As the magic receded, Twilight found herself reliving a life changing moment, just over two years prior.
Twilight Sparkle found herself sitting within the massive chamber that acted as both the Emperors throne room, and the royal banquet hall for the last time, and Twilight was completely elated. The entire trip had been an aggravating, stressful, mess. She could honestly say the only reason she hadn't simply thrown up her hooves and hidden away in the Griffon archives was because her friends had been brought along. Twilight was positively giddy that this would be the last state dinner she was obligated to attend for the foreseeable future.
The young princess was currently seated about mid way down the side of one of the heavy stone tables that formed a large ‘U’, putting her far away from her mentor, and thus the head of the table. It was a slight to her as a princess being seated so far away from the king. However, over the past month, Twilight had been slighted so often that she had begun to regress to her mindset from when she was living in Canterlot.
Even as a small filly, Twilight had been highly intelligent, and although her sincere humility would cause her to claim to have only slightly above average intellect, her intelligence coupled with the tremendous amount of studying she committed herself to had left her confined to an almost hermetic status as she exiled herself to dusty tomes and frayed pages. Despite her reclusiveness, no one ever really picked on her directly. Between her brother, her royal foalsitter, and later her mentor and teacher, she always had someone to help keep her safe in her ivory tower, a great deal more literally once she moved into Celestia’s castle proper.
Her isolation, however, led many to believe she was snubbing them which, in turn, caused them to snub her right back. After a lifetime of practice it was very easy for her to ignore these slights. It wasn’t until much later, sadly, that she realized that she likely did indeed snub ponies in her constant neglecting of social activities, but that was neither here nor there, and there wasn't really anything she could do about it now. The skill was invaluable here as verbal sticks and stones simply flew past her, diligently ignored.
The meal had been served shortly after Blacktalon and Celestia each gave a little speech that Twilight hadn’t truly cared enough to really listen too. They were both just spouting empty niceties at this point anyways, so she wouldn't miss much and while she recognized that it wasn't part of her usual behavior, at the moment she simply couldn't muster the will to care.
Between her complete inability to affect any positive change, Celestia’s utter lack of effort in securing anything other than Equestris borders, and the Emperors Court which as a whole gleefully abused these facts… yes, It had been a tiring month by any standards.
Dinner had gone peacefully enough. She was positioned between two rival griffon kings, who were bickering between each other, and she had made a small game of politely asking innocent questions which would incidentally be worded to obliterate one or the others arguments, sometimes both. By the time dinner ended they had become significantly quieter, much to the amusement of those seated nearby who were having a fine evening indeed as they gleefully watched their more annoying peers ego’s punctured by the tiny mare.
It was actually a trick she figured out when dealing with the equally thick headed canterlot nobles. The vast majority of their arguments could be easily defused simply by pointing out how nonsensical and flimsy their position actually was. Celestia had made it a habit to not sit Twilight near the ones who could make good points as they were the ones who could actually make trouble for her student, or worse “corrupt” her.
Once dinner was cleared from both the sides, the adjoined head table entertainment began.
Griffons Entertainment normally revolved around partially-aerial acrobatics accompanied by music. For the most part the instruments tended towards stringed affairs which were easily handled by their dexterous claws, plucking in particular was a favored aspect of their playing. It was something that ponies would have great difficulties in reproducing due to their hooves, magic notwithstanding. Even unicorns rarely had the capacity due to the precise manipulations involved.
Their party was fortunate enough to get to hear one of the griffon singers the first night they arrived. Griffons usually avoided singing as their natural vocal projections tended to have a lot of sub-context, and singers had to learn to remove that in order to do so professionally. Twilight still didn't know the name of the song, if it even had one, but it was truly beautiful, almost as though someone taken the voice of a magnificent songbird, and decided to give it both grandeur and finality.
Sadly such artists are in exceptionally high demand and the cost to keep them on didn't make it reasonable to do so for more than the first evening, even for the royal court. Twilight believed they might also be protected by some sort of traditions, or taboos, as Emperor Blacktalon was certainly arrogant enough to gang press one into his court.
Over the course of their visit he had been a subtle thorn in their side, more so once he found out she wasn't an idiot. Apparently if he couldn’t use you as a pawn, he didn't want you to become a valuable piece for his opponents. Thus she was now seated between two annoying griffons, who still spat cutting remarks at each other instead of letting her enjoy the music.
'Oh well, at least some of their remarks have gotten fairly whitty. Apparently having me as the unofficial referee is at least forcing them to step up their game...'
Her thoughts were interrupted however, as a guard approached the head of the table in the middle of the performance to numerous squarks of protest, which were silenced by a wave of the Emperors talon.
"Sir I bear news regarding the missing items you told us to quietly investigate two nights ago."
'Uh oh, Someone was in a lot of trouble. A quite investigation could only mean either something important was taken, or someone important was robbed. Worst case scenario, both.'
Griffons are a predatory race and, if their table manners are to be taken as any indication, they don't generally don't mind making messes. They would have embraced a griffon-hunt and a massive stir would have been kicked up if something went missing in the Imperial Castle. It would have been considered a error on Blacktalon’s part to have not found the guilty party within the day, and he ought to be outright murderous if it took a full three.
Blacktalon lifted himself up to address the assembled parties. "Three nights ago a theft was found to have taken place in the royal treasury. An item of great historical value was removed, and it has now been found." He nodded to the guards who brought in a set of beautiful polished black griffon armour with a large matching set of scorched holes perforating it right where through where the heart would be.
Only one thought entered her mind at this point. 'Somegriffon is going to die.'
It wasn't a question. Her conclusion was based upon history.
The Solar Monarch was almost a total pacifist by way of her actions, and had only actually fought directly against the Kingdom of Griffons a single time, to Twilights knowledge.
It had been during what was both the first, and last war with the Griffons. King Silvertalon, who Blacktalon idolised to the point that when he reached adulthood he fashioned his titular name after him, sent an army cutting across eastern Equestria until he met their forces head on. Months of fighting had left no few dead, and countless wounded. It all culminated in the demand that Celestia turn over her lands and people to serve the Emperor of the Griffons.
Twilight had a much better understanding of the princess than most so she wasn't particularly surprised with what had followed. Celestia viewed each and every pony she met in person as their own stallion or mare, and tried to see them in the way they wished to be seen. Her guards wished to protect her, so she viewed them as protectors. Even if they both knew on some level she was not likely to need physical protection from harm, at least they could protect her privacy, which after a certain point became more valuable and difficult to secure.
If a pony wished to be her friend, she would be overjoyed to oblige, though those ponies by her own accounting have been very few and far between, by her own admission no one had sincerely tried in the last three centuries. The default position she takes when thinking about the masses is a maternal one. There is a reason she tends to refer to groups as being her little ponies after all.
When the ultimatum was given to choose between having her little ponies enslaved or killed by the foreign power, the Griffons learned an important lesson on the difference between a total pacifist and an almost total pacifist. Without a word she teleported directly to the griffon’s throne room and killed their King on the spot with a single spell. She then grabbed the body and teleported directly back to her hall where the messenger was sitting in shock, and hurled the body across the hall to skid to a rest in front of his talons, before she issued her reply. "And which king would that be?"
The historical accounts kept by the Griffons were a mess for the following year. Without their charismatic king to lead them, all the minor lords and nobles began one of the bloodiest civil wars in history, as they all vied for power.
After a time however, problems began to show up for Equestria. The civil war had run its course and the hundreds of new griffon kings had attacked each other so often that they didn't take into account that they would need to grow and harvest food to take care of themselves. It was when the Griffons began to raid Equestria that things came to a head. While they were invading they were brutally efficient, not cruel. However starvation and anger fueled the earliest raids, and the Griffons became the stuff of nightmares.
Celestia then did something that would transition her from a reviled foe, to a reviled legend. She traveled into the land of the griffons and went directly to the tombs of their past kings, simply avoiding or detaining anyone who attempted to stop her. She cast a shield around the structure and after eighteen hours of fruitless attempts by the griffons to get her out the barrier collapsed, and out walked both Celetia and the formerly deceased King Silvertalon, still wearing the very armor the Goddess next to him had punctured the previous year.
Twilight couldn't find anything in the Griffon side of the records, accounting of what Celestia spoke to him about, and the sun-mare herself left it simply that they talked about what both of them could realistically expect for their countries futures and left it at that.
Twilight made the mistake of asking how she did it. It was a very uncomfortable silence that stretched over half an hour while her mentor kept her pinned won with her gaze, before Celestia answered. Sending Shiny to apologetically cancel her meetings for the day, and to stand guard until he was relieved.
Over the following ten hours Celestia explained the exact mechanism she and her sister had discovered for doing so, along with a great deal more information on the subject than Twilight had ever thought even existed, much less been available. It was the culmination of both Celestia, and her sister Luna's knowledge on an aspect of their world that they found they could affect, but hadn't any real demesne over. In many ways Twilight was more skilled with magic than Celestia, both due to dedication, finesse, and raw talent. But there was something to say about experience that measured in centuries.
The resurrected Silvertalon was not universally welcome, despite how historically he was far and away a superior leader to the disorganized rabble that had taken his stead, more often than not those in power wish to remain so.
In the end, he ran a five year campaign against his once united kingdom forming it into the Griffon Empire in its current incarnation. Most Griffons would say Celestia had bided her time for far too long, as the damage had already been done.
Even hundreds of years later. Silvertalon was the Griffon who brought them to the precipice of victory, and saved them from their own self destruction. A near save that even in the present, was still crippling the Griffons both culturally and economically.
And someone had stolen the armor of Silvertalon himself, which brought everything back to a single conclusion. 'Somegriffon was going to die.'
The air of the room had grown tense and abnormally quiet with rising anger.
Blacktalon lifted himself regally and walked to the raised dais where his large stone throne sat. "Do you have an identity for the person or persons who attempted to take it?" He asked cutting across the room.
The guard simply nodded, "Yes my Emperor."
"Then bring them forward to face judgement."
A full complement of guards walked in completely surrounding their charges as surged forward to comply, swiftly depositing the accused in the center of the stone chamber, displacing the acrobats and musicians who awayed themselves so as not to be in any way indicated.
Twilights brain then did a trick it had never done before. It stopped.
'I-do-wah-huh?'
Five ponies had been set manacled together in a confused knot, all muzzled to prevent their speaking. Twilight knew these ponies. They were her friends, and the Elements of Harmony.
A regal voice spoke out from the head of the table, "Blacktalon, what is the meaning of this" Demanded Celestia drawing attention from the accused shackled mass. Celestia was wearing a look of complete and utter incredulity.
Twilight felt as though she was seeing the only other Pony who seemed to be aware at how rapidly the evening had begun to descend into madness.
Blacktalon simply glanced at the Princess of the Sun before instruction. "These ponies stand accused of theft of artifacts of a griffon who was, twice over, our greatest and most revered Hero princess, it ‘behooves’ us to hear the evidence against them." He stated with finality and a grin at using an Equestrian turn of phrase, as he nodded to his guard to continue.
"Our Emperor, and assembled peers, and… guest. These individuals were the only ones who were shown the correct vault, where our most valued of treasures where. At the request of the Princess of Magic no less." He added sending accusing glares at Twilight from all over the room, while her dinner companions did their best to subtly move away from her. Twilight felt her stomach drop away. She had indeed asked to see it, along with every other historical artifact, and history scroll. It was just an afterthought on her way to the archives.
"Three days ago the most valuable piece was found missing, and this evening it was relocated, disassembled and stored amongst the personal belonging and gifts they had after their stay amongst our people. After careful examination, no one else has had access to both their rooms and knowledge of the correct vault during the duration of their stay here. The only reasonable conclusion is one of their party is responsible for the theft." He stated factually.
The room was filled with harsh whispers as the bound ponies attempted to yell in their defense, though their words were muffled by their gags as they pulled against their bindings fruitlessly.
Blacktalon leaned back on his throne and held up an ebon claw to signal for silence. "These crimes are truly grievous, and we cannot set them aside despite how we may feel. The sentence in the case of theft from a noble is to be ‘lightened’ by the stroke of an axe. That the crime was against the Emperor’s house itself magnifies it twenty fold. However in deference to our guest and the peaceful nature of our talks, we will offer leniency and spare their lives, although we will not reduce the sentence." Twilight numbly heard the surrounding griffons angry at the fact that they were being let off easy, however Blacktalon continued.
"In addition, we do find it difficult to believe that all of these ponies are truly capable of committing such a crime, however we do not pretend to know their character well enough to make such a judgement on an individual level. Thus the sentence shall be carried out upon the pony or ponies whom Princess Sparkle believes to of been responsible for the actual crime. The rest shall be spared, though they shall no longer be welcome in our lands."
This gave way to outrage by the griffons who demanded blood, however Blacktalon quickly cut them off. "Be silent! We have made our decision as Emperor. It shall be abided by.” He turned to Twilight ”Princess Twilight, please make your choice, as we wish to put this matter behind us." He said flippantly, as if he wasn't demanding the impossible.
Twilight looked at her friends, she saw shock and fear in their eyes as they looked at her. They were terrified. Maybe not of her specifically, but what was in store for them. Their wide eyes told her all she needed to know.
"Emperor Blacktalon. None of them could have committed this crime, I have complete faith in all of them."
"Your faith" He spat, "has been misplaced. I have actually sat on this for the last two days as my men have attempted to find anyone else whom could even of possibly done it. There are none whatsoever Princess. I do not care if you do not enjoy your options, these are the kind of decisions you have to make as a ruler. Sometimes your choices will hurt the Griffons, or Ponies in your case, whom you are responsible for." He demanded imperiously.
Twilight hesitated as her hair began to frazzle from the stress. "Then I choose myself, I was privy to both the knowledge and I had the needed access." she said in hopes of taking a hit to her own credibility in exchange for their wellbeing.
Blacktalon leered. "At no point from the time you arrived in our port have either you or Celestia gone unobserved outside of your rooms by those I know to be loyal. Your friends however have not been so observed and thus, did have the opportunity." He paused in apparent growing anger.
"I understand you may still be squeamish to such courtly task, You are of course excused just as soon soon as you make a decision, we shan't take offense. Celestia has never been known to be able to stomach violence, I'm not terribly surprised her peers wouldn't be able to either." he said with mockery and a hint of disdain.
Twilight looked between each of her friends rapidly, memories of all the joy she had shared with them. From the day she arrived in ponyville all the happiness she found sharing a part of her life with others.
"I can't" she stated.
"You mean you won't!" Accused Blacktalon. "Fine. Then I shall make the decision for you if you are too weak to stomach it yourself. They shall share the punishment. Twenty blows between them, starting with horns and wings and thereafter moving to forehooves."
The guards were quick to begin carrying out the grisly task. Dragging in a large heavy block of wood with ominous rust stains set within a metal base. The top of the wood had no few cut marks in it.
The reality of what was happening hit Twilight.
She looked onto her friends taking in what she saw.
Rainbow dash was crying, she had never thought she would see such a painful sight as the prideful mare breaking down. She understood why. Wonderbolts never took on ponies beyond a certain age. Fully removed wings would take years to recover, years of losing her physical fitness. It would mean years without flying, and a slow agonizing recovery as she had to completely relearn how to fly.
Rarity had a look of complete blankness. Among all her friends Rarity had by far the best mental buffers. It was necessary for what she did. Fashion unlike most callings tended to be hit or miss and ponies could have severe mental anguish if they can't live up to their special talent. It might show up as her being a drama-princess, but it was incredibly effective as a coping mechanism. Now she would lose her horn and forehooves and wouldn't ever be able to engage in her passion for creativity on the same level again, and her mind was attempting to shut everything out in reaction.
Applejack was fighting fiercely, three guards dedicated themselves just to the task of keeping hold of the pony a little under half their size. To her the loss of her limbs would mean she couldn't be of any help on the farm. Much worse was the fact that she could be an active burden on her loved ones, as well as forever forcing them to add her own sizeable load to their own, and then some, just to help take care of her.
Fluttershy was heartbreaking, as she just looked at her captors with hurt soulful eyes that screamed that she simply didn't understand why they were doing this. She was by far the most sensitive pony Twilight had ever met. While she might understand on an intellectual level. She was like her beloved forest friends at heart, and like those animals, would be completely unable to understand the malice being aimed towards her. Animals tend to stop trusting others if they come to harm...
Worst of all was Pinkie. Twilight saw her looking at their friends just as she had been, and when their gazes met, she simply smiled, as though saying, 'You did your best. It’s not your fault.'
The emotional pain that had been building reached a crescendo as she met the gaze of her teacher. Her every hair and muscle screaming for her to please do something, anything.
And then she did something Twilight hadn't expected. Celestia gave her the saddest most helplessly accepting look that Twilight had ever seen upon her face. And then she looked away. She refused to meet her student's gaze and had closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to watch what would come next.
Twilight looked around wildly as axes were being brought in from a nearby room, these were her friends! They were the ones that showed her how to live. These where the ponies who gave her a life worth living. A life they all shared, all the happiness, sadness, joy, tribulation.
WIthout them she would have slowly devolved into an empty shell that desperately filled an endless void of loneliness with nothing by empty facts and figures as everyone gradually left her side. She would have been an unequaled master at her art, and would have had nothing to show for it. All that was about to be destroyed, because they had all committed the crime of being her friend, and she was just expected to watch!
If somepony would have had both the ability, and foresight to listen carefully, They would have heart a smallest of crackling noises coming from the little purple mare sitting on the sidelines, as the unjust justice took place in front of them.
"Now. Carry out the punishment." Blacktalon ordered smoothly, with the smallest of grins upon the edge of his beak.
The Imperial Guards began their gruesome task.
Their weapons swung.
'No.'
Then all was still.
The Griffonic axes held their edges in place, inches above their marks.
"What are you doing? Take your weapons and carry out your orders!" Called the Emperor
"Your Highness. We cannot budge them." The griffon guard let go and the weapon floated stoically in mid-air as a dim magical aura surrounded it. For a brief moment Blacktalon looked exceedingly happy before schooling his mask into an angry glare which he turned to his left accusingly "Celestia what is the meaning of this?!"
However Celestia was looking down the side table, towards the pathetic, miniature alicorn he had placed far away from both himself and Celestia. Both as a slight, as well as to make her uncomfortable so far from the wisdom of her teacher.
His plan to goad the sun monarch through her student and peer seemed to have fallen through, she was just as simultaneously completely unyielding, and utterly compromising as the journals of his forebearers said she was. But the foolish little would-be-deity would now undo centuries of her work, as there she sat her horn glowing dimly in open defiance.
"You failed to make your choice so it was made for you. Let the sentence be carried out or you will be in violation of many of our most ancient treaties, forcing our Empire to break diplomatic ties with Equestria, ending the lasting peace between our nations." He threatened.
Twilight didn't say anything as bulky guards attempted in vain to move the axes. Her friends just watched on on confusion, grateful for whatever reprieve that had gotten.
Blacktalon’s heart roared in triumph. Centuries of planning finally to be of use! "Very well then Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Equestria. If you refuse peace," He emphasized smugly, "Then you shall have war."
"It would seem now however your diplomatic status has run its course. You and your diplomatic party may leave. Return to your ship and leave peacefully as we do not wish to accused for breaking the rules of convention. Should you fail to do so, you will treated as active enemy soldiers in the newly reignited Pony/Griffon war" he said smoothly as Celestia turned to him in complete shock. The tiny mare had bunched her muscles up and was preparing to leave when his voice interrupted to strike the final blow.
"I'm afraid” he continued smoothly “It is my unfortunate task to inform you however, that under no previous agreement or stature, were your servants actually recognized as a part of your diplomatic immunity. They were in fact here only as the guests of the Emperor, simply because you brought them with you, and made no other provisions for them. As such they will be retried properly as enemies of the state and shall likely be publicly executed at dawn tomorrow." Blacktalon looked beside himself with pleasure.
His joy was cut short however, as a sound of an electric crackling grew continually louder, his eyes scanned the room until he realized it was coming from the deliverer of his triumph. He was about to demand that she stop with the theatrics when all of a sudden the noise cut itself and a rapid series of loud pops took its place.
The flames in the candles around the room, dimmed as though they were being squeezed down into their wicks, and a sense of great foreboding filled the majority of the assembled peers as the lights dimmed down to pinpricks. Darkness didn't have a chance to claim the room however for the light was soon replaced, as large glowing eyes opened and filled the room with a harsh lavender light. After only a moment of hesitation, the smallest of the seated dinner guests spoke, her voice was echoing with barely contained power as the words seemed to gently vibrate the room and all held therein with its undulations.
It was said at just above a whisper but it projected to fill the furthest corners of the room.
"No. They. Shall. Not."
Magic poured from the mare and a little over two years later, a young alicorn was ejected from a magically induced memory.