Changing of the Guard
"How did it go?"
I looked over at General Bludworth as a small grin crossed my face. "Good. The Equestrians played into my hands perfectly. Our people will demand war now. Nothing will get in our way."
Bludworth frowned and tilted his head as we walked over to my palanquin. "And the griffins? We cannot go to war without them. Even with our forces, Antares' human weapons will be a problem. I've heard rumors that with a group of a dozen pegasi he could sack Schunie. That could potentially end the war in a loss for us."
"Perhaps..." I took my seat and tapped my chin thoughtfully. "Aepnet does seem to be losing his nerve. He's not as devoted to the cause as he once was. I think we may have to go outside of him to get the griffins on our side." I nodded and leaned back in my chair. "Yes. Contact some griffins in the Griffonian intelligence and espionage unit. I know that there are some not loyal to Aepnet, and more inclined to work with one of the dukes."
Bludworth nodded and bowed low to me. "It shall be done, my king."
"Good. My war with Equestria must be successful. The alicorns will be brought to their knees." A smirk crossed my face as I thought of an idea. "And see if you can't send some of our dignitaries south. I'd like to speak with some Diamond Dog warlords."
* * * *
It had been three weeks since our meeting with Purgle, and, true to our guesses, the minotaurs had gotten angry when they heard that we'd rejected their demands. Their army was mobilizing, and construction was happening to fortify Schunie, as well as some of the other large minotaur cities. War was inevitable, whether we liked it or not, at this point. So, we decided to take away his allies. Starting with his most valuable one. We'd quietly asked for a meeting with Aepnet, and he'd agreed at once. We met in a secret location inside our country. A small constructed shack that Celestia put invisibility and sound muffling spells over so we would not be detected.
"Thank you for meeting with us, Emperor Aepnet. I know that we are not the ponies you'd rather see right now, given our history," I said.
Aepnet waves his talons dismissively. "I don't care about that. Truth be told, I'm rather relieved to hear from you. I only hope that this meeting doesn't get back to Purgle."
"Still, we realize that we have not been on the best of terms lately," Celestia said.
Aepnet grunted, and his gaze flicked over to the door as if he expected minotaur assassins to pop out at any moment. "It doesn't matter. I'm not so vain that I'll sacrifice the good of my country for a blow to my pride. You were looking for the cause of the raid, the evidence was stacked against me, but I was treated well and you released me the instant you realized your mistake. Whatever. The incident is over. Right now we're focusing on the war that we both know is coming."
"I take it that you don't want it to come," Celestia said, pouring some water into a glass and giving it to him. "Drink some water. It'll calm your nerves."
Aepnet grunted and drained the glass, but I didn't think that he looked any less uneasy to be doing this. "Of course I don't want a war. Yes, our army is not weak, and I have been strengthening it in case we must, but..." Aepnet closed his eyes and sighed. "I do not care about pride at this point. I do not care about honor. Purgle is mad. He is warmongering for the sake of it. I will not let my subjects die en masse for his pride. I don't care what kind of treaty I made. I... I know I can be conniving, I know I scheme and plan and try to take advantage of my enemies, but at the end of the day..." Aepnet thunked his head down on the table in front of us. "I do care for my subjects, and I especially care for my daughter. I know I don't show that very well. It's all politics and grooming her to be empress when the time comes, and doing whatever I can to keep my family line going, but I cannot in good faith not do all I can to ensure that she is prepared when there are ravenous dukes out there willing to take advantage of her. I care for my daughter very much..."
Aepnet raised his head and looked at the both of us. "I will not go to war alongside Purgle. I don't care if you attack first. The way I see it, if you attack first it's because you are protecting yourselves. I don't care if I violate a treaty and go down in history as a dishonorable emperor. I'd rather that than the emperor who led his soldiers to mass slaughter."
Aepnet, I cannot begin to tell you how relieved I am to hear you say that. I could only imagine that Princess Celestia felt the same way. We did both manage to keep our relief inside, though. It wouldn't be very royal if we both started jumping for joy.
"Very well, then," Celestia said. "I must say that we are pleased to hear this. We will, of course, defend Griffonia in the event that Purgle decides to retaliate against you for this decision, but I do not think that likely. He would be overwhelmed between our army, your army, and Mesud's army."
Aepnet perked up a little at that. "You have spoken with Mesud?"
I nodded. "Yes. A few days after our last meeting with Purgle. He has assured us that he will stand by his treaty with us. I am not saying that you need to ally with us to fight against Purgle, but with our help, you will have no cause to fight with him. We will ensure that your subjects are safe."
"As much as you can," Aepnet muttered. "However, I appreciate the sentiment." Aepnet's face turned serious, and he stared into my eyes. "Tell me truthfully, Antares: have you started creating human weapons for your war against Purgle? Something capable of sacking Schunie in mere days despite their military strength?"
Even Celestia stared at me, her gaze questioning. In truth I didn't want to talk about it to Aepnet. Not at all. I wasn't much more comfortable talking about it to Celestia, really. However, I did get the sense that I wasn't going to get out of the question, and they'd both know if I was lying at this point, especially Celestia. I took a deep breath and rubbed one of my temples.
"Not days. Hours. Maybe minutes. It's called napalm. That's all I'm going to say about it."
"So you won't tell me what it does."
I shook my head. "No. If we go to war, you'll find out soon enough."
"I see." Aepnet ran his talons through his head feathers and sighed. "Very well, then. You have my word that I will not join forces with Purgle. I'm not going to slaughter my subjects for his mad schemes. There is no point, especially if you have a weapon that could sack Schunie in minutes." He looked back at me. "I assume Iselin would also apply to that." I tilted my head in a nod which he returned. "Precisely." Aepnet stood up, and we did the same. "We will not join you in your war against him, and I cannot tell you anything that you do not already know. However, I pray that you end it quickly, for everyone's sake. We don't need a world war."
"Well between you and the zebras declaring neutrality, it wouldn't be." I shrugged. "Not sure what the Diamond Dogs are up to, but then again, I never am."
"I suppose," Aepnet mumbled. "Beat him quickly, Antares. I hope your human weapon is as good as you say it is."
* * * *
"What. Is. napalm?!"
I flattened my ears and took pains to not look at Celestia, despite feeling her glare. Well, she had to find out eventually.
"It's, uh, it's a human weapon," I said lamely as we walked through the halls of my palace.
"I understand that, Antares," Celestia snapped. "What does it do?"
"Er..." I managed to gather the bravery to look over at her, and flinched back even more when I saw that her glare was worse than I thought. "It might be best if I just showed you. Not a demonstration, mind you, just..." I straightened up and trotted ahead of her. "Follow me."
I could still feel her glare on the back of my head, but she didn't say anything as she followed me to one of the lower levels of my palace. We passed by several groups of guards, all of whom saluted me when we passed.
"This area is more heavily guarded than the rest of the palace," Celestia observed. "You are not going to risk anything coming to get your weapon."
I shook my head. "No. If this was used against Equestria it would be a disaster."
"All the more reason that you should not have done this," Celestia growled. "This will change warfare as we know it if this is used."
"And it will if we go to war."
We reached a final door down a long flight of stairs into my basement where four guards stood watch. I smirked and nodded to one of the four mares in the group. "Good evening, Clarice."
She nodded back. "Dr. Lecter. Did you do all these drawings, Doctor?"
"Ah. That is the Duomo seen from the Belvedere. Do you know Florence?"
"All that detail just from memory, sir?"
"Memory, Agent Starling, is what I have instead of a view."
The mare bowed low to me. "Prince Antares. Come in."
"Thank you." I ignited my horn and sent a ball of magic into the tiny, hidden lock inside the door. We heard a click, and the door swung open revealing a white lab setting. When we walked in, a blue magical scanner washed over the two of us before the door slammed shut after Celestia walked inside.
"Interesting choice of password, Antares."
I nodded. "Yep. If anyone tries to come in but they mispronounce any of the human names, or speak to the wrong mare, they know instantly that something's up and they'll sound the alarm. In fact, I even have specific ways I move my head and say the lines themselves. The door locks instantly if they sound the alarm, as it would if all of them were killed. The lock is only open if all four of them are there and alive. I have a spell monitoring their vital signs, so if they start going off the charts for whatever reason, or stop, the room closes."
"Interesting. And how will they sound an alarm?"
I grinned and waggled my hoof. "Now, now, that would be telling. I'm not going to give you all of my secrets. And just in case you get any ideas, they only accept that password from me."
"I see," Celestia said with a grimace. "Very well, then. Show me this napalm of yours."
My grin faded, and I inclined my head over to a white metal table, on which rested a single medium sized black strongbox. Celestia and I walked up to it, Celestia with much more unease. When I reached it, I leaned down next to the lock.
"You know what you look like to me, with your good bag and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube. A well scrubbed, hustling rube with a little taste. Good nutrition's given you some length of bone, but you're not more than one generation from poor white trash, are you, Agent Starling? And that accent you've tried so desperately to shed: pure West Virginia. What is your father, dear? Is he a coal miner? Does he stink of the lamp?"
With a click the top of the box popped open. I used my magic to open it the rest of the way.
"A verbal lock." Celestia nodded in approval. "You really do not wish for this to get out."
I shook my head. "Not at all. As usual the lock only opens to me, and the inflections have to be just right, especially that accent I did at the end. Nobody is getting into this thing without my say so."
"I should hope not. If this napalm of yours fell into the wrong hooves, claws, or hands..." Celestia walked up closer to the box and looked inside. Her eyes narrowed in confusion, and I could see the gears working in her head. Well, I couldn't blame her. She'd never seen anything like this before.
"I... I do not understand what this is supposed to be, Antares," she finally said. "What does it do?"
I let out a single weak laugh and ignited my horn, pulling a single black pellet out of the box about the size of a marble. Celestia took a half step back as though it would destroy all of Equestria at any minute.
"It's quite simple, really. This is fire unlike anything any of your pyromancers could dream up in their worst nightmares. What I have in this pellet sticks to skin, so there's no getting it off once it starts burning you alive. In a city suffering from a napalm strike, beings would die from causes ranging from burns, heat stroke, asphyxiation, carbon monoxide poisoning, smoke inhalation, and so on. Don't even get me started on what it does to buildings."
"That..." Celestia closed her eyes and lowered her head. "Antares, that is barbaric. Even Discord for all of his evils, or Sombra for all of his wonton cruelty, or Nightmare Moon, for all of her scheming, would not dream of thinking of something so disgusting." Celestia raised her head and looked me dead in the eye, her glare returning full force. "And you would use this on civilian populations? You would have our army march into a blackened city?"
"Celestia, if I use this, there won't be a Schunie to go into."
"All the better!" she snapped. "Wipe the economic and cultural center of an entire blossoming nation off of the map forever! I'm sure that won't have any negative repercussions for millennia to come!"
"Then what, Celestia?!" I gently placed the pellet back into the box. "What do you want me to do?! Just throw my soldiers at hundreds of thousands of bloodthirsty minotaurs?" I glared at her and slammed the box shut. "Not. An. Option. Do you understand me, Celestia? I'm not going to sacrifice a single one of my ponies if I can help it!"
"The war is coming, Antares," Celestia retorted. "I do not like it any more than you, but beings die in war. I wish to be a princess whose nation wins because of diplomacy, not because we slaughtered tens of thousands of beings in mere minutes then threatened to do it again!"
"So better some of our ponies die so we have time to think of a diplomatic situation than taking advantage of a way to win now?" I scoffed. "I cannot believe this! These are ponies with families, Celestia! If we send ten thousand soldiers against a minotaur army and lose, then that's an uncountable number of grieving ponies!"
"How dare you even suggest that I do not care for each and every one of my subjects!" Celestia jabbed a hoof into my chest, but I didn't flinch back at all. "You had better pick your words very carefully, Antares. I will not go down in history as the greatest mass murderer of all time, is that clear?!"
"So what, we should just let our subjects die horrifically in battle?!"
"It's not that simple, Antares. We are not just throwing them blindly at the enemy."
"But some of our subjects will die!"
Celestia nodded. "That is the nature of war; a war we both know cannot be avoided. Even killing Purgle would make a martyr out of him, giving the minotaurs all of the cause they need, as well as a central figure." Celestia sighed. "We will do our best to make this quick. That is all I can say."
"I can't do it again!" My anger instantly drained away, and with a single sob, I sat down on my haunches and held my head in my hooves. "I can't," I whispered. "I can't watch our subjects die in battle, knowing that I can do something to save them. I can't... I can't close my eyes and dream of the soldiers I lost anymore. I still do. Every now and again I'll dream of nothingness, but I'll still hear their hooves marching. Marching. Marching." I looked back up at Celestia and saw that her fury had melted away, and she now looked at me with a contemplative, yet vaguely sad, gaze. I took a deep breath and continued.
"After the battle, when I was in the hospital, the soldiers who died marched past me and said that it was an honor to die for me. That they'd do it all over again to protect me. Celestia, I... I'm not worth that. If in a thousand years I lead Equestria to prosperity like its never known and bring peace to all of the known world, I will still not be worth hundreds of my ponies dying horrifically for me. This war..." I grunted. "Purgle doesn't really care about Equestria itself. Not in terms of the individual ponies, at least. He hates it as an idea. And who symbolizes that idea? To him: we do. And he thinks he has a lot of reason to hate us. His hatred is for you, me, Luna, Cadance, and Equestria as an idea. An abstract. Do you really want that to be the reason we send our ponies to die?"
"They will be fighting to protect their homes, their families, Antares, as well as you and I. Do not be so vain as to assume they only fight for us."
I shook my head. "I don't. Of course I don't. But they'd be going to war for the massive, complex chess games that they have no knowledge of. Do you think the average farmer or cloud maker cares about international politics on a day-to-day basis? Or has to think about what every single move they make could do fifty years from now? No. The soldiers we send out to war, especially one like this, die for the games we play. They'd be dying for some madman's pride." I took a deep breath and slowly stood up. I turned to the box and laid a hoof on top. "I wouldn't have to get any ponies involved. That's the best part. No one feels guilt but me, and I'd feel that anyway."
"Antares..." Celestia took an uneasy step towards me. "You are not feeling well. I can see that. This war business is putting a lot of strain on you. Let us leave this place. Find somewhere to relax."
"Birds. That's how I'd do it," I continued, ignoring Celestia. "Got the idea from a few of Earth's more tactical minded rulers. I'd put the pellets in pouches, tie the pouches to birds, have an animal expert tell them to fly over Schunie, and if I time it right, the heat of the pellets will burn through the pouches and land in the city. Boom. No more Schunie."
"Antares, please." Celestia gently put a wing over my back. "Forget the war. Forget everything. You are clearly far too stressed right now!"
"And none of my subjects would have to die." A small grin crossed my face, and I let out a single laugh. "We'd win and every single one of my subjects would be safe at home with their families where they belong. No grieving wives or husbands or mothers. No more weeping foals missing their parents. Victory with no cost."
It was at that moment that Celestia chose to grab my head and jerk it towards her so that my face was inches from her, and I had to look her straight in her eyes. "No cost? How about the thousands of innocent civilians who want as little to do with this war as you? How about the trust lost from your subjects when they see what horrors their prince is truly capable of producing in the darkest corners of his mind? How about thousands of years of culture in that city? How about the economic stability for an entire nation; a nation that will see all of its attempts at unification once again fall into nothingness? Can you tell me that there is truly no cost to this victory of yours?"
"I..." My mind's eye flashed with a visual of Schunie in flames. Mothers holding their screeching children while their families burned into ash around them. Hundreds choking on on the thick black cloud of smoke, even as the unrelenting flame licked at their bodies. Strong, previously stoic males trying to get their families out of the city amidst the chaos while trying to keep the sheer terror in their eyes from spreading to the rest of them. And then I saw myself. Hovering above the city with a satisfied smile on my face, looking down at the victory I had brought about.
I snapped out of my vision and turned my head away from Celestia. I leaned my forehooves against the table before slowly shoving the box away. I sniffled, trying to keep the tears welling up in my eyes from dripping out and generally failing. I felt Celestia put her wing back on my back before draping a foreleg over my shoulder.
"I understand, Antares. To see our subjects die, especially in a way as horrific as war, is the worst thing I've seen in my time as a princess. And the way you were thrust into it made it even more horrible." Celestia leaned in and gently nuzzled my cheek. "I do not blame you for your stress, Antares. I am very stressed too. I am not sure of how to win this war quickly and with minimal casualties. But things are looking up. Aepnet will not join Purgle's side, Mesud will fight with us, and the Blade Wings are working tirelessly to find every advantage that we can get."
"Yeah." I wiped my eyes with the back of my hoof. "I guess. I dunno, I suppose I just panicked." I motioned to the box. "It's not like that stuff's hard to make, and with my alicorn memory and royal access to whatever I want?" I clicked my tongue. "Yeah."
"There are better ways than wiping out whole cities."
"Yeah..." My mouth creased into a frown as a thought struck me. "Cities maybe not, but advancing armies..." I glanced over at Celestia. "I know this probably isn't much better, but if an army of a hundred thousand minotaurs marched towards Equestria and I used some of this to defeat them, that would be better because it's combat."
Celestia groaned and pushed the box farther away. "Antares, let us not discuss the war for today. You, Luna, and I are taking the rest of the day off. I know it might be poorly timed, but if we do not have such a day, the stress might overwhelm us."
I shrugged. "Can't disagree with that."
* * * *
"Gentlegriffins, thank you for meeting with me."
"this had better be good, Fromme," Zangara grumbled. "I do not like secret meetings of this nature, especially with a duke as young as you. If Aepnet found out--"
I waved my claw. "Aepnet will not find out. The coward does not leave his palace, and has pulled his guards off of the streets to surround him. He thinks Purgle is going to storm Iselin to collect his head."
"He does not seem to want a war anymore," Byck said evenly. "And yet he is building up our forces."
I smirked at Byck. "Which is fortunate indeed. Aepnet does not know how to play the long game, gentlegriffins, despite his insistence that he does. He's far too paranoid to just let things play out as they would, so he interferes and ruins any plan he might have made." I chuckled and began examining my claws. "Meanwhile, I like to think that I am quite adept at thinking in both the long and the short terms, especially when it comes to my beloved Griffonia."
"All the more reason not to trust you," Zangara snapped. "If I believe you have plans for years ahead in the future, then how should I react to that? You come from a weak clan, Fromme. Your predecessor was executed."
"Yes, nasty business, that," I said sarcastically. "But you know as well as I that clans rise and fall. It's just the way our country works, it seems. Nothing to be done about it, really."
"In my experience, griffins as motivated as you in political matters can be trouble," Byck said.
I chuckled and slapped him on the back. "Oh my dear Byck, surely you were once an idealistic young politician who was going to be emperor one day and lead your clan to complete glory for the rest of time?"
Byck gave a slight grimace, but shook his head. "Perhaps, but not in the way you're going about it. I built my power by being quiet and striking slowly and only when necessary. It has worked out splendidly for me."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm certain that your line is quite content with being just dukes for now, but think about it: hasn't Aepnet's line been ruling too long? And look at what a job he's done! A few years ago he was lounging around in an Equestrian prison while his wimpy hatchling was sitting on the throne shivering like she'd just come out of the egg!" I tapped a single claw on the table. "Now they're allying themselves with Equestria against Purgle. Do we really want to be under the hooves of Celestia?"
"Do we really want to be on the wrong end of Antares?" Byck said. "He is exceptionally dangerous when provoked, so they say. Word on the street is that all the assassination attempt did was wake a sleeping giant. Who knows what his human weapons could do to us?"
"And there are more rumors that he doesn't have any!" I pointed out. "Besides, let's forget Antares and the war. Aepnet's paranoid. He's worried that something's going to happen to him, and that puts us in a rather poor position, wouldn't you say? Paranoid rulers aren't kind to their enemies." I allowed myself a small grin. "And if we ally with Purgle, our nation will be stronger. Celestia will do everything that she can to avoid war, and I'm all for that, especially given Antares and whatever weapons he may or may not have." I shrugged. "Though we do have Nightmare Weapons, as does Purgle. There are three more out there to find."
"Two," Zangara groaned. "Cadance's Blade Wings found another one last week. Luna destroyed it with great zeal."
I waved my talons. "Fine. Whatever. Two. We have our own intelligence and espionage units working on getting those last ones. They’ve been going through their contacts in the underworld in each country to see what the scum of the planet might know. Freemind changelings are an especially good source of information, I find. We’ll pick up another weapon. The more we have the better. I don't want to risk a bloodthirsty Antares marching into Iselin. After what he went through, he'll be terrified at even the mention of Nightmare Weapons."
"Granted," Byck said with a nod. "So you wish to ally yourself with Purgle against the wishes of our emperor? While he is this paranoid?" He shook his head. "You are a fool, Fromme."
"Indeed?" I tapped my jaw thoughtfully. "Hmm... I don't think so, actually." I alternated my looks between my fellow dukes. "Do you really think I'd call this meeting if I didn't have every faith that I could put all of my plans into motion? As I said: I play the long game." I stood up and walked over to a nearby window. "I've been meeting with Purgle for the past three weeks. Him and I have some interesting plans set in motion. I'd suggest you fellows join me instead of opposing me. I do have the full might of the minotaur nation backing me up."
Zangara slammed his fist on the table and stood up. "Just who do you think you are?!" he snarled. "You are playing a dangerous game!"
"One I would not play if I wasn't positive I could win." I turned back around, my biggest smirk adorning my face. "I've been planning this for years, gentlegriffins. Purgle was just the backer I needed. I'd suggest you swear loyalty to your new emperor."
Even Byck looked surprised at that one. Huh. I'd have thought that he only had the one facial expression. Neither of them spoke, though. I think they were too shocked. I chuckled and decided to elaborate.
"From the moment I was elected as the new Duke Fromme, I knew that I needed this moment to come. Aepnet shamed my clan in ways that I didn't think possible when he executed my predecessor for a crime I'm certain he did not commit. Now his day of reckoning is upon him, and as a final insult, the next griffin to sit on the throne of this nation will be from the very clan he thought he destroyed."
"You're... you're mad," Zangara whispered. "Aepnet is too well guarded. Any attempt on his life will certainly fail, and in his paranoia he'll get the Equestrians to help him kill us all!"
"As I said, gentlegriffins, I've been planning this for years." I chuckled again. "Thanks to bribery, espionage, and false identities, Aepnet and Kathyrine are surrounded by griffins loyal to me. They wait only for my command. And in terms of planned assassinations to help solidify our power, those two are only the beginning."
The other two dukes went white, but due to me having the backing of Purgle, they knew they were powerless to stop me. I would be emperor.
"When... when will this happen?" Zangara said after a few minutes of silence.
I turned my head and looked out the window to check the time.
"Oh... about twenty minutes."
* * * *
Gotta say, that day was exactly what I needed. The three of us stayed in Celestia's room and gossiped, played board games, ate ice cream and whatever the heck else we wanted to do. Nothing about mass death. Nothing about impending war. I was thankful we were not interrupted with anything. We were in Celestia's room for that very reason; just in case an emergency popped up. I'm glad nothing did. I unwound more than I had in months.
But all good things must come to an end, so I went back to my palace that evening, grateful for my day off.
In fact, the next few weeks were pretty quiet. Tulip, now seven months pregnant, started doing a little work for me now to justify the paycheck she was getting from me. I didn't think she needed to worry about it, but she insisted, so I gave her some paperwork to do. It took a little load off of Time Keeper. She did insist upon getting out of bed sometimes, though, such as that particular moment. The three of us--me, her, and Valiant, who came to keep an eye on his now fiancee--were walking through the corridors of the palace, with her listing off some schedule or other. I wasn't really paying attention. I'd just get her to give me a copy anyway.
"... and then you can go to bed for the night. Does that sound alright?"
"Uh-huh."
Tulip nodded and put the sheet back into a folder she was carrying. "Good. I'll be sure to get you a copy so you remember--"
"Tulip..." I looked over at her. "What do those foals mean to you? Just beyond the fact that you are their mother and you're carrying them. Is there anything else? If not, that's still excellent." I glanced at her swollen belly. "I'm just wondering because, you know... scorpions."
Tulip stopped and put a hoof on her stomach. She smiled and gave a contented sigh, nuzzling her fiance. "Obviously they mean the world to me just by the fact that they're my foals. Even if they were unicorns and not pony/scorpion hybrids I'd love them with all of my heart. I'd love them no matter what kind of pony came out because they'd be my foals. But..." Tulip looked back over to me. "In terms of them being the first scorpiponies ever? It terrifies me at the same time that it excites me, and I'm not just talking about how much the delivery is going to hurt." She leaned her head against Valiant and stuck her tongue out. "I'm talking about the fact that, well, all eyes are going to be on me as the mother of a new race of ponies, especially the church. They are your ponies, after all. If I don't take care of them right, what kind of ponies are they going to become? Heck, what kind of ponies are they going to become period? Are they going to be feral? More scorpion than pony?" Tulip shrugged. "I don't know. I can't know, and that terrifies me."
"It'll be our own little adventure," Valiant said with a smile. "The mother and father of a new tribe of ponies."
"They're going to be a hoofful, that's for sure."
I shrugged with my wings. "Yeah, well, that's--"
I was cut off when a familiar sound echoed throughout the palace. One that I never hoped to hear again.
The alarm bell.
My eyes went to pinpricks, but I reacted much quicker than last time. "Valiant, get your wife into the nearest conference room and lock the door! Don't let anypony in unless they're with me or have the password! The password is rosebud."
Valiant nodded and saluted. "Rosebud. Got it."
With that, I bolted towards the nearest exit and flew out to the guard tower, where one of my soldiers was ringing the bell. He stopped when he saw me land and saluted.
"Prince Antares!" He pointed in the distance in the direction of Griffonia. "Three griffins approaching the castle! Two of them are armed!"
I looked out to where he pointed, and sure enough, three griffins were flying towards us. Two armed with sharp spears and one unarmed as far as I could tell. She looked vaguely familiar, but she seemed like she was flying for her life. My eyes widened when I recognized her.
"It's Princess Kathyrine!" I shouted.
I instantly took wing and flew out to meet the griffins. When Kathyrine saw me approach, she pointed back at the griffins chasing her, who had slowed down now that they saw I had gotten involved.
"Help!" she screamed. "Th-they're trying to kill me!"
I glared at the two griffins who were now backing up before igniting my horn and shooting a beam at the two of them that instantly froze them both. They tumbled towards the ground, but I caught them before they hit. No reason to kill them before Celestia and Luna could interrogate them. I flew back to my gathered soldiers and turned the griffins over to them before turning back to Kathyrine.
To put it frankly, she was a mess. Her feathers stuck up every which way, and her eyes were puffy and red. She was hyperventilating, and I saw a long gash dripping blood on her right foreleg. I gingerly walked up and sat down beside her.
"Kathyrine?" I said as gently as I could. "What... what happened? Why were they chasing you?"
Kathyrine's hyperventilating stopped, and I heard her whimper. She looked over at me, and a single sob escaped her throat. Before I could do anything, she threw her forelegs around me, wrapped me in a crushing hug, and began sobbing. Like the hysterical screaming sobs of someone who has lost everything and it's just hit them. I grimaced and returned the hug.
"You're safe now," I said quietly. "No one is going to hurt you here."
"They killed him," Kathyrine whimpered. "Th-they killed my dad."
Kathyrine leaned back a bit and wiped her eyes with the foreleg not cut up. I felt my heart break when I saw a single feather clutched in Kathyrine's fist like it was her only worldly possession left that could only have come from one griffin.
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I don't think Celestia will be able to hold Antares back after this one... There is going to be bonfires... roast beef and poultry...
Can't say I'm not looking forward to it. Can say I don't want it to happen, but still, they have it coming.
Those poor innocent soldiers... the ones who are just following orders...
INCOMING SHITSTORM!
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Well. . . shit.
I also can't help but notice yet ANOTHER parallel with the prime 'verse here.
Except that, this time, Kathyrine mourns, truly and deeply.
Use the napalm, dude. Use it.
Or give it to me. I can exterminate billions in seconds and feel nothing...
...well, besides the mild sense of satisfaction from such efficiency.
Sweet, new chapter. Wonderfully written as always and keep up the good work!
Oh damn. Shit's gettin' real. And as for the weapon? I don't know how I feel about it being napalm. Granted, it's effective, but there are other things that could be used. Heck, knockout gas would work for closed off city, I would think. I do like the absolute paranoia that's hitting TD at the moment. This is it for him, this is what will define him as a ruler, and it's terrifying.
Call me a bloodthirsty maniac, but Antares just needs to go a head and Nuke the Minotaurs and Griffons. Pure outright Thermonuclear devices across their entire countries. Glass plate everything. And a little bit of weather control to make sure the wind currents blow all fallout away from Equestraia. All of their enemies are dead, Equestria is safe, and the world lives in fear of Antares, the Wrath of the Stars. Something she can be content with knowing that her ponies will be safe. If their civilians don't like being wiped out, well they should have risen against their bloodthirsty lunatic leaders before it got to this.
5260386 Well, it's easy to use, make, and highly effective. And like you said: he's getting paranoid and stressed out. This is going to be a huge war if everything goes the wrong way, which it most likely will.
Oh shit. Well, I've got to say that I'm glad you spared Kathyrine. I've liked her ever since I first saw her in Wanderings.
In a way I love the direction you are taking, but in a part of me is screaming for me to say "nope, I'm out. Too much fuckery going on..."
Yeah, in other words I love it. When it gets to this point is when a stories really captivates me.
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Well....I'd say the nobles of Griffonia just dug their own graves.
That description of napalm by Antares kinda sound like white phosphorous to me. Does the author confused with something? Or am I confused?
At this point, I would not be surprised if TD drops a nuke on Schunie. [Bludworth would be disappointed, though. All his hard-forged equipment going up in smoke.]
...Wow.
This is getting all levels of dark and messed up. It's still good by me, don't worry, but it's getting pretty heavy.
5260399
Eh, I expected him to go the route sometimes used to describe humanity within Science Fiction with multiple races. We extend the hand of peace, when that hand is slapped or stabbed then we bring out our full fury. I figured Antares might have gone the route of "I'll be your friend but if you fuck with me, then say goodbye." What he could do is the simple: destroy a city, force them to do the unthinkable and surrender. Then rebuild them. The Americans did it with the Japanese and that was the plan in Europe. I don't know how much he learned about modern international politics but if he can get international trade to a very high level, he can make war have such a high opportunity cost that most nations won't consider it. This of course ignores rebellions and revolutions (what's the difference? Who won).
5260399
If you already have napalm, why not enchant it so that napalm attacks only affect non-organic/non-living material? Seriously, science and magic complete each other so well! That would solve the whole moral dilemma. As Einstein once said, "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." Replace religion with magic. BOOM, problem solved; LITERALLY. At that point, the only factors you'd have to worry about is close combat/hand-to-hand/martial arts training, quality/biological properties of the enemy troops, and the amount of enemy troops. You'd destroy all (or most of) their armaments/supplies and probably shake their morale/resolve heavily. You'd also cause extensive environment damage within the battlefield. You just have your fully armored troops surround the ruined battlefield and its shocked but relatively unharmed inhabitants and force them to surrender or face complete tactical slaughter in classic combat. To ensure accuracy, just teleport the stuff to where it has to be when it has to be there. If you keep enchanted napalm reserves, have well armored/warded troops, and anti-air "non-lethal" projectile weaponry (Look at Pinkie's Party Cannon; Equestria also has catapults, crossbows, and slingshots) that can fire that napalm (or just telekinesis/pegasi [possibly with light projectile weaponry] ), then you can take care of all ground/air troops very efficiently and relatively quickly/humanely by warfare standards (I.E.- very effectively deal with it). Its like Antares forgot that he is a MAGICAL GOD-LIKE HORSE THING. Hell, don't even call it napalm anymore! Rename it Asterian Fire, after Asteria, Greek Goddess of the Stars (referencing Greek Fire). Asteria is also heavily correlated with goddesses/gods/deities/titans like Justitia, Astraea, Dike, Nike, Aeolus, Hecate, Fortuna, Nemesis, and various constellations (especially Virgo/Libra), as well as Themis, Eos, Astraeus, Phoebe, etc. There are all kinds of naming options/mythos opportunities considering that. So yeah. Make Asterian Fire (or whatever you want to call it) a thing, if you don't mind. It solves SO many issues.
5260652
Read my above idea. I mean, I've previously mentioned enchanting human weaponry in other chapters for the purpose of making it more destructive/deadly, but for the sake of morality/efficiency, I suppose human weaponry could be enchanted to be much more humane. Do you agree?
5260399
Naphtha, the predecessor to napalm and an intermediate product in the creation of fuels, is also a weapon which has been used by ancient civilizations - including the Greeks. While the mythical 'Greek Fire' has been lost to the realms of untold history, attempts to reproduce it have suggested that, certainly enough, the most likely culprit is napalm. Civilizations aplenty have attempted to recreate Greek Fire, with certain tangible results - but it's hard to tell if they've actually brought it back, since in most test cases, all that remains of the subject is smouldering ash.
Since this is the intended result, scientific accuracy is highly variable.
5260467 it's possible that he's using the name napalm for white phosphorus.
I expect the war to be about making it not worth while for the minotaurs. Like a battle of attrition and stuff. Maybe burning areas they're in. As it stands Equestria has the home advantage.
Also, I'm surprised they haven't kept a nightmare weapon to try and create a spell that counters it somehow. Or disables it. Or something.
5260488 He won't. He'll probably aoe the fuck out of armies. But I don't think he'd kill civies despite what he says or planned.
OK, this chapter was great and with many plot twists. Antares creation of napalm and alliance with Aepnet's was brilliant. The scene where he and Celestia discuss about the oral implications of using the weapon to protect Equestria over peace and diplomacy was very well-written. I also didn't expect the new Duke of Fromme to have such a heavy impact on the story in his first appearance by countering the alliance with Aepnet and nearly killing Katheryne. I do hope, however, that Antares kills the bastard as that smug attitude of his reminds me of a few Game of Thrones antagonists. This is an amazing chapter and I hope the next one comes soon because I want to see how Antares will counter the Griffins.
If the gryphons fall in line behind Fromme, and go to war alongside the minotaurs, I'm going to have to call bollocks.
After this, the gryphons should be too busy fighting a civil war between Katherine's and Fromme's followers, to get involved in the pony/minotaur war.
If the other dukes think Katherine is weak, then they have all the more reason to support her, over Fromme. She'd be easier to control, and she'd be indebted to them.
5260597 Remember that in a civil war, Fromme has the largest military on the planet in the minotaurs backing him up. That's why he felt confident to pull the whole thing off in the first place. Byck and Zangara would go along with him to avoid fighting Fromme and the Minotaurs, which means that there's no way that griffins loyal to Kathyrine could take back the country. Not in the current political climate.
Hmmmm. Part of me wants to call Celestia a wuss. You can't afford to fuck around with war like this. Either you're committed to the destruction of your enemy when diplomacy fails, or you aren't.
The other part of me wants to congratulate her on sticking to her sense that it's wrong to do that to civilians.
Really, I'm wanting to see Antares wreak havoc on something important already.
Also, forget what the public will think of him for his methods! He has eternity to repair his reputation, and it's not like they don't have it in them to forgive atrocities... look at Luna.
And the loss of culture that would come from burning Sunnie? Remember that this same culture is what produced the problem to begin with. Unfit genes die out all the time. No reason to think cultures that drive themselves to extinction should be preserved either. You'd think the race of minotaurs would understand not to poke the bull... them horns are nasty.
I'm gonna need an industrial strength umbrella for this shit-storm.
Warmongers, look what you`ve done. Now Antares playing mad chemist role because of you.
I can't help but imagine billions of magical scorpions, with stings that cause the same kind of damage as napalm, swarming upon an enemies army.
The ensuing violence would be spectacular and the survivors would be little to none at all.
Moral, morals, morals. . . always the crippling defense to victory in warfare. *sigh*
It's not that I don't see the logic in Celestia's words. A mass genocide like that and death of an entire culture would be a shame. But, It's the fact that she doesn't have any answer to stopping the war, that I can't help but side with Antares right now.
So, until someone can come up with a better idea that stops this war without sacrificing Equestria soldiers to win. Than the most logical route to victory, would be to use Antare's idea.
Might not be the most glorious way to win, but it sure as hell gets the point across.
Don't fuck with Equestria.
5260606
Good point, but bringing in foreign soldiers, as occupiers, in his own country, could easily make Fromme the most hated emperor in living memory, even more so than assassinating the current emperor. Also would damage to Purgle's attempts to paint ponies as the aggressors.
Wait, I'm confused. Napalm is suppose to be a very thick gel-like substance. But you described Antares as pulling out a solid pellet. Are you sure you haven't mistaken White Phosphorus for Napalm?
5260653 Not occupiers so much as muscle men if he needed them. The vague threat alone would probably ensure that he didn't.
5260680 The pellet has the napalm inside. He basically made small napalm bombs.
5260652 Yeah...war is such a simple, ugly war that is really complicated underneath. In the end, the napalm will be used on the advancing troops. Pegasi will drop them from the clouds and unicorns will ignite them as they fall. It will rain liquid fire and if there are any survivors in the aftermath, they'll wish they were dead.
War is the ultimate failure of diplomacy. Purgle is not interested in diplomacy, unless Equestria is willing to hoof over a city or three to avoid war. Even then, he'll just take time to stabalize his new aquisitions and go to war anyways. He doesn't care. He wants blood.
Ah yes, napalm.
Wonderful.
Wow, this is going to get MESSY
I love it ^_^
5260747 Indeed.
I have to say, the reversal of the gender swap is a bit disappointing to me, but otherwise the story is a good, highly engaging read, and I am glad it continues.
I really really hope Antares uses the napalm and to see the look of horror Purgle's on face as everything burns and he realizes how absolutely screwed he is would be awesome.
Well here's a very valid argument.
The lives of the ponies and the minotaurs or the lives of just the minotaurs. You're choice Celestia.
Also, needs to Napalm the shit out of the Griffin leader. Fuck his shit up
5260761 Couldn't please everyone on that. Half of my readers were begging for the change, and half were disappointed when I changed. I made a call.
Thermite anypony?
5260786 I understand that. I just found the idea of him being Princess Antares amusing and fun.
Is it just me who looks and this and sees World War 2?
Where will they end up dropping the "bomb"? Schunie or Gryphonia?
The duress password is "It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again."
looks like the feces has been formally introduced to the fan, leading to a one night stand of untold horrors...
shoulda made something LESS destructive than one of our two most detested war weapons Antares... quite possibly tranq guns would have been a better solution
5260376
Exactly what I was thinking.
5260881 Well there's what he should make, and then there's what he has knowledge and ability to make. Napalm isn't that hard to make in the grand scheme of things. Something complex like a gun would be.
There's no need to raze the city when the moment their armies advance they could be napalm bombed. And with pinpoint strikes it would be very easy to target buildings like palaces. Wouldn't do much good if they were in an underground bunker, but would Equestria even have heard of the concept of an air strike?
In modern warfare you would need to use napalm against military targets (and so TD would have more of a point), since troop deployments would prevent the kind of massing seen in medieval warfare. But with the technology and strategies used within the time/fantasy setting, the minotaurs would be fish in a barrel.
Wouldn't be as effective on griffins, but if the minotaurs are forced to surrender then they'd be on their own.
This... Pleases me.
Somehow i imagine Antares giving a speech like Truman after Little Boy and Fat Man. something along the lines of not arguing with the results.
Antares: What I did to thousands, I did to save millions.
5260943 underground bunkers need oxygen. underground bunkers have air vents on the surface to withdraw air and expel CO2. fire consumes oxygen. there are two options here. option one: collapse the air vents thus plugging them. option two: toss large amounts of combustible material down the vents and drop napalm down, thus withdrawing oxygen from the tunnels. thermodynamic science for the win.