In the Name of the Princess

The sun afternoon shone brightly through the stained glass windows of  the royal dining room in Canterlot. A huge table being both the centerpiece, and the reason for the rooms existence. Unfortunately, there were no meetings scheduled for the rest of the week, so the table was, and would remain, mostly unused that day.

Only two ponies were currently seated at the table. One was a white unicorn with a blonde mane, the other a purple alicorn with a deep blue mane . The former of the two was eating a large fruit salad, and somehow managing to sound like an entire pack of wolves tearing into a carcass. The latter had her hooves folded in her lap, a thoughtful look at home on her face as she stared into the middle distance.

The white unicorn paused from his gorging and spoke. "My Princess, you really should eat something you know." He said in his usual suck-uppy tone.

Luna's response was quick and made her annoyance quite clear. "I've more important things on my mind at the moment than food, and besides, you certainly eat enough for the both of us Blueblood."

This seemed to shut him up rather quickly, and he didn't press the issue any further, opting instead to continue to eat in relative silence.

This continued for several minutes before an armoured pegasus pony with short rainbow hair suddenly burst in and interrupted Luna's contemplation and Blueblood's gluttony. She immedietly came to Luna and knelt down before her. "My Princess, I am sorry to disturb your meal, but we've got a major problem that needs to be brought to your attention fast." The blue pegasus seemed strangely nervous, which indicated that something was very wrong.

" You need not apologize Captain Dash, but be quick about it." She said half-worriedly.

No sooner had Luna spoken these words, than the Duke chose to voice his thoughts where they were unwanted.

"Yes, do be curt please. The princess cannot be bothered by every little quandry and quirk that crosses your desk. If you have a problem, then handle it, otherwise, there are ponies far better suited to the task, miss Dash." The way he said "miss" seemed somehow more condescending than usual.

To say that Rainbow Dash glared at the duke would have been a laughable understatement. The captain's eyes narrowed almost to slits, and her pupils seemed to flicker, as if the fires of Hell were contained in her steely gaze. When she spoke, she did so in a low whisper, as if she were the voice of death itself.

"You would do well to remember, Blueblood, that I am no fool, nor am I petty, vain, stupid or lazy."

"Furthermore", she continued as she slowly ascended on her wings and began hovering towards him.

"I am captain of Luna's armed forces in the field, and I have been since I was promoted after taking command of the venerable Fifth Legion's Darkwings at the ambush in Bloodsnow pass. You know this, do you not?" She was less than a foot away from him now. Her muzzle was practically touching his, her eyes screaming her absolute loathing for him. "Well, do you?" She asked again, slightly louder than the last time.

To his credit; or perhaps his stupidity, Blueblood's expression had remained stoic through the duration of the conversation up to that point, but his irritation at being so rudely insulted by a plebian was beginning to show through.

"Miss Dash, I would suggest you refrain from speaking to me in so haughty a manner. Do remember that I am Duke of the realm, and an heir to the throne of Canterlot."

He spoke with extreme confidence. Fortunately, his confidence was misplaced.

Rainbow Dash did not take her gaze off of Blueblood. If anything, it seemed as though her eyes narowed even more, and a vein began to throb on her temple. Her voice remained low, but it wasn't a whisper anymore. It became a low snarl.

"Listen, and listen well, you slow witted oaf. I am not a "miss", as you seem so fond of insulting me by saying. I am Captain Rainbow Dash. Do you know how and why I earned that title? Because I am the meanest, toughest, fastest, hardest, and most absolutely badassed pegasus in the whole of Equestria, that's how!"

Her voice had become a shout by this time.

"So if you would like to find out why that title has remained unchallenged, then please, by all means, make one more snide little comment, or even better, hit me with your dainty little chicken legs. Or are you afraid you might ruin your manicure? Come on, hit me! Hit me you whoreson!"

"ENOUGH!" The royal canterlot voice silenced the next round of taunts before they could leave the lips of their intended speakers. "Captain Dash, kindly cease your harrassment of the Duke. Duke Blueblood? In the name of me, shut up." Luna took a deep breath, calmed herself and said. "Captain Dash, you said you had a problem that required my immediate atttention, please tell me what it is."

Rainbow Dash nodded and sauntered over to the door.

"Stoutwing! Come in here." Barked Rainbow Dash quickly.

Another pegasus soon stepped in, obviously a guardspony, though he was not wearing his armor. His left forehoof was splinted, and he was visibly bleeding through the bandage covering gashes on his right side. He tried to bow, but his injured hoof meant that he simply fell flat on his belly. He let out a little whimper of pain, sucked in a breath through his teeth, and slowly stood back up. "  "My lady. Stoutwing, Warrant pony officer grade 3, serial number four-oh-five-one-one-two-six, ninth legion, third battalion, fifth company, airborne scoutspony regiment, I am here to serve. I bring news from the guard fort near Coldford river Bridge." He said still rather shakily, but still with purpose.

"Well, what is it." Luna's voice was noticeably shocked now, and her face certainly didn't leave much room to doubt it either.

The messenger nodded and continued. "The fort has been taken, they killed the entire company. If I hadn't been ordered to report to you, I would be dead too."

"Who did this?" Asked Luna incredulously.

The guardspony paused for a moment, his eyes glazing over as if remembering some horrible nightmare. When he spoke again, the fear in his eyes was mirrored in his voice. "It was timberwolves, I've never seen a pack so large. There were hundreds of them, and they were wearing makeshift armor. Their pack leaders, the huge ones, had what looked like diamond dogs on them, but it seemed as if the diamond dogs were leading them, rather than the pack leaders themselves. I don't know how, or why the hell this is happening, but with respect my Princess, we need to ready the legions."

Prince Blueblood laughed and said: "So you want us to believe that somehow, an entire fort was destroyed and an entire company slain, by a pack of dogs? It's almost like saying that a bunch of fluffy bug vermin destroyed an entire town."

Rainbow Dash snickered quietly in the background.

Luna turned her head towards Blueblood with the slow and carefull precision of an owl, and stared at him with contempt and anger to rival that of Rainbow Dash's recent outburst.

"Duke Blueblood? Be. Somewhere. Else. Now."

Her tone brooked no argument, and Blueblood suddenly remembered that he had to go because he had to do that thing, at that place, with those ponies. He slunk out the side door a moment later, too ashamed to face any of the other ponies on his way out.

Once he was out of earshot, Rainbow Dash muttered quietly to the other pegasus."I pity the skank that lets him do any kind of that thing in any kind of place."

Stoutwing chuckled, then nearly doubled over in pain. Then he muttered to Dash."Damn it hurts to laugh. Can we get this over with captain? I think I cracked a rib."

Luna unknowingly answered Stoutwing's question a moment later. "Please continue Stoutwing." She offered softly.

Stoutwing nodded slowly and continued. "My Princess, they were like an army, they came at us hard and fast. Half our men were out on patrols at the time, it's as if they knew we were under defended. They were clever about it too, they tried to luresome of us out.

Luna looked genuinely and absolutely shocked. "What do you mean they lured you out?"

Stoutwing sighed and said. "They took a prisoner from one of the patrols they ambushed, then put him in hearing distance of the fort. My squadron and I were sent to find the source of the noise."

               *FLASHBACK*

      Coldford river fort, 7 hours ago.

Stoutwing sat on a rickety wooden stool in the guard house at fort Running-River. polishing his armor and sharpening his wing swords for the fifth time that day. The armor may have needed some T.L.C. to keep it looking nice and shiny for the officers who were fond of gear inspections, but he mostly did it because he was board out of his damn mind. Strange as it would have sounded to some, Stout loved the relaxing little shriik-shriik sound his whetstone made as it crossed the cold steel of his blade.

As he contemplated whether or not he should continue with his needlessly monotonous tasks, the door opened and a very large, white pegasus walked in. His steps were slow, purposeful, as if he was in no hurry to get anywhere. The other ponies in the room at the time suddenly remembered they had to be other places, and promptly cleared the area. The pony continued to slowly lumber towards Stoutwing, and then came to a stop just a few feet from where he was sitting. He slowly pulled over a stool and sat down, the stool barely taking his weight.

The pony then spoke in a frighteningly masculine voice. "So Stout, how's life in no-hot-mares-ville?"

"About as lousy and unsatisfying as sex with your sister" Replied Stoutwing in a perfect monotone as he continued polishing a stubborn spot on his helm.

"I thought she seemed a bit dissapointed after coming home late that one night. You may be stout in the the wings, but I think you're a bit soft in certain other areas." He replied jokingly. He then sighed and continued. "I hate this place, I haven't had a good session in weeks man."

"The mares here have all been educated on certain parts of your anatomy, Featherweight. The lady guardsponies need to be able to walk straight the day after, and they really can't afford to be discharged because they fraternized with another soldier." stoutwing seemed rather smug about the whole ordeal.

"This place is Hell, no good food, no booze, no women, no bards to sing of my exploits, and no fighting. It's like boot camp all over again, except my bed is filled with fleas stinks like manure, and it's hot as balls outside." Featherweight complained

"Would you just quit your whining?" Stoutwing said irritably

"Don't even get me started on the whining thing Stout." Featherweight scolded.

At that moment, a third pegasus entered the small building. This one was actually wearing his armor, and managing to look like an authority figure with his short-cropped red mane and fiery orange coat.  "Why is it that I see two perfectly healthy pegasi being of absolutely no use?" He said coldly.

"Well sir we were going to do something, but then we remembered that there's all of jack-squat-and-crap to do in the first place." Said featherweight matter-of-factly.

Stoutwing looked at featherweight, then looked back at the Liutenant and said. "Sir, let me just state for the record, that he does not speak for me."

The Liutenant looked at them both through his piercing green slitted eyes and said menacingly: "listen you nut-juggling asshats, I don't care whether you piss or go peter-puffing in your spare time, but when your on the clock, it's my job to make sure you dunderheads are doing work and earning your pay the guardspony way. Now get your asses into your gear, our friendly neighborhood doppelganger has decided to select a group of ponies to be his personal flying monkies, and guess who the lucky winners were. I want you ready ASAP, dismissed.

"Yes sir." Featherweight and Stoutwing both said simultaneously.

To the pegasi's credit, they were all in the air within about ten minutes of the order being given. The team consisted of five pegasi, Liutenant Gruff "Hellfire" McRaw, Featherweight or "Tank" as he was known to everyone else, Stoutwing or "Stouts", Antony "Ace" Acee, and Tina "Corkscrew" Cumuli.

"You see anything down there Tank?" Ace asked loudly. He had to yell to be heard over the wind turbulence.

"Not a damn thing, it's almost as boring as looking at your mother while she's in the buff, and still twice as likely to turn me on." Tank replied nonchalantly.

"Shut it you ass-wipes! I think I hear something!" Shouted Hellfire angrily.

Indeed a sound could be heard on the wind, a low groaning sound that seemed to be a pony in great pain. His inarticulate cries were practically begging somepony to help. The team of pegasi formed a search pattern, standard spread, about twenty yards apart, in a staggered line formation.

It was Ace who found him first and transmitted the "on me" signal to the rest of the group. He was in a small clearing, surrounded by brush and trees, an averaged size, brown earth pony with a deep aqua mane. He wore the colors of the ninth legion. Even worse, it seemed he was seemed he was fifth company, which meant he was one of theirs. He had been horribly mauled by something, he was still bleeding from a dozen deep gashes on his sides and flank. Whatever had done it had torn right through his armor like tissue paper. Ace started administering first aid. Whoever he was, he was barely conscious, but he seemed to be trying to say something anyway.

"What? I can't understand you." Said Ace quietly.

The earth pony just kept moving his lips, his mouth trying to form words with air his lungs couldn't provide. How was he still alive? Ace  had heard of sheer earth pony toughness, but he had never really seen it first hand before.

"Just don't speak, your in shock right now." He tried to be soothing, but it came out as a hoarse whisper.

Meanwhile, Corkscrew was watching the perimiter, as was proper, when a small movement caught her eye.

"Hey Tank. Did you see that?" She asked quizzically.

"See What?" Said Tank evenly.

The earth pony suddenly coughed, and spat up a copious amount of blood

.

"Ah damnit, how is this guy still alive?" Said a very alrmed Ace. "He's got a punctured lung, three fractured vertabrae, two cracked ribs, and his two rear legs have been crushed up to the thigh, and to top it off, he's lost more blood than Tank."

"How can you tell about all the broken bones?" Asked Hellfire evenly.

"Because I can see them sir." He said sadly.

The earth pony again hacked up a load of blood

"There ain't much left I can do besides write a letter home to his family sir, this guy's not gonna make it." Ace said with all the weight of the world carried in the sadness of his voice.

Corkscrew swore that she saw th bush move again.

"Hey Tank? Get my back, I've got to check something out." she said as she slowly began to walk towards the bush. She went up to the bush and poked it. Nothing happened.

Without warning, the earth pony suddenly stood up on his forehooves and looked Ace dead in the eye.

"It's a trap, fly for your lives." He said it quite simply, as if he were making idle conversation. He then fell down and died in a very shocked Ace's hands.

All the pegasi in the clearing looked on in shock at the horror they had just witnessed.

"Did you guys s-." Corkscrew never finished the question, the bush she had seemed so interested in a moment before had seemingly transformed into a timberwolf before their very eyes. The timberwolf pounced right on top of her, and bit her at the nape of the neck. There was no plate to protect her there, and the force of the bite broke her neck. In that same moment, the whole forest seemed to come alive, and in an instant, everything went to hell via express shipping.

Stoutwing was tackled from the right side less than a second after Corkscrew was killed, he landed awkwardly on his left hoof, and heard more than felt, something snap. The Diamond dog's claws raked his right side, leaving three painful wounds in his side. If he hadn't had his wing up, he might have lost it at that moment. As it was he let out a small grunt of pain. Stoutwing quickly put his wing back, and in one swift motion, removed his blade and swiped at the diamond dog's neck. The thing seemed to pause for a moment, as though surprised, then, its head suddenly fell off and a torrent of black goo came out with it. Stoutwing quickly righted himself with a wing, and then took off and got airborn, hovering over the fight.

It was a technique that had been impressed into all their brains during basic.

"the sky is your friend in a battle. Pick your targets, put 'em down, then get back up."

From his place in the sky he could see that things were not going well. Ace and Corkscrew were both dead, Tank was bleeding from a dozen bites and scratches, and Hellfire was surrounded by a dozen of the ugly things. Stoutwing picked a target, folded his wings and dived headfirst towards Hellfire, at the last moment, he brought his wings out to bleed off air speed and bucked a timberwolf with his three good hooves. Stout saw the thing's stick bones crack, and it let out a little whine of pain as fell to the ground, ten feet away.

"Hellfire, why aren't you in the air?" Shouted Stout as he removed his wing swords and began methodically slicing through the clustered enemies.

"I took a nasty blow to the wing. I ain't  gonna be flying outta this one." Yelled the captain as he wrestled with two timberwolves while simultaneously fending off three others with his good wing.

A monumental roar echoed out then,  and Tank suddenly came barreling through all the intervening timberwolves in between himself and Stout.

"You know." He shouted loudly. "When I said there was no action here, this wasn't how I imagined being proved wrong."

He somehow managed to make jokes even though he was bleeding profusely from huge gashes on his flanks and sides.

"Listen", said Hellfire as they all began to lay into the timberwolves once again. "Someone needs to know about this, otherwise, alot of ponies are going to die. I can't fly anymore, so i'll get your back while you two get the hell out of here."

"I may be a big man, but i'm still no fool. I'm bleeding like a stuck pig. I probably won't last muck longer. I'm going out fighting." Tank spoke with all the finality of the grave.

"Get out of here Stout. Get out while you can still fly." The Liutenant was speaking almost desperately now.

Stoutwing looked his friends, neigh, his brothers, dead in the eyes one last time. He swung one last blow, and suddenly leapt off into the sky. He looked behind him one last time as he flew away, and the last he, or indeed anyone ever saw of them, they were standing, back to back, still on their feet, fighting like demons sent straight out of Hell.

*End Flashback*

Present time, royal dining room.

"When I got back to the fort, the fat bastard running it actually got off his ass and did something for a change. When the timberwolves showed up an hour later, we were ready, or at least we thought we were. The pack that came out of that forest was enormous. At least legion strength, probably more. They climbed the walls of the fort to get at us. They told me to fly here as fast as I could ma'am."

As Stoutwing finished his tale, Luna and the captain both looked at him with newfound respect.

Luna looked to Rainbow Dash and asked grimly: "how many troops can we muster?"

Captain Dash paused thoughtfully for a moment before speaking. "The veteran fifth legion can muster inside of two days, the ninth could be pulled from auxilliary duties and brought in for some sweet revenge in less than three days. Besides the first legion, the others are all unmustered or too scattered to be pulled back in any reasonable amount of time without leaving every countryside village undefended."

"What about the first?" said Luna darkly.

"The first are here in Canterlot, but they're the only military forces here, and Canterlot must remain defended." Rainbow said quickly.

"Pick the best battalion from the first, and have all field commanders report to me. War is coming, and it won't be pretty. Stoutwing? Go get those wounds rechecked, then go in and get some food and rest, you've earned it. Rainbow Dash? You have your orders. You are both dismissed." Luna was under pressure now, but she was at her best when under pressure. Luna was also angry, and when she was angry, things tended to get done faster.

"I don't care why or how this is happening, but someone is going to pay dearly for it." Muttered Luna to herself, her eyes had turned to steel by this point, but until the men could be mustered, she figured she might as well eat something. Suddenly, her food didn't quite seem so unappetizing.