The Griffin War

by QuarterNote

Chapter 1

“Are you sure that you don’t want me to come with you, Tia?” Princess Luna asked as she and Celestia walked down one of Canterlot Castle’s many grandiose hallways. The castle was busy at this time of morning; ponies of all colors and sizes moved around the royal pair, their footsteps loud on the spotless tile flooring. Their voices bounced around the hallway, turning it into a loud cacophony of chatter. Despite the thick mess of activity that the two alicorns were walking through, none of the ponies noticed them thanks to a spell cast by Celestia. With it in place, the sisters could talk privately.

“Yes, Luna, I’m certain,” Celestia replied. “I need you here in Canterlot to run Equestria while I’m meeting with Aeris. I’ll only be gone for a few days, you’ll be fine.”

“But Tia,” Luna said. “What if I screw up?”

“I’m confident enough in your abilities to let you run Equestria for a week, Luna.” Celestia assured her, chuckling as she nuzzled her sister and burying her nose in Luna’s constantly undulating, star-sprinkled mane. “I’ve met with Aeris before; it will be difficult, but I can make him see my point of view. Besides, it’s only a trade rights issue with the Griffin Kingdoms’ Merchant Guild.”

“And a border dispute between Talos and Derbyshire,” Luna added. “I don’t know why they need you for that; surely they can work that out on their own?”

“From what Mayor Orange Juice says, Lord Sharptalon and he have agreed to disagree. The reason that that case is being taken to Gryphus to stand King Aeris’s judgment is because they can’t agree on anything between themselves.”

“Still, that should be a domestic matter,” Luna harrumphed.

Celestia chuckled again. “Like I said, it won’t take long. A few days at most and I’ll be back home in Canterlot.” She looked at Luna. “You’ll do fine. I’ve already briefed all of Equestria’s normal administrators that they are to listen to you while I’m gone. They know how to run the country just as well as I do-“

“So why can’t I come with you?” Luna interrupted.

“Because the ponies need to see at least one princess,” Celestia replied. “And you’re the only princess in Equestria other than me. You and I both know that we can’t trust Blueblood with anything. He’d probably destroy the castle while we were gone.”

The two sisters shared a giggle and Celestia removed the spell as they reached the end of the surprisingly long hallway, walking out of the hallway and into the morning sun, onto the landing pad that Celestia’s carriage was parked on. Sunlight sparkled off of the carriage’s golden filigree, sending patterns of shimmering light up against the castle walls. Thirty members of the Royal Guard, all pure white and blue-eyed as usual, stood around the carriage ready to escort the princess on her mission to the Griffin Kingdoms.

“Everything is in order, Princess,” the captain said, bowing to both monarchs as they exited the castle and entered the landing pad. The other guards mimicked his posture, then rose at Celestia’s nod. Celestia turned to Luna, wrapping her enormous, snow-white wings around her sister’s dark body.

“I’ll be back in a week, Luna,” she said. “You won’t even notice I’m gone.”

Luna smiled and mimicked Celestia’s hug. “Good luck, Tia. Safe journey.”

Celestia smiled as well then pulled away, turning and stepping onto the carriage. “Let’s get underway, Captain.”

“Yes Princess,” the captain confirmed as he spread his wings. Taking off, he turned to the other guards, his burnished gold armor and snow-white coat shimmering in the sunlight. “Royal Guard! Carriage team! On my mark…up!”

In unison, the other guards spread their wings and gave a mighty downstroke, a small gust of wind being generated by the perfectly synchronized flapping as they rose into the sky. Luna waved a hoof at Celestia as the carriage left the ground, turning a circle in the air before moving to the north, in the direction of the Griffin Kingdoms. She could hear cheering from the streets; obviously a rather sizeable number of Canterlot citizens had come to see the princess off. Celestia waved back at Luna and the crowd as the carriage disappeared around the mountains that surrounded Canterlot. Luna sighed and turned back around to walk back to the castle, accompanied by a number of the guards that were stationed at the landing pad.

The hallway was quiet now, everypony having left to see Celestia off on her journey. Luna relished in the near-silence, her shoes clip-clopping softly on the tile floor. A short ways ahead of her a door opened, disgorging a sleepy-looking Prince Blueblood. Despite being immaculately groomed as always, Blueblood’s blue eyes had very conspicuous dark patches under them, and the prince yawned widely as he fell into step next to Luna.

“Eeeeeaaaaaaahaaaaa…” Blueblood groaned as his mouth opened wide in another big yawn. “Eaaah…ha…ha…Good morning, Aunt Luna.”

“Good morning, Blueblood,” Luna replied. “You look tired.”

“I…hoooooaaaaah…apologize, Auntie. I was up late last night. Fancypants was having a little soiree on his yacht and we all didn’t get back until….hooooouuuuuh…late.”

“It’s alright, Blueblood,” Luna replied. “You missed breakfast, you know.”

“I do know, Auntie. I’ll just have a servant bring me some.”

Luna nodded, turning to the side as the two royal family members passed by her study. “I suppose I’ll see you later then, Blueblood.”

“Yes, Auntie,” Blueblood replied. “Do you plan on coming to the Midsummer’s Ball this evening?”

“I’ll think on it, Blueblood.”

Blueblood merely nodded unconcernedly, letting loose with another yawn as Luna shut the door to her study. A simple spell from her horn pulled back the curtains, allowing a golden lance of sunlight to shine through the study’s large picture window and onto the surface of the desk that Luna worked at. The light from the window played across the gilded titles of the many books that crammed the shelves lining the walls.

Luna walked behind the desk, sitting down on the plush cushion that served as a chair with a comforted sigh. She took a deep breath through her nose, breathing in the smell of creamy white pages, the aged aroma of leather binding, the sharp tang of ink. She had been in here many times since she had returned from her exile on the moon, but she never got tired of the smells. She remembered what it had been like after she had returned from Ponyville on the Summer Solstice. She had breathed in and sank onto the floor in near-intoxication, giggling at the smell of books that had long sat in the dust and darkness. In a spectacularly well-timed coincidence, Celestia had had the study cleaned and dusted that morning, and so everything had been immaculate when Luna had been shown in for the first time in a millennium.

She took another deep breath to drink in the smell, then levitated a few books off the shelves. A quill and a roll of parchment soon joined them, Luna quickly becoming engrossed in her work.

***

The air of Widewing Pass was filled with the sound of marching feet, flapping wings, and the constant whooshing of propellers. The army was ten thousand strong, divided among eight thousand dogs and two thousand griffins, as well as twenty airships, each with a crew of three hundred. Armor clanked, rattled, and shifted and weapons poked upwards into the sky like a forest of wood, steel, and leather. Above the valley floor on a rocky outcropping, Marshal Blackwing watched the army with a smug sense of pride playing about his features. He stood out among most of his fellow griffins due to his pitch-black plumage and red eyes. The Marshal wore a suit of steel plate armor, the plates covering his chest, legs, back, and underbelly. A pair of silver greaves also guarded the shins of his back legs.He turned to the griffin beside him, a grin on his face. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“I still think that we should have sent Equestria a formal declaration first,” the griffin said in answer. He was young, only in his late teenage or young adult years. He was medium-sized and compactly built, sharp blue eyes looking out from among a collection of golden plumage that circled each eye. Golden feathers flared out in a crest from the top of his head, and his wings, the feathers of which were tipped with black, flexed and spread as if eager to be off. Unlike Blackwing, he wore a suit of brown leather armor, though it covered much of the same areas. “It just feels…cowardly. Sneaking into Equestria with an army like this without giving them any notification.”

“That would be stupid,” Blackwing replied. At the other griffin’s questioning look, he chuckled as he looked down at the drably-colored strand of dogs marching through the valley. They might not be the most organized soldiers, but they were fierce fighters and knew who was in charge. “By not issuing a formal declaration of war against Equestria, we maintain the element of surprise and therefore will have several weeks of uncontested operating room with which to establish a foothold in Equestria. You may have been promoted to this by your father and raised in formality and ceremony, Captain Rosten, but you’ll come to learn that in war, there is not only no honor, but you get rid of pomp and honor in favor of pragmatism.”

Rosten looked up at the blimps as they passed by, then down below again, towards the rear of the army where the baggage train was. The infantry’s cannons would be in the baggage train, in addition to the other supplies that the army needed to survive in the field. With luck, in the opening hours of their invasion the army would already have a base to use. The airships were also armed with cannons to complement the cadres of griffin marines on board.

“We should be there by sometime around midnight, I believe.” Blackwing mused as he dug around in the satchel slung around his body. Taking out a rolled-up piece of parchment, he spread the worn, slightly faded paper to reveal a map, which he then placed on the ground and weighed down with stones. Sitting down on his haunches, he motioned Rosten over. “Now, let’s go over the initial plan again, shall we?”

“We’ve been over it at least three times before,” Rosten replied, a teenaged whiny tone to his voice.

“And we’ll go over it again! This has to be perfect, understand?” Blackwing snarled. “So shut your mouth and listen!”

Cowed, Rosten nodded as he sat down next to Blackwing, looking over the map as he did. It showed a map of central Equestria, more specifically the border that the Kingdoms and Equestria shared. Widewing Pass was close to Canterlot, exactly where they needed it to be. Rosten merely watched as Blackwing prepared his lecture further, taking out a number of pictures of various spots in the areas around Canterlot. One was at the mouth of Widewing Pass on the Equestrian side, where the rather narrow pass opened up to the mountains around Canterlot, more specifically to the isolated, nearly-unknown mountain paths that ran out of the valley and along the mountains. Griffin scouts had reported that they were wide enough that the army’s cannons and their operators would be able to work efficiently on them.

“So,” Blackwing began in a whisper, after making sure that no ponies were within earshot. “Our first objective is to get through the pass. That much is obvious. After that we need to get our cannons up onto the slopes of the mountains and in position to bombard Canterlot at my signal.”

“And then we can move the infantry into positions around Canterlot, right?” Rosten asked, overcoming his temporary speechlessness to confirm the next phase of the plan.

Blackwing nodded. “Precisely. And once the cannons open up, that will be the signal for the infantry to attack, plus an attack with the aerial elements.”

“And then what?” Rosten asked, looking up from the map at Blackwing.

“Then we spread out. Consolidate our position in Canterlot and the surrounding area, then await reinforcements from the Kingdoms. In the meantime we can send out the air fleet and as many troops as we can spare to take the rest of Equestria. Quick, easy, and foolproof.”

“What about resistance from the locals?” Rosten asked. “I highly doubt that they’ll just sit back
and let us conquer them.”

Blackwing snorted. “Please. The Royal Guard only numbers around five hundred, and pretty much the entirety of that is within Canterlot itself. The rest of Equestria hasn’t had a fight in its life. The only evidence to the contrary our scouts have been able to uncover is a small land dispute in a colony town, and that was pretty much just a pie fight. We have far more than the upper hand; we have every advantage that there is. The Equestrians are weak; they always have been. The only reason that the rest of the world relies upon it is because its rulers are able to raise the sun and moon.”

“Speaking of that, what about the princesses?” Rosten asked suddenly. “Celestia’s sister recently returned, didn’t she? I know that Celestia’s going to the capital to meet with the King, but what do we do if Luna suddenly decides to enter the fray?”

“The Princesses haven’t fought a war in a thousand years. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’d completely forgotten how to fight in the first place.”

Rosten opened his beak to say something in response to that, but Blackwing cut him off with a wave of his hand before gathering the map and photos back up, putting them back in the satchel. “Come on,” the Marshal said. “We need to keep moving and be in position by midnight. We strike in the wee hours of the morning, before dawn.”

Rosten gave a short bow. “Yes, Lord Marshal.”

The two griffins spread their wings and took off, each heading in a separate direction.

***

Canterlot Castle was busy that night. The castle ballroom was filled to capacity with the upper crust of Equestrian society, all arriving in style with the aim to enjoy themselves, socialize, and hope to the heavens that the Midsummer Ball didn’t end up like the Grand Galloping Gala. The ballroom was filled with chatter, ponies making themselves comfortable among their friends, or around the snack table. The music provided by the four-pony band floated through and over the crowd, mostly drowned out by the talking.

“Ah, Mr. Fancypants!” Blueblood called cheerfully as he trotted up to one of the most important unicorns in Canterlot. Fancypants used his magic to take off his monocle, polishing it with a soft white handkerchief before putting it back on, then smiling when he saw Blueblood.

“Ah, Your Highness! I trust that you had a good time at my little soiree last night?”

“Oh yes,” Blueblood replied, nodding eagerly. “Without a doubt! I do hope we’ll be able to do it again someday. I think I may have spotted a possible Mrs. Blueblood there, if you catch my meaning,” he added, punctuating the sentence with a wink.

“Oh-ho-ho, I do by all means, dear boy!” Fancypants replied, chuckling. “Might I inquire as to her looks? Perhaps it was that mint green unicorn mare, the one with the sunrise-and-clouds cutie mark?”

“Right in one!” Blueblood replied. “That figure, those eyes…”

“Well, I do wish you the best of luck, my boy!” Fancypants replied as he slung a leg around the neck of his wife. “If it works out, I wish you the same amount of happiness as Fleur and I!”

“Which is a substantial amount, I might add,” Fleur added smoothly as she planted a soft kiss on Fancypant’s lips. Fancypants returned the kiss with interest, and Blueblood left them there as he trotted off to greet other partygoers. As he did he passed by one of the Lunar Guard, Princess Luna’s personal bodyguard. Holding out a leg to forestall the bat-winged pegasus as he trotted past, Blueblood turned the guard’s head in his direction. “Guard, would you please go to Aunt Luna’s study and inquire if she would like to come up and join the Ball?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” the guard replied, bowing before turning and trotting off, his armor clanking gently as he moved. Blueblood turned and went back to the party as the clock on the wall chimed 11:30.

***

The guard knocked on the door of Princess Luna’s study, the bat-winged pegasus standing back a few steps as the door opened outward. He walked in, his first sight being Princess Luna wearing red-rimmed glasses, poring over a collection of very long sheaves of paper. A red quill pen scribbled vigorously across another long sheaf of paper that trailed off of the desk and an extensive distance onto the richly carpeted floor. The guard didn’t know what it was, but since Luna was writing a lot of numbers he assumed that it was something dealing with Equestria’s taxes. He cleared his throat. “Princess Luna?”

Luna stopped her writing and moved one of the papers out of the way, her expression going from annoyed to pleased. “Ah, Full Moon. What is it?”

“Prince Blueblood requested that I come down here and ask you if you were planning on attending the Ball? Or at least making an appearance?”

“Oh, right, the Ball…” Luna mused, rubbing her chin with a hoof. “Completely slipped my mind…erm…I don’t think so, Full Moon. Give Blueblood my apologies, but I’m far too busy to put in any sort of appearance.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Full Moon swept out leg in front of him and bowed before straightening and turning around, the pegasus’s tail reaching out and pulling the door shut again. Turning right upon exiting the room, Full Moon walked down the hall, his hoofsteps the only ones in the empty hall. Most of the castle’s other servants had gone home for the day, the few that had volunteered to work at the Midsummer’s Ball were all in the ballroom with the ball attendants. Canterlot Castle was huge; it had taken him over half an hour to go from the ballroom to Princess Luna’s study, and as he passed a large grandfather clock in the hallway he looked at it, noting the position of the hooves. It was now a bit after midnight, and Full Moon sighed as he kept walking. The night seemed to be dragging on for a stupidly long period of time. Then again, this was how it had always been in the castle, even after Luna returned. Patrol the halls from time to time, guard the princesses, and do whatever it takes to guard them with your life.

As Full Moon walked across the entrance hall back towards the ballroom, he took the opportunity to stop and look out the massive window at the Canterlot Valley to the west. The moon hung high in the sky, a silver plate that bathed everything below it in soft, pale light. It wasn’t very cloudy tonight, and though a few clouds had been positioned here and there by the pegasi, the view of the stars was almost completely obstructed. Full Moon smiled and allowed himself a content sigh.

I have to give this to being one of the Lunar Guard, he thought to himself as he turned away. The view at night sure is stunning.

As he passed through the door that led into the ballroom, he missed the winged form that zipped past the window, followed closely by several others.

***

It had taken several hours, but the army was finally in position. The various infantry battalions had moved to their designated assault points in the cliffs and the plains surrounding the city. The cannons were in place, and the airships were holding position at various points around Canterlot. High above Canterlot on one of the mountains, Blackwing and Rosten stood overlooking one of the cannon batteries. Both were wearing the helmets that went with their armor. Blackwing was wearing a silver helmet with a black feather crest, while Rosten wore a plain, brown leather helmet to match his armor. Blackwing took a deep breath, the crisp night air filling his lungs. He exhaled slowly, then grinned at Rosten. “A great night for history to be made, don’t you think?”

Rosten smiled and nodded back. “This will go down in the annals for certain.”

“Let’s hope so,” Blackwing replied. He looked over at a griffin officer that was checking over one of the cannons. “Lieutenant! Are we nearly ready?”

“Yes, sir,” the lieutenant replied. “All you need to do is give the word.”

Blackwing smiled again. “Very good.” He turned to Rosten. “Watch closely, boy. This is how you truly begin a war.” He turned to Canterlot and raised one clawed hand, the appendage silhouetted in the silver light of the rising moon. Allowing himself one last grin, he swiped his arm downwards.

***

In the depths of Canterlot Castle, Luna set aside the final roll of paper dealing with Seaddle’s tax deficiency and allowed herself a sigh of relief. It had been a productive day overall, as well as quiet and mostly undisturbed aside from guards and servants popping in from time to time to check in on her, ask if she was hungry, things like that.

But for now, Luna stood up, stretching her wings as she looked at the clock. It was around 2:30 in the morning. Luna gave a large yawn, walking towards the door. I’d better get to sleep. Busy day tomorrow. She walked out the door just in time to hear a muffled boom ripple through the floor and air, causing the crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling off the hallway to start swaying as the fragments of crystal that decorated them knocked against one another to produce a clear, jingling noise. Despite the noise from that, the chandeliers were unable to drown out the sound of several more booms. More commotion began to reach Luna’s ears. She could hear screaming, orders being yelled. Luna tried to remember where she’d heard the sound of the booms before, then finally gasped as she realized the source.

“Cannons?!”

Comments

[FanNotANerd]

Well, this has got my attention. Very good.

Before I read any further, though, I must point something out. OCs that are jet-black for no particular reason are frowned upon. That's a massive cliche, and unless it has an explanation in the story, it should be avoided. The red eyes don't exactly help a whole lot.

[no se]

Buena historia

[Nightspawn]

Tora! Tora! Tora!