An Extended Holiday

by Commander_Pensword

174 - Wake the Slayer

Extended Holiday
Chapter 174: Wake the Slayer

---

In the far off settlement of Sunny Vale, work carried on as usual. Crops had begun to grow at a rapid pace, and with the Unicorns’ help, means had been devised to hasten the crops’ yield and efficiency without impacting the land too heavily. The stone walls brought to bear by the Earth Pony, Gryphon, and Hippogriff craftsmen left a firm and unyielding structure that would take a heavy beating before it could be knocked down. Within the walls, the community thrived. Pegasi worked to ensure the sun shone comfortably on the denizens below while others in the guard tended to the streets and defenses.

The first warning came in the form of a cloudless thunderclap. A few moments later, a gust blew over the walls. Shortly after, Three specks appeared on the horizon and approached rapidly. Light glinted off the surface, followed by blinding light and deafening thunder. Civilians screamed as electricity arced through the air above.

Within the hold of the flagship, Commander Raiker sneered at the sight. The advanced technology at their disposal had once again granted a sound foothold over their opponents. With the scare tactics demoralizing the populace, it would be a simple matter to take out the rest of the city while its guards sought to restore order. It was hardly worth the effort, but it would surely suffice for an appetizer in the main course that awaited.

The radar pinged as it scanned over the city’s walls and the residents within. Many appeared to be scrambling. “It would appear our prey’s outer ring is not nearly so well defended,” he mused as he stroked his beak. “A war of attrition appears to be the most logical route.” He turned to face the bridge’s crew. “Are the troops ready to mobilize?”

“Ready and waiting,” the aid replied with a salute.

“Open the comms to the other ships.”

“They’re ready and waiting, Sir.”

Raiker nodded. “Attention, troops! This is Commander Raiker speaking. Our first probe into these equines yielded a firm resolve for combat and solid plans for strategy. Our purpose here is to test the outer fringes of this new kingdom for weaknesses. We’ve sowed chaos among the citizens below. Now we move in for true combat. We will fight not only for the sake of empire, not only for conquest, but for the glory of what may turn out to be the greatest struggle we have faced since the Children of Faust’s disappearance. We fight, that we may hold our heads high when we face our ancestors and fly with them among the winds. We fight to leave a legacy that our descendants will remember and venerate for generations. We fight—”

What was, no doubt, to become an incredibly glorious and motivating speech was swiftly cut short by two blazing balls of iron wreathed in a brown miasma that streaked like comets into the two accompanying vessels. Raiker had all of a second to watch the ball pierce the hull of the ship, followed by complete immolation as a critical core breach consumed the vessel and burst it into fragments.

“What th—” He had less than a second to see the projectile hurtling toward the bridge before he and the whole crew were obliterated in the third explosion. The air reeked of ozone and fried chicken as the remains of the ships careened into the forest floor below, demolishing whole swaths of trees and fields.

Hammer Strike looked over the remnants of the airships from his place on the city wall. After ensuring there were no survivors, he nodded to himself before calling out to the units controlling the city's cannons. “Perfect hit!”

“That's their biggest advantage down in one shot,” Lord commented.

“Good.” Hammer Strike nodded. “I’ll have to work with Clover to develop more of those augments for the cannons. While having three per city will work, I’d prefer more firepower to ensure utmost safety.”

“For all the Alicorns had, the Gryphon airship technology is second to no one’s. I think even two to a city would be a very strong message.”

“I want to ensure they won’t be able to gain any ground.” Hammer Strike frowned. “I won’t let them take a single city from me.”

“I take it you want me to tell Tarefson to go for a walk tonight when they make camp?”

“The longest walk he needs,” Hammer Strike confirmed.

“I’ve never seen you this out for blood.” Lord laughed. “It’s entertaining.”

“I despise war.” Hammer Strike frowned. “And after so much of it since the beginning of Equestria, I find myself wanting it dealt with more and more efficiently. If I need to blow every airship they have out of the sky and return them to the ground, I will do it, if it means ending this sooner.”

“You misunderstand,” Lord said. “They turned their gaze upon your friends and your family. This isn’t about war. You wish to send a message and carve your name into the annals of their history to make them think twice about trying such an attack. Many mortals go to war for such shallow desires. Money, land, fame. It is rare to find a mortal whose bloodthirst only rises when his own are threatened.”

Hammer Strike hummed in thought. “I suppose so. My actions do lean towards that, yes.”

“The worst and cruelest of crimes can be committed by one seeking nothing more then to protect those close to him. Do remember that.”

“That, I do know.” Hammer Strike sighed. “That, I do know…. Lord, investigate the next city over. Ensure they’re prepared, would you?”

Lord nodded. “I’ll do that.” And then he was gone.

---

Storm Squall Hurricane looked over the parchment on his desk with a stern expression. His jaw clenched in outrage as he glanced over the lines. Not only did the Gryphons have the gaul to claim they were only just declaring war now, but they dragged all the Equines through the mud with baseless claims of inferiority, despite how easily the Gryphons had been bested earlier on.

“Two options,” he murmured. “Let them come and keep thrashing them or attempt to strike them in their own territory in retaliation. Both have possibilities, but the latter is likely the more dangerous. Thus far, we’ve had no casualties, but that could easily change, should we press into Gryphon territory.”

“War is bloody,” a familiar voice reminded him as his wife sauntered up next to him. “Even with Hammer Strike, you can’t conceivably expect to never suffer a casualty.”

“It’s something no one deserves to have to endure.” He sighed. “But I suppose you’re right.” Then he smirked. “You have an annoying habit of doing that, you know.”

“Stop being wrong, and I won't have to.” She grinned at him.

“I suppose I should show this to Caracticus to get his input on potential future attacks, now that the empire has officially committed to this war.”

“Probably. You’ll need to get the numbers set up and ready to march as soon as you can.”

“I’ll need to coordinate with the other members of the war council as well. Ainz said he had a means we might be able to use to summon some of his undead in the event of an emergency. That will be useful if a retreat is required.” He rubbed his chin with a wing and frowned as he began scrawling on a piece of parchment. When he’d finished running some rough estimates, he dropped the quill from his mouth. “This won’t be an easy task, will it?”

“No, it won’t.” She sighed. “But I know you’ll rise to it.”

“Just don’t say it’s because I’m a Hurricane.” He smiled wryly. “Grandfather always said we build our own legacies.”

“I say it because you’re my husband and I know the type of stallion you are. You will prove you’re every bit the warrior he was.”

“I don’t know. I still haven’t been able to conquer you just yet.” He smirked and kissed her cheek. “But enough delay. It’s time to discuss mobilization.” He swiped the papers and approached the Gryphoness, then gave her a wing hug and nuzzled her gently. “I’ll see you and the family tonight.”

“I’ll have some news for you then.” She grinned and turned to leave. “Fare well, love.”

Storm Squall smiled as he followed behind. “With an angel like you watching over me? Always.”

---

The march had been long and weary, but the forces of Unity had taken to it with a smile. The battlefield had already been outlined and agreed upon with the enemy, and where they would camp had been planned out. At some point, one soldier had started singing a marching song, and a strange phenomenon began to spread. Music seemed to play from no discernable source, but to the perfect rhyme and tempo of the song. The soldiers beside him quickly found themselves taking up the tune, even though half of them had never heard it before. The words and verses flowed to them easily. Within moments, the entire army sang loudly and happily as they marched.

It had been a surprise to Storm Squall when they’d arrived at the designated camp location several hours ahead of schedule. The camp had been set up in a short time as well as the army of Unity sang. The last tent peg was being hammered and the last fortifications set in place as the song finally came to a close. Supplies were deposited in the depot, senteries were set up, and scouts were deployed. Faster than he’d have thought possible, Commander Storm Squall found himself at the map in the command tent, surrounded by his separate lieutenants and generals, all talking about possible strategies.

Strange though the event was, to make a fuss over it now would profit no one, especially if it was merely coincidence. He resolved to wait patiently and observe to confirm whether this strange occurrence would recur, and instead focused on the task at hand or hoof as the case may be.

“All right. We’ve come far today, and the mares and colts are in good spirits. Let’s try to keep it that way as long as possible.”

“I say we attack tonight,” Capped Fang, the general representative for the Thestrals, said. “They’ll expect us to give them a formal declaration of intent before we attack. That gives us an element of surprise. If we raid their camp tonight, we could damage their fortifications, burn their supplies, take hostages. It would start us off ahead of things and weaken our enemy.”

“A solid plan,” Storm Squall agreed. “Tell me, Capped Fang, how many Thestrals are encamped in the area?”

“We have fifteen hundred with us,” Capped Fang said. “All ready to go at a moment’s notice. But we could possibly levy the local clans, if need be.”

“And they’ve been made aware of the Gryphons’ intent to do us harm? I don’t want them to be taken off guard if the Gryphons decide to employ the same tactics you’ve suggested.”

“They are prepared, but it is not a major risk. The Gryphons don’t consider them worth their time.”

“That may change in the coming days.” Storm Squall frowned as he looked over the map. “And what about defenders? Have the mages finished planting the mines and other surprises Ainz devised?”

“My men are overseeing the process now,” Sigurd Drakenfeller, son of Lord Drakenfeller of the line of Drakenfeller nodded grimly. His black mane flowed easily down his back as he perused the map. “The advantage of a surprise attack will prove beneficial, but I find it doubtful that our opponents will trade for hostages easily. Not unless the ones we take are of significant enough rank. Based on what Caracticus told us, they would consider it of greater honor to die in custody than allow themselves to be used as leverage. Is that not so, Miss Starling?”

The Gryphoness’ dark feathers glistened in the light, and the gold accents were occasionally illuminated with a flash of green when the light hit the black at the right angles. Her body was that of a lean jaguar to carry the spotted pattern of her feathers through. “It is true.” She nodded. “I doubt they would have fallen so far as to abandon that part of their natures yet.”

“Perhaps we should devise a means to bait them after the initial strike.” Clarice the Hippogriff stroked her chin in thought. “If they’re really so proud and elitist, seeing a group of half-breeds like us may bolster their pride, and best case scenario, enrage them into making a mistake.”

“And do we have our aerial troops standing by? I don’t need storm cannons striking us from the sky while we’re dealing with the braggarts on the ground,” Storm Squall noted.

“We have several cloud platforms being formed as we speak,” one Pegasus spoke up. “We’re already working on patrols.”

“Good. We want this to be a thorough campaign. The sooner we decimate this force, the better. If they want glory, we’ll give them more than they can stomach. You have permission to proceed, Capped Fang, but I want those Thestral camps ready to go to ground the moment the operation is over. Once the Gryphons find out who’s responsible, they’ll take glory in vengeance as much as they do in battle, and these are soldiers that are just as skilled in the hunt.”

“I’ll spread the word and get my people ready.” The mare grinned and nodded. The onyx-capped fang that was her namesake gleamed darkly.

“As for the rest of you, make sure the troops are ready to mobilize if necessary. Keep watch in rolling shifts. And our troops will sleep in their armor tonight. I trust our Thestral units, but I prefer to be ready for any outcome.”

There was a murmur of acknowledgement.

“Very well, then. You know your assignments. Let’s get to work. Dismissed.”

---

The Gryphon war camp was only lightly guarded in the dead of night as the troops slept in preparation for the fighting of the next day. Gryphon vision was keen, able to see far distances in the dead of night, but it was not flawless. Ill prepared for the stealth tactics of the Thestrals, the sentries never heard anything as they guarded their areas. The moonless night aided the Ponies as they struck in rapid succession, killing the sentries without setting off the alarms. Then they swarmed silently into the camp.

The Viper Tribe made their way to the food stores immediately. Poisons and toxins of different varieties were sown into the food supply in ways that wouldn’t be noticed.

The Dragon and the Lion had brought casks of oil, which they emptied among the tents as quietly as possible, spreading the accelerant as far and swiftly as they could.

The Wolf went about their grizzly task with efficiency, entering tent after tent in rapid succession. They slit throats with quick practiced movements. Gryphons’ eyes opened wide only to close again forever as their lifeblood stained their bedrolls.

The entire operation took just over half an hour as Fox Tribe members stole whatever documents they could, not bothering to read the contents and merely stuffing parchment into their sacks.

As Thestrals flooded out of the raided Gryphon war camp, one member of the Dragon Clan turned and grabbed a lit torch from a nearby stand. As the last Thestral left, he threw it into a prominent patch of oil and disappeared into the night. The fire spread quickly until the night seemed as bright and vivid as day. Heat radiated out in all directions. Soon shouts and screams were heard as the survivors moved to try and save what they could.

Capped Fang snickered as the thestrals took flight well outside the camp. “And so be it to he who endangers the lands of Unity.”

---

“Job well done, Capped Fang,” Storm Squall praised. “You and your fellow soldiers are to be commended. The invading force knows we mean business now, and the intel you brought us has given us a better idea of stronghold locations and some of the enemy’s movements.”

“First step in a long road, Sir,” Capped Fang said with a salute.

“Modest and observant. The best combination,” Storm Squall praised. “And you’re right. We are only just starting. It’s time to consider our next move to present to Lord Hammer Strike. We haven’t ventured into Gryphon territory before, so we’ll be relying heavily on any intelligence you or the other clans can provide.”

“Gryphons may in fact be even more war-centered than we are,” she admitted. “They start training as soon as their cubs can walk, and continue on for their entire lives. From what we’ve seen, they tend to favor axes and heavier weaponry.”

“Don’t forget about our proficiency with ranged weaponry,” Starling added. “We’re trained with the bow before we ever train with other weapons. And you already know how devastating storm cannons can be.”

Storm Squall nodded gravely. “Lord Hammer Strike has promised means to counter those when the time comes to face them. We’ll need to make it through unfamiliar territory first, though.”

“We do have a few advantages, Sir,” Capped Fang noted. “For one thing, only one in three hundred has active access to magic.”

“And how, exactly, do they access this magic?”

Starling cleared her throat. “Your Unicorns use foci to hone their magic, but do not require them to utilize it. Each of you can use a form of magic that is unique to your kind alone. Gryphons do not have this attribute. In order to use magic, we utilize a process called evocation. It requires a unique type of focus that draws out the magic from within the body specified around a particular element or enchantment. Not so complex or sophisticated as your spell matrices, but a club can be just as effective as a sword in battle, if one knows how to use it properly.”

“And these magic users. How many might we expect to go against?”

Starling shrugged. “The majority of them are put through training in unique facilities and deployed as necessary by the emperor. If there are any on this continent, they’ll likely remain in the larger bases close to royalty, unless otherwise ordered.”

“Good. That means we’ll be able to whittle down their forces and force a surrender.” The commander frowned. “All the same, we should prepare countermeasures, just in case. Do you know of what types of magic these evokers might be able to use?”

Starling shook her head. “I only know of the basic elemental magics from the old tales. Most of the time, evokers used their craft to maintain balance in the empire and help keep dark forces at bay, not unlike the shadows your hunters must deal with here. They probably do have other arts, but what they may be, I don’t know.”

“Then we’ll simply have to keep alert. Is it possible to create a means to detect when an evoker is near or about to use magic?”

Sigurd shook his head. “When we use magic, it’s drawn from Equis as well as from our own internal reserves. There’s a shift in the magic in the air or land that can be picked up. But based on what Starling has described, the art of evocation relies completely on the latter of the two I mentioned. That’s not going to be traceable unless the spell is exceptionally powerful or you’re at close range. There would be no practical use for such a method.”

“I see.” Storm Squall nodded. “I’ll bring this up to Hammer Strike all the same. He may wish to devise a means of his own, just in case. What’s the status report on translating those documents?”

“My Hippogriffs are hard at work as we speak,” Clarice said. “It shouldn’t take long for us to finish transcribing into Ponish.”

“Excellent. As soon as they finish, I want copies delivered to me and Hammer Strike.”

Clarice nodded. “It shall be done.”

“Anything else to report?” The command tent remained silent, and Storm Squall nodded. “All right, then. We’ll reconvene once we have a better idea of the Gryphons’ plans. Till then, you’re all dismissed.”

---

Hammer Strike hummed to himself as he looked over a peculiar device. He had been in his makeshift workshop for the last two days working on a countermeasure against the storm cannons on the Gryphon Airships. He had an idea of it before, but it had been so long since he had to think about it. He had to start from scratch.

Using several relays and elemental attunements, he had found a way to thaumically disperse any attacks, but it was a matter of expanding the radius in which it could work.

He ignored any movement around himself as he worked. Clover had appeared from time to time, checking up on progress before getting back to work, herself.

The tent flap rose, and Storm Squall strode in without preamble. His lord already knew the sound of his stride, and had made a point of insisting no one knock or otherwise announce themselves. “How goes the project?” he asked.

“Well,” Hammer Strike continued to thaumically attach new relays. “Dealing with the scale portion, and it will be complete for city-wide protection.”

“How long until a mobile version can be crafted?”

“It’s pretty much ready for that.” Hammer Strike gestured to a spare at his side. “Variant one, roughly half a mile in radius for protection.”

Storm Squall nodded. “I’ve also been notified of another potential threat. Granted, one we won’t have to worry about immediately, but one that will need to be planned for in the future. The Gryphons have magic users of their own called—”

“Evokers. Yes,” Hammer Strike replied as he stopped his work. “I had Clover already start the process of adapting our Null fields for their magics.”

“Without even a sample of them?” Storm Squall gaped. “You really are incredible.”

“I’ve encountered it beforehand, so I have a generalized read of the signature. Beyond that, I’ve had her studying and adapting for any overall changes, since my encounter was … quite some time before.”

“Not to be rude, but just how old are you to have knowledge of so much and experienced so many encounters?”

“As of now, I believe I am…” Hammer Strike’s brows furrowed. “Six hundred years old? Rough estimate. I honestly stopped tracking.”

“That … would explain a lot,” Storm Squall conceded. “Did you want me to arrange a deployment for the other field generators to be delivered when you finish making them?”

“Affirmative.”

“I’ll send word down the supply caravan.”

“Hopefully, I should have these done within the next two to three days,” Hammer Strike commented before sighing. “I need to get back out there.”

“That’s why everyone fights for you, Sir. Did you have an ETA you wanted me to give the troops?”

“Not at this moment. Come back in six hours and I’ll have one.”

Storm Squall nodded. “I’m guessing you didn’t get the chance to read the info we snagged from the enemy. Did you want a debriefing now or later?”

“Now. I can split my focus.”

The Pegasus pulled a sheaf of papers from a saddlebag at his side. “All right. Then let’s get started.”

---

Vital Spark whistled. “Dang. You guys really are like ninjas, aren’t you?” he asked Pensword as the image on the monitor faded away.

“Yeah, but I saw at least two techniques that were lost to the mists of time,” he replied as he wrote out on a pad of paper. “With what little we saw, I may be able to rekindle a little of that old tribal magic.”

“I assume you mean the martial kind?”

“Yes, what else would I mean?” Pensword replied in confusion.

“You did say magic, and we do live in a magic-driven society, Pensword,” Vital noted. “Figured I’d just check to be sure I understood right.” He shrugged. “Regardless, it looks like things are definitely going to be heating up in the near future. What do you think will come next, Grif?”

“Blood.” Grif sighed. “Even with Hammer Strike’s tactics, this is still going to be a very bloody conflict.”

“I shudder at what the war will be with the tech they have. What they had in the third was still bloody. This can be much worse,” Pensword agreed.

“In some ways, yes,” Grif agreed. “In other ways, not so bad.”

“Too bad they can’t just talk things out.” Vital frowned. “I’m curious, Grif. Does it always have to be valor in combat? Is there no other way to gain prestige that will satisfy the instinct your culture has?”

“There are other ways, but you’re thinking too rationally.” Grif sighed. “What would you do, if you thought you’d die tomorrow?”

“Probably spend time with my family and try to make the most of the time I have left.”

“Well, these Gryphons decided to grab as much glory as they could,” Grif said.

“When they still have hundreds of years?”

“They don’t know that.” Grif shrugged. “For all they know, they could wither and die tomorrow.”

Vital Spark frowned. “I suppose that makes a certain amount of sense if they attribute their long life to their gods. The loss of them would lead to a certain amount of uncertainty in that regard, wouldn’t it?”

“As well as Gryphons starting to age and die much earlier than normal,” Grif said. “At this time, Gryphons could live a thousand years easily. That’s a lot of time to lose.”

Vital sighed. “I may understand it, but I still think it’s such a waste.”

“War always is,” The Doctor said. “But not everyone believes that.” He frowned. “In a lot of ways, your species reminds me of the Sontarans, Grif.”

“It’s not an unfitting comparison.” Grif sighed. “It’s one I'm trying to improve, at least.”

“And you’re doing a great job,” Vital said.

“Definitely,” Rarity agreed. “Darling, you’ve brought the Gryphons in New Unity farther along the path than anyone before you, barring perhaps Grask and my Strikey Wikey.”

The Doctor winced. “Must you call him that?”

Derpy smirked. “Be nice, Doctor, or I’ll tell them what I call you when we’re alone.”

Every hair on The Doctor’s mane and fur stood on end. “Yes, dear,” he squawked.

Vital raised a quizzical brow. “That embarrassing?”

Derpy giggled. “That’s for me to know. We’ll see whether you find out.” Then she winked.

Twilight gaped. “Do all girls know how to do that to their mates?”

Rarity smiled. “Well, of course, darling. How else do you expect us to be able to wrap them around our hooves?” She smirked. “You’ll understand when you find your stallion. Don’t worry.”

“From military tactics to mate tactics. I’m not sure which is more frightening,” Vital muttered to his friends.

“Well, I mean, Trixie’s no tactician, so you should be safe.” Grif laughed.

Vital chuckled. “Yeah, I wouldn’t quite go that far. Her tactic is directness and flirtation.” He smiled. “I’m just lucky that’s the kind of tactic I like. How about you two? Anything your wives like to pull with you?”

“If mine need me to do something, they’ll ask.” Grif shrugged. “If I do something that gets them angry, they’ll let me know. Our culture’s much more direct than yours.”

“Don’t they still tease you, though?”

“Of course. And I tease them. That’s marriage.” Grif laughed.

Pensword chuckled. “And Thestrals. It is both one and the same at times. Though I’m not the best tease,” he admitted. “I am getting better, though.”

Vital smirked. “I’m sure Fox Feather has plenty of pranks for you, too, on the side.”

“No…. That honor belongs to Moon River.”

“Who do you think taught her?”

“Everypony, including Grif.”

“I am contractually obligated to be a bad influence,” Grif noted.

“As godfather?” Vital guessed.

“Godfather, uncle, all that stuff comes with obligations.” Grif smirked. “I’m sure Pensword realized the mistake he made the day I gave her that crossbow.”

“I don’t know. He seemed pretty proud to me.”

“Why would I view that as a mistake? Maybe if I was still human, but I’ve become fully Thestral. It’s important that she learns weapons use,” Pensword agreed.

“And the fact she dyed your mane pink last week?” Grif asked

“Pinkie Pie is the one I blame.” Pensword shuddered. “Though didn’t she paint your feathers in white chalk while you slept outside two weeks ago?”

“No, that was Gustave. He’s got similar coloring. She won’t go after me. I bribed her,” Grif said proudly.

“Ah. Still, what happens when she and your daughters gang up on you? It will happen eventually, you know.”

“It’ll keep me on my toes.” Grif shrugged. “Honestly, it’s Tazeer I’m more worried about. His mother’s the genius.”

Pensword quirked a wing. “Oh? What type? Artistic, military, verbal?”

“Pretty sure if Avalon set her mind to it, she could create a spell that would be the most poetically inspired and visually beautiful method of death ever recorded,” Grif said seriously.

“And then she’d be sung in songs by both Gryphons and Thestrals.”

“And it’s her and my offspring that Vital has to deal with.” Grif looked to the Unicorn. “Good luck.”

Vital shrugged. “We’ll take it as it comes. Hopefully, the South Wind will be with me.”

“But as for the girls, to be honest, I’ll be shocked if I’m not called to the school within the first month, because they’ve been fighting,” Grif noted.

“They seem pretty playful for now,” Vital repled. “Then again, they may be more devious than the CMC, and use their cuteness as a weapon.”

Grif, Derpy, and The Doctor exchanged glances before bursting out laughing. Pensword joined in a moment later.

Vital rolled his eyes. “Okay, fine. CMC sans Dinky. Happy now?”

“Well, what do you know?” Grif chuckled. “He can be taught.”

Vital Spark bowed. “Thank you. Thank you. You’re too much, really.”

---

Celestia casually levitated the enemy bishop off of Yharon’s side of the chess board and placed her queen there. Meanwhile, the sounds of hard-pitched battle raged as Luna crowed at the top of her lungs, causing the buildings surrounding the training yard to shake. The concentrated fire of the many Unicorns on the ground below was child’s play for the Pony as she weaved or blocked with equal skill.

“She’s certainly having a lot of fun up there, isn’t she?” Yharon asked.

“She needed the vent,” Celestia said. “Father is out there fighting with all the rest of the troops, and here we are, stuck here because of the assets we’ve become.”

Yharon shifted a knight within easy jumping distance toward the queen. “You two did plan for this, though, or at least you should have. You’re the only ones capable of moving sun and moon on your own. That makes you the VIPs.”

Celestia sighed. “At least Luna’s found a way to contribute without feeling quite so helpless.”

Luna growled as she locked her weapon with an ethereal blade, shattering it with a push of effort.

“And she’s doing a fine job of it, too,” Yharon noted idly. “Though if I’m not mistaken, you’re feeling a little restless yourself, sister.” He fixed her with glowing orbs. “What have you been doing?”

Celestia sighed again. “How is it that you’re the one who reads us so easily? I thought little brothers were supposed to be the ones who got advice from the big sisters.”

Yharon smiled. “Even little brothers can offer wisdom from time to time. And being the Dragon who pushed all your buttons growing up, I have a certain advantage with your tells.”

Celestia chuckled. “I’m just glad you didn’t try to steal from everyone. According to most researchers, that’s apparently a phase every Dragon goes through at one point or another in their lifecycle.”

“Yes, Father told me about that when I was young.” He frowned. “I resolved not to let those hoarding tendencies get out of control. Binding was most helpful in that regard.”

“You had him forge a contract for you?”

“Just until I made it past my puberty,” Yharon promised. “But now you’re dodging my question, Celestia. We were talking about you. So, I’ll ask you again. What will you do to contribute? I’d rather not witness another meltdown.”

“Didn’t we promise never to speak of that incident again?” Celestia asked casually as she maneuvered a rook down the board.

“There’s enough justification to bring it up. Philomena won’t occupy your time forever, and frankly, you’re going to stifle her growth if you’re not careful.”

“Then what else am I supposed to do? You said it yourself. If I don’t do something, I’ll be the one to put the crazy in stir crazy.”

“You could always try teaching.” He shrugged and swiped one of Celestia’s pawns. “You sure spend enough time with the foals to be one.”

“Yharon, I’m hardly qualified to—”

“You know more than any other Pony in the whole kingdom, save perhaps Mother and Father. And you’re older than most of them, too. If you have the experience and the talent, use it.” He shrugged. “At the very least, you can teach history. After all, you were here when Father claimed the land for himself at the beginning. Start there, then move on.” He seized her queen after her bishop shifted.

Celestia sighed and tipped over her king. “I suppose I can at least try.”

Yharon smiled. “That’s the spirit.” Then the smile turned somewhat vicious. “Shall we join our sister in her lesson?”

Celestia chuckled and shook her head. “I suppose, if we must.”

“Race you up there.”

“You’re on.”

---

The first battle with any serious casualties happened a week into the march. A rain of arrows flew with intense speed and accuracy, shattering the more basic wards and draining a significant charge on the others as heads engraved with runes and imbued with magic easily pierced throat and hide. The most vital points had been protected by their armor, but it was clear by the amount of blood and the groans of pain that many affected would need time to heal before they could rejoin the fray.

Countermeasures were immediately employed, and Pegasi and Hippogriffs alike were in hot pursuit of their adversaries. At Storm Squall’s insistence, the Gryphon troops remained with the main camp to avoid being identified by the enemy. If they were to pull off an infiltration later, they would need to make sure their faces remained unknown.

Flyers were sent down the supply lines to ensure none of the Ponies there had been attacked or supplies otherwise raided. When all was accounted for, a meeting of the command was called.

“We expected the retaliation to come eventually,” Sigurd noted.

“What I would like to know is how badly we were affected. How many troops will need to be sent home and how many can we treat here?” Storm Squall asked.

“We took first blood, but they did manage to take some of ours. Thus far, the death count is at ten. Tallies are still being taken. Of those who were wounded, the majority will be able to recover in the caravan as we travel. Only a small handful will need to be sent back to Unity for proper treatment.”

“Urgency for arrival in Unity?”

Sigurd shook his head. “Thus far, minimal.”

“I need an exact number for each of them. If any cases are urgent enough, Hammer Strike will want to get them back to Unity as soon as possible.” He turned his attention toward Capped Fang. “How much farther to that first fortress?”

“Maybe a day out, if we keep pace,” Capped fang said. “But I doubt we’ll be able to. We’ll need to make sure we have double patrols after this. We can’t afford them sneaking up on us.”

“Agreed. We’ll need to send out more scouts and widen patrols. Given the fact we’ve broken their traditions, it’s likely they won’t hesitate to do the same, so we can’t rely on the information we have for their usual means of observation. I want to have a glamour over this camp to ensure they don’t get the opportunity to do this again. If they want to try to catch us, they’re going to have to guess where we are first. Same for the supply chain. I want mages deployed with every group to hide them and their tracks.”

“I’ll send word,” Sigurd promised. “In the meantime, we may have to spread out what mages we have here to make up the difference until those reinforcements can make it up the caravan and deploy.”

“Perhaps we should ask Lady Clover about reinforcing our wards?” Capped Fang suggested.

“It certainly appears we may need to,” Storm Squall agreed. “Sigurd, what did your analysis of the arrowheads yield?”

“Any magic in them was already spent, for the most part. The characters are being transcribed as we speak for translation, though my assumption would be they’re likely an incantation or a series of runes designed to strengthen and empower the arrow.”

“In that case, we should expect the possibility of at least one of these evokers in or around the area. The other possibility is that they have a production facility where they work to manufacture these heads. Capped Fang, if it’s possible, I’d like for some of your warriors to make inquiries in the surrounding tribes. I know you probably know this already, but have them be as discreet as possible. If we can neutralize the enemy’s enchanted equipment, it will give us a significant advantage in the campaign.”

“I'll look into that immediately. Perhaps in the meantime, it might be beneficial to ask the cleric of Sleipnir? Faith magic tends to be the strongest type, doesn’t it?”

“Now that blood has been drawn on both sides, it certainly would be appropriate. I’ll send word back to the capital with the request. Does the council have anything else of note to report?”

The remainder of the gathering shook their heads.

“Then your orders stand. Go to your assignments and return to tending the fallen. Have the mages re-cast the wards and offer as much reinforcement as they can without exhausting themselves. We’ll mourn the dead after this campaign is ended. Dismissed.”

Storm Squall held his mask firmly in place until he had the pavilion to himself. A swift beat of his wings closed the flaps to grant him privacy, and he planted both hooves on one of the tables as he sighed tiredly and his wings drooped. “First blood is always the hardest.” He shook his head. “Grandfather, wherever you are, lend me some of your strength.” He shook his head. “I fear this will only be the first of many losses to come.”

In the shadows that divided the realm of spirits from the land of the living, Hurricane watched his grandson and sighed. “I’m afraid you’re right, Storm Squall. I’m afraid you’re right.”

---

A week later, and Storm Squall’s words were beginning to hold true. There had been several more attacks. And while the wards had held for the most part, the Gryphons seemed determined to crush them under the weight of their numbers. Attack forces were becoming larger and larger with every repeated wave, and losses were beginning to show. Storm squall seemed to be filling out more forms for bodies to be sent home almost daily now.

And two days ago, worse things had made themselves apparent. It seemed the emperor had gone as far as to send several evokers to support the press. Magic clashed with magic in destructive waves, and damage was felt by both sides. But as of yet, their mages had failed to kill or identify a single evoker. Every day meant more blood. Every victory came at the cost of more soldiers. The morale was still high, but it would only last for so long.

Disturbingly enough, he’d recently found out some of his soldiers had requested to be brought back as undead, should they fall, in order to keep on with their duty. Ainz had refused all to date, but as even his undead troops suffered losses, the addition of willing undead became harder and harder to turn down.

“Pity we can’t capture their emperor,” he mused as he traced over maps and other information. “Then we could bring this whole ordeal to a proper end.” He shook his head. At the rate this campaign was advancing, it was obvious they would have to entrench themselves properly in each significant patch of land claimed. Not only would this make counterattacks more difficult for the enemy, but it would hopefully help cut down the cost on lives. “The question is, can we afford it?” he mused. He would have to run the numbers past Hammer Strike and the war council when next they met. “Sleipnir preserve us,” he muttered tiredly as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He barely stifled a yawn, and the oil lamp burned low as his eyes drooped.

Much though he hated to admit it, it was time to call it a night. A commander was no good to his troops if he couldn’t stay alert. He doused the lamp and strode to his bedroll. Hopefully, he would be able to gain more perspective from a good night’s sleep. As always, he prayed to Faust and Sleipnir before bed to deliver his soldiers from danger and grant them the peace they fought for as quickly as possible. Then he took his rest.

---

The army found itself marching on the foothills toward the mountains. Deep ups and downs made marches harder, and thus meant having to make more stops. The army quickly became fatigued from the near-constant effort. Things had been looking bad for many days, and then the worst happened.

The rolling foothills naturally caused uneven land and unpredictable developments. As such, the Gryphon encampment somehow fell through the cracks in their scouting. The Gryphons themselves were tired, and thus their own scouts seemed to have likewise missed the approach. Somehow, the two groups met, one almost walking over the other.

The following confusion was a bloody mess as warriors grabbed what they could and fought. Weapons swung everywhere, and soldiers on both sides died. By the time order could be restored, huge losses had already mounted.

Thanks to the forts Clover and Hammer Strike devised, they only just managed to pull the victory among all the confusion as Gryphons began to flee the situation.

Storm Squall groaned as he returned to his tent. Blood spattered his hooves and armor, some Pony, some Gryphon. He and the troops had been the spear in this assault, but now that they had delved so deep into Gryphon territory, the head was losing its edge. Winter was coming, and the cold air mixed with the mountains. The snow that was bound to come would only harry future attempts. Pegasi, Gryphons, and Hippogriffs would have no difficulty continuing. They were designed for high altitudes and inclement weather. But the Unicorns and Earth Ponies would have far more difficulty traversing the paths. This battle had been lucky for them, allowing the enemy to be caught unawares. The mountains would provide no such mercy.

“I’m not sure how much longer we can keep this up,” he muttered.

“That was bad,” Clover agreed as she wandered in, taking a seat nearby.

“And it will only be worse in the mountains. It’s ideal territory for the Gryphons to hit us, then hide again. The odds are turning against us for now.”

“Anything living in the mountains we could attempt to ally with?”

“Not that we’re aware of. Most of the people who dwell there are Gryphons. Some clanless, some not. We could try to forge an alliance with some of the clanless, assuming there are any still residing out there, but the odds are slim, and they would probably be well hidden to evade the notice of the Gryphons from the kingdom.”

Clover looked at the maps. “Where are we headed?”

“The next point of interest is a mountain keep the Gryphons established. It’s going to be one of the toughest legs of the campaign in conditions that are far from friendly for our mages and ground troops. Gryphons have a knack for stonework. I wouldn’t be surprised if the range is riddled with tunnels and other means for the Gryphons to attack from and seal at will.”

Clover summoned a book and began comparing it to the map curiously. She began sticking pins in several points amongst it.

“There’s our answer,” she said.

“And that is…?”

“Potential allies. If the stories are to be believed, Kirin have hidden villages in these two mountains,” she said, indicating two pins. “And the various Bison tribes generally move through these territories as they require.” She indicated the rest.

“If we’re to have successful negotiations, we’ll need Ponies versed in diplomacy who are quick to adapt to different cultural backgrounds. And since Gryphons are meant to be the common enemy, that eliminates Hippogriffs and Gryphons.” He frowned. “I’ll speak with the rest of command about potential candidates. Thank you, Clover.”

“Send Drakenfeller to the Bison,” Clover suggested. “I think he’s most likely to get their respect.”

“And do you have any recommendations for the Kirin?”

“You can’t expect me to give you everything, Storm Squall.”

The Pegasus chuckled. “Of course not. I’ll let you know when we’ve prepared the delegations.”

---

While it had taken time to meet with the various Buffalo herds, it didn’t take long to earn their support. The Gryphons had made efforts to demonstrate their dominance in the form of multiple raids on the bovids. The Kirin were also willing to contribute after the imbalance the attacks from the Gryphons had caused in nature. Some homes had been destroyed, and were it not for the powerful magics they wielded, the damage would have been far worse. As it stood, many bore a certain malice toward the Gryphons for their arrogance in the attack, and when the delegation had explained the intent of the Gryphons to attack all Pony races under Hammer Strike’s banner, they readily agreed to help in exchange for his aid in restoring their lands to a fullness of health.

The Gryphon compound was an immense structure with four great walls and a tower at each corner. The inner portions of the structure were filled with a series of barracks and storehouses. The battlements were mounted with a number of ballistae and other siege weaponry designed to deal devastating blows to invading forces. And, much like any other work of stone and earth, the predators had also constructed an internal base beneath the walls with the specific intent of protecting themselves and travelling through the bitter cold of the mountains undetected.

The first signs of attack came in the form of several bright glowing trails of flame seemingly lighting up the sky suddenly. Each burned with extreme intensity as they arced through the night sky carving paths of angry orange through it and the sensitive catlike vision of the Gryphons themselves. Each had been strategically aimed, targeting ballistae and catapults with surprising precision. The burning bales of hay impacted the stone of the battlements, bouncing and rolling, smashing anyone and anything that got before it. When the bindings burned away, a far more fearsome sight revealed itself as each held three or four beings like demons from myth. Black flames licked at their bodies but left them unburned as white glowing eyes looked out onto the enemy. The Niriks poured out onto the battlements like angry living pyres, setting fire to all they contacted and sowing chaos among the enemy ranks.

As forces moved to answer the chaos above, the land below darkened in their vision in order to adjust to the ever growing intensity of firelight. No one could make out the two long columns of Bison charging toward the fortress. Locked between them in a hastily made harness was a massive tree. It had been grown using combined magic amongst the troops, carefully cleaned of branches, and fire-hardened with a strong rounded front. The Bison barreled forward with everything they had. Centuries of stampede instinct allowed them to run in almost perfect synch while carrying the massive weight.

Normally, it would take a large group of Earth Ponies over an hour of constant repeated hits to cave in a gate. The Bisons collided with the portal at great speed and with such power that the structure let out a loud crack and came free with only a single blow. By the time the Gryphons were recollecting themselves to push against the Niriks on the battlements, new confusion was born as Hammer Strike’s army poured through the gate. Spellfire, arrows, and the ring of weapon on weapon filled the air as the forces joined sides in a bloody conflict. Any who had the moment to observe would note the force was missing its lord, who famously pushed at the head of the force. But fortunately, the confusion kept attention elsewhere.

Hammer Strike watched as the Diamond Dogs in front of him ran their claws along the smooth stone bricks, they were a fair distance underground, the fruit of the Diamond Dogs’ labors quite obvious as the wall was bathed in the fiery light of more than four score Niriks and Unicorns waiting to engage.

“Gryphon stonework,” a pitbull commented as he looked the wall over. “It’s impressive, made to last to time and the elements. Fortunately.” His claws latched inwards as he encountered an uneven brick. “They aren't the greatest with foundations.” He dug his claws in and pulled. With a groan, the brick moved free. In rapid succession, the bricks were removed until a fair sized opening revealed what appeared to be a large underground store room. All eyes turned to Hammer Strike, awaiting his word.

“Take claim of resources while I ensure your safety,” Hammer Strike ordered.

With a nod of acknowledgement, the Unicorns and Diamond Dogs gathered crates and kegs and anything else they could, then moved them down the tunnel. In less than ten minutes, the storehouse was empty. Above, the fighting could be heard as the Gryphons were pushed backward and inward.

The wrath of the Niriks was a force to behold as the scores of troops continued their advance. With the journey into the tunnels, the invaders were forced to diminish their flames, but they progressed, regardless. One of the commanding officers stood at the end of the hall and prepared a volley of arrows to strike at the advancing party. Most of them were reduced to ash after piercing a barrier projected by the Unicorns that accompanied the Niriks. When a significant number of the invaders had filled the corridor, the commanding officer grinned.

“Farewell.” He pulled a stone from the side of the wall as one of the soldiers fired a volley at ropes wrapped around the beams. Rock trembled, earth sifted, and then the whole weight of the ceiling collapsed with a mighty roar. When the dust finally settled, the warriors cheered at the pile of dirt and rubble. The commander turned to address his soldiers. “Gentlemen, we’ve earned our reprieve. Well done.”

The cheers were cut short when a thick green tendril shot out of the rubble. In less than a second, the thing had wrapped itself around the warrior’s throat and twisted violently. The bird head jerked at an unhealthy angle looking back to the rubble heap as the Gryphon’s body fell to the ground. Stone exploded as a flood of root and vine flung the stones at the other end of the hall. Those who weren’t fast enough to get out of the way were crushed. Those who managed to escape the impromptu hail were met by a swarm as the vines divided in an attempt to snare those who remained. Meanwhile, those same glowing white eyes peered out of the dust as strong hooves clopped over the floor.

“You took from nature. Now nature will claim her payment.”

It was impossible to tell what was battle cry and what was fear, but what was certain to the raiding party was the fact that they should be grateful not to be on the receiving end of the Niriks’ wrath.

Tunnel after tunnel became flooded with the vines, reinforcing the structural integrity and preventing the collapsing traps from being triggered. Hidden alcoves were covered by thicker tendrils, and the air was filled with pollen as exotic blossoms bloomed and sprayed at the fleeing troops. Battle cries were soon replaced with shrieks of terror. Leaf masks were tied around each of the Ponies’ faces to filter the effects as they advanced. Those that did escape, if any could, would be too mad to remember, let alone deliver a message to other forces.

Deep in the heart of the underground compound, the military leaders gathered around a large table projecting the various branches of the tunnels in the network. One by one, sections flickered and then disappeared entirely from the map.

“They’re disrupting key structures from above and then reinforcing from below with their magics. It’s a miracle the supports haven’t been burnt to cinders,” one of the commanders said.

“As it stands, our surveillance equipment won’t last forever, and the more ground these creatures gain, the less chance we’ll have to send warning of their advances.” The second commander turned to their leader. “Sir, we have to get word out now and collapse what tunnels we can. Otherwise, the enemy will be able to stride right through one of their biggest obstacles with hardly any resistance.”

“So, this is where you’ve all been hiding,” Hammer Strike commented as the shadows pulled off the walls to give him form.

The reaction from the warriors was swift as the three Gryphons lunged with talons and beaks flashing. The intruder would be dealt with swiftly before any reinforcements could arrive.

Moving quickly, Hammer Strike ducked under their lunge and delivered three hard punches to the sides of their heads. It wasn’t enough to kill them, but the force would be sufficient to remove consciousness. The three landed out cold on the ground after a few rotations in the air.

“Different from what I was expecting.” Hammer Strike hummed to himself. “I suppose it doesn’t matter in the end.”

---

The first thing to register in Commander Skarl’s body was the strange rustling goosebumps triggered by an intense cold. Then came the throbbing, like a sledgehammer beating against his head. The room seemed almost to spin as he opened his eyes and let out a soft groan. The darkness of the chamber was nigh-absolute, save for a small pool of light that was cast by a pale orb that hovered near his head. Any attempts to move were quickly halted by the chains and fetters that had been tied to his wrists and ankles.

“Ah, finally awake, are you, darling? You know, Lord Ainz had to dedicate some very precious resources to make sure you wouldn’t die from a bruised brain.” The voice that burbled from the shadows was deep and carried a heavy effeminate tone.

“Lord … Ainz?” Skarl asked, confused.

“Oh, yes. I had very specific orders to make sure you were well cared for.”

“In chains?”

“To keep you properly supported as you recovered. We also had a restraint on your heads to ensure they couldn’t move, so we could operate on any bleeding that may have pooled inside. Fortunately, that proved unnecessary, but you never know with that Hammer Strike.”

“Then … you are his enemy?”

The clink of metal carried from the darkness. “You might call me a neutral party. No, I have only one mission here, now that you’ve returned to consciousness.” The abomination that stepped forward was bipedal and heavily bloated with slimy gray skin and tentacles that stretched from either side of its lips and a bun stalk tied at the back of its head. Its eyes were uneven, its face covered in rouge and mascara. Long spindly fingers were extended by sharp polished nails dyed a shiny red. “I’m to ply you for information.” The thing chortled as it approached. “You and I are going to develop a very intimate relationship, commander. Oh, the fun we’ll have, the secrets we’ll share.” It licked its lips as it sidled closer, bearing a slim instrument with a curiously shaped head with hardened lumps. “I can hardly wait.”

Skarl glared at the creature, repulsed, but not willing to give the thing any sort of satisfaction. “Do your worst.”

The answering smile was far more unsettling. “I do so love when they play hard to get.”

The first of many screams soon began to wail through the chamber doors and into the dungeon corridors. In time, they would swell into a harmonic trio under the abomination’s careful ministration.

---

The war council chambers of Unity flickered ominously as the torchlight bobbed, casting shadows over the gathered faces and providing ghoulish or grim expressions where faces were meant to be neutral. Ainz, Hammer Strike, Clover, Binding, Lord, Storm Squall, and even Tarefson were present. The hour was late, but the summons had been urgent, and everyone knew better than to question such a summons from Ainz of all people.

“I have news,” Ainz said, once they were all present and prepared.

“So we gathered,” Storm Squall said. “What did the prisoners have to say?”

“A lot, but more to the point.” Ainz straightened up. “Apparently, their resources are beginning to strain, as an unexpected problem has come up.”

“A potential ally?”

“No, it seems the Gryphons have had to quarantine their largest city, due to an outbreak of plague within its walls. They were banking on said city to produce and store the bulk of their resources.”

“Relying on just one city?” Storm Squall shook his head in disbelief. “Would anyone really be so foolish?”

“It’s to my understanding they move their supplies through airships,” Ainz noted. “Such docks are not easily made or maintained.”

“Then how do they drop the supplies in the first place? I doubt they can air deliver every crate.”

“How great of spies do you think undead to be?” Ainz asked him.

“I would assume not very.”

Ainz looked to Hammer Strike. “I’ve given the information I was able to gain, as well as the conjecture I can, but what's left to do with this information is up to you.”

“While an attack on their resource center would have been a good idea, the quarantine puts that at a high risk.” Hammer Strike hummed. “We could attempt to wear their resources thin, steal what we can, shoot down what we can’t. Assaulting them from multiple angles would also spread them apart, making more lines to work with for us.”

“My one concern there is stretching our own forces too thin in the act,” Storm Squall said. “If we want to accomplish the feat, we’ll likely need some resource to neutralize their ships’ ability to fly. That would force them to have to use real troops to bring their supplies.”

“For starters,” Ainz said, “I could take my horde and the vampire and press their lines farther out.” He pressed a bony finger to a spot on the map. “Force them to separate even farther.”

“Good chance of success.” Hammer Strike frowned as he thought it over. “That’ll work. As for dealing with the airships’ flight, while I could make something to disrupt the rods, the range would be next to nothing, resulting in the need to plant it practically on it.”

“Which would require a constant number of attacks with potentially heavy losses.” Storm Squall frowned. “Then a battle of attrition it is.”

“Maybe not,” Clover said. “What would the size and shape of this disruptor be?”

Hammer Strike hummed for a moment as he ran through it in his head. “Flat, square shape, roughly two inches in depth. Several attachment points along the side for gripping onto terrain or objects.”

“How sturdy could you make it?”

“Unsure, potentially of the same strength as a standard blade from one of our smiths in town.”

“Strong enough to survive heavy impact?”

“Nothing too crazy.”

“What about a protective shell?”

“It would be short-term to keep it small.”

“I could super accelerate it with magic, probably teach the spell to the other unicorns. We could shoot them at the ships from the ground.”

“Can we prevent the Gryphons from intercepting or identifying them as we fire or will we need cover fire and illusions to help mask our strategy?” Storm Squall asked.

“Tell me.” Clover lifted a fair sized pebble in her magic and slowly began to rotate it in front of her as several magic circles formed in a circle around it. The pebble continued to increase its speed until it gave off a constant high pitched hum. Wisps of magical power flashed hither and thither as it did so. Upon reaching some threshold known only to Clover, the magic circles flared and the pebble sped off. So hasty was its launch that it appeared almost to have vanished. A search and direction from Clover soon revealed it had embedded itself into the metal of a shield on the other end of the room. The shield didn’t even warp. There was simply a hole within it. “Could any living thing intercept that speed?”

Storm Squall shook his head silently. “Remind me never to get on your bad side, Clover.”

“Would have thought your grandfather told you enough stories to make that ill-advised.”

“It never hurts to ask for a friendly reminder now and then.” He smiled wanly. “Thank you, Clover. This spell will help save a lot of lives.”

“That depends on Hammer Strike,” Clover noted. “Can you work with that, dear?”

“I … think I can make it work.” He nodded.

“Then we have a plan.”

---

It was fortunate that the base had been mostly left intact. A quick repair to the gates and sweeping away the debris from the hay bales left the location immaculate. The walls were carefully constructed, and any remaining papers or supplies had already been emptied and transferred in the event things went wrong with the test. For all intents and purposes, the base was still intact. They’d even gone so far as to staff the lower halls with Gryphons in the event that the ships had the technology to scan the lower floors for life signs.

“You're going to have to rename the fort,” Clover told Hammer Strike. “Before they start calling it Fort Strike or something.”

Hammer Strike smirked in response. “Nah, I’d sooner name it Fort Clover before I let them do that.”

Before Clover could respond, Hammer Strike could already hear the name spreading among the rank and file as they moved about around them. Clover shot him a tepid glare.

“Really?”

“Oh, don’t you worry.” Hammer Strike chuckled. “This fort doesn’t exist anymore in the future. Though, I don’t know the reason behind that.” He glanced over to her.

“Well then, if I burn it down when this is over, no one should really care.” Clover humphed. “I’ll get you back for this, though.”

“I know you will.” Hammer Strike looked out from their position.

The clouds above roiled and churned as they gradually began to part, revealing a long dark mass of metal. The rig was a curious mix of a freight hauling airplane and an aircraft carrier made to fly. Its shadow cast a broad swath over the base as it gradually lowered itself into view. A broad open surface was bedecked with ballistae and thunder cannons. The control tower rose above the surface with reinforced viewing windows to allow its occupants to gauge the situation of combat and flight directly. Gryphons patrolled the top and glided around the sides as an escort and an advance party, should the need arise.

“You ready to try this?” Clover asked Hammer Strike.

“Thirty seconds till we’re in red territory. Let it loose.”

Clover picked up the device. It was flat with spikes coming out at odd angles to grip a surface. Small cylinders protruded from each side, each projecting a low energy magic shield over the device. Clover examined the wiring and circuitry for a few moments. Her travels with The Doctor had given her a basic understanding of these things. Carefully, she raised her head so her horn pointed toward the ship. The device rose to line up with her horn. Magic circles burst into existence at all angles around the device as it began to rotate, rapidly picking up speed until it gave off a low humming like a rope swinging rapidly. In an instant, Clover's eyes flashed, and the device was gone, covering the space between them and the ship in a matter of milliseconds. The shield collided with the ship first, eating the impact before shattering. The location of the implant was so high up with such thin air that the small shriek of the spikes sinking into the metal was left unheard.

For a minute, nothing seemed to happen. Then the ship dipped, slowly at first, but speed began to pick up as the front was pulled toward the ground. A few Gryphons abandoned ship, but most of the crew never had a chance as it hit the ground and loud thumps and muted explosions could be heard as systems went up until gray and black smoke started billowing out to fill the air. The metal in some areas began to heat rapidly and melt to slag.

Hammer Strike hummed as he observed the scene. “Augments listed a perfect fifty-fifty. I was honestly betting on the explosion, though.”

“It seems the more sensitive systems did explode.” Clover shrugged. “It just wasn’t enough to break through the armor.”

“It appears to have been more superheating due to the release of energy,” Hammer Strike returned. “Expansion from heat causes parts to disengage from their sections, disrupts the system, and falls apart. In some cases, literally.”

“Spell seems to work as a delivery system. The shield did its job perfectly,” Clover noted.

“Just wish they weren’t such a pain to make.” Hammer Strike hummed. “Small parts and hooves don’t mix well. Thaumically, I can manage it still, but … you get what I mean.”

“Well,” Clover said as her horn lit and she pulled. With a more vocal shirek, the device tore away and sped back to them. “They seem to be reusable.”

“We’ll just have to remake those shields, then.” Hammer Strike looked it over. “And any potential damage from heat or explosions.”

“Well, we have a large supply of spare metal and parts after the throat-cutters are done,” Clover said, looking at the mostly intact ship. “I doubt it will fly again. Spoils of war?”

Hammer Strike hummed for a moment as he looked at the ship. “I … could make it work. It wouldn’t use their fuel rods, but I might be able to make it work off our magics.”

“Maybe, but mana batteries aren't entirely reliable. It probably would take a hundred mana-infused gems to run this for a day.”

“Come now. I made you my student for a reason. You’ve got a means to think far outside that box.” Hammer Strike smirked.

“A means that pertains to me and you and with whatever god’s blessings will keep it that way,” Clover retorted. “Anyway, from what knowledge you’ve given me, there are very few things that could power it for long as is.”

“That’s why you program it differently,” Hammer Strike noted. “Don’t make a battery that stores a large amount and disperses it over the course of time. Instead, make a battery that naturally fills itself off the mana field of the planet at as close as you can to the rate of drain.”

“That could work,” Clover conceded. “You do the practical, I work out the runic pathways? Gryphon runes are always so … uneconomical, all style and no function.”

“That’ll work.” He nodded. “I don’t know the efficiency of the battery I can make just yet, but we’ll look for a range of at least three hours with weapons usage.”

“A mobile cargo troller that doesn’t need high magic constantly to function, essentially.”

“It certainly would prove useful, though I feel as though I’m skipping over some advancements in doing so, … like trains.”

“Trains?” Clover asked.

“I…” Hammer Strike frowned. “Wait, you’ve been to the future with The Doctor, seen spacefaring vehicles, and you never saw a train?”

“The Doctor’s mentioned the concept, but never explained it,” Clover admitted.

“Basically….” Hammer Strike hummed. “It’s a land-based vehicle, and it runs on rails that are premade and lined up into tracks. You create a line from point A to B to whatever else. They work well enough, given our current situation, but take quite a bit of work to establish and make. Takes less work than making an airship from scratch, but not as effective as actually building the airship.”

“So, something for when we’re not at war?”

“Potentially, though we’ll have to look into some manufacturing processes, update some things throughout Equestria.”

---

Storm Squall bowed his head in gratitude to the tall elegant lead mare from the herd of Kirin. In many ways, her build reminded him of Lord Hammer Strike. The dark green scales glistened on her nose and back as she peered at the stallion.

“Thank you for everything, Bright Blaze. Your assistance in taking out the Gryphons was invaluable.”

“It is our pleasure. Many of our race once were bred for war. It is not entirely unfeasible to consider how naturally those instincts can return when roused. Now that we have reclaimed what was stolen, we are mollified.”

“And what will you do now? The Gryphons aren’t likely to forget this any time soon.”

“They know nothing of our involvement, since we killed those who could have made such a report. So far as I am aware, our people are safe. If these Gryphons seek to do harm to our home again, then we will rise again to defend it.”

“And will we be allowed to retain relations?”

“That depends much on your leader. He is … different. Much of what he is is against what nature intended. Yet he does not use this against nature itself. It warrants observation. Perhaps, in time, we will decide to allow relations between our peoples. For now, however, I believe we will keep it to a minimum.” She smiled forlornly. “Many of our kind still sleep, and their waking may yet bring more of the war we all despise, unless it is carefully controlled. If your new civilization advances enough, there may yet be a chance at peace. However, until then, my tribe must keep their vigil over the sleepers.”

“Is there a way we can contact you in the event anything should change?”

Bright Blaze smiled knowingly. “That lies within your king’s power. Though he may despise the title, it suits him well.” Greenery began to spread from her hooves as the ground beneath her glowed green. “It seems the time for us to depart has come.” She bowed her head to Storm Squall. “Gods be with you, child of the storm. And if ever you find yourself in need, turn to nature. She will aid you, if you only let her.” A swath of broad green leaves grew from beneath the mare and began to rise. “Farewell.” The leaves closed into a bud, then shrank into the ground once more. The growth was gone in a flash, leaving a shimmering pollen that hovered in the space it had once occupied.

Storm Squall frowned. “Well, at least they’re not against us,” he muttered as he turned toward the wreckage from the Gryphon supply ship. There was still a lot of work to be done.

---

Hammer Strike hummed to himself as he continued shifting and clearing the debris of the fuel rod canister. He had a prototype of the battery already made. Now it was just a matter of putting it in place and hooking everything back up.

“How goes the relays over there?” He questioned off to the side.

“I think I've just about got the ones for this area done,” Clover said, her horn glowing as symbols moved rapidly around her.

“All right, once I’ve got this in place, you’ll just need to connect them to the side paneling.” He hummed to himself, shifting the new battery into place and placing rivets down. “Afterwards, flip the switch and it should start letting power flow.”

“This went by much faster than I expected,” clover said.

“Technically not the first battery I’ve ever made.” He shrugged. “And replacing relays shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“It’s not the difficulty, it’s more the length,” Clover noted.

“Fair enough, I suppose. After we’re done, we’ll have to look into—” Hammer Strike paused mid sentence as an alert ran through his augments. On the outside, Clover was able to note the light of his eyes shifting red for a split second. “That’s…” He frowned as he started looking through the alert.

“What's wrong?” Clover frowned. This kind of behavior was highly unusual for him.

His brows furrowed as he continued reading. After a moment, his expression shifted from frustration to anger. “That can’t be. No, I refuse to believe it.” He stood from his spot and started to move towards the power room’s exit.

“Hammer Strike, what’s wrong?” Clover said a bit louder as she followed him.

He paused in his tracks and turned to his wife. “I … received a distress signal. From the Forward Operating Crystalline Facility, the Crystal Empire,” he explained.

“A distress signal? Who coul—” Her eyes widened as she made the connection. “No.”

“Chief Engineer Parallel, Alicorn.” He almost growled it, and his teeth snapped off the name as if the very act could execute the person. “I can’t believe I made such as stupid mistake.”

“I’ll call the circle together,” Clover said.

“You may alert them to the situation, but I will be going at this alone.” His tone rang with a dreadful finality. “I’ll take Lord, if I must bring someone else, but not a single soul more.”

“Cayde,” Clover said softly. “You’ll need him.”

Hammer Strike contemplated it for a moment before sighing. “Fine. I will alert them and be setting off immediately.”

“Should I ask Zavala or Ikora about the details?”

“Whatever works best. They all likely received the signal. Zavala will potentially request we assist them.” He snarled again in disgust as he stomped out of the room. “How could I have forgotten them? I saw the designs. I heard her tell me they were there.”

“Hammer Strike, what is this Crystal Empire?” Clover asked carefully.

“From what the public of the future knows, a city.” Hammer Strike exhaled slowly. “The truth is far worse. It’s a weapon, Clover. I forgot, and let them get hundreds of years to build a planetary weapon!” The hall shook as he slammed his hoof on the ground, and he took a few moments to calm himself. When next he spoke, his voice was much quieter. “I saw the designs, Clover. It … it could wipe out any nation on the planet. Any of them. Even the Gryphons in their prime would be at high risk. These monsters would be capable of holding the entire world hostage.”

“If they’ve had so long, why are they still building it?” Clover asked. “What's holding them back?”

“The Empire,” Hammer Strike replied after a moment. “It was destroyed. They haven’t had steady resources coming in this whole time.”

“How long before they finish it with mining the resources themselves?”

“Given what I recall about the environmental data of the north….” Hammer Strike hummed as his eyes dimmed momentarily. “They’ve likely got it at…” he blinked as the lights returned to his eyes. “A low estimate of ninety percent complete.”

“Then you need to hurry.” Not too far away, Lord appeared through a portal with Cayde in tow. She kissed him on the cheek and brushed the side of his face affectionately. “Go give them hell while I win us this war.”

“I will,” Hammer Strike promised, then nodded as he opened a rift. “I need to gather my equipment. Cayde, Lord, come with me.”

“You’d better come back to me,” Clover said.

Hammer Strike looked with a sad smile that slowly hardened into a bleak mask. “They took years from me, Clover. It’s my turn to take from them.”

---

“So, let me get this straight. Hammer Strike decided to go after this threat with just himself, Cayde, and Lord, and no backup?” Storm Squall shook his head in disbelief. “I know he’s Hammer Strike, but that sounds foolhardy.”

“And if we pulled the army away for this, what would it accomplish?” Clover countered. “We’re not exactly suited for fighting on the tundra as it is, but it’s also easier for a small force to get past the Gryphons than for our army to fight its way through.” She gave a wry smile. “Besides, he puts limits on himself, mostly for our benefit. He won’t need them there.”

“Did he at least carry a waycrystal with him in case of emergencies?”

“He can create one to me at any time,” Clover noted, tapping a small crystal on a chain around her neck. “We’re going to have to trust him.”

“In that case, the best thing we can do is keep up this front of the war while he carries out his mission,” Starling noted gravely. “The Gryphon forces are divided, which gives us an ideal opportunity to press into their territory.”

“If we do, we can’t do so recklessly,” Clarice noted. Her pony tail swished anxiously as she peered over the maps. “Plunge too deep, and we’ll be cut off from reinforcements.”

“That depends on how many Thestral warriors might be in the area to assist,” Sigurd noted.

“You know Lord Hammer Strike’s policy, Sigurd,” Storm Squall chastised. “We don’t involve civilians unless we have no other option.”

“For now, we’ll start by trying to push the lines back,” Clover said, indicating a spot on the map. “If we can get them to this area, we can probably use the terrain to make our line in the sand.”

“We could always draw them in. Destroy enough of their ships, and they’re bound to go after us on the battlefield we choose,” Sigurd noted. “Out of desperation, if nothing else.”

“We need to be careful there,” Clover said. “We have a limited supply of those disrupters. We can’t use them recklessly.”

Storm Squall nodded. “Capped Fang, do you have any intelligence on the ships in the Gryphon fleets here?”

“Not really,” Capped Fang admitted. “We think there might be half a dozen?”

“And I assume that means you also don’t know which might be for combat and which for transport.” Storm Squall frowned. “In that case, we’ll need some other way to draw them there.”

“I’m sorry. We’re unfamiliar with these airships of theirs.” Capped fang sighed.

“No need to trouble yourself over it. It is what it is.” He frowned and rubbed his chin. “They won’t believe a summons to honorable combat. We’ll need something that enrages them enough to draw them in.”

“That’s easy enough,” Starling said with a shrug. “Insult them. They’re more proud and puffed up than dragons on a hoard high.”

“I assume you and Clarice will be able to devise the best means, then. Make sure it’s enough to draw them in, but not in overwhelming numbers. Can you do that?” Storm Squall asked.

Starling smirked. “We’ll think of something.”

“In the meantime, we’ll have to prepare our surprises well, if we intend to strike a significant blow. Sigurd, I want you and your mages to devise a proper series of defensive measures and some welcoming gifts for our guests of honor.”

Sigurd nodded. “It will be as you say.”

“Lets try and have this wrapped up before he gets back,” Clover said. “Show your king you can succeed without him holding your hoof.”

“And possibly an anniversary present?” Storm Squall smirked at his queen.

“Honestly, Squall, this is more for you than for me. He knows what I'm capable of.”

“Then I suppose I’ll have to do my best not to disappoint.” Storm Squall nodded. “For those who don’t already have assignments, prep the troops. Once we’ve sent the bait, we’ll need to move out and be ready for the reply.” He nodded to each of his war cabinet members. “Dismissed.”

---

Hammer Strike growled to himself as he pressed on through the tundra before him. At this current point in time, the weather was leaning toward developing into a storm. He shifted the cloak he was wearing, ensuring that he kept it secure to hide himself among the snow. Behind him, Cayde and Lord carried their own.

He frowned as he heard another airship fly overhead. The distress signal was primarily because of the Gryphons. With the war going on, they were spreading themselves out in search of new routes, and appeared to have stumbled across the empire.

“Though I despise this war, I suppose it has proven useful in this regard,” Hammer Strike muttered as he watched the airship distance itself from their position.

“Fortunately, it revealed them to you, and not the opposite.” Lord nodded. “It gives us the advantage.”

Hammer Strike hummed in acknowledgement. “Based off the distress location, we shouldn’t be too far off from the dome. Though it took a few months to get here, I can make a recall point afterwards.”

“That's likely a good idea. I do not require rest, but I would not wish to make the journey again if it would be avoidable,” Lord noted.

“Wimp.” Cayde snickered.

Hammer Strike focused on the land ahead of them. While he could see well in poor conditions, it had reached a point where he could only see so far ahead of them, even with the aid of his augments. As he honed in, he noted a faint light in the distance that they were rapidly approaching. “We’re almost there. I can see it.”

“What's the plan for getting past the camps of Gryphons around it?” Cayde asked.

“Simple.” Hammer Strike reached into his coat and pulled out a small tube. After weighting it briefly in his hoof, he reared it back and threw it far to their west. “We walk in.”

“Do I wanna know what that was?” Cayde asked.

“A distraction,” Hammer Strike commented as a loud explosion sounded through the storm.

“Well, that’ll work.” Cayde chuckled. “So, sprint when the coast is clear?”

“We don’t need to stress over our speed. They’ll be searching for a while, due to the storm.” Hammer Strike sighed. “Cayde, snag some information on our way in.”

“Got it.” Cayde pulled his cloak closer and faded out of sight.

“Lord, deal with any opposition in the camp if we’re discovered. Afterwards, follow into the dome and find me.”

“I’ll make sure no one who sees us reports back.” Lord nodded.

Hammer Strike continued his approach toward the light that soon revealed itself to be a magical dome surrounding the structure. As soon as he reached it, he noted the standard appearance within, perfectly regulated temperatures. He sighed as he went to enter the field, only for his hoof to collide with the dome.

He frowned as he scanned over it with his augments to reveal the barrier was also a shield. He frowned as he thought over how to get clearance for the dome, only to sigh as he realized he would need to reveal himself to their sensors. There was roughly a fifteen percent chance they would notice, however, due to the current situation.

He sighed to himself again and used his augments to send out a ping. It took a few seconds before he received an automated clearance and his hoof passed through the shield. Stepping into the forward operating outpost, he noted a different series of buildings than what he was familiar with.

There was a ping in response as he entered. Static clouded his vision for a second before clearing to reveal a marked location hovering in his digital gaze. There was no official label to the marker, just a brief, See you soon, 8-20 that hovered over the waypoint.

Hammer Strike growled at the designation. They knew he was here, but it was a question of who. The Alicorns wouldn’t have sent him a message, given who he was. That and the fact that they would think he was dead. At best, they would see it as a Gryphon who managed to steal something from the empire.

He was there to kill the Alicorns there, anyway, so if it was a trap, he was prepared well enough, even going so far as to ensure he thaumically solidified the air around him in case they attempted to drug him.

The area within the dome was mostly the same in terms of layout to the empire later in the future. The only difference was the residents seemed to hold less … light to them.

He arrived at what appeared to be some kind of housing unit. It was a small single floor home, pretty much a simple crystalline box. The door opened easily into a dark empty home that consisted of a bed, a table with several odds and ends laying about it, and some kind of crude cooking device. But none of this mattered to Hammer Strike, because the waypoint was beneath him. It took several in-depth scans before Hammer Strike picked up the indent in the floorboards. The hidden trap door led to a downward stairwell. Upon his descent, Hammer Strike found a large dug-out room lined with tables, bits and pieces of technology, computers, charts, maps, and other things.

One of the computers appeared to be on. The screen illuminated a simple message. Hit any key, it instructed.

Hammer Strike frowned to himself before tapping the keyboard.

A message began to scroll across the screen.

Greetings, Subject Eight-Twenty.

Please do be assured I am not your enemy. I merely cross-referenced the pings from your implants and noticed that the file read many of them as experimental or not in production. A further cross reference to the list of subjects made it easy to hypothesize whom it was who requested entrance. That was a risky move. Rest assured, the logs of your request and the pings have been deleted. The tyrant masters are not aware of your presence.

In much the same way you were, my people and I are as good as slaves to the Alicorns. We are forced to do their work and mine and refine the resources for their projects. It wasn’t until some time ago that I discovered they were doing this by means of a transmission being sent directly into our brains to make us placid and subservient. I have since implanted myself with a scrambler to prevent such control.

Your file noted you possesed a general hostility toward the Alicorns, as well as being quite capable at ending them. If these facts are true, then it is my belief there are grounds for an alliance between us. I wish to see the tyrants fall and my people to be free.

I am aware this may seem a trap, and you are right to be suspicious. Around you is everything I have worked on for the last few months. Plans, information, secrets on weaknesses in security, etcetera. I ask you to look it over and decide for yourself. Unfortunately, my position that allowed me to intercept your pings keeps me from being able to meet with you at the moment. I have sent this message from a personal communication device of my own design. If you are present upon my return, I will take it you are willing to hear me out. Should you be gone, I will not look for you, nor will I reveal your presence.

Hopeful for a brighter future,

G

Hammer Strike frowned as he read over the message. The only reason he was willing to accept the idea of it not being an Alicorn was due to the proud nature of the Alicorns. They wouldn’t stoop to the level of humility displayed here.

Looking around, he scanned over the files and filed them away mentally. Whoever this ‘G’ was, he had cleared his presence. Otherwise, he would be likely to have run into an Alicorn at some point.

He sighed to himself as he contemplated the options. His augments ran the calculations and computed that it was at least eighty-five percent safe to remain, so long as he didn’t prod the Alicorn systems again.

He sighed heavily. “I suppose I’ll have to wait.”

---

The forest on the other end of the mountains was dark and filled with all manner of flora and fauna ranging from the tallest trees to the shortest shrubs and ivy. The trunks grew so thick and close together that it was difficult for ground troops to remain in formation. However, it also made it more difficult for enemies to travel in a similar manner. The Thestrals in the area would be able to function as an effective advance scouting unit while Gryphons and Hippogriffs both took to the canopies to keep an eye out for any troops that might seek to use a different route for attack.

In theory, the thick canopy would also prevent the usual methods of detection that one might use to locate troops, meaning that any war ships would have trouble targeting with their lightning cannons. While the situation wasn’t ideal, it was manageable and provided a better means of engagement than an open field would. Provided they kept up the necessary defense measures and wards, the forest would prove a relatively equal battlefield.

The one concern would be a potential lack of mobility. With the tight quarters, there would need to be a means to counterattack. Gryphons had their talons, beaks, and claws. Hippogriffs had their talons and beaks. Thestrals had their tomahawks and tribal weapons. All three had night vision. The remainder of the troops, however, would need to be careful. And more importantly, they would need to keep in lighted areas. As a counter to this potential disadvantage, a charm was imbued into the warriors’ helmets to produce enough light to see in the dark, should the need arise.

“How long until they arrive?” Storm Squall asked.

“Could be any time,” Starling replied. “They’ll want to make an example of us. Whether they do it with weapons fire or stealth, I don’t know. For now, it’s a waiting game.”

Storm Squall shook his head. “I still don’t like it.”

“It was your call to make.” She shrugged. “Now we just have to see how it works out.”

“Is the whisper spell operable?”

Sigurd nodded. “If any of our scouts finds something of note, they’ll be able to report it immediately.”

“Given the nature of the affront, is it safe to assume they may bring evokers into the fray?”

“It is possible,” Starling admitted. “But even if they do, your Unicorns should be able to match them.”

“So, it’s to be a game of cat and mouse.”

“The question is which is which,” Clarice said.

“No, the question is how many will be taken on each side,” Storm Squall said. “The odds of us emerging unscathed in this encounter are virtually nonexistent.”

“Maybe, but the odds of us emerging victorious are better than theirs,” Clover said as she approached the impromptu meeting.

“True,” Storm Squall admitted. “Capped Fang, have you and your fellow tribesponies explained the signs our scouts should look for to evade your traps?”

“They are as prepared as we can make them.” Capped Fang nodded.

Storm Squall’s expression became bleak, and he nodded. “Then let the games begin.”

---

“So, you believe this entity is not an Alicorn?” Lord asked as he finished reading the message on the computer.

“Roughly an eighty-five percent chance that they aren’t. Several qualities of their message make it out as such,” Hammer Strike replied.

“And what is your belief about this G?”

“Whoever G is, he or she is worth listening out. They’ve kept a detailed list of schedules for the Alicorns, including weak points that we can use to our advantage.” Hammer Strike hummed. “Worst case scenario, we deal with the Alicorns, anyway.”

“So, we meet with this person, see what they want. if they're hostile….” Cayde drew his weapon and gave it a spin. “It will be a short meeting.”

“Hopefully, it will not come to that.”

“Seen too much to be that hopeful,” Cayde responded.

The trap door opened quite suddenly, and slowly a leg descended to the first step. A stallion slowly descended to greet them. He was a Crystal Pony, but tall, almost as tall as Hammer Strike, himself. His body was dark with a crystalline shine that partially reminded Hammer Strike of volcanic glass. His face, however, was almost masked in white. A scar almost like a crack snaked around from behind his right ear and stretched till it met his right eye. His eyes were dark and almost haunting as he stared at them with a calculating look.

“I had not expected you would have more with you.” His voice was almost unnaturally calm. Hauntingly so, even. “But I can assume they are trustworthy if you brought them here. Or that you have decided to kill me.”

“I hold no ill will toward any crystalline Pony.” Hammer Strike shook his head. “I already know the nature of your being. The Alicorns and Gryphons are the ones I’m after.”

“Then we seek the same goals, Eight-twenty,” he said. “I am Gigabit.”

“Hammer Strike,” he corrected somewhat forcibly as he attempting to hold in his anger. “Please refrain from using that other designation. What exactly is the plan you had in mind?”

“The only plan that would work.” Gigabit chuckled. “We kill the Alicorns.”

Hammer Strike hummed for a brief second. “I anticipated something more than what I had already planned on doing.”

“Of course, but the general goal seems obvious. While the alicorns remain, my people are in danger, as are you to some degree, I would imagine. There are roughly twenty Alicorns operating within the empire. Naturally, with the loss of their home, security has risen dramatically. This won’t be easy.”

“Do they have a panic room in case of emergency?”

“Several panic rooms. They don’t quite trust one another enough to share a single room. They were expecting a new team leader when the news came of the fall. Who is incharge right now is not entirely clear.”

“Do you have a list of names, and the location of these safe rooms?”

Gigabit walked to a wall and pulled out several file folders. “Data streaming is heavily managed. My computers are closed off, but I find physical copies of my more sensitive data are easier to keep out of public vision,” he explained as he passed them to Hammer Strike.

Hammer Strike looked over the list of names. After a brief moment, he frowned and lost interest. Moving on to the locations of the safe rooms, he noted a vast distance between them. “Do they have a meeting hall, somewhere they are all capable of entering together?”

“That would be the future control room.” Gigabit flicked a crystal on the table and an all-too-familiar blueprint floated above it. “I‘ve come to refer to it as the palace.”

“Is Protocol Thirteen in effect?”

“Yes.” Gigabit nodded. “I suppose you could say it’s why the empire isn’t more complete.”

“Delightful.” He sighed. “Can you initiate protocol seven? It won’t matter if you’re caught afterwards, so long as it works for the first thirty minutes.”

“I can.” Gigabit nodded. “I handle most of the data traffic for the empire. What remains of it, anyway. I could slip it in on my next shift.”

Hammer Strike reached out to his side as he opened a rift. Seconds after, Baleful Eclipse was pulled through. “That’s all I’ll need.”

“How will you get in?” Gigabit asked as he analyzed the weapon carefully.

Hammer Strike reached into his coat and lightly passed a small crystal to Gigabit. “Just place that in the room or as close as you can to it.”

Gigabit looked at the stone. He gave a wry chuckle as he took it. “Months of work, and it could all be over by tomorrow.”

“Not quite.” Hammer Strike shook his head.

“The Gryphons are a threat, but less so than the alicorns,” Gigabit said.

“That, and though I hate to bring it up, your kind’s ‘programming.’” Hammer Strike sighed. “Based on the way they have you all working, I would assume they issued a particular logic loop for designation of higher command. If that falls void, you’ll end up with some severe backlashes.”

“That problem could be solved.” Gigabit tapped his crystal again and the palace swapped for a view of a large crystalline orb rotating slowly. “This is Entity Alpha, the hinge on which the whole project rotates. When the project is complete, it can be used to control and direct the flow of energy from my people into the palace structure. I believe that, with work, it could be modified to alter the behavior of others and broadcast free will across the scope of the entire facility.”

“That will take time that you wouldn’t have immediately.” Hammer Strike frowned and thought it over. After a few minutes, he sighed. “You manage the flow of data, correct?”

“That is correct.” Gigabit nodded.

Hammer Strike tapped his hoof as he attempted to think of alternatives before exhaling once more. “If you’re willing to trust me on it, my augments were never designated beyond their model as ‘only for test subjects.’ After you send the protocol into effect, add my augments to the flow of data, giving me the same access as the Alicorns, and thus the same clearance ranking in the system.”

“I can do that.” Gigabit nodded again.

Hammer Strike hummed to himself. “Damn it, even after the fact, you all will need some lead, especially with all this tech around compared to the rest of the world. Error loops can disrupt free will easily if they hit a hard stop.”

“There are options,” Gigabit noted. “We could grow a line to lead.”

“It’ll take time, and a guiding hoof to do so,” Hammer Strike noted. “If left on their own, it could result in a slow descent off track. Most programs have a system dedicated to checks and balances.” He gave a brief soft chuckle. “Think everyone can manage with another leader who is also at war with the Gryphons currently?”

“Who are you?” Gigabit asked, a bit shocked.

“Hammer Strike, King of Equestria.” He shrugged. “Title kinda came with the leading position. I’ve … been busy these last few centuries.”

“We are going to have to discuss this in greater detail, but for now, we have a plan to hash out.”

“From what I’ve been able to figure out from the information you’ve gathered and told to me, I know exactly how this may play out. Following suit with your standard schedule, you are capable of finding your opening roughly between the thirty minutes before sunrise and thirty minutes after sunrise. This will be due to the Gryphon troops receiving more units, or finishing preparations over the night and using their rested soldiers to prepare an assault wave. During this time, the Alicorns are likely to leave a blind spot toward the track of data in favor of keeping up their defenses, allowing you clearance to place the protocol into play and place that crystal wherever nearby their meeting chamber. Upon receiving them, the Alicorns will likely fall into habit, and within fifteen minutes meet within the chamber and spend roughly five to ten minutes determining who sent the signal. That will be my opening to enter. I am capable of sealing the room off to myself and them, leaving them no option but to fight fruitlessly. In that time, Lord and Cayde will be outside the field, dealing with the combatants of the Gryphon Empire, giving us security to deal with this issue and establish control over the system to begin management.”

“How did you work that out?” Gigabit asked.

“You read my file.” Hammer Strike smirked. “Prediction module, one of the ones that hasn’t burned out yet. Never shuts up.”

“There is a patch for that,” Gigabit noted.

Hammer Strike shrugged. “Eh, updates take too long.”

---

As a final preparation for the events to come, a heavy cloudbank was built by the various flying troops to fill any patches in the canopy and obscure the vision of any Gryphons that might try to travel through the tops. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it would make it easier to render the fighters earthbound and help to negate the advantage of night vision.

Rattlebang strode cautiously through the myriad of trees. The dim glow of his lamplight pulsed through the foliage and refracted in the mist. Throughout the forest, multiple ghost lights bobbed and weaved as conjured willowisps and Ponies alike trotted along the paths in their parties. The occasional sonic screech could be heard as Thestrals divined their positions via echolocation to track movement.

The first blood was drawn with the shifting of foliage as five Gryphons prowled ever closer. Rattlebang’s eyes widened, and he began to shake as he drew his sword. “No closer!” he barked, though his armor shook after his namesake, disturbing the wildlife and alerting any others in the vicinity of his whereabouts.

The Gryphons sneered as they drew their swords and encroached.

“Five on one. A pity you won’t be able to stop us all.”

“C-c-come at me and see,” he said as he pawed the ground and smacked it hard to be intimidating.

The Gryphons lunged.

Swords made contact. Blood spurted.

And Rattlebang was nowhere to be seen.

Five seriously wounded Gryphons tumbled into the hole that opened beneath the ground and screamed as, one by one, they met a grisly end. Deep within the tunnel, one of the Diamond Dogs grinned and wiped blood from its mouth while the others worked to seal up the breach they’d just made.

Rattlebang smiled. “Thanks for the save.”

“All according to plan.” The canine’s grin widened. “So, are you ready to go again?”

Rattlebang grinned. “I could do this all night.”

In another section of the forest, a platoon of the invading force scouted together. The warriors acted in tight formation to retain visuals on each other. The whinnies of horses mingled with the roars of Gryphons and the occasional ring of steel on steel.

“Stay alert, and look with your ears as much as your eyes,” their leader ordered. “These Ponies are clever.”

“Then, with all due respect, Sir, why are we attacking them at night in these conditions?”

“Because most of their forces aren’t nocturnal. Honestly, Jaune, it’s Equine anatomy 101.”

The heavy clatter of leather and steel heralded the Gryphon’s fall, and the commander let out a long-suffering sigh and shook his head. “Honestly, what are you even doing in the army?”

“Um, sir….”

“Your grandfather was a legend, and look at you. You can’t even keep your paws coordinated.”

“Sir.”

“I mean, really—”

“Sir!” The air stirred as a dagger found its target and a high shriek filled the air. The body of a Thestral dropped to the ground, its bloody tomahawk toppling from its grasp. The captain turned around to see only five of his original party remaining. “Now really isn’t the time.” The steady flap of leathery wings stirred the cloudy mist as fangs glinted and slitted eyes glowed. The party was surrounded, and these creatures were out for revenge.

Trees blurred as Pegasi utilized the subtle shifts in air pressure along the currents of the clouds to differentiate the solid from the non. Their many years of work living in the air and crafting dwellings from the vapor now worked to their advantage as each veered at sharp angles. Heads were lopped, wings were cut, and the younger warriors whooped exultantly at the sheer adrenaline rush.

Foil Poignard was no exception. The young daredevil was among the fastest in his class, and took particular pride in how tightly controlled he could be in flight. Speed was no issue for him, and he took a particular pleasure in being among the fastest of the scouts and the most valiant in combat. First to draw blood, and first to lead the charge against the enemy. His red feathers were tipped with black, and his dark mane acted as the ideal camouflage as it jutted through his helmet. His superiors often called him reckless, but that was what battle needed to get the job done. Without risk, there can be no reward. Without sacrifice, there can be no glory-errr victory.

He’d made a habit of harvesting feathers from each of his targets on the field and crafted them into a badge of sorts that he carried on his person. The currents shifted again, and he smiled as he catapulted toward his next foe.

He easily dodged the mace that swung toward him and laughed exultantly as he seized yet another feather. He continued to laugh as the cool night air seeped between his wings. He laughed as he dropped lower. He panted as his hooves skimmed the ground. He wheezed when he tumbled into the dirt. And finally, with his wings broken into a bloody mess, he noticed the hole in his side and the blood seeping from it. He shuddered, he stiffened, and then he rasped as the shadows closed in, followed by a massive spiked ball flying toward his face.

And then he knew no more.

“‘Will you step into my parlor?’ said a spider to a fly.” The voice crooned ethereally through the tree boughs as the mist filtered in thicker and heavier. The trees seemed to lean in as their boughs creaked ominously. A menacing cackle soon followed.

“Do they really think this is going to frighten us?” one of the Gryphons asked.

“Don’t underestimate them, Robespierre. They can use magic, just as the so-called Children of Faust. That makes them dangerous enough,” another warrior said.

“Oh, you have no idea what you lot just stepped into.” A chorus of cackles echoed through the woods as the turf erupted around the warriors. Roots surged toward the enemy, and they quickly took wing.

“Evasive maneuvers! Axes and hatchets only! Let’s show these Ponies what happens when you cross a Gryphon.”

“Lumiere, watch out!”

Blood spattered the ground as Robespierre shoved his commanding officer aside. The cackling increased.

“Poor little fellow will soon be dead—”

“Let’s end his misery—”

“Off with his head!”

Robespierre’s gaping face stared at the remainder of the squad before it tumbled into the mist below and was lost from sight.

“Your path was set. Your choice was made.”

“Now it’s time you taste our blade.”

Silver droplets glistened beautifully in the air, mingled with the fresh blood that had been spilt. And for a moment, it was as though time had stopped. Then all hell broke loose as those droplets transformed into thousands of tiny needles that thrust at the party. Those who managed to deflect the new threat were stunned by tree boughs as they struck with crushing force. In less than three minutes, the battle was over, and the Gryphons that remained were knocked out, then cocooned in the tendrils.

Three voices giggled.

“Excellent job, Gretta,” the first voice praised.

“Just doing my job, Needlepoint.”

“And doing it well,” a third voice joined in. “Shall we, sisters?”

“Indeed we shall,” Needlepoint agreed.

“Power from the earth, power from the skies, and power from within. Let the three join as one again.”

“Oh, I do love it when you get poetic, Stormy.”

“Let’s show them what happens when the three tribes come together.” Stormy chuckled. “The Weird Sisters are on the prowl.”

“How are those illusions coming along, Sigurd?” Storm Squall asked back at the command tent.

“The cloudbank you brought in is helping immensely. We’re leading the Gryphons on a merry chase.”

“The question is how long we can keep that up until they realize what’s going on.” The commander frowned and rubbed his chin. “Have we checked in with the other parties?”

“So far, each of their plans have been working. We do have some troops that are MIA, however. Given what we’re dealing with, it’s a high probability they’ve either been captured or killed.”

“There is no either. These Gryphons are here to make a name for themselves. They won’t take prisoners, especially now that we’re pushing into their territory,” Starling said. She shook her head. “I wish you’d let us into the fray. We could execute most of them before they can even blink.”

“And it would ruin any chance of using that trick later, especially if we need to perform a prisoner exchange. I don’t want to reveal our full hand unless we have no choice.”

“My troops are getting antsy, Commander.”

“Then control them, Starling. I know they don’t like being held back, but we need them to guard forward operations in the event of discovery. The more we take out from this raid, the less defended the enemy will be when we push toward their main compound. Your troops will see plenty of action then.”

Starling frowned, but nodded. “I’ll tell them.”

“Thank you.”

---

Hammer Strike sighed to himself as he thaumically tracked the crystal he had given Gigabit. Based off the blueprints of the area, he was able to get a rough idea of where it was located. Once he was added onto their system, he would receive the alert that the protocol was in effect, prompting him to teleport in. He was only to be added after they were all within the chamber.

The alert lit up several minutes later, as well as a timer counting down a thirty minute window.

“Huh, longer window than expected.” Hammer Strike sighed as he focused on the crystal and opened a rift. As soon as he stepped through, however, he found himself surprised to be standing in the center of the room.

Completely surrounded by Alicorns.

“Joy,” he commented sarcastically. “I suppose I did say as close as possible.”

There was a notable pause from everyone in the room before the Alicorns scrambled to get to their hooves. Their horns ignited in preparation.

Before they could manage to do anything, he completely sealed off the room, going so far as to stop the flow of magic, only allowing the field covering the room to absorb it, in turn, giving it back to him. His hooves were ablaze with thaumic energy. “By the Divine, it feels great to be on this side of things.” He smiled, not bothering to hide his knowledge of their language as he spoke fluently. “Why, from the looks of things, you all look almost scared to see me,” he commented, scanning over the occupants.

“You have no right to be here, Eight-Twenty!” one mare snarled.

“And guess what? I don’t need it!” Hammer Strike replied simply. “I don’t need the right or the privilege to be here. I can do whatever I damn well please. I could have done so sooner, but I suppose I kept myself limited in what I would do. Now, however? I’ve got you all exactly where I want you.”

“There are twenty of us, and one of you. We won’t die quietly, if that’s what you have in mind.” The stallion snorted and pawed at the table aggressively. His mane and beard were both an exceptionally bushy and curly red.

Hammer Strike couldn’t help but laugh heartily at the statement. “That—” He took a breath. “That’s rich. You know you’re all screwed. I never thought I’d see the day.”

“You’d take it upon yourself to kill off an entire race?” the same mare who’d spoken first pressed. “We are the last. Surely, even you can't be that short-sighted.”

“Not only would I take it upon myself to do so.” Hammer Strike reached up and placed a hoof on Baleful Eclipse, allowing it to gleam with power. “I would take pleasure in that fact.”

There was a single passing of air, little more than a puff, a sigh. Seconds later, the two halves of the Alicorn crashed onto the table, and then the floor. Blood watered the floor.

A shocked silence filled the room with an oppressive pressure as the remaining Alicorns took in the gruesome sight. In one smooth motion, Hammer Strike had killed their comrade. And he was coming for each and every one of them.

Chaos finally shattered the quiet as an unholy cacophony of whinnies, bellows, war cries, and gibbering shrieks flooded the space. Four of the scientists ran as far away from the mad Pony as possible. Their magic was jammed, their physical strength no match. All they had was the desperate attempt to escape, to live to fight again. The continual refrain of, “Oh, gods!” echoed over and over again mingled with vain prayers that would never be answered. Of the remaining fifteen Alicorns, Hammer Strike was only too gleeful to mow them down with the power of his god weapon.

Hammer Strike had carefully ensured he cut through each and every Alicorn until the last, where he stopped. They were trying their damndest to escape through the door, but his field had ensured the door wouldn’t even budge. “You know,” he started, slowly turning toward the last. “This was quite cathartic. Though not as much as watching that one doctor being damned to an eternity of punishment in Hell, this still proved to be quite helpful.”

“You’re bluffing!”

“What reason do I have to lie?”

“No one comes back from Hell.”

“Under normal circumstances, correct. In my case, well, an elder vampire made a portal, and the living aren’t really meant for Hell. Not yet, anyway.”

The Alicorn’s eyes widened in panic. “You're a monster!”

“Allow me to clarify something for you,” Hammer Strike said coolly as he crept toward them, dragging Baleful Eclipse behind him as he did so. Its metal rang dreadfully on the floor. “I’ve been so kind and gentle with all of you. You just don’t see it.”

The scientist scrabbled to the side and raced desperately to remain out of Hammer Strike’s reach. He flapped his wings desperately, but no matter how much he tried, his body refused to lift.

“I gave you all a quick death,” Hammer Strike continued. His eyes flashed a blinking red as the trauma and the vitriol surfaced. “I gave you all more than you deserve. I let you die a quick death.” He closed his eyes and sighed as he forced himself to calm again. “You never offered that to the people you kidnapped. You tortured them.” He motioned to the corpses that surrounded them. “Like I said, they didn’t deserve this. You don’t either. But I’m better than you. I’ll let you have that mercy you granted no other.”

“I hope you burn in Tartarus,” the scientist spat as he jumped over another set of corpses.

“Sorry, I’ve got a special place in Hell reserved already. Now.” The intensity of his eyes brightened. “Cease your running! he called out. Within himself, he felt his words resonate with one of the artifacts as the Alicorn suddenly stopped in his tracks. He slid across the floor as his horseshoes were coated in the slick blood that pooled there. Hammer Strike continued his inexorable advance. This time, he would finish things off.

The Alicorn jerked his legs desperately. “How are you doing this? You can’t be doing this!”

“Kneel,” Hammer Strike ordered.

Once again, the Alicorn was forced into action. His head now had to look up in order to see Hammer Strike at his full height. The fruitless struggles continued.

Once Hammer Strike stood before the Alicorn, he gave a small smile as he brought the scythe to the Alicorn’s neck. “Wherever the afterlife takes you, I hope it’s everything you deserve.” He finished with one clean swipe. And with that, the dreadful legacy of torture and destruction the would-be-lords had built came to an end. The souls of the dead could rest. Their innocent blood had been avenged. It would be up to the next generation to decide the new legacy of the Alicorns now. And Hammer Strike already knew where that would lead.

Staring out at the bodies around him, he sighed and flicked the scythe to clear what blood he could off the blade, only for it to be already clean. He shrugged to himself and cleared his field, unlocking the room, and returned Baleful Eclipse to his back.

The door opening was blaring compared to the silence in the room. Gigabit stepped through slowly, and his eyes widened as he observed the results. “You really did it.”

“You had doubts?” Hammer Strike questioned.

“You’ll forgive me if all I had was reports. There was never any footage to qualify if the statements were conjecture or fact.”

“Fair enough, I suppose.” Hammer Strike shrugged. “Now, I believe we have some work to do. I’ve got to start re-writing some commands and code, as well as win this war against the Gryphons.”

“I’ve given you control of the manufacturing grid.” Gigabit nodded. “I’ve also worked out a genetic blueprint for a Crystal Pony that should permanently jam and degrade the alicorn signal. My estimates say my people should be immune within six generations.”

“That’s good. I should be able to at least instill some free thinking and free form commands to allow some facsimile of free will, but it’ll take some effort to go beyond that.” Hammer Strike hummed. “I’ll have to disable a dampener. That’s going to be fun.”

“I’d suggest defences first. The shield will only last five hours without the slavers around to charge it,” Gigabit noted.

“I can probably charge it up a bit, give us at least…” He ran a rough estimate through the connection he’d been granted to the systems. “Two hundred and seventy-two hours. Eleven days and some hours. I should actually have enough charge to keep that up longer, actually, given my rate of recovery.”

“Is there anything you need directly? If not, I will get started on preparing a gestation pod.”

“I might need your help ensuring everyone is clear on the fact that I’m A: going to be running things, and B: I’m not like the Alicorns. Might come easier from someone they know.”

“For now, I’ve cleared your credentials in the system. You’re the current team leader, as much as it hurts me to say it. It may be pragmatic to deal with the Gryphons before establishing your image with them.”

“Fair, yes. But, at the same time, ease of mind makes work quality better. Though you’ve definitely never heard of that study, due to the nature of the Alicorns,” Hammer Strike muttered the last half. “In any case, I’ll trust you to at least calm any issues that may rise from the free thinking part.”

“I’ll make sure to keep it a priority.” Gigabit nodded.

“We’ve got a force stronger than what the Alicorns were capable of here. To put it simply, Cayde is a crackshot, and Lord is literally an archdevil from Hell.”

“I have no doubt of their ability; however, growing some turrets along the outskirts may be helpful. I am not conditioned for battle, but your implants should already have all the control you need.”

“Oh, of course. I wasn’t saying we shouldn’t keep growing that force. I’m simply stating that I have plans for how to clear those Gryphons out. If I really wanted to go the extra mile, I can try to replicate my null field out here, though it’s going to be a little more strange this time around.”

“Null field?” Gigabit asked.

“Contrary to what the Alicorns thought, I developed a way to cut off ambient magics from specific forces and individuals, thus making my enemies unable to access some of their abilities. A Gryphon unable to fly, their evokers useless, Unicorns without magic, Pegasi unable to use their wings or control the weather. Earth ponies unable to connect themselves to the earth beneath their hooves. I created them to defend my kingdom, to ensure the safety of each and every one of my subjects. If all of you will work with me, then I can supply the same safety features.”

“I am a biological machine, and your mind baffles me,” the Crystal Pony said with a shake of his head.

“Let me put it simply, though I hate the way it sounds. I am quite mad.” Hammer Strike sighed. “I don’t sleep, I barely eat, I think and think and think.” His eyes dimmed briefly. “In the end, I simply do what I think is best. And right now, I think the best course of action is showing those Gryphons just how bad of a move it was to attack us.” He ended with a confident smirk. “Shall we?”

“After you.” Gigabit nodded.

---

“So, a war on two fronts. This is going to get interesting,” Vital Spark said as he eyed the monitor.

“It serves those gastly creatures right.” Rarity turned her nose up. “Enslaving the Crystal Ponies like that.” She shook her head. “Simply barbaric.”

“Rarity, if what Gigabit says is true, they weren’t just enslaved. The Crystal Ponies were … grown,” Twilight said, then turned to The Doctor. “They were artificial lifeforms?”

“Yes.” The Doctor nodded. “Now you see the humble beginnings of one of Equestria’s most vital allies. They’re more advanced than say, a golem, and they bore the capacity to reproduce, but they were designed and programmed down to their very magical essence to obey their creators without question, made-to-order slaves.”

“That’s monstrous.”

“That’s ignorance.” The Doctor shrugged. “And arrogance, I suppose. They either didn’t know or didn’t care that they were producing sapient lifeforms. What mattered to them was that they created them, and so these creatures should be treated no differently than any other piece of technology they produced.”

“This is what happens when science throws ethics out the window.” Grif sighed. “Take a good look, Twilight.”

Twilight did.

“I assume this is something we’re probably not going to want to make common knowledge to Cadence and the rest of the empire?” Vital guessed.

“Probably.” Grif nodded. “This is probably one of the more extreme warps of science and magic. It goes right up there with ‘reformation spells,’” Grif said with a growl.

“Frankly, I’m surprised they even allow that spell to be in print. We may need to have a talk with celestia and the EEA about that when we get home,” Vital said.

“Science and magic both lead to the same issue: Too many people asking ‘if we can,’ not enough asking ‘if we should.’” Grif didn’t take his eyes off the Alicorn. “Do you understand the lesson here?”

Twilight nodded. “I think I do.”

“Anyway, the Crystal Ponies’ origins mean very little for the present day,” Grif noted. “We all were created by the gods in a manner not entirely dissimilar.”

“Most of them just knew better than to treat us like tools,” Vital said.

Grif nodded. “I think the Crystal Ponies in general don’t need to be aware of this, but I feel that will be Cadence’s call in the end.”

“Good. At least we’ll be speaking to Cadence about that.” Pensword looked at a notepad. “I need to make sure Hammer Strike disables that urge or compulsion of obeying whatever the matrix decides is the master.” He fluffed his wings. “God is dead,” he muttered. “If God is dead, what then shall you replace him with? For Science without a god to hold the boundaries…. This was just the first step… If the Alicorns had thrived more and longer, what would they have done to make this look sane?”

“That’s a rabbit hole I’d rather we not jump down, Pensword,” Vital said firmly.

“I’m not jumping down it, but I am slowly understanding more of why Hammer Strike is dismantling and destroying this empire. If I’d had the full picture from the start, and what I assume was Discord destroying the history of this period….” He trailed off. “Luna and Celestia are very, very lucky to have not been tainted by the sins of their empire.” He looked at the paper again, then growled. “I want a nice dark place to talk to Discord,” he muttered darkly.

“Pretty sure this is one thing Hammer Strike might be grateful to Discord for erasing,” Vital said.

“What Nazi Germany did was horrible, sickening. And while many would enjoy it being forgotten, we make sure we remember, so it will never. Happen. Again.”

“It almost did happen again,” Grif said.

“And I blame the lack of teaching of history,” Pensword countered.

“Which is why we tell Cadence,” Grif said. “Remember the other side to this, Pensword, something just as important.”

“The Crystal Ponies were grown to be the perfect slave.”

“How do you think they’d take that, finding out they were created as a distortion of nature by beings calling themselves gods? They’d be hurt, broken.” Grif shook his head. “This is sensitive information. Best to let Cadence decide how to spread it.”

“I’m still talking to Discord and Celestia about this. I can … somewhat understand the divorce of Luna and Nightmare Moon, but she let others edit her story. She allowed things that shouldn’t have been forgotten to be forgotten, and lulled this entire nation into what we saw.” He worked even harder to keep his breathing in check. “And what Discord did to this … did to utterly destroy the sense of founding, the sense of the unity we had, to the point where we thought less time happened between all the wars.” His eyes flashed angrily. “And what he and Celestia did to push the Thestrals to hide back in the caves!”

“Yes, yes, we’ve all got an ax to grind with Celestia.” The Doctor waved his hoof dismissively. “Now let’s move on. There’s still a lot more time to cover.”

---

Storm Squall sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose as they sat together in council. The troops were either recovering the dead or recuperating, barring the scouts that were currently checking the woods to ensure the Gryphon force had left. Of the numbers they had projected, their actual losses had proven almost miraculously small. The gamble had paid off, though members of the force had paid the ultimate price.

“We won’t be able to portal them back. That leaves us with two options. We can either bury them here and give them a proper ceremony back in Unity or we can box them up and ship them to Unity, where they’ll be buried without opening the box in the first place. Unless you happen to have some ideas, Clover?” he asked.

“There are some spells of preservation that can be cast over the cadavers, if we have to,” Clover admitted. “I’d rather not attempt one of Hammer Strike’s gates unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

“Will these spells have any negative impact on the casters?”

“That depends on their magic class and the duration of the spell required. The longer the preservation, the more magic that will need to be put out in the outset.”

“Is it difficult to teach or cast?”

“Not especially. Many Unicorns use the spell to prevent their supplies from spoiling on a long journey. The principle is essentially the same, only this time we’re keeping flesh from rotting, rather than fruit.”

“Then we’ll go with that. We’ll need to arrange to send them back through the supply lines, once they’ve been prepared. When does the next cart start the return trek?”

“Whenever you need it to, Sir,” Tidy Sweep said. The Earth Pony remained staunch and resolute as she brushed the bristles of her mane jutting through the helmet. “We aren’t unfamiliar with treating the dead.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you to coordinate with Clover and Sigurd to prepare the dead for transport. Afterward, I want a full report on our troops. We need to know who can still fight, who can travel, and who needs to be sent home to recuperate. Anything else?”

“Not at the moment, Sir.”

Storm Squall nodded. “Then you have your orders. I’ll call you back, once we have a proper course charted for the next part of the assault. Dismissed.”

---

Hammer Strike looked over the outermost edge of the shield. Over the last few weeks, he had been commanding the system to place defensive turrets and other blueprints of his own design along the edge, changing their positions every few days in order for it to be unpredictable to the Gryphons.

At this moment, the Gryphons were struggling to keep up, especially due to the fact that they had a long distance to travel to deliver supplies and new units. It was only a matter of time until they couldn’t keep up the assault and abandoned this cause.

“One of the most efficient military species in current records,” Gigabit commented, looking out at them. “And you’ve put them against the wall.”

“Well, they can’t win them all.” Hammer Strike shrugged. “If it weren’t for the fact that it would be unrecoverable, I would have brought some of my devices to knock those airships out of the sky.”

“Knock them out of the sky?”

“Using Unicorns to launch the device, it would attach itself to the bottom of the hull and within seconds either disrupt the core of the airship, or cause it to violently detonate. Haven’t worked out the kinks of that, but either way works in getting rid of them. The device normally remains intact, which is a problem if I don’t want them to find it.”

“Thus the requirement to retrieve it from the wreck.” Gigabit nodded. “Why not add a conditional self destruct?”

“Because I was saving resources. They aren’t the cheapest, to be honest.”

“Which would be more problematic, ruining the resources or them getting ahold of the device?”

“Considering the nature of the device, both pose a major risk, but I’ll see if I can make a cheaper alternative for here.”

“The crystal is adaptive. If you can find the right sequence, it should be able to replicate your device for you.”

Hammer Strike reached into his coat and pulled out a thaumic crystal to show Gigabit. “Trust me, this isn’t something easily replicable, not even by Alicorn standards.”

“I’ll have to take your word. I have no desire to get near the old powers.” Gigabit looked at the crystal with a surprising amount of distaste.

Hammer Strike frowned. “I’ll have to remove that entry later. I want no knowledge of this to exist anymore.” He placed the crystal back in his coat. “I’ve spent well beyond a lifetime understanding it, and I have seen the worst possible outcome to it. It needs to vanish from sight for as long as it can.”

“Aside from the Alicorns' personal files, they’re already gone,” Gigabit said. “Knowledge for knowledge's sake is foolhardy. I deleted everything I could reach.”

“Good. I appreciate that.”

“It was the old powers that killed them all, wasn’t it?” Gigabit asked. “In the end, I mean.”

Hammer Strike took a breath as the memory surfaced. “It … it was the thing that followed that killed them all. Between the walls of reality, in a sea of energy, they sit and watch over it all. Sometimes, they do more than watch.”

“Dabbling with something they couldn’t understand. The height of their arrogance.” Gigabit sighed. “To think they created us.”

“To that end, we can be thankful for their arrogance,” Hammer Strike replied. “You are all saveable. Not mindless beings incapable of free thought or will, but living things that can. They never thought you would be capable.”

“If not for you, we wouldn’t be. I estimated another six years before I could begin to act against them.”

“But that’s the thing. You were capable before I arrived,” Hammer Strike countered. “You managed to break free, and it was only a matter of time before you could do so with more. All it takes is a beginning.”

“Maybe, but fate seems to alter in your hoofsteps,” Gigabit commented. “I have a feeling no matter what happens here, it will be you who makes the biggest mark on our history.”

“Yeah, she tends to not like that,” Hammer Strike commented idly. Before he could continue what he was saying, a loud thump sounded off from nearby followed shortly by a loud explosion lighting up the nearby vicinity. “Oh, yeah. I made some new turrets, by the way. Railguns are quite fun to design.”

Gigabit pulled up the design and looked it over, his eyes slowly widening. “Yes, that will do it.”

---

The acrid stench of smoke and embers drifted on the winds as the Equestrian camp sat outside the Gryphon castle. The fortress was massive, but the surrounding fields and other crop areas had been reduced to scorched earth. Distasteful though the tactic had been, it had worked. With less and less crops to harvest, the Gryphons’ supply chains began to crumble, and more importantly, their stock in preparation for the coming winter became sparse. Now the bite of winter could be felt in every gust as the forest animals prepared for the deep sleep to come.

“Well, you did it,” Starling announced as she glided down to a waiting Storm Squall.

“Doesn’t mean I liked it.”

Starling shook her head. “Never said you did. We had to show them we meant business. Destroying their harvest will give them something else to focus on, instead of making war.”

“I take it a messenger is coming, then?”

She nodded. “You can expect to see him soon. Make the negotiations quick. We’ve got a long way back home, and even with those mountain tunnels, it’s still going to be a race to get back to the kingdom before winter sets in.”

The reception was suitable to the season, a frosty one. However, the white banner was recognized, and the messenger granted entry, albeit under heavy guard.

Storm Squall eyed the Gryphon carefully. “You came with a message. Deliver it, and you will have a response.”

The Gryphon nodded. “His Excellency, King Gowther, calls for a parlay, the focus of which shall be the negotiation of cessation of hostilities between the amalgamation known as Equestria and the Gryphon Empire. As the ruling authority on this continent, King Gowther shall represent His Holiness, Emperor Clause Riversong Aragorn Simon Stonecutter of the Stonecutter clan.”

“Kingdom,” Storm Squall corrected.

“Excuse me?”

“Equestria is not an amalgamation. We are a kingdom, united under a single ruler. I attribute your mistake to ignorance. Please, refrain from insulting our nation again. As for the parlay itself, our king is not currently with this force, and I cannot guarantee he will be available to negotiate the cessation of hostilities directly. To be honest, you’re fortunate he’s not. However, his wife is present, and as the commander of these forces, I will also be in attendance. We will come in good faith, and expect the same of you and yours. Inform your king that we accept the parlay. However, we insist it be held on neutral ground. Honor would demand nothing less. A small guard will also be permitted. No more than ten soldiers to act as escort and witnesses. Have him bring his seal. If we are to negotiate a proper cessation, then by Sleipnir’s beard, we’ll make it official. Take these terms to your king and return with his reply. I want his word by the end of the day. Negotiations for peace take time. Agreeing to the terms of a simple parlay should not.”

“And will you also relay terms of negotiation to my king?”

“Those will be discussed when we meet face to face, and no sooner,” Storm Squall said with a stony face. “You have your answer. Now take our message to your king. We will await his reply.”

The messenger nodded and strode out of the camp before taking wing.

“Not bad,” Starling praised.

“I hope it will be the last one we have to deal with in our lifetimes,” Storm Squall said.

“Who knows?” She shrugged. “I’d be dreading having to tell Clover more than worrying about another war, if I were you, though. I doubt she’s going to be pleased having to represent Equestria.”

“She is the highest rank.”

Starling chuckled. “And I’m sure you’ll be very eloquent when she throws a tantrum.”

“Naturally. I’ll tell her the story of a little bird who couldn’t stop mocking. I’m sure she’ll get a real kick out of it.”

Starling smirked. “Not bad, Storm Squall. Not bad.”

---

Hammer Strike’s attention was diverted to several parts of the Crystal Empire. At the moment, he was ensuring the state of the turrets around the empire as well as maintaining the delicate systems running behind the scenes in control of the Crystal Ponies.

He, however, put those processes on hold when his communication relay sounded off. After a moment, he held it up. “Clover? Is it already time for the bi-weekly update?”

“The Gryphons have requested a parlay, hopefully to talk peace,” she said.

Hammer Strike blinked a few times as he processed the message. “They’re finally done?”

“Yes. It’s likely they can’t keep supplying the war.”

“Finally,” Hammer Strike sighed. “Maintaining everything up here has been hell.”

“Could have been a lot worse,” Clover pointed out.

“Agreed.” Hammer Strike sighed again. “It certainly explains the lack of forces up here, though it’ll probably take another week until they get the message to cease their attack.”

“It might go swifter if you had tossed a few of the alicorn remains out of the shield.”

“I did that, actually. Well, a head or two.” Hammer Strike paused as he hummed. “I’ll have to ask Gigabit how many we actually did. It worked for a short bit.”

“Well, let's hope they recall soon, then,” Clover said. “I miss you.”

“And I you.” He gave a soft smile. “Well, you could come up here for a day if things actually calm down out there. I could make a rift.”

“We’ll have to see how things go.” He could hear her smile. “I take it you're finally getting a hold on things?”

“Yeah. As it turns out, the twenty-some Alicorns up here were actually doing work and maintaining their own departments. Had to either automate them or run them myself.”

“Huh. Doing the work of twenty people is hard. That’s a first for complaints from you,” she said with a teasing grin.

“Oh, shush. At least when I do it at home, it’s physical work. Up here, it’s a constant strain on my augments.” Hammer Strike chuckled. “Though, the ability to just think of a spot to place some automated defense and actually have it happen is quite nice.”

“It will be nicer to return to Unity when this is all over,” Clover said. “I haven’t seen Yharon and the girls in a while.”

“Agreed. Though that is going to be an interesting situation in its own right.”

“What's wrong there?” Clover asked.

“Been away for some time, and you know they’ve been getting somewhat stir crazy.”

“Celestia and Luna are probably at each other's throats, but we both know Hharon’s much cooler headed.”

“To a point. But we’ll see how they are when we get there.” Hammer Strike chuckled. It was at this point that he noticed variables changing around the empire outside of his control. “I'm … going to have to put this conversation on hold, Clover. Something’s just come up.”

“I’ll keep you posted,” Clover promised.

Hammer Strike placed the communication relay into his coat as he started to run diagnostics on the empire. As it turned out, there was another source altering and managing the subsystems to the same degree he had been managing.

It wasn’t until he started looking into the source that a prompt appeared before him and a voice came through. “Greetings, User Hammer Strike.”

“Hello?” Hammer Strike responded warily. He was certain that he cleared every Alicorn in the empire. Now it was a matter of figuring out which Crystal Pony he was talking to. “Who am I currently communicating with?”

“Apologies. I am Vega, an artificial intelligence designed to maintain the current systems of the Forward Operating Crystalline Facility.”

“And you’ve only recently come online?” Hammer Strike questioned.

“Negative. Once the previous members of the Crystalline Research Division abandoned their posts, I took notice that you remained and continued maintaining the current subsystems in their stead, increasing efficiency by roughly twenty percent. I took it upon myself to study your habits and learn your methods of running the facility before I would step in to assist, or with your permission, take hold of them to allow you time to continue suppressing the opposing forces attacking the facility.”

“That … would have been good to know sooner.” Hammer Strike sighed.

“With your level of control, I couldn’t find a time to step in to introduce myself. You appear to be severely lacking in rest.”

“Well, I can’t sleep in the first place, so….” Hammer Strike let that hang in the air.

“Understood. I will look for different times to give you updates and ensure proper communications.”

“All right. Though, I have a question for you now. Why is it nobody told me about you?”

“It appears that the research division abandoned their posts soon after you arrived. In a rapid fashion, mind you.”

“Yeah…”

“I already know. However, due to the nature of their sudden departure, any information they may have had left with them. The crystalline automatons, however, have no knowledge of my existence, even Rogue Unit Three-Seven-Six, or Gigabit, as it has chosen to be called.”

“That … explains some things.” Hammer Strike frowned.

“Should the need arise, I can alert them to my presence. But as of this moment, everything appears to be running in order. Would you like me to take over maintaining the subdivisions to the same efficiency as you?”

“If you can do them better while treating the Crystal Ponies like living, breathing beings, then that would be all right.”

“Understood. I can treat them with the same respect as you have given. I will remain on standby in case of emergency or if you have any questions.”

“I appreciate that.” Hammer Strike nodded, and with that, the connection cut. True to Vega’s words, the system was being run exactly how he would have done it, though occasionally he would see altered variables that, in the long run, seemed to be a good idea.

“I’ll have to talk with Gigabit about this,” he muttered to himself.

---

The ground between the two camps was dry and barren. Soot rose from the ground as the Gryphon escort settled to the earth, then made way for their king. Gowther was bound in an intricately crafted set of armor engraved with runes that had been carved with perfect precision. His blade was a two-handed bastard sword that rested on his back. His eyes were keen, his gaze grim as he passed through his guard to approach the table that had been set up with quills, inkwells, and scrolls.

Rather than the customary guard that would have been expected, a lone Unicorn mare stood behind the table. A cloak billowed behind her to ward off the cold while a massive star sapphire glinted dully on its chain around her neck. The blue mare eyed the approaching group with some disdain, but held her tongue until the party stopped on their side.

“King Gowther.” Clover gave a small nod of the head, but little else.

“Clover the Clever. Bold of you to come by yourself. I was under the impression your commander would be accompanying you.”

“You know, I am a little shocked. I recognized you the due of your title, yet you withhold me mine,” Clover said. “Storm Squall Hurricane wanted to accompany me, but I made a point of explaining to him how his presence would only be endangering himself and sending more than needed to handle this.” The mare had an air of total confidence. “If you wanted to be threatening, you should have brought more Gryphons.”

“I was under the impression you were not one for titles.” The king shrugged. “But if you wish it, I can address you as such.”

“And I was under the impression your species wouldn’t push for a blood crusade,” Clover shot back. “Guess we’re both disappointed there.”

“So it would seem, Your Majesty,” Gowther said coldly. “You know our culture well enough. These negotiations are no different than when we seek to bargain. What is your offer?”

“No. These negotiations will be different,” Clover said simply. “You cannot afford to keep this up. You don’t have the ore and the supplies to keep up this warfront as well as your attack on the Diamond Dogs down south and the Minotaurs to the southwest of your empire.” Clover smirked as she saw the side of his beak twitch. “We keep ourselves informed, Your Majesty. You need one front to end, and this is the only one your honor allows you to back away from.”

“There is also the small matter of the crops you razed, but who’s keeping track?”

“My husband takes war very seriously. Now here’s what you're going to give us to end this.” She placed a map on the table before them and levitated a quill already dipped in ink. She drew a line not too far away from where they actually now stood, but covering up to the mountains and down to the southern reaches off the continent. She also circled the location of the crystal empire. “Everything west of this territory is now Equestrian. Furthermore, the empire will pay eighty thousand beaks in reparations to Equestria, as well as fifteen thousand toward the Buffalo tribes and another fifteen thousand toward the Kirin for a grand total of a hundred and ten thousand gold beaks.

“Equestria will be sent a hostage from every one of your kingdom’s noble clans, as well as the second princess of the king ruling this region of the empire. That would be you. Equestria will allow all Gryphon troops, as well as citizenry who wish it, to leave our newly acquired land in peace. Any citizens who wish to stay may do so, so long as they agree to accept Equestrian law and authority. The Gryphon empire will return all prisoners of war, and Equestria will do the same. These are the only terms for which this can end. Agree or disagree, but be assured my husband guarantees if this war continues another year, then we will push until every imperial soldier on this continent is dead.”

“Hostages? Really?” Gowther shook his head. “Even assuming I can get the emperor’s permission for the latter demands, my kingdom would enter into an uproar if I agree to giving those cubs to you.”

“And my husband can’t accept your word alone on this peace treaty,” Clover retorted. There was an unsettling shine to her eyes as Gowther could swear he felt strange. His armor seemed to be heating and yet freezing at the same moment as she spoke. “Tell me, Your Majesty, how long before your citizens begin rioting as the price for a loaf of bread becomes the same as a full-course meal?” Ghostly specters seemed to form behind Clover, one a deep red with glowing eyes and long curved horns, the other less demonic. And yet the upright creature seemed to have the coldest regal bearing Gowther had ever seen. The ground around Clover covered with permafrost to the left, even as steam billowed from the right.

“You attacked us as though we were bloodsport. You took the lives of our citizens to swell your pride, and now you simply want to leave without consequences.” Her voice was no longer singular. Gowther heard three distinct voices speaking. Clover’s own was overladen by a gravely masculine one as well as a frigid feminen one. “Fathers, sons, mothers, and daughters have fallen. Their blood spilled upon the soil, simply for your vain sense of glory. We will have our assurance, King Gowther, one way or the other.”

“Sir!” a voice shouted as a Gryphon barreled in at full speed. He panted wildly as he stopped before the king, holding out a scroll. “Message from the southern fort! Undead at the gates, organized and armed. They’re not sure they can hold out.”

“That would be Ainz Ooal Gown, one of my husband’s devoted retainers,” Clover said with a smirk. “That particular part of our forces doesn’t need food or rest, unlike yours. You do the math.”

Gowther narrowed his gaze suspiciously. “Your husband must be resourceful if he’s able to bring a greater undead under his thrall.”

“My husband was killing Alicorns while you were still suckling your mother’s teat,” Clover said frankly. “This is only a taste of what he can unleash.”

Gowther’s talons dug deep into the table as he looked at Clover, then to the entities that had manifested behind her. “You’ll call off the attack?”

“Once the documents are signed.”

Gowther growled through gritted teeth as he swallowed his pride. “Then let’s get this over with.”

---

“The Gryphons appear to be retreating,” Gigabite informed Hammer Strike.

“Took them long enough.” Hammer Strike sighed. “The peace treaty was over a week ago.”

“I think they were weighing their options.”

“At least this will settle things for some time. I’m unsure of how long, but at least I can set things appropriately and return to my family.”

“You miss them?”

“Every part of me does.” He gave a brief smile. “I’ll of course return here from time to time. After all, I said I’d keep track of things. But … I’d just feel better if I could take some time for myself.”

“I will mak—” Gigabit was cut off as a small rift formed in the center of the room. A Draconic eye appeared inside it. Given the rift’s small size, the eye took up almost all the space, though Hammer Strike could just make out familiar feathers around it.

“Father!”

“Yharon?” Hammer Strike questioned. “Is Clover opening a rift for you?”

“I had to use an emergency spell. Unity has just been attacked.”

Hammer Strike’s eyes hardened at the information. “Move aside. I’m returning.”

“It’s already over.” Yharon’s eye winced visibly. “Three adult Dragons. I fought them off, but it wasn’t easy. They burnt a lot of buildings down, including the cabin.”

Hammer Strike grit his teeth. “I warned them. I gave them not one chance, but two.” He growled. “Coloration and noticeable marks,” he ordered.

“Uh, one black, one blue, and a purple,” Yharon said. “The blue had an injured eye and a broken left horn. The black had red and green eyes. I think the purple had a broken arm. I didn’t get a good look.” He sighed. “I’m sorry, Father.”

“Did one of them hold a piece of my magic?”

“I felt something familiar, but I didn’t have time to really look at it during the fight,” Yharon answered.

“The contract has been broken.” Hammer Strike growled as Thaumic energy seeped from him. “I’m done playing games.” He threw his hoof out to the side as he opened a rift as close as he could to the Dragon Lands.

Stepping through, he was supposed to be greeted by the nearby town of Braybolt. Population count, somewhere around thirteen thousand.

What actually met him was a smouldering heap of rubble.

Taking no time, he moved toward the city and began a scan for any survivors. No matter where he searched or how hard he tried, the results came back the same.

Nothing living.

He stopped near the remains of the town square, where he noted several corpses, mostly burnt away, in a large gathering. Judging by the armor and weapon slag strewn about, he determined it was the city guard. They had likely lost their lives leading civilians to safety.

A safety that he was meant to provide for them.

Hammer Strike grit his teeth as he attempted to find some means to calm himself.

Nothing worked. The pain, the loss, the sheer weight pushed and surged and thrust until, quite suddenly, in one shocking moment, the sensation burst its confines and simply … died. He took a calming breath and reached among the corpses to grab something, anything. The remains of a weapon slowly rose in his grasp. Something pulsed within his being as the grip started vibrating in his hoof. Shards and pieces of metal and slag gravitated toward it, as though they had a will of their own, longing to be whole.

Shards from swords, axes, hammers, knives, and even flails were pulled toward it. And still the cold calm burned bright in his eyes. His malice took no preference in what formed, so long as it would do what he wanted it to do. The steel glowed a cherry red as the fragments pulled together and fused with their nearest point on contact.

The mark of the Outsider pulsed as the weapon formed, feeding its creation as the blade took the shape of a large bearded hatchet. It was a mismatched amalgamation that should never have worked, but it writhed in Hammer Strike’s malice, following the patterns that came from it. The outsider’s mark sat in the shards of the weapon, acting as an anchor to hold it together.

From the hilt, blackened tethers pulled from the grip and wrapped themselves around Hammer Strike’s hoof.

He despised it.

He despised the Dragons.

A perfect match.

This time, there would be no negotiations, no chances, no mercy.

This time, fully and truly, without restraint, without regret, without conscience, Hammer Strike was out for blood.

Comments

[Dravkwn]

Reminds me of some other story I read and it was eventually revealed that Discord was the brother.

[Fallen_Stargazer]

Did the new chapter get yoinked? i just finished, refreshed to see new comments and the chapter was gone.

[Commander_Pensword]

10570808

The wrong chapter was published, the new chapter is the correct Chapter. I do apologies for the mix-up.

[notAperson]

'Maniacal Laughter Greatly Increases'

[yakopak]

Dragons gonna die

[Charedfirescale]

Good lord. Must have missed the wrong chapter

[Dravkwn]

10570821
Figures, I did read the entire other one. Now I got to finish this one. My brain is gonna have a heck of a time sorting out two of these whoopers in the same day when they are out of order.

[DoctorWhoooves]

Yeees geeeewd let the hate flow through you.

[Booster Spice]

Is the new carrier the Gantrithor, eventually?

Just wondering if theres going to be more dragonsfor power mining, tunneling through mountains, given a way of trqashing opponants is to melt the tunnels or break into water courses, lava, or even geyser flows?

Is Hammer going to wipe all but one female, or start with currently laid nests, to restart dragons with restraint, puppeteer style?

[Vital Spark]

10586711
Under normal circumstances, you would be correct, but the idea here is that both Pensword and Grif, AKA Matthew and Taze, were raised in completely different lives. They lived in completely different cultures with different rules of interaction, law, courtship, etc, as an entirely different species with different instincts, etc. They didn't remember their old human lives until after Hammer Strike helped to trigger the return of those memories. As such, what normally would be a large objection to what is actually quite normal behavior for their species on Equis isn't such an issue here anymore.

Lions, which are the primary part of traditional Gryphon anatomy, live in prides with multiple females mated to one male that leads the pride. Likewise with equines, stallions are less common, and tend to have multiple mares. On our version of Equis, this practice is particularly prominent due to the sheer disparity between the two genders. The female population vastly outnumbers the male population (Which is also hinted at in the show itself from what we've seen). As such, it is not simply a matter of social preference, but also of necessity to continue to propagate the species. We're not planning on building any harems, if that's your concern. However, there are instances where we will have multiple spouses due to the culture and societal norms that have been established in this story's canon. Any marriages that do take place, however, will be built on proper relationships, and not for the sake of satisfying anime tropes or anything else of the like. We want to make these as organic as possible.

Also, in Grif's case, whether he likes it or not, if he wants to continue his plan to start his own clan, he must abide by the law as it's been laid out in the accords between Equestria and Gryphonia.

I hope that helps to clear up some of your concerns over the matter, and that you'll continue to enjoy the story as it progresses. There are still a lot more twists and turns yet to come, as I'm sure you can guess from our current chapter count. We hope you enjoy them and continue to leave comments for discussion. If you'd like, feel free to join our Discord as well. You can chat with other followers and readers there to discuss the story, its progress, and exchange theories, etc.

Thank you again for taking the time to read our story. We really appreciate it.

~ Vital Spark, Head Editor of An Extended Holiday