The Ordinary Ponies

Chapter 19: A.A.A.

Before Mr. Miracle set off for Canterlot to embark on reforms, many things happened in Ponyville. It included Sisterhooves Social, Rainbow Dash selecting pet, Apple Bloom’ cutie pox, and Mare Do Well.

Rarity and Sweetie Belle had always had problems getting along. As Mr. Miracle had always said, Sweetie Belle was quite clever compared with most children. She could do housework, was willing to help, and did them quickly and well.

The only thing she needed was guidance what to touch and what not to touch. But Rarity was always patient, rather than teaching her, which led to her doing wrong and causing sisters to be eccentric. Fortunately, they finally found the main point of getting along with sisters.

Rainbow Dash selecting pet was also a big deal, after all, there was no pony would choose a pet in such a big battle like her. They suggested that Mr. Miracle also adapt a pet, but he only said, “Taking care of pets represents a much greater responsibility than playing with them. We may have a desire to be responsible, but we may not have the ability.”

Pinkie asked who said this sentence, and he just smiled mysteriously and said, “It's you.” Startled, she couldn't stop thinking about when she had said those words.

Later on, Apple Bloom got the cutie pox and resorted to cheating in order to quickly obtain the cutie mark. Mr. Miracle was well aware of this, but he did not expose it. Instead, he performed a play with Zecora to teach valuable lessons to the three - sometimes they might want to take shortcuts to achieve ideals, but dishonesty never worked.

Mare Do Well was a grand play performed by Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, Applejack, and Fluttershy, with the aim of teaching Rainbow Dash a lesson. But Mr. Miracle wanted to go further and took this opportunity to suggest the establishment of "Do Well Week" to encourage every pony to become the " Mare Do Well" and generously help others.

Finally, it was the day when Mr. Miracle went to Canterlot. The three came to see him off, as it meant they wouldn't be able to see him for a while. Rarity went to Canterlot to purchase fabrics before, and heard that she was doing well there.

Twilight had already written to her in advance, asking her to help him. They could meet again at the Castle Dance Hall when Twilight's birthday was on Sunday. Regarding the birthday celebration in Canterlot, they planned to surprise Rarity later.

Thus, Mr. Miracle boarded the train alone for the first time and headed to the capital of Equestria. This was not just a solo journey, but also a meaningful job: he truly contributed his strengths to Equestria and felt closer to integrating here.

As soon as he got off the train, he saw Rarity standing at the station dressed in luxurious attire, with gold and silver jewelry, and several equally luxurious ponies behind her. He had to admit that Rarity dressed exotic was very beautiful, so beautiful that even his once non pony was momentarily stunned.

“Let me introduce Mr. Miracle to you,” said Rarity with a smile. “He is one of my good friends...Although he dresses like this, actually knows a lot about fashion.” She always glanced at the eyes of those high-end ponies when introducing, afraid of causing misunderstandings.

“Miss Rarity, is this pony really your friend?” said a high-end pony in an accent of Canterlot. “Why do I think...his attire is a bit 'crude'.”

It was even a compliment to say “crude”, because he was not wearing any clothes at all, fur and mane were the only decorations. He didn't even have a cutie mark. With the mockery of this pony, other upper-class also laughed along. Rarity could only awkwardly laugh along and then cast a comforting glance at Mr. Miracle.

However, Mr. Miracle didn't care about their opinions at all, because he had already seen through their true faces with CMC. “Rarity, let's go see Princess Celestia quickly. I think the sooner we start the reform of the guards, the better,” he said calmly.

When he said “Princess Celestia”, all the upper-class’s faces froze and their laughter abruptly stopped. Mr. Miracle walked past them without hesitation, carrying a backpack. Finally, he said, “I hope you all still remember ‘Adam and the note'.” Hearing this, they couldn't laugh anymore.

“Who is Adam? And what is the note?” asked Rarity curiously

“Well, you need to ask them,” Mr. Miracle smiled. Upon hearing the name 'Adam', all the ponies dared not say a single disrespectful word and could only watch him and Rarity enter the Royal Palace of Canterlot together.

Shining Armor had been waiting for him for a long time. He thought the wise expert mentioned by the two princesses was an old pony, or at least a middle-aged pony who had read many books.

He never expected it to be a younger pony than him, looking so ordinary and without cutie mark.

However, he dispelled Shining Armor’s doubt with just a few words. Mr. Miracle first got his name right before Shining Armor introduced himself, and then asked many questions about life (even involving Princess Cadance), as if they were long lost friends - but Shining Armor had just met him.

Then Rarity took the initiative to introduce his great achievements, including exposing Trixie's scam, dispelling the public's fear of Princess Luna, guessing riddles correctly in chaotic crises, and using words to stall Discord. This was only his main credit, as for other small things, they were countless.

In addition, he also dropped a heavy bomb. “Shining Armor, I also know you play 'Ogres & Oubliettes', if I remember correctly...your character is a paladin?” he said calmly in Shining Armor's shocked expression. “My friends and I also play, and my character is a sword master. Maybe we can play together in the future.”

Now that Shining Armor had completely dispelled any concerns, and was quite impressed by him.

Shining Armor led him to the room prepared for him in the palace, just downstairs from the rare room. It was equally spacious and decorated, with a large and soft bed that was extremely comfortable.

He needed to rush to work on the reform plan here in order to present it to the entire guards and the princesses as soon as possible; However, Rarity was a bit of "putting the cart before the horse" - she had to participate in various activities to maintain the opportunities she had finally obtained.

When she left, Mr. Miracle continued to give advice, “No matter how high your status is in Canterlot, it's all fake. No matter where you are, you shouldn't forget that it's your hometown and friends who made you be the one. Be proud of them.”

“I guess this is another sentence that our pony 'Future' would say.”

“No, that's what you said,” Mr. Miracle said bluntly. “I just hope you can remember your essence and original intention. I hope you don't sink too deep into the ‘mud’.”

Rarity smiled, obviously not too reassured. “Don't worry, I will...Besides, being with the upper-class - how can it be called the 'mud'?” She said and left, while Mr. Miracle just sighed and then went back to the room to continue his plan.

In his vision, the military force of Equestria would consist of three main legions, while the royal guards would be divided into two parts: the honor team and the guards. The honor team would specialize in rehearsing ceremonial ceremonies, while the guards would specialize in training combat skills.

The three main legions were Almighty Monoliths, Amazing Bolts, and Awesome Waves, all composed of a mix of earth ponies, pegasuses, and unicorns, collectively known as A A.A.

The reason for mixing instead of forming independent land, sea, and air forces was because the combat intensity of Equestria was not high, and the size of the army didn’t need to be too large. Only elite soldiers were needed to guard the kingdom.

The advantage of mixed formation was that each legion had complete and independent combat capabilities. According to his estimation, the number of soldiers in each legion didn’t need to be too many, 100-200 was enough, and they will all be the elites among the elites.

Almighty Monoliths would be the most important and powerful legion of Equestria, with earth ponies as the main force on the ground, pegasuses and unicorns as strategic and tactical support. There were three types of ponies, and multiple types of troops. The specific military equipment still needed to be studied, but Mr. Miracle envisioned that this legion would have the most weapons, fortifications, and other various equipment, thus possessing unparalleled frontal combat capabilities.

Amazing Bolts would be the widest combat range and fastest response army in Equestria, with pegasuses as the main force in the air, earth ponies as the main force on the ground, and unicorns mixed as tactical support. The organizational structure was relatively simple compared to Almighty Monoliths, and the core concept was to use pegasuses' wings, trains, and other transportation vehicles to quickly reach the battlefield and engage in combat, highlighting a "fast" approach. Therefore, the heavy weapons, fortifications, and equipment of this legion would be reduced to ensure sufficient speed; In order to compensate for the weakness in military equipment, the individual quality of this legion must be high enough.

Awesome Waves would be the legion with the most diverse range of combat missions and the most complex tactics in Equestria, focusing on coordinated operations between teams and small corps, rather than emphasizing decisive battles like the first two legions.

Small units that were suitable for various complex tactics, but their frontal combat capabilities were relatively weak. Therefore, the ponies of this legion might not be able to fight better than Amazing Bolts, but they must be smart enough to adapt to changing situations.

However, based on the current situation, it was not realistic to form three legions at once. The existing number of the Royal Guards was not enough, and they needed to allocate a portion for specialized honor team and a portion for specialized guards, leaving very little for the rest.

So he planned to reorganize and build a legion first, train it into the expected elite with enough time, and then assemble the remaining military forces based on its experience.

So which one should be formed first? This question didn't need to be considered at all, of course it was Amazing Bolts. Although it required the highest individual quality, there was no need to start from scratch, because members just needed to be selected from Wonderbolts.

As for the performance, it only required an independent performance team, just like the difference between the guards and the honor team. The Wonderbolt Academy could also be directly reorganized into Amazing Bolt Academy - everything was ready-made, why not start from here?

He shared his thoughts with two princesses and received their support. He thought everything would come naturally, but he was splashed with cold water by the captain of Wonderbolts.

The captain was Spitfire. She was a handsome pegasus with a shiny-golden body and a mane that flowed like flames. She had many fans and was well-known throughout Equestria. Today she happened to be in Canterlot, and Mr. Miracle met her through Shining Armor’s introduction.

Spitfire and her teammates had just completed a difficult stunt rehearsal when they came to rest on the sidelines and saw Mr. Miracle. She had many friends in Canterlot, and some well-informed sources had told her that there was a mysterious pony that was working on military reform.

“I think you must be Mr. Miracle,” she said.

“That's right, Ms. Spitfire. I've also heard a lot about you.” Mr. Miracle said politely.

“The guards had always been led by Shining Armor, and I thought this reform was also led by him,” Spitfire took a sip of water. “I didn't expect the two princesses to hire another one. I heard about your behavior when Discord came, it was really amazing.”

“You flatter me.” Mr. Miracle smiled and continued to get down to business. “We plan to form three major legions as the standing army of Equestria. However, it is not realistic to form them all at once. Considering the current conditions of Wonderbolts, I think we may be able to form the first legion on this basis. This way –”

“I don't think it's possible,” Spitfire immediately shook her head. “Although Wonderbolt was initially an independent flying demonstration team from the E.U.P. After a long period of development, we are no longer purely an army.”

“I don't understand...isn't what I'm saying good?”

“Perhaps it's a good in your place, but...” Spitfire paused for a moment, as if weighing her words. “The captain had been entrusted to me, and my only wish is to manage it well. As for the reorganization, I'm sorry...I can’t let this legendary team with a long history disappear during my tenure.”

“Disappearing? No, I think you're overthinking,” explained Shining Armor. “The performance team can still exist, but it seems more like it has split into two parts: a professional military force and a professional performance group.”

“It's like the difference between the honor team and the guards - we're about to reorganize the Royal Guards like this,” Mr. Miracle explained.

“Honor team? What do you mean?” Spitfire raised an eyebrow, her face clearly looking a bit off.

But Mr. Miracle didn't notice because he was too immersed in his grand plan and lost original perception. “The honor team is specifically responsible for rehearsing the ceremony of the festival celebration, and the guards are specifically responsible for the security work of the royal palace.

“Each team specializes in one field, so there is no need to be distracted. I think Wonderbolts can also do the same, with one part forming the Amazing Bolts, specializing in defending entire Equestria, and the other part specializing in performing stunts. The performance team can focus on their performance, without having to force you to do both in crisis.”

Spitfire shook her head more firmly and refused with a gloomy expression, “I'm sorry, I don't think Wonderbolts will reorganize according to your wishes.”

“I really don't understand why you refuse. Would you rather do those difficult stunt performances than become the defense force for Equestria?”

“No, we just don't want to be forced to choose between these two,” said Spitfire seriously. “We are originally the defense force of Equestria, and performance is our second life. It seems that you think our performance is just some kind of 'honor team' - flashy but not practical...Sorry, I have to leave now.”

“Military reform is also the two princesses' idea, don't you even care about this?” Mr. Miracle still wanted to make a final effort to persuade her. But Spitfire had already made up her mind and said without looking back, “We respect the princesses, but administratively, Wonderbolt isn’t under the jurisdiction of the Royal Guards. If you can persuade the cabinet to agree to the reform, we naturally have nothing to say...Before that, my answer is only 'no'.”

After saying that, she suddenly took off, stirred up a strong wind, and disappeared in a blink. Her emotions should be quite serious, otherwise she wouldn't have flown so fast.

“I really don't know why she refused,” Mr. Miracle was also a little angry. “Does she really think that performance is more important than protecting the public? She is ‘putting the cart before the horse’!” He was so angry that he even threw writing board to the ground.

Shining Armor smacked his lips and didn't know what to say. After waiting for a while, he asked, “What should we do? She doesn't agree. It seems like Amazing Bolts can't be formed anymore.”

“No, we can still do it without her,” Mr. Miracle calmed down slightly. “We'll first find a training ground, and then recruit the first batch of team members...Although it may be difficult, as long as we have the support of the princesses, there won’t be many problems.”

Sometimes, when someone is in a critical period of career, the one can easily lose judgment.

This was the first time Mr. Miracle had taken on such a significant responsibility. The entire military reform of Equestria was on his feet, so he was determined to succeed, no matter what difficulties he encountered.

At such times, vulnerabilities could be misunderstood as difficulties and ignored; Advice could be misunderstood as slander and subsequently rejected.

On Sunday, Twilight and the others suddenly came to the Royal Palace to hold her birthday party, and Rarity was startled. They held a party at the castle ballroom, while Rarity was exhausted running between two groups of ponies, finally realizing the truth that Mr. Miracle had told her before.

She not only remembered this sentence, but also independently learned this lesson. Now she knew why Mr. Miracle said it was “the future her”. Now that she had finished her business, she planned to return to Ponyville. Before leaving, she went to Mr. Miracle's room to see his situation.

After all, on Twilight's birthday, he locked himself in his room and kept thinking about the legion, so he didn't come to the party.

After a brief knock on the door, it opened a crack, revealing half of Mr. Miracle’s haggard face, with deep eye bags and bloodshot eyeballs, and a slight photophobia.

“Oh my goddess! Darling, you look terrible!” exclaimed Rarity.

“It's just a necessary cost. If the military reform is not successful, it will be much worse in the future,” he said with a yawn. “Sorry to show you this,” he opened the door and invited her in.

As soon as Rarity entered, she saw a mess on the ground. Drafts and pencils were scattered randomly on the ground, half of the blanket on the bed was on top and half on the ground, the blackboard on the wall was extremely messy, with broken pens scattered in various places, and the plates he had eaten were not washed and piled up in the corner.

Rarity swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said, “This...is not like you.”

“I know, I know, it's messy, right? I just have more important things to do,” he walked over and casually cleared out an area for Rarity to sit. After she sat down, he was about to prepare a drink, but he rummaged around the table and couldn't find a teapot or teacup, either tea-leaves.

Seeing this, Rarity quickly stopped him and said, “It's okay not to drink tea. I just came to take a look, and I didn't expect...it's like this. What's bothering you? Maybe I can help.”

“Every time I think of it, I get angry!” Mr. Miracle kicked his hooves and immediately forced himself to calm down. “I don't know why Spitfire refused my proposal. I didn't let her do anything that doesn't work at all. However, in her eyes, performance is actually more important than guarding Equestria.”

Then he told the whole thing in detail, thinking that Rarity would agree and sympathize with him; Unexpectedly, Rarity advised him to put himself in others’ shoes. In her opinion, Spitfire did have her reason.

Seeing Mr. Miracle's incomprehensible expression, Rarity smiled and said, “Now you know what I thought when I told you about Sweetie Belle and you advised me, right?”

“That's different. I know Sweetie Belle, and I'm telling the truth.”

“But what I'm saying is also the truth. Although I'm not as familiar as Rainbow Dash with Spitfire, I know her to some extent,” explained Rarity patiently. In her eyes, Wonderbolts had always had the responsibility of both performance and defense.

When a crisis came, they were never absent and arrived at the scene almost immediately. Spitfire had never thought that the safety of other ponies was not important.

“Even so, you know the fact that every time Wonderbolts attack, it is ineffective, always losing quickly, or having no effective means of attack. My proposal is to change this situation, but she arrogantly thinks it's not necessary.”

“Perhaps there is arrogance, but from your description, it may be more of anger.”

“I didn't even say anything about her, why is she angry? Is it reasonable for her to be angry?”

“Of course. Wonderbolt is a legendary team with a long history. There were many famous came from it. Who doesn't know about Wonderbolts when it comes to Equestria? The team has been passed down to this day. It is not only an ordinary performance team, but also a cultural symbol, representing a spirit. All members of Wonderbolts sincerely regard it as their own ownership, and do their best to fight for its honor. This team is their collective, their home, and even their spiritual land. The members are like brothers and sisters, and their feelings are deep.”

Mr. Miracle remained silent after hearing this, and upon calming down, he realized that it was indeed the case.

“Although I know your intention was not to deny all of this, your proposal sounds like a 'split'. As the captain of Wonderbolts, it is her duty to keep the team great. You said you want to reorganize or even change its name, and the members will either become military ponies or just perform without doing anything else. To some extent, it is equivalent to making the team 'cease to exist'. So she refused you.”

“I...I didn't expect that.”

“If it were you before, you probably would have known long ago. I guess it's these things that keep you a little...out of tune?” Rarity's words had always been carefully considered, and because of this, she was very good at soothing the emotions of other ponies; But when it was her turn, she found it difficult to calm herself down.

Mr. Miracle had always known how to confide in others, but when it was his turn, he was just like Rarity. Perhaps this was the meaning of “the spectators see the chess game better than the players”.

“What should I do then?” Mr. Miracle asked. “Military reform is necessary, and to enhance combat effectiveness, it is necessary to divide professions. Do we have to accommodate them and let them continue the tradition of 'unprofessional'? But this goes against the original intention of military reform.”

“I can't give you any more advice in this regard, after all, I know nothing about these things,” said Rarity frankly. “Maybe you can ask Twilight or Rainbow Dash...Rain Dash may need to be excluded. If she finds out you want to reorganize Wonderbolts, she may have prejudice against you...Anyway, I believe you can always come up with a solution. Well, it's getting late, I should go back now.”

“Thank you, Rarity,” Mr. Miracle quickly said. Rarity turned around and smiled slightly, then left.

After Rarity left, he sat in the room and thought for a long time. She was right, Wonderbolts had extremely important significance for every member. His previous statement not only failed to realize this, but also showed disrespect - even compared them to the "honor team". Spitfire was already quite restrained without scolding him on the spot.

It seemed that he must give up the idea of restructuring, which meant building an elite army from scratch. The biggest problem was technical: although he was knowledgeable, he clearly knew nothing about the flying knowledge of pegasus. He couldn’t select future members.

Is the plan going to be stillborn before it even starts?