The God Particle

Chapter 46: The Griffins

Gilda rolled over in her bunk, stewing over the events of the last few days. It wasn't enough that she had gotten herself captured while attempting to reach Ponyville to warn Rainbow Dash of the impending griffin attack. No, of course not. Then she had to let that annoying Twilight Sparkle intimidate her and psyche her out. But oh no, her troubles couldn't end there. Now she had to face the three times daily humiliation of listening to the King and his officers degrade and insult her as she served them breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And to make matters worse, the King was not as stupid as she had thought. Although they had talked about Princess Luna several times while dining, neither he or his officers had made any mention of where they were holding her. She had accepted the fact that they probably were never going to mention the location by name.

The King had, however, made one mistake. He had mentioned when the next guard rotation would happen in four days from now. The King, she reflected with anger igniting inside of her, thought her completely incompetent as a scout. But that could work to her advantage now. The King might think her a blundering buffoon, but she had much more confidence in her own abilities. Those damn Pegasus Guards had only spotted her by having one of their unicorns cast a life detect spell, which had made her light up like a torch in a dark room. But the griffins had no such spells with which to blow her cover. She could remain unseen when she wanted to. Following the next guard rotation to Princess Luna's prison was beginning to look like her best option.

But that plan also had a problem, she realized with a frown. She couldn't simply disappear suddenly from her kitchen and serving duties when the next guard rotation left Griffin City. That would arouse way too much suspicion. She'd have to leave tonight, and then lie low until the guards left for Luna's prison.

Again, the fact that the King thought her incompetent, would work to her advantage. There was an old griffin custom that allowed disgraced griffins to commit suicide rather than bear the shame of their own failure. It was rarely invoked anymore, but it wasn't unheard of for military griffins to take that route rather than bear the shame of disgrace. Of course, that meant leaving a letter so that word would get back to the King of what she had supposedly done. No doubt, it would be her bunk mate that found the letter. She didn't relish the thought of leading one of her best friends to believe she had ended her own life, but she certainly couldn't tell them the truth about her plans. In the griffin military, duty always came before friendship, and she knew that even her closest friend would probably tell the King of her plan if they knew. Like the King then, her friends would have to believe she really had gone through with the suicide. With a twinge of remorse in her heart at what she knew this would do her friends, she sat up in her bed, opening the chest at the foot of it, which was the only personal storage space she was allowed to have. She took out a piece of paper and a pen, and began to write, deciding to keep it short and to the point:

To whomever finds this letter:

I am no longer able to bear the shame of my failure to reach Canterlot and complete the objective of my last scouting mission. Furthermore, I am unable to bear the humiliation of my abject servitude in the castle kitchen.

Therefore, I have decided to invoke the ancient right which is the right of all griffin military to invoke, and end my own life. By the time you find this letter, I will have completed this final task. Do not search for my body as it will be at the bottom of the Sea of Tears.

Gilda

She hesitated only a moment, pushing second thoughts out of her mind, before placing it at the top of her bunk and pulling the blanket up over it. Then, she opened her trunk again, digging through her clothes. It was customary for the right of suicide to be carried out in full military uniform, so she couldn't leave her uniform here. She grabbed it and shoved it into her flight bag before hastily dressing in the warmest personal clothes she had.

Leaving her shared room in the barracks, she quickly made her way outside of the castle, shivering slightly when the bitter cold hit her, the driving snowflakes burying themselves in her feathers like a thousand frozen needles. Then, she made her way to the outer limits of Griffin City, her feet sinking into the deepening snow and impeding her progress. Finally, she stopped at the last inn before the city ended and the wilderness began. A faded wooden sign swayed in the wind on creaking hinges, giving the name of the place as The Last Claw. The claw however, was partially missing, owing to a portion of the sign being broken off. The inn itself was a dilapidated two story building constructed from wood. The two windows on the main level had a ghostly glow to them, the light from inside reflecting off the snowflakes. They were completely covered with frost, however, and she could not see through them. No one had bothered to clear the snow had started to pile up in their ledges.

She pushed open the door, stepping inside and stomping the snow off her feet, the warm air of the blazing stone hearth on the far wall a welcome feeling against her chilled feathers. This early in the evening, the inn's common room was almost empty; not that it would have mattered even if it wasn't. The few griffins that were occupying the common room paid no attention to her, not even bothering to look up from their drinks of warmed hard cider or mulled wine.

Walking to the counter, the bartender, an aging griffin with a long, unkempt beard hanging from his face addressed her with a uninterested nod of his head.

"A drink?" he asked.

She nodded once. "Mulled wine. And I need a room for the next two nights. I'd like the drink brought there, please."

"Eighty coppers," the bartender responded gruffly.

She retrieved four twenty-value coppers from her bag, placing them on the counter.

"Third room at the top of the stairs," he said as he took the coppers and handed her an iron key in exchange.

"Thank you," she acknowledged before turning and making her way up the stairs and into the room. It was nothing special, containing a simple wooden bed with a straw filled mattress. A single window on the far wall was too frosted over to see through. A clock on the left wall told her it was still mid-afternoon.

Once again, she shivered slightly, her breath visible in front of her beak as she went to the small pot-bellied stove in the corner. There was a pile of wood next to it, and kindling, but currently there was no fire in it. She opened the flue and began to prepare a fire, having a welcome, warming blaze a few minutes later that started to chase the chill from the room. She closed the door on the stove at the sound of a knock on her door.

"Your mulled wine," came the voice from the other side.

She walked over to the door, opening it and taking the hot wine from the bartender, nodding her thanks before closing it again. Then she went over to the bed and sat down, the sweet, warm drink warming her throat and stomach as she sipped and swallowed.

She could safely hole up here for the next two days until the guard rotation left for Luna's prison. Neither the King or the military would come looking for her, or bother to put out any word of her disappearance. There was nothing unbelievable about her suicide letter and no reason for anyone to believe it wasn't a legitimate course of action for her to take, even if griffin soldiers rarely used it anymore.

She took off her warm clothes as the stove continued to force the chill from the room the room quickly, then sat back down on the bed and continued sipping her mulled wine. She wasn't sure how much time had passed before she looked at the clock again. Late afternoon had given way to late evening. By now, her bunk mate would have found her suicide letter. The King would have gone to dinner and her failure to attend to him would be obvious. By now, he would be aware of the contents of her letter.

"Well, there's no going back anymore, Gilda," she said to herself as she took the last sip of her wine. "You're officially a turncoat now."

Then, she blew out the candle, and lie down in the bed. Sleep however, did not come easy for her. Even the wine had failed to calm her nerves and her fear.

o.O.o

James sipped on a mug of hot tea as Twilight called the Council meeting to order early the next morning. Even though the castle was well heated, a cold chill wind seemed to flow through the Council meeting room. Whether it was an actual draft, or just a chill from the bleakness of their situation, he couldn't say for certain.

"Thoughts on the griffin prisoners?" Twilight asked.

"I'm leery of trusting them," Captain Skydart, who Captain Swordstorm had appointed to take over leadership of the Royal Guard in his absence began. "We can't be sure this isn't some kind of espionage trick. An attempt to find out where our military formations are the strongest, where they are the weakest, and so on. After all, we have to keep in mind that with the darkness and the poor visibility, it would be extremely difficult for any griffin scouts to spot us using normal reconnaissance methods."

James could definitely detect some nervousness and uncertainty in the young captain's voice. It reminded him of the nervousness Twilight had shown when he had first told her that she was now the ruler of all of Equestria. But Twilight had come into her own and found her stride, and he had no doubt the young Captain Skydart would as well. Captain Swordstorm would not have chosen him if he weren't the best one for the job of leading Equestria's military forces.

"Other thoughts?" Twilight asked.

"I'm no military strategist by any stretch of the words, Captain," James began. "But it's clear even to me that your forces are stretched way too thin. You simply don't have enough Guards to cover the Sea of Tears against a griffin invasion, protect the northern border against an invasion from The Beyond, guard all of the cities and towns against attack from griffins or dragons, and assist the residents of those cities and towns to ensure that they survive this crisis."

"Counselor Peterson is right," Storm Runner added. "We need all the help we can get. And if we have griffins who seem willing to help, I think we should take advantage of it." Twilight spoke next.

"Even if we can rouse a volunteer force of stallions who don't have families to worry about, we won't be able to do it in time. We must remember that with the weather continuing to get worse, if the griffins are going to cross the Sea of Tears for an invasion, they're going to have to do it very soon."

Captain Skydart remained silent for several long moments before nodding in acceptance. "Alright. I'll allow them to fight for us. I think it would be prudent to place most of them on the northern defenses against The Beyond, though. Then I can take some of the Royal Guards from up there and reassign them to the Sea of Tears. I don't trust the captured griffins to remain loyal to us if they were to encounter their own invasion force."

"A good plan," Twilight responded.

"One more thing though. I want their commander out on the Sea of Tears. If the griffins are planning an invasion, any knowledge he has of their plans and their intended tactics could prove invaluable to our forces out there."

"Do you really think that's wise? To separate the rest of the griffins from their commander like that? Do you think they'll be willing to take orders from an officer in the Royal Guard?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

Captain Skydart nodded once. "If their commander tells them to, they will, My Lady. They'll obey the orders of whoever their commander tells them to follow."

"Very well," Twilight nodded. "Then make it so after this meeting is over. Inform the dungeon to release the griffin prisoners and place them under your command."

"It will be done, My Lady," Captain Skydart responded.

"Thirty-five more soldiers isn't going to make a whole lot of difference to our situation," Moon Song added with a frown. "We still need a lot more soldiers to cover all of the areas we need to cover."

"You're right. It's not," Twilight responded with a frown, then seemed to look at the table with a nervous and uncertain expression on her face. James was about to ask her what was wrong, but then she looked up and continued. "I've … been thinking of a way for us to get a lot more soldiers."

"My Lady?" Captain Skydart asked, raising an eyebrow.

"There are … those in the south … We could try to form an alliance …" Twilight trailed off nervously.

"The changelings?" Storm Runner responded in a shocked tone of voice. "Surely, you must be joking, My Lady. You can't possibly—"

"Chrysalis might not like us very much, but she's not suicidal. She doesn't want her entire hive destroyed any more than we want all of Equestria destroyed," Twilight responded nervously. Then, she found her resolve and spoke resolutely. "I really think she can be persuaded to help us."

"For all we know, they could already have an alliance with the griffins and be planning to attack us from the south," Storm Runner protested.

"Which is all the more reason to reach out to Chrysalis and convince her she needs to ally with us instead. To convince her of the folly of King Aetos' plan, and how it will surely result in the extinction of her entire hive. We need to convince her that her only chance at survival is to ally with us." She spoke with assertiveness and confidence in her voice now. Even James found himself shocked by her suggestion, but at the same time, he believed in her and her ability as a leader. If she believed this plan could work, then he would back her on it.

"Someone's going to have to travel south to the changeling lands to make contact with Chrysalis, then," James added. He immediately wished he'd kept his mouth shut as all eyes turned to him.

"What? What are you all looking at me for?" he asked nervously, feeling a surge of fear send a chill through him.

"It has to be you, James," Storm Runner said, dropping the normal Council formalities by using his first name.

"Me? Why do I have to do it?" he responded defensively.

"She's right," Twilight added with apprehension. "The changeling drones wouldn't let a pony get within five thousand strides of the hive, much less honor their request for an audience with Chrysalis herself. You have to do this, James."

"What's to stop her from simply taking me prisoner? Holding me for ransom or something?" he protested. Already though, he was resigned to the fact he wasn't getting out of this. He was going to be the one who had to travel to the changeling hive and attempt to negotiate an alliance with the changeling Queen.

"You're critical to saving Equestria," Storm Runner responded. "Make her understand that. Make her understand that if she holds you prisoner and doesn't allow you to return to Equestria, she and her entire hive will be destroyed."

James looked at the table and said nothing. He knew Storm Runner and Twilight were right, but he was also terrified. He hadn't felt this much fear since the griffin had tried to attack the three fillies back in Ponyville. And worst of all, he knew he would have to go alone.

"James," Twilight said gently, pulling him back out of his thoughts and returning his attention to her. "You know I wouldn't ask you to do this if there were any other way."

James looked back down at the table for another moment before resigning himself. He nodded once, then twice. "Alright … I'll do it."

Twilight give him a small smile of gratitude. "I have complete confidence in you, James. I know you can pull this off."

I'm glad you have complete confidence in me, because I sure don't, he thought to himself before Moon Song spoke.

"You should get to the Royal Archives. All of our intelligence concerning Chrysalis and the changelings in general will be there." James only nodded in response. Then, Twilight spoke again.

"Alright. We all know what we have to do then. Captain Skydart, inform the dungeon to release the griffin prisoners to your command. James, go to the Royal Archives and start learning as much as you can about Chrysalis and the changelings. We don't have a lot of time, so research as quickly as you can. I'll be down there to join you in a little bit. The two of you are dismissed. The rest of the Council, remain here. We need to discuss the situation with The Beyond."

"My Lady," James and Skydart responded in unison, both rising from their seats and heading for the exit. Just before they reached it, there was a knock on the door.

"Come," Twilight called out. The door opened to reveal a young Pegasus Guard messenger. He gave a quick salute before addressing her.

"My Lady. We've captured Ambassador Firewing of the Elder Dragon Council. He surrendered without incident and is being brought to Canterlot as we speak."

"Good work," Twilight responded. "Let me know when he arrives. I will interrogate him myself."

"Yes, My Lady," the young guard responded, saluting again before turning and leaving.

"Well, at least now we can hopefully find out what the dragons' plans are," Twilight said, addressing them with a slight note of relief in her voice. "Counselor Peterson, Captain Skydart, continue with your assigned missions. The rest of the Council, remain here."

"My Lady," James and Skydart responded again in unison before exiting the room.

"I still don't like this plan," Captain Skydart confided to him once the door was closed. "My soldiers have more than enough to worry about without having to constantly look over their shoulder to see if some changeling is trying to feed on them."

"Why didn't you say something to her in the meeting?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I thought it would be disrespectful. She's the Regent of all of Equestria after all."

"Captain, you are present in those meetings because you are her military advisor. You are there specifically to give her advice on military matters. If you think something's a bad idea, it is not disrespectful for you to say something. Rather, it's your duty to say something. That's why you are there."

Captain Skydart nodded once, then sighed slightly his ears drooping a little at the rebuke.

"You're right, Councilor. I'm just not used to being in a position like this. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

James nodded once. "It's alright, Captain. You'll learn. And there's no harm done. I'll bring up your concern about the changelings feeding on your soldiers when Twilight meets me in the archives."

"Thank you, Councilor. I appreciate it," he responded, his ears perking back up. Then, the two of them went their separate directions, and James began to prepare for his trip to the changeling lands, fear, uncertainty, and doubt in his heart and mind. But the fear he felt most right now was not for himself. It was for Twilight interrogating a fully grown dragon who might be hostile, and knowing he could not be there for her when she did it.

o.O.o

Commander High Tide winced and braced himself as the icy waves breached the side of the Royal Guard reconnaissance boat, The Sea Flyer, washing over him yet again. Even his waterproof clothing had long since reached its saturation point, and now, the icy water soaked his fur, mane, and tail. Shaking the water off of himself once more, he turned to the Pegasus Guard next to him.

"I must have half my body weight in ice built up in my fur by now, Whitecap" he complained, bracing himself again as another wave rocked the boat. The surface of the deck was slick with ice, each pitch and roll of the boat threatening to yank his hooves out from under him."

"It's only fifteen more minutes until the end of our watch, sir," the pegasus responded. "Three more life detect spells and then we can both head below deck and warm up with hot baths and cider."

The truth was, as commander of The Sea Flyer, High Tide could have gone below deck right now and warmed up with a hot bath and cider. But he believed in leading by example, and not asking his guards to do anything that he wasn't willing to do himself. And so, he took his turn on the watch just like all the guards who served under him; enduring the wet and severe cold just like they had to do.

"My horn is the only part of me that's not frozen cause it never has time to cool down from casting these life detect spells every five minutes," he commented to his Pegasus Guard companion. Then he braced himself as he turned towards the southeast. His horn began to light up with an orange glow, briefly illuminating the deck and swirling snowflakes with a ghostly aura. A single bolt shot from it, darting off into the night sky like a flaming arrow penetrating into the darkness. Within a few seconds, the driving snow had obscured it, and it was dark again.

He and his companion scanned the sky in front of them, seeing nothing. But then, a faint orange glow appeared in the distance.

"We've got company," he stated, not taking his eyes from the glow, although it flickered like a candle and occasionally became completely lost in the snow.

"I see it, sir," Whitecap responded. "Although I only see one. What do you think it is? A scout?"

"I don't know. But he's definitely not flying the green flag" he said, continuing to watch the glow. Then, the glow became two, and then three. He felt a chill go through him, more icy than any of the waves that had crashed over him as more and more orange dots began to appear in the sky, like stars igniting in the night. Suddenly, as if they were swarm of fireflies, they made a sharp turn, diving towards The Sea Flyer.

"Battle stations! Battle stations!" he cried out, slamming his hoof into a bell hanging next to them, its shrill gong piercing the night. "We're under attack!"

Quickly, doors flew open from below deck, unicorns and pegasi rushing out and lining up on deck. And all the while, the orange dots became more numerous, more ominous, like so many glowing eyes of monsters diving from the sky. Every moment, the number of them seemed to double, until it was like looking at a starlit sky on a clear night. High Tide turned and quickly ran to some pegasi that were just emerging from below deck, shouting as he went.

"Messengers! To Equestria! Inform the shore defenses, griffin invasion imminent! First attack wave inbound. At least ten thousand strong!"

One of the messengers blinked in shock. "Ten thou—"

"Go!"

The four Pegasus Guard messengers quickly spread their wings and took to the sky, darting off towards Equestria as quickly as they could fly. High Tide turned around, not waiting to see them disappear, watching the sky full of thousands of magically illuminated dots continue to approach, the points of light growing brighter like an approaching forest fire preparing to consume them.

"There's no way we can beat them," he heard Whitecap say in a resigned tone of voice next to him. And he knew it was true. Thoughts of home began to flood his mind … a home he knew he would never see again. Quickly, he pushed those thoughts out of his head.

"No, we can't," he responded. "But we will fight them anyway and buy our messengers as much time as we can to reach Equestria and warn the defenses." Then, he turned quickly and scanned his eyes over his crew. Some of them were veterans. Others, rookies on their first sea voyage who were far too young to die. In their eyes, he saw fear; the fear of those who knew death had come for them and there was nothing they could do to stop it. But he also saw a determination to perform their duty for their Princesses until the very end. He opened his mouth and spoke loudly.

"Soldiers of Her Majesty's Royal Guard! To be your commander has been the greatest honor of my life next to serving Our Royal Majesties themselves! Today, the battle for Equestria begins! Today, we strike the first blow against those who come to destroy our homes! Kill our mares! And kill our colts and fillies! Today, we die for the honor of our Princesses! And though we will be gone, our Sun and Moon will rise tomorrow!"

Despite their obvious fear, roars of approval went up from the crew as he rallied them to their cause. He continued, speaking loudly and assertively.

"Today we die for our families! For Equestria! For our Princesses! And though we will be gone, we will make the griffin invasion bleed heavily for every one of us they take! And they will forever know that the soldiers of The Sea Flyer are the finest and fiercest warriors that have ever trotted on the face of the ground, or sailed the sea! Honor awaits us in the Isles of the Blessed! Take it!"

Again, the crew of The Sea Flyer roared in approval. Then, Captain High Tide turned around, standing at their head. His horn lit brightly with a blinding white light. Ozone filled the air as a loud crack of thunder split the night and a searing bolt of lightning shot from his horn into the dark sky. A shrill scream pierced the night as the bolt found its target, one of the griffins falling from the heavens and plunging to an icy grave in the Sea of Tears. The Pegasus Guards on deck spread their wings and took to the air, their battle cry ringing out across the sea. And all the while, the griffins dived closer to The Sea Flyer, their own shrill cries of war piercing the night as the battle for Equestria began.