His words sunk with an intensity that Twilight could hardly stand to think about.
"I- I don't-" she began, "No! You are still in charge! I only came to-" her words died, "You don't really- you didn't really- I need you in charge! I can't just-"
"I am dead in the eyes of the law and my people, and my line is yours. There is nothing for me. Allow me my pride, and do what is necessary."
"I am not going to kill you! I spent a lot of effort making sure no one had to die during the invasion, and I am most assuredly not going to get blood on my hooves now!"
The Emperor jerked his head upward, glaring at her with such intensity that despite herself she took a step back.
"This is not for you or your morality, you must secure your position for the good of the Empire!" He shouted, "You may not know what you have done, but you shall take full responsibility!"
"Perhaps then it would be best to inform her."
A she-griffon announced as she made her way into the chamber from a hidden door ironically lost amongst the remains of the blasted main doors.
The Griffon Emperor growled at the newcomer.
Undaunted, she made her way further into the hall, "Perhaps she should be made aware of the situation, for the good of the Empire."
Twilight could tell the female was middle aged, but quite fit, and by any sight a fairly attractive griffoness for her age. Twilight was about to ask about her before spying the manacles around her talons. They were not linked together, but they had loops ready to accept chains as needed.
"You are not to be here!" The Emperor shouted suddenly, absolutely enraged.
"Woah! Whoa! Whoa!" Twilight interjected, throwing barriers around both griffons, before it could come to blows "I have no Idea what is going on! Please, just tell me what's happening! I only came to make peace! I don't want to kill anyone, so why are you insisting I kill you!" Twilight pleaded.
"I do so precisely because it is what is needed to ensure peace!" He growled at her.
"Killing you won't solve anything! I need you alive to make the treaty!"
"You-!" The emperor shouted, before the she-griffon cut him off.
"By your will," she announced, "I will explain."
Twilight wasn't about to let the Emperor interrupt her first decent source of information, so she snapped his beak shut with magic before he could interrupt and egged her to continue.
"The Emperor here, is trying to get you to kill him in order to avoid becoming a ghost."
"Ghost?" Twilight asked.
The she-griffon nodded.
"He is dead through his defeat, but he aims to take advantage of your ignorance for his own pride."
"What? Why is he dead?" Twilight asked, looking him over just in case she was speaking less metaphorically than logic would presume.
"By the absolute oldest of traditions, the strongest of a tribe is made leader. The "strongest" being the one most fit to rule. Over time, it became practice that if two clans went to war, the victorious clan had the more fit ruler and all griffons of the losing tribe would join the victorious. Many times though, the losing leader or his family would seek revenge, killing the victor later in an attempt to re-seize power. This was not just a personal crime though, the killing left the whole unified tribe without the most fit leader, a terrible situation that many times lead to costly power struggles or the destruction of the whole clan. Seeing this so often, it eventually became common that the losing leader and his family would be slain by the most fit leader, or if he refused to do it, oftentimes the members of his own clan would do it as a show of loyalty to the new combined tribe.
"That's horrible!” Twilight blurted, momentarily forgetting her audience.
"It is," the griffoness continued, "which is why true killing has not been practiced for hundreds of years. Well, there have been some cases, but other than where it was made clear that being kept alive really was a clear and present threat to the clan, it has been all but abolished. Instead, the losing family would die metaphorically, becoming ghosts, or those dead to society and kept in the service of the most fit leader where he could keep track of them."
Twilight paled, looking to the griffoness's manacles again. "Is that what you are? A ghost?" She asked.
"Yes, sworn to my master." She responded matter-of-factly.
"What does ghost-hood entail?" Twilight asked fearfully.
"That is entirely dependent upon the will of the master."
Twilight fell silent for a while, processing everything she had just been told.
"So what you're saying is that because I 'won' against the emperor, the population wants me as their leader." She asked, receiving a nod.
"...and tradition wants me to kill him, metaphorically, for losing? Can't I just not kill him, he stay emperor, and just sign the treaty?
"No, the population would reject him, they have already shifted their loyalties to the more fit ruler: you. If he were to be discovered by the populous, alive and unbound, he would be seen as a threat to the peace of the nation, and likely killed."
"...but he can become one of these "ghosts" but if he does that, not only will he not be in charge, he won't be considered a person anymore?"
"It's not as bad as you make it sound. The conditions of the bond are dependent upon the master, and from what I can tell, you are not going to be too harsh." she said, smiling almost to the point of chuckling, "and as alternative to beheading now or a lynch mob later, there is a reason that this is the modern practice."
"Then why would he lie?" Twilight asked, looking over to the still beak-bound Emperor.
"The coward wants to avoid the shame of ghost-hood by dying." She said, shooting him her own angry glare.
"So how do I avoid it? Having to kill him I mean? I won't do it, but I don't want him getting killed in the streets either. Is ghost-hood the only option? Is there something else?” Twilight asked.
The griffoness returned her focus to the princess, "No, while to become a ghost is to lose all honor, it's an even greater shame to be labeled a coward or traitor. He is already yours in the common eye, but without an outward sign of his ghost-hood he may still face such things. He'll submit to ghost hood before any alternative."
Twilight heard out the griffoness' explanation, "Is this all true?" She asked, turning to the emperor and releasing his beak.
She noticed a second too late the anger in his eyes.
Twi you are about to fuck up so bad....
5064176 This is true, but if former-emperor lays a talon on her, Celestia/Spike/Shining Armor/Discord will likely burn the place to the ground. I'm looking forward to more of this.
Well, this just keeps getting worse and worse for poor Lighttwi.
5064202
I'm not about him. Imagine what she'll get upon herself if she acts according to her culture, in society with completely different culture. Like, she says something about "I don't need servants" and next day they all hung themselves, because in their culture if emperor says this it means "you are worthless to live" or something like that.
I'm kind of surprised at Twilight not taking the obvious alternative - pointing out that the victor sets the terms of surrender, not the vanquished.
I should think she would be more knowledgeable in griffon customs, or have Luna or Celestia do it (or at least guide her).
I think the emperor is also playing dumb and trying to set up an assassination of Twilight so his family can claim her power.
Meh, I'm guessing...
so, ex-emperor wants to become a martir...
5064220 The problem is, though, that griffon traditions are so entrenched at this point that no matte what kind of terms she sets she still can't possibly let the emperor see the light of day normally, if the ghost griffon speaks true.
I mean, I kinda agree, but if that'll just lead to a mob storming for the previous emperor...
5064229 It was pointed out in one of the previous chapters (I think the 1st chapter, not the prologue) that what griffon lore they had was really ancient. Fair point on the lack of alicorn guidance, though, unless it's a test of her mettle as a princess.
I agree with your second guess, considering the spark of anger noted in the final sentence. Boy, how wrong he'll be...
5064202 He's already dead to his people, he might not care anymore.
I'd honestly just say 'No, I refuse to play this stupid game. Touch my lands again, and I will pluck the wings from your soldiers back; sending a whole generation that will never again touch the sky back to beg in your streets.' at this point.
And then, I'd just leave. Marching out the same way me and my soldiers had just come, leaving the honor obsessed brutes gryphons seem to be in this universe to brawl in the streets over who gets the scraps left over when the country stops burning..
Then again, I'm not the princess of friendship, nor a chosen of harmony.
Seriously though, it seems clearer and clearer the emperor is either far too proud, or he's trying to play Equestria somehow. Going to be interesting to find out which one.
*Addressing the people* "The Emperor is dead! All bow to your new Empress! ... And now when that is over, this is Puck, my new Seneschal. All matters of the government shall go through him, unless it's a military matter, which I must be read in on. Oh, and do send me copies of all decisions made. Ta ta."
I like it!
5064229
Come on, when have we ever seen Celestia supply Twilight with a shred of useful intelligence before sending her on a mission?
5064376 Techincally her advice to make friends was useful information albeit ludicrously vague, the question would be better written as "When has Celestia ever given direct and useful information?"
Just hope she doesn't pull a Danaerys style of rule ala A Dance of Dragons...
5064376 ...Good point.
Catch-22 of the Century--either take the guy in as what amounts to a slave, execute him, or throw him to the mob.
Oy...
"I got it, Twilight! Since he's like a ghost and everything, why not make a 'ghost' unit to assign him to? He can regain his honor on the battlefield fighting Care Bears and Mon Chuchis!"
"Don't forget the glowy bits! You can't be an elite ghost recon trooper without the glowy bits to prove you are extra stealthy!"
Solution: Make him a ghost but appoint him as a steward or caretaker of the throne siting Twilight would need a loyal subordinate to ensure the common peace is kept. Ultimate authority would be her's but the former emperor would be allowed to take a good number of ruling actions on her behalf. If the public dislikes this state that since he is bound to her he is therefore the most trustworthy to carry out her word.
Finally some answers. Though I stress the 'some.' Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
Can't Twilight just make him her ghost, then appoint him to lead in her stead? One griffon can't rule a country by himself, so they're obviously okay with them appointing underlings. The only problem is that the griffon king loses his honor, but considering he invaded a nation so much more powerful than his that they managed to win a war without a single death on either side, his honor is a lost cause.
Very interesting. It's either execution, slavery, or being killed by the populace of the country. Damn. Well Twilight. You ARE the princess of friendship. Let's see what you can come up with.
~ Super-Brony12
Okay, this is the point where the ex-Emperor does something incredibly stupid but nonetheless 100% comprehensible. He'll get his warrior's death today, not from a sword but being cooked by an Alicorn's lightning spell or something similarly high-SFX. Oddly enough, that would seal his fate in history - He'd already surrendered, so to lash out would be to mark himself as without honour.
As for the Griffoness...? Well every leader needs a wise counsellor who knows the way around the politics of the nation. What difference does it make if she is a Ghost?
5064558
Nah, if the ex-emperor tried anything, then one of two things can happen:
1) Twilight traps him in a bubble before he can do anything remotely harmful.
2) The emperor will be torn apart by griffins.
Well I think Twilight should take her role as Emperor very seriously and lay waste to all who come against her. That or she can make friends with the ghost of the former Emperor. Well I'm having fun.
I'll see you at the next chapter.
5064214 Then those who did that get a Darwin award, the rest just carry on, and the empire becomes a slightly less stupid place.
Hmm, he is angered that Twilight is taking guidance from His ghost, and a female at that, if he is also mysogenistic as well as prejudiced etc, because he is still alive and hasnt been Bound as a ghost yet, so therefore doesnt consider himself as one, and so therefore better.
The instant he bowed to Twilight, he was her Ghost, for her to do with as she wished. If you look at whats been stated, in anything, the moment the procedure went through, surrendering, and long before Twilight physically reached the Country, he was her ghost, and just waiting for his masters next declaration on wether he lived, died, or was made to dance the funky chicken in a Barney suit while singing Its a Small, Small World, in a sweet shop that gave free candy to pre mark foals etc.
5064605
She's practically in his face; Twilight's reaction times can't be good enough to stop him from getting one or two blows in before she recovers enough to stop him. I'm thinking that pain and an instinctual fight/flight reaction will lead her to lash out defensively with far more force than she would if she was fully in control. I'm pretty sure a telekinetic 'shove' at an alicorn's power level would reduce him to a yellow gel smeared all across the far wall.
CLIFFHANGGERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
--- can't wait for the next chapter!
life
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needs end " marks.
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Then he does soemthing stupid only to learn that she's the physical deity of magic. Why Alicorns are stronger than 9+ of any pony tribe combined, and why you don't mess with Twilicorn. Seriously this is going to be hilarious when he get's B-smacked. Like a boss.
5064724 I think the first one is line, though, as in lineage. I understood it as more of a forced servitude, for the entire family. He is the head of his family (since he is the emperor) so it should be line, yeah?
5064770 This is correct. That is to say, there is no error in that sentence.
5064770
Ah! If that's the case then cool. My bad . Although I'm really interested to see how him being a coward, then a threat the the "fit ruler" makes his family look in Twilight's new kingdom's eyes.
5064680
Are you dumb? They have their OWN traditions and rules. If you simply dismiss them and force your own belief at others - you are racist and bigot.
Ok, I'm sorry, but this creates a pretty big plot hole.
Twilight has researched the griffon culture as related to war to prepare for the meeting, learning all the needed choreography, blasting the door and everything, and she didn't know such an important griffon cultural notion, central to the kind of situation she was facing, despite the fact that there is an actual ghost present - which means Griffons must have been fighting griffons within the most recent history?
populace
5064802 Yet it's okay for them to insist she follow their traditions...
5064899
That's not okay either. That's why fic called "Diplomacy" for the strong, and not, say, "How to force your beliefs upon someone". She, they, need to find compromise and use diplomacy instead of rushing things and trying to force each other into obeying different traditions.
I'm assuming that ghosthood would prevent him from holding official positions such as Steward, Seneschal, Voice of the Empress, or similar. Twilight, as Empress, could force the issue, but it would go against griffon tradition and probably be the starting point of unrest and future coups. If nothing else, the old Emperor would likely find it very difficult to issue or pass on orders, or to get other griffons to report to him.
Similarly, although Twi could probably easily get the as-yet-unnamed griffoness as her personal advisor, she wouldn't be able to place her in a position of power, given her own ghosthood. She'd probably have trouble even getting the Empire to accept a reversal of ghosthood for one or two griffons (although she might be able to declare ghosthood itself no longer a part of griffon culture - difficult to enforce, but it would get the point across, and allow her to put the unghosted into positions of power. She might be challenged a couple of times by conservatives, though, meaning she'd have to fight either in person or via proxy, and deaths would inevitably result.
This means that the newly minted Empress Sparkle is probably going to have to rule in person, at least until she can figure a way out which doesn't involve killing a lot of griffons. She probably can't even set up a fake fight between her and her desired successor, unless she can decouple it from being a fight to the death AND from her representing Equestria (ie losing the fight means her successor would be expected to take over or attack Equestria again, or at the very least assume control over Twilight's Equestrian properties, should she have any).
Possible solution: Have Celestia declare her no longer an Equestrian citizen and forfeit all her property/titles/power; set up somegriffon to take over as Emperor/Empress; lose a spectacular and very public fight against them; be declared a ghost; have the replacement exile her back to Equestria; have Celestia restore her citizenship and properties. It'd mean not really getting much of a chance to study griffon culture, unless her pre-exile term as a ghost was used to bring her up to speed.
I wonder why he never considered committing suicide, and is trying to force Twilight to kill him. If he's supposedly dead, then how would it matter whether or not the victor or the king was the killer?
5064910
But you see that too is part of Diplomacy, this is tradition so you must adhere to it. If she gives in her position is weak if she doesn't there are consequences to that too. If she forces them to conform to Equestrian practices its no better than giving in, in fact that will only breed resentment, may even cause a revolt and ultimately prove that the griffon traditions have merit.
I can't help but wonder if Celestia set at least some of this up just to give Twilight her own kingdom.
5064976
And completely destroying another countries traditions tends to be something that erases much of their history as well.
After this chapter it seems clear that any plan that depends on leaving the emperor in charge is dead in the water, no matter which legal fiction would be used to prop it up. So, keeping that particular griffon stay alive is at most a practical problem; the real challenge will be to identify a reliable and politically savvy griffon who can be installed as Steward and run the country in Twilight's name without making trouble.
In a larger perspective the problem is that by accepting the succession, Twilight will implicitly have agreed that the next upstart pretender can demand to fight her to death-or-enslavement. So she will have to refuse to play along in at least some token way, all while still allowing the griffon elite to feel that they are properly beaten.
5065130
not necessarily steps can be taken to preserve their history. The problem is traditions as well as customs can easily fall by the wayside when when forced integration is employed. And even if preserved in knowledge such things can destroy a culture.
5064229 5064265 If he does lash out, there's no telling what Twilight might do to him, even going as far as accidently killing him. Which would make him win.
Giving Twilight the option to make him a "ghost" is a terrible cop-out. This could have been about Twilight going through a moral dilemma with whether or not to kill him or try and force him to not be killed, thus insulting the griffons. Making him a "ghost" completely takes that away and just gives her the obvious option of keeping him alive and out of power without offending any griffons.
Forgive me, but this against my will reminds me of the culture clash between American and Japanese soldiers during WWII.
5065327
The chapter ends on a cliffhanger. I say wait and see.
The problem is that ponies are likely just as disgusted at slavery (which is what it is) as they are towards murder. Celestia made Twilight go through this, so she'd see the world isn't so black and white, and above everything, she has to face the realities that different cultures have different values!
5065489 I'm still going to see where this goes, but the entirety of the aforementioned moral dilemma is out the window. I could see it getting twisted around to where he gives her no choice and MAKES her kill him, but she has plenty of power and backup so unless it's an accident then I don't see it happening. At that point it would be more along the lines of dealing with what she's done rather than dealing with the choice of what to do.