The very first thing I did was put Kathyrine in my room under heavy guard and every protection spell that I could think of. On top of that, I put my two best doctors in there with her to fix her foreleg and make sure that nothing else was wrong with her.
Physically.
Emotionally? Man, I didn't even know what I was supposed to do to help her. I didn't know how she was going to change from all of this. Her life would be drastically different, I knew that. But honestly? It sucked that I couldn't focus all of my attention on that. I wanted nothing more than to wrap Kathyrine in my wings and let her cry on my shoulder, but I had other things to do that, unfortunately, were a little more important. After making sure that Kathyrine was in good hooves, I teleported a quill and parchment over to me and began walking down to my office. I had work to do, and it needed to be done quickly. As I walked, I penned out a short letter to Celestia and Luna.
Coup in Griffonia. Dukes overthrew Aepnet by attempting to kill him and Kathyrine. Aepnet dead. Kathyrine injured, but escaped to my palace. She's safe. Come quickly.
With a burst from my horn, I sent the letter off just as I reached my office. I opened up a filing cabinet and began frantically flipping through the folders until I found the one that I needed. I yanked it out of the cabinet, pulled out a form, tossed it on my desk, and began filling it out like mad. I didn't know if the gamble would work, but if nothing else, Kathyrine needed to know that we were trying to keep her safe. I finished filling out the form and picked it up in my magic before teleporting to the door outside of my room, narrowly avoiding landing on one of my guards when I appeared. I took a deep breath and a moment to collect myself before speaking.
"Lieutenant Rapids, how are things with the princess?"
Rapids shrugged. "Dunno. You only left about ninety seconds ago. I can't say if there's been any drastic change in her health or temperament."
I chuckled wearily and nodded. "I guess I was kinda rushing." I clicked my tongue and rubbed my temple. "Anyway, I'm going in. You keep making sure that no one gets in here without my permission. Password 'Lector'."
Rapids saluted me. "Lector. Got it."
"Good."
I lit my horn and let a few of the protection spells I had placed over the door power down before opening it and walking inside. Kathyrine laid on my bed where I had left her, the doctors cleaning her recently closed wound and scanning her body for any more injuries. She just laid there, not even moving. She didn't flinch when one of the doctors patted her wound with disinfectant and began bandaging it. She merely stared at the single feather still in her grip. To the untrained eye, her expression looked completely blank, as if it had no more emotion left to give. I stared at her eyes as I walked up, and I saw nothing but deep hurt and sorrow. Pure emotional pain.
The two doctors looked over when they heard me enter the room, and they bowed to me.
"How is she?" I asked.
"She is doing fine, physically speaking," one of the doctors said. "We've cleaned and bandaged the wound on her arm. There were no other injuries that we could find."
I nodded. "Good. If there is nothing else, then you may return to Tulip." The two doctors bowed and trotted out of the room leaving me alone with a griffin that I really didn't have any idea what to do with right then. Not in the long run, anyway. I slowly walked up to her and gently cleared my throat, but she gave no indication that she'd heard me. She just continued staring at the feather.
"Kathyrine?" No response. "Kathyrine, I know that asking you how you're doing is a dumb question, and it would be extremely insulting if I even attempted to think about imagining what you're going through right now." I sat down next to the bed and put a hoof right next to her foreleg. "But I want you to know that you're safe here, okay? Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance and I are gonna do everything to make sure that you're not in any danger." I took the form I carried and put it on the bed next to her, along with a quill. "Now, I need--"
Kathyrine scoffed and snatched the form and quill off of the bed. She flipped the to the last page and scrawled her name on the final line before tossing both of them back to me. I caught the form and the quill in my magic with a frown.
"Kathyrine, don't you at least want to know what--?"
"Don't care right now," she muttered, leaning her head back against the headboard. "You say you're gonna try to keep me safe, so I trust you."
I stared at her for a moment, trying to read any emotion or motivation, before sighing and taking the quill and form back. "Okay. I guess that's all I need from you, then." I looked back to her. "Is there anything you need? Just say the word and I'll do my best to get it for you."
"I want..." Kathyrine's voice cracked, and she paused to clear her throat. "I want you to call a meeting with the other two dukes and the so called 'new emperor.' I want you to use your magic on them so that they can't go anywhere. I want you to give me a blunt spear, and I want you to let me kill them all slowly. I'll shove that blunt spear in, and they'll scream, and they'll scream, and my dad will look down on me from Paradise and... and be really proud that I avenged him and got rid of the griffins who made his life... our life a living Tartarus." Kathyrine turned her head to me, and her mouth formed into a ghost of a wry smile. "But I'm gonna guess that's not what you meant, huh? You were thinking more along the lines of some food, or something like that?"
I snorted and tilted my head in a shrug. "Well, I should have figured you'd ask for something like that, yes."
Kathyrine's small smile faded away, and she looked down at the feather again. "There's gonna be a big war, isn't there?"
"Yeah, I'm afraid so."
Man, saying it out loud to somebody not Celestia or Luna... It made the whole thing seem that much more real and inevitable. When talking to my fellow rulers, there was always a sense for me that maybe, just maybe, something would come along that would allow us to avoid the whole bloody mess. But now? Saying it to Kathyrine? That was the moment I realized beyond the shadow of a doubt that the war was coming, and we couldn't do a single thing to stop it short of wiping Griffonia and the minotaur lands off of the map.
We were going to war.
I took a few deep breaths to quiet the panic that began building up in my chest at the thought. I needed to focus on Kathyrine right then. Unless an army was on Baltimare's doorstep, I could spend a little time helping her.
"So," I said after a few moments, "do you want to talk about it? What happened? Which duke started the coup?"
Kathyrine continued staring down at the feather in her grasp for a few seconds, not responding. After a moment, she raised her head and looked to my closed and covered window in the direction of her country.
* * * *
"What happened, Dad?"
Dad looked over at me, but didn't even slow down as he almost flew to one of his meeting rooms, or something. I spread my own wings and went a little quicker to catch up with him.
"Dad? What's going on?"
"We're not going to war with Purgle," Dad said quickly, like he didn't have time for this conversation. "The Equestrians have given their full support to us in case he decides to retaliate."
I frowned as we got to his meeting room, where two of his guards and William were waiting for us. "So that's good, right? I mean, that means that we aren't gonna have to be worried about Purgle invading our country? We don't have to go to war, right?"
Dad motioned for the guards to open the door, and they did. We walked into the room, where a bunch of Dad's advisers and stuff were waiting for him. I guess he'd called the meeting earlier. The guards and William followed us inside and shut the door behind us. Dad took his seat at the head of the table, and I stood next to him. I didn't usually sit in on his meetings, but since this was about war and all, I kinda figured that I'd better be in the loop, ya know? I was still heir to the throne and all that, and this was important stuff.
"Gentlegriffins..." Dad took a second to collect himself before continuing. "I have met with Celestia and Antares, and they have promised to give me support. Our nation will not join in Purgle's upcoming war against the Equestrians. I have made the calculations, and there is no scenario where we come out on top."
One of the advisers, Princep, I think, scoffed and crossed his forelegs. "Forgive me sire, but are you sure that is a wise move? We've already built up our army to one hundred and thirty thousand griffins strong. That's the size of the Saddle Arabian army and the Equestrian army combined! We have more than enough power to take them on with Purgle on our side."
"That may be so, but there is another factor: Antares' human weapons."
"Which he hasn't created yet!" another one, Ironbeak, said.
Dad shook his head. "In the past, yes, that was true. However in my last meeting with him..." I saw Dad grip the armrest of his chair. "He said that he had created one. He called it 'napalm.' He said that it could destroy Schunie in a matter of minutes, so I have no doubts that it could do the same to Iselin, or whichever town or city struck his fancy. Maybe all of them. He wouldn't describe the details of the weapon to me."
"Then it's a trick!" Princep said. "Antares is bluffing to get us to back down. No Equestrian leader would use or create a weapon that wiped out a city in minutes."
I really, really hoped they were right about that one. The thought of Iselin just... gone? I didn't even want to think about it. I started to feel even happier that Dad had made peace with Antares and Celestia.
"No, Antares is not bluffing," Dad said. "He has created this 'napalm' of his, and I have no doubt that he will use it if he feels that he needs to. This is not the window washer that was hit with the Elements of Harmony and found himself way over his head anymore. Not after that assassination attempt. Celestia does not hold Antares' leash. He is, of course, still younger and more politically inexperienced than everygriffin in this room, but after seeing what his guard is capable of and hearing of his weapons, I feel that he will excel at war." With that, Dad stood up. "And I will not be on the wrong side of the Equestrians' wrath. Not when they have Mesud attacking our other border. Even with our large army, a two front war with Mesud on one side and Antares on the other would be exceptionally bloody. For both sides, I think. I will not do that when we have nothing to gain."
"We can gain land from them!" Princep said.
Dad chuckled weakly. "What? Baltimare? That's the most valuable bit of land close to us. You want them to give up Antares' capital?" Dad shook his head. "No. We will not go to war. Purgle can go die fighting the Equestrians on his own."
I moved a little bit closer to Dad at that. For some reason, him saying that made me feel just a little bit more like a chick again. Like everything was out of my control and understanding and I didn't have anything to do with how it all went down. I guess Dad musta sensed how I was feeling, because he put his wing on my back.
"The meeting is adjourned."
Princep stood up and sighed. "Yes, I suppose it is. There is also much work to be done." I frowned a little at that. I didn't like his tone, or his small smile. He nodded to one of the guards in the room. "Gentlegriffins, if you would."
Before I could do anything or react in any way, the guard saluted, grabbed his sword, and plunged it straight into Ironbeak's neck.
I wanted to react. I really did. I mean, Princep, a griffin that had been working for my dad for a while now, just told a guard to kill another adviser I'd know since I was a chick, and he did it! I blinked once and saw that the other guards around the room were pulling their swords and crossbows out, or slashing with their spears. I turned around and saw the two guards that had opened the door for us repeatedly stabbing William, who by that point was just a bloody mess on the ground. I turned to my Dad who was just looking at the whole thing in shock.
"Dad! Run!" I screamed.
I shot forward and knocked into one of the guards stabbing William's body, my momentum sending him flying. He hit the door and it burst open. I grabbed his dropped spear and slashed at the other guard. Got him right in the neck. A blur went right past me, and I realized that Dad had started running. I flew after him, tearing off his cape and crown so that he could fly faster.
"Dad! We gotta get out of here!"
"I don't understand!" Dad wailed. "Princep has been one of my most valuable advisers for years! He'd never betray me! Never!"
"Well, looks like he did!" I growled. "And if he did, then there's no telling who else is in on this too." I looked back and saw some of the assassins following us, but just as one of them raised his crossbow to shoot, another group of guards came running down a side hallway, one of them tackling the assassin, making his shot go wide right. The guards would distract the assassins and maybe kill them all, but I didn't know how deep it ran.
"Dad, I think we gotta get out of Griffonia!” I pointed to a nearby balcony. "We can go to Equestria! Antares and Celestia will protect us until we can figure out what's going on!"
Dad nodded. "Yes, yes. I suspect one or all of the dukes is behind this. If that's the case, the entire country is not safe."
We flew as fast as we could, hoping beyond hope that no one would get through the guards fighting the assassins and catch us before we could get to the balcony. Or the Equestrian border, for that matter. I didn't think I'd feel safe until I was talking to Celestia and Antares about this whole thing. With their help, we could figure out who exactly was behind all of this and stop them and get my Dad back on the throne where he belonged. And maybe once our enemies figured out that Equestria was backing Dad, they wouldn't try this anymore. We just had to make it a little closer to the balcony then we could fly free.
We were, like, twenty feet from the balcony. That's all. Twenty feet then we could go any direction we wanted and they would have a really hard time finding us before we got to Equestria. That's all.
But then he just... appeared, still wearing that stupid grin.
Princep flew right around the corner into the hallway we were flying down and looked right at us. He had a crossbow in his claws. Dad and I both screeched to a halt as he raised it, took aim, and fired.
I did a barrel roll to the right as I heard the bolt coming towards us. I went right side up in the air, and pointed my spear at Princep, a snarl on my face. I was rearing and ready to go.
But then... then I heard my dad breathing weird, and I heard him hit the ground beside me. I looked to my left and saw him lying there, twitching on the ground.
The crossbow bolt was sticking out of his chest.
I screamed and dropped my spear, landing next to Dad and cradling his head as he bled out in front of me. He looked at me, and he just looked so helpless. LIke he wanted me to make it all better. To save his life. But I couldn't.
"It's okay, Dad," I whimpered. "It's all gonna be okay. I'm gonna make sure that the ones who did this pay, okay? We aren't gonna let this go unanswered."
I moved to one of his wings, and that's the only reason I'm still alive. The second I moved, I felt a sharp pain in my foreleg. I screeched in pain and grabbed the wounded leg. Princep. I had forgotten about Princep. I stood up and grabbed my spear, charging him as he reloaded. When he saw me coming, his stupid little smile fell. He knew he didn't have enough time before I got to him. He dropped his crossbow and started to fly away, but I didn't let that happen. He shot my dad! I got to him before he realized what happened and shoved my spear right through his chest. He fell to the ground without a sound.
Something weird happened, though. When he hit the ground, he burst into green flame, and when that stopped, instead of Princep, it was... a changeling. I'd never seen one before, but I knew what they looked like. That bug body, the weird eyes, the green blood, all that. I spun around and looked at the battle between my guards and the assassins. A few of the assassins were dead, but they hadn't turned into changelings. I still had to run, though. I ran back to my dad, and my heart sank when I saw him. He wasn't moving. His eyes were glazed over and... I knew he was dead. I let out a sob, but knew I had to run. I reached down to Dad's wing and pulled out one of his pinion feathers.
Then I ran.
* * * *
Kathyrine stared down at the feather, barely moving. She didn't speak for a minute or so.
"I was spotted by the two griffins you saw chasing me just as I reached the forest. I flew as fast as I could all the way through it and just barely made it. The rest you know, I guess."
"Yeah." I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed. "What's interesting to me is the changeling. That's unnerving that whomever overthrew your dad is working with them."
"I don't think it was one of Chrysalis'," Kathyrine said. "I think maybe it might have been a freemind. Would have been easier to get one of them to replace Princep. Like I said: he never would have betrayed Dad."
"So whomever overthrew your dad presumably killed Princep and either replaced him with a freemind changeling, or Chrysalis is entering the war on Purgle's side." I shuddered. "Neither of those options are particularly appealing to me."
"I guess not," Kathyrine said.
I stood up and cracked my neck. "Alright, Celestia and Luna should be here any second, if they're not here already. If you're up to it, I think you're safe enough that we can move you to my infirmary. We'll still keep you under guard, of course, and all ponies going in or coming out will be checked to see if they are changelings. You will be safe here, I swear it."
I walked over to my door and opened it, scanning each of my guards to make sure none of them were changelings before ordering them to escort Kathyrine to the infirmary.
* * * *
I guess I felt kind of glad that the pony hospital beds were just large enough for me to fit into. It kinda would have sucked if I had to just sit around and do nothing while Antares figured out what to do with Fromme and the other dukes. I guess the bed wasn't quite as comfortable as his, but I could deal. I looked over at the four pony guards keeping an eye on me. Those were the ponies I had to ensure would keep me alive if things got tough? After everything that had just happened, I really didn't like that idea. Like, at all.
"They're not gonna bite you, you know," a voice to my right said. "They'll keep you safe. Prince Antares himself hoofpicked them."
I looked to my right and saw a unicorn mare lounging around a few beds away from me. She had a truly impressive baby bump. Like, she was really showing. I rolled my eyes at her and laid back on my pillow.
"Yeah, well, I'm not in a mood to really trust guards right now, okay?" I glanced back over at her. "You're carrying quite the load there, aren't you?"
The mare giggled and rubbed her belly. "Yeah, I've got twins in here. One filly and one colt."
"Nice. You know the tribe yet?"
Her smile flickered for just a moment as she looked at some picture or something on her nightstand. "Er... well, it's kind of hard to explain. We know they're unicorns to start with, but Prince Antares has granted my fiance and I the most wonderful of gifts." She lit up her horn and floated the picture over to me. "They're also scorpions, you see."
I snatched the picture out of the air and looked at it. It turned out to be an ultrasound, and yeah, those things inside of her were definitely scorpion ponies. I just stared at them for a few seconds, not really sure how to think about the fact that there were freaking scorpions growing inside of that mare. I scratched the back of my neck and held out the photograph to her so she could take it back.
"Er... yeah, those are scorpion ponies," I said lamely, pointedly avoiding eye contact with her.
Tulip chuckled. "Yes, and they're my little blessings straight from Prince Antares. They're going to change the world."
I let out a scoff. "I couldn't disagree with that if I wanted to. You really think that the world at large is gonna be okay with those two? If Purgle was mad about the human weapons, there's no way he's gonna be okay with Antares creating a race of scorpion ponies. This is just gonna piss him off even more. And how about the rest of your 'harmonious' society? Do you really think they aren't going to be seen as freaks? They're gonna have a real tough time growing up, especially if those tails of theirs really are poisonous." I frowned and tilted my head. "Are they?"
"I don't know," the mare said, glaring at me, "but it doesn't matter to me at all. They're my foals, you got that? I've had them growing inside of me for almost eight months, and I don't really care what they look like! The doctors have said that they're perfectly healthy, and I'm going to raise them right like Prince Antares would want me to! I'm not going to let his ponies and my foals be insulted like that!"
"Okay, okay, jeez, calm down," I said, holding a claw up. "I'm sorry, okay? What's your big deal with Antares anyway? What, is he like your god, or something?"
I gotta admit, I said that as a joke. So imagine my surprise when she stuck her pony muzzle in the air and nodded. "Prince Antares came to this world and ascended to make this world better. He was destined to lead it, and he has proven to be a just and wise ruler. He will endure and reign in honor and glory long after you and I are less than dust. He has the power to split open the sky and rain hellfire on his enemies! He can control the heavens if he wants to!" The mare crosses her forelegs and gave me a smug smile like she'd just won an argument. "What do you think that makes him?"
I shrugged. "I dunno. A window washer who got really lucky and was hit by some magical necklaces?" The mare glared at me, and I raised my claws in surrender. "Fine, fine, whatever you say. I'm just not so sure about him being a god and all."
The mare huffed and plopped her head down on her pillow. "Well, he is to me. If you'd seen half of the things that I have, I don't know if you'd be so eager to dismiss the idea."
"Guess not." I looked back down at her bloated belly. "And I'm gonna guess that some magic from him led to those scorpion ponies in you. I'm still kinda nervous about what those scorpion ponies are going to do for Purgle's mood. He's not going to like them."
The mare grunted and waved a hoof at me. "Whatever. Purgle isn't going to take my foals away from me, and if he wants to..." The mare scrunched up her face and sharply inhaled, a hoof going down to her stomach. I frowned and sat up.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, it's just..." She twitched in what I totally recognized as pain. "They're really moving around in there. They've never been this active."
"Uh..." I moved to a sitting position and gave the guards an uneasy look. "Uh... it's not like, bad or anything? I mean, they are scorpions and stuff. They've got those claws and that tail."
"No, no, it's not that." The mare grunted again, and this time she flat out convulsed in pain. "We've done tests and... and their tail barbs and pincers are relatively soft when they're in the womb." She groaned and slammed down on the bed. "But yeah, okay, this totally hurts."
I turned my head to one of the guards. "Uh... can you like, get a doctor, or something? She doesn't look so hot."
The guard nodded and went off, while I turned my head back to the mare. "Okay look, you should be fine, right? I mean it's not like..."
That's when I noticed that a big wet spot had appeared by her hind legs, followed by another scream of pain from her. My eyes widened, and I grabbed my head.
"Dude, your water totally just broke."
* * * *
I hate it when people strut. So much that even when things are going well for me, I make a point to not do it. Having said that, it's been roughly a year since things had been going anything remotely resembling well for me. At least with any consistency.
Celestia and Luna came to my palace with all speed once they received my letter. It turns out that our main ally in terms of stopping the war, or at least leading to minimal damage, being slaughtered and a new, more Purgle-friendly emperor being put in his place really puts a raincloud on our day. Again. I filled them in on everything that Kathyrine had told me, and they were suitably shocked. A change in the Griffonian government like that, at this time for those reasons, did not bode well for us. Especially since both Purgle and the new Emperor had Nightmare Weapons that they would not be shy in using.
White Phosphorous grenades and flamethrowers. Yeah, that's what I need to make next.
Once they were up to speed, we quickly decided that a meeting with the new emperor was in order, and he wasted no time in agreeing. About two hours after Kathyrine came into my palace, the new Griffonian emperor, ugh, strutted into my throne room surrounded by a new set of guards decked out in armor matching his clan colors. He stopped in front of my throne, where I sat with Luna and Celestia standing on either side, and inclined his head in a nod to me.
"Prince Antares. Thank you for having me in your lovely country. We have much to discuss."
My mouth creased into the slightest of frowns. "Yes, I agree. We do. Starting with your violent takeover of Griffonia and the assassination of Emperor Aepnet, and the attempted murder of his daughter." I leaned forward and my eyes narrowed. "You want to explain that to me, Fromme?"
Fromme cleared his throat. "It's Emperor Cromwell now, Prince Antares. Fromme is my clan name, but now that I am emperor, I use my real first name as a ruler."
"Fine, but I'm still not hearing you explain what happened."
"Well, it's all pragmatism, really." He shrugged. "I saw an opening to advance my clan, I had the backing of Purgle, and so I just sort of helped myself to the crown. If you've studied any history at all you'd know that's how power frequently changes claws in our nation."
"And what of the changeling?" Celestia said with a hint of venom in her voice. "You're hiring freeminds now, or has Chrysalis joined your mad scheme?"
"That is for me to know, and you to find out when it's all too late." Man, I could not stand that smug grin of his. "Official war has not been declared, and I know that Aepnet did not want to go to war alongside Purgle when you brainwashed him, or whatever, but know this, ponies: I will not hesitate to bring the might of our nation down upon you." His previously smug expression twisted into a glare. "Face it, ponies: for the first time you're on the defensive. We have the upper claws here, not you. Yes, you can raise and lower the sun, but how much can you affect the sun's orbit to hurt us without damaging your subjects too?"
"So you came here to threaten us?" Luna shook her head. "Save thy breath. Purgle hast been giving us such words since the beginning of this conflict. They mean nothing."
"Then a force of one hundred and thirty thousand griffins marching on your country will surely give my words some weight," he sneered. "Can you fight the full power of Griffonia and Minotauria on both sides, even with Mesud's help? I think not." His glare slid away, and once again his smug smile returned. "If you want to avoid this war, I'd suggest you start giving into our demands."
I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "No, no, don't tell me: reparations, both land and territory, for wars that happened when your great-great-great grandparents weren't even eggs yet, the right to keep the Nightmare Weapons you already have, and our acknowledging you as the rightful ruler of your nation."
I saw with some satisfaction that his smile completely deflated at that one. It seemed that I'd hit it right on the money. I clicked my tongue and looked down on him like a teacher would look down on a student who had turned in D+ work. "Okay, so any other blandly generic demands that you want to make of us?"
"You will also surrender Kathyrine to us," Cromwell said, his beak grinding. "She is a fugitive, and we wish to deal with her. You have no rights to give her asylum in your country!"
"Oooohhhh." I sucked in air through my teeth in a most condescending way and draped a foreleg over my muzzle. "Man, I wish I could help you out there, I really, really do, but..." I put my foreleg down and gave him a blank look. "No. No, that's not going to happen."
"She's just a foreign ex-princess!" Emperor Cromwell snapped. "Your subjects will have no reason to get angry with you if you give her over to us, especially if it is to help avoid a war!"
"Probably, probably," I said, tapping my jaw thoughtfully while Celestia and Luna looked at me with some confusion. "But I can say that I would catch a lot of flak for extraditing an Equestrian citizen to a hostile foreign power for no real reason."
"Kathyrine is not an Equestrian citizen!"
"Oh?" I lit my horn and the paperwork I had Kathyrine sign earlier appeared beside me. I floated it over to him so that he could read it. "Explain this, then. Because I believe that those are official royal documents saying that Kathyrine is an Equestrian citizen. I also believe that's her signature at the bottom there." Okay, maybe it is kind of nice to have a smug grin while your opponent looks on in utter bafflement. "Equestria does not extradite its citizens."
Cromwell stared at the papers with wide eyes and a dropped jaw while I smirked at him. I glanced over at Celestia, who gave me a look of "not too bad." Yes, I thought so too.
Cromwell finally scowled and tossed the papers back at me, which I easily caught with my magic. "It does not matter. Once Equestria is at my mercy I will take Kathyrine by force."
"Indeed?" Luna's eyes narrowed. "Is that it, then? Is that thy official declaration of war against our nation? Is that what Purgle hast sent you for?"
"I am not Purgle's lackey!" Cromwell snarled. "I am a powerful ruler who will lead my nation to glory, and I will not ever be subservient to another ruler, do you understand me?!"
"A truly inspiring start," I snarked. "You'd still be groveling to Aepnet and calling yourself Duke Fromme if Purgle hadn't found you that freemind changeling and backed you against the other two dukes."
"I found that freemind!" Cromwell roared. "I am acting independent of Purgle, and I do not need his help to rule my nation!"
"I see." I crossed my forelegs. "So it was just a freemind, and Chrysalis hasn't sided with you?"
Somehow his normally brown feathers went pale, and his mouth flopped up and down as he tried to think of how to respond to the fact that I'd just gotten rid of one of his trump cards. I grinned, sucked in air through my teeth, and clapped three times. "Ooh, that's a bingo!" I giggled and began rubbing my hooves together. "Ha ha, how fun!" While Cromwell's brain tried to reboot itself, I glanced over at Celestia, who gave me the tiniest of smiles and a miniscule nod. I also noted a barely noticeable note of relief in her eyes. I couldn't blame her, of course. If Purgle had the griffins and the changelings on his side, this war might be even uglier than I thought. But if they were just collecting freeminds, we could work with that.
Eventually Cromwell seemed to realize that he couldn't just stand there like a chicken in a pen when Colonel Sanders comes a callin', and he managed to put that silly glare of his back on his face. He even flared his wings out to their full, admittedly impressive length. "Now... now you listen to me," he said, breathing heavily from sheer fury. "I will not stand here and be bullied by some window washer who was slapped over the head with some bright lights shot out of some shiny necklaces."
"Your predecessor used that joke too," I said idly.
"That's enough!" he roared, slamming his fist on the floor. "You are a hair's breadth away from completely destroying any chance at peace our nations may have!"
"Peace here meaning that we give you what you want until you leave us alone," Celestia said evenly. "Well, I'm afraid that we will not be bullied, by either you or Purgle. You have no power here, so if you would--"
Celestia was cut off when the side door to my throne room burst open, and Time Keeper ran in, his face pale and sweat dripping from his forehead. He dropped into a hasty bow before running the rest of the way to my throne. I don't think he even realized who else was in the room with us.
"P-Prince Antares, y-you told me to tell you the moment it happened!" He sat down and took a few deep breaths before continuing. "Tulip's water has broken!" he wailed. "She's in labor! The scorpion ponies are coming!"
Celestia, Luna, and me dammit, Time Keeper.
My gaze immediately snapped up to Emperor Cromwell, whose jaw had pretty much hit the floor. I bit the inside of my lip and failed to keep an uncomfortable look off of my face. Time Keeper gave me a curious look, then followed my line of sight to Emperor Cromwell. He let out a little squeak and brought his hooves to his mouth, his ears pinning against his head.
I didn't really pay attention to him, though. I focused a bit more on Cromwell, who was giving me a look of absolute shock and horror. One that said that things were really about to go poorly and I didn't have a prayer of stopping them.
"Scorpion ponies," he said quietly after a moment. "You, the scorpion prince, have cross bred scorpions and ponies."
Ooh, not good. I could feel the anger radiating off of him. It wasn't an "I'm about to trash my room while my uneasy staff looks on because my wife just left me" kind of anger. It wasn't an "I think I'll just try to kill you now" kind of anger. No, I sensed more of an anger born of sheer disbelief. Like he felt so baffled that I had dared created these freaks of nature that his only possible response came out as anger, but such extreme anger that his brain needed to reboot.
"That's... that's what your human weapons are," he said, staring at me unblinking. "I thought that they might be something like an advanced crossbow, or, or, or fire that can be conjured by other tribes, but this... I never expected you to stoop so low as biological weapons. Creating a race of scorpion pony hybrids as a freak race of super-soldiers is something that I have never heard of, even from beings such as Sombra and Nightmare Moon!"
"They are not super-soldiers," I growled, getting to my hooves and fluttering my wings. "They came about when my pregnant secretary was exposed to my personal magic when I overloaded during the assassination attempt."
"A likely story!" Cromwell snarled.
"If you look at Princess Luna's bat ponies, I think that you'll find that they were created under similar circumstances. Circumstances that in no way involved her making them into an army of super-soldiers."
"The difference being that Luna did not create her ponies during a time of war, and I believe they were accidental. However, I have a hard time believing that you had no intention of creating scorpion ponies!" He stepped towards me and flared out his wings, something that made Celestia and Luna return the gesture, but me roll my eyes. "Medical experiments on your own subjects... I can't even conceive of such a thing!"
"Yes, yes, I'll bet you can't." I sighed and rubbed one of my temples. "Look, you obviously aren't going to believe me whatever I say, so I think it would be best if this meeting were adjourned for now. We're not giving you Kathyrine, we're not giving you land, and we're not going to just bow to you because you say so. So you can go tell Purgle all about this now."
"I told you before: I am not beholden to Purgle!"
I shrugged. "Then do whatever, but we have other business to attend to." I turned and nodded to one of my guards. "Make sure he gets out safely, okay?"
I began walking out of my throne room to the infirmary with Celestia and Luna following right behind me, when I heard Cromwell speak up once again. He was kind of starting to get on my nerves by that point, really.
"This isn't over, Antares!" he cried. "Our nations will be at war very soon, I can assure you! I--"
By this point I had grown completely tired of him. Maybe it was just his personality, or maybe it was the whole war thing looming overhead on top of Tulip giving birth, but when he started talking again I just kind of... snapped a little bit. Not a ton, but a little bit. The dude pretty much just declared war on us. So, I did the only thing that I could think of at that moment. I turned around to face him, extended my right wing to its fullest length, and began preening it.
Okay, so...
Any non-winged creature, or being who didn't have consistent contact with a winged creature, probably wouldn't get why that was such a big deal. There were two reasons. The first one is that preening is a private affair. It a hygienic process. It would be like if the President of the United States was meeting with the Queen of England then promptly stripped down and started taking a shower in front of her completely out in the open. Is showering important to keeping healthy and clean? Of course. Do you do it in front of other people? Nope. So there's that part of it.
The second reason does have more symbolic roots. Winged creatures use their wings as their primary form of non-verbal communication. If a winged creature wants to look threatening, he or she will spread their wings out to their full length to look bigger. If they're aroused, then wingboners become an issue. You just have to know what the different wing movements mean. So, given that preening was a process meant to clean and straighten out your feathers, to deliberately spread your wing out to its full length and begin preening in front of somebody was telling them that A. you're superior to them and B. they're dirt to you. That they're filth that you're going to spit out. So if we were both human, it would be less offensive if I flipped him the double bird.
Now that I'd officially broken the minds of everyone in the room, save for my non-pegasus guards, who just looked at me like they had no idea what was going on, I decided I'd best make my exit to check on Tulip and her foals. I did so hate to leave Celestia and Luna with the mess that I'd just made, but, well...
Heh...
I trotted out of the room, Private Blaze, Time Keeper, and Lieutenant rapids following me after a few moments. We almost reached the infirmary before Lieutenant Rapids let out a weak gurgle that I think one could mistake for clearing her throat.
"P-Prince Antares?" she croaked. "Given the context, that was simultaneously the funniest and most horrific thing I've ever seen in my entire life. Congratulations. You have officially topped yourself."
"I don't get it," Blaze said as we reached the doors of the infirmary, looking between me and Rapids. "What did he do?"
"Well basically, um..." Rapids uneasily scratched the back of her neck before leaning in and whispering in Blaze's ear. A look of dawning comprehension crossed his face, and a small grin crossed his face.
"Ooh, that's tacky," he said in a low, vaguely amused voice.
"And you'd better believe I'm going to hear it from Celestia and Luna," I grumbled. "I dunno, I guess I just kind of lost my temper when he just up and declared war on us like that. That, and he comes over here demanding we hoof over Kathyrine, calls the scorpiponies weapons of war and accuses me of creating them on purpose for that reason, and just generally acts like he owns the place. This is all right after he destroys our only means for peace with his country by murdering Aepnet and showing that he's willing to hire freemind changelings." I grimaced. "Yes, he irritated me a little bit."
"Inexcusable!" somepony roared. A very familiar blueberry, lest my ears deceived me. I turned and saw Celestia and Luna walking towards me, Celestia looking tired, while Luna's hoofsteps would require floor repairs, I think.
"Your actions will have far reaching consequences, Antares!" Luna screeched as she came to a halt in front of me. "Do you not see the mistake in your behavior?"
"Of course I do," I said, holding up a placating hoof, "and I'm sure he's really, really angry about it, but let's be honest: he came in here fully intending to declare war. I only did it after he did so."
"Perhaps," Celestia said, her voice sounding exhausted. "But you know as well as I that this does not bode well. He will be more aggressive now in his tactics. You provoked him more than once in that meeting."
"And I got some pretty invaluable intel out of that," I countered. "Admit it: it's good to know that he's using freeminds instead of having Chrysalis on his side. We also learned that he might be crafty and power hungry, but at the end of the day, he's controlled by Purgle. He won't actually go to war unless Purgle says so. He only took the crown because he knew he'd get backed up by the minotaurs. He's proud and self-absorbed. He likes to think that no one is stronger than he is." I shrugged. "Sounds to me like he has quite a few weaknesses we can exploit."
"I see your reasoning, but he is not the sole commanding force behind the Griffonian army," Celestia replied. "They have many brilliant commanders who will make life difficult in the coming days."
"Maybe so." I turned away from Celestia to the door of the infirmary. "But this moment isn't the right one to talk about that. A whole new pony tribe is being born, mares and gentlecolts. The next however many hours are going to be really difficult on Tulip as she pushes potentially venomous scorpion ponies out. Who knows what could go wrong? Who knows what kind of pain that she's--"
The door to the infirmary before me opened up, and a doctor in scrubs trotted out, inclining his head in a bow. "Prince Antares, the foals have been delivered without incident. Given the nature of the foals, we decided a Cesarian would be best. They're resting with their mother now."
"Er..." I flattened my ears as the bravado and drama quickly drained from the situation, and I became acutely aware that Blaze and Rapids were giggling behind me. I cleared my throat and straightened up to my full height, trying to regain a touch of dignity. "Very well. Show me to them."
"At once."
Celestia, Luna, and I followed the doctor into the room, while Blaze and Rapids stood guard outside with Time Keeper. They'd certainly get their opportunities to see the scorpion foals. Right then, though, we didn't need to crowd the new family.
As we walked towards Tulip's bed, I saw Kathyrine reclining on the one I'd given her. She looked up at me with a look that said she'd been given a rather nasty shock recently. I stopped in front of her.
"I guess you know what just happened, then?"
Kathyrine nodded dumbly. "Yeah, uh..." She closed her eyes and tousled her head feathers. "It was pretty trippy. We're just talking about the scorpion ponies growing inside of her, then her water breaks and she just starts going into labor and stuff. They rushed her away and just started cutting her open. I had to be there and hold her hoof while they dragged two... somethings out of her. Not what I imagined my day would be like."
I chuckled. "Yeah, I'll bet not. You can take a nap. It's all over now."
"Yeah..." She laid her head back down on her pillows. "Yeah, I guess."
With Kathyrine settled, the three of us alicorns walked down to the end of the hall where a large privacy curtain had been put up around the bed. Valiant poked his head out of it when he heard us approach, and he gave me a weak smile. Still, it was one of the happiest ones I've ever seen on a pony.
"They're resting now, but Tulip's awake. She's been asking for you."
I snorted and shook my head. "Yeah, I'll bet." I looked back at Celestia and Luna, and the two of them nodded at me. I nodded back, causing them to walk back over to where Kathyrine lay. I guess they would want to question her a bit as well. With that settled, I took a deep breath and walked past the privacy curtain to look at the new race of ponies my magic had created.
The first thing that struck me was that they were...
...
...
Adorable.
I mean, seriously. I didn't know what to expect from the ultrasound and all, but they looked like typical baby unicorns. Well, except for the pincer forehooves, slightly curved horn, and the tail, which actually seemed to work with them. The colt was a sort of yellowish white color, with a mane the same color as his coat, while the filly's coat was more of a blue hue with a mess of yellow mane on her head. I sat down next to the bed, where Tulip lay curled up with bandages around her barrel. She was sleeping, and had her forelegs around her new foals, who were also asleep. They just seemed so peaceful. Something that I really, really missed. I noticed that their tails looked just like scorpion tails. Hardened exoskeleton typical of scorpions. I inwardly sighed as I realized just how much these ponies were going to be poked and prodded not just to make sure they were healthy, but to find out what they were.
Then I noticed the stinger. Yup, they had one of those too. At the very tip of their tails, the a small, sharp looking stinger protruded. I had no doubt that they could use it if they wanted to. I looked back at Valiant, who must have guessed what I was looking at.
"Yeah, I'm not sure if my son and daughter are poisonous either. The docs said that they're gonna run some tests, or something to make sure they're not really dangerous, but the very tip of the stinger looks like it's retractable." He shrugged and sat down in a chair next to me. "Not sure what to do if they are venomous ponies."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," I muttered, still staring at the foals. "Right now, we just need to make sure that they're healthy."
It was at that moment that Tulip's eyes slowly fluttered open. She let out a long, groggy yawn and adjusted her grip on her foals.
"Hello, Prince Antares," she muttered. I could guess that she was still a touch loopy from the drugs needed for the C-section. "Come to see my beautiful babies?"
I smiled at her and put one of my hooves on her own. "Yes, and I must say, they are amazing. They will be great ponies, Tulip."
"Mhm." Tulip gently nuzzled the filly, who squirmed a bit in her grasp. "This one's Veritas. It means 'truthfulness' where I come from." She reached out with the hoof I wasn't touching and patted the colt on the head. "His name is Ara. It means 'noble.'"
"Wonderful names," I said with an approving nod. "I look forward to seeing what kind of ponies they become."
Then it happened.
The two foals began stirring at the same time, and I began to worry if we'd hear just what it sounded like when newborn scorpiponies began crying. That would kind of kill the moment. But they didn't. They just woke up and garbled in baby talk while nuzzling up to their mother. Tulip giggled and hugged them both as tightly as her aching body would allow.
"Veritas, Ara..." She pointed to me. "Do you see who's in the room with us? It's Prince Antares. The stallion whose magic made you into such wonderful ponies."
The foals curiously followed their mother's hoof to see where she pointed, and they turned their heads until their eyes landed on me. Slitted eyes with red pupils.
Okay, that was a little unnerving, but they were scorpions, I guess.
The moment Veritas and Ara saw me, their jaws dropped, revealing that they had canines, and they stared at me, completely unblinking. It felt to me like... like they could just kind of sense that we had some sort of innate connection, or that I was special to them, but they couldn't quite figure out why. And... yeah, I felt some sort of bizarre connection to them, as well. I mean, these two were potentially the beginnings of an entirely new tribe of ponies that were created because of my magic. I'm the scorpion prince, and these are scorpion ponies. To be honest, I had no idea how to react to that kind of thing. I'd seen and done some mind blowing things in my time as a ruler, but this... this was new territory. Heck, it had only happened once before in pony history. Luna and I had a lot to talk about, it seemed.
Scorpion ponies.
Scorpiponies.
In some ways, they were truly my little ponies.
...
...
Heh.
* * * *
Well, as I'm sure one could guess, the media went berserk. Like, I don't think they would have gone so crazy if they actually had found out that Celestia and I were in a relationship. I don't think the impending war got as much coverage. Who cares that death and carnage and suffering is 99% likely to happen in the very near future? Scorpion ponies have just been born!
Way to sort out your priorities, newspapers of Equestria.
Well, I couldn't really say that Earth newspapers are any better.
I had to have a full press day with newspapers from all over the world in which I answered just about every question I could think of, and several I had no idea why they would ask, for hours on end. They all wanted to know if they were actually poisonous like real scorpions were, to which I answered that we didn't know.
Which, strictly speaking, was a lie. We knew. Two weeks after their birth we ran tests, and found out that they had little venom sacs in those tails of theirs. We did a little test on the venom and yes, they were quite poisonous. Not enough to down an ursa, or anything like that, but if you got on the wrong end of one of their stingers, it'd totally ruin your day.
Or end it. I didn't know. We hadn't really had the heart to test it on a life form.
They wanted pictures, they wanted to know why and how, they wanted to know if they were feral (they weren't) and so on. I'm just glad that Valiant and Tulip didn't need to get involved. I gladly took the brunt of the media storm for them. They were going to get the madness eventually, but for now, Tulip and her foals could rest.
I stress 'for now.'
After about two months, the hullabaloo died down a bit, which was just fine by me. Tulip had recovered enough that the foals and recently married parents could move into the apartment I'd set aside for them, and we could get back to trying to figure out the best way to fight an upcoming war.
You know, on second thought? I'd actually prefer scorpipony madness to a war. Much less chaotic.
Or so I thought.
We hadn't heard anything from Cromwell, so I started to think that the 'preening incident' might be salvageable. I needed to work hard to make that happen, but I could do it. I didn't think that I could prevent the war entirely, but the more I could do to postpone it, the better. The longer I postponed it, the more prepared I'd be. I'd successfully expanded past napalm in terms of human weaponry, after all.
But that all came crashing down when Time Keeper burst into my throne room as I was doing some paperwork while waiting for Tulip and her family to come visit me. He looked scared. I mean, really, really scared. I shot to my hooves and ran over to meet him, ignoring his bow.
"What? What is it?"
"Minotaurs, your highness!" Time Keeper cried, springing to his hooves. "N-not an invading army, but the two leaders! They're entering through the Griffonian side of the border!"
Oh dear.
"Contact Princess Celestia at once," I said, running towards an exit to my palace. "If it's just Bludworth and Purgle, then they just want to talk, which is good. If they're coming from the griffin side of the border on a surprise visit, that might not be so good. Get the soldiers deployed and in defensive positions once you've contacted Celestia!"
Minotaurs. Just what I needed. I'd bet my crown that if they were coming from the griffin side of the border, Purgle had been having some interesting conversations with Cromwell. I doubted he'd understand the finer nuances of preening based insults, but he'd get the idea. If Purgle did truly have Cromwell on a leash by virtue of being the one who was keeping him in power, then he'd probably be calming him down, which bought us a little time. Time we desperately needed.
I ran outside of my palace where my soldiers were already running in the direction of the border to take up defensive positions. I stood beside them and looked out into the horizon, waiting.
After twenty minutes, it became clear that the intel I had received was quite correct. Ten minotaurs marched to our position, four of them carrying Purgle's golden palanquin. They were surrounded by my border guards, who were keeping an uneasy eye on them. However, if what I was seeing was right, they were unarmed and unarmored. All of them. Even Bludworth.
Odd.
After another five minutes, the group reached us, and the minotaurs carrying Purgle stopped. One of my guards stepped forward and bowed to me.
"We found them attempting to cross into our nation. Our scans show that they have no weapons on them of any kind."
I frowned and looked over to Purgle, who was giving me a smug grin, like he'd just done something cool. "I merely wish to speak to you, Antares. Nothing more. I feel that it would be more comfortably done in your palace, am I correct? Or would you let a foreign delegation sit out here exposed to the weather?"
I grimaced, but if they were truly unarmed then I didn't see a need to not let at least Purgle and Bludworth in. I could easily take them both on if need be, especially surrounded by my guards. They knew that, so there was no reason to think that this was a trap on their part. I inclined my head in a small nod, and we all went back to my palace. Once there, Purgle stepped off of his palanquin, and I led him into my throne room, flanked by ten of my guards.
Hey, doesn't hurt to be too careful.
Once we were inside, I sat down on my throne, while Purgle and Bludworth bowed to me. I had to hope that Celesta and maybe Luna would get here soon, but if not, I could handle them until they arrived.
"So, you have something you want to talk about?" I said.
Purgle nodded. "Indeed I do. You see, I have heard tell over the past two months that you have bred a new tribe of ponies into existence. Scorpion ponies. I wish to see them."
I snorted and rolled my eyes. "I'm afraid that I can't do that. If I'm not going to let the press in to see them, I'm not sure why I'd let you."
"Because we're on the brink of war, and I need to confirm that these ponies are not, as Cromwell suspects, biological weapons."
"Well they're not," I said stiffly. "I magically overloaded during the assassination attempt, and my pregnant secretary happened to be nearby. I would have to have amazing foresight to see that coming."
"Indeed, but you must agree that from our perspective, a race of scorpion ponies is cause for alarm," Purgle countered. "I swear on my crown that I am not here to hurt them, however they act. I merely wish to see them. You know that I am unarmed."
"But you're strong enough that you could probably kill them both in a surprise attack if you got close enough and felt like it," I retorted. "Unarmed does not mean helpless when it comes to you. I know that."
Purgle smirked and let out an amused snort. "You flatter me, Antares. Regardless, I'm not here to hurt them in the slightest. I merely wish to see what a scorpion pony looks like. No pictures have been made available."
"Yeah, because I want to give the new family a little privacy, yeah? Is that so hard to grasp?" I shook my head and stood up. "No, I'm afraid that I cannot allow you to see the scorpiponies today. I'm sure there will come a time, but be reasonable here: they're barely two months old, and their mother is just starting to get back on their hooves. This isn't anything personal..." For the most part. "I haven't let anypony in to see them."
Purgle stared at me for a moment, and from the way he tightened his jaw, I could tell that he didn't quite like my verdict, but, being in my palace and in my country, he couldn't really contest it. Nor would he be dumb enough to try. Finally he tilted his head in a nod.
"Very well. I suppose I can respect the idea of newborns and their mother getting rest after the taxing event of birth. We will come back another time, if you wish."
I grunted noncommittally. Truth be told, I didn't want them back in my country ever again, but this whole scorpipony thing wasn't going to stay contained forever. Still, I'd keep it controlled as long as I could.
Purgle and Bludworth followed me out of my throne room, and into the hallway, none of us saying anything. I really wanted them out of Baltimare as soon as possible. To have them just barge in here and call my ponies "biological weapons?" Yeah, that wasn't going to score any points with me. But as long as I could get him out of my palace and country, I could start getting things under control again.
But why would that happen?
We turned a corner on our way to the front entrance, and we almost ran into another group coming around the other way. Thankfully we avoided a large collision, but my heart sank once I saw who had come the other way: Tulip, Valiant, and the scorpipony foals.
Merde.
"Uh..." Tulip's gaze flickered between me and the minotaurs. "W-we didn't didn't expect to run into you with dignitaries, Prince Antares. W-we were just coming to see you like we talked about yesterday now that Mommy is feeling up to it."
Right...
Riiiight. Dang it, of all the times for me to forget a meeting with Tulip, it had to be now. That's right. They had planned a meeting with me to show their foals the throne room.
"Yes, of course." I cleared my throat and glanced over at Purgle and Bludworth, both of whom were staring at the foals. "Well, it might be best to come back another time, yeah? Maybe in a few hours."
"Nonsense, Antares," Purgle said, taking a few steps towards the family. Valiant tensed up, and glared at Purgle as he moved in front of his wife. Purgle stopped moving and raised his hand. "I wish you and your family no harm. I merely want to see the foals with my own eyes. That is all, I swear. I will not lay a finger on them."
"Why should I believe you?" Valiant growled. "You want to go to war with us! Why should I believe for a moment that you care about the safety of my son and daughter?"
"A fair point, but you forget that I am in your capital, under the watchful eyes of Prince Antares," Purgle responded. "I could not hurt them if I wanted to."
"I don't think any of this is a good idea," I said, stepping forward to diffuse the situation. "You four can go. I'll talk to you once I've finished up with Purgle, okay?"
Valiant nodded, and he gently nudged his wife, who turned around and began walking out of the room. Valiant turned and did the same, and that's when Purgle saw his chance, I suppose. He now had a clear view of Ara, who was on Valiant's back. Seeing his opportunity, he rushed up to Ara to get a closer look.
Several things happened in the span of about five seconds, none of which were any good at all.
Hearing Purgle approaching, Valiant stopped, just as Ara moved on his back. The conflicting movements caused Ara to slip off of his father's back. I ignited my horn and caught the foal an inch before he hit the ground, sparing him any potential damage.
Unfortunately, this turn of events, coupled with sensing that his father was uneasy, didn't sit well with Ara in the slightest. He let out a little cry and began gnashing his teeth and squirming in my magical grasp. I put him back on his father's back, which calmed him down a little bit. Unfortunately, neither of us noticed that Purgle had gotten closer again, given that we were so focused on Ara.
Ara, however, was looking for someone to blame for him falling. I wasn't to blame. I had that connection to him. His father wasn't to blame either because he was his father. That scary looking monster thing that was coming closer? Yes, he would do nicely. Ara glared at Purgle and stood up on his father's back, tail at the ready.
Bludworth, Purgle, and myself all noticed at once that Ara had his tail ready, but only I had an idea of what that thing was capable of. I couldn't stop it as Ara extended the tip of his stinger and swung his tail right at Purgle. He was just close enough that it would hit.
Bludworth got there faster.
He pushed Purgle out of the way of the swinging tail a half second before it connected, but, that didn't mean that Ara's tail didn't find a target. It did. When Ara's tail came to a stop, I realized that the barb was embedded completely in Bludworth's arm. Knowing how thick minotaur skin is, that barb was both sharp, and Ara likely had a lot of power in that swing to do that.
Bludworth fell to the ground with a cry of pain, no, agony as the stinger slid out of his arm. Valiant gasped and took Ara off of his back, sitting on the floor and clutching him close. Purgle ran over to Bludworth, who was grabbing at his swelling arm and thrashing in pain. He stared at his high general for a moment before turning his head to me, a look of pure fury in his eyes the likes of which I had never seen.
I had never seen it, but I could sure as heck recognize it. The fires of war were in his eyes.
"This is what you have created, Antares," he spat. He pointed down to Bludworth. "This is what you want to subject my soldiers to? I have seen this minotaur stabbed, and he did not react this way."
"I didn't mean for this to happen, I swear!" I said with desperation in my voice. "Let me help you get him to my medics! We've been working on the antivenin!"
"No!" Purgle snarled. "They'd probably speed his death! I'm going to get him back to Griffonia. You'd better pray that he makes it, or there will be Tartarus to pay for your kind the likes of which you have never imagined!"
Purgle reached down and threw Bludworth's good arm over his shoulders, helping him to his hooves. Bludworth had stopped screaming and had moved on to twitching and violently brushing his body as if he was trying to get rid of insects crawling all over it.
Once again, I froze. I didn't know what I was supposed to do here. As the two left my palace, I turned around to face Tulip and Valiant, both of whom were clutching their foals tight to their chests. My eyes landed on Ara, who was contentedly nuzzling up against his father.
* * * *
If the media circus of their birth was bad, the knowledge that they were highly venomous was even worse. I turned away all reporters in the two weeks after the incident. I kept Valiant, Tulip, and their foals in their interior apartment under heavy guard at all times. I know it sucked for them, but it was safer.
Celestia and Luna didn't know what to do either. Again, we didn't know much about scorpipony venom, though we did manage to get that antivenin successfully made. We didn't know if Bludworth would survive, and if he did, what condition he would be in.
We had our answer soon enough.
Two weeks after the incident, Celestia, Luna, and I were sitting in one of my conference rooms, quietly talking about how we had heard nothing from either Griffonia or Minotauria about Bludworth. Even the Blade Wings had discovered nothing. A knock on my door interrupted our conversation. I opened it with my magic, and one of my servants wordlessly hoofed me a letter, bowed, and left.
Somehow I knew what it was, even before I opened it. I still had to, though. No sense in ignoring it.
I sighed and broke the seal. I unfurled the scroll and laid it flat on the table for all of us to read.
To the Equestrian monarchy,
Last night, High General Bludworth died of the wounds sustained from Antares' abominations against nature. I know he wished for peace, but he was a fool. If this is what you do with your magic when you are not watched, then we have no choice.
The alliance of the Kingdom of Minotauria and the Empire of Griffonia do hereby officially declare war on the state of Equestria.
Signed,
King Purgle and Emperor Cromwell.