Part Eighty-Nine
“Fight the Hegemony!”
Princess Twilight Sparkle’s muzzle froze, proud and defiant. She stood straight, legs shimmering into vague purple trails above a frail crystal fastened to a mount. Her eyes, despite the bags under them, sparkled.
That could just be the projection, Grover admitted to himself. He leaned against the balcony railing, craning his neck to see the cameras to his left and right on the other balconies. The film crews had stopped and replaced their lens caps, slowly and carefully spooling the reels back. Below him, the director squawked commands to the film crew on the ballroom floor. They rapidly moved their tripods and microphones, trailing the cords across the room behind bobbing tails.
The photographers followed, setting themselves up atop cramped tables, pushed to the sides of the walls and under the balconies. Cameras flashed as half a dozen griffons took the opportunity of Twilight’s stiff and still pose to take pictures. Grover lowered his head, careful not to tip too far forward and dislodge the Reichstone.
“Again!” he called out in Herzlander. “I want every angle!”
“My Kaiser!” the director, a slim griffoness, squawked up with a snapped claw. It pointed at the film crews on the other balconies and she screeched a clipped whistle. They began to shuffle through their equipment for new reels of film.
Grover pushed himself off the balcony and settled onto the cushions. He flipped open his folder with a claw, but then left it on the rug. Out of sight from the railing, he removed the Reichstone and cracked his neck. He set it down on the floor beside him; it gathered a thin layer of dust from the rug.
The Kaiser heard Benito shuffle his boots in distress at the supposed sacrilege. “How many times was that?” he asked over a wing, partially turning his beak and looking over the rim of his glasses.
“Seven,” the blurry dog answered from the balcony door. He still wore one glove on a paw, attempting to hide the sutures and shaved fur. Grover ignored it.
“We will go for an even eight,” Grover decided. He inspected his talons self-consciously; he had clipped the ends several days ago so they weren’t too sharp, but he was still able to spear a page from his folder with a quick jab.
“Princess!” a voice called out from below. Twilight Sparkle vanished as the spell reset; the large mare disappeared from the center of the ballroom. Without her voice ringing through the east wing, the muffled sounds of hammers and saws reverberated through the walls.
“Princess!” two other voices picked up. Grover could tell by the accents they were the Equestrian delegation with their precious little crystal, and it was obvious what they were reacting to. There was a knock on the balcony’s private door.
Benito opened it and spoke briefly to the unicorn and dog in the hallway. Grover tuned out the conversation and flipped through the reports from the advancing frontline. The Reichsarmee wasn’t making as much progress as he hoped, too bogged down in glorified slums that the Changelings had stuffed full of the outlying villagers.
Like the Griffonian Reich, Equestria was decentralized. Unlike the Reich, it did not shatter into pieces that built themselves up over a generation to start stabbing each other again. A thousand years of the ‘Pax Celestia’ meant a thousand years of little towns and villages under nominal crown control. The roads were a nightmare, even the roads in the Equestrian Heartland. It had choked the Changelings, and now it was choking his army. The southeast was far, far worse.
We are going to be rich. Engineering teams had already done some of the work, but the crown corporations of Griffonia were already eyeing up Equestria to tear it into fiefdoms and rebuild. A decade of Changeling extraction wasn’t enough to destroy the forests, farms, and fields, and certainly not the mines and oil wells. Equestria was an empire rich in resources that the alicorns guarded jealously, and the current alicorn was willing to sell it all to save her ponies. It might be a stereotype, but we are greedy.
There had been less enthusiasm from the top corporations after the first newspapers of the Battle of Canterlot landed on the streets of the Reich. Kaiser Grover VI was the front page, but news traveled on wings faster than words. Everyone knew there was a giant crater where a forest used to be, and the Princess of Ponies was still alive.
And apparently waiting downstairs again, Grover sighed. He knocked the Reichstone over and let it thump to the rug, then tugged on the padding. “Send her up,” he squawked loudly over a wing.
Benito twisted around in the doorway. His whiskers twitched. “She’s, uh, wearing sweatpants, my Kaiser. Again.”
“Do you seriously wish to turn her away for décor in her own castle?” Grover asked back. “The others attended court naked except for carcanets and crowns.”
“It is an insult,” Countess Raison whickered. The Aquileian unicorn looked indignant in her dress uniform. Her horn sparked in the hallway as she stood beside two dog guards.
You should hear what the Herzlanders say about Aquileians, but Grover kept that to himself. Doubtlessly, the countess heard the same stories in the Discret court before she fled in exile. The pony minority in Aquileia was sensitive to their standing in the Reich, no matter what the new laws promised. Holding their horns high over Equestrians was no different than a Wingbardian squawking at a Herzlander.
“Send her up,” Grover repeated. You think she will not just fly up? He looked to the balcony. The projection had not restarted yet.
“My Kaiser,” Benito acknowledged. He waved his gloved paw at the countess until she retreated and waited by the door. Several moments later, a wave of golden magic pulsed through the room. Several of the griffons working with the cameras squawked indignantly and hurried to reset them.
Grover eyed his feathers; they puffed up instinctively from the feeling, so he flapped and refolded his wings. The Princess’ magic was odd. It blew hot and cold, and he could not figure out if there was a pattern. It was gold, then blue, then gold again. Nothing about her makes sense.
Benito stepped aside in the doorway with a paw on the hilt of his saber. Grover did not turn around to see Flurry Heart enter, nor did he move from the cushion. At the last moment, he tipped the Reichstone upright and shoved it back on his head after smoothing his tan head feathers down with a claw.
There was a rustle of feathers as the Princess folded her oversized wings to squeeze past Benito. Grover waited. Judging from the lack of hoofsteps, she did not approach further.
“Kaiser Grover,” she stated in Herzlander. She pronounced the title roughly, like a peasant from Katerin. It was hardly a noble accent, unlike her Aquileian. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Princess,” Grover acknowledged. “You always do, but it is your castle.”
“Not until I’m coronated,” she returned. The sounds of hammers and saws reverberated through the walls and under her soft voice.
“Is there something you want?” Grover asked. “I am busy.”
“Gallus told me you refused.”
“I declined,” Grover corrected. He knew what she meant, but he did not say more.
“We need to move the Changeling prisoners east,” the Princess answered. “Civilians as well.”
“Just so,” Grover replied. “Do so. Your forces control several railways and supply lines.”
There was a rustle of feathers against velcro, probably her sweatpants. “I’d like to get support units set up. Your unicorns still cast the detection spell poorly.”
“Is that why you blasted magic through the ballroom?”
“Has Benito killed Changeling assassins yet?” the alicorn retorted. “I promise you, they’re trying.”
“They have not come close to the Kaiser,” Benito growled from beside the Princess. “We can smell them out.”
“I hope that’s metaphorical,” she snorted, “because then you can smell that I haven’t showered in three days.”
Benito coughed.
Grover finally turned his head to see Flurry Heart in stained sweatpants with dust running through her feathers. More had collected on the crystal band below her mane stubble. Her pale, icy eyes had bags under them that matched the projection of her aunt.
She stands the exact same way, Grover realized. He clacked his beak and turned back to his folder.
“The Changelings are draining ponies as they fall back,” Flurry continued behind him.
“And they are tearing apart railways,” Grover added. “They do whatever they can to slow us.”
“I’d like to get mage companies and support units to deal with the infiltrators they're leaving behind.”
“I recall that you said you would do something like that.”
“I can’t do that and guard changelings.” Flurry shook her head. “I don’t have the ponypower, but you have the griffons.”
“I am not wasting soldiers guarding prison camps full of shapeshifters,” Grover deadpanned. “That is a disaster waiting to happen. I need my ponies on the frontlines and guarding supply depots. The rest are facing the Riverlands.”
“I don’t have enough soldiers I can trust to deal with this.”
“The solution seems obvious,” Grover responded.
Twilight Sparkle shimmered back into existence, larger than life in the center of the ballroom. The windows had been boarded up, and several of the chandeliers removed so the remaining lights backlit the projection. As a consequence, the room looked gloomy. The purple alicorn visibly took a moment to compose herself. Cameras flashed again.
“My name is Twilight Sparkle…”
Grover tuned out the speech and returned to his paperwork. One of the spare cushions suddenly plopped down next to him, encased within a golden aura. Soft clops sounded closer on the rug.
“That’s close enough, Princess,” Benito said from the door. The graying dog stepped forward to Grover’s right, eyes tracking the alicorn. His whiskers twitched.
The cushion began to pull away with the chime of magic. Grover reached out with his left claw and snagged it, feeling the coldness of the golden telekinetic field, and tugged it back down to the rug. The alicorn clearly didn’t resist his pull, or he would have never managed to dislodge the velvet.
“You think we are never going to sit next to each other, Benito?” Grover asked with a side-eye. He waved his claw. “Wait by the door.”
Benito rubbed his glove with his bare paw before clasping it to his chest. “My Kaiser.” The dog backed away slowly, brown eyes tracking the Princess.
“It’s good to see you,” Flurry offered the dog, and Grover saw Benito marginally bob his head out of his peripherals, partially blocked by the frame of his glasses. He sighed and removed them for a moment, rubbing his eyes with pinched talons.
Flurry Heart flumped down gracelessly on the cushion about three hooves away, clad only in black sweatpants and her crystal crown. She kicked up dust when she landed, both from the rug and her own feathers. The two monarchs were laying on the long cushions; only Flurry was able to see over the railing.
Twilight Sparkle’s voice continued in the center of the ballroom. Grover tuned it out again and returned to his notes. He took a worn pencil in his right claw and idly tallied the projected fuel expenses for Army Group North in the margins.
“Why are you filming her?” the Princess asked beside him. “For the Reich?”
“For history,” Grover answered. “You filmed her, too. I heard a recording on your radio as well.”
“Some ponies will believe she’s another fake,” Flurry sighed. “I haven’t heard anything from the Changelings, but they’ve played her voice enough.”
Grover flipped through the stack of papers until he pulled out a leaflet. “I am surprised,” he admitted. “You know what these will do.” He took a deep breath and looked at the page.
It was a simple design. The Princesses Twilight Sparkle and Mi Amore Cadenza, two pictures side-by-side. They had been taken before the war, and both wore their crowns and regalia. The two alicorns smiled at the photographer with easy grins, one with a golden crown and one with a crystal tiara.
There were two pictures below. A purple mare laid in a hospital bed with tubes and wires running from her skeletal frame. Beside her, a mare was suspended in a cocoon, clearly dead and covered in autopsy scars. If not for the marks on their flanks, they would be hard to recognize as the same ponies.
There was no text, no warning, no offer of surrender. It was simply a page with four pictures. Flurry glanced at it and looked away, peering over the railing at the projection of her aunt.
“It’s not for the Changelings,” Flurry said. “It’s for ponies. Equestria dropped leaflets when we should have been dropping bombs. They aren’t going to surrender to paper.”
“You know what it will do,” Grover repeated. He slid the leaflet back into the folder and set it aside. “Benito,” he called over a wing, “I want the translations triple-checked before they go out. Copies run by me tonight.” The dog nodded.
Flurry did not answer and listened to Twilight’s speech for a moment. Her ears twitched. “Do griffons actually care?” she asked. “You said they didn’t care about what happens here.”
“Twilight Sparkle was the Princess of Friendship,” Grover said in response.
“She is the Princess of Friendship,” Flurry said shortly. “Aren’t words wind?”
Grover glanced at her. “Just so. But some words are carried on gales and others on zephyrs. Her words will be translated into every language of my empire. ‘The Hegemony is a disease that thrives in darkness.’ Let the River Federation censor what they will. All the pegasi in Nimbusia cannot stop this wind. We are here and they are not.”
The noises of hammers and saws echoed through the wall and rumbled under Twilight’s projection. Flurry clearly heard it better than him, and her head tilted to the side. “Are the construction crews messing with the audio?”
“Twilight Sparkle will be dubbed over in Herzlander,” Grover answered, “and all the other languages. We have enough clean recordings of her.” His eyes went up to the boarded-up windows. All of them depicted Queen Chrysalis in some fashion, so they had been blocked for the sake of the film. It did not hide the black marble and carvings along the walls, nor the checkered tiles of Chrysalis’ trident crown on the ballroom floor.
“Do you truly intend to destroy your castle?” Grover asked in curiosity. The Princess beside him was covered in dust from the walk from the west wing to the east wing. Piles of filigrees and anything valuable already filled the courtyard, just behind the large gallows. Crowds of ponies herded together to gawk at the bodies of the nobility all week. Most swung for a few days before being taken down and burned.
“I’m not destroying it,” Flurry retorted. “Just gutting it. It’ll help pay for stuff.”
Stuff. Grover resisted rolling his eyes. “I assure you, Princess, it is but a drop in the ocean.”
“An ocean is made up of millions of drops,” Flurry stated. She flapped a wing, her left one, and refolded it with a pinched muzzle. “My feathers itch. You ever have to clip your feathers?”
“No,” Grover answered. He returned to the folder. “Stop attempting to change the subject. I am not wasting garrisons on prisoners.”
“I know of that unicorn in the hallway,” Flurry intentionally changed the subject. “She was a Discret loyalist, the Countess of Vinovia.”
“Many of the monarchists fled to the Reich when the Republicans won the second civil war,” Grover humored her. “Gabriela believed she could use them to encourage cooperation during the reconquest; she did the same with the exiles from Cloudbury in the north.”
“Your aunt?” Flurry’s ears perked up.
“My aunt who loved me so much and so hated Eros that she plunged the Herzland into a civil war while we were surrounded by vultures,” Grover said with forced enthusiasm. “Despite his disdain for the excesses of the nobility, Eros agreed for the sake of the reconquest. The knightly chapters in the Evi Valley and the Borderlands were similarly empowered; that was his idea.”
“How is the Riverlands?” Flurry nickered.
“Officially, no response,” Grover flipped a page over. “Unofficially, Vivienne has decried the waste of Aquileian lives in a foreign war. Countess Raison knows who took her under a wing. I do not fear them turning on the Reich.” Not while we are winning.
Flurry shook her head. “I honestly prefer the knights.”
This time Grover did roll his eyes. “How do you expect your coronation to look with no nobles to swear allegiance to you?” he squawked. “Are you going to declare the Storm King’s Right Hoof the Duchess of War Crimes?”
“Celestia didn’t ask anypony to swear allegiance to Luna,” Flurry quipped. “Just propped her back up on a throne. Same with my mother. And my aunt. It never mattered.”
“Why did Equestria even have them?”
Flurry raised a brow and smirked. “Well, Sombra killed all of the Crystal Empire’s nobility. A lot of the lines claimed descent from Platinum’s time, a holdover from Old Equestria. I suppose she didn’t want to look like a monster. Prince Blueblood was supposedly Platinum’s last descendant, you know.”
“And you hanged him out there?” Grover queried with a scoff.
“He died a long time ago, and according to Rarity, he was unlikely to sire foals,” Flurry quipped back. “Any noble worth their title lost it years ago.”
“How convenient for you,” Grover remarked.
“It only took being invaded,” Flurry answered. “I don’t recommend it.”
“Good advice for my aunt,” Grover muttered. The tip of his pencil broke and he narrowed his eyes before tossing it to the side. Flurry caught it in her magic, then picked up the broken end. They levitated back together.
Grover felt Benito tense behind him and gave the dog a severe stare over a wing. The alicorn stuffed the broken end back into the pencil, then the tip blackened with heat as it fused back together. The wood discolored slightly before Flurry blew on it and floated it over to the griffon. Grover plucked it out of her magic wordlessly and resumed looking at his papers.
“Fight the Hegemony!”
The Princess of Friendship’s muzzle froze again, and the Princess of Ponies stared at her last remaining family member for several minutes in silence. Grover let her sit there as his film crews worked. “I didn’t think you liked her,” Flurry finally whispered.
The Kaiser set his pencil down. “I have her book,” Grover replied with a confused squawk. “Her school was absurd, but she at least attempted to call us equals.”
“She agreed that the Griffonian Republic was the legitimate government,” Flurry recalled. Her muzzle quirked into a frown. “Didn’t Eros denounce her with Celestia and Luna?”
“Yes,” Grover shrugged a wing, “but Kemerskai is dead. I saw him hang.”
“Alex’s father?”
“He was also named Alexander Kemerskai.” Grover finally twisted to make eye contact. Laying prone on the cushion, he had to look up to meet the alicorn’s eyes and the Reichstone shifted again. He clenched his beak. “I grew up with stories about the griffon that broke my father’s empire. My Reichsarmee took him alive when Cloudbury fell; his son escaped to die by your horn. Have you ever seen Chrysalis? Yourself?”
“No,” Flurry admitted. She pursed her lips. “Only in Aquileia, when she pretended to be my mother.”
“I hope she is not a disappointment,” Grover stated. “The nobles and priests alike dragged a sad, old bird out to a noose with smiles. I was supposed to see a monster.” The griffon cracked his wrist with a dull pop. “Cécile Gaudreau was the same. I should have expected Kemerskai to be a disappointment.”
Flurry blinked. “President Gaudreau?” she asked softly. “From Aquileia?”
“You think we pardoned her?” Grover scoffed mirthlessly.
“I met her. She was a nice griffoness.”
“She would have carved apart my empire just like Kemerskai. I saw her hang the morning I met you,” Grover replied. “I was in Aquileia to be crowned.”
Flurry Heart closed her eyes. “Eros took you to hangings?”
“How old were you the first time you saw someone die?” Grover asked. “We celebrated our triumphs. Beakolini escaped, but King Talonuel of Wingbardy went down fighting.”
Flurry snorted and opened her eyes. “He was happy to invade New Mareland. Fuck him. How is New Mareland?”
“You have a coarse tongue.” Grover picked up the pencil again. "We are still integrating it. The griffon minority is happy, but few ponies have stepped forward to help with the protectorate. There has been more progress since the battle."
"You mean since I fought," Flurry connected. "Good."
Grover chuckled. “Gallus told me about Cozy Glow. Equestria’s stupidity defies belief. I thought he was being apocryphal the first time he said a tree tried to kill him.”
“I’m sure you think I should kill her,” Flurry assessed.
“It is the prudent thing to do.”
“Like massacring 40,000 prisoners.”
Gods damn it. Grover stabbed the pencil down and rebroke the tip. He shoved the folder to the side. “I have no interest in taking prisoners. All of them have wings and a horn. All of them are shapeshifters. Their agents and saboteurs look the same as their civilians, and they are built to blend in.”
“What do you think is going to happen when your army reaches the Changeling Lands?” Flurry nickered. She fixed the pencil again and set it back down with a deep breath.
“The seas will boil and the sky will burn,” Grover answered. His deep blue eyes bore up at her. “You want something different? After what they did to your family?”
“I want Thorax to be King of the Changelings,” Flurry revealed. “We can’t kill them all.”
“Your uncle can be king of whatever my army leaves in its wake,” Grover retorted. “The Reichsarmee is not taking prisoners. The changeling civilians in the west are fleeing and slowing down the Heer’s retreat. I am not wasting time and resources attempting to deal with a race born for duplicity.”
Grover paused. “There have always been rules, even in the times of Grover the Great. Do not fly your enemy’s banner, do not wear your enemy’s heraldry, respect the civilians.” He counted them down on a talon. “Chivalry was built upon those rules, and the Changelings break every convention we have ever held.”
“That’s not my point,” Flurry shook her head. “You can’t kill them all. It’ll be a guerrilla war for the next forty years. And unless you’re truly just fucking off back to Griffonia, I’ll have to deal with it.”
Grover leaned back. He rested his beak on a claw.
“Alcippe approached you,” Flurry continued. She quirked an eyebrow. “Guess your knights beat the shit out of her, but the ‘lings aren’t going to go to ponies to surrender. Taking them in now and ‘protecting them’ from my ponies gives future surrenders a lifeline.”
Grover inspected his other claw. The bruises had healed, and the Princess did not seem to notice. He hummed, “Chrysalis will call it fake and propaganda.”
“Of course she will,” Flurry sighed, “but the ones that believe her would fight anyway. Especially when we reach the Changeling Lands.”
“You think Chrysalis will surrender?”
“No,” Flurry chuckled ruefully. “Someone will have to kill her.” Her muzzle furrowed. “Grover the Great only slaughtered his prisoners once.”
“In Aquileia,” Grover explained, mildly surprised she knew that. “His army was outnumbered outside Azincork, and when the Aquileians appeared to rout him, he ordered the knights to slaughter the captives and return to battle. It won him the battle and the war.”
“We’re winning. For now. We can afford mercy.”
“And when that mercy makes us lose?”
Flurry shrugged her wing. “Your ancestor had an answer.”
Grover turned to the shimmering projection of Twilight Sparkle. It popped into small sparks as the spell was cut. “For the Princess of Hope, you are very pragmatic.”
“I’m also called the Princess of Rope,” Flurry returned. “I didn’t choose either title.”
“The Opinicus Order are not your personal assassins,” Grover said. "I loaned them to you to help take Canterlot, not commit a proscription of your nobility."
Flurry blinked slowly and narrowed her eyes. “I’m sure they told you what I intended. Besides, ponies hanged them. Not very chivalrous to kill prisoners and take their stuff, I admit, but they had no problem with it.”
“Chivalry is a lie,” Grover admitted, “to be discarded when convenient. My Reichsarmee sharped their claws on other griffons for a decade, fighting to retake my empire. Now we face evil.”
“You face your former allies,” Flurry quipped back. She looked over the balcony’s railing to the gathered photographers. Her eyes swept over the boarded-up windows.
Grover’s left wing jittered against his coat, feeling the imprint of the holster and the pistol inside it. “Chrysalis dies.”
“Yes,” Flurry agreed.
“If she’s taken alive, I will execute her. She is mine.”
“Okay,” Flurry Heart shrugged a hoof, as if it did not matter to her at all. “You think I want to give her a trial to spit more lies?”
“You do not want to kill her?” Grover asked. He blinked. She agreed too quickly.
The alicorn hesitated, only for a moment. “She can fall down the stairs for all I care,” she said quickly. “It doesn’t matter how she dies. This won’t end until she does.”
You’re lying, Grover thought. And then he said it out loud. “You are lying.”
Flurry’s ears pinned back. “What?”
“She destroyed your family. It is natural to want revenge.”
“Justice,” Flurry corrected, “and I don’t care what happens to her.”
Grover’s cheeks pulled into a smirk. “Are you lying to me or to yourself?”
Flurry exhaled. “My entire family is gone. I haven’t even seen my grandparents’ house yet. What do you want me to say? That I hate her?”
“That you want to kill her,” Grover shrugged a wing. “Why do you pretend you do not?”
“Because I don’t care,” Flurry huffed. Her ears flicked above her stubble.
“You do,” Grover said simply. “You act as if you do not. Another play.”
“My family didn’t believe in revenge,” Flurry said in a weaker voice.
“Are you pretending to be them?” Grover questioned. “Look at where they are.”
“When my aunt recovers,” Flurry regained the fire in her voice, “she will rule beside me. You agreed to acknowledge her.”
“If she was alive,” Grover countered. “I will acknowledge her as she is.”
“She is the Princess of Friendship. She beat Discord and Tirek. Chrysalis won’t beat her.”
Grover stared at her. “Words are wind.”
Flurry closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath. “Your army helped Chrysalis as well. Your regent. And your empire.” She opened an icy eye and turned it to him. “Your army killed my father. Not her. Maybe I should blame you.” Her horn flickered with a small flame at the tip.
Benito moved behind Grover, then suddenly stopped. Grover turned his head to see the dog encased in golden magic with his pistol drawn. He had moved fast, and his brown eyes were wide.
The pistol was aiming at Grover. No one beyond the balcony had noticed. Grover knew several knights were keeping watch, but they had shifted to the sides of the ballroom during the projections.
Flurry clicked her tongue. “This is how I killed Blackpeak,” she admitted in a whisper. “His paw isn’t on the trigger, but I could pull it myself. You wanna try reaching for the pistol under your wing?”
Grover studied her. While the Princess laid on the cushion looking down at him with unblinking glacial ice, a thin trail of blood came out her left nostril. Grover raised his right claw and stuffed it into his jacket. The alicorn did not react.
The Kaiser pulled out a monogramed cloth. “Your nose is bleeding,” he said dryly. “From the crater, I take it?” He offered it to her.
Flurry accepted it with a hoof and wiped her nose. “He’s struggling. It would be easier if he stood still.”
“Stop moving, Benito,” Grover said over his shoulder to the completely still dog. “You’ll break something before she does.” The dog did not seem to relax, but Flurry did. She stuffed the bloody cloth into a pocket after folding it.
Flurry Heart plucked the pistol from Benito’s paw and levitated it over to her muzzle. She frowned as her horn glowed. “Same pistol you had in Aquileia,” she commented to the dog. “The one you shot that changeling at the dock with.”
Grover blinked. “What?”
“Did he not tell you?” Flurry snorted. She caught the pistol in a forehoof as her horn dimmed, balancing it on her upturned, pink, chipped hoof.
Benito gasped and coughed, then partially drew his saber before Grover glared at him. The dog’s ears wilted as his muzzle twisted in horror. “My Kaiser-”
“What changeling?” Grover asked. “You reported to the Archon there were no problems.”
“It was inconsequential,” Benito admitted with a wince. “I dealt with it.”
“What changeling?” Grover snarled, forcing his voice into a deeper register.
“Some mare,” Benito finally whined. “Followed us with a pistol for a few blocks. I think she was trying to kill…” he glared at the alicorn. “Her. One shot through the head killed the changeling; she was disguised as a unicorn.”
“They lose the disguise when they die,” Flurry commented.
“I know,” Benito growled. “And she did. I kicked her into the bay.”
“Why did you not tell the Archon?” Grover questioned.
Benito’s ears, already wilted against his head, twitched. “It didn’t seem-”
“He did,” Flurry interrupted. Her lips pursed into a thin line across her muzzle. “The Changelings were too important, weren’t they?”
“You told me there were no problems,” Grover rephrased. He looked to Flurry for a moment, then Benito.
“Eros ordered it be swept under swift currents,” Benito offered. “It was not important, and you were fond of-”
“Do not use excuses!” Grover snapped. “I should have been told!”
“My Kaiser,” Benito said sorrowfully, “with all respect, you were ten.” He knelt. “I beg your forgiveness.”
Grover glared at him. Flurry balanced the pistol on her hoof, watching the exchange. “Thorax kept worse things from me,” she said bluntly. “Probably still does.”
“Get out,” the Kaiser said to her, then turned to the dog. “And you. I do not wish to see you for the rest of the day.” Benito looked away, and stood slowly with his gloved paw behind his back.
“My Kaiser,” he intoned with a drooping tail.
Flurry Heart threw the pistol to the dog. Benito nearly fumbled the catch with one paw and stared wildly at her. The alicorn snorted. “Safety’s on; can’t believe you tried to kill me with the same pistol you saved my life with.”
Benito squinted at the gun before holstering it. He looked to Grover. The Kaiser turned away and reopened his folder, resuming his tallies with the pencil. The griffon’s tan tail lashed counter-clockwise in a signal.
“I can’t believe you recognized the pistol,” Benito growled, given permission to speak. “And she was aiming at me first, not you.”
“Probably wanted to take me alive and shove me into a cocoon,” Flurry quipped. “Why’d you intervene?”
“The Kaiser commanded it.”
“I wasn’t asking you.”
Grover did not look over his shoulder. “What benefit would I get?” he responded to the Princess. “Perhaps she would have sent me another tank for my birthday. I had enough.”
Flurry Heart laughed behind him, crystal bells clinking together. “How many tanks am I worth?” she asked afterwards.
“At least 134,” Grover retorted. “That’s how many amphibious tanks you destroyed in the landing attempt at Nouveau Aquila. Would you like to know how many ships? Or planes? I did make a count. I should look for it.”
There was no response.
“How about my griffons?” Grover continued. “How many are you worth?”
“What about the Nova Griffonians?” a cold voice said behind him. “Weren’t they yours? How many did you plan on killing with my help?”
“As many as I needed to win,” Grover answered without looking behind him. “How many changelings are you willing to kill, Princess?”
“Less than you, apparently.”
“Just so,” Grover chuckled. “And that is why you need my army.”
Hooves stomped out behind him. The door opened and slammed shut. Grover counted the legs, and realized Benito was still behind him. “I told you to leave.”
“And I shall once the Princess is out of sight,” Benito stated.
“You believe you could stop her?” Grover asked bluntly. “She just proved you cannot.”
“Perhaps I can stop you from making more stupid comments,” Benito huffed. “My Kaiser.”
Grover paused, set the pencil down, and turned around fully on the cushion. “I told you to leave.”
“It was cruel to insult her family,” Benito said coldly, “and foolish to mock an alicorn.”
“She mocks me every time we speak,” Grover spat. “She should be grateful I will even consider this folly with prisoners. And I do not need judgements from a liar.”
Benito did not wince. “As you say, my Kaiser. I swore to obey your commands. She should be grateful; if you had not commanded her protection, she would have ended up beside her aunt. Eros intended to let Chrysalis have her. I’m sure you know that.”
“Get out,” Grover snarled. “Dismissed.”
Benito clasped a paw to his chest and exited. Another dog replaced him, bowing before the Kaiser and awaiting the command to stand. Grover only waved his wing and turned back around on the cushion. He grabbed the pencil and resumed his tallies, clenching it tightly in his claw.
My Maar-damned dogs will speak in her defense? She slaughters her nobility and wins my knights over with theatrics? She speaks our language like a peasant and even smells like one. I should have-
The tip of the pencil snapped again. Grover lost his thought and looked at it for a moment, then reared onto his paws and leaned on the balcony. Flurry had left, and the little crystal was packed away and gone as well. The film crews and photographers continued to pack away their things while hammers and saws echoed distantly. The Reichstone shifted on his head again. Grover set it down on the railing of the balcony and stared at it.
The Reichstone laid on its side atop the desk, but Grover was too afraid to reach up and grab it. The room had descended into madness the moment the smaller alicorn had attacked the larger one. This was not how it was supposed to go; Eros promised him it would be simple.
The changelings were nice, but appearing as someone’s mother did not seem nice. It seemed like a horrid trick. Thranx had shown him the trick a few times back at the palace. There was a high shriek and a clash of metal as a knight fought with a Jaeger somewhere near the doors. Benito barked just after a pained, dual-toned scream.
Grover crawled out from under the desk. He looked to Eros first, deep in an argument with some knight, then to Benito standing on the long rug. He had drawn his saber and hacked down savagely at one of the armored changelings. Thranx stood to the side, completely at ease with the chaos around him. The changeling looked resigned.
Grover’s glasses were slightly knocked off his beak. He decided to grab the Reichstone first before fixing them. Eros told him it was always important to look like the Kaiser. He poked his head over the top of the desk.
The light pink alicorn was under Benito, sprawled out across the rug with a bloody muzzle. She shook her head as her pale blue eyes sharpened. Grover angled his beak so she swam into focus with his glasses.
She grinned at him upside down. Her teeth were stained red, and her horn scraped the rug. She seemed completely unconcerned about what was going on. In fact, she seemed rather proud of the chaos.
Grover looked at her with wide eyes, and looked to the Reichstone atop the desk. He was supposed to look like the Kaiser of Griffonkind. The young griffon tensed and leapt atop the desk after a deep inhale. A paw knocked the crown off the edge.
“I command you to stop!” He did not think any griffon heard him.
But surprisingly, they did.
Grover rolled the broken pencil between his claws as he stared at the Reichstone. He tapped one of the gems with the eraser, listening to the dull thump. After a moment, he matched the beat of one of the distant hammers.
I should have… Grover sighed. There were a thousand things he should have done. He could not decide on just one. The griffon tossed the pencil down to the folder and shoved the Reichstone back on his head.
Stats
Page generated in 0.04 seconds
Total duration
609 users online
812,130 hits today, 2,244,100 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Grover's having 'nam flashbacks now.
Truly I wonder who will be who's puppet after this.
Griffonian-Equestrian relations are going to be quite the tamgled mess.
There's a certain parallel to be made but that one is extremely touchy and political, so I'll refrain.
.....
I don't know my feeling twords all of this mess , is anyone wants share?
Good to see Flurry so adamant on showing mercy when possible to the civilians. Would love to see more of the Kaiser
This story... it speaks to me (c)
It probably will be an unpopular opinion, but I'll throw it out there anyway - Grover took a lot of inspiration from Flurry as individual (and romanticized her quite a bit inside his mind, I'm sure) while growing up, but because of "yes-creatures", sycophantic (when not directly rebellious) nobility and religious nuts who surrounded his lavish upbringing during his formative years, he became far too much desensitized to pleads or concerns of most people outside his own tight little circle - and Flurry Heart, with all her own personal development outside any possible comfort zone on edge of utter poverty, cannot be possibly further from it if she tried, because she is everything he isn't and can't really allow himself to be.
Sure - he is all-that high, mighty and supposedly noble leader of continent history-formative bloodline that ruled for hundreds of years, but underneath it all he's still young, perceptive and impressionable gryphon with a heart that can go out to others when allowed - and it's only allowed on occasion.
(Those who played EAW extensively will probably also argue that he's absolute tool in hands of player...)
This isn't even that much of a problem - true problem is that "Grover The Individual" and "Grover The Kaiser" are two distinctly different people who are constantly at each other throats all the time.
"Flurry The Individual" and "Flurry The
EmpressLeaderPrincess" are exactly same person in stark comparison to him - and this is what both makes her so mysterious and so infuriating for him at the same time, because she makes it feel natural.Grover VI cannot really imagine giving up his crown, title, station or life for his people, not as he is now. Oh, he'll fiercely argue that - but it will be half-hearted at best, and self-lie at worst.
(And that's a very interesting question if he even acknowledges most of his subjects as "people" in the first place... the jury is still out on that, IMO.)
Flurry Heart would give everything up - including her own soul - just for her people to exist and be free. Her position, her crown, her name, her legitimacy... even her shame, honor and morality. Part of that is her inner issues of nearly non-existent self-worth - but most of that is somebody who cares for her own above and beyond any call of duty.
(Not that she ever had that much to begin with, except herself, her uncle and all the friends they made along the way - and she still struggled with herself because of her impulsive, mentally scarred, child soldier-like mentality.)
Flurry Heart grew up knowing that selfish, self-centered love won't let you uphold your self-appointed, chosen duty - that being true leader means putting others always above yourself and your own needs. It took her time to get it - but she got it already.
Grover grew up knowing that actions are always more important than words. Good for him
Just like self-centered love easily kills one's duty (unless they are chosen by individual to be one and the same thing), certain variants of duty will kill any love person might have inside them.
Grover (as he is) is the result of second part (because so little love was put into him while he grew up), while Flurry is the result of the first (because everything she is now became her from all the love others poured into her with their own examples of duty and sacrifice).
Grover (if he was ever loved in the first place) has rarely felt loved - and Flurry was loved always by her own, even from beyond their graves.
She grew up to full maturity already - now she only needs life experience. He still has to finish his own trek to adulthood.
If he would ever get to truly suffer - we'll see his true worth then. So far it ain't that impressive.
Well since no one actually explained to me,I gonna imagine Reich tanks as Soviet KVs and IS series and hegemony as Germany panzers and tiger series .
11576048
I think we are already at the Leopard series, or the E series maybe?
11576065
Smells like a lot of WOT , well guess what.
11575974
Oooo deep analysis. Very nice. I will say that Flurry did attempt to leave the crown behind once. It found its way back to her.
Flurry Heart wasn't raised with particular expectations, beyond what she was when she was born. She put everything on herself. Grover was raised with love, I believe. "Eros" means love, which probably wasn't the best name for the Archon, but he loved Grover and he loved the Reich Grover represented. (Gabriela may have been slightly better as his aunt, but she also loved her own power.) Flurry had people that loved her for her. Neither Grover nor Flurry have truly "matured," but they've grown in different ways based on their lives. Flurry definitely has moments of being a seventeen-year-old. And Grover's only a month or so younger. They rule vastly different people and empires (though not as different as some pretend.) Flurry has a thin, purple crystal band that she takes off pretty often. She doesn't truly need a crown, and the one she has is simple.
Grover thought he didn't need it, once.
That was a lie.
In-game, Grover is present when Kemerskai Senior is hanged. Eros and Gabriela, either regent, have him attend. The Griffonian Republic, Aquileia, and Wingbardy were his enemies.
Jokes aside about Equestria's competence, Chrysalis is a monster.
The problem is:
Not accepting surrender means Changelings have to fight to the death. This means more of your own soldiers die trying to kill them.
On the other hand, having to feed & guard them takes up resources you can't spare.
I don't see any way to resolve the conflict.
11576137
I got your point but grover have more than a heavy ass crown, sure he's not able doing magic shit but he owns a continent and a never ending debt from another continent, he's only feeling jealous because how people around him feelings are growing twords the alicorn, which is not true the only thing his dogs and griffs and ponys are clearly worried about is kasiers health and respect which is always Transpassed by the wing horn overgrown filly and those around her and they can't do shit about it , neither in order or action and the only thing they can do is tolerate and ask grover to do the same but he can't see it because his still a child, he sure as hell will regret this feeling he have now twords his staff , hopefully he can overcome this childish feelings and don't make bad moves based on this stupid thoughts, he just proved he's still too young.
“Half our nobility rebelled with the Kaiser’s aunt,” he said with a squawk. “Wish we could’ve done this.” He shouldered his bloody sword.
Kasier is all that matters, but he can't see it.
11576188
They can live but not fight with a few broken Bones if you know what I mean.
This story never disappoints, but I’ve got to say, chapters when flurry and grover interact are always especially entertaining.
How you write grover and his complex relationship with flurry and his own subjects is a particular treat. He clearly has mixed feelings for flurry; at times he seemingly resents her and her ability to exert authority and even worship wherever she goes no matter the circumstance, but at the same time he keeps their childhood letters on his bedside table and is surprisingly loyal to their bargain.
Despite everything that’s happened, even the crackdown on the protesters and the war in Nova Griffonia, it still seems like flurry is the closest thing he he has to friend (barring Benito that is, who really deserves a medal for the shit he puts up with lol).
11575974
Well, to be fair to Grover, the situation he's dealing with is notably different from Flurry's. Flurry is trying to take back a country that's been under enemy occupation for almost 20 years, where as Grover has to rebuild and maintain a massive empire that's been rocked by secession and civil war and only recently has regained stability.
Grover inherited a position that has centuries of history and expectations built into it, a history that Grover has to live up to. Where as Equestria is in such an incredibly desperate situation that they're willing to take whatever they can get, even if Flurry breaks all of their previous conventions of a leader.
Flurry also owns a large amount of her success to the fact she's an Alicorn i.e. one of the most magically powerful beings on the planet, of which there's only five in existence. Flurry's power is what allows her to lead battles from the front and wipe out armies. By comparison, Grover is just an ordinary guy at the end of the day. He can't lead the same why Flurry can because it'll get him killed.
Flurry is a natural wartime leader, it makes sense why. War is how she lost her family and home. She grew up under war. She tracked the ELF uprising even as others tried to shield her from it. Taking back her homeland has been her life goal up until now. War was how she lost everything and it'll be how she gets it back.
But what happens when the war is over? When it's time for the peace and rebuilding that Equestria desperately needs? The skill set needed by a successful wartime leader versus a successful peacetime leader are very different. There's a reason why previous comment sections have raised doubts about Flurry's ability during peace. Flurry has arguably never known true peace, and even if she did, it's likely just a few fleeting memories from her early childhood.
Grover however, has been raised and taught his entire life how to rule and maintain the empire, in much the same way Flurry was about war. I think it's likely that once the war is won, that's when we'll see Grover start to shine and Flurry start to stumble.
11576137
And that entire scene - when the crown melted to her head - perfectly shown off every little thing about Flurry as a person.
That simple thing itself was made from rings and circlets of widows and widowers, as far as I remember - those who lost their loved ones to calamity of war and displacement, if not outright genocide/ethnical cleansing in some places.
It lost itself exactly at the moment when Flurry also lost herself to her own self-indulgent dreams, but it "found itself" on its own at the moment Flurry chose to be passionate protector instead of politician - clinical, cold-hearted, realpolitik-concerned monster and not a person first and foremost.
Flurry died while mending Crystal Heart, because hundreds of thousands of her people would die otherwise if she failed, and her first crown metaphorically died with her.
It would probably be a bit too far for me to compare Flurry Heart with certain religious figures - but it was love of her Uncle that brought her back by showing her the way, and it was her own love - intermixed with her duty as she saw it that made her commit to ultimate sacrifice.
She was lucky to return, no doubt. Or maybe it has always been in her design - life is eternal war, after all, in more ways than one.
Grover needs Reichstone just to be recognized by most of the people - he is the head attached to the crown of his Reich.
Flurry's own got destroyed upon her death - and nobody of any importance among her people will care if she even has one in the first place, because she has proven herself to them already with her own actions.
Her childhood one? Got attached to new Whammy. Her current circlet? Merely to show decorum. She's more attached to (and better represented by) her armor, really.
Grover without his flashy heavy hat is just another gryphon - if a tad smart and ambitious one. He doesn't really know life without it.
Flurry without any kind of head wear is still the only living alicorn that chose to uphold her duty to her people.
(We can debate to death that "Celery", for example, decided in her eternal wisdom to not let Daybreaker run loose again - it still won't matter, because in doing so she gave up on her people, just as Luna did, irregardless of her reasons.
Flurry stayed - and that's the important part, in the end.)
They exist in different "weight classes" of personality and capability by default - and the main tragedy of their relationship is that Grover can't measure up to her, no matter what he does.
)
Add to the fact that they are both young, somewhat prideful (more Grover than Flurry) and impulsive teens... and, well, sparks will be flying at every confrontation, for better or for worse.
(The fact that Flurry constantly challenges her perception of him and shows herself from angles he wouldn't ever consider is just another example of your excellent story-telling
I love this story so far - keep up the good work, my man!
11576245
And I'm perfectly in agreement with you about all of the above - only there's a tiny liitle nitpick I have over all of it.
It wasn't Grover who shown mercy to remorse-filled people "that really tried to do better" - even when rage was overwhelming.
(At least without something reminding him that he's more than just a Kaiser or politician.)
It wasn't Grover who spared children of the enemy (multiple times even) despite said enemy showing zero hesitation of using children of others like living shields. (He dismissed even POWs as "not his concern" - such a swell guy... reminds me of certain individual of high stature and Asian origin, you know.)
It wasn't Grover who bled himself to show connections to his people, no matter how morose or indecisive. (Benito would rather kill himself that ever allowed him do something like that, but still.)
It wasn't Grover risking his ass to make his voice heard, point clear and for accord with those who oppose him to be reached at any stuation he faced. (Nothing happened at certain square, u-huh...)
It wasn't Grover who personally forgave and helped to be better people for those he had harmed or betrayed in the first place, up to and including fighting for them. (...)
And it most certainly wasn't Grover to impress and fight for his people so much that they would die for him without question.
It was Flurry.
And none of the above actually required her to be an alicorn, it just required her to be herself - although being an alicorn made those things a tad easier, not gonna lie.
But imagine their situations being reversed - with empovered yet vagrant Grover and powerless but promising figurehead Flurry - and Grover still wouldn't be able to achieve even third of the above.
Because Grover accepts authority of people he respects and defers to them for guidance, always. It's who he is at his core.
And Flurry uses her own best judgement instead - it's key difference of them character-wise, Grover tends to be a tool, while Flurry never is one.
Grover is administrator and politician. Flurry is a leader who leads by example.
Which one, considering their overall track record so far, you would prefer in charge for yourself after all calamities are over?
Something tells me it won't be "four-eyed dude", if we are being honest with ourselves.
Funny that.
11576310
Idk man I'm republican, but I think I would prefer grover over flurry for postwar measures , he Seems like more capable of being a Peace leader than her , he showed he's perfectly have control on himself and he moves.
11576787
And this is why I eagerly await each new chapter with Grover in it, because this guy desperately needs to show both his, well, griffonity and competence at the same time, preferably - but not mandatory - while dealing with real crisis situation for him ('cause it usually works best for character development).
But his existence was mostly a smooth sailing in this AU so far - we didn't see yet his measure as person outside "Kaiser" persona, only glimpses of someone who is probably at least half-decent beneath it.
I'm not saying it would be bad if he won't really grow far and wide as character from his current personality - it would simply make him more of close background character instead of deuteragonist, at least the way I feel it.
)
(Funnily enough, Thorax or Jacques fit better as deuteragonist at this point, with Chrysalis being clear tritagonist - and ole Chrissie' got only one scene through entire tale so far!
11577064
Technically two if you count when she got a good stabbing from Flurry.
Who would win
SCP_096 vs flurry heart
I adore how complex are Grover's and Flurry's characterizations are. As such I will try to compile everything we know about their education and skills.
Grover was raised by archons, servants and colection of elite scholars. He can fluently speak 7 languages(at least), can handle even extremely complex mathematics, learned the entire history of his empire and more, can efficiently lead his armies (of course from a safe distance), is capable of using few difrent weapons, and finaly he has good grasp of the economics. Oh and I almost forget about his understanding and full memorization of Shakespeare's works. Calling him a genius is an understatment.
On the other hand we have Flurry Heart.
Between 0-9 she was in Crystal Empire lerning from Sunburst and her parents when they were available.
Between 9-10 she lived with her father in Aquileia and was lerning from private tutor and her father.
Between 10-16 she was lerning and being trained by a collection of soldiers, one mage/university profesor and Thorax(no explanation necessary). She's an incredibly skillfull fighter, fighter plane pilot and warmage (lerned many advanced spells as a child and created her iconic nuke shield spell by herself). She's an incredible actor and can control her own emotions to fool changlings, is a great speaker, can quickly make a plan, knows enough history and politics to make functional state with nothing, can speak 4 languages and also memorized Macbeth.
She IS a Genius the same as Grover but she's not good at long term planing and excells in difrent areas then he does.
It's an incredibly intresting dynamic. Like I didn't even touched on differences in their characters or moral outlooks and this comment already feels like a sh*ty essey when I've barely even scratched the surface here.
And all of that was conveyed without a need for long exposition. You have my most sincere congratulations Author.👏
11577959
"Memorized" is a bit strong. Grover's comfortable enough to casually quote them, but I doubt he can recite everything from Shakespear's plays. Grover was taught how to fight (as seen with the moment with the scouts). That doesn't necessarily mean he's going to hack his way through enemy lines like Grover II. He also prewrites all of his intended speeches and takes time to practice them.
Flurry wings her speeches, "makes it up as she goes along," and alicorn surely helps with her spellwork to an unfair degree. In the show, Twilight is outright impressed and says she's going to take after her. Flurry's bubble shield is from her episodes as a foal, actually. It just doesn't explode. She hasn't memorized the plays either, but she remembers the dirty jokes. I wouldn't call her a genius, but she's smarter than she gives herself credit.
Grover is intelligent. Flurry is clever.
11578006
Regarding the Shakespeare quotes, I do find it somewhat funny that the very famously English Shakespeare is a Herzlander, aka a German, in this story.
(Hm, who would even be the German equivalent of Shakespeare? Goethe?)
River federation really don't have industrial powerful enough to rebuild Equestria?
11578536
(Some background might be needed for answering this properly, especially if you never tried the source for fic's AU for yourself.)
EAW's Harmonious or Socialistic River Federation (and you first have to actually unify all those different countries into one federation under River Republic or another country amongst them, mind you) - even with Farbrook and Greneclyf integrated peacefully, which sometimes isn't even an option - can barely stand to full might of Viira (or really anyone from Barrad magocratic pentarchy, for that matter), has a shit-ton of troubles with any Hellquill/Longsword unifier and even capable of failing to supremacist Kasa - and Prywhen/Luchy/CommieKaiv combo, or just Prywhen alone (if Redglad ate all of those) can steamroll it basically willy-nilly, because Federation takes decades to get it really going both technologically and factory-wise. And it doesn't even starts as Federation without game rules specifically set up for early unification!
)
(We haven't yet left east of the continent, by the way. This all is your local, home-bred troubles. Enjoy yourself!
So yeah, they aren't really in good position to fight Hertzland early on, to say the least. And lategame is utter slugfest if you missed all the chances to attack somewhere in-between free-for-all match of all the warring west-side gryphon warlords, not to mention that Hertzland is contested by nearly everyone in the west Gryphus. No joke, at all. (And some of them also have you as perfectly viable target! Mhm-hmm.
)
Have I mentioned already that to fight Hertzland you oughta pass through Longsword/Hellquill or Prywhen first, and it's mandatory obstacle, since they usually won't integrate into Federation without you conquering them first? No? Well, now you know - that's your very own training boss before main one!
Supremacist RevFed under Arclight/Arklight (I can never remember his name for some reason) is much more rapidly expansionist and develops at faster growing curve - but it's still a chore and half (not to mention that there'll be some "integrational" wars in meantime with different parts of future "Federation".
).
NB - all of the ^ concerns vanilla EAW only and not completely applicable to current story, since it's inspired by EAW without adhering to mod's various history paths 100% of the time, except in terms of Federation development - which is slow and full of obstacles at every step along the way, 'cause being part of Federation ain't no picnic in this world.
Honest opinion? RivFed is a smokin' hot mess that's only gets messier as world goes mad around it, and you need a LOT of effort to keep it together and in fighting shape. This is most difficult Gryphus unifier amongst those who have such goals, only surpassed by Skynavia, Yale and Romau (local Luxembourg), IMO. And no matter how removed this story from mod's lore - it won't paint you a pretty picture, I assure you.
River Federation is not going to be absolute bastion of power or OP in comparison to Gryphonian Reich. At absolute best they would be comparable, and even that kinda stretches it, frankly speaking. Gryphons simply own more land of the continent.
Being real, even if we don't take concerns that at least some equestrians of any kind will have in-story - like "they are clearly antagonistic towards main allies in our liberation" or "they are cowards and traitors that chose to run/sit on their rumps at their end of the globe while we were enslaved/slaughtered here by millions" into view, River Federation will undoubtedly have it hooves full with much more pressing local matters at their own continent.
They are not friends of Equestria/Crystal Empire, and they already have their own internal strife to bother with (predictably enough). At best - they'll have enough industry to support their war against mostly unified and over-stretched Reich, and I severely doubt they'll use it for someone else.
(And unless they want to give Reich breathing room to build up and truly unite with Equestria - which'll effectively force them into untenable position of "integrate or die", they will sooner or later deal with their shit and proceed to backstab griffons fighting in a liberation war for their genetic kin at another continent. Nothing personal - it's simply realpolitik at its finest. And this is me not even touching with fifty-metre-long pole all the past problems Riverlands had with Hertzland over their tumultuous history at Gryphus, if we still use EAW as lore source.)
In theory, if author has certain plans, this is an issue that can be side-stepped (or at least could be). But I have my doubts, considering all the story we'd seen so far.
11578658
With this, they don't have much option unless try they're chance at battle or became grover backyard garden, grover truly have no equal in this universe, but please keep this simple and Short, I don't know much about game and it's mechanics nor the mod it's self except a few videos on YouTube and is wiki which is too Long to read and find out everything so.... Thanks.
This has very quickly has this become a favorite story of mine. I enjoyed reading this over the weekend and finished it a few moments ago after getting home from work. I love the inspiration drawn from EaW, though I don't know if I remember correctly, if I had seen a comment saying the author didn't know much about it or not, but either way, this story is still a great piece of literary work. The show never really did say much for Flurry Heart in regards to who she would become and what her cuitemark ended up being, (at least not to my knowledge at this moment) The only thing about her that I know of is the glass window we see of her at the end of the show, which I believe depicted her coronation, although I am not 100% certain that is what the glass window depicted. The idea that she was born on the Eve of the Great war was phenomenal, and I truly believe it would make the most sense, as Pre War Equestira was just to accustom to peace and harmony, and it would require someone who grow up in the chaos and fire to bring Equestria back through the ashes. I look forward whole heartedly to see where this story goes, and how it ends.
11578658
The River Federation is in a curious in-story position, in theory at least. They cannot be portrayed as too strong, or else it doesn't make all that much sense that they have done (and continue to do) so little to help Equestria. And yet they cannot be too weak either, or else they wouldn't be a threat to the Griffonian Empire.
In general, I feel like the balance this story is going for is that they're very powerful, but internally divided and isolationist. Like the US before Pearl Harbour, but with a political system resembling that of a recently federalized European Union. So they could help Equestria, but simply lack the will and desire to do so. Which is essentially the River Federation's actual position in EaW anyway.
11579167
Oh ya. I said that about her fighter’s weight vs the tank’s because it’s apples and oranges, not because it’s “too big a jump in weight” or something. She really wanted to impress upon Bronzetail her ability she should’ve mentioned the military trucks, artillery, or ammunition.
If Flurry was gonna make a giant shield and not move as a form of area denial/ultimate defense, a big open plain is probably not the best of choices. Especially since shields work both ways. More importantly, even if she and the tanks weren’t going to get any closer, exposing yourself when all Flurry needs to do to allow her tanks to punish you is to stop is…silly.
Do you want to know the reason of Reicharme success, one word , dress,let me explain,
Dignity and reputation is a really important thing among everyone,
People with high reputation can make a lot of profit it , and when it comes to profit griffs are game, kasiers know that, so they made war for Reich and kasier honorable and glorious, one of they're ways was gifting they're retiring men and they're family a set of finest clothing and fabric so they can wear them and make every eye envy and with that comes a lot of respect and profit,so griffins became aggressive_go_getters with the support of government , religion and they familys , all because of dress.
11579660
We’re on the same page insofar as disguises go. I was just trying to note the irony of (assuming that the Changeling in question was a scared conscript reverting to training and instinct just trying to not die) the disguise backfiring so spectacularly—Cerie goes from “they’re just like us” to beating one’s head in.
As for specifics, use my own imagination, got it. I actually figured part of it was that Flurry doesn’t bother to differentiate between different kinds—the imprint from the users is what she focuses on, and considering that the weapons are mass-produced and are identical (at least to a certain tolerance), that makes sense.
Thank you for the reminder. I try, but I do faces better than names, which is hard if they’re all in my head.
Also, sorry if I’m kinda spamming the comments section. It’s so good!
Flurry:*breaths*
Hezerlanders : and we took that personally
Loving the story so far keep it up. 😁
No updates?
I really hope these two get together in the end, i don't ship things but they seem to work, i just wish they would stop hating each other. Also Benito is a bit concerning, i think he was talking o Grover as a disappointed parent but it also seems like he may side with flurry.
Grover: petulant spoiled little shit who wants to turn Equus and Flurry into servants he can exploit and a slave who follows his every order.
Comments: awwww he's so sweet! i can't wait for them to get together!
He's literally Joffrey with more intelligence and you all love him.
He literally had a whole paragraph where he's salivating over how much he can exploit Equstria and how they can tear it apart rule it like their own fiefdoms and is gloating how Flurry is just giving it all to them - because he knows how much Equstria doesn't actually need them but Flurry is giving it all to them anyway.
If Flurry actually trying her best for her subjects she wouldn't handing them over on a silver platter for no fucking reason.
They have abundant resources and MAGIC, they DO. NOT. NEED. Griffonia to rebuild.
11695092
I'm bored, so I'll bite. Do you have any citations to prove your point, or are you just running mouth like earlier?
But your the one who told them to surrender to the princess