Night Patrol

by Foxgear

The Griffon Kingdom

Night Patrol ch 23

By Foxgear

---

Luna stood on the deck of the Moon Cutter, looking wistfully out into the open sky and the land below. This was the first time in the history of Equestria that the ponies would visit the Griffon Kingdom without an invading army. For this was the first of what was hopefully the beginning of a long alliance. She hoped arriving by airship wasn’t overdoing it. The world was still getting used to such things, even if it’s been two years since they’ve been invented.

Two years, how time flies. To think it has been that long since Luna first form night patrol, now the organization was more prominent than she ever imagined. Monster attacks in Equestria were nearly nonexistent and a swell of new villages popped up all over the country. Not only that, but communities were growing larger and becoming towns and towns to cities. Why just this past year the pegasus began building a brand new floating city named Cloudsdale, and a band of earth and unicorn ponies planned on making a new town they called Manehatten, they called it the capital of the future, wanting only the latest innovations and technologies to make their city. Unfortunately, they were a few years off, bricks and mortar were much harder to come by then clouds, and then there was the matter of funding such an endeavor.

Some ponies have come asking her and Celestia for money and such to help them in their goals. The matter had been a tricky one, one that put her and Celestia at odds for several weeks. Celestia was in favor of supporting the projects offering both some of their own personal funds and some tax benefits.

Luna’s option on the matter was quite different. She didn’t want to give any pony support. Well, a seemly cold-hearted approach, it was what she believed was best for all ponies as a whole. After all, if they help one group of ponies, but not another, how would that be fair? They either help all or none, and she chooses none, if ponies want to build a city, they could construct one, they certainly weren’t going to stop them, but they weren’t going to tax the rest of the country for something many had no say or part in.

That had only been one of a few issues she and her sister had locked horns on. Another much more complex issue was the question of Equestria’s military, which was basically her night patrol, and while Celestia has taken on more royal guards, now numbering twenty guards, she still lacked what would be considered a standing army. A position she and her night patrollers have been reluctant in officially accepting.

Luna wished that was the only thing involved with this issue, but sadly it was not. Many ponies, nobles, business owners, and many others of some standing have been whispering or more like calling for Celestia to make a night patrol of her own or as they called it the EUP, The Earth, Unicorn, and Pegasi Pony Platoons.

The night the noble houses were burned to the ground had scared many and left even more distrustful of her, and her dragon ponies, which in turn made things worse for the bat ponies that she was trying to reunite and recruit as dragon ponies and bat ponies look very similar from a distance.

So far, Celestia denied the need for such a force as the EUP, claiming night patrol did that job well enough, which Luna eternally thanked her sister for, it wouldn’t do to have two armies for one nation.

Still, Luna had her own worries about the matter. Sixes told her many of the ponies they saved from Rainbow factory had left to wander the world, though she worried about their safety she was proud of their choice and let them know they were always welcome back home.

No, it wasn’t the ones that left that worried her, but the ones that stayed. They were fiercely loyal to her, so much that some would not even take orders from Celestia unless she was there to approve it. Two years of peace has taken its toll on Celestia’s warrior reputation among the patrollers, as she once again stayed seated on the throne of Canterlot dealing with matters of infrastructure and foreign relations.

Important matters, no doubt, but to the patrollers fighting monsters and bandits daily, it did not surprise their respect for her waned. She tried to show Celestia still had the strength she displayed during the Battle of the Crystal Empire and the Battle of Rainbow Factory by sparring with her sister, but it backfired.

Celestia’s power was the same as it always been, but she wasn’t getting any stronger, she wasn’t training seriously. In their last bout, she managed to even best Celestia in their spar. Celestia laughed it off and returned to her new routine of meeting officials and other ponies. Luna was left standing alone in the field, the distance growing between them once again.

“Princess Luna, we’ve arrived.”

“Oh, thank you, Sixes,” She said, shaking her mind free of her thoughts. If there was one thing she was glad about, it was that Sixes stayed by her side as promised. He’s become her personal knight of sorts and a bit more, but he mostly retained a professional composure around her while on duty.
However, one thing that has changed about him was the fact he now had a mark, six interconnected red slash marks adorn his flank, and he was proud of them, saying each one represented a pony he cared deeply for. Jokingly she asked if she was one of them, and he replied, of course.

Joining them on the stairs of the unloading platform was one of the newer Night Hunters, Nightingale, the pegasus underwent the rigorous training to achieve the rank of elite and proved herself beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was deserving of the title and it was on that day she finally accepted Starwind’s gift to her, a pair of mechanical wings.

The wings were shiny silver and act and perform as or if not better than Nightingale’s original wings. They were designed to operate using her pegasus magic to achieve flight, but also had some… extra features, such as built-in blades and gem missiles if Luna heard Starwind’s explanation correctly. Either way, she endured much physical therapy to successfully use the new wings and almost had to completely relearn how to fly.

Nightingale received a ton of support from her fellow patrollers, but one, in particular, stood out, and that was Fierce Fury. The rumor of the castle of late was that the two were in a sort of relationship, one that they have kept well hidden. On such matters, Luna reasoned as long as they didn’t ignore their duties; it was not her business what they did while off duty.

Stepping off the stairs, Luna was greeted by the Griffon Royal Guard, a gruff silver and white griffon, half-lion, half-eagle, step forward from the group and greeted her with a bow, which she returned, he was the current King of Griffon stone, King Silverous Quailitcus the third.

“Greetings to you, Princess Luna of Equestria, I hope your journey was a favorable one?” The King greeted, smiling, extending an open claw. She smiled and sets her hoof in the King’s grasp and shook it as they peck each other’s cheeks in the traditions griffon greeting.

“My trip was a glorious one, my dear King, your land holds much beauty from the sky. I hope I will be offered the chance to get a closer look at them after our meeting.”

“Of course, my dear Princess, I will have my son Silvercuis will show you our lovely valleys after our talks. I would love to do so myself, but you know how it is running a country.” The King laughe leading her up to the palace, their guards glaring suspiciously at one another every step of the way.

They entered the throne room, and Luna took notice of the murals on the walls, depicting former kings and rulers and much of the griffon’s history, it was all really fascinating to her since despite being alive at the same time as the previous rulers she and her sister rarely interacted with the griffons of the times. The reason, of course, was simple, war.

After a unicorn prince and princess fell under the effects of love poison, the kingdom had been thrown into chaos with the noble class fracturing and falling to disarray, and the pony clans went into all-out war with each other once again. Thankfully the clan wars didn’t last long as one clan, the Steel Feather clan, led by General Typhoon a decedent of commander Hurricane quickly took charge and reunited the kingdom, only to declare war on the griffons not two days after unifying the ponies again.

Later it was discovered the prince and princess and General Typhoon were all under Discord’s sway, but that mattered little to the griffons, who had lost many lives in the war that lasted for more than ten years.

After she and Celestia banished Discord, they tried to reconcile with the griffons, but the wounds were too fresh and the King, Silverous Quilitcus, the second was in no mood for treaties. He had agreed to end the war but remained openly hostile to Equestria. He never attacked them directly, but he made sure spread the word around to other kingdoms that Equestria was not to be trusted, which deeply hurt their trade. Equestria had become isolated from the world, never trying to reach out, and no one ever offered.

That was why this meeting was so important. This was the chance to become part of the world again, to show every pony that they were not evil ponies and that they only desired friendship and prosperity. A tough sell, but Luna was up for the job. She just wished Celestia came with her, but it was decided that one princess shall remain on the throne when the other left the country as a security measure. That way, if things went south, Equestria would still have one of its leaders.

“Care for a drink, Princess?” The King offered, breaking Luna out of her thoughts. She nodded, taking the glass with her magic, secretly checking it for any abnormalities, finding none she took a sip and was quite surprised by the taste. The drink was bubbly and fizzy and tasted like candy!

“What is this?” Luna asked, amazed by the beverage; it was like nothing she’s ever tasted before! “It tastes like lemonade, but so much better!”

The Griffon King chuckled with amusement at Luna’s reaction, it was a familiar face every creature make when tasting their special brew, but one that never got old. “We call it fruit punch. It’s made from mixing fruit juice with soda pop, a carbonized water of sorts; it’s a rather addicting taste, though unhealthy if one drinks it too often. The sugar, you know.”

Luna gulped down her glass with an exasperated sigh, “Indeed. I would trade a hundred gold bits for a barrel to take home for my sister if you would be willing to part with it.”

“Why, of course! Why for a hundred bits I would give you fifty barrels!” Silverous joyfully boasted, “However, if you wish to produce your own products, we will have to discuss some royalty rights for the recipe.”

Smiling as a servant refilled her glass Luna tapped her hoof on the table, Nightingale arrived at her side and offered a scroll, “Then I am to assume the trade bargaining has begun?”

Silverous smirked, his own accountants and advisers appeared around him like a protective shield. “Indeed it has, now on the exchange rate between gold bits and silver shackles, I believe the current exchange is two bits for one silver?”

The smile Luna had been sporting dropped. (Two gold bits for one silver shackle, how could this be?) “Pardon me, my good king, but last I heard gold was more valuable than silver, is it not?”

“Oh, it is my dear princess, it is,” Silverous chuckles tossing two gold bits in his claws, “But I should clarify, two Equestrian gold bits are worth one silver shackle. You see Princess Luna, your coins only contain fifty percent gold, while mine contains one hundred percent silver. The current gold markets are not helping either.”

“I see, it is something I must take into consideration than as we parley,” Luna replied, feeling uneasy about the decline of her countries currency. “Let us continue.”

“Lets,” Silverous grinned, his eyes practically dollar signs.

---

Luna flopped onto her guest bed with a long sigh, she was exhausted, both mentally and physically. The trade talks went ok, but not great, she wouldn’t be going home with proclamations of besting the griffon king of bartering in a heated debate. At best, she got an equal exchange of goods, but she felt Silverous had gotten the better deal in the end. He hadn’t asked for much, just seeds of various fruits and grains and some of their metal forging methods.

In return, Luna gained permission to fly ten miles into griffon air space when pursuing monsters and such without needing approval and gain the manufacturing rights to produce copies of the griffon’s armor.

Being able to cross the border with little hassle would greatly benefit them, and it would allow them to interact better with the griffon border towns, which in the long term would allow them better work with their griffon neighbors. Though she had a feeling, the new council wouldn’t see it that way. They probably wouldn’t understand the need for learning the griffon’s armor crafting methods.

Luna could already feel the headache forming as she imagined trying to explain how learning to better their armor for their flying units would be nothing but a plus, but they would probably argue that their current armor was already superior. A fact she would not support, since yes, their armor was made of better materials, but the form was proving to be outdated, especially for those with wings. Despite Starwind’s brilliant designs, he was hard-pressed to make an armor that was universally liked by both pegasi and rinin ponies.

Of course, there were other terms they yet to agree on, this was just the opener for things to come, but none the less no pony would be hundred percent happy with her no matter what terms and trades she managed to get from the griffons.

“Rough day, Princess?” Nightingale joked emerging from the bath. “I know it’s been a while, but you shouldn’t be out of shape already, it wasn’t that long of a walk.”

After their debates, King Silverous’s son, Silvercuis, took them on a tour of the griffon countryside as promised. Much of the Griffon Kingdom was mountain peaks and cliffs with pockets of trees and valleys here and there. Overall it was a fun and exciting flight, but the shifting winds around the mountains were too dangerous for ponies that didn’t know their patterns. So Silvercuis argued for them to walk back to the palace while they waited for the wind to die down, which did not happen for several hours.

“We were out for most of the afternoon, and well, it was beautiful scenery. I was unprepared for such an adventure after such a rigorous debate. Besides, I’m certain I would have maneuvered fine through the wind storm if given a chance.” Luna huffed, she didn’t blame the prince for his caution. If she were by some chance to get hurt, it would be his head at stake. She wouldn’t blame him if something did happen, but in difficult times even a minor accident could seem like an assassination attempt.

Nightingale shrugged and carried on with drying her mane. There were more than enough rooms in the castle that everypony in their party to have their own, but for security reasons, it was decided that Nightingale would stay in the Princess’s room, while Sixes returned to the Moon Cutter, which was docked in the courtyard just below their window. If the need should arise, Sixes could be here in six seconds. He made it a point that the griffon royal guards knew that.

“Do you have tomorrow’s schedule ready?” Luna asked, settling down to sleep. Usually, she would be awake at this hour, but it wouldn’t do to fall asleep during her talks with the king, so she forced herself to follow a daytime schedule.

Nightingale nodded, but her brow was bent in a frown reading off the events King Silverous planned for them. “Yes, tomorrow, we will be attending a tournament.”

Luna’s ears flopped down at the mention of the tournament matching Nightingale. No surprise. Their last visit to a Kingdom that held a competition had ended in much tragedy. Those memories of the Crystal War lingered in both mare’s mind.

“I’m sure there is nothing to fear Nightingale. I highly doubt there will be another… a situation like before.” Luna tried to assure her, or maybe she was trying to reassure herself. “It’s not like we are participating this time, we are just here to enjoy the games.”

“We were just spectators last time, too,” Nightingale reminded her. “You know as well as I do that the griffons respect two things, gold and strength, they’ve seen unimpressed with our gold, so they will no doubt call for a test of strength under the guise of friendly competition.”

Luna hummed recalling the griffon traditions, and Nightingale was right; they have a history of doing such things, but, “True, but griffons follow the rule of three, and we only have two warriors as I cannot fight in the tournament as it would be unfair. We’ll be fine as long as no pony discovers our back up.”

Topaz Slicer, one of the ponies rescued from rainbow factory two years ago and the forgotten brother of the Night Hunter Emerald Cutter, was their back up force for this trip. He joined the patrollers right away and with Nightingale ascended to the title of Night Hunter quickly due to his skills. He had quite the talent for slashing his opponents to pieces. Though his relationship with his sister was still a budding friendship at best, his attempts to connect with her have been limited, but it was not Luna’s place to judge his behavior in the matter.

“If we can just keep his presence here secret, I doubt we will have to worry about any tournaments this trip.”

“Whatever you say, Princess,” Nightingale said, sounding unconvinced while crawling into bed.

Luna wiggled into her sheets for a good night’s sleep, never noticing the small shadow fly out of the window above her.

---

The morning found Luna tired and haggard. No matter how much she tried, the Princess of the Night could not get adjusted to daylight hours. She didn’t even know why they had to be up so early, the tournament wasn’t until the afternoon, sure there was breakfast, but she could have easily had a late brunch instead. Of course, that wasn’t the only thing bothering her this morning. The Griffon King offered her a “Present” to wear to the tournament. The gift before her laying in the box it came in.

“I cannot believe he sent this!” Luna’s tone pitched at the sight of the beautifully designed silver saddle Arabia saddle with a dark blue skirt that was just a hair more blacker than her coat. “He must be aware of what such clothing means! Right?” She asked the only other pony in the room, which was Nightingale, and she didn’t want anything to do with this.

“Perhaps he just misunderstood the cultural differences.” Nightingale reluctantly replied, rereading the King’s note. From what she understood, the King meant no ill will with his gift, he was just generous. He probably didn’t know what saddles of this design were intended for, and hopefully, the rest of the griffons wouldn’t know either. “It would be an insult to refuse it, you know.”

Luna sighed, knowing her guard was right, it was too late to get word to the king. He was already at the arena waiting for her, no doubt already boasting about his gift to her, if she showed up without it on, it would be rude at best and possibly ending their budding alliance at worse.

“Well, help me get it on then, perhaps I can use this to my advantage later after I inform Silverous on our customs.”

Strapping the saddle to her back, Luna allowed Nightingale to tighten the leather belt under her belly, requiring her to suck in her gut for the strap to be tightened properly. She had to admit the saddle suited her nicely, and the skirt did add a little dramatic flair when she walked.

“Perhaps I should do something with my hair. What do you think, Nightingale?” The Night Hunter gave her a dead-eyed stare in response. “Right, not your thing.”

Nightingale coughed into her hoof, “Yes, well, your hair is a floating mass of energy, so there’s not much to work with anyway, how about some earrings instead?” She held up a pair of silver crescent moon-shaped earrings for Luna to see. The princess took them in her magic and examined them.

“These will do nicely,” Luna complemented, attaching the jewelry. “Come, we will be late. I’m sure Sixes paced a trench into the floor by now.”

---

The griffon arena was like all places in the griffon kingdom on a cliff, several cliffs to be exact. The stadium was an open space filled with tall pillars of stone and wood and several smaller platforms for ground fighting, but the vast majority of it was for air combat, which made sense griffons were master fighters on land and in air.

The seating was spread out around the arena in four sections that form a large circle. Each set of stands were carved into a surrounded cliff face and connected with several bridges running between them. The risers were set in four different sections, commoners, lesser nobles, high nobles, and royalty.

Naturally, as a royal guest, Luna was seated next to the King and his kin, which comprised of his only son Silvercuis. Both griffons greeted her and her entourage with a nod as she took her seat next to the king. The position usually reserved for the Queen. An uneasily feeling settled in Luna’s stomach at the thought of the Griffon King being enthralled with her.

A complete logical fallacy, there was no way the king could have any real feelings for her, but politically? That was possible. Hopefully, that wasn’t the case. She’s hate to start a war by refusing his proposal.

“A lovely day, isn’t it, Princess Luna?” Silverous said, handing her a glass of wine, which she accepted. “And I must stay; you do look rather lovely in that saddle. I wasn’t sure if it was an appropriate gift, but the Queen of Saddle Arabia assured me it would be appreciated.”

“Queen Rahla suggested the gift?” That was surprising; Luna has not seen the queen in many years, not since the gala before… the incident with Yellowblood. She wondered how the queen was doing. At that time, the queen had been a young princess about to be married.

Silverous nodded, “Oh yes, I had her here as a guest not too long ago. In fact, she was the one that convinced me to accept your suggestion for our meeting. Did you know she’s a grandmother already? At age fifty! Can you believe it?”

“Fifty… Rahla that old already?” Luna gasped.

Silverous nodded grimly, “Indeed, sad to say, but her health seems to be in decline. She was frail when last I saw her. Some new aliment has struck her, and it seemed to be slowly killing her, but don’t worry. She says she’s lived a happy life and wanted me to give you her regards. I’m afraid she’s not expected to last past the summer.”

Her throat suddenly became dry. “Why did she not tell me? I would have come and seen her; perhaps we could have found a cure or something. We have some of the greatest magicians of the century in Equestria we could… we could do something.”

“I’m afraid I don’t entirely understand her reasoning, but perhaps she just wanted to spare you the trouble. After all, Alicorns live much so longer lives than normal ponies or griffons for that matter. What is one more death to such a long-lived being?”

He had a point. Luna and Celestia have met many ponies in their long lives, and many of them are gone, taken by time. Maybe it was easier to simply let them slip by? After all, she hadn’t thought about Queen Rahla for years. Her being gone wouldn’t affect her life anymore in death as it had in life, yet it felt like she was losing a good friend.

“I sense I have made the mood sour, come let us enjoy the games, please tell me what you think of our warriors. Do you think they are a match for yours?”

Wanting any kind of distraction, Luna focused her attention on the match below between two griffons, a red and white griffon with the body of a hawk and mink and a black and grey griffon that was half raven and half panther.

“Both are skilled fighters to be sure, defiantly on par with any of her standard patrollers, but…” Luna drew out her verdict, the King leaned in close. “Their good Silverousan equal match for any night patroller, but a night hunter would fly circles around them.”

“I see,” The king stroked his goatee, “And I am to assume a Night Hunter is a… elite knight of sorts, such as my Talon Knights?” Luna nodded, and his grin widened. “A bold claim and one I would love to wager on. What say you to a little friendly competition between our guards? I’m assuming you have some of your… Night Hunters with you?”

She knew this was coming, and she almost walked straight into it! “Only two I’m afraid, not enough for a traditional three on three bouts, you know what they say, one is boring, two is ok, but three is perfect.”

“True, very true,” Silverous said, Luna really didn’t like his tone, “But I’m sure you would have a… backup guard? Say one on your ship? In case things were to go south, he could swoop in and secure your escape.”

Luna’s eyes narrowed at the king, he knew, he knew Topaz Slicer was on the ship, but how did he know? Could he have sent someone to check the Moon Cutter? No. Even if it was docked on griffon land, the Moon Cutter was basically an Equestrian embassy, taking one step on it without permission could be considered an act of war. Also, Topaz would have reported any spies to her, meaning the king had found out another way, perhaps a spy in her room? Possible, but she had checked for such things before falling asleep and found nothing of the sort.

“Well, princess, am I wrong?” He urged. Baiting her further. He wasn’t going to let this go until she agreed.

She could deny it and settle this matter. Luna doubted Silverous would take the time to actually check the ship for Topaz Slicer just to call her buff, it would be the smart thing to do, to lie, but is would also be cowardly. Right now, she was feeling pretty peeved about being spied on.

“Your deductions are correct, my dear King, but what will the terms of the wager be?” If the King wanted to play this game, she would play it, but she would make him pay for taking her lightly. “I was thinking we both wager our terms for trade, and for every match won, the other has to agree to the terms, with no amendments.”

“A bold wager, but I except,” Silverous shook her hoof, marking the agreement. “I shall fetch my finest warriors.”

“I hope you do.” Luna shot back, there was a collective gasp from the crowd as she hopped off her seat and marched away. Nightingale following in her wake.

---

Sixes, Nightingale, and Slicer all stood at attention in the arena pits with Luna pacing in front of them. She was a whirlwind of emotions from angry, to irritated, back to hostile, and then apologetic.

“I have messed up.” She admitted coming to a stop. “I’ve let my emotions control my thoughts and actions instead of doing what I should have done. Now you three must put your lives on the line for my mistake. The griffon’s battles always go for life or death, and the mere turning of a claw could decide your fates should you find yourselves at your opponent's mercy. Not that I expect you to lose, but I must be frank about what could happen. Take heart in knowing that you can defend yourselves with little worry of a political backlash to Equestria, if you feel you have no choice you can kill your opponent, you are allowed to do so. This is not a friendly match between our two nations. This is a blood match for fancy. Remember that.”

“Aye ma’am,” Sixes saluted, Luna’s eyes lingered on the golden veins on his neck, even after two years the effects of eating the yellow alicorn amulet were still clearly visible. Gadget or Starwind described it as a sort of a magical scar. “We won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t,” Luna replied, leaving the waiting area to go back to her seat. Leaving the three Night Hunter’s to organize their battle plan.

“So,” Nightingale said aloud after several minutes of silence, weren’t the games suppose to have started by now? “How are things with you and Crusader? Still not connecting?”

Sixes huffed, not really wanting to talk about his artificially created son. He cared for the white rinin, though more as a comrade then a son he would admit, and he told Crusader such after several awkward attempts to bond. Course he wished that’s where it ended, but it didn’t. The feather Hoofenstein used to help create Crusader was, in fact, Celestia’s, meaning Crusader was also her son, and she played the role of a parent much better than he did.

The solar princess spent time with the boy, trained him, and taught him about the world. The two have become attached to each other over the past two years. Crusader served as Celestia’s personal guard where ever she went, though their actual relationship was secret from the public. Sixes was fine with all this, he was glad Crusader had somepony to connect with, but he wished his son would stop trying to force him and Celestia together. He could understand his son’s desire for them to be a real family, but the whole thing was just too much for him, and he’s been accepting any away missions posted.

His total time spent at the castle in the past year equaled roughly a week.

“Fine, everything is fine, he’s guarding Celestia as she tours the developing cites.” Sixes answered. Under the pegasi’s skeptical glare, he avoided direct eye contact, not that it would make a difference. Everypony in night patrol knew his feelings on the matter. He just wished they’d stop asking about it.

“How are things with Fury?” He shot back, getting a stunned silence and blush for his jab.

Nightingale turned up her head and looked away, “None of your business.”

“Take your own advice then next time,” Sixes replied, knowing that Fury’s and Nightingale’s relationship really wasn’t his business, but Fury made it habit to keep him up to date on it whenever they were off duty. Another thing he wished would stop happening.

“So, who’s up first?” Sixes asked, wanting to break away from the personal chatter. “I thought I should go first.”

“Traditionally, griffons compete in ranks, starting with the lowest-ranked to the highest in a team setting.” Topaz Slicer stated earning looks of surprise from his teammates. “What? I had to do something while waiting on the ship, and I figured we’re in Griffon country might as well learn about griffons.”

Sixes blinked, shaking his head with a smirk. “You’re always eager to learn. Sometimes I wish I was still so energetic about the world.” He laughed, earning some strange looks from his comrades, but he didn’t mind. A while ago, when he first joined Night Patrol Sixes learned as much as he could, but after the Crystal War, and took on a higher rank, he’s had less time for such things. “So how do we decide who goes first? We are all technically the same rank.”

“If combatants are of the same rank, then the junior will go first followed by the senior by years of service, so first to fight would me,” Topaz pointed to himself, “Followed by Nightingale and then you Commander Sixes.”

Satisfied that their lineup was all ready to go, Sixes ordered his fellow Night Hunters to remain quiet, waiting for the matches to begin. Each of them went through a set of stretches that they all did before going out on a mission, such as flexing claws and wings, testing their breath magic, etc., it was a simple way to ensure everything was working correctly.

Outside, a gong rang, and the doors opened, allowing them access to the arena. Together they walked out, heads held high, eyes focused forward as they marched. At this moment, they represented all of Equestria, but more importantly, they fought for Luna.

“No pony loses a match, were going to crush these guys, and if things go south like in the Crystal Empire, we grab Luna and book it to the Moon Cutter, let nothing get in your way.” Sixes whispered as they come to the edge of the cliff, their opponents waited on the other side.

“Slicer, you’re up, don’t let us down.”

Topaz nodded, breaking away from the group to the pillar in the middle of the arena.

---

The griffon that broke rank was the same red and white griffon fighting from earlier. Meaning he warmed up and filled with adrenaline. From his lack of heavy breathing, Topaz surmised that the matches were planned from the very beginning. He shouldn’t be surprised, this was a prevalent political tactic employed by the griffons. He was more surprised that they were still using it. The book he read was over twenty years old.

(You’d think they’d update the practice after publishing the book.)

That just made it all the easier for Topaz, the griffon’s means of combat were still the same, having read that book was worth the time hiding in the storage room. The primary weapons of choice for Griffon’s included swords, spears, and blow darts, usually accompanied with shields and a moderate amount of armor for protection.

The griffon before him wore what seemed to be a customized version of their standard armor, outfitted to be lighter and more maneuverable. He didn’t carry a sword or spear, and Topaz didn’t see a blowgun anywhere on the griffon’s body.

(What are those two cylinders he’s carrying? A new weapon? Or something he wiped up himself?)

The announcer’s voice broke Topaz’s line of thought. A device projected the proctor's voice over the arena. “For the first match fighting for the Griffon Kingdom, our very own RED RUFUS of the hawk clan!” The crowd went wild the red and white griffon waved and bowed to the audience with much fanfare. He seemed rather popular. “And the challenger from the far lands of Equestria, the dragon pony Topaz Slicer!”

The crowd was a murmur of whispers, it was expected they wouldn’t take a shine to him, but they seem more confused than anything. Of course, this was probably the first time they’ve ever heard or seen a dragon pony before. After all, dragon ponies were only a legend in Equestria, and Topaz wasn’t even a natural born one.

The crowd grew restless. Some griffon shouted that Equestria had brought monsters to a civilized arena. The announcer tried to quell the audience, but their whispers becoming a roar, most of the chatter was shouts of how it was unfair their champion fight such a freak as him. A fact that was probably closer to the truth they might think. Not to brag, but dragon ponies tend to have the edge in everything in Topaz’s opinion.

Eventually, the crowd did settle down after Red Rufus spoke up, “My dear fans, please do not think this unfair, but think of this as a worthy challenge of my skill, for not even the might of dragon will save this pony from my flying talons!”

Well, not a particular motivating speech in Topaz’s mind, it did do the job, the crowd settled down and the announcer or maybe he was the referee, flew away to the highest perch, no doubt to get a good bird’s eye view of the arena and explained the rules.

The rules of the contest were relatively straightforward. They had to stay within the arena limits, even in the sky, course the arena was over a five-mile radius, so that’s wasn’t a big deal and then they could only use the weapons they brought and natural abilities and if somepony surrendered the contestant was to be left alone, but if they say nothing and died it was ok.

“Ready gentle creatures?” The announcer raised his talon in the air. “Begin!”

Author's Note:

Edited 1/9/202

Comments

[Enderstorm]

Arena match or not, I'm imagining that if any of Luna's ponies die, the peace talks are over.