On Concordia Agitatum, the three rulers gathered the griffons and used magic to put them in deep sleep, preventing them from escaping. The weapons were collected as well, put on the table, and thoroughly inspected with a keen eye.

"It seems like our design..." Celestia raised a brow, commenting on the crossbows, "It could definitely be handled by hooves if needed be. I don't think I can find a reason for the griffons to use it over their own more ergonomic solutions."

"The bolts are poisoned, too," King Ordin grabbed one of them by the shaft and showed its head to the princess, "See this tint? If we didn't die immediately, we would either bleed out or die of poison shortly after the attack," he turned to Andromalius, a look of worry on his face, "I think one of the bolts hit you."

"They can't harm me," Andromalius knocked on his exoskeleton. Not a scratch could be visible on its dark-red surface, much to the relief of the hell stallion himself and the two rulers.

"Well, that's good that you're unharmed, then," the minotaur nodded, "In any case, how did the griffons even get here? There isn't a place to hide unless they were waiting underwater. I've been here alone for around ten minutes before you showed up; they had all the time to kill me there and then, but they didn't..."

"I might have a guess, King Ordin," Celestia replied with a frown on her face, an idea appearing in her mind, "They knew we were coming, they had our weapons... Their plan might've included framing me and Andromalius, making it seem like we were the aggressors."

"But wouldn't that just be... very suspicious? Especially since they wanted to kill all of us," Andromalius said, confusion on his face.

"We don't know what they exactly wanted," King Ordin raised a finger to emphasize his point, "We'll have to interrogate them. But before we do, we must return to our countries, and I'm afraid this might be difficult. We traveled alone, but we don't know if those griffons are the only ones around. So... wait a minute..." he gestured to the right. On the horizon, a sizable wooden ship appeared, its course straight at the island, "Damn those featherbrains... they brought a ship!"

"Doesn't seem like theirs..." Celestia narrowed her eyes in doubt, "Let's wait until we can clearly see them."

Hiding behind the stone table and the tree just in case, they watched as the ship approached the island. Slowly but surely, it made its way across the surface of the ocean. Andromalius was ready, feeling an itch in his horn. With just a single spell, he could set the whole ship on fire if the need arose. Celestia had similar thoughts in her mind, closely watching the ship with her eyes. Soon, the rulers could make out the flag — it was Equestrian. However, they had yet to see those who sailed it, and so they continued to wait. In a few minutes, it was apparent that the sailors were in fact ponies — pegasi, to be exact. At the nose of the ship, a familiar figure stood, dressed in dark robes with golden embroidery on the edges.

"This is... our ship," the princess said in disbelief, "Honestly, I... I have no idea what they're doing here."

"If it's not a griffon trap, then I'd say we're lucky today," King Ordin replied with hope, "And yet... I would like to know what this ship is doing here."

Soon, the ship halted to a stop as it anchored itself not too far away from the island. A lone figure took off from the deck and flew towards the rulers on its membrane wings. To the surprise of both Celestia and Andromalius, the pony turned out to be their necromantic ally Arantir.

"It seems I have come late," he said as he landed, folding his wings. Then, he addressed Princess Celestia: "Your majesty, I managed to capture a griffon officer, and he told me something interesting," he glanced at the bound griffons, "But first... I count only eight griffons out of the supposed ten."

"I will order and conduct the search immediately," Celestia quickly nodded and swiftly took off, heading to the ship as fast as her wings could carry her.

"If I may ask... who are you?" King Ordin respectfully addressed the necromancer with interest in his voice.

"I am Arantir, High Lord of Heresh," Arantir made a respectful bow, "And you are King Ordin of Tauria, I presume?"

"Indeed I am," the minotaur responded with the same polite bow, "Forgive me, but I've not heard of Heresh. Is it one of Equestrian Duchies?"

"Let's just say... It is further away from here than you might think," the necromancer replied vaguely, "In any case, the griffons planned to poison you and frame it on Celestia. What they didn't account for were Andromalius' presence and subsequent interference."

"They didn't try to poison me, they were going for a bloody kill," King Ordin slightly corrected him, scratching his shoulder and then the back of his head.

Arantir frowned in response but didn't say anything, deciding to keep those thoughts to himself for now. After a few moments of silence, he gestured at the ship.

"Well, in any case, I believe we can deliver you back to Tauria," he said, "Going alone might be dangerous, especially with the possibility of the remaining two griffons being around to finish what they started."

Aboard the ship ENS Skytrotter, the rulers assembled in the captain's room to discuss the final terms of their agreement. Arantir, technically having the high title, was present as well, but refused from taking part in the discussion. However, he decided to stay and listen, hoping to have a clear understanding of the current politics between Tauria and Equestria.

"I will see what I can do about sending troops to your aid, princess," King Ordin said, "But definitely expect some of our new transportation designs. To be honest, your ships and trains are outdated and could use a replacement. Chariots are also outdated, you could use some... motorized transport."

"Sounds reasonable," Celestia nodded, "We could use all the help we can get. Our soldiers aren't nearly as good as the griffons, I'm afraid."

"That much is true," the minotaur nodded, "If only you had more ponies like Lord Andromalius. Trained, armed and armored, and you'd be able to topple the griffons, especially if you are trained in the arts of magic."

"Thank you," the hell stallion nodded with the corners of his mouth slightly up.

"You've saved my life, and for that, I will be eternally grateful," Ordin smiled at him, "I suppose I can also host some of the ponies as refugees. We have plenty of resources, not to mention uncharted lands in need of proper development," he turned to Arantir, "High Lord, may I ask you about your part in this conflict?"

"I can sense disharmony coming from the Griffon Empire," the necromancer replied, "There is something more to this conflict than simple territorial and resource disputes or acts of revenge... This is what I need to discover."

"A fine goal it is indeed," the king nodded, satisfied with the answer, "If I may ask, what is it that you are providing to Equestria?"

Arantir glanced at Celestia, a silent question in his mind. Understanding it, the princess let out a sigh and braced herself.

"Since you're de-facto our ally, I suppose there is no harm in sharing such information," she said slowly, carefully weighing what she could say next, "King Ordin... High Lord Arantir is a necromancer."

"A necromancer?" the minotaur echoed in confusion, "Forgive me, but I can't seem to understand what this word means."

"He provided an army to us," Celestia continued, "The army of the undead."

A heavy silence fell on everyone involved as the minotaur king blinked in confusion, digesting the information. He rubbed his thumbs against one another nervously, his eyes shifting from the princess to the necromancer and back. He exhaled through his nostrils and rubbed his forehead with one of his hands, wiping away the sweat. Andromalius, Celestia, and Arantir patiently waited, watching his reaction. The princess silently cursed, realizing that it might've been a mistake to reveal one of the most important secrets to another ruler.

"So..." King Ordin said slowly, nervousness apparent in the tone of his voice, "You meant to say that... those soldiers are not... alive?"

"Precisely," Arantir was the first to reply, nodding to the king.

"Does that mean they are... trapped souls?" the minotaur continued, his fingers tapping on the table and his body tensing.

"Most of them are only bodies," the necromancer answered calmly, "Others are willing souls serving to protect Equestria."

"King Ordin..." Celestia was next to say, "We don't want more deaths. What High Lord Arantir has saves us from having to lose many more lives. I, I hope you understand that, well, ponies are untrained. They're not ready for war. We're trying to prevent real losses..." she trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

"I... understand," Ordin said slowly, nodding, "This... I will have to accept," he looked in the eyes of Celestia, "I hope you know what you are doing, Princess Celestia... And this information must not be revealed to public. Not yet," he let out a nervous chuckle, "It is... actually quite funny that we have the, heh, 'goddess' of daylight, a demon, and a... dark magician."

Andromalius couldn't help but chuckle to that, knowing that the situation was even more absurd than King Ordin suspected. On top of what he said, High Lord Arantir belonged to a videogame, and he along with the hell stallion were from different worlds entirely. However, Andromalius wasn't about to let Ordin know that, fearing that the minotaur king would back out of the agreement.

"And one more thing..." Ordin spoke again after he calmed down, "High Lord, if you ever meet a zebra... they will understand who you are without you saying a word. Be catious."

Arantir nodded in understanding, making a mental note in his mind. Both Andromalius and Celestia silently sighed in relief, glad that the king accepted the reality of the situation. Sharing such information with their new ally was a wise move, all things considered. If they didn't do it, King Ordin could find out about it eventually, and his reaction would possibly be much less accepting. The Princess and the Lord hoped that this sign of trust would lead to a stable relationship with Tauria and eventually, the victory in the war.

Hours later, the sun had begun to set, its orange rays casting long shadows across the lands of the Griffon Empire. The military camps lit their fires, the watchers were in their places, and the rest of the griffons were ready to sleep. Empress Ironfeather was in the throne room of her royal palace, tending to the needs of the Empire. The war had taken its toll on industry and agrary, taking more and more while giving less and less. The first month of the war was far from over, and yet the progress had already been halted almost to a full stop. Equestrian shores were secure, and the easiest route to Equestria itself seemed impenetrable. The griffons went to war expecting a swift victory, counting on ponies' long peacetime to prevent them from being able to defend themselves. And yet, such assumption turned out to be unexpectedly wrong.

The Empress frowned as she studied the reports. The griffons were met with heavy opposition in major cities, suffering comparable casualties to the defenders. Only one camp was ready, and only because it was placed in the wilderness. Contrary to what Ironfeather expected, the Royal Pony Sisters let the civilians arm themselves despite the possibility of griffons capturing the weapons.

Her thought process was disturbed when two griffons entered the throne room and swiftly bowed. For a few moments, everything was silent save for the scribble of Ironfeather's quill as she finished writing down her next orders.

"Well?" she spoke after putting the papers aside, "Report on your mission, soldiers."

"W-we have failed you, my emperor..." one of the griffons said, a light tremble of fear in his voice.

For a few seconds, the Empress was quiet, a deep frown forming on her face. It seemed her plans were failing once again, eating up her time and resources without anything in return.

"You had everything at your side," she said, her voice cold and stern, "You had the equipment, the time, the numbers, the reconnaisance... Now, tell me..." she walked closer to them, "Why is it that you, despite all the advantages you had, failed your task?"

"Y-your majesty, something unexpected happened..." the griffon replied, "Lord Andromalius was there."

Silence took reins once again as the Empress stopped in her tracks, her eyebrows going up. Soon, however, her expression changed into anger. She was bested by someone she hadn't heard about until the last few months. Was she defeated once again by someone she considered a nobody? She huffed and turned to the window, glancing outside her palace. The two griffons remained silent, waiting for her to speak again. A long while passed as she stared off into the distance, thinking about the news.

"Alright..." Ironfeather finally spoke, exhaling through her nostrils, "I presume that he had taken out the eight, then?"

"He h-had taken them as prisoners, your majesty," the griffon answered, "And... I couldn't see it, but either they missed him or the bolts had no effect on him whatsoever."

"I see..." the Empress replied with a heavy tone, "First, he thwarted the assassination, and now he had set more countries against us... this vile demon... So, what do we know about him?"

"N-nothing outside of what I've just said, your majesty," the griffon answered obediently.

"Send another group. This time, only observe and report anything and everything you manage to find out about him," Ironfeather ordered, "Under no circumstances attack. We need to know our enemies before we can strike them. Dismissed."

"Right away, your majesty!" the griffons said in unison, straightening their posture and saluting. They walked out of the throne room and headed to fulfill their Empress' orders.

Ironfeather let out a sigh as she dragged her claw across her face. This Demon Lord was a surprising nuisance, much stronger than she expected and anticipated. He was far more than a strangely-looking pony, and certainly far better than many of Equestrian princes. The Empress was wrong about assuming he was a nobody, and so she could only subdue her ego and think rationally. No doubts remained — Andromalius was indeed a worthy threat. And as such, he needed Ironfeather's utmost attention.