• Published 14th Sep 2017
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A Rather Large Adventure - BradyBunch



The Mane Six are joined by three others in a quest to use the Elements of Harmony one last time, as a brewing war between Tartarus and the free creatures of the world threatens to destroy Equestria forever.

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Chapter Fifty-three: Equestria at War

One week ago…


A changeling burst into the damp main hall and waved a scroll of paper at the insectile form upon the stony throne. “A message from Canterlot, Prince Thorax!” the deliverer exclaimed.


“Who could it be?” demanded Prince Rutherford, smashing the table he was sitting at with a single hoofstrike. Splinters flew into the air.

“Wallace think it from Celestia,” the yak messenger named Wallace proposed, giving the sealed scroll to his prince.

“How Wallace know this?” Rutherford asked.

“From Princess Celestia to Rutherford of Yakyakistan,” Wallace slowly read on the scroll.


“All right, all right,” Dragon Lord Ember tiredly said, holding out a claw. “Lemme see that.”

Garble gave her the scroll of paper and backed off slowly.

Ember broke the scarlet seal with a sharp-tipped talon and unfurled the paper. “To Dragon Lord Ember of the Dragonlands,” she read. “Your presence is required in Canterlot as soon as possible. In case enemies intercept this message, no further information will be disclosed, other than your actions may determine the fate of the entire continent.”


“Please try to make it to Canterlot by the end of the week. The potential of a recently unexpected event could result in universal catastrophe. Equestria requires your help.”

Blackbeak, a battle-worn griffon, looked wistfully out his window at the sagging houses that comprised the pristine white tree of the city of Griffonstone. He saw boys flying kites and girls playing ball in the streets. Then he sighed and went to his closet.

“Goodbye once again, Griffonstone,” he muttered, dragging a suitcase from its depths and throwing clothes into it. “I'm off to work once more.”


The word war evoked a negative feeling amongst all of Canterlot. War was bad for the upper-class citizens, as the focus of the country would no longer be on them, but instead on the common peoples of Equestria, protecting some outside threat. So when word broke out that a delegation of war would be held by representatives all across Equestria, the city collectively grumbled.

Without Pinkie Pie assisting, assembling the party took nearly a week, barely enough time to get everything done. The first of the delegates from the griffons arrived three days before any of the others, and the griffon ambassador had been watching the entire city get set up after the guest had arrived.

Three days after the week it took to assemble the ambassadors, and treat them to a proper welcome in Canterlot, the official meeting began.

In a large, circular, and gilded room in the royal palace, the three princesses of Equestria sat at one end of a circular crystal table. Prince Shining Armor was over in a corner, attending to his infant daughter, Flurry Heart. Prince Blueblood was proud and tall, next to Celestia. Rutherford, Blackbeak, Thorax, and Ember sat equally spaced around the circumference of the table. Finally, Scorpan was behind Celestia, robed and hooded, with his fist over his heart. Prince Blueblood was eyeing him suspiciously every once in a while. When Scorpan glanced back, however, Blueblood looked away nervously.

Princess Celestia started the meeting by standing up. “We regret the absence of the delegates from Saddle Arabia. If anything is keeping them, we wish them to come quickly. But whether they are here or not, matters must be brought to the table that require all of Equus to be present.”

Scorpan came forward and threw back his hood, exposing his horned, brown-furred face. The outline of his broken wings was visible behind his robe, and when the delegates of Equestria saw him, they all recoiled.

“Gentlecreatures,” Luna said in her dreamy voice. “Meet Scorpan, the benevolent brother of Lord Tirek.”

Suspicion was evident in the glances thrown at the ancient prophet. Scorpan noticed, but proceeded nonetheless.

“A threat emerges,” he intoned, thrusting his arm forward. “The Noxxa makes a move to plunge their black dagger into Equestria. They possess a fixed intent on the everlasting destruction of this land and the peoples who inhabit it.”

“The Noxxa?” Blackbeak said with a hint of ridicule. “I have not heard of such a country.”

“You should pay more attention to your southern borders, Blackbeak,” Luna said. “Beneath Saddle Arabia lies the nation of which we speak, isolated from the rest of the civilized world. There were only two times anypony from Equestria came inside their borders. The first was a mission ten years ago to reclaim a pony of suitable interest called the Unforgiven. Strong Heart, former head of the Royal Guard, spearheaded this expedition.”

“And the second came when my sister-in-law, Twilight Sparkle, was foalnapped and taken prisoner by these same monsters,” Cadence cut in. “It was only thanks to an elite rescue team that she was able to escape with her life.”

“The Noxxa have been a formidable enemy when they were on defense, but they will be even more ruthless on offense. This nation of monsters will strike back with a hammer blow,” Celestia finished. “If all of Equestria is not united when they invade, we risk collapse of entire nations and a genocide of which this world has never seen.”

There was silence for a moment as the message sunk in.

“Rutherford out,” came the gravelly voice of the yak ruler. “Ponies made Noxxa angry in first place. Ponies solve problem on their own.”

“As much as I’d hate to agree with a yak,” Blackbeak added on, earning a snort from Rutherford, “You ponies have made them angry in the first place. This is your problem, not Griffonstone's.”

“Hold on, you guys,” Thorax pleaded, extending his arms. “Let's hear Celestia out. We don't even know what she wants out of us yet!”

Rutherford and Blackbeak, who were both half-rising from their seats, gave reluctant mumbles and sat back down.

“If there is any time to reaffirm the alliances we have made with each other,” Celestia said, as calm and serene as ever, “it is now. Without your help, the Noxxa will sweep across Equestria and slaughter creatures of all races in their wake. We're not exaggerating by much when we say that Marshal Malice--the head of the enemy army--has innumerable hosts of Noxxa at his disposal.”

“So why not make a peace treaty?” Thorax curiously asked Celestia. “He can surely agree to at least hearing out terms of peace.”

Princess Luna shook her head. “We have reliable information from spies of our own. Noxxa exist for the sole purpose of the extinction of life. With an army of the size he possesses, and of the hatred he has installed into the Noxxa he commandeth, it is obvious what his intentions are. Marshal Malice cometh not to subjugate. He cometh to destroy.”

“Well, I'm gonna show him that us dragons aren't gonna give up so easily,” Ember boasted. “If any of these Noxxa come into the Dragonlands, they're gonna get roasted alive!”

“Oh, come on,” Blackbeak grumbled, drumming the table with his talons. “Can't anyone see reason here? The fact that he is as powerful as you say only makes it sensible to stay out of his way.”

“Yak hate to agree with griffon,” Prince Rutherford grumbled, earning a glare from Blackbeak, “but griffon make sense. In mountains, yaks safe. Noxxa not come into mountains.”

“The Noxxa will not stop at the mountains just because it's steep,” Cadence said gravely. “They would throw themselves against it like the waves of the sea until it erodes away--which they can very well afford to do.”

“Yak hide in mountains,” Prince Rutherford insisted.

Cadence gave a flippant wave of her hoof. “Then the Noxxa will invade Yakyakistan and butcher you all.”

Rutherford went silent for a moment. Hearing the Princess of Love speak so offhandedly made the room stop momentarily. Shining Armor gave an incredulous glance at his wife while holding a slumbering Flurry Heart.

“Yaks not like this,” Rutherford growled. “Pony princess threaten us?”

“Not threaten,” Cadence sweetly said. “The term you’re looking for is warning. When the Noxxa invade--that's a when, gentlecolts, not an if--they won't stop at killing only ponies. The Noxxa bear a hatred against all living creatures because of the choice we all made in heaven to live a free life--a life of choices and mistakes. Now, as a result, you have another choice, right here, right now. Either lay idly by as their forces invade our continent, who want to do nothing more than tear the meat off your bones, or stand and preserve your people, your culture, your families, and your friends. Choose wrong, and the entire world will pay the price for your negligence.”

Ember, Thorax, and especially Rutherford had looks of reproval, like if a mother had reminded them of something they should have known. Even Blackbeak looked abashed by the speech. He rested his chin in his claws and said nothing.

“The changeling kingdom is always ready to lend aid to Equestria,” Thorax eagerly spoke up.

“Thy enthusiasm is appreciated,” Luna encouraged. “However, all of Equestria must stand as a whole if we are to eradicate this threat. What say, Prince Rutherford?”

“Yaks don't like ponies,” Prince Rutherford maintained. “Yaks stay in mountains.”

“Is this what Pinkie Pie would have wanted?” Celestia asked Prince Rutherford.

The shaggy-haired prince parted his brown dreadlocks with a hoof to stare at Celestia. Then he began to shoot his gaze into corners of the room as if expecting the party pony to materialize out of nowhere. “Where honorary yak, anyway?” he questioned.

“Pinkie Pie is on a special mission to acquire a secret weapon,” Celestia answered. “If she is left hanging without support, she, alongside her friends, may perish.”

“What?” Rutherford exploded in shock. “Pink pony could die?”

“It is in the realm of possibility,” Cadence admitted.

“Would Pinkie Pie abandon thee in times of trouble?” Luna said in a soothing tone.

Prince Rutherford looked very shy all of a sudden.

“And wilt thou abandon Pinkie Pie in her time of trial?” Luna continued.

Prince Rutherford was silent except for his hums of contemplation.

Finally the large, shaggy animal nodded and gave a sigh. “Yakyakistan fight for Equestria. But because of honorary yak only. Understand?”

“Completely,” Celestia acknowledged.

“Blah, blah, blah. Reason has left the room,” Blackbeak interjected. “No one would even be in this mess if you hadn't poked the Noxxa with a stick.”

“It matters not if we had or hadn't,” Luna patiently said to the Griffon ambassador. “The Noxxa wish to conquer or destroy all life on the planet. Nothing we have ever done or could do will change that. If anything, we have prevented them from further mobilizing for a stronger attack twenty years in the future. They are less prepared now than they would have been otherwise.”

Blackbeak nodded sullenly, but still held a defiant glint in his eye as he spoke next. “It seems as though only you know of this enemy race, while the rest of the world remains hidden from their knowledge. What else do you know that you are not telling us, hm?”

“Geez, dude!” Ember snorted. “You're like a game of whack-a-mole. Every time a question gets answered, you pop up with another one. Just surrender already so we can all fight! Not keep fighting until you're forced to surrender!”

Blackbeak, after sputtering like an old lighter, pointed an eagle talon at her. “You stay out of this, fire-breath.”

Scorpan imperceptibly took his hand out of his long brown robe.

“Blackbeak, please,” Cadence pleaded. “Show respect at the negotiation table.”

“Griffonstone will not be a part of a wartime alliance with you ponies,” Blackbeak refused. “If the Noxxa make an attack on Griffonstone, we will accept your help, but until then, we will look out for ourselves without being drawn to your little crusade. Now-” He stood up from the table. “-If you'll excuse me…”

Behind Celestia, the gnarled and old Scorpan extended a finger. “Shak.”

Blackbeak froze in place like he had become a statue. He tried to wiggle his way out, but the spell Scorpan had cast made him immobile.

“I encourage you to rethink your position,” Scorpan said slowly, walking around the edge of the table. “Stay in this room for sixty seconds more, and your stance on this war will flip.”

“All the more reason for me to leave while I still can!” Blackbeak angrily responded, tugging at the field encasing him.

“Please, Blackbeak,” Blueblood eased him, speaking for the first time in that meeting. “Allow this... eccentricity the benefit of the doubt. Placate his ego by staying in this room for a minute more, and then you can leave without any hard feelings.”

His aunt gave him a questioning, almost disapproving look. But as Blueblood had not said anything directly offensive, Princess Celestia let it slide.

“Fine,” Blackbeak growled. Scorpan waved his hand, and the bulky griffon was free. As he rubbed the back of his neck, he pointed accusingly at Scorpan. “Fine. I accept your little challenge. If anything happens in sixty seconds to make me change my mind, the griffons will enter the war. But if not, our alliance with Equestria is to be dissolved.”

Scorpan nodded without emotion. "More like forty seconds by now."

"What, is there a timer behind your eyes?" Blackbeak demanded.

"The Prophet of Faust knows how to keep time," Scorpan emotionlessly replied.

"He can?" Blueblood snidely remarked.

Scorpan made no comment.

"Can we not still be ready to meet them in battle without the griffon's help?" Thorax asked. "The forces of the changelings alone are enough to expand your forces considerably."

"I did not invite Blackbeak here because I thought he would be useless," Celestia said. "Griffons are renowned warriors. There's a reason why they once had an empire rivaling Equestria's."

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, that time is gone," Blackbeak snapped. "Griffonstone is in disrepair. Our well-being must come first, and I am not inclined to give our country over to the disease of globalism, even to ward off a common enemy."

"In this time of war, we need everyone we can get!" Ember piped up.

"Whether war actually come still uncertain," Rutherford pointed out.

"Like we've said, they've been preparing for years now," Luna said.

"And they prepare for years more?" Rutherford suggested.

"Fifty seconds are up," Ember reported. The entire room fell into a tense silence.

At the fifty-five second mark, a pattering of frantic hoofsteps sounded outside the door to the chamber. The door banged open at the fifty-eighth second to reveal an out-of-breath unicorn courier panting in exhaustion. She drew in a breath at the fifty-ninth second, and a the sixty-second mark, the blue courtier delivered her desperate message in a shrill voice.

“ Ambassador Blackbeak... Griffonstone... has been attacked!”

Every creature in the room gasped. Even Flurry Heart.

“What?!” Blackbeak exclaimed in delayed shock. He whirled to look at Scorpan, whose face was as indeterminable as ever. Blackbeak himself looked like he had seen a ghost.

“Two dozen griffons managed to escape the carnage,” the courier shakily continued, scooting aside. “One’s here to confirm the message.”

In trudged a bruised and bandaged griffon, leaning on a crutch, with his arm and leg in slings. The maroon fur on his body was jagged and hastily cut, and his yellow eyes showed madness. Blackbeak paled and swallowed something sour.

“Sir?” the courtier prompted. He gently nudged the griffon. “Sir, could you talk? What was the invasion... like?

“It was dark,” the survivor mumbled, staring off into space. “And fiery. The flames, oh, the flames…” He shivered. “Bugs. Bugs. Black bugs. They killed…” He paused and sniffled. “They killed my friends.” His eyes were hollow and dark. “All of them.” His tone was matter-of fact. “Just stuck a sword through their necks. Blood, blood, so much blood. My feet were soaked in puddles. All I see is red. Fire and blood. Red.” He became more frenzied in his gesticulations and tone. “Look! Can't you see it?! The tree! It's burning! And there! It's...it's a dragon!

“Gunther!” the courtier exclaimed, steadying him.

The griffon swiped him aside with a heavy sweep of his arm, and he collapsed on the floor. “No! You won't kill me today, you filthy pest! Run for your life! The Pale Rider! He's here!" Gunther collapsed on the floor and curled up into a quivering ball. Tears leaked from his eyes and soaked the bandages on his head. “No! No! No! No! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! Please! Pleeee…” He let out a wail of grief. “Spare me! I beg... don't! No!”

Celestia ignited her horn, her face displaying pity, and a ball of white light drifted from the tip and lazily sailed through the air before it touched the griffon's forehead, causing Gunther to close his eyes and fall asleep.

Blackbeak gaped at the war-torn griffon survivor in abject shock. He then stared at Scorpan, and his eyes went wild with rage. “YOU!” he roared, and lunged for Scorpan. Thorax and Ember restrained him mid-air, and Blackbeak struggled in his captor's grip.

Prince Blueblood arched his eyebrows in interest at the struggling griffon. A small smile worked its way to his face as he gave a sideways glance at Scorpan as well. Another ally could perhaps be formed here.

“Ngh! You! This is your fault! Yours!”

“Did I cause the attack on Griffonstone?” Scorpan sadly asked.

“No! You just-” He roared and struggled some more. “Why didn't you tell me? Who do you think you are?”

“I was as unaware as you were,” Scorpan answered with remorse. “All that was revealed was that something would change your mind. I did not know what it was. I simply had faith.”

“You little-!” he started venomously, but could not say any more. He lunged in anger once more, but Ember and Thorax continued to hold him. “I don't... you can't...” Reality began to sink back into him as he started sentence after sentence and failed to finish each one.

“Blackbeak,” Cadence assured. “No one will blame you if you’d like to take a few minutes to gather your thoughts?”

Blackbeak looked like he was about to spit venom at the princess of love. But when he saw her genuinely concerned face brimming with a desire to help, he relaxed his composure gradually. All of a sudden he looked absolutely miserable.

“Thank you, Princess... I think... I’ll take you up on that.”

Thorax and Ember let go of him at last. The abject griffon was now standing still, looking with pity at the unmoving form of the injured griffon survivor on the floor.

“Take me out of here,” he finally croaked, brimming with tears. “Take me out. Please. I-” He took a ragged inhale.

Without another word he spun on his heel, crossed the room, and banged through the doors. Those in the room could see him walk down the hall stiffly. A soft sniffle came from Blackbeak, and he paused to wipe his face with an elbow before marching on.

Cadence left the room to be at Blackbeak’s side. The rest of the room was left as still and somber as if they were in a graveyard.

It was at this very moment when a swirl of yellow magic appeared from a window, flew through the air, and materialized in the shape of a scroll in front of Princess Celestia. The white alicorn stared at it in shock for only a second before snatching the scroll and unfurling the strip of old leather binding it.

“Is that-” Shining Armor started.

“Indeed!” Celestia eagerly replied, scanning her eyes across the paper, which was old and tattered. “Word from Princess Twilight!”

“Well, don’t leave yak waiting,” Rutherford declared. “Read it!”

The room was dead silent as Celestia read the message to herself.

“No,” Celestia whispered, clutching the paper so hard it creased.

“What is it?” Shining Armor asked in concern.

“There’s good news and bad news,” Celestia replied.

“Good news first,” Shining Armor maintained.

Celestia laid the paper bare on the table. “The good news is, the first missing element has been recovered.”

“Thank Mother!” Luna praised loudly. This earned a few odd stares from the ambassadors.

“Element?” Ember aksed, confused.

“... and the bad news?” Shining Armor asked in concern.

“She and the others have been trapped under about a thousand feet of rock under the abandoned city of Maretania for two days now. Only one day's worth of supplies remain.”

Shining Armor's face hardened. “Princess, let me go to her rescue! I won't let my sister die under a rock!”

“She will indeed not,” Celestia agreed. “Take fifty of the best guards in the barracks and launch an expedition to Maretania by chariot. The rest of the forces of Equestria will rendezvous near the northernmost border in Manehattan and Fillydelphia. With Griffonstone gone, Marshal Malice will surely strike there next, and we’ll be ready for him.”

“I second this notion,” Luna added. “I shall overlook the training of new recruits to boost our numbers. Marshal Malice has prepared his army much quicker than we have previously thought.”

“My guess is his master overheard me listening in to their conversation in Tartarus,” Scorpan theorized. “He must have ordered Malice to speed up his regimentation after that discovery.”

“How can we help, Princess?” Thorax questioned.

“How soon can you move out?” Luna answered laconically.


“Three, maybe five days after I return to the Changeling kingdom. We haven’t exactly been focused on raising an army right now.”

“Yak always ready to fight. Yak send forces immediately.”

“Fiiiine, I'll send out a conscription for the dragons. It'll take some time, though.”

“Excellent work, all of you. Let us not waste any more time. This meeting is adjourned for now.”

K'ra finished jotting down notes from his spot in the ceiling. With his earpiece snugly in his ear, he was able to overhear everything the ponies and their allies planned, thanks to the electronically-bugged Prince Blueblood. The poor fool hadn't even known he was delivering information to the enemy! A true dunderhead if there ever was one!

As K'ra finished writing the last of his notes, he switched wavelengths on his spazzing homemade radio to contact Noxxa High Command.

“Status Report.” High Command's voice was bored.

“I've got a bounty!” K'ra greedily hissed.

Suddenly, the voice didn’t sound so bored.

Without delay, the spy relayed all of the information he had gathered regarding the alliances between Equestria and the other nations on the continent.

“There's one bump,” he cautioned near the end. “Equestria now knows that we attacked Griffonstone. We've lost the element of surprise.”

Silence came from the other end as High Command digested his words.

“How goes the search for the Elements?” the voice came back on.

“Princess Twilight and the others have obtained an Element, I do not know which one, but they are now trapped beneath a thousand feet of rock with supplies for only a day. Celestia has sent her brother on a rescue mission, but if my mental math is correct, she will be long dead before he arrives.”

“Where might that be?”

“Maretania,” he relayed.

A loud burst of feedback hit the speaker of the radio, and K'ra cringed.

“Maretania?” came a high, cold, and clear voice.

K'ra felt like a viper had hatched in his chest. It was him! Marshal Malice himself!

“Y-yes, s-sir,” he stuttered in sudden fear.

“Maretania.. .It's a small town on the eastern seashore. Easily accessible by a small force.” The marshal's pondering words made K'ra breath with more difficulty.

“With an Element of Harmony under their belts, they cannot be permitted to gain another. We must also obtain Twilight Sparkle. She is the one our... master... needs the most for his reign to be complete.” The marshal went silent as he pondered the information. “We’re not going to get another chance like this again. Let’s make sure this rescue operation is a failure. I will see to it personally.”

“But sir!” a voice cried from the radio. “With you gone, who will lead the army into Manehattan?”

Marshal Malice sniffed in the radio, making K'ra twitch his ears.

“Terror.”

K'ra felt like his heart was in his throat. Him?

“Are you sure, my Lord?” came the voice of High Command. “Terror is not exactly the most stable of soldiers. Without your sophistication and order…”

A choking sound came clearly over the radio broadcast.

“Terror...will keep you in line,” Malice snarled calmly. “Obey his word as you would mine. Whether it’s by my own voice or the voice of my servant, it is the same.”

His attention turned back to K'ra on the other end of the broadcast. “As for you, my little Nox. I have a special job for you. The Equestrian government is moving faster than I anticipated. Cause something to slow them down. Use your imagination. Just as long as it reminds them that this war will come upon them sooner than they thought.”

K'ra nodded with his mouth dry. “It will... be done, my Lord.”

“Good.” The choking of the High Command officer was still going on in the background. “I will not tolerate a half-baked job, K'ra. I would so hate to lose my only source of intel on the ponies...”

K'ra nodded uncomfortably. “I understand, my Lord.”

A faint tinkle came from the other end just as the choking noise stopped. It was the sound of trickling dust.

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