//------------------------------// // #12. A Loaf of Brad // Story: The Bradical Adventures of Twilight Sparkle & Flash Sentry: The Book of StarSwirl // by Chelis //------------------------------// The sun had barely peeked through the horizon when the plan was sent into motion. The capital was deserted in the mornings, too cold for the thin-haired griffons to start their daily rituals. It made Twilight's part of the plan a whole lot easier. She flew with Spike on her back to an open window in the library tower. "Do you even know where it is?" Spike asked. "No, but you are smaller and harder to see, Spike. I don't think they're on guard for a baby dragon," Twilight assured him, as he jumped through the window into the tower. "Good luck," Spike waved as Twilight flew off. He turned to see how massive the library was. There was floor after floor of book shelves, and each one had its own collection of manuscripts and hardcovers. In order to go from one end of the decimal system to another, you would have to climb the stairs to the other end of the tower. “I'm starting to miss the library in ponyville," Spike muttered as he began his search on the very top of the library. *** The daybreak gave way to the warmer, brighter morning. The citizens, the guards, and even the upper crust of the capital were buzzing. It had been a good year or two since a public execution, and that dry spell was to be broken today. The wooden structure in the middle of the town square was surrounded by griffons of all walks of life, colors and classes. Usually, the different groups would have nothing to do with each other. But on that day, they were unified in seeing someone get their head lopped off in the name of the king. The king’s guards were also in attendance, circling the execution square and squatting around the executioner’s block, looking for trouble while also trying to get a good view of the kill. The crowds roared when Flash Sentry was dragged out from the base of the prisoner's tower. He was bruised and bloodied. As he was pulled through the crowd he heard the boos and hisses from the crowd, and cries of 'Execute the pony!' were heard throughout. When his escorts landed him in the execution square he immediately collapsed from the sleep deprivation and the beatings. Flash still had a grin in his face. He did his job by getting the princess to leave and ge the message that would end with his brothers in arms storming the castle in the near-feature to fuck the king’s shit up. Do what you must, beakheads. I have already won. His neck was placed on the chopping block and he finally saw his executioner. The executioner was smaller than most, and even the wings that protruded from the long drape to conceal the identity of the axe griffon looked different from griffon wings that he was used to. They were also purple. There was also the fact that the axe was levitating by itself in a purple aura. Flash cracked an even larger smile since so far no one had picked up the fact that the executioner was not one of them. I have to admit, she has guts. Although he was the one to be executed, the king was the star of the show. The crowd cheered when he glided down from the royal tower, his son with him, to see the bloody spectacle. When King Carloman landed, he gave one look to the executioner and gave her a nod. The executioner took her place next to flash's neck, which was on the block and ready to be sliced in half. "Ladies and gentlegrifs," he spoke, "Today, we have a special execution for all of you. This pegasus from equestria has dared to attack your king!" The crowds booed at flash, with rotten food thrown in his direction. "But! This does not mean we should live in fear with those... Equestrians. Oh no. This is the first act of defiance to our Equestrian aggressors! This is a direct message to them: This is our land! This is our land! THIS IS OUR LAND!" The crowd repeated their king. "This is our land!" They cried in unison. As they did the king and his son swooped down to flash, still laying on his side on the chopping block. "Even your little princess has abandoned you, pony." The king and the prince backed away to let the executioner go to work. *** Spike went through floor after floor with no luck. Even his expert book finding skills were no match to how physically demanding this library was. When he reached the top of the tower, he spotted something different. There were no shelves, no stacks of books. Instead, there were display cases, and each one held a book or a scroll. He looked around until he found it: the book of Starswirl. "Ah-ha!" He shouted as he lifted the glass case. He gently placed the display box aside and opened the book. For him, it was unintelligible, but he’d seen the wording and the inscription before. To unicorns, it was easily legible. "Now I'll I have to do is-" "-die." Spike turned around in shock. Standing before him, covered in steel plate armor, was a griffon armed with a spear.