The Mane Six Militia and The Shadow of a Phantom

REPORT THUS FAR.

    Scouting parties have reported the enemy's  armor shields them from alteration magic, rendering telekinetic spells useless and other magic less effective. Inside interrogation squads have reported that mind control and mind reading magic have also been rendered useless. Its even been reported that a fraction of the unicorns that have attempted such spells show signs of temporary delusion. Others reported having visualized a mental barrier of unknown properties denying entry into the minds of P.O.W's. No fatalities have been reported from attempts as of far and studies continue.

    The front lines have stabilized for now with Equestria showing a loss of grounds. We are happy to report no crucial assets have been lost with the new border in place and that the rate of casualties has decreased. Also a small friendly self sustaining militia has been sighted just beyond Stable rock. A team has been tasked to keep eyes on them.

Further reports pending.

Celestia bless Equestria.

Signed,

General Gates of third castle division stationed on the front lines.

    Rainbow Dash sat beneath a tree on the edge of camp reflecting on the events of the past two years. A part of her loved the conflict, the fight for survival, and a part of her feared it. She was scared that one of these days, one of her closer friends would fall victim to Solandian steel and not make it back one day. Immediately she shook the thought from her head as she felt tears welling up in her eyes. "No The Dash does not cry." She told herself. "And none of your friends are going to die." She felt silly talking to herself but it helped. She looked up to the sky to see a small lone cloud in the night sky and decided to fly up to it. As she landed on the delicate white fluff she trotted to the middle and laid down, looking up to the night sky. Out of all the chaos that pursued battles the sky seemed to forever hold its composure, unaffected by the fighting, the fire, and death. She sighed and began to count the stars. A futile task but useful in terms of occupying her mind and blessing her with a since of peace.

    However a certain yellow mare had been destined to thwart her concentration as she landed at the edge of the cloud. Her job was not to fight but to heal. All her experience tending to animals made her an invaluable vet for wounded ponies from the war. Despite all the violence she had maintained her docile nature.

   Fluttershy walked lightly and planted a soft kiss on her mare-friends muzzle before lying next to the winged warrior."Hi Dashi."

    "Hey Shy, did ya get lonely?" Rainbow giggled.

    "Yeah." She admitted blushing. "I've done all I can for the hurt ponies. Raisen is watching over them right now. They seem to be doing okay." She said with a sigh of relief. Ever since leaving Ponyville and her treasured animal friends she spent as much time as she could with her Dashi. It was the only time she ever truly felt safe. She often worried that she was crowding Dash but she insisted that she enjoyed all the time they spent together. Never the less Shy made a note to give Dash space now and then.

    Rainbow yawned and snuggles up to the soft yellow pelt of the sweet smelling mare. Somehow she managed to keep her fur smelling like flowers. They say everypony has a little bit of magic, maybe that was hers.

    Shy purred at the contact, rolled over on her belly and spread a wing over her mare. If it was Dashi's job to protect her physically then it was her job to protect her emotionally and give her all the affection she could while they were together.

    Rainbow would have never gotten so close to anypony emotionally but Shy had somehow worked her way into her heart after years of friendship and trial.

    Rarity worked hard repairing the armor damaged in previous battles. It was tedious work, not to mention the sweat and heat that practically destroyed her mane. Though it was all worth it seeing as her skills made it possible for her to manufacture armor both comfortable and effective in battle. Light enough to allow the wearer to move swiftly yet sturdy enough to handle moderate damage. Of course no armor was perfect, even if designed by the fashion diva. So here she toiled in a small makeshift building with just a handful of assistants to help her.

    At last she could work no longer for the time being and collapsed on her hind quarters with a squeal.

    "Miss Rarity, are you alright!?" Trailpin asked in alarm.

    "Yes dear im fine. Just a tad bit tired." She replied. Trailpin is a small orange coated unicorn with a brown mane and brown eyes.

    "There really isn't much left miss Rarity, please go and rest, me and the others can take over from here." Trailpin pleaded.

    "Thank you Trail. If you need me I'll be in my hut." To tired to argue she agreed and made her way outside, taking a deep breath as the cool night air hit her. She walked down a row of huts, most with their lights out but a few lit with both light and the merry laughter of drunk ponies. "Ruffians." She huffed but smiled. At least someponies were enjoying them selves. When Rarity arrived at her makeshift hut she collapsed on the small yet strangely comfortable bed, or maybe it was comfortable because she was so tired. She glanced over to the opposite bed were Sweetie Bell slept and smiled. Sweetie often assisted her as she had turned out to be quite the seamstress herself.

    Applejack was enjoying the night with a bit of cider with various ponies of the militia after a hard days toil on a small farm planted to help feed the soldiers. The soil was not great and it rained too much, washing away alot of the nutrients that fed her harvest. She did all she could though and had Apple Bloom, who was now big enough to help here and there. Tonight Applejack had allowed her to drink with them after she had pointed out that Applejack wasn't technically old enough to drink herself, being only 19. So she decided if Applebloom wanted to act like a grown mare then fine. With any luck she'll wake with a bad enough headache she'd never want to drink again.

Big-Mac, her older brother, would never have that privilege again. During a battle a little more than a year ago when they were attempting to gain ground to establish this camp he fell. Insisting that his strength was better suited for fighting he charged head on into the fight, after only a minute of the conflict soldiers say he was struck by an arrow. A few days later he was givin a propper burial by the two surviving sisters of the Apple family. It took a while to come to terms with his death but they settled on the notion that he was in a better place, watching over them. The thought comforted them and they stuck with it, occasionally however feeling the pang of sadness for their lost brother.

    Twilight however was not part of the militia. She assisted the other princesses of Equestria with the war effort. Being the bookworm she was, she was quite the strategist. Intact she had helped stabilize the borders with minimal loss after the sudden attack on their land. She had fallen out of contact with her old friends after the war started. She worried after she found out they hadn't been in Ponyville but received news shortly after they had joined a militia and after receiving the report that a small militia was stationed by Stable rock her hopes flared. With permission she sent a message out to the 3rd Castle Division requesting a closer look for her friends.

    Not a night went by were she did not feel bad for living in such comfort while her friends were out in the thick of the war. However, she new that her skills were of better use here in the castle.