Little Star trotted next to her mother as she walked. The clamour of hoofsteps behind her let her know her friends no longer marched in lockstep. It was a small detail, and she guessed it was alright. There was no longer a line of sight back to the throne room and the Griffons there.
The mean griffon’s words played through Little Star’s mind for the four-hundred-and-sixteenth time. I can accept nothing less than your death.
Zero, times has your mother been in danger from that creature.
Thank you. Little Star thought back to Grey. Each and every time she said that it made Little Star a little calmer. If it were not for the first time she said that after the Mean Griffon made his challenge, she would have lit her horn and dealt with him.
I can accept nothing less than your death. Four-hundred-and-seventeen times she absently noted as her mind worked. Who thought like that? What sort of mind did it take to be able to say something like that and mean it? Eliminating a threat and protecting somepony you cared for, those were reasons to use magic that could kill.
Twilight’s horn lit, and a door up ahead opened. The inside was packed with furs, comfortable cushions and a stack of large paintings.
“So, my daughter, how have you been? Has anything interesting happened while we have been apart?” Twilight asked as Emerald carefully removed each bit of Twilight’s regalia.
Like the floodgates had been opened, words spilled out of Little Star. All the things she had wanted to say to her mother, but separation had prevented it. It was not long before the others joined in, and the tales of their adventures transmuted from a mere story to an energetic reenactment.
The pride shining in her mother’s eyes were like two beacons of hope shining in the darkest abyss. It was almost enough to make her forget what was going to happen in less than ten minutes, almost.
“Mummy?”
“Yes, my Little Star?”
“Are you going to be alright?”
“Yes, there is nothing to fear.” Her mother said as one of her soft wings enveloped Little Star in a warm hug. She hummed lovingly and spoke in the silent whispers beneath it. “There are some that can’t be saved, some that must be killed, and then there are fools like him that force others to kill them.”
Little Star asked in kind. “You are going to kill him?”
“I am going to turn his wasteful sacrifice into an example.”
“An example for what?”
“Of what happens to those that chose to become my enemy.” With those dark words silently filling the space between them, her mother leaned in and kissed her below the horn. Her voice then returned to the normal audible range. “You and your Crusaders may remain here when the time comes.”
The play fight that her mothers had came to mind. The blood and body parts as they fell to the ground and stained the sand. The horror and disgust that Cadance made her friends forget. The look of joy on her mothers’ faces as they fought.
This time there would be no illusions to hide things. This time it was not for fun. This time someone would die.
Her head started to nod in agreement when another thought came to mind. What if the other Griffons were Bad Griffons too. The nod turned into a defiant shake of the head. “No, mummy.”
“Then, my daughter, watch and learn this most dire lesson.”
Little Star nodded as her mother offered one last hug before she stood.
Gah. Need... more...
3 updates at once, nice!
hrm, not sure if i like dream to actually be in favour of what is basically murder.
also, no input from nova?
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It's not murder. The fool who fancies himself a king is the one who insisted on a death match. He had plenty of opportunities to back off. Twilight tried to be diplomatic, actually diplomatic rather than whatever this farce is that apparently passes for Griffon diplomacy based on the title of this section. That arrogant imbecile designated himself a dead man walking without the slightest inkling of what he was getting into, and his perspective from two chapters ago showed just how deep his ignorance runs. I'm left with two questions. First, how is this fool Red Wing still alive? Second, how did someone like him ever acquire that ego? For that second question, it's clear the griffons under him don't hype him up, so where did this ego come from? By all rights he's a coward, to a degree that should be shameful for a Griffon. He was holed up in his little fort, and after ponies handled the problem for him he starts trying to throw his weight around? What, is his plan to kill all the ponies and then take credit for this little cleansing? Wouldn't that just lead to him being sent out to the Griffon front of the battle against the blight? Or is he really just that special kind of stupid that can't be comprehended by anyone using anything in the vicinity of reason?
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Nova's input is "Let me kill him! Can I eat him? What do you mean he has to be dead before I start eating him?"
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he probably knows how to fight decently well and thinks : yeah this is an easy win that will get me the respect of all the other griffins as stated in his chapter.
obviously he has NO IDEA what he is dealing with and he probably will piss off some griffins if he actually killed Twilight as stated by Rainbow in her chapter.
We all expect this to be an easy win for Twilight, but I feel like that would be way too easy...
I expect SOMETHING to go horribly wrong in the next few chapters. It just HAS to!
11528449
From what I can surmise from the 'Red Corner' chapter, he's a nascent warlord with designs of becoming King of Gryphons. He's just also running headlong into the information blackout on Equestrian Royalty. We (The Readers) know how dead he is by the next chapter, but Red Wing is operating on the assumption that Princess Twilight is just Twilight + Wings, and as far as both Luna's and Celestia's information networks are concerned, that's all that he needs to know.
He's also under the assumption (and possibly blinded by his Gryphon Supremacy) that Twilight + Wings would idiotically agree and abide to the magic restriction.
Anyone more savvy (than him) wouldn't be in his retinue since by his own admission: "it was so hard to find good help that would not try to challenge for leadership".
What might be happening is one of the (probably intended) consequences of keeping Alicorn info secret: anyone with an agenda against Equestria is likely going to overestimate their own ability to win.
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Not murder, assisted suicide. He pushed for the duel, and he set the conditions to the death. Very publicly I might add. What happens is on his claws.
This will end in blood.
Unfortunately the Griffin is so determined to ask for it.
The duel is going to go like this they step up to the plate Twilight flashes through him his head falls off, quite literally that's the best way it would end. I mean if Twilight draws it out that's fine too but seriously Twilight has a form of Super speed without magic, just one push of her wings is enough to push her to just below Mach 5. (I actually trust deathbattle's measurements on the mach cone that rainbow had when they did their Sonic rainboom measurements since this was around season 3 when they were still doing legit research and not just skimming at wiki's head on to the fact that it was someone with a degree in aerodynamics to actually get it and they were just pulling from a source) it's literally going to be a one move kill unless Twilight decides to draw it out which it sounds like she's going to do. Although she can make an example of him after he's dead and honestly I would prefer that. I don't like drawing out onesided fights unless it's someone we really love to hate. This guy hasn't been around long enough for that to happen unlike a certain unicorn necromancer that has his magic stunted that we all know of.
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I think this is why the ponies are scary even in cannon. They look and act cute, but Nightmare Moon and Celestia and even Twilight before she ascended, have shown what happens when you take their kindness for granted.
Gravity spells, transformation (of objects, themselves, and other living things), weather control, vast numbers, etc.
In this story, it seems that restricting information on alicicorns is both essential and strategic in getting enemies of Equestria to continually under estimate their leadership and ponies.
Insert "know your enemy quote here."