• Published 31st Oct 2018
  • 487 Views, 31 Comments

Prince Blueblood: Master Ambassador - Doug Graves



Prince Blueblood is sent as an ambassador to the Griffon Kingdom as his first diplomatic mission. Hopefully, it won't be his last.

  • ...
2
 31
 487

13 Neutralize

Lunaris groans, feeling sick to his stomach as he lays on his thin cot. He is glad Aspide took the lead in setting up their tent on the outskirts of Griffonstone. Thankfully upwind of the town, and the celebration, and all the griffons still milling about. His stomach aches from the meal, and he can't decide which he is more disgusted by: the fact that he gave up his oath so quickly, or that he actually ate the entire meal. Maybe he can hoofwave it away by saying he already had some, and so it didn't count to just eat more. Or that it was at a 'royal' table, sitting next to the defacto leader of the griffons at the time. Or maybe he's just making excuses, and needs the contortions his stomach and intestines are going through as penance.

"Hey," Aspide grunts out as she enters the tent, holding a bucket of water in her mouth. She methodically approaches Lunaris' side, dropping the bucket next to him. His groan barely constitutes a reply, the slight splash of the water masking her sigh. Aspide pulls out a hard sponge and a towel, monogrammed with a blue and gold compass. She dips the sponge into the thankfully clean water, a slight frown at the cold. She squeezes the excess water back into the bucket, the towel set next to his barrel.

Lunaris' ear flicks back at the drip of the drops. His head turns, one eye opening, slowly rotating to watch the sponge draw closer. His barrel flinches at the chill, slowly relaxing as Aspide cleans the dirt caked into his coat, that the brush had missed.

"I know it's not the Royal Spa Treatment," Aspide quips, dipping the sponge a second time, "But it'll have to do."

"You're right," Lunaris says, his tone flat, "but I wouldn't trade this for them, not now." He slightly pushes up, allowing Aspide to wash under his barrel and towel him off.

Aspide smiles, "I don't know, I could go for one of those steamer baths, I've heard they are pretty good."

"I hope you mean a steam bath, as a steamer is a type of locomotive." Lunaris turns away, yet his eye roll is unmistakable, "Unless you are talking of some sort of improper act, in which case I should certainly hope not. Not at the Royal Spa, at least."

"Seriously?" Aspide says with a sigh and shrug, "Okay, I guess. Never been myself, if that wasn't obvious." She swaps to his other side, dragging the bucket along with her.

"And yet you doing a fine job. Or maybe it's how far removed we are from Equestria, and any hoof would seem like this." Lunaris twitches as the next slap of the sponge hits his side a little harder, a slight smirk crossing his muzzle.

"We've been gone two days and you're already pining for home? Jeez, mare up. You don't see me complaining so much." The towel flips over his head, covering his eyes as Aspide coarsely rubs his side, considerably less friendliness in her movements.

"Maybe its the thirty ounces of venison doing flips in my stomach, then. Thank you for that, by the way." Lunaris chances a slight glare backwards, looking at his mussed coat. He sighs, his head dropping back down as he closes his eyes, wishing to just relax and go to sleep.

Aspide sighs, her forelegs sagging as she drops down next to him. "Yeah. I'm sorry about that. Not really enough to have taken the meat back, but that you had to go through it." She pulls out a brush, attacking the various tufts and tangles she just added to his hair. She glances over at the lack of response; Lunaris is breathing softly, his eyes closed as his muzzle rests on his hooves. She smiles, finishing brushing his coat before she snuggles next to him underneath their blanket.

Lunaris glances around the poorly lit arena, the wet dirt squelching against his hooves. His brow furrows, one hoof pulling away from the mud with a loud slurp, brown globs clinging to his fetlocks. He grimaces as he backs up, but this only causes his hind hooves to sink in further as his coat gets matted from the heavy rain. It distorts the air, hundreds of splashes all around him.

Jeers from the roaring crowd assault his ears, a cacophony of hoots and howls, metal clashing against metal and wood on stone. His ears splay along his skull as he takes another hesitant step back, away from the center of the arena. The griffons on the outskirts of the audience loom large above him, the light from many hooded lanterns casting the arena in dim shadows. Their spears glint, sharpened edges twirling through the air as the griffons beat them against the ground, their war chants growing louder and louder.

Lightning flashes from above, illuminating the white griffon directly in front of Lunaris for the briefest of moments. He barely has enough time to raise his hoof, Gilded Graze parrying the heavy downward slash of the metal spear. Gannison breaks off, no chance for Lunaris to counter as the unicorn's eyes try to adjust to the lack of blinding light.

The griffon blurs, taking to the air as Lunaris tries to roll to the side. His hoof catches in the mud, throwing off his balance as he drops to the ground. The spear rakes his side, a light blow considering the power behind the swing. Lunaris scrambles to his hooves, still keeping his grip on Gilded Graze as he winces in pain. Not a crippling blow, but the griffon has managed to draw first blood. The other side of his coat is caked in mud, the rain slowly washing it off or driving it further in.

Lunaris scans the skies, looking for his opponent in the dim haze. He spots a white griffon hovering in the air, turning to face his opponent. One muddy hoof goes to his wound as the griffon waits, stalling for time or for his wound to worsen. Lunaris grits his teeth, about to yell at the coward when a sharp pain radiates from his flank. His left leg gives out, Lunaris collapsing to the ground as he screams in agony.

He looks back, blinking through his tears as he spots Gannison, the bloody spear in his talons going for another thrust. Lunaris sinks down, his rapier coming up in the nick of time to knock the blow to the side. Gannison cackles as he rises again; it must have been Ganis he saw before, hovering in the air. But where was Aspide? Or Golda? The crowd only roars louder, Lunaris unable to make out anything in the faceless mass of feathers and stone.

He tries to put pressure on his hind leg, grimacing as pain radiates through his body. He awkwardly hops, the mud hobbling his movements even further as he searches the skies again. The rain makes it extremely difficult to spot any sort of motion, but the unmistakable white blur heading towards him can mean only one thing. Gilded Graze comes up again, trying to parry the griffon's feint. The spear swings around, Lunaris not able to keep pace as another long slash scores a second line across his barrel.

Lunaris howls in rage, spinning around to try to find the strafing opponent. The rain slowly lets up, leaving large puddles in the ground as the sun breaks through the storm clouds. Lunaris scans again, feeling slightly invigorated, though pain still courses through his body with every step. His mind registers a dash of blue and green in the crowd of purple, gold, and black before a white blur from the corner of his eye draws his attention.

Lunaris spins around, not able to parry the blow aimed at his neck as the spear slices open his muzzle, scraping against the bone of his skull. He sinks down, trying to whisk away the blood pouring into his eyes. He sobs, his ears flicking back at the slight suck of talons against the muddy ground, the rasp of talon against wood slowly getting closer.

"Is this all that Equestria can bring? One pathetic pony, barely able to hold his sword? You are undeserving of such a weapon, novice. Or should I say, foal?"

Lunaris' breath steadies, his hoof readying itself against the ground, Gilded Graze hidden in the mud. The squish of talon against water gets closer and closer. Still blinded, Lunaris barely shudders as the metal tip buries itself in his flank.

The crowd explodes in cheers, the stomp against the stone deafening. Lunaris manages to crack one eye open to see Gannison raising his talons to the air. Nearly every griffon is on their feet, mirroring Gannison and waving spear and wing to the sky. Gannison flourishes his wings in a bow, spinning around to grab the spear still lodged in Lunaris' flank.

Lunaris screams in pain as he lunges forward, his rapier dragging out of the mud. One talon comes up as Gannison's eyes go wide, Gilded Graze lopping off the sharpened edges as Lunaris tackles Gannison to the ground. The crowd goes silent as Gilded Graze nicks the neck of the griffon, a bloody white and red mess collapsing on top of him. Lunaris madly grins, one eye caked shut with blood and dirt while the other shines with victory. He pushes the blade a touch further into the white neck, "Give up, griffon?"

Gannison winces at the unicorn pressing his body to the ground, his wings bent painfully underneath him. His talon throbs, blood leaking out the severed tips, the trickle from his neck starting to increase as the blade bites deeper. Lunaris' eye twitches, his one good leg barely holding him up as the other continues to press the rapier down on the griffon's neck.

"NOOO!!" a deep voice thunders from above. Lunaris barely turns his head to see Ganis charging from above, the griffon gripping his war spear in front of him as he plummets through the air, a deadly charge aimed directly at the hated unicorn.

Lunaris does the only thing he can.

Gilded Graze drops to the mud as he grabs Gannison with both hooves, rolling to the side and bringing the griffon between him and Ganis, intercepting the plunging assault.

The metal spear pierces through Gannison, a deep cry of rage and sorrow as the spear continues, pressing into Lunaris' chest. It pierces into him once, twice, a third time as the crowd chants, "LUNARIS! LUNARIS!"

Lunaris stirs, trying to wipe the haze of his dream from his mind. The gray form above pokes a hoof in the side of his barrel, a soft, almost sing song, "Lunaris... Lunaris..."

Lunaris opens his eyes, the dark tent claustrophobic around him. He is holding Aspide above himself, one hoof wrapping around her neck in a chokehold. He manages to stutter, "Um," as his tight grip around her neck loosens.

"You can let me go, you know," Aspide snickers, her back pressing against his barrel. "Or not. I mean, you are pretty comfy."

"Um."

"I mean, that must have been some dream, huh? You were tossing and turning all over. And now this." Aspide grabs hold of the foreleg around her neck, squirming into the larger stallion. "I could get used to this."

Lunaris shudders, the images of his nightmare still playing through his mind.

"Hey, you doing okay over there?" Aspide says, twisting to glance back. Lunaris is staring off into the distance, eyes unfocused, his body unresponsive to her hooves pressing here and there and yet still clutching at her. She spins around, her hooves on the ground as she stares into his eyes. Her mouth impulsively moves down, pressing against his lips. She lingers, watching as his eyes first go wide. Then, they focus on her eyes, teal gazing into gray.

Aspide smiles, withdrawing from Lunaris. She drops to his side, her back snuggling up against him. "Good night, Lune," she softly says, a brief shift as Lunaris rolls to his side as well.

"Um," Lunaris says, a hoof coming to his mouth and lightly tapping against the slight wetness remaining. His hoof drops down, finding itself resting against her side as he closes his eyes, drifting off to a hopefully dreamless sleep.