Chapter 32: Unwilling Recruit
Velar sat in the garden courtyard of the Canterlot General Hospital, pretending that he wasn’t a prisoner. It wasn’t hard—his guards kept their presence discrete, and they hadn’t tormented him with shackles or any other indignities. He hadn’t missed the armed guards always lurking just out of sight—but as long as they didn’t keep him locked up inside anymore, that didn’t matter.
The Equestrians might not be much for war, but damn if they didn’t know how to keep a garden. There were so many different flowers, so much that was alive, he could almost pretend he was safe behind the walls of a Virtue monastery.
Starlight Glimmer hadn’t come back with more secrets for him to give away, and Velar was beginning to wonder if she ever would. Maybe the ponies would keep him captive in this garden until his father agreed to give up everything that Accipio had won for themselves. Except he never would, which meant that Velar would live here until he died.
Or until a commando team could extract him. There were plenty of skilled servants of the crown who weren’t griffons. Plenty who could slip into Equestrian territory and get out again.
Of course there was one aspect of being here that he could never mistake—the way that the ponies acted. Sure, the doctors treated him with respect, they still told stories of the way he’d turned down griffon medicine in favor of their own pony method. But the visitors, the other patients—Velar knew revulsion when he saw it.
But why were so many of them afraid of him?
Velar didn’t walk around the grounds covered in blood, and he didn’t come at every pony child with glittering claws and a snapping beak. He sat calmly in the shade, watching the equestrian weather crews work the sky, and occasionally said a few words of greeting to the gardener.
“Don’t get too close,” he had heard a young mother whisper, shuffling her young child away from him. “Don’t look at him.”
But today things were different. The sky above Canterlot had gone hazy, and no weather team had arrived to clear it. He couldn’t hear the usual rumble of carts from outside the hospital either, or the cheery voices of ponies form within the building. There wasn’t a single other patron in the garden with him.
He tried asking his guards—without success. When that failed, Velar could do nothing but return to his comfortable place and hope that Equestria would need him. He’d already given his word to Starlight that he wouldn’t try to escape. He could revoke it if he could tell her in person. But until then, he might as well be wearing iron manacles for all his chances of escaping. If a team of Accipian infiltrators broke into the hospital right now, they would have to restrain him to get him away. He’d given his word.
Eventually someone did come—not the commandos. But Starlight Glimmer. She wasn’t followed by a member of hospital security, but a squad of half a dozen Royal Guards, all wearing the full armor of war.
Velar rose from his perch, and felt only a slight moment of discomfort at his gut. While the short fur there was a little embarrassing, there was no chance of his insides spilling out onto the dirt anymore. Zoya had been wrong about Equestrian medicine after all. It could do every incredible thing Starlight Glimmer had promised.
“Hey, Starlight,” Velar said, without any of the formality he’d always observed around her in Accipio. “All this for our date?”
The unicorn almost tripped on the bridge and slipped into the shallow pond. But she composed herself, and settled onto the hill beside him with a bit of magic. The soldiers didn’t get any closer, but spread out to cover the doors. Velar recognized that wariness. These were veterans, and they expected genuine danger here. Strange that they weren’t watching him with fear. So what do they know that I don’t know?
“Unfortunately not,” Starlight said. She sounded pained—afraid, maybe. Or she’d been crying. “You need to come with us. Equestria is under attack. There are warships on their way to Canterlot right now. We’re taking you into protective custody.”
“Warships?” He raised an eyebrow, but didn’t resist. Two of the soldiers had stopped on the other side of the bridge, ready to compel him if he fought. Besides, this hospital was no home to Velar. He’d rather be wherever these ponies were going anyway. At least as a political bargaining chip he would be doing something. “My father declared war, then?”
“No,” Starlight said. “He hasn’t. We haven’t had any formal contact with him since the withdrawal from New Scythia.”
“Whatever’s happening, my father would not invade without a formal declaration of war. Unity is displeased when your enemy does not receive an honest chance to defend himself. Strength should triumph, not trickery.”
“Tell the warships that,” Starlight muttered, though there was something of her old humor in her voice when she said it. “Just come with me, Velar. Maybe you’ll be helpful like before. I’m sure Celestia would be grateful for your advice.”
“I won’t betray Accipio,” he said, walking slowly towards her. Slow enough that the guards wouldn’t think he was attacking her. He had nothing with him, no possessions of his own. It wasn’t as though he could read a book alone here in the dark. Had to be able to read to do that. “But I don’t think this is a war. If I had to guess, I’d say one of the great houses has decided to force both of us into the conflict they really wanted. My guess is the warships came from just one city, and they’ll be flying just one flag.”
But Starlight didn’t confirm his suspicions until they had made their way out of the hospital and into a waiting chariot—a chariot with metal walls and no horses to drive it. Yet it started to rumble forward up the slope towards the castle anyway.
Velar wanted to ask exactly what was going on, maybe have Starlight explain the strange machine to him—but he didn’t get the chance.
“It didn’t start with the warships,” she said. “Not the ones heading for Canterlot right now. It started yesterday, when one of your ships attacked three of ours.”
“Which ship?” Velar asked, settling into the seat across from Starlight. Any desire to tease her about the date he was still waiting for faded away in the seriousness of her accusations. “Do you know its name? I know most ships in my father’s navy.”
“The Lapwing,” Starlight replied, not even hesitating to consider. She seemed on the edge of panic every minute, rocking slowly back and forth. She looked like she needed a hug. “It was destroyed. Along with the Wayfarer. Both went down with all hooves, we think. And the Flash Magnus and Sister of Balance got away. Stars only know where they went, but we’re pretty sure ponies weren’t the ones commanding them when they flew off. They could’ve reached three ports by now, even if they were reduced to flying with sails.”
“The Lapwing…” Velar repeated. “That was Hookbeak’s sloop. Used to carry… ten eighteen-pound guns, I think. But we left those behind in Accipio. So far as I know, she was completely unarmed. Like most of the ships in my father’s navy. There’s been talk of taking them apart to make cheap houses, but…” He trailed off. Starlight wasn’t interested in the supply side of Griffon naval logistics.
“Was Hookbeak a fierce warrior?” Starlight asked, urgent. “We’re trying to figure out why that ship was trying to run the blockade in the first place. But they were on their way from Griffonstone, whatever the reason.”
“You told me there were birds who wouldn’t leave holed up in there,” Velar said. “Maybe they were the ride. If my father told you he was going to do something, then he was. If that meant obeying a treaty, then he’d obey the treaty. That’s the way house Virtue works.”
Starlight Glimmer stared down at her hooves for a long time, silent. Outside the carriage, they were pulling through the gates of Canterlot Castle. The carriage window gave him an ample view of the near-mythical Equestrian capital. This was the city that no invading army had ever held. Several had walked through these streets over the years, but none of them could keep them.
Now here he was, being led inside almost like an honored guest. “Let’s try and figure this out,” Velar said, resting one wing gently on Starlight’s shoulder for a moment. She straightened, staring down at it, but didn’t push him away.
“O-okay.”
“So, there was a battle between pony ships and a griffon ship. Two ships go down, and the survivors end up aboard a couple of pony ships, you don’t know where they went.”
“Not yet.” Starlight winced. “We sent a warship to track them down. They were the ones who told us about the battle. They brought pictures as well, but there won’t be any forensic experts to go over them if Canterlot burns to the ground.”
“You know the warships are coming,” Velar said, ignoring the remark. “Sightings? Our engines could outpace a pony in flight. Why aren’t we under attack already?”
“Because…” Starlight looked like she didn’t want to say. Then she said anyway. “Because the messages came by telegraph. Even small towns have their own stations by now. It was obvious from their direction where they were headed. There isn’t anything else of strategic value this way.”
“It’s… a strategy we’ve been thinking about for a long time,” Velar admitted. He could see Starlight pull away as he said it, eyes widening. He extended his claws flat in a pacifying gesture. “Not since the treaty! Before that! Equestria was the one country we could never conquer. We’ve tried… Lots of invasions never succeeded. Talking about how it might actually succeed is like… a common conversation in wine houses. Everyone likes to armchair general, you know.”
“I don’t,” Starlight said. She still looked shaken by the news. “But tell me anyway. What are they doing?”
Their carriage seemed to be heading straight for a wall—at least until the wall opened. There was a ramp under there, with pony soldiers assembled inside. Electric lights glowed an even amber inside, directing them towards parts unknown.
“Trying to fix the mistakes with all the previous invasions,” Velar said. “I’ll… spare all the explanation and cut right to the point. It doesn’t matter if we’re better supplied, if we’re better fighters, or if we’re better armed. In the end every war with Equestria has been lost because you have Alicorns and we don’t. The Old Magic can work well enough against your unicorns when we’re prepared to pay with blood, but there’s not enough blood in the whole world to do what your Alicorns can do. There’s some speculation that even if we won so long as Celestia was alive she might just cook the planet out of spite. Those who… believe she actually does anything with the sun, I mean.”
They settled to a stop alongside many similar carriages. He got a few seconds to appreciate the mechanism on one of them—a delicate framework of brass and spinning gears—before the doors opened and guards were ushering them out.
“They’re not going for Canterlot,” Starlight said. “They’re trying to kill the princesses.”
He nodded, following her past a checkpoint of more armored pony guards, then into a long, twisting stairwell. He barely even watched the guards shepherding them in. “That’s how you make the war go better this time. Your generals and ships and armies can all be replaced, but Alicorns not so much. Though… I guess you have a few more now. I haven’t had a conversation like this since before anyone in Accipio knew that. I don’t know what the old strategies planned for them.”
Somewhere high above, Velar heard the first explosion.
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And the excrement has hit the ventilation unit it seems.
Also smelled little bit of racist undertones from the young mother there...
OOOOHHH SHIIIIIIIT! Been thinking about this scenario for a while now! It's finally happening!
I guess they could kill Celestia. She's been taken down before. But then you have more alicorns to deal with. Not counting Flurry Heart. Not sure if Discord is around in this timeline.
Okay, Discord, unless you want to be responsible for keeping the planet alive from now on. Now would be a good time for you to get your mismatched butt into action.
Shit is about to get real. That's all I can really say at the moment since I'm an early reader on this chapter.
8993323
How early? It's minute past midnight at my locale when writing this comment XD
Mhmm. Sure, Velar. If alicorns start dying though, I won't know what to think anymore. Good chapter, though.
Have these birds any idea about how to mover the Sun and the Moon without alicorns? Because It has been a loooooong time since unicorns performed the task and none alive except the Princesses remember how.
So this is either nearing the end of the story, the midpoint, or the end of act one. Also, God damn you for all your cliffhangers.
8993358
I hope this is merely still within the realms of act one. This is a totally unexpected twist! Theres still so many issues to resolve like the oncoming winter, Griffonstone, the whole "slavery" deal, the new Gryphon lands. Woo! This story is sooo good!
8993316
Only if flutters gets touched. If that happens, then the griffons should just mass suicide. It is a far more merciful fate compared to the wrath of an avatar of chaos.
8993342
The majority of griffons don't think that's even a thing. Keep in mind they think pegasus weather control and earth pony agricultural magic are made up, despite having large numbers of both as slaves -- moving the sun itself falls squarely into lolwut territory for them.
8993330
"Being only the fifth person to comment on the chapter" early.
8982190
This is a very important thing to keep in mind. Most people won't bother pointing out these kind of flaws in a crappy story. I know the stuff I've been bringing up -- the single most critical treaty in modern memory that apparently wasn't read for months by a single legal scholar who can define territory and possession, Social Justice Pony letting Velar walk all over her with paper-thin arguments, griffons not knowing basic abilities of their own pegasus and earth pony slaves, etc. -- that stuff bugs me because it feels so jarringly forced compared to how good the rest is. It's like the uncanny valley. That space between good and amazing is the most hazardous ground, because that's where the flaws stand out most, and where the reader was immersed but got snapped out of it.
Well, they're very likely to succeed then. Ponies were already on edge, and an attack on the capitol, particularly their beloved Princesses, is one hell of a way to send them over that edge.
.... Ah hell, does this mean that Ponyville is under attack as well? It'll take a while for them to reach the Crystal Empire, but Ponyville is right along the route to Canterlot.
8993298
Kinda, yeah. Also kinda justified since Velar is a slaver. Just because he's one of the nicer ones doesn't change that.
8993342
Most gryphons don't even believe Celestia and Luna move the sun and moon to begin with. Remember, these are the people who doubt the earth pony and pegasi abilities to manage the land and weather. To them the ability to move celestial bodies in the first place is all myths and smokescreens to justify the alicorns station, and killing won't do anything bad to the sun and moon.
8993392
Those assassinations better not be successful. Also, if those story ends with the griffons winning or both sides die Imma be pissed.
Need more!!!!
Love this book!!!!
It would be convenient if House Vengeance made themselves the very obvious target.
Well, shit.
8993313
In fact, they got taken out so often by now, I'm wondering how Celestia alone was this amazing force holding back all of Accipio back by herself. A couple of Changelings managed, and Equestria still came out on top even without Alicorns.
Then again, the Griffons' worldview is, shall we say, quite skewed. They dismiss any and all regular ponies, and with a mare like Starlight, that's going to cost them. Unfortunately, the story established that the Elements of Harmony (the ponies) aren't around right now, and Shining Armor and Cadance are most likely still stuck in the Crystal Empire too.
8993358
We're a small bit into act three. I anticipate it will be a conventional three act story.
Just so we're clear, House Vengeance has just gone to war with their own food supply, right? Even if we assume that the griffons truly don't believe that the Alicorns move the sun and moon, they're still dependent on Equestria for food because their homeland was destroyed. That is monumentally stupid.
8993553
I don't think Celestia solo'd the griffons. Equestria would have no need for armies or the development of military technology if this was the case. And she probably couldn't attend to every battle at once.
That being said seeing an alicorn in battle should have burned an image into the empire for generations.
Even with their worldview, they should have at least seen equestria holding supernatural powers (magic) verified countless number of times with Accipio's defeats. They already have verified accounts of Alicorn abilities.
Celestia. Activate Daybreaker.....
I don't think we remember how scary and powerful she can be....so......anybody want fried chicken?
So Griffins just casually have conversations about murdering world leaders, and enslaving entire races?
I suppose it's hard to talk about anything else when half the population has no knowledge on anything other than war, battle, and weaponry
I gotta admit for a proud war specialised people this quote caught me off guard.
Honour bound sure but I would suggest to Velar the importance of trickery in warfare. Although I'm certain he knew no Sun Tzus a warrior who fights a war without trickery isn't much of a warrior, more a barbarian with a stick.
8993908
Do they even have the numbers and resources to take control of all of Equestria's territory?
8994582
I mean they apparently control most of the world, so numbers probably, resources idk. Like I'm confused as to how this setting works honestly. The Griffins control almost the entire planet, yet they had to move to Equestria to survive? Are the other countries/continents not very big? Cause like even if Yellowstone blew its top, countries on the opposite side of the world wouldn't be as affected as the US, Mexico, Canada. And it seems like Equestria and Accipio aren't that far apart.
8994581
Well at this point we should realize what they see as 'strength' might very well be what other people see as trickery. Like once they do go to war, they'd probably see nothing 'tricky' about sending a pony slave in undercover to Canterlot with a bomb or some kind of anti-magic thing to destroy the Princesses. Whereas you look at the textbook example of an honor/strength bases race, like the Klingons, and the biggest trick they ever used is cloaking technology.
Like normally once an 'honorable' race makes a deal, or owes a debt to someone, they don't then spend the next few weeks finding ways to circumvent the deal, or trying to kill/enslave the people their country owes a life debt to.
8993908
I think they're no longer fully dependent as they might have been. They seem to have taken control of Griffonstone and raised massive farms there for agriculture and sustainability. Although the geography is throwing me off a little bit because Griffonstone is across a sea which means they are transporting supplies back and forth or most if not all of House Vengeance is going to relocate to Griffonstone. I believe the latter to be more likely as there's more than a handful of advantages to doing so with its resources not being limited like those of the gifted lands, a sea between them and their newly made enemies, prebuilt infrastructure, and a supportive sympathetic population. I'm still on the edge of my seat to see what exactly they're building there and what has become of everybody's favourite gryphon Gilda.
8994599
Good point. The Accipians so far came across as self-serving enough to define "strength" and "trickery" in whatever way they want it at that moment. Though it's also possible Velar is simply naive for Accipian standards and most of them do not even buy into their own principles. At this point, I couldn't say which.
8993947
Yeah, I guess the birds have become so hyper-focussed on Celestia, they have taken to dismissing everything else ponies could possibly do. Could be a result of their overweening pride and refusal to accept a nation of "slaves" could beat them back; no, it must've all come down to them having this one mythical being.
I might be going out on a limb here, but maybe most of those armchair generals Velar talked to really have no idea what a war with Equestria entails, and Gideon had talked to the same birds. So he comes to kill Celestia because he thinks doing so means Accipio will automatically win the resulting war.
8994623
Griffonstone is a mountain city, it doesn't really have much in the way of arable land. What they have there is a weapon's factory to fuel the war effort to conquer Equestria, which has fertile farmland aplenty.
8993908
From the start of the story they've been of the opinion that when they conquer Equestria they can simply keep the ponies farming to supply their needs. Their logic is to have a swift, decisive victory and then reap the spoils.
8995204
Very true. They can't afford a drawn-out war. After the devastation brought on by the cataclysm back in old Accipio, no nation is in a good place as of right now, but the ponies have every possible advantage when it comes to food production. An army marches on its stomach.
Actually, that makes Gideon's plan an even greater risk, perhaps even downright stupid. This is pretty much a suicide run. Unless he expects Canterlot will immediately surrender once Celestia and Luna perish, they have very little chance of getting out of this alive. Regardless of what happens, Equestria is now in a state of war, meaning they will start stockpiling and rationing, while Newcippio doesn't have any way to sustain itself for any long amount of time. And Newcippio very likely doesn't even know the war is on yet, as he took both ships to Canterlot, so the ponies have a headstart.
8995538
It is stupid. The main reason Gaius even signed the treaty in the first place is because he knows open war with Equestria is stupid. Accipio has lost an entire house to the cataclysm and is still building its home and restocking their weapons. They have minimal food, as last we saw the city everyone was on half rations, and without food any conflicts will be inevitably short term.
Now mid, if this theoretical decapitation strike is successful Equestria will be thrown in a state of chaos that will make warfare a hell of a lot easier. On paper. That the world will also be thrown into chaos because the sun and moon stop working (as we've seen before, the Princesses getting inconvenienced does weird things to Equestria) is something none of these birds have even remotely considered.
But even without that, Emperor Gaius agrees that war with Equestria is a stupid thing. Unfortunately for everyone, house Vengeance thinks otherwise.
8995574
Agreed. Though, to be fair to Gideon, it wasn't his first choice. Had Gina not forced the confrontation with the Equestrian captain, they would be well on their way to Newcippio; or even better, had she not not come to Griffonstone at all. But she did both, so now he's stuck trying to take out Equestria's leadership before they're aware anything happened. He can't, but he doesn't know this.
8995601
Vengeance already drew first blood with that assassination attempt and forging of guns in Griffonstone. This? This seems to be just a happy coincidence they can use to speed up their plans.
8995118
I've found most fantasy and sci-fi races can be boiled down to a few tropes, not always. Star Wars, for example, doesn't really fall into it that much. Star Trek, however, is somewhat famous for this. In fact, I believe the trope "Planet of Hats" was made based on how most Trek races have a single aspect that seemingly their entire race is devoted to.
The Griffins in their attitude remind me a lot of the Cardassians, high and mighty, they have the right to everything, all the things they hide or claim are lies. In how the Griffins talk about themselves? The Klingon, they play at being this honorable race of warriors, pretend to have codes (which unlike the Klingon they do not uphold outside of their own kind) (They also have the same kinda sexism the Klingons have, but that's a different thing altogether). And their political dealings are all the worst parts of Ferengi, Romulans, and Cardassians all mushed together. They'll pretend to be on the same page as you before finding a loophole, push an agreement to the farthest most insane point of its interpretation, and trick you in every way possible to give as little as they can in any agreement, and then betray the agreement as soon as they find a more profitable solution to their problem.
8996595
Heck, a lot of it can be rolled back to Klingons, even. Klingons, for all their talk about honour, have stealth and backstabbing as their primary space combat tactic. And I think we've all lost count how often political backstabbery went on to cause mayhem in the Klingon Empire.
8993419
So, all the previous times the day-night cycles were altered (by Nightmare Moon and Discord), the gryphons didn't notice them, or tried to find out what the hell was happening?
8997370
Discord at least is fairly easy to attribute a disturbance to. Though now that he's reformed it becomes even more obvious that attacking Equestria is a really bad idea.
8997510
Here's hoping for the sake of tension and stakes Discord isn't even referenced. It'd be like if Deadpool showed up in the Avengers. Neat, he exists in the same world sure, but a total mood killer.
This is a fascinating look at both cultures. I wonder what a weapon to kill four goddesses looks like?
8998289
Quite. That's pretty much the reason the show tends to ignore him in openings and closers as well.
8998505
Im legitimately excited to find out
The gryphons have had a long time to plan
Im sure theyve left little to chance
8998946
Well, they've had a long time to play armchair general, but assassinations like these rely heavily on accurate intelligence, and as we've seen throughout the story, Accipio's intelligence on Equestria is rather... lacking.
I wouldn't be surprised if whoever shifted this plan into motion isn't really relying on this strike being successful. I mean, if it is then that would be a bonus for them, but only two warship to carry out what Velar claims would be the single most important strategic strike against Equestria? Even for gryphon ego that would be hilariously underestimating Equestria. No, this seems more like what Velar noted: a plan to goad Equestria into war with Accipio as a whole, rather than just one house.
8999188
8998946
Yeah, I'm pretty sure the Griffons who are the driving force behind this left lots of things open to chance. I don't think Velar was supposed to survive, and I don't think Gideon expected to be recalled to Newcippio so soon, and I don't think he saw himself flying to Canterlot with two under-armed pony airships to try to slay the Alicorn Princesses, who are well-aware of his arrival. That looks like Vengeance's plans tripping up again and again to me. I'm with Keroko, this is probably to goad Equestria into declaring war on every House instead of just one.
Hmm. What if Velar is wrong, though? What if this isn't about the princesses, but him? It's possible Gideon is coming to finish the job, isn't it? The monks would only fight what they probably believe is a half-dead bird instead of at least two demigod ponies. What makes this less likely is that they wouldn't know where to look, while the princesses can reasonably assumed to be in the throne room (they're probably not, because they know the ships are coming). Heck, they could spread the lie that they meant to free him, but the poor prince perished at the hooves of the ponies before they could. Have one monk wait until the news comes out that Velar's dead, then approach the emperor and lie to his face.
9001198
That... is a good point. Especially if they're making the attack in Equestrian ships, which gives them an option to put the blame on Equestria. A far-fetched accusation (two airships to kill one wounded bird?) but the more battle hungry gryphons could buy it and drag the rest along.
9001272
The big problem is that insurgent have two pony ship in control. That's a perfect tool to incite war by attacking unprotected settlements of Accipio nation. Provided they have tacticsl knowledge of territory, I would expect them to strike aniwhere near Vengeance lands. This way they can escape unmolested.
How do you lose three warships so hilariously? Bah.
Also why haven't the warships... Which I assume are both the warships stolen... Why haven't they been intercepted, and blasted through the sky yet?