Night Patrol ch 29
By foxgear
There was grass everywhere. Grass as tall as a pony stretching for endless miles as far as the eye could see, it was a veritable ocean of green.
That was the southern Equestrian plans, vast wildland that few dared to try and tame. Thousands upon millions of acres were there for the taking. And for a reasonable price for any pony that wanted to make their stake could. Providing they lived there for ten years without dying, a tall order for the average pony. The former Blood nobles were making bank pawning the undeveloped land over multiple buyers. Many times, landowners would be ‘found dead’ by a monster attack. The land rights would automatically return to them since the contract was unfulfilled.
With the establishment of Night Patrol and then the next downfall of the nobles, the region was finally starting to develop! A town of two hundred acted as a hub for the ranchers and settlers scattered throughout the plans.
Naturally, the scale of the region required a higher number of patrollers, despite the low population. There were several outposts scattered throughout the area. A distance of roughly a hundred miles separated them. The current base Sixes and company were at was PB-23. Right on the edge of the plains.
“I thought there were more of you out here.” Sixes had said to the group of twenty-five ponies. The vast majority of them were Pegasi and Rinin, where the ability to fly was a significant boon. Applejack was finding that out the hard way.
With a machete between her teeth, the earth mare cut her way through the tall grass. Her pride and good nature, not allowing her to ride on P-Rex’s back. That lasted for only an hour when the Giant Pony himself scooped her up.
“Ya don’t need ta do this, P-Rex.” She mumbled, having already given up trying to explain to the giant that having another ride on their backs was demeaning, especially for earth ponies. The reason behind the sentiment was lost to time, but it lingered in all ponies.
P-Rex’s retort was no pony was forcing him to do, and he loved helping his friends. Causing Applejack to drop the subject for good.
“Are we getting close?” Applejack asked at the third-hour mark.
The outpost they were heading towards was in the steppes near the badlands. There have been several reports of interest from the area. Sightings of massive creatures and out of season snow. They were meeting up with the local unit to do an enormous sweep of the sector.
Once they found proof to collaborate with the local Patrollers and Rangers to eliminate the threats, while also signaling the Solar Flare, with Rawhide’s Battalion abroad for back up.
Since water and shelter were scarce, they would be investigating the local sources. To do that, they needed Patrollers assigned to the region to act as their tour guides. This would be one of the larger scale hunts Night Patrol has undertaken in awhile.
Sixes shrugged at the question, having no answer, so he asked the guide. A pinkish/purplish rinin name VeeVee, formerly BeeBee, if he remembered correctly. He wasn’t sure why she changed her name, but it was of little concern to him. A lot of rinin changed their names after leaving the cave, some just took longer than others to think of a better name then their brand number.
“About how much further VeeVee?”
VeeVee flew back, letting her wing pony take the lead. Pulling a map from her saddlebag, she landed on P-Rex’s back. Settling next to her, he looked over the graphed sheet. VeeVee’s talon indicated their current location.
“We are about here,” She pointed with her claw. “About half a day’s flight to the other side at this rate, we could, of course, pick up the pace, but since we are expecting to go into battle, I would highly suggest against that. However, you are the commanders, so please command.”
At their current pace, they could miss their target, losing control of the battlefield. Something Sixes didn’t like. Their numbers were small, and they need to set up a base. Somewhere they could meet up as a rallying point.
Since there were no villages in the badlands, it created a blind spot in the patrol network. The nearest outpost would be further than usual, and they already drafted a quarter of stationed patrollers into the search. Over one hundred patrollers were split up and spread across the vast plains.
“This area here,” Sixes pointed to a strange mark on the map where the badlands and grasslands meet, “what does this symbol mean?”
VeeVee peered closer at the map, “Oh, that’s the old plateau city ruins of an early earth pony settlement carved into the side of the mountain. No pony lives there, but we like to go exploring there whenever we can. The city is very well preserved.”
“Preserved enough to be used as a base?”
VeeVee clicked her tongue in thought, “Well… I suppose it could.”
“Good, then let's pick up the pace and set up a base in the city. From there, we will rest and scout the surrounding area using the city as our rally point. We’ll need to send a messenger to Rawhide to let him know where we’ll be. Is everypony in the unit familiar with the site?”
“Yes,” VeeVee replies, “Everypony has taken at least a trip or two out the city on their off time, and we all marked the location on our maps. We had actually planned to set it up as a future outpost in case Anypony decided to settle there but didn’t have the time or ponies to make it work out soon enough for this operation.”
“No matter, we’ll get it set up now. Everypony double-time it to the Plateau city!”
“Dra Aht,” VeeVee said abruptly, “The city is called Dra Aht, it means the end in the old language.”
“The end, uh… sounds ominous,” Sixes chuckled.
VeeVee grinned at him. “Oh, it is. The story goes that the entire population just disappeared one night. Letters left behind by a neighboring tribe said they found food still on plates and fires crackling, but with no pony around and no tracks leading away from the city. Everypony just vanished!”
“Are we sure we want to be going to this place?” Applejack asked aloud, she was the most superstitious of the group. She’s heard plenty of stories like this growing up, and while most were just stories, a small few were real, and they were meant to be heeded. “Let alone, do we want to be making it a base? You know what Luna says about old spooky legends like this, right? There’s always a grain of truth in every fairy tale.”
Sixes sent her a curious look her way, as did VeeVee. Figures they probably wouldn’t be as concerned as she was. She kept forgetting, despite their looks and their intelligence the two rinin have only been alive for roughly two years as far as their memories go.
“Look all Ah’m saying it that places like this are bad news. Maybe it’s nothing, but maybe it’s something. I just don’t think we should be staying in a place with this bad of a vibe.”
“Well,” VeeVee began pointing ahead, “I’m afraid you don’t have much choice, cause we're here.”
Leading P-Rex to the base of the plateau, they arrive at Dra Aht. The plateau village several hundred feet up with no ladders or footholds or trails to climb just sanded rock all the way up to the city.
“Amazing... did pegasus built this place?” Applejack gasped in awe, forgetting her superstitions for the time being. Beside her, VeeVee shook her head,
“Nope, according to archaeological data, earth ponies did. Pretty amazing, right?”
“Yeah… but I still don’t think we should stay here.”
“We don’t have much choice. It’s too late in the day to look for another site, and we pushed P-Rex hard to get here. The big guy needs a rest after running around in this heavy stuff.” Sixes said, tapping a claw on P-Rex’s armor. The chunks of metal were a burden, but it would be useful for when they ran into the mammoths.
“Come on, let’s set up camp somewhere up there and see if we can get P-Rex up there... somehow.”
The group set up at the top level of the village, seizing the chief’s residences to act as their base of operations. Supplies were tucked away, watches and lookouts were assign, and they even manage to get P-Rex into the city via a lot of rope and wing power. So far, so good, were Sixes’ thoughts as he settled down for the night.
The following morning didn’t start off great when Applejack came barreling through Sixes door, letting in a cold draft.
“Sixes!” She yelled, pointing out the door to the snowstorm raging outside.
He sighed, letting loose a puff of smoke from his nostrils to warm himself. He stepped outside and saw the shadows approaching through the sleet and snow. He never saw one before, but he was pretty sure those were mammoths.
He turned to Applejack and said, “Prepare for battle. This is going to be a long day.”
“Princess Celestia! We will not stand for this!” Wasn’t what Celestia expected to hear when she entered the council chambers. Sir Fancy Dress, Lady Lacy Lingerie, and several others were waiting for her. What could have them all in such a frenzy she wondered slowly cantering to her seat, saying nothing and instead gave them all a stern glare instead of her usual cheery welcome when she took her place.
They seem to realize their mistake and quietly waited for her to speak.
“I too generous a ruler?” She said her glaze scathing hot as she looked around the room. “I do not wish to be seen as a tyrant who snuffs out the voices of her subjects, but if I am to be greeted with such rudeness as I just was. I assure you I will not be a tyrant, but I can be… harsh… now, what’s got you all so rallied up?”
A shaky hoof passed along a piece of paper with King Silverous’s seal. Carefully she levitated the article up to her muzzle and read it carefully and slowly and then read it once again to make sure what she had just read was indeed correct. This was a declaration of war. Once more, the cause is because apparently, Luna burned down a border village, herself with three others, something she knew to be untrue.
Not just because Luna would ever do such a thing, but the timing. If Luna had indeed done this atrocity, which she easily could, she would have had to fly across the country, burn down a village, wait for griffon soldiers to arrive, leave and fly back. The soldiers would have to go back to their capital, and Silverous would have to hear it, hold a council, and then send this letter, which could have only gotten here this morning. A fast response, too fast, he didn’t even bother to call her and Luna to get their side of the story. He just declares war? If not for his seal, she would think this a joke.
“So we are at war then… how disappointing and here I thought we could get past the past.”
“Princess, how can you be so callous about this, your deranged sister has brought this upon us! We should send her to Silverous so he can…ugh..ugghhs….” The pony speaking couldn’t finish as a golden aura wrapped around his throat. All the nobles gathered stare jaw slacked as their benevolent Princess of the Sun strangled a pony right before their eyes!
“As I said, I will not be a tyrant, but I will be harsh,” Celestia said, making a slow canter around the table, carrying the noble in her magic as she did. “And one of the things I will not tolerate is blind hate. I know you all are not my sister’s biggest fans. Her policies and plans can be frightening. She is changing things, for better or for worse; she is changing how we do things. Change is scary, I know that first hoof, but change is also a part of life. Now Sir… sorry, I do not know your name, nor will it matter after this meeting as you will not be welcomed back. Now I want you all to think, really think! What reason would my sister have to do this? What would she gain? Furthermore, what makes you think, Luna, Princess of the Night, would get out of this? To start a war? If so, why? Why did she go through the effort of going to the griffon kingdom? Why waste her time? What makes you think she is that stupid? What makes you think I don’t know my own sister? Finally, what makes you think I would turn against her?”
Celestia came to a stop and dropping the noble, who scampered out the moment his rump touched the floor. The room was silent.
“Glad to see I have your attention. Have you thought about it? Have you let the facts and what you know play out? Do you realize that this is a false flag? I believe… no, I know my sister was set up and don’t think for a second we can talk our way out of this. The griffon army is ready for a war, and we must be ready to greet them. You are dismissed, and this council is disbanded until such time as I see fit to reconvene it.”
“Princess, please reconsider! We are only trying to help…”
“I need not help from ponies that have no experience in matters they barely understand. Now go, I have a war to prepare for.” She watched Fancy sulk out of the room with the others. A part of her felt terrible like it always did when she had to act like this, but she couldn’t be the motherly ruler she’s been. Luna was right, she has been too soft.
Actually, why bother with a council? The old one abused their authority while binding her with the law, causing so much pain and suffering right under her muzzle. Even this new council was already becoming a thorn in her and Luna’s side. Granted, their concerns were valid, but how long before their power consumes them, if not them, then their successors? Perhaps the time has come for her to change somethings too.
While Celestia pondered the kingdom’s future government, her horn glowed, and out popped a scroll right in her face, it was from Starswirl. He found something out about the chimera.
“About time, though, I wonder if it really matters now.”
Gathering her magic, Celestia popped into the old stallion’s lab. His back was turned to her, his attention focused on the chimera body on the table. An assortment of cutting tools was lined up neatly beside him, some of them have been used recently.
Walking beside Starswirl, Celestia peered over the stallion, knocking his hat out of the way so she could see. He had really gutted the creature. Nothing remained inside. The chimera’s organs were lined up in jars on a shelf, all neatly labeled and sorted.
“What did you find out?” She asked, breaking the silence.
Starswirl didn’t answer right away. He seemed to be gathering his thoughts. Finally, he let out a tired breath, his eyes filled with sadness as he looked up at the Princess.
“I had hoped things would get better, that we all would be able to move into a new age of enlightenment and prosperity.” He closed his eyes, shaking his head. “To think any species would use such savagery, on their own kind no less. It’s maddening.”
“What do you mean, old friend? Please tell me what troubles you.”
“Griffons, this creature is made entirely of griffons. Mostly griffons considered defective. The ones born with reverse bodies or born of rare hybrids. I had thought the griffons have moved past their purest views, but to do this…” Starswirl looks up with silent tears running down his face. “What have I been striving for Celestia? In the wake of chaos before Discord revealed himself, I helped the three tribes unite, only for them to go to war with the griffons, after Discord I left things to you and Luna and yet chaos persists. Will this struggle ever end? Will we never learn our lesson?”
Celestia smiled sadly at her old friend. He has spent his entire life trying to better the world, spent countless days researching, giving up so much in life, love, friendship, and family. Yet, for all his sacrifices, the world he envisioned was still far away.
“It’s hard isn’t,” She said, draping a wing over the old pony, “Watching the world struggle. I sometimes forget despite your wisdom and intelligence, you are, in fact, younger than Luna or me. I wish I could tell you the struggle comes to an end, but I can’t, it stops for a little while a generation, maybe two, but rarely any longer than that. The best you can do is to make sure somepony else is ready to take up the cause after your gone.”
“Huh, when did you get so wise?” Starswirl chuckled. “Seems the student is now the teacher, congrats I guess you’re my successor in this never-ending strife for harmony.”
“I’m honored. Now, what else can you tell me about this creature? We just received a declaration of war from King Silverous, and I’d like to know what he has waiting for us.”
“I see, well, from the material used to create this beast. I would say anything similar will have higher than normal intelligence. How much will vary from creature to creature, but it is safe to say they will know how to think tactfully. Once more, it wouldn’t be hard to believe if they have some specially created griffons to counter the rinin. I presume this beast and the rinin share a common creator.”
Celestia nodded, “Indeed. Hoofenstein managed to get away two years ago. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he… THE BREEZIES!”
“The what?”
“The little creature Silverous gave to Luna! We must find it! There’s no telling what it could do! For all, we know it could explode and blow up the entire castle!”
Starswirl held her still. “Relax Celestia, if they were capable of such a thing, then they would have done it by now. However, your fears are not unfounded. Now, how big are these creatures?”
“About yay big,” Celestia held up her front hoof to give a scale of size.
“Hmm, hard to believe anything that small would be used for anymore then spying, but we cannot be too careful.”
“If what you say is true, then they could know anything. All the plans, protocols, signals, base locations. Everything has been comprised!”
“I fear so Celestia, but we must focus on the important details. Have you told Luna yet?”
“…” She blinked, she hasn’t told Luna yet. Why hasn’t she informed Luna? Time was wasting!
Celestia turned and ran with all her might screaming “BUCK” as she did so. She had to tell Luna what was going on! Hopefully, she wasn’t too late!
Luna touched down on the deck of the Moon Cutter, panting for breath from the long flight. She received a message via magic scroll from Emerald Cutter, asking her to come to the Moon Cutter’s location as soon as possible. The reason was not listed, but Emmy never sent a message other than ‘mission complete,’ so Luna was left to assume things have not gone as planned.
“Emerald, where are you?” She called out over the deck of the ship. Some of the crew stop to look at her strangely. Why was that? Did she have something on her face? She had been eating when she got the message. “Emerald report!
“Princess Luna? What are you doing here?” Emerald said, landing on the deck with Crusader and Topaz carrying her.
“What am I doing here? I flew all the way here as fast as I could after I got your message! Now what’s in blazes is so important that you couldn’t write it down?”
Emerald blinked and then frowned. “Message… I didn’t send a message. I was going to but, I just got here.”
“But, I got your magic scroll!”
“Ah… you do remember I can’t use that spell, right?”
Silence filled the air.
“Oh,” Emerald suddenly snapped to remembering she did have an important message to send. “I need to tell you that this crazy black alicorn slaughtered a griffon village and then transformed into you and declared war with the griffons.”
Another Alicorn… that is not possible. There are no other Alicorns besides her and Celestia. Emerald wouldn’t lie, though, so that raised some questions. Who is this black Alicorn? Where did she come from? Where has she been since their kind was wiped out? Finally, why is she trying… no, why did she start a war between them and the griffons? Is she working for Hoofenstein? That’s hard to believe. Call it racist, but she very much doubted an alicorn would work for an earth pony, no matter how smart or skilled they were. So, did that mean Hoofenstein was working for her?
“We need to… wait if you didn’t send it… who did?”
“Enemy incoming!”
From the east, a massive army of griffons flew straight towards them! At the head was King Silverous himself, and beside him flew an inky black griffon.
“Battle stations! Prepare for combat! Give them a full broadside!”
The Moon Cutter groaned the ship jerking sideways, its dozens of cannons aimed and ready. On the deck lines of unicorns formed up with charged horns, while pegasus took the sky and earth ponies filed up beside their unicorn comrades and pointed their hoof cannons to the sky.
“Hold!” Luna urged them, the griffon forces getting closer and closer by the second!
“Hold… hold… FIRE!”
The Moon Cutter lit up with a dazzling display of cannon fire, marking the beginning of the Second Griffon War.