Prim Rose's Redemption

by Hope

Chapter 27

“Drop the Portculli!”

Prim Rose’s cry, magically amplified from the top of the tallest tower in the Everfree Castle, was triggered by the sight of nearly a hundred griffons taking flight from the edge of the forest. Clearly, they had decided to avoid the trapped and obstructed road that had led to the city.

Three heavy clangs of metal settling into stone rang out, followed by the battle cries of the Guards, as those that could fly took to the sky, rising into the air to perch on the thick cloud layer that had been erected over the castle.

“Secure the vaults!”

Deep in the castle, the citizens who had not been able to flee were taken into the catacombs and vaults and sealed in with plenty of food and water to survive a potential siege.

“Prepare arms!”

As the griffons began their flight towards the castle, some carrying siege engine parts in nets slung between many of them, the Equestrian guards lowered their spears and halberds to point towards the enemy, bracing for a frontal assault. Some soldiers raised banners with the flag of Equestria on it, and Princess Luna stepped out of the keep and into the courtyard before taking to the air.

Prim and Night Fury both smiled at the sight, their princess in glistening silver armor, wielding a black scythe in her magic, and spiked boots on her hooves. It was impressive to see her so confident, in her element and ready to defend her ponies with her life.

“King Grover! Come forth to defend this cowardly action!” Luna cried out as she took wing and rose to hover above the walls of the castle, flanked by her best guards.

The griffons slowed their approach, and fell into a wide arc around the front of the castle. While they faced the armed ponies, a lone banner bearer came forward, heavily armored and with his feathers painted a bright red. He hovered forward until he was immediately in front of Princess Luna.

“King Grover chose not to lead the conquering party himself. Surrender now, and thou shalt be treated fairly, and allowed to retain a portion of thy land!”

Princess Luna’s laugh was low, confident, and accompanied by several of her soldiers.

“Equestria shall never surrender to any foreign nation, and any aggression shall be met with overwhelming force. Thus far the damage done by thy forces number in a claw-full of small towns. Now thy wings darken the skies of Everfree City itself, and it shall be the last time an enemy force ever does so. Leave now, and we shall refrain from any aggression in response.”

The Griffon boldly tore off the banner from the staff it was mounted to, revealing a black jewel mounted to it like a spear.

“The Equestrian country shall be added to the wealth and glory of the Griffon empire, with the aid of the Midnight Blade! Legendary weapon of lore, capable of slaying even an alicorn!”

There was a moment of shock and quiet before Princess Luna resumed her laugh, shaking her head.

“We had never thought… ‘twas a rumor made in jest, thee surely can see that we are a thousand years of strife aged, if this mythical weapon was truly real, we would have been killed by it a dozen times by now!”

There was a moment of hesitation, before the griffon decided what to do, and with a cry of “She lies!” he lunged forward with the gemstone blade, trying to plunge it into Luna’s neck, where her armor was thinnest.

Princess Luna did not even move as the spear hit her neck, and like the thin onyx gemstone it was, it broke. Her magically augmented skin easily deflecting the sharp edges. Her horn lit up in blue and the griffon’s wings were seized in the same glow. In one sharp cry, the wings were removed, and the griffon fell to his death on the stone wall below.

But the demonstration of force was not enough to stop the griffons from initiating their charge. In many places the commanders forced their soldiers to advance, while retreating once the charge had begun. In others, some soldiers tried to turn and flee, only to be forced to fight by the soldiers behind them.

Despite the chaotic nature of the advance, the army still clashed with the waiting ponies, and from Prim’s vantage point in the tower it quickly became an indecipherable and chaotic scene. General Fury seemed able to tell what was happening, based on how she directed her troops and reassured Prim that they would be okay, but nonetheless every time Prim saw a pegasus fall from the sky, whether gliding or dead, she felt terror grip her heart. She felt her hatred for the distant king and the griffons becoming more passionate. Despite all of her reasons to hate them, though, she could see the griffons trying to flee, and being cut down by their own kind. She could see scared and panicked faces, closing their eyes as they lashed out with a blade, not even wanting to see what horrible acts they were committing.

The fighting died down quickly, but the griffons regrouped in a camp just on the other side of the moat, setting up weapons to sling giant arrows into the castle grounds. The sun set during a brief lull in the fighting, and despite herself, Prim could think of nothing else but making sure her princess was uninjured and sound of heart. So she made sure Fury could care for both posts, and descended into the castle to look for Luna.

It took some time, as she was taken aside to help with the injured, then asked about the food stores, and she was briefly needed to address some questions about the catacombs below, and which sections the citizens could occupy.

When she finally arrived in the royal chambers, she witnessed Princess Luna taking off her helmet and setting it aside, as her mares in waiting cleaned her scythe and cloak.

“Your Majesty,” Prim said quietly from the door, bowing until she heard Luna's voice.

“Prim. It is a fine thing to see thee uninjured. All we shall need to raze Griffonstone to the ground is to see thy blood spilled,” She said bitterly as one of her wings, plated on the leading edge in thin steel, wrapped protectively around Prim.

“There shall be no need for such a gesture, your Majesty,” Prim replied with a grateful smile, which faded quickly. “Pardon the forewardness, but were some cutting down their own?”

Luna sighed, grimacing while she nodded.

“We hath seen such before. When an army is comprised of unwilling subjects forced into battle against their will, desertion becomes a crime punished by death. It is the barbarian’s sort of tactic, and we are not surprised that Grover would resort to such to save the cost of true soldiers. Contemptible, forcing us to slay the innocent,” She said as her voice got quieter and more full of bitter grief.

“It is not to thy heart that the blame shall fall,” Prim said as bravely as she could.

“Certainly our heart shall bear enough grief for it,” Luna replied.

But before she could continue her thoughts, the windows of her chambers were blown inward by a burst of light and sound, a brilliant flash of white light flinging shards of glass inward.

On sheer reflex, Prim created a shield around Luna and herself, too late to stop the glass from glancing off Luna's wing and side, but just in time to stop a griffon clad in pure black from driving a sickly green dagger into the princess’s neck.

While she'd seemed amused and incredulous when confronted with the so-called midnight blade, the look of fear on her face made even Prim pause.

When the blade struck the shield, Prim briefly felt as though she had died. Her heart stopped, everything seemed to move so slowly, and there was no sensation besides pain, radiating from her horn throughout her whole body.

After what seemed to be an eternity of pain, it abruptly ended with the loud snap of steel. She became aware of her surroundings again as she watched Luna drop the shattered pieces of the blade on the ground, five assassins lying in blood around her, her maids in waiting huddled against the far door, and Luna's personal guards ensuring the assassins did not get back up.

“Thou art aware once more?” Luna asked Prim gently as she picked up the mare in her magic and laid her down on her own royal bed.

“I am, your Majesty… I'm so sorry that I failed…”

“‘Twas no failure,” Luna said as she helped Prim to drink some water, and brushed her mane out of her eyes. “Thy magic took the void of the Subtle Blade and gave us a moment to act. If thou had not done so there is every chance that they would have used the other weapons they'd had to kill us.”

“And to speak of death...”

Night Fury had entered the room, and she looked worried, her helmet held under a wing so her face was visible.

“To this day, it has been considered treason to ask an alicorn what would kill her. There are no records, no evaluations of a healer, only the myth of immortality. But it is just that, is it not? A myth and nothing more? To protect thee, your Majesty, we must know what threats to guard against.”

Princess Luna closed her eyes, taking a moment to calm herself as her hoof rested on Prim’s neck. After a moment of quiet, Luna nodded.

“Very well. What we tell thee shall not be recorded in any way, dost thou understand?”

Once Night Fury nodded, and the room was cleared of all other ponies, Luna sealed the shattered windows with a pair of dressers crudely shoved half through them, and she re-lit the fire in the fireplace.

“We are immortal in the sense that we shall not die from age, poison, starvation, lack of air, or any of the things from which a pony would perish naturally. But we may be killed.”

The acknowledgement made Night look queasy, looking away as though Luna had done something indecent and Night should avert her eyes.

“These daggers,” Luna said as she used her magic to pick up the broken pieces of steel that still glimmered with a sickly green color. “These are coated in a material that drains magic. It could not kill us alone, but they were in possession of five of them. Were Lady Rose not there to shield us from the first blow, all five may have been used upon us, and enough magic could be drained from us to render us vulnerable to a death by loss of blood.”

“So one of these could cut thy skin?” Night asked, gesturing to the broken pieces of blade.

Wordlessly, Princess Luna picked up a piece in one hoof and pressed it against her other foreleg. Night brought her hoof to cover her mouth in horror as the point pierced Luna’s skin with a sizzling pop, and a dot of red began welling up, while Luna removed the shard and dropped it on the ground.

“It seems so,” she said wearily, looking down at the shard. “The assassination may have been successful. Now, regarding other weaknesses… Were the moon to somehow be destroyed, we would lose all of our power immediately. In theory, at least. If all ponies were driven to abandon us, our power may also fade. There are some weapons which may injure us, such as this Lamentine material, legendary weapons which were forged by ourself or our sister, or by Discord, Sombra, and Tirek. Though there are few of those and it is our belief we managed to destroy most if not all of these weapons. There is a sole poison made from a specific poisoned acorn tree that can strike us ill, but even that shall not kill us.”

“Couldst thou be slain by a typical blade, if wielded with enough force?” Night Fury asked, grimacing at even her own words.

“No. Even were it to pierce us fully, we would not perish. It would simply incapacitate us for a time. Our power would restore our body given time. Lamentine is such a threat as it prevents our magic from functioning.”

Princess Luna wiped her cut clean and revealed it to Night, showing that it was still there, like any mortal pony’s cut that would take time to heal.

“Given a night it shall heal, and this material is so rare that we are certain these blades constitute the majority if not the whole of their supply. If there had been more, we would have likely seen it in the battle this evening.”

Night Fury nodded and relaxed a bit, before looking to Prim and smiling.

“Our brave Lady Rose… Shall she recover swiftly?”

Prim smiled, though it was unsteady until Luna’s hoof found her cheek, and the smile became easier to hold.

“‘Tis a terrible thing, to be so drained, but thy magic shall return, Prim. Given only hours, thy body will regain its strength, and then thy magic. But rest. Rest while we tend to the matters of war.”

“Stay with me,” Prim whispered, pleading.

Night stepped away nervously, clearly feeling that she shouldn’t be there, as Luna hesitated. Slowly, Luna brushed Prim’s mane back and drew the blanket up to cover Prim up to her neck.

“We shall, Prim… We shall,” Luna said softly, before looking to Night. “Bring the Prince, the captain, Svelte, and the others here. We shall not leave her alone after she has saved our life.”

“Yes, your Majesty,” Night said before bowing and exiting, leaving Prim and Luna alone with the guards and the mares in waiting, who had begun to clean up the shattered glass.

“Prim… Thou shalt not perish… All shall be well…”

Prim felt strange, afraid and small, and without asking permission she put her forelegs around Luna’s hoof and held it close, hugging it.

Luna went stiff, but slowly she relaxed and moved so that her hoof laid on Prim’s chest where it would be easier to embrace. Prim closed her eyes and sniffled, but didn’t speak. For a bit of time, they just remained still, while Prim rested in the comfort of her princess.

“I am so sorry,” Prim finally whispered, but she didn’t let go.

“There is no need to apologize, little Rose,” Luna replied as she used her other hoof to turn Prim’s face to look at her, and then clear the tears from her cheeks. “Thou art injured, and in need of care. Care we shall provide.”

Prim wanted to explain why she was sorry, but she felt like if she did, the moment of peace and calm would stop. She would do anything to let it last a little longer. But as the chamber doors opened, Luna carefully extracted her hoof and pet Prim’s head before turning to face the group of ponies that had entered. While they spoke, Prim’s mind wandered, the fatigue making it hard for her to focus, but not granting her the release of sleep.

She watched these ponies planning a fight. Planning to kill and sacrifice lives to keep their nation, to keep their ideals intact. Prim knew Equestria would win. The Griffons had reached too far, let their confidence and greed pave a path they could not successfully travel. They had brought weapons to bear to kill Princess Luna, and been unsuccessful. They were forcing their soldiers to fight a war they did not want to fight.

Prim knew that Equestria would prevail, but she wondered if it would be the same Equestria she’d come to love. Would it remain so open and caring? Would it still be a place other races could live without fear?

Her gaze turned to Svelte, who looked so somber, so tired. Prim had to wonder if the Zebra was having the same thoughts. If she was wondering if Griffons would be treated cruelly due to the actions of their rulers. It all felt hopeless, weary and frightening. But they were in a position of authority which required their persistence. They could not back away from it all, and could not take moral objection to the actions that had to be taken.

“Could we give them a chance to surrender?”

The conversation stopped as everyone present turned to look at Prim.

“We saw how they treated detractors, we must consider other factors,” Svelte said, her voide heavy with sympathy. “Those that may surrender could be slain by their superiors.”

“We are going to defeat them,” Prim said, frustrated and tired. “No matter their tactics. So we give a command. We shall treat any who kill their own as criminals of war, but allow those who surrender to leave peacefully.”

“To intercede in another nation’s matters of war, is it proper?” Prince Spring asked incredulously.

Princess Luna thought on it, quiet for a bit as the others waited nervously.

“There is precedent,” she said as she began to pace her room. “For objection and crimes of war against those who mistreat their soldiers. Sombra and the Crystal ponies were opposed on that ground alone. Equinitarian crisis I believe was cited as our reason for seizing the land.”

“Sombra?” Night Fury asked, never having heard the name before.

“There was once an empire to the north, where ponies made of crystal had lived,” Princess Luna explained. “We and our sister discovered that they had been overcome by a cruel dictator, a stallion who colored himself King of the Crystal Empire. He forced them to fight by magic and mind control. When we discovered his methods, we began preparations for war, and flew there ourselves to stop him. This could be precedent to the current situation, and justify a demand of morality upon King Grover’s soldiers.”

Princess Luna opened and then resettled her wings before smiling down at Prim.

“This may set us upon the proper side of history, a plea to the mercy of this foreign power, justifying our actions henceforth. A fine idea, Prim.”

Prim couldn’t help but blush as she looked up at her princess, smiling in return.

“Anything for thee, your Majesty…”

Prim trailed off as the release of sleep finally found her, and she was able to drift away while the war council resumed their discussions.

Comments

[Skyfall_Blitz]

Good job on that reflex Prim