Chapter 54: Enemies and Allies

For a long time, James simply sat there in bewilderment. The expression on Twilight’s face suggested she was as bewildered as he was. He wasn’t sure which one surprised him more. The fact that she had asked him if he would run away with her so they could be together, or the fact that he had actually told her he would. He was dedicated to his role as a Royal Councilor. Dedicated to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. He would never do anything to betray their trust in him. And yet, he knew he had spoken the truth when he answered Twilight’s question. If she asked him to run away with her so they could be together, he would do it. If she asked him to fight off an entire squadron of dragons for her, he would do it. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her, short of murder. His heart pounded and he spoke nervously, quickly trying to change the subject as if somehow that could make them both forget the question had ever been asked or answered.

“I … I should go back to the changeling hive. I need … need to try to get answers and find out what’s going on.” He wished to Celestia and Luna he could stop his voice from stammering. Despite the bitter cold, he felt flushed and hot.

“No. It’s too dangerous,” Twilight said, shaking her head once. She seemed to have recovered her confidence much quicker than he had, almost as if she had forgotten the awkward conversation they had just finished. Had it been a trap? Was she testing his loyalty? Ice stabbed at him as he briefly wondered if she would report his answer back to Princess Celestia when she returned. No, Twilight wouldn’t do that to me. “If there’s been a coup, there could  be anarchy right now. They might kill you on sight, or take you prisoner.”

“I don’t think they will, Twilight,” he answered, trying to recover his own composure and forget the previous conversation. “No matter what has happened, they should still afford me diplomatic ambassador protection. And besides, I’m their only communications link with Equestria.” Run away with her? Did she really ask me that?

Twilight frowned, appearing lost in thought for several moments, looking away from him as if to hide the turmoil in her eyes. Finally, she nodded slowly. “Alright. But you need to return to Canterlot first. You need to brief me and the rest of the Council on the situation with the griffins, the battle, and what you know so far about the changelings.”

Anxiety tugged at him like a leash regarding the changeling situation. He had to get back to the hive as soon as possible and find out what was going on. Find out whether fourteen thousand changelings were likely to turn on them as soon as they got word of what had happened there. He frowned and scrubbed a hand through his hair, but quickly checked himself. She was right, he knew. She, the Council, and the military commanders back in Canterlot needed the information he held regarding the battle, the griffins, and whatever he currently knew about the changelings. Finally, he nodded slowly.

“Alright. I’ll return to Canterlot, but I’ll need to wait until morning. Leaving in the middle of the night would raise too many questions.”

She nodded, and the next thing he knew, her forehooves were around him, pulling him close as she kissed him. He blinked, caught off guard, but then returned the kiss. She held him for several seconds before releasing him and pulling back. In the dim light of her horn, he could see the blush on her muzzle. He was certain his own face looked a mirror image of hers.

“I … I should go … I need to get back to Canterlot, and you should get back to your tent before anypony realizes you are gone … Be … be careful, James.”

“I will. I promise,” he responded, trying to quell the butterflies that were dancing in his stomach.

She smiled briefly, and then her expression turned serious again.

“I’ll teleport you back to your tent.”

She took a few steps back from him and the glow of her horn changed slightly. He felt a tingling surround his body and the next thing he knew, he was back in his tent sitting on his cot again, the vertigo slamming into him as the tent did cartwheels around him. As usual when she teleported him, the feeling passed in a few seconds.

For a long while, he simply sat on the cot trying to process everything that had happened. He tried to focus on the changeling coup despite the fact that there was nothing to be done about it until he had more information. But despite his best efforts, his mind kept going where he didn’t want it to go. Had she really asked him to run away with her? The butterflies danced in his stomach again, stronger than before, as if they were breeding. Anxiety tugged at him wondering about what would happen when or if the Princesses found out. Again, he tried to forcefully pull his mind off those thoughts and back to what he had to worry about now.

Part of him wanted to go straight to Captain Skydart and tell him about the changeling coup, if for no other reason than it would give him something to do other than think about … No! Stop going there! he scolded himself. Telling Skydart right now wouldn’t do. Even though most of the camp was asleep, there were still the Royal Guard patrols. No doubt, they would start talking if they saw him enter Captain Skydart’s tent and wake him in the middle of the night. Instead, he lie down on his cot, doing his best to calm his mind and fall asleep. Did she really ask me if I would run away with her? Did I really agree to do it if she asked? Slowly, he drifted off to a world of tortured dreams.

He stood in the cold, a blizzard surrounding him. Then, a series of bright flashes, and the bridge exploded, screaming griffins falling to their deaths, others trying to run away only for the bridge to collapse right underneath their talons, sending them plummeting to the floor of the gorge some four hundred feet down.

Flash …

Griffin children wailed, and shrieked, as they learned their fathers would never come home again. Mothers held them tightly wrapping their wings around them, tears streaming from their own eyes. They glared at him, their condemning gaze boring into his soul, letting him know in no uncertain terms, it was his fault their children no longer had fathers.

Flash …

The griffin children turned into elderly mares and stallions, tears streaming like blood down their muzzles. Stallions tried to comfort their mares. But what comfort could they offer? Royal Guards in full dress uniforms presented folded Equestrian flags to the grieving mares. Some of them  pulled backwards, refusing to accept the flags and shaking their heads, as if somehow, accepting the flag would be accepting the fact that their sons were never coming home … Never coming home because of him and the order he had given.

Flash …

Changelings attacked him from above. He swatted at them with his sword as if they were swarming killer bees, but he couldn’t manage to hit any of them. He was disarmed and overwhelmed quickly, a changeling drone slamming into him from behind and bringing him roughly to the ground. A weight pressed down on him as the changeling ontop of him forcefully pinned him down, a hard, chitten-covered forehoof roughly slamming his head to the dirt. His arms were yanked painfully behind him and bound tightly in place with the sticky changeling resin. His feet followed quickly, his ankles bound together. His captors said nothing as they yanked him to his feet, nearly dislocating his shoulders. He was forced into a windowless prisoner transport wagon. The door slammed shut, sealing him in darkness.

Flash …

He found himself in a coal black colored throne room, held on his knees by shackles around his wrists, ankles, and neck. In front of him, stone steps lead to an obsidian colored throne. He tried to stand, but the shackles and chains kept him on his knees, forcing him to kneel in front of the throne. Chancing a glance upward, his eyes were met with a cold stare from Chrysalis. She sat on her throne, her stance that of a predatory feline glaring at a trapped mouse. On second look, it wasn’t Chrysalis on the throne. it was Antenna, but she had taken on many of the characteristics of Chrysalis. He looked down again, noticing the thick iron shackles on his wrist, the sigil of the changelings engraved into them, indicating his status as a prisoner of the Changeling Empire. When Antenna spoke it was with a voice that could have have simultaneously frozen a volcano, and melted iron.

“It seems Chrysalis was half right about one thing, James Peterson. After all, you are kneeling in front of the Queen of the Changelings again.” A twisted grin formed on her face now, clearly showing her fangs. “James Peterson, on the charge of conspiring with Chrysalis to draw changeling soldiers into an Equestrian war, I find you guilty. By extension, I find you guilty of causing the deaths of every changeling soldier that died fighting the griffins. Their blood is on your hands. I hereby sentence you to spend the rest of your life in the changeling military dungeon, with no possibility of parole.” Her twisted grin grew slightly wider, revealing even more of her fangs. “If you are fortunate, perhaps you will share a cell with Chrysalis and you can feed her need for love.”

Antenna’s horn glowed an eldritch green as did a wicked looking stone gavel as she slammed it onto the arm of her throne, causing sparks to fly, the crashing noise the sound of doom in his ears. As soon as the gavel had fallen, four changeling soldiers surrounded him, undoing the chains from the floor. He almost cried out for mercy, but stopped. After all, part him was convinced he deserved the sentence imposed on him. His guards led him deeper into the changeling hive, starting a dark descent down into the earth. A descent he knew he would never return from.

Flash …

He found himself on his knees in another throne room, although this one he clearly recognized as the throne room of Canterlot Castle. Iron shackles held his wrists and ankles, this time engraved with Celestia’s golden sun. He could have stood up if he wanted to, but he remained on his knees in shame. He looked up at the throne, where Celestia was seated, looking down on him. He wished her expression had been one of anger, or even rage. That, he could have dealt with. But the expression of hurt and betrayal on her muzzle was more than he could bear. He looked at the floor again. He thought of Twilight now and wondered where she was. He hadn’t seen her since the Royal Guards had found them and arrested them, bringing them back to Canterlot after their few months on the run from justice. Tears threatened to overwhelm his eyes, knowing he would probably never see her again now. Celestia speaking brought his attention back to her. Her voice was calm, but deeply sad. It gnawed him to the bone knowing how much he had hurt her.

“I’m not angry,” she began, the hurt evident in her voice. “I’m just deeply hurt by your betrayal. The fact that you broke your Council oath is like a hot fire searing me. The fact that you did it with my most faithful student is like a knife to my heart.” He felt as if a knife were twisting in his own heart now at her words. He heard her take a deep breath, letting it out slowly. It was obvious she was trying to hold back tears when she spoke again.

“I take no pleasure in passing this sentence, and it breaks my heart more than you will ever know. But the law must be upheld. Councilor James Peterson, you are hereby stripped of your status as a Royal Councilor, and sentenced to spend the rest of your life in the castle dungeon for treason against the Crown. This proceeding is closed.”

He didn’t struggle and made no protest as the Royal Guards fell in on either side of him, lead him out of the throne room, and towards the dungeon.

He awoke to the sounds of clanking metal and the sight of darkness as he lie on the cot in his dungeon cell. No … The darkness of his tent. Of course, it had only been a nightmare. A sequence of them. He felt something trickle down his face and he realized he had been crying in his sleep. Despite the cold, he had been sweating. Now, he felt like he had fallen into a frozen lake, his clothes dripping wet.

As his eyes adjusted, he could see dim flickering glows outside the tent, along with the dull chatter of voices. Cook fires, he realized as the scent of wood smoke wiffed passed his nose. He shivered again, vividly remembering the sequence of nightmares he had just had. With an effort of will, he forced them down. He had no time to worry about nightmares. He needed to find Captain Skydart and then be on his way back to Canterlot.

Standing up, he quickly shed his sweat-drenched night-clothes and put on his Council robe, followed by a heavy overcoat, absent-mindedly buckling his sword belt around it. That was simply rote these days. The sword had become a part of him. It required more of a conscious effort now to leave the sword behind than it did to strap it on. It was amazing how fast a man could adapt to battlefield conditions. A man could adapt to anything quickly when his life, and the lives of thousands of others depended on it.

He threw the tent flap aside, stepping out into the cold. There was no wind to speak of, which was a welcome relief from the past several days. But at the same time, the lack of wind, the lack of movement reminded him of death, and he found himself wishing for at least a light breeze.

He looked around, taking in the activity by the flickering glow of the fires. The camp had nearly doubled in size now that they had added the griffins to their ranks. Royal Guards bustled around him as they went about their morning preparations. All of the tents near him were colored  red and blue, and flew the flag of Equestria from their main supports. As he walked, the cluster of tents thinned out, leaving a small stretch of unoccupied ground before the Equestrian tents gave way to the black tents of the changelings, the sigil of the Changeling Empire flying from their supports. To the left, beyond more open space, stood the gold and brown tents of the griffin army. The three species had clearly segregated themselves into their own camps within a camp. Whether that was good or bad, he wasn’t sure. On one hand, given the distrust the three of them had for each other, it was probably best that they stayed apart to avoid any trouble. On the other hand, the segregation would also reinforce in their minds that they were three separate armies who just happened to be fighting on the same side. At least for now until the immediate threat was passed and they could go back to being enemies again. Better if they were to intermingle and integrate into one force … if they could do it without fighting each other.

A loud commotion to his right drew his attention. Shouting, cheering, and jeering coming from both ponies and changelings. He could see nothing in the darkness, but quickly headed in the direction the sounds were coming from. As the sounds grew louder, the glow of the fires revealed a circle made of royal guards on one half, and changeling soldiers on the other. All of them faced the center of the circle, cheers alternating with jeers as they focused on something in the middle. He quickly turned his walk into a run pushing his way into the gathered royal guards, making his way closer to the center of the circle.

As expected, he found a changeling soldier and a pegasus guard locked in combat with each other. Despite the fact that the pegasus wasn’t wearing his armor --a fact that no doubt put him at a disadvantage against the naturally armored changeling-- he seemed to have the upper hoof, standing over the changeling and pinning him down, his royal guard comrades cheering him on while the changelings on the other side of the circle jeered and shouted encouragement to their currently pinned soldier.

“Break it up!” James shouted as he continued to try to push his way towards the two fighters. But his words were completely drowned out by the shouting of the spectators.

In the blink of an eye, the changeling arched upwards, wrapping his hind legs around the pegasus and twisting, pulling him down to his side. The pegasus winced slightly as the changeling squeezed his hind legs together, compressing the pony’s midsection and forcing the air out of him, as well as pinning his wings to his sides. As the tide of the fight shifted, the changelings on the other side were the ones cheering now, the royal guards having taken up the role of shouting encouragement to their trapped comrade to break free from the changeling’s hold.

“Break it up!” James shouted again, still trying to fight his way towards the circle. Again, his words were lost in the shouting of the spectators. The crowd made no effort to let him through. In the excitement of the fight, they didn’t even realize who he was, probably assuming he was just another reveler jockeying for a better view.

The trapped pegasus used his forehooves now to try to pry the changelings hind legs apart. Quickly, the changeling snagged one of the of the pony’s prying forelegs with his own foreleg, trapping it and pulling it tight, getting another wince from the pegasus he pulled the trapped forelimb in a direction it shouldn’t naturally be able to go, at the same time, he appeared to squeeze his hind legs tighter around the pony’s midsection.

“I said break it up!” James shouted again, finally punching through the front of the crowd and into the circle.

To his surprise, the changeling immediately released the trapped pegasus and stood up, then offered a forehoof to the downed pony, who accepted it and stood up as well.

“What’s going on here?” James questioned, or more accurately, demanded. It was the pegasus who answered.

“We were just sparring, Councilor. For fun.”

The changeling nodded. “And we thought perhaps we could learn some new techniques from each other. Changelings and ponies have different fighting tactics.”

“Sparring were you?” James responded dubiously. Did they really expect him to believe that? He looked at the gathered crowd, but all of them had gone completely silent and none offered any hint on whether that was the truth or not. He turned his attention back to the two fighters. There were no obvious signs of injury on the pegasus, not even on the foreleg that the changeling had locked. No obvious bruising that he could see in the flickering fire, and no blood. As far as the changeling, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to see bruising if it were present, or if the carapace would hide it. But at least he didn’t see any blood. Perhaps … maybe … they were telling the truth, but neither one of them answered his question. Either way, it was something he was not going to allow to continue. He responded in a calmer, but still firm tone.

“Sparring or not, I don’t want to see any more of it. I’m sure no one here would try to deny that the history between ponies and changelings isn’t exactly flowers and rainbows. And I’m not about to provide you with a temptation like sparring when it could quickly lead to an all out brawl or worse. Am I clear?”

“Yes, Councilor,” both combatants responded in unison, their voices tinged with disappointment.

“Good,” James nodded, turning his attention back to the gathered crowd. “Are all of you clear on that?”

“Yes, Councilor,” they all responded in military like yes sir fashion.

“Good," James repeated, then turned and started walking back in the direction he had come from, the crowd parting for him like a wave this time.

“I had you,” he heard the changeling say behind him. “If he hadn’t stopped it, you would have surrendered in another few seconds.”

“Yeah, I would have,” the pegasus admitted. There was no anger in his tone. “But that hold you had me in wouldn’t have worked nearly as well if I’d had my armor on.”

“It’s a foolish soldier that doesn’t take advantage of every weakness his enemy offers him,” the changeling responded, then chuckled. “And a foolish pony who goes into battle naked against a changeling.” The pegasus laughed at that too, as did some of the gathered spectators.

James continued walking away, but smiled slightly to himself. Apparently, they really had been sparring, and it seemed they held no ill will towards each other and it really had been all in fun. Perhaps they really were willing to put their past animosity behind them and focus on working together as brothers now. Sport-fighting with your former enemies seemed a weird way to bond, but he wasn’t a soldier, and didn’t understand things of that nature. If sparring brought them closer together, perhaps he should allow them to do it? It was a decision he’d revisit later, once he had a better feel for how well they were actually going to get along. But if sparring helped them bond, helped them learn new techniques from each other, and kept them in practice? Well, that was going to be vital for the much larger battle that was still in the future. The one that would make the battle with the griffins look like it had been a fight on a child’s playground.

Making his way back to the center of the camp, he stopped in front of Captain Skydart’s tent. The flickering glow of a lantern off the canvas walls, along with the silhouette of a moving pony told him the Captain was already up and about.

“Permission to enter, Captain?” he called through the closed flap.

“Come,” Skydart responded and James pulled the tent flap open ducking to enter and closing the flap behind him, making sure it was secure.

“Good morning, Councilor. Were you able to get some sleep?” Captain Skydart asked, pouring a cup of tea and holding it out to him with his mouth.

“Thank you Captain,” James said as he took the steaming cup, blowing on it slightly before sipping it. A couple of years ago, the thought of drinking out of something that had been in a pony’s mouth probably would have made him bulk. But now, he gave it no more thought than if another human had simply handed it to him. The spiced tea warmed his insides as he swallowed, taking some of the chill off the cold air. “Mostly I had nightmares,” he admitted. “But that’s not what I came here to talk to you about. We have a … situation. It’s important that as few ponies as possible know about it, and none of the changelings or griffins.”

If Skydart was at all alarmed by the news, he didn’t show it. Instead, he simply nodded slightly. James supposed that after a decade or more in the military, not much rattled a Royal Guard officer. “Continue,” was all the Captain said in response.

“Lady Twilight was here last night. Apparently they’ve received word from one of their changeling spies that there’s been a coup in the Changeling Empire. Chrysalis has been deposed. She didn’t know anything more than that, yet. It’s unknown why the coup happened, or who is currently in charge.”

Skydart maintained his rock-hard military expression, showing no indication that the news frightened or disturbed him. “Until we hear otherwise, we’ll have to assume the changelings bulked at Chrysalis’ alliance with Equestria,” he responded, with an air of confidence he had not had when he had first taken Captain Swordstorm’s place as Supreme Commander of Equestria’s Forces. The young captain had come a long way since his first meeting with Twilight and the Royal Council, James observed.

“Can you make sure the changelings don’t find out?” Skydart nodded once in response. James wished he had as much confidence as the Captain seemed to have.

“I’ll take them north to help protect the barriers. We’ll give wide berth to any cities or towns and stick to the wilderness when we travel.”

“Won’t they get suspicious?” James asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I doubt it. After the cold reception we got in Trottingham, it shouldn’t surprise them that I’m trying to avoid cities and towns. And if that’s not enough, I can tell them that time is of the essence and we need to get to the borders as soon as possible.”

“You won’t be lying, Captain. That’s the other part of the news from Lady Twilight. The barriers have weakened enough that some aislings have been starting to get through. They aren’t flooding through yet, but they will be soon enough.”

Again, Skydart maintained his military professionalism, not showing any indication that the news disturbed him. He did hesitate for a few moments before speaking again, though.

“Councilor, to be honest, I’m more worried about the griffins betraying us than the changelings. In Changeling culture, the Queen is literally a goddess in the flesh; the living embodiment of Dorylini the Great. And she is to be obeyed without question. Nowhere is that more true than in the Changeling Army. Despite the coup, the changelings we have with us will probably remain loyal to whatever Chrysalis ordered them to do unless they hear otherwise directly from her … The griffins, however, have committed high treason against their king by allying with Equestria. I fear they might use the first opportunity they can find to turn against us.”

James had considered that, but he doubted it. There was another thing he had learned about griffin culture during his Council training.

“I don’t think they will, Captain,” he began. “The only thing more dishonorable to a griffin soldier than surrendering in battle is going back on their word of honor. And the griffin commander gave us his word of honor when he agreed to pledge his allegiance to Lady Twilight.”

“Be that as it may, Councilor, his soldiers might not feel the same way. After all, none of them personally pledged to Lady Twilight. There is worry among the royal guards and some of the changeling soldiers that the griffins might mutiny against their own commander.”

James frowned as he took another sip of his tea. Skydart had a point. None of the individual griffins had given their allegiance to Twilight, only the commander. Normally, the commander would be able to speak for the entire force, but If the griffin soldiers considered their commander to be a traitor to the King, they might very well decide his word was not their word. None of the individual soldiers had taken any pledges. When they weighed their two options, disloyalty to the king might seem more dishonorable than going back on the word their commander had given.

Briefly, he considered asking all of the griffins to individually pledge loyalty to Twilight. He quickly decided against that, though. Asking them that would probably only plant the thought in their minds that even he and Skydart felt they were betraying their own king, which might make it even more likely they would decide loyalty to their king is more honorable than abiding by the pledge their commander had given. Griffin honor was a complicated thing. One he wished he knew a lot more about right now.

“Get the griffins to the northern barrier as soon as possible,” he said at last. “Push as hard and as fast as you can, Captain. The sooner they see an aisling for themselves, the sooner they will realize just what it is their king is trying to bargain with.”

“As you say, Councilor,” Skydart responded, quickly downing the rest of his tea, which was already cold. Tea didn’t stay hot for very long under these frigid conditions.

The sooner both the griffins and the changelings reached the northern barrier, the better James would feel. Other than reducing the chance of a griffin mutiny, it should also ensure that no news of the coup in the Changeling Empire would reach them. There were no ponies that far north to deliver the news. There was nothing that far north at all, other than the Royal Guards stationed there to monitor the barrier. In the not too distant past, that had consisted of just a few dozen guards at remote outposts who monitored the condition of the barrier and sent reports back to Canterlot. Now, it consisted of thousands, with more arriving every day.

The guards arriving every day were a problem, he realized with a frown. Many of them would likely be aware of the changeling coup. He wished he’d thought of that earlier when he was still talking to Twilight. It was vital that the royal guards traveling to the barrier be under strict orders not to talk about the coup at all, given the changelings would be arriving there as soon as possible. He hoped Twilight had thought of that as well, and given the guards traveling to the border those very orders.

He quickly downed his own tea and placed the cup back on the tray.

“You have command of all of them, Captain. I need to return to Canterlot and brief Lady Twilight and the rest of the Council on what happened here. After that, I’ll be going back to the changeling hive to find out what happened. May your journey be safe and quick, Captain.”

“And yours, Councilor.”

With that, James turned and left the tent, returning to his own, stopping briefly along the way to inform the the Air Transport Command officer to ready a chariot for Canterlot. Inside his tent, he quickly packed up a few belongings, leaving all of the maps and other military information for Captain Skydart. Thirty minutes later he was in the air, finally making his way back to Canterlot. All he could think about was the question Twilight had asked him, and the answer he had given her …