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Age of the Alicorns: Chaos Rising chapter 6

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CHAPTER 6:  Meeting with the General





For the next fortnight, Celestia and Luna both spent hours studying diplomacy skills for the upcoming negotiation exam.  The instructors quizzed them vigorously and Starswirl spent more time helping them to practice it.  Several senators even volunteered to practice with them while pretending to be General Leogle.  Before long, both of the young princesses had very keen memories on diplomacy and impressed both their instructors and their parents.  After a final lecture from their head instructor one morning, they were finally ready to visit the Griffon Province and do their duty.  After lunch, they both went out to the balcony of the royal living quarters joined by the dragons to bid their parents farewell.  Percy, as a messenger, was to give news of the negotiations to the senate later that day, and Penny, of course, tagged along.

“So you ready to see some griffons, Penny?” Percy asked his little sister.

“Sure am!  I hear they’re tough and don’t take guff from anypony!” Penny said energetically.

“Well we won’t have to worry about how tough they are today, Penny.” Celestia reminded.  
“This is supposed to be a peaceful negotiation after all and father says Leogle is easy around children.”

“Well I haven’t met the general yet but a lot of the senators do say he’s pretty nice.” Percy replied.  “I’m sure whatever problem he has lately can be solved with a little talk from you guys.”

“We’ve been studying for a while but I’m sure we can tackle it.  Right Luna?” Celestia asked her sister but Luna was surprisingly starting to nod off.

“Luna?!” Celestia said louder.

“OH!  Well pony-feathers!” Luna said under her breath.  “Hold on everyone…”

She then squinted her eyes and her horn glowed and she used a little spell that Starswirl taught her that would keep her awake if she were ever too tired during the day.  With a quick little burst of bluish magic from the tip of her horn her eyes opened with a glowing light.  She was fully awake once again.

“I’m sorry Tia, it’s just having to stay up later to raise the moon and then having to get up earlier to lower it keeps me from getting sleep sometimes.” she explained.

“You have to learn to get used to your new sleeping schedule, Luna.” Celestia said putting her wing around Luna.  “You’ll adjust soon.  Just be sure to not fall asleep during negotiations, alright?”

“Celestia?  Luna?” said the king as he entered the balcony with the queen by his side.  “Are you both ready now?”

“We’re ready, Father.” Celestia told him.

“All four of us are.” Luna chimed in with the dragons walking in closer to the princesses.

“Just remember everything you have been taught, girls.” he reminded them.  “Be kind and courteous and let Leogle know that we are willing to solve any problems in a peaceful diplomatic manner.”

“Should we let him know we’re doing this for a grade?” Luna asked.

“It may be better to not tell him about your classes.” the king said with thought.  “Just act as ambassadors and tell him that you are both very much qualified for negotiating with him.

“You have our word for it, Father.  We won’t let you down.” Celestia said bowing to her father.

“Don’t forget this, my daughters:  persuasion is always better than force.” The queen told them as they were turning to fly off the balcony.

“We won’t forget, mother.”  Luna called back.  “Farewell!”

“Farewell, children!” the king said.  “And Percy, you take good care of them!”

“You can count on me, Your Highness!” Percy replied.

Celestia and Luna spread their wings, crouched down, and leaped off the balcony while flapping.  Percy began to flap his green dragon wings and flew right over Penny and picked her up gently to carry her, since she didn’t have wings yet.  The four of them were now airborne and off to the northern mountains to meet with the griffons for the first time.

The king and queen stared off into the distance as their daughters and the dragons got further and further away until they were just little specks in the sky.

“Are you worried at all for them, my King?” Chernalia asked her husband.

“I don’t think so.” he replied.  “I still don’t know what is wrong with Leogle but I know he would never show any scorn to my daughters.  I’m sure it’s a minor problem and regardless of how long it takes, we can solve it.  I only hope that they have as much faith in themselves as I have in them.”



About an hour later, the princesses and their two dragon companions were soaring through the sky off to their destination in the Griffon Province.

Celestia was nervous about the negotiations but at the same time excited to finally be doing something so responsible and for the good of her people.  She felt even closer to being a leader of a kingdom.  Luna, of course, was just as confident and proud of herself and excited to finally be seeing griffons.  In their hearts, they knew everything would turn out well and they would have no trouble talking to Leogle.

“You guys nervous about this?” Percy asked while carrying his sister who was eyeing the scenery below.

“Nervous but not scared, Percy.” Celestia called back.  “I’m not one bit scared.  I actually think this will all turn out wonderful.”

“I think the general will listen to us very well and we’ll all go home with good news.” Luna added.  “Father described him as a very good griffon and I’m sure he’ll be very nice to us all.”

“I just hope this doesn’t take forever.” Penny said. “How long do you think it will take?”

“Probably not that long, Penny.” Celestia answered.  “It could be an hour or so.  We might even have to come back another day to complete the negotiations.  Perhaps Leogle will need some time to think after today’s discussion and then he’ll start forwarding the taxes again later.  Either way, no matter how long it takes, I’m going to make sure he at least considers the consequences of what he’s done, but I have to remember what mother said:  Persuasion is better than force.”

“Tia, look!” Luna shouted as she pointed to the mountains.  

They came to a spot in the mountains where there was a huge semi-circular horseshoe-shaped cut in the middle of the cliff.  The main town for the Griffon Province was actually in the valley below the cliff full of houses and fields for harvesting.  There were some griffons flying around transporting food and goods to the caverns above which was undoubtedly the griffons’ ‘castle’.  This area was where King Solmidas said the political figures and soldiers lived and that must have been where Leogle was.

“This is it, everyone.  This is the Griffon Province!” Celestia said.

“Alright, we made it!” Penny shouted.

In a few moments, they were already in the center of the U-shape and flew in towards a smaller triangular cliff jutting out right in the middle which lead to the front entrance.  They landed on the smaller cliff and tucked their wings in.  Percy set Penny on the ground and they took a moment to catch their breath from all the flying they did.  Three griffons flew in overhead towards the entrance and one of them started walking towards the princesses and the dragons.  They were all wearing armor and helmets and two of them had long spears.  There was no doubt these were guard ponies and were doing their jobs as guards, although they seemed rather serious at the moment.  

The first griffon, who must have been the captain of the guard, stopped in front of them to speak.  He was tall and fearsome and had brownish lion fur on his back legs along with a lion’s tail and the front legs, wings, and head of a mighty bald eagle.  He wore a shiny metal helmet with the faceplate pushed up and a breastplate adorned with the Griffon Province symbol in red.

“What business do you children have in the Griffon Province?” he asked them sternly.

Celestia, stepped forward with her sister and did the speaking.

“Greetings.  I am Princess Celestia of Equestria.  This is my younger sister, Princess Luna, and this is Perseus and Penelope.  They’re our dragon friends here to assist us.”

The dragons waved and smiled as Celestia continued to speak.

“We’ve been sent by my father, King Solmidas, to negotiate with the griffon general, Leogle, on recent diplomatic issues.  We request to see your general as soon as possible, sir.”

“You are both the daughters of the king?” he asked.

“We are, sir.” Luna said politely.

“I see.” the captain replied.  He didn’t even smile once and didn’t seem in the mood for much conversation.  Nevertheless, he continued to speak.  “Lord Leogle suspected we might be getting a visit from pony diplomats soon……though he did not expect to be seeing children.”

Celestia and Luna’s grins curved down at the thought of the comment.  Why would a guard under the command of a respected general choose such rude words?  Of course it was unusual to see young ponies act as diplomats but they both expected to be greeted with courtesy being the royal princesses of Equestria.

“Follow me.” the captain said turning around toward the entrance.

Celestia and Luna glanced at each other quickly and then did as the captain said and followed him into the griffon domain.  Percy and Penny followed close behind.

The two guards next to the entrance opened the large doors and the five of them walked down a long corridor inside the cliff-side castle.  They came to another set of large doors that two more guards opened leading them through a series of cylindrical rooms and stairwells.  It got darker as they went deeper into the mountain but there were torches lit everywhere.  However, the atmosphere of this place seemed rather negative and not what the princesses and dragons expected it to be.  Every so often they would come by other guards who also looked very serious and not ready to make any friends.  A few other griffons who weren’t guards but were garbed and robed, walked by who must have been various senators and diplomats.  These griffons should have been sent to the king for negotiations once Leogle began all his misdoings, but remained inside the province.  They appeared very glum and downtrodden and some didn’t even look at the visitors or ever smile once.

“Tia?” Luna whispered to her sister.  “This isn’t exactly what I was expecting the griffons’ castle to be like.”

“I know Luna.” Celestia said nervously.  “But we have to just keep our heads.  Not everything in Equestria can be as nice-looking as Everfree you know.  I’m sure the general will change our minds.”

“Well…” Percy said out of the side of his mouth to Penny while keeping his head down a bit.  

“I was kinda hoping for a friendly ‘Hi’ or ‘How are you?’ every now and then from one of these fine-feathered felines but so far I gotta say I’m a little disappointed…”

“I’ll say…” Penny replied.  “…’specially the captain of the guard.  Must’ve woken up on the wrong side of the nest…”



In just a few minutes, they went down one last corridor and the doors opened up to what appeared to be a throne-room with a chair in the center.  No one was in the chair but there was a much larger and darker-looking griffon pacing about with his back turned to them.  This had to be the general.

“Lord Leogle…” the captain said while bowing and stepping to the side.  “The princesses of Everfree and their……dragon friends would like to speak to you on diplomatic matters if you please.”

General Leogle turned around to face the diplomats and just like everyone else in the province so far, he too wasn’t exactly what they expected.  Unlike most of the other griffons, he had the head of a very dark eagle with black feathers and darker brown fur.  He wore similar armor but a Trojan-styled helmet setting him apart as the general.  He stood nearly a foot taller than the captain was and very imposing.  His irises were red while his left eye had a scar and he had a hard time keeping it open all the way.  Just like every other griffon in the castle, Leogle neither smiled nor said anything very polite upon seeing visitors.  They never even got a proper greeting from the renowned general of the Griffon Province.  He began to speak with a low and somewhat raspy voice to the girls.

“So you are the so-called diplomats that old King Solmidas has sent…” he said.

“We are, General Leogle, sir.” Celestia said bowing politely.

“It is a pleasure to get to meet you, General.” Luna said bowing in unison along with the dragons.

“Indeed it is.” the general replied with sarcasm.  “So tell me, why exactly has the king sent in children to do his work?  Also, what are these dragons doing here if I may ask?”

“They are our friends.” Celestia answered.  “That’s Perseus and his sister Penelope but they go by Percy and Penny.  Percy came because he’s a messenger for my father and needs to report on the results of our negotiations, and he brought his sister along.”

“We……really like traveling.” Percy said nervously while his sister nodded.

“And Celestia and I are in training to become the next leaders and……um….my father says that we are qualified as diplomats to speak with you on the matters.” Luna said being careful to not tell about their exam.

“So the king relies on children and dragons now.  Interesting.  Well, if I must communicate to him through you then so be it.  What exactly does the king have to say?”

“Well, first of all, my father is just wondering why you have cut off all diplomatic relations with the Everfree council and why you’ve stopped forwarding the province taxes.”  Celestia said with poise, after having practiced saying it many times.

“Ah, so he’s caught along after all.” Leogle replied.  “I already received a letter from him saying that he wishes for me to return to the way things were because he fears for the stability of his government which he believes “all peaceful sentient beings of Equestria” represent.  I simply am cutting myself off from the Equestrian government and wish to help form our own.  Does your father have a problem with this?”

“Is there a reason for your actions, General......if I may ask?” Celestia said carefully.

The general took a moment to think and then continued.

“You see, girls, your father and I have known each other for quite some time.  When I first met him, I thought it was a wise and trustworthy king I was talking to, and I continued to live under that impression.  You both must understand, however, times are changing.”

He then turned around and paced while talking to the girls.

“Griffons and ponies have always lived in peace, and the griffons have been under the rule of the king all this time because they have feared him through the ages.  Your father is an alicorn overlord with vast powers and rules with an iron fist…or rather hoof.  It is to be expected that anyone who defies him would be met with terrifying consequences given that he is both the king and quite possibly the most powerful being of the land.”

Celestia had a very confused look on her face at what the general said while Luna looked like she was about to get angry.

“Uh……General, you make it sound as if our father is a tyrant.” Celestia pointed out.

“Well forgive me for showing a little too much honesty in such an honest negotiation but your father is a tyrant if you think about it.”

These words struck both the princesses into a state of disbelief and Luna looked as if she was about to lose her temper.  She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out for fear she would say something she would regret.  Celestia spoke instead to try and get the general to understand.

“General, if I may insist, my father never intends to do anything that could possibly label him a tyrant.  I’ve known him all my life and I’ve been studying how he runs the government, and I can say with full confidence that he is fair and just and cares for all races in this country.”

“My sister speaks the truth.” Luna added.  “He’s not a selfish king.”

The general came closer to them and glared at Luna.  He now spoke with a somewhat angrier tone.

“You would like to think so, wouldn’t you, little princess of the night.  Of course you would believe things like that just because he’s your father and he treats you lovingly and has raised you with the help of your mother.  But neither of you would know the extent of what he has done to the griffon race because you are both children and you do not understand the enormities of politics and diplomacy and anything else of the sort.”

The general started pacing again while ranting about the king.  The more he talked, the angrier his tone became.

“We griffons are a strong and mighty race that has withstood much over the years.  Your father has counted on us for centuries to help protect Everfree and all of Equestria for that matter.  The only reason you think there is peace in your kingdom is because we have fought against many tribes who seek to claim Equestria.  None of them have been able to get past my mighty legions, but I have lost many in past battles.  Battles you cannot imagine because you are children and you know nothing of it.  I’ve had my fair share of wounds as well and I have a scar on this left eye of mine to prove it.  And your father, the oh-so-wise king of the land, never does anything about it because he fears war and fears losing his people.  He hasn’t thought of MY people and what we go through to protect him.  Perhaps that is the real reason he has sent you?  WELL?!”

Both Luna and Celestia were too scared to say anything.  The general had given them too much information to think about and Luna was actually unaware of what the general had just told them.

“I’m sorry, General, I did not know about all of this, but…” she said before Celestia cut her off.

“I did.” Celestia said.  “Father didn’t let my sister know about this since war is an uncomfortable subject but he did tell me about it.”

Celestia then bravely took a few steps toward the general and began talking   “General, I honestly think you are seeing this the wrong way.  My father has trained thousands of guards to fight and protect Everfree, and they have fought in battles alongside him as well.  My father doesn’t want to lose his people but I highly doubt he’s just using the griffon race as pawns.  What concerns me most is that if the griffons have been protecting Equestria for so long and you’ve been leading them for most of your life, why have you suddenly turned on my father?  My father described you as respectful and devoted to him and said that you’ve always stood by his side as a friend and that-“

“I know.” Leogle interrupted while walking toward Celestia causing her to return to her sister.  “I have stood by him all those years and it is something I regret doing.  Many things have just come to my attention recently.  I see the flaws of your king’s ways, and I think it is time that the griffons deserve a better leader and not your father’s pathetic regime!”

The princesses and the dragons looked up in fear at the hot-headed and very disgruntled griffon.  He certainly was not like anything the king, Starswirl, and the senators described him to be and these negotiations were sure to fail at this rate.

“But again, this is not something I would expect pampered palace brats to understand.  Be gone with you four!”  he then signaled several guards.  “Guards, escort these children out the front door immediately!”

The guards lowered their spears and forced them to walk out of the door while Percy and Penny had their hands up in the air.  Luna was terrified and huddled up next to Celestia but Celestia herself was still determined to change the general’s mind somehow.”

“NO!  General, please, don’t do this!  You’ve misjudged my father, I swear it!  Please general, you must listen to me.  He’s counting on us to solve this issue!”

Luna finally gathered up enough courage to speak, though she unfortunately lost her head as soon as she opened her mouth.

“That’s right, general, we won’t pass our exam if this negotiation fails!  Please don’t let that………happen…” she stopped realizing what she had just said as Celestia covered her face with her hoof.

The general had not been facing them as they were being lead out but he turned his head, surprised at Luna’s words.

“HOLD!” he hollered to his guards who immediately put their spears back up and backed away as Leogle walked to meet the princesses one last time.  “What did you say?”

Celestia knew she had no choice but to tell the general about their exam.

“General, we mean you no harm, I promise, but what my sister said is true.  We were sent here to negotiate to earn credit for our diplomacy classes.  We’re in the middle of several courses and father thought sending us here would be a good alternative for written tests.”

The general looked hard at them and remained silent.

“It’s alright.  We still are eligible ambassadors and we’ve been trained exactly how to handle this situation.” Luna added.

“Is this true, dragons?!” the general barked at Percy and Penny.

“Uh……y-y-yes, your honor, it’s all true.” Percy said while trembling.

Penny didn’t speak but nodded her head very fast while trying to smile.

“So that’s it then.  Your father is treating an important diplomatic mission as a schoolroom test!”  he shouted.  “How insulting.  It’s all just as I suspected after all:  King Solmidas is weak and he will truly never understand our plight.  If this is how he sees things, to a point where he sends in his little daughters and a couple of spiky, overgrown, fire-breathing lizards into my territory to do the work of a senator, then I will have no more of it.”  Leogle turned, walked over to his throne and sat in it while the guards came back and lowered their spears awaiting his orders.  Leogle then called to them one last time before having them escorted.

“This is my final message to your incompetent father:  tell him that General Leogle …… no, LORD Leogle has officially broken off from the Everfree council and wishes to never speak to him again on diplomatic affairs.  The griffons can look after themselves now and form an even greater kingdom than he could ever hope for and we will do it without him if we must.  He can protect his own kingdom now and suffer any economic downfalls without us.  We are no longer his burden and he is no longer ours…”

“General please…” Celestia said worriedly.

“And you children are dismissed!  Get them out of my sight!” he snapped as the guards moved the princesses and dragons out of the throne room and into the corridor in front.

“NO, GENERAL, PLEASE DON’T DO THIS!” Celestia shouted.  “MY FATHER IS YOUR FRIEND!  HE ALWAYS HAS BEEN!  HE DOESN’T WISH TO SEE THE GRIFFONS AND PONIES PART THIS WAY, PLEASE RECONSIDER!!”

The doors then shut and Celestia’s voice was but a whimper.  The general continued sitting in his throne with his fingers crossed and his eyes closed.

“I no longer need you, Solmidas.  I never did.” he growled.



In a few minutes, Celestia, Luna, and the dragons were rushing out of the front door followed closely by the captain of the guard.  They turned around quickly as Celestia made her last possible attempt to complete her mission.

“Captain, please, tell your master we didn’t mean to-“

“Be silent, equine!” he barked.  “You heard Lord Leogle, be gone with you!  All of you!”

Celestia turned and flew off of the cliff, followed by Luna, and Percy carrying Penny in his arms.  Celestia couldn’t help but shed tears while flying away and Luna did her best to comfort her.

“Well that went just wonderful…” Percy said sarcastically.

“I’ll say.” Penny nodded with her arms crossed.

“It’s alright, Tia.” Luna said trying to link her hoof with Celestia’s in midair.  “Father will take care of all of this.”

“It’s not that, Luna.” Celestia replied. “We failed our first diplomatic assignment.  What will we ever tell our instructors?”

“Well there’s obviously something wrong with the general, so I’m sure Father and everyone else will understand that it wasn’t our fault.” Luna replied.

“Yeah Celestia.” Percy added.  “If you’d ask me, I’d say you guys did pretty darn good back there, but General Leogle……or should I say, Lord Leogle, isn’t exactly the shiniest gem in the horde.  That’s for sure.  When I give the message to the court, I’ll let ‘em know that.”

“Thanks Percy.” Celestia said, trying to wipe her tears away.  “I think we did alright too, but what happened with the general back there just really worries me and I just wish there was some kind of way we could have changed his mind.”

There was a pause of silence for the next few seconds until Penny made her comment of the day.

“Well, look at it this way guys.  ‘Least the negotiations didn’t take forever.” She said smirking.  “That only took, what, like ten minutes?  Hahaha …… ha…”

“Penny…” her brother said sternly.  “You’re not helping.”

“Hehe……sorry.”



TO BE CONTINUED…
Oh geez, its been over 2 months since the last chapter went up! Many appologies guys, I've been so distracted with other projects not to mention having to find a job so I really put this off. Actually this chapter would have been up several weeks ago.

Anyways, in this chapter, we see Celestia and Luna put to the test in their first ever diplomatic assignment with General Leogle the griffon. Things don't exactly go as planned and this is where the trouble starts. Read on to find out what happens.

Special thanks to :iconstarbat: for proofreading this chapter. :)

If you would like to start from the beginning, see this folder:  aleximusprime.deviantart.com/g…

And here is the FIMfic version:  www.fimfiction.net/story/52310…

MLP © Hasbro
FiM © Lauren Faust
Age of the Alicorns: Chaos Rising © Me
© 2013 - 2024 AleximusPrime
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GodsGirlRachel's avatar
This was great! I can't wait to find out what's wrong with the Griffon Lord! 8D I feel bad for Lulu and Tia, though, the poor things! D: He made them all freaked out! X<