The Elements of Grief

Chapters

Denial - Rarity's Chapter
Anger - Rainbow Dash’s Chapter
Bargaining - Pinkie Pie's Chapter

Denial - Rarity's Chapter

Rarity Belle, a pale white unicorn who bore a punctually curled purple mane, was currently very stressed. Several sewing and fabric-related implements floated around her like an orbit. She gazed upon an incomplete outfit she had been fashioning with some hesitancy, and she needed to impress this next buyer of hers. He had been a particularly tricky customer as of late, immensely hard to please and with a great amount of both ego and perfectionism to hoof, and customers like him rarely found what they were looking for. Rarity had taken it as sort of a personal challenge to slam him with an outfit so fashionable and demure that he just couldn’t say no, and as such, she had spent hours trying as hard as she possibly could to nail the new ensemble that she had been making for him. There were downsides to being as compassionate and as driven as she was, meaning Rarity began to second-guess herself and her fashion-designing abilities as she had many, many times before. There were various intricate issues only a pony with her expertise could notice or care about, and they plagued her mental state to the degree that she was almost feverish. The anxiety built up over her difficult task caused her to pace around errantly in her boutique, the aptly named ‘Carousel Boutique’, and she was spontaneously coming up with and simultaneously abandoning various ideas to ensure perfection and quality.

“No, it needs to have more sequins,” she firmly decided. Then she stopped, thought for a moment, and immediately doubted that assertation. “Oh! What am I saying?! The sleeves need to be straighter! Or… do the ruffles need to be more ruffled? Euuh… hrmm… oh, I just don’t know!”

As much thought as Rarity gave to the outfit, she could not discern just how to make it absolutely perfect, and these feelings gave way to anguished and dramatized wails of grief. Eventually, she paced no more around her shop, and she swayed like a sailor on deck who had gotten a bit tipsy. She settled a hoof upon her brow dramatically as if she were the love interest in a soap opera, and gave a few well-acted groans.

“Oh, this puzzling couture is never going to pass his judgment!” she cried hopelessly. The unseen ship-like force gave way underneath her fetlocks, and she collapsed on the floor in a sobbing heap. After a few moments of unhappy blubbering, Rarity quieted down, and her sniffling settled. Then, after what felt like another 10 seconds of winding it down, she stumbled to her hooves and breathed in and out. After another 15, she had recollected herself with miraculous poise.

“Keep it together, Rarity.” she spurred. “You just need to find the right combination of garments, to put your heart and soul into it, and this outfit will surely come together!”

She decided instead to simply have a do-over with the design. She trotted over to the incomplete outfit that sat on a mannequin, but before she could reach it, a knock sounded upon her front door. This newly introduced external importance diverted her attention towards it and prompted her to ostensibly finish a half-dozen multitude of tasks she was performing.

“Coming!”

The pronounced growth from Rarity’s forehead glowed and enveloped the top latch with a magical aura. Then the latch moved and thrust the window half around the door threshold with an almost dramatic flourish. There Rarity found a stallion peering into the doorway from about a half-pace away, wearing a dated-looking uniform, and carrying a brown saddlebag. He had a tan brown coat and a jade-green mane topped with one of those military ‘brony’ helmets or whatever they were called, and he greeted her with a firm if pleasant look. The soldier raised a salute to Rarity, and she looked back to him, mystified.

“Greetings, miss.” the soldier addressed, formal and prompt.

Rarity was a bit cautious, and she slowly shifted towards the soldier, wary of his intentions. What business did a soldier have at her boutique? He didn’t look to be in the market for another outfit, either. In fact, aren’t their uniforms standard-issue?

“Can I help you, sir?”

The soldier nodded stiffly.

“I’ve a Telegram from Canterlot for you, top priority message.”

He turned to the brown saddlebag he wore and opened the flap, rummaging through it with his muzzle.

“Won’t be but a moment.”

After a moment he extracted a roll of paper and held it out, clenched between his jaws, to Rarity. He raised a hoof and exchanged the paper from mouth to hoof, then cleared his throat as if to read it. Rarity interrupted.

“Oh, you don’t have to read it,” she said kindly. “A good friend of mine taught me Horse Code. Just hold it for me, if you please.”

The soldier sighed, returned the end of the paper to his mouth, and set his hoof down. Rarity put on her reading glasses and glanced at the message (the few objects she had been levitating were tossed aside carelessly). Just as Rarity mentioned, the message consisted of no words, but a series of dots and dashes. This was a coded message of sorts, transmitted through wires that much Rarity knew for certain, but she seemed to understand what was written, and after a brief pause, her eyes widened. A harrowing gasp emanated from her lips quite forcefully.

“Uniform designs for the Equestrian military?!” she cried aloud, recoiling in horror.

Again the floor under Rarity’s hooves seemed to sway, and she was just about to ‘faint’ onto the threshold of the doorway when the soldierly pony interrupted her display with a loud cough. Rarity’s eyes, which had been aimed lazily skyward as if to shut, snapped back to the soldier mid-sway.

“Excuse me, miss,” he asked dryly, with an eyebrow raise. “But did you read the… entire message?”

Rarity halted her swaying and studied the message with greater attention to detail, almost with a huff of sorts. What followed was a long sigh, complete with a flourishing motion of the hooves.

“Oh, thank goodness,” said Rarity, with vivid relief. “They just want me to design uniforms, not to produce them,”

Rarity then struck an ostentatious pose in the doorway, clearly directed at the soldier. He blinked vacantly.

“Well, my good stallion,” she said triumphantly, “please tell the Princess that I shall happily assist her in designing uniforms for the benefit of our brave equestrian soldiers and the good of this great nation of ours!”

She paused, eyes gleaming and with a wide smile, to get a look at the soldier as she awaited his verdict on her garish display of confidence. The soldier stared at her blankly. Somepony coughed throatily, whoever it was, it couldn’t be determined.

“Yyyokay.”

He then cautiously leaned over and eased the message onto the door threshold. He let out a few nervous chuckles, grinning unconvincingly, and then galloped down the road without looking back. Rarity raised an eyebrow, following up with a pleasant albeit guilty chuckle. She closed the latch firmly and went to thinking about her new task. The difficult customer’s ordered couture would have to wait for now.

“Well, no wonder the Ministry of Defense came to me,” she mused aloud to nopony in particular, “Those soldiers could do with a lot more in the presentation department.”

Rarity gazed out the window, deep in thought. It was a pleasant day outside.

“Hrm… a functional military uniform,” she said wonderingly. “goodness, I don’t think I’ve done one of those yet.”

A smile crept up upon her face. Forget dresses and suits, a military uniform was a real challenge! For once, Rarity felt eager, and she trotted in place out of how nervous she was beginning to feel.

“Oh, I’m so excited!” she clamored. “This will be wonderful! Nothing I can’t handle, of course, but I relish the thought! Let’s see about those specifications they want.”

She released her pent-up energy by practically galloping towards the message the soldier had left inside. She levitated upward so that she could get a better glimpse, and her eyes ran over it. After another pause, she unleashed a dramatic gasp equal parts flamboyant and audacious, and her smile slipped away.

“Oh dear!” she exclaimed, as her eyes scrawled over the paper. “They certainly want a lot of function. Saddlebags, patches, and pockets, oh my! This may be more difficult than I thought.”

Sure, Rarity had sewn on pockets to suits before and had even stitched on merit badges when she was younger, rather than pin them, but the patches and pockets being asked of her were both extensive and many. The pockets they wanted were big enough to fit an entire bag of bits and then some, and the patches went from the lapel to the shoulders to the sleeves, and so on. Rarity knew at once she’d need a frame of reference of some sort if she wanted to ensure she’d get the job done right. Her mind turned and toiled, and after a few minutes of gear-turning silence, the solution suddenly came to her in a burst of inspiration.

“Eureka!” she cried aptly, “I’ve got the most perfect idea ever!”

She immediately galloped over and threw open a door in the corner, leading into what looked like a walk-in closet. Inside, covered in a layer of dust, hung the replica uniforms she had made to teach Rainbow Dash about the Wonderbolts so long ago.

That was great fun! Rarity reminded herself, And of course, it was educational as well.

The uniforms were a little moth-chewed, but otherwise, they were the best choice. Not like she’d actually be wearing the outfits anyway, she only needed them as a base. And where else was she to find uniform references, anyway? As she had pointed out, she’d never made a uniform from scratch before, and this meant she had no designs or canvases upon which to reference. Even if she tried to make or find her own, the trip to Canterlot or some other place alone would take an hour, and just trying to find one proper would be an adventure in and of itself. No, this was the better, the faster option, and saved her time from poring over another of Twilight’s history textbooks like she did last time. That didn’t stop Rarity from being revulsed by their grime.

“Oough, so dusty and dirty!” she exclaimed explicitly, “I must plan a day to clean out this closet.”

Rarity was satisfied, however, for she now had the means to perform her task. She hummed sweetly to herself as she levitated each outfit from the closet, and then followed it up with some mannequins, approximately one for each set of accoutrements. She then proceeded to levitate and affix each outfit to a respective mannequin, and following that up, she obtained a quill, a roll of measuring tape, and a pot of ink from a nearby drawer. Once she had everything she needed she smiled merrily and made her way upstairs, each mannequin floating lazily after her, enraptured in her levitation spell.

“Alright then, Ponies of the military!” she crowed enthusiastically, “Prepare to dazzle as you’ve never dazzled before!”

After some amount of time spent designing, taking physical measurements, and cutting and sewing fabric, Rarity finally considered herself at least a quarter of the way done with her task. She had clocked in nearly 4 hours of seamless cutting, sewing, and organizing, which she had powered through with resilience using her muse as a launchpad. She still had a lengthy task ahead of her to accomplish, but for now, at least, she was happy with what she had so far. As she worked, she relished every moment she spent toiling with prideful jubilation. As she did, she continued to hum a sweet, musical tune. It was like something out of a Disney movie.

“Oh, this is so exciting!” she exclaimed delightedly as she sent another levitating pair of scissors through a roll of grey fabric with a snip, snip, snip. “I haven’t had this much fun in ages! Not since back at the start of my boutique when I was first setting up shop…”

She sighed with joy and might’ve been lost in her reminiscing, but next to fashion her physical needs came first and foremost. Her blissful remembrance was interrupted shortly by her stomach grumbling and howling with hunger, an urge even stronger than her inspiration, and she could feel it in the pits of her stomach.

“Ouugh,” she groaned in an almost sickly manner. “Getting hungry.”

Rarity pushed on and tried to ignore it, but after only a few seconds it was followed by an even greater rumble, a practical earthquake. If made verbal, she could’ve said she felt she could resort to cannibalism by eating a horse, hooves, and all, but she didn’t. There was no way she’d be able to keep working at this rate, as much as she wished she could. She decided, after she could stand it no longer, that she would go out to a restaurant for a late lunch.

Why not? Rarity mused internally, as she set aside her tools and implements for when she returned. It’s a wonderous afternoon, you’re hungry, and you have a great deal of work ahead of you. Go out and take a break!

And so, she resolved to do this. She gathered up some of her outdoorsy things (she seldom left home without a hat or a scarf) and set out for the streets of Ponyville with an air of greeting the day.

Rarity trotted through Ponyville at a leisurely pace, humming to herself along the way as she traveled the cobblestone walkways and humble bridges that stood over winding rivers and pooling streams. The sweet tune she had been singing had followed her on her way, and it was almost picturesque the way everything came together. The beauty was palpable, which was often the norm in this land of Equestria. There was a sort of consistent, lovely charm about it. Rarity continued further along pleasantly as she entered the town proper, but as she did, she heard a clamoring nearby from some distance away. It was somewhat faint but still audible, and her ears perked up and strained to listen closer.

What, pray tell, is that? She asked herself, internally curious. Is there a crowd nearby?

After a moment Rarity decided to investigate the source of this strange noise, and made further into Ponyville. After a dozen more paces or so the clamoring grew louder and was more akin to a bubbling wave of noise than anything resonant or singular. When Rarity rounded the corner of another Ponyville abode, she was frozen in shock. A considerable number of both stallions and mares were milling about in front of a large wooden building that stood prominent in the center of town. Ponies of all kinds hadn’t even bothered to line themselves appropriately, and instead pooled and flowed into the building like a retail store on Black Friday (not that Equestrians would know what Black Friday is). The wooden building itself did not stand out in any way, other than the fact that it was new, and that it was wholly very dull. Rarity stared at the massive herd, which was full of ponies that chattered excitedly to themselves in a wave of delight, and gaped at them. After another second or two, she managed the urge herself on despite her curiosity, but her gaze remained affixed to the burbling crowd.

Such a convention! She thought to herself in amazement. I’d recant I’ve never seen as many ponies in one place! And that building is so tacky and bare… what could have possessed those ponies to line up in front of it?!
Rarity, as she passed by, was able to catch some fragmented conversations from the ponies in the crowd. She gleaned as much as she could, but unfortunately, common courtesy meant she had to keep walking. Stopping and staring at a stranger as they talked was simply not the mannerly thing to do.

“I hope I get to be an officer!” said one excitedly,

“I hope I can be a general!” clamored another,

“Maybe I’ll become a marshal!” added a third.

Most of the Ponies seemed to be completely self-absorbed in… whatever it was they were doing. Rarity could only guess, but from the way it sounded, it was something related to some kind of group. She was too far outside the crowd to even have a chance of somepony explaining what was up, and she resolutely decided she did not like what she was seeing. She didn’t even notice she had picked up speed on her way past, her steady trot improving to a weary canter. There surely had to be a reasonable explanation for all this.
It’s fine, it’s alright, Rarity. She self-assured, in increased panic, Whoever owns that… rustic building must be collecting for some good cause, yes, that’ll be it. ‘General’ and ‘Officer’ must be roles in… whatever organization they want to support. All in good time these ponies shall return to their homes and Ponyville will be serene and peaceful once more! No more of this crowding business.

Rarity’s thoughts were not confident at all, nor were they resolute, but that was the argument she went with. She moved further and further away, eventually breaking her gaze from the crowd until at last, the noise grew faint and dim. Rarity slowed down, and after a few more minutes of casually walking she finally spotted her choice of eatery: A local restaurant she visited on off-and-on occasions, nestled on the corner of the street far and away on the quiet side of town, and open at this very hour. The restaurant looked quaint and well-to-do, but strangely enough, it seemed almost deserted.

“That’s strange.” Rarity inquired aloud, “Isn’t it still lunch hour? There should at least be some ponies finishing their meals by about now.”

Rarity trotted over to one of the lonesome patio tables and seated herself in the desolate scene. She looked about for any signs of life, but saw none save for a small colt sweeping the road with a broom, and gave an uneasy gulp. There were pamphlets all over the place for some odd reason, littering the ground like rubbish as if there had been some sort of oversized ticker-tape parade. Rarity picked one up and glanced over it, but tossed it aside after a few seconds. Whatever it said did not interest her.

Where is everypony? Surely they couldn’t all be standing over at the… no, of course not, Rarity. Don’t be silly!

Rarity looked around determinedly as if preparing to answer somepony who might disagree, but nopony else was around, and she chuckled nervously instead. Rarity threw up the menu and attempted to distract herself by reading it. There were quite many delicious choices in wait, and just in time, a kindly waiterpony trotted outside the building and stood before her. His smile seemed a bit faded, but it was happy all the same.

“What can I get you started on, miss?”

Rarity smiled. Surely this couldn’t go wrong.

“I will… have the no. 17.”

The waiter frowned. He shook his head sadly.

“Sorry, we’re all out of that.”

Rarity blinked.

“Wait, what? What do you mean?”

The waiter tilted his head downward, akin to a foal revealing the fate of the missing oatmeal cookie.

“Well, we’re short on ingredients. We don’t have enough to make a number 17.”

Rarity paused. She had never heard of a restaurant being short of an item before. Oh well, it had to happen to somepony. She brought the menu back up and reselected her choice.

“What about the no. 9?”

But the waiter shook his head again.

“Sorry, not that one, either.”

Rarity’s surprise grew. Her eyes darted back to the menu.

“Then… the no. 24?!”

“Nope.”

“What about the no. 2?!”

“Sorry.”

“The… the no. 18?!” Rarity replied defeatedly, “what about that?”

“Out of that, too.”

Rarity was aghast. Just what was there to order?

“Well,” she asked skeptically, faceplanting the menu onto the table with a hard gesture and a firm gaze. “What does the waiter recommend?”

The waiter looked over the menu nervously.

“Uh… I’d recommend the no. 22 and a water.”

Haystack Fries and water. Typical. That had to be the most simplistic meal Rarity had ever been offered that she felt she had to accept. When she was a filly, she had complained and bemoaned any food that didn’t sparkle or shine and had resulted in many troubled evenings for her parents. Talking to them yourself would get you a funny story about putting sequins in her ketchup, but I digress. Rarity grimaced at the ‘recommendation’ but was too exhausted to protest the choice.

“Fiiine.” she relented, “Just… please try not to salt it too much.”

“Can do, ma’am. Please wait here.”

The waiter disappeared back into the restaurant in a flash, leaving Rarity alone with her thoughts. Why were there so few choices? Why was the menu practically nonexistent in variety? The last time she had come here, there had been plenty of food! Where had it all gone?

The waiter returned with her simplistic meal. Rarity scowled and decided to speak up. There will be no more of this nonsense for her.

“Excuse me,” she asked forcefully. “but just why is most of the menu unavailable, hmm?! Answer me that!”

The waiter recoiled at Rarity’s tone. He was clearly not a stallion of great vitality, and he buckled and shook in response to these fierce words.

“Oh g-gosh, I’m uh… I’m very sorry, m-ma’am…” he stammered embarrassingly, “B-But ever s-since the war p-preparations, we’ve been s-short a l-lot of o-our, em, ingredients. Half of our s-suppliers are sending their food to the M-Ministry of Defense in C-Canterlot, and the rest are already being l-limited by the r-rationing. At this r-rate, I don’t even know how long we’ll b-be able to stay open.”

Rarity opened her mouth to complain further, but then she closed it after she caught a glimpse of the poor sap she was airing her gums out on. He was clearly in the wrong place at the wrong time, practically on the verge of crying, and Rarity felt wholly sorry for him. Her anger subsided with a bang and was replaced with a flood of guilt.

“Oh, well then, I em… oh heavens, pardon me then, for my outburst! Here, please, take this as a token of my apology.”

She gifted him a small jewel which she placed in his hoof tenderly. The waiter glanced towards it, then beamed at Rarity, his sad frown lifting up into a bewildered smile.

“Oh, wow, uh, t-thank you ma’am!”

Rarity felt happy at having cheered up the waiter, who trotted back inside with a much brighter expression, but as soon as he was gone Rarity felt her own warmth and fuzziness slip away. Now she had to eat this plain meal, one that she probably could’ve cooked at home, just to save face.
So much for going out, I guess.

Rarity ate the meal in very ladylike bites and tried hard to remain positive, but at this point in her day, her internal distress was compounding into panic and fear. A feminine burp and a patting of the muzzle with her napkin signified she was finished, and she tipped extra as another apologetic gesture of goodwill towards the kindly if nerve-wracked waiter. She rose from the patio seating, straightened herself, and made her way for home after that, a little appalled at the whole situation that had just unfolded. She raced back and across the town square, which had unfortunately gotten even worse in her absence, and her stress wasn’t the only thing that had compounded. There were not one, but several wooden buildings erected around town now, all of which were plastered with propaganda in the form of posters, pamphlets, and other forms of promotion. The crowd had thinned and many ponies had departed from the center of town, but she noticed many of the stragglers seemed to be filling out forms, or talking about dates and times.

“Says here I’m to report on March 2nd.” one said to his female companion. “Guess we’ll have to make arrangements for when I-”

Rarity hadn’t stuck around to hear the rest, but she did see plenty. Some ponies already had saddlebags slung over them, and a good number were making their way to the train station. She could only help but wonder what had prompted all of these things, but in her heart, she knew what it meant. She just didn’t want to admit it to herself.

Following that difficult and troubling series of very unfortunate events, Rarity tried to focus back on the task at hand, but her mind kept drifting back to the scenes she had seen in the quaint Ponyville streets. The ponies milling around everywhere, the forms, the saddlebags, and the crowds. It was all so much to take in, and whatever it meant was probably not well at all.

“Keep calm, Rarity, keep calm,” she said to her now slightly deranged-looking self in the mirror, recollecting for about the third time today. “This surely isn’t to last forever. Everything will be back to normal before the month is out.”

Rarity cracked a maniacal smile to herself and sent a shaky hoof through her hair as if she had just won an argument. After that, she, at last, was able to finish the uniform designs she had been working on, and they were displayed gallantly in the front room. The uniforms were a silvery grey, with various spaces for patches and insignia, as well as sizable pockets just as had been asked of her. Finishing the whole to-do was a tight belt around the barrel, with added pockets for munitions and supplies, plus vacant spaces where equipment could be clipped on. Rarity was a bit worried about what those in Canterlot would think, but other things troubled her so much she didn’t think much of it in the first place.

With her work done and her evening unobstructed, Rarity slipped upstairs and prepared for bed, but she couldn’t get herself to relax with so many things on her mind, not while she brushed her teeth or dressed in her luxurious pajamas. She was just about to collapse on her bed in exhaustion from the day when somepony peeked into her room, shyly clinging to the corner of the doorframe. It was a small filly, with white fur that was identical to Rarity’s and a mane that was colored in two vertical stripes, one lavender and the other a faded pink. She wore a curious, innocent smile on her face, which looked very sweet. This was Rarity’s younger sister, Sweetie Belle.

“Oh, um, hi sis.” Sweetie Belle greeted curiously. “I was just, um, wondering… what were all those weird suits you were working on downstairs? Are you refining another client’s designs again?”

Apparently, Sweetie Belle had gone snooping around once Rarity went upstairs, but that wasn’t important. Rarity chuckled at her sister’s interesting observations.

“Hm? Oh, no, Sweetie Belle! Those are just the new uniforms that the Ministry of Defense wanted!” Rarity quickly explained, “Don’t they look ravishing?”

Sweetie Belle seemed reluctant, and it was clear she did not think so. To her, it lacked any of the things her older sister had taught her about fashion, and if anything it was functional and little else. It was partially Rarity’s fault that this was all Sweetie Belle knew regarding outfits, but at the moment, this didn’t come to mind.

“Oh, uh, they’re great,” she replied unconvincingly. “I mean, I just thought they just looked kinda weird.”

Sweetie Belle grimaced once she realized her insensitivity, and Rarity almost flinched. She responded with a slow sigh.

“I know, I know,” Rarity concurred. “It’s just… that’s the way the Ministry wants them, I suppose. Without any sequins and such.”

Rarity’s dimmed expression had the same effect on Sweetie Belle’s, and the two stood sullenly in her bedroom. Rather than leaving, however, Sweetie Belle trotted further into Rarity’s room and sat on the bed with her. She looked to her inquisitively.

“So, uh… what do you think about all the stuff happening in town?”

Sweetie Belle seemed to have noticed what was going on but was far from charismatic about it.

“Well, I think it’s terrible,” Rarity replied optimistically, a hint of despondence to her words, “but I’ll be thankful when it’s over.”

Sweetie Belle glanced at her and slowly gulped. Then she shifted about on the bed and gave the feeling that something was weighing on her. She inhaled sharply and began.

“I’ve-been-meaning-to-tell-you-that-Apple-Bloom-and-her-family-say-there’s-gonna-”

Sweetie paused to breathe.

“-gonna-be-a-war!”

Rarity’s eyebrows rose and her jaw dropped. A war? How could it be? Surely the Ponies of Canterlot were generous enough to understand that war is… terrible, isn’t it? That it simply isn’t done!

“A war? With whom?”

“Princess Twilight says we’re gonna fight the Changelings and stuff. She says it’s bad… really bad.”

“Why, that’s awful!” Rarity exclaimed, and then gave another sigh. “Well… it’s a good thing they’re so far away. I’m sure that it won’t last that long, those Changelings are sure to be defeated. It’s only a matter of time.”

Sweetie Belle cocked her head.

“How long?”

Rarity made a quick guesstimate and mumbled as she calculated.

“Oh… how about a month?”

A month?! Talk about shooting for the stars, Rarity, did you pull that out of the sky?! Sweetie Belle seemed to have noticed this too, for she jumped back at this estimate. She hoped the war would be short but even she knew it wasn’t that short! Rarity hadn’t noticed her sister’s reaction though, she seemed lost in thought.

“Rarity…” Sweetie began reluctantly. “...Are you sure it’ll be that quick? I mean, by the way that Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were talking about it, we might be fighting for a whole year. Not just a month. That’s too short.”

Rarity’s expression hardened and became grim, but she held on firmly and defiantly.

“Preposterous!” she exclaimed in refusal, “This whole thing is but a fleeting moment, Sweetie Belle. It’s sure to not last more than a month. Really.”

Sweetie Belle frowned a bit. She still didn’t believe her.

“But why, Rarity?! Why can’t it last that long? What makes you sure it’s gonna end so soon? I wish it would end that fast, but even I know it probably can’t, not unless we were really lucky.”

Rarity mumbled again, her eyes almost glassy, and she tried to come up with an answer. After what seemed like forever, she didn’t say anything at all. She didn’t even look at her sister, but was rather, still lost in her thoughts.

“Because… because, because. It has to.”

Rarity’s reasoning seemed very flawed, which made Sweetie Belle fidget nervously. She knew what was going to come, so she let it out.

“So… you’re saying you wouldn’t like the idea of Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and I becoming a flag bearer with a pair of drummer girls for the Army?”

Rarity’s head turned at such a speed she practically lost it in the friction. Her pupils contracted to such a size that the whites of her eyes were nearly all that was there, and her mouth contorted in shock and anguish.

“You did what?!” Rarity screeched at her sister, “Wh- the- but- why?!”

Sweetie Belle looked very guilty. She tried to speak up, but her words were lost in Rarity’s fervent protesting.

“You-You… you can’t! You’re too young for war! You’re not capable of fighting at such an age! Why do you want to fight at all for Celestia’s sake?!”

Sweetie Belle looked up to her sister determinately.

“We are not too young, Rarity! And we are entirely capable! Being Flag Bearer and Drummer Girl is a thing they let Fillies and Colts do, and we wanted to because our country needs us!”

Rarity was still aghast and did not agree at all with her ideas. Why them?! Why her of all ponies?! Why in Tartarus her sister?!

“No, no, no!” Rarity refuted, her voice a shriek, “As your big sister, I forbid you! I want you to stay as far away from the frontlines as physically possible! Didn’t you ever stop to think about the consequences?! What if you were to get captured?! What if you fell and were injured, or what if you were in a fight and you d-duh…di…”

Rarity couldn’t finish that sentence, but she continued with a pleading look of desperation to her sister. It was obvious what she meant.

“I-I… would never forgive myself!”

Sweetie Belle appealed despite her sister’s very reasonable assertations. She seemed to defy her sister’s will almost out of spite by this point, a filly that was getting too big for her britches.

“But Rarity!” she wailed with the sweetest look she could muster, “Applejack and Rainbow Dash let Apple Bloom and Scootaloo do it! They said it’d be great, and it’d be fun! Oh please, Rarity! Pleeeeease!”

But Rarity just wasn’t having it, Bambi eyes or no. She angrily glared at Sweetie Belle, whose pleading look began to fade. She wouldn’t allow it, she couldn’t allow it. Her sister, serving in the military? It was impossible… inconceivable. Unallowable. Unforgettable.

“I- what- no!! They meaning dear Applejack and Rainbow Dash convinced you?!” she screamed sorrowfully, “Enough of this!! Tomorrow I’m going to talk with them and see if sense cannot prevail! As for you, Sweetie Belle, you are grounded for a month, and I hope sleep dispels these notions of yours!”

Rarity, despite Sweetie Belle’s protesting, literally pushed her sister into her room with all her strength. She was no earth pony, but an equally furious sister could amount to that much. Sweetie Belle bickered and refuted, but when a door is shut in your face, even you know the conversation is over.

“That girl, I swear!” said Rarity, angrily, “I cannot believe Applejack and Rainbow Dash would ever go as far as to convince my sister to join the army! How could they?! How could they?!!”

Rarity was very upset by this point, positively steaming with rage, and she threw herself into her bed irritably. She tussled with the sheets and the pillows, and muffled cries of rage were a punctual battle cry, but at last, she grew weary after another 15 minutes. She slowly but surely drifted off into a troubled, uneasy sleep, where she dreamed of a future of uncertainty and conflict.

After many hours of fitful rest, Rarity woke from her sleep in a gasp of shock. Air heaved into her lungs as she sat up in a panic, and her eyes and face swerved to scan the length of her bedroom frantically. Rarity saw nothing out of the ordinary, nor any disturbances, but she was not at all convinced. Rarity lowered herself back into bed and tried to close her eyes again, but when she did something woke from within her dreams.
”Rarity!”
Sweetie Belle.

“Sweetie Belle!”

Rarity shot upright again, heaving more air into her lungs. In an instant, she threw off her bedcovers with the force of a raging bull and fell out of bed. She raced out of her bedroom, practically busting her own door down, and galloped straight for her sister’s accompanying room at Rainbow Dash speed. Rarity willed as hard as she could, her eyes shut closed as she made for her sister’s bedroom door, that she’d be fast asleep. Nothing to disturb her, nothing to wake her, and that all… would be well.

But instead, she was gone. So was Rarity’s consciousness.

“Alright, Ms. Belle. Just get some rest, and you’ll be cleared to check out tomorrow.”

These had been the comforting words of a nurse from Ponyville Hospital, but they did little to stifle Rarity’s discomfort. Rarity had collapsed after going into shock and had genuinely fainted. It was only luck that a neighbor heard the disturbance and that she had been found shortly after. Rarity hadn’t been pleased when she learned she was confined to her hospital bed for the time being until tomorrow, which destroyed all chance of intercepting her sister’s escape. Rarity struggled to get out of bed, but she was too weak, emotionally and physically. Rarity watched and grumbled as the nurse went to depart from her bedside, but was intercepted by a second nurse. This second nurse whispered to the first, which then perked up with a gleam in her eyes

“Ooh!” the 1st nurse said excitedly, turning back to her with a smile and a musical voice. “Rarity, you have some visitors to see you!”

Rarity groaned a little and waved an exhausted foreleg towards the nurses.

“Send them in, please.”

The door of the hospital ward opened, and two ponies entered the room, one flying, and the other walking. One had orange fur with a blonde mane and a thick country accent. The other pony had fur blue as the sky, wings, and vertically striped hair that looked like a literal rainbow. These were Rarity’s close friends, Applejack (the orange one) and Rainbow Dash (the blue one). Applejack approached her bedside tenderly, while Rainbow Dash carefully flew overhead.

“How yeh doin’, sugarcube?” Applejack asked consolingly. “You okay?”

Rarity shook her head sadly, and brought her left hoof to her head in a fit of despair, almost as if she were nursing a terrible migraine or some sort of head injury.

“Terrible… terrible!” Rarity moaned woefully, “My sister has gone to enlist in the army of all things! Oh, how alone and how terrified she must be!”

Applejack exchanged a glance with Rainbow Dash, then sighed.

“Look, Rarity.” she said soothingly, “Ah understand wantin’ ta keep yer sister safe, but bein’ a Drummer Girl or a Flag Bearer really ain’t that dangerous.”

Rarity sat up in bed and gave them both a scorching gaze. It was at that moment she remembered that AJ and RD had been the ones to convince Sweetie Belle to enlist. Her already woeful disposition worsened fast, and her words grew spiteful.

“Of all the-! Of course, you’d say that! You were the ones who encouraged her! How could you just let them go?! They’re too young to be serving, too young to be fighting at such an age!”

A look of guilt flashed across their faces. Applejack stepped up, closer to her bedside this time.

“Ah was against the idea myself,” Applejack said quietly, “but ah had some encouragement. Granny Smith says that Apple Bloom’s plenty capable of fighting and ah know it fer myself that she’s smart enough to take good care of her an’ her friends.”

Rainbow Dash nodded.

“They’ll be okay, Rarity!” she added cheerily, “Those three fillies are some of the toughest I’ve ever met, except for maybe me when I was a filly, hehe!”

Rarity looked to Rainbow and gave her a glance that would wither flowers and burn ants with the intensity they had (poor Fluttershy). Sweetie Belle hadn’t convinced her, so why would they? Why would Applejack’s grandmother of all ponies decide this?!

“Even if they are ‘tough’, you should have consulted me first!” Rarity responded indignantly, “She’s my sister, after all! You really thought it was that important, huh?!”

AJ and RD’s gazes saddened. Rarity was right.

“Ah’m sorry ah didn’ consult you, ah thought you’d be proud yer sister wanted teh fight. Ah guess ah need to talk ter Granny Smith ‘bout it. No hard feelings?”

Applejack had no way of combing over what she’d put into motion. Rarity stared coldly at Applejack, then turned over and faced away from her in bed, her forelegs crossed over each other. Applejack moved in a bit closer, guiltily looking at her.

“Rarity, you ain’t too mad now, are yeh?”

Rarity did not reply. She continued to glower and pretended that suddenly she had become deaf and that the opposite wall looked very interesting. Applejack sighed and turned about towards Rainbow Dash, who was re-reading Daring Do and the Sapphire Statue for about her 127th time whilst hovering in the air.

“Come on, Rainbow Dash.” AJ beckoned, “Let’s go. She wants ter be alone.”

Applejack slowly trotted out of the room after a sad look towards Rarity, who still did not return the gaze. RD flew after her, and with the two departed, this left Rarity alone with her thoughts again, in the tense silence that it brought. All was quiet. All was silent. All was miserable. Rarity’s gaze turned over to the doorway and looked at the shadow it cast on her, like a physical metaphor. Her lips wobbled, and her eyes blinked, for they were filling with heavy tears. She looked and watched as they fell onto her sheets, like a short rain.

Not drama tears, the kind she cried in her usual times of ‘distress’ and disguised attention-seeking, but real tears. Ones of sadness, ones of despair, ones of being alone and cold in the world. Ones where you know your sister has run off to fight in an armed conflict between the two most powerful nations in Equus, and that you have no way of stopping her. Even if Rarity did bring it to Celestia, or some other important pony, how could the CMC be noted in the infinite wave of soldiers? Not to mention the fact that their tasks really weren’t all that dangerous, but Rarity didn’t acknowledge that. That would mean she was selfish. Unlike everything in her life, every single display she had ever made, every tear that ever fell, these were kept to herself. The only sign they ever existed were the stains in her sheets, which she pulled over herself and nestled into despairingly. She slowly turned over, stuffed her face into the pillow, and allowed only muffled sobs to escape from it. Every vacant space in her words was filled with a sob, leaving no moment behind.

“Why… why… oh, Sweetie Belle, please… please, be okay.”

Her pleas and begs were filled to the brim with despair. No amount of denial could save her, not even a little..

Author's Note

Split Door - A Door separated into two halves, one on the top, the other on the bottom with both halves having latches that can be opened individually. Common in Equestrian homes.
The ‘message’ - A ribbon of paper used to turn telegraph messages into a readable form
Horse Code - Morse Code, but Equine. Duh.
Ministry of Defense - Equestria's center of administration for their war affairs. It was founded in the wake of the onset of the Great War and was made via Celestia's pro-war reforms.

Anger - Rainbow Dash’s Chapter

Rainbow Dash could scarcely remember a time, much to her dislike, that she had been given free stuff from her friends for being awesome. She was the kind of pegasus, being sky-blue and with a rainbow-striped mane, who adored attention from other ponies and it inflated her ego to gargantuan sizes at times. Rainbow Dash had only risen further and further with her position as a Wonderbolt, and now from out of the blue, her ego mixed in with joy had detonated with delight. It was all because Twilight had decided to get the Special Editions of the Daring Do series, specialty collector’s versions of RD’s favorite book series, just for her. Rainbow hadn’t even known Twilight to do things like this, and she had initially gone to Twilight’s just to visit for a while, friend-to-friend, but it just so happened that Twilight’s order had been fulfilled the same day.

Why she ordered them Twilight would not say, but she seemed satisfied in basking in Rainbow’s happiness rather than in explaining everything to her, and so was Rainbow Dash herself. The ordering of the books was not of happenstance nor was it a fluke, for Twilight had been regaled by Rainbow Dash many times over of the value (both monetary and emotional) of these Special Edition novels, and it was starting to wear on her. Rainbow had told her numerous times every occasion she visited, much to Twilight’s chagrin, of how great these copies were.

“The Special Edition copies have signatures from A. K. Yearling!” Rainbow had told Twilight for the umpteenth time, going onto another tangent when they sat together on their thrones. “They’re worth more than three times their weight in bits, and they’re so awesome, too!”

Of course, every time Rainbow finished rattling off the reasons as to why they were superior to the regular editions, she always went into bitter hysterics over them, as if the world had deliberately aimed to prevent her the satisfaction of acquiring the Special Editions.

“It’s awful that they cost way too much, and at the price rate they’re going, I’ll never be able to afford any of them!” she complained errantly. “It’s just not fair!”

Twilight had wondered why Rainbow didn’t simply ask Rarity if she could borrow some of her seemingly infinite collection of priceless jewels to pay the supposedly overwhelming price, but Twilight thought it better to save face for Rainbow’s feelings rather than to break it to her, so no matter how long RD droned on about them Twilight would listen patiently. Twilight became bored by the whole affair after some time, but it was hard not to pay attention to everything Rainbow was saying, but it was certainly grating once Rainbow had told her for the fifth time. In the hopes that getting the books would hopefully put an end to Rainbow’s constant griping and her feverous articulation, Twilight had bought the entire collection using the castle’s treasury (mostly consisting of tributes paid to the Princess despite her protests, and the extra funds pooled together from her friends, though mostly Rarity).

It was gratifying seeing Rainbow so happy, but sadly her talk had turned from the theory of acquisition to the method of acquisition, meaning Twilight was mobbed with inquiries from Rainbow about how she got them. So much for peace and quiet.

“How did you get them, Twilight?!” Rainbow shouted curiously, whilst clutching the books close to her. “These copies cost a ton! Last I checked, you didn’t exactly have a lot of money!”

Twilight laughed dryly at Rainbow Dash’s comment, considering that she did have money, she just used it rarely. Again, being a good friend meant putting up with a friend’s more… curious quirks.

“Y’know, maybe I wouldn’t have so little funds if you contributed some to the castle’s treasury,” Twilight added seethingly, barely above a whisper. “Like everypony else.”

“You say something Twilight?” Rainbow asked curiously. She had yet to register Twilight’s minor contempt.

“Oh! Nothing,” Twilight said, resuming a smile. “I just thought that since it’s a special day, I’d get them for you as a gift, since we’re friends.”

Twilight’s face adopted a coy expression, but if she was hinting at a particular something, then Rainbow was yet to notice it. RD hugged the stack of Special Editions to her barrel in a manner resembling a filly snuggling a stuffed animal. She turned and looked over to Twilight.

“Well, thanks, Twilight! I didn’t know today was special. Is it because I’m awesome?”

Twilight winced a bit, but considering egotistical assumptions were the norm of hanging out with RD, she took it better than some.

“Well, that wasn’t my intention but… sorta?” she said, a bit confused at first, but then her coy look returned. “There’s another reason besides you being awesome. Which you are, by the way.”

Rainbow Dash was pleased by these compliments and smiled arrogantly. She stopped only to flex her left foreleg like an arm. Then she swooped over and studied Twilight, Special Editions in-hoof.

“So… why did you get them? You didn’t… didn’t…” she paused, and her eyes darted to the sides before going wide. “-s-steal them for me, did you?! Twilight!!”

Twilight opened her mouth to refute this shocking and inane claim, but before she could say anything at all, Rainbow shoved her hoof in her mouth with an audible thock. Then she shielded their faces with the same hoof, and Twilight spat to the side with a loud ‘ptooey’ once her mouth was vacant again.

“Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me,” Rainbow Dash whispered wryly. “We can just say they… fell off the back of a book wagon. I’m sure nopony’ll worry about it.”

Twilight gasped, and then scoffed at this.

“No, Rainbow!” she interjected, her words plain and her tone more contemptuous. “I told you I bought them! I wouldn’t steal from somepony!”

“Oh,” she replied, a bit disappointed that Twilight hadn’t committed a crime for her. After a slight pause, Rainbow grinned. “Well… would you steal them for me if I asked?”

Twilight groaned loudly and pretended to have not heard Rainbow’s idiotic question. She looked very tired from all of Rainbow’s incessant and often oblivious implications.

“All I’m saying is that I got them because today’s a very special day, especially for you.”

Rainbow was curious. A special day? For her? It wasn’t her birthday… or any holiday, for that matter. It was the fourth of July, and there was nothing special about that…unless…

“Wait a minute… why didn’t anyone tell me there was a National Rainbow-Dash-Is-Awesome day, Twilight?!” Rainbow chimed pompously, “I guess I should’ve figured it wouldn’t take long for everypony to start celebrating my spectacular, totally inspiring awesomeness!”

Twilight shook her head again, fiercer this time, and with a scowl. Rainbow was grinning self-indulgently again.

“It’s not just because of your awesomeness, Rainbow!”

“Oh,” Rainbow said, a stricken look to her face. “Right, you said that, didn’t you.”

“I can’t tell you what it is and you’ll have to wait to find out.” Twilight chided. “I have to get confirmation first before anything else happens.”

She began walking towards her shelves, presumably to re-organize them. Again.

“Please, Twilight!” Rainbow begged suddenly, throwing herself at Twilight’s hooves, and stopping her just short of the bookshelves. “You have to tell me why today is special!! I can’t go on without knowing!”

If Rarity was practically the Alicorn Princess of Drama, then Rainbow Dash was the Twilight Sparkle/Sunset Shimmer student-equivalent. Twilight might’ve refused her further, but something else spoke out first.

“Twiiiiiiilighhht!”

Spike, a purple-green ‘baby’ dragon, wandered in from the right hallway. He was clutching a blanket in one claw and a pillow in the other. Bags lined his scaly, slitted dragon eyes. He did not look well.

“Twwwwiiiiillliggghhhht…” he whined bothersomely, “The stuff in your science room’s being loud again. Make it stop, pleeeease…”

Rainbow Dash eyed Spike with sympathy.

“Whoa, Spike,” she said, eyes wide. “You don’t look so good.”

“I was napping when that… thing started beeping.” he replied pessimistically, “I was having a great dream, too. Rarity and I were-”

Spike stopped himself before he said anything more. RD eyed him with another sly look.

“Were doing what?”

“Uh… nothing! I, uh, didn’t say anything! Who said anything about Rarity?! Not me, hehe, I dream about… normal things.”

Twilight stepped up.

“So…” Twilight began, “what ‘thing’ was it that woke you, Spike?”

“It was your telegram thingamabob that was being noisy,” Spike complained. “That was what woke me up.”

“You mean the telegraph?!” she said incredulously. “It was beeping!?”

“Yeeees,” he groaned sullenly. “That thing, whatever it is, yeah. Just make it stop alreadyyyyyyy…”

Right on cue, another round of loud beeping noises echoed throughout the castle, of which these noises were strangely repetitive and matched in tone. Twilight’s eyes widened, and her mouth curled into a smile that would outmatch Pinkie Pie’s in length.

“It’s here!” she squealed excitedly, bucking out her forelegs. Twilight then galloped from the room, shouting jubilantly as she went, almost in pure ecstasy. “It’s here, it’s here, it’s here, it’s here!!”

A dazed and groggy Spike, accompanied by Rainbow Dash, followed along wonderingly. Trailing after, the both of them found her located in a side room in the East Wing of the Castle. Inside of this side room were many weird doodads and other technological prototypes, customary of Twilight’s keen obsession with the sciences (and ironically, the science of magic and magical science). At the back wall, centered alongside a number of other inventions, was what looked like a block of wood. It was weirdly shaped so it had a lever made of brass that tapped on the surface, and was connected by a long, thin black string that trailed through a window and onto a series of wooden poles that stretched for miles in the direction of the Canterlot mountains.

The source of the noise was coming from another large wooden object, which looked like a loom wheel integrated into a metal crate, except it had thin parchment instead of wool or string spilling out of the end. Twilight fiddled with these two objects, while Spike and Rainbow exchanged glances.

“Uh… Twilight?” Rainbow asked cautiously. “What’s all this… stuff in here?”

Twilight squeed again and didn’t seem to hear them.

“Twiiiiilight.” Rainbow beckoned again. “Hello? Equestria to Twilight, this is Rainbow Dash speaking!”

Twilight Sparkle suddenly became aware of them, but she didn’t look away from the diagnostics. She seemed laser-focused, the wide smile still plastered on her.

“Hi, Rainbow Dash! I’m using a new machine called a telegraph!” she explained happily, as she fiddled and pressed things on either contraption. “It’s a machine that sends messages to other ponies! Those messages go through wires, the electronic signals they send come out on the other side, and are then interpreted through a communication medium!”

Another exchange of glances between Spike and RD. Spike yawned, but said nothing, for he was still groggy from his mid-woken nap. Rainbow’s face scrunched up in thought, but she couldn’t figure it out.

“I… didn’t understand half of what you said,” Rainbow said quizzically. “But what’s so important about this… wood and metal thingamajig?”

Twilight continued fiddling with the machine, racing from one end to the other like she was waiting for some kind of reaction. She finally turned to look at them, flashing a sub-deranged look to her eyes.

“What’s important is that I’ve just got a message in from Canterlot!” Twilight exclaimed happily. “I’ve been expecting one for a while!”

Rainbow Dash blinked, and slowly glided onto the ground.

“Is this whole thing you’ve been talking about?” Rainbow asked skeptically, “About today being ‘special’ in a way?”

“Yep!” Twilight said gleefully. “I’m so, so, so excited! Today is the first time the castle telegraph’s ever been used!”

Twilight pressed a series of buttons, and the loom-wheel thingie began spilling out thin paper, which pooled at Twilight’s hooves. She immediately picked it up and began scanning it, but it only read out a bunch of black dots and lines. What it meant, neither Spike nor RD knew, but Twilight certainly did. After getting a good look at it, she gasped, and her breathing became labored. Then she squealed again.

“She sent it! Rainbow, look, look!”

Twilight galloped over and shoved the paper in her face. RD looked at the series of dots and lines, but she could not comprehend it.

“Uh…” RD droned in confusion. “What am I looking at, Twilight?”

“It’s a message!” She said enthusiastically. “Read it, read it!”

Rainbow looked at the dots and dashes again, then tilted the paper to the side, and then upside-down. She held it up to the light, then stretched the sides, then folded it a little. Still, nothing changed about it, and she remained illiterate to its meaning. Rainbow was at a loss.

“I… don’t know what this says.”

Twilight stopped and suddenly registered this. She cleared her throat, and her demeanor became calm again.

“Oh, right. You don’t know how to read telegrams… or Horse Code…” Twilight replied pointedly. Then she smiled. “I could teach you how to… if you want! I already taught Rarity… and Pinkie Pie already knew Horse Code, somehow.”

Rainbow Dash groaned at this and rolled her eyes. Typical Twilight, always getting invested in these newfangled machines and then finding ways to turn it into a lesson. Why didn’t she just write a letter? Why did she need to use this big hunk of wood and metal to transmit messages? Spike stood there and scratched himself absentmindedly, then gave another tired yawn that permeated into the conversation. After a brief silence, Rainbow’s annoyance welled up inside.

“Just tell me what it says, Twilight!” RD demanded. “No more of this secretive telegraph-code malarkey!”

Twilight recoiled, and her eyes narrowed sorely, but she willingly obliged. Twilight brought the paper closer to her and cleared her throat. Then she spoke, her eyes trailing across the surface as she read.

“Rainbow Dash… Princess Celestia has officially appointed you to be…”

A drum appeared from nowhere, and Spike repetitively hit mallets onto it, creating a drumroll.

“...the Joint Chief of the Equestrian Air Force!”

Rainbow Dash went stiff like she had been petrified, and she was stunned. Literally. Then she began breathing hard, and Rainbow Dash looked like she had been hit by a runaway wagon filled with turnips. After a few moments of being incapable of speech, she found her now-incoherent voice.

“W-Wh-Whu-Wh-Whu-Wha-” RD stammered bluntly. Spike and Twilight were staring at her. “Wha-Wha-Wha-WHAT?!”

Twilight smiled pleasantly and moved over to her stiff friend. She set a hoof on her shoulder, which seemed to revive her a little.

“It’s no joke, Rainbow Dash. Princess Celestia wants you. Nopony else.”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t believe it. This wasn’t really happening, was it?

“Are you sure? Are you positive that Pinkie isn’t gonna jump from around a corner and yell ‘surprise’, Twilight?!” she asked interrogatively, still wide-eyed. Her head flitted around the room as if looking to confirm this. “B-Because there’s no way that I’m… I’m…!”

“You clearly haven’t been watching the reforms.” Twilight explained happily. “If you’d listened, you would’ve heard about the changes undergoing Equestria. We formed a War Committee about a month ago, and only a few days ago Celestia reformed the military High Command! If she thinks you’re the best for the job, then she’s sent for you, Rainbow. Nothing else about it.”

Rainbow Dash was at a loss for words. She’d somehow managed to surpass even her superior, Spitfire, in ranking. She had made the greatest jump in military-ranking history, from a lowly (well, maybe not lowly) Wonderbolt to a brand-new General, and she was still in total shock. Twilight continued reading the message with additional directives, which made RD’s jaw weigh down like it bore a lead weight.

“The message says you are to report to Canterlot where the rest of the high command is waiting. You’ve been scheduled for a meeting with all of them, and it’s there you’ll be introduced to your new position!” Twilight explained. “It must be an honor, getting to serve at Canterlot directly! I’m sure you’ll be a natural at it. If I were Celestia, I wouldn’t trust anypony else for the job either.”

Suddenly, the doors burst open, and there stood the rest of the group, thrilled. Applejack with her ranching hat, Fluttershy looking pretty yet introverted, Pinkie Pie who was… well, Pinkie Pie, …and even Rarity! She looked a bit exhausted from what had happened, but she was no worse for wear than she had been a few days ago. Each of them ponypiled on top of the astonished Rainbow Dash, who was still overwhelmed by the announcement. A cacophony of voices rang out in sequence as she was crushed.

“Ya did swell, Rainbow, we’re proud o’ ya!”

“Oh, I’m stupendously glad for you, darling!”

“You did… really great, Rainbow.”

“Awesome-tastic, Rainbow Dash! I knew you were always a super-duper-duper amazing pegasus pony! This calls for a celebration!”

Rainbow looked around incredulously.

“I don’t understand… how did everypony know already?”

Twilight giggled bashfully. She scratched her mane with her hoof in a bemused sort of way.

“Well… I might’ve told a few ponies beforehand,” she said shyly, as she attempted to defend her actions. “And by a few, I think I mean everypony close to the rest of us, us being the Elements of Harmony.”

Twilight quickly realized and went to prevent Rainbow’s ego from inflating into a balloon-size.

“T-That didn’t mean you were guaranteed or anything! It… well… okay, Celestia might’ve told me in advance that you were the most probable candidate. I didn’t want you to get your hopes up, though.”

Rainbow smiled weakly. Then she burst out laughing, and the rest of the girls (plus Spike) joined in, their mirth echoing throughout the castle.

“Thanks, Twilight. You guys. You’re all the best!”

She pulled them all into a big hug.

The rest that followed was all a blur to Rainbow, which was surprising, considering how fast she was on average. Pinkie Pie immediately held a ‘Congratulations to Rainbow Dash for the Promotion’ Party which everyone laughed about some more, but of course, the celebration was enjoyable. Rainbow’s shock from the revelation she had received was wearing off, and a somewhat idiotic grin was plastered on her face. She still couldn’t believe had achieved one of the highest positions attainable in her career. The others could, and spent a great deal of time playing party games or eating cakes of all kinds. After some time spent at the exhaustive blowout, Rainbow needed a break from the celebration, so she scooted away towards the punch table. There, Rarity stood with a cheerful yet dimmed smile, and together they chatted under the beat of the party music (DJ P0N3 had been hired for the occasion).

“I hope you’re enjoying the party, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity voiced encouragingly, “I am very glad for your fortune in your career. Perhaps we’ll see each other at my Canterlot boutique.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled gratefully and sipped a bit of punch.
‘ “Hehe, thanks, Rarity.” she replied. “Yeah, I hope so. I might be a bit busy, but I bet I can easily drop by after a bit.”

Rarity nodded, and following another sip of punch, she suddenly flinched and nearly choked on it. RD patted her on the back to help her out.

“Whoa, you okay, Rares?”

“Oh, sorry, darling… I am fine,” she said, with an extra cough for good measure. “I just realized you’re going to be wearing the uniforms I designed!”

Rainbow Dash’s expression became incredulous.

“Really?”

“Oh, why, yes! I just got word back from Canterlot, they loved my new uniform designs!” she gushed. “Since you’re going to be in the joint chiefs, you’ll get to wear one! I’m sure you’ll look so dashing!”

Rainbow thought about this. She wasn’t much for uniforms, but if it was something one of her friends made…

“Cool, Rarity!” she responded happily, “I’m sure everypony’ll look awesome wearin’ them. Take it from me, a super amazing, extremely awesome pony.”

Rarity took on a delighted, assured smile.

“Oh, thank you for your encouragement, Rainbow Dash!” she said. “I’m glad you like them.”

Rainbow balanced the cup of punch in her hoof, which was strangely being held in ways the laws of physics do not explain. She grinned wryly.

“So, I guess you’ll be busy makin’ them, huh?”

Rarity’s blinked, then she chuckled.

“Oh, no, Rainbow,” she responded. “I just had to design them. My work is finished, so I’ll be quite free. Especially-”

Rarity stopped. Her happiness drained away from her face, much to Rainbow’s surprise.

“You okay, Rarity?” Rainbow asked, a mixture of curiosity and encouragement. “Everything fine?”

Rarity sighed.

“I’m fine, Rainbow. I just…”

She stopped and looked wistfully off into space. She was clearly deep in thought. Rainbow frowned nervously.

“Is it Sweetie Belle…?”

Rarity sighed deeply.

“...Yes, Rainbow.”

“Do you miss her?” Rainbow asked, “Since she ran off?”

Rarity paused in thought.

“Of course, Rainbow.”

Rainbow shifted a bit closer, comfortingly. Rarity sure was being laconic.

“You wanna talk about it?”

Rarity shook her head softly.

“No, Rainbow.”

Rarity blushed in a jumpy manner. She had realized how she came off to her friend.

“O-Oh! Listen to me, hehe!” she said suddenly. “Getting all sentimental when I should be celebrating your promotion! Good show, Rainbow Dash, we all knew you could do it.”

Rainbow saw her friend was upset. She wasn’t much for outward emotions, she kept hers bottled up… but she knew when her friend was in need. Rainbow reached out her foreleg and patted Rarity’s back again, this time to soothe rather than to upend punch from the throat. Rarity realized she wasn’t fooling anyone, and her true feelings emerged on her face again.

“I’m sorry, Rares.” she comforted. “I’m sure she’ll be okay. She’s tough. Like you.”

Rarity blinked. A faint smile slowly formed on her face.

“Rainbow Dash…” she said finally. “Thank you. I suppose I wouldn’t be much of a sister if I didn’t worry about her.”

The two embraced, or rather, Rarity embraced Rainbow. Rainbow grunted with the force of the squeeze.

“Ough, tight there, Rarity…”

Rarity realized what she had done, and released, chuckling.

“Aha, oh, sorry. Ehm… well… enjoy the party!”

Rarity walked off after that, leaving Rainbow by the punch bowl. She shrugged. Suddenly, a pink blur assaulted her.

“Rainbow Dash!” it cried. “We haven’t even opened the gifts yet! C’mon, you super-duper-duper amazing pegasus pony!”

Rainbow sighed and was pulled away, back towards the party. The rest of it went off without a hitch, continuing on all night long until the last snacks had been snacked upon and the confetti cannons lay empty and sizzling with spent gunpowder. The rest of the gang all resolutely decided to stay the night, which they did, sleeping soundly from their rooms. Except for Rainbow Dash, who bore a twinge of anxiety that caused her to toss and turn all night long.

After the party held for her, Rainbow Dash woke the next morning and sped off for Cloudsdale. After all, she had to pack her bags and head for Canterlot on Celestia’s orders. Rainbow Dash wanted to make a good first impression at her new job, regardless of her status or of being ‘super awesome.’ Of course, if you asked Rainbow, she wouldn’t tell you that. Rainbow Dash flew off for the train and stopped at last outside, where her friends were waiting for her. Each of them said their various goodbyes, complete with sniffles, and bawling from Rarity.

After that, she saluted them all and boarded her train.

“Good luck, Rainbow!” Twilight cried. “Have fun!”

“Thanks!” Rainbow Dash called after from the train. “I’m sure it’ll be fine! I’ll miss you guys!”

“We’ll miss you too!” they all called back, in their respective ways. “Goodbye!”

The train rode away, leaving her friends in the distance on the ride up to Canterlot, which was short but pleasant, as things on trains often were. The train wound its way up the sides of the mountaintop, passed by quaint streams and low rivers, and eased in Canterlot Station in no time at all. Rainbow Dash grabbed her baggage, being a variety of possessions both personal and formal, and set off, and of course, she brought the Special Editions with her. What else was she to read while here in Canterlot? Speaking of Canterlot, the city proper was as regal and astounding as it always seemed, though Rainbow did notice soldiers were marching in columns around the roads. The life of the snooty nobility hardly seemed changed, but it felt like there were a lot more young ponies milling around than usual.

While passing through Canterlot’s courtyard areas, she caught a glimpse of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, which seemed almost overloaded with promising new students making their way around the front steps of the building. There was also a brand-new building alongside it, with more young ponies moving about the front, except all of them wore uniforms of various colors. Most of them wore silvery-grey ones, a few of them wore ones tinted sky-blue, and a couple of them wore sailor fatigues. Rainbow’s pegasi vision allowed her to get a look at the sign that sat on the front lawn: “Celestia’s Officer Candidate School” it read in bold letters.

A new school for the military, huh? Rainbow Dash thought to herself curiously, That’s neat. Maybe I’ll get to meet some of the students.
At last Rainbow Dash found herself crossing the threshold of the front gate, where guards shifted at her approach. Rainbow flinched since it was usually never good when a guard had to move closer to you, but her anxiety was replaced by pleasant surprise when they merely raised her a sharp salute. Seeing each guard salute to her, mostly in pairs, as she crossed to the grand doorway would take some getting used to. The grand doors opened up for her, and once Rainbow had made it inside with her things, a small porterpony scurried up to her in the grand hall. It was mostly deserted, aside from a few royal ponies chatting quietly. It was a long way from when the GGG was going on.

“Your bags, madame?”

Rainbow Dash internally grimaced. ‘Madame?’ Rainbow Dash wasn’t a madame at all, she was friggin’ Rainbow Dash. Or Ms. Dash, at the very least. RD tried to be courteous, but it wasn’t her style.

“Uh, sure.” she replied reluctantly, “Thanks.”

The porterpony beamed at her and grabbed her saddlebags with great willingness. He hustled off with them down the royal hall, leaving RD alone for about 5 seconds. Another stately-looking pony approached Rainbow quickly after the porterpony vanished, causing Rainbow to jump. The stately pony cleared his throat noisily, and had a dull, uninterested expression to his face, as was common with most butler-types. He paid no heed to her reaction towards him, and he looked expressionlessly upon her.

“You are Ms. Rainbow Dash, I take it?”

Rainbow Dash nodded cautiously.

“Yeah. Who’re you?”

The stately pony straightened himself.

“You can call me Humble Bundle, and I shall be assisting you this morning. This way, if you please,” he informed smartly, “We’ve a room prepared for your convenience.”

Humble Bundle sounded like he had prepared to say these things multiple times as if he were reading a script. Rainbow Dash shrugged and waved a hoof towards the hallway.

“Okay, I’ll just call you Humble.” she drawled, “Lead on, or whatever.”

Humble nodded, and together they went down a weave of hallways, up and down many stairwells, and squeezed through tight corridors until they finally arrived at a very grand-looking suite. It had high ceilings, a large queen-sized twin bed, and an open window view. The walls were lined with marble and ivory, very fanciful indeed.

“These accommodations are only temporary, Ms. Dash.” Humble Bundle added to Rainbow’s breathless expression, “Once we have finished preparations for your residence here in Canterlot, you shall be moved to your new home at Quarters 3, Fort Celestia.”

Rainbow blinked as she took this in.
These are temporary accommodations?! She thought to herself, Holy Daisy Joe!

She didn’t know what or where ‘Quarters 3’ was, but it sounded important. She vaguely remembered Spitfire talking about it.

“Whatever pony’s either lucky or unlucky enough to become the new Chief,” Spitfire had said to them in the mess, “Gets to reside in these new cushy buildings they’re constructing for ‘em in Canterlot.”

Humble Bundle bowed before her, trailing out of the room in a lowly manner. Rainbow snapped back to reality.

“If you have need of anything, I am at your service, madame.”

Another grimace from Rainbow, and the door shut closed after that. Rainbow Dash looked about, seeing the luxurious room she had been permitted for her to stay in at Canterlot Castle, and sighed with relief. At least she could relax after her journey in royal luxury, and RD took advantage of this by happily flying onto her bed and rolling in the covers. The sheets sure were comfortable, that was a given. Rainbow was ready to nap away the rest of her stay until she was required to wake, but a knock alerted her to a new presence only a minute later, and not a second off the mark.

“Permission to enter, ma’am?” a voice asked.

Again, with the formalities. Rainbow waved a hoof, beckoning apathetically.

“Come in.”

A mare with a roll of measuring tape around her neck entered the room and approached RD. Without saying anything, she propped up Rainbow Dash off the bed forcefully and began inspecting her. Rainbow was confused and astounded by these actions, and protested fiercely.

“What the- unf!” she cried, “Hey! What are you doing, lady?!”

“Taking your measurements, General Dash,” she informed brightly. She didn’t seem phased at all by Rainbow’s derisive words, and for the first time, Rainbow had heard her new title. It didn’t so bad, at least. “You’re being fitted for your uniform right now.”

“But, the- you- you mean right now, right now?!” Rainbow replied indignantly.

The other pony nodded, working away without hesitation nor contemplation.

“But of course!” she responded “Your meeting is in 15 minutes, you’ll need to be ready.”

Rainbow did a double-take.

“It is?!”

The measuring-tape mare shh’d her.

“Please hush, ma’am, I need to concentrate.” she chided. “Lift your forelegs up, please.”

Rainbow Dash grumbled angrily and complied.

In no time at all, Rainbow had been fitted with a very gallant-looking uniform that had been provided for her by the mare, whose name was Stitcher Trim. This one was a more decorative version of the light blue ones she had seen at the academy. She didn’t even have to put it on, since Stitcher Trim literally stitched it on for her like some of the fancier suits and dresses the Canterlot Nobles wore. Rainbow, once she got a good look in the mirror, was surely impressed.

Wow, Rarity did a really good job designing these. She internalized. Kinda tight though…
Rainbow twisted from side to side, and a discouraged look formed on her face. She would adjust in time, but until then, the freedom of movement she had known without this apparel was absent. Humble Bundle reappeared in the doorway once Stitcher Trim had departed.

“Ma’am, we are ready for you.” he informed dully, “The Meeting begins in 5 minutes, and it would not be prudent to arrive late.”

Rainbow Dash scoffed. She was getting sick of all this prissy treatment. This wasn’t any hero-worship or fanfare, which she actually liked… this was just a bunch of royal pony servants being stuck-up because it was their job. A sigh escaped her.

“Alright, alright,” she said, hopping off the side of the bed and trotting to the doorframe.

“Shall I escort you?” asked Humble, pleasantly.

“Thanks, but-”

Rainbow suddenly realized she didn’t know her way around. Another heavy sigh.

“Oh, fine.” Rainbow conceded, “Lead the way, I guess.”

Humble Bundle motioned, and she followed. They went through another elaborate maze of hallways that Rainbow knew she’d have great pain figuring them out, and at last, they arrived. They entered upon a gargantuan-sized hall, lined with portraits and banners, and it was even bigger than the Palace Throne Room. Inside was a table, long and rectangular, that acted almost like an aisle in the center of the room. Gathered, or rather, dispersed around the table were some important-looking ponies. Most glanced at Rainbow, and a few gave a nod, before turning back. However, there was one that stuck out.

“Rainbow Dash,” Spitfire greeted cordially. “Good to see you again.”

Rainbow was a bit surprised.

“Spitfire?” Rainbow replied in astonishment, a smile of amazement forming. “I thought… I thought you commanding the Wonderbolts! What are you doing here?”

Spitfire only laughed.

“What, thought that your fancy new role meant you didn’t have to deal with your old commander?” she said slyly, “In your dreams, Dash.”

Rainbow Dash laughed too. It was good to see a familiar face here. Humble Bundle bowed.

“I shall await your command, Ms. Dash.”

He trailed out again. Spitfire grinned at Rainbow.

“You got a stallionservant,” she said with a smile, “lucky you, being Chief. I don’t get so many royalties.”

Rainbow eyed her.

“Why’re you here, then? What do you do?”

Spitfire snickered.

“You are not the only one ol’ Celestia netted,” she said, with a cheeky grin. “She’s got me down as an Air Warfare Theorist. Better than sitting back and training Wonderbolts, since all the new special forces programs mean more work for the new drill instructor, somepony named Red Light.”

Rainbow gave a curious smile as she sidled next to her.

“I thought Soarin’ was going to be the new instructor?”

Another laugh from Spitfire.

“Nope. Celestia got him too.” Spitfire added. “He’s General Soarin’ now.”

“Really?” Rainbow replied skeptically.

Spitfire nodded on with that sly look.

“Yeah. I can hardly believe it myself,” she informed with another chuckle. “Guess even ol’ Clipper couldn’t get out of it.”

This one got a laugh from both of them. At that point, Celestia entered the room from the main doors, looking positively regal as she always did. Her expression, however, was a bit more solemn than usual. She clopped over and stood at the head of the table, guards, and ponies at the table alike saluting her. Celestia’s gaze swept over them all, and she allowed herself a quaint smile.

“My fellow ponies,” she began. “It is good to see you all here on this day. As you know, a directive to reform the high command was recently put into place, and because of this, we have some new ponies among us today. Please give them all a round of applause.”

Everypony stamped their hooves in applause for each other. Some beamed, others nodded, and both RD and Spitfire looked at each other with a grin. Then came the introductions. Despite supposedly hiring a new High Command, Prince Blueblood was there as a political advisor, he was one of the ‘Old Guard.’ Celestia was the Chairmare of the Joint Chiefs, and supposedly Luna was Vice-Chair, but she did not appear at the meeting. Then there was Spitfire, whom we already know of, and a mare that nobody but Celestia knew the name who went unspoken, but looked vaguely familiar.

All that was said of them was that they were an Agent of the S. M. I. L. E. organization, whatever that was. Rainbow had a feeling she’d be told if she asked, but she didn’t. Then there were a few more ponies whose names were listed off, and as things seemed to be getting started, the door to the conference room burst open.

“Ehhh, ah hope ahm not too late, preencess!” a shrill voice crowed.

In walked an elderly mare with a wisp of white hair tied in a tight bun, pale green fur, and many wrinkles.

“General Smith.” Celestia greeted, her quaint smile becoming a bit. “Thank you for coming.”

“Aww, don’ yew mention it! An’ don’t call me Geeneeral!” she introduced loudly. “The name’s Granny Smith! Same goes fer all o’ y’all!”

Her demanding demeanor and impactful (yet aging) voice gave her a very commanding feel. Rainbow Dash was a little stunned. What was Applejack’s grandma doing here?

“Now, this whar the meetin’ yew wrote about is?” she cried, trotting slowly up to the table with a glance around the room. Celestia nodded politely.

“Yes, Granny Smith,” she answered gently. “I’m glad you made it alright. Your experience shall be quite the aid to this country, you being our new Military Theorist.”

“Naw, don’ y’all mention it!” Granny replied with a toothy grin, “I’m jes’ doin’ meh duty fermeh countree is all!”

Rainbow couldn’t help but chuckle. Granny Smith then sidled along and sat herself down right on Rainbow’s left. She gave her a walleyed stare.

“Why ain’t you Applejack’s lil’ pony friend!?” she shouted, causing a great deal of staring. Her toothy mouth curled into a gnarled grin. “Hey thar, Ranbow Desh! I hope you two keeds been playin’ nice awright.”

Rainbow wanted to hide underneath the table, and blush was smudging her face in red. She coughed, but Granny didn’t seem to notice. Thank Celestia that there was uhm, Celestia, at the table.

“Thank you, Granny Smith,” she said, completely unphased. In fact, she seemed to be happier at this familiarity. “As you can see, we have Rainbow Dash with us here as well.” Celestia introduced pleasantly as if Granny hadn’t just embarrassed the lot of them. “She will be serving as the new Chief of the Air Force.”

Rainbow Dash waved a hoof a bit reluctantly and gave a nervous chuckle. The other ponies stamped their hooves politely, and a few laughed.

“Hehe.” RD replied bashfully, “Uh… hi, you guys.”

After that embarrassing moment, the rest of the meeting went off without a hitch, if you’ll pardon the pun. The only downside was that after that, it got really, really boring. Like, mind-numbingly boring.

“Now, I’d like to go over the current situation with you all.” Celestia began, and magic sparked from the end of her horn. A holographic map appeared on the table, similar to Twilight’s friendship map. It looked almost identical, aside from being colored yellow, and showing the full breadth of Equestria and some of the areas on its borders. Celestia eyed them all. “And may I remind you that this information is not to be shared in public.”

The heads of the room nodded, a few gulped. Celestia was very adamant about this point. She cleared her throat and continued on.

“This is our map of Equestria.” Celestia began, “We’re enacting various operations to accrue ponypower and supplies for the war effort. We’ve got factories being built in the northeast, and railway lines being made westward.”

Celestia created an old-fashion besom from her magic and pointed it on the map. Everypony gazed at it intently. Celestia’s eyes snapped to the unnamed mare in shades.

“What’s the situation on infiltrators?” Celestia asked her astutely.

“We’ve got S.M.I.L.E. agents patrolling the frontline areas,” she replied, sorting through a collection of documents stowed away in a metal briefcase. “We’ve captured a few infiltrators, but the insectoids are good at what they do, so we’re putting out warning pamphlets and posters to make sure everypony stays aware.”

Celestia nodded again and tapped the besom on the table.

“Any ideas as to provoke them out of hiding?”

The unnamed shady mare tapped her chin, thinking.

“We… could ban affection, on the off chance that the Changelings get starved out of love…”

Celestia nearly snapped the besom and stood up.

“Absolutely not.” she refuted coldly, “If we do that, our morale will drop significantly. We will seem no better than Chrysalis and her minions.”

The unnamed mare said nothing and merely nodded.

“I’ll look into alternatives.” she said, “we’ll come up with something.”

Celestia nodded, then turned to Spitfire.

“Commander Spitfire? What’s the situation regarding the Air?”

Spitfire rubbed a hoof against her chin.

“Well, we have poor infrastructure in the East. It’ll be harder to resupply the planes. What if we-”

And it kept going. Spitfire said something about supply lanes and other stuff, which was kinda cool… but also still boring. Celestia nodded and talked a bunch about other things, but Rainbow had stopped listening by this point. Was this it? Just a bunch of strategy and status reports? What about the fighting? What about when the Changelings actually attack?

“Uh, Princess?” Rainbow asked between Spitfire’s tangent. “When are the Changelings gonna, y’know… declare the war?”

Celestia frowned a little at this statement, but she went on anyway.

“As for declaration? We aren’t sure, but with the invasion of Olenia… it’s only a matter of time until Chrysalis strikes.” Celestia informed, serious in all her manner. “My guess is that she will gather the polar bears to her cause, and strike once she is surrounded by vassals. Safer that way, not fighting a multi-front war. Now, if we take into account the frontline, then-”

And boom. Back to the blahs. Rainbow didn’t feel any better knowing that it would probably be years until the war actually went on. Which meant even more preparations, strategy, and a whole bunch of talking!

Where’s the action, huh? Come on! Rainbow internally decried, There’s gotta be something cool to talk about, right?!
There wasn’t. Even worse, the conversation turned to the most dreaded topic of all once Prince Blueblood started talking… politics. That subject went on for ages. Then there was boring stuff about communists from Stalliongrad which was interesting for about 5 minutes, and then stuff about the Dragon Isles and the Badlands, and then more Anti-Changeling rhetoric and blah blah blah, it just went on forever! The meeting slowly felt like it was going on into infinity, and by the end, Rainbow Dash had nearly entered a coma.

The dreariness was overpowering, the negativity combined with a bunch of theoretical ifs and buts that made things more tense and scary. Rainbow Dash didn’t like speculating about fighting, she wanted to be in the fighting! Not talking about fighting, not thinking about fighting, but hoof-to-hoof on the battlefield fighting!

Thank Celestia, at last, there was a loud tapping from her that signaled the meeting’s end.

“We’ll resume the discussion at our next meeting,” Celestia announced. She didn’t seem relaxed at all from what she had discussed with everypony. “Thank you all for coming.”

And suddenly everypony was filing out of the room, mares, and stallions from the table breaking into conversation. Rainbow stood up and looked around with relief. At last, it was done. She turned to Spitfire, who seemed of a similar mind, but didn’t show it very much.

“Was that it?” she asked curiously.

Spitfire turned to her and nodded.

“Yep. That was the meeting.”

Rainbow cocked her head.

“What was that about resuming?”

“Oh, well, we’re probably gonna have another meeting within a few days.”

Rainbow practically jumped out of her fur.

“Another meeting?!”

Spitfire nodded again, that same sly smile on her face.

“Yep, ‘nother meeting. We’ve only covered about half of the material here.”

Rainbow’s sanity was draining away by the second. Another boring meeting? More political and military talking nonsense? This couldn’t be all there was to her new job, could it?! Rainbow could not ask, for Spitfire filed out of the room, and Rainbow reluctantly followed. Humble Bundle approached them, nodding to Spitfire and turning to Rainbow.

“Greetings, General Dash,” Humble said by way of a greeting. Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I trust things went well?”

Rainbow nodded listlessly.

“Uh, yeah. It was… fine.”

Humble gave another nod.

“Follow me, if you please. We are scheduled for a luncheon dine-in at Fort Celestia.”

Rainbow didn’t know what a dine-in was, but she followed anyway, waving goodbye to Spitfire. She was led outside the castle towards a large military complex north-east of the castle, labeled by sign the name ‘Fort Celestia’ in bold letters. More soldiers and guards saluted as she went along. Once inside, they made their way to a large mess hall, where soldiers were filing in. The Enlisted and Officers filed into the line, while Rainbow was led down to a series of circular dining tables lined in front of the rectangular bench tables. Some of the other Chiefs sat at their own circular tables, though Spitfire and Granny Smith were absent. She sat down, and Humble Bundle bowed.

“I shall return once you are finished. Enjoy your meal.”

Humble Bundled departed. At once, a waiterpony approached to replace him.

“Can I get you anything, ma’am?”

Rainbow Dash was hungry, and she considered her options.

“Can I uh… get a hayburger with hay fries and a shake?” she tried, grinning nervously. “If I can.”

The waiter nodded.

“Of course, General Dash. Please wait here.”

The waiter sped off. In an instant, he returned with a delicious gourmet hayburger, hay fries, and a shake. He bowed and left. It sure looked delicious, and this was the kind you only got at fancy restaurants. Rainbow ate hungrily, she certainly was famished, and at once she found herself finished and her stomach filled. Humble Bundle returned.

“Did you enjoy your meal, General Dash?”

Rainbow nodded happily.

“Ah, yeah.”

“Very good. Come along, if you please, we must head to your office.”

“Wait, my office?!” Rainbow asked incredulously. Humble Bundle nodded back.

“Of course. You are the Joint Chief of the Air Force, therefore, you have an office. Literally and figuratively, madame. Please attend.”

Rainbow sighed for the twenty-second time and followed. It was good that her gut was filled with food, or she might’ve been very excited, so instead, she moved about casually. After another 5-minute walk, they ended up in a large, formal-looking office. The flag of Equestria dotted most surfaces, alongside the Equestrian Air Force logos, but aside from that, it was mostly empty save a large executive desk and an office chair. Rainbow reluctantly moved inside, and sat down, in awe. She examined the things on her desk, including her own nameplate.

“I shall see you in the evening when it is time to retire. Good day, General Dash.”

With that, Humble was gone and immediately replaced again by another stately-looking stallion in a uniform.

“Good afternoon, General Dash!”

“Uh, hi.”

“I’m Secretary Pool. I’ll be helping you out since you’re new to being a Joint Chief.”

“Alright, then,” Rainbow replied nonchalantly. “Hit me.”

What followed was the most boring explanation of how to do pencil-pushing military work Rainbow Dash had ever heard.

A few days later, Rainbow was sure she was going to pass out, and she practically did when she reached her bed on the fourth night. She didn’t even bother taking off her uniform, she simply laid there instead, groaning in mental agony. Her fourth boring day had ended at last and had consisted of a heck of a lot of boring work and meetings with boring ponies and a haystack-sized amount of politics. It was cool, being able to help guide the organization and training efforts of the Air Force. She had the power to determine what they were equipped with and what training they received, among other things the Air Force did.

Still, really boring, since a lot of it was being informed on how it all worked and then doing a bunch of document-signing and receiving telegrams from other ponies. Secretary Pool handled all of the boring stuff like typing messages and sending out telegrams, leaving Rainbow to do a bunch of sitting in her office.

Of course, that wasn’t the entire job. There were things like Air mobilization, administration, construction, and repair… she could assign units and do lots of other stuff. But it was all a bunch of paperwork. This was her life now, much to her frustration. She knew the importance of her job, of course, she helped regulate the whole Equestrian Air Force for Celestia’s sake! She knew her duty, and it was her sheer Loyalty alone that kept her along, for her anger was boiling over. Instead of being in the thick of the action, she was stuck on command duty. Instead of being a Wonderbolt who could fly through battle and get assigned to missions… she was stuck in an office.

Even worse was the fact that Rainbow was being treated like a Princess, and she started to see why Twilight disliked it so much. So many ponies treated her like ‘General Dash’ and not like ‘Rainbow Dash’, and even the ponies close to her that worked with her couldn’t be around all day. Spitfire and Granny Smith would disappear to their own duties, or leave and go back home, while Rainbow Dash was forced to attend several pre-scheduled outings to help ‘keep up with appearances.’ Humble Bundle wasn’t a bad pony, but he was not a fun one. He simply went through a giant list of things she had to do, or at least at first, for after the third day he too departed.

All Rainbow had now was Secretary Pool, and while she could be fun, she filled the same role that Humble did. Constantly informing her of meetings, send-offs, and signings to attend… and while being loyal to the fans had its own rewards, that was a small part of it. All Rainbow had been doing was smiling and waving, visiting places for the sake of upkeep and not to really get to know them, and being treated like a superstar. She wondered how all the royal ponyfolk in Canterlot could stand such a lifestyle… obviously, those who loved the spotlight like her or were as stuck-up as Tartarus, but even she had her limits. Being praised and adored was fun at first, now it was just tedious and irritating.

Never had Rainbow been in such an important position that also absolutely sucked to be in. It had its upsides, sure, but Rainbow was a mare of action and not of paperwork. Rainbow thought of all of this as she lay on her bed, groaning from a mixture of exhaustion and stress. She turned over, buried her face in her sheets, and angrily fought with the covers. The covers won, obviously, and suffered only in tidiness. The maids would most likely repair these damages once RD got up, leaving her attack to be infective. So much for taking things in stride.

Bargaining - Pinkie Pie's Chapter

Ponyville was a wonderful place to be in Equestria, and Pinkamena Diane Pie knew this well. She very literally bounded across the cobblestone streets of the quaint hamlet, humming to herself absentmindedly. With every hop, there was a childlike sound almost like a spring, and every landing brought an immediate relapse back into the air. Pinkamena herself had bright pink fur and slightly darker pink hair, making her stand out well enough. Pinkamena didn’t pay herself any mind, for she was-

“Don’tcha mean Pinkie?” she chimed jubilantly, “Everypony I know calls me Pinkie, silly!”

I’m not gonna act like I didn’t write that in there purposefully. As I was saying, Pinkie didn’t pay herself any mind, for she was perfectly happy with who she was. It seemed as if nothing could go wrong, nor spoil her day, not even the fact that she had to break the fourth wall just to chide me about naming convention. This was because today was her favorite day (though technically every day was her favorite) since today was another workday at Sugarcube Corner, a local bakery in Ponyville. Pinkie loved working at Sugarcube Corner since it meant baking, which was her favorite thing to do when not partying, but it also meant selling lots of yummy things to her favorite ponies in Ponyville (everypony is her favorite pony) five days a week.

Baking was a pastime for her, even when she had lived on a rock farm, and so working at a bakery was a natural extension of that. Because of this, she naturally gravitated towards Sugarcube Corner, owned by the pleasant and appropriately named Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Since then she had become their best (and only) worker, baking and selling with a culpable capability unlike any other ponies before her, though truth be told cutie marks had a nasty habit of making professionalism bias in the Equestrian job market. As Pinkie bounded her way through town, her happiness radiated to everypony around her like an infectious disease.

“Hi, Derpy Hooves!” she exclaimed, mid-bounce.

“Wow!” Derpy Hooves, a gray-colored pegasus with blonde hair flew by her skewed eyes rolling towards Pinkie with a vacant smile. “Hi there, Pinkie- oops, sorry!”

Derpy had subsequently flown and crashed into a market stall while waving back.

“Hey there, Cranky Doodle!” Pinkie proclaimed to a mean-looking donkey with tanned brown fur and a clearly fake slick blond toupee.

“Hi, Pinkie.” he replied grumpily.

Despite his attitude, his tone seemed to soften at Pinkie’s demeanor. He added a mutter that sounded something like the phrase ‘have a nice day’ in a low voice, his shifty eyes darting away from her. Pinkie beamed.

“Hey there, everypony!” Pinkie cried aloud in the town square, her face a smile of joy. “Nice to see you!”

“HI THERE, PINKIE!” Everypony in the square replied, a smile on their face.

These things were the norm in Ponyville, and without Pinkie, it was unlikely everypony in the Ville would’ve been capable of being so continually pleasant. Even the hardest and most reclusive of ponies opened up at her approach, never having known a pony (or any kind of creature for that matter) who hadn’t been won over by her charms. Her claim to fame was the fact that she was friends with every pony in Ponyville, which was not an easy thing to hold down… unless you were Pinkie. Pinkie finally arrived in front of a charming building that resembled a life-sized gingerbread house, and she hopped inside. There, a mare and stallion stood behind the counter, chatting to each other. They were not smiling, but Pinkie didn’t notice.

“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Cake!” Pinkie greeted cheerfully, “Ready to get baking?!”

Mr. and Mrs. Cake turned to Pinkie, with expressions equal parts relieved and distressed.

“Hello, Pinkie.” Mrs. Cake replied. “I have an, um, important job for you. Do you think you can handle it?”

Pinkie nodded as she approached, her rhythmic bounce unending with every step.

“Of course I can, Mrs. Cake!!” she responded proudly,

Mrs. Cake looked to Mr. Cake, who nodded with a small smile to his wife. She turned and cleared her throat to make an announcement.

“Just to let you know, bits are getting a bit tight, so we don’t have enough ingredients to make some of our orders.” She told her, “If anypony orders anything using these ingredients-”

Mrs. Cake extracted a list of ingredients and stuck it in front of Pinkie.

“-then you’ll have to refuse them.”

Pinkie cocked her head, not understanding the situation completely.

“Why are we low on bits and ingredients?”

Mrs. Cake exchanged glances with her husband.

“Well, we haven’t been getting enough orders lately, and the Ministry of Defense has been buying up from our suppliers. We’re running low, but we’ll try to hold on.”

“Huh,” Pinkie replied with a shrug, “I never noticed.”

A few days ago…

Pinkie hung over the countertop of the vacant Sugarcube Corner. She sighed aloud, with a prolonged lip flap.

“So… bored!” she complained, “Where is everypony?”

Yesterday…

Pinkie slammed her head against the countertop. It squeaked like a chew toy. She groaned even louder than yesterday’s recorded groan.

“Is anypony gonna buy something?”

Present Day…

Mr. and Mrs. Cake looked at each other again, while Pinkie smiled innocently. They seemed worried, but they brushed it off.

“Well, that’s good.” Mr. Cake said. “Alright Pinkie, we’ll be out for a little while, but we’ll return in a few hours. Your job is to watch over Pound Cake and Short Cake while we’re gone, and not say a word about what we talked about. Understood?”

Pinkie nodded and saluted with enthusiasm.

“You can count on me, Cake family! Auntie Pinkie’s on the watch! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”

Pinkie Pie did a cross sign with her hoof and then stuck it in her eye. Immediately after, she began patrolling the front of the counter like a soldier, carrying an imaginary rifle to the beat of imaginary military drums and imaginary polished boots in an imaginary (but realistic) marching formation. Mr. and Mrs. Cake couldn’t help but chuckle at her antics and waved goodbye as they departed. Pinkie waved back cheerfully.

“Bye! See you after a while!”

She turned back inside and watched as Pound Cake crawled on top of the counter. Short Cake stuck an empty candy wrapper in their mouth. The two infants babbled innocuously.

“Silly foals.” Pinkie giggled to herself.

Pinkie was bored again, really, really bored. Aside from Derpy, who came in every day for her muffins, nopony had bothered to buy any baked goods at all that day. It was a mixed blessing considering how some of their recipes couldn’t be made, but it didn’t stop Pinkie from being bored. She watched as a tumbleweed rolled by the counter, wondering how it even got in here.

“Ugh, bored!” she complained, draped over the counter again. “So boring!”

Pinkie had already taken care of the Cake Twins and put them to bed, leaving her to run the shop alone and nurse her burn wounds (unicorn foals aren’t good at controlling their spells). Pinkie had cleaned and swept, counted the bits, and sorted the ingredients. Pinkie had chuckled as she imagined Twilight recommending different sorting methods. Now she was back to doing nothing, which was something she sincerely didn’t like doing. She could throw a party… but she had made a Pinkie Promise to watch over Sugarcube Corner and the foals. She couldn’t do that while partying, could she?

Poor Gummy’s so tired from his last party, he’d never be able to watch the shop while I’m gone! She thought distressfully.

Pinkie rolled over and sighed, and although Gummy hadn’t actually done anything that warranted relaxation, he still did because he was Gummy. Time seemed to pass at Mr. Snail’s pace (Fluttershy’s snail friend), which led Pinkie to inspect the walls for every minute detail, even playing a few mundane games by herself (single-player tic-tac-toe was never that fun, to begin with). There was nothing to do, not even bouncing felt fun. She wasn’t as upset as she was just bored, but you knew that already.

What I wouldn’t give for a disaster of some kind. Pinkie mentally told herself, That’d be fun to solve, and there’d probably be a fun friendship lesson too! I just hope-
The door was flung open at that moment, and Pinkie wondered if she’d spoken too soon. There stood Mr. and Mrs. Cake, looking harrowingly exhausted, back from their outing. They walked, looking at Pinkie with desperate, worried eyes.

“Hey Pinkie!” Mr. Cake exclaimed tiredly, “How did… how did things go?”

Pinkie nodded dully, rising off the countertop and absentmindedly cleaning the display glass she had smudged.

“Fine, but bore with an ing! The worst kind!” she told them. “Nopony’s been buying anything.”

The Cakes exchanged fearful glances at each other.

“Nopony?” asked Mrs. Cake anxiously, “Nopony at all?”

“Nope.” Pinkie replied. “Nopony at all, except for Mr. Snail, but he didn’t buy anything.”

Mr. Snail trailed by at that moment. The two didn’t look at him, only at Pinkie with apprehension and timid expressions.

“What of the finances?” asked Mrs. Cake

The jobs to manage around the shop including the finances, which Pinkie hadn’t really paid attention to. She’d just done what the Cakes had taught her to do, and that was it. She might’ve been a bit too busy watching Mr. Snail make it from the front door to the counter… and cheering for him… cheerleading for him, actually.

“I did all the calculations you asked me to do,” she said, “and after sorting through everything…”

Pinkie brought out a giant poster board with a graph on it. A red line spiked downward further and further across the chart, breaking the bottom of the graph and piercing off of the board and onto the floor, however that was possible.

“I found this big red line is going down a lot.” Pinkie informed dimly, before cocking her head again. “Is that bad?”

Pinkie could be very knowledgeable about some things, but finances weren’t one of them. The Cake’s pupils contracted, and their heads swiveled to face each other again, then back to the chart, then back to them. Then to Pinkie.

“Pinkie…” Mrs. Cake said finally, her lip quivering a bit, “My h-husband and I n-need to talk. Can you w-wait here?”

Pinkie may have seemed all bubbles and laughter, but she knew sadness when she’d seen it before. It was obvious they wanted to speak of it privately, but Pinkie still felt concerned.

“Oh… okay. Okie Dokie.”

The lack of a Lokie said it all. The Cakes nodded, clearly on the verge of some form of emotional outburst, and they immediately began moving for the vacant kitchen.

“Thanks, Pinkie.” Mr. Cake added half-heartedly as the pair sidled off. “We’ll uh… talk to you in a sec.”

The two raced into the kitchen and shut the door behind them. Then it locked.

Pinkie sat there for a few minutes worried as Tartarus before she heard what sounded like deliberating, then shouting, and then… crying. She put herself up against the door and strained to listen.

“Mr. and Mrs. Cake?!” she cried, ill at ease for their condition. “Are you two okay?!”

The door unlocked, opened, and the two appeared before her. Tears were staining Mrs. Cake’s face. She shuddered, while Mr. Cake pulled a foreleg over her and brought her close. His eyes closed solemnly and he bowed his head, before turning to face Pinkie.

“Pinkie I… we’re afraid that… that Sugarcube Corner can’t stay open… anymore.”

A light in Pinkie’s eyes went out.

“Wuh… Wh… what?” she managed weakly.

Mr. Cake nodded solemnly as he cradled his wife. She was sobbing uncontrollably now.

“Yes,” he said finally, after a moment of somber silence. “I’m afraid we don’t have the bits or ingredients to run this place. That means… it means we’re closing down.”

Pinkie threw herself at their hooves.

“N-No way!” she refused, stricken with angry tears. “There have to be some baking supplies out there, right?!”

“What do you think we were doing, Pinkie?” Mr. Cake told her, defeated and upset. “We were out all day trying to find ingredients! We went to the next town over just to get some extra flour…”

He paused as if the thought was still haunting him. Pinkie stared back with her tear-stricken eyes.

“And?” she asked, in a small voice.

“Nothing,” he replied simply, with a thousand-yard stare. “Not a pinch. No baking powder, no flour, no milk, no eggs. It’s all going to war preparations in Canterlot… and while we did get ration books, we couldn’t get enough for running the place without sacrificing our own needs, and we don’t think starving ourselves for Sugarcube Corner would be very prudent.”

Pinkie Pie was laying in a puddle of her own tears now, but she still looked at him. Mrs. Cake was still in a fit of her own.

“But-but-but-but what about baking?! Ponyville’ll need a super fun place to get baked goods, right?!”

Mr. Cake just stared at her sadly.

“Pinkie…” he told her slowly, “Sometimes there are things more important in life than baking… as much as it pains us to say this…”

There was a pause that felt like Celestia’s entire lifetime.

“You’re fired.”

Pinkie felt her soul shrink in size. The very thing she loved doing, that she did every day, that she wouldn’t give up for the world… was gone. Poof. Vanished. Pinkie had spent her entire adult life baking at a bakery, and now there was no bakery. True, she probably could hire herself to a new one, but no bakery was ever like Sugarcube Corner.

“B-But you’ll come back, right?” she asked, blinking away tears. “You can’t stay closed forever… can you?”

Mr. Cake looked away now. It was clear he had thought of all of this and had already had the same conversation with his wife.

“We don’t know,” he said tonelessly. “We might be able to come back in a year if we have enough bits… but to make ends meet, we’re selling Sugarcube Corner. That means you have to move out, too.”

What little that was left of her soul shrunk three sizes too small. There was practically nothing left of her life, all of it gone in a matter of days. No house, no Sugarcube Corner, no baking for the ponies of Ponyville. Pinkie Pie had never known a nightmare worse than this, and now it wasn’t just a dream, it was her reality. Everything that happened afterward was a blur of emotions and emptiness, though Pinkie’s hair bubble remained unpopped (though sagging). In an hour, Pinkie Pie had packed up her things and set them out front of Sugarcube Corner.

Mr. Cake had torn down the sign, boarded up the windows, and moved their things into a large wagon. Mrs. Cake stood at the front, clutching the Cake Twins, who were in their own shock. Too young to understand what was happening, they were bawling as they watched their father take them away from their home. Mrs. Cake was working up a great effort to keep herself from crying again, but it was clear she felt as empty as Pinkie did. Pinkie sat there by the road, in utter silence. Mr. Cake was no longer wearing his apron and bowtie, which had been replaced by a formal and crisp military gray uniform. He stepped down as he boarded up the last window, slung his saddlebag over himself, and trotted sadly over to the still-stricken Pinkie.

“I’m sorry, Pinkie,” he said, at last. “Goodbye.”

Pinkie watched as they went up the road, leaving Ponyville for what felt like forever. Then they were gone, and a cold wind blew through the desolate bakery that had once been Pinkie’s home… Pinkie’s job… Pinkie’s life. She sat there and looked at it, in the vain hope that if she waited long enough, then she would get it all back.

Tap Tap Tap. Pinkie Pie knocked a hoof on the exterior of a large gate made entirely of crystal. She sat out there silently before the door opened, and Spike appeared from within.

“Oh! Hey, Pinkie.” he greeted before his expression shifted to wary concern. Pinkie did not look happy. “... Something wrong?”

Pinkie suddenly jerked as if she had realized something. She spoke sunkenly.

“Oh. Oh, nothing’s wrong, Spike. I just uh… can I talk to Twilight?”

Spike eyed her. She was acting more nervous and worrisome than usual. That was supposed to be Twilight’s department, not hers. Pinkie Pie was the silly, crazy one, wasn’t she?

“...Oooookay then.” Spike said carefully. “C’mon, Twilight’s in the library, I’ll take you over.”

Spike escorted Pinkie through the lavish hallways, and he noticed that she wasn’t bouncing. She still feigned the expression of happiness, but if she truly had, she would’ve been like a rabbit hopping across the way. This made him concerned.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Pinkie?” he asked. “You seem kinda… down.”

“Who, me?!” she said suddenly. “I’m fiiiine, Spike, really! You’ll uh… you’ll understand in a moment!”

She quickened her pace and went into the library. It was there that Twilight was reorganizing her bookshelf again.

“But if I put Equestria: A Military History in the Historical Section of the library, then-”

Spike cleared his throat loudly. Twilight spun around.

“Oh, hey Spike.” she said, before turning to Pinkie. “Hello, Pinkie.”

Spike gestured to Pinkie Pie, who again put on a smile, but it wasn’t very convincing.

“Pinkie needs to talk to you or somethin’,” he said, walking out of the room. “I’m gonna take a nap.”

As he was leaving he whispered something in Twilight’s ear, and she became uneasy. Once Spike was gone, that left the two of them there. Twilight approached Pinkie carefully.

“Pinkie? What is it you need to tell me?”

Pinkie tried to keep smiling… but it was too much. Her lip quivered.

“It’s fine! Everything’s fine… exc-except…”

She broke down.

“Except Sugarcube Corner closed down!” she wailed, sobbing at Twilight’s feet. “And I Mr. and Mrs. Cake moved out, too! They’re gone! They’re gone!”

Twilight was in shock at the sudden outburst. She had hardly known Pinkie to ever get sad… this sad.

“Oh, no… oh, no.” she said slowly. “Pinkie, I… I’m so sorry.”

She moved down and patted her friend as she cried and cried. Then Pinkie sniffled. She looked at Twilight, a mix of hope and despair.

“I was just-” she sniffled, “w-wondering if I could stay at your place… since I don’t have a home anymore.”

Twilight helped Pinkie up gently, looking her in the eyes with assurance.

“Pinkie, of course, you have a home here. Stay in the castle as long as you need, and as long as you want.”

Pinkie smiled weakly and wiped her muzzle.

“Thanks, Twilight. I’m sorry I bottled everything in, it’s just… it was so sad. I still don’t really know why it happened.”

Twilight made a face.

“It was the war preparations, wasn’t it?”

“How’d you guess?” Pinkie replied sunkenly.

“I… figured as much,” Twilight said, sighing with apprehension. “Look, talk to me if you ever need anything. The Castle is open to you, and if you ever need a home, then it’ll be there. Got that?”

Pinkie nodded again.

“Yeah… thanks, Twilight.”

Pinkie had managed to cheer up quite well in the coming days, although she was still a bit upset over it. Twilight noticed she didn’t bounce as much, so she tried to encourage her to throw parties and keep baking. Such an example was when she was talking to Pinkie in her new room.

“Come on, Pinkie!” Twilight said rousingly. “Who’s the partiest pony in all of Ponyville?”

Pinkie looked wistfully at Twilight.

“I am?”

“That’s right!” Twilight cried enthusiastically, “But I wanna hear it louder! Who is the partiest pony in all of Ponyville?!”

“I am.” Pinkie said flatly, but not phrased as a question.

“Who is?!” Twilight repeated.

“I am!” Pinkie said, louder, and standing up now.

“WHO IS?!” Twilight shouted at the top of her lungs.

“I AM!” Pinkie screamed back, her levels of partying-ness and pinkie-ness at max capacity. She ricocheted all over the room like a wayward bullet, reverberating with energy.

“And who does Ponyville need?!” Twilight asked, still rousing her.

“ME!” Pinkie answered enthusiastically, galloping out the door as a blur.

Pinkie threw 5 parties that day, and she kept on going, trying to keep everypony happy… but she couldn’t keep her record going forever. Twilight only had so many baking supplies left over, and while Equestria’s food stocks were amazingly high, much of those food stocks were now being sent to the war department. Soon Pinkie was running low on baking materials, and even worse, she was running low on ponies to throw parties for… most of them were leaving Ponyville to serve in the army or find new jobs, and the few that remained were bitter and sour over their lives. You see, it wasn’t just Sugarcube Corner that had closed… practically the entire market section of town was barren, and many of Ponyville’s houses had been boarded up.

On the bright but ominous side, there were a couple of factories nearby that provided the new economy for Ponyville, but they had none of the charm that the market stalls had once held.

“I’m sorry Pinkie, but I just don’t want a party right now!” Lyra had answered yesterday morning, slamming the door in her face.

Pinkie kept trying though until eventually, she realized at last what she needed to do. It was time to go home.

“Are you sure about this, Pinkie?”

“I’ve never been more sure in my life, Twilight.” Pinkie responded coolly. “It’s time I went back home.

“I know they’re your relatives…” Twilight said, grimacing. “But don’t you think you should stay here? I could… hold a party with you, maybe take you to Canterlot?”

“No way, Twilight!” Pinkie answered, though not rudely. “It’s been too long since I’ve seen all my sisters and my mom and dad! I’ve gotta go see how they’re doing.”

Twilight watched as she piled her things into a wagon. She sighed and moved closer.

“Just do me one favor, Pinkie.”

“Yeah?”

“Try to stay strong.”

Twilight seemed somber about something. What it was, Pinkie didn’t know… at least, not yet.

A short ride later, and that morning Pinkamena had arrived on the ol’ Pie Rock Farm with her things. She might’ve been so happy to be there, if it weren’t for a terrible sight she beheld, one that was so unhappily familiar. The farmhouse was boarded up, there was a wagon out front, and her mother and father were packing up their things with Marble Pie. The others seemed to be absent, but all Pinkie knew was that something bad was happening. Pinkie Pie hurried over, one thought blazing through her mind.

Not again.

“O-Oh. Pinkie, hi.” Marble managed, while their parents gave her a surprised glance. They didn’t say anything.

“Marble!” Pinkie greeted, squeezing her sister. “What’s going on?”

“Uh… I…”

Marble was usually silent, but today, she was unusually talkative. She laid her foreleg across her other and lowered her head shyly.

“We art moving.” said their father silently, with their mother nodding.

“We are moving.”

Pinkie tried to latch onto the potential positives of moving, rather than consider the alternative. She had just too much sadness in her life, she didn’t need more.

“Where? Are we going to visit Granny Pie? You don’t need all that stuff for a visit, silly!”

They all looked at each other, with a ‘how should we tell her’ expression.

“Pinkamena Diane Pie.” their mother began firmly. “We art nay longeth’r living in this lodging.”

“Pinkamena Diane Pie, we are no longer living in this place.”

“Rocketh farming hast becoming unsustainable,” their father added brusquely. “So we hir’d ourselves to a mining company. We art setting out anon f’r the w’rksite.”

“Rock farming has become unsustainable, so we hired ourselves to a mining company. We are setting out soon for the worksite.”

Pinkie felt her soul evaporate. Her smile remained there, but it became an ugly, pained expression. It was utterly forced.

“And… and where’s everypony else?” Pinke asked, in a small voice.

“Thy sist'rs has't enlisted, and art off to s'rve their state proudly.” Continued Pinkie’s father, as if he hadn’t noticed her expression. “Only Marble remains with us.”

“Your sisters have enlisted, and are off to serve their country proudly. Only Marble remains with us.”

Marble shied away from this as if it were an embarrassment made known. Pinkie’s ugly smile slipped away, replaced by a muted, feelingless expression.

“B-But… the farm?”

“We did sell the farm. We w’re running base on bits, and we did need the wage.” their mother said, a teense sorrowful. It hardly showed.

“We sold the farm. We were running low on bits, and we needed the money.”

“T… To who?” said Pinkie, whose voice was so sad it could hardly be heard.

“Hey hey, Pie family!” called the voice of a familiar sales-stallion.

A horrible tractor that snorted smoke came riding over, with the infamous Flim and Flam riding atop, gregarious smiles on their faces. Flim leered over at them.

“Thanks again for selling us this juicy piece of land, here, folks! This wasteland and your hovel will soon be the site of the Flim & Flam brother's newest arms factory!”

“Yes indeed, brother!” added Flam. “Here we’ll be able to produce twice the number of rifles needed for the war effort! With this, our pockets will surely be filled by the princess’s unending flow of bits!”

Pinkie felt a fit of rising anger inside of her, but her parents had a keen eye for her emotions. They stuck out their hooves in front of Pinkie, while the brothers rode off to survey their new territory.

“Doth not beest fell, Pinkamena.” said her father. “We hath chosen to selleth the farm, we w’re not f’rc’d. Those gents off’r’d the highest bid f’r our landeth, and we gaveth t to those folk. T wouldst not beest prudent to seeketh a square with those folk.”

“Do not be angry, Pinkamena. We chose to sell our farm, we were not forced. They offered the highest bid for our land, and we gave it to them. It would not be prudent to seek a fight with them.”

As much as Pinkie was getting agitated, her father was right. Fighting the Flim-Flam brothers because they bought her family farm, especially after her family had willingly decided to sell it, would be childish of her. All that escaped her was a sad sigh. Her parents looked at her.

“Beest not depress’d, Pinkamena. We shall giveth thee our new addresseth, and if’t be true thee wisheth to accompany us, then thee can.”

“Don't be sad, Pinkamena. We will give you our new address, and if you wish to accompany us, then you can.”

Pinkie looked at the farm she had been raised on. This, too, had slipped right through her hooves. Her old life was gone, her older life was gone, and that only left a hollow future. Pinkie almost felt like she should follow them… but then she remembered her friends and Twilight. She had come to the rock farm to stay with her family, but now they too were broken, and there was no point. She mounted up her remaining courage.

“I can’t. I’m… I’m sorry.”

Her parents nodded, completely accepting, and trotted over to the wagon. She watched as her sister gave her one final look of silent grief.

“Goodbye.” Marble said, her voice quiet but full of sorrow as she and her parents loaded up.

Her mother said nothing, but her father gazed at her. She felt like she could feel something from him she hadn’t felt before, for he had always been a proud and strong stallion. He looked as conflicted as a member of the Pie family could be, which was both very much and not at all.

“I am deeply sorrowful, Pinkamena. Farewell.”

A single tear dropped from his left eye, but his face did not change its expression. The tear fell into the dust and faded from sight. Then the wagon was hitched up, and the three of them left the farm and Pinkamena behind.

Pinkie had returned to Twilight’s understanding gaze. She had known the whole time, and she had tried to steer Pinkie away. Pinkie shut herself in her room and did not come out. She felt like she was empty… that she had no purpose… that she’d never feel anything again. Her hair bubble was popped by this time, and it seemed as if it would never inflate again.

Then, after what felt like a thousand years of isolation, Twilight Sparkle knocked on Pinkie’s door.

“Pinkie?” she called quietly. “I need to talk to you.”

“Pinkie’s not here right now.” a voice replied tonelessly. “Go away.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed.

“Pinkie, if you don’t let me in, I’m going to burst the door open.”

“Just try it!” The voice spat back, fierce and standoffish. “I’ve got nothing to lose, anyhow!”

There was a short moment of silence like she’d had a momentary brainfart of some sort, then she continued.

“You’ll have to force me out!”

“Fine!” replied Twilight, annoyed. “Stand back!”

With a bright charge of energy from her horn, the double doors to Pinkie’s room were thrust open with a flash and a crash. Inside, the room was completely dark, and the curtains were drawn. Gummy stood in a corner, with a rag set over him to guise him as if he were an old piece of furniture. The party cannon lay dismantled, the bed torn asunder, and a very resentful Pinkie Pie staring bullets at Twilight.

“Pinkie, you have to come out of your room,” Twilight told her. “You’ve been in there for a week, and I can’t keep teleporting food in for you!”

“No!” Pinkie refuted. “There’s nothing out there for me anymore! No parties, no baking, no Pie family!”

Twilight groaned a little, but she heard hoofsteps behind her. A figure stood beside her in the doorway.

“Are you sure you truly believe those words, Pinkamena?” said the figure.

Pinkamena looked at the radiant form of Princess Celestia, who stood there, a firm smile on her pony. Pinkamena gaped before she turned angry again.

“Who invited you, Princess?!”

“A Princess invites herself,” Celestia replied calmly. “Considering what you’ve been up to, I think it is very wise that I did so. Twilight’s told me about your hard times as of late.”

“Oh, yeah?!” Pinkie spat back. “What’s it to you, huh?! Last I heard, you can’t exactly friendship-magic away this problem!”

Princess Celestia sighed.

“Pinkamena Pie, I cannot fix your dilemma. The functions of Equestria are far outside my complete control, and manipulating them would be dross. I can, however, offer you a new outlet.”

Princess Celestia unfurled a piece of paper, levitating it over to Pinkie.

“I need competent Ponies to help defend Equestria, and you have proven yourself skillful enough. The Pie family has always been industrious and hard-working, your sisters especially. I am here to offer you enlistment into the service.”

Pinkamena was a bit surprised, but only for a moment. She pouted miserably and crossed her forelegs in a huff.

“Why do you need me for your crummy army, anyway?”

“Because even despite the shutdown of your previous occupation, your home, and your family business, you are strong and capable. We need you.”

Pinkie turned away, not even reciprocating a gaze with the Princess. The Princess gave a bit of a grimace.

“Pinkie.” she asked now, “Do you want to end this war?”

The war. The war. The war had been the thing that had destroyed her life, taken everything away from her, and left her feeling empty and hopeless. If the war ended, then things would go back to normal, wouldn’t they? The farm, Sugarcube Corner, her life… all of it.

“Of course,” she said, without venom, in a sulky way. “I really, really want it to end.”

“You would want it to end as soon as possible, so that things could resume normalcy, correct?”

Pinkamena nodded her head, her limp hair bubble shifting with it.

“Yeah.” she said, a little less angry this time.

“Then I trust you know what to do. If you join, then you can help bring an end to this conflict, and you can ensure nothing like it ever has to happen again.”

Pinkamena realized the extent of this offer. If she took this job, then she could end things for good, and that was great right?

And then, you could meet lots of new friends! Said a familiar inner voice. You could see Maud and Limestone, too! Plus, you would get to visit lots of super-duper fun places!
That was the deal-maker for her. She realized she could be so much happier, that she was so much happier knowing this, and at that moment there was a blast like a confetti cannon. Pinkie Pie leaped into the air, recharged and ready for her brand-new mission.

“Yes!” she cried. “Yes, yes, yes! I’ll do it, Princess! I’ll serve Equestria, and I’ll help stop this war so everything can go back to normal so I can see Maud and Limestone again!”

Princess Celestia smiled cooly, and the darkened room seemed to brighten.

“That indeed. You’re not going to be a footsoldier, though, Pinkie. I have a special position for you.”

“Huh?”

General Pinkamena Diane Pie of the Royal Equestrian Army stood surveying a large field. They were right on the frontline, out near Tall Tale, where it was much colder than down south. The Changelings had been amassing their forces, and any day now they would march on Equestria. Their supply was running low, and they could not stay this close to Equestria without lashing out at their collective love. Without a doubt, they would be coming for her, not the other way around.

“Major General Pinkie!” cried a stallion.

He was a courier, carrying a telegram. Pinkie turned about to look at him cheerily.

“Yepper?”

“We’ve just received word that another brigade is linking up to join in the defense! They’ll be arriving here soon.”

“Great news! Did you send the broadcasting team that response I drafted for the Changeling Commander’s ultimatum?”

The courier’s eyes flickered. His teeth gritted nervously, and his hoof scraped the ground.
‘ “Uh, yes, ma’am.”

“Good job! Head down to the barracks, you’ve earned it, Surehoof!”

“Thank you, ma’am!” said the courier, as he departed from her presence.

By about 1700 hours, the new brigade had arrived: several fresh recruits, prepared and ready to engage the Changeling menace. Pinkamena waited inside her tent to meet with the Colonel leading the detachment. When the flap opened, she was surprised to see…

…Cheese Sandwich.

“Colonel Cheese Sandwich, actually.” he said kindly, tipping the brim of his officer’s cap. “It’s great to see you again, Pinkie, or should I say, General Pinkie?”

“Cheese!” Pinkie clamored, getting off of her chair. “I haven’t seen you in ages! You joined the army?”

“What else? Didn’t exactly have much of anywhere to go.”

The two of them laughed together like old times. Pinkie beckoned him, and they sat down, sharing a flask of water. Pinkie had formed a new life for herself in the military, and while it wasn’t exactly glamorous, she got to meet new ponies all the time, and that was enough of a party in and of itself. But like everything else, the past had to come up sometime.

“Do you remember when we were party planners?” Cheese Sandwich asked her solemnly.

She could only wonder if she had gotten what she’d truly bargained for in the end.