Rebirth of Harmony

by WanderingPhysicist

War Were Declared

The Element’s group trot through Canterlot Castle, towing a sleeping Rainbow on a cloud. A tall dark blue pegasus mare with long red hair and wearing a crystal necklace trots with them, looking at everything in awe. Corona has left to find her sister, and Octavia and Technis are reporting back to their school. The guards are on alert, but they are reluctant to report what is going on, even to Helios and Alba. Some of the guards even give Shaun dirty looks as he passes. The group finds King James and Lucas meeting in a hallway, discussing recent business.

‘Daddy!’ Alba cheers, galloping to her father. ‘I missed you!’ she coos, hugging his leg.

James hugs his daughter. ‘I am glad you have returned. How was your mission?’

‘I was able to successfully negotiate an alliance with Chrysalis.’ She breaks the hug and jabs him in the side. ‘Also, did you know I had another older brother, dad?’ She jabs him again.

James laughs and takes in the group. He looks at the new pegasus. ‘Were you sent by Chrysalis?’ The pegasus nods. ‘Well, no need for a disguise. You’re safe here.’

The pegasus looks around. She takes a deep breath. Delta is briefly surrounded by green fire as she drops the illusion. Guards turn their weapons on her.

‘At ease,’ James commands. ‘She is a guest.’

‘She might not be needed if the queen’s meeting goes well,’ Lucas adds.

Helios steps forward. ‘What does that mean? Where is mom?’

‘She is currently in a meeting,’ Lucas explains. ‘Emperor Mordred sent a special envoy to help bring an end to the brewing conflict. Your mother is meeting with him and Ambassador Gilda as we speak.’

‘The Emperor claims that everything is just a misunderstanding,’ James scoffs. ‘That is as likely as somepony blowing a hole in the castle without us knowing about it.’

A loud explosion rocks the castle. Smoke billows from a gaping hole in one of the towers as debris falls into a courtyard. A dark blue flash precedes the arrival of Luna and Gilda to the hallway. Luna is shielding Gilda with her wings.

Gilda pushes free. She paces, a roar building in the back of her throat. ‘What the hell! That bastard tried to kill me! I’m going to kill him!’ She lets loose her roar.

‘I think he did that to himself,’ Luna pants. She gallops to James and hugs him. ‘The envoy turned out to be a trap. He used the meeting to get close enough to attack us.’

‘And you blasted him?’ James asks.

Luna shakes her head. ‘No. He hid explosives on his body and detonated them as soon as I was close.’ She backs away a couple steps and collapses, exhausted. ‘I barely got us out in time. I’m afraid to think of anypony else who was in the area who wasn’t lucky enough to teleport to safety.’

Alba and Helios rush to their mother and comfort her. James sits with them. Razzly hides under Trixie. Rainbow still sleeps on a cloud.

Apple Bloom grabs Apple Pie out of fear. ‘Th-this is insane.W-why would they do this?’ she stammers.

Shaun puts a talon to his beak and thinks. ‘Mordred probably wanted the Republic distracted by the tragedy so he could...’ He looks up. ‘The air force! Has there been any movement from the Empire’s air force recently?’

James and Luna look at Lucas. The unicorn starts digging through reports on his tablet. ‘Nothing coming through the military channels,’ he reports. ‘Wait. We’re getting a lot of reports coming in. The Empire’s embassies and consulates are sealing themselves off and driving out non-griffins. There are reports of soldiers taking up combat positions.’

Shaun frowns. He turns to the royals. ‘Take me to the embassy.’

‘Yeah!’ Gilda agrees. ‘Me too! I want to get them back for trying to kill me. I’ll rip off their wings and shove them up their..!’

‘No,’ Shaun interrupts. ‘Mordred has been using my disappearance as a way of stirring up trouble between our nations. If they can see that I am fine and working with the Republic, then they should start deescalating their hostilities.’

‘Mordred doesn’t give a crap!’ Gilda roars. ‘He is probably out in front of a camera giving a big speech about how the ponies kidnapped you and killed you and how attacking Luna was a precautionary measure.’

‘And if I am seen alive and well, then his lies will start unraveling. If enough griffins believe me instead of him, then we can buy enough time to get him off the throne.’

Gilda growls and looks away for a moment. She turns back and nods. ‘Then let me be the first to join you, future King Shaun.’

Shaun steps back, chokes. ‘K-ki-.’ He laughs giddily. ‘I forgot about that part.’

‘One step at a time,’ James groans, standing. He goes to Shaun. ‘I’ll take you to the embassy. Defusing the conflict at our front door will be a good first step.’

‘Do you have to go?’ Luna asks. ‘Will you be safe?’

James looks back and nods. ‘The area should be sealed off by now. Besides, do you think Octavia will just sit on the sidelines after an explosion at the castle?’

James casts a spell and teleports himself and Shaun away.

Luna huffs and stands. ‘Lucas, gather the generals and have them meet me in the war room. Trixie, take my children back to their rooms and make sure they stay safe.’ She marches away. ‘And Apple Pie...’

‘Yes, ma’am?’

‘Smack some sense into your sister to make sure she realizes the situation we’re in!’
…

James and Shaun appear on a Canterlot street. Royal and Lunar Guards cordon off the streets surrounding a walled-off building. The walls surrounding and the windows of the building are covered in armed griffins. A corral of reporters try to get the best position to cover the event. James pushes forward to the Royal Guard command post. The commanding officer salutes the king.

‘What’s going on?’ James asks.

‘The griffins sealed off their embassy, sir,’ the commander reports. ‘Once all civilian personnel were evacuated, their guards started taking positions around the building. They appear ready for a siege.’

‘Their civilians are gone?’

‘Not likely,’ Shaun replies. ‘Mordred would use them as a shield to prevent you from storming them directly.’

‘And you are?’ the commander snorts.

‘Prince Shaun of the Griffin Empire,’ the prince introduces. ‘Basic combat tactics were one of many subjects that caused me to run away from the Empire.’

‘He is here to help,’ James adds. He turns away slightly. ‘Report.’

‘I just...’ the commander begins.

‘Shh!’

Octavia steps forward. Technis is behind her. ‘Between the two of us and our snipers, we can have the building cleared in ten minutes.’

Shaun growls. ‘And by “cleared”, you mean “bloodbath”.’

‘We prefer the term “slight bodily fluid removal”,’ Octavia counters. Technis shakes his head and frowns. Octavia rolls her eyes. ‘You’re as bad as your father.’

‘I didn’t say anything!’ James and Technis protest.

‘Let me talk to them first,’ Shaun offers. He turns to the commander. ‘Can we establish a secure communications link to the embassy?’

‘No can do,’ another soldier reports. ‘There appears to be a transmission overriding all the airwaves.’

James raises an eyebrow.’Interesting.’ He turns to leave the command post. ‘I’m going to the media pool. Shaun, come with me.’ He looks at the commander. ‘Do not attack unless I give the order.’ He looks at Octavia and Technis. ‘I’d tell you to hold her back, but I doubt that is can happen.’

Octavia snorts and looks away. ‘I’ll wait too. You have my word.’

James and Shaun exit the command post. Guards escort them to the media pool, wary of the griffins watching them. Onlookers shout questions, but they ignore them. At the media pool, the reporters are gathered around monitors showing Emperor Mordred standing at a podium, giving a speech. A vaguely unicorn shadow is seen behind him.

`... which cannot be allowed to spread further!` Mordred declares. `They claim their precious “Elements of Harmony” are emissaries of peace, but they are really terrorists in disguise! They attacked our soldiers, loosed a changeling horde on the palace, kidnapped our prince and even interfered in a private land rights dispute! Making matters worse, they freed the monster Discord to terrorize the world once more! It is time we stand up and throw off their oppression and let freedom truly be free!`

‘For a guy who killed his own brother, he has an odd definition of freedom,’ Shaun grumbles.

The reporters jump at the unexpected comment. They turn to see the griffin prince glaring at the broadcast while their king taps away on his mobile.

James looks up. ‘Oh? You’re going to pay attention to us now?’ He laughs. ‘Good. Now, we’re going to need one of you to train your camera on us for a moment. We’ll be giving a response to Empe-’

‘Good luck getting a signal out,’ a technician interrupts. ‘They are blocking all our signals. Even hijacked the major streaming sites.’

‘I have that covered. Just be ready to broadcast.’

The reporters murmur and turn away from the broadcast. Cameraponies aim their equipment at the royals.

‘Ready when you are,’ the technician states, checking his monitors.

‘Excellent.’ James taps a button on his mobile. ‘Greetings, citizens of the world. King James of the New Lunar Republic here, interrupting Emperor Mordred to bring you some breaking news.’

‘That doesn’t sound cheesy at all,’ one of the reporters mumbles.

The king resists rolling his eyes at the comment. ‘We have been hearing a lot of claims from the emperor about actions by the Elements of Harmony. He frames them as some sort of terrorist group. Five ponies, two of whom are fillies who recently got their cutie marks, and one griffin constantly surrounded by the best warriors in the Republic barely constitute a threat in my book. And the one griffin? He just happens to be Prince Shaun.’ He looks over at Shaun. ‘You’re up.’

The cameras turn their attention to the nervous griffin. ‘Uh, h-hi. I’m Prince Shaun of the Gr-Griffin Empire. I-I heard what the Emperor has been saying about me and’ -- he laughs nervously -- ‘well, uh, I-I’m alive.’ He laughs again. He takes a deep breath. ‘Listen, I know a lot has been happened to the relationship between the Republic and the Empire since Mordred took power. Most of it has been bad. What can you expect when the emperor killed his way to the top? I fled the Empire because I found out what Mordred had done and feared for my own safety. I only returned a few weeks ago since I didn’t want the Elements to meet their end as well. In doing so, I was discovered to be their Element of Honesty. Whatever powers control the Elements, they chose me, a griffin, to join a normally all-pony group. That should be a sign that the Republic and the Empire should start coming together instead of moving towards war, like Mordred and his allies want. As Prince of the Griffin Empire, I will do everything in my power to see that conflict between our nations come to an end. That is what the late-King Uther would have wanted. That is what the Elements of Harmony want. That is what I want. Th-thank you for listening to me. I-I hope we can live together peacefully.’

James motions to himself, getting the camera back on him. ‘Emperor Mordred knows how to reach us if he is willing to negotiate terms for a peace conference. Oh, and no more “special envoys”. We have had enough suicide bombers to last us a lifetime.’

James taps his mobile again, cutting his transmission. On Mordred’s broadcast, the emperor stares at the camera, shocked. Yelling is heard behind the scenes. A green flash of magic is seen briefly before the screens go blank.

‘Did, did that work?’ Shaun asks.

James looks outside. ‘If not, then we might have a slight bodily fluid removal in the near future.’

James and Shaun hear a commotion outside and leave the media pool to see what is happening, but run into their guards’ magical shields.

‘It is not us,’ Octavia reports, sneaking up on the royals.

Shouts come from the embassy, followed by gunfire. The civilian onlookers scream and panic. Guards help get them off the street while keeping their attention on the compound. The griffins guarding the building leave their posts. More gunfire is heard before everything goes silent. After a few moments, the flag inside the compound is lowered. There is more shouting and soon a blue flag with three gold crowns on it is raised. The main entryway the embassy opens. An older griffin wearing full armor limps out with a bleeding wound. He carries a white cloth.

‘Don’t shoot!’ the griffin calls. ‘We’re willing to work with you. We have captured Mordred loyalists and reclaimed the embassy in the name of Prince Shaun and the late King Uther.’ He winces. ‘Please send medical aid.’

James motions the guards forward. ‘Go ahead, but be careful.’

The guards nod. They slowly make their way into the embassy to assess the situation. Shaun breathes a sigh of relief. James puts a hoof on their back and teleports them back to the castle. The appear in the middle of a heated discussion in the war room. Everypony stops and turns their attention to the new arrivals.

‘Did it work?’ Shaun squeaks.

Luna takes a deep breath. ‘You caused a lot of dissension within the Empire, but it is too early to tell. I hate to say it, but whether they are fighting us or themselves, the Griffin Empire is going to war.’

Author's Note:

RoH Timeline: Mordred tries assassinating Luna via suicide bomber. The Griffin Empire goes to war with the New Lunar Republic. Shaun lays the groundwork for a civil war within the Griffin Empire.

Heraldry Notes: Based on what I could find, I went with the standard for King Arthur for the older Griffin Empire flag. I wanted to include a description of Mordred's flag, but I couldn't find anything for him. If anyone knows where I could check, I will amend this chapter to include a description of his flag. Also note, neither may be the final flag for the Empire...

Comments

[Booster Spice]

As shields and force fields get ever more compact and efficint, conflict will get ever more vicious as those who desire freedom to use and abuse those lesser than themselves are restrained by those who dont wish to be used in such ways.

When faced with DaVinci on a chip, they are going to go totally psychotic.

[Sphinx_Herald]

Yay, update! Goodness, I've been waitig a while or an update to either of your stories. Still, worth the wait.
Also

I hate to say, it but whether they are fighting us or themselves, the Griffin Empire is going to war.

I believe you mean, "I hate to say it, but..."
I think I might have seen another , but I'm oo tired to find it. Until next time,
-Sphinx