Rebellion

     "General, I don't believe an invasion is the rational answer to this predicament." Celestia informed as she sipped her tea.

  "I'm aware of this, your highness, but what other choice do we have? They've killed United Guard on foreign soil! That's an act of war."

       "Aren't we at war presently, General?" The UG (United Guard) ranking officer sat back silently, silently agreeing with the Princess, "I do propose a solution that does not need the presence of the United Guard on Saddle Arabian soil."

      "And what would that be?" Celestia stood up and trotted for the buffet table. The General getting up and following her,        "Princess, we could be looking at genocide in the near future, hell, maybe a month's time away!"

     "I understand, but an invasion going to send all of Equestria to war. Don't you know that all the terrorist groups and social classes are somehow associated with oil industries are connected to other parts of Equestria?" She levitated a plate and gathered three slices of bread along with some butter, "if you invade the area, areas of Equestria will see it as you taking their oil. And we both know how dependent Equestria is of Saddle Arabia's oil rich lands."

     "So what better plan do you suggest?" The General said as he lifted a plate with his magic.

     "I'll keep that to myself until the time of right to reveal my plans to the United Guard." The General grew frustrated.

"I need to know what will happen, my troops are scattered all over the place."

"Deploy peacekeepers." Celestia ordered as she lifted a strawberry and popped it into her mouth.

     "Peacekeepers? What do you want me to with them?"

     "I believe," Celestia swallowed the red fruit, "it is listed in their name."

     "Keeping peace is difficult in Saddle Arabia." He informed as he poured syrup on his gold, freshly toasted waffle.

     "Just do as I say, General." Celestia turned away with her plate filled with fruit and light brown, hot pancakes. The General sighed and followed her, bringing his plate with him.

                                                                               ***

     Night Thunder trotted past aisles of cubicles, phones ringing from different parts of the room followed by 'Elite Guard'. He continued down the aisle until he reached the entrance into a hallway. He pushed the doors and entered into a quiet, clear hallway.

     "Always hated going through that." He let out a breath of relief. He trotted down the curved hallway, going left. At the end of the hallway was a pair of elevators. He stopped in front of them and pressed the button shaped as an arrow pointing upward. It glowed dull yellow as a hum slowly grew louder. Night Thunder backed away from the elevator. He listened as the humming grew louder and louder until a bell rang. The doors to the elevator opened and Night Thunder entered. The doors closed. The walls lower halves were made of wood and the upper halves were mirrors. Above him was a bright rectangular fluorescent light. The elevator started up and began to rise. Night Thunder could hear the faintest amount of elevator music. It was drained out by the humming, gears turning, and machines working. The small box stopped and the doors opened to a hallway. He stepped out of the elevator and looked around. There on the floor waiting was Tundra, her bright blue eyes, square glasses, shiny, long indigo mane and a brilliant shiny white coat. The door closed. Tundra was holding a yellow folder. She stretched it out to Night Thunder.

     "Thank you, Tundra." She nodded. Night Thunder opened the file and went down the hallway, Tundra trailing him.

     "May I ask why you requested this, sir?" She asked as she pushed her glasses up.

     "The General of the United Guard has come to town, Tundra. And he's come with alarming news."

     "Is it concerning what you have there?" She pointed to the folder.

     "Affirmative, I've heard the things happening in Saddle Arabia, but I fear that things will become worse if we don't do anything about the problem." Tundra nodded silently. Thunder turned and opened the door to his office. His office had one window that let him have a view of the hallway. He requested to have the window removed due to it possessing no purpose of its presence. He had a large wood oak desk in the corner with a leather swivel chair behind it. The Commander wasn't one of style of design, so the most he had in his office was a potted plant in the corner opposite of his desk and a painting of Star Swirled the Bearded.  He sat in his desk as Tundra closed the door. Thunder placed the folder onto his desk and looked up at Tundra.

    "How are you, Ms. Tundra?" He managed a smile without the eye contact.

    "I'm fine." She replied in her soft voice.

    "Alright. Let's get back to work; I'll notify you if I need your assistance." She nodded and turned around. She opened the door. Night Thunder caught a glimpse of white crossing the window. Tundra held the door open and the commander noticed use bowed. The door handle glow a bright yellow as Tundra stood back up and went right. The door opened wider as the Princess trotted in. Night Thunder got up and stepped out of the desk and bowed before her. He stood up and saw the tall princess.

     "Commander."

     "Your highness." He acknowledged. He gestured her to sit in his desk but she declined.

     "I spoke with the General." She informed him.

     "And?" She looked to the right corner of her eye.

     "He wants an immediate invasion of Saddle Arabia." Night Thunder rubbed his mane.

     "Damn. That won't end well."

     "It won't start at all." She shot back. Night   Thunder looked at her. She shook her head and sat down in Night Thunder's chair, "Saddle Arabia is like a web connected to many other webs. Once we mess with Saddle Arabia, we mess with everything else!"

     "That would be the future consequence, but what would the solution to all of this be?" Celestia rested her cheek on her hoof. She tapped her other hoof on the wood oak, the sound like a twig hitting a hardwood floor. Her eyes grew wide and a grin spread on her face.

     "Assemble Team 41!" She suggested delightfully. Night Thunder raised an eyebrow.

     "Seriously?" She nodded.

     "I know they're still a testing group, but they did extraordinary on their last mission!" Night Thunder waved it off. Celestia rolled her eyes.

     "That does not mean they can conduct this mission successfully, Princess."

     "They saved your flank is what I know." The Commander rolled his eyes.

     "I slipped." Celestia smiled mockingly, "I will not assemble them, they're a loose cannon group, and we don't know what could happen! Last time was just an elimination of a small group of bandits. This time, we're looking at a world war!"

     "Commander, I wouldn't ask you to assemble them of I didn't trust them with this." She looked at his eyes. Night Thunder crossed his hooves.

     "You know the consequences if they screw up, don't you?" She nodded. Night Thunder bit his lip. He stared at the tip of Celestia's waving rainbow hair. Watching it whip like slow flame.

     "Alright. I'll file an order to assemble them." Celestia hugged Night Thunder.

     "This'll work, old friend. Forget the past and let's think about the future." She let go of him and trotted out. Night Thunder smiled as she past the window. He galloped through the door and down the hallway to Celestia.

     "I'll do it if you get someone to remove this useless mirror." Celestia smiled.

     "Done." The Commander smiled and the elevator door opened for Celestia. She stepped in and the doors closed. Night Thunder turned back around and headed back for his office. Tundra's office was right next to Night Thunders. He past his office and trotted into her office. She was organized, three tables, including her desk, held piles and piles of files, but each one was labeled, colored, very organized in summary.

     "Tundra?" Night Thunder put his hoof on her desk. She looked up from the paperwork, she hadn't noticed he had entered a few seconds ago.

     "Oh, sir." She closed the file, "what can I do for you?"

     "Prep me a team of ten Elites to assemble a team." She nodded and moved for the landline next to her, "also," she paused midway to the phone, "prep the master class Airship." She nodded and picked up the phone. The Commander left her room and entered his own. He slipped into his desk. He stared at the placard at the corner of his desk. He reached for it and turned it around. Inscribed on the gold sheet of metal was 'Commander Thunder'. He turned it placed it back in its original position and resumed his work, taking out the folder Tundra gave him. He flipped through the pages with interest, criminals charged with petty theft, all the way to reports of homicide. Suicide bombings, rape, protests on the street, one resulting in a massacre of both Saddle Arabian troops and the civilian population, he sighed, "We’ll be in for a rough one." He flipped through the pages of criminal records and found a stapled packet with records of past imports within the past three months. He fished through the pages. Some imports were highlighted, but they were all the same; 'steel from Manehattan and New Filly'. Night Thunder ignored the highlights for they were just steel. Manehattan and New Filly need to make a profit after all; they are the head of the whole world's stock exchange.

He looked through the report for hours, "We can't sanction them...that would lead to more conflict outside of Arabia." "What would Saddle Arabia do with steel? High grade steel, for that matter?" He looked closer at the imports, three imports from Diabra; nuclear fusion instruments, technology used in powering cities big as Canterlot. Night Thunder closed the file and rubbed his eyes. He stood up and stretched. He grabbed the file and slid it under his desk. The Commander yawned and headed out.