The Princess and the Kaiser

by UnknownError

Part Twelve

Flurry Heart found the plane on the other side of the border, back in Nova Griffonia. It had a hard landing in a deforested valley in the Crystal Mountains, about half a day’s trot from the border. A logging company had cut down most of the pines to transport the lumber to Evergreen, so the valley was relatively flat. The plane ploughed a deep gouge into the frozen ground that could be seen from the air.

The plane itself was intact, which meant the pilot could be alive. Flurry dipped her wings in a dive and landed hard, slightly shivering. She knocked the frost off her feathers and lit her horn up with an orange flame. The snow storm had begun to recede, but it was nearing sundown. Visibility would be poor in a few hours. If the pilot needed medical attention, Flurry would have carry them back; her teleport still needed work. She trudged through the snowfall towards the plane.

The left wing had buckled during the landing and a mound of dirt and snow piled around the broken propeller. The canopy glass was cracked and covered in snow. As Flurry approached, a hoof punched out some of the side glass.

“I got a revolver in here!” a raspy voice shouted out.

Flurry stopped and raised her wings up. “Are you hurt?”

“Stay right where you are!” the voice commanded. “Identify yourself!”

“Seriously?” Flurry groaned. “How many pink alicorns do you know?”

“Two,” the voice called back with complete confidence. The confidence shattered with a coughing fit.

Flurry summoned a flat blue shield in front of herself and approached. No shots were fired. She tested the tip of the left wing, and judged it safe to stand on and hopped up. The plane rocked slightly with her weight, but Flurry safely approached the cockpit.

The glass was a mess of cracks, dirt, mud, and snow. Flurry peered through the punched-out pane. The pilot, a blue mare wearing a flight cap and goggles, stared back. She wore a brown flight jacket and jumpsuit. The jacket was stained around her back and her lips were bloody.

“So, I lied about the gun,” the mare offered with a bloody smile.

“Are you coughing up blood?” Flurry asked. She looked for a latch on the cockpit.

“Nah,” the mare waved a forehoof with a grimace. “I smashed my muzzle against the stick and bit my tongue.”

“Any other injuries?”

“Old ones,” the mare tried to shrug, then winced.

“How do I open the canopy?”

“Already tried,” the mare explained. “It’s stuck. I gotta punch the glass out.”

Flurry seized the canopy in her telekinetic aura and wrenched it upwards. The entire plane went with it and her hooves scrambled for purchase on the wing. The glass cracked further and the metal frame warped around the middle. When the plane settled back down, Flurry could see the divide where the canopy could be pulled back.

The mare laughed nervously. “Don’t do that again, please?” she requested.

Flurry nodded with an embarrassed blush. “Is there a latch out here?”

“By your left hoof.”

Flurry scraped the snow away and tugged on the latch with her magic. It stuck fast, either because of her magic or the crash. Flurry stomped down and smashed through the metal. She pulled on the canopy again, trying to slide it back this time. It began to move slowly, then stuck again.

“Lower your head,” Flurry requested. The mare tucked her head down and covered it with her forelegs. Flurry reared up and punched through the glass, hooking her hooves over one of the metal bars that kept the canopy in place. She tugged hard, and the canopy crunched back, then ripped away entirely with a screech of metal. Flurry tossed it behind the plane and shook her hooves, checking for cuts.

The mare raised her head as Flurry settled back onto four legs. She brushed some glass from her fur, then tried to unbuckle herself. She tugged on the straps with both forelegs and coughed. Flurry grabbed the straps with her magic and tore them. The pilot looked up at her and gave a thankful nod, then began to climb out onto the wing. Flurry stepped down into the snow to give her room.

The pilot stood on the wing and pulled her goggles off, revealing bloodshot magenta eyes. As the pilot turned back to reach into the cockpit, Flurry noticed there was a lump under the right side of the jacket, but not the left.

“Thanks for the save, Princess,” the pilot said, “but if you found me, so could the changeling after me.” She gave a low chuckle. “He’s mad I got his friends.”

“He’s dead,” Flurry stated.

The pilot glanced over at her as she pulled out a saddlebag. “Damn,” she swore. “I wanted to get him. Would’ve too, if I had ammo. Some griffon shot him down?”

“I killed him.”

The pilot hesitated, then stepped off the wing into the snow. She moved towards one of the still-standing pines at the edge of the valley. Flurry followed past the tree stumps. The pilot sat under the branches to block some of the snow and chewed on her lower lip. Flurry sat against the tree.

“Are there other fighters chasing you?”

“Uh, no,” the mare said.

“I could teleport us,” Flurry offered. “If you’re not too hurt,” she amended.

“Pass,” the mare looked queasy. “I’m not up for it right now.”

“It’s a short flight to one of the temporary camps.” Flurry pointed a wing west. “It’s just over the valley.”

“Flying’s not an option,” the mare replied after a pause.

“I can send a flare up.”

“I don’t have any flares in the bag.”

Flurry rolled her eyes and tapped her horn.

“Right,” the mare coughed. “Yeah, that’ll work.”

Flurry trotted out from under the tree, and launched a pink firework into the sky with her horn. She returned to the tree and summoned a half-bubble to keep out snowfall. The mare had taken off her flight cap, revealing a severely short rainbow mane.

“You’re Rainbow Dash,” Flurry said dumbly. Idiot, she cursed in her head.

“Yep,” Rainbow sighed. She slumped against the trunk.

Flurry reflexively cast her detection spell.

Rainbow bristled. “Really?” she scoffed. “Twilight took me at muzzle value.”

“Sorry,” Flurry blushed. “I didn’t expect to see you. You’re a hero, the Element of Loyalty.”

“I didn’t expect to see a Princess,” Rainbow replied, “let alone get saved by one. Besides, the Elements didn’t mean a rotten horse apple during the war.” She studied Flurry and sized her up. “Last I saw, you were a foal with that stupid snail toy.”

“Whammy,” the alicorn provided.

“Yeah,” Rainbow said softly. “I think you’re taller than me already. How old are you?”

“Today’s my fifteenth birthday.” Flurry sat next to her against the trunk.

“Happy Birthday,” Rainbow coughed. “I got some good cider in the saddlebag.”

“I know healing spells, but if you’re bleeding internally, we need to go now. I can carry you back.”

“I got a concussion and a split lip, and I always hated Twilight teleporting me around,” Rainbow dismissed. “You need somepony bigger to carry me. I’ll wait for backup.”

“Waiting? Sounds like you’ve grown up too,” Flurry chuckled. "I read Twilight's Friendship Journal."

Rainbow laughed back and coughed. The pair watched the snowflakes slide down the shield and start to pile up. Rainbow shifted against the trunk and laid on all fours, while Flurry sat on her flank. The snow was cold, but it provided a bit of cushion.

“Are you all right?” Rainbow asked.

“Are you?” Flurry asked back.

Rainbow didn’t answer.

“The pilot chasing me…” she started. “Uh, you killed him?”

“Yes.”

“You sure?”

“I landed to make sure,” Flurry deadpanned. “Nothing but scraps.”

“You, uh, wanna talk about it?” Rainbow offered.

“Sure. I flew right into him with a bubble shield,” the alicorn chuckled. “The look on his muzzle was priceless.”

Rainbow was quiet for a minute. “Was he your first?”

Flurry had to think about what she meant. “Oh, yeah,” she said, “I guess so.” Guess that’s a good birthday present, she thought, but decided to keep that to herself.

“Uh, that’s a big deal, and I appreciate it,” Rainbow said awkwardly. She twisted her head to make eye contact with Flurry.

“I guess,” Flurry shrugged. “It’s fine. I wasn’t going to let him kill you, and he shot at me anyways. You’ve probably killed lots of Changelings, right?”

“Y-yeah,” Rainbow stammered. She broke eye contact and returned to staring at the snowflakes.

Flurry could tell she was uncomfortable. Is it because she thinks I’m a foal, or because I’m a Princess?

“Can you still fly that plane?” Flurry changed topics.

“Huh?” Rainbow rasped. “Nah, too messed up. It’s a shame; I really liked it.”

“I liked the paint on the front,” Flurry complimented.

Rainbow sat up straighter. “I did it myself, so the bugs knew who was coming for ‘em,” she boasted.

“I heard some pilots count their kills and make tallies.”

“I, uh, didn’t bother counting.”

Flurry stared at the plane and had an idea. She got up and dispelled her little shield, walking back towards the plane.

“Princess?” Rainbow called out.

Flurry waved a wing back and put a hoof on the left wing, feeling the plane with her magic. The plane itself wasn’t magic, but the owners left an imprint behind. Rainbow hadn’t had the plane very long, but it was drenched in confidence and bravery. She made good use of her short time with it. Flurry felt the aura around the plane.

27 Changelings, she thought. Rainbow hides it, but she felt pride with every kill.

She reached deeper and felt an imprint of the previous owner. It had been a changeling, a mare. This aura was older, but stronger due to the time spent with the plane.

She had been proud, happy to be selected. The happiness faded into homesickness. She wanted to be with her mate and grubs. She viewed the ponies as obstacles in her way to get home. After the war, she hated being posted in Equestria. She wanted to be with her family.

Flurry felt a burst of anger and ground her teeth. She killed four ponies. She felt nothing when she shot them down.

“Flurry!” Rainbow shouted. She fell into a coughing fit.

Flurry shook her head and opened her eyes. She returned to Rainbow.

“You were standing there for like ten minutes,” the pegasus rasped.

“Sorry,” Flurry apologized and sat down under her shield.

“What were you doing?”

“Just looking at the plane,” Flurry lied. “Where’d it come from?”

“Fillydelphia,” Rainbow answered. “We captured an airbase early on. I had a better plane during the war, but we had to make do with captures. No offense to Thorax, but I didn't keep the pictures of the creepy grubs in the cockpit.”

Flurry hummed and shook the snow out of her mane. “If you could know how many changelings you killed,” she asked, “would you want to know?”

“If this is about the pilot-”

“It’s not,” Flurry declared. “It’s just a question.”

Rainbow sighed and pawed at the saddlebag. “During the war, maybe, but after all the ambushes and bombs and stuff, I don’t know.” Rainbow raised a brow at her. “Why? There’s a spell to tell?”

“Nopony knows one,” Flurry deflected.

“Nopony knows a spell that can regrow a wing, either,” Rainbow muttered. “I asked Starlight.”

Flurry looked at the jacket with the large dull stain on Rainbow’s back. Rainbow saw where she was looking and pulled the jacket tighter with a hiss between her teeth.

“I can stop the bleeding.”

“It stopped bleeding weeks ago,” Rainbow waved a hoof at her. “I just need new bandages and stuff.” She leaned heavily against the tree again.

“Right,” Flurry nodded, “you said you were out of ammo?”

“Uh, yeah, ran out shooting down his friends. Made him pretty mad,” Rainbow chuckled. Her eyelids drooped lower. Flurry looked down in the snow to check for fresh blood drops, but didn’t see any.

“What were you doing?” she asked to keep Rainbow talking.

“I was trying to buy time for ponies to make it through the mountains. Figured it was better that they shoot at me than some poor ponies on the ground,” Rainbow coughed.

Flurry fired a sleep spell from her horn, catching Rainbow mid-cough. She dropped into the snow soundlessly. Flurry crawled over and pulled the jacket off Rainbow’s back. She recoiled. Rainbow had bandages wrapped around her barrel and her jumpsuit was cut away around her shoulders. Her left wing was a nub. It was bandaged tight, but the bandages were stained yellow with pus.

Flurry tore the bandages away and crinkled her muzzle at the stench. The amputation was a few weeks old, but clearly infected. The scar tissue wasn’t healing right, and whoever helped her didn’t remove all the fur around the wing joint.

If anypony helped her. This is beyond me.

Flurry bit her lip and looked up. She didn’t see anypony in the sky. She couldn’t carry the pegasus on her back through the air, and Rainbow was too big to hook around her forelegs safely. Flurry dispelled the shield around them and prepared a spell. She fired a laser towards the plane, blowing the chassis apart. She flung a shield up in case of ricochets. The sound echoed through the valley, but the explosion was far too small. Flurry ground her teeth, then left Rainbow to trudge up to the wreckage. The fire was too small to be visible from the air.

She was out of fuel, too.

Flurry screamed and fired a flaming beam of blue fire into the sky. She kept pouring magic into it until she felt blood drip from her nostrils onto her lips. She cut the beam off and stuffed her smoking horn into the snow. It instantly created a small puddle of water. She waited for her horn to cool off, then sent another beam skywards.

Flurry heard the distant roar of a dragon. She limped back to Rainbow and pulled the mare onto her back. Her horn sparked feebly and the alicorn summoned a tiny shield around them and waited in the clearing. She spotted several shapes flying low over the mountains from the west.

Spike, Thorax, Duskcrest, and two dozen pegasi and griffons landed, all armed and carrying rifles. A few more were circling the valley from above. Flurry cut the shield and approached. Thorax’s wings buzzed angrily.

“Everyone’s been looking for you!” he hissed. “The entire frontier probably saw that! The Nova Griffonians will investigate!”

Flurry jerked her head back towards the mare on her back. “She needs help,” Flurry coughed.

“We dropped everything. Ponies are stuck on the north trail,” Spike said. He folded his arms and his tail whipped angrily. He wasn’t looking at the pony on her back.

Duskcrest glanced at the mare, but glared at Flurry. “We had to shift our patrols.”

“It’s Rainbow,” Flurry explained. “Her wing’s gone and the stump’s infected.”

“You need to listen to me!” Thorax shouted. “All we’ve been trying to do is keep you safe.” He tossed his head back and snarled with his fangs bared. “And you fly off like an idiot foal with every stupid idea,” he spat.

“She needs antibiotics,” Flurry mumbled. She heard her heartbeat pounding in her skull.

“Ponies are going to die because you flew off!” Thorax accused. “They’re waiting in the snow while we look for you!”

“I didn’t ask you to do that,” the alicorn replied softly. He didn't hear her.

“I see the blood on your muzzle! You could have died!”

“I killed the pilot,” Flurry whispered. She shut her eyes.

“For what? One pony?” Spike snorted a plume of smoke.

Flurry opened her eyes and inhaled.

Her horn burned and she grabbed Spike with her magic. Spike’s eyes widened and he flailed against her grip, but she squeezed back and flung him into Duskcrest and Thorax. They landed in a heap of tangled limbs and rolled through the snow.

Flurry spun in a circle and tore the rifles from the militia members’ grips while her horn blazed blue. One griffon screamed as his arm broke from the force. Flurry spun the rifles around and aimed them at their owners.

Flurry Heart looked up and shielded the whole valley in a bright blue bubble. Her horn flared and she contracted the shield, crashing through the trees on the outskirts. The flying griffons and pegasi crashed against the shield and tumbled down into the clearing. One landed hard with a scream. A few dropped their weapons in surprise. Flurry snatched up their weapons as they fell and circled them around her. Once every creature was on the ground, Flurry looked around at the terrified and injured griffons and ponies being held at gunpoint with their own weapons.

Flurry exhaled.

Rainbow coughed in her sleep.

She dropped the weapons into the snow and marched over to Thorax, Spike, and Duskcrest. She pulled Spike up first with magic. He blinked at her and wheezed.

“Rainbow Dash,” Flurry snarled, “Twilight’s friend, since you didn’t recognize her or didn’t care. She lost a wing and it's infected, concussion too.” She levitated Rainbow over to Spike and nearly shoved the mare against him. “Get her to Shortstop.”

She pulled Duskcrest to his paws. He swayed, but stayed upright. “Get the patrols back to position, then take me to the blockage on the trail. I’ll clear it,” she commanded.

Flurry glared down at Thorax, who had rolled off his back and gathered his hooves under himself. One of his boots was missing. Flurry leaned down and locked horns with the changeling. She shoved his head back down and bore into his blue eyes.

“Rainbow had no fuel and no ammo,” she whispered. “She was going to die, and none of you were going to do anything.” Flurry didn’t blink. “I killed the pilot chasing her. He didn’t stand a chance, but he thought I was just a foal, like you.

“I’m not a foal anymore,” she hissed. “I am an alicorn, and I can kill everyone in this valley. I could turn the ground into glass.” Flurry Heart drew her head back and flared out her wings, standing over the changeling. Thorax stayed down and licked at his fangs. It was something he did when he was nervous.

“Are you hurt?” Flurry asked.

The changeling shook his head.

Flurry Heart looked around at the surrounding ponies and griffons, who hadn’t moved to retrieve their weapons. No matter what race they were, they looked at her in terror. Flurry remembered feeling guilty when the staff cringed at her in the Empire, but right now she felt nothing.

“I’m sorry for my outburst,” Flurry apologized. “If you’re hurt, step forward.”

No one did.

Flurry rolled her eyes and stalked over to a griffon clutching his right arm. He scooted back in the snow and whimpered. Flurry lit her horn and he curled into a ball, raising his broken arm in a plea.

Flurry cast a mending spell and the griffon cried out in pain and shivered. He bent his formerly broken arm and raised both claws up in surrender. “Who else?” she asked, turning away from the griffon.

The valley was quiet.

Flurry continued to walk through the snow and look at the militia. Her hoofprints left small puddles and a few sparks trailed from her horn. A few of the fliers were scraped or bruised, but most looked fine. For a moment, her stomach churned at the thought of killing one of her own.

“My wing broke when I hit the shield,” a green pegasus shouted out. Flurry crossed over to the older pegasus. Her right wing was limp.

“Your right wing?” Flurry asked to confirm.

The pegasus gave a slow nod. “I landed hard.”

Flurry cast the spell. The pegasus winced and bowed. “I’m sorry,” Flurry apologized. “I lost my temper.”

“Our fault, Princess,” the pegasus answered, but kept her head low in a bow.

“My fault,” Flurry corrected. “You’ll have to be careful for a few days before the bone fully heals,” she advised. The pegasus nodded, but said nothing else.

Flurry walked back to Duskcrest, Spike, and Thorax, then stared at the surrounding ponies and griffons. Flurry Heart dispelled the shield around the valley and gave Duskcrest a side-eye; he took the hint.

“All right!” he shouted. “Get your weapons and get back in the sky! If you’re hurt, see the Princess!” He flapped his wings and risked making eye contact with Flurry. “The north trail is still blocked. Where can I find you? Here?”

“I’ll teleport back to Shortstop,” Flurry answered.

“You’ll beat me there. Talk to Gavrillo. He knows the trails.” Duskcrest flapped away unevenly, shaking snow off his jacket and pants. Every pony and griffon followed him, scooping up their rifles. A few flew shakily, clearly bruised or hurt. Flurry shook her head.

Spike was still cradling Rainbow Dash, staring at the stump of her left wing. “One pony, huh?” Flurry snorted. Spike opened and closed his mouth, searching for words, then flared his wings out and took flight to the west. Flurry watched him leave, then walked over to the last one in the valley.

Thorax pawed at the snow, looking for his missing boot. Flurry helped him look, found it, then levitated it over to his muzzle. He accepted the boot and turned it upside down, shaking out the snow before slipping it on his hoof with a grimace. He stood up with a low hiss, and the pair stared at each other.

Thorax broke the silence first. “They’re all afraid of you,” he sighed.

“I don’t need to be a changeling to know that,” Flurry replied.

“They’re going to talk about this.”

“I don’t care.” Flurry lashed her tail. “I don’t care if they love me or fear me; I’m still their Princess.”

“Even the griffons?”

“If they’ll have me,” Flurry shrugged. She wiped the dried blood off her muzzle.

Thorax looked at the wreckage of the plane.

“Did you know that was Rainbow?” Flurry asked.

“I heard she escaped,” Thorax replied, but the non-answer told Flurry everything.

“You would have let her die,” Flurry accused.

“There wasn’t anything we could do,” he protested with buzzing wings.

“No, I could have done something and I did,” Flurry countered. “I saved her.”

“You could’ve died doing it. You think Rainbow would’ve wanted you to die for her?” Thorax’s fin stiffened.

“She doesn’t get to choose what I die for.” Flurry stomped a hoof. “Neither do you. I’m going down to the border to clear the way. I can clear an avalanche on my own. Don’t bother with the earth ponies. And if there are more fighters chasing my ponies, I’ll batter them down myself; I’ll use my shield.”

The valley was quiet except for the dying flames.

Thorax shuffled his boots. “You said you killed the pilot,” he stated.

“Yes, I chased him and landed after the crash to make sure he was dead.”

Thorax licked his fangs. “It’s terrible to take a life, Flurry. I should know.”

Flurry laughed. “Tell me how I feel about it,” she challenged.

“Nothing,” Thorax sighed, “and if you’re not hiding your emotions from me, that breaks my heart.” He trudged over and embraced her. Flurry stiffened and listened to a muffled sob. “This wasn’t the life any of us wanted for you.”

What did you want for me, uncle? Flurry thought. Did you want me to spend my life on the radio? Make speeches and serve soup? Become a good republican? Settle down and marry and forget my crown? What did my mother want for me? What did my father? Flurry wrapped her wings around him and returned the hug.

“I choose my life,” Princess Flurry Heart said, “and I choose this.” She tapped a hoof on her crown as she broke the hug. “Other ponies can serve soup, or cast healing spells.”

She narrowed her icy blue eyes. “Nopony fights like I can.” Her bare flank itched.

Comments

[DrDallagher]

very good! I like how Flurry acknowledges how alicorns are so much more powerful than everyone else.
I sense a cutiemark in the next chapter or two/

[JustFalcon]

Alicorn of War? Alicorn of War!!

[KV2 king of the derp]

Great chapter

[Pogmin]

Great chapter for a great story so far.
How would you go about setting up this story in EAW, at least at chapter 1? Would you have to play as the changings and purposly not go for Nova Griffonia?

[UnknownError]

11293409
Well, I'm ignoring some stuff (Yaks, Penguins, Polar Bears) that are in-game to keep the narrative moving.

The Changeling Lands AI usually doesn't attack Nova Griffonia after the Great War; it gets bogged down by the crippling post-war national spirits and Pax Chrysalia content. If Nova Griffonia doesn't get attacked by Stalliongrad or make alliances with the Yaks, Penguins, etc, there's a good chance it just sits there for twenty years. Sometimes the Griffon AI doesn't even attack it and gets distracted by their post-Grover content.

I admit I fudged the timeline a bit by having the Griffonian Reich attack the Aquileian Republic, Griffonian Republic, and Skyfall after the war between Equestria and the Changelings, when the wars usually occur at the same time in the game. (Then again, I've played enough EAW to see the AI attack very late. New Mareland sometimes gets attacked by Wingbardy while the Great War is still going on as well.)

For Chapter One, all of the continent of Equus is under Chrysalis' control except Nova Griffonia in the north; it's divided into protectorates. The Great War lasted two or three years. Flurry is ten, and lived in Aquileia for nearly a year with her father.

In Griffonia, the River Republic is leading the River Coalition to the east. (Hillponies, Kasa, Barrad, and the Viking Deer aren't mentioned, but feel free to imagine they've been incorporated/dealt with.) The Evi Valley (the borderlands) is allied with each other and Wingbardy. Wingbardy is fascist; it gobbled up its neighbors before New Mareland, including Griffonstone. Beakolini is trying to restore the Karthinian Empire. Hellquill and Longsword are doing nothing of value to the story.

The Griffonian Reich went with the Archon and defeated the nobles, unifying the Herzland. Its first major war is against the Republican Pact, consisting of the Skyfall Trade League, the Griffonian Republic to the north (which unified the north beforehand) and the Aquileian Republic (which ate up its neighbors first). The Reich is fighting a two front war to the north and south. They made more progress in the more industrialized Aquileia and struggled in the north due to the terrain, infrastructure, and weather.

[AlsoSprachOdin]

Her narrowed her icy blue eyes

She etc.

[ThePeer]

“Nothing,” Thorax sighed, “and if you’re not hiding your emotions from me, that breaks my heart.” He trudged over and embraced her. Flurry stiffened and listened to a muffled sob. “This wasn’t the life any of us wanted for you.”

Holy shit, flurry went ape shit uh. She is slowly becoming more and more unhinged as this goes on!
I wonder if she will even be recognizable at the end of this. I wonder if all of that childhood trama turned her into a sociopath or something.

[BurgerFanMan]

Flurry Heart, the alicorn of Guns and Military Aircraft.

Also yeah it is very fitting for an alicorn 'raised' by war to become so in tune with it. Great fic so far!