"This attack cannot stand, we have been assaulted and we must respond!"

"And how do we do that? The guard cannot both keep the peace and go off invading rival kingdoms!"

"They didn't exactly do a great job keeping any sort of peace when the Changelings attacked in the first place, they were not trained to stand around and look pretty!"

The rest of the argument continued in much the same fashion, blame was passed from pony to pony, from the Treasurer to the Head Maid it seemed. Celestia listened to all of this from her chair, sitting at the head of the council room table she had a solid view of everything and everyone in there, none escaped her view and no conversation her notice.

The Changelings attack had ended a scant few hours ago, the guard had marshalled it's reserve forces and stood prepared for any counter attack their enemy might bring to the field, as of yet no hint of one had been discovered and Celestia was greatful for it, if they attacked again, she wasn't sure she could keep her usual control on her magic or her emotions, Canterlot would not survive if she couldn't.

"Enough."

The room fell silent and all attention was brought to her, she let her gaze roll over them all, silently scolding them for their loss of composure.

"Lord Jackhammer, what is the extent of the damages caused?"

The brown earth pony pulled a piece of parchment from his satchel and read through it quickly before giving his answer.

"The outer city remains intact your grace, most of the damage was done to the castle itself and the surrounding buildings within the upper ring, the east wing took the heaviest of the damage, the walls collapsed in various places and a few rooms are now unusable."

"How long will it take to make the necessary repairs?"

"Despite the damage we can have all repairs done within the fortnight, three weeks tops."

"Very well, send word to the outlying villages that we have need of craftsmen capable of helping with the repairs, do so at once."

"Yes your grace."

The stallion left quickly to go about his orders, with that out of the way she settled her gaze upon the next pony in the room. With Shining Armour recovering from his ordeal, his second in command, Captain Ruby Spear, took his place on the council. Her red mane and blue coat stood in contrast to her golden armour but her veteran stance and stoic demeanour let anyone nearby know she belonged in it.

"Casualties Captain?"

With military profiency the Captain recalled all the reports she'd received since the attack.

"One hundred Forty eight hospitalized your grace, most guardsponies, a few civilian injuries that are being handled as we speak, however..."
She paused for a split second as if to prepare herself before taking a breathe and continuing in a much more sombre tone.

"Four dead your grace, a patrol found them a short while ago in an alley in the upper ring housing district, all drained dry."

For a brief second the heat in the room seemed to sky rocket to unbearable levels, a few flowers in the corner went crisp and dry before falling from their stems to the floor. Every throat in the room dried up and every pony took a subconscious step back.

Celestia wrestled control back and silently berated herself for her loss of composure. Four dead... four of her ponies, her children, dead. Oh she would weep for them, she would cry and roar a mother's rage about the injustice of it all, but only once she had safely hidden herself away within the protective barrier of her safe room, where none could be affected by it. Before then however, she would smile that same half political, half motherly smile and guide her ponies to the safety and comfort they had known before, no matter how tarnished that safety seemed now.

"I'm sorry my little ponies, I forgot myself."

Now that the temperature in the room had returned to normal everyone was able to recollect themselves, none blamed her for the slip up, she loved her ponies and they knew how she felt when they were taken from her.

"Thank you Captain, return to your duties."

The captain saluted firmly and then about faced to leave the room, leaving only a few ponies left, ready and willing to receive orders.

"Lady Bookmark, what is the current location of General Thunderhoof and the Ninth?"

The slightly aged mare withdrew a clipboard and held it firmly in her magic, her eyes scrolling quickly through the last report they'd received from the General before finding what she needed.

"They recently made landfall near Baltimare your grace, they have returned after completing a contract for the Griffins."

The various ponies in the room eyed each other nervously, every pony in Equestria knew about General Thunderhoof and his legion, a massive army capable of conquering entire cities within days, made up of creatures from every territory, from pony to minotaur, griffin to yak.

For a thousand years this army had fought for Celestia and Celestia alone, though they had not been called upon for direct service since the war with the yaks over two hundred years ago. That war had been bloody but short, oh so very short, there's a reason the yaks, for all their yelling and stomping, never venture from within their borders.

Though known widely by their reputation for being a massive force of destructive power, it was their leader who ponies knew of the most. Despite having been around for just over a thousand years and having had seen generations of soldiers come and go, one thing had remained the same, one pony had continued to serve relentlessly under the banner of the Solar Goddess.

General Thunderhoof, also known as "The Wingless Alicorn", had commanded the Ninth Legion ever since its formation. He was for all intents and purposes, ageless. Though if old stories were to be believed, not unkillable.

Comprised of over five thousand heavily armoured and armed pony legionnaires and some three thousand foreign auxiliaries, the Ninth Legion was Celestia's attack dog, fuck with her, you fuck with the Ninth... no one fucked with Celestia.

"I know a lot of your are scared, I am too, your home has been attacked, your loved ones threatened and hurt."

Celestia stood from her seat and spread her wings to their full span, her ponies would need to feel confident in her decision as much as she was if things were to go smoothly.

"Chrysalis and her ilk have slapped away every hand of friendship we have offered, spat on every attempt at negotiation and now she comes to our land, our homes and seeks to steal what is rightfully ours."

This must be done, there were no other choices left, no guilt must be felt from this.

'four lives, four of my children'

"After talking with my sister we have come to an agreement."

"In accordance with the laws of the land, We hereby recall General Thunderhoof and the Ninth Legion and task with him the invasion of the Changeling Kingdom and the capture of the Changeling known as Queen Chrysalis, let it be so."

Every pony in the room stomped their hoofs in support, loud enough to rattle the table and windows.

"Lady Bookmark, make the necessary arrangements, Equestria is going to war."

Author's Note

Let me know what you think, chapters are short but hopefully plentiful, cover photo not mine just using temporarily.