Chaos in Equestria Book Two: Tabula Rasa

  The Canterlot Castle’s War Room had a reputation for being something of a joke. It had been unused for over a century. Had it been just one day earlier, the room would have been abandoned, dusty, and by all standards, completely lifeless. However a rare summit was called for all the Royal Guard’s highest ranking officers, and the War Room was put to use again. Seven uniformed ponies were gathered around table with an outdated map of Canterlot, and the ensuing debate was anything but lifeless.

  Captain Trench was outspoken in is anger. He was a white coated earth pony, the first earth pony to reach the rank of Captain. His unruly, grey mane was almost completely concealed behind his helmet. He slammed his hoof on the table to get the other six captain’s attention. “This is ridiculous!” he shouted, “They’re evacuating the city as we speak! Canterlot is a trade hub. How long will it take for you to realize that there is no threat? Until then, we’re supposed to close all the markets! The city will go bankrupt before you stubborn mules realize that Discord isn’t real!”

  A pegasus replied, “Gee, Trench, are you a captain or an economist?”

  Captain Trench lifted his hoof off the table. “I’m a realist, and Discord is not real! I bet the pegasi were to blame for all that strange weather we had last year, not some make believe god! What proof do you have that he ever existed? A broken statue? Oh yes, somepony broke our statue. That must mean that we unleashed the god of chaos!” he mocked.

  Shining Armor stood up and slammed both of his front hoofs on the table. “That’s enough from you, Captain! I will not allow this to be reduced to a petty squabble! The evidence is irrefutable. Discord is real, you’re going to have to accept that you’re wrong.” He removed his helmet and laid it on the table. “The only reason we’re here is to develop a plan to...”

  “No need,” Celestia’s voice interrupted, “we have a plan.” She entered the room, followed by a green unicorn. The seven officers bowed as she stepped in.

  Shinning Armor looked up from his bowing position. “Princess Celestia, you already have a plan?”

  “No, not me, but he does,” she replied. The green unicorn trotted to the table. He had a bright yellow mane, with an orange streak down the center.

  “So, are you an expert?” Captain Trench asked, “Or is there another reason you’re dong our job?”

  The green unicorn half ignored and half didn’t care about Trench’s comment. “You can call me Ray,” he said plainly, “That is, after all, the name I was born with. Now I believe you are under the false assumption that it is up to you to formulate a plan.” He telekinetically pulled a map out of his saddlebag, and unrolled it on top of the old map. His map was an almost identical copy of the other one, accept the city was divided into seven parts with bright red ink. “I already know exactly what to do to trap Discord...”

  “Trap Discord?” Shinning Armor interrupted, “I thought we were protecting the city!”

  “Why not both?” Ray replied, “Discord will not stop until we stop him, but he has been stopped twice before. We have exactly what we need to stop Discord, and it is six young mares.” He put one hoof on the hoof drawn, red lines dividing the map. "You will each be in charge of one section of the city. Your job is damage control. I'm sure there are more stubborn ponies like you, Captain Trench, who refused to evacuate. In addition to them we have hospital patients who weren't able to leave, and their doctors. Your job is to keep them from coming to harm. No easy task considering we have no idea when or how he is planning to attack." He looked around the table, then back to the map. "As for the trap, We'd normally be able to set our trap wherever Discord plans to enter the city. The problem is we have no idea where that is. So we’ll set up or trap in the next best thing.” He waited a moment before continuing. “He s going to invade Canterlot for one reason, and one reason only. He intends to destroy the Elements of Harmony...”

  “Hah! Listen to yourself!” Trench interrupted, “You think he’s going to invade Canterlot so that he can destroy some jewelry?”

  Celestia stopped her hoofs in protest. “That’s enough from you!”

  Ray waited a moment, then continued, “It doesn’t matter it makes sense to you, the Elements of Harmony are the key to victory for both sides. When Discord attacks, and he will attack, he will be looking to destroy them; which is why The Hall of The Elements is the perfect place for our trap. In order to keep Discord from suspecting that it is a trap, I will be outside the Hall the whole time, and Princess Luna will be protecting the building with a magical barrier. If all goes well, Discord will believe that we DON’T want him to enter the Hall, when in fact we do.” He smiled. this was the part of his plan he was most proud of. “When he enters the Hall of the Elements, the six Element bearers will be waiting for him. He will be caught off guard and turned to stone once again.”

  Captain Trench studied the unicorn for a moment. “He’s not half as dumb as he looks.”

  Ray smiled, “Nopony is as dumb as I look.”