The Princess and the Kaiser

by UnknownError

Part Sixteen

A blue and gray griffon walked into Thorax’s room and kitchen towards the old pot of coffee and assorted mugs. He clacked his beak at the chipped mugs and proceeded to drink directly from the pot, pouring it into his beak. He shook his head.

“Well, she is indeed Katherine from Katerin,” the griffon said in Thorax’s voice. “No surname, worked for the nobility before unification, then for some bureaucrats afterwards. She cleaned the library and read books on Equestria.”

“You were gentle with her?” Flurry questioned. She sat in front of his window, looking at the street lined with griffons. Ponies had left their tenements to mingle with the griffons, and a crude sign language developed. Very few ponies spoke Herzlander, and nearly none of the refugees spoke anything else. Flurry would call it bartering, but many griffons had nothing to offer.

“Not sure why you care about it, but yes,” Thorax answered aggressively. “You said you wanted to recruit skilled griffons, but you brought us a bunch of farmers and servants.”

Flurry ignored his tone. “Why are they here?”

“They’re fleeing for their lives. Katherine’s entire family was arrested, along with half of her village. Her brothers were conscripted years ago and she hasn’t seen them since.”

“No, why?” Flurry asked. “What did they do?”

Thorax shrugged his wings. “Katerin was always a poor province and terribly managed by the nobility. It attracted socialists and communists, who preached to the villages about seizing the means of production and equal rights.”

“She’s a communist?”

Thorax laughed. “You think she’s heard of Caramel Marks? Or Steel Stallion or Starlight Glimmer?” He clacked his beak in annoyance. “Her family attended some meetings. The police found pamphlets in their home. That was enough, just like with Chrysalis and me.”

“Grover’s not Chrysalis,” Flurry said; she continued to stare out Thorax’s window.

“No, I suppose Chrysalis would’ve executed them instead of dragging them to work camps to be beaten and questioned,” Thorax said sarcastically. He dropped the griffon form in a flash of green fire.

“They’re alive,” Flurry defended.

“For now,” Thorax noted. “I should have shown up as a changeling. It was hard for her to trust me, but she doesn’t even know who Chrysalis is.” He trotted over to the window. “Your guess about the captain was right. Smuggler and his partner had an argument over taking poor peasants. I'm sure there's a lot of griffons trying to get out that could pay better. The pony won the knife fight, but couldn't stop the bleeding. Gave Katherine a crash course on how to steer and died after getting the boat underway.

"Katherine had never even seen a boat beyond pictures," Thorax snorted. "Miracle they made it. I bet for every ship that makes it to Nova Griffonia, three more are lost at sea.”

Flurry hummed in acknowledgement.

“The Aquileians and the Republicans are finally fighting it out in the dockyards,” Thorax kept going, “and the Herzlanders are being attacked all over the coast. Several stabbings and beatings have been reported. Blackpeak can’t send his militias in without risking open war with his rival, so we’re under curfew.”

Flurry looked up towards the roofs where sentries were stationed to warn of incoming armed griffons. Katherine managed to convince nearly six dozen griffons from the hold to follow her and Flurry across the city to the ghetto. There was enough chaos at the dockyard that no griffon tried to get in the alicorn’s way.

Thorax looked down towards the street. “We need to move them; they can’t stay in Ponyville. It’s almost sunset and we can start flying them out to the outskirts and get going,” the changeling planned. He raised a ridged eyebrow. “That is, if you want to move them, Princess.”

Flurry glanced to the side and made eye contact with Thorax.

“If we start offering safety in the frontier, refugees will flock there,” Thorax said. “It’ll take a bit for some of them to trust us, but they have nowhere else to go. This isn’t like when Equestria fell. Nova Griffonia can’t take anymore refugees; there’s not enough jobs to go around. No griffon’s interested in teaching a bunch of foreigners how to speak Equestrian and work an assembly line.”

“What about illegal jobs?” Flurry replied.

“Even illegal ones,” Thorax shook his head. “Too obvious and wrong skillsets. We can use the farmers on the frontier, and a few of them know construction work, but if you want to trade griffons for friendship points with the Kaiser, we should wait for better offerings.”

“I don’t need the tone,” Flurry warned. Her horn sparked blue.

“I’m just being pragmatic,” Thorax answered. “None of these griffons knew anything useful. They aren’t political leaders or veterans. They’re just normal griffons.”

“We help them,” Flurry said, “and word will spread amongst the other refugees. We’ll get some skilled help. No griffon here is going to give them a chance.”

“Okay,” Thorax confirmed with a slight sneer. “As you wish, Princess.” He left the room without saying goodbye.

Flurry followed him at a distance. He changed back into a griffon and spoke with several ponies on street level before wading into the crowd of griffons. Flurry stood on the stairs to the building, observing the mingling crowd. Despite the language barrier, everyone seemed to get along.

Katherine was still wearing her sea captain’s hat and regaling a combined crowd of ponies and griffons. She waved her claws around to pantomime steering. Flurry was too far to hear the words, but Katherine lifted her claws above her head and waved them about. A few ponies laughed and pointed to Flurry. Katherine waved enthusiastically after spotting her. Flurry waved half-heartedly back.

A bat pony carrying a rifle flew over Katherine's head towards the alicorn. A few griffons turned to stare at the unfamiliar pony.

They probably didn’t even know bat ponies existed.

The mare flapped her wings and dropped down to the sidewalk in front of Flurry. She nodded her head in a bow while sweeping out her wings. “Princess,” she greeted in a New Mareland accent.

“Nightshade,” Flurry nodded back. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t find Thorax in the crowd and Dusty’s out of town.” She frowned around her small fangs. “We have a situation. Jadis clocked some griffon flying erratically towards us. He wouldn’t stop, so we took him down. He’s fighting like crazy. Speaks Equestrian, but sounds like a Herzlander.”

“He’s armed?” Flurry asked.

“Nah, he’s naked and frothing like a yak at the beach. Had a little satchel with a letter. Went spare when we tried to take it. Says it’s for you.”

Flurry didn’t react openly. “Take me to him,” she ordered.

“You know there’s a process for this,” Nightshade remarked with a frown. “I was hoping you could take me to Thorax, or point him out. Crazy git keeps changing his face and expecting us to tell him apart.”

“I’m going with or without you,” Flurry challenged.

“Fine,” Nightshade sighed. “This way, Princess.”

The pair flapped their wings and hovered above the crowd before flying to the end of the block. There was a commotion and four figures on the last roof on the right side. Frosty Jadis’ blue coat glittered in the waning rays of the sun. The crystal pony spotted them and tucked her rifle into the crook of her bent leg to wave with her good hoof. The pair landed before the crystal pony and two bat ponies restraining a young griffon.

The bat ponies, stallion and mare, pinned the naked griffon down by his wings as he sobbed and thrashed wildly. His beak was tied shut with the strap from the satchel. The satchel itself was torn open, revealing an ornate letter that spilled out onto the roof. The stallion had a split lip.

Nightshade marched up to the stallion’s side. “Murky, what did you do?”

“Nothing,” the stallion answered defensively, “I just tried to open it.”

“Sweet Luna, me and sis definitely got all the brains,” Nightshade whinnied. “It could be poisoned, bro!”

“I’m not dead yet,” Murky offered.

“It could be slow-acting poison!” the other bat pony replied.

“Not helping, Echo.”

Flurry tuned out the argument and turned to Jadis. She saluted Flurry. The alicorn waved a wing in dismissal.

“Nightshade said you spotted him,” Flurry said, gesturing to the griffon with a hoof.

“Yeah, he was flying erratically, like he didn’t know where he was going,” Jadis reported. I alerted the trio over there,” she snorted, “not that they were much help. He actually stopped to ask me where you were before they piled on him.”

The griffon scrambled a claw out to reach towards the satchel. Murky stomped on it with a screech and pulled it back.

“Satchel’s empty except for crumbs and an empty canteen,” Jadis observed.

“He said he had a letter for me?” Flurry asked.

“Yeah, and he’s real insistent you read it." Jadis pointed to the letter with her twisted hoof. "Bird’s got an accent like the Reich delegation.”

Flurry studied the griffon struggling under the bat ponies. His wings were tattered and feathers askew; he’d been flying for a while. His rear paws were also bloody from walking. The griffon’s green eyes were deeply bloodshot and he looked like he was running on pure adrenaline. He seemed young.

“Get off him. I got him,” Flurry commanded. Her horn lit up.

The bat ponies stopped bickering and looked at Flurry before stepping away.

Flurry Heart levitated the griffon into the air and formed a bubble shield around him. The griffon dropped into the bowl and balanced himself. He immediately began clawing at the shield and trying to shout.

Flurry gestured to her muzzle and the griffon sliced through the cords around his beak.

“Princess,” he rasped with a high-pitched voice, “you must read the letter. You must.”

Flurry glanced down at the letter on the roof. Murky had a hoof on it to keep it from blowing away. Jadis followed Flurry’s eyes.

“We have to check it first,” Jadis told Flurry. “No exceptions, Princess.”

“No!” the griffon screamed. “It is only for the Princess!” He pounded on the shield. “Only for her! She must read it!”

“That’s more suspicious,” Nightshade snorted. Her sister laughed.

“Worst changeling ever or bird’s got a screw loose?” Echo chuckled.

“Who are you and what is the letter?” Flurry asked the griffon.

The griffon visibly struggled with the questions. “I am Fredrick,” he spat out rapidly, “and the letter is for you, from the Kaiser. It is secret, only for you.”

“What does it say?”

Frederick whipped his head back. “No! I do not know!” He jabbed a talon down towards the letter. “You see? You see the letter is sealed. I did not open it! No griffon opened it!”

“Why did Grover give you a letter?” Flurry asked, very suspicious. She didn’t cast her changeling detection spell on the griffon, and now didn’t want to drop the shield to do so. Jadis unslung her rifle and sat on her haunches.

The griffon slumped against the shield. His paws had started to bleed again and smudge the bottom of the bubble. “The Kaiser said I must find you,” Frederick panted, “in Weter. I know Equestrian; I learned it in university.”

“Who are you to him? He sent you alone?” Flurry shook her head. “No, I don’t believe it. Why you?”

The griffon teared up and pressed his beak against the shield to stare at the Princess. He opened and closed his mouth, searching for words. “Please,” he pleaded, “read the letter and give me your reply.”

“Nightshade, Echo, find Thorax,” Flurry ordered. “He’s the blue-gray griffon down there somewhere. Or find Falx or Arex or any one of the changelings.” She pointed a wing down off the roof. The sisters nodded together and leapt off the roof.

Frederick breathed deep, heaving breaths and his wings twitched in the bubble. His eyes struggled to stay open. “We’ll investigate the letter and check for poisons or magic,” Flurry promised, “then we’ll read it.” Murky shuffled around behind Flurry and Jadis.

“Don’t bother,” Murky laughed, “it’s blank.” Flurry turned her head to look. He had a rear hoof on the envelope and unfolded the letter in his front hooves.

“Why did you open it?” Jadis whinnied, wheeling around rapidly to glare at the bat pony.

“It’s too small to be a bomb and it wasn’t poisoned. I would’ve smelled something if it was,” Murky argued. “I talk to Arex; I know poisons. It’s a blank piece of paper. Something’s probably up with the griffon.”

“It could be enchanted,” Jadis countered. Murky rolled his eyes.

Their argument was cut off by the griffon.

“You lie!” Frederick screeched and resumed smashing his claws against the bubble. “You lie, you lie, you lie!” He slammed himself full-bodied against the shield and there was a sickening crack as a wing twisted.

Flurry and Murky’s wings fluttered reflexively. The griffon didn’t seem to notice and continued to pound on the blue bubble, leaving smears of blood that fizzled against the magic shield.

“Stop,” Flurry ordered. The griffon didn’t respond and continued to slam against the shield.

“He’s trying to break it.” Jadis aimed her rifle at the panicked griffon.

“He can’t,” Flurry stated. Frederick was breathing erratically now, and stopped to sway on his paws with his bloody claws braced against the side. Blood was beginning to pool at the bottom of the sphere.

Flurry swallowed. He’s going to kill himself. It could be a trick.

Murky flapped his leathery wings and flew up to the bubble, holding up the letter. “Look, dingo,” he snapped, “blank piece of paper. Stop bawling like a foal.”

Surprisingly, the griffon stopped weakly banging on the blue bubble to stare at the letter in open-beaked horror. His eyes flicked up and down rapidly. He sucked down a lungful of air and Flurry prepared to cast a silencing spell.

The griffon burst into tears and collapsed into the puddle of blood at the bottom of the shield. He was sobbing so hard he couldn’t breathe. Murky dropped to the roof and stepped away from the bubble, blinking in shock. The letter slipped from his hooves and began to blow in the wind towards the edge of the roof and past Flurry. The alicorn stomped a back hoof down and caught it. She glanced down at it.

Jadis turned around and scanned the horizon. “He could be a distraction for something else. We need to send up an alarm.” Flurry didn’t reply. The Crystal Pony slung the rifle strap around her neck and limped to the edge of the roof. She pulled an old road flare out of her saddlebags and took it in her teeth.

Thorax and the bat ponies landed right as Jadis moved to light it. Thorax was still in his griffon form. “What in Tartarus is going on up here?” he squawked angrily. He stared up at the sobbing griffon in the shield, who was now hyperventilating and curled into a ball. Blood was smeared all over his feathers.

“He’s not one of the refugees,” Jadis summarized. “We caught him trying to fly in to find the Princess. He’s said he’s got a letter for her.”

“He’s crazy,” Murky supplied.

“Where’s the letter?” Thorax asked and returned to his changeling form. The five ponies glanced around the roof, then stopped to stare at the alicorn.

Flurry Heart continued to look down at the letter crinkled around her hoof. Her mane bobbed slightly in the wind. Thorax trotted over slowly. His hooves were muffled by the sobbing from the shield.

Thorax followed her gaze down. “It’s blank,” he stated.

“No,” Flurry replied. “It’s not.”

Comments

[UnknownError]

11308441
Yep, splitting up a chapter into two parts to flow better.

[TheOPcharacterWriter]

11308809
Rationing the story...You're such a tyrant.

[PearlyDoesStuff]

Ayo, Grover learning magic, or did he just have someone do it? Either way, Flurry, do commit some war crimes against bugs, preferrably Herzboo Queen herself.

[Fecyrineu]

Thorax is not happy about the alliance with Grover, but that is to be expected. He is a harmonist revolutionary and Grover's actions hit a little too close to home.

Will he abandon his ideals for the sake of pragmatism or stay true to his values? Time will tell.

[Pogmin]

11308809
Can't wait for the next part!

[szaronko]

Wow! That was... Something...
It gets more intense and complicated with each chapter