The War of 1002

by Fireheart 1945

Chapter 76; A parley with predictable - and not so predictable - results

James stood, arms folded, Barrel standing next to him with Shining on his other side. Al-Malik and Jelani were not far away. Celestia and Luna were in the middle of the group.

And what are we standing for? To look like fools in a picturesque manner?

James was still convinced that trying to make the griffon emperor surrender was a waste of time. Raniero - or, as he'd renamed himself, Emperor Blackstar - was the kind to pull the world down around him in ruins rather than submit, and it looked like he was looking for the chance to do just that.

"Useless," he muttered.

Of course, there was the chance that he and the other generals were wrong... and if there was ever a time he'd hoped to be wrong, it was now. If the "Emperor" did surrender here and now, there wasn't much that would please him more at the moment. The feeling inside, though...

Did Celestia and Luna have similar misgivings? Luna seemed to; her face was anything but cheerful. Even Celestia nickered rather uncomfortably, though that might have been the morning chill. No one had their guard down; this wasn't a surrender ceremony, and it was unlikely to become one. The Solar Princess was wise, yes, but here James felt as if she'd allowed her hopes to run away with her a bit.

Am I disappointed that she wants peace here? No. No, after nearly eleven months of war, I'm not disappointed in the hope itself, but I just don't believe deep down that the king will throw in the towel.

He watched as the griffon delegation came closer. The king was all too easy to recognize; he was wearing a red cloak, with an edge of black, with a large crown on his head and a bejeweled sward on his waist, along with ceremonial armor on his chest. Other griffons, clearly of very high rank, were also with him. One who was noticeable was a griffon with black feathers, wearing a uniform with numerous medals. James briefly wondered how many he'd actually earned rather than given for loyalty. He looked familiar, but James couldn't quite place the face.

He kept a hand on his holster. It was unlikely that the Imperial party would start anything at this parley, but James didn't trust them. If they did do something untoward, he would do his best to make sure the allied party got the least of it.

The Imperials stopped a few feet in front of the allied leaders. No one spoke for a few seconds.

"I'm surprised you had the gall to come here yourselves, gutless sisters of the rotting Equestrian Diarchy."

"King Raniero," Celestia responded, not taking in the insults whatsoever, "we have come to-"

"I am not a king anymore; I am an Emperor, and will be addressed as such!"

"You think that'll matter if we shot you right now?" James asked casually. "Don't think it would matter any which way."

"Silence, mercenary! You are not fit to speak!"

"Oh yes I am!" James moved his hand in a backhanding motion.

"James," Celestia said in a warning tone.

James backed off, but refused to look away from the griffon king, who stared at and through him, until the latter finally turned back toward Celestia. The king's retainers were slower to do so; the griffon with black feathers glared at James, as though the glare could melt him where he stood. James kept staring back, hand on his holster as before.

While this was going on, Luna had spoken up; "Our nation continues to run smoothly and without any rot; yours is falling apart at the seams. Your defeat is inevitable at this point. Your so-called empire is finished. The only thing you'll do by continuing the war is dragging out the suffering of your own subjects. A rebellion - of your own making - has consumed much of your nation, and every day your kingdom falls farther into chaos. Surrender now, and something may be salvaged."

"All great empires are founded on sacrifice, and continued through further offerings of war. You have not captured Gryphos. No one has ever captured Gryphos. And we now have weapons that can vaporize Canterlot city... or perhaps that little blot in the land you call Ponyville..."

James tried not to look worried. Inside, though, besides the civilian lives lost, he knew that the enemy had picked out a target that made sense. Ponyville was home to the Element Bearers; without them...

Tyranny. Perhaps not from the griffons, but from some enemy on the lines of Nightmare Moon and Discord. I haven't been around long enough to see every threat ever hatched against this country...

"We have ways of defending our cities, even from such cowardly assaults," Celestia retorted. "Meanwhile, your people suffer and die to no purpose."

"Save your sensitivities; I am not moved by them." The King stood up to his tallest height. "We will soon be back on the offensive, and this war will be won by us. I propose that you surrender, Princess, or I'll blast every city you own off the map."

"You are a fool if you think us ill-prepared. Raniero, I must insist that you throw in the towel. You no longer have the arms or the army to carry out your conquests, and more of your people turn against your tyranny every day,"

"Filthy traitors, all of them. We'll execute every last one of them, and create a pure empire of service and conquest."

"Ya didn't get all o' us before," Graywing said. "What makes ya think you'll finish us off now, seeing you're in that gilded cage of a city?"

"We'll deal with you in time, idiot. The whole clan system prevented us from winning the war before now."

"We would have had much to say about that as well," Celestia said. "Our armies fared well in the field."

"Only because you hired a lucky mercenary to reform your armies." Raniero smirked at James. "Pity we didn't capture you early; I have a nice cage you would have fitted in."

"That's enough," Luna said, before James could respond. "Your armies are outnumbered, and dwindling every day. Your people reject your rule. The resources you expected and wanted from the great betrayal of the clans has come to little, if anything. The only threats you have against us are the modified prisons you expected to cage me and my sister in... which will not be happening. It is over."

"It is over when I say it is over. And it will be over when Canterlot and all the cities of Equestria are mine... to burn, or to enslave, as I wish."

"Open your eyes!" James yelled. "You've lost. Give up!"

"SILENCE! I will not be spoken to by a merc-"

James half-pulled out his revolver, making the movement obvious. "Want to finish that sentence?" he asked, temper flaring.

"You wouldn't dare," the false emperor said indignantly.

"He will not," Celestia said, glaring at James until he holstered the gun. "But it is clear that you've blinded yourself to reality beyond the point where we can talk with you reasonably. You will be allowed to return to Gryphos without hindrance. After that, you'll either share the fate of your soldiers on the battlefield, or be captured by our victorious armies, and be judged for everything you and your officials and army officers have committed, against us and your own people."

"As if. I'll see you imprisoned yet, Princess. And keep your dog on a leash."

"And where is the messenger who brought our offer of a parley to you?" Luna demanded.

"Grayfeather warned you, did he not, that any messenger you sent us would be taken prisoner?"

"That is against the laws of war!"

"Laws that block what needs to be done. I expect this lesson to sink down into your muddled excuses for brains."

"Leave now," Celestia said, eyes ablaze, almost as if they really were on fire. "We'll give you thirty minutes to return to Gryphos; you'll be allowed safe conduct during that time. Once that period is up, I shall not answer for the consequences you've brought upon yourself."

The King-Emperor sneered, and turned away in contempt.

"Blue Fur," James said quietly, "prepare to do what you've been itching to do all this time."

"Yes sir," the engineer responded.

James sighed loudly, then turned to his right... only to find Celestia face to face with him. "That was inappropriate behavior, especially for a commanding officer in the Equestrian Army," she said in a disappointed voice. "I can't say that I'm proud of your actions a few moments ago. I know that your anger was up; mine was as well. But threatening the opposing king with immediate death only lends his cause more strength, however little it may possess."

James sighed again. "You're right. I'm sick of being thought of as a mercenary or some tough, though, and he's just making more people die for a dead corpse of a dream."

"That's true. But if you ever do something like that again, I'll take action. It was unacceptable, regardless of the reasons. I thought you had more discipline than that, mentally as well as spiritually."

That hurt. James felt his hand fall to the cross that was in his pocket. "You have my word I won't threaten their king or his officials like that again."

"Good." Now Celestia sighed. "I suppose having him surrender here was too much to hope for."

"He might wish he had, in about five minutes."

"You're going to fire the sniper cannons now?" Celestia asked disapprovingly.

"You said that he would have immunity while going back. You said nothing about his palace."

"I can see your point, but I must forbid that strike until they get closer to the city."

"Aw, come on; I want him to see his prized super cannons blown to bits, or at least rendered useless, before his eyes."

Celestia actually smiled momentarily at that. "I know. But they need to be further away, or else they might claim we broke the agreement."

'You're the one who wants him alive; why not fire now, when he's not the target, or anywhere near it?"

"I see your point. But all the same, I need him to be further from us than he is. Bring me a spyglass, and I'll tell you when you may fire."

"Alright," James said. "I'll delay the countdown, but I hope not for long."

"I promise, it won't be. Get me a spyglass."

"You have no objection, to this course of action, Princess Luna?" Shining Armor asked.

"None," the Lunar Princess answered. "I admit, I worry that this may have consequences, or might be seen as dishonorable, but it is high time that justice was served, and that a threat was eliminated. Their government would have tried to force slavery down our throats, and I doubt Equestria would be their last target. Now their administration shall be subject to the rightful penalties for their evil actions, against us, others, and their own people."

James had a flashback to the Second Changeling Campaign, the one that had liberated the hives and saw the defeat of Chrysalis. Memories flashed; the rebellion he'd stirred, the battles, comrades lost. He thought of foreign friends made, and of the sense of justice and cause that had helped sustain him, and the army he'd helped lead.

He felt, as he had then, that things were coming full circle. But unlike then, once the enemy stronghold here was taken, the war would be completely over. There would be nothing left to do other than judge the now powerless former rulers and see them receive their just desserts.

Then what?

It was a question that had gotten into the back of his mind. The war had felt, in it's beginning and intermediate stages, like the fulfillment of his life's purpose of the knowledge he'd had, exterior cynicism not withstanding. What would he do once the struggle was over?

There's always another struggle, another battle, another opponent to build up in preparation to meet. And it will be like that until Judgment Day. And not all those struggles will necessarily be military in nature. He couldn't see what would happen. He could only ride the train, so to speak, and arrive at the destinations on the way as they came.

Fulfillment of purpose... yes, that seemed to be the proper way he felt about his participation in the war, even through his earlier criticisms and cynical remarks. Now though, that purpose felt like it would end. Not that that was a bad thing in most respects; the dying and destruction would stop. He wanted the war to end, and to be ended by his side, not that of the enemy.

But then what? What will I do without a war to fight? Am I to become a sword, to be hung up on the shelf for years, until another, probably lesser, threat comes along? Or would I sit there perpetually, not being called upon again?

He shook his head, and hard; those were thoughts that disturbed him, though one might consider them natural. Now, however, was not a time to be thinking about such things. Now was the time to act, so that there would be a chance to sort out those and other thoughts later.

Celestia continued to stand, watching the departing griffon party, which had taken to flight. "Almost where I want them. Have Blue Fur ready those guns."

"Right." James turned. "Blue Fur..."

"On it. You might want to come over here yourself."

James walked toward a rather innocent-looking bush. At least, it looked innocent, until it was lifted away to reveal the two cannons, both pre-aimed and ready to fire.

"Might have to readjust slightly," one of the gunners complained, but went about his work. All of them did. Not that either gun required a big crew; only two ponies were on each gun crew.

"Got that pole thing in sight, sir," one of the gunners said to Blue Fur.

"Let me see," James said, scrambling over to peer through the telescopic sights.

The palace was not only clear; it was as if he was jet-packing maybe a hundred or so feet away from it. When Blue Fur had said he was aiming to get a sight good enough to see their target, he hadn't realized just how good; James blinked, his eyes and body feeling disrupted briefly. There were indeed two poles, sticking out of bulges in the highest roofs of the palace.

"If you could please move, sir; you're obstructing us."

James didn't even complain; he just stood back up, confident the crews would hit what they were aiming at."

"What's the phrase again? You may fire when ready," Celestia said calmly.

"Fire," James repeated.

The two energy cannons made a noise, one that bespoke of the energy that was powering up within. It built up for a moment, the humming continuing to grow in intensity.

Then the energy was released.

The guns both fired, one seconds after the other. The multi-colored energy beams burst out of the cannon barrels, long spears of light that raced toward their targets faster than he could see.

It was all over in a matter of seconds, if that. The upper pieces of the palace that he'd seen through the scope exploded, the stone breaking apart, the metal melting.

"I think they've noticed," Celestia said. It was obvious she was struggling to hold back a chuckle.

James raised his binoculars, searching for the griffon party. They weren't hard to find; they were pointing in shock to the palace and squawking and shouting in rage and... fear, perhaps? The king - the self-styled emperor - had lost something like twenty feet in the air from where he'd been before the shots had been fired.

"Again," he said. "This time, I want the top of the place blown off. Leave them nothing of their weapon to rebuild."

The energy cannons fired a second time. This time, the part of the palace - the highest part, where the weapons had been stored - was leveled, the roof being blown apart.

"I think I can see some sort of sphere," Celestia said. "The prisons the griffon king wanted to jail us in."

"Aim for those, and the rough equivalent position on the other side of the tower," James relayed to the gunners. "Blow those things open!"

They did. The spheres were obliterated, the glass shattering and the other parts either breaking or melting.

"One more. Break that entire room off."

Again, the guns hummed. Again, they fired. And again, the results were spectacular. The top tower simply imploded, the bricks crumbling and flying in all directions. The highest part of the palace was no more.

The griffon leaders were horrified. Shocked, angered and outraged, they flew off toward their city as fast as possible.

"Blow 'advance'," James ordered. "Now we close in on what's left of their regime."

It wouldn't be an advance that would claim the city. Not today. But it would close in on it, surround it, and perhaps crush the spirits of the soldiers on the other side, enough so that another push another day - hopefully not far away - would succeed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Comments

[Mr Dorito]

Hmmm, I'd prefer a Gustav cannon but this works too.

[Scarheart]

s2.quickmeme.com/img/18/18c210b4cbb6f0b8117b9f0ae742b5d1414213d270e9fb592996fa85350f4be7.jpg

[Starlight Nova]

Just a warning; the main character is Christian and pro-Union.

Does this mean he won't get along well with Zecora and the crystal ponies?

[Amethyst Blade]

Sponsored by Michael Bay.
Explosions! Laser Beams!

[ArchAngelGundam]

Boom. I like it. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the great work. Deus tecum.

[Fireheart 1945]

7717110 Christian does not mean intolerant. It does mean loving enemies and forgiving sin.

While I might disagree with some of what Zecora does (then again, I disagree a lot with stuff on the show and fandom, and not al religiously, mind you; not even close), I see her as an interesting character (who wouldn't?) with a rather entertaining manner of speech, even though I wouldn't want to try to come up with rhymes myself. And I don't know where the Crystal ponies figure into this

I put that message (that you quoted) up as a warning, so that if people went to complain about Christian (and Unionist) themes in the story, they'd be complaining against something I specifically stated would be in the story and therefore kind of undercutting their own attacks; it's not like I didn't warn them, after all.

It's not been there forever; maybe between half to a full year or something like that. I don't remember exactly when I put it up.

[Night Star the Scholar]

So they Griffon super-weapon was taken out of the equation? I hope so!

Now to wait about a month for the next chapter...

[ihatehaters1994]

Oh HELL yeah Double Barrel MAC Cannons are a go !

[Amethyst Blade]

7718175 What manuverability?
This is the A7V look-alike with energy shield and cannon and somewhat better magical engine...Even so, it isn't terribly fast or manuverable. And who said tanks can't be used to spearhead an army's advance on the street?
The abrams don't seem to care...

[Just Sandy]

why not take a little inspiration from a ww1 battle were germany fired 3 MILLION artillery shells in just 5 hours as an opening salvo for the charge of ther stormtroopers (yes germanies best soldiers in ww1 were stormtroopers and i dont mean the ones from star wars)

[The Atlantean]

Okay, if earlier comments have offended you, Fireheart, I apologize. But I really love the time you put into this story and the way you immerse one into the scene without an overly amount of description (unlike LOTR).

The destruction of the weapons up top was quite nice, but I have the feeling there's something besides dungeons beneath that palace...

[Fireheart 1945]

7722940 I was once Catholic and have sympathies for it. I disagree with some of it's doctrines is all.

And my thanks for the praise you've given me. I'll enjoy getting to your own stories in the Red Sea Rises series

[Fireheart 1945]

7718616 Dien Bien Phu = "Seat of the Border Administration" in Vietnamese. And I know a little bit about it.

[Fireheart 1945]

7734130 Thanks man!

[Zaravan]

Such deluded confidence, either the Emperor has gone truly mad;

Or he has one or more Wunderwaffen in reserve.

It's more than likely this will be the 'Battle of Berlin' of this world, civilian militia fighting alongside battered veterans in a desperate, losing battle.

[Talon19912]

it really does seems pointless for him to return to earth after everything he's accomplished. I'm sure his family will notice his changes, and he couldn't really talk about it to anybody without them thinking it was all a dream, or he was crazy or something. It would probably be better for him to stay. It would probably make a good sequel. BTW awesome story!

[The Atlantean]

7765597 We will use the soft pillows and the comfy chair!

[ShadowLight96]

7734486 wow. Awesome story man. Can't wait to see how this concludes.

[Fireheart 1945]

7771420 Thanks

[Fireheart 1945]

7781549 Yeah, I had a first dream sequence in an earlier chapter and then someone asked me to do it more, and this was a convenient way to pass time in the story.

And thanks for reading!

[Fireheart 1945]

7781070 Hi, and welcome to the story! Thanks for reading it this far!

[Fireheart 1945]

7781070 Oh, and thanks for the fave and the watch!

[Helljumper206]

This is how I view the coming battle that's about to go down
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