[sorry about the gap in time, but quite honestly I don’t even know how I found the time to make this one, they will be a bit scattered for a while with no discernible pattern of updating… sorry]

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“Business, what kind of business,?” Silent asked, suddenly remembering that he had known idea what was going on.

“What’s going on, how did the griffins get into the city, why was everything super-fast in here and really slow outside the castle?...” The torrent of questions continued.

“Slow down young one, I shall brief you on everything you need to need to know.” Said Queen Faust who was seeking to ebb the flow of questions that came coming from the large but young Stallion before her.

“First off, the griffins have begun their assault on the kingdom, that much I am sure you already know, as to how they got past our walls remains a mystery even to me, which is why I have instructed my star pupil Shining Dusk to monitor everything… in and outside the kingdom.” The queen than paused to think about how she could phrase the next sentence, after a few moments she finally said, “as for the last question, we used our greatest advantage over the griffins in order to protect our people, magic.”

“Oh…” Silent said, “so you used magics to speed up everything inside the castle?”

“No no dear,” The queen explained “ You see, that would be impossible, we cannot make things happen before they are meant to, which is what would occur if we… how did you say it, sped everything up.”

“Wait, then what did you do?” Silent asked earnestly

“I simply slowed everything else on the planet down of course.” Celestia butted in with a grin.

Silent’s jaw hit the floor, “What! That’s impossible, no really, that is BUCKING impossible, you couldn’t have slowed down everything! Why would that even be necessary!” Silent shouted, finding it impossible to wrap his head around what he had just heard.

“Ummm, it isn’t that hard,” Luna said from behind a shocked Silent, “after all, I can control the moon from here in Equestria and sis can even control the sun, time influent is a pretty simple spell when you compare it to that.

“Oh, well when you put it like that, I guess it isn’t that crazy.” A still slightly shocked Silent responded.

“Anyway, now that the questions are out of the way, the business I spoke of earlier can commence.” Queen Faust spoke out before silent could open his mouth again.

“My Little ponies—"

“ehem…” Darkened said walking over to the queen and putting his hand on top of her head, then on top of his, showing that he was at least her size.

“Ugh, My ponies, we are at war, a war that I full and well plan on winning. In this room are the six most powerful ponies in all of Equestria, with all of your help, I am sure that victory shall be achieved. It will not be easy, and you may not come out unscathed, but I trust you all to act for the good of ponies everywhere,” she looked at Darkened,” big or small.”

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At the training grounds…

Darkened stood in front of his stallions, they were new, they were scrawny, and they were not soldiers. Not yet. But they had potential, maybe not all of them would be great swords ponies, or a marksponies, but they all had one thing going for them, they wanted it. They wanted to get back at the griffins for all the harm and turmoil they had brought to their doorsteps. They had a fire in their eyes, each and every one of them, a fire that could not be extinguished save for the satisfaction of knowing that you had done everything in your power and beyond to fufill your duty as a soldier to your people. The griffons had taken the lives of many a pony, and these stallions before Darkened were just itching to pay them back, plus interest.
Darkened took a deep breath, he was ready to address his new recruits, he was ready to bring them into war.

“Stallions, ATTENTION!” The assorted ponies then formed up immediately, a perfect square, not a pony out of place.

‘Good, if this keeps up, maybe they might just make it though the war alive.’ Darkened thought to himself, genuinely impressed at what he saw.

But then he saw something that was not ok, not ok in the least, he saw a pair of white leathery wings.

He saw his son

‘Son…’ Darkened spoke to his son telepathically

‘Yes Dad?’ Silent responded

‘What are you doing here, why aren’t you at the castle with the others?’

‘Because I’m going to fight, I don’t see what the big deal is, you and mom are both fighting, iv killed griffons before, I can do it again, plus you have been training be for this for years. I really don’t see what the big deal is.’

‘The big deal is that this is not sparring, hell this isn’t even combat, this is hundreds vs. hundreds, this is nothing like the one on one you are used to, one stray arrow, one swipe from behind while you’re concentrating on the man in front of you, one missed strike, and you are dead. No, this is no place for you, maybe when you are older.

‘Dad that isn’t fair, it was my home that they came into too, you know, its my friends that they… that they killed. Don’t think that you can stop me from this.’

‘Don’t think that I can’t. My friends were killed as well Silent, they are gone forever, don’t think for one dammed second, that I will let that happen to my family too.'

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“Umm… sir?”, one of the ponies that Darkened was supposed to be addressing spoke up, the rest of the stallions were worried as well, he had just been standing there for a minuet with his eyes closed breathing heavily.

No one even noticed the young black and white bat winged Pegasus fly away.

“Yes, I am sorry, it is just that…” Darkened Paused once more, “ It saddens me that no matter how hard I train you, inevitably some of you will die, it… is the tragedy of war.”

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[Sorry for the sudden and not very .... good ending, writers block+ lack o time does not equal perfect writing]