Part Fifty-Five
Grover von Greifenstein, sixth of his name, had a crick in his neck.
He groaned and dropped the report on the most recent engagement east of the Everfree back onto his desk. The Reichstone was heavy, a mass of gold and studded with gems that depressed his tan feathers and seemed to physically weigh down his head. Doubtlessly, Grover the Great had it forged that way, as a symbol for the burdens of leadership.
As if I need a reminder, Grover thought. He removed the crown with two claws and let it drop to the oak desk with a thump. He noticed his pen and several reports jolt from the impact; he pushed the crown to the edge of the table with an elbow and out of the way. Grover leaned forward in the chair and stretched his wings. The cushioned chair had not been made for a Griffon, nor for any creature with wings. An earth pony, doubtlessly. Manehattan is an earth pony city.
“My ponies,” the radio below his desk crackled in Equestrian, repeating a speech. “We must present a unified front with the Griffonian Reich to face Chrysalis. There cannot be division.” Flurry Heart’s voice sounded scratchier on the radio than it truly was. “I have signed a ceasefire, and I expect my ponies to follow my wish. I ask for cooperation with the Reich’s soldiers. There will be no more raids on the supply lines, nor attacks on their garrisons. If you continue to do so, you are jeopardizing the fate of millions of ponies still in chains across Equestria. I cannot allow that to happen.” Grover kicked the radio off with a bare paw.
While he stretched, his left claw rubbed the back of his neck, smoothing down the fur and attempting to relieve the strain. Grover removed his glasses with his other claw, setting them on the table and blinking rapidly to clear his eyes. There was a series of rapid knocks at the door, following a well-established pattern.
“Enter, Benito,” Grover called out across the wide room. It was once a dining area for a large indoor theater in downtown Manehattan. His voice cracked slightly, registering back to a higher-pitch. Grover grumbled through his beak and coughed to clear his throat.
Benito pushed the doors open, eyeing the armed dogs on the outside of the wooden double doors, back in the hallway. He wore a black leather coat over his boots, pants, and gray shirt. His coat dripped with slush from melting snow. Benito knelt in the open doorway with a paw clasped to his chest. His sword rattled against his side from the motion.
Grover squinted at the blurry gray shape in the doorway, then hooked his glasses back into his head feathers, settling the lenses on his beak. “Rise.”
“My Kaiser,” Benito intoned, then stood with a paw still clasped to his chest. “Field Marshal Bronzetail, General Thundertail, and General Mudbeak are here as requested.” He stood straight at attention, not quite making eye contact with Grover, instead staring straight ahead. “Chief Grimwing and Gallus have their reports as well.”
Grover glanced over at the wall clock. Already? He stood up, tail swishing thoughtlessly behind him, and pulled his long coat off the back of the high chair. “Very well. What else?”
“There is a messenger from the Empire, a griffon. Says she brings important news.”
“What news?” Grover slid the coat on. He was only wearing a white buttoned-up shirt and black slacks. The coat was heavily embroidered and stylized with the roaring griffon of the Reich. He popped the high collar and smoothed it out.
“Reports on Changeling movements.” Benito’s lips curled. “She refuses to share them with anyone except yourself.”
“Is she an officer?” Grover asked, standing before the Reichstone and delaying putting it back on. He considered his boots and gloves, but they were back in his makeshift chambers on another floor of Carneighie Hall. He buttoned his coat.
“Who can tell with the Princess’ army?” Benito scoffed. “She has a purple uniform, as do her escorts. She did not offer a rank, nor give one when pressed.”
“I do not want her pressed,” Grover sighed. “Send her through the checkpoints, have her searched and disarmed. She comes up alone.” The chandeliers above his head hummed with electricity.
“My Kaiser.” Benito clicked his boots together and thumped a paw against his chest. “I will have her escorted here.”
“Do so.” Grover waved a claw. “Have them sent up. I am ready. Dismissed.” He folded the front of his jacket and grabbed the Reichstone with both claws, pulled at the padding on the interior, then carefully placed it back on his head. I can hear my neck screeching in protest already.
“My Kaiser.” Benito knelt again, then left the room. The guards swung the doors shut with a loud thump. Grover grabbed the reports he deemed important and carried them in a claw.
Grover paced to the large, rectangular table in the center of the room and stood at the head. A map of Equus was spread out upon it, with miniatures of tanks and knights facing wooden carvings of Changeling soldiers. The line of opposing miniatures abruptly stopped just before Rainbow Falls, and Grover ignored the large, sweeping oval drawn atop the north of Equus on the paper map. He set the reports down and organized them.
It was a table made for ponies, and so sat lower than it properly should for a griffon. The legs were too short, though intricately carved with stylized depictions of the Princesses of Ponies. Each leg had its own Princess: Twilight Sparkle, Mi Amore Cadenza, Luna, and Celestia. Grover leaned down and picked at the wide muzzle of Celestia with a talon while he waited. Out of date, now. There is only one Princess of Ponies worth anything.
Every griffon entered the same way. They would knock on the door, waiting for their Kaiser to allow them entry. Grover would say "Enter." They would bow in the doorway with a claw clasped to their breast and remove their cap. They would extend their wings. Grover would call “Rise,” and they would walk to one side the table and stare straight ahead, looking at nothing.
They would remain standing at the table with wings folded; paws and claws would be flat against the wooden floor. Their assistants would stand against the far wall with folders and reports, ready to be called on. Knights in full body armor and heraldry on their chest plates entered last with Benito, spreading along the walls and standing at attention. They carried assault rifles at the ready and swords sheathed under their wings.
Grover waited until he had Bronzetail, Mudbeak, and Thundertail to his left, and Gallus, Grimwing, and Benito to his right. All of them were technically staring at each other, but none spoke. None of the knights or assistants spoke either. Grover stood straight and looked around the room imperiously. His neck protested the wide, sweeping gesture.
“Field Marshal Elias Bronzetail,” Grover enunciated sharply. He did not make eye contact with him.
“My Kaiser,” Bronzetail replied and thumped a claw to his chest. Bronzetail also did not look at Grover, instead staring across the table, vaguely at Benito.
“According to all reports, the attacks around Manehattan have ceased. Is this accurate?”
“Yes, my Kaiser. The most recent attack was six days ago, and linked to Changeling infiltrators left behind in Albion.”
“The ponies killed them and produced their bodies, yes? Is it possible they were lying?” Grover asked. He pulled the relevant paper free and scanned over it.
“It is possible, my Kaiser,” Bronzetail admitted. “Though they gain nothing from the deception, and risk losing everything. The Princess authorized all available means of suppressing rogue elements.”
“Do you have any evidence that they are using all available means?”
“I have Duty Price’s word, my Kaiser,” Bronzetail answered seriously. "Situations are being dealt with discreetly."
Grimwing raised one of her wings. Black-winged with a hooked beak, Grimwing was destined for spycraft. Her black long coat and flat cap completed the ensemble. Her red eyes flicked towards Bronzetail for a moment, then resumed staring ahead.
“Chief Grimwing,” Grover acknowledged. "You have something to add?"
“There have been two observed shootouts between ELF cells since the Princess’ announcement,” Grimwing stated. “Casualties unknown. They occurred in Hayston after a violent attack on our garrison in the city.”
“I already made that connection,” Grover replied. He slid another sheet of paper out and added it to the first. “If you have any evidence of reprisals, suppress and destroy it. It will only weaken our position. I suspect the ponies will do the same. The Princess and I have both decreed the violence is ended.”
Grimwing and Bronzetail nodded.
“On our side, the garrison is being remarkably cooperative with the locals. You have done well, Field Marshal,” Grover said. He did not raise his voice nor sound particularly warm. “What was this incident at the prison?”
“The Element of Generosity interrupted a summary judgement from the Princess. The bullet ricocheted and struck the Princess in the leg,” Bronzetail answered. “She wished to tend to the injury herself, and was provided the materials to do so.”
“I was referring to the incident in the courtyard,” Grover clarified. “The executions were a matter for the Princess. I understand that Rarity has relocated to the Crystal City regardless.”
Bronzetail looked down at the table. “Lieutenant Gilda abandoned her position to chase Rainbow Dash across the city. The Princess interrupted and intervened.”
“Do you know why?” Grover asked. He looked towards Gallus for a moment, and the blue griffon made brief eye contact. Gallus stilled a wing and looked across the table blankly.
“She is friends with the Element of Loyalty,” Bronzetail removed his cap and lowered his head. “I admit I acted rashly and inflamed the situation. I ask for your forgiveness.”
“You acted within your station.” Grover waved a claw. “Where is Gilda now?”
“Scrubbing toilets at the airbase.”
Grover held up an envelope and slid it down the table. It was passed down to Bronzetail. “Have her reinstated with the Air Marshal. I want Gilda flying at the front wherever Rainbow Dash may be. She is an excellent pilot, regardless of her lone flier tendencies.”
Grover held a claw up with another folded piece of paper. A griffon in a plain shirt and pants walked up to his side and bowed with claws stretched out. Grover placed the paper in his talons. “This is a corresponding order for the Air Marshal. I want Gilda given room. Tolerate her. She is friends with the Element of Loyalty, and we can use that to build bridges.” The servant backed away with a bowed head.
“Onto the executions,” Grover announced. “The executions of collaborators is entirely a pony matter. We have no opinions or say in this. Before she began to travel to Baltimare, did the Princess leave orders regarding the bodies?”
“No, my Kaiser,” Bronzetail replied. “I have left the matter with Duty Price. Most bodies are unclaimed and burned. Some remain at the dockyards as...attractions.”
“Just so,” Grover nodded. “General Thundertail, the Changelings have given us little opportunity to match tanks. From the equipment we have captured and destroyed, I expect little resistance. 3rd and 4th Armored Divisions will mass at the Everfree line. We can cross to the north if we must.”
“My Kaiser,” Thundertail said nervously. “I cannot recommend attempting an assault on the Everfree. The initial scouts were lost entirely.” The speckled griffon swallowed and stilled his wings.
“The Princess will have to deal with the ELF remnants inside, but we have experience with monstrous forests in Herzland.” Grover clacked his beak. “The Scheißwald is similarly miserable and accursed. We can go around Mount Canterhorn to the north if we must.”
“That is poor terrain for armored warfare until the Celestial Plain,” Thundertail pointed out. He leaned over the table and traced a claw on the projected path while his tail swished nervously. “The Changelings will have the advantage.”
“In terrain, not equipment,” Grover said evenly. “That is the plan for now.” He stressed the final two words of the sentence. “General Mudbeak, how many soldiers are still trapped in the southeast?”
“Twenty thousand, my Kaiser,” Mudbeak dabbed some sweat from his head. The griffon was old with entirely gray fur, and his white wispy mustache atop his beak drooped. “Since the uprising in Baltimare, they have been cut off to the north. However, the Changeling forces have been entirely wiped out in battle or attrition.”
“Continue massing the relief force north of Baltimare,” Grover ordered. “We will keep flying in supplies to the encircled divisions near the Badlands. If we push through the southeast, we can knock the Appleoosan Protectorate out of the war and cut off Chrysalis’ remaining oil fields.”
Gallus coughed into a claw.
“Of course,” Grover amended, “that plan depends on the Princess failing to negotiate with her communists.”
Mudbeak chuckled, along with Grimwing.
Grover did not laugh, so they immediately ceased.
“Chief Grimwing,” Grover asked, “how has Chancellor River Swirl reacted this week?”
“There was an emergency session of the River Parliament to address the ceasefire,” Grimwing said in a low, raspy voice. “Chancellor River Swirl dismissed Diamond Mountain’s call to declare a preemptive war, and they descended into infighting. There may be a vote of no confidence.”
“Is that your best report, Grimwing?” Thundertail chuckled.
Grover stared at him. “Did I call on your assessment, General?” he asked neutrally.
“I apologize, my Kaiser,” Thundertail replied and dipped his wings.
Grimwing took a deep breath. “Arclight and OHS continue to stymie our efforts. Our network is too divided between monitoring the River Federation and here.”
You mean your network is too gutted from me, Grover thought. “Your two predecessors preformed better from Griffenheim. You will fly back shortly.”
“My Kaiser!” Grimwing squawked. “I must protest. Your safety is paramount!”
“I concur with Chief Grimwing,” Benito nodded.
Grover held out several folded and sealed letters in a claw. A servant stepped forward and collected them, then brought them to Grimwing. “These are your orders once you return.”
Grimwing remained silent, but Benito’s muzzle twisted. “My Kaiser,” he implored, “while you are here, our network is best served-”
“I have gotten more accurate information on Equestria from Gallus than I have from an entire spy network,” Grover interrupted sharply. “My decision has been made.”
“My Kaiser,” Benito and Grimwing said together, dipping their heads. Gallus preened a wing as discreetly as he could.
Grover looked through the few remaining reports. “Now, next is-”
One of the guards in the hallway knocked on the double doors. Grover cut himself off, annoyed at the interruption. “Enter!” he snapped.
The two dogs opened the doors, allowing a purple-uniformed dark red griffon to enter, flanked by two knights. She was short and very young, with lighter feathers running through her wings. Her strikingly sharp golden eyes peeked out from a cap too large for her head. From the moment the doors opened, she locked eyes with Grover and walked towards the table. She did not bow and ask for entry.
The uniform was a mix of a purple jacket, navy pants, and a white undershirt. She also had an armband of the Imperial Snowflake on her right arm, along with purple gloves and boots crusted with snow. The uniform was not professionally made, but she wore it with a straight back and obvious pride. The griffon walked to the other end of the table and stared across the length into Grover’s eyes.
Grover stared down at her. He was taller than her, and he guessed older as well. Her feathers were still short above her eyes. “You did not bow to me,” he said bluntly in Equestrian.
“I don’t know the etiquette,” she replied in flawless Herzlander.
“Her name is Katherine,” one of the escorting knights announced. “She refused to give a surname.”
“I said I didn’t have one,” she said to the knight, annoyed.
Benito immediately clasped a paw on the hilt of his sword. Gallus took one preemptive step away from the table.
Mudbeak fluffed his wings. “The Princess sends a lowborn peasant from where? Katerin?” he guessed by her accent. “This is an insult! You should not even be in the Kaiser’s presence!”
Bronzetail gave Mudbeak a vaguely offended glance, along with Gallus.
“I have a report from our front line,” Katherine said directly to Grover.
“You speak only when addressed by the Kaiser!” Benito barked.
Grover slapped a claw down on the table. It made some of the miniatures on the map rattle and fall over. The table fell silent and returned to staring ahead, except Katherine, who looked vaguely amused. “Do you not bow for the Princess?” Grover asked.
“She never asks us to,” Katherine responded flippantly. “We do it because she deserves it.”
Grover took a deep breath. “You are from Katerin.”
“Your old thug said that.”
“You are very young to hold rank. You did not serve in the Reichsarmee.”
“Oh, I don’t have a rank,” Katherine admitted. “I volunteered for this.”
“To kill me?” Grover guessed. The knights readied their guns and aimed them at Katherine. Benito drew his sword and held it up to her throat. He was standing closest to her, at the end of the table.
“No,” Katherine replied innocently. “They took my gun downstairs, and the knife in my boot. I just wanted to meet you.”
Grover cocked his head, then reared up and leaned his elbows on the desk. He clasped his claws together and leaned his chin atop them. His officers and advisors glanced at him for a moment. “You held a gun to the Princess’ head,” he said in Herzlander with a mocking lilt. Katherine’s eyes widened; Grover rolled his blue eyes. “Oh yes, she told me about that incident. You taught her our language and she called you a friend.”
“I was afraid of you,” Katherine responded defensively.
“Because I had your entire family arrested,” Grover answered. “For communism or some such nonsense.”
“They weren’t communists.” Katherine narrowed her eyes. “They bought into everything about the Grovers being blessed by Boreas. Their only crime was accepting pamphlets.”
Grover shrugged a wing lazily. “What is your report? Or was that a lie?”
Katherine raised a claw and shoved it into her jacket in an aggressive motion. Benito stepped forward to stab her, and she withdrew a stuffed envelope. “Little jumpy?” she asked with a squawk. “Your friends already searched me, practically made me strip naked to come up here. Getting used to being in Equestria, huh? You know, sometimes the Princess attends meetings naked.”
Everyone except Gallus, Grover, and Katherine shifted their wings uncomfortably. Benito bared his teeth in disgust. Katherine noticed the looks and clacked her beak. “None of you have ever been poor,” she sneered. “I grew up too poor to afford clothes in your precious Reich.” She flung the envelope onto the map. Benito sheathed his sword and picked it up, opening it away from the table and retrieving several dozen pictures along with two folded papers.
“The Changelings have stopped trying to bomb the shield,” Katherine stated in Herzlander. “The bombers have stopped. We have yak mountaineers looking along the northern mountains with Yona of the Yaks.”
Gallus flinched.
“We’ve been watching to see if they’re trying to dig under the shield,” Katherine continued, “but our pegasus scouts spotted artillery units moving south, towards Equestria.”
She leaned forward on the table to look at the map. “We’re guessing they’re taking the railway from Vanhoover to Canterlot to move up things for an offensive. We sent some scouts through the shield to verify it. We don’t have the numbers to harass them.”
“You have proof?” Bronzetail asked.
“Pictures,” Katherine pointed to Benito’s paws. “We figured you should know, since we’re allies now.” Benito passed the pictures down to Grover, through Gallus and Grimwing. Gallus stared at them for a moment, shuffling through them. Grimwing set them down to verify them later rather than offer them to the Kaiser.
“This information could’ve been passed to any griffon,” Thundertail pointed out.
“What are the odds it would’ve found the way here?” Katherine asked. “Besides, I wanted to meet the Kaiser of Griffonkind. Never saw him before. Only pictures.” She turned back and stared at Grover with narrowed eyes. “I was afraid of you,” she repeated. “I don’t know why. Not much to look at beak-to-beak.”
Grover stared back, expressionless. “If your family was arrested, they are in a reeducation camp. Is it wise to march in here and insult me?”
Katherine stared at Grover for a long time, then raised her beak and laughed a high, shrill, screeching guffaw. Benito nearly ran her through with the sword, but looked to Grover for permission first. He waved a claw for Benito to step back.
“I was scared when I held a pistol to Flurry’s head,” Katherine admitted with smiling eyes. “I knew that I was going to die on that rooftop. Instead, she gave me a hug and told me it was okay. She saved the lives of hundreds of Herzlanders when we arrived in Nova Griffonia. I serve the Princess of Ponies,” Katherine said proudly.
“It is a new year,” Grover remarked. “The Blue Moon Festival is tomorrow. I could order your family released as a token of good will. Or I could order otherwise.”
“Just so.” Katherine shrugged a wing. “Do what you will, Kaiser. You have the report. We have the shield. It’s a little tingly to step through, but we are her ponies in all but name.” She winked at Benito and turned around, walking up to the double doors and waiting for the knights to open them. She did not turn back around to look at Grover.
Grover’s wings twitched. “Let her out,” he called to the knights. They responded slowly, pulling open the doors and watching as she sauntered through.
In the hallway, she turned around and waved a wing. “We’ll be in touch if we learn something else!” she shouted informally. The guards in the hallway shut the doors.
Grover pushed himself off the table and stood on all fours, adjusting the sleeves of his coat. “As I was saying, the Equestrians use a different rail gauge than we do. I am still waiting on the adjustments from the Reich shipments, but they should be inbound. We will need to prepare for that.”
“My Kaiser,” Benito said awkwardly, “you cannot just let her fly away.”
“Why not?” Grover asked.
“The Princess intentionally sent a peasant to antagonize you!” Mudbeak screeched. “It is an insult, an unforgivable slight!”
“The Princess is in Baltimare, or will be shortly,” Grover responded. “That is to the south, not the north. She had no part in this.”
“It is still a slight!”
“Of course it was,” Grover scoffed. “Katherine did not hide that.”
“You have every right to have her seized and executed,” Thundertail added.
“We can easily find her family,” Grimwing said.
“She is the Princess’ personal friend,” Grover said evenly.
“The Princess will not risk our alliance for one griffon,” Mudbeak scoffed.
She already has. “Have you met the Princess?” Grover turned and looked him in the eye. He leaned on the table and slowly stuck his wings out.
The old griffon was not used to the Kaiser directly staring at him with severe blue eyes, and coughed into his sweaty cloth. “N-no, my Kaiser.”
Grover raised his beak. “When the Princess was ten,” he lectured, “she was brought before the Archon and myself in the ruins of Aquila. She stood surrounded by changelings and griffons. She had an inhibitor ring on her horn and a surprisingly flamboyant dress. Her father was dead, and she was alone.”
Grover reached across the table and retrieved one of the wooden Changeling soldiers that had fallen over. He held it upright in his palm. “When Chrysalis came to her with mother’s muzzle, Flurry Heart chose to stab the pretender with her horn, surrounded by enemies at all sides.”
“She did not know it was Chrysalis,” Benito interrupted.
“She knew it was not her mother,” Grover answered softly. “That is the Princess of Ponies. Do not tell me what she will or will not do.” He set the figure down upright on the Celestial Plain. “Words are wind. I do not care about insults, nor will any of you tell me what I should be insulted by. There is more, and it will be dealt with later. Dismissed.”
The Griffons stepped from the table and bowed with wings dipped to the ground and beaks scraping the floor. Benito knelt. “Dismissed,” Grover repeated. One by one, they filed out the doors with their attendants. The knights followed by groups of three, marching in unison.
“Not you, Benito,” Grover called out. “Or Gallus.” They stopped and stood together at the end of the table. The blue griffon stood tensely in his jacket, while Benito’s tail swung about in agitation behind him. “You reacted to the name Yona,” Grover observed to Gallus. Gallus’ eyes sagged in relief.
“She was a graduate of Twilight’s school,” Gallus replied in Equestrian. “I didn’t think she was alive.”
“You know her well?”
Gallus nodded.
“We could use that,” Grover hummed. “First, get with Gilda and repeat her new orders. I suspect the offer will mean more coming from you. She was incredibly belligerent when I questioned her.”
“More than that, my Kaiser?” Gallus asked, gesturing to where he stood at the end of the table.
“Katherine did not swear at me,” Grover answered. “I found it amusing at the time, and she was right to point out the neglect of Griffonstone. Archon Eros spent token efforts on attempting to rebuild it. It will be our capital again one day.”
“My Kaiser,” Gallus bowed.
Grover held up several remaining reports. “I also have several estimations on the abilities of the Princess that you have labeled as ‘trash.’ Do you wish to elaborate?”
“I do not know the Princess,” Gallus responded, “but I knew her aunt Twilight. Any guess that does not say Princess Flurry Heart could lay waste to most of a continent is inaccurate.”
“Twilight Sparkle did not show that much power, nor have any of the other Princesses.” Grover walked to his desk. He opened a drawer and pulled out a book with a purple star on the cover. The book was worn and faded. “Starlight Glimmer fought her to a standstill. Princess Twilight confessed it herself in the Friendship Journal.”
“Princess Twilight had restraint,” Gallus said flatly. “And she had no desire to kill Starlight Glimmer. I can’t speak for the Sisters.”
Still better counsel than I have gotten from most. “Dismissed, Gallus. Thank you.”
Gallus bowed again and left. Benito still stood at attention at the end of the long table. Grover dropped the Reichstone back on his personal desk and sighed, rubbing his neck. "Ensure Katherine leaves untroubled by my soldiers. Also ensure Grimwing understands her family is not to be touched. I am not Grover III screeching, 'Will no griffon rid me of this turbulent priest?' I will not have blood spilt."
"My Kaiser," Benito nodded.
Grover glanced at him and huffed. “You have thoughts and I wish to hear them.”
“Why are your guards outside, my Kaiser?” Benito asked. “They should be inside the room, and outside at the doors.”
“They stare at me while I work.”
“That is their job.”
“It is distracting.” Grover waved a claw. “There are no windows. The room was searched thoroughly, several times a day. We even had Aquileians cast spells.”
“You are not safe.”
“I am on a continent ravaged by the largest war in world history,” Grover replied ruefully. “Of course I am not safe.”
“Exactly why you should return to Griffenheim,” Benito said urgently. “It was unthinkable to be in Manehattan even a few weeks ago.”
“Exactly why I cannot return,” Grover pointed out. “I need to be here. I cannot manage the war from Griffonia.”
“My Kaiser, you have reached an agreement with the Princess." Benito clasped his paws together, pleading. "You do not need to be here.”
“An agreement you disagree with wholeheartedly.”
Benito looked to the doors with folded ears, then stepped forward to Grover’s desk. Grover had discarded his coat and left it folded on the back of the chair. He set his glasses down again and squinted at Benito’s approach. Grover rubbed his beak tiredly. “Whenever you get this close, Benito, it is always a poor discussion.”
“You have no reason to marry the Princess.”
“I have every reason. She is the Princess of Ponies and I am the Kaiser of Griffonkind. A marriage is the end of our rivalry, in my favor.”
“The ponies will not see it as a concession.”
“She does,” Grover retorted. He cracked his talons. “That is why she offered it. Herself for land and subjects.”
“You cannot marry her. You will not produce an heir.”
Grover scoffed. “I could lay with a servant and produce an heir. The Princess will not care.”
Benito’s ears wilted. “That is not a true lineage.”
“Guto’s line began that way,” Grover pointed out. “And the cub will have my blood and name. That is lineage enough. Who would you choose for marriage?”
“Princess Sköldsvärd of Vedina,” Benito offered.
“Her father’s crown is in Griffenheim. Eros executed King Wingstrom and I have his title.” Grover clacked his beak. “She lives as a gesture of mercy. She was bethroned, and my army killed her fiancé. If you wish a bride that will not kill me in bed, she is a poor choice. She is also several years my senior.”
“I have a better chance of killing her if she tries to kill you,” Benito replied.
Grover laughed. “The troops that fought her army would dispute that! Who else?”
“Vivienne Discret is still in exile in the Riverlands.”
“She is even older, and I would end up executing her for plotting against me in less than a week.” Grover considered it. “Or she would worm her way into Gabriela’s graces. The nobility has been declawed. No.”
“There is the Princess of Lushi…”
“Lushi did not even deserve to be called a kingdom,” Grover replied shortly. “Dukedoms were larger than that. For the first time in a generation, there is a true Kaiser of Griffonkind. The Reich is the largest empire in the world. I have no equal in Griffonia.”
Grover looked at the book with purple binding on his desk and carefully put it back in the drawer. “In all of history, there have only been five alicorns. Two are dead, and two will never marry. By Celestia and Luna’s admission, Flurry Heart is unique, the only natural born alicorn in history. Whatever I lose in marrying a pony, I gain triple in marrying her.”
“Unless she kills you at the end of the war.”
“The Princess is not as stupid as she pretends to be,” Grover said flatly. “That will cause a blood debt between the races that will last for thousands of years. For all of Celestia’s blustering, she never intervened in Griffonia. Not for Grover the Great, or his son’s Grand Crusade in the Riverlands. Regardless of how griffons feel about me, the Princess killing me would cause an endless war.”
“She did threaten to cause exactly that.”
“With no other option,” Grover answered. “She wants her subjects and her throne. I have agreed to give her both.”
“Do you truly believe she will kneel before you in the marriage ceremony?” Benito asked, pacing in front of the desk.
Grover thought about it. “The staging may need to be adjusted,” he admitted, “but yes. The radio addresses already suggest that she approached me for an alliance, not the reverse.”
Grover looked under his desk at the radio, then quickly scribbled a note out with his ink pen. “That reminds me, Bronzetail needs to stop looping the speeches from the Princess. Ponies will suspect it is fake.” He held out the note to Benito, who accepted it and tucked it into a jacket pocket.
“My Kaiser,” he nodded. “What about the bedding and afterwards?”
“What about it?” Grover scoffed. “I am not my grandfather. My father had the mirror on the bedchamber’s ceiling removed.”
“The Princess is quite large…” Benito trailed off with a blush and twitching whiskers.
“Blessed Boreas.” Grover clacked his beak. “We will not lay together. Who will say we did not consummate the marriage?” He gave Benito a severe look, hampered by his need to squint without his glasses. “You? One of the guards? We shall see each other once or twice a year, then return to our continents. We will make speeches on the radio. We will say we love each other dearly, and how our union is a beautiful symbol of love between traditional enemies. Let the Changelings call us liars. None will believe them after they lose this war.”
Benito folded his arms and frowned, exposing his fangs. “Ponies may practice herding, but the Princess taking a lover in Equestria makes you a cuckold.”
“Herding is exaggerated,” Grover dismissed and raised a claw. “Though I would not be surprised if it makes a comeback, considering the population decline. You think the Princess will sleep around publicly?”
“There were rumors about her mother.”
“Unsubstantiated rumors. She only professed love to one stallion,” Grover answered. “One mortal stallion, I might add.” Grover looked at the blurry ceiling and laughed. “You remember that book the Archon banned? The Secret Letters of Celestia, where Celestia confessed she could not meet Grover the Great for fear her lust for him would overtake her?”
Benito flushed fully and his tail tucked between his legs. “A forgery, my Kaiser.”
“Technically, one of my reforms unbanned it,” Grover chuckled. “I know it is a forgery, but so did Grover II, and he found it funny enough to have his court act out the letters. He made them wear rainbow wigs. Expensive, back then. I should give a copy to the Princess.”
“She will take it as a slight.”
“She will find it funny,” Grover countered. “Flurry Heart has my ancestor’s acerbic sense of humor.”
“Grover II was blessed with a fine wit,” Benito offered.
“He was an absolute dick, Benito,” Grover sighed. “He has been dead for centuries; you can admit it.”
“He struck the chains from our paws and gave us Bronzehill,” Benito said stubbornly, as he always did when Grover said something uncomfortable about his ancestor. “For all his faults, his Grand Crusade liberated us from Diamond Mountain.”
He had Bronzehill because he executed the entire noble family that ruled it. Grover changed the subject. “You have seen the work camps. It will take generations for Equestria to recover from the Hegemony, even with the Reich’s economic support. Flurry Heart knows this.”
Benito looked to the side, uncomfortable at the comparisons to slavery. “The Princess has time to spare.”
“You think she’s immortal?” Grover asked. “She doesn’t act like she is.”
“She is sixteen, my Kaiser, as are you. My pups act immortal at ten.” Benito waved a paw. “What if she outlives you?”
“A pony cannot sit on Grover’s throne,” Grover VI said dourly, “nor a female griffon. It is law. Gabriela Eagleclaw may stare longingly upon it, but she will never sit the throne. She must content herself with the diminished estate in Strawberry and praise Boreas the Archon spared her life for her relation to my father.”
“That is another matter, my Kaiser,” Benito said seriously. “Every moment you spend away from Griffenheim is another moment that the regency council and Gabriela scheme.”
“I fully agree,” Grover answered, “but their authority comes from what I have allowed them. When I return to Griffenheim triumphant, they cannot oppose me.” Grover stood and walked back to the table, bare claws clacking against the wooden floor. “This is my Grand Crusade, Benito.” He stood before the map and the miniatures. “Grover II led his army at the front, and died doing so for a reason.”
Benito walked with him. “He enjoyed the thrill of battle; he was an excellent commander.”
“He knew there could be no retreat,” Grover said instead. “His father forged an empire, but so did Arantigos the Great thousands of years ago. When Arantigos died, everything collapsed. Grover II failed his Grand Crusade; I will not fail mine.”
“The Reich will collapse if you die here,” Benito said. “The River Federation will attack.”
“Yes,” Grover agreed. He plucked a tank off the map and held it between two talons. “But I am here, and so is the Princess. We have both come too far now.” He furrowed his brow and struggled to focus on the blurry little tank. “I am in blood stepped in so far, that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o'er.”
“My Kaiser?” Benito asked, frowning.
“Garbeth,” Grover said absently. “An old play. I return to Griffenheim with a victorious army and Chrysalis’ head, or I do not return. This war will be my legacy, no matter what else I may accomplish.”
Benito shuffled his paws. “How did that play end?”
Grover set the tank down next to the Everfree, looking at Canterlot and the Celestial Plain beyond it, bracketed by the Duskwood forest further to the west. “Though Scheißwald wood be come to Griffing, and thou opposed, being of no griffon born, yet I will try the last. Before my body I throw my warlike shield,” Grover quoted.
He crossed back to his desk and retrieved his glasses. “How our plays usually end,” Grover shrugged. “A great deal of misfortune, violence, and death.” He nudged the Reichstone out of the way with an elbow. “Dismissed, Benito. I have work to do.”
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Pretty nice to see a chapter from Grover’s perspective, he seems to be pretty intelligent but I really can’t tell if he cares about flurry or not, or if he does and is simply putting a facade.
Chad Grover completely destroys his shitty entourage ft. Katherine being an angry murder ball of feathers. Also, :galus: being useful?
YES, I know we were going to get a Grover POV
Somehow I forgot they were both still 16, war ages you I suppose. Great story so far!
Garbeth is obvious reference to Makbeth, is it forshadowing of Grover's falls and madness? Also Grover up to that point is Absolute CHAD.
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Which meens the year is 1019
Huh, I really enjoyed seeing this from another character's perspective, and Grover's no less, though the transition after having so many chapters from Flurry's perspective was abit jarring.
Also, Katherine for the WIN!
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I haven't really mentioned a specific year. I went through it in a previous comment...somewhere. As far as it matters, Flurry and Grover's age are the only really important markers for the passage of time.
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He's already mad to consider marrying her. Who would be Lady Macbeth that relationship? As far as the quotes go, keep in mind where he's placing the tank and the changeling on the map. The battle lines are coming together, and he can't exactly fly back home.
How are the Griffons going to get through the Everfree? There's some hope if Zecora can be convinced they're actually on her side.
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I agree that the perspective can be jarring, but it's important to see Grover in his 'natural habitat,' as in not dealing with Princess Flurry Heart. There's a lot going on in this chapter. Feel free to look back at Part 10, where Elias discussed what it's like to be the Kaiser to Flurry.
You can draw a lot of conclusions on what it is like to be Grover VI.
Interesting coincidence, i was actually reading Macbeth yesterday. Nice chapter as usual.
Gallus? Equestrian Spymaster of all things?
We need more chapter's from Grove'rs perspective. Great worldbuilding and a way into this dudes mind is always great
Seeing Grovers perspective was a pleasant change.
Can't wait to see what utility will Flurry's relationships serve to Grover.
Great to see things from Grover's perspective.
He's not a bad lad.
The most powerful person on a continent, and he lacks a single friend. That’s gotta be rough.
Ah like the germans did to the French attention ardens
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Such is the curse of nobility; they seldom ever have any they can call friends. They either die or betray them
intresting perspective shift
I like this. This is a good shift to see how he works