The Princess and the Kaiser

by UnknownError

Part Nine

“The Kaiser is fourteen and still a cub by law,” Bronzetail said, nursing a cup of coffee at Thorax's table.

The handle had chipped off, so the Colonel had to wrap his claw around the mug. Thorax and Jadis brewed a fresh pot of coffee for their discussion, but it would hardly improve the taste. It was a terrible cup of coffee by any standard, Flurry knew.

But it was telling that he sipped from it with only a slight grimace and no complaint.

The griffon sat at Thorax’s kitchen table as the sun set, surrounded by Barrel Roller, Sun Flare, Spike, Thorax, Frosty Jadis, Dusty Mark, and the Princess. The room was unbearably crowded, even with the Equestrians leaning against the far walls and window. Spike sat on the floor.

“I’ll return with any letter you wish to write, but I cannot promise it will be acted upon.”

“The Archon has bowed to pressure before,” Flurry pointed out, “with me and Thranx.”

“Only to preserve the image of the Kaiser’s authority,” Bronzetail countered. “He won’t call him a stupid cub before the entire court. Archon Eros is loyal to the Kaiser, and will doubtlessly die in his service; he is an ancient griffon that plays a deadly game very well.”

“What if Grover declared it before the court?”

“Again, he is fourteen and still a minor. His words have weight, but not enough to declare war on his own. It will change when he is sixteen.” Bronzetail set the cup down.

“The Archon had to fight much of the nobility to be declared regent,” the griffon explained. “Their power is broken. The bureaucracy holds the power now, and many of their positions can be appointed by the Kaiser. When the Kaiser is coronated at sixteen, he can declare war with impunity.”

“You’ll need time to prepare first,” Thorax countered.

“We would have to mass forces on the west coast to cross the ocean. It would be noticed. Besides, we attempted coastal landings in Wingbardy and were badly defeated. Our navy is terrible,” Bronzetail scoffed. He grabbed the mug again.

He took a sip and hid his grimace behind a cough. “Even if we landed, we would leave the Herzland and our territory vulnerable to the Riverlands.”

“Would they really attack the Reich while you were attacking Chrysalis?” Barrel Roller asked.

“The River Republic believes it’s leading the last bastions of harmony and democracy,” Jadis said. “They can’t attack a country fighting Chrysalis.”

“To them, we are just as bad as the Queen, if not worse,” Bronzetail scoffed. “They sent volunteers to the fascists in Wingbardy just to weaken us.”

Dusty snorted and flicked her tail. “It’s the same in Nova Griffonia,” she spat.

“On that,” Thorax said, pointing a hoof at Bronzetail. “You need to leave soon. The Republicans will have noticed your arrival here. They already believe we are dangerous monarchists.”

“Have your guards knock out some windows,” Flurry suggested, “and shout some slurs in Herzlander.”

Everypony and one griffon stared at her. Flurry trotted across the room, squeezing past the Equestrians to look out the window to the Reich soldiers. They had left the trucks and gathered into a large communal card game once Bronzetail spoke to them briefly. They looked relaxed and happy, joking with one another. A few had their helmets off and looked quite young. Their rifles leaned against the trucks, left behind.

They reminded Flurry Heart of her ponies. “Make some statement that you came to demand an apology for our mean letters back and forth. Not everygriffon will believe it, but it will take some pressure off.”

“Sure, we’ll just tell everypony that the Princess ordered the griffons to be racist,” Dusty sighed.

“If you have a better suggestion, I’d like to hear it,” Flurry said to Dusty.

Dusty shrank down on her stool.

“It’s not like we don’t hear worse things everyday from the Nova Griffonians,” Jadis said. “Most ponies here don’t know Herzlander anyway.”

“That will make things harder on the delegation,” Bronzetail remarked.

“Are they going to make an agreement?”

“Gods, no!” Bronzetail laughed. “They’re only here to destabilize Nova Griffonia.”

“When will you invade us?” Dusty asked sarcastically.

Bronzetail took the question seriously. “The war in the south has to end, then we have to rebuild. It’s the same problem as attacking Chrysalis.”

“You’ll have retaken all of your core lands,” Thorax pointed out. “Will you really go to war over a poor colony?”

Bronzetail considered it, staring at his mug. “It will make a good landing point to invade Chrysalis, but that is an entirely different issue. Many griffons know nothing about changelings. The Kaiser can declare war, but the will of his griffons must be with him.”

“That’s later,” Flurry reminded him. “I want to know what can be done now.” Flurry shook her short curls and looked at Spike. “What do we need?” she asked in Equestrian.

“Everything,” Spike shrugged.

“Weapons, medical supplies, ammo, soldiers,” Barrel Roller listed with wing feathers. “We have no support, and we’re salvaging more from the retreating Changeling forces than producing ourselves.”

“Tanks,” Sun Flare stated, “we need tanks the most. The garrisons we’re facing are underequipped on-hooves units or trucks running out of fuel. Sooner or later, Chrysalis will send her panzers down on us.”

“We can’t ask the Reich to give us their tanks,” Thorax interrupted. “Ask for volunteers first.”

“Can you send volunteers?” Flurry asked the griffon in Aquileian. “We need soldiers to help train our ponies. We need weapons and medical supplies to arm them.”

“No,” Bronzetail shook his head, “the Archon will never agree to sending griffons across the ocean, and no griffon will volunteer to do it. Our weapons and equipment are going to the south for the front.” He shrugged. “Besides, your healing potions and magic are better than ours anyway.”

“We tried, Flurry,” Thorax said kindly. He placed a hoof over hers on the table.

Flurry jerked it away. “Tanks,” she blurted out in Aquileian.

The griffon curled his tail and leaned back, looking at the Princess warily. “You want us to ship our tanks across the ocean, praying to Boreas they don’t sink to a submarine, all to fight in a pony’s war?” he asked. His beak spasmed in confusion.

“Princess…” Thorax began.

Flurry batted a wing at him and sat up straight. “It doesn’t have to be your best tanks and we don’t need your griffons. We can figure out how to drive them on our own, right?”

“Princess, tanks built for griffons are different than tanks built for changelings or ponies,” Thorax explained in Equestrian.

“I know, but that can’t be worked around?” Flurry insisted in Aquileian. “We can sign a defensive pact in exchange, against the River Republic.”

Bronzetail opened his beak to respond.

“Princess!” Thorax shouted, slamming his hooves onto the table. “You are not proposing military alliances out of desperation!” he spat in Equestrian.

“I won’t sit here and do nothing!” Flurry shouted back. The mugs on the table rattled.

“You can sit here and trust Starlight!”

“She’s losing!” Flurry screamed.

The room was quiet. The ponies shared a look.

“Princess, you are young and do not understand the complexities of war,” Barrel Roller interrupted. “Starlight Glimmer is a great commander. The war may be long and costly, but it is far from over.”

“You don’t remember Starlight,” Spike said. “She’s a powerful mage and spellcaster. If anypony can pull this off other than Twilight, it’s her.”

Flurry closed her eyes. She’s running out of speed and running out of time. I can’t be the only one who sees it. Flurry opened her eyes and glared around the room. Everypony, even Spike, looked down at her like she was some stupid foal. She stared last at the folded up maps and notes, stuffed under the poor couch.

Bronzetail cleared his throat. Flurry fixed her glare on him.

“I’m not sure what that was about, but I can guess,” Bronzetail said in Aquileian.

“I misspoke,” Flurry answered. “I can’t promise an alliance against the River Republic.”

“I understand, but we can send tanks,” Bronzetail replied.

Thorax sat up and glared at him as his wings buzzed. “Liar.”

Bronzetail scoffed at him. “Funny, changeling, but that was no lie. We do have tanks.”

“You don’t have spare guns, but you have spare tanks?” Thorax questioned with a sneer.

“Not spares,” the griffon stated. “We started using a new heavy tank last year; the previous tanks could not be repurposed and sit in scrapyards, waiting to be stripped for parts. It takes much time and is very costly. There are thousands left.”

“And how do you know this?”

“I am a tank commander,” Bronzetail replied incredulously. “I drove them. They can punch through Chrysalis’ sorry excuses for armor, easy,” he boasted.

Thorax licked his fangs nervously and studied the griffon.

Flurry decided for him. “He’s telling the truth.”

“Yes,” Thorax hissed as he deflated. “But you cannot promise an alliance. You are not an adult. You aren’t a leader of the Equestrian Liberation Front.”

“I am a Princess,” Flurry replied. “Does my word as a Princess of Ponies mean nothing?”

“It means everything to the ponies here,” Thorax said, “but you don’t speak for Starlight or the Equestrian Liberation Front.”

“Then it’s a good thing we have an ELF leader right here.” Flurry jabbed a hoof towards Spike.

“Whoa, wait,” Spike held up his claws. “I’m not here to negotiate with the Reich.”

“You were here to negotiate with Blackpeak, what did you offer?” Flurry asked in Equestrian.

“I’m not agreeing to help the Reich fight wars or whatever you’ve been discussing.”

“Fine,” Flurry bit out, then turned back to the griffon. “Send over the old tanks. It’s a test, see how they preform against Chrysalis. Grover wants to go to war anyway with her.”

“The Kaiser does,” Bronzetail nodded, “but the Archon Eros does not. I can make that argument, and so can the Kaiser, but it will fall with flat feathers.”

Flurry growled and grabbed Spike’s head with her magic. She forced him to look down at her. “He’s offering to send tanks over to face Chrysalis. Tell me the truth: Do you think Starlight will win without help? There is no one else to ask.”

Spike pulled his head free, looking between Thorax and Flurry. He clenched and unclenched his claws. He twisted to look at Barrel Roller and Sun Flare at the window.

They didn’t meet his eyes.

“If the tanks are sent over, we will share what we know of the codes Chrysalis’ spies use in their transmissions,” Spike sighed.

Thorax hissed warningly. His wings buzzed as he stood up from his stool.

“It’s not your decision.” Spike raised a scaly arm and pushed him back down.

“Changelings died to break those codes. If the griffons muck it up, they will be changed and we’ll have to start all over,” Thorax whispered in Equestrian.

“It’s worth it,” Flurry said, and translated Spike’s offer to Bronzetail.

Bronzetail thought for a moment with his claws resting under his chin. “That’s powerful information, if it’s reliable.”

“It is,” Thorax said lowly.

Bronzetail stared at the changeling across the table, who also stared back unblinkingly. The griffon blinked first. “The Archon will cave to that. He may not want to start a war with her, but he also fears Chrysalis and her ambitions.”

Thorax slumped, but nodded resignedly. “It’ll take time to get everything set-up to travel. You will carry the papers at all times yourself, all the way to the Kaiser. You will follow my instructions to the letter.”

“You want to order me like the Kaiser, changeling?” Bronzetail squawked.

“If you don’t listen, I will kill you before you leave Nova Griffonia,” Thorax continued blithely. “Another changeling will wear your beak down to the dock and complete the mission themselves.”

“You know me so well,” Bronzetail mocked.

“There will be time for that,” Thorax said. “It won’t be the first time I’ve had to do this.” His voice was hard; his fangs protruded out from under his lips. Even at his angriest, he never spoke to Flurry in that hissing tone.

Flurry Heart sat on her stool and silently watched the exchange. Thorax looked like a different changeling, defeated and slumped on the stool. His eyes were dull in the light, but there was something in them that reminded her of the Crystal Empire, when she first met the changeling. Sometimes he'd lose control, hiss and snarl and she'd laugh at his scary face. Only later did she realize Thorax had been starving for most of his life before he met her family.

Thorax noticed Flurry’s look and swallowed, poorly hiding his fangs behind his upper lip. “We’ll give you a folder with our information in a code, along with the cipher to break it.”

“How will I know it’s reliable?”

“Trust.”

“I should trust you after you threaten to kill me?” Bronzetail questioned.

“You should trust that I will do anything for my Princess,” Thorax answered.

Flurry sat up straight on her stool and tried to look as authoritative as possible, flaring out her wings for emphasis. They nearly knocked Thorax and Dusty away from the table. The griffon flinched at the surprising wingspan.

“I agree,” Bronzetail nodded. “I will bring your proposal to the Kaiser, and oversee the first shipments myself.”

Flurry smiled triumphantly. “When do you leave?”

“I have no idea,” Bronzetail admitted.

Flurry’s smile died on her muzzle. “What?”

“The sea is rough and swimming in submarines,” Bronzetail explained. “We won’t leave for another two months, at least.”

“How long will it take to set-up the shipments?” Flurry asked.

Bronzetail flapped his wings in a shrug. “Once the information is verified, another month?” he guessed.

Too long, Flurry thought.

“What if you radioed ahead, or sent a message?”

“We can’t trust this to a radio, and a lone flyer traveling across the ocean is easily intercepted,” Thorax said to Flurry. “We need to wait.”

“No!” Flurry slammed a hoof on the table. “No more waiting! We do this now.”

“How?” Dusty asked.

Flurry chewed on her lower lip. “Can we send something that says we have an agreement, and to send the tanks in advance?”

“The Archon won’t agree-” Bronzetail began.

“Grover will! He can convince the Archon; he’s done it before!” Flurry spat. “He’s not some useless cub that wears a crown.” Before anypony could refute her, Flurry stood up and crossed the hall to her room, dispelling the lock and shoving aside the notes and documents on her bed. She retrieved her ink bottle and a quill from her drawer along with a blank piece of parchment.

Flurry pulled the door shut with her magic and locked it. She returned to Thorax’s room across the hallway and looked at her ponies. Thorax began to say something. She cut him off. “Everypony out, except Spike, Thorax, and Dusty.”

“Princess?” Jadis asked.

“Out,” Flurry repeated and lit her horn.

Everypony did leave. Bronzetail watched the display with a small frown and adjusted his officer’s cap. Flurry sat down in front of him and slapped the paper and writing materials down on the table in front of her. “Thorax, sit next to him and verify he’s writing what I say.”

Flurry Heart unbottled the ink and wrote in broken Herzlander:

Grover,

Princess Flurry help write you.

She set the quill down and slid the paper over to Bronzetail. The griffon took the quill in his right claw and blinked at the poor Herzlander. Thorax squeezed in next to him, scooching his tool uncomfortably close.

“Grover,” Flurry started, “I have made a deal for your old tanks. We will send our secrets about Chrysalis.” She waited for Bronzetail to write it down. He hesitated for a moment, but the changeling’s presence at his side encouraged him to write.

“I am sorry to hear about your friend. I do not remember him, but I remember Chrysalis’ cruelty. I ask that you trust me, as I trust you.” Flurry waited again while her wings fluttered.

“We need your help,” Flurry said. She shook her head at Bronzetail. “No, I need your help, write it down like that.” Bronzetail dipped the quill in the ink pot again and waited.

“Will Grover know the details about the tanks?” Flurry asked.

Bronzetail thought about it. “Probably not, but I can inform him myself.”

“This letter isn’t going with you,” Flurry said. “Write down what you can.”

He clacked his beak, but began mumbling and writing down a list of details. “They’re called ‘Thunderwings’ for their speed,” he remarked as he wrote. “The Kaiser loves our tanks; he will know that at the very least.” He set the quill down and made eye contact.

“Your griffon friend will return with our information on Chrysalis. I ask that you convince Archon Eros to begin sending us the tanks now, to Manehattan. They can go alone, as a lend-lease in exchange for our codebreaking. I look forward to seeing you once we’ve won. I won’t forget your help.” Flurry bobbed her head. “Sign your name.”

Bronzetail hesitated for a moment, then Thorax leaned over and stared at the page.

“I could fake your signature,” he offered with a fanged smile.

Bronzetail signed and set the quill down.

Colonel Elias Bronzetail of Feathisia

Flurry Heart lit her horn and dragged the paper and quill over. She signed her name and full title:

Princess Flurry Heart of the Crystal Empire and Principality of Equestria, Princess of Ponies

Flurry passed the quill to Spike. “You’ll sign as a representative of the Equestrian Liberation Front,” Flurry told him. Spike took a deep breath, but the alicorn's icy blue eyes made him take the quill. Spike grasped it delicately in his oversized claws, then signed under her name with a confused grimace. Flurry looked at his signature in Equestrian:

Spike Sparkle, Knight of the Crystal Empire and Ambassador for the Equestrian Liberation Front

Flurry leaned over and hugged him with her wings. He hugged her back with one arm. Flurry squeezed back hard, earning a wheeze and puff of smoke from the dragon. She turned to Dusty, who was leaning next to the door and keeping watch.

“Your turn, Dusty,” Flurry said. “Sign under Spike.”

Dusty looked startled. “Princess, I’m a nopony. I don’t represent anything.” She shook her head as her dark gray mane whipped around her horn.

“You represent the ponies of Nova Griffonia,” Flurry stated confidently. “You’re our general.”

“Princess, I was a lieutenant during the war.”

“You’re more than that to everypony here. It was already true; this just makes it official.”

Dusty still looked overwhelmed and didn’t approach.

“I won’t force you,” Flurry offered, “but you deserve it and I believe in you.”

The unicorn staggered over and gaped at the letter before grasping the quill in her magic. She inhaled and closed her eyes. The quill stopped shaking.

She opened her eyes and smiled at Flurry, putting the quill to the paper.

Dusty Mark, General of the Crystal Empire

“Uncle Thorax,” Flurry requested. “And use the title my mother offered.”

“That was never a serious offer,” Thorax countered.

“It will be when we win.”

Thorax picked up the quill and signed.

Thorax Vrakium, King of the Changeling Lands

“I wanted us to be a republic when I spoke with your mother,” Thorax sighed. “She said it would take generations to do.” He tapped the quill on the table. “I think she was right.”

The paper now sat in the middle of the table and the five stared down at it.

“Now what?” Spike asked and leaned back to stretch out his tail.

Flurry flared out her horn before leaning over and casting her special spell at the letter. There was a bright flash; Bronzetail squawked as he fell off his stool and thumped to the ground. She blinked away blue stars while the letters faded away, leaving a blank page behind.

Bronzetail stagged back to his paws and blinked, clutching his rumpled cap in a claw. “Is that why the Kaiser stares at blank pieces of paper?” he asked. “You hide messages to him?”

“You will tell no one,” Thorax demanded.

“The Kaiser’s secrets are mine,” Bronzetail swore and replaced his cap.

“It’s my turn to write,” Flurry said. She took a deep breath, drawing her foreleg to her barrel and pushing it out.

I have to do this.

“Spike?” she asked, “can you still send letters to Celestia?”

Spike blinked. “Yes, I told them about the rebellion.”

“Good,” Flurry replied absently. “Will the Reich accept a letter from Princess Celestia if it’s from me?” she asked Bronzetail in Aquileian.

“Only to mock it,” Bronzetail laughed, “she gets on the radio every month to speak about our destruction and suffering.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“She’s sent letters before,” Bronzetail remarked. He waved a claw. “It will get through, and probably published in the papers.” He squinted at her. “Your plan relies on her?”

Flurry ignored his question. She flipped the letter over and began to write in Equestrian.

Princess Celestia,

This is Princess Flurry Heart, your niece. Please send this message along to Kaiser Grover VI, the letter itself must get to Griffenheim. As you surely know, we exchange letters abroad. The uprising in Equestria has delayed our replies to each other. Spike has traveled to Nova Griffonia to ask for aid. Earlier today, some griffons from the Reich came to our side of Nova Griffonia to demand an apology for my previous letters. I refused, and they called our ponies many hurtful names in Herzlander. If this is the quality of the Kaiser’s troops, I am deeply ashamed of our cordial letters. Please send a reply to Spike once the letter is on its way. I am sure the Kaiser will be shocked by his soldiers’ attitudes…

Flurry continued for as long as she could, hoping to drown out her twisting stomach under false platitudes and naivety. When she was finished, Flurry grimaced at the admittedly weak cover letter, but she only had so much room on the page. She didn’t ask about their lives, nor did she explain why this was the first time she’d ever written to them in years. The letter wasn't really meant for them, after all.

I’ll explain everything once they do me this one kindness, she promised.

Flurry dried the ink with a quick spell, then passed the letter to Spike. Nopony said anything. Spike stood up and stretched, flipping the letter over several times before rolling it up. He held it before his mouth and inhaled. Spike hesitated.

“Send it,” Flurry said.

Spike exhaled slowly, not in a burst of fire, but a sigh.

“When I sent her the letter about the rebellion, she never answered.”

Flurry closed her eyes. “She’ll reply to me,” she said. She has to.

Spike breathed a gout of fire and the letter vanished into ash. The ash swirled around the room before flying towards the window and disappearing into a crack in the glass. Flurry Heart turned to the sole griffon in the room.

“It’ll take time for the letter to reach her,” she said. “You will get another letter to take with you with our information. Now, can you please tell your soldiers to start throwing bricks and swearing at us?”

“Of course,” Bronzetail answered with a slight smirk. “I trust your friendly changeling knows where the delegation is staying?”

“High Hotel, room 312,” Thorax said. “We’ll send somepony with our information and instructions later.”

Bronzetail chuckled to himself as he left, sparing a glance at Flurry that she couldn’t place.

Flurry watched from Thorax’s window as the griffon marched into the street and began squawking commands in Herzlander towards his griffons, who were still engaged in a card game. They staggered upright with flapping wings, clumsily grabbing helmets and snatching up rifles. A few looked confused as they turned to the trucks. Bronzetail screeched again, and a few griffons screeched half-heartedly back at the windows of the buildings around them. One kicked over a beaten garbage can with a rear paw. A few ponies stuck their heads out of the windows and shouted back in Aquileian. Bronzetail turned back to Flurry’s building and shouted a stream of curses at the bat ponies at the front door, who screeched back.

There was no violence, only words. It wasn’t an organized display, but it didn’t need to be one. There just had to be deniability. After a few minutes of disorganized shouting matches, the griffons backed their trucks out and left. Bronzetail climbed into the back last, ignoring a rotten apple smacking into his back from an Aquileian pony. Flurry turned from the window to Thorax, Spike, and Dusty.

Dusty and Thorax sat in the kitchen with the remainders of the coffee. Spike resumed sitting on the faded and frayed couch, sagging it down with his weight. Flurry floated a stool over and sat directly across from him. He avoided eye contact.

“How often do you write her?” Flurry asked.

“I give her updates,” Spike said, twisting his wings to get comfortable. He said nothing else.

“Does she write back?”

“No,” Spike mumbled. He studied the ceiling and the old scorch mark from Flurry’s outburst when she arrived. It never scrubbed out. “The last letter I got from her was an offer to come stay in the River Republic, but I don’t think they’re that friendly to dragons,” Spike commented.

“She asks me that every year.”

“Why don’t you go?” Spike turned the question around.

“My ponies are here,” Flurry answered immediately. Spike nodded thoughtfully and swished his tail. Dusty stood up, draining the last of the cold coffee from a used mug.

“I’d better check on everypony, make sure nopony is too rattled by those chickens,” she chuckled. The unicorn walked to the door to the hallway.

“Good luck, General,” Thorax called out as she passed through.

Dusty’s tail twitched irritably and she turned back with a blush and a smirk. “You too, your majesty.” Thorax’s wings chittered at the reply, but he laughed uneasily as she left. He shut the door with a wave of his horn.

Thorax trotted to the table in the living area, gathering the coffee mugs and bits of paper. He wouldn’t look at Flurry either; Flurry’s wings ruffled irritably. “If Princess Celestia cares about me,” she snorted, “cares about any of us, she’ll do it.”

Thorax nodded silently as he returned to the kitchen. He piled the mugs in the sink and began to rinse them in the already dirty water. Flurry waited on the stool.

They don’t think it will work. They think I’m just a foal.

“I won’t go without Twilight, and Twilight will never leave her ponies,” Spike finally said.

“I know,” Flurry replied.

The sun went down outside. She still does that at least, Flurry thought.

Spike laid down on the couch, still avoiding the alicorn’s gaze. He closed his eyes and began to snore as the lights turned off throughout the ghetto. Flurry stretched her wings out and resettled on the stool. Thorax left the room for a time, then returned with some folders. He passed by Flurry on the way to his small bedroom.

“Princess,” he whispered over Spike’s snoring, “we’ll wake you if we get an answer.”

“When,” Flurry corrected. “When we get an answer. Go to sleep, uncle.” She reached out with a wing and hugged him. “I love you.”

Thorax licked at his fangs and didn’t make eye contact before retreating to his room. He left the single light bulb on in the kitchen for Flurry. It cast long shadows over the living area. Flurry’s shadow stretched across the window. She reached up with a forehoof and touched the golden band under her mane, feeling the cold metal press into the fur.

Princess Flurry Heart sat on the stool until soft light filtered in from the window from the morning, hours later. She shut her drooping eyes against it, denying its existence and reality. That is her real job, isn’t it? The only one she cares about.

Spike coughed and sputtered, jerking awake from a deep sleep. He hacked a great jet of fire upwards. A scroll burst into existence from a rush of green flame that extended to the ceiling. Flurry lurched off the stool and snatched the scroll with her bare hooves, uncaring from the heat and fire. Spike rolled off the couch and grasped at her with one claw, but she flapped her wings and skidded away across the floor. The dragon crashed to the floor with a thud that rattled the window. Thorax kicked open the door to his bedroom and hissed before seeing Spike and Flurry.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. The changeling saw the scroll in Flurry’s hooves. “Princess, wait, it could be-”

Flurry summoned a small shield over herself that cut off Thorax’s entreaty. Spike slapped a claw against it from the other side. She concentrated and the shield turned opaque. Flurry looked at the scroll, wrapped in a simple gold string with no seal. It could have only come from one pony in the world.

Flurry pulled the string off and unrolled the letter.

Flurry Heart,

It is good to hear from you, finally! I feared your letters were lost amongst the griffons, and perhaps they were, as you never replied. I am sorry to hear of your troubles in Nova Griffonia and I will repeat my offer: You are welcome here at any time.

There was a space on the page before the letter resumed.

But I wish to talk about your real letter. Yes, we hear of your correspondence with the Kaiser in terms of foalish language and passive insults, but I see now that it hides a deeper connection. It may be lost to time, but Luna invented that spell to communicate discreetly with me.

Flurry, I’m sorry but Grover is not your friend. The Grovers have always been cruel. You cannot trust them, ever. I knew his every ancestor. They were cruel in different ways, but cruelty is ultimately all the same. The history of Griffonia is written in the blood of griffons and ponies slaughtered for the glory of one dynasty. Even now, the armies of the Reich carve the south with bloody talons and send maimed and frightened peoples streaming into the Riverlands. My heart bleeds for the ponies of Equestria, but I cannot in good conscience allow the fate of Equestria to depend on the charity of an evil griffon. I see Spike is with you, and you are welcome to write to us.

There was another space just before the end of the letter.

Spike, please inform Starlight Glimmer that I wish her luck, but my sister and I cannot risk the journey at this time.

Princess Celestia

That was it. That was all of it. The entire letter was just one page. Flurry flipped it over. There was nothing on the back. Flurry sank to her knees inside the shield and let the letter flutter to the ground from her magic. Her wings drooped by her side as she let the shield fade away in a fizzle of blue sparks.

Spike and Thorax were waiting. Spike sat the floor and Thorax had pulled a stool up to the shield. Neither of them said anything, but Spike reached out and gently took the letter from the floor. He read it quietly, then offered it to Thorax, who took it in his magic. Neither of them looked surprised.

They already knew her answer.

“Why?” Flurry asked. Sunlight began to creep through the window across the floor, distorting her shadow.

“Flurry?” Spike rested a claw on her foreleg as she laid on the wooden floor.

“I don’t understand why,” she admitted. “Why won’t she help? Why won’t Luna help?”

Spike squeezed her hoof. “They raise the Sun and Moon. They can’t risk their lives.”

“Celestia did Luna’s job for a thousand years,” Flurry said softly. “Twilight could’ve done it. My mother could have if she tried. One of them could have stayed.”

“Would it have made a difference?” Thorax asked. He took the letter in his hooves.

“No,” Flurry said. Her eyes hardened. “But one of them could’ve stayed anyway. One could come now. All I wanted her to do was send a letter,” she whispered.

"The Riverlands have always suffered due to the Reich," Spike said. "That's how the alliance was created."

"That's not their home," Flurry tried.

“It is now," Thorax sighed. "You’ve called them cowards for years,” he pointed out. He rolled up the letter and set it on the table. “So does Dusty and thousands of ponies here.”

Flurry looked at the letter on the table and shook her head. “I was wrong,” Flurry said. “That’s not why Celestia won’t help. Or Luna.” Flurry stood up and shook Spike’s claw off her hoof. “We need to draft a letter to give to Bronzetail. It’ll go with him whenever they leave.”

“With our information?” Thorax asked. “We’re relying on faith.”

“I trust Grover,” Flurry said. She stretched her wings out and touched the gold band under her mane again with a hoof. The metal pressed into her fur. “We need to get supplies, one way or another.” Flurry started to trot out with her head held high. Her ears pinned back against her short mane.

Thorax stood up as she passed by. “Princess, are you all right?”

Flurry hugged Thorax, wrapping him in her wings. “I’m fine, uncle. You were right. I don’t know what else I expected.” She yawned. “I was up all-night waiting; I’ll set an alarm for noon, then we’ll need to talk to Ponyville about the griffons from last night.”

“I’m sorry, Flurry,” Spike called out softly. He curled his tail around and held it in his claws, worrying with it. A memory came to the alicorn, of a young dragon with kind green eyes staring down at her while she laid in a crib.

“Not your fault,” Flurry dismissed. She gave the two of them a soft smile. “I’m sorry for worrying you. We’ll talk more later.”

Flurry Heart crossed the hallway, dispelled the lock on her door, and entered her room, closing the door behind her. She slumped against the door and let her wings droop once she was out of sight.

After a deep breath, she seized the crown off her head and studied the cheap, discolored gold. A baroness could’ve worn better, back in the days before the Pony Tribes unified. It had been a precious gift from her ponies, but it was also a joke to any griffon that noticed it. She flung the crown onto her bed, where it landed with a dull thump against the thin sheets.

Flurry moved the chair next to her desk aside and pulled open the drawer. She had left most of her writing supplies in Thorax’s room, leaving only a few spare pieces of parchment and a letter opener stuffed against the back of the drawer. Flurry pulled the letter opener out and held it in her magic. The metal edge was flecked with rust and fairly dull. She never had to use it; all of her letters had been opened and searched long before they reached her, either from the government or her own ponies. She had to rattle the drawer shut again.

Thorax, Spike, Dusty, Jadis. They all care. Celestia invited me, but nopony else.

She levitated the letter opener up to her horn.

Celestia and Luna call themselves Princesses, but they care more about each other than their subjects. They found new ponies to love them.

Flurry seized a clump of her mane in her magic and stretched out the hairs.

Not like mom.

Her horn sparked and the blade glowed with heat.

Not like Twilight.

The letter opener sliced into the extended strands.

Love is the death of duty.

She tucked the clump of hair into a folded piece of paper and set it on her desk with the letter opener. The alicorn walked into her bathroom and looked into the smudged mirror hanging crookedly on the wall. She shook her curls again and adjusted them with a hoof; the burnt ends disappeared into her mane. She looked into her reflection.

“High Hotel, Room 312,” Flurry whispered.

Princess Flurry Heart returned to her bed and put her crown back on her head. She slept wearing it.

Comments

[truenorth14]

Oooh. If only Celestia knew.. if only she knew.

[Dankmemes]

Yes he as delevared another epic chapter

[Nova Whirl]

I wonder what happend to the Stalliongrad leaders like Vasily and Sinister, they probably died defending Stalliongrad but I think Gold Muffin is still alive and is in Thorax's mafia since no one else would give a job to a changeling. I wonder if we'll see him in the later chapters

[Redundant]

Looks like Friendship might trump family, regarding Flurry’s stance on the rivalry between her aunties and the Grover bloodline.

I know it is far away right now, but a part of me wishes to see Crystal Empire troops helping conquer the Riverlands.

[UnknownError]

11288557
Late, late response, but I decided to include Gold Muffin due to this comment. He's only a cameo.

[artofwar77]

That's the problem with the long-lived individuals. Their long memories can prejudice them.

They might automatically trust an untrustworthy person in memory of a beloved ancestor of theirs or, in this case, vice versa.

[M4Tiger4014]

Dusty Mark, General of the Crystal Empire

What does Dusty look like again?

Also, Celestia, we’re now judging 14 year olds by their ancestry? Seriously?

[Grover VI]

Oh no! you called Bronzetail "Bronzebeak" once! literally unreadable, i'm joking of course. But seriously though It's funny how Celestia calls the Grover's evil when when Grover 3 and 4 ruled peacefully with 4 pretty much boosting the chocolate industry in the empire and was possibly autistic and Grover V was a victim of a revolution and generally terrible circumstances. I don't read fanfiction in general but this one has me very interested.

[UnknownError]

11625244
Damn, no matter how many times I go back and look over these chapters, something still slips through. Thanks.
Story-wise, the Grover dynasty is fleshed-out with references to a lot of medieval/legendary events. Celestia's reaching, but all of them had something that tainted their reign to an extent. There's references scattered throughout the story about the history of the dynasty.

[Grover VI]

11625263
I love that you included the legends form the middle ages and i find the things you include about the other Grover's very interesting too. after reading it i think it's no wonder why Grover VI wanted to be different which adds to the tragedy i believe, since i imagine his ancestors probably wanted to be different too but their idealism couldn't survive reality.

[GuardianofRoin]

11567082
Like Blueblood for example. His ancestors might have been great ponies, but their heir.... He should apologize to the trees for wasting the oxygen they work so hard to make.

[Sylica telca]

Poor flurry