Omake: Render Unto Haygle
Unicornelius sighed wearily as he approached the inner sanctum of Duke Haygle, a series of scrolls floating in the air behind him. The weeks following the raid on White Star territory had thrown everything to chaos. With the funds that were suppose to be sunk into the war effort taken right from under them, the whole faction was left dead in the water. The mercenaries they had hired to be their military all jumped ship the moment they learned they were no longer being paid, and the Noble allies of House White Star either too broke to do anything, committed suicide, or were hold up in their estates, hoarding what remained of their wealth like dragons.
No money, no allies, no troops. House White Star now stood alone.
House White Star was no longer a contender for the crown, that left the reeling nation of Maretonia at the mercy of that madstallion Pegicles or whoever was leading that rampaging hoard of rebellious slaves. Unicorneliyus couldn't decide which was worse. On one hand, Pegicles is clearly determined to see himself crowned as the supreme ruler of the nation, even if he has to destroy it to do it. That put House White Star in a dangerous position as the mad Pegasus was not likely to show any mercy to his enemies, or those associated with them should he win. Unicornelius could see the possibility of the members of the House being crucified or forced into slavery. Neither fate would be desirable.
The Abolitionist though... They would completely upend years of tradition and completely change the nation! Say what you will about Pegicles, at least the stallion seeks to be king of Maretonia and not whatever vision those radicals have for the kingdom! First it would be slavery they would get rid of, but what next? The monarchy? Would they be so debased as to turn the glorious kingdom into some republic like the Minotaurs, where the common pony can "vote"? One shudders at the thought. Or worse yet, they could very well turn to their Griffon masters up north to sell of Maretonia's independence like some common whore to be made a protectorate or worse, be annexed.
The Griffons...
One could point to the meeting of the Griffons as being the source of the woes that befell House White Star and the ret of the nation. If you were to just glance at the situation it might not seem likely, but if you were to take in the whole picture like he had been, it was clear the Griffons were the source of the problems. Ever since the first of their wretched kind was enslaved and brought into their lands, it soon drew the attention of another nation. Why had no one bothered to look into the source of the Griffon slaves? Did not one of the fools were purchased them not think to wonder where their new exotic property had come from? Purchasing from those pirates had inadvertently brought ruin to these lands!
He sighed again, the thought of everything that happened ruining his mood more. It was one thing to be tied to a sinking ship, but it was another to remember all the horribleness surrounding it. But that was the price he had to pay for being one of the few people Haygle still required the services of... even if he was now just reduced to being a messager who doles out orders to people who didn't exist anymore.
Back when the civil war started, Haygle appointed him as his spymaster. It was something he was quite proud of at the time, but after a while he realized that his newfound title of spymaster was more or less a formality. Duke Haygle wasn't one to really deal in the cryptic arts and even less willing to sink funds into Unicornelius' efforts to do his job beyond managing scouts and messagers. Unicornelius was a paper pusher in all but name.
But he remained, doing his job even if it was all futile in the end.
He knocked on the door to Haygle's sanctum.
"Enter," the duke called from within, and Unicornelius did so.
"My lord," the spymaster said as he entered.
The duke looked up from the war table that was set up in the room — a wartable that was, as Unicornelius noted, was severely out of date given the presence of piece to represent allies and hired arms that no longer exist on it. The duke looked like he had seen better days, with a notably disheveled appearance. His mane was a mess, dark bags hung under his eyes, his once pristine and neat noblecolt attire as ruffled and dirty. The pony before him was a shadow of the stallion who had entered this war with the intent to rule.
"Unicornelius," the duke said, straightening himself. "I trust our allies are in place, as per my order?"
"About that-"
"Once they are in place, we will begin to plan the counteroffensive." The duke continued, not even bothering to listen. "We will move the garrisons from Ponypeii and Contstantinople to meet with the greater force at the northern border."
"Sir-"
"I'm not finished," the duke scolded. "Now... where was I? Ah, yes... Once the garrisons move north, will we march the force west, through the rebel territory to catch House Storm off guard. Though I detest the barbarians, I think our unspoken truce against House Storm more than makes up for working with them. Now, House Gold Glory is to-"
"SIR," Unicornelius said forcefully to stop the ranting duke. Duke Haygle paused, looking at the unicorn with a disdainful look. Better now than ever. Slowly a scroll floated over to the duke, who took it with his own magic. "Sir, my lord, this is a note from House Gold Glory. They say they will no longer support us."
The duke looked over the contents of the scroll, his expression showing no emotion as he read it. The tension in the air was palpable as the unicorn spymaster watched anxiously as his lord read the bad news.
"I see," the duke said, sneering at the note and crumpling it. "This... This is a clever forgery to fool me!"
"...What."
"Unbelievable!" Haygle roared as his tossed the note at Unicornelius, who just let it bounce off harmlessly as he stared in disbelief. "YOU are my spymaster! How could
you blunder this so badly! This was your one job!
Your only job! But what is it that finds its way into my lap? A damndable forgery of a note from one of my allies! How could you let House Storm get away with this?! They are savage pegasi!"
"M-my lord, the note isn't a forgery!" He protested. "I was very careful to ensure your orders were sent and that the response was delivered without catching the unwanted attention from Storm or the rebels!"
"Excuses! Nothing but excuses from you! You had best bring me some actual reports before I-"
"THESE ARE THE REAL REPORTS!" Unicornelius snapped, stunning the duke into silence. "Our allies are abandoning us left and right, my lord! House Gold Glory, House Moonglow, House Gemstone, House Light Spinner — all gone! Either dead, broke, or refusing to aid us further! Whoever is left isn't exactly in the best position to turn the tide!"
"If that is true, then get those mercenaries we have to force them into-"
"We don't have those either!" He interjected. "The Chosen of Bellona, the Colts of Mars, the Band of the Hawk, and more all jumped shipped when they realized the money wasn't coming in anymore!"
"W-How?!" The Duke asked in disbelief. Unicornelius sputtered in his own disbelief.
"Are you serious?! The pirate raid took pretty much everything we had left! We have nothing! It's GONE!"
"Gone...?" The duke echoed.
For a moment, Unicornelius thought that maybe he had gotten though to the duke. But the duke grew angry, his face turning red with rage as he let loose his magic to flip the table with a roar of fury.
"GONE?! NO! I REFUSE! I WILL SEE THE END OF THIS WAR! I DON'T CARE HOW WE HAVE TO SCRAP BY! GET WHATEVER YOU CAN! ALLIES, TROOPS, WHATEVER! GET WHAT YOU CAN AND PUT THEM TO WORK!"
"H-How am I suppose to do that?!" The spymaster asked, shocked at the sudden outburst.
"I DON'T CARE HOW, JUST DO IT! I DON'T CARE IF YOU HAVE SELL OFF NOBLE LADIES AS CONCUBINES TO FORIEGN DIGNATARIES, I WANT RESULTS!"
"My lord, this goes well beyond-"
"SHUT UP!" Haygle screamed, slamming his hooves onto the marble floor. "I WANT RESULTS, NOT EXCUSES! I WILL BE KING, YOU HEAR ME?! I! WILL! BE! KING!"
Duke Haygle and Unicornelius stood there staring at one another, the only thing keeping the room from being drowned in silence was the duke's own heavy breathing. The spymaster sighed, floating the rest of the scrolls to the fallen table, laying them down. He looked up at the furious and haggard duke, giving him a sad, pitying look. To see such a pony of great stature to be reduced to a furiously screaming wreck was just too much.
"My lord," He began slowly. "We're done."
"We... are NOT done... UNTIL I SAY WE ARE!" The duke roared, taking a step forward towards his spymaster. A stray piece from the wartable the represented House Storm was in his path, however, and when the duke stepped forward he found himself tripping over, falling face first until the floor. Unicornelius stood there for a moment, quietly shaking his head.
"Yes, we are." He said, turning around and leaving the room. His magic flared and the door was quietly closed behind him as the faint sound of sobbing could be heard from inside the sanctum of Duke Haygle. Unicornelius sighed wearily as he began his trek back through the halls of the estate, figuring he was now and truly out of the job.
New omake, inspired by the latest update!
@Questor
