The Assassination of TD the Alicorn Princess
Months. That's how much time passed with the minotaurs, griffins, and Las Pegasopolan weapons dealers quiet. I found myself rather surprised by the whole thing, but I couldn't really complain. It gave the Equestrian crown a little time to catch our breath. What Blade Wings could be spared still looked into the griffins and the minotaurs almost around the clock, but we still couldn't get clear details of what they were planning beyond what we could guess anyway. I didn't like being in the dark when the gray storm clouds of war gathered on the horizon, but at the very least, they hadn't turned black yet, nor drawn close enough to Equestria to be an immediate threat.
We were just 85% sure it was going to end up like that unless we played the greatest game of peace politics ever.
Four and a half months after the meeting with Purgle, of which there had been no further discussion, I spent the day sitting on my throne reading reports from Las Pegasus about griffins. Boring things, really, but they were important, and we did discern a few previously unknown details from them. Probably not enough to avoid at least some violent conflict, though, and I began wondering if I shouldn't disobey Celestia's commands to make human weapons.
I had... already started some designs for guns. Nothing too elaborate or numerous, but when a princess is up at night worried about war...
Er, well, anyway, I don't suppose it matters, really. I hoped we'd avoid all of that, and as a result, we'd have no need for guns.
I took a deep breath and set the reports from Las Pegasus down next to my throne. There wasn't anything useful in these particular reports. They hadn't been selling too much to minotaurs and griffins. Mostly to their contracts in Saddle Arabia. Mesud began beefing up his army when he got wind of all of this nonsense.
I looked down at Sergeant Stones and stretched my wings out a little. "Sergeant, I think that it's time that we took a little bit of a break for now, what do you think?"
Sergeant Stones smirked and gave me a little salute. "Might be nice, Princess Antares. I've got the absolute worst itch right underneath my shoulder guards that has been bothering me for the past hour."
I snorted and stepped off of my throne. "Well you should have just said so. I would have gotten you a stick or something."
Sergeant Stones grimaced and tapped the area of the armor where I assumed he itched. "Not sure it would have helped, Princess. Really at a spot where I couldn't get one in there."
I chuckled while Sergeant Stones, myself, and the third guard, Private Flare, began trotting down a side hallway towards the kitchens. "Well, you can get the armor off when we get something to eat." I frowned and tilted my head. "You know, I so rarely see you without your armor that I don't think I remember what your natural colors are. Your coat and mane are always enchanted to mine."
"Well, if you recall, it's--"
Sergeant Stones was cut off when the clanging of a loud bell rang throughout the castle. We froze in our tracks, and our playful smirks fell as we listened.
This used to be an old army base.
That bell would be used to warn of...
"Come on." I wheeled around and bolted towards my palace's outer balcony. Sergeant Stones and Private Flare ran beside me, keeping up despite their shorter legs and heavy armor.
"Princess Antares, what's wrong?" Private Flare asked. "What's that bell?"
"That bell used to warn of attacks," I replied, my pace quickening when I drew nearer to the balcony. "But it hasn't been rung in a long time. Not for decades."
My mind begged for it to be some trick. To be some exercise or some prankster who got too far in, but as I drew closer and closer to the balcony, tell-tale sounds grew louder in my ears.
Screams. Shouts. Metal clanging against metal.
The sounds of battle.
I bolted to the balcony when it finally registered with me that my palace was under attack, and I reached the doors faster than I ever have. I slammed through them to reach the balcony and, for the first time, looked out on the scene below me.
Griffins. Hundreds of them flocked towards my palace armed and armored. Griffin raiders by the looks of things, but they seemed a little better armed than the ones that I encountered last. They fought my soldiers, who streamed out of the barracks as fast as they could, some of them not even wearing their full armor. Even from here I could see dozens of dead and screaming wounded on both sides. Civilians fled in the opposite direction from my palace, but a few raiders chased after smaller groups, hunting them down without mercy.
And... I froze.
Looking at the carnage before me, knowing that those soldiers, the ones that I picked and trained myself were down there fighting for me, killing for me, dying for me made my brain shut down for a moment. I didn't know where the griffins had come from, only that they were now attacking my palace.
I stumbled to the side, and looked beside me to discover Sergeant Stones, his eyes wide, violently shaking me. Words came out of his mouth, but I didn't hear them. I couldn't register anything. They were dying. We were being attacked. They were here to kill... me.
Sergeant Stones shook me and shouted again, but this time his words came through as my brain started to come back.
"I said what do we do now, Princess Antares? What are your orders?"
I blinked once and looked back down at the death below me. The death. The stench of blood in the air. The screaming. I straightened up and slowly trotted over to the very edge of the balcony. I felt a feeling in my veins that I hadn't felt in a long, long time. Not since that first foal abuser all those years ago.
Rage coursed through me, and when I spoke next, my words would have frozen fire.
"It's simple. The griffins are attacking us. We're going to kill them all."
With that, I spread my massive wings and shot down towards the battlefield like a rocket. When I came close enough to the ground, I ignited my horn and picked up a fallen sword from a dead soldier, not even looking to see which side he was on, and charged towards the nearest griffin. The griffin in question was flying towards a completely unarmored soldier of mine, who valiantly stood his ground with his spear pointed at the ready towards his charging foe. I reached the griffin and raised the sword, just as the griffin realized that something was flanking him. He barely had time to look to see that the third most powerful pony in existence hovered right beside him. With an unholy cry, I swung the sword down as hard as my magical might would allow. The blade turned out to be quite good, and the griffin fell to the ground missing his head.
I didn't stop to consider the fact that I had just killed something. A real, living breathing creature. I took everything from him when I killed him. I didn't care. There were more to kill. More to slaughter. My soldiers, my friends, my ponies needed to be protected. These griffins needed to die. All of them. I sped towards the next griffin I saw and dispatched him just as quickly.
The next griffin I attacked saw me coming, and whirled to face me, his own sword at the ready, and an eager smile on his face. I twirled mine in the air and prepared to attack, but before I could, an arrow lodged itself into the griffin's neck, and he fell to the ground without a sound. I looked over to where the arrow had come from and saw a group of thirty or so pegasi in the air, covering their ground-bound counterparts from above. The pause gave me time to notice that Sergeant Stones and Private Flare had both flown down to flank me, their wing blades at the ready.
"Princess Antares, this is getting out of hoof!" Sergeant Stones yelled. "They're after you! If you're out here, the enemy is going to notice you soon!"
"I'm not abandoning my soldiers, Sergeant!" I roared back. "I'll fight alongside them as I should!"
A crossbow bolt whizzed past my ear and lodged itself into a griffin that happened to be charging us. Even if the attack was meant to destroy my army, I couldn't deny that they'd go for me.
Well, if they could truly hurt me, that is.
"They can't hurt me for long, Sergeant." I turned around and readied my sword, but before I could attack, I noticed another loud noise echo throughout the battlefield. At first I thought another griffin army had come to attack us, but when I turned to the source, I saw who really came to defend us.
Civilians.
At least two hundred civilian ponies charged into the fray, armed with any makeshift weapons that they could get their hooves on. Kitchen knives, metal pans, pitchforks, hammers, anything they could use to come to the defense of their princess. My eyes widened and my heart twisted into a million knots.
"No," I whimpered. "No, no, no, no, no."
As I feared, once the griffin forces noticed the easier kills, a smaller force broke off from the main attacking army and came to meet the reinforcements. I spun around to the crossbow ponies and pointed at the griffins attacking the civilians.
"Fire! Protect the civilians! Kill the griffins!"
The crossbow pegasi raised their weapons and began firing into the griffins, felling many, but not enough. Not enough! I spread my wings and flew towards the civilians, hoping that my presence could protect some of them and prevent a total slaughter of my ponies.
The two sides smashed together in a sickening noise of steel and flesh. I contemplated firing sparks into the air to rally my soldiers, but it would also have the dual effect of alerting the remaining griffins of not only my presence, but of far easier targets as well. Myself and my two bodyguards entered the fray, along with a paltry dozen or so soldiers who noticed the civilians.
I swung wildly with my sword, slicing griffins left and right. Some strikes ended up fatal, some less so. All I could think about was protecting the civilian soldiers that had so foolishly decided to enter the battle. To make matters worse, more came every minute.
All of a sudden, I heard the sound of a crossbow bolt whizzing towards me, and I turned just in time to catch it in my magic. I looked around for the perpetrator so that I could end him, and that's when I saw him.
Sinosis.
He flew at rooftop level, flanked by two griffins, one loading a crossbow, and the other holding a long spear that even from here I could see stained with blood. Sinosis himself carried a sleek black crossbow, loaded with a similarly designed arrow. My eyes narrowed as Sinosis gave me a little condescending wave before flying to the balcony and into the palace.
My staff. He was going after my staff!
The civilians at least had weapons, but even three griffins could kill as many unarmed ponies as they wanted. Once again I took wing and flew towards the castle, my mind not even thinking about calling for reinforcements. I just wanted him dead. Sinosis caused all of this! Because of him, I had to watch my soldiers die around me!
I was going to thoroughly enjoy putting his head on a spike outside of my castle, along with every other griffin I slew here today. Maybe I could make a pyramid out of their headless corpses, just to show them that I'd destroy all who attempted to kill me.
"Princess Antares!"
I glanced to my side and noticed that Sergeant Stones and Private Flare still flanked me ,both of their wing blades stained crimson.
"Princess Antares, where are you going?" Sergeant Stones cried. "There are still more griffins!"
"It's Sinosis!" I pointed in the direction he had gone. "He's going to slaughter everypony he can find in there!"
The three of us touched down on the balcony and ran inside the palace. The first thing I saw was two cleaning mares, both huddled against a wall and clasped around each other like the world was about to end and they were the only two ponies left alive. They lay in pools of their own blood where Sinosis had slaughtered them.
Fresh rage coursed through my blood again, and I noticed a bloody paw print going down the hall to the right. I bolted down the hallway, finding two more dead servants. I noticed his direction quickly enough.
"He's headed to the throne room!" I called to my guards as I turned onto the hallway leading to it, seeing another dead servant pony leaned up against the wall. Every dead unarmed staff member of mine increased the rage that I felt, and my speed quickened until I almost began flying towards my destination. My sword would do little good in the hallway, but in the spaced out throne room, I could move with ease. Not that he could hurt me too badly anyway.
I reached the door to the throne room and saw that the double doors were open just a crack. I poured more magic into my horn and threw them both open, charging into my throne room to rip the bastard in half.
I saw Sinosis standing in front of my throne, that smug smile still on his face.
I heard the twang and hiss of a crossbow being fired.
Then pain.
Pain like I never imagined.
Time froze, and my horn fizzed out, causing my sword to clatter to the floor. I stood as still as a statue, barely registering the screams and sounds of steel on flesh on either side of me. Every breath felt like I'd been smashed in the ribs with a sledgehammer, but I couldn't even flinch. Slowly I looked down and saw the black arrow from Sinosis' crossbow embedded halfway into my chest. My blood flowed from the wound, dripping onto the floor and staining my chestplate.
My blood.
I... hadn't seen my blood in a long time.
My knees gave way and I collapsed onto the floor. My tiara fell off of my head with a loud clang, causing me to flinch ever so slightly. The impact caused the arrow to slide into me another half inch, eliciting a small groan from me. I felt powerful claws grab my forelegs, and I became aware that I was being dragged forward. I couldn't find the strength to try to wiggle out of the grasp of the two griffins holding me. After a moment, they roughly threw me to the floor, and I twitched when I impacted. I became vaguely aware of some odd noise echoing throughout my throne room. It sounded like... clapping. With all of the strength I could muster, I slowly raised my head and looked up at Sinosis, who reclined on my throne, that black crossbow in his lap, smiling down at me and clapping.
"Bravo, pony princess. Bravo. Quite the show you put on for me, getting your soldiers killed like that." He straightened up and reached into a small pouch at his side. My eyes widened when I saw what he had produced: another black arrow. "Just charging in here like that. Quite amazing. I would have thought that after your little stunt at my fort a few years back that you would have better strategic sense. You could have used the side door, or sent in your troops first, or something like that." Sinosis shrugged and pulled the crossbow string back to load the black arrow into his weapon. "Still, I guess since I tried to make sure my forces outnumbered yours by a decent amount, you couldn't really spare many of your precious pony toy soldiers to come after me, could you? I'm quite glad your blood lust took over and you had to get me yourself."
Sinosis motioned to one of his griffins, and pointed at something behind me. The griffin saluted, went off, and returned a few seconds later with my tiara. Sinosis grinned and placed it on his own head. "Well, I don't know how it looks on me, but I think it's a little big. Still, not like you'll be needing it, eh?" My ragged breathing and weak twitching was the only response I could give.
Sinosis chuckled and pointed the crossbow at my head. I inadvertently flinched back, and he let out a little giggle. "You afraid of this?" He snorted. "I would be too. It's got to really hurt, doesn't it? It should. One of the very few things out there that can kill a pretty pony princess." Sinosis raised the crossbow into the air and beamed at it. "A... Nightmare Weapon! A weapon designed during the Lunar Rebellion specifically to kill dear old Princess Celestia. It failed when Nightmare Moon couldn't use one on Celestia before Celestia used the Elements, but some survived. I've had my troops looking for one of these ever since I was arrested. Got it off a minotaur weapons collector who didn't even know what he had." Sinosis snorted and tapped the trigger. "Thought it was just some fancy weapon some pony made when he was feeling artistic. If only he knew..."
I gasped for breath and my back arched as another shot of pain went through me. Sinosis looked down at me and gave me his best condescending smile.
"Aww, am I boring you? Or does this hurt more than I could ever imagine? It's the second one, isn't it?" Sinosis and his other griffins chuckled. He then gave a single nod. "Very well. I'll make you a deal, then." Sinosis walked back over to my throne and sat down on it, pointing the crossbow at my head. "Beg. Beg me to end it right here, right now, and if I think you look absolutely wretched enough, I'll put this shot through your skull. Just say 'please, King Sinosis, I beg you to kill me. I know I'm not worthy of your mercy, but I beg you to kill me.'" Sinosis gently fingered the trigger. "It's not that difficult to say, Antares."
I squeezed my eyes shut and moved my hoof to the crossbow bolt, hoping that I could pull it out and maybe recover some of my strength, but the moment the tip of my hoof touched it, another jolt of pain shot through me, and I let out a ear piercing shriek.
"As much as I love hearing you cry and watching you squirm, that's not what I asked you to do." Sinosis stood up and brought the crossbow closer to my head. "Just beg me to end it. You know you want to. This really hurts, doesn't it? You can beg me, or I can put this shot and the next one into your back and just leave you to bleed out."
"N..." I gasped for breath and curled up, but I noticed for the first time a new feeling, like a tiny flame, had appeared inside my chest. I opened my eyes and looked over in the direction of the double doors. Sergeant Stones and Private Flare both laid dead on the ground, Sergeant Stones from a spear wound to the neck, and Private Flare from a crossbow bolt to the chest. Seeing their bodies... made the flame grow larger, and I managed to move with a little less pain.
"You were going to say something, Antares?" Sinosis nudged me with the tip of his crossbow. "Go ahead."
"N..." The feeling began growing more, now, spreading throughout my entire body. My breathing became more rapid. Images began flashing through my mind of my dead soldiers, of my dead staff, of Sinosis, that greasy rat bastard Sinosis sitting on my throne and ordering me to beg him to kill me. I began violently twitching. "N-n-n-n..."
Sinosis clicked his tongue and shouldered his crossbow. "Not long for the world, I think. This looks like death throes to me." He snorted and pointed the crossbow back at my head. "Just say the words and I can make your death that much quicker, pony."
"NO!"
With one more shriek, the fire coursed through my horn, sending a shockwave that sent all three griffins flying. Two hit the wall behind them, while Sinosis smashed into my throne. The fire allowed me to get to my hooves, and with a snarl, I grabbed Sinosis in my magic and flung him against the wall with his companions. I spun around to face him, and when he got up, I noticed something in his eyes that I hadn't seen before.
True, unadulterated fear.
"DO YOU THINK THAT I GROVEL? DO YOU THINK THAT I SNIVEL LIKE SOME WORM?"
I grasped all three griffins in my magic to hold them down and stepped onto my throne. They struggled uselessly in my grip.
"I DO NOT BEND! I DO NOT BREAK! WITH A MERE THOUGHT I DESTROY WRETCHED BEASTS LIKE YOU! I WILL COMMAND ARMIES THAT WILL LAY WASTE TO YOUR HOMES! I WILL BURN CITIES, I WILL DECIMATE HARVESTS, I WILL SALT THE VERY EARTH! I WILL BRING NIGHTMARES TO YOUR PEOPLE THE LIKES OF WHICH WILL BE USED TO FRIGHTEN GENERATIONS UNTIL THE END OF TIME!" With a screech, I smashed all three griffins against the back wall, and even from here, I could hear the sound of armor denting and bones breaking. "ALL WILL DESPAIR WHEN THEY SEE ME! YOUR KIND WILL BEG FOR MERCY, BUT NONE SHALL BE GIVEN! YOUR CHILDREN UNTIL THE END OF DAYS SHALL BE MY SLAVES IF I COMMAND IT, AND YOUR LANDS SHALL BE RUBBLE!"
I levitated the griffins halfway towards me, and slammed them onto the ground, releasing them from my magical grip as I did.
"FOR I AM ANTARES, THE WRATH OF THE STARS, AND I. BOW. TO. NONE!"
A second wave of pure energy came out of my horn, this one far more powerful than the last, and the very walls of my throne room began breaking. The ceiling collapsed, revealing a dark red sky above us. The three griffins screamed like frightened foals, but the time for mercy had long since passed. I stood up on my hind legs, and my mane and tail ignited, becoming pure flame, while my body became like the stars themselves. I sent another burst through my horn and the very sky split open, where a gigantic red star appeared, shining too brightly for any mortal eyes. Before any of the griffins could scream, I poured more power into my horn, and two pillars of flame shot down from the star, completely engulfing the two griffins beside Sinosis. They didn't even have time to scream before the fire burned them away completely, not even leaving ash as evidence that the griffins had existed at all.
I stomped back down on all fours, sending another shockwave through the ground. Apparitions of scorpions scurried all around the floors, and the pillars, and even on what was left of the ceilings and the walls. Sinosis, screaming all the while, kept trying to reach for the Nightmare Weapon, but one foreleg and one hind leg jutted out at odd angles, slowing his crawls. With one final cry, I engulfed my throne in my magic and tore it from its foundations. I raised it high , giving Sinosis only a split-second to realize his fate before I brought it down upon his head with all of my strength.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
And then my magic went out.
My horn fizzled to nothing, my mane and tail extinguished, my body returned to fur, the sky closed and went back to blue, and I found myself with almost no strength again.
My mind went nearly blank. I just knew that I needed to get back to the battle. I needed to help my soldiers win the battle. I killed Sinosis, so we could win now. Using the very last of my strength, I ignited my horn and began dragging what was left of Sinosis behind me towards the balcony where I had seen the battle begun in the first place.
I couldn't...
No...
Couldn't think about the pain. Just... had to help my soldiers again. Had to win. For my ponies.
Couldn't let them... down.
I reached the balcony and looked out into the chaos. The battle still raged, though I saw far more corpses and wounded than before. More civilians had joined the battle in my absence. They were still dying. All dying. All dying for me. And killing. And fighting.
I reached the very edge of the balcony and raised the bloody corpse of Sinosis high. I didn't care who could see me. I opened my mouth and let out a wraith-like shriek of pure emotional, mental, and physical agony that echoed throughout the battlefield.
Then everything went black.
* * * *
Twilight Sparkle reclined on her bed, engrossed in a book on pegasi magic and munching on some crackers. She flipped the page and began reading a chapter on cloud walking, when a noise unlike any she had ever heard split the tranquil atmosphere. She jumped up, dropping her book to her side, and blinked. The noise vanished quickly enough that she began to wonder whether she heard it at all.
Spike walked into the room with a frown on his face and an eyebrow raised. "Er... Twilight? What was that?"
"I..." Twilight blinked once. "I don't actually know, Spike." Twilight sat back down on her bed and picked up her book. "It seems to be gone now. Just some noise, I guess."
* * * *
Photo Finish bit the inside of her lip as the model for the very prestigious Vanhoover fashion show strutted down the runway. She looked through her camera, looking for the very best shot to take. She tried to ignore the dull chattering of the ponies around her. They were just a distraction.
The chattering stopped when a noise that sounded like... well, it wasn't anything she had ever heard, entered her ears. The entire room went silent, and every pony looked around in confusion, waiting to see if the source would reveal itself. When nothing happened, Photo Finish shrugged and looked back through her camera.
* * * *
I sighed as I looked down at the two ponies in front of me arguing about tax cuts, or whatever. Truth be told, I had little interest in what they said. I had a dozen more nobles to see after them, and more after those.
"And that, Princess Celestia, is why we should spend the money on my project."
I nodded as though I had been listening. "Yes, that sounds like an interesting point." I inwardly sighed. "Maybe we could--"
My words were cut off when I heard a shriek echo through my courtroom that sounded like...
No. It couldn't be.
The shriek faded away just as soon as it began, but it could only be one thing. I shot to my hooves and began running towards the nearest exit to my palace.
"Day court is adjourned."
"Er... Princess Celestia, we haven't..."
I wheeled around and gave both of the nobles my best snarl. "I said day court is over!"
I turned around and ran straight towards an open window large enough for me to fit through. I leaped through it and spread my wings, taking flight to Baltimare. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a blue shape, and I turned my head to see Luna flying towards me, her expression equally uneasy.
"Tia, what has happened? We were woken up by what we thought was an Alicorn Scream."
I nodded grimly. "Yes, I think it was. Something is very wrong with TD."
I poured magic into my horn and tilted my head until I touched horns with Luna. She ignited her horn and combined her magic with mine to ensure we arrived in the same place. With a pop, the two of us vanished, re-appearing over TD's palace.
What I saw made my breath die in my throat.
Hundreds of griffin soldiers battled TD's battered guard, alongside civilian forces armed with what can't even be described as weapons. The griffins outnumbered the rest of them almost two-to-one, and the advantage showed. I saw a colt of no more than sixteen have his kitchen knife knocked out of his magical grasp by a griffin raider armed with a bloody spear. The colt curled up and put his hooves over his head, anticipating the final blow.
I wouldn't let it come.
I ignited my horn and channeled all of my fury into a beam of combat magic that struck the griffin. Without so much as a scream, he completely evaporated, as though he had never been there at all. I flew down closer to the main griffin forces and pulled energy from my sun, creating a blade of pure sun fire. The heat of the blade was such that even as I drew near, the griffin forces began to burn, and when they saw their attacker, I relished the fear in their eyes. With a cry of pure rage, I swung my sword at a group, slicing five in half with one fell motion.
Luna evaporated two nearby griffins with the same spell that I used, then began conjuring up razor sharp ice daggers, which she began flinging into enemy soldiers with deadly accuracy. She froze two griffins in midair then charged them with twin ice swords, cutting them to pieces as she passed. She swiped at another griffin with one of the swords, then conjured up three more knives with which she felled three more foes.
The sight of the sun and moon goddesses joining the battle struck fear into the hearts of the griffins, and some began retreating. I flew after them personally, incapacitating some for questioning, and killing the rest. TD's forces renewed their vigor in their fight, and the griffin army began folding from fear and disorganization. For the first time in centuries, I let my emotions rule me. These beasts had attacked my friend, my fellow princess, my lover, and an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.
I finished slicing another griffin in half, and spun around to see yet another one. This one, however, laid on the ground, his weapon at his side, and his claws in the air.
"Mercy!" The griffin curled up into a ball and held out a claw as if to forestall my advance. "P-please have mercy on me!"
"Mercy?" I landed and brought my sun fire sword closer to him. "And how many of my subjects that you slaughtered did you give mercy to? I am a wise, just, and merciful ruler, griffin, but do not think that I tolerate this kind of attack! I will defend my ponies from the likes of you!"
"Tia!"
I moved my sword away from the griffin and turned around to see Luna standing behind me, her coat flecked with the blood of our enemies in a way that I had not seen in a millennium.
"The battle is over, Tia. He is an unarmed prisoner who will no doubt..." Luna glared down at the griffin. "Pay for his crimes."
The griffin whimpered, but didn't say anything else. I put a freezing spell on all four of his limbs to keep him where he was and dissipated my sun fire sword.
Now we needed answers.
I looked out into the mass carnage that inevitably comes at the end of a battle. TD's guards began helping up their wounded and corralling their few prisoners to secure them completely. I noticed one of TD's officers, Lieutenant Rapids, I believe, helping up one of her wounded fellows. Luna and I trotted over to her at once.
"Lieutenant Rapids." Rapids turned to us and offered a weak smile. I saw a large gash on the side of her armor. Were she not wearing it, I imagine we wouldn't be having this conversation. "What happened here?"
"Princess Celestia." She nodded to me, then Luna. "Princess Luna. Can't thank you two enough for showing up when you did. I'm not sure we could have held out too much longer." She snorted. "I'd bow in thanks, but..." She motioned with her head to the pony she was picking up.
"Oh no, go ahead. Bow to our saviors." Lieutenant Rapids bent down a little more to allow the wounded pony to grasp her fully about the shoulders. I recognized the wounded pony as Tracer Arrow, TD's best tracking pony. She was missing her right foreleg above the knee, and Lieutenant Rapids had put a tourniquet on the stump. "Don't mind me. I'll be fine."
"We were attacked by griffins about half an hour ago, Princess Celestia," Lieutenant Rapids said. "I don't know where they came from, but I recognized some of them from when we took over that fort, so I guess it might be some of the same ones. We wanted to try to get word out to you for reinforcements, but everypony strong enough to fly to Canterlot quickly or send a message magically was on the battlefield fighting for her life. Captain Blaze and I tried our best to coordinate the defenses, but they took us by surprise. It got more complicated once the civilians showed up, and we had to make a choice to either use them fully, or try to keep them out of harms way as much as we could." Lieutenant Rapids grimaced and lowered her head slightly. "We treated them like soldiers. They were extra numbers we desperately needed. Uh... a lot of them died. I think they're all gonna have nightmares for weeks. I'm gonna have nightmares for weeks."
"Why do you think they attacked?" I asked.
Lieutenant Rapids shrugged as best she could. "I... I don't know. My guess is they were funded by someone. This armor is too good for simple raiders to have. They were goaded on by someone."
"Lieutenant Rapids." Luna took a step towards her and leaned down. "Where is Princess Antares?"
When Rapids spoke next, her voice came out as a whimper. "I don't know. I know this sounds stupid of me but... when we were out here, I hardly had time to think of where she was, only that we had to repel them to keep her safe. I... I think that I might have seen her at some point, but the griffins just kept coming, and I had to fight for my life every moment. I couldn't think about exactly where she was, only that I had to keep fighting, because the longer I did, the longer I could protect her, you know?"
"She's up there," Tracer Arrow whispered, all trace of her usual sarcastic wit gone. "D-didn't you hear the scream? She's up there!"
Luna and I looked up to where Tracer Arrow tried to point, and that's when we saw a large, limp form hanging over the edge of the balcony. I gasped and without a word flew over to the balcony.
No. No, she couldn't be...
Her mane and tail had completely gone out, and she lay unmoving in a pool of her own blood and vomit. I looked up to Luna and pointed inside the palace. "The throne room."
Luna nodded, and I grabbed TD's body, hoping beyond hope that there was still some life in her yet. With a pop, I teleported into the throne room, gently laying TD down on the floor.
The throne room didn't look much better than TD did. If I had to guess, whatever happened to her happened here, but I couldn't focus on that now. Luna appeared beside me, and we both noticed it at the same time: a large black crossbow bolt sticking out of her chest.
I sat beside TD and ignited my horn, pumping magic into her in case there was anything that I could use to bring her back. I growled as TD's body twitched, but she did not respond.
"Luna, help me!" My eyes widened when I saw TD's hoof move ever so slightly and her eyelid twitch. "Luna she's still alive, but I need you to help me!"
"Tia..." My sister's voice came out as a whimper, and my gaze flickered up to her. She stood above a sleek black crossbow, shivering like a filly with tears streaking down her face. "T-Tia, no."
I growled and poured more healing magic into TD. "Luna help me! I think we can still save her!"
"Tia, please no!"
"Luna!"
"TELL ME IT ISN'T!" Luna wheeled around and pointed at the crossbow. "TELL ME IT ISN'T A NIGHTMARE WEAPON, TIA!"
I shot to my hooves, ignited my horn and pulled my sister over to me until I was face-to-face with her. "Luna it's a bucking Nightmare Weapon, but if you don't get over that and help me, TD is going to die!"
I sat back down and poured more magic into TD, focusing on the wound. "Help me with the wounded area. I need your magic too."
Slowly Luna nodded, sat down opposite me, and ignited her horn. I felt her magic intertwine with mine as we worked throughout TD's body, trying to bring her back from death. I heard her give a little groan, and felt her weakly squeeze my hoof.
"C-Celestia..." I smiled comfortingly at her when I saw her breathing become more even.
"It's okay, TD. We're here now. We stopped the griffins. You're going to be fine."
TD's jaw quivered, and I saw a tear roll down her face. "I... I w-wanna go h-home."
"You are home, TD. We're going to fix you up, and you’ll be as good as new." I squeezed her hoof in what I hoped was a comforting gesture. "You're going to be fine."
"M-m-muh-muh." TD started squirming, and her breathing became a bit more rapid. "Mo-mo-muh. M-mo-muh." The tears came more rapidly now. "R-really h-hurts."
"I know it does, TD. I know." I gently kissed her on the forehead, but grimaced as my magic made me realize what I suspected anyway. I made eye contact with Luna, then motioned down to the arrow. "It's pumping more dark magic in the longer it's in there. We have to get it out before we can stabilize her." Luna nodded, and grabbed one of TD's hooves.
"Okay, TD, this will just take a second," I said in my best attempt at a comforting voice. I gently began stroking her bald head and moving my other hoof towards the arrow. "Just relax."
Unfortunately, TD realized what I planned. Her eyes widened, and she began thrashing about with more energy than I expected.
"Nuh nuh nuh nuh!" TD pushed a hoof into my face, but I gently moved it aside.
"Luna, help me hold her down. It needs to come out." I heard Luna whimper, and saw that she didn't move. "Luna," I said with more sharpness, "hold her down, please."
Luna nodded and held TD's left half down with both her hooves and magic, while I did the same with her right side. My comforting smile returned for TD, and I began stroking her head again. "Just relax, TD. It'll be over in a second."
Before TD could do anything more, I wrapped my foreleg around the shaft of the arrow and pulled as hard as I could.
I will remember the ear-splitting scream for the rest of my days. TD's thrashing became more violent, but there I sat with a perfectly intact, bloody black arrow in the crook of my foreleg. I tossed it aside with a noise of disgust and looked back down at TD to see that she had begun convulsing. I poured more of my magic into her, feeling the dark magic that was killing her recede.
"I think she's stabilized for now," I muttered. "We have to get her to a hospital. She is nowhere near out of the danger zone yet."
Before we could do anything, I heard a loud bang behind me and a loud shout of profanity. I turned my head to see Captain Blaze standing behind us, staring at Princess Antares with a look of pure fury on his face.
"Stupid!" he growled. "So stupid! I had one bucking job!"
"Captain Blaze." I got to my hooves. "It's not over. She is still alive. She needs to get to a hospital now! Get us some medical ponies immediately!"
Captain Blaze looked between TD and myself, then nodded and ran down the hall. Within five minutes, a team of four ponies with a stretcher came in and carried the limp, nearly comatose form of TD out, leaving Luna and I alone in the throne room.
Luna took a deep breath and looked down at herself. She was covered in not only the blood of the griffins, but TD's as well. I had no doubt that I was the same. "Tia... what is happening?" she whispered.
"I don't know." I scooted over to her and put a wing over her shoulder. "I... I don't know, Lulu."
Tulip provides a wonderful picture of the epic scene.
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My reaction when I read this:
:| The Griffons dun goofed. If TD DOES die at this point in the fic ... it won't matter. I get the distinct impression Sunbutt and Moonbutt are going to erase the griffon race. XD
I so didn't see tht one coming
. I really hope that TD recovers. to kick some ass
4528415 Depending on who hired them...
Oh.
Allow me to sum up this chapter in two words.
*ahem*
Hollleeeeeeeeeee shit.
My REACTION WTFFFFF
Ps keep up the good work
4528442 Oh?
>inb4 Relevant Heavy Metal
Well, the griffons done goofed.
4528415 Yeah, I get that feeling too, now that you mention it.
That was awesome and horrifying at the same time p.s. The picture is a master piece
*whistles*
strong battle scene...
double update timing..
This chapter made me sadder than it should have
Missed a Y there.
So TD just threatened innocents...
I really hope that was just him trying to make them feel absolute fear before he killed them and isn't going to plan to start a needless war that will kill as many innocents as he can.
4528549 Ah... the first one.
was he unarmed or did he have a spear?
Whelp, there goes Las Pegesus.
And Schunie.
And GRYFINDOR!!!!
Narnia will never be the same.....
I'm going to guess that Aepnet and Purgle aren't going to be alive much longer, either.
Good.
4528461 Oh this: "but everypony strong enough to fl to Canterlot quickly". Spot the typo.
You know that feeling you get in your stomach after you have an adrenaline rush? Yeah, that's what I have right now. WHAT. THE ACTUAL. FUCK. How the HELL did you do that, BronyWriter?! I reflect back to this comment at this point:
I thought that you were possibly exaggerating. Well, you weren't.
Overall, this chapter: ಠuಠBueno.
Now excuse me while I go throw myself into a large metal fan.
4528562 I meant unarmored, as in he wasn't wearing his armor. I'll fix that.
4528415 A pestilence shall draw fourth over the land! Blood shall rain from the heavens, crops shall wither and die while metal will turn into dust before their eyes! A biblical amount of suffering shall be measured out until those responsible for this event have atoned!
4528461
Sometimes you just read something and your response is simply...
Oh.
Wasn't a negative oh if that was your concern.
Celestia parle francais?
There's also a bit of jumping around with pronouns:
Die Gyrphons, Die
But seriously that was an epic fight.
...I think if you're going to make any WW2 machine gun, i think the Griffons only deserve one thing: A face full of the MaDuce! Hell, if you're gonna go abit modern, throw in a couple of M134's! And for shits and giggles, why not a M2 Flamethrower? Let the Griffons feel the CLEANSING FIRE OF "FUCK YOU" FROM HUMANITY!!!
Hell, if It was actually happening in reality, i'd probably be one of the first to volunteer for a entire Pyromaniac branch, just to see the griffons BURN!!! Hehhahaha!!
Ahh ok, now that that's over, i have one thing to say.. BRING THE READERS THE HEADS OF ALL GRIFFONS!
antares is OP, she needs a nerf.
4528570 ok, awesome chapter by the way, there's just something about nearly being shot to death that leads to Biblically epic speeches
Not to complain (I'm complaining), but... Why is there not more gore?
I think I've got the reason for the attack figured out.
The minotaurs and Griffins Bust out Sinosis, and throw the griffin Raiders at Equestria. And because Sinosis has plenty of motive for striking back at Antares, (what with being arrested and all) they can opt out and claim they have no affiliation with the raiders.
Equestria is being egged on for war, and at this point it'll be hard for the princesses to back out of that.
With Celestia literally controlling the sun... how long before she and TD figure out how to go full Hiroshima on the griffins?
In any case... This. Was. EPIC! You need to update soon, before my head explodes!
be awesome to get TD to have a pet star beast, like the ursa but a scorpion.
Im loving these fast updates! Oh and im really looking forward to gryphons being slaughtered with mini guns and whatever explosives td comes up with.
Well I just had a chilling thought.
What if some other faction is orchestrating this war?
...There are many quotes about why you don't fuck around with gods, but I'm not going to bother quoting any particular one of them. Just... I mean, fucking hell, the amount of hubris required to believe you can not only murder a god, but to actually get away with it? When she has two full sisters, plus Cadence who is probably still a force to be reckoned with if the fact that she powered the death-shield is anything to go by?
I'm sorry, but Luna and Celestia hurl objects an order of magnitude larger than me over distances I cannot fully comprehend on a day to day basis. Thus, they can, without a doubt, hurl me far enough to kill me without too much trouble. Someone thinking that they can actually take them on is... wow. Someone's going to get their shit wrecked.
My fellow ponies.... Equestrian World War is upon us....
Ya know, assuming TD/Antares survives, I'm thinking the Griffon lands are about to become a smoking wasteland if she can summon up a star and fry everything.
4528562
unarmored perhaps?
4528643 World of Tanks has heard your complaints and has approved your request. Also the "Princess Luna" has been buffed pre your previous request but the armor is still weak.
WTF?!
Seriously, this was amazing. I found myself having to catch my own breath and tell myself that it's just a story.
Well... That went to shit pretty quickly. Excellent writing, I believe this would be your first battle-scene and you did an excellent job with it. I could feel the blood lust, great job. Can't wait to see what is next. (PS I am glad that you did not kill TD, as that would kind of put an end to this story. So thanks for that I guess)
4528639
Actually, I doubt TD'd be capable of producing anything more advanced than Civil War era guns, if that. Remember, she'd be pretty much re-inventing them from scratch, and not just the guns, but the chemicals needed to produce the more modern gunpowder needed to not make those weapons all explody. Heck, given Equestria's tech level, it'd actually be far easier for them to produce muskets than modern firearms, simply because they lack the manufacturing methods to do so, and regular black powder is easier to make than modern gunpowder. And that's not even including any modifications needed for ponies to be able to wield them effectively.
Flamethrowers on the other hand...those might be doable.
4528549
sometimes, rage blinds you and as stated before, alicorn emotions run as powerfully as their magic. He was pushed past his breaking point and, when he has time to calm down, will recognize the error of genocide
4528415
Nah, not destroy, but very likely take control of and force them to pay tribute until the end of time.
I can very easily see them deciding that this had to have been sanctioned by the government and demanding their heads.
NightMare weapon be pumping TD full of bad magic mojo = Nightmare TD at the same time as causing the dying thing to happen would be my guess on that whole "Death to all birdcats and their kitten/chicks" and the shortly thereafter burnout.
*Puts on tin foil hat*
I still think Las Pegasus weapons dealers are involved, if not flat out responsible for this. Sinosis and his gang are just mercenaries. They would work for anyone or anypony that has the resources and money to hire them.
I have newfound respect for Wanderings TD. All his enemies are dead, in that AU.
4528774 Good points, but still. It'd be great if it was possible. If TD was able to replicate the materials needed on time AND produce a MaDuce in time(and i know i'm being a bit unrealistic but meh, can't a guy dream?) i'd be all the happier. And i'm pretty sure everyone else would be too. Oh the Glorious MaDuce!
Tomorrow's weather in Las Pegasus:
mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw5368-derp.jpg
What a waste. A freaken waste. They had one shot with an alicorn killing weapons and they go after the inexperienced new alicorn? Not Celestia or Luna, TD. What were they thinking? And from looks of things failed to kill TD on top of that. Stupid, stupid bird cats.
Fun fact, herbivores will usually only be threatened once before they go all out on attacks. Horses can be very dangerous when provoked. Well, looks like the griffons are going to get a hard lesson on why you don't attack herbivores carelessly.