The Princess and the Kaiser

by UnknownError

Part Twenty

The plane coasted to a stop halfway down the runway while the propeller turned slowly. The engine sputtered to a halt. Flurry sighed and glared at the warning light on the console, which dimmed as the alicorn glared at it.

I cut that close, Flurry thought and began to push the plane with her magic towards the parked fighters lined up next to the hangar. There was one empty space left next to Rainbow Dash, who lounged on the wing of her parked fighter with a can of paint. The slim mare updated her tally with a paintbrush clutched between her teeth. The rest of the air wing, forty-eight griffons and pegasi, cheered as Flurry pushed her plane up to the empty space and stopped.

The alicorn stood up and stretched her wings, stiff from stuffing them inside the cramped cockpit. She looked around at the airfield and hangar, grinning at another mission with zero casualties. The airbase was one of nearly a dozen outside Weter, and nowhere close to the best-staffed and maintained. Flurry had a suspicion that the Republican-dominated air command intentionally shorted them on fuel and ammo, but they hadn’t taken a single casualty for three weeks, which had to be a record.

Flurry stepped out of the cockpit and onto the blackened wing to examine the damage. The canopy glass was badly warped; the glass at the top, closest to her horn, had partially liquified and ran down the side of the cockpit. The bland, brown paint on the wing was stripped and scorched by the heat from her shots.

Rainbow spat out her paintbrush and adjusted her flight jacket. “Welcome back, Princess,” she called, turning around and greeting Flurry. She shifted to the side to let Flurry see her new tally. A couple of the lines were crooked, but Flurry counted them anyway.

“Twenty-three?” Flurry asked, incredulous. “No way.”

“Why? What was your count?” the mare said with a smug grin.

“Fifteen,” Flurry answered, “and two cruisers and a battleship.”

“Ships don’t count,” Rainbow scoffed. “And none of your messed-up alicorn magic.” She preened her wing and gave Flurry a side-eye. “It’s pure skill and experience, Princess.”

“All right, old mare,” Flurry snarked back. She blinked as Rainbow twisted her one wing. The flight suit on her left side was flat.

Flurry Heart scowled. “Where’s your other wing?”

Rainbow ceased strutting and looked to the side. “Already took it off.”

“No, you didn’t. You didn’t bother wearing it. Again,” Flurry groaned.

“It’s itchy and it’s too cramped in there,” Rainbow protested.

Flurry Heart stuck her own oversized wings out and gave Rainbow a withering glare.

“If you could take your wings off to squeeze into that cockpit, you’d do it,” Rainbow defended.

“No, I wouldn’t,” Flurry said and glared at the smaller mare. “I deal with the wing cramps like a grown mare, even if I could just teleport away if my plane went down.” She jabbed a wing at Rainbow. “Wear your prosthetic when you’re flying. We can’t afford to lose our best pilot because of her pride. Didn’t Twilight have a lesson about this?”

The crowd gathering around the two planes chuckled at Rainbow’s discomfort at being chewed out. Rainbow’s eyes narrowed and she puffed her chest out. “Did you forget who you’re speaking to, Private First-Class Flurry Heart?”

“No sir,” Flurry answered. She snapped to attention. “Consider my objection withdrawn, Lieutenant Rainbow.” Rainbow kept the stare up as the crowd quieted down and looked between the mares. The alicorn remained tense on the wing and Rainbow scowled up at her.

Rainbow snorted first and Flurry laughed with her. The crowd of pilots laughed a little uneasily. Despite her lax attitude, the pegasus could be very harsh when on a mission, a leftover from her time in the Wonderbolts.

“Fine,” Rainbow conceded. “I leave it in the hangar. I’ll wear it next time.”

Flurry nodded.

“Did you destroy the Artur?” a griffon with a heavy Herzlander accent asked and pushed forward. A few mechanics strayed from the hangar to inspect the planes and take notes.

“Yeah, Edmund,” Flurry addressed him. “I watched it go down. Split it in half.”

Edmund smiled and took off his flight cap, giving Flurry an elaborate bow. The crowed clapped or stomped their hooves on the ground in a round of applause.

“You’re making Admiral Fierté look bad,” Rainbow joked.

“She doesn’t care,” Flurry shrugged. “She’s grateful I’ve been saving her sailors.”

“At attention!” a griffon squawked from the hangar. Flurry recognized the voice and sighed. It was Colonel Skywatch’s adjutant, a thin gray griffon in a faded blue uniform.

“Why is he here?” Flurry whispered over to Rainbow.

“You,” Rainbow answered and jumped down from the wing. Flurry hopped down as well, joining the pilots in a line in front of the planes. Colonel Skywatch, a fat white griffon in a stiff brown uniform with an officer’s hat, landed heavily and waddled up the row. He stopped at Flurry and clacked his beak.

“Step forward, Private.”

Flurry stepped forward and remained focused on the skyline.

“This is the third time you’ve disobeyed orders,” Skywatch noted. He was a native Nova Griffonian, but had aligned quickly with Kemerskai’s Republicans. “You were ordered to regroup.”

“Sir,” Rainbow interrupted, “I gave her permission to engage.”

“Quiet, mare!” the griffon squawked and turned to glare at Rainbow Dash, further down the line. “You’ve done enough. You’re lucky to hold that rank!”

Rainbow was lucky that many of the air wing commanders had been shot down in the early fighting; she had been given the position, no questions asked, despite her status as a squatter and illegal immigrant. Rainbow had never become a citizen of Nova Griffonia. In fact, most of the ponies had joined the air force after the war broke out were ELF veterans that were smuggled across the border. In a rare moment of solidarity, Blackpeak and Kemerskai agreed to look the other way.

But that was before Blackpeak cancelled the election two weeks ago.

Flurry Heart understood why. It was stupid to attempt to have an election in the middle of an invasion, but nearly everything about the Nova Griffonian government was stupid. Kemerskai’s faction in the legislature attempted to impeach Triton Blackpeak after the announcement, but they were outvoted by loyalists or bribed representatives. In a rage, Kemerskai’s faction withdrew and resigned in mass, causing a complete breakdown of the central government.

Right now, the legislature had all but collapsed and Blackpeak was effectively barricaded in his mansion, surrounded by militias paid from his coffers. The Republican militias were defending their costal cities to the north, but had kicked out any loyalist garrisons, sometimes violently.

Flurry snorted. We’ll collapse into a civil war if Grover stopped attacking us for longer than a week.

“Is something I said funny, Private?” Skywatch asked.

“No, sir!” Flurry answered.

He tried to scowl at her, but the effect was somewhat ruined by the fact that he had to crane his neck to make eye contact. He wasn’t a short griffon, but Flurry was still a head taller.

“This is the third time you have disobeyed orders,” Skywatch repeated. “This month,” he added. “I can order your arrest and court-martial, since you so clearly are working against the interests of Nova Griffonia.”

“I swore an oath to defend Nova Griffonia,” Flurry replied neutrally. “Everything I do is to fulfill that oath.”

“Are you saying my orders are wrong?”

Flurry hesitated. “I saw a chance to help.” She looked to the side along the line of pilots, who all stared ahead. She closed her eyes and made an effort to keep her wings and tail still. “I saved two destroyers and sank two cruisers and a battleship.”

“So you claim,” Skywatch rolled his eyes.

“I’m sure the sailors will agree,” Flurry protested.

“The Aquileians are hardly reliable witnesses,” Skywatch squawked.

“I’m sure you can find a Nova Griffonian that was on board,” Flurry stated. Her tail lashed behind her.

Skywatch took a step back. “Are you ordering me?” He clacked his beak. “Are you, Private Flurry Heart, giving me an order?”

Flurry glanced up and down the row of pilots. Rainbow shook her head subtly. The only reason I don’t kill you, you fat bastard, is because it will make their lives worse.

“No sir,” Flurry said and saluted. “I apologize, sir. I was only offering a stupid idea.”

“Because you are a stupid pony?” Skywatch asked with a smirk.

“Yes, sir,” Flurry admitted. “I am a stupid pony.”

Skywatch laughed and stepped back onto the runway. “A poor performance this morning,” he began. “I’ll expect better tonight: You are on bomber interception for Weter.”

“Yes sir!” Rainbow shouted. The air wing, including Flurry saluted and Skywatch basked in his authority for a moment before flying back toward the hangar. His adjutant followed and looked nervously back at Flurry Heart. The alicorn stared back, and he raised his clipboard to break the line of sight.

The pilots made a circle again and looked between each other. Herzlander refugees, ELF veterans, and native Nova Griffonians grumbled at each other over their new mission. Night raids by Reich bombers were a common occurrence. The anti-air defenses around the major cities weren’t enough to stop every plane, so pilots had to run interception missions before the bombers reached their target. It was risky and dangerous. The bombers were usually defended with a fighter escort, and the anti-air flak guns weren’t always picky about where they were shooting.

“I’m sorry,” Flurry apologized. “I lost my temper.”

“Nah,” Gabe, a native Nova Griffonian, scoffed, “he’s always been a prick in the feathers.”

“He’s only got that position because his brother owns that major cannery,” a pegasus grumbled. “You think he could squeeze that flank into a plane?”

The group was quick to offer further reassurances to Flurry Heart, but she still had a cold pit in her stomach. Rainbow leaned over and flicked her wing. “We’ll be fine. They gotta give us ammo and fuel anyway if we’re expected to go anywhere.”

“Princess?” a mechanic interrupted and pushed her way into the group. It was a dark green earth pony mare in stained overalls.

Flurry paused. “Yes, Gear Shift?”

“I need to talk to you about repairs,” she said and shrugged her front hooves.

“The canopy needs to be replaced again,” Flurry said. “And I’ll need another coat of paint on the wing.”

“Spice it up this time,” Rainbow advised. “Like my beauty.” She jerked her head towards her art-project disaster of a fighter plane. The rainbows she painted on the wings had uneven bands of color. She also didn’t have the color violet, and substituted brown.

“It’s meant to be generic,” Flurry countered. “I want to look like any other fighter.”

“I have never seen you not use your magic,” Rainbow said.

“It’s not about me,” Flurry answered. “If I look like any other plane, that means potentially any plane in the sky could be an alicorn to the Reich. I want them scared to engage everyone.”

“It’s about the wing,” Gear Shift interrupted again. “Your spell caused some internal damage. You should see it, Princess.”

Flurry swallowed and swished her tail slowly. “All right,” she nodded and followed the earth pony to her plane and away from the crowd.

Gear Shift stopped under the wing and turned around to face Flurry.

Flurry’s horn lit up and she seized the mare in her magic, throwing her upwards into the bottom of the wing. The mare wheezed, then Flurry threw her down to the ground and held her there with her horn. She summoned a shield around herself and the pony.

“You know,” Flurry said conversationally, “Gear Shift never calls me ‘Princess.’ She calls me ‘Bitch’ quite a lot for causing her so much repair work.” Flurry tried to sense any weapons on the mare, but there was nothing.

It could be a distraction, Flurry realized and looked over her shoulder towards the group of pilots. Her shield and sudden magic had caught their attention. Rainbow ran up and paced outside the shield, mouthing questions Flurry couldn’t hear.

Flurry cast her detection spell and Gear Shift began to burn away, slowly revealing a changeling in her overalls. “Did you kill her?” she snarled.

“It’s Falx,” the changeling groaned and tried to wave pitifully, but Flurry’s magic held him still. “She let me borrow it.”

Flurry waited until the disguise completely unraveled, then abruptly hauled Falx up to his hooves and dispelled the shield. The pilots and other mechanics had surrounded them, armed with spare tools and sidearms.

Rainbow growled at the changeling. “Really? You came all this way to die, bug.”

“It’s Falx,” Flurry said. “From the ghetto.”

Rainbow squinted at the changeling. “How can you tell?”

Falx hissed back at her, annoyed. “We don’t all look the same!”

Rainbow took in the black carapace, holed hooves, and blue eyes. “Yes, you do.”

“Head fin, holes in the legs, and the pattern on the wings,” Flurry told Rainbow. “It’s different for every changeling.”

“Wait, really?” Rainbow blinked, “huh.”

Gear Shift, the real pony and naked, pushed her way through the crowd. “Don’t destroy my overalls!” she cried out.

“Nice to know you care, Gear,” Falx groaned. “After all those years in the ghetto.”

“What are you doing?” Flurry ignored the mechanic. “I could have killed you.”

“Yeah,” Falx nodded. “I was trying to keep a low profile. Thorax needs to see you in Ponyville.”

“We have a mission tonight,” Flurry said. “What’s wrong?”

Falx looked at the crowd, then back to Flurry. “I can’t say. Right now. At your place.” His wings fluttered nervously. “You can’t say anything about this,” he addressed the combined crowd, then switched to a pegasus.

Flurry nodded to the group. “I’ll be back tonight. You heard him. Keep quiet.” She caught Falx looking at her worriedly before disappearing into the crowd.

The pit in her stomach grew deeper.

Flurry teleported with a sharp crack and appeared on an empty street. Ponyville, while a part of Weter, was on the outskirts and a low priority for any anti-air defenses. It was also a non-existent target for bombing runs, but bombers missed their intended targets all the time. Flurry glided over the large hole in the middle of the street, right in front of her tenement. As much as it made her giddy to think she was the intended target, too few bombs dropped on the ghetto to make her believe it.

There was a mandatory blackout on all the major coastal cities with a strict curfew. The ghetto had swiftly been evacuated to the frontier, and just about everypony able to serve was in a militia or working double shifts in the few inland factories. Flurry spent most nights sleeping in her plane or a rough mattress on the floor of a hangar with a few others. Her wing joints were starting to pop in the mornings.

Flurry entered the abandoned building and stopped, flaring her wings out and casting a life detection spell. She sensed four creatures above her on the second floor, in Thorax’s room. She tested the light switch in the entryway, but the lights weren’t working. Weter probably cut the power, so not too unusual, she admitted despite her suspicion.

Flurry Heart cast her invisibility and muffling spells, and ignored the resulting headache. Even with the spells, she crept up the central staircase and tried her best to see any traps or sense any wards. She couldn’t see anything. Her night vision would make her eyes glow, so she refrained from that spell. There was enough light coming in from the windows to almost see where she was going.

Thorax’s room was lit up with a dim, gray light. The door was open and the light spilled out into the hallway. Flurry slowly crept up and peeked around the doorframe.

Thorax, Dusty Mark, Duskcrest, and Spike sat around the table in the sparse living area, which had been moved against the old couch. Dusty and Duskcrest sat on the couch together and were still in their militia uniforms, looking haggard and worn-down. Dusty's horn shone dimly and provided light. Spike sat on the floor and absently pulled up shards of wood with a trailing claw. Thorax sat on a stool and stared ahead blankly, still wearing his official uniform.

Flurry pulled her head back. Thorax was in Weter with the government, but the rest of them had been in the frontier, all over the place. No way they were all in one room, Flurry decided. The alicorn swallowed down her anger and emotions to hide from the changelings.

She crept into the room and took position in the kitchen. None of them noticed her. Flurry grit her teeth and cast her changeling detection spell, sweeping it through the room and beginning to charge a blast.

The four occupants twitched, but only Thorax shuddered unpleasantly. “Flurry?” he asked and looked into the hallway.

Flurry dismissed her spells and stomped out of the tiny kitchen. “What the buck, uncle?” she swore. “What’s going on? I nearly killed Falx when he tried to get me alone. Now, you’re all moping around with no guards.”

“Did anypony see Falx?” Thorax asked, hopping off his stool and running up to Flurry.

Flurry’s opened and closed her mouth. “Yes,” she finally managed, “the whole air crew.”

“Skywatch?” Thorax pressed in close to her so urgently that she took a step back.

“No,” she shoved him back a bit with her magic. “He was there, though. Everyone will keep quiet.”

Thorax shared a look with Dusty.

Flurry shook her head to refocus. “What’s going on? Why are you all here? How?”

“Thorax sent us runners last night,” Spike said, grabbing his tail and worrying with it.

“I carried her for a bit to make better time,” Duskcrest added and gestured to Dusty.

“That didn’t add time?” Flurry tried to joke, but Dusty just shook her head.

They’ve always been at each other’s throats.

“Flurry…” Thorax started and took a deep breath.

Flurry sat on her haunches and stared at him. "Tell me."

“I have a griffon,” Thorax began, “in Blackpeak’s house.”

“When?” Flurry asked.

“Please,” Thorax pleaded, “don’t interrupt. It was after your visit.”

Flurry looked at the sunken eyes around the room and shut her mouth.

“She’s just a cleaning maid,” Thorax continued, “but she has access to all of his private rooms. She found a draft of a letter in the wastebin. It was an alliance offer for Chrysalis.”

Flurry took a breath to reply, but held it in at Thorax’s look.

“We checked with our border patrols,” Dusty said. “A few griffons already crossed over to the south on ‘official business’ two nights ago. They threatened to shoot it out when we challenged them.”

“I checked their identities. They’re all paid thugs for Blackpeak,” Duskcrest added.

“Where’s the letter?” Flurry asked.

“She left it in the bin in case it would be noticed, but I questioned her myself,” Thorax said. “She’s telling the truth.”

“He cancelled the elections. His power base is slipping away to Kemerskai. Nova Griffonia is running out of fuel and food. Chrysalis needs equipment, apparently, and she’s got spare oil and rubber,” Spike said.

“From slaves,” Flurry said.

“You think Blackpeak cares about that?” Spike snorted with a plume of smoke. "They're fighting the same enemy on the same continent."

Flurry closed her eyes. “What was his offer?” she asked.

“He gets to remain in charge and gives her equipment,” Dusty shrugged.

“And you.” Thorax stared at her. “Chrysalis gets you and everypony else.”

No.

“The border’s deserted right now,” Flurry pointed out. “We can attack.”

“Yes, it is, but for how long? She can send her panzers along the Equestrian border, near Stalliongrad,” Duskcrest said. “It’s flat there; we won’t have a chance.”

“If we charge across the border into the Crystal Empire and Equestria, we’ll be stabbed in the back by Kemerskai or Blackpeak or the Reich,” Dusty answered.

“The Reich is pushing south and west towards Canterlot, but they’re moving slowly. We'll run into them anyway,” Thorax completed.

“Then we…we move across the Crystal Mountains and take the Crystal Empire,” Flurry tried. “The Crystal Heart can protect the city.”

“Even if it still worked, we can’t evacuate everypony in time,” Spike said.

"Okay!" Flurry cried out. "What's the plan, then?"

“We need to get out of here,” Dusty said.

“You just said we couldn’t evacuate everypony.”

The four adults shared a look.

“We need to get you out of here, Flurry,” Thorax said.

Flurry laughed desperately. “Where?” she asked, pacing in the kitchen. “Where could I go? Zebrica is full of warlords. It’s not any safer there.”

“We’ll fly north around the top of Griffonia towards the River Federation,” Spike revealed. “It’s hard flying, but possible. Especially for an alicorn.”

“They won’t take me in,” Flurry scoffed. “I’ve killed thousands of soldiers from the Reich.”

“That’s exactly why they will take you,” Spike pointed out. “They’re prepared for the Reich to attack them.”

No, they’ll want me to sit on a radio with my aunts.

“You’re telling me to run,” Flurry stated. “What about you? What about everyone else?”

“The mountains are too rugged for tank brigades,” Duskcrest shrugged. “We can hold out for a time.”

“For a time,” Flurry repeated. “I run away and leave you all to die? That’s the plan?”

“It’s not a great plan, Flurry,” Thorax admitted, “but we have to do this.”

Flurry shook her head violently. “How much of an army do we have? We’re on the border; we’re not getting chewed up on the coast. How many griffons?”

“We’re still outnumbered by Blackpeak and Kemerskai, even if we include the Herzlanders,” Duskcrest summarized.

“And the Aquileians,” Flurry added.

Thorax and Dusty shared an awkward glance.

“They like you, Flurry, but they won’t fight for you,” Dusty said.

Let’s stop our nice Republican friends from harassing Little Flurry.

Flurry snarled. “You’re wrong, and Kemerskai and Blackpeak won’t fight together,” she stated. “They hate each other.”

“Maybe, but Alexander Kemerskai hates you too,” Spike reminded her.

“More than Blackpeak right now?” Flurry retorted. “I don’t think so. Where is he?”

“Kemerskai?” Thorax clarified.

“Yes.”

“Yarrow,” Thorax said, “on the northern coast.” He noticed the look in Flurry’s eye. “He hates you,” he sighed. “You’re the worst possible pony to go talk to him about this. He won’t listen to a word you say. Even if he believes you, we need to keep this quiet. A civil war will allow the Reich to land.”

“I’m the only pony he notices,” Flurry corrected, “so I am the only pony that he will listen to.” She stuck her wing out and counted down on her feathers. “With the Aquileians, the Republicans, the Herzlanders, and the frontier, we’ll have more than enough to defeat Blackpeak’s loyalists. He’s still in Weter. We surround and push him out of the capital.”

Duskcrest and Dusty leaned forward on the couch and considered the plan.

“How long do we have until that letter gets acted on?” the alicorn asked Thorax.

“Chrysalis is in the Changeling Lands, so maybe two weeks,” Thorax guessed.

“How long do we need to get everyone in place to take the frontier?” Flurry asked.

“It’s already ours,” Duskcrest scoffed. “We can get moving in a day.”

Spike leaned back. “What about the Reich? They’re not going to stop attacking us while we’re fighting Blackpeak.”

Flurry shook her head. “We’re not fighting him in the streets. We coordinate and do it in one night. Most of his militias will desert him.”

“They’ll probably crawl to Kemerskai,” Dusty snorted.

“That’s a problem for later,” Flurry shrugged. “I’ll convince him to help us now. Meet me back here tonight.”

“Even if we overthrow him, Chrysalis could use that as an excuse to invade,” Thorax remarked.

“She had the chance to invade when we were both attacked. Chrysalis didn’t take it,” Flurry answered. She looked around at the downcast adults. Thorax and Spike looked absolutely dejected, while Dusty and Duskcrest seemed more subdued.

“What do you know that I don’t?” Flurry challenged. “I know we have supply caches. I know we have smuggled weapons. I know we have more Ponies and Griffons in the mountains than Weter thinks we do. I know half of the Aquileians are in the navy, and I know that basically all of them owe me their lives at this point. I know the border is deserted, and I know that Blackpeak is a coward. We can do this.”

“Even if we do, we’re going to have to fight the Reich and Chrysalis,” Spike warned. “They’re the two most powerful armies in the world.”

“This is the plan,” Flurry ordered. “We’re doing it. I will not run, and you can't make me. Not anymore.”

The group of four creatures nodded slowly.

“We need to get to Evergreen,” Thorax interrupted. “Everypony else is set up there.”

“I’ll meet you there tonight,” Flurry promised and lit up her horn.

“We won’t make it there by tonight!” Spike protested.

Flurry rolled her eyes and teleported.

A unicorn, a changeling, a dragon, and a griffon fell onto the roof of the small grocery store on the main street of Evergreen, far into the frontier. They groaned and struggled not to vomit from disorientation. An alicorn flapped her wings above them and wiped her nose on her sleeve.

No blood. Flurry smiled to herself. “I’ll come check on you later!” she called down, then looked northeast and teleported away with a sharp crack.

Comments

[JustFalcon]

Oooh boy, convincing Kermenski will be tough, but if anyone can do it it’s- well actually I’m pretty sure anyone but Flurry would have a better chance, but…

[PearlyDoesStuff]

Flurry has had enough, finally!

It's time for a little civil war, heck, maybe even a coup — in either case, Flurry's gonna yeet some annoying republicans and buggo simps. Time to reclaim the birthright!

[OldWorldBlues1221]

At some point, Flurry Heart's gonna have to come to terms that the only Griffon friend she has is the one in Griffenheim.

[SirCarrot]

This isn’t gonna go well…Flurry should fly over to Griffenheim and beg forgiveness.

[TheOPcharacterWriter]

It'd be really nice to know how is the occupation is going under the Griffons. Rarity made clothes for the changelings from what I remember, I wonder what she is doing now. Since Grover is coming closer to Canterlot, it means that ponyvile will sooner or later be liberated
(if the Everfree Forest will let that happen); Applejack will be pulled into the fight. I can't remember where in the mod Pinkie lives, but if its the east, then rest assured, she organized a welcome for the first time to Equestria party for Grover. If not, I'm giving this story an instant dislike. I'm joking, of course

There's also the matter of saving Twilight.
Technically the Crystal Empire doesn't have to get rid of Sombra's cultist, so, that's always something that can appear, but I doubt it.

Keep up the good work.

[Pogmin]

Damn this is pretty bad for Flurry. The first time she made a decision as a princess that leaned harmonic, she made things twice as bad for her and her ponies. She's going to remember this as a lesson going forward (Assuming she has... any subjects after this), I can't see her going in any sort of democratic position, best case I see is non aligned, worse case... Well, what's a Nightmare Flurry Heart look like? Blizzard's Eye? Heart of the Storm? (Just had the idea, what's the status of the Arcturuan Order? They handle the Dread League and the Other issue as well? )

[Pogmin]

Also, good thing you made this before Zebrica came out, I'm sure you would have included The Siren's controlling Hippogriffia as well.

[UnknownError]

11322347
The Night's Watch expy is not appearing in this story, but consider the situation handled. It was one of the many nations that I cut out, unfortunately. I've adjusted my drafts to include more about Zebrica, but that will come far, far later.

[Fecyrineu]

The meeting with Kemerskai is gonna be interesting, to say the least. While he hates Flurry, I'm sure that he hates Blackpeak and Chrysallis more.

[UnknownError]

11322303
Late reply again, sorry! The mane six will come up in the story, but the Everfree has expanded and engulfed Ponyville, as with Zecora's resistance in-game. Rainbow mentioned it earlier.
Applejack relocated to the south. She's still 'working' with the Changelings on an Apple plantation.
Rarity is MIA since the Reich landed, but was making uniforms for the Changelings.
Twilight's MIA since the end of the war.
Pinkie's been MIA for a while as well.
Fluttershy is assumed to be in the Everfree, living among the animals.

[AlsoSprachOdin]

“Chrysalis is the Changeling Lands

A fat joke?

[szaronko]

“It’s already ours,” Blackpeak scoffed. “We can get moving in a day.”

Wait... How did blackpeak get there?

[UnknownError]

11655943
Whoops. That was meant to be Duskcrest. Griffon names, man. I'm sure I've combined them elsewhere with "Dusktalon" or "Bronzecrest" and never caught it.

[szaronko]

11656164
Aww :<
I thought it's some crazy plot twist that blackpeak is actually plotting against himself. Reality is often disappointing. Good story anyway