Velar should’ve listened to Starlight Glimmer. He could still hear her desperate plea that he stay behind, echoing through the void through a portal that wasn’t there anymore. Beside him was one of the Alicorns of Equestria. A being so powerful his ancestors had great stories about heroes who had journeyed to the end of the world in order to obtain sacred artifacts blessed by Unity itself. Such a trip was what it took to have any hope of killing even one of them. And yet, through all those years, at least two of them were still alive. And Equestria can make more.
Princess Celestia strode over to her sister, even more terrible in her appearance than Luna. Princess Luna’s eyes had some of the softness of the night, and her mane was at least a window into something familiar. Princess Celestia burned so bright he couldn’t look at her, and so much magic rippled from her head that he could feel something stirring in his own chest. Like an ancient organ, twitching to life after eons of sleep.
Compared to them, Velar felt like a drifting mote of dust on the wind, a transient shimmer that would burn away in the haze. But he didn’t burn, however much their magic made him afraid he would. Celestia did not even speak to him.
Now that he was here, Velar recognized this ship. It was the Aakash, one of the older destroyers in Vengeance’s fleet. He didn’t have the guns of every ship in Accipio memorized, but he was fairly certain the cannons that had punched at least one gaping hole in the Stalwart Stratus hadn’t been on her the last time he’d seen her.
There were at least two dozen armed marines on the deck with them now, wearing modern cloth uniforms and carrying rifles. There were other crew—engineers and technicians trailing bits of scrap iron or toolboxes. But they kept their distance, and never remained in sight for long.
A massive armored figure landed on the deck with such force that the wood actually splintered. Velar could see it singeing around his hooves, charred black by the magic the Voidsteel had captured.
“Princesses of Equestria,” said Giovanni. “I did not think you had the will to fight me honorably. I assumed I would have to bleed your city first. Pity.”
“Laugh if you want, bird,” Luna snapped back. “I notice all four of our ships are still in the air, and you only have the one. One ill-suited for besieging a city. You waste our time with idle threats.”
Giovanni stopped laughing, glowering at them. “There’s nothing idle in my words, Equestrians. You have ruled all this time only because your powers were strange. But I wield a weapon forged by our greatest smiths. They knew this day would come, and they gave us exactly the weapon we would need against you. Your glamour and starstuff will crumble to dust. And when you’re dead, this land will have only the strongest rulers.”
This time it was the Alicorns who laughed. The sound was so bitter that Velar turned to stare. He’d never heard a sound like that from a pony’s mouth before. “You have no idea what you’re wearing,” Princess Celestia eventually said. “You think it was made for fighting ponies? Is that the myth they teach in your monasteries?”
“Irrelevant.” Giovanni stepped forward towards them, lifting a long sword in one claw. It burned like his armor, and marines on all sides scattered out of his way. “Whatever lies you’ve spun about the past don’t matter today. The two of you will soon be dead.”
Velar almost thought he hadn’t been noticed there—but then Giovanni’s eyes fixed on him. He stopped, momentarily taken-aback. “You’re alive?”
He nodded. “What are you doing here alone, Giovanni? I know your family only has the one set of armor, but… shouldn’t Santiago be here with Vengeance’s three sets? The odds would be better that way.”
“Victory will come to the strong,” Giovanni recited. “Because it is deserved. The company you keep is not as mighty as it appears, Velar. You will see. Their powers will not work on me. The metal of this armor will unravel their spells, and each new attack will make me more powerful. I can already feel it now. I could tear this city apart with my claws if I wished! Perhaps I will, when I am finished here. I will let you watch.”
“Your ancestors would be ashamed to see you wearing that,” Princess Luna said. “Those were birds of honor. Birds we were privileged to fight beside. Your ancient forefathers gave their blood to keep the chaos at bay. So many died for the armor you’re wearing—countless lives. Whole wars fought for acres of land. Numberless other creatures swept from Equus, all for us. Is this how you repay their gift? Do you think they’ll be pleased with you when this war is over? If you triumph here today—do you think they would be pleased to see you murdering the children of their friends, and starving in their houses?”
“Be silent!” Giovanni roared, his voice so loud that it shook the ship under his claws. Velar retreated a few steps, behind the alicorns. The ponies were unmoved. “You will lie no more about events you do not understand! I will be certain that neither of you tell another lie again!”
“Our parents were there,” Celestia said, meeting Victory’s eyes. Despite having no armor of her own, she looked unafraid as he closed the distance. “The end of chaos was new when we were fillies, Giovanni. And it was not complete. We saw it return. Our civilization was undone. Carcosa and her gods are all ashes. We will not allow you to do the same to the survivors. Not now that we’re so close. Put down your sword and surrender, Giovanni. You will be treated fairly.”
Velar didn’t have to listen to know how well that demand would go.
“Today the old world crumbles, Equestrians. When the ash of Mons Ignis cools and the fields are green again, we will be ruling them, as we always should have.”
They met in the air, and the terrible impact shook Velar through to his bones. He could make out no details, only blinding light and the glow of magic rising higher and higher from the point where they had met.
Yet one reality rose to the surface in his mind. If that armor really makes him immune to all pony magic, then this fight should be over almost instantly. It’s not ending. Then again, the Alicorns were ancient creatures, who had ruled in person longer than Accipio had existed. Maybe they had other ways of fighting back.
But he wouldn’t have to worry about any of that, because the soldiers were closing in on him. They’d kept their distance before, when he stood beside the powerful Alicorns. A tall bird with lieutenant’s knots gestured meaningfully at Velar with a rifle. He recognized him as a bird named Gibson. “Claws up, Velar. You’re in our custody now.”
“So I am,” he said, raising his claws as he’d been ordered and holding still.
The birds closed in around him, maybe a dozen marines in full uniforms and equipment. Like they were expecting a landing. How defenseless did they think Equestria would be?
Over their heads Velar heard an explosion so loud that snow began tumbling off the side of Canterlot’s mountain, vanishing from sight.
“But I wonder what you’ll do if Giovanni isn’t the one to land?” he asked, as the marines closed the distance around him. “You know that could happen, right? You’ve got four equestrian ships surrounding you as we speak, probably more on the way. Did you see any birds flying away from your bombers?” He hadn’t, which was the point. Those four ships would all have them in their sights. Assuming they could fire their incredible weapons again so soon, they could turn this little ship to ash.
“Good point,” said the lieutenant, though he didn’t sound like he believed it. “You know what, I think that counts as resisting arrest. It’s a shame we had to kill you, Velar. The slaves are still telling stories about you. Maybe they can pray to Unity next, instead of a pretend god.”
Dammit. A dense crowd of birds surrounded him, who had been about to bind his wings and arrest him. But now they stopped, a few raising handguns instead. Further away birds seemed to be gripping their rifles, though they didn’t aim them into a crowd of their friends.
Velar didn’t think anymore—he just acted. His raised claw went to the face of the nearest marine, who dropped his handgun into Velar’s other waiting claw. He dove to the deck as several pistol shots went wild. He felt a brief spike of pain in his wings, but he couldn’t let that slow him down now. Couldn’t even think about it.
There is Unity in all things, Velar thought, dodging behind one of the nearby marines even as he shot straight into the head of another, then took a third down to the ground with him again. Blood and bullets sprayed all around him, and screams for help from more of the soldiers.
It guides the claw of the just. A bird pounced on him, abandoning the pretense of gunfire completely. There were so many enemy soldiers that practically every shot would kill another ally for them. Velar had no such compunctions. He fired the revolver straight up into the bird’s head, then rose at a crouch.
And opens the ears of the brave. Movement behind him, claws digging into wood. Velar dropped into a crouch, letting the figure fling itself over him. He barely even watched, bringing his claw down in a slash at the bird’s throat. Blood sprayed, and he went for the rifle.
There were so many. Further away, birds were aiming their rifles straight into the melee. If they get a clear shot, I’m dead. Velar leapt into the center of the crowd, abandoning the rifle. Someone sunk a claw into his shoulder before he smashed their head into the railing, then rolled off and fired other four shots in the revolver. There were still so many. He could keep fighting for an hour and not kill them all.
Above the Aakash, the sky itself seemed to be shaking apart. He couldn’t try to watch the glowing figures anymore—the battle of the gods would not include him.
Until the instant of union ends, and I return to dust.
“Don’t move,” he felt something press to the back of his head, and his whole body went rigid. The barrel of a gun. “That’s right, Velar. I have you.” It was Gibson, his voice overflowing with pride. “The stories say you’re the best warrior in Virtue. That you once killed a manticore with your claws and a rock. Yet here we are… two dead, maybe? Assuming the medics can’t save them. Pathetic.”
Velar didn’t turn around. His mind raced, searching desperately for a solution. What could he do faster than Gibson could pull the trigger?
“If you want to brag about killing me, you should do it honorably,” he found himself saying. “Twenty of you, one of me. That won’t make for much of a story. Why can’t we have a duel while the gods have theirs?”
“Because you’re an idiot,” Gibson said. “It will only be a story anyway. That’s all honor really is, Velar. It’s a great story. It’s only when birds like you and your father try to take it out into the real world that you get into trouble. But thanks for the advice. I think I’ll tell it that way.”
I’m sorry, father. He’d been an idiot to come here—what help had he thought he could provide to an Alicorn, anyway? Let alone two of them. The battlefield was an unkind teacher. Velar tried to relax, knowing he wouldn’t even hear the sound of the gunshot. At least this would be a quick death.
Then he heard a scream. Something went flying over his head, something that moved so fast it knocked over every soldier in the way and then smashed through the metal railing. “Too bad I’m not honorable either,” Starlight Glimmer said.
There was nothing against the back of Velar’s head anymore. He spun around to see Starlight Glimmer behind him, standing beside a glowing tear in the sky. Her horn flashed, and she was beside him, just in time for the marines from all over the deck to start shooting.
A barrier appeared around them, glowing the same purple as her horn. She smiled sidelong at him, less afraid of the blood than he might’ve expected. “Why are you so determined to get yourself killed?” she asked, wincing as bullets pounded into the glowing barrier.
“I, uh… thought they might need my help.” It sounded even stupider now that he said it, and Starlight seemed to think so too.
“There are lots of ways to help Alicorns, but epic battles in the sky are not one of them.” She gestured behind them. “How about we… back it up, and we let the Stalwart Stratus take care of this place?”
“After you.”
Good Starlight save there. Now we wait for the Next-button to appear.
Arg! Good chapter, but I was hoping it focused on the alicorns and Giovanni. Looking forward to the next chapter.
Well, you're the resident expert, Starlight.
Interesting. Looks like the Princesses know the true history of Voisteel. And likely how to beat it as well. Also, I can’t wait to see Velar turn Gibson’s words against all of House Victory and Vengeance. Maybe Gaius will finally see the truth: A belief in superiority does not breed honor, it breeds a need to keep that supposed superiority at any cost.
9065617
It saddens me that one person liked this comment.
Sidenote, Starlight's magic is blue and her horn pink.
Pedantic details aside, well well well, looks like Celestia and Luna are well familiar with Void Armour. More so even than the families that own them. Forged to fight the old gods of... whoa, Carcosa? That's some serious Lovecraftian foes Equestria has been facing.
On the bright side, knowing the armour also means they know its weaknesses. If any.
9079006
Keep in mind what Gibson said. It could hold some interesting insight into how some birds think, and the hypocrisy inherent in it.
Stories of honor are just stories, and it only causes trouble when people start believing in them.
9079012
Yeah, that's been rather apparent for some time now. Even the Emperor has shown himself willing to bend the word 'honour' to its breaking point, what with the repeated word juggling of the treaty.
9078987
Hopefully they thought it was sarcasm.
Given the amount of pony-wank in and out of the story I have zero expectations.
This is my prediction:
blah blah blah the ponies win and the griffons admit they are hypocrites and end slavery and the ponies lift them out of their ignoreance with their wonderful magic and they submit to the goddesses celestia and Luna. Then the all the traitors rot in equestrian dungeons or Tartarus forever blah blah blah
9079056
There's a certain irony in complaining about large amounts of pony wank when the general opinion of the first near-30 chapters was how underpowered ponies seemed to be compared to griffons.
9079075
And then in the last few chapters it revealed the ponies were superior in every way.
9079083
Oh I don't know, there's still no sign of Vengeance and their share of Voidsteel warriors. Whatever plan Vengeance has been cooking up, it hasn't reached its climax just yet.
9079086
The griffons only defense is voidsteel and the princesses know about it so that point is all but moot. Nothing vengeance does will have any effect beyond a couple deaths. Mostly griffons anyway.
9079056
eh i feel it was more an attempt to subvert expectations. the gryphons thought they had the edge and so underestimated that ponies have more variety to bring to the field, along with the advantage of a ruler who has ruled for one thousand years.
i can see major flaws in it but the execution was decent.
and ultimately ponies have the edge here. ponies are all about difference coming together and that, thus, allows the different parts of their whole tobalance each other. what a unicorn or pegasus lacks an earth pony can make up for, and so on. though i would say the gryphons would bring a lot of fatalities despite it. do not underestimate desperation.
If the had the voidsteel that long and never conquered Equestria then it isn't the game changer he thinks it is. So much stupidity in this story
We Daybreaker now, boys.
Plus she apparently knows more about the suits of armor that the griffons are using than they do. That's not a particularly good sign for Giovanni's chances in this fight.
Ahhhh, interesting.
Good job trying to get yourself killed again, Velar. You're not going to serve your house very well if you keep volunteering for death.
Nice.
9079118
fair but if you think about it many historical facts can over time become legend and myth. they have deluded themselves into believing that the ancient wars were more allegory instead of truth, now they are going to suffer the consequences of that delusion
9079056
How often do you change your name? This is what, the fifth since you started commenting on this story?
9078987
Radical thought here... Maybe you shouldn't have said it then.
9079253
but again the simple fact that they have had this armor for so long and they have never won a war agaisnt Equestria, and there is enough to say there was multiple wars and they had this armor the entire time and didn't win says enough. These guys are increditbily stupid.
9079332
pride can blind anyone to the truth
9079350
not pride, arrogance and stuidity
9079357
that too
9079075
Considering the tech, magical advantages, and political maneuvering ponies had during the earlier chapters I still find it surprising the results of one skirmish convinced many people that Starscribe portrayed the ponies to be in the back foot. Everything before implied this was not the case.
9079362
it's the terms of the battle. three ships vs 1 the three ready for potential combat. while only a fraction of the otehrs was ready for combat and barely armed. so you can see the issue on why the griffons won that outcome.
9079362
The observable tech advantage was rather firmly in the griffon's field in the earlier chapters, as we saw little to nothing of Equestria. Political manoeuvring... well, the griffons still have the Equestrians outclassed there, what with the treaty having been legally circumvented at least twice now. That really just leaves magic, which has always been Equestria's advantage but prior to Sunbeam that was limited only to a shield created by Twilight Sparkle and griffons being impressed by her near-equal Starlight Glimmer.
The majority of the pony advantages remained out of sight until later chapters, as the story focused on the griffons until then.
Things are heating up, Starlight is earning her keep, and Lord Chucklefuck is about to get buttfucked.
9079092
Would you rather the Princesses be killed and all Equestrians be turned into slaves?
9079374
Elite griffon troops vs naval regulars (merchant marines). It's sort of like saying Pearl Harbor or the early stages of Operation Barbarossa sets the tone for the entire war.
9079422
In the griffon's field? Even what little view we have shows that the griffons aren't exactly in the same playing field.
The medical advantages of surgery over blood magic. Cardiac surgery especially.
The existence of plastics.
The ultimatum showing the Ponies' willingness to go to war (without arrogance) and ability to counter the griffons' "diplomacy".
Luna's contingency during the evacuation whatever that was if the griffons violated the rules.
The Crystal Empire allowing access and modification to lands for the explicit purpose of providing the griffons an alternate solution.
Nothing really shows the griffons' having a distinct edge over the ponies other than their capabilities in combat (and even this is starting to fade.)
9079305
It was sarcasm because of the people's attitude. Ever heard of it? S a r c a s m.
9079494
No, but I'd rather there be actual stakes.
9079278
I dunno. I don't really count.
9079615
Uh huh. Your point? People believe Alex Jones is a legitimate news source and you're surprised that 1 person supports your comment? Have you ever heard of scumbags? S c u m b a g.
I can put spaces between letters too, see! I'm hip, I'm with it!
*shrugs*
9079610
3 on 1 with armed and armored vs unarmed and armored.
9079648
Close quarters too but its a work of fiction. The "Eliteness" of the griffons would have more weight over actual tactical considerations for the sake of the story. Not to mention our secondary protagonists and antagonists fighting on that side. Plot shield and that stuff.
9079662
still a big issue in the story
Uh... what happened to Gibson? What did Starlight do?
9079638
Who the hell is alex jones?
9079610
All the tech advantages you mentioned were in the later chapters though. The argument was that in the earlier chapters the advantages seemed to lay with the griffons. There was also the argument that being more advanced in medicine did not mean being more advanced militarily (Equestria up to that point seemed to mirror the show, tech-wise).
And the ultimatum was only needed because the ponies were politically outmanoeuvred in the first place.
9079615
Sarcams rarely transfers well through the internet. We can't exactly see you rolling your eyes or hear your tone of voice.
9080051
This, I think.
Hmm, where they're trying so desperately to create an overwhelming advantage if not here and not where emperor is?
And it appears Giovanni trusts Santiago much more that he should for some reason.
9080318
It occurs to me that there are two more alicorns in Equestria, and that Santiago would rake in a lot of glory for killing them.
It also occurs to me we haven't heard from Twilight and the girls for a while, and now I'm worried whether that may be for a reason.
Now this was an interesting chapter.
Long-buried griffon magic beginning to stir, perhaps?
Carcosa, eh? Very Lovecraft. This was an interesting tidbit of lore, and it paints an interesting new picture of griffon history. This is the impression I'm getting so far:
I'm very interested in learning more of the griffons' history, now. I wonder how throughly this Carcosa was destroyed -- since you mention chaos a fair bit in relation to it, I wonder if Discord may have some links, even if very tenuous, to whatever it was.
9080715
Twilight's absence is doubly surprising if we assume that Celestia bought that griffon's actual main plan is attacking Canterlot.
Killing Twilight doesn't seem to be a great plan: even if Santiago succeeds, he still has Equestria and rest of Accipio against him plus Celestia wanting to rape his corpse personally as a bonus. Giovanni is unlikely to want to die just playing distraction also. Taking Twilight hostage is maybe a bit better, but still not very good. It seems they are expecting to win there somehow and win quickly (well, "win there" part should be present at least as a layer in Santiago bullshitting Giovanni). Santiago is trying to break into some place where some kind of superweapon is stored maybe?
9081173
Remember that Santiago, even if more cautious than most birds, is woefully underestimating Equestria. To his mind, Accipio can defeat Equestria easily. From what I'm seeing here, Santiago's primary objective seems to be getting the war started. Killing Twilight is A: safer than killing Celestia or Luna (while still giving him the glory of being the first griffon to kill an alicorn) and B: ensures that there is no way for Equestria to still want to try for peace. This would force the rest of Accipio's birds into war, regardless of the Emperor's wishes.
Ho boy, this one paragraph is implying a hell of a lot of things. Either there was a previous Equestrian nation that burned, or a previous Alicorn nation that went the same way, and that Celly and Luna had a hand in saving/reviving said nation (With a lack of Alicorns).
Shit must have had to have gone down hard if it resulted in the deaths of multiple gods. Think for a minute; What is capable of burning an entire nation and killing a bunch of gods?
Pretty terrifying, if you ask me. And if it makes some sort of appearance in this story, then-
Wait.
Waitwaitwait.
Calling it now: The thing that took out the Equestrian's previous nation has something to do with the volcano that forced Accipio's mass evacuation.
9080197
Jesus Christ, well that certainly fits the context, at least.
9080197
True, but its pretty obvious considering I literally crossed out "jews".
9081196
That still looks weird from Giovanni's point of view: "So, you 3 guys will be killing one girl while I'll be stuck fighting two eldritch abominations? Yay! Best plan ever!". He's probably expecting something to save his ass there.
9082304
I'm pretty sure Santiago spun a fancy story about how invincible Voidsteel would make him and the glory he'd gain from killing the eldest alicorns, while never revealing his actual plan.
That seems to be Vengeance's modus operandi so far. Look how convinced these birds are that victory is within their grasp even when their fleet is all but ash.