It was mid-morning in Canterlot Castle, but it was stunningly hot inside the normally cool, plush interior. Servants were rushing to and fro, earth ponies panting raggedly, pegasi fanning themselves with wings, and those unicorns that knew how were conjuring cooling spells to keep themselves from passing out. Most believed that the cooling crystals that usually kept the castle at a nice, even temperature had simply burned out, and needed to be changed. Only Celestia’s closest advisors and guards knew the the heat was coming from the Solar Monarch herself, rolling out from her private chambers in great waves. Which was exactly where Steel Buff, messenger from General Iron Skies, the commanding officer of the invading forces in the Griffon Kingdoms, had to go.
The somewhat small, off-white unicorn stallion gulped thickly as he approached the Princess’ chambers, passing his seal of passage to one of the guards. Both guards ran separate magical scans on the seal before letting him through; Steel had no idea how either guard was managing to stand in such conditions in full armor. They weren’t even sweating! Or so it seemed at least. Once their spears uncrossed, Steel Buff hurried inside the chambers, wincing just slightly. He was determined not to appear weak in front of his Princess.
Celestia was settled calmly in front of the War Map; it was a gigantic stone tablet, magically carved to represent the known world. Studs and pieces, shaped like different ponies and representing armies, were settled all over Equestria- though Steel Buff could count at least ten figurines settled in the southern Griffon Kingdoms. Ten thousand ponies, his brothers and sisters in arms, fighting for the justice demanded by the families of those civilians slain. He had seen the devastation the raiders had left in their wake; three villages, thriving little burgs on the cusp of township, burned to ashes, their citizens slain or scattered. Over three hundred slain.
Settled around the War Map were four of the top Generals of the Equestrian military: the sea blue-pelted unicorn, Admiral Salty Breeze, of the Equestrian Navy; the roan-colored pegasi Commander of the Air, Gale Force; a grizzled, saltpepper-colored Earth Pony that led the main body of the Equestrian Army, General Garlic Clove, and the teal unicorn General of the Mage Corps, Hourglass Eye. Most seemed to be incredibly tense, though Steel Buff was hardly an expert in pony mood, just… observation. Pipes were lodged in the mouths of all but Gale Force, smoke billowing about the room. It stung at Steel’s eyes, but he was determined not to show weakness in front of such military might.
As the Solar Monarch’s eyes rose, Steel Buff bowed low before they could meet, his message perched in his magic.
“Your Highness, I come with a request of instructions by General Iron Skies,” Steel Buff exclaimed warmly, “And a declaration of victory over the Griffon port of Ambersky. Rough casualty estimates run quite low, and the city is mostly intact. However, the civilian population did not evacuate, and we captured a number of the garrison forces. All in all, there are roughly eight thousand prisoners, and the General-”
“I do not recall giving the General orders to take prisoners,” Celestia’s voice, while calm and quiet, cut through Steel’s report in an instant, leaving a thick, almost tangible silence.
“...m’lady?” Steel Buff replied dumbly, hesitantly glancing up to meet her gaze, “What do you… mean…”
Looking up had been a mistake. A very big mistake. Celestia was peering down at the soldier, and her eyes… her eyes were far different than those of the pictures he had seen. They were were neither warm, nor motherly. They were… dark. Cold. Despite the horrific heat of the room. Steel Buff’s blood ran cold as he was stared down like a hunk of meat and metal.
Turning her gaze back to the Generals at her table, the Princess’ muzzle straightened into a firm line, “Are we prepared for such a refugee problem in that theater?”
“No, Your Majesty,” Garlic Clove rumbled out quietly, one hoof raised to thoughtfully scratch his chin, “I’m afraid we are not. The Griffon Kingdoms are mountainous enough that supply lines are… difficult to maintain. Even with the capture of the port, supplies will take several weeks to get into place for such a crowd.”
“It has to be the same tactic the birds used in the last war,” Hourglass spat, glancing at one of the books in the pile at his left side, “As soon as we begin to take ground, they flood us with all of their refugees and citizen trash, to overburden our supply lines to the breaking point. They know we will not turn them away.”
“With the Internment Act in place, we can mitigate some of that damage,” Celestia replied quietly, a small smirk spreading across her lips, “And perhaps make a little bit back. However…”
One hoof slowly ground down on the grain of the wood, and the sharp tang of burning wood wafted across Steel Buff’s nose, making him tense in surprise.
“Fifteen hundred years ago, I signed the treaty that bound the Griffons to peace,” Celestia whispered, voice cold and biting in her displeasure, “And I told them that an example would be made of their nation, should they ever take up their raiding past. This mockery of my word cannot go unpunished, or we will lose all standing in the world eye.”
Turning her eyes back to the frozen form of Steel Buff, she let out a quiet breath, seeming to steel herself for her next words.
“Send this word to the General, messenger. All Griffons, soldier or civilian, under the age of sixteen, will be placed under arrest and kept under heavy guard until such time as they can be brought back to Equestria. All others will be executed by hanging. Am I understood, my little pony?”
“Y-yes…. yes, Princess,” Steel wheezed, eyes wide as he stared at the marble floor, “P-perfectly understood.”
“Then you are dismissed.”
Numbly, Steel Buff saluted once, a hoof to the forehead, but spinning around and practically lurching out of the room at the same time. He should not be running in the halls; it was not proper behavior for a guard, and he was certain to hear of it later. But he simply had to get away from that furnace-like room as fast as he could. He couldn’t breathe, he could barely think.
I’m about to tell a stallion to… murder nearly eight thousand people.
Bile rose in Steel Buff’s throat, but he galloped on past the guard post, heading for the communication outpost nestled in the west wing of the castle. As much as he hated to, Steel Buff had a duty. Didn’t he? Glancing around, Steel paled as he spotted the eyes of several Solar Guardstallions on him, watching. Searching. Of course he had a duty… in front of these ponies. Looking bleakly into the communication room, face lit up by the purple glow of the arcane crystals, Steel Buff sighed heavily and strode inside, tail firmly tucked between his legs.
For Equestria…
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The newspapers rustled loudly in their odd, ear-screeching kind of way as two mint-colored hooves slammed them down onto Octavia’s table, making the quiet mare sigh quietly. Lyra was in a tizzy about something, that was for certain. She just wished her friend could wait till after breakfast. It had been a long night; Vinyl had gotten home late from her ‘gig,’ and the two had spent the late night curled in each other’s hooves. Now, her little ivory lover was sleeping it off inside, while Octavia was left trying to tank the sleepiness with copious amounts of caffeine and waffles at the local diner.
“Can you believe this?” Lyra Heartstrings exclaimed in a furious whisper, as even in the height of a tizzy she had her manners, “An Internment Act!? In Equestria! I thought we were better than this.”
“What do you mean, ‘internment?’” Octavia asked curiously, reaching out to carefully slide the paper over enough so she could read it.
“Exactly what it says!” Lyra snapped, though there was no bite towards Octavia, and she effectively ignored the tone, “‘All Griffons or Griffon-blooded must report to the nearest internment facility until such a time as the war in the Griffon Kingdoms is concluded. This is for their own protection against species’ violence, and to stop the spread of partisan violence.’ Can you believe that? There hasn’t been one terrorist attack since the war started!”
“Calm down, love,” Bon-Bon soothed from her spot at the table, grinning around a cup of coffee in one hoof, “There’s nothing we can do about it now but protest to our parliament representative.”
Huffing loudly in consternation, Lyra slammed herself down into her seat, leaning lightly against Bon-Bon’s side. Octavia allowed herself a small smile at her friend’s antics; Lyra had always been an outspoken critic of the government, but lately it had been getting far more… intense, especially when it came to war talks. The news of the Ambersky Massacre, where thousands of Griffon civilians had refused to surrender and charged the Equestrian Army en masse, resulting in their near total destruction at the trained hooves and spears of Equestria’s finest, had rubbed many the wrong way. The Pegasus City Councils were condemning the slaughter as a wanton waste of life, which was quickly backhanded by a victorious and cheerful Unicorn Noble Council in Canterlot. The Earth Pony village leaders were split down the middle in opinion: some were willing to believe that it had been the only available option in order to take Ambersky and step closer to victory. Others were unwilling to admit the idea that killing thousands was the only way. And still others believed that the government was not giving them the whole story, that Celestia was holding something back. As for Octavia?
“Girls, please, it’s Celestia,” she replied calmly, a hoof reaching under her collar to press warmly at the sun emblem she wore at all times, “She had to have had a good reason for not having the army stop them some other way. IF there was even another way in the first place.”
Lyra’s follow-up groan stoked a little flame of annoyance in Octavia, but she quickly quenched it.
“Come on Octy, don’t preach to us,” Lyra begged, ignoring Bon-Bon’s steadily increasing pokes and jabs, “You HAVE to admit that it’s really, really strange.”
That… did plink just a teensy, tiny chink in Octavia’s otherwise impenetrable faith. On a purely logical standpoint, looking back at Celestia’s past actions in the realm of war, her current stance on the war with the Griffons was… remarkably different. In the past, territorial disputes with the Griffons, and in some respects with the Zebrican Islands, had been resolved through mutual gifts of supplies, gold, and asundry aid. Very rarely had physical conflict broken out between the nations, and those tended to be skirmishes on the borders. A full scale invasion such as this, perpetrated by Equestria, had not happened in several centuries. And a massacre like this?
Sighing quietly and glancing down to study the grain of the wood of their table, Octavia acquiesced with a tiny nod. It certainly was odd, she had to admit at least that. Did not mean she had to like it, of course. As the waitress languidly trotted over to retrieve their quickly emptied plates, Octavia sighed, quickly setting out her bits. Admitting that her goddess might, just might, have made some kind of mistake was leaving Octavia’s stomach in something of a tumult, the coffee and toast duking it out inside. ...perhaps she would visit the Solar Shrine that day after all. Praying over her reservations just might help ease her mind.
Bidding a quiet goodbye to her neighbors, both of whom seemed apologetic for Octavia’s troubled state, the cellist quickly trotted out of the diner, the Shrine her destination. ...and then she saw her. Peering out of her window like a dragon overlooking their domain, Vinyl was smiling brilliantly, bed-headed blue mane flickering about in the morning breeze. Spotting Octavia at nearly the same time, the DJ’s smile only brightened, and she waved happily to her love before disappearing into the home, likely to get ready to go out for the day. Octavia chuckled faintly, but shivered; overhead, several clouds had drifted in, covering the side of her street with shade. Further down the street, perched on a steep hill, the golden steeple of the Sun Shrine gleamed brightly in the morning sun. Perhaps for a moment… too brightly. The Shrine hardly seemed… welcoming anymore, not with the doubts in Octavia’s mind. And certainly not with a beautiful, loving mare waiting for her inside. Turning towards her home, Octavia promised herself half-heartedly to go to the Shrine later that day, and hardly noticed as the clouds covered the town in nice, soothing shade.
***************************
Luna frowned deeply as she stared down at the shining streets of Canterlot; her presence had eased the burning heat of the castle, but the heat itself unnerved Luna. As did Celestia’s attitude. During their nearly two thousand years of life, Celestia had always been a fairly emotional general. Sending her troops into combat, knowing many could and would die, had never sat well, and Luna had often had to comfort her big sister. It was what she had prepared for upon returning from Twilight Sparkle’s several days prior. What she had found instead was nothing short of shocking.
Celestia had not left her War Room, not once; even raising the sun simply by force of habit. Messengers came and went, many of them seeming sun-struck or simply terrified; hardly the usual awe that came from the common pony spending time with their princess. And, far more disturbing, Luna found that her sister was increasingly tight-lipped about the orders she was sending out to the armies.
“They are nothing, dear sister; trivial matters.”
“The less you know, the better.”
“You will see, Luna, do not fret so.”
It was, in a word, infuriating. And unnerving. She had had to learn about the Internment Act through the Canterlot Times, for Mother’s Sake! Even now, Luna watched with a sad heart as families of Griffons, citizens of Equestria for generations, were lead through the streets by armed guards, to be placed into armed trains and trekked out to internment camps just south of Ponyville. From what her Night Guards had told her, the internment camps were massive, easily able to contain many more than just Griffons. The thought of what they could hold sickened Luna. Equestria had been a model of freedom for the rest of the world for generations now. Why was that changing for a simple war? One hardly greater than the wars that had plagued Equestria in its youth. It made no sense.
“Something wrong, my sister?” Celestia asked from inside the War Room, her tone somewhat strained.
Luna bit her lip as she gazed at her elder sister, wings fluttering in her nervousness. Celestia had changed after her visit to the site of the raid. For years, before and after her time as Nightmare Moon, Luna had struggled to get Celestia to look past her sentimentality when it came to dealing with Equestria and its threats. A series of skirmishes did not a war make; nor were they effective deterrents. In some of Luna’s more impassioned speeches, she had even gone so far as to describe them as cowardice, and shameful to the families of those who had lost their lives. Luna often regretted saying such words to her sister. But now… had something gotten through to her? The Night Princess was not sure how to feel about that now…
“Tis nothing, Tia,” Luna replied quickly, looking back to give Celestia a gentle smile, “Was just… thinking. Perhaps… perhaps my Night Guard should watch over the camps!”
That got a reaction at least. As Luna watched, a flicker of some emotion came to Celestia’s eyes, and she peered over at Luna thoughtfully. Luna reigned in her emotions and hesitance, and met Celestia’s gaze full on. She had to appear in control; powerful, but subservient to her big sister. Willing to follow her lead on this Internment Act. Even if it tore at the edges of her soul to go along with it. Freedom had always been espoused by the Lunar Court, to… certain extents. While Luna believed in a firm hoof in governance and little bureaucracy, she had always let her champions have a mostly free hoof in matters. Imprisoning an entire species for the crimes of others did not fall into Luna’s view of justice. Not at all. But if this could be a chance to learn more about Celestia’s motives, well…
“I believe that is a marvellous idea, Luna,” Celestia quietly replied, a smile slowly stretching across her muzzle.
To Luna’s relief, while the smile was faint and relatively joyless, it did hold a faint iota of her sister, locked within its depths. Perhaps things were not as dark as they seemed! Once this war was over, they could talk things out again, just like the old days! The good old days, before Equestria, before all of this responsibility...
“Yes… yes, dear sister, place your Night Guard in charge. I will send in the requisite staff for the… care of the Griffons. But your soldiers will certain keep them in line.”
In a flash the smile was gone, the cold eyes focusing on Luna firmly, “Won’t they?”
By Mother’s Grace and Father’s Strength, sister, what’s happened to you…