Cadence let out a soft sigh as she stared down at the glimmering crystal streets of her city. It was midday, and Celestia's sun was shining down on the sleek crystal with all its might. During the reconstruction, the Crystal Ponies had known that, if they left the streets and buildings too bright, it'd be quite hard to go about their business! The Empress gave a soft smile, remembering the crowds of unicorns, young and old, who had littered the streets, casting long-term enchantments to soak up the sun; it had become a festival to them. Renewal Day. Now, magi were siphoning the soaked-up energy into engine crystals, sending them along on the trains to Equestria's many factories. Cadence hoped that, soon enough, some would stay in the Crystal Province, used in factories of their own. Her ponies had given much in the last twenty-five years.

Cadence remembered fully the days of the Siege. The years. The slow death of her nation, starved and strangled out by an army of brutes at their doorstep. The creeping decline; of dozens of suicides by the day; of children losing all hope and falling nearly catatonic. At losing her husband, Shining Armor, during a desperate raid to attain supplies. Shops had closed down; ponies had flooded into the city by the thousands, constructing a wall around the concentric capital, lining it with every weapon they could muster. None had assumed they could hold the Caribou monsters off from there. If the Great Shield had fallen, the Crystal Empire would had fallen in a day. Cadence closed her eyes, sighing faintly as the memories washed over her in full. She had lost herself, in those dark days. She had sunk into fanaticism, praying to Celestia, to Equestria's then-vanished goddess, to save her ponies. Everything she had done had been to "please" the false image she had of her. Her mind was fractured, weak, malleable. Indeed, she had nearly murdered her own sister-in-law because a fake priestess told her that she should. Too much had been lost.

Giggles and full-out guffaws rolled over her balcony, dredging her, and a warm smile, out of the depths of her reverie. Two foals, one a pegasus, the other a unicorn, galloped out of the castle, attempting to tackle one another. The twins were utterly identical but for their species- each had their father's pure white coat, while retaining their mother's pink-white mix mane. Shimmer Belle and Love Flight. Cadence's everything, her angels; her family. Turning to them, she opened her wings invitingly, beaming as her foals eagerly accepted the chance to hug against their ever-busy mother. Skidding over the crystal floors, Shining Armor laughed softly as he hurried himself onto the balcony as well.

"So that's where those rascals got off to," he announced teasingly, catching his wife's shimmering eyes and smiling softly back.

Shining Armor was a powerfully built stallion, even in his ever advancing age. As Prince-Consort, he kept himself in tip-top shape, to both lead the nation in war, and to help provide heirs and scions for the royal family. His barrel was firm and muscular, as were both his fore and hind legs. Some males in their late forties tended to let themselves put on a little extra weight; Shining did not have the luxury. Few ponies did, in these times. When he shifted to one side, Cadence shuddered; Shining Armor could never put on enough fur or muscle to hide the scar of the Caribou bullet that had taken his life some ten years prior. The magic of the Phoenix Heart was incredibly powerful, melding the magics of love, blood, mystery, and light; but the scars of the Caribou War just simply could not be magicked away or forgotten. Cadence shifted a wing, running a feather down a long, light scar on her side.

"It's no trouble, my love," Cadence replied warmly, kissing Love Flight on the top of her head and grinning as she squirmed, "Might keep me in a good mood during these talks."

Shining Armor frowned immediately at that, tail flicking agitatedly.

"Indeed," he rumbled, glaring back into the castle, "The delegation from the Griffon Confederacy and the Minotaur Empire have just arrived. Empress Sparkle would like us in there as soon as possible."

Cadence sighed faintly, nodding and giving her foals one last kiss on their foreheads before ushering them off, her ears laying back sadly at their disappointed groans. Such is the life of royalty... It took a great deal of self-control to keep a tear from her eye. All she had ever wanted was to have her family and kingdom to love and make safe. Cadence slowly grounded her hoof into the crystal floor before pushing herself forward to follow after her husband back into the lion's den. Now it was time to deal with their lions and bulls, before everything she had worked for, and overcome, came undone.
**********************************

The delegation from the Griffon Confederacy was split into two factions, that Twilight Sparkle noticed right away. One side was dressed in traditional Griffon military garb, with dark-painted breastplates, vambraces, and plumed helms. They all boasted dark-color pelts and feathers, typical of the Griffon subspecies that lived in the high mountains and northern hill country of the Griffon continent. All were armed in some way; melee weapons only, as per their laws, and all swords tied with peace strings. Twilight knew firsthoof that those strings could be snapped or sliced by a Griffon with no pause at all. At the other side of their table sat a group of more brightly garbed griffons, dressed in the clothing popularized by Equestria and other nations before the Great War: warm jackets, crusher caps, and ties. They, as far as Twilight's normal eyesight could tell, were unarmed. Her magical sight pinpointed at least as many knives, hold-out pistols, and derringers as the Northern Griffons had swords. Twilight was tempted to call them on it, but the Southern Griffons held their most venomous glances for their Northern cousins. An interesting development.

Empress Twilight Sparkle of the Equestrian Empire sat imperiously on her ebony wood throne; her body, by now as large as Celestia had once been, was adorned in the Imperial Regalia: a black jacket, with a great golden Phoenix rising out of a Heart on her chest. Her mane, shimmering and fluttering with an unseen breeze, flowed free that day, not held by any form of helmet or hat. She preferred it that way; Rarity's vanity had begun to rub off on her, she knew. Twilight wished all of her friends could have made it to the talks; it would have definitely cut down on the tension and boring, at least for her. Rainbow Dash, unfortunately, was too busy training the next wave of Wonderbolts up in Cloudsdale, alongside her herd of the original Wonderbolt's team. Plus, her third pregnancy in as many years definitely kept her sky bound until she was "free" again. Applejack had been kept in Ponyville for the duration of the talks, as they were beginning work on a new plantation of apple trees, and she had to help train the next generation of trainers and overseers to help work the Diamond Dog and Mole immigrants arriving everyday from Trixie's Underground. Pinkie Pie was in charge of the education of these immigrants, teaching them everything from Equestrian, to history, to the importance of the Elements of Harmony and the Elements of Life: Freedom, Blood, Mystery, and Light.

Rarity, as Regent of Canterlot when Twilight had to leave, simply could not attend talks such as these. She simply had too much on her plate to deal with it from afar. Canterlot had gone, in the last five years, from a cultural hotspot, to both a cultural hotspot and a technological wellspring. Universities and inventor firms spewed out new designs and techniques daily, and somepony had to have the moxie and organization to keep it all in line. And with the influx of immigrants Equestria was seeing from all over the globe, Rarity had a great many things to get started. Public work programs, educational programs, National Pride Days... Twilight allowed herself a smile. Rarity was doing it all, and doing it well. She truly had much to thank her for. And with Fluttershy, her wife, working alongside Rarity to bring Equestria's medical board up to spec with the rest of the world... Indeed, in the five years since the Resurrection, Equestria's hospitals had exploded outwards, opening new buildings and clinics in each of the cities, outposts, and new settlements. Sicknesses that resurged during the first trying years had been completely mitigated or stamped out, which saved a good deal of magic during Resurrection Day.

Resurrection Day... The pride of Twilight's nation. Happiness at the thought of it always caused Twilight's wings to flutter, earning a few well-meaning chuckles from the guards around her. One day a year when the magic of the Phoenix Heart would peek and expand outward in a glorious, fiery display, bringing back all those in Equestria's borders who had died before their time. Sick foals who died in the hospice? Returned to life, often-times blessed by the magic and marked with fiery manes or brilliant golden eyes. Gallant guardsponies, felled by mishap or misdeed, rising from the specially prepared Guard Homes, to once again serve their friends and families. Soldiers, bodies or soul gems, who were brought home, would be given a second chance to fight for their nation, or to retire in the home they gave everything to defend. Even those unlucky ponies who suffered mishaps and accidents that had cost them everything would be given a second chance at life. It was beautiful, it was momentous... and it was more than likely the sole reason why the Griffons had demanded that this summit take place.

Glancing around the circular table, Twilight allowed her smile to continue as she met the gazes of the other dignitaries. The greatest fear of Twilight and the other rulers of Equestria had been the extinction of their race during the war. Thankfully, only two years since the Armistice, they were proven wrong. Germaney, Ruskala, and Saddle Arabia had all revealed themselves to have taken in swathes of Equestrian refugees in the latter days of the bombardment and occupation. Many of these ponies had even risen to prominence within their new homes. Indeed, the ambassadors of Ruskala, a typically Cervine and Ursine nation, were both Earth Ponies, while the adjutant of the Saddle Arabian sultana was a sleek, well-groomed pegasus. Germaney's ambassador was a tall, quiet Lupine, while both of his adjutants were Donkeys. Germaney had especially become a welcome ally to Equestria, supplying them with expertise in rocket and ship-building technology, in exchange for generous sums of both coal and precious gems. The Lupine ambassador, Silver Ear, gave Twilight a small grin and a wink; flushing, it was all Twilight could do to flick her ear at him, and keep her calm demeanor.

"Announcing, the Caliph of Camelu, U-Daren Velak!"

Well, well. This is a surprise.

Twilight glanced to the door as the tall, white-robed camels slowly walked into the hall, moving to take a seat on the opposite side of the table from the Sultana of Saddle Arabia, a move that had her blinking in surprise at U-Daren, who refused to meet her gaze. Something about his expression did not sit well with Twilight, and she was still studying him when Cadence and Shining Armor took their proper places at Twilight's side. Extending a wing and lightly stroking it down Cadence's back, Twilight glanced over at her co-diarch, nodding once. Cadence never even blinked, scanning the room for herself. When she spotted the tension between the sultana and the caliph, she flicked an ear to signal an understanding. Something was happening, here.

"I believe that is the last of the delegates."

Twilight's eyes slid to face the speaker: a tall, silver-feathered Griffon, dressed in his own set of dark-colored armor. He stared Twilight down with a pair of brilliant sapphire eyes, an oddity among his kind. Twilight was unsettled by the gleaming hatred his eyes held for her, and she allowed herself a small frown. Something was happening, indeed. She slowly tapped her hoof on the ebony table, nodding at each delegate in turn.

"You are correct, General Vandius Highclaw. We will begin. I'd like to bid everyone welcome to the Crystal City, a jewel of the Equestrian Em-"

"I will have to stop you right there, Twilight Sparkle."

Time could have been frozen for the stunned silence that overtook everypony at that moment. With a slow creak of distressed wood, the Minotaur ambassador, a hulking figure by the name of Red Horn Stonehoof, sat forward in his chair, steepling his meaty fingers on the table. His expression held no remorse for the grave faux pass he had just committed by interrupting the host of the talks. He hardly even seemed to notice Twilight's stunned gaze, or the burning glares from all the other pony, Lupine, and Southern Griffon delegates. As Cadence opened her mouth, the Minotaur snorted once, hot air blowing out to stir the mass of papers set out in front of them all.

"I will not have a pack of rebels speak at these talks," he rumbled out slowly, "Nor will I recognize any nation who dares send slaves to speak in their behalf."

He nodded to General Highclaw, completely ignoring the outraged sputters of the Ruskalan ambassadors who had slammed their fore-hooves onto the table like cannon shot.

"I must agree with Chief Stonehoof. We only agreed to come to this rebel city to offer our terms of immediate surrender of all ponykind, and seizure of formerly Caribou lands. Caliph?"

"I second the motion," U-Daren replied softly, "The Equine race has been judged by the Holies to be the slaves of the Cervine race. As we all have warred in the past with the Cervine, this makes them our enemies."

"U-Daren!"

The Sultana stood up on her throne, a horrified look in her golden eyes as she stared at her neighbor across the table, "What is the meaning of this? Our nations have been allies for centuries!"

The Caliph did not answer; indeed, he did not seem to recognize her very existence as more than a passing breeze and noise, which was a grievous insult in Saddle Arabian culture. Of course, condemning her species as slaves and rebels was just as grave to Twilight and Cadence's own. Grinding her teeth audibly, Twilight slowly brought her hoof back down to her throne, glaring at the three delegations.

"My kind are not rebels," she hissed slowly, "Nor are we slaves."

"You lost your war with the Caribou," General Highclaw replied with a shrug, "And could not accept your enslavement gracefully. So you rebelled against your former masters. Indeed, you are all guilty of heinous war crimes. The likes of-"

"WAR CRIMES!? THEY BUTCHERED MY PEOPLE AND PUT THEM ON GODDESS-DAMNED STAKES!" Shining Armor roared, struggling mightily against his wife's wing as he surged forward, "They raped my people, killed them like common animals!"

"What the hell are you doing, Vandius?" the southern Griffon delegate asked, face pale in horror, "The President never said any of this! Who has given you the right to-"

"The President has betrayed the griffons of the North, and we do not speak for him," Vandius snapped, his gaze falling darkly on the shaking Southern delegate, "King Stonecliff speaks for us now."

Stonecliff. Hard-line Griffon conservative and traditionalist, been calling for increased Griffon aggression for ages. But to break away from the federal Griffin government...

"We recognize the validity of the North Griffonian Kingdom," Red replied with a faint smirk, "And the Caliph speaks for the holiness of our cause. And the sad truth of the matter is that you hardly have the ability to say no to us. Ruskala relies on the Empire for our oil, and you owe us something in the thousands of gold bullion. Germaney, you have no bigger buyer of your goods. Imagine what would happen if you lost all that trade."

To Twilight's surprise, the glare from Silver Ear was just as intense as any of the ponies. With a feral growl, the Lupine slowly scratched his claws down the ebony table.

"You are a bully, and a monster, Stonehoof," he replied hotly, "No race can be condemned entirely to slavery! You're using your perverse legalism to justify a war for greed!"

With a firm sweep of his paw, Silver Ear whisked away the paperwork in front of his seat, bracing himself on the table as he rose up as high as he could, teeth bared in a predatory snarl.

"If you fire one shot at the Equestrian Empire, the full might of Germaney will crash down on your thick heads!"

"As will the ponies, Cervine, and Ursine of Ruskala!" One of the Earth Ponies piped up hotly, her lingering accent that of the southern plains of Equestria, "The Czarina will not stand for this travesty!"

Twilight's calculating eyes turned to the sultana; she and the caliph had finally locked eyes, her molten depths challenged by his bland, darkened gaze.

"The ponies and true followers of the Holies stand by our long-term allies in Equestria," she stated, voice thick with emotion, "A shot upon them, is a shot on all of us."

Red Stone Hoof scanned each member of the talks slowly before his dark green eyes locked with Twilight's violet, each testing the will of the other. Unnervingly, the Empress found his will strong, and nearly as implacable as her own. Nearly. Both rose to their full height as one, nearly breaking eye contact first, only turning away as one. Cadence was still seated, face utterly stricken; Shining Armor was glaring death at the Griffons, muzzle twisted in a hate-filled, silent snarl. The Ruskalan ambassadors had slunk as far away from the Griffons and Minotaurs as they could, practically hiding behind a stoic Silver Ear. Switching to her magical senses, Twilight scanned the room and each of the warmongering attendants... and it was as she feared. This time, there was no dark force controlling these enemies behind the scenes. This war, and it would surely be war, was based solely on greed and fanaticism.

"There are thousands of ponies in Griffonia," Shining Armor rumbled, "I hope you're ready for that."

All the pony attendants turned to watch General Highclaw. And all were horrified by the widening smirk climbing up his beak.

"We're handling that as we speak."

***************************************

"Airship inbound! ...Light Below, she's not stopping!"

It was general pandemonium at the Crystal City Aerodrome as dozens of Crystal pegasi and Equestrian pegasi launched up from the ground, scrambling to grab tie-off lines and grappling hooks. The incoming airship was one of the fast consulate ships, used to transport ambassadors and dignitaries across vast distances in as quickly a fashion as possible. This one was going at absolute full speed, her engines hacking and sputtering thick clouds of magical dust and coal ash as they were strained to their limit. Typically, ships were in full radio contact with the Aerodrome towers the entire landing process, in order to avoid accidents and collisions. On this ship, not even a flag carrier stood on the bow, or even on the twin balloons keeping it aloft. It was a ghost ship, in all appearances.

"Get the lines up there!" Captain Faerie Flight yelled out to his crack team, flapping his wings as hard as he could muster to get himself to the proper altitude for his grappling gun.

It launched with a hiss of compressed air and homing magic, quickly biting into the thick hull among a near forest of its brothers. Pressing a stud on the gun, Faerie let the magically weighted object fall to the tower below, homing in on its magnetic signature. The combined magical weight of the grappling hooks did the trick, and the airship finally began to slow, its engines loudly groaning in protest at the deceleration. Several pegasi above Faerie flew up onto the deck... and his entire body paled at the stunned cries, screams, and retches that followed, almost all of the said pegasi lurching and spiraling away. Grabbing the pistol he kept on his belt in his teeth, Faerie winged his way over the side of the ghost ship. What he saw would haunt his nightmares for the rest of his life.

Ponies, or what was left of ponies, lay in bloody, gore-caked heaps. Many of them had been dressed in ambassadorial garb and finery, though others wore the uniforms of the Imperial Navy. Every fifth or so pony, a low groan or plead for a mother would whimper out. A hoof grabbed hold of Faerie's side, and his pistol dropped nervelessly to the gore-soaked deck. A mare, hardly any older than his own daughter in the Imperial Youth, was crumpled in a pile of pastel bodies, both of her hind legs missing at the knee, tied off with a pair of belts. Her silver eyes were half-mad and delirious, but she was whispering something over and over.

"G-griffons... e-everypony..."

"S-send word to the castle! RIGHT NOW!"

*********************************

"This is Captain Sun Lance. Phoenix Flight, prepare to engage."

To Captain Sun Lance, a veteran of both Caribou wars, the new craft his squadron had been trained in for the past two years easily trounced the first single-engined aircraft from the first war. The P-3 Lightning Dust was a two-seater, two-propped fighter bomber, faster than anything else in the sky except, maybe, the Wonderbolts. And well, it was hard to be faster than a pegasus with a magojet engine strapped to their back, isn't it? Painted in pastel blues and whites to help blend into the oft-cloudy skies of the Empire, the Lightning Dust's were built in the new aluminum style, armor plated around the engines and cockpits. Usually, they would also be packed with at least one five-hundred pound bomb. But that wouldn't be needed for this mission. All they had needed was speed.

"Five seconds to contact!" his co-pilot, Amber Shade, yelled over the chair separator, "All weapons hot."

Sun Lance had to admit, he had never expected to be so well-armed while in the air. The older model planes had been outfitted with four .50-caliber machine guns, which had always been more than enough to deal with Caribou airships. But working with the Imperial Creed and the demands of the Ministry of Aesthetics had produced a truly frightening beast: two 30mm cannons rested between two .50 caliber machine guns in the wings, and a third cannon rested in the nose of the aircraft. Brackets on the wings could have loaded air-to-ground armor-piercing rockets, but they hadn't had time to load them. They wouldn't need them for this. Sun ran his right hoof over the trigger, flicking off the safety and nodding at the responding beep in his headset. Good to go.

As the flight of six broke through the heavy cloud cover over the Caribou Wall Mountains, the fleeing Griffon transport could be seen attempting to set down in the mountain valleys, no doubt to hide from pursuers. According to both Empresses, all allied Southern Griffons had given themselves into custody when it had been demanded of them, while the Northern Griffons had fired on the approaching police units with both rifle and cannon fire, killing three. And with the stories coming from the ambassadorial airship at the Aerodrome... No survivors were to be allowed now. Sun Lance bared his teeth angrily. His sister lived with her husband and family in Griffonia.

"Rainboom Maneuver, all craft. Wedge formation, fire on my command!"

The Lightning Dust began to pitch downwards, the wind whistling around it activating the warbling, banshee wail that sat a top the aircraft. With six of them going at once, it sounded like a choir of the damned screaming welcome to Tartarus. To their credit, the Griffons didn't panic, not at first; Sun Lance's eyes narrowed as the airship pivoted and tilted upwards, trying to get a proper firing angle for its six cannon broadside. Smoke and thunder rolled up from below... but the cannon shot fell far below the flight of aircraft.

"LIGHT 'EM UP!"

The shocks on the cannons needed to be upgraded, just a bit. Squeezing the firing stud, the entirety of the Lightning Dust shuddered and hammered itself like a drum solo at a rock'n roll concert. Tracers from every fifth bullet lit up the sky, joined by a host of its brothers from the flight above. Dust and gore blasted up from the deck of the airship in thick clouds, and Sun could only imagine the pandemonium going on below. Jinking the throttle, Sun broke out of his dive at the last second, eyes focused on a trio of griffons winging frantically for the valley below. A single burst caught two, turning them in a mist of red and gore. His eyes cast up- a bullet cracked against his canopy with a sharp pow, followed by a small swarm of its brothers. The survivor was obviously armed with one of the Griffons' submachine guns, the crudely machined GS-34's. It's small caliber payload was nothing to his armored canopy.

"Don't worry Captain, I got him."

Turning his Dust in a lazy turn, Sun Lance grinned darkly as a hail of cannon fire caught the Griffon as he tried to follow his target, cutting him cleanly in half and sending the pieces spiraling into the ground. The airship, mortally wounded, trailed smoke and fire as it crashed into the mountainside, breaking apart. And for the next half hour, every bit of ammunition in the flight of aircraft was slammed into the wreck, exploding the damaged engines and settling alight the Griffon's own ammunition bay. Mission accomplished.

Author's Notes:

Phew! And here is the opener, folks! How will this war go? And who will we see back! Whoo!