Chapter Forty-Six - Not Going Anywhere
“AHHH!”
Spike roared as he spotted a quarray eel retreating back into the mountainside after rushing out at him and biting at his side. He stopped short before turning and yelling, “Where did you come from?!”
“—pandemonium!”
Looking down, Spike saw a pony holding a sign that said, ‘Now entering Alchera.’
“I’ve never heard of that town. I must be farther than I thought. But I still need to pick up the pace if I’m going to get to the Dragon Lands in time to help Ember. I haven’t even made it to the water yet,” Spike said aloud to himself. He continued on as the wind whipped by his face.
When he passed another mountain, a second quarray eel shot out and bit him. “AHHH! Another one?!”
Ж
“Will he be okay, Dr. Cross?” Celestia asked the older stallion, sitting on her haunches as she applied pressure to the bandage that had been wrapped around her foreleg. Spike lay on the floor, the bat wings of the stretcher having sprouted heads and eaten the taffy that held him before flying back out through his doors and out of the castle.
The doctor peered into the dragon’s wound, trying to gauge how far the harpoon had penetrated Spike’s body. “Frankly, Your Highness, I can’t guarantee anything.” He stepped away from the wound and up to his tool tray, which he enveloped in his aura before it disappeared. “But though Sir Spike is unresponsive, he is still breathing, however ragged it may be. And his vitals are stable, so that’s a good sign.”
Celestia let out a breath as she nodded. “All good signs are welcome, Doctor.”
“I’ll see how many I can provide, Your Highness.” A moment later, the tray of tools returned to the floor, ten times their normal size. “Ah, it’s a good thing Spike taught Papyrus to enchant more than just parchment.”
“Thinking ahead is a trait Spike received from Twilight,” Luna added from beside her sister, a bandage wrapped around her hind leg.
“Among other things,” Celestia said. “Doctor, how did you get here so quickly? You were here before I was.”
“We sent Tacca for him,” Luna replied. When Celestia tilted her head at her, she clarified, “Our spy.”
Dr. Cross nodded. “Yes, the boy nearly knocked down my door. Then he collapsed as soon as he gave me your summons.”
“But Luna, how did you know to send him? You got here after I did with Spike.”
“The moment We heard thy cry and witnessed Discord’s growth, We knew something was amiss,” Luna answered. “When Spike was not within Our view, We suspected that he was the cause.”
Celestia chuckled. “You always have been quick on your hooves.” Gesturing her head at Luna’s leg, she asked, “How are you? Was that a serious injury?”
Luna shook her head. “‘Tis but a scratch. The wrap is merely to prevent discomfort.”
Smiling, Celestia nuzzled her sister and simply said, “Good to hear.” Turning back to the doctor, she asked, “Where is Luna’s spy? Tacca? Has he been tended to?”
Dr. Cross nodded. “He has. I instructed one of my nurses to treat him until he is fully hydrated and has regained his stamina.”
“We thank thee, good Doctor. We request that he be transported to one of the castle suites for a much-needed rest when he hath recovered.” She smiled. “He doth deserve better than the barracks for all he hath accomplished this day.”
The doctor nodded again. “I’ll see to it, Your Highness.” He called over a nurse and spoke with her for a moment, then she nodded and walked out the doors. He turned to Celestia and asked, “If I may, Your Highness, how exactly did everything end? Did that earthquake cause the griffons to flee?”
With a sigh, Celestia answered, “That was no earthquake, Doctor.” She stared over her shoulder at Spike’s doors.
“Then what was it?” He asked.
“T’was chaos unlike anything We have ever seen,” Luna replied.
“None of them had a chance to flee,” Celestia finished.
Ж
“Cotton, stay here with your aunt Tia. I need to see if Tirek’s going somewhere in particular or if he’s just going on a random rampage,” Spike said, gesturing the two ponies behind a boulder.
“Who is this guy?” Cotton asked. “Is he seriously just going around taking ponies’ magic?”
“Among other things,” Celestia replied. “He has a lengthy history; you’d be better off asking your aunt Twilight about him; she’s the one who fought him last. She would know if he has other motives this time.”
Spike nodded. “But now isn’t the time. After we’ve defeated him we can talk about him all we want. First we— AHHH!” Spike reached for his side. “Of course there would be bees hanging around.”
“Daddy, are you gonna go after him? You can't go anywhere, I need you!”
Shaking his head, Spike replied, “No, sweetie, I’m just going up for a better vantage point; with the way Tirek is moving he probably won’t see me. Don’t you worry, I’m not going anywhere.” With that, he shot up into the air.
Ж
“Daddy? Are you in here? I thought I heard—” When Cotton opened the doors to her father’s room and saw her aunts and Dr. Cross, as well as several nurses beside him, it only took a split second for her to realize something was wrong. “DADDY!”
As Cotton rushed towards her father, Celestia caught her in her aura and lifted her a few inches above the floor before she got too close. “Cotton, please.” She took a breath. “Your father will be alright.”
“Does that look alright?!” Cotton cried, flailing in her aunt’s magical grasp. “What is that?! It looks like a harpoon!”
“That’s exactly what it is, my dear,” Dr. Cross responded. “And we need to get it out, and soon. But your father is still breathing and his vital signs are stable, so like the Princess said, he should be alright. He’s just going to need a lot of rest for a while.”
Cotton took a few calming breaths and stopped squirming in Celestia’s aura. “Can… can I at least go sit next to him?”
Seeing she had calmed down, Celestia lowered Cotton back to the floor, then turned to Dr. Cross. “Doctor?”
The doctor took a quick glance at Spike, then turned back to the two of them and nodded. “You may, but be very careful around where we’re working. And remember, your father is in a deep sleep, so he may not respond to you at the moment.”
“Of course,” Cotton said. With this, Celestia nodded as well and released her hold on the filly.
Luna reached out and hugged her before she had a chance to move. “Fret not, dear Cotton. Thy father shall recover.” Cotton leaned into Luna’s embrace. “If it doth ease thy mind, We shall maintain Our vision fixated upon him while he doth sleep.”
Cotton giggled briefly, then broke from her aunt and quickly cantered around all the nurses and carefully approached her father’s head. “Daddy, please, get better quick.” She crept up to him and kissed his cheek before sitting on her haunches next to him. Curling her eyebrows up, she continued, “You can’t go anywhere; you said you’d always be there for me if I needed you. And I…” She sniffled, leaning her cheek against his. “I need you,” she whimpered.
She flinched as she felt a soft rumble from his cheek, and saw very faint wisps of smoke coming from his nostrils.
“M’nt gon nwr.”
Despite the fact that Equestria had a massive dragon, two alicorns, a giant army, and the Spirit of Chaos, there may be some of you that still might say it’s unrealistic that a war would be so short. Well, let me assure you, it’s happened in real life, too:
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*Mouth falls open* WHAT!!!! we do NOT get to see Discord fight? Come ON!!!!!!!!!!!
Glad to see that Spike will be okay. Now comes the ramifications of Discord's discharge, as well as the death of a certain griffon.
Huh, an interesting piece of history to say the least.
9648389
Yeah, that was a rip-off.
9648399
Truth be told, I'm not a fan of Steadclaw's death, but not for the reasons one might think. He just showed up to... die. Look, I get people die in war, but it seemed the way his death was treated was just for shock value and to show anyone can die here now, and to just deliver a slap in the face to us as readers and sink that particular ship.
Maybe Cotton will move on, but as it stands, the death reminds me of Steelhooves in FoE. It just seems like a way to indicate the fact anyone can die, and came off as shock value.
9648436
Aye, I mean come-on that was the most Perfect setup for a Discord War Ive ever seen. could of gone over the top without it seeming OP because it's DISCORD!
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WE WERE ROBBBBEEEEDDDD! ROBBBEEEED, I TELL YOU!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Zanzibar_War
9648448
That... or when he gets truly angry, he goes Lovecraftian Horror on them, an indescribable chaos that causes madness upon sight because of how horrible it is!
Also, I hope Steadclaw isn't truly dead, otherwise the only male who has loved Cotton romantically is going to cause too much loss of respect for the author. You can only take so many tragedies in a row before the sorrow gives way to rage. And this is the rage of seeing the author as a sadistic bastard. Yes, I may like the story, the beginning was very nice, but I can only take so much tragedy before I call it quits. People do not like having their emotions played with too much.
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Sorry, guys/gals. There was only so much war I felt comfortable writing. You got a little taste last chapter pre-growth, and the way I intended it, the events post-growth took all of maybe... two minutes. Clearly it wasn't as much as you were hoping for, but I was out of my comfort zone. I'm generally not one to write about visible death, even if it was meant to be comedic. I usually stick to it being implied.
To the author - read the currently released chapters of your story about a week ago. all i can surmise of this arc with casualties of two deaths of shining armor & stead claw (i thought there would been more with him instead of being an instant kill/one-off. my mind went to thinking he was brainwashed into fighting in the war.) maybe they'll be a chance for him to visit his ex-girlfriend in her dreams and get closure. hopefully cotton will be able to move on from this...you never forget your first love❤
lastly an over-powered yet angry discord turned the tides and now things can sorta return to normal.
p.s: question - is stead claw's mother still alive?
some wars are quicker then that, people just don't want to think that kinda thing is possible.
story is still awesome still look forward too it
no offense but your an asshole for killing stead-claw.
Those who say the war ended too quickly remember the one hour war was a thing
9648548
There are really only two things I can say in response to this without revealing spoilers:
— I have more chapters written and ready to be published.
— It may not be obvious to you when you read (I use the word 'you' as a general term), but with very few exceptions, and usually only for a couple of lines each, the narrative is always told when either Spike, Cotton, or both of them are present.
9648462
you didn't even explain WHy Celesitia has a Protocal Pandeminium
9648561
9648443
I still say we don't know for certain it was Steadclaw, the only description we have to go on was that the giffon was charcoal grey like Steadclaw, his body and face was covered in armor.
Naw I'm completely fine with a instant victory like that. Like you said 1 god level being, 2 demigod level beings, and a Kaiju level Dragon? I'm surpised they needed Discord to begin with. There's also a lot of circumstantial evidence and fannon about the Giffons being more of a Raiding military than a front-line force so I don't know what they were thinking fighting head on to begin with. Either winning wasn't the plan or they were over confident in their numbers and had an inexperienced ruler (which sounds like it adds up).
She doesn’t seem very torn up about her griffinfriend
9648572
alright then. here's my response to your reply
1. ooo…i can't wait!
2. oh no i can tell completely when reading the chapters that it's focusing on those set of characters.
there's something you should know me & that is...
I've been on this site for five years (since 2013 then got an account in 2017) i'm not some novice to fiction! also some of the things i say when leaving reviews tend to get twisted [cause i didn't explain it clearly] misunderstood or get lost in a sea of other people's comments. please don't take any offense to it.
Damn tease chapter!
Still good though. Get better Spike. Or Discord may kill more Griffins.
9648389
Still might get a recap or a POV from the gryphons in the next chapter? Although I suspect it won't be silly chaos, instead more old-gods-Cthulhu personified. Hopefully none of the ponies will get caught in the literal madness.
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Maybe she realized that there's probably other griffins that resemble him too? Even rare traits would undoubtedly have multiple identical examples, and I find it unlikely he'd just go along with the invasion.
9650859
There have been slave soldiers before
I hope Spike gets better soon and did Steadclaw die? Because it kinda of a downer if he did. Like you brought him back just to kill him. Oof.
So... no answer as to wtf happened to Steadclaw. Well, everything gone according to plan it seems.
As for the whole battle - the gryphons just red army'ied into Canterlot. Like, the City is supposed to be quite innland, so they had to have a fleet with the troops ready to airraid 200+km to Canterlot.
Its not a terrible idea but the Gryphons cant have just infinate manpower - they're a nationalistic monarchy, they require peole to keep the command chain, serve to appease nobility and also to police their cities as part of keeping their armies loyal due to keeping their families secure.
Generally, even if Gryphons have multiple times more manpower than Equestria, this tzarist gamble just lost them the war.
9652187
Yeah loads of chapters building up a ship, abruptly cutting it off without preamble, then returning to kill off. That is the worst way to handle a chara LolXD. Especially a fan favorite, that had a really sweet and lovely ship.
Can I ask why kill Steadclaw because it would have been neat to see where they would've gone to in their relationship