The airships of the Griffon Air-Fleet, now under pony control, were heading back at a faster rate of knots than the sea fleet was. The weather pegasi may have turned the winds around to give the griffon ships more speed and easier sailing, but it would take nearly twenty hours of sailing time for them to return close to the shores they'd left from. The airships, with a much greater distance to travel, were going much faster for their return journey. However, compared to the speeds the Xerxes was capable of, they were only crawling along.

Twilight was watching over the pair of Crusaders who remained on the bridge. She couldn't help but be a little in awe at how competent they sounded, as they worked the controls and co-ordinated with the other forces on the griffon air-ships and sea-ships. After only three weeks of training aboard this... strange vessel, they were showing a level of competency that she envied... well, only a little, really, but it was there. Twilight knew she had a lot of catching up to do, if she ever hoped to captain a ship like this... or whatever ships were built from the technology derived from this incredible vessel of the Stars. Twilight smiled. She could do this; study was her forte, research her speciality. If Stellar could learn to captain a ship like the Xerxes, then she could, too.

Then there was another sonic boom off to the port-side, and a trail of light followed the EAG platoons as they crossed the path of the air-fleet, slowing to rendezvous with the Xerxes. There were cheers and lots of waving as the pegasi teams cruised around the fleet, then came in from the front, to land on the upper hull. They stayed in formation and saluted the Xerxes' foredeck, then saluted the bridge and folded together into two columns for each platoon as they headed for the upper access ramp.

Scootaloo half-trotted beside Stellar as they led the platoons back inside the Xerxes again. Her smile was so wide, she could have flipped her head open, or it seemed like it to her. Once they were inside and in the Upper Receiving Hold, the platoons halted as Stellar turned and faced them, Scootaloo right beside her. Then Stellar saluted the Elite Air Guard, and they returned it, the pride on their faces showing through. "You all have lived up to my hopes for you, Pegasi of the Elite Air Guard. When we return to Canterlot, you will be able to hold your heads high and say 'I was there when the Griffons were defeated, and we showed them why WE rule the skies!' For now, stand down and relax. I will need you again when we reach Griffonspire. Cadet-Lieutenant Scootaloo will show you to one of the lounges where you can retract your armor and refresh yourselves."

"Aye, Knight-Commander!" The pegasi flyers replied, saluting Stellar again. At her salute, they waited for Scootaloo.

"Take them to that big lounge we fixed up in Officer Country, Lieutenant." Stellar said softly to Scootaloo. "Show them how the supply pockets work, then re-join me on the bridge."

"Aye, Captain." Scootaloo responded, then as she moved off down the corridors, the three platoons fell in step behind her.

Stellar made her way to the bridge to find Twilight was grinning triumphantly as she slid from the Captain's chair and stood beside it, ready for her. "Welcome back, Captain." She said, saluting Stellar, who eagerly returned her salute. "Your Command awaits."

Stellar nodded and jumped up into the chair, settling herself as Twilight stood beside her, and large holo-screens showed the air-fleet around the Xerxes as they headed back to Griffonia. Then the sisters felt a twitch in their horns: they both realised that somepony was trying to communicate with them. Stellar looked at Twilight and nodded. They both then cast a softly-worded spell that swirled into a ball of magic, which floated forward to expand into a large mirror-like screen in amongst the holo-screens.

As the mirror cleared, it showed both Celestia and Luna sitting in the War Room, looking relieved as they saw the Sisters, sitting and standing together on the bridge. "Princesses, report." Celestia then said.

"Your Highnesses, we have met the Griffons and defeated them decisively." Stellar reported. "No griffons were harmed during this defeat, as far as we are aware."

"The Xerxes is escorting the First Sea-Fleet and the Air-Fleet back to Griffonia as we speak." Twilight then reported. "All the vessels of both fleets are under our command and the griffons are all stunned."

"The Second Sea-Fleet has been totally destroyed; the griffons manning it were scattered to the winds, minus their weapons and armor, but were essentially unharmed as far as could be determined." Stellar then added.

The relief on Celestia's and Luna's faces was palpable. "That is great news, Twilight, Stellar." Celestia replied. "To hear you so effectively stopped this invasion is wonderful; to hear that possibly no griffons were harmed as well is even better. It so suits Equestria's stance on making War that we would kill no-griff to repel this attack on our sovereignty."

"Indeed." Luna said in agreement. "I take it, then, that we can dismantle the Cloud-wall, now that it has served its purpose?" She asked.

Stellar smiled as Twilight grinned. "That's correct, Luna. It has served its purpose, so let the water used in making it return to those who gave so generously to its construction."

Luna turned her head and said something to one of the mares standing behind them, as Celestia smiled at the pair of younger alicorns. "So, I take it you're taking the griffons back home again? What of their fleets? Are you going to take care of them as well, now that you've destroyed the ships of the Second Sea-Fleet?" She asked.

"The First Sea-Fleet has had all its ships mined, Celestia. We're going to blow them up once they get within five kilometres of the Griffonstone coast." Twilight reported. "Don't worry, Princess," Twilight reassured Celestia, "We're going to give the griffons on the ships plenty of warning to get away from them before they go up." Twilight told Celestia, as Luna turned back around.

"And I have plans for the Griffonian Air Fleet once we get back to Griffonspire, minus the troops aboard them." Stellar added to Twilight's explanation.

The Celestial Sisters nodded and looked pleased. "We shall back any actions you take, Knight-Commander." Luna told Stellar. "Deal with the threat of King Greatfeather as you see fit."

"Yes. And if you can make sure we will never face such a threat again, then we shall be most pleased." Celestia added.

"We shall do this for Equestria and yourselves, Your Highnesses." Stellar and Twilight said together, saluting the Diarchs. Luna saluted them in return, as Celestia nodded.

"Once again, Knight-Commander, congratulations on your return and your triumph." Celestia told Stellar, then nodded to Twilight before the magic screen shimmered back to a mirror again, and collapsed.

"Whoo!" Twilight said, then looked to Stellar. "I think you're the only commander since Grandfather to get carte-blanche against the griffons." She told Stellar.

Stellar nodded in return. "And I think I'm going to need it, Sis. King Greatfeather is not going to be a pushover, even without the bulk of his army. I'm going to have to play on his weaknesses and make this a much smaller conflict. And I think I know how I'm going to do that." She informed Twilight. "But first, we'll de-griffon the Air-Fleet once we cross the coast and head for Griffonspire.” Stellar gave Twilight a wink, which was returned, then they laughed. “Let’s go get something to eat, Sis.” Stellar said.

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Twilight agreed. “Want us to bring you something back, Girls?” Twilight asked Applebloom and Sweetie Belle.

“Yes please!” The young mares answered, and Stellar led Twilight to their personal lounge, where foodstuffs awaited in their H-S pockets.

Celestia and Luna looked around at the gathered staff in the War Room. "Stand down, My Ponies. The crisis has been taken care of, and we can lower the threat level to Level One." She told them all. The looks of relief on their faces was palpable, as they started returning all the systems to their base alert level.

Luna was also relaxing, and yawning widely. "I shall take my leave of you, Dear Tia, if you have no further need for me." She told her sister.

"Of course, Dear Luna. Sweet dreams." Celestia replied, giving Luna a loving nuzzle and wing-hug, then letting her sister go to her rest.

"That was a lot less stressful than any other threat we've faced, Your Highness." Marigold Leaf said as she came up beside Celestia. "They didn't even get to land on our shores."

Celestia sighed as she made preparations to leave the War Room. "I'll take Lunch, and we might even be able to have the afternoon session of Day Court before things get too frantic." She told Marigold. "Please, have preparations made to that effect, Marigold."

"Of course, Your Highness." Marigold replied, and trotted off to do her mistress' bidding.

As Celestia left the War Room, she noticed Blueblood standing to one side of the corridor with other officers of the Guard. "Lieutenant Blueblood," She said as she reached him, "your efforts to help supplement our troops during this crisis are most appreciated. Since the crisis has now passed, I thank you for your help, and you may now return to your reserve status. But know this: If we ever need the reserves to be activated again, your unit will be one of the first we shall draw upon in times of future crisis."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Blueblood saluted Celestia, along with all the other officers.

"Captain Heart, once the Regulars return from the Front, you may stand down the reserves as needed." Celestia then ordered Captain Gallant Heart.

"As you command, Your Highness." Gallant Heart replied, then he started barking orders as Celestia headed for the minor dining room. With the emergency well in-hoof, her appetite was returning. A nice loaded salad would be a very good distraction right about now..

As the airships crossed the coast of Griffonstone, Twilight joined Stellar on the upper hull of the Xerxes. The griffons on the airships had been stunned a second time before they woke up, resetting the clock on their snooze-time. The Wonderbolts and Flying Squad pegasi and their auxiliaries had jumped the ships and hovered above them as the beams stunned the griffons once again, then they returned to the ships once again. "Ready for Phase Two?" Stellar asked Twilight.

"As I'll ever be." Twilight replied. "I don't think I've ever teleported this many beings at once, Sis. Are you sure we can do this?"

Stellar nodded. "Yep, we can do this, Twi-Sis. Just remember: no more than fifty at a time, and just lay them on the ground without their armor and weapons. We can teleport the armor and weapons back to the main hold of the Xerxes after we deal with the griffs themselves." She grinned at Twilight, who nodded. "Just remember the most important thing about teleporting, Twi': if you believe you can do it, if you're absolutely certain you can..."

"...You will." Twilight finished. She steeled herself, gaining strength from the closeness of her twin sister, then nodded. "Let's do this." Twilight said in a steady, firm voice.

Stellar gave Twilight a grin, and the alicorn twins took off, landing on the nearest airship. They sized up the task, then started. Their horns glowed in their magenta magic, and their magic each surrounded fifty of the griffin warriors lying stunned in their rows, starting with the outermost rows. With a flash, the hundred griffons were gone, but their armor and weapons remained. Another flash and the hardware also vanished.

Twilight sucked in a breath, moaning softly as the mana arrays built into her armor powered up and recharged her. The mana flow into her through them was far faster than any spells she could use to recharge herself, and she soon found she could do the mass teleports over and over again, her fatigue after each one vanishing as she got used to casting the two teleports and recharging again quickly. Soon, both alicorns were doing the teleports simultaneously, differentiating by the flesh of the griffons and the metal of their accoutrements.

Stellar calculated it was taking them twenty-one teleports to clear an airship of its griffons. With them working together, that was eleven each airship. At twenty seconds a teleport and recharge time, that was just over six minutes to clear each airship. Add in a few minutes each time to fly from one airship to another, and it made it ten minutes per airship. With the slow start, she worked out it would take slightly under seventeen hours to clear the airships entirely of griffon warriors and crew. "Slow going, but it's better to be careful with these griffons' lives than to rush the job and possibly hurt them." She thought to herself.

"I couldn't agree more, Sis." Twilight's voice came to her in her head. "How long before we reach Griffonspire?"

"About twenty hours all-up, Sis. We could go faster, but that gives us plenty of time to confront King Greatfeather and his court, and show them that we Ponies are no longer playing around. If it's a war they want, we'll show them the consequences of attacking us, especially without doing the decent thing and declaring their intentions before-hand." Stellar snorted as she teleported fifty more griffons to the ground, and their belongings to the holds of the Xerxes.

"Then we'd better keep at it, Sis. Keeping these griffons out of the way as we confront King Greatfeather will make it much harder for him to try and retaliate, since I bet we're only going to find about ten percent of the Griffonian army is left in Griffonia. That might be a lot of griffons, but we can stun them as easily as we stunned the others." Twilight thought back to Stellar.

"I don't plan to let him even start to launch his remaining forces, Sis." Stellar replied. "I'm going to destroy his air-fleet right in front of him, then he'll hopefully act as I expect him to: He'll either try to attack me directly; after all, we know he projects all his hatred of our family onto me specifically, and I plan to play on that. Or he'll do something to let me goad him into either him or myself declaring an Honor Duel against the other. Once that happens, it comes down to a fight between him and myself... with everything on the line."

Twilight gasped. "You mean... you're willing to gamble Equestria itself on beating Greatfeather?" She replied, aghast.

"It's the only thing that'll make him risk Griffonia and the crown, Sis." Stellar thought back. "Since I'm a Princess of Equestria, basically equivalent to himself, I can force a challenge at that level. And I'll give him a fair fight, too, Sis. I'll not use my Adamant armor in the arena, I'll use my titanium blades, I'll not even use my magic to fight him. I will give him the fairest challenge I can... and I'll beat him. I know I will." Stellar thought to Twilight. "I'll only break the rules if he does first, and only to the same amount, apart from stooping to anything dishonorable. He might not hold his honor to the utmost, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to. Let him cheat; I'll still beat him in his own arena, fairly and honorably." Stellar declared.

Twilight was still unsure, but she sent thoughts of confidence in Stellar back to her.

The Griffonian First Sea-Fleet was approaching the Griffonstone shore again after a quick transition of the Celestial Sea, with aid from the Pegasi weather group. Once they reached five kilometres away from the shoreline, the fleet came to a halt and 'parked' themselves in a rough formation. The fast Pony vessels that had accompanied them waited as the Pony crews abandoned the ships where they lay and then turned around, heading for Home again.

At a good distance, the lead ship in the Pony fleet stopped and waited; Admiral Briny Depths stood on the aft-deck, smiling to himself as he watched the griffon fleet just riding in place on the soft swells.

"Admiral?" Captain Deep Diver inquired of his superior.

"Just here is fine, Captain. I just want to watch for the moment when the Griffons realise how badly their plans have been screwed over." He chuckled to himself.

Deep Diver gave a grin of his own and nodded. "Of course, Sir." He replied and they waited together as the end of the fleet grew near...

Admiral Greyfeather slowly came awake with a groan. He looked about at the ship he was on, and found all the other griffons were either unconscious or slowly stirring. "Where the beak are we?" He asked himself in a quiet voice as he slowly got his claws and paws underneath himself and heaved his bulk upright. Moans from other griffons told him of the ones who were waking up as he moved cautiously about the ship. He hadn't had a hangover like this in months, not since his son's last birthday party.

Captain Sharpeye was also heaving himself upright, then saw the Admiral. "Admiral! Are you..." He winced as his own voice made his head throb.

"I'm fine, save for this blasted headache." Greyfeather answered as he reached Sharpeye. "What did those Ponies hit us with?"

"I can't say, Admiral... but it made my head hurt worse than a three-bottle binge of 'Old Ironsides'." Sharpeye replied as he sat and held the sides of his head. Then he looked about. "Admiral... those look like the mountains of Griffonstone, not the distant hills of the Unicorn Range and Mount Canterhorn."

Admiral Greyfeather looked and realised Sharpeye was right. "What the...? How long have we been out?" He asked, as he saw the sun was slowly sinking towards the far horizon already, with the Moon already up over the hills of Griffonia in the far east. Wide Bay was also before them, but they were still far out to sea, about five kilometres Greyfeather estimated by the apparent size of the mountains.

"How did we get back here?" Sharpeye asked. Then he started walking around, kicking at the sailor-griffs to wake them up and get them back in the rigging.

Greyfeather waddled unsteadily towards the fo'c's'le, climbing up and looking out with the telescope mounted there. He looked out over Griffonstone and Wide Bay, noting he couldn't see the Air Fleet anywhere around them. "What happened to us?" He asked himself. "Did the Ponies sail us back here?"

Just as the griffon sailors were about to take control of their ships again, a piercing wave of sound came from below-decks on every ship in the fleet: a siren of immense intensity that instantly awoke every still-unconscious griffon from their torpor and aggravated the hangovers of any still suffering from them. Then two cheerful filly voices sounded out in multiple voices from the bilges of every ship in the fleet:

Admiral Greyfeather and Captain Sharpeye looked at each other for two more seconds, then yelled at all the others to "ABANDON SHIP!"

Startled, the hungover griffon soldiers and sailors still obeyed the order, as it carried across to waves the the other ships, the officers of most having already copied the command. The skies over the fleet were soon filled with griffons shedding armor and arms, as they gained as much altitude as possible and headed for the coast.

Admiral Briny Depths and Captain Deep Diver were chuckling as the warning from the bombs drifted to them, then they saw the waves of griffons abandoning their vessels. "There they go..." Deep Diver said.

"And in a proper panic, too." Briny Depths added.

"So would I if such cheerful voices had called out that warning." Deep Diver agreed.

Briny Depths and every other pony sailor laughed at that remark, as the Admiral and Captain kept watching...

The griffon forces from the fleet headed higher and further away from their ships, mostly ignoring their headaches as they headed for the shoreline in the distance. Admiral Greyfeather, though, stayed closer, to watch what was about to happen. He could just hear those sweet, cheerful foal voices as they counted down:

As Greyfeather watched, the explosions rippled along the long line of a hundred ships. The ships shuddered violently, the water around them churned and surged as the charges, made out of shaped-charge mini-missiles meant for destroying the armored shells of Invid mecha, blew out the keels and bottoms of the ships instead of blowing them up. Some of the ships seemed to stay relatively intact from above; some of them cracked into sections that fell apart. Some of them had their masts launched into the air a few metres, then the huge masts crashed back down again. It all depended where the individual charges, four to a ship, had been placed and positioned. Greyfeather had seen the keel of the flagship of the fleet, the Spearhead, literally split from bow to stern, and the two halfs slowly opened up, dropping the precious cargo contained within to the sea floor far below. He shook his head sadly, but turned and followed the rest of his troops and sailors in heading for Griffonstone.

The crew on board Briny Depths' ship, the Silver Speedster, were laughing their tails off as they heard the end of the countdown and watched the Griffons' ships sink fairly quickly. "Oh, by Celestia! I don't think a greater prank has ever been played on a war-fleet!" He said to Deep Diver.

"I have to agree, Sir." Deep Diver replied, wiping tears from his eyes. "This is one defeat they won't ever forget... even if they dare not talk about it to the rest of the griffons, save for in extremely-embarrassed whispers."

Chuckling still, Briny Depths turned to the sailor at the helm. "Set course for Home! Full Speed ahead" He yelled.

"Aye, Admiral!" Came the reply, and the Silver Speedster almost leaped forward, her twin turbine-powered screws pushing her along at close to thirty knots over the flat seas.

After de-griffoning the Air Fleet, Twilight and Stellar rested on the upper deck of the Xerxes, taking a late lunch. "We should be at Griffonspire in five hours, just before dusk." Stellar told Twilight.

Twilight nodded as she finished munching on a vegetable wrap she'd put together. "So, if you can force a duel between yourself and King Greatfeather, it will have to take place tomorrow, then." She almost stated to Stellar.

Stellar nodded as she replied "Yeah. I'll state it to be held at Noon; that way it'll be fairer, and we won't have to worry about the sun in our eyes."

Twilight sighed. 'Isn't destroying Greatfeather's armada enough? Do we really have to go through with this... challenge?" She asked Stellar.

"If things were different, Sis, I'd gladly turn the Air Fleet back around over the Celestial Sea and vaporise them out there; but we both know Greatfeather isn't going to let this rest, until he's either dead or he's killed us off. And with this attempted invasion, he's stepped over the line. At least we saw this one coming; what if he tries sending assassins next? We know Griffons consider assassination as a legitimate form of warfare or combat. Would you be willing to risk that their aim is true, or wait and see how much collateral damage they could do to all our friends wherever we are?" Stellar asked Twilight in return.

Twilight shuddered at the thought of griffon assassins roaming through Ponyville, maybe even holding her friends hostage to lure herself and Stellar into traps, or other nefarious doings. "Yeah... I can see what you mean, Sis." Twilight had to agree.

Stellar nodded. "Yeah. Better to have this out, one-on-one, in the open before a big audience. That way, if he does break the rules, the griffons will see just how dishonorable Greatfeather is... or they may just keep him honest. It all comes down to what he's willing to do personally to take me on. He's a fair fighter, but the reports I read about the House heads said he lets his emotions rule his sensibilities most of the time. I'm counting on that, too, to make him take the 'easy' solution, and challenge me as a princess. Once he does that he's bound to the duel by the Code; and if he breaks that, he'll have the other twenty-nine Great Houses turn on him so fast, he won't have time to react. Either the griffons will be in a successions war again; we'll get a moderate Equestria can deal with on the throne; or I'll be the one to take the throne... and if that happens, it'll be the biggest shake-up to Griffonia in its long history." Stellar laid the possibilities out for Twilight.

"Do you think they'll let you take the throne?" Twilight asked.

"They'll protest, Sis, but in reality, they won't have a choice: their rules state specifically that in an Honor Duel, the winner takes everything the loser has; 'you keep what you kill', a griffon combat-master once told me when I was being taught the rules. I'll become not only the ruler of Griffonia, but the Lord of High Reaches House as well, with all its goods, chattels and properties being mine as well." Then Stellar's face turned thoughtful. "I'll have to do something about that... She said softly.

Twilight just thought on what faced them. She felt that Stellar had pretty much everything in-hoof, as long as there were no radical surprises in store. She decided to do some reading on Griffon duelling customs, and headed down into the ship, to send a letter to Open Words at the Canterlot Royal Archives.

Stellar watched Twilight leave, then hauled herself to her hoofs as she tidied up. "Now, to brief everypony about what to expect, and what to do in case of eventualities and divergences..." She said to herself as she headed back to where the EAG were relaxing.

King Greatfeather was settling in for dinner in one of the palace's many dining rooms, when a guard came rushing in. After saluting and having Greatfeather return his salute, he exclaimed "Your Majesty! The Air Fleet has been spotted coming back towards Griffonspire! And they appear to be escorting a huge new air vessel in amongst them, like nothing seen before." He reported.

Greatfeather frowned. There was no reason for the Air Fleet to be returning in such a short time after they'd departed. Something was very amiss. The servants backed away as he lifted himself to his great paws and strode out towards the doors, the guard falling in with the others of his personal guard. At a pace that had the smaller griffons hard-pressed to keep up as they moved through the corridors of the Palace, Greatfeather strode to the main front apron of the Palace and looked up, a large number of guards and servants following and spreading out, to join those already there.

Looking up, Greatfeather easily saw the hundred large airships slowly manoeuvering around a ship three times their size, of a type that defied description or even rational explanation. He could tell it wasn't like any airship design he'd ever seen or been shown before and seemed to defy every conventional idea of how a ship of the air should or could be built. However, the long banners of the Equestrian flag hanging down behind the bow and the huge Sun-disk that was stretched around the bow, the crescent moon below it and supporting it, definitely indicated its allegiance.

The whole assembled fleet came to a halt over the arena below where everything could easily be seen by everygriff in Griffonspire. The arena was empty that day and everygriff that had been flying landed as far away from the fleet as they could get, yet still be able to see what was going on.

Greatfeather gestured to the remaining ranking officer in his forces, a colonel named Arcwing. "Colonel, gather together a small force, then go up there and see what this is all about." He ordered.

"At once, Your Majesty..." Then everygriff stopped and looked, as a number of easily-identified shapes flew from every airship in the fleet, back to the Equestrian newcomer...

Stellar stood with her EAG troops behind her, as she looked down on the palace of Griffonspire, a numerous collection of sharp spires and granite construction that gave off a sombre air. The capital of Griffonia was far more a display of sheer power and military might, as well as overwhelming prestige than even Canterlot was, and with the aim of making all who came there, invited or not, intimidated into a more... cautious approach.

Having been in the grand city many times in her life, Stellar was no longer intimidated by the harsh architecture. She saw King Greatfeather standing on the apron before the great doors leading into the palace, his guards and staff surrounding him, and she zoomed her visor's view down at him. She could see the confusion in his face and all the other griffons as the fleet and the Xerxes came to a halt above the city below the palace and the houses of the nobles that were built into the heights either side of the grey building and its complex. She also saw the city and the houses built above it were also filling with griffons coming out to watch this spectacle... but things were about to change a great deal from what they were expecting.

As the fleet came to a complete stop above the Great Arena, the pegasi of the Flying Squad and the Wonderbolts abandoned the Griffonian airships and returned to the Xerxes, saluting Stellar and the bridge of the Xerxes as they landed, then trotted back past Stellar and to where they could wait for the signal to deploy in defence of the Xerxes, if needed.

As soon as all the pegasi were back aboard the Xerxes and waiting, Stellar moved up to the forepeak of the top deck of the Xerxes' main structure, looking out over Griffonspire as the voice-amplification spheres settled down level with the palace apron, covering the entire city within the range of their effect. Once they were in position, Stellar spoke:

"King Razorbeak Greatfeather! You have dishonoured your people and nation by attempting an invasion of Equestria, breaking the treaty your people signed three hundred years ago!" Stellar's amplified voice sounded out over the city of Griffonspire. "Your attempted invasion has been repulsed, both systematically and completely! Your troops have been scattered to the four winds, your sea fleets have been destroyed, and you will now watch as we destroy your air fleet before your eyes!" Stellar switched channels and said "Lt Applebloom, open fire on the air fleet."

"Aye, Captain! Opening fire." Applebloom replied.

As Greatfeather watched helplessly, his rage evident on his face, the Xerxes' main guns opened fire on the airships clustered around it. Instead of the pink stun-beams they had emitted earlier, brilliant blue beams blasted forth, bathing the airships around the starship and vaporising them. Most of them just quickly vanished as the slightly-spread beams washed over them, although the hydrogen in some of the outermost airships managed to have time to catch alight and blaze forth, putting on a spectacular show of aerial fire for the griffons watching from below.

Greatfeather fumed as he watched the spectacle, taking note of the expressions on the faces of the Palace staff. He saw astonishment and no small amount of fear displayed on their faces and in their body-language at the quick and total destruction of the mighty Griffonian air-fleet; more at the immense power from the new Equestrian vessel. Greatfeather realised at that moment that this was something he could not possibly fight against, no matter the resources or troops he could wield against it. However they had managed it, the Equestrian forces held a floating sword of immense size over the Griffon nation, and seemed poised to use it. He furiously tried to think of some way he could turn this back to his advantage, some means to render that ship and its firepower impotent...

Then Stellar and the EAG launched themselves from the bow of the Xerxes, flying in perfect formation as they headed down to land before the assembled griffons. The remaining Royal Guard griffons took a stand between their king and the Equestrians, but Greatfeather just pushed his way through them as they made the assembled audience move back from the Ponies. Four of the biggest guards stayed with him, heedless of the danger they were facing in their loyalty to their king. Greatfeather could see all the pegasi, not just Princess Sparkle, were wearing full-coverage armor in white-and-gold, and bore some very unusual equipment fitted to their suits he assumed were weapons of some description. The hundred-and-twenty-three pegasi of what appeared to be an unknown unit (their unit markings had never been covered by any spy-briefing before) were sharp; ready for attack, defence or flight, he assessed, depending on their orders.

Then Greatfeather was surprised as Stellar bowed her head to him a little, and the pegasi troops saluted him and his troops. The Griffon guards were confused for only a second, then returned the salute almost as one. Stellar saluted Greatfeather, who slowly returned the salute as well, and then both sides lowered their fore-limbs as one with Greatfeather, and Order reigned instead of panicked anticipatory Chaos.

Greatfeather nodded his head to Stellar, the soldier and monarch in him appreciating the respect she and her troops had given him and his, even as they faced-off against each other. The supposed 'Alicorn of Honor' was living up to her title, even now that she had the upper claw. "So, Princess Sparkle..." He then said in a accusatory tone, "How will this play out? Will you open fire on our capital? Destroy us and ravage our lands? Will you Equestrians show Griffonia and the rest of our world your true ambitions?" He asked Stellar.

"You're a fine one to talk about 'ambitions', Your Majesty." Stellar replied, using Greatfeather's proper title. "You have broken the treaty your people signed three hundred years ago, never to make War against Equestria, not to mention going against all the proper procedures for doing so, such as a formal declaration of War." She pointed out. "The method by which you ascended to the Throne might be legitimate here, but your actions as King of Griffonia have show you to be far less honorable than your predecessors, not even your great-grandfather excepted. You've taken the honor of your griffons and thrown it into the cesspool of petty revenge, just in an attempt to try and kill myself and my family..." Greatfeather opened his beak to reply, but Stellar over-rode him. "Don't deny it! Your vendetta against the Sparkle Family and my grandfather is well-known, and your desire to end us all has been all too obvious, even to the blindest griffon or pony." Stellar yelled him down. "If you wanted a piece of me, Your Majesty, all you ever had to do was send a formal challenge of an Honor Duel against me! Putting your people at risk like this over this grudge... bringing our two nations to the brink of War like you have done... it is unworthy of you as a king and unworthy of the Honor of Griffonia."

Greatfeather was barely holding his rage inside him, his entire body-language showing how much he wanted to strike Stellar down, right there and then. His talons and claws were expressing and retracting, he was clicking his beak shut over and over, and his feathers were sticking out from under his cloak and regalia, making him look twice the size he normally was. But then Brightwing managed to slip up close to the enraged monarch and quickly whispered in his ear-canal. As he talked on, Greatfeather's demeanour seemed to relax and he visibly regained control of himself. A smug smile replaced the anger on his face, and his eyes seemed to twinkle with crafty menace. "All these... accusations against me, Princess Sparkle, have aggrieved my personal honor, as well as that of my people! If it is a duel you want, then I challenge you to an Honor Duel, for your kingdom and your life!"

Stellar nodded, hoping and expecting this. "Very well, Your Majesty. Tomorrow then, and Noon local time?" She asked, as the proper formalities dictated, since the Sun was close to being set again, and the Moon starting to rise in the east.

"That will serve." Greatfeather answered.

Stellar said "Very well. But this will be a battle of physical strength and skill! No weapons at all, save for those we have naturally." Stellar stated, as was her right as the challenged party. "Armor, though, is allowed."

Greatfeather snorted. "Are you scared to face my blades, Princess Sparkle?" He asked in a scoffing tone.

Stellar just grinned, and all eight of her double-ended blades came slowly out of their H-S pockets, floating around her and pointing at Greatfeather. "No, Your Majesty, just giving you a fighting chance against me, rather than slicing and dicing you within the first few minutes." She countered.

Greatfeather had taken two steps back at the sight of the eight long, thick, incredibly-sharp floating weapons, his guards surging forward to shield him, but Stellar just put her swords away again. "After all, this is a duel of Honor. It might seem... unsporting if I was to shred you without giving you at least a small chance of winning." She pointed out with a smug smile now on her own face.

Greatfeather realised the danger he faced all-too easily. He had discounted Stellar's possible skills with blades, as Celestia hadn't shown skill with bladed weapons, almost always relying on magic to fight. Luna was rumored to have some skill with swords, but much was still hearsay from legend. Stellar's sister Twilight was well-known to follow her mentor's ways, relying on her magic for any fighting, but while reports had shown Stellar's skills with hoof-held swords, he hadn't known her to have such powerful and deadly-looking blades as she had just displayed. He wondered just what else his spies in Equestria might have missed reporting to him for a brief second. However, she was voluntarily abrogating use of such weapons in their duel, an allowance that gave him considerable advantages, so he agreed readily with this, of course. "Very well, Princess. I concede to your demands in this duel." He replied, as his guards stood back from before him.

Stellar nodded. "Then, until noon, when we shall meet in the arena and settle this matter once and for all." Stellar said, concluding the necessary ritual of the Challenge.

"Until noon." Greatfeather agreed.

Stellar and her EAG then saluted the Griffons, who returned the salute as the civilian griffons bowed. Taking to the skies, the Pegasi and their Alicorn commander returned to the starship that hovered over the capital, as the griffons returned to either inside the Palace or to their positions outside of it.

As soon as they were inside the Throne Room, Greatfeather whirled on Brightwing. "Are you sure of what you told me? He asked, his voice holding soft menace in its question.

"Stellar Sparkle is a princess of Equestria." Brightwing answered. "The terms of an Honor Duel are clear: Winner takes everything. In the case of you both, as rulers of your respective countries, that means both kingdoms are on the line. Princess Sparkle is still a princess of Equestria, therefore her royal connection to Equestria is the same as either of the senior princesses, under the terms of the duel. Not even Celestia can break those terms. It is as if she herself was facing off against you tomorrow." Brightwing confirmed the rules to Greatfeather.

Greatfeather smirked. "So... I might actually get what I have wanted all along, without the... complications I'd thought I'd have to go through... or had planned for." He snorted, a whistle through his nostrils that was far shriller than any pony-snort. "If only I'd known, I could have done this much earlier."

"I am afraid not, Your Majesty." Brightwing cautioned Greatfeather. "Before you became King, you would only have put your personal possessions on the line, as would have the princess. Only as King could you force Equestria to be the prize."

Greatfeather nodded. "Then it is good that I am King." Greatfeather said. "Make the preparations for tomorrow. I am going to enjoy crushing that little pony princess... So. Very. Much!" He said, with a huge grin and laughter that echoed throughout the chambers and halls branching off the Throne Room.

Stellar and the EAG landed back on the Xerxes and swapped out with the Wonderbolts and Flying Squad, whom had been on guard duty for the Xerxes. Stellar headed down into the ship again and grabbed something to eat as she headed for the bridge. "Now, there's just the wait until tomorrow..." She said to herself as she came onto the bridge and sat in her seat, letting her duties as Captain relax her into a calmer frame of mind for the coming night.

Author's Notes:

Stellar and Greatfeather meet face-to-face, and terms are set.

Sorry this has taken so long, but after a two-week stay in hospital and losing my right index finger to a flesh-eating bug, it's taken a little while to get back into the swing of doing anything. My hand is still healing as well, so I've had to take things easy, as well as learning to use my right hand again with one less finger. Writing's becoming easier, as is finding my balance for typing, but I'm probably going to be off-work for the rest of this year.

Hope this Christmas finds you and all yours doing better than I am, and that all your Hearth's-Warming dreams come true...