns too. We can help fight.” Celestia gave her a look of shocked horror.
“What are you talking about? Being an alicorn means that we’re princesses. We have no experience in fighting at all. We can’t do anything. If we were out there, mom and dad would just worry about us.”
“And they’re not gonna worry about us being in here?”
“Of course they will, but at least we’re safer here.” The two fillies were silent. Luna looked back out at the night sky. Spear clashed with claw as the draconequus launched their attack. Luna winced as she saw specks of red go flying from griffon and draconequus bodies alike.
“So what do we do, go back to sleep and hope everything is right by morning? If there will even be a morning…” Luna muttered sadly. Celestia didn’t respond. Instead, she grabbed her book and started flipping through the pages.
“What are you looking for?”
“A place to hide, obviously.” Celestia muttered without looking up. “We have to stay safe. Mom and dad will take care of things. They always do.” Luna watched as a griffon body fell to the ground.
“Tia… one of the griffons just fell out of the sky.” Celestia threw her book on the bed and rubbed her face with her hooves, letting out a single, loud wail of despair.
“There’s nothing, nothing at all that could help us. We’re stuck here.”
“I’m telling you, sister, we should go fight!”
“NO!” Celestia screamed at Luna. Luna immediately quieted. The younger princess opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
“We’re not fighting,” Celestia glared at her, “Because we’ll die. When mom and dad are gone, I’m in charge. I’m your older sister, so you have to listen to me. So we’re going to leave this room, and we’re going to go hide somewhere in the castle.”
“But-“
“There has to be some servants around here that aren’t participating in the battle. They have to have someplace to hide.” Celestia pondered to herself. Luna had to admit that it was a clever idea, one that she herself didn’t consider. The younger princess was glad that it was Celestia in charge and not her.
“Leave all your stuff here, Luna. We’re gonna go find some servants.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Sweetie Belle stared intently at Twilight, who was smirking on the inside.
“Are you enjoying the story so far, Sweetie?” Sweetie leaned forward gaping at the Princess of Friendship.
“Am I? This is only the coolest story ever! I never would have guessed that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had such an awesome history! Can you imagine what it would be like to see an army of Discord’s marching towards your city?!” Twilight laughed, but internally shuddered at the thought.
“Do you want me to continue?” She asked. Sweetie Belle nodded vigorously. Twilight took a swig of water from her cup and sighed, leaning back in her chair.
“Well, eventually the princesses started roaming the castle, looking for help…”
~~~~~~~~~~
“Hello?” Celestia called out to the deserted hallway. Luna followed closely behind, keeping on a brave face.
“Is anyone out there? Hello? We need help!” Celestia and Luna exchanged glances.
“I don’t think there’s anyone left around here, sister.” Luna whispered. Celestia nodded in agreement.
“Let’s check down here, just in case.” The elder pointed her hoof to a closed doorway. Luna nodded in agreement. The two fillies stepped forward and pushed on the door – which didn’t budge one bit.
“That’s weird… it’s locked.” The two fillies pushed again, to no avail. Celestia took a deep breath and knocked her hoof on the door twice.
“Umm… excuse me? Is anyone in there? Please, we need help. We’re visitors.” The two fillies heard a slight rustle behind the door. The princesses exchanged excited glances at each other.
“My name,” Celestia spoke, a bit louder now, “Is Princess Celestia, heiress of the sun and daughter of King Astras and Queen Solaria. We’re visiting from our home, and we need help. Our mother and father are fighting the draconequus and we need a place to hide.” Silence greeted them, but only for a few long moments. A feminine sounding, shaky voice spoke.
“Princess Celestia of Equestria?”
“Yes, that’s me. My sister, Princess Luna, heiress of the moon, is here as well. Please, let us in. We’re all alone.” Another pause of silence, before hearing a slow click. The door opened, just a crack, and darkness greeted the girls.
“Come in, your Highnesses. You’ll be safe in here.” The two fillies pushed the door open a bit wider and slipped into the darkness.
“Why’s it so dark in here?” Luna asked as the female griffon closed the door behind them, re-locking it.
“If we keep the candles lit for too long, the draconequus will know we’re here. Rest assured, princesses, you’re safe here. My name is Nalen. There are three others here with me – Prynn, Marne and Merryl. Marne, light a candle. These little fillies must be so frightened. Let them see what we look like, so they aren’t scared of us.” The princesses heard a match being struck, and the candle was lit. Sure enough, four griffons, two females and two males, sat around the room – which was now, as they could see, a pantry. Luna’s stomach grumbled at the sight of the delicious looking food presented all around her. One of the male griffons laughed heartily.
“Are you hungry, Miss Luna? We have lots of food here. I’m Marne, one of the chefs here at the castle.” Luna nodded eagerly at Marne, who smiled, beat his wings and grabbed a box, which he proceeded to tear open with his talons and pour into a bowl. The griffon that had let them in, Nalen, stood leaning against the door, eyes closed. She had a kind, gentle feel to her, kind of like the one that Solaria gave off. Nalen walked over to the other female griffon, Merryl, and hugged her tightly, bringing her to the table in the center of the room where the final griffon sat with a gruff expression on his face.
“Miss Luna, Miss Celestia, you said your mom and dad were out there fighting for our kingdom?” Nalen asked as Marne brought over a bowl filled with food that couldn’t be identified by Luna. As she took a cautious bite however, she found that it was just as good as the food back at home.
“Yes, our mom and dad are out there, at the front along with your king and queen. We didn’t know what else to do, so we decided to wander the hallways and hopefully find someone who could keep us safe.” Two griffons smiled, but Merryl and Prynn did not.
“Well princesses, there’s no need to worry – us four might just be simple chefs, but we still know how to pick up a weapon and fight if we have to.” Luna looked up from her bowl.
“Why aren’t you out there right now, then?” She questioned. At a glance from Celestia, she added, “Not that we mind or anything. If it wasn’t for you guys, we would still be wandering the halls, lost.” Nalen smiled meekly.
“Just because we can fight, young one, doesn’t mean we want to. We figured we would stay here and guard the food supplies, and hopefully help anyone who was wandering the halls like you were.” Luna nodded thoughtfully, seemingly satisfied with the answer, and went back to eating her food. Celestia looked at Merryl, who had her eyes closed. She seemed to be breathing heavily.
“Is she alright?” Celestia mumbled quietly. Nalen tried to fake a smile but had worry clouding her eyes.
“Probably. She just needs some rest. Her two sons – my nephews – are out there fighting right now. She’s just worried. Isn’t that right, sister?” Nalen shook Merryl’s shoulders. The griffon didn’t respond. Celestia fidgeted in her seat.
“Let me take a look at her. She doesn’t look too good. If she’s ill, we need to get her help.” Nalen released Merryl and stepped aside, but looked surprised.
“You have medical knowledge, Miss Celestia?” Celestia smiled at her brightly, earning a grin from even grumpy old Prynn.
“Yep! I read about medicine almost every day! I can name over one hundred different diseases and ailments just by looking at a pony – or a griffon – and can diagnose them almost as quick!” The griffons looked impressed.
“My my, princess, aren’t you well read? A fine ruler you’ll make someday, that’s for sure.” Celestia flushed under the compliment, her normally white coat turning a light shade of pink. Nalen cooed something about her being so lady-like and beautiful, while ignoring Luna, who still sat in the corner stuffing her face like a young colt. The younger princess rolled her eyes and suppressed a surge of unwelcomed jealousy over her sister. Celestia glanced over Merryl, who sighed deeply. Luna was glad that the room held no windows. She truly wanted to know what was going on outside. The faint clatter and clank of steel could still be heard.
“Well,” Celestia exclaimed as she stood back up, “I see nothing wrong with your sister, Nalen. I guess she really just is worried about her sons.” The two exchanged a smile as Celestia sat back down next to her sister. Luna had finished eating and had placed the bowl on the counter. Prynn was still as a statue, as he had been the entire time, and Marne was busy dampening a rag at the sink. He placed the wet cloth on Merryl’s forehead with a worried expression.
“Merryl, they’re going to be fine. Please, calm down. Our sons are brave fighters – as they all are. They will be fine.” He emphasized the last word. Luna and Celestia looked at each other, sad.
“I wonder if mom and dad are fine too.” Luna whispered. Celestia tugged her sister under her arm and hugged her tightly.
“They will be, sister. They will be.” Celestia rubbed her temples with her free hoof as both fillies let out a loud yawn at the same time. Even amidst all of the turmoil that raged outside, the fact remained that they were still young girls, and got tired pretty quickly. Marne smiled at them.
“If you two want, you can sleep in the back,” he motioned to a pile of straw that lay on the floor. “That’s usually where I sleep, but I don’t mind if you take it tonight.” The two fillies got up and inspected the pile.
“This is where they make you sleep?” Luna sneered; disgusted at the way that Penneth and Gildana took care of their staff. Marne shrugged and went back to attending Merryl.
“Yeppers. That’s the way it’s gotta be sometime. Beats sleeping out on the streets. At least I have a roof over my head, my wife beside me, and plenty of midnight snacks!” He grinned brightly at Luna, who lightened up at seeing his optimism. Celestia bowed her head to the griffon.
“Thank you, Marne, for giving us this bed. We are truly in your debt. I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to Luna while we were out there.” Marne flicked his wrist up and down a few times.
“Pfft, please Miss Celestia, we couldn’t just leave you out there all by your lonesome selves, now could we? You two lie down and get some rest. Being awake won’t do you any good, and you’ll feel much better tomorrow. We’ll wake you up if anything happens while you’re asleep, alright?” The two fillies nodded and laid down. Celestia seemed to not mind it, but Luna struggled to find a comfortable position.
“Lay still!” Celestia hissed into her sister’s ear.
“I’m trying! It’s so uncomfortable here though!” Celestia rolled her eyes.
“Well of course it is, but we have to make due. Just go to sleep Luna.” The elder princess rolled over onto her side, facing away from Luna, and started to drift off. Luna settled down, but sleep never took her. Her mind was too clouded with worry for her parents. How can Tia be asleep right now, when our parents might be dying out there? After a long while of not saying anything, the griffons started to talk again.
“Merryl, are you alright? Can you hear me?”
“Mmm…” The griffon responded weakly. Marne sighed and the other two were silent.
“Please, sweetie, don’t be like this. How is Griffonia ever gonna prosper if its people don’t believe in it?”
“Marne has a point, sister.”
“Nalen, those two little fillies are asleep, right?” Marne whispered.
“Yeah, they haven’t made a peep in over an hour. They have to be.”
“Gosh, they must be so scared. I can’t believe that they were just wandering the halls by themselves. What were they thinking?”
“I know, right? I’m glad we found them.” Anything else that the griffons were saying was drowned out by Luna’s own thoughts. What could Tia be dreaming about? She looks so peaceful, even when our parents are fighting for their lives outside. We should be out there too, helping. What are you dreaming about, sister? Luna closed her eyes for what felt like a long time, her mind racing with all sorts of questions. After a while, she opened her eyes again.
But Luna didn’t see the brown walls of the pantry surrounding her.
She didn’t hear the voices of the griffons behind her.
She didn’t even see her sister’s pink mane gently rising and falling as she slumbered.
All Luna saw was fire and darkness blazing all around her, and the sound of Celestia frantically screaming her name over and over again.