Valor is Magic

Chapters

A Letter, Foreword, and Dedication
Chapter 1: Rude Awakening
Chapter 2: A New Hope
Chapter 3: Royal Directive
Chapter 4: A Talk Between Friends
Chapter 5: Echo Level Clearance
Chapter 6: Flock Together
Chapter 7: Red Dawn
Chapter 8: Familiar Faces
Chapter 9: Flight of Fancy
Chapter 10: (Un)acceptable Losses
Chapter 11: Stars and Moon
Chapter 12: Dark Knights
Chapter 13: The Message
Chapter 14: Friends Close

A Letter, Foreword, and Dedication

Dear Princess Luna,

This letter has been sent to you with the first printed copy of Valor is Magic: A History of the Great Griffin Invasion. If there are any changes you would like made, please note them in a separate scroll. This is the only complete copy right now, so please be careful with it. It only needs your final approval before I send it out for publication.

I need to thank you again for all of your help in putting together this text. I was able to interview dozens of ponies for fact checking and extra perspective because of your efforts, and it was also just nice to catch up with old friends I hadn’t seen in a while. I’m not sure I want to know how you were able to get Kaleb to visit Ponyville long enough to provide some scenes.

As for the passages you personally provided, I’ve done my best to integrate them into the larger story with as few changes as possible. I know how much it hurts you to talk about some of these events. If you feel anything in this binding makes you uncomfortable, it’s still not too late to revise or remove any of them. Just let me know, and I’ll make any changes you would like.

Your Faithful Friend,

Twilight Sparkle

P.S: Please have a talk with the publisher if you can find the time. The editor, Namby Pamby, wants to shorten the title to just “Valor is Magic,” but that says nothing about the history. I’m sure she’d change her mind if, say, a princess told her that the title was fine the way it is.

FOREWORD

When Twilight Sparkle first spoke to Us about the idea of putting her memories of the recent conflict with the griffins into published form, We must admit to having doubts. Equestria had suffered greatly during that time, and things were beginning to return to normal. Many were just coming to terms with the loss of friends and loved ones, and We did not see the reason to reopen such wounds in the hearts of so many ponies.

We must also confess to a personal bias in this matter. Much happened that caused discomfort to Us, and We did not care to revisit such times even if only in thought. It did not help that she approached Us during the first Grand Galloping Gala after peace had been restored. We were not the only pony to approach the gala with the hope of finally putting such dark times behind us for good, and we believed such talk would spoil our enjoyment of the event.

Yet Twilight persisted, as she so often does. Eventually she caught Us alone and without other obligation for long enough to explain her full vision for this text. We finally consented to hear her entire plan, in spite of Our misgivings.

We could not have been prepared for what was in store. What We thought would be a droll description of numbers and battle lines, like so many that have been written for previous conflicts, was nothing of the kind. Twilight wove a tale of ponies risking all for one another, and of the power of friendship in dark times. She told the story through the eyes of one who lived it, aided by the views and experiences of her closest friends, the Bearers of the Elements.

She truly believed that there were lessons in her experience that should not be confined to regular studies, but that should be known and shared across all Equestria. Most surprisingly, We found that the more she explained, the more We agreed with her. Her story was so moving that it seemed unfitting to merely approve such an important work, so We decided then and there to contribute to her efforts, volunteering to track down any contacts she might need as well as offering Our own experiences.

The tome you now hold in your hooves is the result of her efforts, and We hope that this is how ponies will remember these times.

Equestria has been blessed in her history to enjoy centuries of peace with her neighbors, but it is not always so. There must always be a few ponies dedicated to preparing for the worst, though in this land of friendship they are not always understood. Perhaps, with the help of this book, every pony will come to see that valor is its own kind of magic.

Princess Luna

To departed friends. May you find new magic in the hereafter.

Author's Note

My thanks go out to WoolOverYourEyes for beta reading and Frontsevens for editing.
Valor is Magic takes place a few months after the “Changeling incident” during Princess Cadence's wedding and before our first trip to the Crystal Empire. For readers who like maps, one can be found here, and a focused version here.

Chapter 1: Rude Awakening

Rude Awakening

In the loft of the Golden Oaks library, Twilight Sparkle sat by the window devouring every word of Equestria Geographic. Outside, scheduled flurries had begun to coat Ponyville in a dusting of snow in preparation for Hearth’s Warming Eve. It was a wonderful weekend morning to stay indoors and catch up on her periodical reading with a cup of cocoa. Nearby sat a thick pile of the periodicals she had already finished, capped by the latest Popular Magic. While that one did share some exciting breakthroughs in unicorn ingenuity, she sat enraptured by the tale of what a new archeological dig had discovered in southern Equestria.

Finishing the article, Twilight’s explosive squee was loud enough to startle ponies outside. “They actually found the ruins of Troa!” Grinning ear to ear, she couldn’t help but bounce up and down. “The city exists! Do you know what this means, Spike?”

Spike raised a distracted eyebrow. He was busily returning the clutter of books in the library to the shelves, and the giant stack of books he was carefully balancing demanded most of his attention. As he shuffled across the library floor, the baby dragon volunteered the only related information he could recall. “Uh, that weird horse head statue on the table is a Troan replica, right? Maybe you could get a real one.”

Twilight beamed, undaunted by her assistant’s lack of enthusiasm. She magically lifted the periodical up to show Spike. It startled the little dragon, and a few wobbles later he and every book he had been carrying were face down on the floor. He shook his head as Twilight continued. “No Spike, it means that the Troan War epics might be based on actual events. It’s our first new glimpse into a history over 4000 years old! Isn’t this exciting?”

She did a joyful hop, and pranced over to her desk. “Spike, bring me our copy of the Troan Ballads.”

The dragon sighed mournfully, sauntered over to the bookshelf. He shrugged and slid the ladder to where he could reach the requested tome. “I don’t know, Twilight. I like battle stories as much as the next dragon, but even I know Equestria hasn’t seen a war in over two centuries. Are you sure this research is worth the time?” After all, the books he had been so valiantly returning were those Twilight had used in her last whimsical research spree. It would be nice to have a day or two before the next one took off.

It was already a lost cause. Twilight began clearing her desk, still radiating her excitement in the face of Spike’s doubt. “The lives of those ponies were important enough to inspire some of the most compelling poetry in classical Equestrian history.”

She looked up thoughtfully for a moment. “Looking back at the lives of ponies so long ago makes you wonder how history will remember us. Besides, you never know when the lessons of the past could help us in the present.” Her desk prepared, she stamped her front hoof like a gavel, the gleam in her eye matching her smile. “Let’s get this research started!”

Spike groaned sadly.

Canard was sure he had gotten away clean. It was chilly, flapping his wings in the fluffy snow cloud, but totally worth it. He was going to be the first pony in the squadron to give their captain the slip! He even kept his breathing hushed, staying as quiet as he could without falling from the sky.

“You blasted colt, form up! We don’t have time for hide and seek.”

Canard’s spring green face popped out of the cloud and looked around. A white pegasus with an ice-blue mane hovered a few yards away. In spite of the scattered snow clouds, the elder pony had picked out which one he was in on the first try. It was uncanny. Canard hung his head in disappointment. “Aww, Snowblind. How’d you find me so quick?”

“Same way I find every pony so quick, you foal. Now, are you gonna form up, or do I have to put you on report?” Snowblind glowered at the younger pony. “Again.”

Canard sighed, his tan mane flopping in the high altitude current. “No sir.”

“Good. Now climb with me. So help me, if I have to break off to track you down again, I’ll ground you with my own hooves. The hard way!” Snowblind bolted straight up like a pony half his age. Canard caught up with him when he leveled off, but it took more out of him than he'd care to admit. Snowblind might be an older pegasus, but what he had lost to the years he had more than made up for in experience and willpower. Canard was a goof, but even he knew not to push Snowblind too far. The Air Corps used Snowblind’s Trident squadron as a last stop for trouble-making pegasi before drumming them out of the service all together, and Canard wasn’t there on account of good behavior.

Snowblind must have had eyes on the back of his head. He started right into the rookie the moment the younger pony formed up on his five o’clock. “Canard, I know this is beyond you, but I’m gonna go over it again just to exercise my aging mind.” He ahemed, somehow making it sound official. “Scheduled patrols are our primary duty in the Air Corps. They are patterned and timed so that every three hours, a four-flight of pegasi fly reconnaissance over every corner of Equestria. We are the vanguard of any national response; if no one else can report a disaster, we will. The ponies of Equestria charge us with being responsible for their safety.”

Snowblind practically growled, losing his official tone as he went off script. “And thanks to the merry chase you put me on, I had to break off from the rest of two-flight. We’re out of position by eight minutes. Worst of all, we had to split up. Two ponies from our flight are out ahead, keeping our schedule.” He shook his head. “If anything happens on this patrol, when we get back, you’re going in front of tribunal. You better pray to Celestia nopony gets hurt, or you’ll be pulling a wagon in an earth pony team for the rest of your enlistment.”

The rookie flier hung his head. Sure, he could be a goof off, but deep down he knew even this boring assignment was important. More than that, he’d come to respect the squadron commander. He was a hard, unyielding stallion, but honest and fair. The disappointment in Snowblind’s voice hurt, and Canard had never known him to be this angry before.

“I'm sorry, sir.”

“Sorry won’t mean a blasted thing if somepony gets hurt.” The captain sighed. “You’re a talented pegasus. It's the only reason I was able to keep the last tribunal from throwing you in a cell.”

Snowblind looked back over his shoulder at the rookie. “But all the talent in Equestria doesn’t mean a thing if the other fliers can’t count on you. Discipline and trust in each other are all you really have when it starts raining horse apples.” He nodded sagely. “You remember that, colt.”

Canard said nothing, and they flew on like that for a long while. Soon their path crossed the Equestrian border with the wilds, and they turned west to follow the border. The scattered clouds thickened a bit, and it was clear to see that the scheduled snows were just wrapping up this far north.

Snowblind finally broke the silence.

“Would you look at that.” To the west, the sun grew near the horizon. It would still be a two or three hours before sunset. For now, it hung squarely between two pine-covered mountain ranges that stretched out further west, with a white carpet of snow and fluffy clouds stretched out between. “Equestria is a beautiful place, but it's views like this that keep a pony company through long missions, rookie. Remember that, too.”

He smiled. “Or, maybe it’s Spitfire you’ll be thinking about. You still haven’t asked her out yet, have you? Hearth’s Warming Eve is coming up.”

The younger pony blushed. “Come on, sir! A few moments ago you were chewing me out for being a goof!”

Snowblind chuckled. “It’s not my fault you don’t know what’s good for you, rookie. She’d say yes.”

Canard hung his head. No matter what his friends might say, he couldn’t bring himself to believe it. There was no way the captain of the Wonderbolts could notice a troublemaker like him. Just picturing Spitfire made him feel tiny.

At least Snowblind had lightened up after teasing him a bit. A few minutes later, the green pony worked up the courage to start the conversation up again, with a topic more comfortable and that had been on his mind almost since he met the captain.

“Say, I’ve been thinking, Boss…”

Snowblind huffed. “First time for everything. And that’s Captain Boss to you.”

“Captain, how do you spot ponies in the clouds so well? Is it your talent or something?”

The white pony didn’t answer for a few wing beats. He kept his eyes fixed on the northern horizon. “Magic.”

“No, I’m being serious, sir. How’d you learn a trick like that?”

Snowblind’s head spun, and he glared at the rookie. “It’s not a trick, you silly colt. Tricks are for foals that have no better use for flying than showing off, and that’s all a trick is good for.”

Canard raised a hoof in surrender. “Alright, alright, it’s not a trick. How did you learn something like that?”

The captain sighed. “I hate telling stories.” The rookie colt hung his head, but Snowblind continued with a smile. “But I guess as long as I have your attention, I should try to teach you something.”

Canard was so excited he had to fight down a nicker. Most of what the squadron thought about Snowblind’s past was wild speculation. The only thing every story agreed on was that he was a veteran of battle or war. There wasn’t a pegasus alive that had fought in the last Equestrian war, it was so long ago. Snowblind must have traveled abroad, but nopony had any idea where or when.

He motioned to a little squall forming in the cloud cover beneath them. “See the squall spinning in that cloud?” The green pony had to squint to see it. Snowblind had good eyes. “Which way is it spinning?”

“Clockwise. I think.”

“You’re right. All the big storms spin that way. Remember why?” Canard knew it had been covered in fliers school, but couldn’t remember now. He shook his head. Snowblind rolled his eyes. “Of course you don’t. It’s the Coriolis effect.”

“Corilous effect?”

“Coriolis, Co-ri-o-lis! It doesn’t take much, but unless something makes it go the other way, clouds spin clockwise in Equestria.” Snowblind glowered. “Well, I won’t confuse you with the details. It has to do with magical currents and eddies. Point is, when those little swirls happen on their own, they spin clockwise.”

“On their own…you mean when nopony is in one?”

The captain grinned back at Canard. Something like pride glinted in his eye. “You’re pretty quick when you put your mind to it. But there’s more to it than just that.” He returned his gaze to the horizon ahead. “Pegasi wings put a spiral in the air when they flap, opposite on each side. You might get a freak counterclockwise spiral once in a blue moon, but when you see opposite spirals in pair, you know somepony is in that cloud.”

“Huh. I never would have thought of that.” Canard started glancing around at the spotted clouds beneath them.

Tickled that the younger flier was actually paying attention, the white pony continued. “Learned that flying in Shanghay, long before you were even born. Some of us were bored with the duties we had here in Equestria, and were itching for an adventure. Then the Emperor of Yoketo decided it had been too long since their last feud with the mainland, and the Yoketans started up their raids on the Ibix. They probably don’t teach foals that one anymore.”

Snowblind waited for a reply. “Canard?” He turned back to the now quiet colt behind him, distracted by something down below. “Canard, why can’t you listen when somepony is talking to you?”

Canard was focused on a patch of cloud not too far off. “I thought you said those spiral pairs only happen if there’s a pegasus in one. If that’s true, what about those spirals over there?”

Snowblind chucked, and casually glanced where the younger pony had motioned. Canard saw his expression go hard, and looked away. “Captain?”

“Quiet.” Snowblind’s voice was hard. “Eyes ahead, and stay quiet.”

Canard’s blood went cold. He thought he had seen the captain serious before, but something about his tone went right to Canard’s bones.

The captain hung back in the formation, and started talking in a hushed voice. “There are griffins in that cloud. At least a dozen, and they’ve spotted us. They have their own patrols in the wilds, but so many shouldn’t be trying to hide in Equestrian skies.” Snowblind kept his eyes ahead, and his voice even. “We play this cool. If they stay in the cloud, everyone flies their merry way and we report it when we get back. If they try to jump us, I want you to make for Cloudsdale, as quick as you can. You’re the faster flier, so you’ll have the best chance. I’ll try to keep them off your tail.”

The rookie was trembling. He heard his captain, but it just sounded like gibberish. He couldn’t mean what he was saying.

“If it comes to that, dive, and dive hard. Griffins are powerful fliers, but they don’t weigh as much as a pony. You should be able to get a lead on them enough to make it back. Got it?” Snowblind looked back at Canard. The younger stallion’s eyes had gone wide, and he was clearly fighting shock and fear. “Canard! Hey, listen to me.” The rookie met his gaze, shakily. “Do. You. Understand?”

Canard nodded nervously. “Yes, sir.”

The captain smiled. “Good. Now keep a level head. And whatever you do, don’t look down.”

The colt kept his head forward, but his eyes darted from cloud to cloud, and it was then he understood Snowblind’s reaction. At first, Canard had only spotted the spirals in the one cloud because it was closest, and he was new at it. Looking out ahead at the breathtaking view before them, the sight took on a new horror. As they passed over the cloud the rookie had first pointed out, he realized he couldn’t find a cloud that didn’t have at least three pairs of spirals he could spot. Canard could see hundreds of clouds, and it was all the same. He couldn’t believe his eyes. There had to be thousands of griffins out here, but the only reason there could be that many was if…

It was an invasion. The griffins were invading Equestria. As the realization came to Canard and he understood just how important it was that news make it to Cloudsdale, a score of griffins sprung from the cloud cover, screaming as they climbed.

Snowblind cleared his throat. “Canard, it’s been a pleasure. Now dive, rookie!”

Canard did, for all he was worth.

He picked the biggest gap he could spot to the south, and threaded it as griffin heads started to pop out of the clouds. He heard griffins roar, first in challenge, but several changed to agony as Snowblind’s own battle cry answered them. Canard didn’t look back.

The green pony went down like a meteor, the air screaming louder and louder in his ears, until he couldn’t hear anything else. He might not be a disciplined flier, but this was his element; he was running on instinct in a race to save Equestria. Canard used the tip of his wing to roll and get a quick look behind him without losing speed. Sure enough, two flights of griffins had given chase, but he was losing them. Finishing the roll, his eyes started to pick out a path he could fly below the treeline to help throw off pursuit. Adrenaline surged though him, and he grinned madly, leveling out as the earth rose to meet him. He spread his wings to start to pull up, still gaining speed.

Dropping under the tree line, he started to weave around trunks and branches. He juked left and right, gracefully cutting out a pattern that would make him harder to track from above. A hedgerow with no gaps blocked his vision ahead, and he popped up for a moment to clear it.

Right into a net.

It wrapped around him, and Canard hit the tree canopy. It hurt. He shattered several tree branches and let out an undignified little yelp on his way down, finally coming to a violent stop against an oak trunk. He fell limp to the ground with a thump, with no strength left to fight against the cords that tangled around him. Canard had just enough time to see diamond dogs circling and to feel cheated before his world faded to black.

Two solid knocks at the front door woke Twilight Sparkle with a start. She sat up in bed with a yawn, and looked out the bedroom window. Snow covered all the roofs and ground she could see. Judging from the bit of Orion she could see peeking out from behind a cloud it couldn't be midnight yet. Who could need to pick up a book at this hour? At least the noise didn’t wake Spike. Groggily, she rolled out of bed.

The Golden Oak Library was a cozy place. The spacious public library had rooms upstairs for the librarian to live and pursue her own studies, and it was warm in spite of the snow. The hollowed out tree was the center of collected academic knowledge in Ponyville. Twilight was proud to have the responsibility of caring for it. Even if the occasional crazy pony came knocking on her door at odd hours of the night, it was a small price to pay. Her friends lived in Ponyville, and as long as she could be close to all of them, she’d be happy to call anywhere home.

Her pet owl Owlowiscious flew to her from his perch, landing gently on her back on her way down. Twilight opened the door, and a crisp winter air rolled into the library. The owl shivered.

One of Celestia’s royal guards stood outside. Two others were in the street, harnessed to one of the chariots adorned by Celestia’s ornamentation. He spoke with a deep, authoritative voice, but hushed. “Miss Sparkle? I’m going to have to ask you to come with us.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I beg your pardon?” She had been paid surprise visits from the royal guard before, but never after dark.

“Please, Miss, there isn’t time.” The guard looked up for a moment, searching the distant skies. “Princess Celestia has ordered you be collected and escorted to Canterlot as soon as ponily possible. Can you leave now?”

Twilight was floored. “But it’s the middle of the night.”

“I’m sorry. The princess insisted we get you to her immediately.” The guard was genuinely saddened to be pushing this on her, but still firm.

“Why the rush?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Did something happen?”

“Princess Celestia would better be able to explain that, Miss Sparkle.” The guard loomed over her in the doorway, clearly unwilling to discuss further. “If there isn’t anything you need to do before we leave, please come with me to the chariot.”

Twilight raised an assenting hoof. “Wait wait, I’ll need to get a bag and talk to my assistant. Just five minutes, okay?”

“Faster if at all possible.” The guard glanced skyward again. “And keep the lights off. Work by hornlight if you must, but keep it dim.”

“What? No lights? How could—”

“Miss Sparkle, there isn’t—"

“—time to explain, yeah, I got it.” Even worried, she couldn’t help but be a little miffed that this guard wasn’t telling her anything. “Please come in.” Twilight stepped back and let the guard come inside, closing the door behind him. “I’ll get some things together. Wait right here.” She left the guard at the door, trotting upstairs to her room to pack a saddlebag with essentials. She put on her warmest scarf and boots, putting a spare scarf in her bag. What else would she need? It was hard to imagine, not knowing what the rush was about. Owlowiscious hopped off and made himself busy collecting her grooming kit.

Twilight stopped to consider. If Celestia wanted her in Canterlot, it was because of something she could do best. That meant she was needed either as Celestia’s student, or as the Element of Magic. Twilight grabbed a few reference books about the elements and packed them. Lastly she added a few personal odds and ends that her junior assistant brought her, and strapped on the pack.

Owlowiscious perched on Twilight’s back again, hooting twice.

“Oh no. I almost forgot about Spike.” She checked his basket to find the baby dragon was fast asleep. He had been so busy yesterday helping her with research, she didn’t have the heart to wake him. With a smile, she drew out quill and parchment and wrote him a note.

Dear Spike,

Some Royal guards arrived with orders to bring me to Canterlot. They aren’t saying much, but it sounds like an emergency. I’ll write you from there as soon as I know more.

Twilight Sparkle

PS: Don’t eat all the ice cream again. I’ll be checking the tub first thing when I get back.

PPS: Oh, and put away all the books downstairs, but the ones by my bed I need out for my research on Troa.

PPPS: Take care of Owlowiscious. He seems worried. Well, I would be too if a prodigious plated pegasi paid a ponderous visit, presenting passionate petitions.

The guard called upstairs. “Miss Sparkle? We should be going.”

PPPPS: Out of time. If you need anything, talk to Fluttershy. I love you Spike, be safe.

After putting the note on her bed, Twilight turned to the baby dragon, still sleeping soundly. She pulled his covers tight and headed back downstairs, saying her goodbyes to Owlowiscious. She smiled happily at the royal guard. “I’m all packed.”

“Good. Please come with me.” The two of them headed outside into the cold, snow crunching lightly under each hoofstep. As they approached the chariot, two more royal guards landed nearby.

Twilight had never seen Celestia travel with such a large escort, and she was taken aback. “There were more of you?” she asked, thinking of the cold. “I would have invited you all inside if I knew.”

“That would not have been possible. Miss Sparkle, there is one more thing before we take off.” He turned to Twilight. "Once we are in the air, we’ll be proceeding as quietly as possible. Please, no questions or conversation on the way unless one of us breaks the silence first. Understood?”

Twilight couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “What, really?” Her eyes narrowed. “You show up in the middle of the night, and now this?”

The tall stallion met her doubting gaze with a grave stare of his own. “It’s for your own safety.”

“How could that possibly make any of us any more or any less safe?”

He sighed. “I’m afraid Princess Celestia will be able to explain that better.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, stepping into the chariot. “Fine. The sooner I get there, the sooner I’ll get all these explanations.”

With that settled, the royal guard turned his attention to the escort. They had grouped around the chariot team, silently waiting for their leader. Puffs of mist flowed from their little circle with each breath. Even wearing all that metal plate, not one of them shivered. The lead guard addressed the team as he entered the huddle. “News from above?”

One of the younger pegasi spoke up. “N-Flight reports all clear.”

“Good. We’ll do this the same way we came out, in zone formation. We’re down one, so I’ll take point. We’ll have to leave our three o’clock quadrant open. Questions?” The guards stayed silent, but Twilight tilted her head in confusion. Before she could ask what he had meant, the leader stretched his wings, and the others mimicked him. “Good. Celestia be with us. We make for Canterlot.” With that, they were off.

The pegasi escort gained altitude much quicker than Twilight was used to, and it made her a bit uncomfortable. Cold air bit her nose and ears as they rose, and Twilight found herself crouching in the chariot to keep out of the chilling breeze. She had made the flight between Ponyville and Canterlot before, and it usually took a few hours, but those flights had been at a trot. The guards were being extra cautious tonight. She could only guess how long this flight would take.

Twilight had good eyes, but there was barely enough moonlight tonight to make out the white pegasus in the back of the formation. That would be their six o’clock, if she understood the pegasi parlance. She thought about reading by hornlight for a moment before deciding it might not be best to open her saddlebag in the fast moving chariot.

Still drowsy and with no better way to occupy her time, Twilight closed her eyes and rested for whatever trials lay ahead. Soon she was fast asleep.

“Miss Sparkle?” Twilight came to with a start, and turned to see the rear guard flying just behind the chariot. “We’re coming into sight of the city now. This landing could get a bit interesting.”

Twilight shook her head to clear it, which worked. Well, at least it helped. Looking back at the pegasus she raised an eyebrow. “Define interesting.”

The guard gave her a hard look. “Whatever happens, we’ll get you into Canterlot.” He spread his wings into a brake, and returned to his place in the formation.

She gaped. What could that mean? She stood and looked forward just as Canterlot came into view. The pegasi had brought the chariot around a longer way. She was used to approaching from the west in a direct flight, but they were approaching from the south. The mountain blocked their view of Canterlot until they came around.

A pinkish globe surrounded the city. Twilight’s brother, Shining Armor, had cast his shield spell. She had seen it before, most recently during the Changeling attack a few months earlier. While the components of a shield spell were not unknown among studied unicorns, most could only muster up enough power to shield a small space. On its own, that might just mean Canterlot was on high alert, but it was quickly apparent that this was no mere drill.

The blood drained from Twilight’s face as she looked out at the capital city of Equestria, for many years her home. The violet-and-white city of her mind’s eye stood battered and burning, tarnished with the soot of its own ashes. Roofs of buildings had gaping holes blown in them. Red light played over the white walls from dozens of small fires while the ponies of the fire brigade valiantly fought the flames.

Twilight’s patterned mind simply went blank as she took in the horrific sight, unblinking even in the cold breeze. She tried to understand, to process what she was seeing. Try as she might, she couldn’t move past the first word of any she might pose to herself.

Why?

So profound was her shock that she almost missed the angry roars that rose up from beneath the chariot. The sound triggered some faint memory, and it tried to assert itself in her mind. With a mental click she placed the last time she had heard a something like it. “Gilda?” she asked aloud. She blinked twice, and looked over the edge of the chariot.

Three griffins rose from the tree tops, flapping their powerful wings to give chase. A predator’s fire burned in their eyes. Celestia’s royal guards started to change position against the threat. The rear guard pegasus dove on the leader, striking the griffin with his shoulder. The two fell together into the treetops below. The other griffins continued to rise unphased, too quick in their ascent for the other guards to intercept them.

One of the griffins hit the bottom of the chariot, cleaving the axle with his talons. The other gripped the back of the chariot, heaving himself into the bed to stand mere hooves from Twilight. Raising his other talon to strike, it screeched again.

Twilight may have been a bookish pony, but the last few years had seen her in greater peril than this. She wasn’t going to go down without a fight. She spun and kicked the griffin hard with her rear hooves, one hitting him square in the face. The stunned griffin lost his balance and slid from the chariot, but his grip held firm. As he started to haul himself back up, the other griffin’s head popped up over the side rail, moments from being able to attack her as well.

“Miss Sparkle, duck!”

She dropped to the floor. A blue and purple streak barely missed her, slamming into the griffin gripping the back of the chariot. Another streak drove straight down into the other griffin, this time giving Twilight just enough time to see the outline of bat wings on the diving pony. Both impacts were accompanied by bone-shattering crunches, and Twilight was left alone in the gouged and de-wheeled chariot.

One of the guards in the chariot team was looking back at her with a smile. “Well done, Twilight! You do the princesses proud.”

Her heart still racing, Twilight recognized the voice as the one that had warned her. “Uh, thanks.” The guard nodded upward, and she glanced up to see a bat-winged pegasus keeping pace with them. She had seen Luna’s terrifying personal escorts before, but in piecing the last few moments together her respect for them grew exponentially. It must have been members of Luna’s guard that had driven off the last two griffins.

“Twilight Sparkle!” The bat-winged mare’s voice carried through the night, clearly unafraid of being heard. “Know that both orders of the royal guard stand together in thy defense. Oft has the Princess of the Night spoke of her great debt to thee.”

The midnight guard grinned viciously and lifted her gaze to the stars. “Stand true, for we honor it as our own. For Princess Luna, and for Magic!”

Unseen pegasi above, hidden by midnight magic, answered in unison. “For Magic!”

Stunned that the two groups had been sent together to fetch her safely to Canterlot, Twilight remained silent. She stared out toward the city and considered what little she knew about what had happened. Her conclusions grew considerably darker as she went. It was already clear this was unlike anything she had seen or faced before. Nightmare Moon and Discord had certainly threatened Equestria by unmaking the natural order. The changelings had nearly taken all Canterlot captive to feed off the love between the ponies.

This was different. Canterlot had clearly been attacked, likely by a force that at least included griffins. Still, even Twilight understood that the city was deep in Equestria and lacked resources or population that would have made it a military target. In her view, it was simple malice of one people directed at another: An act of pure, wanton destruction. Looking out at the wounded city, she felt a gnawing emptiness growing inside her. She knew so many ponies that lived there. Alone in the chariot flying through the cold night, Twilight was left to ponder.

What could ponies do against such reckless hate?

Yet in the middle of all this devastation both princesses had chosen to send for Twilight, and most chillingly, it was important enough to risk pony lives to do it. As the depth of that responsibility settled on her heart, she shivered. Whatever it might be, she could only hope she was pony enough to do it.

If any other griffins spotted the chariot on its approach to the city, they didn’t reveal themselves. The skies remained clear as the mixed royal guard finally delivered Twilight Sparkle, cold and dejected, to the battered city of Canterlot.

Author's Note

Chapter 2: A New Hope

A New Hope

Tired and battered, the mixed royal guard glided over the outer walls of Canterlot and landed gently in the front courtyard. With no wheels, the mental facets of the chariot screeched as it set down on the stone walkway. The soldiers at the gate and along the walls kept their posts, but with the light from the streetlamps she could see ponies from the gate garrison running to the arriving party. Some were wearing armor, but most wore simple uniforms and saddlebags.

Twilight stepped off of the chariot still bewildered and in shock, but none the worse for wear. The first ponies to approach wore white circlets around their arms marked with a red cross, asking if there were any wounded. Twilight told them she was fine, and they hurried to patch the scrapes and cuts of the guards.

A stallion earth pony with a cinnamon coat and a dark mane briskly followed behind the medics. He wore a khaki uniform shirt, a maroon beret, and a confident smile. He was an older pony, probably twice Twilight’s age, but something about the spring in his trot amongst the beleaguered defenders of Canterlot set him apart from his surroundings. He headed straight for Twilight even in the bustle of the landing area. Stopping abruptly as he reached her, he clicked his heels.

“Major Vedette at your service, Miss Sparkle. Princess Celestia bid me to escort you to the university when you arrived.” He tipped his head slightly, indicating the guards being treated. “But first, I have duties to attend to here. If you’d please stay close to me in the meantime, we will depart shortly.”

Twilight was a pony who still felt out of place around societal formality. Being confronted with military decorum was even more awkward. “Um. Yes, of course major. Please proceed to prosecute your predetermined procedures.”

The major looked back at her dubiously with a raised eyebrow, but then his reassuring smile returned. “With pride.” He spun and directed his attention to the pegasi and medics, approaching the pegasus that had first knocked on Twilight’s door. He saluted the guard, his hoof snapping up and back with crisp precision.

“What is your unit’s condition, sir?” Vedette said sir in a Canterbury accent.

The pegasus shook his head. “Coming in was easier than going out. They still have harasser groups in the forest around the city. We lost Percheron in the trees."

The guard set his jaw in frustration, his eyes growing distant. “That’s four, Vedette. I lost four pegasi today.”

The major put a hoof on the royal guard’s shoulder, and looked him dead in the eye. “No, colonel. A rescue team found Wild Fire after you cleared Canterlot’s airspace. She's at the university infirmary now.”

The guard’s eyes went wide. “Is she…?”

“Two broken legs and some cracked ribs, but she’s alive and safe.” The earth pony squinted hard at the guard, and then gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “And she’ll fly again.”

The pegasus’s eyes got misty for a moment before he blinked it away. The major pretended not to notice. “See to your ponies, colonel, then clean up and pay her a visit. She wanted to know the moment you returned.” Vedette smiled warmly. “I’ll be speaking with Delta soon. Percheron is a fighting stallion. Don’t count him out yet.”

Twilight stood silent and wide-eyed as she absorbed the exchange. Her more academic side started to chronicle what she was witnessing for posterity, but then she was struck with a wave of guilt. These pegasi had risked life and limb bringing her here from Ponyville, and had taken casualties because of it. She hadn’t even known Percheron’s name when he had dove at the griffins. Wild Fire was injured, and she hadn’t even met her. The least she could do was let them finish in private. As Major Vedette continued to bolster the royal guards, Twilight took a couple steps away to get out of earshot.

Canterlot looked different from the ground. Certainly, it was still a wounded city, but the damage was already being mended. The fires were under control, and ponies ran this way that as they worked together to put out the flames for good. Ponies from every service were intermingled in common labor, from the military to police and fireponies. Most uplifting of all, the plain citizens of Equestria had turned out in force to stand with them. Even now they toiled, putting out fires, carrying supplies, anything they could do to help.

A stallion’s voice cut through the background noise. “Somethin’ the matter?”

Twilight jumped and turned. A tall unicorn stood behind her, wearing a tight suit like the Wonderbolts, but with depressing colors. It was a dark olive, with brown and black splotches in a camouflage pattern. Over the suit he wore a thick, flat black vest covered with square pockets, and a lightweight helmet in the same color.

His cutie mark was covered, but the flank of the olive suit had a simple patch stitched to it: A triangular horseshoe on a shield-shaped patch. Twilight noticed the angles were curiously off from an equilateral triangle. One side was broader than the other two, maybe like the Hippoi letter delta.

The unicorn waited silently while she recovered herself. Twilight tried to smile warmly at the soldier pony, but it was tainted with her own exhaustion. “I’m sorry, you kind of snuck up on me there.”

The unicorn betrayed about as much emotion as she might expect from one of Celestia’s guards, recent events aside. “Saw you land.” He glanced past her to the city. “Must be a shock, seeing it like this.”

“Some griffins attacked us on the flight in.” She glanced around, indicating the destruction around them. “Did they do this?”

The olive-clad unicorn nodded once, but when Twilight waited for him to comment, he said nothing more.

“I don’t understand. Why?” Twilight’s distress crept into her voice as she thought about what they had done. “What could they possibly gain?”

The stallion looked past her into nothing. “Y'know what I think?” He shrugged. “Don't really matter what I think. Somethin’ or somepony takes a swing at your head, politics and all that hay just goes right out the window.”

His words hit her like a blow to the chest. Canterlot was burning. How could anypony just not care about why?

The soldier gave her a serious look, but his eyes were warm with sympathy. “It’s not time for ‘why’ right now. I’ve got a job to do here, and I bet you do too. If we don’t stay focused, somepony else gets hurt.”

He glanced back to where a group of similarly dressed unicorns and Vedette were talking near the gate house. “My team is grouping up. You take care of yourself.” He turned without further goodbye and trotted away.

Left in the wake of such a serious stallion, Twilight couldn’t help but gape. As he left, Major Vedette passed him on his way to Twilight. Still wearing that comforting smile, he approached her with an energetic trot. “I see you made Hoot’s acquaintance. He’s a good pony, that one.”

He inhaled sharply, his tone becoming more official. “Matters are being handled here. Would you allow me to escort you to the university?”

Twilight pulled herself together, saving any thoughts she might have about the conversation with ‘Hoot’ for later. The soldier unicorn was right about one thing: she had a job to do. “Why not the castle?”

The cinnamon pony shook his head. “It suffered structural damage during the battle. Princess Luna ordered most of the castle’s staff and departments to the university campus for safety. Princess Celestia will be there as well.”

She tried her best not to imagine what the palace must look like if that were true. “Major, with all the damage to the city, maybe you should lead the way.”

He bowed slightly. “Of course, Miss Sparkle. Follow me.” They took off together at a brisk trot, zigzagging their way around the rescue and recovery work in the streets in the fire lit night.

Major Vedette slowed his pace to a walk as they neared the university.

The university itself had been spared much of the damage that had been visited on the city, which had made it an ideal location to set up relief and response efforts. Uniformed ponies stood as acting security at each of the gates in the low walls, questioning any that approached the campus. The large grass lawn that surrounded the university tower had been set up as an outdoor hospital. Hundreds of stretchers holding injured ponies covered the lawn in a loose grid. Still more were being brought in, the medics and nurses alike rushing to sort the arrivals. Twilight was relieved that at least her friends had been spared the sight of so much suffering, especially Fluttershy.

As the pair approached one of the security checkpoints, one of the unicorns at the gate looked toward them and lit his horn, casting a very weak spell Twilight didn’t recognize. Apparently satisfied with the result, he saluted the major. “Sir, I’ve been instructed to inform you the emergency council is underway. The courier mentioned something about General Manifold arriving from Cloudsdale.”

For the first time Twilight saw the cinnamon pony turn harsh. “They started already? What were they thinking!” The major saw Twilight give him a quizzical look. He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. We still have to hurry.”

Vedette rushed her into the building and up the stairs. Security was tight, but the soldier ponies just let them blaze past the security lines. Twilight was gasping for air when they finally left the stairwell.

Pausing before rounding the corner into the hallway, Vedette took two deep breaths. When he did, he had the same stature and pace as when she first saw him after the landing: Confident, deliberate, and professional. She followed him down the hallway toward the main lecture hall.

A large group of Celestia’s guards stood at the end of the hallway in front of a pair of large doors. As they approached, two earth ponies blocked the doorway, and a unicorn cast the same small spell Twilight had seen used at the gate. Wordlessly, the unicorn nodded to the earth pony guards, who stepped aside and opened the doors. The whole exchange took place in the span of a few seconds, and the pair breezed past the guards without slowing down.

They entered the lecture hall by the main student entrance, behind the back row. Blue and gold Equestrian flags hung from the polished wood walls, and the light and dark blue floor tiles each bore the symbol of the sun and moon united. The tiered, circular seating was filled to near capacity. More than a hundred unicorns and earth ponies wearing uniforms from every branch of service sat absorbing the briefing.

Twilight’s eyes went wide with amazement, immediately drawn to the bright display just in front and above the front row. A large transparent map of central Equestria filled the air, with bright lines and circles for every feature Twilight could imagine. In addition to the green topographic lines, other symbols in red and blue spotted the map, with some meaning that escaped her. To either side of the map, square frames displayed either text or metal images in stunning clarity. She recognized it as a masterwork illusion spell, but it had been repurposed into a projected display. Noting the subtle energies working in the spell and studying their components, she resolved to meet with the pony controlling the spell; maybe she'd even be able to get their notes.

Several ponies in the back row turned to frown at them when the door opened, some sneering at the entering pair causing the disruption. Still, they said nothing of it and one by one returned their attention back to the display.

Major Vedette leaned close to Twilight and whispered. “There are two seats reserved over in the left wing. This way.” He briskly and silently led her along the back of the room and down one of the aisles, to where she could see a pair of empty seats. They were both at the end of different rows, and the major showed Twilight to the front seat before taking the one behind her.

“Twily!” She gasped with surprise at her brother, who was sitting next to her in the row. “I was so worried.” The white and blue-maned unicorn put a foreleg around her and hugged her close.

“Shining Armor!” She happily hugged him back. Several ponies in nearby seats turned to them with stern looks, and Twilight blushed. “What happened here?”

Her brother didn’t respond, just holding her tight. For a few moments he seemed willfully oblivious to everything in the world but his dear sister, especially the onlookers who were bothered by the disruption. The captain squeezed his eyes shut, holding back tears. Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight saw Vedette watching the reunion with a happy gleam in his eye. Regaining his composure, Twilight’s brother broke the embrace and leaned back, his eyes still misty. “I’m sorry. It’s just so good to see you safe.”

He inhaled, and almost at once he became the strong captain that so many ponies had come to respect. “Canterlot was attacked just before sundown, but now we’re learning that the griffins struck out all across the northern border. The attack here may have just been a diversion.” He nodded toward the front of the lecture hall. “General Watch is filling the assembly in on their movements in central Equestria.”

Now having a clear view, Twilight could see ponies sitting at a long, regal table in the middle of the room that had replaced the podium. Most of them were uniformed with long arrays of stripes and awards on their chests. Twilight might not be familiar with military customs and vocabulary, but she recognized several of the ponies at the table from meeting them briefly at the Grand Galloping Gala. To the right were generals Buffalo Soldier and Manifold, each of them regional commanders; Buffalo of southwestern Equestria, Manifold of the Cloudsdale pegasi. General Tornado Watch, a large pegasus, was standing while he gave the briefing with just a slight Stalliongrad accent. To the left were generals Big Wig and Black Jack, both earth ponies, as well as Admiral Even Keel. Black Jack and Even Keel, a unicorn, were discussing something in hushed tones and with grim looks.

Of the two settings at the middle of the table, only one was occupied. Princess Luna sat regally in the left seat, intently listening to Tornado Watch give his report. Her flowing stellar mane contrasted the fire in her narrowed eyes as she looked at the markings on the display. It was as if she hoped her gaze would burn the invaders to cinders where they stood.

Twilight suppressed a sudden shiver and looked away.

As Tornado Watch transitioned into an after action summary of the night’s events, the side displays switched from showing mostly text to black and white mental images of the conflict. Diamond dogs and the occasional griffin were overrunning pony positions in almost every frame. The buildings were damaged enough that she couldn’t place the architecture at first. After a few frames, she noted the window panes and dome roofs were central Equestrian, probably Trottingham, on the northern border.

This wasn’t an emergency meeting. This was a war council. Equestria was facing an all-out invasion.

The symbols on the map moved, and Tornado Watch cleared his throat to draw attention to the front. The whispers in the hall died down, and he continued. “Most of the northern districts have been lost, including the train station. The remaining elements of the 23rd and 11th have pulled back to the south west, where the city sits on a series of hills at the base of the mountain range. Fortunately, the diamond dogs have stopped their advance and started looting. When the attack started, they were an organized force, but that’s broken down for now.”

A hoof was raised, and Luna pointed to the earth pony. “We recognize Colonel Hoovesvelt, favorite son of Manehattan.”

The mustached earth pony stood with harrumph. “Yes, well, um, quite.” He adjusted his round spectacles. “Can we conclude that the promise of war spoils is the motive for diamond dog participation?”

All eyes returned to the pegasus general, and he nodded. “It seems so. As the western force pushes south, the dogs become disorganized for a short while at each town, pillaging gems before the griffins can get them to march on. News from the eastern front would support that conclusion.”

He looked for more raised hooves, and seeing none, he continued. “This brings us to discussion of long term response in the east.” He sighed. “Last report I received from the coast, reinforcements are already moving up from New Saddle, and that the first of those could be there within the day. Our perimeter will hold that long, and it doesn’t look like the diamond dogs will be getting any more support of their own. It will be a long, hard fight, but once the fresh troops start arriving, it will just be a matter of time until we can retake the whole of Stalliongrad.”

Twilight gaped as a wave or murmurs filled the room. How could she be looking at a map of one of Equestria’s largest cities? Shining Armor raised a hoof.

“We recognize Shining Armor, twice hero of Canterlot.”

He stood, bowing to her in courtly manner. “Thank you, Princess Luna. What news is there from Trottingham?”

The general started to answer, but then hesitated. “Director, your information would be more current than my own. Has there been any change?”

A metallic blue unicorn in the front row stood, his horn illuminated with a yellow hue of active magic. Unlike the other ponies Twilight had seen, he wore a suit and tie instead of a uniform. She felt subtle shifts in the projection as he moved, but to the naked eye it remained unchanged. Twilight couldn’t help but feel a bit of awe at the stallion’s mastery of illusion magic.

The stallion turned to address Shining Armor, but seemed to notice something that surprised him, and squinted a moment before answering. “We have had no news from Trottingham in over eight hours, and couriers sent have not returned.” The assembly buzzed with whispers.

More hooves were raised and Tornado Watch answered more questions about troop displacements, supplies, and losses. Twilight lost track of it as the depth of what was happening became clear to her.

She shivered. This was nothing like the challenges she and her friends had faced before. Doubt began to gnaw away at her resolve. What could one pony librarian contribute that the entire equestrian military wasn’t doing already? “I can’t believe this is happening.”

Shining Armor frowned. “If I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t believe it either. Equestria hasn’t had a true border war in two centuries. Even then the griffin prides were our allies.” He ground his teeth. “I don’t think they’ve ever launched a surprise attack on an ally in their entire history. It’s so out of character for them.”

Sensing her brother’s stress, Twilight was gentle with how she asked her next question. She had to know. “I saw the city flying in. How did it start?”

He sighed and hung his head. “It was a surprise attack, but the timing was the worst part. When Princess Luna went out to raise the moon, she was the first to spot them. The griffins dove on the city before we could raise an alarm.”

Twilight furrowed her brow, confused. “But couldn’t you just raise your shield spell to drive them out of the city?”

Shining Armor looked away, glaring in frustration into his memory. “The griffins knew about my shield. They singled me out and surrounded me. I couldn’t cast the spell while fighting to defend myself. They…” he shifted uncomfortably. “They just kept coming. There were moments I really thought they had me.”

Vedette leaned forward, frowning. “You are too modest, Shining Armor. I saw you held your own against at least six of the griffins, one of them a khan.” The pony next to the major tried to shush him, but Vedette gave him a quick vicious glare in return. He turned back to Shining Armor. “Most ponies wouldn’t have lasted seconds, but you held them long enough for the princess to come you your aid.”

Shining Armor shifted uncomfortably and started to blush. “Thank you, but…”

Twilight’s eyes widened in horror. “Princess Luna?”

The major shook his head. “Princess Celestia insisted that Luna focus on raising the moon, in spite of the battle. Royal duty and all that, you know. Your mentor was the one who flew to your brother’s assistance.”

The mare’s eyes darted back to the table, where Celestia’s chair sat empty. “Celestia fought? Is she—“

He raised a calming hoof. “No no, she’s quite alright. She called the meeting to order, but is resting now.” Vedette sighed. “Luna missed out on most of the fighting, what with all the astronomical sorcery. It seems to me Celestia delegated this meeting to her sister to help her recover some pride. ”

He waived a hoof dismissively until he was sure her brother wasn’t looking back, and then conspiratorially pointed his hoof at Shining Armor. “Sometimes even the most noble and hardworking pony will feel like he should have done more.” Shining Armor’s head spun and he eyed Vedette, who winked at the captain.

“Just the opinion of an old major. Probably rubbish.” Twilight stared at the cinnamon stallion, baffled, but was startled by one of the generals before she could think on it more.

“There isn’t time for this!” the auditorium hushed as Manifold stood and collected his hat. The pegasus’s hooves clacked against the tile floor as he turned to leave.

General Big Wig stood and narrowed his eyes at the disrupting pegasus. “General Manifold, you have yet to give your report on the condition of Cloudsdale.”

“’The condition of…’” The pegasus’s eyes burned with defiant rage.

Luna intervened before either offended pony could continue. “We yield the floor to the honorable General Manifold.”

Manifold was surprised to see that he had the entire assembly’s attention and quickly collected himself, although still clearly indignant with Big Wig. “Frankly, the defenders of Cloudsdale are outnumbered and overrun, General Big Wig. While I respect the difficulties of Tornado Watch and the soldiers’ valor at Stalliongrad, the situation of the pegasi city is beyond dire. Two divisions of griffins hit Cloudsdale just after the moon rose. We never got warning from our patrols, so we can only assume they were intercepted.”

Manifold turned to look directly on Princess Luna. “The city is all but lost, princess. Even with the reinforcements you sent, we just don’t have enough pegasi. The griffins are possessed with a rage like none I’ve ever seen, even from their kind. They’ve taken the fliers academy, most of the cloud complexes, the weather factories...” When he opened his eyes, he was clearly fighting tears. Twilight could see him choke up.

“They’ve dumped the weather vats. I’ve never seen anything like it. The rainbows are draining through the clouds in blotched colors, collecting in a lake beneath the city.”

He paused, fighting down his emotions before he continued. “I made the journey here alone. My staff and escort remained behind to aid in the city’s defense. They are buying time, time enough for me to come here, and say this to all of you.” The general turned to face the assembly. “Without assistance, Cloudsdale is lost in a matter of hours. I am here to ask for that aid.”

Ponies shifted uncomfortably, but no one answered Manifold. Moments passed. Most of the generals at the royal table hung their heads, ashamed at their own silence, all except Black Jack. He met Manifold’s stare, clearly wanting to offer his friend help, but having none to give.

Finally, General Manifold donned his cap. “Very well.” Facing Princess Luna, he snapped to attention. “Princess, I ask your leave to return to my post.”

Luna’s jaw dropped a little in silent shock. She closed her eyes sadly and nodded, without a word. The lecture hall went silent as Black Jack stood and approached Manifold, and the two friends said their goodbyes.

Twilight gave her brother a confused glance. “Where is he going?”

He didn’t look away from the generals. “He’s going back to Cloudsdale.” She had never heard Shining Armor’s voice so grim, and yet a spark of pride gave a sharpness to his words.

She was still trying to rationalize what she was hearing from the floor. “But he just said…”

The muscles in his neck tensed, but his voice was warm and consoling. “He knows what he said. He’s going home to make his last stand.”

“Wait, why aren't any ponies going to help?”

Shining Armor looked at her in disbelief. “Twilight, only pegasi can go to Cloudsdale.”

It suddenly dawned on Twilight that she did have something to contribute. She stood and spoke before her anxiety could stop her. “Wait, General! There is a way earth ponies and unicorns can help you defend Cloudsdale!”

Manifold turned toward her, sitting in the far end of the assembly, and squinted. Several ponies looked up at her in disgust at her outburst. The general seemed to be sizing her up, but scoffed when he saw her horn. “The flight spell? I’ve read about it. It takes too much energy to cast it even once for reliable military use, and the pony receiving the wings is too unfamiliar with them to suddenly be thrown into battle.”

Most of the uniformed ponies who cared to look back scowled at her as if she had just said something foolish in class. She felt her confidence waiver under the collective glares, and Twilight found the butterflies in her stomach fighting her to just sit down and stay quiet.

Princess Luna, who had sat motionless during Manifold’s petition, smiled happily. “We recognize Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic.”

Twilight was suddenly aware of just how many eyes were in the room, because every single one stared wide and unblinking at her. She gulped. “I know the flight spell, and you’re right. There is a smaller spell that lets an earth pony walk on clouds. It’s simple enough that most unicorns should be able to learn it, and I was able to enchant several ponies with it at once. A unicorn talented in magic should at least be able to cast it once every few minutes, and it can last for a few days.”

Manifold’s eyes went wide as murmurs in the assembly returned. The potential of what Twilight was saying wasn’t lost on anyone. Manifold looked to the director, his face wordlessly conveying his mix of hope and disbelief.

The projection spell collapsed. The director stood and looked back to Twilight, his eyes narrowing. “I’ve never read of such a spell. Where did you come across it?”

“Well, actually it’s something I put together when I had the same problem. It’s a hybrid of Starswirl the Bearded’s levitation spell with...” she trailed off, and then shook her head to focus. “That’s not important right now. What is important is that I was able to visit Cloudsdale,” with my friends to see the Annual Young Fliers Competition didn’t seem appropriate to the setting. “With the other Elements of Harmony.”

Smiles began to creep onto some of the faces in the assembly. The director thought about it, and then asked, “How long would it take you to show me the mechanics of the spell?”

Twilight had seen him handle the display spell for an extended period with ease, so he could probably learn as fast as she could teach. “The components are fairly standard, but the arrangement is tricky. I’d say half an hour at most.”

The director spun to face the royal table. “Princess Luna, I request your leave so that I can learn this spell from Twilight Sparkle and disseminate its workings to our unicorns near Cloudsdale.”

Luna beamed, reflecting the new hope that had filled the chamber. “We give leave to Director Petronel and Twilight Sparkle that they may pursue these ends.” She turned back to the still stunned general. “General Manifold, you are dismissed as well. Return to Cloudsdale, and tell them reinforcements are on the way.”

She warmly locked eyes with Manifold and spoke without using the royal voice. “The pegasi of your great city will not stand alone.”

Author's Note

Chapter 3: Royal Directive

Royal Directive

The lecture hall exploded with pony activity. Everypony stood, and the room shook with excited cheers and stamping applause. The pony in front of Twilight, in what she thought to be a naval uniform, had taken her hoof and was shaking it excitedly. The ordered meeting quickly devolved into a mass of ponies all excitedly discussing ideas for how the new spell could be used to save Cloudsdale.

Somepony tapped her shoulder from behind, and she turned to see Major Vedette trying to tell her something over the din. He pointed to two unicorn guards in the aisle, both of them giving threatening glances to any pony trying to leave their seat to get closer to the purple unicorn.

She couldn’t hear him. “What?”

He leaned in close to her ear. “Go with them, they’ll escort you out.”

Suddenly feeling very alone, she glanced nervously at Shining Armor. Being so close to her brother was the safest she had felt since the griffin attack on the chariot. She didn’t want to leave him so soon.

Shining Armor gave her a proud smile, and a wink. “Go, Twily!” With a loving nudge, he prodded her out of her seat and into the walkway. The two guards flanked her and hurriedly moved her to the front of the lecture hall.

The guards didn’t give her much chance to look around as they rushed her toward the side exit, but the ever-curious unicorn stole as many glances as she could. To her right, the officers continued to grow louder in their individual conversations as they tried to talk over the room's acoustics. In the front row, Director Petronel was scribbling some notes to one of a few ponies also dressed in a simple collar and tie. Seeing Twilight, he quickly excused himself and joined the trio.

To her left, Princess Luna had risen and was stamping her hooves desperately trying to return the meeting to order. Her royal demeanor had been overcome by anxiety, and she pleaded in vain for the assembly to be seated. Beginning to anger, she reared up and brought her front hooves down on the table with a mighty crash. The officers’ clamor continued.

Petronel rushed in front of their little procession and with a steely glare at the door’s guards, they cleared out the way. He, Twilight, and the two unicorn guards escorting her left the lecture hall and the doors slammed shut behind them.

The director stopped and turned to Twilight. “I have a map room down the hall. This way,” he said, pointing. He looked past her to the closed door behind them. “And we should probably hur—“

“BE STILL!”

Twilight reflexively put her hooves over her ears as Luna’s booming voice echoed through the university. As it died away, she realized that the two guards and the director had done the same thing.

Petronel rubbed a temple with a hoof, wincing. “Too late.”

The director led her down the hall to one of the smaller classrooms and left the guards at the door as she followed him in. Several large folding desks and freestanding chalkboards had been brought in, replacing the usual desks and chairs for students. Every one of them was covered with maps and tube-shaped map cases. There were several stacks of the cases along the far wall, each one numbered and labeled in a specific order except for a few stacks near the window. They had been clearly rummaged through and left as they were.

Half a dozen uniformed ponies, two with horns, stood crunched together over a table arguing. Their debate was loud enough that not one noticed Twilight and Petronel enter. As they jostled each other she saw a large map on the table that must have been the source of their dispute. One of them pointed and yelled something about positions to his companions.

Petronel stopped a few steps inside the door and put out a front leg to stop Twilight. The director motioned that she should remain quiet, and she couldn’t help but raise a questioning eyebrow at him. As she watched, his horn began to light up with a spell. Even as it began to build, she recognized it at the one she had seen used at security checkpoints earlier, but somehow more elaborate than the others. He closed his eyes and inhaled, and when he opened his eyes he breathed out and released the pent up magic. It wasn’t a powerful spell, but Twilight could feel its working reverberate in the room like a note from a tuning fork, and for just a moment Petronel’s eyes took on a pale yellow light.

The unicorns at the table felt it too, and stopped talking. They looked up at the newcomers, surprised at the sudden use of magic. After a series of quiet elbow jabs, the earth ponies looked up as well. The room fell silent.

The director’s icy, detached gaze slowly swept over the room’s occupants as the yellow glint faded. He narrowed his eyes and set his jaw. “I require this space.” The officers hesitated, a few of them exchanging unsure glances. Petronel put his hoof down with a heavy clop. “Now.”

The officers filed out of the room quickly and without complaint. With the room clear and the door shut, the director quickly began to magically rearrange the room to his liking. Chalkboards and maps went flying across the room in a dizzying whirlwind. Twilight had often seen Rarity working in a fit of inspiration, and much like those times she found herself weaving to avoid floating projectiles.

It was the first moment since arriving in the city that Twilight didn’t feel rushed or pressured. She took that time to consider the director. Most of the ponies she had seen in the meeting would have been about twice her age, like Major Vedette. Now that she saw him up close, she guessed that the director would have been about Shining Armor’s age. He was tall like her brother, but with more of a runner's build. His cutie mark was a curious-looking arrangement of black geometric lines all framed in a white triangle, with every line going back to one of the three points of the triangle.

She was still curious about the projection spell’s workings, but was hesitant to press him about it while there was work to be done. While he rearranged the room Twilight’s mind was left to wander, and her inquisitive nature soon got the best of her. “So,” she hemmed, trying to decide where to start. “Do you outrank those officers?”

Focused on his telekinetic twister, the Petronel didn’t even glance sideways at her. “Not anymore. I was honorably discharged from the service when I was appointed to the directorship.”

Twilight’s mane flopped loosely when she tilted her head, confused. “Wait. Does that mean you’re a civilian?”

“A civilian with full access to every level of the Equestrian military and Echo-level clearance, yes, but that’s not why they left.” He pondered for a moment, distracted. “Although ‘Echo’ is really just a placeholder term until I finish reworking the intelligence clearance structure. The previous system was woefully inadequate. A color-coded structure will likely replace it in a few months. Since it is my system and only five ponies have Echo clearance, I’ve been considering changing it to blue clearance.” He finished returning the last stack of maps to their cases, and smiled distractedly. “I’m fond of blue.”

She raised an eyebrow, confused. “If your position wasn’t enough authority, why did they follow your order?”

Petronel didn’t bat an eye, but his reply was slower this time. “I have a reputation from my days in uniform.” He didn’t elaborate.

“That…” Twilight stalled, glancing around the now immaculately organized workspace. She tried not to imagine what kind of reputation could clear a room of a half dozen officer ponies, “…is nice.” She needed to change the subject.

“Oh!” She beamed with sudden inspiration. “When do we meet the unicorns I’ll be teaching the cloud walk spell?”

“You will only be showing it to me.” He telekinetically dragged a long chalkboard in front of her, mounted on a freestanding frame with wheels. He collected a fresh piece of chalk the same way, and held it before her insistently. “Please begin with the formula.”

“What?” she fumbled. Dumbfounded, she took the chalk, almost dropping it when the director let go a bit early. “Wouldn’t it be better if I taught a bunch of ponies at once?”

“Twilight Sparkle,” Petronel lectured firmly, “I am in contact with over a dozen unicorns all over Equestria. All I need is formula I can commit to memory and any notes you might make about the casting.” The stern pony leaned back and narrowed his eyes. “Quickly.”

“Oh.” Twilight blushed. “In that case, do you have a quill and parchment I could use?”

The director quickly fetched them, even if he was irritated with the apparent delay. “May I ask what for?”

“When I did the spell the first time I was kind of in a hurry. I, well, did the math in my head, and one thing led to another and,” she nervously pawed the floor in front of her. “I forgot to write the formula down.”

Petronel froze. Seconds passed, long enough for her to be unsettled by just how still he could be. Finally, Twilight saw his eyebrow twitch. “You what?”

She gave him her most reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, director. I remember the theory and can cast it from memory. The formula is going to be just a few minutes.”

She reverse engineered the spell while Petronel waited, impatiently tapping a hoof. Even working in ink she was able to simplify some components as well. After announcing she was finished, Director Petronel pointed her back to the chalkboard. Even after simplifying it, she couldn’t fit it all on one row. Worried that the director would think it too complex, she braced for his critique. “I hope that’s not too difficult. I tried to shorten it, but that’s the simplest form I can derive.”

The director’s eyes followed the numbers and symbols once, and then again. “This,” he mouthed quietly, absorbing the mathematical expression, “is marvelous.”

Twilight blushed again, this time at the unexpected compliment. “You really think so?”

He missed her reaction; his eyes were still glued to the chalkboard. Sitting down, he raised one front hoof to scratch his chin thoughtfully. “You spliced a gravimetric force reduction spell with a selective repulsion field. Then you fueled them both with,” his eyes narrowed while he considered the last part of the formula, and his jaw suddenly dropped. “The subject’s body heat?”

Twilight nodded happily. “Well yes. Since living ponies were the intended subjects anyway, it made sense to fuel the spell with something they would be producing already, rather than spend a bunch of energy trying to affix my own magic to the target.” She rolled her eyes with a smile. “After all, that was the problem with the flight spell. Most of the imputed power goes into creating the wing constructs. If I had done it the traditional way, it would have been just as draining as the spell I was trying to replace.”

The director cocked his head, still focused on the board. “I remember from Energy Dynamics 303 that Star Swirl played with ambient power sources, but only as a booster to his spells. He never tried to replace the magic energies. Since he couldn’t harness more energy than he could produce normally, he dropped the study early in his career.” He finally turned to Twilight, awestruck. “How long did it take you to devise this?”

“Um.” The mare smiled bashfully. “An afternoon?”

Petronel sat speechless for a moment, glancing between the chalkboard and the purple pony. Finally he blinked twice, which seemed to clear his head. “How do you muster the spell?”

They talked for another ten minutes as Twilight explained how the spell was focused and fixed to the target. Petronel was more than just a fast learner; now that he understood the basics of the spell, he was able to fill in much of the workings with his own assumptions and guesses. It was the first time Twilight could remember discussing spell theory on that level with a pony who wasn’t a teacher, and she couldn’t help but get excited.

When she tried to bridge into how the spell could theoretically be further improved, Petronel put up a hoof to stop her and stood. “While I would love to learn more about your process, Miss Sparkle, sending the formula to the field must take priority. Guard!” The terse word brought one of the unicorn guards outside the door to his side in an instant.

“I think,” the director pondered, “it would only disrupt the assembly if you were to return to the meeting now.” He gave her a conspiratorial nod. “And besides that, Princess Celestia had wanted to see you when the meeting was adjourned.”

Twilight smiled wide as Petronel turned to stolidly address the guard. “Please escort the Element of Magic to Princess Celestia. She will be expecting her student.”

Twilight beamed at the door the guard had shown her. Finally she was about to see the princess. As the unicorn guard opened the door to let her pass, the joy of being near her mentor was enough to let her push aside the night’s events. She stepped through the door with a spring in her step and a broad smile on her face.

Like the other classroom, the student seating had been removed, but now all the normal furnishings for a classroom were missing. Several couches, tables, and other royal finery had been brought from the castle. The princess was now resting on a long, red chaise longue.

She ground to a halt when she saw her beloved teacher. Celestia had been hurt. A more level headed pony would have seen her bodily injuries for what they were; just a few shallow scratches from what could have just been an extended scuffle with Opalescence, but Twilight had never seen her mentor injured before. The sight of all the little marks made her bones go cold.

Crestfallen, Twilight took a few cautious steps toward her mentor. The guard gently closed the door behind her, leaving the two alone. “Princess?” she asked in a whisper.

Celestia sleepily opened her eyes and gave her faithful student a happy but weary smile. “Twilight Sparkle, come in.” She sat up slowly, allowing herself a dignified little yawn. “Oh, excuse me.” She blinked the sleep out her eyes. “I hope Luna was able to handle the generals. I know they have a lot of responsibility, but they can be so dramatic.”

Twilight remained concerned. She couldn’t see any injury but the scratches, but somehow her mentor seemed more than just tired. Her mane of so many colors still glowed but hung limp instead of flowing freely, as if some of her magic had been stripped away. The unicorn quickly put that disturbing thought aside; no power existed that could drain the magic of a pony, let alone an alicorn. It was ridiculous to even imagine such a thing. She drew in a short breath and slowly approached her mentor. “Princess Celestia, what happened to you?”

She smiled tenderly. “Thank you for your concern, Twilight, but it is nothing that a few days of rest cannot cure.” She looked out the window towards Canterlot. “We have more pressing matters to discuss, and only a little time to do so.”

Twilight recalled her aerial view of Canterlot and Percheron’s face before he had so boldly dove to protect her from harm. “Do you need my friends to wield the elements again?”

“If only it were that simple.” Even Princess Celestia’s beauty seemed diminished by her deep, sorrowful frown. “War is a complex and dangerous thing, and in its own way far more insidious than even a foe like Discord. Worse still, when an enemy is strong and emboldened by victory, the fighting may continue for months or even years.” Twilight couldn’t hold back a worried gulp at the princess’s grim description, but Celestia winked reassuringly. “Warfare is the purview and responsibility of the Equestrian military, but even in war there are things they cannot accomplish alone. All of Equestria must unite behind the purpose of restoring peace to its lands and ponies, and the Elements of Harmony are no exception.” The alicorn shook her head regretfully. “From you and your friends I must ask two things.”

Twilight stood tall and gazed up at the princess. Whatever her mentor was about to ask, it had been worth risking her guard’s lives. “Anything for you, Princess.”

The proud glint in Celestia’s eye was unmistakable. “When you and your friends first joined together to stop Nightmare Moon, you proved that not only can you wield the elements, but that you truly embody their deeper essence. In each challenge you faced together, your friendships have grown stronger. Now the ponies of Equestria are in danger once again, they will look for guidance in these trying times. You have all proven in your letters that you are ready to give that guidance.

“You must all take to the field with our brave soldiers, not as warriors, but as symbols of what truly makes Equestria so special. Stand with them as a reminder of why they fight. It is the spirit of the ponies who follow and the pony who leads that gain victory. I must ask you to guide that spirit and see it through to the end.”

Doubt nibbled at Twilight’s heart. “Are you sure, princess? I mean, I’m sure the girls will be happy to lend a hoof any way they can, but…” she fumbled. “I don’t know what any of us could do to help soldiers.”

“Battles are not all about fighting, Twilight. I think you’ll find there is plenty to be done. As for how you each choose to help your fellow ponies, I leave that in your hooves.”

Celestia hung her head. “The second task I have for you may prove the most difficult. As long as Equestria’s lands and territories are threatened, so are the spirits of ponies. Many hearts will begin to turn black with anger as the pains inflicted on their friends and loved ones continue to grow. In that darkness lasting hate can be born, the one thing that cannot be allowed. If the ponies of Equestria come to hate griffin-kind, it could begin a cycle of bloodshed between our two peoples that could last for centuries. The peace we have known could crumble, replaced by senseless wars where each generation strikes out to avenge the wounds of those who came before. Certainly borders must be protected, but the true light of Equestria is the love and harmony of the ponies that live here.”

The saddened alicorn princess locked eyes with her student. “Twilight, you must find a path to end this conflict to prevent this cycle from ever taking hold, or it could slowly unmake the harmony so many have worked to preserve. In time, it could even weaken the elements themselves.”

“You want me to apply my studies of friendship to two countries?” Twilight blinked and felt faint, her head swirling with all the possible variables. “But there are so many more things to consider. Variables in national opinion, border disputes, troop displacements, and, and…I’ve studied almost none of those things!”

The princess smiled warmly. “Of course those studies would be useful, but you won’t need them. In the end, it will be the friendship between our nations that will need to be restored. Your letters have already proven you have all the wisdom and understanding you will need to do it.”

“Ahem.”

Twilight spun to see Director Petronel standing casually a few steps behind her. Gaping, her eyes darted to the far door and back to the light blue unicorn. How had he snuck up on her in such a quiet room?

The princess didn’t startle in the least. “Hello, director. Do you have something to report?”

He bowed deeply. “Several things, Highness.” He remained that way for a few moments, until Celestia playfully rolled her eyes and waved a hoof for him to stand. He continued to speak as he rose, his magic lifting a clipboard from a saddlebag he wore to check his notes.

“Princess Luna has just concluded the emergency war council, and has called a personal advisory meeting. The assault was multi-pronged and expertly timed.” He briefly summarized the different assaults in military terms Twilight found difficult to follow, ending with the situation of Cloudsdale.

He nodded toward Twilight. “Thanks to Miss Sparkle’s spellcrafting talents, we will be able to reinforce positions in Cloudsdale with unicorns and earth ponies within the hour. The city is still in peril but the reinforcements should slow the griffins long enough to organize a counter-offensive.”

The sun princess smiled proudly at Twilight, who blushed. “That’s wonderful.”

Petronel’s eyes narrowed. “And princess, if I may be so bold…” Celestia nodded her approval. “It is fortunate that just after the war council started, a battalion of combat ready stallions were ordered to force-march the fields under Cloudsdale to,” he paused to flip through a few pages of his clipboard. “'Render aid to the wounded and assist with the evacuation of civilians.’ Especially considering that it’s an armored unit, not suited to either of those roles, but ideal for holding a city.”

He gave Celestia a flat look. “I wonder who could have ordered them there, against all conventional wisdom.”

Princess Celestia lifted a hoof to her face in playful shock, her foreleg concealing her broad smile from the director but not Twilight. “I can’t imagine.”

The director sighed again. “Princess Celestia, it is my life to serve you and Equestria. As your director of intelligence I feel obligated to point out that your habit of withholding vital information from my office undermines my ability to perfo—”

The alicorn cut him off with a polite but firm wave of her hoof. “Director Petronel, you are a talented analyst and administrator. My sister made a wise choice in selecting you for the position.” She gave him a doting smile. “But you have some things to learn about having faith in other ponies.”

She yawned daintily. “I am sorry, but that will be all. We can continue exploring your concerns after daybreak. For now, I will need a bit more rest.”

“Of course.” Petronel was clearly unhappy about the situation, but his thoughtful look suggested he wasn’t quite ready to give up yet. “Perhaps it would be best if I were to file a memo regarding the handling of known-knowns for future cabinet meetings.”

Celestia nodded. “Yes, that would be wonderful.” She tapped a hoof thoughtfully. “File, file, oh yes that reminds me.”

Petronel braced himself as Celestia magically retrieved a trio of scrolls from a nearby table, and offered them to the director. “Please sign these and see that they are filed before Twilight attends the advisory meeting with my sister.”

At Celestia’s last word, his eyes went wide as saucers and he quickly opened one of the scrolls, giving it a lightning-fast skim read. Twilight thought she saw angry steam flow from his ears, but somehow he kept his voice calm and even. “I thought we discussed this already, Princess. Clearance levels are based on need-to-know. Restraining authorizations is our first method of information security.”

“I agreed with you then, just as I do now,” she said with a solemn nod. “That is why I restrained myself to granting Echo clearance only to Twilight Sparkle, rather than all six of the elements.”

Celestia winked at Twilight as the director signed off on the scrolls, his quill almost cutting the parchment. “You should both be getting along now, my little ponies. Princess Luna was looking forward to talking with you again, Twilight.”

The director either didn’t feel the need for a more formal dismissal or was so tired of surprises that he was ready to leave without one. He stowed the clipboard and scrolls in his saddlebag and turned to leave, giving Twilight an expectant glance as he waited for her to follow.

She couldn’t, not yet. There was one more thing Twilight just had to say. “A pony told me what you did for my brother. He wouldn’t talk about it, but…” she buried her face in Celestia’s mane to hide her tears. “Th-thank you.”

Celestia put a comforting foreleg around her student. “Thank you for saving my sister, Twilight.” They held the embrace for a long moment before the princess pulled away.

“Go now. The fate of Equestria is once again in your hooves.”

Author's Note

(Oh wow, Celestia is hard to write. My respect for other writers who have handled her well has tripled. Even though I’m happy with the result, I can’t help but be glad this plot focuses more on Luna now. I don’t think I could keep it up long term.)
My thanks go out to WoolOverYourEyes for beta reading and Frontsevens for editing.
Valor is Magic takes place a few months after the “Changeling incident” during Princess Cadence's wedding and before our first trip to the Crystal Empire. For readers who like maps, one can be found here, and a focused version here.

Chapter 4: A Talk Between Friends

A Talk Between Friends

From her temporary office in the university, Princess Luna watched little fires being put out in the windows of The Royal Canterlot Castle. Hours ago she had been told griffin grenades had cracked its foundation in a few places, and with a heavy heart she had ordered the castle grounds evacuated for everypony's safety. There had been real concern that the east wing would collapse or that the entire structure would have to be demolished and rebuilt.

She should have had more faith in Canterlot. Once the griffins had retreated, a private citizen had rallied the ponies of the city to aid the fire brigades and engineers in saving the structures of the city, starting with the castle. Ponies from all over the city had rushed to bring water or lumber for bracing, sometimes even from their own homes. It had not been in vain. Real repairs would take time, but for now Luna and others took solace in knowing the castle would persevere to shine another day. The building was a symbol of authority and purity in Equestria, and it would be restored.

Just like my sister.

Princess Luna shivered at the thought and turned from the office window. There were too many important things for her to do, and indulging in such distractions was a waste of time and energy. With the enemy driven off, the fires quenched, and the wounded getting attention, ponies had begun to take measure of the damage that been done and the lives that were lost forever. Her gaze floated to a stack of scrolls sitting on the desk nearby. One of Petronel’s analysts, a young stallion named Running Footer, had brought them right after she had finally adjourned the emergency meeting.

Luna might not have been as approachable as her elder sibling, but she had always felt a kinship with the guards and the military ponies around the castle. Some of the friendships of soldiers might have looked cold and distant to uninitiated ponies, but behind all the structure and tradition was a core respect and trust that they could count on each other in any circumstance or peril. After a year of effort, Luna knew the names of almost every officer and guard in the castle, a feat that still surprised a pony on occasion. It was a trivial way for a princess to show her appreciation, but one she thought meaningful.

Sitting on top of the stack of scrolls was a castle casualty report from the castle garrison. When the analyst delivered them right after the war council, she had given orders to her guards to turn away all visitors, but the quiet time alone had given her thoughts space to wander. Tearing her eyes from the castle snapped her out of the haze. She had responsibilities, and if she couldn’t handle mere after-action reports she would be of no use to a nation at war. Finally resolved, she used her magic to open the first report scroll, and started to read.

It was a simple table. Two columns followed a brief official header that identified and dated the document. On the left side was a list of names, and on the right the status of the pony. The header made some note of another memo that contained a list of injuries. This report only listed those missing and…Luna couldn’t even think the word. Slowly she started reading the names, one at a time. Her stomach twisted in knots as she worked her way through the list. Memories of guards opening doors, or bowing, or just silently standing guard came to mind as she read, each connected with a name on the ledger. One name in particular came with a surge of happy remembrances.

Oh, not Silver Mist… The mare had been one of the Night Order Royal Guard's earliest members after Luna’s return, and its first unicorn. She had been a kind voice to the new initiates to contrast with Nova Drive’s commanding presence and had become the conscience of the newly formed group. Some cold analytical part of her mind whispered that the loss of such an uplifting spirit would shake the order.

Luna stared at the name. Silver Mist had brought her dinner last night. They had talked about her family, her cousins and parents in Dappleshore. Luna knew she should feel something after discovering that such a wonderful mare was gone from the world. Anger maybe; sorrow, certainly. She searched her soul in vain for the faintest little color, but it was like looking at blank page; there was nothing to find.

She shook her head. This was a distraction, and she didn’t have time to feel anyway. She needed to focus, needed to finish these scrolls. Then there was another meeting, then…she didn’t want to think that far ahead. One step at a time, and that meant finishing this scroll.

As she read on she realized that for every pony she recognized there were at least five she couldn’t place. Reaching the end of the scroll, Luna drew a breath as she saw the final tally. There were seventy nine names. Of those, only eleven were still missing. Sixty eight ponies had given their lives tonight, just from the castle garrison. Her gaze drifted back to the unopened scrolls on the desk. The other reports would be more of the same.

Raised voices wafted through the far door, and Luna strained her ears to listen. Her guards were speaking to somepony outside, denying them entrance. She couldn’t hear the other pony, but the guards quickly became threatening. As they became louder, her jaw dropped when she made out just how belligerent they had become. In a wide-eyed rush she leapt to her hooves, ran to the door, and flung it open.

Two night guards both wore menacing grins as they looked on the visitor. Still at his post, Astro Turf stood almost as tall as the princess, giant enough to tower over most other earth ponies. While he watched, the unicorn Gamma Ray was charging his horn with a distressing amount of power. Both their heads spun towards the princess when the door opened, their menace fading into surprise.

A cinnamon pony in a tan intelligence officer’s shirt stood facing the door, seemingly unbothered by the unicorn readying a lethal spell behind him. Seeing the princess, he bowed. “Ah, Princess Luna. I hope I am not disturbing you.”

Luna blinked twice, even more surprised at the messenger’s calm than her own guards behavior. “Major Vedette, we did not expect thee so soon. Thou hast spoken with Princess Celestia?” She had spoken with the stallion in private after the meeting in the lecture hall and sent him on a sensitive errand.

He nodded gravely. “Indeed, Your Highness. She mournfully agreed that the situation warrants taking the action you suggested.” He shifted his weight to indicate a large scroll in his saddle bag. “I have the parchment for your review.”

“Truly?” Luna leaned back. “We did not expect a precedent case to be found in the archives so quickly.”

The major grew glum and looked away. “She wrote it from memory, with her own quill.”

“Yes. We suppose she would recall such things,” the Princess of the Night said with a thoughtful nod. She backed out of the doorway. “Please come in.”

As he passed, Luna stayed by the door. The guards had remained almost motionless during the conversation, and the princess leaned over Gamma Ray with an awkward smile. “Ray, while we appreciate thy adherence to the letter of our commands, we think it would be best to refrain from threatening our sister’s couriers with death by incineration.”

The dark violet unicorn closed his eyes and bowed with conviction. “I see my error, your Highness. It shan’t happen again!”

Since Princess Celestia had decreed the Night Order Royal Guard be reactivated, the new members had taken it upon themselves to observe the old formalities with astonishing dedication. Luna had tried everything short of a royal decree to discourage them, but gave up after Colonel Nova Drive officially made it part of the group’s decorum and initiation rituals. Even while trying her hardest to fit in after a millennium away, she couldn’t help but be touched by their efforts.

“No harm was done, Ray.” She stood up straight, trying to mimic Celestia’s caring poise. A strand of Luna’s mane fell in her eyes and she reflexively blew it out of her face, ruining the image. “We are responsible as well, and shall be more careful in our royal decrees in the future.”

Astro Turf paled, bowing even lower than Gamma Ray; quite a feat for the tall earth pony. “Nay, Princess! The fault was ours.”

Looking down at the apologetic guards, Luna spoke through a sorrowful smile. “Rise, both of you.” They did so slowly, still mournful of their blunder. “It has been a long night, and you have both acquitted yourselves well. Please instruct all visitors to wait, and inform us of their arrival.”

Before the guards could reply, Luna retreated back through the door and shut it behind her.

Luna paused to take a quiet deep breath before turning to face her visitor. Major Vedette was adding several new scrolls to her stack of unhappy responsibilities on the desk with his trademarked friendly but composed demeanor. The last scroll was twice as long as the others and bore Celestia’s personal wax seal. The cinnamon pony didn’t turn as she approached. “The devotion of the Night Order does you credit, Princess Luna.”

Trotting over to the desk, she came to a stop beside him. “We apologize for their behavior. The night has been long and difficult, but ‘tis no excuse.”

He smiled. “I too was once a young stallion full of fire and drive. They were just putting their love for their princess on display.” He turned his face slightly, and Luna followed his gaze to the window. “And yes, it has been a difficult night.”

Luna closed her eyes for a long moment. “We are struck by an odd feeling. Yesterday’s worries seem as distant to us as those from before our banishment. We cannot help but wonder why they troubled us so. They seem so small now.”

The major gave her a sideways glance. “What troubles?”

“Pardon?”

“I have always believed that our worries tell us something about our values, especially when they are the little things. It is true that we must focus on the good of all in the worst times, but to neglect our little worries is to neglect part of who we are.” He turned his whole body away from the window, and she saw a happy glint in his eye. “Come, share one with me. Perhaps talking it out could be of some small assistance.”

Luna gaped for a moment before turning away with a blush. “Art thou certain?”

“I would be honored to help her Highness any way I can.” He leaned forward apologetically. “Unless I have overstepped.”

Luna smiled. It was just like Vedette, somehow managing to be formal and yet utterly disarming. “Certainly not, Major. That ponies of this time are so willing to discuss matters of the heart is a happy change from Equestria of old, even though we still strive to understand,” Luna said, her blush fading. “And perhaps it is that we have most need to discuss. Tell us, thou hast been an adviser to my sister for many years. Is this not correct?”

“Well,” Vedette said through an embarrassed grin. “Advisor may be putting it bit a bit strong. I have run an errand for her from time to time.”

“Thou art far too modest.” Luna frowned. “My sister trusts in thee, and is thy friend. She has confidence in all her subjects, but ‘tis rare for her to trust a pony. She has been too oft’ betrayed.”

She turned her head, ashamed. “Once, even by a Royal Princess.”

Vedette nervously pawed the floor in front of him but said nothing for several long moments. It was the only time she remembered seeing him nervous.

“We, that is, I,” Luna fumbled with the words before finally taking the dive. “I would like to better understand how it came to be thus.”

He blinked. “You wish to know how we became friends?”

Luna nodded shyly.

“I’m not sure where to begin.” He thought carefully for a moment. “If the princess would share why this question weighs so heavily on her, I could give a better answer.”

“After the changelings were thwarted, Princess Celestia suggested that we resume our stewardship of Equestria’s vigilance institutions.” She rubbed a foreleg with a hoof. “We had hoped to have friendships with our advisors much like our sister’s, but we have made little progress.”

She hung her head. “In the case of Director Petronel, we have made none at all. We do not regret selecting him to aid us in this task, for he is both competent and devoted, but we have tried everything. He remains guarded. We even tried telling him jokes.”

“Really?” the major asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Knock-knock jokes.” She slumped. “He dutifully followed the pattern to the letter, but remained unamused.”

Vedette lifted a hoof to stifle a cough. “Yes, well, I see.”

Princess Luna nodded. “Perhaps with thy guidance, we might overcome this difficulty.”

For a long time Vedette said nothing, deep in thought. “Director Petronel is a hard working and intelligent pony, but he has made it a point to maintain professional distance in his duties. He worked with the Delta Hooves early in his career, and that takes a toll on any pony.” He grinned. “I met him just after he passed the entrance exam for Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. He was a much happier pony then, just bubbling over with curiosity and a desire to learn everything and about everything. And…maybe that story would be of the most help to you.”

Luna raised an eyebrow, and the major continued. “The first time I spoke with Princess Celestia was at a banquet honoring the arrival of a new ambassador in Canterlot. Of course all the officers stationed in the castle are expected to attend to fill out the guest list, and among all the dignitaries my friends and I were odd ponies out. You can imagine our surprise when Princess Celestia casually approached our little group and joined us in discussing little nothings. Even for her reputation she was surprisingly pleasant to talk with, and soon she worked her way into our discussion as if there were nothing at all unusual about a princess spending time with a collection of lieutenants at a state dinner.

“Eventually, one of my fellows politely asked her how things had been going for her, and she related a small trouble to us. She was founding a school for gifted unicorns in her name, and was unsure how to select applicants. All the young ponies would have been intelligent enough for the course, but the princess was hoping to select only the most inquisitive young minds. None of the professors had given her a method she was fond of, and as such the project was on hold.”

Luna waited with baited breath as he thought through the rest of the story. That Celestia had let anypony help plan one of her designs was quite the revelation.

“Of course all my friends wanted to impress the princess and began sharing idea after idea, but for my part I was quite content not being noticed. I was happy with my work, and afraid such notice would earn me an undesired promotion. I was recently married and dreaded the thought of a transfer.”

He chuckled warmly. “It was going so well, until something one of the other ponies said gave me an idea. Of course I know now that Princess Celestia can spot a pony with an idea at 200 meters, and she asked me what I thought. I told her, ‘Why not give them an impossible test? Every foal will fail it initially, but any pony that begs to know the answer from the instructors after failing will be more interested in learning than high marks. Then you tell them that to spoil the test means that they can never take the entrance exam again. If they still want the answer, they pass.’”

Luna gasped, and the cinnamon pony raised accenting hoof. “It is underhooved, unfortunately, but character tests have to be. She was so pleased with the idea she brought her prized dragon egg out of protected storage to use in the exam, something about using magic to hatch the egg.” He looked away, seeming touched by a warm memory. “She was laps ahead of me even then. She was looking for a unicorn with that kind of magic the whole time.”

“A foal hatched a dragon egg?” She was wide-eyed. “Even in our day there was never such a feat of magic.”

“Yes, but that,” Vedette ground his teeth nervously, “is another pony’s story. At the time I was just confused that a simple desk cleric had even been asked, but she liked my answer enough that I did get that promotion and was made one of her regular couriers. She would occasionally ask me strange questions, and I would answer as best I could. After I made Major, she started occasionally inviting me to tea.

“I suppose my point is that friendships take time to foster and grow. The banquet where we first spoke was well over twenty years ago. I doubt you have known Petronel for more than a few months.” He smiled warmly. “Give it time, and I think you will both discover that you have more in common than either of you would guess.”

Luna pondered his story for a moment, her thoughts coming to rest on the last statement. She narrowed her eyes. “Thou knowest something.”

“I know many things,” Vedette responded with a sad smile, “but I trust both you and the director will work things out between you. I would not choose to cheapen a friendship by speaking behind a pony’s back.”

Luna shifted, pondering. “We could order thou to speak.”

The major nodded with the confidence of a master chess player about to make a winning move. “Yes, but then we would no longer be talking as friends.”

After a few moments of stunned silence, Luna rolled her eyes with a smile. “Thou hast learned well the ways of our sister.”

Vedette chuckled, prompting a confused look from Luna. He raised a hoof apologetically but couldn’t stop. “I’m sorry. It just,” he laughed some more. “The princess is such an incurable prankster. Everyone who works with her has to learn quickly or go mad.”

“Thou dost not have to tell us,” Luna said with a groan. “We have suffered many of her schemes just since our return. Dost thou know she has thrice burst into our chambers during the day unannounced, only to declare one word in the Royal Voice before departing? What is more, we do not understand how the word is funny!”

“Really, what word?”

“Bananas!”

The major must have understood the joke, because he instantly threw his head back and laughed like a tickled school foal. Shocked into stupor, Luna couldn’t help but stare at the cinnamon earth pony. It was contagious. Luna felt her own giggles coming and tried to focus on her frustration, stamping hoof to emphasize her next point.

“She will not even explain it to us!”

Her words just made the major laugh harder. It was such a strange sight, seeing the friendly but always controlled earth pony in the thrall of laughter. Soon the sight of it overwhelmed Luna’s attempts at remaining indignant failed miserably. She pointed at the major and her giggles grew to laughter, which in turn made the major laugh even harder still, a cycle that spiraled out of control until she couldn’t see straight for the tears in her eyes. It felt so good to laugh after such a long night, like a warm spring breeze for the soul. It was the first thing she really felt since…

The dam that had been holding all her mixed emotions that night suddenly gave way. A flood of memory struck her all at once, her mind's eye being drawn through events that she had tried desperately to put aside all night.

The rank stench of sulfur from griffin grenades hung in the air and burned her eyes. The lights had been doused in the eastern corridor, but broken windows and holes in the outer wall let moonlight and red firelight mingle on every surface. Griffins and armored ponies clashed all through the long hallway, but Princess Luna raced past them in her panicked search.

Up ahead she could make out an enormous griffin standing on his hind paws, twice the height of the ponies and the rest of his kind. He wore only two pieces of armor, gauntlets covered in engraved sigils and several crude gemstones. In one gloved talon he held the unconscious form of a pony, pinning her to the wall by the neck. Luna felt her universe shatter all over again as she recalled the face of that broken pony who hung limp in the massive griffin's clutch.

Princess Celestia.

In that moment, Luna had believed her beloved sister dead. She had discovered shortly that there was still life in her, but it had been a near thing. One more swipe from the griffin brute would have ended her. She had been so close to losing her sister forever, and there had been nothing she could have done about it. Nothing at all. One thousand years on the moon paled in comparison to how cold and lonely as she felt in that one moment.

“There now, let it all out.”

The words snapped her back to reality with a hard jolt. The major must have rushed to her when she was overcome with memory, and now she wept bitterly on his shoulder. Luna opened her eyes but couldn’t see through her tears, tried to speak but was drowned out by her own sobs. She cursed her weakness and fought to stand, but the major put a steady hoof on the top of her head and whispered gently in her ear.

“No, no. Don’t be ashamed. This is what friends are for.”

The Princess of the Night felt her strength give way for good, and she collapsed wholly onto the major’s supporting bulk. He silently held her up while she wept and sobbed until there was nothing left. Vedette stayed with her all the while, comforting her with his simple presence and caring. When she had finally cried her last tear, Luna found she was able to stand with effort.

The major offered her his own handkerchief. Taking it with a thankful smile, Luna wiped her eyes with a still trembling hoof. “Y-you won’t tell my sister, will you?”

Vedette winked reassuringly. “Only if she orders me.”

Author's Note

Chapter 5: Echo Level Clearance

Echo Level Clearance

Twilight shut the door behind her as she followed Petronel out into the hallway. Princess Celestia had given her a lot to think about. She trailed behind the blue unicorn as he turned and headed back towards the main lecture halls where the war council took place.

Her first responsibility was to the Elements of Harmony. She knew this was a military situation, but she couldn’t imagine giving orders to them like subordinates. She’d have to talk with them when she returned, and they would decide together what should be done about this.

She couldn’t imagine how she was supposed to explain all of this. Hi girls, just got back from an emergency trip to the capital. The princesses send their love and oh, Canterlot is on fire and Equestria is being overrun by griffins. She shook her head. This wasn’t the time for sarcasm, even in an internal monologue. Ponies were dying in Stalliongrad and Cloudsdale even as she walked.

Cloudsdale. She vividly remembered General Manifold’s description of the city. Canterlot was certainly damaged, but the fires were already being put out so that reconstruction could begin. Even so, the sight of the city where she was born on fire had stirred a deep pain in her. She couldn’t imagine how Fluttershy would feel when she told everypony about Cloudsdale, or what Rainbow would do.

She didn’t have a clear picture of the invasion. Worse still, she wasn’t even sure she could understand even if somepony sat down and explained it to her. The military described such things with a vocabulary she was only loosely familiar with from history text books; she knew terms like battalion and division were for numbers of troops, but they had no meaning to her. Twilight would have to cram-study like never before to understand what was really going on around her. The sullen pony was producing a mental checklist of topics to consider when a word broke Twilight from her haze.

“Halt.”

Looking up, she came face to face with a wicked looking grin behind a blue helmet. Two menacing guards in night guard armor stood before her, blocking the door behind them. She yelped and fell back on her haunches. The dark violet unicorn with the smile snickered as she looked up at him in shock. “State your business with thy Princess of the Night, peasant.”

Her head spun when a she heard a pony speak up from beside her. Petronel’s face was a mask, but his tone betrayed more than mild annoyance. “You know our business, Gamma. Follow procedure, confirm our identities, and allow us to pass.”

The guard and his counterpart, an immense dark green earth pony, both looked to the director. The earth pony grunted his opinion of the blue unicorn, but Gamma’s smirk remained. “The lone stud returns. Tell me Petronel, what would thou do without Celestia’s sun to warm thy heartless form? Surely thou wouldst be the first to freeze in all Equestria.” He tilted his head to Twilight. “Dost this timid little filly know what thou hast done?”

Petronel sighed and seemed to relax, but his eyes remained locked with Gamma’s. “You’ll wish you hadn’t called her that.”

Gamma feigned a gasp while Twilight stood. “Pray tell, oh wise Director, and enlighten me. What shall thou do to makest me regret it?”

“Procedure first, Gamma,” said Petronel casually. “You don’t even know we’re us yet.”

Gamma’s nostrils flared angrily as he changed his horn. “I do not take orders from a spineless, friend betraying hor—”

“Do as he sayest, Gamma.”

Three heads turned to look at the green earth pony. He hadn’t raised his voice, but his tone conveyed both command to his fellow and a suspicion. His own gaze was pointed firmly at Twilight.

“Astro,” Gamma said as the power in his horn dwindled.

“Just do it.”

Gamma grumbled something about orders, honor, and “incinerate you too,” but he complied. He charged his horn and cast the spell Twilight had seen used at the security stations. A faint light matching the previous amber glow of his horn washed over his eyes. While it remained, he inspected the two visitors. Still brooding over the whole affair, he nodded to Astro, who turned his attention to the director.

“Sir, please state thy name.”

“Petronel, Director of Equestrian Intelligence.”

Seemingly bracing himself, he turned and addressed the purple pony. “Miss, please grace us with thy name.”

Gamma raised an eyebrow at his fellow as if to question his sanity. Petronel smirked. Twilight couldn’t help it; She blushed.

“Twilight Sparkle.”

Astro immediately dropped his forelegs into a kneel and lowered his eyes to Twilight. Gamma stuttered incoherently for a moment before roughly mimicking him.

“Lady Twilight, please forgive us our disrespect,” Astro said with a remorseful tone. “Most of the guard does not yet know your face. I was but once blessed to see you from afar during the celebration after thee and thy friends vanquished the great menace Discord.”

Twilight was floored. “Uh. What?”

“Thou art leader of the Bearers, and wielder of the Element of Magic. All the night guards know your exploits. But we have delayed you overmuch.” He rose enough to reach for the door and open it for her. “Know that should you have any need, thou must speak it to a member of Princess Luna’s guard and it shall be met.”

Before Twilight could muddle through a reply, the director gave her a significant glance that they should just move on. She entered the classroom and was quickly followed by Petronel. When the door closed soundly behind them, she turned to him and whispered, “What was that about?”

“The Night Order Royal Guard might be a bunch of misfit zealots, but they have a respectable concept of personal debt.”

Unlike the other rooms she had already been in tonight, this one still had many of the furnishings of a classroom. A large professor’s desk sat near the window by the far wall, neatly framing the silhouette of the Canterlot Castle. The walls had posters of old maps and significant events in Equestrian history.

With everything happening so quickly, she had almost forgotten this was a place of learning. She glanced at the posters, reminded of the time she spent not so long ago in a classroom learning about her national heritage. Equestria was an old country, and its ponies had seen dark times before and risen above them. They could do it again.

At least twenty busy ponies filled the room, but instead of professors and students, a range of professionals were hard at work in planning or security. Ponies in uniform spotted the room, but they weren’t alone. Several of the director’s unicorns were casting spells of some kind, and some of Luna’s guards were discussing the physical security for the meeting. It gave the room almost the same atmosphere of life and energy Twilight always loved about the campus.

“Twilight Sparkle! ‘Tis good to see thee again.”

Princess Luna leapt from her seat behind the desk with a spring in her step. Twilight couldn’t help but smile up at her mentor’s sibling as she approached. When Luna put a foreleg around her in a happy embrace, the unicorn had a little difficulty breathing. When Luna finally broke the embrace, Twilight took a step back. “Princess,” she said between breaths, “it’s good to see you too. Princess Celestia said you wanted to talk to me.”

She looked to Petronel. “Hast thou not told her?”

The purple unicorn tilted her head. “Told me what?”

“We came directly here after the audience with Princess Celestia, Highness.” Petronel bowed to the moon princess with every ounce of seriousness Twilight had seen before. Luna quickly bid him to rise. “I would not make casual conversation of high level meetings in an unsecure area. The changelings demonstrated how easy it is for an enemy to gain access to Equestria hierarchies.”

Luna frowned. “We believed the widespread use of thy true-seeing spell ended such concerns.”

“A common changeling wouldn’t last long posing as a soldier or official in Canterlot, but we have to assume they won’t be so brazen in their next attempt.” Petronel’s face grew dark and grim. “And there are always other threats.”

Twilight caught a gem of understanding in his statement that shined new understanding on some events of that night. “Ooooh, a true sight spell would let a unicorn see through an illusionary disguise, probably even one from a changeling.” A possible snag occurred to her. “Aren’t those fairly advanced spells? Most unicorns have to make it to the university before they’re ready to learn magic like that.”

“That is very true, if the spell disrupts or allows the caster to see through the illusion.” He didn’t smile, but Twilight could just barely see the sparkle of pride in his eye as he talked about his work. “But there are a dozen spells that identify that an illusion is in the line of sight. I merely polished off a few of them and made their use standard security procedure.”

“So that’s what the guards have been casting at me all day,” she replied thoughtfully.

“Yes it is.” Petronel turned his attention back to the princess, and bowed once more. “Speaking of security, Princess, there are still things to do before we can begin. By your leave I will see that all is prepared.”

Luna waved a hoof to dismiss him, and the director trotted off to join a group of ponies from his department that were casting an array of security spells in the room. Luna let out a long sigh when he was out of earshot. “We see that the two of you hit it off rather quickly.”

For a moment Twilight was concerned that Luna might have been suggesting something else, but the twang of sadness in the princess’s tone said otherwise. “I guess so. We’ve mostly talked about spell mechanics.” She thought about it for a moment. “He did dodge some of my questions when I was trying to get to know him, though.”

“Perhaps we should not be surprised. He does not speak openly of even little things.” The alicorn princess heaved a sigh. “Thus far, ponies have been reacting to this shameless attack with their wits and whatever they had on hoof. The summit in the lecture hall was a matter of collecting and sharing information. Now that we are beginning to see the big picture, it is time to chart a path to expelling these invaders. This smaller council has been called for that purpose.”

Twilight frowned. “I’m sorry, Princess. I don’t know how I can help.”

Luna’s eyes flared with surprise, but then she smiled dotingly. “Twilight Sparkle, thou are the Element of Magic. Already this night, thy talent has brought hope to thousands of ponies and saved Cloudsdale from being overrun. It was no easy feat. We wish that we could have done as much.”

The purple pony couldn’t think of anything to say anything to that. She blushed and hung her head shyly.

“Besides, thou will not be the only one in attendance with things to learn. Even we find the new military tongue daunting. Fortunately we have found ponies gifted in explaining such things to the uninitiated.” She looked back over her shoulder to one of the ponies still at the desk. “General, if you have a moment we would like to make introductions. You as well, Ambassador.”

“Of course, Princess.” One of the earth ponies at the desk stood and trotted the few steps over to the talking mares. His light brown coat contrasted with his olive green uniform. His salt-and-pepper mane hinted he was older than his gait and build suggested. It looked like he could have held his own in a hoofwrestling match with Big Mac. He might not have stood out at all in a crowd of uniformed earth ponies but for the four rows of bars on his chest and the trio of stars on his sleeve.

Luna smiled proudly at both him and Twilight, and she motioned to the stallion. “We are sure you both are already familiar with each other by reputation. This is General Black Jack, regional commander for Canterlot, and our patient tutor in modern military practice.” She mirrored the motion to Twilight, and mentioned something about the Element of Magic and saving her from darkness. No big deal, really.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, General,” Twilight said with a smile, offering her hoof.

Black Jack took it and gave her a pair of firm but friendly shakes. “The pleasure is mine. General Manifold and I graduated from the academy together. Thank you.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the laconic reply, but quickly again blushed when she understood. Why did every pony need to keep thanking her for that? It was embarrassing; she had only shared a spell she had formulated for a social event. It wasn’t like she had set out to save a city.

Luckily, she was saved from further awkwardness when a pony Twilight recognized entered the little circle. The tall unicorn’s grey coat was so light it looked almost white, and his azure blue eyes matched his styled mane and small moustache. He walked with poise and class found in only the upper class of Canterlot society in a classically cut suit, and was the only stallion Twilight had ever seen using a monocle without making it look silly.

Twilight was dumbfounded to see the stallion, and it showed. “Fancypants?”

“I say, Twilight, jolly good to see you again.” He carefully dusted off his normally spotless suit coat. “I apologize for the general condition of the city. Griffin tourists have such poor manners.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “You two have met?”

Fancypants briefly outlined how he met Rarity, their building friendship, and her later introduction of Twilight and their other friends. “Although I must say, Rarity neglected to mention any of you were the Elements of Harmony. It came as quite the surprise later on.”

“I don’t think any of us knew you were an ambassador, either.” They shared a laugh.

“Well, I only took the position as a favor when my predecessor abdicated. I was living in Prance at the time and the ponies there had been good to me, so it seemed like the right thing to do.”

General Black Jack smirked and looked to Twilight. “He forgets to mention that Germaneigh and Prance were on the short road to war when he took the job. Within three weeks, he had talked both sides out of the whole thing. A month after that both sides were celebrating together like the prodigal foal had returned.”

Fancypants stiffened. “I am rather fond of my wife’s birth country. It seemed a stupendous waste to ruin such fine cityscapes with artillery. Besides, anypony else would have done the same given the means and opportunity.”

Twilight couldn’t help but look at Fancypants in a new light. “I think I know how you feel.”

He brightened. “Yes, I rather think that you would.”

“Princess Luna?” Petronel came around from behind Twilight and stood beside her, eliciting a surprised squeak from the purple unicorn. Goodness, did this pony make any noise when he walked? “We’re finished with the general sweep. The others will soon be clearing out of the room, and then we can begin.”

“Certainly,” the princess replied. A large circular rug had been rolled out in the middle of the floor while they talked. Luna took a few steps, turned to face the window, and sat along the edge facing the center of the mat. She patted a spot to her right with her hoof. “Here Twilight, come sit next to us.”

The director frowned slightly when she took the indicated seat, and then sat to Luna’s left. The remaining two stallions from their conversation joined them sitting across from Luna in what had become a rough circle, with Fancypants next to Twilight.

When the five of them were the last ponies in the room, Petronel charged his horn and wordlessly cast a spell Twilight recognized; it was the same one he used to intimidate the officers in the map room, although he wasn’t wearing such a scary face this time. Now she recognized it for what it was, an illusory disruption wave. While the light lingered, he looked all around the room. Contented with whatever he did or didn’t see, he nodded to Princess Luna, who opened the meeting with a gentle tap of one hoof. Twilight couldn’t help but feel a chill when she realized the last time he used that spell, he was legitimately considering that that any of the stallions in the map room might have been changelings.

“Lady and Gentlecolts, by this point we are all loosely aware of the dire state of our nation and the peril its ponies face. The Confederacy of Griffin Prides has launched an unprovoked invasion of our sovereign nation without demands or a formal declaration of war.” She spoke with her eyes closed, clearly restraining her own indignation at the events. “They dare occupy our cities and towns with their soldiers and diamond dog mercenary lackeys. Thou needest only walk to the window to see the ruination they have brought upon our fair capital. They have even struck at and wounded Princess Celestia, who in her love and wisdom raises the sun for all nations and races to enjoy.”

She took a deep breath. “In our royal discussions, it has been decided that it should be our—I mean my—duty to take responsibility for our military response and expel the invaders. To that end we have called this meeting, for no undertaking so great should be begun without a full vision of how it is to be accomplished. By the time we leave this room, Equestria should have at least a short term plan in place to deal with this situation.

“I am aware we have civilian ponies present and trust that Director Petronel and General Black Jack will take this into account, as well as their difficulties in explaining modern military organization and vocabulary to their returned Princess.” She smiled looking around the group. “Therefore, in the name of the Moon, we call this royal cabinet meeting to order. Please everypony, don’t be shy about ideas or comments. The ponies of Equestria need us more than ever, and we need all the perspective we can get.”

For a few moments after Luna finished, nopony spoke. Finally Twilight raised a hoof, which made the princess smile.

“There is no need for that Twilight. We hope we can all feel comfortable enough to speak without taking turns.”

“Really? Okay.” She rubbed her front hooves together nervously. “Are you sure about the comments thing? This might sound silly.”

Luna was confused. “Yes, of course we are. Why, what is the matter?”

Twilight shrank under the collective gaze of the four important ponies present. “Because, um, I still have no idea what is going on. I remember some things about Cloudsdale and Stalliongrad in the last meeting, but I missed a lot when I left and didn’t understand most of what I heard.”

Fancypants had shifted uncomfortably during Luna’s descriptions, and now nodded his agreement to Twilight. “Yes, let’s please review the situation. This is the first I’ve heard about any other attacks or diamond dogs. Of course, everypony had their darker suspicions when the griffins retreated.”

“The attack here was just a part of the plan,” General Black Jack interjected. “It appears the main griffin thrust was directed at Cloudsdale. General Manifold estimated they were hit with two divisions of griffins, compared to the pair of brigades that hit us here.”

Fancypants harrumphed. “That many? I’m surprised Genghis Khan Jochi could get the Prides to stop squabbling long enough for something of that scale. That represents about half the entire nation’s forces, and normally they are all deployed to oppose one another.”

“I doubt Jochi could pull it off without significant aid. This strategic planning has Khan Cyrus written all over it. Now, there’s one crafty bird.”

“Um,” Twilight said, shyly raising a hoof again out of reflex. “I’m sorry, what’s the difference between a brigade and a division?”

Black Jack didn’t seem bothered by the question. “Armed ponies are organized at different levels based on their purpose. Current doctrine describes a brigade as about 1,200 fighting ponies, and is generally the largest group that can be maneuvered tactically. Each brigade has a specific function, such as artillery, infantry, or supply. Two to four brigades are then grouped together into cohesive, combined arms units. These are called divisions. Most strategic planning is carried out at the division level.”

That was still an awful lot to process, but it did have the root of an answer to her question. Twilight felt her jaw drop a little. “Are you saying that Cloudsdale was attacked by four times as many griffins as Canterlot?

Petronel interjected. “More like five times. Griffin military organization is a bit different than ours. It’s also likely that those that retreated from here will fall back to the cloud city.” He looked up at Luna. “As bad as things look here in Canterlot, this strike was just a raid with some of their elite troops. They never intend to hold the city.”

Fancypants tilted his head. “Then what was their objective, Director?”

He glanced hesitantly between the princess and the Twilight a few times, but Luna nodded her ascent for Petronel to continue. “Once Shining Armor’s shield goes up, it’s almost impenetrable by traditional means. Griffins could swing at it all day from all sides and have no hope to breach it. That leaves only two strategic options to someone attacking Canterlot.”

Black Jack nodded. “A siege, or a surprise attack.”

Twilight glanced between the director and general. “What are you saying?”

The general soured, but Petronel answered the question like she had asked the price of cherries. “The collateral damage, delayed national response, and general terror would have been enough motivation to raid the capital, but we know from reports that the griffins swarmed the castle looking for the captain. When the shield went up Khan Cyrus called the retreat. It stands to reason that he was the primary objective.”

He locked eyes with Twilight. “The griffins specifically intended to kill your brother.”

All eyes were on Twilight while she processed the news, but she said nothing. That anypony or anyone would wish that on her kind and loving brother was devastating.

Luna turned to the director. “This Khan Cyrus, was he also the one who fought our sister?”

Petronel turned back to the princess and nodded. “Yes. Colonel Daybreak met him during a summit a few years ago and made a positive identification after the incident.”

“Your Highness,” Fancypants said while sitting deathly still as he considered Luna. “Perhaps now isn’t the best time for us to worry about individual grif-”

“Thou art correct, Ambassador. Equestria must come first.” Her stormy gaze drifted back towards the window. “But at least now we know his name.”

The meeting turned into a situation report from there, with General Black Jack taking the lead. Petronel supplied details and updates as he thought appropriate.

Canterlot was in no immediate danger now that the raid was over. The attack had succeeded in slowing Equestria’s organized response, leaving regional commands largely isolated. With Shining Armor’s shield in place and both princesses safe from immediate harm, the city could resume its function as the national capital.

Twilight was horrified all over again by the general’s laconic description of the state of Stalliongrad. They were calling it “the eastern front.” Thousands of diamond dogs with limited griffin support were now holding most of the city. The two groups seemed to have different objectives. The dogs began looting the city almost as soon as they entered it. The griffins provided enough air support to draw the attention of any local pegasi, and then hit the train station.

The city was a major commerce and transportation center in Equestria and was a major stop on the original Trans-Equestrian Rail Line that started in Manehattan and ended in Detrot. Canterlot and Ponyville were also stations on the line, but with Stalliongrad taken, ground travel between Canterlot and anyplace east of Stalliongrad would be blocked. Even when the city was retaken, Black Jack and Petronel both agreed that the rails would likely be destroyed and unusable, preventing travel by train.

For now, that meant western Equestria was on its own.

Petronel took over when the discussion returned to Cloudsdale. The initial griffin momentum was blunted when they encountered magic-slinging unicorns and entrenched earth ponies, but not before the entire industrial and government districts had been lost. The pegasi now only held a sliver of suburban residential clouds and were using the stadium as a command center. Black Jack smiled and squinted like a predator as Petronel shared the effect of General Manifold’s tactics and the unicorn reinforcements on the battle.

“Ha, that ought to teach those overgrown parrots something about Equestrian tactics! Griffins aren’t the only ones who use diversified C2.”

Fancypants raised an eyebrow while Luna and Twilight just sat with baffled expressions. Petronel explained.

“Generals Manifold and Black Jack conducted a war game about eight months ago. Manifold had asserted that a division composed of entirely pegasi could divide and overwhelm a larger force entirely of ground ponies if it had no air support. He believed that once he crippled the ground division’s Command and Control…”

“We call it C2 for short,” the general added.

“…that he could cut up the remaining defenders piece by piece.”

Put like that, an abstract military idea that Twilight would have found difficult to follow became a puzzle she could wrap her mind around. She couldn’t help but be fascinated. “What happened?”

The director looked sideways at Black Jack with begrudging approval. “Before the game, General Black Jack called together every officer in his division, and they re-wrote their entire command structure. When it was done, Black Jack had grouped every pony he had into double strength squads. Each had a dozen unicorns supported by as many or more earth ponies.”

Twilight, Fancypants and Luna all exchanged glances, wondering if the other two understood. Black Jack took the hint, and was only too happy to explain.

“I gave two ponies in each platoon full command initiative. We communicated with flags, but each platoon knew they had the freedom to pursue objectives. Their only standing orders were to advance toward the objective zone if able, give covering fire for any entrenched allies, and dig in if overwhelmed. There wasn’t any C2 to disrupt!”

Fancypants sighed. “I’m afraid I still don’t understand. Did it work?”

Petronel nodded. “It did, and now General Manifold is using those tactics in Cloudsdale. Griffins are culturally driven to attack in brutal but chaotic waves. Small group combat helps counter the advantages of such tactics. Barring some major change in griffin tactics or reinforcements, we should be in no danger of losing the city in the next 36 hours. By then more of our reinforcements will have arrived.”

That was good to hear, at least. Twilight looked down at her hooves to avoid making any eye contact; the last thing she wanted right now was another pony’s thanks for the spell. It was Black Jack’s plan that was holding things together, and Manifold and the soldiers were the ones actually fighting to save Cloudsdale. Petronel’s group had played a major part too, dispersing her spell formula in record time.

Petronel was still sharing details as Twilight yawned and looked up to the wall clock by the door, doing some mental math on just how long it had taken. She blinked. Her answer couldn’t be right.

Luna’s voice broke her concentration. “Twilight, is everything all right? Thou lookest distracted.”

Twilight looked out the window before answering, but couldn’t see any stars to confirm what the clock said. “I’m sorry, I was just checking the time. I guess someone forgot to wind up the clock in this room.”

Fancypants frowned and checked his pocket watch. “No, the clock is right.” When Twilight gaped he gave her a worried look. “Is something the matter?”

“I was just thinking,” Twilight began, looking at Petronel. “It takes over an hour to fly to Cloudsdale from here. It should have taken time to get enough unicorns together there to teach the cloudwalk spell even after a direct flight. It hasn’t been that long since I showed you the spell, and you’re still here. Director, how did you get it to them so quickly?”

All eyes turned to Petronel. Black Jack rubbed his temple with a hoof while Fancypants gave the director a piercing stare. “I might ask what else Twilight has not yet been told, but perhaps it would be easier for you to detail what you have told her.”

“I resent your tone, Ambassador,” Petronel snapped back as his jaw tightened. “Twilight was granted security clearance by the princess not ten minutes before we came into this room. I’ve already stated my perfectly reasonable aversion to discussing sensitive information in what amounts to a public hallway. No one outside the capital is aware to what extent we use the spell. It must stay that way as long as possible.”

Twilight’s interest was doubled. “What spell do we use?”

“My concern, Director, was more one of foresight. Twilight should have been involved with your department from day one after she was the first to identify Chrysalis.”

The purple pony smiled awkwardly. “Everypony makes too much of that. What spell are we talking about?”

“With respect to Twilight’s talents, you are suggesting that loosening security would have somehow prevented this situation when the exact opposite is true. The more ponies that are aware of our duties here the more likely it is for potential threats to plan around them. It’s very clear that the griffins had no clue we could respond to their blitz at all, and it’s been to our huge advantage.”

Twilight felt like a school filly struggling to get at a cookie just out of reach. “Uh guys, this is all really interesting, but really, what spell?”

Fancypants shrugged. “Perhaps you are correct, but after tonight that reasoning is outdated. Twilight realized an unknown was in play all on her own. The griffin khans are not foals. The swift changes made in Cloudsdale will be enough for them to conclude ponies with your talents exist. After that, it’s just a matter of time before the ‘cat is out of the bag,’ to use a rustic phrase.”

Twilight groaned in final resignation, but Luna came to her rescue.

“Director, please explain it to her. Twilight must be made aware to better perform her duties as the Element of Magic.”

From what Twilight had seen of Petronel’s seriousness about decorum when addressing the princesses that was probably the equivalent of a royal order in his mind. He sighed in resignation, drew a deep breath and began. “My special talent is integration.”

“Inta-what now?”

“Integration. My cutie mark is five separate triangles that share sides and a bottom edge, but the together they make one larger triangle; the individual parts becoming one greater whole. That talent manifests itself through a telepathy spell I learned as a colt.”

“Telepathy magic? I’ve studied those spells. They’ve never seen widespread use for a bunch of little reasons. Some require horn contact to cast, or continued line of sight. Even the best ones I’ve seen are short range and require a pair of talented unicorns to constantly maintain...” Twilight drifted off, beginning to understand what Petronel was suggesting. “Are you saying you found a way to overcome the difficulty in establishing a connection with a pony out of line of sight, or signal degradation inherent to magical communication?”

“Both, actually. I fixed those problems through study of Lightning Rod’s works on his theory of wave mechanics, but my talent concerns how many connections I can recall or have open at the same time.”

Most of Twilight’s reading pointed out that only one connection was practical, but that some unicorns had practiced enough to maintain two or three simultaneously at short ranges. She couldn’t think of an instance where a unicorn had claimed to go beyond four at once. “Just how many are we talking about?”

“During a study I was recorded to have five simultaneous telepathic conversations at once. My personal best is seven, but both cases were in sensory isolation rooms.” He shook his head at the last part. Apparently those weren’t fond memories. “What is more important is that Lightning Rod’s research allowed me to notate what wavelengths I would be using to communicate with a pony. As a result, I can contact over twenty unicorns spread across Equestria. I’ve also been instructing several of my aides, who currently provide about that many connections between them.”

Luna gave him a sidelong glance. “Director…”

“I shouldn’t need to say more than that, Princess. Anything more would put her and the department in more peril with no visible benefit to Equestria.” He looked at Twilight with a smile that betrayed just the smallest hint of personal pride. “Besides, she is more than intelligent enough to grasp the ramifications of what I’ve just said.”

Twilight was still gaping. Being a smart or talented unicorn was one thing, but what Petronel was talking about only started with magic. To even attempt it would take an exceptionally well ordered mind. She still had trouble finding a book she wanted in a library she lived in. “W-what it means is nearly instant communication between the capital and anywhere you send one of these contacts. How many do you have in Cloudsdale right now?”

“The department has only one in the city so far, but there are three more in the surrounding countryside. Two are casting the cloudwalk spell as quickly as they are able, and the third is currently teaching it to a squad from the 101st.”

She blinked a few times to clear her head. There had been a point early in her studies when she had felt spoiled having a direct line to Princess Celestia through Spike, but apparently there were talents active in Canterlot that far surpassed even that kind of communication.

General Black Jack cleared his throat noisily. “With respect to Twilight’s need-to-know, we still have more to discuss. Perhaps we can save the magical patty-cake for after we have a plan.”

“Thank you Director, but we concur with the general.” Luna waived a hoof regally. “For now we must return to the task at hoof. Time will be made after this meeting for thee to instruct Twilight in the casting and use of this spell.”

Petronel’s head spun. “Princess, are you quite certain that is necessary?”

“Indeed.” Luna blinked, confused by Petronel’s reaction. “Dost thou not agree? We doubt Twilight will be remaining in Canterlot long. If she is to take the field as we believe our sister intends, her field assessments and spell expertise would be an invaluable resource for thy department.”

“I’d be happy to learn,” Twilight volunteered with a giant grin. Petronel was grumpily silent for a few moments, and finally nodded his agreement. Black Jack spoke before she could express her excitement.

“That brings us to the last prong of this invasion, western front.”

Twilight and Fancypants both gaped, but the purple mare beat him to the question. “There’s a fourth attack?” Luna nodded sadly.

Black Jack exchanged an unhappy glance with Petronel. “Yes, but the western front is different from those we’ve already covered. Another ground force like the one in Stalliongrad is moving south into Equestria, but starting from the other side of the Minty Mountains. It took the northern town of Tranquility Lane, held for a few hours, and then moved on to Sunnydale. The snows are still coming down that far north, but I’ve never known that to slow down diamond dogs. Even their looting habits shouldn’t take so long.” He plunged into a long explanation about reconnaissance and how something called screening had kept anypony from getting a clear picture of what was going on up north. Griffins were apparently very good at screening.

“I can only speculate from what little we know now. From there, this group could sweep further west to Manehattan, stick to the mountain range to move under and support Cloudsdale, or skip both entirely and march even further south and go on to Fillydelphia.” He looked to Twilight. “Thanks to your brother, the capital is safe from anything but a long siege, something neither griffins nor diamond dogs have enough patience to do effectively.”

“Actually General, I have some new information in that regard.” Petronel sat up straight before continuing. “I must stress the sensitivity of this information, and that it not leave this room except by direct royal order. The only others who are aware of this are three of my aides and the two pony team that made the discovery. If this information gets out, we could have a real panic on our hooves.

“When I became aware of the attack underway, my first official action was to begin informing my contacts of the national danger, and for everypony to be aware and ready to report any discoveries. Among those is a unicorn sniper team. They struck out from their homes in rural northern Equestria and headed for the mountains, both for a better position and spotting. They found a hill and set up a duck blind position.

“About half an hour ago, they reported encountering a large force of diamond dogs moving south, but unusually for their kind they were sticking close to the main road rather than taking advantage of the cover in the fields. Most of the rest of the report fits with what we’ve seen at Stalliongrad, except for one detail: A slow train of wagons were being pulled by diamond dog soldiers and captured ponies. The last wagon was reported to be carrying a pair of long iron tubes and driven by a minotaur wearing plate armor. The description of the minotaur’s armor matches several accounts describing the siege smith Brass Knuckles.”

General Black Jack seemed to understand almost instantly. His face turned pure white and he cursed. He wasn’t alone in such a strong reaction. Fancypants looked like his stomach had turned over, and Luna’s right eye twitched angrily.

Twilight leaned forward, afraid to ask but terrified of not understanding. She looked to the princess. “What, what does it mean?”

Luna sighed. “Before our banishment, we saw the end of the age of stone defenses. Equestrians loved their castles dearly, but over time they simply became obsolete as new weapons and spells were developed to defeat them. Those weapons became so powerful that construction of new castles stopped entirely. The castles still in use today are more aesthetic than functional. Even low walls were deemed to be a waste of national effort.”

The purple unicorn gasped. “But we have a wall.” She looked outside, beyond the castle to the purple haze surrounding the city. “A wall of magic.”

“Yes, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna hung her head. “The minotaur brings a great cannon of old. The griffins would not need such a weapon to attack Manehattan or Fillydelphia. If it is brought into range of the shield, they will hammer thy brother’s wall until it shatters and his strength is spent.”

The Princess of the Night ground her teeth. “Then Canterlot will be at their mercy.”

Author's Note

Chapter 6: Flock Together

Flock Together

Even compared to Cloudsdale’s outer beauty, the depths of the city were an awe inspiring wonder to behold. Long artificial tunnels and corridors in the clouds wove their way through the immense mass of atmospheric vapor. With them, ponies could maintain the vast system of pipes, vents and cables that allowed so many pegasi to live comfortably high above the ground. Countless gauges and valves lined the walls so that an engineer could easily monitor any variable to diagnose and correct problems when they arose. It was a side of the great city that few of the residents fully appreciated: an underworld in the sky as complex in its workings as any living creature’s veins and organs.

It was a thrilling new hunting ground. Kaleb had not felt this much excitement since the first solo hunts of his youth, when the homeland of his pride felt fresh and untamed. While most griffins strived to be selected for a ceremonial dragon hunt, they were communal affairs. Only a few would be permitted to fight a dragon at a time, but the others were there as witnesses and were deterrent to retaliation during the flight home. Kaleb had participated in several of the ceremonial hunts, but in his heart the purest way of the hunter would always be to strike out alone, find prey, and take it.

Then again, few others had seen a lone griffin slay a dragon. He briefly considered that the experience had spoiled his interest in dragon hunt.

Around midnight, he had found several large junctions in the sub-cumulus corridors with a high arcing ceiling. He would hide close to the ceiling, behind one of the pipes that angled upward towards the surface, and wait for prey. Hours later he had captured almost thirty ponies trying to hide from the battle above, in most cases without causing them any injury. The battle was likely winding down by now as fewer and fewer would-be runners were passing his perch, yet there always seemed to be one more.

A brown haired, black maned pegasus stallion cowered as he clumsily snuck into the junction beneath the griffin hunter. To his credit he had enough sense to not bolt wildly as so many before him, but his whimpering had warned Kaleb of his coming long before he came into sight. Like the rest of his herd he had a unique image branded on his flank, in this case a deck of cards. Kaleb failed to imagine what purpose they might serve, but he cared little. The ponies likely were following traditions of some kind when they were marked in such ways, and Kaleb would never begrudge a being for following the traditions of their kind.

When the pony had entered in junction and had turned his back to the center of the room, Kaleb acted. He wordlessly leapt from the pipe and pounced, pinning the pegasus on the floor and rolling him on his side. The pony panicked, shrieked like a hen chick, and tried to kick his attacker. It was useless; he had no angle. Kaleb quickly began tying his limbs with a length of rope. When the pony finally surrendered to the inevitable, he stopped kicking and began to whimper and tremble, which is about what the griffin had come to expect after a capture. It was a good moment to make introductions.

"Listen, pony. I am Kaleb of Pride Tshaka and I claim you as my living prey. Tell me your name." The brown pegasus continued whimpering as he bound the pony’s wings. When the pony didn’t answer Kaleb shook him and roared. "Tell me!"

"L-LAN! My name is Lan!” the stallion shouted. “P-p-p-please don't--!"

Kaleb clamped the pony's mouth shut with his talons. "Well met, Lan. Know that I bear you no special grudge, but my khan has bid me and mine to hunt pegasi and make captives of them as convenient." Kaleb cocked his head to the right to stare down at the captive pony with his right eye. "I suggest you remain convenient. Will you do so?”

Lan nodded while blinking terrified tears from his eyes. Kaleb considered using the last bit of rope he had to muzzle his captive, but hesitated. It was the last length he had, and it could be a while before he could acquire more. He decided leaving the pony free to speak was worth the risk. He hefted the pegasus over his shoulder and tied his bindings to his sash. With his catch secure, Kaleb made his way back through the tunnels to deliver his prize to the keepers.

They had not traveled far when the pegasus spoke. “Are you really a griffin?”

The griffin rolled his eyes. He knew where this was going. Kaleb said nothing, but silence has never discouraged an inquisitive pony. It was a lesson he would not learn until many more years had passed.

“I just ask because, well, I’ve seen griffins before. None of them had ears, let alone pointy ears.”

It was true. Kaleb was built lean with grayish feathers and fur. His long tail meandered behind him as he walked, and he wore a hunter’s sash with several throwing knives and bolos, as was traditional for a hunter of his heritage. No matter what badges of honor he carried, Kaleb had come to know that amongst outsiders, even other griffins, his feline ears drew the most attention. Wide at the bottom and coming to an acute point at the top, they flicked left and right to let Kaleb zero in on little sounds that other griffins would miss.

Kaleb grunted. “These griffins you have seen, they had white feathers above the neck?”

“Yes.” Lan blinked a few times. “Does that matter?”

“It does. As there are herds of ponies, so there are prides of griffins. The white-feathered Aquila, of eagle and lion, often soar manly leagues before building a nest. I am Tshaka, of harrier and lynx. We keep to our own lands and our own kind.”

“Why is that?” the pony asked with genuine curiosity.

Kaleb found the discussion distasteful. Among griffin kind such intrusive questions were offensive. “You would not understand.”

“Okay, I guess.” Lan took another look at his captor, sizing him up from ears to paws. “You know, you seem like a nice guy, Kaleb. I don’t picture you as the invading type at all. Are you sure you’re a soldier?”

This pony could not take a hint. Kaleb snarled his answer. “Griffins do not train soldiers, we raise warriors. I am neither. Do ponies always ask so many questions?”

“Hm,” Lan started to move a hoof to scratch his chin before he remembered he was tied. It didn’t seem to bother him much. “Maybe not all ponies, but a lot of them do. Why?”

“It was a rhetorical question,” Kaleb said with an air of finality.

“Oh.”

Lan fell silent for a while as Kaleb bore his captive through a passageway to the surface of the city, dimly lit by starlight and the setting moon. After hours of battle cries, the clamor of talons and hooves, and the detonation of griffin grenades, the streets of Cloudsdale had grown eerily quiet. The structures that were built from buoyant cloud material were still standing, but all had chunks torn out and scattered in the streets. Most of the windows had been shattered, but the stores were not looted; griffins cared little for material gain. Grenade scorch marks marked places where the pegasi had formed an organized resistance.

“Hey, I get it!” Lan exclaimed suddenly, his curiosity running away with his mouth again. “Warriors would have to travel a lot. You probably have a job that lets you stay closer to home. But…wait a minute. If you aren’t a soldi—I mean warrior, and if you don’t like to travel, why are you here?”

Kaleb set his jaw. How had this pony been tolerated in a city? The pride mothers would have punished such an incessant, yammering griffin. “My blood-brother asked it.”

“You have a brother? I do too! He lives in Windsoar though, so I—”

“Pony!” Kaleb roared as he whirled, putting his beak and angry eyes right in Lan’s face. “Your incessant squawking has become irksome! You wonder why Tshaka dislike travel. There are too many questions! Be silent.”

Lan trembled for a few minutes after that, but did not speak to Kaleb again.

By Khan Cyrus’s order, the weather factory had been spared much of the damage visited on the rest of the city. It was one of the first places the griffins had swarmed, taking as many captives as possible right in the middle of the worker’s shift change. The only obvious differences now were the griffins on patrol and the banners of the Confederacy hanging between its columns.

Kaleb knew that some of the rooms inside were a different story, having deemed in advance to be of no interest to the prides. Several of the production stations had been vandalized, but none worse than the rainbow rooms. Great vats of many colors had been turned over. The liquid rainbows flowed out of the building, draining through the clouds below and pooling in a lake far beneath the city.

As he approached the building, an Aquila griffin stopped him and asked his purpose. “Take me to Grima,” Kaleb answered. Several doors and corridors later, he was shown to a room where he overhead voices.

“Are you certain he will come here?” asked a voice Kaleb did not know.

“As I have said, yes! He has delivered all of his captives to me. Unless he is slain, he will return when he finds more.” That would be Grima.

The first voice growled, but a third laughed lightly. “Whatever, dude. I have seen him in two duels. Both were short, clean, and totally radical. I’d like to meet the three pegasi it would take to stop Kaleb, because no two could pull it off.”

Kaleb nodded to his escort, opened the door and entered with a smile. “Herger, you are making up stories about me again.”

Three griffins inside turned to face him, all Aquila. Two of them he knew. The first was Herger, whom he had come to know several years earlier. He and the one Kaleb did not know both wore gauntlets of star metal, badges of honor associated with Khan Cyrus’s personal legion, the Immortals.

“Hey, guy!” Herger smiled and approached the hunter, and he and Kaleb happily embraced forearms. “You know I only tell the truth about my bro’s best bud! But hey, I’ve got news for you and we’re kinda in a rush. Me and Orm here have been ordered by the big guy himself to come find you. He wants you at the big council shindig before he arrives.”

“Really?” Kaleb asked, surprised. “For what reason?”

“Psshah. Like I would know. The big guy says, go, I go.” He laughed again, glancing between the hunter and Grima. “So, ah, can we go?”

Kaleb pointed to the trembling pegasus on his back. “I have business first. What news of Canterlot?”

“Not in front of ponies,” Grima interrupted with irritation. “My work here is delicate, and you fool warriors barge in and disrupt the atmosphere.” He gestured to the corner, and Kaleb felt his stomach turn in a knot.

In the corner, a light green pegasus stallion had been securely bound to a chair facing the far wall. Currently his ears were muffed, so he probably couldn’t make out much of the conversation if he was aware of it at all. In front of him sat a table with four lit candles, flickering gently. Kaleb saw no tools or signs of physical abuse, but for some reason the feathers on the back of his neck stood on end when he saw the simple arrangement.

“Now,” the chief interrogator asked, hungrily eyeing Lan while kneading his talons. “What has the famed Tshaka tracker brought me?”

Kaleb unhooked his captive from his sash and gently sat him down. “His name is—”

“No no no,” Grima interrupted, shaking his head. “Let him tell me.”

Kaleb rolled his eyes and backed away from the pony, whose eyes darted fearfully between the four intimidating griffins. Grima began asking him questions, but it took him twice as long to learn even what little Kaleb had gleamed from the pony’s torrent of questions. Eventually Lan said that he had been caught in the cloud tunnels of the city, and Grima’s eyes gleamed.

“You know the tunnels?”

“I-I work there,” the pony stammered. “Part time, but I like it.”

“Really?” Grima asked, intrigued. “Well, I have a special place for you then. I must ask though, I know for a fact that ‘Lan’ is not a proper pony name. Come now, what did your mother call you when you were bad?”

“Um…” The pony hesitated. “Lan Doe.”

“Excellent, Lan Doe. I am happy to meet you.” He fetched a guard from the hallway. “Put him in cage 2B with the other high-value captives. I will be speaking with this one again later.”

Lan whimpered again as the guard lifted him and carried him off. For a moment, he looked pleadingly to Kaleb. The hunter did nothing. It would become a moment that haunted the griffin’s dreams for years to come.

Grima turned to Kaleb. “Thank you for that wonderful catch. Sign the roster on your way out, and your name will be credited with his capture. Now I’m sure you all have business at the council fire, as I will be quite busy here. Please see yourselves out.” He smiled wickedly and approached the pony in the corner, removing his earmuffs.

“Now then, Canard…shall we begin again?” He asked the stallion casually, leaning against the table with the candles. “Tell me. How many lights do you see?”

"There...are," the stallion paused to lick his lips, probably dehydrated. "Four. Lights."

Grima frowned. "I don't understand how you can be so mistaken."

Herger, Orm and Kaleb quickly left the weather factory. They remained silent for a long while as they walked toward the council fire. Grima’s twisted tastes were enough to disturb some of the most hardened warriors, but his skill and methods were of use to the occupation. The prides would need to know how to maintain the city once the war was over and prisoners released, so they only had so much time to learn as much as possible from them. He would be tolerated, for now.

Herger’s spirits, however, never stayed low for long. “So Kaleb, how were the maps my cousin made for you?” he asked with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

“They were useful.” Kaleb replied. He still didn’t feel like talking.

“Really?” Herger exaggerated raising his eyebrows and elbowed the hunter in the side. “Maybe you should go thank her.”

Kaleb frowned. This was not a new topic for Herger. “No.”

“Come on, guy!” he exclaimed, disappointed. “Why not? You know she wants it.”

“I know no such thing,” said Kaleb, shaking his head. “I am Tshaka. She is Aquila. It is not done. When will you understand?”

“Herger will never understand tradition,” Orm spat. “Consider what company he keeps, and that he adds words to traditional dances.”

“Rap isn’t going to go away just because some old peckers don’t like it.” It took a moment for the rest of Orm’s words to register. “Hey, what’s wrong with my crowd?”

Kaleb jumped on that just before Orm. “They are young, brash, and do not respect the old ways. The brother of a khan should know better and that you speak of pride mothers with such disrespect disturbs me.”

Herger laughed, smiling devilishly. “It’s not my fault you two workaholics are too busy to find lady friends. And those chicks I hang with?” He flapped his wings. “They know how to relax.”

Kaleb and Orm exchanged disapproving glances. Orm rolled his eyes, and Kaleb sighed. As much as Kaleb loathed to admit it, at least that part of Herger’s lifestyle was attractive to his baser instincts, remnant of days before the prides. The Confederation had ended those barbaric times, bringing order to the chaos that had been their prehistory.

It had been a good thing. The mothers set the expectations equally for their pride and appointed khans to represent their will amongst the other prides and nations. Every griffin knew their role and had a means to improve their standing by following the will of the pride, but to stray too far was a perilous risk. The pride mothers of Aquila often allowed some leeway to those who dabbled in arts but Herger would have to be careful or draw more attention than just their disapproving gaze.

Finally the trio entered the central park, a wide open space in front of Cloudsdale’s immense city hall. The cloud top here was maintained to be softer and a bit springier than most, such that foals could safely practice flight with their parents. It had made for a perfect beachhead for the griffin assault force and had become their nerve center for the entire city.

In the middle of the park, a large bowl had been set up as a fire pit for a great blaze. A loose circle of griffins had formed a short distance around the council fire, and the trio had to elbow their way through the other onlookers to find places where they could see the proceedings. Inside the ring, three griffins of renown stood apart from the crowd. One was yelling at the others, to little effect.

“…And do you know what we found? Unicorns! Unicorns in the clouds, defending districts promised to Pride Heirax. Why weren’t we warned about such magic?” demanded Khan Pyrrhus the young, commander of the grenadier legion he had named the Vandals. The Heirax griffin, half falcon and half cougar, strutted angrily around the fire. He was powerfully built even for his kind and likely the largest griffin yet in attendance. Several of the Heirax in the circle cheered his demands. “How could our intelligence be so poor as to miss that very important detail?”

Roughly across from him, the elder Khan Tomalak wore the calm poker face smile invented by his kin. “If it had been common place, our informants would have mentioned it. The cousin of Khan Cyrus provided especially detailed information in her descriptions and maps, considering her many years in the city.” Covered in black feathers and fur, the Zinthos pride griffin drew his heritage from raven and panther, and with that heritage came a strong instinct for stealth and a cautious tongue. In spite of being from one of the less numerous prides, Tomalak was one of Ghegis Khan Jochi’s greatest political rivals. For what reason he had consented to join this expedition was still a mystery to Kaleb and many others, but the old griffin’s eyes and mind were keen from battles and many years of representing his pride.

“That the other herds have come to walk amongst the clouds must be a new development. Such a great change so quickly disturbs me more than a failure of intelligence. The Canterlot raid was meant to break such a quick response, yet the ponies remained organized.” He turned to the third griffin in their company. “What say you of this, Seer Ragnar?”

The last of the trio unsettled Kaleb with his mere presence. Sitting turned away from the fire and looking east, the famed Elder Seer of Pride Strix seemed distracted by concerns somehow greater than the gamble taken by the combined host of the Confederacy. Ragnar pondered while leaning on a great staff carved with many runes. The Strix that descended from owl and snow leopard were the least numerous pride, and even Kaleb found them strange, for all their motions seemed unnatural.

“I was surprised,” the seer answered slowly.

“Really?” Pyrrhus mocked. “Unicorns have clearly devised yet another way to defy the natural order, and our resident sorcerer was only surprised? I could learn as much from a fortune cookie.”

The Strix’s face spun to face the source of the insult. Like his kin, his head moved with precision even though his neck appeared motionless. Fixed in their sockets, his overlarge eyes dilated and focused on the Hierax griffin as he stood. The fire flickered and darkened for a moment, seeming to cower away from the ancient seer. “I have read the stars at the birth of countless scores of griffins, including yours. I can tell you the tides in the seas while sitting in a cave, or the meaning of the buzz of bees. The knowing of things unknowable is my trade and business, and when I say I was surprised a khan should be wise enough to understand the weight of my meaning.”

Ragnar’s head spun again so that it face almost completely backwards, totally independent of his body posture, while his eyes searched the surrounding crowd. For a moment they seemed to come to meet Kaleb’s gaze before he looked back to Tomalak. “I have naught more I can accomplish here. Bicker amongst yourselves about nothings if you wish. It matters little.” He spread his wings casually and with a few noiseless flaps, the seer was gone.

“That’s it?” Pyrrhus scraped his talons along the cloudtop to vent his anger. “He calls a council, speaks of nothings and departs?”

Tomalak sighed and shook his head. “I envy your strength and youth, Khan Pyrrhus, but do not meddle in the ways of seers, for they are subtle and quick to anger.”

“Then what good could possibly come from this meeting?”

A quiet breeze passed over the council, and Tomalak turned his face skyward. He pointed a talon upward. “You might ask him.”

High above a shadow of wings moved against the stars. As it descended, the silhouetted griffin’s immense size became apparent. When he was close enough for the firelight to reach him, the red light reflected brightly from the gauntlets on his talons. At once Kaleb recognized the great griffin, for they had known each other since youth.

Khan Cyrus of Pride Aquila, favored son of Genghis Khan Jochi and commander of the Immortals was descending amongst them. He was the strongest khan alive and had proven it by hunting a dragon alone, slaying the beast in front of many witnesses. It was a feat unequaled by any of his contemporaries, and he had done it not once but twice. The pride mothers of Aquila elected him a khan of their pride within a year after his coming of age, common elsewhere but unheard of in the pride that most valued wisdom. Other prides had braced for war as his fame grew, fearing that the might of the Aquila champion would drive him to greater challenges. He had surprised them all.

At his birth, the Seer Hrothgar read his stars and prophesied that Cyrus would slay a great darkness and return balance to the world. After his coming of age, when all griffin males are told the stars of his birth, Cyrus made Hrothgar’s words his personal mission. He declared that the warlike divisions between the prides were the source of the imbalance, and sought justice for all even when his own pride was in the wrong. For all his personal strength and might, he had traveled from peak to peak not making war, but proclaiming the virtues of peace among all griffin kind. It is for this reason and what comes after that still today he is remembered as Cyrus the Uniter. Yet the first half of his destiny eluded him, for he had seen no great darkness in the world to slay.

His search ended one fateful morning two years ago, when the sun itself was late to rise.

Landing near the fire, the massive griffin had to take care not to strike those assembled with his great wings. He turned slowly, absorbing all he saw with detachment. Tomalak sat regally and waited. Pyrrhus still clearly burned with anger but said nothing. The other griffins averted their eyes to his greatness, as was proper for those of lesser stature and renown. When Cyrus’s gaze fell upon one particular griffin, his face brightened and he approached him quickly.

“Friend Kaleb! I am glad to see you well. I trust you found good hunting?”

Kaleb, kneeling in deep respect for the famed griffin, did not lift his eyes. “I captured many pegasi for my khan.”

“Still you persist in formalities, blood brother?” asked Cyrus, shaking his head with mock disappointment.

“I shall always persist in observing our traditions, which is both right and just.”

The massive Aquila griffin turned his head toward the onlookers without taking his eye from Kaleb. “He answers well! A fine example of griffin love for his pride and country. Wouldn’t you agree, Khan Tomalak?”

The elder khan nodded slowly, a warm smile on his beak and his eye twinkling with suspicion. “I would indeed.”

Cyrus smiled, again facing Kaleb. “I have something for you, friend.” He reached down and untied a burlap sack from his sash and pressed it at him.

Kaleb cocked his head to the side, confused. Gift giving was almost never done socially between griffins; it carried the weight of perceived debt. Still, he took the sack and opened it. He gasped as he removed the objects of gleaming metal within.

In his talons he held the instrument of Cyrus’s Immortals, a matching pair of gauntlets forged from metal of stars, fallen to earth and affixed with gems taken from the depths of the great mountain Gryphus. Griffins despised armor and weapons of close combat, but the gauntlets had been approved by the pride mothers of Aquila for one very important reason: The properties of the star metal and gems used could disrupt and drain magic on contact. Griffins had long been at a disadvantage when facing unicorn ponies and other magical races in combat. The gauntlets closed that gap. The wearer need merely touch energy or spell with the tip of his talon to damage the construct. Striking an energy shield even once would often shatter it entirely.

Kaleb could only gape. In all the prides, scant more than a hundred pairs of these yet existed. The Immortals had laid claim to all but a few of them and guarded the ones they controlled fiercely. Yet here Cyrus was giving a pair of their valued tools of war to a hunter of another pride. The khan spoke to the hunter barely above a whisper.

“Many of my Immortals fell at Canterlot tonight. These were worn by my brother Aun, who fell protecting my blind side during a great duel. He thought highly of you, and would rest well on the winds knowing you wore them in his memory.”

Now the towering griffin khan leaned back and projected his voice for many to hear. “You are a talented hunter of your pride, perhaps the greatest of your generation. Your skill in tracking is unmatched, and I have personally known you to hear a sleeping rabbit at 50 yards. More than all of this, I trust you with my life, for you and you alone once saved me from certain death.

“Kaleb of Tshaka, my blood brother and friend! I ask you to join the Immortals. In the coming days I will have need of your skill by my side, but the gauntlets are yours no matter your answer.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd, but none were as surprised as Kaleb, who shook with shock and gratitude. What Cyrus was asking was almost unofficial treason. There was no law against having different bloodlines in a legion, but it simply wasn’t done; certainly not by an Aquila khan with so much status to lose. It took a moment for Kaleb to compose his thoughts, but then he spoke with conviction.

“My khan…my friend honors me. He speaks well of me in front of the greatest host of our kind I have ever witnessed, and tells them my name.” Kaleb raised the gauntlets to the air for all to see. “He offers me gifts unmatched, bequeathed from fallen members of his own family. Who am I to reject him, a mere hunter?”

Kaleb put the gauntlets on, and snapped them around his forearms. They felt natural as he flexed his talons in them for the first time. “It will be as you say.”

Cyrus was so overjoyed he embraced the comparatively tiny Tshaka griffin, much to the continuing shock of onlookers. Considering the khan had just shattered griffin military tradition, the embrace was a small matter. Still, Cyrus had not risen to his level on the credit of bloodline alone and he used the continued silence to his advantage. He turned and addressed the gathered host.

“I see many honored griffins have assembled, as is right. There is much to discuss. Understandably there is much apprehension. Tonight I have lost friends and family in battle with pony kind, as have you all.” He looked directly to Pyrrhus and smiled. “Many believed that they were weak and could be swept aside without contest. While we all hoped for a quick victory, we prepared to face a noble adversary. And lo! The ponies were not as frail as they seemed, but for all their valiant efforts they could barely slow our advance. It is so and will remain, because the ponies contend with a force unlike any the world has known.”

Cyrus reared on his back legs and balanced flawlessly, doubling his already considerable height. “It is a new age! The griffin prides have not moved as one in over one thousand years, and even then never in such numbers.” Fire of triumph in his eyes, he turned to face southward toward the pony capital and pointed his talon in a sweeping gesture over the entire city below them. “Look at what we have done, at what you have done tonight! Today we are not separated by trivial border disputes or petty feuds, but instead we are one nation! Towns and cities fall before our might, their citizens made captive. Canterlot, the shining jewel of pony civilization is colored dark by its own ashes. Here we stand in the very heart of the sacred pegasus city, the much vaunted Cloudsdale.

“And this…” He roared, raising his right clutch to the sky, flexing his steel-covered talons. The moonlight showed them tarnished, stained red from combat. “This is the blood of an ALICORN!”

An awed hush fell over all who heard the words of Khan Cyrus, dragon slayer and prophesied savior of griffin kind. He allowed himself to gracefully fall forward, coming to rest when his left clutch touched the cloud floor.

“That’s right. Remember why we are here. We are not motivated by lands, territories, or wealth. The little ponies are not our enemy. We do not hate them, for they are deceived: Lied to by an ancient evil that has already twice sought to unmake the balance of nature, and reassured by her weak, complacent sister. Do you not remember the day with no morning? Have you forgotten the confession of the Harbinger of Chaos, that he was released by her hoof?"

Growing enraged with the thought of such things, his words became angry. “Celestia willfully ignores the peril right before her eyes! One thousand years ago she stood over the traitor and had not the strength of character to do what was needed. She has forgotten her promise to our ancestors, who believed the enemy vanquished, that the threat of eternal night was ended for all time. Even now the Usurper of Light is hailed as royalty in their cities, biding her time until she can move freely once again. While the Sun Princess sits idle, the Blade of Damocles hangs over the world.

“No longer! At Stalliongrad their nation is cut in two. Griffins soar free in the skies of western Equestria. When the cannon shatters the Shieldbearer’s magic, the Nightbringer will have no stronghold to hide behind. Then balance will be restored…”

Cyrus raised both his gauntlets to the night sky and roared. “I will slay Nightmare Moon!”

While the griffin host cheered their champion’s words, Kaleb felt an unnatural stillness wash over him. He had felt it before. His father had been a seer of the Tshaka pride, and had known many magics. Even equipped with experience, it was still unnerving. Herger and Orm did not notice as they cheered with the others.

“Is it not breathtaking?” The voice of Ragnar echoed in the air behind Kaleb as if the elder Strix were speaking through a metal tube. “We are seeing much that has not happened in the world in an age, with so much more to come. Tomorrow morn, a thing will come to pass that has never been in all the annals of time. But even amongst this host you are spoiled for the pleasure, Kaleb son of Hrothgar, who has seen many dragons fall. Yet beware, for not all is as it seems.”

“Seer’s tricks and riddles carry no weight with me, Ragnar,” Kaleb growled without turning. “I am familiar with this sorcery through my father’s poor attempts at parenting. Do not speak his name to me.”

“I must, if for no other reason than he fathered you. He did not know all of what would become of his first hatched, but who could know that you would come to this path?” Kaleb could hear Ragnar’s grin. “This I see: Many will do great deeds in these days, but when all here are dust on the wind it will be your words by which they are remembered. They will call you Kaleb the Teller of Stories, for more than any griffin now living you are fated to die quietly in a nest, a victim of mere time.”

“What curse is this?!” He spun, but where he expected to see the Strix there was only a gap in the crowd. He looked around, but the seer was nowhere to be found. Herger gave him a confused look. Kaleb shrugged, tried not to think about it for now, and joined Herger in the exultation of their khan.

Chapter 7: Red Dawn

Red Dawn

After the shock of the siege cannon report had worn off, the meeting had settled into a grind of military logistic details. Most of it was well outside her familiarity: Garrisons and forces stationed in southern Equestria, lines of transportation and logistics, and how to conduct reconnaissance on an opposing ground force, among things. Fancypants and Twilight had taken turns asking baffled questions, but Black Jack and Petronel had been very patient in answering them. To Twilight’s surprise, Luna seemed to have a good grasp on the theory Black Jack was using to construct a plan and just needed to clarify some shifts in modern procedure.

The general’s last point had given Twilight pause.

“I’m sorry, general. Would you…” Twilight yawned again, covering her mouth with a hoof. She was working on just a few hours sleep, and the long and eventful night was finally starting to catch up with her. When it passed, she continued. “Excuse me. Would you mind explaining that again?”

Black Jack nodded politely. “One of the major concerns of any strategic force is concentration. If we are going to stop the ground force moving south toward Canterlot, we need to mass almost every asset we have west of Stalliongrad to smash the force escorting the cannon.

“The key to our force mobility in Equestria is our rail lines.” The general pointed a hoof at the map in front of him, indicating sections as he continued. “Look here. Ponyville isn’t a major transit hub, but rail lines from both Manehattan and Fillydelphia both intersect there. It’s also the northernmost stop for the rail lines this side of the Minty Mountains, so any forces moving north from there would have to disembark anyway. We’ll also have a direct line to Canterlot, so it would be simple to move some staff there from the capital to set up a C2 post. Ponyville is ideal in this situation for a mustering outpost and as a final chokepoint on the enemy’s advance. Any army trying to move around it would expose a flank, and there are no roads going around the town that could support the weight of the cannon. If we can’t stop the enemy from moving south, Ponyville will be our last big chance to throw a roadblock in their way.”

“Those sound like a lot of good reasons,” Twilight said mournfully.

Everypony else was ready to move on, but Fancypants caught her tone. “Is something the matter?”

“Not really, I guess.” Fancypants eyed her doubtfully, so she explained. “Ponyville is my home. I don’t have any other suggestions, but I guess I just have a hard time picturing the town turned into a fort.”

“It probably won’t come to that,” Petronel added. “The town is the transit point, but we’ll likely come to some arrangement with the farmers in the area to make use of their land.”

That sounded a little better. The Apple family and others would probably be glad to help. The princesses would make sure they were paid for it, too. Twilight nodded and the general returned his attention to the princess.

“That’s as far ahead as we can plan in regards to the ground force, I’m afraid. I’ll want to remain here with the director for another day or so, until we get a better picture of what is going on in the north. I assume Twilight will be headed back to Ponyville in the next few hours. You might want to send someone with a uniform with her to explain the situation to their mayor.”

“We agree,” Luna said with a nod and a smile. “And since Twilight will also need an advisor in dealing with military matters, we have the perfect pony in mind. But this is not our greatest concern. What thoughts do you have on the Cloudsdale situation?”

Petronel took the question. “The griffins have stopped their advance for now, likely because of exhaustion after a long flight and a full night of combat. It’s only a matter of time before they start another push. General Manifold is using the time to organize the evacuation of civilians and to dig in. He believes he can hold out for a few more days with what he has, but we shouldn’t let it come to that.”

Black Jack cut in. “Princess, when a city is contested like this, big strategies don’t amount to a hill of beans. Manifold has the tactical situation under control for now. That might change, but there’s not much we can do about that from here.”

Twilight’s head swam. Was there a difference between strategy and tactics? She’d have to ask about it later.

“We do not want to hear about what we cannot do, General.” Luna ground her teeth. “We want to know what we can do right now.”

Everypony but Petronel flinched, even Black Jack, but that didn’t keep the general from responding. “I was getting to that. The first and best way we can help them is logistics. They’ll be short on everything but griffins up there pretty much all the time. The order has gone out for all our full-pegasi combat units to converge on Cloudsdale, but even that won’t be enough. The griffin legions support as many combat fliers as all of Equestria, and quite frankly their anatomy gives them advantages in a fight. We can hold the city, but to take it back we’ll need more ponies.”

“I know it’s unorthodox,” Petronel suggested cautiously, “but maybe instituting a national draft is in order. It certainly would close the numerical gap.”

Luna closed her eyes. “No. Equestria has never demanded compulsory military enlistment. We do not compel our citizens, and will not start now.”

“I spoke with Colonel Hoovesvelt a few hours ago,” Fancypants volunteered. “He’s got this notion of traveling city by city to put a volunteer unit together. I asked him to stay in Canterlot until we could speak again. By your leave I could travel with him, specifically calling for pegasi volunteers. If there were a royal decree asking for pegasi to return to Cloudsdale to form a militia, I’m sure you could get more volunteers than you could manage.”

All the ponies were silent while Luna considered. “Very well. We shall discuss this with our sister and soon equip thee and others with such a degree. What else can be done to aid the pegasi?”

“Twilight, what about the elements?” Black Jack asked, looking to Twilight. “I understand two of the bearers are pegasi. Can we count on them going to Cloudsdale? That could bring a huge boost in their morale, and Celestia knows they could use it.”

She hung her head. “I don’t think I can say for sure until I’ve talked with them.”

The general raised an eyebrow. “Why not? I thought the Bearer of Magic was the leader of the group.”

“No. Harmony doesn’t work that way,” Petronel stated flatly. When he didn’t elaborate further, Black Jack returned his questioning gaze to Twilight.

Twilight sighed. “I don’t know how to explain it. Magic might be the keystone, but that doesn’t mean I’m in charge of the other bearers. It was our friendships that allowed us to defeat, um, Discord.” Twilight gave Luna an apologetic glance, and the princess nodded in thanks.

“We’re friends, and we trust each other. Before I can even guess what we’ll be doing, I need to get back and talk with them.” She hung her head, thinking of Rainbow. “But at least one of them will want to rush to Cloudsdale.”

Luna was staring darkly at the map when she spoke. “Well then, this makes our course of action even more apparent.”

The group waited for her to elaborate. When she didn’t, Petronel leaned forward respectfully. “Forgive me, Princess. What do you mean?”

She shook her head to clear it, and then looked around the circle of ponies. “We apologize for being unclear. We meant that we now understand where the Princess of the Night can be of most use during this campaign.”

There was a collective gasp. Fancypants found his voice again first. “I was under the impression you would remain here, leading your nation while Celestia recovers.”

Luna’s brow furrowed angrily, though her emotions didn’t seem to fall on anypony present. “It is true that we shall remain for now, but alicorns mend quickly. As for the need, Generals Big Wig and Tornado Watch have traveled east to take command of our forces at Stalliongrad. General Black Jack will eventually be needed in Ponyville to take strategic command of the ground forces assembling there. Twilight will also be traveling to Ponyville, and will plan her next steps from there. Fancypants will be travelling to promote militia enlistment and financial support for our efforts. Petronel will remain here and continue to collect and distribute information. Apart from the potential plans of the bearers, all of these things largely focus on disrupting the ground force.”

Luna stared firmly at the general center of their conference. “Therefore, we shall go to Cloudsdale.”

Fancypants turned a few shades whiter as everypony expressed similar shock. “Princess, you can’t be serious.”

Petronel stood and faced the princess. “I must agree with the gentlecolt, your highness. The continued fighting in Cloudsdale will be brutal and pervasive. There will be no safe place for you to take command.”

Luna angrily furrowed her brow at the director. “Good, for we have no intention of remaining in safe places while the ponies of this nation are being driven from their homes. You forget that this is not our first war. It is tradition for the Princess of the Night to take the field with Equestria’s armies. We see no benefit to the ponies of Equestria by our participation in the battles on the ground. The pegasi of Cloudsdale greatly need all the confidence they can get, and our participation there may be the greatest way to quickly accomplish this end.”

For a long while, nopony said anything. While the others exchanged unsure glances, Luna and Petronel engaged in a standoff of sorts. Eventually, the director spoke his mind again, choosing his words carefully.

“Princess, I do not believe I was appointed to this position to be a yes pony. Nor do I think any selected to advise you here were selected for that purpose.” He briefly looked to the others present before returning his gaze to Luna. “Yes, we must hold Cloudsdale, but Equestria needs its princesses as well. Both of them. I believe I speak for everypony here when I say this is needlessly dangerous.”

While Black Jack and Fancypants expressed their agreement, Twilight stood nervously. “Equestria just got you back, Princess. If it’s half as bad as Petronel says it is, then maybe you should stay in Canterlot.”

Luna glanced around the circle, for a moment clearly touched by their concern before her resolve returned. Then she turned to the desk, where she wrapped her magic around one large scroll, gently lifting and pulling it toward the group. Twilight was quick to notice Celestia’s personal seal on the rolled up document. “A short while ago, this was brought to us by courier from our sister. We discussed the situation, and agreed that this was a necessary step for our nation.” She unrolled the document in front of them.

It has been written in Celestia’s penmanship. Twilight skimmed the document, but found it devoid of warmth and caring she had grown accustomed to in such beautiful lettering.

ROYAL RESOLUTION Declaring that a state of war exists between the Confederation of Griffin Prides and the Diarchy and ponies of Equestria and making provisions to prosecute the same.

Whereas the Confederation of Griffin Prides has committed unprovoked acts of war against the Government and the ponies of Equestria:

Therefore be it Resolved by the Royal Sisters of Canterlot, That the state of war between the Equestria and the Confederation of Griffin Prides which has thus been thrust upon the Equestria is hereby formally declared; The Diarchy and the ponies of Equestria shall employ the entire military forces of Equestria and the resources of the Diarchy to carry on war against the Confederation of Griffin Prides; and, to bring the conflict to a successful termination, all the resources of the country are hereby pledged to the aid of the military forces of Equestria.

At the end of the document, in brilliant flowing letters, was the signature of Princess Celestia.

Luna didn’t allow the stunned silence to last very long. “We shall add our signature to the document publicly within the quarter hour. It is not a thing that we do lightly. The last of its kind was writ over a hundred years prior to our banishment, against a long-disappeared empire in the far north. When Equestria is in peril, her rulers do not hide behind walls and direct their subjects like cowardly tyrants. It is more than tradition; it is our love for pony kind.”

Her face grew shady, and for a moment her eyes flashed a shade darker. “The griffins have trampled on and lit fire to our pride, and for that we shall visit upon Cyrus and his horde the full wrath of the alicorns.”

Petronel opened his mouth to speak again, but Luna looked at the time and stood. “We would like to thank you all for your insight and patience, but we are afraid we must conclude this meeting. We have an appointment with the press and other pressing concerns we must attend to. We shall make plans to see you all again before noon to follow up on thy progress.”

She walked up to Twilight and smiled. “Except for thee. Arrangements are already being made for thy return to Ponyville, and we may not see thee again for many months.” The unicorn waited for her to say something more, but the princess suddenly leaned forward and embraced her.

“Be safe, Twilight Sparkle,” she said softly. “Much depends on you.”

Luna quickly and regally collected a few things and stepped outside. Then she was gone, the guards at the door tailing her in escort. The general, ambassador, director and bearer had been left to their duties, but all four of them lingered as they reflected on Luna’s intentions.

Black Jack shook his head. “That could have gone better.”

“That is not why she means to go to Cloudsdale,” Fancypants commented sadly.

Petronel shrugged. “Everything she said is technically true.”

“This coming from our intelligence director?” Black Jack said with a scoff.

The director smirked. “I did not disagree with the ambassador. It was merely a comment regarding the princess’s approach.” He headed for the door, stopping to look back over his shoulder at Twilight.

“Come along, Miss Sparkle. It seems it is my turn to teach you some magic.”

Luna reached the roof of the university in a huff. The signing had taken far too long. It needed to be done and the ponies of Equestria had to see her do it as a symbol of their country’s determination, but it had detained her from the true weight on her heart far too long.

A short distance away, three ponies sat by the edge of the roof, and Luna trotted to over to join them. Two pegasi of the Day Order Royal Guard sat at attention, motionless in the cold breeze of winter. Ponies were naturally equipped with coats to protect against the elements, but the guards wore metal armor. In conflicts of the past, Luna had come to know the discomfort of wearing plate during the cold months. They knelt as Luna approached them.

Princess Celestia sat looking east. Her mane danced in the breeze, and Luna could see clearly that it had lost some of its luster. Her eyes were focused on the distant horizon. She did not turn as Luna drew near, but the Princess of the Night knew that her elder sister was aware of her approach. Even escorted by her personal guard, Celestia looked tired and alone.

The physical marks from the battle where wholly gone by now, though Luna could still picture her sister with the bruises and shallow talon cuts visited upon her by the griffin Cyrus. Only her mane still bore signs of the battle. Drained of some of its color and sheen, it wafted lazily in the cold morning breeze.

Luna could tell her sister was hurting. She only hoped that Celestia would break with habit and open up to her sister. As Luna stepped past the guards, Celestia spoke without turning.

“Colonel Daybreak, the guard is dismissed. Leave us.”

The pegasi both jumped, startled by the sudden terse order. It couldn’t have helped that they had probably been up a whole day and night after fighting a terrible battle. It was a testament to their endurance and devotion that they were awake at all.

Daybreak stiffened and looked to the princess, clearly distraught at the idea of leaving his post. “Princess, are you certain?” Even among his fellow Day Order guards, the pegasi colonel’s devotion to duty was something to behold.

Celestia softened her voice but still did not turn. “Twilight will be returning to Ponyville soon. I need you to escort her once again.”

The understanding did nothing to cheer the colonel, but he bowed deeply. “As you wish, Highness.” Both pegasi took the air and departed, leaving the two princesses alone in the cold morning air.

Silence followed. When they were both still fillies, Luna had learned never to approach Celestia about her feelings. Her sister had always been aloof and distant about the matters of the heart. Celestia was the type of pony who had decided early in life to never allow emotion to dictate her actions, which is not the same thing as not having them. She could count on her hooves the number of times Celestia had opened up to her since her return, but in each case she had started by dismissing her guards. So Luna sat and waited.

She didn’t have to wait long.

“I failed, Luna.”

The simple statement struck Luna like a great hammer. Failed? Her sister never failed. When Discord terrorized the races of the world, it was Celestia who toiled to discover a way to save them, finally recovering the lost Elements and leading the sisters to seal the tyrant. When King Sombra had turned on his own subjects in the now-disappeared Crystal Empire, Celestia had convinced Luna that the safety of every pony was their responsibility, even those of other nations.

When Luna had fallen to her own envious pride, taken the name Nightmare Moon and tried to shroud the world in eternal night, Celestia had stopped her. What’s more, the elder alicorn had risked everything on a perilous scheme that would allow her sister to be redeemed in the end. It had worked, but the consequences had included a thousand years of separation, enough magical energy fallout to make savage the Everfree Forest, and Celestia being forever rejected by the elements she cherished so dearly.

No one had ever done as much for others or sacrificed as much of herself as Princess Celestia, and to hear her sound defeatist made Luna so, so…

Angry.

“How can you say that, sister?” Luna demanded furiously, stepping forward with a stamp of a forehoof. “Look at what you have done tonight. When the attack came, you flew into battle to protect your subjects, fighting alongside them. How many ponies of Canterlot will see the sun rise today because of your quick intervention? Captain Shining Armor was able to raise his shield because of your quick action! The city is safe, and now…we…”

Luna paused, horrified to see a change taking place in her sibling. “Sister, what’s wrong?”

Celestia was crying. It was a small thing; she sat unmoving, her eyes still focused on the horizon. A single tear ran down her cheek, falling over the edge of the building all the way to the ground below. “No, Luna, I can’t…”

“Can’t what?”

“I can’t raise the sun.”

Cold horror took hold of Luna's stomach. “What?”

Celestia took a breath of the winter air, and spoke slowly. “The griffins have armor made with star metal. It conducts magic energies. Before I understood how the weapon worked, he had broken my shield. He,” she shut her eyes, “grabbed my horn with his talons. It drained me, somehow.”

“But the sun must rise!” Luna exclaimed.

“Yes.” Celestia replied with an air of finality. “You have to do it.”

Petronel had lead Twilight back to the map room after the meeting, where he then instructed her in the casting of the telepathy spell. The tracking components were a bit difficult to understand at first, but most of the others were formula components Twilight had used before. Petronel was more than able to answer all of her questions, and soon she was ready to attempt her first casting. There was only one catch.

Everypony knows a unicorn’s horn glows its own unique color when using magic. What most ponies did not know is that the color is caused by each unicorn’s personal resonance. Even identical unicorn twins would be born with a slight resonance difference, even if it’s not visible to the naked eye. Petronel’s telepathy spell used this understanding to single out a unicorn anywhere in the realm, and send a message directly to them.

“The spell requires the sender to know the natural wavelength of the receiver’s magic,” Petronel explained for the third time. He was getting irritated. “I’ve only discovered one way to do that so far. The first time we cast the spell, we have to cross horns. It’s the only way.”

And that was the catch.

“But why?” Twilight challenged, her cheeks still flushed. “That can’t be the only way. Here, let me go to the Canterlot Library. I remember something I came across in Starswirl the Bearded’s wing that might—”

“No.” Petronel sternly waved a hoof in a cutting motion. “There isn’t time. You have responsibilities in Ponyville, and every minute we delay, the cannon comes closer to Canterlot. This method works. Every single one of my contacts across the country has had to come here to do this. I’m sorry if this makes you feel awkward or uneasy, but improving the spell will have to wait for another day.”

He was done arguing. He charged the horn with the spell and lowered his head, and waited for her to do the same. When she didn’t budge, he eyed her impatiently.

Twilight pawed the floor with a hoof bashfully. “Could you at least, I don’t know, close your eyes or something?”

Petronel heaved a heavy sigh, but complied.

Now, with nopony watching, Twilight found some resolve. She stepped forward slowly, charging her horn a little more spell with each step. She stopped mere inches from Petronel and couldn’t help but bite her lip to fight the anxiety. Doing her best to keep their faces as far apart as possible, she leaned forward. At the last second before they touched, she shut her eyes tight.

She felt a mild spark jump between their horns. It didn’t hurt; if anything it tickled, but that wasn’t quite right either. For Twilight it was if she could smell his magic, but somehow the information had skipped her olfactory senses altogether and went right to her visual cortex. It was if she could see an odor.

As Twilight processed the new sensation, Petronel leaned back and opened his eyes. “There. I trust that wasn’t painful?” he asked dispassionately. Twilight turned away to hide the red returning to her cheeks. She was trying to get past her embarrassment when she thought she heard Petronel whisper something.

She turned back to him. “What was that, Director?”

'Testing, testing.'

It was the strangest sensation. She could see the stallion standing a few feet away, his horn glowing as he looked at her. It sounded like his voice was in her head, even though his lips weren’t moving. Twilight hadn’t expected it to sound like him, though. “Yeah, I hear you. Wow.” She grinned ear to ear. “This is sooo cool!”

Petronel smirked. 'I’m glad you think so. Now you try.'

Twilight nodded. She took a deep breath, preparing the sending as the director had explained. She put magic into the words in her head, and gently nudged them out into the world.

'How’s this?'

The director blinked a few times. 'Satisfactory, though you may want to lower the volume. You are coming off a bit loud.'

“Oh, sorry about that.” Twilight made the adjustment, and tried again. 'How about now?'

'Much better.' He turned to the chalkboard behind him and began erasing the equations for the spell they were using. He had stated earlier that the spell should never be written on anything permanent, seeing as how it was a state secret. 'When you get into the field, you’ll find that we’ll both be adjusting power outputs based on range and intervening terrain. Make a habit of starting low and scaling up until I respond.'

Amazingly, Twilight understood everything the director had sent her with perfect clarity, even though it had taken less than a second to receive it all. It seemed the spell worked at the speed of thought. This was her chance to practice, so she tried it. 'That makes sense. I can also imagine changes in the weather could have an impact on power requirements. What is your furthest recorded transmission?'

Petronel answered her questions as they sat together and conversed like that for a short while, never once opening their mouths. Even after everything that had happened, Twilight couldn’t help but feel uplifted by the whole experience. Learning new spells had always been one of her passions, but this one was truly a work of art. Petronel seemed to enjoy teaching as much as she did learning. They hadn’t known each other long, but soon his guarded behavior relaxed and they chatted casually about the variables of the spell.

'This is incredible!' Twilight smiled, doing a little twirl. The other telepathy spells she had learned were clumsy and difficult at best. Even after only a few minutes of practice, this method of conversing felt almost as natural as normal speech. 'No one in Ponyville knows enough about magic for me to have conversations about spellcraft with like this. It’s nice to finally have a friend that shares that interest. And with this spell, we can just call each other up when we get stuck on something.'

Petronel froze for a moment. He sighed and hung his head. “We aren’t friends.”

Twilight wasn’t sure she had heard that right. “What?”

“I said we aren’t friends, and we aren’t going to be.” His face grew cold and stern, his eyes hard. “I understand you’re the bearer of the most important element and that you’ve done amazing feats with the power you wield, but not every problem can be solved with friendship. The griffins aren’t just going to pack up and go home because you ask nicely, bake them muffins, or spray them with Harmony.”

Twilight was flabbergasted. If her jaw could have reached the floor, it would have. “What does that have to do with two ponies being friends?”

He sighed impatiently. “This is war, Twilight. There’s a reason battle histories are glossed over in primary education and deep studies limited to the military academy curriculum. War is a dark, horrid, brutal affair, and before it is over, ponies you know will be dead. That’s the truth of the matter. When it happens, grief can cause ponies to lose focus. They make bad decisions, and then more ponies die.”

Petronel stepped forward, the seriousness of his tone relaxing a little. “You and I, Twilight, we are in the business of making decisions. We have a responsibility, and we can’t afford the distractions of thinking about who is important to us. If one of us loses focus, Equestria could fail. We’ll both have to put our emotions aside and do what is best for the country.”

He stepped back. “That is why we are not friends, Twilight. Get used to it.”

“Ahem.”

Twilight and Petronel both spun to look at the newcomer. Major Vedette stood in the doorway. He smiled at Twilight before shifting his gaze to Petronel. “I trust I’m not interrupting anything unpleasant,” he stated flatly.

For the few hours Twilight had known Petronel she had seen him go about his business with a calm, deliberate nature, but just for a moment she saw a spark of anger flare in his eyes. It was gone again even before he spoke. “I was preparing Twilight for the road ahead. She needs to understand what is coming.”

“Perhaps,” Vedette conceded. Then his face grew dark and serious as he didn’t quite glare at Petronel. “But I think that is quite enough of that for now.”

“It has to be done. Since no one else seems willing to dirty their reputation with the responsibility, I am taking care of it.” Petronel’s eyes narrowed, and he pushed out his chest as if to indicate his suit. “And I’m a civilian now, Major. I don’t take orders from you anymore.”

The sudden tension hung in the air for a short moment as silence reigned between the stallions. Vedette, the shorter of the two, somehow seemed to loom over the director even from a distance. Petronel stood his ground, though against what Twilight couldn’t fathom.

Then the tension evaporated as quickly as it had started.

“You are absolutely right,” Vedette said with a genuinely happy smile. “I know it hasn’t been easy for you, Petronel, but you’ve grown into a fine stallion. Without your talents and leadership, this war may have already become unwinnable. Even magic aside, it’s something I could never have accomplished. Equestria is in your debt.”

Vedette offered the younger stallion a quick but obviously heartfelt salute. “Thank you, Director Petronel.”

Petronel blinked, seeming dazed, before he tilted his head in a baffled expression. He opened his mouth once as if about to speak, but then closed it again. Vedette waited a few moments for a response from the younger stallion, but the director said nothing. Finally Vedette turned to Twilight.

“Miss Sparkle, I understand you are here waiting for your aide to arrive?” When she nodded, he smiled again. “Well, then let’s get a move on. We have a chariot to catch.”

Between the exhaustion from the night’s events and trying to understand the exchange between the two stallions, it took Twilight a moment to comprehend. “Celestia sent you as my aide?”

“It was Luna, but yes. I’ll be traveling with you as your military liaison. Come now, mustn’t keep Colonel Daybreak waiting.” Vedette turned and trotted down the corridor. Twilight hurried to follow him, but stole a quick look back at Petronel before they headed outside.

He stood alone in the room, still facing the spot were the major had saluted him. He could have seen her trying to meet his eyes, looking for some kind of simple goodbye, but he didn’t seem to notice. He just kept staring at the spot where Vedette had been, silent and motionless but for a few blinks. He didn’t look angry anymore, or even sad or hurt.

He just looked confused.

Luna gulped. “Me? Sister, I’m not ready.”

Celestia smiled lovingly at her younger sister and came closer, her cheek still glittering from her single tear. She favored a foreleg, taking care to put too much weight on it. “Since your return, you have recovered ever so quickly, both in your duties as princess and in your understanding of Harmony. I have not been easy on you, but you have risen to each new challenge and surpassed my expectations.”

She reached around Luna’s shoulders and held her tight. “You are and will always be my little sister, Luna. I had faith this day would come.”

“Even,” Luna sniffed, remembering her betrayal. “Even when…”

“Especially then. A pony might not always know the details, but when you trust in the ponies you love the most, that is faith. That is the faith I am placing in you now, little sister, and after this,” Celestia turned her gaze to the stars, fighting back happy tears, “you will finally take your place as my equal in every way. I am so very, very proud.”

Another drop streaked down Celestia’s cheek, this one landing in Luna’s mane. Luna choked in sympathy, now with her own tears streaking her face. “Oh, sister…”

They sat together sharing quiet tears, until Celestia finally pushed her little sister away with a heavy smile, backing away with a limp. “It is time, Luna. Show your light to the world.”

Luna took a deep breath, shored up her feelings of doubt as best she could and looked to the east. Closing her eyes, she reached deep within herself, the midnight blue of her magic taking form around her horn. She searched her soul, calling up memories of places and ponies from her past. Some of them were old memories, from before her banishment. Others were new, like the time spent with her sister, the citizens of Canterlot, and the lessons she had learned from the new elements of Harmony.

They were ponies that cared about her, ponies that Luna held dearer than anything in the world. They were the real Equestria, and she loved them all. She grabbed that love from deep inside, with all the warmth and sorrows that came with it, and poured it into the spell. The glow of her horn changed from night blue to brilliant white. As the energies continued to build, she felt herself floating in the thrall of pure magic she was collecting. It was every close moment she had ever shared with a pony she loved all at once. The burning heat of all that love threatened to break free and drive her to broken sobs of joy.

When the power of the collected experiences was almost too much to bear, one of her dearest memories surfaced.

Luna lay defeated on the cold stone floor of what used to be her home, The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. Against all odds, six ponies had become the first to wield the Elements of Harmony in over a millennia, even coaxing them out of their inert state to do so. In that moment, the awakened elements had judged Luna to be disharmonious, and stripped her of her armor and all her power. Without Luna’s magic to sustain the banishment spell, her elder sister had escaped her imprisonment and brought an end to the short lived eternal night. Celestia returned and towered over the defeated alicorn, rested and strong. With Harmony restored by Celestia’s side, Luna knew in that moment her elder had complete power over her.

She had only to await her punishment.

“It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this,” said the sun princess with a dark frown. Yet even in her moment of complete victory over her rebellious sibling, Celestia knelt lovingly by her younger sister. “Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister. Will you accept my friendship?”

Shocked by the elder’s forgiveness, Luna bolted to her sister, burying her tears in her coat. “I’m so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister.”

Celestia had smiled down at her, and shared in her tears of joy. “I’ve missed you too.”

Now, Luna wrapped the forgiveness she received that day around all the love she could muster and poured it into the spell. It lanced toward the eastern sky, growing brighter as it went, and disappeared behind the horizon. The midnight mare landed on the platform with an exhausted gasp, and crumpled to the ground.

Celestia raced to her sister. She took a few hobbled steps in pain before taking flight the rest of the way, calling out as she flew. “Luna! Luna are you alright?”

A red sun rose in the east. It was the dawn of Luna’s day.

Luna was hardly able to lift her chin from the platform, but she smiled up at Celestia all the same. “I have never been better, sister. It was just like you always told me.” Her eyes sparkled with joy at what she had done, reflecting the light of the new dawn.

“Friendship is magic.”

Author's Note

Just a couple of thank yous this chapter.

First is FrontSevens. He's recently stepped in as an editor for ViM, and been a big boon to both the quality of the chapters and my understanding of format and editing. With his help ViM will be getting a major overhaul in the near future and I'll finally be rid of the parasprites that found their way in between the lines. I've believed for months that it's been holding ViM back from a larger audience, and hopefully with his extra efforts I can prove that hypothesis correct.

The big one here goes out to Wool. Without her, this story quite literally would have never been. To start with, she was the one that badgered me into finally watching the show after I read the first Dresden Fillies story; I wouldn't even have been in this fandom if not for her persistence. More importantly, Wool has been my sounding board and narrative flow checker on every chapter thus far. Her observations and patience with my author's ego have been astounding. Celestia's bit in chapter 3 would have been a disaster if not for her intervention, and from where I stand most of the credit for that interaction should go to her. That's just the most obvious example; every chapter, she's had comments that directly contributed to making ViM 20% cooler. I quite literally could not have done even this much without you.

I'd hug you both if I could. :fluttercry:

Chapter 8: Familiar Faces

Familiar Faces

Twilight’s hooves felt like lead as she followed Vedette across the university’s lawn. Going without sleep was certainly starting to get to her, but the stress of the night had taken an even greater toll. As the two ponies had exited the university together, Twilight had found herself struggling to simply put one hoof in front of the other without tripping. Still her mind wandered, trying to make sense of the evening’s events. So much of what she didn’t understand seemed vitally important. For all her efforts, though, Twilight just couldn’t think clearly. It would have to wait until she was sitting on the chariot to sort it all out with Vedette.

A mixed group of royal guard pegasi had congregated on the western edge of the university lawn, near a chariot in Celestia’s royal colors. They were mingling in two groups, the night and day order guards talking quietly amongst those of their own order. Dawn’s rays glinted off their armor, still looking polished after the night’s events. Twilight looked back over her shoulder toward the rising sun with a faint smile, thinking of her mentor. Good, at least Celestia is okay.

As Twilight and Vedette approached the chariot, the night guards took flight and dispersed, while the day guards turned and stood at attention. One of the day guards stepped out in front of the others. Vedette came to a stop in front of him, kicking his hooves and offering him a crisp salute. Twilight stood next to him, and tried not tremble from exhaustion and the slight chill in the winter breeze.

“At ease,” the guard responded simply. “Major, are you and Miss Sparkle ready for travel?”

Vedette smiled and indicated his bulging saddle bags with a nod. “As we’ll ever be, Colonel Daybreak.”

The colonel glanced to the row of guards, who took it as a sign to prepare for flight and broke the line. Two worked their way into the chariot harnesses while the others spread out in a loose formation. Daybreak walked the passengers to the chariot while they worked. “I’ve been told the griffins have ceased intercepting flights around the city, but a royal chariot will be a tempting target for glory-hungry scouts. I’m sorry Miss Sparkle, but we’ll be taking you back the long way, just like the trip here.”

“Wait,” Twilight said, almost interrupting him as a wave of clarity overtook her exhaustion. “You’re the one, the one who knocked on my door back in Ponyville.”

He blinked. “Yes.”

Twilight couldn’t help but be amazed. Not only were these pegasi still awake after all this fighting, they were about to fly yet another round trip to Ponyville. She glanced from pegasus to pegasus, looking for the one who had reassured her on the flight in, but his face was missing from the group. “Is Percheron okay? Did the team…” she couldn’t remember the name of the group. “Did they find him?”

Daybreak tilted his head to the side a moment, seemingly surprised before a slight happy twinkle came to his eye. He glanced at Vedette. “Just like the princess, this one. Always more worried about every other pony. I’ll have to trust you to make sure she doesn’t let that get her into trouble.”

Vedette winked. “They’re so alike I’m already under similar orders. But you have my word, old friend.”

It was only for a moment, but Twilight was almost certain she saw the ghost of a smile appear on the colonel’s face, but it was there and gone so fast she couldn’t be certain. He nodded politely to the major before turning back to Twilight. “Yes, Percheron was found by Force Delta and returned to the city. He only suffered what amounts to scrapes and bruises during the engagement on the way in. He’s resting in the field hospital now, and the doctors say he’ll be fit for duty in a few days.”

“That’s,” Twilight said, yawning as she and Vedette stepped into the chariot, “that’s good to hear.” She sat down with a tired smile. “Really good.”

With the passengers loaded, the colonel waved a hoof to the other guards. They lifted off in unison, and Twilight shifted uneasily in the chariot as it moved under her. Vedette put a hoof on her shoulder to steady her. Daybreak moved to the front of the now airborne formation, and all the pegasi turned in unison as he led them westward. “Soldiers of the guard,” he stated in a loud baritone, “we make for Ponyville.”

As they flew higher, the light from the rising sun poured into the back of the chariot, warming Twilight where it touched. It gave her strength against both the cold from the outside and her exhaustion within. Vedette seemed to get the same appreciation from the morning sunshine, and both she and the elder stallion sat together enjoying the new dawn in silence.

Twilight yawned as the chariot passed over the garrison and left the city. “Oh, excuse me,” she said, covering her mouth with a hoof and turning to her fellow passenger. “Major, now that we don’t have any distractions, I have,” she yawned again, “a few questions, if you don’t mind.”

The major smiled. “I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have, Miss Sparkle, but first we do have one pressing concern.” The unicorn raised an eyebrow as he undid the buckle on one of his saddlebags. Gingerly, Vedette bit down on a bit of fabric and pulled it free of the bag. Vedette put the bundle in front of her and unrolled it, revealing a wonderfully crafted quilt.

“My wife brought this by the university once it was safe to travel the streets. I might not be as spry as these young gentlecolts,” he said while politely indicating the pegasi flying around them, “but I’ve had training to help manage the strain of being up this long. You haven’t, and it’s about time that you to get a few winks of rest. You have to be awake to explain things to your friends when we get to Ponyville, after all.”

Twilight shook her head and waived a hoof to politely decline. “Thank you, but I really couldn’t, and there’s so much on my mind anyway I don’t think I,” a third yawn interrupted her train of thought, and she furrowed her brow in frustration. She needed to be awake now.

Vedette fluffed the quilt in front of her with a smile. “I understand. Maybe just lie down and rest a bit while you ask your questions. No point in sitting up the entire flight back.”

“I guess that’s true.” She stretched and found a comfortable spot on the quilt, blinking sleepily. “Hmmm, that is soft. Is this hoof stitched?” He nodded. Warm and comfortable, Twilight went right back to the business at hoof.

“So I took notes on military stuff and I have a lot of questions about vocabulary and theory, but I’d rather know more about Petronel to start with.” Her eyelids started to droop shut, and her speech began to slur as she continued. “He’s a nice enough pony most of the time, but he’s got a shadow over his head in everything he does. And....what was that about in the map room? Did something, happen, between you…”

She heard the start of Vedette’s answer, but only understood it as a mumble. Her world faded to a soft, quiet blackness, and the exhausted unicorn rested dreamlessly the whole way back to Ponyville. Her last memory of that long night and morning was the major’s saddened voice as she drifted off to sleep.

“So Kaleb, how does it feel to be part of a retinue? Is this exciting or what?”

It was nothing of the kind. Kaleb pawed the clouds beneath him, bits of moisture popping up from the well-tended cloud top of the city park. All this waiting had eaten away at his nerves. For the first time he looked down at his gauntlets and wondered if he had done the right thing in accepting them.

Khan Cyrus had seen fit to add Kaleb to his personal retinue along with Herger and Orm, as opposed to being another warrior in the legion. Now the trio sat together while the Pride Aquila khans conversed quietly a few dozen yards away. The other khans had also brought their retinues, and they all waited for their leaders to give orders to move or deliver messages.

In the meantime, Kaleb had become something of a curiosity. His hunter’s instincts would tell him that one was watching him closely, but then the griffin would turn away when Kaleb attempted to meet their eyes. Others made quiet jibes about his ears, either believing him unable to hear or not caring if he did. It made Kaleb uneasy to be under such observation.

Herger’s jokes were not helping matters.

“Too much waiting and talking,” replied Kaleb casually. “This time could be better spent sleeping.”

A griffin from another retinue scoffed. “Heh. The tshaka needs his beauty sleep.”

Herger gave the speaker a menacing glare, but Kaleb explained. “The ponies will counter eventually. They will need time to recover and organize. I do not see how this prepares us for that or for driving them from the city for good. Rest, among other things, would prepare us for the next battle.”

Kaleb looked to the sky, griffins circling overhead in the morning sunlight. “Especially if we must fly for Stalliongrad.” He knew in his heart that he could never match these hardened Aquila immortals in distance flight, and was bothered with thoughts of slowing the legion down.

“Unacceptable!” Cyrus’s booming voice drew every griffin’s attention. “We can study the city’s utilities after Equestria’s armies are scattered, but before the sun sets the weather factory must be producing. I want results, not excuses.”

“We’ll stay in Cloudsdale,” Herger reassured his friend once they were certain the khans were still just talking amongst themselves. “Every other spearhead went according to plan: This is the only place that Cyrus’s plan got plucked. And you know, ‘cause they’ll need our gauntlets to counter the unicorns.”

Orm nodded. “I agree that we will stay. At least until our Khan discovers who failed him.”

Other griffins heard the talk and chimed in. “Khan Pyrrhus is strong, but his Vandals weren’t prepared to face unicorns. When they started getting grenades thrown back at them, Pyrrhus halted his advance. If he had kept on, there would have only been a clutch full of unicorns to face. Now I hear there’s hundreds.”

“Yeah, but Tomalak’s legions were playing it safe all night,” another volunteered. “They treated every weak pony formation like it was a trap. If he had been willing to take advantage of their surprise, we could have taken the city before the unicorns showed up at all!”

While the talk of the group spiraled into who to blame, Herger flexed his talons, the metal gauntlet clinking slightly with the movement. For the first time in years Kaleb saw the ghost of a frown on his friend’s face. “It’s a shame we’ll be staying here, too. I owe a pony in Canterlot. Probably won’t get the chance to pay him back for what he did to Aun.”

Kaleb nodded, looking at his own gauntlets, worn by Herger’s late brother. “I understand.”

Herger closed his eyes, turning his beak to the cold winter sky. He took a deep breath and let it out again. “Maybe so. By Tengri, I hope not.” He stretched his limbs, after which he seemed to return to his usual, relaxed self. “What is done is done. No use ruffling feathers about it. Right, little brother?”

“We are not even the same pride, let alone related.” Kaleb stiffened. “Calling me that is inappropriate.”

“Brother-of-my-brother!” He happily gestured toward Cyrus sitting in the council. “You’re practically part of the family now.”

Annoyed, Kaleb flicked his ears. “I am a year older than you,” he stated flatly.

Herger grinned and circled the tshaka griffin, looking him over as he went. "Yeah, but look at you, bird.” He came alongside Kaleb and crouched low enough that their shoulders were the same height. “You're like, what, half my size?"

Several of the griffins chuckled at the comment. Their laughter ruffled Kaleb’s feathers even more than Herger’s jokes, to say nothing of what might happen should the aquila around him decide he was weak. He narrowed his eyes, any enjoyment in his voice being overcome by seriousness of purpose. “Do not call me ‘bird.’”

Herger’s smile didn’t diminish in the least. “Sure thing, little brother.”

Orm yawned loudly before Kaleb could speak. “Count your blessings, hunter. At least he likes you enough to respect some of your wishes.”

“Yeah, little brother,” Herger said with a wink. “You should listen to the bird.”

There was more laughter. Kaleb blinked, then sighed in understanding. He raised a talon in mock surrender. “So long as your madness has some limits.”

Herger hardly noticed. He, Orm and others were looking past Kaleb, to something happening far behind him. Herger stepped closer and put a friendly claw on Keleb’s shoulder. He dropped his voice down to a whisper, and his jovial grin turned conspiratorial.

“Dude, check who’s coming.”

Kaleb’s turned in time to see a new group of aquila arrivals come to a gentle landing in the cloud park, lead by Ingrid of the Valkyries. While the prides only actively encouraged their males to join legions, griffin females also had a strong warrior tradition in their culture. Larger prides like Aquila and Heriex often supported a few segregated legions where they could earn renown by defending their kind.

Ingrid herself was a bold and calculating leader. Though she moved gracefully with her lean build, she was still taller than several of the largest male griffins in attendance. Ingrid had only taken command of the Valkyries a few months prior to the invasion, but her legion had already proven to be one of the most disciplined in the campaign. As she landed, the khans turned to welcome her as the warriors of the retinues took up a cheer in the Valkyrie’s honor.

Herger flicked a talon discreetly, drawing his eyes away from the khans and toward Ingrid’s retinue. His whisper grew excited. “No, over there. Look.”

Among Ingrid’s retinue was a griffin Kaleb recognized. Unlike the lean Valkyries around her, she was built strong, with broad wings and strong limbs. She had not yet put aside the practice of applying purple coloring around her eyes and to the tips of her feathers. It was a custom not native to griffin lands. Somehow it still suited her features.

She landed well, using her wingtips to bring her flight into a motionless stall just before touching down in near perfect form. In her focus, she failed to notice the cheers until after her landing. Suddenly aware of the attention, a short flash of red flashed to her cheeks and she quickly mused over her head feathers, tending them to perfection. Only then did she join her sister aquila in approaching the cheering male griffins, walking with a strut clearly full of forced confidence.

Gilda, cousin of Cyrus and Herger, the griffin who had lived here amongst ponies, had arrived.

Kaleb shook his head and sighed. “Why do you keep suggesting this, Herger? You know it is against custom, and more besides.”

“You and I, we know who and what we are. She still hasn’t found herself since returning home. Something happened while she was living with the ponies that haunts her, and I would see her be rid of it. You would make her happy.” He smiled again, fanning his feathers. “She might even make you happy, given half the chance.”

Kaleb grunted. “Happiness is not everything. It is not even most things.”

“Spoken like a true warrior!” He elbowed Orm, who was clearly trying to stay out of this particular conversation. “Help me out, guy.”

“Help you?” He didn’t turn. “I agree with the tshaka. Even with your matchmaking you reject the will of pridemothers.”

“You birds are no fun,” Herger complained.

As they watched, the new arrivals mingled with those who moved out to meet them. Retinues of the same pride were familiar with each other, as these were the griffins most often sent to carry messages between khans; it is wise to know who has authority to deliver a message in the heat of battle. So they greeted one another, as friends and compatriots in this great war against eternal night. Yet it was not all happiness and welcoming for every new arrival.

Kaleb had always been a loner. He had always preferred the great grassy plains, hunting only for himself and living off the land as many tshaka so loved to do. If not for a chance encounter with Cyrus in the badlands when they were both still young, he might be there even now.

What followed was hard to watch, even for one who would have chosen solitude. As the griffins mingled many greetings were exchanged, but soon they broke off into pairs or groups for more familiar conversation. All of the new arrivals were included in such groups, except for one.

Gilda was left standing alone. While many praised her openly for providing information valuable to the khans in this campaign, she was still an outsider raised among ponies. Few were willing to make the effort to understand her different manner. Others were suspicious of a griffin that would betray her home city to an enemy, even if that meant a boon to the prides. After attempting to be a part of a few conversations only to be politely excluded, Gilda finally circled and curled up on a bit of rise in the cloud, closing her eyes with a sigh.

“I..” Kaleb fumbled, in hushed toned to Herger. He stiffened.

“This is foolishness. This is no time for merriment.” He nodded up at a small, nearby cloud. “I am going to rest. Notify me if Cyrus has orders.”

Even the unflappable Herger seemed surprised for a moment. “Sure thing, little brother. You okay?”

Kaleb didn’t bother with a reply. With a flap of his wings, he was airborne and gone.

“Twilight, it’s time to rise.”

She felt a hoof prodding at her shoulder and rolled away from it, groaning while she did so. “Five more minutes, Spike.”

“We’re almost to Ponyville, Twilight.”

The tidbit of information shot through Twilight’s sleepy haze and she bolted up, remembering the previous night’s events. She caught a face full of cold morning air before turning away from the front of the still airborne chariot. The last time her head hurt like this a piano had fallen on it. Well, maybe it wasn’t quite that bad. She rubbed her head and looked to the Vedette. “How long was I asleep?”

“Long enough, I hope. I wanted to give you a chance to wake up before we arrived.” The major winked, his eyes darting to something behind the chariot. “And someone wishes an audience with you.”

She turned to see two guards flying in the chariot’s trail, one from each of the orders. Colonel Daybreak she had met. He stood with his hoof out, blocking the night guard mare from coming any closer. He didn’t seem too pleased with her. “I cannot reason with her, Miss Sparkle, but that’s nothing new. She’s neglecting her screening duties just by being here.”

“Permit me this, Colonel.” The night guard openly sneered at her day guard counterpart. “The night guard will see open battle again soon. I would have these few moments so that I might have a story for them. They have certainly earned that much.”

The night guard met the unicorn’s gaze, a faint plea in her eyes. “Yet if the bearer of Magic wishes that I depart, it shall be so.”

Twilight recognized her voice. This was the night guard who had spoken to her after the griffin attack on the flight to Canterlot “It’s fine, really. You’ve all done so much for me already.”

Daybreak’s eyes narrowed, but he nodded his silent assent and let the mare pegasus past him. He didn’t return to his place in formation; instead he hung back close enough to hear

The night guard mare looked away and muttered something under her breath, Twilight only catching the word ‘pompous’ before she returned her attention to the unicorn. The tall pegasus bowed deeply, even while in flight. “Tales of thy newest deeds precede thee, Twilight Sparkle. It seems that thy previous accomplishments shall only be the beginning of thy legend. Thy cloudwalking spell is reported to have turned the tides in Cloudsdale. I thank thee for giving hope to the citizens of my home through this dark night.”

Twilight quivered with unease. This was just too much. She could understand and tolerate a bit of thanks here and there, but she couldn’t hide her discomfort at so much praise. “Really, it’s okay. Please don’t give me the royal treatment. It’s not like I’m a princess or anything.”

The night guard stood and laughed deeply. “And most humble as well! I told thee that we shall honor our princess’s debt as our own; thy request is our command. If thou does not wish to be honored as the hero thou art, how shouldest the night guard address thee?”

The unicorn smiled happily, even if she still felt a little bit groggy from her nap during the flight. “As a friend, and please just call me Twilight.”

Grinning ear to ear, the night guard shook her head with amazement. “It shall be so, Twilight. My subordinates call me Nova Drive, but my friends call me Nova.”

Twilight smiled and offered a hoof. “It’s a pleasure, Nova.”

Taking it in a simple shake, Nova returned the smile. “’Tis indeed.”

Daybreak cleared his throat and flew close enough to take part in the conversation. “Colonel Drive, please return to your screening duties. The presence of both day and night guards over the town is attracting unwanted attention.”

Twilight looked down over the railing and saw the senior guard pony was correct. Dozens of mares and stallions in the street were gaping up at the sky chariot, a mix of awe and dread in their faces. The awe wasn’t unexpected, but she had never seen fear in their eyes on her return trips from Canterlot. One mare rushed her fillies back to their home, after a quick glance up at the chariot and another toward the east, the mother and her fillies disappeared inside. Out of reflex Twilight looked east to see what had gotten the mare’s attention.

A pillar of smoke rose from the heart of the Canterlot. It arced slightly with the wind current, rising up until it passed through the snow clouds moving south from Cloudsdale. For miles around the city the clouds had been turned soot black, not unlike the smog the sleeping dragon had made. Even at this distance the city’s towers could be seen stained with ash and soot, muting the natural beauty of Canterlot’s white and purple architecture.

Twilight felt her jaw drop a little and Nova Drive sighed, also having seen the ponies in the streets and Canterlot from afar. “Agreed. Twilight, it has been a singular honor to converse with thee who helped restore my princess.”

Vedette smiled at Nova. “Don’t be so glum, colonel. When this is all over, I’m sure Twilight would be happy to introduce herself to all Luna’s guards.” The unicorn smiled and nodded in agreement.

Nova tilted her head. “Hast thou not heard the news?”

He frowned. “What news?”

A dark smile spread over the pegasus mare’s face, and Twilight thought she saw a faint bloodlust flash in her features. “The night guard is being transferred, major. Our princess wishes to take the field at Cloudsdale, and we go with her.”

Twilight looked to the pegasus, not understanding her reaction. “I know things look bad, but there’s no reason to lose hope. We could still see each other again.”

Nova lifted her chin in a chilling laugh. “No, you misunderstand. I am excited. Finally, we will show our princess that we are worthy! If I do not see thee again, know that my life was spent repaying my debt to her. Be well, Twilight Sparkle! May the night grant us both good hunting.” Still grinning, she lifted a hoof to touch a gem on her armor. Her outline blurred slightly from the activation of a stored spell, and she darted away as quick as a Wonderbolt. A few seconds later and she was gone from sight, the spell hiding her at distance even in the sunlit sky.

Twilight blinked. Twice. “Well. Um. That was different.”

Vedette wore a sad frown, but Daybreak rolled his eyes with distain. “Crazed zealots, the whole lot of them. No sense of duty. I would avoid them if I were you.” He returned to the head of the formation while Twilight pondered the words of both colonels in silent confusion.

She didn’t get long. The chariot slowed, and she heard a familiar voice calling up from the ground. “Twilight? Twilight!” The unicorn looked over the rail to see Spike standing outside the Golden Oaks library. Staring back up at her, the baby dragon mouthed a silent ‘wow’ at the large escort. The front door of the library opened, and out came the five ponies who were Twilight’s closest friends.

Not surprisingly, Rainbow Dash was first out the door and too impatient to wait for the chariot to land. In a multicolored streak she flew up beside the chariot and hit Twilight with a barrage of questions. “Twilight, what’s going on? What took you so long? Canterlot is smoking like a volcano, and nopony knows what happened!” It took her that long to notice Vedette in the chariot with her. She glared at him with suspicion. “And who’s this pony? Did you capture a spy?”

“Rainbow! That is no way to speak about a gentlecolt in uniform.” Rarity turned her chin up in disgust at Dash’s barrage of questions. As the chariot landed her eyes fluttered over the insignia of Vedette’s uniform. “Give Twilight a chance to introduce us to the major.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, surprised that Rarity could interpret the symbols worn by the Equestrian military. Still, fashion was her obsession, so it made sense she had studied something of military garb. “Everypony, this is Major Vedette. He’s a new friend of mine from Canterlot, and he’s come to help all of us with this situation.” She started to introduce them, but he raised a hoof.

“Please, allow me.” With a formal smile, he addressed each of them one at a time, happily identifying them by name and sharing a tidbit he knew about them. Rainbow, who had saved the Wonderbolts a few years back. Rarity, the rising fashion star whose name was just starting to be mentioned in Canterlot circles. Pinkie Pie, who worked at Sugar Cube Corner, where some of Celestia’s favorite cake was made. Fluttershy, the pony who had stared down a dragon outside of it's own cave, and convinced him to move on.

“Oooooh, he’s good,” Pinkie said with one squinting eye. “I can never guess anypony’s names on the first try.”

“And of course, Applejack.” He offered a hoof to the mare. She took it, but Twilight was surprised to see it was empty of the warmth the country mare usually showed toward new faces. “It’s an honor to meet a member of the Apple family.”

Vedette’s smile grew less formal as he looked down at the baby dragon. “And you, little one. You must be Spike.”

“Well, well, I guess somepony has heard of me.” He crossed his arms, soaking up even the little bit of attention. “Yeah, the name’s Spike, but don’t let my size fool you. I’m a dragon after all.”

Pinkie and Rarity giggled while Vedette rubbed the baby dragon’s head with a hoof. “No Spike, I would never dream of underestimating you.”

Rainbow still wasn’t convinced. “How do you know so much about us, mister? Those are exactly the kinds of things a spy would know.”

“Rainbow, if you knew a thing about culture you would know he’s an intelligence officer. It’s his job to know things about,” Rarity paused to smile and toss her mane, “important ponies.”

“Intelligence, huh?” Applejack stared unhappily at the stallion. “Well if you’re done butterin’ all of us up, maybe you can tell us what the trouble is in Canterlot. Ponies have been looking up at the city all mornin’, but no one seems to know a thing about it.”

Applejacks’s tone and reminder of why they were all here ended the collective cheer and brought sad frowns to most of the mares’ faces. Even Vedette’s smile faded to a sliver. “No, I have to leave that in Twilight’s capable hooves. I have orders to speak to Mayor Mare immediately. Do you think you can handle things here for a few hours?”

Twilight’s friends all looked to at her expectantly, and she raised a sheepish hoof. “I think so. Do you need help finding the town hall?”

“Thank you, but I already know the way.”

“Really? Well, if you’re sure. Spike, please take his bags inside and put them in the guestroom. Major Vedette will be staying with us while he’s in town.” He gave her a questioning look, but Twilight put her hoof down. “I insist. It’s the least I could do.”

He raised a hoof in gentlecoltly mock surrender. “Only because you insist.”

“Aww, why do I have to do it?” Twilight stared daggers at Spike until he relented, taking the bags from the major. “Fine, whatever. You probably want me to set the room up for him too.”

“You are my number one assistant, after all.”

Spike groaned and headed inside with the bags. Vedette said some quick goodbyes, promised to be back to the library as quick as he could, and headed off to meet the mayor. The other ponies huddled around Twilight with a mixture of questions and gratitude that she was back safe.

“I’m just surprised that you’re all already here.” She glanced around. “How did you know to meet here?”

“Spike showed us a letter he got from Princess Celestia telling him to get everypony together at the library. It didn’t say why.” Fluttershy turned to partially hide her face behind her mane. “I hope it’s not anything too,” she gulped, “…dangerous.”

At Fluttershy’s words a ripple of unease passed between the friends, but none so strongly as Twilight. “Girls, let go inside and sit down. We need to talk.”

Finally away from the politics and judging eyes of the dozen or so aquila down below, Kaleb finally smiled, soaking in the solitude like a warm bath. He had found a fine drifting cloud for a nap. It had the more natural, rugged shape he was used to, not like the flat clouds that the city had been built from. He quickly found a spot, circled a few times, and stretched out on the cloud for a relaxing nap.

It lasted about five minutes.

“Hey, is anyone up here?” came the sound of a familiar female griffin’s voice. Kaleb opened an eye to see Gilda’s head pop up over the edge of the cloud. She smiled when she saw him, flapping her wings once for enough energy to land a few paces away from him. “Heeey, Kaleb! What are you doing up here?”

“Very little.” He sighed. “Herger told you I was up here, didn’t he?”

“What? No. I mean, I saw you fly off and asked him what was up.” She paused, confused. “He called you his ‘little brother’ or something. Aren’t you older than him?”

Kaleb groaned. “Yes.”

“Anyway, I was, ah,” she fixed her head feathers, even though they were fine to begin with. “I was hoping we could chat. You know, get to know each other. I mean, you’re an important griffin now, working so close to Cyrus. We’ll probably be seeing more of each other.”

She blinked, suddenly hearing those last words the way they sounded. “No, uh, I mean working together. ‘Cause you know, ‘seeing each other’ means something totally different, and doing that between prides is not cool and against tradition. And stuff.”

She grinned awkwardly. Were it not for the war and Kaleb’s feelings on the subject, it might have been funny. Herger could have casual relationships, but that was not the griffin way, and Kaleb took the griffin way very seriously. He had hoped Gilda would finally tire and find a respectable aquila griffin to be her mate, but it seemed it would not be so. It was time to say something to her, even if he didn’t know what.

Kaleb took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. He had put this off long enough.

Still with that silly smile, she tried again. “So, what’s been going on with you?”

He didn’t move. “Ragnar spoke prophesy over me today.”

“What, when?”

“Just before sunrise.”

“Oh, okay.” Gilda seemed happy of the simple fact that the conversation had moved out the awkward phase, and she took a seat. “What about?”

“A few things, but most were typical seer nonsense, except for one.” Gilda waited patiently while Kaleb took a few deep breaths. “He said I would survive this war and live to old age.”

“Whoa.” Gilda grinned. “That’s pretty sweet, right?”

“I have never been more scared in my life.” He shut his eyes. “To know fate is a dangerous thing, Gilda. I’ve seen how the prophesy my father spoke over Cyrus has tortured him these years. Peace among the prides was hard enough, but searching for this ‘great darkness’ he was supposed to slay nearly drove him mad, until we all saw the day with no morning. Even now…”

Gilda simply nodded.

“Ragnar told me I would die in a nest, a ‘victim of mere time.’ I…don’t know why I even mention this.” He took a deep breath. “I am not a fool, Gilda. I know you have noticed me during the festivals, and you have kept your distance out of respect for our ways. I appreciate that more than you can ever know. This is difficult for me, but the time has come to say things.”

Her eyes went wide, hanging on his every word. The stillness would have been distracting, if Kaleb hadn’t suspected her heart had skipped a few beats at his words, just as his own.

“I cannot court you now.”

She blinked. “What?”

He turned away, suddenly feeling very self conscious. It was a new feeling for Kaleb: He hated it. “The griffin nation is not yet ready for inter-pride relationships. It is not done.”

As the shock of his words dissolved, Gilda’s features began to flare with anger. “Pshh. Don’t you mean the Pridemothers?”

“No, I mean our kind. I already live in the wilds. Discommendation would change very little for me.” He glanced about uneasily. “Marriage is an institution for propagation, and if the pridemothers had not made it so, our kind would have never prospered as we have.” Griffins were divided along more than tribal lines; the prides were incapable of cross breeding. During the chaotic days of griffin pre-history, wars and inter marriage had kept their population stagnant.

“You know what?” She stood, every part of the motion as angry as the look in her eyes. “You sound just like a pony I used to know. Such a flip flopper.”

“Things are changing.” He looked to the sunrise. “Herger and others like him will see to that, but it will take time. After Canterlot falls they will change faster. Soon after this war such a thing could be possible, but not now. Not yet.”

“I don’t believe this. I thought you were cool, a griffin living by his wings and talons. I even respected you.” She blinked a few times, and looked away. “Screw this cloud, I’m leaving.”

Kaleb nodded, his ears sagging sadly. “I understand. Good hunting, Gilda.”

“Whatever, dweeb.” Crouching, she spread her wings and prepared to take off.

But she didn’t. For a few ticks, she stood motionless on the edge of the cloud, perched for flight but lost in thought. “Wait a minute. This is about Cyrus.”

Kaleb furrowed his brow. “What of him?”

“He’s already risked a lot bringing you into the immortals. If you were to start a courtship with an Aquila griffin now, and the pridemothers even just spoke out against it, it would hurt Cyrus’s position and he’d lose favor.” She met his gaze. “It could ruin him.”

He looked away. “I’m sure he’d manage the situation. This war is his destiny.”

“Yeah, but you’re not gonna make it any harder on him, are you?” She sat, her face expression turning soft. For all her harsh exterior, Gilda wore her sympathy well. “My cousin is an old friend, huh?”

“He saved my life.”

She tilted her head. “Really? I heard it was the other way around.”

He nodded once, still looking away. “Yes.”

“Oh.” It took a second for Gilda to process that. Then her eyes brightened. “Oh, that kind of friendship.”

Kaleb said nothing.

Gilda said nothing.

Griffins are not like ponies. Ponies speak their hearts with abandon. They discuss every trivial little thing, because to a pony the shared words are important for their own sake. As these things are said, equines get a sense of one another. In the cloud of words and sound they come to know more about everypony. It works well for the herd, and thus it is good that it should be so.

Griffins do not use words. They do not speak their hearts easily or often. It is not culture or tradition; it is what they are. When griffins speak, they state facts about the world, the past, and what they will do. The burden of understanding is on the listener. As a result, they do not learn about each other through what is said. They learn through what is left unsaid.

In that minute of silence, the two griffins came to understand each other better.

“I,” Gilda started, but then thought better of what she was going to say. She tried again, scraping little circles in the cloud with a talon. “I can respect that. It still makes me mad, but I can respect it. I guess I should leave you alone, now.” She spread her wings, turning to leave once again. “Thanks for being up front about things, at least.”

“Gilda, wait.” Kaleb stood and reached out to her with a talon. “My concerns are about announcing a courtship.”

She looked back over her shoulder at the tshaka griffin with a raised eyebrow, clearly not understanding.

“Before you arrived, I was preparing to rest. We cannot be seen as being too friendly right now, but,” he paused, taking a nervous breath, “I would still appreciate your company.”

“I…” Gilda blinked a few times, then nodded happily. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

The two of them picked out opposite sides of the small cloud, circled a few times, and laid down for a morning nap. The sun cut through the cold winter air and warmed their feathers. Soon both were yawning and moments away from sleep.

“Thank you for understanding. It is a rare quality.” Kaleb smiled, looking out toward the sun. “Did you learn that from your time with ponies?”

Gilda said nothing.

Once everypony was in the library, Twilight’s explanation of the night’s events had gone better than she had first expected. Spike was upstairs still preparing the guest room which was for the best. Even though It was the worst news Twilight had ever given to anypony, her friends had all trusted her to explain everything as best as she could without interrupting her.

That is, until she got to the part about Cloudsdale.

“Let me go, let go!” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings, struggling against the orange earth pony holding her tail. Even Applejack’s strength wasn’t enough to hold back the pegasus this time. Rarity’s blue magic was wrapped around her legs as well, the two of them struggling to keep Rainbow from reaching the door. Applejack tried to say something, but with Rainbow’s mane in her mouth it came out as a frustrated mumble.

“Rainbow, we need to talk about this!” Twilight pleaded, standing with her front hooves on the library’s table. “You can’t just go rushing off to Cloudsdale alone. We need a plan. At least let me finish!”

Rainbow shook her head, still trying to make headway to the door. “You said yourself they need every pegasus they can get. This isn’t just anywhere we’re talking about, it’s Cloudsdale.” With a giant heave she got a hoof on the doorknob. “It’s my home!”

Twilight hung her head. Rainbow’s words hurt, but she held her tongue. She knew all too well what her friend was feeling and didn’t want to upset anypony more than she already had. She sat down, resting her chin on the edge of the table.

Another pony had no such compunctions.

“Rainbow Dash, stop this foalish display at once!” demanded Rarity with a stomp of her hoof. “We all saw the smoke rising from Canterlot this morning; who knows how it looks up close. Even after seeing that, Twilight came back to Ponyville to be here at once. This display is entirely disrespectful to what she has already had to do just to be here to tell you about Cloudsdale. You should be ashamed of yourself!”

Everypony but Twilight gaped at Rarity’s forceful tone, but as the understanding of what she was doing occurred to Rainbow the fight drained out of her. She floated down the floor, coming to rest on her belly. “I’m sorry Twilight, everypony.” Dash’s eyes were clenched shut, fighting back tears. “But this is something I need to do. I have to go help them. I just have to!”

Twilight forced a smile. “The princess has given us a very important job to do. If we’re going to represent the elements of friendship in a way that would bring hope to Equestria, we need to work together. But Celestia also made it clear to me that even though this is a military situation; we aren’t part of the military. That means no pony can give us orders about how we represent the elements. For two years now you have all been my closest friends. I don’t care what the military ponies expect of me. I’m not going to start giving orders to any pony, no matter how bad things get!”

Her eyes settled on Rainbow and her tone saddened. “This is so big, I don’t know how we can all stay together through all of this, but Nightmare Moon and Discord both tried to separate us. Our friendships are what have gotten us through every disaster so far, so I really don’t any of us should travel alone. Please, please Rainbow, don’t go flying off to Cloudsdale by yourself, at least not right away.”

Rainbow was slow to answer, but she finally nodded her head. “Fine.”

Twilight sighed. That should be enough time for her to figure something out. With Rainbow’s primary concern addressed for now, she opened her mouth to ask what the others might have to say. When she looked around the words got stuck in her throat. All the fluff had gone out of Pinkie Pie’s hair. She sat motionless with her straight mane, looking out at Twilight with big, sad eyes. Worst of all was Fluttershy. She crouched low to the floor, trembling silently behind her long mane. Twilight hadn’t been the only one to notice them, though.

“Maybe it’d be best if we all spend some time alone, get our heads on straight,” Applejack suggested with a frown. “Twilight looks plumb tuckered out, and I gotta get back to the farm to tell Granny and Big Mac to expect the cavalry.”

“That sounds like an excellent idea.” Rarity glanced over to Rainbow Dash, still on the same spot on the floor. She softened her tone. “I know there are plenty of things we can do to get ready right here in Ponyville. Come on ponies, Twilight’s been busy all night. She’ll want some time to rest before we make a decision, no doubt.”

Rarity and Applejack slowly and gently ushered the three other ponies out of the library. Applejack seemed to have a lot on her mind and didn’t meet Twilight’s gaze as she stepped outside, but Rarity did. She winked reassuringly just before shutting the door gently behind her.

Seeing the shock and pain in her friends’ eyes at her terrible news had slowly frayed away the last of Twilight’s will. Now that she was home and alone in the downstairs of the library, Twilight’s emotions finally caught up with her. She leaned forward against the table in front of the great Troan statue. It stared down at her, seemingly disappointed in her for not being as prepared as ponies of the past.

With only the judgmental statue as company, Twilight wept.

Chapter 9: Flight of Fancy

Flight of Fancy

Twilight was just starting to dry her tears when Spike sauntered down the stairs with a big basket of dirty laundry. “Well, that’s all taken care of,” Spike said, still unhappy about the extra chores. “The bed sheets are changed and I cleaned out the dresser. Now to put these in the wash and…”

He froze halfway down the stairs when he saw Twilight crying. “Twilight?”

“Oh, Spike.” She wiped her face again with a hoof again and sat up, trying not to think about how long she had just sat there when there was important work to do. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

Spike had run down the stairs while she was talking, abandoning the laundry basket to a messy pile in the corner. Standing next to her, he put a hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright?”

“Look, I’m fine.” She smiled down at him, and gave him her best reassuring hug. “The girls and I are going to take care of this, just like Nightmare Moon and Discord.”

“I know,” Spike said, hugging her back. “But it’s different this time, isn’t it?”

Twilight gasped, pushing him back to where she could meet his eyes. “What?”

“Well, I remember what happened with Discord, and some of Nightmare Moon. You were scared both of those times, but you didn’t seem to let it bother you so much.” He looked up at her, real concern in his eyes as he fidgeted with his claws. “Something really bad happened in Canterlot.”

She froze. They had known each other all his life, but she had never known Spike to be quite so perceptive. He was growing up, but not nearly enough to handle what was going on. Twilight forced a smile. “Don’t be silly, Spike. I’m just tired from being busy all night. Look, why don’t you get some breakfast going? I’ve got a few things I need to look into before the girls get back.”

“If you say so, Twilight,” he mumbled doubtfully, but headed towards the kitchen anyway. “I’ll make some eggs or something.”

She was able to keep up her smile until Spike left the room, then she hit the books. It wasn’t hard to find things that might help her in the next few months; the problem was there were too many. Most of the library’s world history books had information on the griffin prides, but they were all from pony point of view with nothing specific. Military history was a fairly popular topic in books for stallions, but they were mostly just full of artwork and firsthoof accounts of this battle or that; nothing that really explained why the commanders had made their decisions. She couldn’t even find a good glossary of terms! How was she supposed to have a knowledgeable conversation with military ponies if she still didn’t even understand what they were talking about?

Soon she ran out of space on the center table for everything she had pulled from the shelves. She was deciding whether or not to put away her reading about Troa when there was a knock at the door, followed by a familiar voice.

“Twilight, I’m back!” Rarity had let herself in, and was wearing a scarf, hat, and saddlebags of her own design. The outfit was capped off with her usual confident smile. “Though it pains me dearly, I’ve closed Carousel Boutique and I am ready to—”

She was halfway to where Twilight sat in front of the round table when she stopped suddenly, her eyes wide as she looked at her friend. “Is anything the matter, dear?” Rarity seemed to sense that Twilight was about to give her a litany of all the things happening with the invasion when she narrowed it down a bit. “More than what you’ve already told us, I mean.”

“No, everything’s fine.” Surprised and maybe a little spooked by the question, Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Why would you ask that?”

Rarity gave her a piecing look. She wasn’t buying the innocent act. “You’ve been crying, dear.”

“What? No.” Oh, right. She had been crying. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

“Twilight, I can still see the tear tracks.” She trotted over and put a reassuring hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Darling, you’ve done a marvelous job of keeping up appearances so far, but it’s about time you talk with somepony about what’s really bothering you, and it looks like that pony is me.”

“But I-”

“No buts,” Rarity said with a firm shake of her head. Her mane bounced a little with the motion, as if to further emphasize the point. “Besides, you and the girls have always been there for me when I needed a pony to talk to. If we’re supposed to represent harmony to all Equestria, what kind of a pony would I be to let a friend wallow in...”

Rarity paused to consider something, taking long enough to elicit a raised eyebrow from Twilight. Rarity smiled. “You know, I never did look that up.” She waved a hoof as if to brush the concern away, then sat herself firmly in front of Twilight. “What I’m trying to say is that you need a friend right now, and I’m here.”

Twilight’s eyes grew a bit misty, but this time not from sadness or fear. She nodded with a smile. “If you insist, Rarity.”

“And I do.” Rarity winked. “Come now, out with it.”

It took Twilight a minute to get her thoughts in order, but her friend waited patiently. “What little I know about war I learned from reading history or poetry. We’ve all seen violence before. A few months ago we fought the changelings. Even the day we met we all ended up fighting a manticore, until Fluttershy stepped in. I was scared each time, because I knew if we failed something bad would happen, but I never really thought…”

That wasn’t quite it. She took a breath, thought about it some more, and started over. “What the griffins are doing isn’t haphazard. They started with simultaneous attacks on three Equestrian cities. One them turned out to be a diversion, and it looks like the entire effort might be to cover for a fourth force that’s headed this way.” She rubbed a temple. “This isn’t random violence, or the work of one misguided griffin. There is no way any nation could pull this off without months of planning, with a military infrastructure willing to go along with it. Even if we all got near this Cyrus or whoever, used the elements on him and convinced him why all this is so wrong, we’d have hundreds or even thousands of griffins that would still be out for blood.”

Twilight closed her eyes for a moment just to breathe and think. Yes, seeing Canterlot on fire had hurt her dearly. She knew ponies had already been killed in the hundreds, maybe even thousands. Celestia had been hurt in the fighting; the only silver lining to the whole night had been that the princess looked like she had gotten by with just a few scratches. Now, with time and a little distance between those revelations, Twilight felt a chill as she realized where her deepest fears lied.

“They tried to kill my brother, Rarity.”

Rarity’s eyes widened for a moment, then nodded. “I suppose they would have. He’s a captain of the guard after all. It’s his duty to protect the princesses and the castle.”

“No, Rarity!” Twilight stood in angry huff, her voice rising. “It wasn’t that he was just doing his job! They knew his name, knew about his shield. Princess Celestia had to stop Cyrus from murdering him herself!”

Seeing her friend’s jaw hang loose brought Twilight back down to reality, and she exhaled slowly as she took a seat. “Spike asked me if things were different this time. I didn’t want to think about it, but they are. Discord’s antics or eternal night would have eventually hurt ponies, but they didn’t just…” She blinked a few times to clear her watering eyes. “A lot of ponies have already died, Rarity, and more are being murdered as we speak. I don’t see any way to end this war soon. I don’t even understand it yet.”

Rarity nodded in understanding. “And you think that they might know something about us, too.”

“I’m sure of it. Even if they don’t know our names or have our descriptions, they will have heard of the elements and the ponies that use them. As dangerous as it will be for anypony on the front lines, we’ll practically have targets painted on our flanks!” She looked out the window. “And you know Rainbow.”

Rarity smiled sadly. “She’ll want to fight, and she’ll be positively stubborn about it.”

“I know Discord got to all of us, but you remember how Rainbow got when she thought Cloudsdale was in danger. Now, it really is.” A sudden notion crossed her mind. “I wonder if he knew.”

That was a dark thought. Many of Discord’s schemes and taunts had seemed to have purpose, but as far as Twilight knew they had been short term. If he had even stopped to consider how his words might have impact years in advance, it would make him a far more dangerous enemy than any of them had considered. If he knowingly set Rainbow up to feel more pain in the off chance that Cloudsdale really did suffer an attack…

“That might be,” Rarity said, clearly just as unsettled by a possible Discord connection as Twilight was, “but I can’t see how anything Discord planned would affect what we do now. He’s still a statue in Canterlot, right?”

“I assume so. Nopony mentioned anything about him, and I spoke with both princesses. It would have come up.”

“Then I wouldn’t let that distract you right now. We’ll probably have lots of time to worry about Discord after…” Rarity dismissively waved a hoof in a few circles. “After all of this is settled. Wouldn’t it be best to focus on what we can do right now?”

Twilight nodded. One thing at a time. She took a deep breath, trying to get her thoughts in order. “Alright. I guess that means…Rainbow Dash wants to go to Cloudsdale. I don’t think we can talk her out of it. As much as I don’t like it, having even one of us at Cloudsdale could have an impact on the battle just by showing up. But if there is even a chance we might be targeted like my brother, I don’t think any of us should travel alone.”

Rarity thought about it. “I suppose there is some merit in that. After all, if we’re supposed to be the image of friendship like Celestia wants, it would be hard to explain why we’d let a friend go gallivanting alone into a warzone.”

Twilight blinked. “I meant it’s going to be dangerous. I’d hate to see anypony get hurt without a friend to look out for them.”

“Oh of course.” She innocently batted her eyelashes. “But if Princess Celestia wants us to represent harmony, our image will be immensely important. No sense in getting in harm’s way if we aren’t doing our best to do what the princess wants.”

Twilight was going to protest, but in the process of trying to figure out how she realized Rarity had made a good point. Celestia hadn’t asked them so much to end the war as to represent the elements to the ponies that were fighting. She smiled in spite of herself. Trust Rarity to never miss how something made a pony look, even during wartime. “Alright, so none of us should travel alone, both for safety and image, but that still leaves Rainbow itching to dash off to Cloudsdale. I’d go with Rainbow myself, but the military seems to expect me to be here, helping to organize or…something. I don’t really understand what yet. I’m sure Vedette will help me figure that out.”

Rarity smiled evilly. “Yes, I’m sure he will.”

Twilight gasped. “Rarity, he’s married!”

She laughed playfully, clearly enjoying herself at Twilight’s expense. “Darling please. I could tell, and he clearly sees himself in a paternal role. Besides, he’s much too old for you.”

“Aaanyway.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “It can’t be Fluttershy. Petronel and Black Jack seemed convinced that the fighting there would be,” she took a shaky breath, “brutal. I know she can be strong when somepony needs her, but I don’t know if she could handle it for weeks or months.” She told Rarity the story about Manifold, and how he thought he’d have to make his last stand there before Twilight had shared the cloudwalk spell.

The fashionista shivered. “My, that does sound serious.”

“I know. But if not Fluttershy, then who? The rest of us can’t fly. We’d have to take a balloon or be carried to the city. After my ride on the chariot last night, I don’t think either would be safe.”

Rarity nodded. “And you said you don’t want to give any orders, which I think is very admirable of you and suited to the element of magic, so you need a volunteer.”

“Yes.” Twilight frowned at her friend, slouching under the perceived weight of such a conundrum. “So you see my problem then?”

“I do indeed, Twilight.” Rarity smiled confidently, a slight hint of mischief gleaming in her eye. “But I think I know just the solution to your worries.”

Stupid griffins. Stupid paperwork. Stupid Twilight.

Stupid promise.

When the word got around that Equestria had gone to war, the ponies of Ponyville had filled the town square even with the snow and winter chill. The mayor had given a short speech and answered a few questions, insisting that if we all worked together everything would be alright in the end. Major What’s-His-Face had apparently brought plans to the mayor, and now he was helping her organize the earth ponies and unicorns with whatever they had cooked up in Canterlot to protect the town, or something like that. Ponies from the army were arriving by train and hoof now, and they were helping out too.

As the ranking member of the Weather Patrol, Rainbow Dash had her own responsibilities.

“Next!” Rainbow Dash shouted while tapping her clipboard. The long line of pegasi shifted forward, and Dizzy Twister stepped up to Rainbow’s table. “Name?”

“Um, I’m Dizzy Twister. Don’t you remember?” she asked with a hurt tone.

Rainbow sighed. She had to have been the tenth pony to ask a question like that. “Yes, I remember, I just have to keep this official. There’s even a script I have to follow. Don’t take it personally.”

“Oh.” Dizzy couldn’t seem to decide if she was relieved Rainbow had remembered her or worried that things were scripted, but she nodded in understanding. “Okay.”

“Age?” Rainbow wrote down her answer, and kept asking questions in the order they were printed on the enlistment papers.

She had always hated paperwork, but this was so much worse. After Rainbow had left the library, she gotten her weather patrol gear and reported to the mayor. Not many ponies knew this before the war, but the Weather Patrol was founded with a mandate almost the same as the Coast Guard. In peacetime, the serving pegasi would carry out their duty managing the weather patterns over the entire nation. During wartime, they immediately reverted to the control of the Air Corps to support any war effort.

When she reported to the mayor, Rainbow had been given a letter from her regional headquarters. Most of it was boring official nonsense and stuff Twilight had already said, so she had skimmed ahead to the part about her orders, and followed them.

So there she was, Ponyville’s Weather Patrol officer, dutifully filling out applications for the militia enlistees.

Rainbow sighed as she finished up the last line of Dizzy’s militia application form. “Alright, Dizzy. That’s all here. I’ll be across the bridge later to swear everypony in when I’m done with everypony’s paperwork.” She waved her off to where the other applicants were waiting. “Next!”

Thunderlane stepped forward, but his eyes looked past Rainbow and focused on something behind her. “R-Rarity, what are you doing here?”

Rainbow scrunched her brow angrily. Twilight sent a pony to check up on her, huh? Her already sour mood turned grumpy, and she couldn’t suppress and angry snort. “I’m still here, Rarity. You can go back to Twilight and let her know I haven’t left.”

Rainbow could picture Rarity’s innocent duckface pout even without turning. “Why Rainbow, whatever do you mean?” Agh, she even sounded like she was pouting.

“Look, I get it, okay? After the tricks Discord pulled I ran off and abandoned you guys. I’d be worried about me, too.” She reached down to a box to get another enlistment form, still without turning.

Thunderlane pawed the ground nervously. “Maybe I should come back later.”

“No!” Rainbow demanded, slamming a hoof on her clipboard. She might not get to go to Cloudsdale, but there was no way the pegasi that actually were going would be delayed because of her. “Rarity’s seen what she needs to see. Go back and tell Twilight I’m still here, and let me get back to work.” She stared frustrated daggers at Thunderlane. “Name?”

“Um.” The stallion hesitated. “Don’t you remember-”

“THUNDERLANE.” Rainbow scribbled it down, the pencil violently scrapping against the paper. “Your name is Thunderlane! Age?” He told her, and she scribbled the information down just as hard.

“Rainbow, you seem a little,” Rarity hedged, “tense. Are you certain nothing’s the matter?”

“Of course I’m okay! I mean, take a look.” She waved a hoof to indicate the ponies in the town square, talking loud enough for lots of ponies to hear. “All these ponies are preparing for the fight of their lives. But they won’t be doing it for their own good, no! They’ll be fighting to defend little colts and fillies, their families and friends. Why? Because they’re Equestrians, and proud of it!” A few stallions overheard Rainbow and cheered, further making Rainbow’s point for her.

But it also felt like salt in an open wound. Or her pride. Or…something painful. She slouched. “Cloudsdale needs ponies now more than ever before, and it feels like everypony is racing off to protect it. I’m being left behind because of some stupid promise.”

“But darling, nopony asked you not to go.” Rarity’s voice was surprisingly sympathetic, and Rainbow felt a hoof on her shoulder. “Twilight just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t go unaccompanied. But fret no longer, for that problem has been solved.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes and shook away Rarity’s hoof. “Yeah, right.” She had learned to accept and deal with Fluttershy’s fear over every little thing, but there was no way Twilight had talked her out of the cottage so soon. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

She felt Rarity withdraw her hoof, and there was a long pause before Rarity “ah-hemed.” A few moments later she did it again, louder than the first.

“Um, Rainbow?” Thunderlane asked cautiously. Rainbow didn’t look up. “I think Rarity wants you to turn around.”

She rolled her eyes. Of course she did. “Fine. What could possibly…”

Rainbow never really came to understand Rarity’s frou-frou fashion sense, but it was pretty clear she had dressed for travel. She wore a funny-looking hat, scarf, and boots for cold weather, as well as a small matching saddlebag. Just as noticeable were the two suitcases that sat next to her.

As Rainbow turned, Rarity pulled back the scarf to show off the real surprise, and Rainbow wasn’t the only one to react. Half the ponies in the town square stopped to gawk as Rarity spread a new pair of gossamer butterfly wings. She must have talked Twilight into casting the wings spell on her again, but that could only mean one thing.

“That’s right, Rainbow. You are going to Cloudsdale with all these wonderful pegasi.” Rarity stepped into one of her fancy poses. Somehow, this time it even came off a little bit awesome. “And I’m coming with you.”

Rainbow was too cool to jump up and hug her friend, and there was no way she shed even one tear, no matter what anypony else might say. But if there were any tears, they would have been happy.

Dash finished her paperwork, swore in the militia, and grabbed a few things from home. Then she, Rarity, and the newly enlisted pegasi of Ponyville took flight and headed for Cloudsdale.

The hat was not funny looking; it was Rarity’s take on a traditional Ushanka, foregoing the traditional fur materials in favor of something synthetic Twilight helped her whip up. After all, what would Fluttershy think if her best friend took to wearing a pelt on her head every time it got cold? It matched the rest or Rarity’s outfit flawlessly, and the wool lining turned out to be perfect for flying in the cold winter chill. Of course Rainbow, for all her other wonderful qualities, couldn’t be expected to understand the finer nuances of fashion, but it had to be said. Now then, where to pick up with Rarity’s story? Oh yes!

Wings.

Rarity had forgotten just how splendid her beautiful butterfly wings could be. Okay, maybe she hadn’t really forgotten. How could a pony forget such colorful splendor, such freedom of taking gracefully to the skies? Still, Twilight had outdone herself this time. As magnificent as the first set had been, the new wings even surpassed that high standard. Words could never do them justice, and it would be a disservice to Twilight’s abilities to attempt to do so. Besides, as wonderful as they were, what was most important is that they allowed Rarity to travel with and comfort her friend in such a trying time.

Unfortunately, the long flight had done nothing to help Rainbow get in touch with her feelings, and even less to help her attitude.

“Are you quite certain you don’t want to talk about it?” Rarity asked, hoping the third time was indeed the charm.

“For the last time, no! I don’t want to talk.” Rainbow shook her head in frustration, and then once again focused on scanning the clouds above. “Look, I know you want to help and all, but we’re all busy here. We’re headed into a warzone, Rarity. These skies might not be safe and every pegasus needs to keep their eyes peeled looking for danger.”

She directed a quick frown at Rarity. “It’s bad enough that you’ve got poor Thunderlane carrying your luggage.”

“Only because he volunteered,” Rarity amended, looking back over her shoulder at the stallion. He was struggling with the bags a little, but his valiant effort was just so adorable. “And besides, he received more compensation than he even dared hope.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “How is a kiss on the cheek compensation?” Rarity was only too happy to explain the nuances of how a lady should interact with and inspire colts not quite old enough to begin a serious courtship, preparing them for whatever mare they eventually find a true interest in, but Rainbow found it necessary to rudely cut her off. “You know what? I don’t need to know. We’re going to move the formation through that hole in the cloudcover. Move back with the other ponies so we can keep a proper lookout.”

“But Rainbow, you still haven’t-”

Rainbow glared daggers at her, which was needlessly provocative. Rarity could take a hint.

“I can take a hint, dear. No need to pull rank on a dear friend.” She flapped her wings a little slower to start to slow. “I’ll just make an effort to be a caring and supportive friend some other time.”

Rainbow muttered something, but Rarity pretended not to hear it. A lady does not acknowledge being called such horrible things.

Falling back into the “main body” of the pegasi formation, Rarity found herself next to Thunderlane who, in spite of his rustic upbringing was proving to be quite the gentlecolt. “I wouldn’t worry about Rainbow too much, Miss Rarity. She takes her work very seriously, and this is about as serious as it gets.” He was quite sharp for a young stallion, though Rarity wasn’t ready to accept the wisdom of his words.

“Perhaps, but sometimes she makes being a good friend so hard. I care about her feelings, and want to help her work through what’s going on as best I can.” She pouted, but only a little. “It’s like she doesn’t even want my help!”

“Um.” Thunderlane strained as he, Rarity and the rest of the pegasi began to climb upward toward the gap in the clouds Rainbow had mentioned. Goodness, Rarity hadn’t packed that much. Perhaps he wasn’t as strong a flier as he was observant. Of course, his next comment would prove that to be more a measure of his understanding of pegasi than his flying ability. “Maybe she isn’t ready for that kind of help.”

Rarity was aghast with shock, and maybe a bit of horror. “What could you possibly mean? This can’t be easy on her, after all.”

Thunderlane nodded sadly as they passed through the gap. “Well, no. Everypony is hurting over this, but I’ve seen Rainbow at work when things get tight with the Weather Patrol. She’s the type of pony who likes to work through a problem. Any time something starts to bother her, she just turns it into more energy to keep going. I’m not sure you’ll ever get a pony like that to slow down and talk about her feelings, even after all this is,” he stopped without finishing his thought as they cleared the cloud cover.

Rarity had been so amazed at the revelation Thunderlane was proposing that she had been listening intently to the colt when he trailed off, his eyes focused on something in the distance as the cadre of pegasi came to a hovering stop. “What, what is it?” She asked while turning to see for herself.

Rarity had been blessed once before with the honor and privilege to visit Cloudsdale under happier circumstances (with her first set of marvelous wings,) and she could easily recall the magnificent splendor she had seen from her last visit. The city’s marble architecture was stunning and would have been dazzling beyond description even if it were situated on the ground, but to build such magnificent facades in the sky was a stroke of brilliance! The natural cloudscape flowed harmoniously into the artificial cityscape, making it hard to distinguish where one ended and the other began, giving the impression that such buildings were just as natural as the clouds they sat upon. Taken all together and from any angle, the city seemed to simply radiate with the pride and splendor of the pegasi while using whites and blues that suggested a timeless, immutable purity.

And the brute griffins had come along and trampled all over it!

Smoke rose from the city, but unlike Canterlot’s single great plume seen at a distance, Rarity could never have hoped to count all the separate, little trails. Most rose a short distance above the city and trailed away in the winter winds. In other places dust and soot hung just above the city, soiling marble black with ash. Here and there in the hanging smoke rose sundered columns, their tops severed and jagged as broken bone. Not even the clouds beneath the city had been spared; they had been stained by rainbows draining out beneath the streets, in splotched browns and blues, with traces of scarlet. It was hard not to imagine the city as a once majestic beast that had been beaten, bruised and broken until it barely clung to life.

Not even in her nightmares had Rarity ever dreamed such a crime against fabulosity, nay! Against beauty itself. It was enough to bring tears to her eyes, and she wasn’t the only pony who felt that way.

Mares behind Rarity began to weep softly at the sight, their tears falling to the cloudscape below as Rainbow did her best to get the formation moving again. It broke Rarity’s heart to watch her friend barely contain her own sorrow while also doing her best to keep others focused on the next step, and for her sake that is all that needs to be said. She eventually succeeded, but only after stopping just shy of threats. Everypony was silent the rest of the way to the city, and the whole flight Rarity’s despairing heart was stuck on a seemingly impossible conundrum.

What could Rarity ever say to support her friend now?

Rarity couldn’t help but thank Celestia when they reached the city without coming across any of the vile griffins. If they had found such a beautiful city to be so offensive that it warranted destruction, who knows what they would have done seeing a sight as marvelous as Rarity and her magnificent wings. As happy a blessing it might have been, it did little to quiet her worried heart. There was still much peril ahead for everypony, and she still had no plan to help Rainbow open up.

The military seemed organized despite the state of everything else. Three had come out to meet the Ponyville pegasi as they came near, two in jumpsuits and the other a serious-looking young mare lieutenant. After the officer had checked Rainbow’s paperwork and asked a few questions, she directed them to a quaint little cloud that had been set up as a reception zone for the arriving ponies. Once everypony from Ponyville was comfortably landed and resting after the flight, the lieutenant pointed to a short line where other Weather Patrol officers were reporting to the Air Corps ponies.

Would you believe she left without ever even glancing at Rarity’s wings? Some ponies have no sense of the spectacular, even when they see it right in front of them.

Rarity took it upon herself as an element of harmony to join Rainbow in line, which Dash initially rejected until Rarity explained her reasons.

“Fine, whatever.” Rainbow agreed with unspoken reservations, understandably still worked up from earlier experiences. “Just don’t interrupt anything that sounds official, okay? The last thing anypony needs right now is a scene.”

It hurt to hear a friend talk that way, but Rarity understood. She did have a flair for the dramatic, after all. “Of course. I would never want to embarrass you or Ponyville’s pegasi at a time like this. Please lead the way, Rainbow. I’ll be on my best behavior.”

Dash raised an eyebrow, but her expression quickly changed to a thankful smile, and that was that. The two friends joined the other ponies in the line, and waited their turn to report. They didn’t wait long. An elderly pony with a scraggly beard and corporal’s stripes sat behind a table, filling out paperwork for the arrivals much as Rainbow had been doing in Ponyville. Rainbow answered his questions and handed over all the forms she had collected while he quickly stamped or signed off on detail after detail.

“Looks like everything checks out, Dash,” he finally said after what seemed like ages. “I’ll need you to move your pegasi up to the community center just up the road to report for processing, indoctrination and assignments to—what on earth are those?”

It had taken the desk pony long enough, but it seemed he had finally gotten around to noticing Rarity’s wings. She thanked him with a slight turn and her wonderful smile. “Oh, these old things? Just a little something the element of magic gave to me so that I could join the war effort with my friend here.”

To Rarity’s surprise and slight horror, the stallion only raised an eyebrow. “The element of what?”

“Twilight Sparkle. Protégé of Princess Celestia?” When he still didn’t seem to understand, she continued. “The mare that defeated Nightmare Moon! With the help of her fabulous friends, of course.”

He still looked confused.

“Discord?” Rarity tried, growing a bit desperate. “Queen Chrysalis?”

“Oooh, the changeling broad.” He looked between the two mares, suddenly interested. “You mean you two had something to do with that?”

Rarity was only too happy to explain every detail, but Rainbow cut her off. “We were there, but it wasn’t that big of a deal.” She turned to Rarity with a sad look on her face. “Look, this is where we part ways. I have to make sure the volunteers get settled into their assignments and find out where my posting will be.”

“What?” Rarity was positively mortified at the idea of being separated from her friend. “But we’re elements of harmony, Rainbow! Why can’t we stay together?”

“Because I’m going to be assigned to a combat unit. I know you like your wings and all, but I don’t really think they’re suited to the kind of flying that I’ll be doing.” She looked away. “Just…try to be somewhere that I can find you later, and stay away from the front lines. Okay?”

Rarity nodded, but Dash wasn’t quite done yet.

“And, well, I kinda wanted you to know that this means a lot to me. Coming to Cloudsdale, I mean.” She scraped the cloud beneath them with a hoof. “So, thank you.”

Even though Rarity and Rainbow had never been what you might call close, she knew what those words had cost the proud pony. Rainbow was a pegasi who spent every moment trying to live up to her own ideas of ‘awesome,’ and those words were decidedly not awesome. Rarity was touched beyond even her considerable ability to express, and was suddenly struck with a fit of inspiration and acted without thinking. As Rainbow shifted to leave, she stepped forward and embraced her pegasus friend.

“Don’t worry, Rainbow. I know you can do it.”

Apparently that did the trick. She felt her friend’s jaw go slack at the sudden, unbidden vote of complete confidence. They hugged for a few moments and said their final goodbyes, but when Rainbow collected the Ponyville volunteers she looked like her old self again, brimming with confidence and ready to take on the world. Her confidence seemed to further reassure the others, and while they were a long way from smiles at least their nervousness seemed to pass.

The corporal had apparently been listening to the entire exchange. “It’s a special pony that knows how to inspire others like that. She’s lucky to have a friend like you.”

“It’s a gift,” she replied with a beaming smile. Now that it seemed she was to be separated from Rainbow for a while, her thoughts turned to how she might best carry out Princess Celestia’s decree. “Sir, would you care to direct me to where I might find the ponies in charge? I suppose at least one element of harmony should speak with this General Manifold.”

The corporal never got to answer the question. A crashing echo coming from the direction of the stadium cut him off. It wasn’t an explosion that one might have expected, though. Instead, it was a mare’s voice that cut through the sky, bouncing between buildings as it traveled. Even though Rarity had never heard it herself, she had been told enough stories from all her friends to know exactly what it was. After all, only one pony in all of Equestria could be that loud.

“Citizens of Cloudsdale!” boomed the Royal Canterlot Voice. “Thy Princess of the Night HATH ARRIVED!”

As the echo died away, a new sound rose to take its place. Pegasi of all colors, shapes and sizes stopped what they were doing, standing or taking flight with a great cheer. What Rarity’s few small words had done for Rainbow, Luna seemed to have done for the entire city. In their darker moments, many had probably wondered if the defense of the city was a lost cause, but if the princess was sure enough of victory to join them, how could they fail?

For Rarity, however, it also served as a direct answer to her question. "I suppose that settles that, at least,” she muttered to nopony in particular. She collected the bags dear Thunderlane had been so gracious to carry all this way, and with a quick toss of her mane she headed off to find the Princess of the Night.

Author's Note

For those looking for just a little more content, you might want to take a look at this. It was after this chapter that I offered a chance to do an "Ask a ViM character" blog interview, staring Twilight, Kaleb and Luna. The questions and answers range from serious to funny and shed some light on some things that may not come up in the course of the main chapters. Don't worry, there are NO spoilers there.

Chapter 10: (Un)acceptable Losses

(Un)acceptable Losses

Vedette took a sip from his glass. “Go on. Open it.”

“I couldn’t, really,” Twilight hedged. “Besides, it’s not even a holiday.”

“It makes perfect sense for the occasion, but if I explain it will ruin the surprise. Trust me.”

Twilight frowned. They had been enjoying a bit of breakfast since Vedette had returned, until he had dropped a wrapped package on the table in front of her and insisted it was her gift. Adorned with glossy yellow paper and a simple red ribbon, the bow had been tied in a way that Twilight had never even read about before. The loops loosely resembled the star that was Twilight’s cutie mark. There were even five stickers arranged in the proper places, marking the present as being made for her in a way no label could ever demonstrate. “Where did you even get wrapping paper? The party shops in Canterlot must have been closed.”

“I keep some in my office at the castle. Just in case.”

Twilight raised a teasing eyebrow. “Just in case of what? I can’t imagine surprise birthday parties are all that common amongst officers.”

Vedette’s cheeks took on the slightest hint of red. She hadn’t known the officer that long, but she had the feeling it was a pretty unusual occurrence. “Giving gifts is my special talent.” Twilight glanced to his flank, and sure enough it had a mark of three presents in a stack like you might see on Hearths Warming Eve. It made sense, though: Twilight had been trying to find ways to keep Spike busy all morning, and the first thing Vedette had done when he returned was offer the dragon a small box full of gems from Canterlot. He had been snacking on them upstairs ever since. “Please, just trust me and open it. You’ll understand when you do.”

She sighed with a smile. “Well, I guess if it’s what your cutie mark is telling you, then alright.”

He smiled. Twilight carefully collected a knife, cutting the ribbon where it crossed at the bottom of the package so that she wouldn’t disturb the knot. Vetette waited patiently as she unwrapped her gift.

It was a book. She was well known for being an avid—no, obsessive—reader in both Ponyville and Canterlot. Considering how much the intelligence officer had known about her other friends, it made sense that he’d have known that too. She flipped it over to read the binding.

“Fleet Tactics: Theory and Practice? What is this?”

Vedette put down his cup. “You’ve been introduced to a new world, the military one, literally overnight. Things are going to move quickly. Someday, we might have time for me to conduct some classes for you so that you’d have a full and proper understanding of military affairs, even if you can’t conduct them yourself.” He sighed. “For now, I think we both know you need a crash course, and I’ve been told you’re a fast reader and a good student. I thought about which single book would best introduce you to a military mindset and vocabulary. This one will do that.”

“But this sounds like a navy book. It looks like this whole war will be fought inland.”

He nodded. “Very true, but the author does a great job illustrating the differences between the two. In fact, what makes this text special is not that it lists formations or battle outcomes. It breaks down tactical thinking as applied to naval combat, using land conflict as a backdrop. It’s a book on tactical theory, first and foremost. It just uses ship combat as the base model.”

Twilight smiled a bit, flipping through the first few pages. She’d have to take his word for it, but based on his description it was exactly what she had been looking for not a few hours ago. She stopped when she saw a block of handwritten text on an otherwise blank page. “‘To Culver Cadet, on the day of his graduation.’” There was a personal note and a date. “What’s this?”

“It’s my son’s book.” He smiled again, this time a strong twinkle in his eye. “I had hoped he’d want to be an officer, but he enlisted instead. It’s been at our house since he moved out.”

“No no.” Twilight had to suppress an urge to drop the book, instead setting it down gently and sliding it back toward the major. “I can’t accept this. It’s a keepsake, and part of your family. It wouldn’t be appropriate.”

Vedette was quiet for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was calm and even. “I won’t say that I wouldn’t have preferred to give you another copy. There wasn’t time to find one, and I made my choice. It is given, and you need it.” His smile returned, but he shrugged and looked away. “Besides, Cadet never showed much interest in theories. I don’t think he ever finished reading it.”

Twilight bit her lip. “I still don’t think it’s right.”

“I’d agree that it isn’t ideal. Unless…hm.” He turned back to the unicorn with a spark in his eye that betrayed a sudden inspiration. “What if instead of a gift, you thought of it as a donation?”

“A donation to what?”

He laughed. “We are in a library! And this must be an awfully sad book. I don’t think this copy has ever been read cover to cover. It’d be a shame to let it collect dust.”

She joined with him in his laughter. “Alright, you win. Just don’t ever tell Pinkie you used that.” While Vedette finished the rest of his plate, Twilight flipped through the book, and was thrilled to discover it had an extensive glossary. She was trying to discern the difference between tactics and strategy when she thought she heard the stallion mumble something. “What was that?”

Vedette turned to her with a questioning look, still chewing.

“Major, did you say something?”

Vedette blinked and swallowed. “No. My mouth was full.”

“Huh.” Twilight was sure she had heard somepony. Maybe there was a grain of truth to that study associating caffeine consumption with auditory hallucinations.

’Twilight Sparkle. Respond, please,’ came a quiet, familiar voice, but not one she heard with her ears. Then she understood. Considering how far she had come from Canterlot, Twilight had expected Petronel to sound distant. He didn’t. The sending’s clarity was still impeccable, even at this range. She heard him as clearly as if he had been sitting right next to her. This spell didn’t just work at over longer distances; it seemed unimpeded by range, and it was beautiful.

“Oh! It’s Petronel’s sending spell,” she told the major, suppressing a titter as she stood. “I should have thought of that. You’ll have to finish breakfast without me. I have to talk with my friend.”

Vedette blinked once at the last part. “Really?”

“Of course. After all, there was a time when I didn’t want any friends, too.” Twilight blushed. “I’ll be upstairs if anypony needs me.”

She started to turn when the major stood, his warm demeanor giving way to a mask of caution. “Twilight, wait.”

“Yes?”

He took a deep breath. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For reaching out to him.” He looked like he wanted to say more but whatever it was he held back. Petronel sent her another message before she could ask him about it. She needed to respond before it gave her a headache.

“Um, you’re welcome,” Twilight tried, not really understanding the nature of his thanks. “We can talk about this later. I’ll be back down in a bit. Bye!” She smiled awkwardly as she headed upstairs.

‘Twilight Sparkle.’’ Petronel’s voice came again via spell as she reached the top of the stairs. There was enough energy behind the message to trigger something akin to audio feedback, and she flinched. It didn’t really hurt so much as it unsettled her like broken chalk on a chalkboard. ‘I am certain you can hear me by now. It is imperative that I speak with you.’

‘I hear you,’ Twilight replied with a bit of will. ‘You are coming in a bit loud, Director.’ After two or three exchanges of commenting on signal strength, they found equilibrium that was easy on both of them.

Petronel seemed annoyed. ‘Why did you take so long to reply if you were aware of my sendings?’

‘I was with company and didn’t want to split my attention. It took me a minute to excuse myself. Besides, I still haven’t explained the spell to Spike yet.’

The reply came a bit slower this time, but seemed mollified by her explanation. ‘Very well, but it is best that you didn’t explain to anypony. With practice you’ll eventually be able to handle sendings while going about other activities.’

‘You mean carry on like this while talking to other ponies?’ The thought made Twilight self-conscious about her surroundings. She was, after all, having a conversation with a pony leagues away while standing alone in an empty room. She tried to ignore the physical isolation by closing her eyes. It helped a little. ‘Wait. Were you having conversations like this while I was talking with you in Canterlot?’

The reply seemed smug. She’d have to take a look at the formula later to see how it was able to carry such subtle emotions. ‘Almost constantly. In fact, I am currently corresponding with a pony in Stalliongrad by spell and General Black Jack and I are making plans regarding the leadership of the force assembling in Ponyville. He says hello, by the way.’

Twilight grinned in the empty room. ‘Tell him hi for me, then.’

‘Of course.’ There was a pause. ‘He is also wondering about a report I received earlier, regarding a unicorn with butterfly wings seen leaving Ponyville.’

‘That would have been Rarity. Rainbow Dash couldn’t be talked out of going to Cloudsdale, but I had to insist that she not go alone.’ She sighed. ‘Rarity volunteered.’

‘Elements traveling together. Smart.’ There was another delay. ‘While I recognize I have no authority in regards to the Elements, I cannot stress enough that such decisions have a great impact on the war effort, even from a military standpoint. Please keep me notified of such developments.’

‘Sorry, it’s been a busy morning. There’s a lot going on here and—’ She had a thought mid-sending. ‘Wait. What do you mean by no authority?’

‘Princess Celestia said she told you about that before she left, but there’s been a development here. This morning she signed a decree officially recognizing the Elements of Harmony as an independent branch of the military. Spike should be getting a copy later today. While you were given no authority beyond your friends, the decree makes you the equivalent of a three star general.’

Twilight felt the blood drain from her face. ‘What?! Why would she do that?’ He was slow to answer, and Twilight was about to send a follow up question when she received the reply.

‘Ouch. Please be more cautious. A few ponies were rather adamant that you would have no idea what to do with this situation. When they would not concede that they had no authority over the six of you, she settled the matter with a few strokes of her quill. Congratulations, by the way.’

She fell back on her haunches with a loud thud, at a loss for words. Generals who didn’t understand the Elements, conflict in the ranks, Celestia needing to sign laws to get them to back down; Everything about that story terrified Twilight, but another thought struck her.

‘I would have thought you would have been right there beside them, Director.’

Petronel must have taken his time thinking through his reply. Or maybe he was just talking to three ponies at once; it would be impossible for Twilight to tell from here. ‘A few generals think the Elements are just some kind of new rainbow cannon. I know better. I don’t agree with giving you free reign, but as far as I am concerned the matter was settled when Princess Celestia gave orders to that effect. Those orders are, in no uncertain terms, that I am to share relevant information and advise your decisions just as if you were the chief of the army or the air corps.’

He left Twilight just a few seconds to chew on that before adding. ‘Which, of course, is the purpose of this communication. Perhaps you should prepare yourself to take notes. I have a few other things of importance to share with you and the major.’

She smiled, collecting a nearby scroll, quill, and inkwell. ‘I’m ready when you are.’

Not ten minutes later, Twilight felt like she was drowning in a tidal wave of information. None of the professors in Canterlot had ever expected her to handle so much information so quickly. ‘Wait wait,’ Twilight pleaded through the sending spell. ‘I can write quicker than some ponies can talk, but certainly not faster than they think. Give me a moment to catch up.’

Petronel didn’t reply. Once her notes were in order, she asked him to continue.

‘The general in charge of the muster is named Paddock. Expect him to arrive by train tomorrow morning with the first elements of his armored division. As the ranking intelligence officer in Ponyville, Vedette should be there to meet him. At that point the major will no longer be the ranking officer on site, and he can focus on his duties as your military liaison and instructor.’

‘I see.’ Twilight scribbled the note down. ‘What’s the general like?’

‘He’s a madpony,’ Petronel replied instantly, ‘but he’s our madpony and he knows his business. His soldiers respect him. My personal advice is to stay away from him if you can.’ As an afterthought he added, ‘And you should probably hide Spike while he’s around.’

That was a strange suggestion. ‘Why? He sounds like somepony Spike might even want to meet.’’

‘The general has read the report about the dragon attack on Ponyville. He’ll only see Spike as a potential military asset, without considering the fact that the dragon could hardly control his actions during the incident.’

A chill went down Twilight’s spine. ‘Oh. Yeah, that would be a good idea then.’

‘Lastly Twilight, I do have some good news. The siege cannon was delayed by the destruction of several bridges along the route south. We won’t know how long for a while yet, but I’m hopeful it could be as much as a few days.’

‘That is good news!’

‘Yes.’ He seemed distracted. ‘Yes it is. You and the major should also be made aware, however, that it cost us our recon assets near the wagon train. It could be quite some time before we learn much more about the main body of the western force.’

‘What do you mean, though, cost us assets?’

‘Remember the two unicorns who originally reported to me about the cannon?’

Twilight nodded in reflex, then realized with a blush that no one would see it. ‘Yes, and a good thing too.’

‘Three hours ago, they reported the wagon train moving the siege cannon was nearing a river crossing. I checked several maps of the region, and that’s when I became aware of the extent of bridges in the area. A few raiding pegasi with explosives could hit most if not all of them, but we needed some time to organize. I deemed that the loss of that intelligence asset was worth a chance to destroy all the bridges heading south to Ponyville, so I ordered them to destroy the bridge.’

‘Oh wow, that would slow them down.’ She did her best to recall the topographic maps she had seen of the region. ‘There are at least a dozen little streams and rivers north of here.’

‘Yes,’ Petronel agreed. ‘As we speak, pegasi from the palace guard are destroying the bridges. Most of the streams aren’t deep enough to cause a problem for the diamond dogs, but each one will add hours to the wagon train’s arrival time.’

She nodded. This could really make a difference in the next few days. ‘How did you evacuate the two unicorns?’

‘The proper term is extract.’

‘Oh, sorry. How did you extract them?’

Silence.

Twilight waited a few moments before sending a worried message. ‘Petronel?’

‘We didn’t, Twilight.’

‘Oh. That’s…’ She didn’t want to think too hard on what that meant. ‘What went wrong?’

‘Twilight, nothing went wrong. They followed their orders and destroyed the bridge. The mission was a success.’

She dropped her quill. ‘Wait. You knew there was no plan to get them out after that?’

‘Yes. I explored it, but it simply wasn’t feasible.’

Twilight felt herself snarl. Her anger probably carried through the connection. ‘And you ordered them to go anyway?’

‘Yes, Twilight.’ He sent with resolute firmness. ‘I ordered them to take actions that would result in their deaths. They were acceptable losses.’

She shook. She couldn’t help it. She hadn’t been this mad since Queen Chrysalis had taunted her in the crystal caves under Canterlot. And to think, she had been willing to be friends with this pony. Even Twilight thought that was out of the question now. Any pony that could so callously send others to certain death wasn’t a pony at all.

She picked her quill back up and inked it. ‘Names.’

‘Excuse me?’

‘I want their names, Director. I’m going to write the princess a letter, and when this is over you can expect me to look into this in detail. And at the very least, we should remember the sacrifices they made today.’

She had to wait for Petronel’s reply. ‘I understand. They were Green Beret and Muzzle Brake.’ He volunteered to give their serial numbers too, but Twilight ignored him.

She wrote their names in big letters at the bottom of the page. ‘Thank you. Is there anything else?’

‘Not at this time.’

‘Good. We’ll talk again when there is.’ Then with a huff she added, ‘Goodbye.’

She stormed down the stairs, replaying the last part of the conversation in her memory. Suicide, she thought angrily. He had ordered those ponies to commit suicide! She couldn’t even begin to fathom it. How a pony could ever give such an order was beyond her. At least this explained his ‘reputation’ among the soldier ponies. Who knew if he would just walk into a room and order them to do something just like this!

Vedette was hovering near Twilight’s desk, where she had been doing all her research yesterday. It felt like years ago, though. He was careful not to touch anything, but he still peered over the books and scrolls with fascination. “Twilight, I wouldn’t have suspected you to have such a keen interest in the Troan Ballads. And the replica bust you have as a centerpiece is astounding.”

She wanted to talk about her research, or the bust. She wanted to talk about anything else but the conversation she just had with the director, but she just couldn’t. Not more than a few paces from the stairway she stopped, sniffling and leaning against a bookshelf. “I can’t do it, Vedette.”

That got his attention. The Troan research forgotten, he turned and trotted over to her. “What? What happened?”

“I thought I could be friends with anyone, Major. But I can’t. I found my limit.” She blinked a few times and looked away. “That Petronel, he’s some kind of monster.”

“Whoa, slow down Twilight,” he said reassuringly, but something about the look in his eyes told her he wasn’t surprised. “Tell me what happened.”

Twilight opened her mouth but was interrupted by two solid knocks on the door. Vedette put a hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll get it. You stay here and catch your breath.”

“No.” Twilight inhaled, stood and sniffed one last time. “This is my library, and you’re my guest. I’ll get it.”

Vedette gave her a wounded smile, but in his eyes she could tell he understood. “Alright, then.”

She nodded. “I took notes on the conversation. There was a lot he wanted me to pass on to you.” She put the scroll on the table.

Three more knocks came from the door, this time hard and impatient.

Vedette rolled open the scroll and started reading. “You’d better see to it, then.”

Twilight opened the door to a familiar orange earth pony. A wave of relief washed over the unicorn. After how things went in her talk with Petronel, she knew she could use a visit from a real friend.

“Applejack!” Twilight grinned. “Come on in.”

Strangely, Applejack didn’t return her warmth. Instead she stared at the unicorn for a few moments, and then looked past her to Vedette before stepping inside. “Twilight, I heard some things from Applebloom and Sweetie Belle.”

Twilight tilted her head and shut the door. “What things?”

“That’s what I’m here to talk about. I wanted to hear it from you before I jumped to any conclusions,” she said, her voice cautious. “And I need the truth, all of it.”

“Of course, Applejack. You know I’d never lie to you.” Even as she said it, the look on Applejack’s face caused her to doubt the words. “…Right?”

Applejack didn’t say anything to that, or nod. Her gaze went past Twilight again. “Maybe we should talk about this in private.”

“Huh?”

Vedette flicked his ear loud enough for Twilight to hear, and she turned to see him getting up. “It’s alright, Miss Sparkle. I’ll be in the kitchen.” He picked up the scroll and trotted out of the room.

Twilight turned back to her friend with a raised eyebrow. “Applejack, what’s gotten into you?”

Applejack looked Twilight right in the eyes. “Where,” she started cautiously, “are Rarity and Rainbow Dash?”

Twilight felt her jaw fall a little bit at the directness of the question. It felt like she was being accused of something, but of what she couldn’t be sure yet. “They left for Cloudsdale not too long ago. They might be there by now. Why?”

A ripple passed through the earth pony, and she looked away and mumbled. “I knew it. I didn’t want to believe it, but I knew it was true.”

“Applejack, you’re scaring me. Knew what?”

Applejack spun back to her, her face red with anger. “You let them go! You let Rainbow Dash head right into a warzone, and Rarity with her!” She stamped a fore hoof. “RARITY, for Pete’s sake!”

Twilight’s head swam. “Wait, we talked about this. You knew Rainbow wanted to go. You even helped hold her back.”

“And you let her go! You said none of the elements should go off on their own, and I agreed with you. It was a great way to keep her here.”

The unicorn felt her jaw slack open a little bit. “That’s what you thought?”

“And then what? You went and talked Rarity into it?” Her eyes narrowed and she looked to the kitchen door, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “Or was it him?”

“Nopony talked anypony into anything. I tried to talk them both out of going.” She stepped back, looking Applejack over with suspicion. “Applejack, what’s gotten into you? I know war can be dangerous, but-”

“No!” Applejack roared, slamming her front hooves into the floor. She took two steps forward, and Twilight couldn’t help but back away from her. “You don’t! You don’t know a darn thing about it!”

The earth pony stared daggers at her, breathing hard in her anger. Then it slowed, giving way to something else. Applejack’s eyes started to glisten.

“You let them go. Our friends.” She stood up straight, anger seeming to drain from her. “And you didn’t even let me say goodbye.”

Twilight opened her mouth to try and explain, but Applejack slammed a hoof again. “No, I don’t wanna hear it. You go on and hang out with those officer types, Twi, and see how far it gets you. I’ve got work to do.”

Applejack turned and headed for the door. Twilight wanted to stop her but the words died in her mouth. Before she could think of what to say her friend was gone.

A concerned stallion’s voice came from the kitchen door. “Is everything alright? I heard yelling,” Vedette called. “Miss Sparkle?”

“I…” Twilight replayed Applejack’s visit in her mind’s eye, each time becoming more confused by the earth pony’s words. Increasingly frustrated, she shook her head and faced Vedette, rubbing a temple with a hoof. “Ugh! You know what? Yes. Everything’s fine.”

Raising an eyebrow, he glanced to the front door and back to Twilight. “It didn’t sound fine.”

“It’s fine because it has to be fine. I don’t have time to argue with ponies over every little thing.” Twilight slammed her hoof on the floor for emphasis. That little bit of venting felt better than the temple rub, but she was still angry. Losing herself in that new book was beginning to sound like a really good idea about now. “Let’s just, ah, talk about the scroll, and then I can start reading about tactics. The sooner I understand what’s going on, the better. Did you have any questions about the notes I gave you?” She really hoped there weren’t any.

“Only one.”

Of course there was. “And?”

He frowned. “Well, you have these two names at the bottom of the page, with no other notes about them.”

“That’s a reminder for me,” Twilight said with finality, but then something clicked. “Why, do you know them?”

Vedette smiled. “Of course. Muzzle Break and Petronel graduated from Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns together, and the three of them were good friends in the Delta Hooves.”

She froze. “Huh?” That made no sense at all! Petronel had sent those ponies to their deaths, and hadn’t even tried to deny it. He had treated them like nameless pawns to be discarded. He was so certain it was worth their sacrifice, she had assumed that they were just minions to him. She couldn’t imagine what kind of heartless beast would throw away somepony’s life that way. She felt faint.

The major must have seen a change in Twilight, because he immediately fixed his eyes on her with a concerned look. “Why, what’s the matter?” Absently, Twilight noted he took a few steps closer.

According to Vedette, they weren’t just random subordinates. They were Petronel’s friends. His old friends, even. Somehow he had written them off as ‘acceptable losses.’ How could anypony do that? How could a pony think that sending friends to their deaths would be worth any cause?

Because he is desperate to save Equestria, Twilight, she realized. Just like you are. Just like you were when you let Rarity leave with Rainbow Dash.

That understanding clicked with Applejack’s tirade, and she felt her strength just leave her. She wasn’t just like Petronel. He had ordered ponies into certain death; Rarity and Rainbow had wanted to go, and their mission wasn’t suicidal. She knew that in her head, but she couldn’t focus on it. Her heart screamed that she had still sent her friends to risk everything for Equestria.

But now, she understood him a little better. She could maybe even feel a little of what he felt when he made that decision. It felt cold.

She collapsed.

“Twilight!” Vedette lunged and got his body under her head before she hit the floor. “Twilight, talk to me.”

Even if there were still differences between the two of them, after today they had one thing in common; both of them had sent their friends into harm’s way. And, Twilight realized, there was always a chance that they might not come back.

“Celestia,” moaned Twilight sadly, hanging her head. “What have I become?”

Chapter 11: Stars and Moon

Stars and Moon

For most of his life, Kaleb believed the phrase “A den of Zinthos” to be a mere expression, one that meant a place where bloodthirsty, backstabbing, and unscrupulous griffins would mingle for purposes unwholesome. In delivering his first summons as a messenger for Khan Cyrus, he discovered that the reality was much more literal than he first imagined.

He had been ushered into what must have been the darkest room in the city and told Tomalak was inside. It was a long room, Kaleb was sure, but how long he couldn’t tell. The only light came from the door behind him, barely amounting to starlight on a cloudy night. He took a few steps forward, the motion helping him see the outline of debris piles along the walls of the room. So long as they stayed low and quiet, trying to spot a black-feathered Zinthos in such a place would be impossible. More than that, the darkness was suited to both their raven and panther halves. He stopped and held his breath to listen, ears flicking left and right.

He was not alone. The sound of soft breathing echoed dully in the space, and from more than one griffin. If the Zinthos griffin at the door could be trusted, one of them would be Tomalak.

“Khan Tomalak of Zinthos!” Kaleb announced, bowing his shoulders low against his better instincts. He kept his eyes open and did not lower his beak. “Honored Khan whose name is known among all prides. I am sent by my khan, who is Cyrus of Aquila. I would speak with you on his behalf.”

For a few moments there was nothing. Kaleb listened again, but the sound of breathing stopped. He waited.

In the shadows of the far corner, something moved.

“It would seem the rumors were exaggerated, father,” purred a feminine voice from ahead somewhere. “There is at least one mannered Aquila messenger.”

A second voice arose from his left, deeper but still feminine. “Begone, little herald. Tomalak has no time for weaklings.”

“Be still, sister,” came a third from his right, another female. “Something is curious about this one.”

Kaleb remained still. Tomalak would likely honor the protection of messengers so long as he gave them no reason to strike, but the black-feathered griffins would have all the advantages of terrain here should they decide to test him. Any fighting would be ugly and over fast.

A large form to his left rose up and stepped closer, matching the strong voice that came from her. “When Khan Cyrus wishes to speak with my father, he sends his brother. Where is Aun?”

“He does not smell like Aquila. No…his musk is of the lowlands. ” A wire-framed griffin stood in the far corner, the source of the first voice. “Oh, ears! He must be a Tshaka. Papa, may we kill the imposter?”

“I am no imposter,” Kaleb retorted with the calm of confidence. “And it would be wise to know to whom you speak before you suggest they lie. Some griffin might get hurt.”

“Ooo,” She cooed. “I take it back. Imposter or not, I want to keep this one.”

“Daughters, please. The lowlander is right.” Tomalak’s voice rumbled the casual reprimand from somewhere ahead of Kaleb. It was hard to tell. Sound reflected oddly in this place. “What have I told you about taunting visitors before introductions?”

One of them, possibly the youngest, sighed. “Please, father. He is Tshaka. There have been no important griffins of that pride since their seer passed on.”

Not ten paces in front of Kaleb, Khan Tomalak slowly sat up and revealed his position in the dark room. The Zinthos’ silver-flecked head and neck feathers contrasted with the blackness of his natural color and the nearly lightless background. At full height the aged Zinthos was not much taller than Kaleb at the shoulder, but his slightly longer neck and torso gave the griffin an imperious, looming silhouette. The impression became more exaggerated as he stood and took a few steps forward, his limbs still almost invisible even as he moved.

Surrounded by Tomalak and his retinue, Kaleb recognized it would be a small matter for the group to make him ‘disappear’ and deny that he ever arrived—or at least, so they would assume. His ears twitched, and as his heart rate climbed his mind’s eye reviewed every throwing knife and bolo he carried on his sash.

The khan diffused some of the tension with warm words and welcoming gestures between Kaleb and those surrounding him. “Daughters, please welcome Kaleb of Tshaka, blood brother of Cyrus of Aquila by rite and tradition.” He smiled. “And only male offspring of the Seer Hrothgar, who read Khan Cyrus’s stars.”

There were quiet gasps from the female Zinthos ahead and to the right. The larger of the two purred. “The witness of Cyrus’s first dragon kill? My, we are graced with a minor celebrity.”

“So, you are he who slew Arelius of Hierax in lawful combat. Pity,” said the young one in the back. “The one who replaced him guards better his secrets.”

The tallest, still standing to his left, tilted her head to one side. “But he’s so small, father. Scrawny, even.”

Tomalak rolled his eyes. “How diplomatic of you, Regina.” Tomalak made introductions. “I imagine we’ll be seeing more of Kaleb in the future, so I’d take it as a kindness if you’d refrain from causing him any undo blood loss.”

“Father,” the smallest pouted. “You know we’re better behaved than that. We always ask first.”

Kaleb’s eyes were starting to adjust to the low light, enough to let him see Tomalak give his daughter a doting hug. “I know, dear, and that’s why I love you.” She giggled. He turned to once again face the visitor. “While we appreciate your gracious manner, you’ll find we run things a bit more informally around here. And please, rise. I am not your khan, nor the genghis.”

As he did so, the middle-height daughter to Kaleb’s right whispered mirthfully as he stood. “At least, not yet.”

Tomalak hissed and took a sudden step toward her, eliciting cringes from all three of his daughters. They cowered and returned to the shadows while Tomalak recomposed himself. “I suppose that handles introductions, at least. It is good that they know your face, with Aun slain.” He put a clutch over his heart. “The loss of Cyrus’s dear brother grieves us all.”

Kaleb doubted it, but in either case it mattered little.

“But lets us depart,” the Zinthos continued. “I am sure your khan will be very eager to begin this council.”

The Tshaka raised a questioning eyebrow. “How did you know my message was a summons?”

“Kaleb, Kaleb,” Tomalak said shaking his head. “You wound me. Every griffin in the city knows what this council is about.”

The flight back to the weather factory was uneventful. Tomalak elected to make the flight without his retinue. There were no interruptions or delays. Neither spoke the whole way. Kaleb silently thanked Tengri for all three blessings.

In spite of the damage from the night before, the structure had begun to stir with activity. Small wisps of clean smoke and vapor rose from some of the smaller chimneys, the trails bending in the winter breeze until they melded into the charcoal clouds that hung around the city. As the two griffins descended, holes in the roof revealed griffins with bound ponies in several rooms, musing over devices and machines.

“Hm,” Tomalak mused. “I wouldn’t have expected this progress so soon. They’re ahead of schedule.”

Kaleb ignored the comment, searching the complex below. “There,” he said, pointing a talon ahead.

On the cloud production wing of the building, a cluster of Aquila had gathered near one of the larger gaps in the roof. Among them sat a massive griffin, twice the height of those around him. He sat apart from the others, facing into the west wind, seemingly at peace.

Khan Cyrus sat alone. Looking at him from above, at this distance, it suited him.

As they approached, Kaleb began to identify others nearby. Orm sat vigil for his khan, his calm eyes searching the clouds. Ingrid of the Valyries was also near and the first to spot the new arrivals on their approach.

Gilda sat with Ingrid. She smiled. Kaleb tried to not notice.

Cyrus spoke while the arrivals were landing. “Greetings, Khan Tomalak. Pride Aquila thanks you for your hasty arrival.” He did not stir otherwise. This close, Kaleb could now see he was still without his gauntlets. Orm had mentioned earlier that they had been left with the Immortal’s armorer, that Celestia’s magic had damaged or stained them. When Kaleb had pressed for more, Orm angrily claimed to not know, and declared in a huff that such things were a matter for seers and the armorers to understand, and after a bit of consideration Kaleb couldn't help but agree with him.

“I would never doubt Aquila thanks,” Tomalak announced with just a hint of sarcasm.

Kaleb did his best to hide his smirk. The two khans had a short but antagonistic history, beginning several years ago when Cyrus was first proposing this campaign to other leaders in secret. The Tshaka griffin had unwillingly been swept up in the politics of those days, as a major point of credibility for the whole plan was Cyrus’s belief that he could, in fact, slay the Nightmare given the chance. Kaleb had been the only witness to Cyrus’s first victory over a dragon. Many doubted their recounting, saying that there must be some detail they may not be aware of that was a factor when Cyrus slew the dragon. Strong as Cyrus was, they reasoned, no griffin could hope to slay a healthy firebreather in his prime.

They demanded that Cyrus prove his claim before any discussion of an invasion could be broached. Tomalak suggested that to do so again, with appointed witnesses of many prides, would settle all doubts. It was an easy guess that the Zinthos Khan saw two possible outcomes: Cyrus would decline and lose standing, or perish in the attempt.

Tomalak had failed to account for a third possible outcome.

Cyrus returned victorious. “Take this trophy,” he had said to the elder Zinthos, after dropping a fang ripped from the fallen beast at his feet. “So that you may look to it next you doubt the word of Aquila or Tshaka.”

“Burn,” Herger had whispered through a suppressed grin, drawing out the word.

Tomalak, still Jochi’s greatest rival, chafed from that minor political defeat.

Well enough, Kaleb thought, smirking up at Tomalak without any effort to hide it. Squirm and moan, honorless Zinthos filth. There are no shadows to hide you from me.

The Zinthos did his best to ignore him, but Kaleb saw his left eye twitch. “Ah, and Lady Ingrid,” he said, turning to the elder female in their midst. “It is always a pleasant surprise to see you at council.”

“It is you who surprise, Khan Tomalak,” she replied easily. “I would think that even in your advanced years you would notice a pattern. I have been honored many times by Khan Cyrus to attend council as his adviser.”

“Until you have an appointment of oversight from the pridemothers, I will always be surprised to see you at council,” he stated casually, making a display of circling to find a place to be comfortable. “And it is my pleasure to be charitable towards hens regardless of pride or merit.”

Ingrid smirked. “A wise policy, khan. One never knows which ‘hen’ may someday become a pridemother.”

“Well yes, I suppose.” Tomalak said, waving a clutch in a dismissive gesture. He looked to Cyrus. “Am I also to suppose that we can expect Pyrrhus to grace us with his simian-like intellect?”

Gilda chuckled, then hung her head when she realized she was alone in her enjoyment.

“My brother was sent for him.” Cyrus still hadn’t opened his eyes. “They should be arriving soon.”

Tomalak grunted. “Very well, then. Duty demands that even a khan of my importance must, on occasion, wait on his inferiors.”

They waited, and shadows bent under the moving sun. Eventually a worried and mildly ashamed Herger joined then on the rooftop, by which time every griffin but Cyrus had become annoyed by his absence. He didn’t even have time to speak before Ingrid rose and faced him.

“You arrive alone.” She furrowed her brow. “Where is Khan Pyrrhus of Hierax?”

“He. Uh.” Herger held his head low, looking to his elder sibling. “He isn’t coming, brother. Sorry.”

No one spoke as Cyrus took a deep, thoughtful breath and let it out again. “What did Pyrrhus say?”

Herger stiffened and blinked, a more tangible fear overcoming his previous worry. He scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, um, I don’t remember?”

Cyrus set his jaw, neck visibly tense even under his feathers. “What,” he repeated, “was said, brother?”

Herger raised his head, his eyes apologetic and pleading. “Look, bro. Trust me on this, I don’t remember and right now you don’t want me to.” He stepped past the Zinthos so the khan couldn’t see his face, and indicated Tomalak with a quick darting motion of his eyes. “If I think on it real hard, I might be able to remember later.”

Kaleb and Gilda exchanged a glance. Herger had a well-deserved reputation as a bumbler and a clown. Could he really be holding something back for Cyrus to hear in private, or even just away from Tomalak? Pyrrhus was not one for wit or plans. He was brash and impulsive, giving casual insult to those around him simply because no had…

…oh.

If Pyrrhus had been fool enough to send Herger back with an insulting message, Cyrus would be obligated to call him out. But that obligation would put the stability of the whole invasion at risk. Pyrrhus, like Tomalak, had been sent by his pride to oversee their forces and represent them at council. Any confrontations between them would cause ripples in the confederacy, perhaps even enough for one of the prides to return home. Or worse.

Whatever it was, it must not have been a small thing.

Kaleb heard Gilda’s nervous gulp. She must have guessed the same.

“My.” Tomalak smiled knowingly. “Jochi’s youngest may not be the fool after all.”

Herger’s back stiffened. He didn’t turn, but it was clear by his tone who he meant his words for. “Aun was my father’s youngest. I would ask that you not forget him so soon.”

Cyrus, who had been sitting peacefully in the same spot since Kaleb had returned, rose to his feet and turned, tossing his tail and fixing his brother with a piecing glare. “Herger, you are still late with this news. I would know why.”

Orm nodded with a grunt of agreement. “Was it Pyrrhus that delayed you?”

Herger flushed and took an embarrassed step back. “Uh.”

Orm narrowed his eyes. “I knew it. Stopped to flirt with some chick on the way. Was it Herleif again?”

“What?” Herger feigned insult. “I would never-”

“Oh yes you would.” Gilda rolled her eyes, glancing to Orm. “My money’s on Sefa.”

“Gilda!” Herger did look a bit wounded by that particular suggestion. “You know I promised you I’d leave her alone.”

“Yeah, twice already.” She glowered at him. “It didn’t stop you before, dweeb. That’s why I’d put money on it.”

“No, not Sefa.” Kaleb sighed. “It was most likely Desma.”

It took a moment, but Herger’s defense melted into an embarrassed smile. “We only talked a few minutes. Honest.”

“Wait.” Gilda frowned. “I think I met her. Isn’t she Hierax?”

Orm gagged a hairball.

“As amusing as this embarrassment of Aquila honor might be,” Tomalak interjected happily, “it is a distraction from important matters.”

“Yes,” Cyrus agreed, addressing all the assembled griffins. “There has been a development.”

Tomalak donned a scowl. “Really? Just one?”

Cyrus frowned. “Only one that merits he calling of council, Tomalak, and I am sure that you,” he looked around the group, “that all of you are well aware of what has happened. I suspect you all learned of it as I did.”

Tomalak interrupted. “I had merely hoped that the news of the ponies mustering in Dappleshore or Ponyville would be of some interest to our fearless leader, or at least the destruction of bridges west of Cloudsdale. Alas, but let us do as he wishes.” He sat up, gesturing with exaggerated frustration. “Let us entertain this, his greatest concern, so that he may hasten to commit suicide by alicorn as he has desired for so long.”

Ingrid and Orm both rose to protest, but Tomalak silenced them with a raised clutch, instead squaring his shoulders to the other khan. “In all seriousness, Khan of Aquila, the cannon’s progress southward is the key to the siege of Canterlot. You overvalue the importance of a single pony, even an alicorn.”

The leader of the Valkyries glowered at him. “Twice this alicorn has kept the sun from rising, and you view her significance overrated?”

“Tried twice and failed,” he corrected. “Even with Celestia injured, so long as Harmony stands in her way she would be a fool to try it a third time. Our focus should be on destroying their only safe refuge in Equestria, and for that the cannon must advance to Canterlot.” Tomalak looked to Cyrus, mocking smile on his beak. “And I would think this a boon to you. Why do you worry, khan of destiny?”

“Because I do not trust Hippoi who bring me gifts,” Cyrus stated flatly. “Fate or not, I am not foolish enough to face an ageless evil without some idea of her motivation to be here. We all agreed, months ago, that she would return to hiding in Canterlot when we invaded, much like she hid during the first year of her return. She is still recovering, still regaining her power. Why does she strike out in the maw of war when she is not yet strong? These are my concerns. Ponies have already proven to be crafty opponents. I would not strike out against such a foe, when taking such unexpected actions, without some deliberation. That deliberation is the purpose of this gathering.

“Honored and civilized griffins of the Confederacy,” The khan continued. He gestured to Tomalak. “Honored khan of Zinthos.”

Tomalak twitched a quick nod in thanks.

“The Nightmare has come to Cloudsdale,” Cyrus said firmly. “Based on available information we examined prior to beginning this great crusade, this should not be so. Something is amiss, and I would know what. To that end, I open this council and grant all present both privilege and duty to contribute until this development can be explained or a course of action to reach such an end is resolved upon.”

Kaleb directed a surprise glance to Herger, who shrugged. Apparently this was not unusual practice when Cyrus called a council. Again Kaleb found himself silently regretting his decision to join the Immortals.

Tomalak sighed and looked away, bored.

Ingrid raised her beak at him. “What ails you, Khan Tomalak? Surely you are not so old that your bladder makes trouble.”

“Let’s just get this over with,” Tomalak said with a wing stretch. “The sooner we finish, the sooner Khan Cyrus can be bothered to review other matters of importance.”

“But this is a matter of importance,” Kaleb found himself interjecting. If it was right and proper that he should speak at council, he would speak his mind. “Weak prey runs, sick prey hides. It does not turn and fight. If the Nightmare comes to Cloudsdale she is not cautious, not governed by fear. That should concern every griffin.” Several Aquila heads bobbed in agreement, but none so enthusiastically as Gilda’s.

Herger, sitting on the opposite side of their khan, winked at the Tshaka hunter with an eye that only the three of them could see. Kaleb scowled at him in angry reflex, regretting it instantly. Herger just smiled, a mischievous twinkle in the offending eye.

Kaleb crossed his forelimbs and looked away. Tengri char your feathers, Kaleb cursed him internally with a scowl.

If Tomalak was bothered by the outburst or caught the silent exchange going on before him, Kaleb would have missed it entirely. The Zinthos carried on in his attempts to besmirch the Aquila kahn. “Not if Khan Cyrus is true to his word,” he purred through a thin smile. “Not if he slays the ‘Nightmare,’ as promised.”

“It is in the stars,” Cyrus calmly replied. “It will be.”

“Pah!” Tomalak’s grin turned sour. “Always on about that. What carries water among the common griffin should not matter so much to a khan.”

Cyrus shook his head, disappointed. “Still you doubt the seers. A griffin should know better.”

“Not at all,” the Zinthos replied. “Fate is fate, Cyrus: that you rush to yours is as futile as any who flee from it. It is not wise. But since you have always sought to hasten fate and she is now so near, perhaps it is time to reconsider my original suggestion.” Tomalak tossed his tail, purring the last two words. “Many of my best agents are beyond this city, but my daughters should be able to get you close to the nightmare while she sleeps. You could be free from fate before sunrise, and then we might all view details of this campaign with proper deference and respect.”

“If Fate had wanted her slain by an assassin’s talon,” growled Cyrus with a tail twitch, “then he should not have selected a warrior for the task.”

“Or a son of Aquila,” added Ingrid, directing a stern glare at Tomalak.

Orm pounded the roof beneath him with a clenched clutch. “Here here!”

“I only offer, not insist.” Tomalak sly grin widened. He likely had already known the answer. “But if the idea so offends, it need not be mentioned again.”

“Well enough,” Cyrus said angrily. “For the answer would always be no. I will not assail my foe when she is unprepared. I will not steal a victory.

"But enough of this!” He mashed the rooftop with a clenched clutch. “The time of the Nightmare’s reckoning is at hand, yet she rushes out to her doom. I would know why. This is the topic of this council, not our prejudices. Observations, ideas, rumors, I want them all. This I demand as he who called this council and he who commands this invasion."

"Then you will finally kill her?" Tomalak asked with annoyed impatience.

"Yes," Cyrus agreed with a nod. "Finally."

On the upper deck of the Cloudsdale fliers’ stadium, the princess of the night sat alone. She looked out over the smoldering city, struggling to spot the remains of buildings and landmarks that would have been plainly visible to the eye just a day before. The fliers’ academy was easiest, being on the west side and upwind. The capitol building now bore the flags and banners of Pride Aquila and the greater Griffin Confederacy, but they did little to hide the scorch marks on its southern walls. The weather factory, in the northeast, was barely visible through the smoke.

Of course, she wasn’t really alone. Around the rim of the great building, unicorns and earth ponies of the 101st division stood a quiet vigil. Night guards flanked her at all times, now accompanying her in groups of four instead of the usual two, as dictated by tradition for wartime. She had briefly disagreed with Nova Drive over that detail, but her guard captain was well within her rights to insist on it given the events of the previous night. But there are many kinds of isolation, and not all are determined by distance.

Everywhere she looked, new affronts to peace and pony sovereignty filled her vision. Even the air she breathed, smelling of soot and ash, served as an inescapable reminder that she now stood in a despoiled and contested city. It got into her nose and lungs and tingled with a burning sensation.

She doubted the ponies around her could comprehend her growing rage, but that was a comfort. No penance or judgment could balance the scales for this affront, this sin. Griffins would die, she decided, not just by her leadership. She would end them herself, by hoof and horn, with one noteworthy griffin in particular.

By now he would know she had come, even if he hadn’t heard the princess announce herself. Good, she thought with a smile. Let the fool tremble.

‘Your Highness, I just received a disturbing report.’ The sending spell forced her out of her brooding mood, and probably for the best. She closed her eyes to focus.

‘Director, we are already aware-’

‘Am I to understand you announced your arrival in the royal voice to the entire city?’ came Petronel's near-panicked question. ‘I don’t…what could have possibly possessed you to take such an action?’

Luna blinked. ‘We came to bolster morale and sow fear in the enemies of ponykind. You were made aware of this before we departed, director.’

‘Princess, please,’ came the snapped reply. ‘This is nothing at all like what we discussed. You’ve painted a target on yourself and dared thousands of griffins to hunt for you, personally, and I know you’re not foal enough not to understand this.’

‘We are not concerned with the numbers of our foes,’ the princess shot back. ‘And what we do, we do for our little ponies. You should see the city, director. General Manifold did not exaggerate in his report.’

‘Your highness! I,’ the sending broke. Odd. Petronel’s sending were usually well composed and smooth, and never choppy. When he started again, though, his message was perhaps the most compact and organized she had yet seen from him.

‘While I would question your willingness to disregard an enemy’s numerical superiority, I’d like to remind you that many are armed with magic-cancelling tools that we do not yet even understand. You are allowing your actions to be dictated by your emotions after recent events. Please trust me, I understand. I understand so very, very well what seeing the city means to you, but announcing yourself in such a manner is bordering on pathologically suicidal. I must respectfully but forcefully advise that you return to Canterlot as soon as a reasonable public departure can be made.’

“Unacceptable!” Luna’s voice boomed in the Royal Voice in addition to being sent by magic. She heard soldiers and guards around her land after a startled jump. She ignored them. ‘We will not abandon our citizens on the field of battle, before this enemy or any other!’

‘Highness, must I beg you-’

‘No you will not!’ She stamped a hoof in a useless display of passion. He couldn’t see it. ‘The matter is settled, and we will not hear any more petitions for our return, from thee or any other pony. Consider the matter taboo. We will converse again after we speak with Manifold. Do not send to us until then. Good day, director.’

Luna ended the sending with a slight energy spike for emphasis on the last point, and with a huff put the matter out of mind. She opened her eyes.

The city hadn’t changed. Again she was offended by the sight of the griffins’ labors. She scowled and redoubled her silent brooding.

It would have continued if not for the sound of whispers on the breeze. She turned to see a one of her Night Guards conversing with an orange and yellow pegasus mare in a blue air corps uniform.

She needed a distraction, something else to think about. Standing to face the arrival, she buried her mood under her best royal smile. “We apologize for disturbing anypony. Is there any way the Princess of the Night may be of assistance?” The officer and night guard both bowed, and Luna bid them rise.

“Princess Luna,” the pegasi said as they both stood, and the orange officer assumed a stance of attention. With parade ground precision, the princess noted. “General Manifold has assembled his staff for the briefing you requested. The remainder should be arriving shortly. By your leave, I would escort you to him, your highness.”

Luna sighed in relief. Finally, work to do. “We would be most thankful to thee. Let us depart immediately.” They did, with the princess still being shadowed by her guard. The six of them made their way down the stairs.

Luna struggled with a feeling that she should recognize this pegasus, until a greeting from a passerby refreshed her memory. She grinned. “We must say we are surprised, commander. We would not have expected a pony of such esteem to be sent as a courier.”

Spitfire smiled right back. “I needed a walk. Besides, how else could I ever hope to chat with Princess Luna?” They chuckled.

“We must confess to have been interested in meeting thee as well. We have seen thy team perform in Canterlot and our guard captain, Nova Drive, speaks very highly of thee and thy Wonderbolts.”

“Really?” Spitfire’s smile dissolved into a flinch. “I guess that shouldn’t be much of a surprise. She’s that kind of a pony.” The pegasi hesitated before asking, “How is she?”

“Things were difficult for her for many months, but we believe she has finally recovered.” Luna reassured the commander. “She is a bit overzealous at times, but a natural leader. I could not have asked for a better suited pony for captain of my guard.”

“That’s something at least.” Spitfire nodded. “We’re short on everything up here, but maybe talented fliers most of all. Every pair of wings counts, and Nova is certainly no slouch.”

They laughed lightly together. It felt good, but soon Spitfire’s smile faded again. “Princess Luna, this might sound strange coming from me, but thank you for coming. You can’t know how much it’s meant to us here. I was running out of ways to keep ponies focused when you arrived.”

“We understand. Looking out at your wonderful city...” Luna struggled to describe it, but hit on an understanding. “It is like a war of old, but fought with modern convention and means. These griffins seem to pillage and destroy as they advance, with no regard for the future or the past. We struggle to think of something near its likeness even in our long memory. Were you in the city when…”

Spitfire’s ears drooped a bit. “Yeah.” When she saw Luna’s sympathetic gaze, she flushed. “Please, don’t worry about it princess. I’ve been so fortunate. All my family lives in the east end, and they’re being evacuated to Fillydelphia. They’ll be safe there as long as we can hold the griffins here.”

Luna felt her face harden. “We will do better than that, commander. Thou may take our word on it.”

The pegasi nodded. “It’s just…I’ve been blessed in that regard. My family is okay, and I know it. Others,” she hung her head. “Soarin’s situation might be the worst I’ve heard. His family lived on the north side. He hasn’t heard word of any of them.”

An area which was now a griffin stronghold, Luna realized. “You may tell him…” Luna paused. What could anypony say to that?

“Yeah,” Spitfire said with a nod. “I had the same problem.”

The princess’s nostrils flared. Soarin would not be alone in his grief. Most of the city would have friends and loved ones unaccounted for, and the rest would be in Spitfire’s position, trying to comfort those who were in that place. This, while all toiled to halt the invaders and eventually free Cloudsdale from the griffins. The princess’s mind drifted back to the previous night, seeing Celestia beaten near death, and though it cut her deeply it became the key to unlocking the riddle.

What would Celestia tell this pony?

“You may tell him,” she started again. “Tell him and those in his place that the light has yet to go out in Equestria. And that the Princess of the Night asks that he continue to uphold his duty so long as it persists.”

Spitfire stopped in the hallway, looking up at her princess, searching her face. “But princess, what is that light?”

A broad smile came unbidden to Luna’s lips. “Why, little pony, it’s that warmth you feel when you are there for Soarin. We may fight to protect the city, but it is not our purpose.” Luna reached out with a hoof to the pegasi’s should and smiled. “We fight for our friends, Spitfire, and for our friends’ friends. That is the real Cloudsdale, the real Equestria.”

Spitfire blinked away a tear. “Yeah. I think I can tell him that.”

They walked the rest of the way in a warm silence. Luna enjoyed it while she could. She knew from experience that the days ahead would offer little more in the way of easy moments.

“Orm,” Kaleb whispered to the veteran Immortal as the debate raged on before them. “You have been to council before. Do they often last this long?”

The Aquila grunted. “They last as long as he wishes, when our khan calls them. Once all through the daylight.” He stopped to consider. “Though now matters are more urgent. He pushes for conclusion.”

Kaleb nodded. “He will face the Nightbringer soon, and finally be rid of that curse.”

“Heh,” Orm whispered back. “Khan Cyrus with no prophesy to drive him, to guide his actions? I cannot imagine that.”

Kaleb didn’t have to imagine. He could remember, though it felt like long ago. A voice at the council snagged his attention.

“Perhaps Celestia suspects,” Gilda offered. “Maybe Luna was sent out with orders to defend the city, knowing you would rid Celestia of her rival.”

Tomalak tossed his head about slowly, playing with the idea. “It would be a convenient way to dispose of her kin, should she now expect eventual betrayal. Khan Cyrus, during your battle with the Sun Princess, could she have been testing your ability to do so?”

“No,” replied Cyrus, shaking his head after another moment’s consideration. “No, she held back nothing.”

Ingrid raised an eyebrow. “I respect your abilities and trust your judgment, my khan, but are you certain of this?”

“There were words while we fought.” Cyrus said. He sighed. “And she acted with the fury of one fighting to defend family.”

“No,” Tomalak said, shock and frustration dripping from his words as he sat up. “You couldn’t have told her. Not even Pyrrhus would be so foolish.”

“There was no need.” Cyrus shrugged. “Apparently I am the image of Khan Nebakanezer, and by that or some other magic she guessed my greater purpose.”

While the other griffins sat shocked and baffled, Gilda blinked. “Uh. Who?”

“He is Khan Cyrus’s ancestor,” Ingrid told her, wide eyed and breathless at the use of the name. “It was he who joined Celestia during the first Nightmare War.”

“And to whom Celestia promised that the threat of eternal night was ended for all time,” Tomalak added, considering. “Most curious, and…slightly distressing.”

“Perhaps now you will take the prophesy of his stars more seriously, Khan Tomalak.” Ingrid narrowed her eyes at the Zinthos and gestured to Cyrus. “He is meant to slay the Nightmare. Even her sister now fears it.”

“What matters,” Cyrus cut in before they could argue, “is that if Celestia was well enough to raise the sun, she would have told her sister of my intentions. Her intent to protect her sister is evident to me. She would not have sent said family out to war without arming her with this knowledge. Which further begs the question, why would she come Cloudsdale, the center of our griffin forces?”

“You know, maybe we’re over thinking this.” Herger stretched. “With respect bro, you sorta put the hurt on her sibling. This could all just be about gettin' some payback.”

Everygriffin was silent for several long moments, different amounts of disgust and disagreement on most of their faces.

Herger looked around innocently. “It’s what I’d wanna do.”

Tomalak alone considered the idea. “There is some merit to that. On her return from the moon, she merely banished her sister rather than slaying her on the spot.” He nodded slowly. “Just because the Nightmare envies her sister’s throne is no reason for her not to still love her elder.”

“I suppose you might know something of that.” Ingrid allowed with a glare. “Did not the honored Zinthos Khan once have a pair of older brothers, and did not both die under mysterious circumstances?”

“In that alone, I admit to envy of Luna’s power,” he said wistfully. “To banish one’s rivals with magic would be far preferable to waiting for simple, mundane accidents to remove them.”

Gilda paled and voiced a thought. “If the Nightmare is on the move, could…could one of the elements have been killed?” She glanced around, wide eyed. “That would be really bad, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes, but very unlikely,” Ingrid put a supportive clutch on Gilda’s shoulder. “Celestia was right to keep the elements outside the capital while she kept her sister close to home. It is the reason Ponyville was avoided in the first strike planning. We can be reasonably certain they were spared any danger from our forces, as well as out of reach of the Nightmare during the confusion. But it was a good thought.”

“So…the bearers are safe.” Gilda sighed happily. “That’s good news, at least.”

“Indeed.” Tomalak scowled. “It may be the only detail we can be certain about in this matter, on account of the observation that the sun is still in the sky.”

“Now that we are engaged,” Kaleb wondered, “why would Celestia keep such valuable fighters hidden away? United, they defeated the Nightmare. Should we not be concerned some griffin may slay one in ignorance?”

Cyrus sighed. “This has been accounted for. The descriptions given by Gilda are being circulated amongst our forces on the ground, with specific orders not to kill the bearers. But this is not the matter before us.” He started to pace, his voice growing angry. “The Nightmare is here, now. Why? She should be hiding behind the Shieldbearer in Canterlot. What is her motive for being out here? What does she stand to gain by putting herself within my reach?”

“Somewhere, there is a pony who does not know of seers and their prophesies,” Tomalak mused in sarcastic frustration. “And that pony views your actions with equal befuddlement. This is a pointless exercise. We have no way to know what is in a pony’s mind across the battle lines. She is here! Go out and kill her already, and save us the trouble of untangling this yarn.”

“Ugh, this is so hard.” Gilda slouched with a huff. “It’d be sooo much easier to figure this out if we could just ask, or even just talk with her.”

Cyrus brightened, scratching his lower beak. “Hm. Perhaps.” Tomalak and Ingrid exchanged a glance and a nod, some unseen agreement passing between them.

Tomalak rose and turned to leave. “Send Kaleb to me with the details, once you have them,” he said, just before taking flight. “I wish to be present as an observer, if nothing else.”

“Your insight would be appreciated, just as it was here, Khan Tomalak.” Cyrus nodded to the departing Zinthos. “Pride Aquila again thanks you.”

Tomalak smiled his empty smile, and was gone.

“Perhaps what?” Orm blinked at his khan. “I don’t understand. What was decided?”

“The meeting was a formality, friend Orm. Ingrid and I have already spoken on this matter in private, while you were each on your errands.”

“Then why call the other khans?” Kaleb asked. He was just as confused as Orm. “Why not simply act?”

Cyrus leaned over his blood brother and smiled. “Because, Kaleb, it was important that Tomalak see how we came to our conclusion.” He turned his smile to Gilda. “And this meeting served as a test for our private judgment. I wanted to see if together, you would produce the same conclusion. Thanks to Gilda, it did.”

Gilda flushed and looked away from her cousins, then up at Ingrid. “I have a good teacher.”

Orm sat. “I still do not know what was decided.”

Cyrus turned round to Herger, and gestured that he should speak. Herger sighed and spoke with clear reluctance. “He’s gonna try to get the pony to talk with him, but I can't imagine how.”

“Wait.” Kaleb still struggled to understand the nature of the meeting. “You had already chosen a course of action. This council was a farce.” His stomach turned over. “A deception.”

“A show, but not a farce.” Ingrid said. “If the thinking had gone in another direction, we would have had new things to consider. It did not.”

“And Kaleb,” Cyrus continued, “politics is all about the show, controlling what others see. That doesn’t make the show untrue. Besides,” he added, “you visited Tomalak’s encampment. Do you really think that in whatever you saw there, it was any less than a display planned for your benefit?”

Kaleb considered a moment, rethinking his encounter with Tomalak’s daughters. It explained a great deal.

“Pah.” Orm spat on the roof. “I don’t care for these games. Nothing is as it seems.

Cyrus put a clutch on his brother’s shoulders and shook him gently and with pride. “In any case, Herger is right. I do mean to speak with the Nightmare. And that brings us another very important matter. Orm! Go below and fetch me Grima. I will have words with him.” Orm darted through the gaping maw of a hole in the rooftop, happy to have a simple order to follow. Ingrid and Gilda said their goodbyes and departed to join the rest of the Valkyries.

Orm returned a few minutes later with a livid chief interrogator trailing behind him. Grima wasted no time on pleasantries. “My khan, I must object!” Grima said with an impertinently quick bow, “I informed your courier about our latest progress with the pegasi devices, but he insisted on dragging me here anyway. These repeated interruptions will only cause further delay, and with the revised timeta-”

“Quiet,” Cyrus interrupted. There was a sharpness to his tone, but he did not portray anger. “This is about something else. Sit.”

Grima looked like he had something on the tip of his tongue, but he thought better of it. He swallowed and sat. Cyrus let the silence drag between them. Grima’s eyes darted about as his nervousness grew.

“You disobeyed my order,” Cyrus declared.

The interrogator flinched. “How, my khan?” He bowed low. “The factory below us is warming up for production even now.”

“Yes, and for this I thank you on behalf of the entire confederacy. However, my orders were to separate those ponies who had technical or military expertise for interrogation. This you have done.” Cyrus’s face darkened. “It was also my order to treat all other captives with care and respect. You have done the opposite.”

“That is sadly the nature of ponies, my khan. They respond slowly to…personal attention.” Grima donned a wicked smile. “But to injure another pony in front of them, where they can see and hear…”

Cyrus took two steps closer to Grima, towering over the Aquila interrogator. “That is my meaning, and more! I have received reports you are injuring ponies for sport. You take a perverse pleasure in causing suffering. It offends me and tarnishes Aquila honor. It will not continue. Interrogate ponies with knowledge of the city’s workings. Others are not to be molested.”

Cyrus narrowed his eyes. “Is this clear?”

Grima cowered, but still stewed with rage. “Yes.”

“If I inspect the cells tomorrow, will I find this order being carried out to the letter?”

Now Grima ground his beak. “Yes, my khan.”

“Good.” Cyrus turned from the chief interrogator to the rest of his retinue. “Orm, Herger. Go with Grima to the holding cells. See to the care of the ponies there, and prepare mares and foals with no knowledge of the city’s working to be moved.”

“No, my khan, you can’t!” Grima stood again, glaring up at the khan. “You father appointed me chief interrogator, and I ref-”

Without looking or turning, Cyrus slowly reached back with a massive clutch and rested his open talons on Grima’s head, his talons long enough to grasp the smaller griffin’s skull almost down to his jaw on both sides. It was a little motion, performed casually and with no added menace or performance, but with that simple hold Cyrus could have ended the smaller griffin without effort. Grima knew it. The words died in his mouth and his eyes went wide with fear. The coward even trembled.

Orm and Herger exchanged a small glance of approval.

Cyrus continued to address his brother and friend. “Time is of the essence. I’m sure the chief interrogator would happily provide any documentation he has produced to speed up the selection.”

“U-u-of course,” Grima stammered.

“Good. See it done.” Cyrus released him and the three made ready to depart.

Kaleb rose. “What of me, my khan?”

Cyrus put a clutch on the Tshaka’s shoulder. “Blood-brother and friend. You will go with them, but your task is separate. You will choose for me one pegasus of strong will, and bring him to me personally.” Cyrus explained what he had in mind.

Kaleb nodded with a smile. “I think I know the pony for the job.”

Chapter 12: Dark Knights

Dark Knights

Nova Drive, commander of the Night Guard, hovered an aerial vigil over the battered city that was her home. She had been born and raised in Cloudsdale. Her old house was mere trotting distance from the Fliers’ Academy, not that she had ever just walked there. Flight had been her life, her love, and her obsession in those days. Once her proudest moment, Nova had been one of the youngest ponies to win the Young Flier’s Competition in the stadium just below her. Ahead to the north she saw the weather factory, where she had gotten her first real job handling the arrival of water reserves. It was there she had opened the letter from the Wonderbolts, accepting her application to training camp.

That was a lifetime ago.

Nova looked down at the city, comparing what she saw to her memories, distant as they seemed. The once pristine blues and whites were tarnished with grey ash and red embers. There were holes in the cityscape where she remembered buildings used to be, now little more than piles of masonry. She drank the sights of the wounded and besieged city.

None of them moved her. Colonel Nova Drive had no tears for the city below. And, to her, it was only proper.

Three years ago, she had hovered in almost this exact place and said her inner goodbyes to Cloudsdale and its pegasi. At the time, she had imagined she would never return. Cloudsdale was no longer her home. The ponies here had rejected her, all but cast her out.

Much had changed. She closed her eyes and allowed herself a tiny smile. She had found a new home—a place to belong—with ponies that cared about her and needed her. Nova had new friends, a new family.

She had the Night Order.

She had Her.

Nova may have been raised on Cloudsdale, but it wasn’t hers anymore, at least not as it used to be. Nova belonged to the moon, bought and paid for by the glorious mercy of the Princess of the Night.

“Art thou occupied, Colonel?” called a voice from behind her. Vapor Trail had returned early.

“Slightly, but ‘tis nothing of consequence.” She faced him. “Is all made ready, Lieutenant?”

“Yes, Colonel.” The younger stallion nodded. “We have commandeered a makeshift barracks just a floor below our princess’s new quarters. Corporal Sonnet was most pleased with the space, and is seeing to its conversion even now.”

“And the other?”

“The color sergeant has secured a space in the stadium, as was ordered by thee. He eagerly awaits thy return.” He thought about it. “Perhaps not eagerly.”

Nova nodded once, punctuating it with a grunt. Were there a demonstration team for stern, humorless ponies, Hardtack would be the captain. “It would be most unlike the warhorse.”

Vapor opened his mouth to speak, and thoughtfully closed it again. He was the newest recruit of the officers in the guard, and least accustomed to the traditional speech. Nova allowed him the time. “The lodging proved the more difficult of thy orders. I hope thou might possess a taste for the candy of cotton.”

“Oh?”

He grinned. “T’was a concession stand for the confection but yesterday. There are many stores of the mix, and the gins can be powered by unicorn magics instead of the utilities of power.” He licked his lips.

“But such a resource should not be wasted without thought.” Nova allowed herself a crack of a smile. “Perhaps we should secure the stores as a ration, awarded to squads for meritous service.”

Vapor’s ears drooped. “Of course, sir. It would be a fine use of the boon.”

Nova laughed openly. “Do not wear thy face so long, lieutenant. Ahead there shall be many ways to prove thyself. This may be the beginning of a glorious new tradition!”

The stallion’s frown evaporated, replaced by a guise of contemplation. “I had not considered.”

“In any event, ’tis a concern for later. Return to the barracks. By my order, all Luna’s chosen are to don their armor and assemble by the stadium gate but for those of the royal escort. I shall go ahead, and shall see thee there. Thou art dismissed.”

Vapor saluted. “Sir!”

Nova watched the stallion depart and was almost overcome with joy. Here above ashes of her old home, her wait was over. She was ready. The Order was ready. Nova would finally prove her worth to her Princess. As she descended to the stadium, her thoughts were an alloy of considerations for the days ahead and daydreams of death inflicted to the enemies of Luna’s night.

It would be glorious.

But first, she mused, we shall make an impression.

The Cloudsdale stadium was packed.

No. That is unfair. Nova had seen it packed before, as a filly. This far and away surpassed what she remembered of her youth. Both the stadium and grounds were crammed far beyond capacity. Had the Equestrian Air Marshall Service been around to care, there would have been Tartarus to pay, but with the griffin horde so near nopony paid any mind to mere fire safety regulations. With unicorns and pegasi on watch in all directions, the structure had become the heart of the city’s defense. The stadium was no longer a monument to the pegasi sports, but a bastion for the defense of all Equestria.

Yet, being the only truly secure building left in the clouds meant that everything that could be done here was being done here. Much like the cotton candy stall the guard had secured earlier, every surface was being put to use as barracks, armory, mess, hospital, or anything else the defenders needed. Ponies on hoof could hardly escape the dense herd of busy pastel equines. The cramped conditions were compounded by the ever-swelling numbers of wingless ponies being shuttled up to the city by chariot. The stadium center had been filled in for the benefit of the flightless, where many mingled almost shoulder to shoulder except for a small empty island in the very middle. Ponies of earth and magic, here amongst the clouds; nopony ever would have thought it before today, and she had met the pony who had made it possible. The thought of it made Nova’s heart leap, but it was the sight of the ponies before her that made it soar.

Ahead, two rows of armored ponies filed out from the visiting team’s gate. They trotted easily instead of marched, but their orderly, wordless movement suggested a deep-rooted discipline all its own. Their dark, matching armor and coats were of royal colors, though of a princess few had yet justly recognized for her greatness and mercy. Even clad in armor and uniform in color by way of illusion magic, it was still quite easy to tell them apart. The spells did nothing to hide differences in build or stature. Slightly more than half had wings; most of the rest had horns. Still they moved as one pony, quiet in step as a night’s breeze.

The Night Order Royal Guard was coming.

Nova’s eyes searched the stands before her, taking stock without breaking her stance. Even among the busy ponies in the stadium, heads were starting to turn. They had come to attend their own business, but were about to witness a show all the same. She suppressed a smile.

The pony with her had doubts. “Colonel, art thou quite certain this is needed?” Vapor asked carefully.

“It is time for Equestria to see the greatness of our Princess. It is time for them to know her guard.” Nova turned a harsh gaze to the officer. “And if thou had concerns, it is too late to voice them now.”

“I have no doubts about the display. Just,” he flattened his ears. “Is it not too soon for such a farewell? And in front of all these ponies.”

“Gone is gone,” Nova almost growled. “And there will likely not be time again.”

He mumbled something Nova couldn’t hear. She had no time for it anyway.

The night guard drew closer. They were calm, precise, wearing fearsome armors laden with midnight enchantments both benign and insidious. And most of all, quiet. Nopony spoke as Color Sergeant Hardtack ordered the company to halt and right face with mere gestures of ears and tail, every one of them suddenly turning to face their officers with a silent pivot.

Hardtack stepped forward and saluted.

Nova turned her head to Vapor, who correctly interpreted it as an order. He in turn looked to Hardtack. “Color sergeant?”

The big grey earth pony clicked his hooves and saluted. “Sir!” Nova knew him to be naturally dough-colored under the magic of his armor, but the illusion better brought out his hard blue eyes. One of the few ponies of the reformed guard to have been career military prior to Luna’s call, he was not one to be trifled with.

Vapor nodded with honest respect. “Call the role, if you please.”

“Sir.”

Hardtack spun to face the formation. “’Tention!”

Every pony before him stood straight, shifting right until their hooves touched. The resulting clack reverberated through the stadium, drawing more eyes.

Nova fought to suppress another grin. Hardtack must have enlisted one of the unicorns in the unit to amplify the sound in some manner. Nova knew which pony would be getting the first meritous ration of cotton candy.

The color sergeant withdrew a small scroll from under his armor, and began to read. “Astro Turf?”

Astro clicked his hooves. “Here, Sir!”

Hardtack eyed him. Astro Turf might have been the only pony in the unit larger and stronger than the sergeant, but still he withered slightly under his gaze. “Just sir, thank you.”

“Sorry, sir.”

“Quite all right.” The sergeant harrumphed. “Aurora?”

A mare in the front row flapped her wings. “Sir!”

“Blue Moon?” There was no answer. “Blue Moon.”

Standing at the far end of the line, a lanky mare pegasus took a half step forward. Barely old enough to buy her own cider and certainly youthful enough to be doubted for it, Sonnet had nonetheless proven herself a talented organizer and been promoted to corporal. The little pony handled most of the unit’s paperwork, and though her talents were a much-needed blessing to the young and growing Night Order, she had much to learn of soldiering. She raised her chin and announced, “H-honor duty, sir,” with passable decorum (aside from the stutter) and stepped back into formation.

The sergeant nodded and made a note on the scroll. It did not matter that the night guard had a presentation to make. Their highest duty was Her protection. Ponies on that duty were excused from all other functions until relieved of that post. On every day before today, that had meant a pair at all times.

Today, Equestria was at war. The royal escort would be doubled until Equestria’s inevitable victory over the griffin interlopers. Currently, Nova had sent her best to keep vigil over their beloved princess, including her executive officer.

Nova’s eyes gleamed with pride as she made a silent accounting. The two rows before her were composed of fourteen of the finest enlisted ponies in all Equestria. The color sergeant, Nova and Vapor Trail made seventeen. Four more were on primary duty, ensuring the safety of their princess.

Wait, that was only twenty one. Her smile faded into confusion. They were one short. Who could be…

Right. With Silver Mist gone, the proper count was twenty one, not twenty two.

She would have loved this, Nova thought with a sad smile. Nova and Silver had been the founding members of the reactivated Night Order. The two mares had become friends as they rebuilt the Order from the ground up, though at times Nova had found the unicorn’s bubbly optimism hard on the nerves. While Nova had the experience to take responsibility for the unit’s operations and tactics, Silver had become the unit’s historian. She had spent hours of her off duty time in the Canterlot archives, finding what she could about the Old Guard, making copies, and sharing her findings at mess. On Mondays it had become unwritten tradition that a story be told, either of the Old Guard or a new initiate, and she would be the one to tell it.

We need not frown over misdeeds of days past, Silver Mist had once said with her uplifting smile. We are Luna’s chosen; we are Night Order. So hold thy heads high, and be not ashamed.

Nova may have made a unit out of them, but Silver Mist had made them a family.

“Colonel?” The faint whisper brought the mare to the present. Vapor’s eyes settled on her with worry. “Art thou unwell?”

“Nay,” she replied softly, blinking away the speck in her eye. “T’was merely the splendor that got the better of me. Pay it no mind.”

Vapor twitched a nearly invisible nod, but still watched her with concern.

Hardtack carried on, paying no mind to the exchange if he was aware of it all. “Firebat?”

A unicorn stallion in the second row lifted his chin. A faint wisp of fire flickered up along his horn, tracing its spiral ridges as it rose. When it reached the top, it flared like a torch. He grinned and let the fire go out. “Need a light?” There were some laughs and chuckles from onlookers, and even a few of the guard seemed to be fighting back smiles.

The sergeant didn’t miss a beat. “No comedians please. Firebat?”

The unicorn’s smile flickered, but didn’t disappear. “Sir.”

Hardtack nodded once, and made another mark on the scroll. “Gamma Ray?”

Gamma lifted his chin, fierce fire of pride in his eyes. “Sir!” The unicorn was eager, as usual.

Vapor discreetly cleared his throat. Nova eyed him, and he twitched his ear to indicate something behind her. She turned her head enough to see.

There, a ways off to her left and in a high row in the stands, Nova saw what had Vapor’s attention. Three seated ponies stood out amongst the rest of those in the stands, all watching the display on the stadium floor just as she looked up to them. The trio exchanged glances and words, donned in armor and all with the same whitewashed coat.

“Day guards,” Nova spat under her breath.

“Yes.” Vapor’s words were quiet enough Nova had to turn her ears and tilt her head. “Is Celestia come as well?”

“Certainly not. She is still unwell.”

“Well enough to raise the sun, but true.” Then he gave quiet voice to Nova’s own worry. “Could she doubt us?”

She ground her teeth. “She is not our princess.”

“T’is not a no,” the lieutenant mumbled.

Nova glared at him. His ears drooped, and he nodded in capitulation of the subject.

She considered. Day guards had come, and stood apart from their beloved sun princess. That was no small thing. Still, there were too many possibilities. Some she could understand, but if it was as Vapor had suggested…

“I shall treat with them.”

Vapor blinked. “Sir?”

“We must ascertain their purpose, lieutenant. And ‘tis not a duty easily delegated.” She considered. “Stay with the guard. Thou shall handle relations with the public after the ceremony.”

Vapor opened his mouth to protest as Nova finished her thought. “Unless thou would rather exchange words with those who rejected thee.” He blinked and closed his mouth again.

The roll had carried on through the distraction. “Moonseed?”

A dower earth pony mare lifted her chin. “Sir.”

Hardtack made the mark. “Nightshade?”

“Sir,” came the empty answer of the unicorn in almost the same tone and pitch as the previous mare. A few nearby ponies flicked their ears, but there was no deception; Nightshade and Moonseed were twin sisters from the outskirts of Stalliongrad. Nova had little understanding of this ‘goth’ movement in which they took part, but they were capable soldiers and medics so she paid it little mind.

The roll was nearing the end. “Sonnet?”

The mare lifted her chin, a quiver in her lip. “Sir.” She knew what was coming, the poor filly. They all did, but it would be hardest on her.

Nova had made her intentions clear to the guard when giving her orders concerning this display. It was true that the first of these was so that they might become known to the defenders of the city. The night guard was a fearsome sight, as intended, but it was time to use that image as a boon for Equestria’s spirits. If Princess Luna had brought these terrifying ponies to fight by their side, Nova had reasoned, surely the sight of them displayed in ranks would bring hope to the defenders.

The other reason was far less joyous. The Night Order had taken its first casualty the previous night, and it was time to wish that pony a fond farewell.

Nova watched Sonnet as Hardtack called out the final names. When only one remained, intentionally held for last, Hardtack took a deep breath. “Silver Mist?”

Nova could see several ponies blinking in the rows, including Vapor Trail by her side. Sonnet sniffled.

The color sergeant looked up, and tried again. “Silver Mist?” He waited. “Corporal Silver Mist?”

At this last call, Sonnet stepped forward, her eyes moist. “Silver Mist cannot answer the roll, Sir.”

Vapor took a half step and pivoted to face his commanding officer. “Sir, Corporal Sonnet reports that Silver Mist cannot answer the roll.”

Nova faced Sonnet. “For what reason?”

The mare’s voice quivered as she offered a salute. “Sir! Silver Mist has gone to guard the stars.”

“She will be missed.” Nova looked to Hardtack. “Strike her name from the rolls.”

A quiver ran through the guard. Little twitches of emotion became more apparent even though they remained at attention. Their silence had spread beyond the guard ponies to the onlookers. Some removed their hats.

It was a time for words. Nova took to the sky, hovering at shoulder height that she might be better seen and heard.

“One of our own has gone ahead of us into the sky. No pony alive knew better what it meant—what it means—to be of the Night Order than Silver Mist. Indeed, t’was she who taught most us how. But Silver Mist also spoke that, just as our Princess Luna and the Moon are eternal, so too is our Order. Her name may be struck from the roll, but it goes on to the annals of the Guard, with names like Adventus and Cleitus the Black, beside such ponies she would not feel ashamed. Thus she led by example, thus she shall be remembered.”

There were a few sounds of agreement from the guard and a couple nodding heads. Nova steeled her voice. “Sine luce.”

“Sine timore!” finished the host of night guards, the words echoing in the stadium. Thus it came to pass that the Night Order Royal Guard said goodbye to their first loss in over a thousand years.

“I hereby grant the guard a ninety minute furlough,” Nova decreed. “The guard will reconvene in the barracks at 1130. Dismissed.”

The guard dispersed to enjoy the last bit of free time they could expect in the near future, and many were immediately swept up in crowds of curious ponies. Hoofshakes were exchanged and questions were asked of the dark-clad ponies that had come to the aid of the beleaguered defenders. So too were condolences offered; many a pony in the clouds had been touched by loss the previous day. Few things bond creatures together as quickly as the shared experience of pain or loss. On that day in Cloudsdale it was something all ponies had in abundance, and every pony of the Order knew something of ashes.

Nova did not join them. It was enough to see the order mingle, welcomed by those their princess bade them to protect. She darted skyward, eyes peeled for day guards as she circled the stadium.

She had a question that needed an answer.

The day guards were gone, or at least not where Vapor had first spotted them. Were they still in the stands, it would have been a small matter to find them again. They were not. Nor were they on the upper levels. She was beginning to fear a need to land and search the building floor by floor when a white pony on the stadium grounds caught her eye. She almost missed him without his helmet, but as she turned to make her approach she got a good look at his face. This stallion was no whitewashed day guard mook. None of the guesses she had come up with for day guards being in Cloudsdale fit anymore, except for the one that angered her most.

She ground her teeth. He was standing in line for some kind of lunch table, seemingly left out for general use by the defenders. She landed behind him. The short line he was in moved forward, and Colonel Daybreak reached up to grab himself a plate. Either he hadn’t noticed her, or paid her no mind.

“Day guard!” she announced as her hooves settled. A handful of nearby ponies jumped at her tone, but not him. “I would have words with thee.”

He dropped a hooffull of hay fries on his plate, ignoring her. The mare behind him in line looked back and forth, clearly wondering how much peril she might be in shortly.

Nova pointed a hoof and spread her wings. “Day guard, I would speak with thee now.”

“I remember,” he said with a tired sigh, building a pair of sandwiches, “when every pony just called us royal guards. Seemed so much simpler.” He nodded to the plate stack. “Grab a plate.”

The small knot of ponies behind Daybreak took two sudden steps back to make room in line. Nova smiled at the pony behind him before returning her attention to the white stallion. “Nay, I have not come for sustenance. Thou shall answer my queries or—”

“I’ve been awake since sunrise yesterday and I’m too tired to argue.” He shoved his plate at her chest. “If you have time to talk, you have time to eat.” When she took it, he grabbed another plate and turned back to the table.

Nova inspected the plate’s contents: Two sandwiches, one PBJ and the other dandelion, with a generous helping of hay fries. She poked the fries with a hoof. “It’s all cold.”

He gestured to a nearby table with a wing. “Hot chocolate and tea.”

“No coffee?”

He glared at her like she was a barbarian.

She scrunched her lips. “Fine, I’ll get it. What do you drink?”

“Not chocolate.”

She turned and headed for the drink table and poured two cups of hot tea. Nova knew little of the varieties of the drink, but there was only one kind anyway. She guessed it to be green tea, though to her all teas were equally lacking in that they were all equally not black coffee.

“Colonel Drive!” Nova turned to face the sudden call from a timid voice behind her just as Sonnet landed gently. She was breathing hard, apparently from hasty flight. “Sir, I’m glad I found you.” Her face brightened. “Oh, and tea! May I…?”

“’Tis what it is there for,” Nova replied, looking past her to Daybreak. “Is all well with the guard?”

“Oh, yes sir, the guard is fine,” she said with a smile, then reconsidered. “Well, considering. I guess we had become accustomed to ponies shying from us. It was nice to be welcomed, for a change.”

Nova frowned. “So, nothing is the matter?”

“Not really.” She looked to her cup. “I was just wondering if—”

Nova saw Daybreak finishing up at the table. “Now is not the best of times, Sonnet. Thy colonel is busy with important matters.”

Her smile only widened. “What can I do to help?”

Be someplace else, Nova thought with a frown. “I think it would be best if thou would—”

Daybreak arrived before she could finish. “Colonel Drive, if you were expecting others I could have prepared a third plate.”

“Oh, Colonel Daybreak sir!” Sonnet bumbled her way through a salute that only really served to embarrass her commanding officer. Still, the undisciplined pegasus was no fool. “I wouldn’t have guessed day guards would be here.” Nova introduced him to her subordinate and the trio headed for the cloud’s edge, away from the thickest crowds and chatting as they walked.

“You weren’t the only one surprised,” he agreed, “but here we are.” He gave the little pegasus a visual once over. “Forgive me, but you don’t strike me as the soldiering type. Where in Equestria did they find you, corporal?”

Sonnet blushed. “Fillydelpha, sir.”

Daybreak cracked a slight smile. “I see it on you. And you sound educated, too.”

“Uh, not really.” Then she added with a sad mumble. “I never finished university.”

He grunted. “Still, you’re a learned pony with no military background. I’m curious; what in Celestia’s sky made you decide to become a night guard?”

The spindly pegasus narrowed her eyes at the stallion and her warmth diminished, replaced with a hint of steel. “I serve the Princess of Mercy.”

Sonnet had just earned herself some cotton candy later.

Daybreak shook his head. “Always the same answer.” He popped some hay fries, chewing with a thoughtful look as they walked.

“Indeed.” Nova glared at him. “It is always the truth.” Sonnet nodded with uncharacteristic seriousness.

Daybreak just chewed. A few moments passed quietly between them, until they found a place clear enough for the three of them to sit mostly out of the way of busy ponies. Sonnet warmed up again and struck up some friendly conversation. They talked about nothing for a while. It was infuriating, but Nova restrained herself and didn’t kick anypony. It killed any appetite Nova might have had, and she finally surrendered her entire plate to Sonnet, who enjoyed it with thanks.

“Colonel Nova Drive,” Daybreak said without inflection. “I was unaware that you lost a pony yesterday. You both have my condolences.”

“I thank thee. She was taken before her time, and her death most unjust.”

Sonnet smiled meekly, and put down her sandwich. “Silver had a way about her. She could talk to thee about anything, anything at all, and all that while the pressures of the world were set aside and thy problems were brought into focus. She told stories.” She beamed, clearly remembering those occasions. “Stories she found in the archives, of the old guard, of true bat ponies who stood vigil over our princess, slaying evil ponies and dragons alike in her name. She made them come alive, gave their stories meaning. And then she would take what she learned of one of the new night guard to write stories, and…”

Sonnet let out a sad little choke. “She made us sound just as important.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “Losses are always hard, but it sounds like Silver was especially well loved. They are always the most difficult.”

“Oh! That reminds me.” Sonnet swirled her drink, addressing Nova. “Sir, ‘tis Monday. I wished to know if thou would be telling the story at mess this night.”

What? Nova choked on her tea, and had to pound her chest with a hoof to recover.

Sonnet blushed. “I thought that Silver would have liked that, as she and thee were founding members. Oh, you could even tell your story! I don’t think Silver ever told that one.”

“Certainly not,” Nova said, recovering. “I doubt we shall have a proper mess again for many moons. More to the point, speeches and stores were her talent, not mine. Her stewardship shall have to remain vacant ‘till the proper pony is found.”

Sonnet’s wide eyes turned skyward. “Raaare…”

“Of course such ponies are rare, and among them Silver was one of a kind. Still, we have need of a dedicated historian.” Nova considered. “A proper name was never given to her position. Sonnet, perhaps thy days in univer—”

The little mare pointed a hoof over Nova’s shoulder. “Raaarity?”

Nova turned, coming face to face with a sight she never would have imagined. A winged, white unicorn approached, but she was no alicorn. This was certainly a unicorn blessed by magic, and what glorious magic it was. She would easily admit having no special interest or eye for things artistic, the way the mare’s butterfly-like wings shown in the morning light was no small wonder to behold.

Nova Drive gasped when the she recognized the pony. An Element, here? And not a pegasus!

“Pardon me, royal guards,” the unicorn asked, coming near, “I’m so sorry to interrupt, but I am in need of assistance.”

“Lady Rarity of Generosity!” Sonnet bowed, gaping.

Rarity beamed at the corporal’s proper reception, but Nova knew it to be a forgiving guise and motioned for Sonnet to stand. “Nay, Sonnet. I learned this day that the Elements do not wish for such honors, and prefer to be spoken to as friends. Twilight Sparkle decreed it thus on the honor of the moon.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Sonnet rose.

Nova considered. It couldn’t hurt to be sure. “Unless Rarity of Generosity would prefer otherwise.”

Rarity’s wings drooped. “No, I suppose Twilight would know best in this case.”

Daybreak smiled, clearly enjoying something without letting on as to what. Rarity noticed him. “Colonel?” She blinked in surprise. “How wonderful to see a familiar face. I didn’t recognize you without your helm.”

“It happens more often than you might think.” He gestured to the other mares. “Rarity, may I present to you Colonel Nova Drive of Princess Luna’s guard, and Corporal Sonnet of the same.”

“Another colonel? And of Luna’s guard!” Rarity smiled. “It seems I’ve stumbled on just the ponies I need.”

Nova frowned. “Thou hast met each other?”

“Oh my, yes.” Rarity pawed a hoof at the air. “Colonel Daybreak was a guest speaker at a party hosted by a dear friend of mine.”

“Always a pleasure to see Fancy Pants,” Daybreak agreed.

“I must confess though, Corporal Sonnet, was it?” Rarity asked. “I’m a bit confused. Nopony else here seems to recognize me. Have we met?”

Sonnet bushed. “Oh no, we haven’t. I’ve seen thee here before.”

Daybreak frowned. “Here?”

“Yes.” Sonnet pointed a hoof at the stadium. “Well, over there.”

Rarity gasped. “You mean you saw my first set of wings?” she asked gleefully.

Sonnet squeaked through a broad smile. “If it weren’t for them burning up and the sonic rainboom, you would have won Best Young Flier for sure. If you had brought that coat and hat though, you would have won anyway!”

After this, Nova quickly lost track of the conversation. Rarity’s excitement quickly began to overlap with Sonnet’s fanfillying behavior until Nova’s head swam. There was excited prancing, several more squeaks and a something that might be described as ‘wahaha.’

While Sonnet and Rarity chattered away, Daybreak leaned close to Nova. “Princess Celestia ordered Record High, Sunstroke, and I to Cloudsdale as a special detachment,” he mumbled quietly. “We don’t like it any more than you do.”

Nova raised an eyebrow. “How did thou guess what I wished to know?”

He glowered at her. “You don’t like me, and I don’t like you. You wanted to talk. It wasn’t that hard.”

He had a point there. “But three officers? For what purpose?”

“We fought the Immortals yesterday.”

“Who?”

“Khan Cyrus’s personal legion. Reports are they came here. We are to share everything we know of them with the local chain of command.”

She tilted her head, doubting him. “I cannot imagine Celestia sending roy—”

“Princess Celestia has a vast love for her subjects, and wants to end this situation as quickly as possible, with as little bloodshed as possible,” Daybreak interjected. Then after a pause and a disgruntled slouch, he added, “And it was Director Petronel’s suggestion.”

Oh. That explained quite a bit. The Day and Night Order may not have agreed about much, but they had similar opinions about the new director of intelligence. Even Silver Mist had avoided him, and she could talk with almost anypony.

“That is understandable.” Nova looked away. “And unpleasant, to be away from thy princess.”

“It is my duty to serve,” he intoned quietly.

She felt her face sour. “Phooey,” she spat. “Duty is just an easy excuse to do what others expect of thee. ‘Tis not the honorable endeavor thou believes.”

“So you have said, colonel.” he shot back. “At least we do not enlist ponies so that they can pay off gambling debts.”

Nova Drive snarled. “’Tis not that kind of debt we owe our princess!”

“Not even Astro Turf?”

“Gambling was a part of his story, yes,” she allowed, “but it is not his reason for joining the order.”

“Of course not.” Daybreak huffed. “But put yourself in somepony else’s shoes, and look at this from the outside: Astro Turf is a farmer who gambled his family’s land away, Sonnet is a smart little pony who probably had a future wherever she went, Vapor Trail was dishonorably discharged from the royal guard before your princess found him, and I don’t think there’s a pegasus alive who hasn’t heard about you at the Wonderbolt training camp.” He stared at her. “You talk about being Princess Luna’s chosen. How in Equestria does she choose you? What do you owe her?”

Nova set her jaw. “Some things are better left in the dark. Besides, thou would not understand, even if it were explained.” The silence dragged on between them, long enough for both to realize that Rarity and Sonnet had stopped talking. Rarity’s blinking gaze darted between the two colonels, but Sonnet’s eyes had gone hard.

“No,” the little pegasus said to her colonel with a thoughtful nod. “He could not.”

“So!” Nova faced the unicorn with her best forced smile. After the preparation that went into making sure the Night Order would be accepted by the citizens of Cloudsdale, the last thing they needed was to have an Element shying from them. “Thou spoke of a need when thou stumbled upon us. What can the Night Order do for thee, friend?”

Rarity was only too happy to let things slide. “I was hoping to speak with the princess, to find out where I can be the most help to Equestria. So far nopony seems to know where I can find her.”

Sonnet leapt. “Oh, we can help with that. We can take you to her!” Doubt crossed her face. “Colonel, we can take her to see our princess, right?”

“Indeed we can,” Nova decreed with a smile, standing up. “And we shall.”

“I don’t want to be any trouble,” the Lady of Generosity said. “Could one of you please be a dear and point me in her direction?”

Sonnet pouted, but Colonel Nova Drive would not be denied a chance to aid the Elements of Harmony, no matter the task. “’Tis no trouble at all,” she assured them both, then was struck with an inspiration. “More so, it would seem to me that an Element should never be far from aid this close to such peril. Corporal Sonnet, I hereby charge thee to escort the Element of Generosity, until such time as another guard relieves thee of that post.”

“Really?!” Sonnet squeed.

Nova nodded. “So long as Rarity approves.”

The unicorn seemed more excited about the honor than even Sonnet, though she adopted a modest tone. “It seems the matter is decided. Who am I to dispute a captain of the night?”

“Then ‘tis settled. Sonnet, protect the Element of Generosity as though she were our princess.” Nova paused while Sonnet squeed again, this time with a little prance. “Together we shall escort her to Princess Luna posthaste.”

Daybreak grunted doubtfully, finishing his hay fries. “I guess there’s safety in numbers. As long as you keep to the stadium and the grounds, you should be fine. I should get going too.”

“We would not wish to keep thee from thy nap,” Nova shot sarcastically.

He ignored her. “Rarity, it was good to see you safe and well. Please, stay out of harm’s way as much as possible. Princess Celestia thinks the world of you and the other bearers.”

“I see.” Rarity blinked at him and turned back to Nova. “Are you sure this isn’t any trouble? I don’t want to keep you ponies from your meal.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all,” Sonnet said after swallowing the last of her sandwich.

Nova smiled, happy to have a reason to leave Daybreak behind. “In fact, ‘tis our pleasure. Let us make haste.”

Sonnet rushed to help her with her bags, and after a few more words they departed, leaving Daybreak to the remainder of his sandwich. Pushing though the seemingly endless herd, Rarity and Sonnet returned to their clamor over gossamer wings and winter fashion, while Nova repressed her wondering doubts about what part this unicorn could have played in the redemption of her princess.

She smiled. It mattered little. The Elements had redeemed their princess and vanquished the great Discord. Now they were united with Princess Luna against a common foe. The Elements and the Night would stand as one, and the griffin hordes would suffer for their foolish brutality.

Surely Nova Drive and the Order were the most blessed ponies in all Equestria, for they would be there to see it.

Chapter 13: The Message

The Message

Corporal Sonnet and Lady Rarity took to discussing little nothings as they traveled, and Nova Drive was quite happy that it was so. It left her to focus on navigating them through the dense herd of ponies both in air and upon cloud. The flight to the roof turned out to be more difficult than descending into the stadium. Once landed, most ponies that saw the trio were either awed by Rarity’s wings or intimidated by the Night Order armor, and stood aside. The remainder withered under Nova’s glare and did the same.

Yet it would seem the Lady of Generosity would not wish to leave a pony out of a discussion for long, even if that pony was quite occupied with tasks at hoof.

“I must say, Colonel Drive,” Rarity said, musing thoughtfully as they trotted through the long hallway on the way to the box seats. “Is Colonel Daybreak usually so…abrasive?”

Nova scoffed. “I would not know. We tend to avoid one another whenever possible.” Rarity frowned, and Nova felt the need to qualify. “Though no excuse for his behavior before thee, ‘tis worth mentioning that long flights and battle can strain a pony’s nerves. Colonel Daybreak has seen plenty of both this day and last.”

“I was thinking about how he spoke to you, Nova. It was most impolite, and he clearly paid little mind to how you and Sonnet felt. It seemed he got under your skin.” Rarity gave her a concerned look from under her silly hat. “Are you okay?”

The colonel blinked and stared at her. Of all things to worry about in a besieged city, and this unicorn wanted to know about a pony’s feelings? Nova smiled. Element of Generosity, indeed. “Thou need not concern thyself, Rarity. Members of the Order have weathered worse.”

Rarity’s frown deepened. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“He’s pretty nice, I think.” Sonnet smiled, trying to push more optimism into the conversation. “Most of the other soldiers won’t talk to us at all, and everypony else clears the way when we’re around.”

“Well of course!” Rarity said, motioning to Sonnet’s armor. “I mean I love the dark and dangerous motif here, but these pieces just scream ‘don’t touch me’ and ‘be afraid.’ If I had a talk with your supplier I’m sure I cou—”

“Nay,” Nova interrupted, worried that Sonnet actually knew their armorer and could arrange such a meeting. “They were designed with that intent by decree of our Princess, as I have already once explained to the corporal.” Sonnet blushed and Nova glanced back to Rarity. “Even if this were not so, there would not be time now.”

“Hail, Colonel Drive!” a stallion called from up the hallway. Two night guards flanking a double door snapped to attention as the trio approached, both saluting the colonel.

Nova smiled and trotted up to the source of the voice. “Hail, Major Backgammon!” She returned the salute and hoof and followed it with a warm hoofshake, which the unicorn happily accepted.

“Pray tell, how was the ceremony?” he asked. “Did the citizens warm as thou hoped?”

“They did indeed.” Nova sighed through a smile. “T’was a most gratifying sight to see Luna’s Chosen welcomed among the clouds.”

Sonnet nodded happily, her eyes moist. “Silver Mist shall be remembered by many.”

“Thou shall hear all about it, but later.” Nova gestured to the door. “At present we must make haste.”

Behind her, Rarity cleared her throat. Somehow she made it sound ladylike and dainty.

“But,” Nova allowed, rolling her eyes where only Backgammon could see, “I suppose there is time for quick introductions.” She turned and introduced the Lady Rarity of Generosity. The stallion’s immediate reaction was to bow, but Nova stopped him. “By decree of Twilight Sparkle, ponies of the Night Order are to address the Elements as friends, rather than by titles proper to their station.”

Backgammon rose, blinking and choosing his words. It was not hard to see the gears turning behind the ever-thoughtful stallion’s eyes. He lowered his muzzle in a courtly nod. “Even so, ‘tis an honor to make the acquaintance of such a lady, and a privilege that she might deem to call me friend. On behalf of the Night Order, welcome.”

“My!” Rarity beamed, and glanced to Nova. “Are all the ponies of the Night Order such gentleponies and flatterers?” Taking a step toward the major, she daintily raised a hoof and took on the Order’s manner of speech, grinning like a cat all the while. “And whom, pray tell, might I have the pleasure of calling friend?”

Nova gestured to the stallion. “’Tis Major Backgammon to whom you speak: executive officer, student of tactics, and my friend.”

Backgammon shook his head. “I assure thee, Lady, the pleasure is entirely my own. Yet even to see such grace I would not see thee delayed further.” He turned to the night guard pegasus beside him; the mare had dutifully remained at attention all the while. “Blue Moon, please announce that the Lady Rarity is here to see our Princess at Her leisure. Sonnet,” he said, facing the pegasus, “With the colonel’s leave, please take her post in her absence. I would hear more of the ceremony from thee.”

Nova nodded her approval. Blue Moon entered ahead of them, Sonnet taking her place by the door. Backgammon faced his commanding officer. His eyes shifted about the hallway. “I would ask thee, sir, to wait inside with Her honored guest.”

She considered. It was against protocol, but such protocols had been written in a time when such war was thought a memory only. And the Lady of Generosity was no common guest. “Thy advice is sound, Major, and shall be heeded.”

“Fare thee well, Major Backgammon.” Rarity donned an exaggerated pouting face, batting her eyes playfully. “Though we must part for now, I should ask thee to not do anything too brash in the days ahead that might rob me of the chance to further enjoy the pleasure of thy kind words and company.”

Sonnet hid a smile and stifled a tiny ‘tee-hee.’

Backgammon blushed several shades of red. It was all the more impressive considering the magic imbedded in their armor usually muted such colorations. He said nothing, and just nodded.

Nova suppressed the urge to bury her face in her hoof and groan, choosing instead to open the door and usher Rarity in as quickly as possible.

“Lady Rarity,” Nova whispered once the door was firmly shut in their wake, “I would have thee know that my friend is quite happily wed.”

Rarity tilted her head. “Wait, you thought…” Her confusion dissolved into a giggle. “Don’t worry darling, I would never come between a mare and her stallion, and your friend had the married look all about him.”

“Thou could tell?” It was Nova’s turn to be baffled. “How couldst thou tell?”

The Lady of Generosity winked. “Magic, darling.”

“Thou art kidding, right?”

Rarity’s grin changed not in the least, and the lady seemed content to allow the matter to remain a mystery. The Lady of Generosity followed her through the door and there was no more time for such idle chat. After a few moments’ thought, the colonel decided perhaps it was best not to press.

But it didn’t keep Nova Drive from wondering.

There was almost no wait. Blue Moon had already spoken with the princess, probably interrupting the meeting to do so. Likely the officers present would complain of it later.

Good, she thought. Let them fume. Nova would have to listen, but would not care. Nothing and no pony should dare come between the order and their princess, by force or privilege. The sooner the military understood this, the better.

Much like the rest of the stadium, the luxury box was half-converted to serve the needs of a nation at war. Also like the rest, the change was improvised and graceless. Tables were covered with local maps or cold buffets like the one Nova had just left. Large, comfortable couches were unceremoniously stacked against the wall in favor of those cheap metal chairs that fold up for storage, but cramp a pony’s rump.

Except for the pair of Night Order guards by the balcony door, the dozen or so ponies in the room were clustered around the map table. Most of those wore uniforms with bars of at least major, with some lieutenants hanging around as orderlies. They were packing away papers and files. Nova checked the wall clock; the meeting must have ended early. Behind the table, the Princess of Mercy smiled, shaking hooves with several of the officers and thanking them for their service and advice. Her eyes met Nova’s for a moment, and the smile warmed further.

Princess Luna, the Bringer of Moonlight and Defender of Dreams, was always happy to see her servant. Nova had long since surrendered in her efforts to understand how this could be so. Instead, she had chosen to be eternally humbled by such grace. She inclined her head to her Princess in silent thanks.

There were proprieties to observe. Nova cleared her throat to make a formal introduction of the Lady of Generosity when Blue Moon, standing beside the princess, twitched an ear. She shot the mare a quick glance. Blue Moon returned it with a twitch of a headshake. Her eyes darted quickly to the princess. Translation: Don’t introduce her. The Princess told me so.

Nova resisted a frown. Every pony should come to recognize and respect the Elements, but if her princess had some greater goal in mind, she would not doubt her. She respectfully ushered Rarity aside, where they would be out of the way of the departing ponies being ushered out by Blue Moon.

She recognized a few of the officers on their way out. The immense Colonel Globemaster, the stallion managing the logistics effort ferrying ponies and supplies up to the city. He smiled at Rarity, offering nice words regarding her magical wings before departing. Colonel Tacit Blue, an unusually twitchy pegasus stallion with an even more unusual doctorate in magical theory. Tacit nodded and smiled as he passed; he’d been one of the brains behind the stealth armor now used by the Order.

The last was Colonel Stratus, formerly Major Stratus of the Wonderbolts in command at their dedicated training field. Nova hadn’t forgotten his face. It was hard not to flinch when she saw him passing by, but she kept at attention. She doubted he’d forgotten her.

He hadn’t. He grunted darkly and mumbled something unkind as he passed Nova. She paid it no mind, but she saw a pair of ears twitch on the far side of the table.

“Colonel Stratus.” The princess’s use of his name came out as a command.

He halted and turned, just short of the door. “Princess.”

Princess Luna faced him squarely from across the room, her eyes cross and angry. “Thou hast insulted the captain of my guard. Thou shalt apologize,” the princess declared. “Immediately.”

The stallion glanced between the two mares. He casually bowed his head. “I am sorry, Princess Luna. I did not mean to offend.”

“Not to Us.” Princess Luna lifted a hoof to indicate Nova Drive. “To her.”

Stratus blinked. “But I—”

Luna’s hoof came down with a thunderous crack. “Now.”

His eye twitched faintly, and he faced Nova again. Stratus spoke slowly, choosing his words. “I was out of line, colonel, and I apologize. In the future, I will not allow my personal feelings to color my words or sully my uniform.”

The Princess of the Night continued to glare at him. He hadn’t recanted his feelings, only his words. She tilted her muzzle to the other remaining ranking officer in the room, eyes never leaving Stratus. “General Manifold, there is but one more official matter I wished to discuss. This is Colonel Nova Drive. She commands the Night Order Royal Guard at my behest. Let it be known that she and the other officers of the Order are to be awarded all respect and privileges of officers of equivalent rank in the regular military.”

Nova’s heart skipped a beat.

Manifold nodded. “Done.” Behind him, his aide scribbled notes on a parchment.

Stratus’s eyes narrowed. “Forgive me princess, but Nova Drive, for all her talent, has never attended the academy or any ROTC. It was my understanding that her rank was honorary.”

“It was,” the Princess said, stepping closer. “Until this morning. The Order has distinguished itself in battle first against the changeling swarm and yet again last eve. She returns now from a memorial for her friend, slain in yesterday’s clash. She has earned the respect of her fellow defenders in Canterlot, the ponies she ably commands, and both royal sisters.” She sat before him, discarding the royal grammar for one of the few times since Nova had known her. “And I will see you salute her before leaving this room.”

Nova blinked furiously. She opened her mouth to speak, to tell her princess that this was entirely unnecessary, that Stratus was perfectly reasonable in his grudge against her. The Princess of Mercy saw this and shot her a stern glance. Be quiet, little pony.

Nova closed her mouth again and blinked some more.

Stratus ground his teeth and looked like he was going to either hurl his lunch or break something, maybe even both, but he obeyed the princess. It was a twitchy motion, but he raised his hoof to his brow and saluted Nova. He even held it for a moment.

While he did, Nova saluted him back, and had no problem doing so. Even if he hadn’t been one of the best fliers and officers she had ever known, he just earned it. She wouldn’t have thought Stratus had it in him, even by royal command.

Luna dismissed him. He left in a huff, not looking back. On his way out he seemed ready to slam the door with his hoof, but caught himself and let it go before he followed through with it. The door hung open until Major Backgammon leaned around the doorframe and closed it himself.

He spared a moment to lock eyes with Nova Drive. His eyes were wide as saucers.

She knew exactly how he felt, and probably looked just the same.

He shut the door. For a moment, nopony spoke. Lady Rarity, General Manifold and his aide glanced between the princess and the door. The sounds of busy ponies outside kept the silence from being deafening.

“We are sorry that thou had to see that, Rarity, but it could not wait.” The Princess of Mercy sighed. “At least we think he got the message.”

The Lady of Generosity’s eyes glistened, her lower lip curled up. She looked like she’d break out into tears any moment. “Nova, I know you told me about this on the way here, and the talk with Daybreak,”—Luna’s ears twitched at the mention of Celestia’s guard captain—“but I simply had no idea. What in Equestria did he say?”

“It is of little matter now,” Nova deflected. “I do not fault him.”

Rarity batted her eyes, and turned her pout toward the other mare in the room.

Princess Luna looked back to the door, her left eye twitching. “He expressed sarcastic surprise that our chosen defender hadn’t been kicked out of the city by the first pegasus who recognized her. He should thank the stars that his punishment was a mere policy change we had planned to enact anyway.”

“But…” The unicorn glanced between them. It was plain to see the unicorn connecting the dots in her mind’s eye. Not ten minutes before, Rarity had been able to discern that Backgammon, clad in armor with cosmetic illusions, was married after a short conversation with the stallion. Nova may have been unsure regarding the use of magic, but she was still a perceptive socialite, one who knew of some of the stigma surrounding the order.

Stratus hadn’t made the comment out of dislike for the order. It had been personal. It was a long way from knowing what happened or why Stratus and other ponies like him might hate Nova, but it was enough to know that there was a story there, somewhere. She would wonder. Eventually, she would ask somepony. Much of what had happened was public knowledge here in the clouds.

And then the Lady Rarity would know.

Nova looked away from the Element of Generosity and shut her eyes.

“Colonel Nova Drive.” The sudden use of her name snapped Nova from her haze and demanded her attention. She stared wide-eyed at the speaking stallion.

General Manifold glowered at her down his muzzle. “When Princess Luna arrived, I tried to insist that the air corps assign additional ponies to protect our princess. She claimed that you and your Order were up to the task.” His eye narrowed. “Are you going to let the griffins walk all over you like Stratus just did?”

It was a military question, with a military answer. And as of just a few minutes ago, Nova and the rest of the order were part of the regular military. She lifted her chin and squared her posture. “No, Sir.”

“I should hope not,” he snapped. “I don’t know what Princess Luna has done for you, but she made a promise to me. She said that the pegasi of Cloudsdale wouldn’t face our enemies alone. I thought she meant we’d get reinforcements. I thought she’d see to it that we’d get more supplies.”

He stepped forward, pacing around Nova as he continued his tirade. “I never imagined—it never even occurred to me that she might come here herself! A princess, one of the diarchy here on the front lines, within earshot of the enemy? Absurd! But here she is, and the impact of her arrival was immediate. Ponies who believed, truly believed they wouldn’t survive the next few days are now fighting like they can win, because she thinks they can win. I don’t know what you think of your princess, but that’s an equine I’d give my wings to save from a papercut.

“So I’m gonna ask you one time, colonel,” he almost growled, stopping right in front of her and pressing his muzzle right in her face. “Do I need to assign this fine Equestrian mare more protection?”

Nova thought she felt her eye twitch. She knew red anger was starting to color her vision. “No, Sir!” she yelled back at him.

He smiled. “Glad to hear it,” he said, then saluted her. The motion was crisp, firm, and most of all honest. “Welcome home, colonel. I wish it were under better circumstances.”

Nova stared at him for a moment in shock before remembering to salute him back. Then he offered her his hoof. She shook it.

General Manifold glanced over his shoulder. “I hope I wasn’t out of line there, Princess, but it seemed she needed that.”

Luna was still staring at him. “What? Oh, um, not at all.”

“Thank you. I doubt I’ll need to make a habit of it, though. Judging by this one and the others, you picked your guards from good stock.” He locked eyes with his aide, who had been almost motionless since Nova had first noticed him. The general must have conveyed something, because he collected a few things and headed for the door. Manifold smiled at Rarity. “I must apologize, Rarity, but a formal introduction will have to wait.” He turned to face the princess and offered her a slight bow. “By your leave, princess, I have my duty to attend to.”

Princess Luna nodded. The two stallions marched out the door in single file, the general’s aide trotting along behind him like an extension of his will. Backgammon’s hoof was visible for just a moment as he gently shut the door behind them, leaving the three mares alone in the room, quietly staring at the door.

“You know,” Rarity finally pondered aloud, “I rather do think he can win this fight.”

Nova and her princess both mumbled something in agreement.

With Nova’s duty to deliver the Lady Rarity to her princess discharged, she asked for leave to depart. Princess Luna refused it, insisting that Nova remain and make herself comfortable. Nova took a post by the door while the other two mares talked.

Nova spent the next ten minutes or so in a mild haze, recovering from several personal shocks. She had little to add to the conversation that followed, anyway. There was something about a Nightmare Night celebration, how Rarity had been out of town, and something else about them reminiscing about a wedding reception and after party.

Ah, the changelings. Nova smiled. The first real action the Order had seen had been against those vile bug-ponies. The princess’s chambers had been one of the few remaining pockets of resistance to hold until a wave of magic had swept them from the city; even the much-touted Day Guard had crumbled.

At the time, the Order had been under orders to prevent all disruptions to her Highness’s daily rest that she might be rested enough to enjoy the night’s festivities. Princess Luna had later expressed her surprise that her decree had been followed so exactly. She then gave a high directive that in the event of invasion or other national emergency, she should be informed at once regardless of other instructions.

“But we must confess,” Princess Luna was saying to Rarity, “At this time we are unsure of where thy talents would be of greatest help here.”

“Oh, I haven’t the slightest idea either right now, but I’m sure I’ll work that out soon enough.” Rarity beamed with complete self-assurance. “With Princess Celestia’s decree that the elements should try to inspire our fellow ponies, I just thought it would be best if ponies in charge knew that Rainbow Dash and I had arrived.”

“Miss Dash has come as well?” Luna pulled her head back, blinking. “Where is she?”

“Doing her duty as Ponyville’s Weather Patrol officer, I’d imagine.” She glanced between the colonel and the princess. “Though I imagine that both of you would have a better idea of what that might entail than I.”

Luna leaned back and lifted a hoof. “Truly?”

“Why yes. It’s what she wanted to do, after all.” Rarity saw the princess’s apprehension. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“‘Tis certainly a great risk,” the princess replied quickly, but then considered. “But she is the Element of Loyalty. We suppose this should have been expected. And…we must sympathize with her desires.”

Rarity raised a questioning eyebrow.

The Princess of Mercy turned aside. “Rainbow Dash is not the only pony whom others would keep from the field. We cannot, in good conscience, turn her away from her duties so long as she wishes to uphold them. Yet, there is the military to consider. Ponies like Big Wig and Manifold would be beside themselves if they were to find out now. Our sister left very…precise orders in regards to thee and thy friends.” She sighed thoughtfully. “We have made the acquaintance of the Wonderbolt’s captain today. General Manifold has decided to attach her team to the militia to take advantage of their celebrity status. We shall see to it that she is aware of Miss Dash and treats that knowledge with discretion.

“As for thee,” she continued, magically collecting a quill and scroll from the map table, “Princess Celestia intended the Elements to have as much freedom in choosing their course as possible. We shall prepare for thee a writ of passage, that you shall have all freedom of movement within the stadium. Should you come across any further need or difficulty, do not hesitate to seek us out. And Colonel Drive, see to it that she is assigned an escort from the Order.”

Nova knelt with a smile. “Already done, Highness.”

“Really?” Princess Luna asked, giving the parchment to Lady Rarity. “Who hast thou given this duty?”

“Corporal Sonnet, Highness. She awaits the Element just outside.”

She nodded, a faint twinkle in her eye. “That will be a good match, we think.”

The Lady Rarity looked up from the writ, her eyes still wide from reading the words of the princess. Nova had seen that face on dozens of minor officials before. When the Princess of the Night wrote a legal statement, she did not do so in halves. “Thank you so much. Oh, this is far more than I ever would have hoped.”

“We only hope it shall be enough.” Luna took a deep breath and let it out, relaxing her shoulders. “We should like to talk more with thee, but for now I must ask that thou depart. I should like some time to speak with Colonel Nova Drive before our next obligation.”

Nova blinked.

“Of course!” Rarity gushed, practically charging the princess to embrace the much taller mare in a hug. “And if there is anything I can do to help, Princess Luna, do please let me know.”

The Princess of the Night was just as surprised by the hug as Nova. “We thank thee for thy kind offer, fair Rarity. Be safe and well in the coming days.”

They said their final goodbyes. With Rarity departed, the Princess of Mercy faced Nova Drive, and hung her head.

She spoke softly. “We feel a need to apologize to thee, colonel. We should have remembered thy history with Stratus and taken steps to prevent that scene when thou arrived.”

“Nay, Princess!” Nova found herself pleading. “’Tis no fault of thine that ponies do not understand thy mercy, and good that so few have such a need.”

Luna scowled at the door. “Still, his remark was uncalled for. An officer should know better, and a colonel more besides.”

“My shame has come and gone,” Nova replied with truth, confidence, and a bow. “I am thy pony, Highness. Little else matters. Command me.”

The Princess shed her frown and smiled. ‘Twas as warm as a late spring eve. “Thy devotion humbles us, Nova. Again our mind drifts back to the old argument, that such supplication is inappropriate in this age and undeserved by thy once-fallen princess.”

Nova opened her mouth to speak, but her princess did not give her a chance. The Alicorn of Night drew near and her voice more serious. “But, there is not the time for familiar ramblings. Now is a time we could use something else, as our heart is troubled with choices before us. We are isolated in our position and have need of a confidant, a pony with whom we could speak openly. A pony that felt free to express her own opinions and perspectives.”

The princess smiled down warmly at her subject. “Thy princess has need of a friend.”

Nova mulled the idea. If ponies like Stratus dominated the military leadership here, her princess might be exactly right. As much as Nova liked Manifold, he hadn’t struck her as the type for small talk. She would need a pony to trust. “What matters might be discussed?”

“Certainly the business at hand, but ‘tis hard to say.” The princess blushed and lowered her chin. “We have had less experience with modern friendships than we might have hoped.”

That settled it. Nova conducted her chin in a firm nod. “Would’st thou like me to retrieve one for thee, Princess? Perhaps Generosity could serve as thy aid.”

Luna’s smile faded into a series of blinks. Nova Drive awaited commands.

“Nay,” Luna finally said with a sad sigh, turning away. “Nay. I suppose we shall have to make do without a while longer.”

Nova cocked her head to one side, confused. Still, her princess had spoken. “Have you commands for your servant, Highness?”

She took a deep breath. “Not so much a command.” Luna motioned to the great map on the table, and they approached it together. “I will have need of my guard in the days ahead.”

The pegasus felt her heart jump with pride. “We shall defend thee till death, Princess!”

Luna hesitated. “We hope that such sacrifices shall not be needed, but such was not our meaning. General Manifold has relayed the tactical situation here to us, and we have an idea. ‘Tis a bit…unconventional.” She struggled with the term. “Or at least we think that is what this new martial tongue would call it. What matters is that much would depend on the Night Order.”

Could it be true? When the princess paused, it took Nova a moment to find her voice again. “My princess means to deploy her servants?” By Moonlight, let it be true!

“We would take the field together.” Luna amended. “We have the early conception of a plan that would make use of the Night Order’s strengths, but it will not be easy. I will require thee to be forthright regarding the feasibility of these tactics with thy current numbers, equipment and training. If thou has any doubts—any doubts at all—we trust thee to express them at once. Have we your word on that?”

It was all Nova could do to restrain her joyful trembling. “As you command, Highness.”

Luna’s smile returned. “Very good. Now, see this spur in the griffin holdings? General Manifold related to me concerns regarding this gap here.” The princess spent almost an hour relating her plan to her servant. It was devious. It was cunning. It was bold. Together they worked out the details. There would be much to prepare, and much would depend on good fortune. Still, if everything went according to plan…

“Yes,” Nova said with complete confidence. “This can be done.”

“Good.” Luna grinned, eyeing the map. “Make the preparations with the guard. When next we see Manifold again I will express our need for additional support.”

Nova nodded. “Some additional unicorns and earth ponies to hold the perimeter would be of great help.”

“Indeed. Also, I shall need—” Four hard knocks interrupted her thought. Luna shook her head and bade them enter.

A cluster of ponies had gathered outside, visible only over Major Backgammon’s shoulder as he leaned through the open door. “Forgive me Highness, but Colonel Stratus has returned.” He hesitated. “And he’s brought another.”

Nova and her Princess exchanged a glance. “Another colonel?” Nova inquired.

“Nay, but a stallion who wishes an audience with the prin--What?” He turned to listen to someone outside. “The colonel says he was found escaping from the griffin lines, and demands to speak with thee.”

“Let him through!” cried a voice from the hall, the voice of Colonel Stratus. “He must speak to her!”

“I will hear him,” the Princess of Mercy declared with the strength of command.

Nova snapped into action. “Night Order, see him though. He and the colonel may enter. Backgammon, disperse the crowd!”

Moments of frenzied action passed. Once the hall was cleared, Blue Moon escorted a pair of stallions in. Colonel Stratus was the first. He backed through the door. Nova couldn’t understand why—until she saw him supporting the other visitor with a hoof. As he came through, he turned his head for a moment and met Nova’s gaze. He was all business at the moment, his animosity for her apparently set aside.

When Nova laid eyes on the second stallion she understood why. He was badly bruised, the likely subject of several severe beatings. Nova could see several shallow cuts on him around his midsection, and part of his ear had been clipped. He walked with a double limp, favoring both a front and hind leg.

Half of his feathers had been plucked. Nova felt the stirrings of both pity and rage. There was a chance this stallion might never fly again.

“Valiant pony,” the Princess of the Night said, “who art thou?”

The light green pegasus lifted his chin. “Canard, Private Second Class,” he droned in a raspy voice. “Serial number two-eight-nine-fou—” He coughed on his hoof.

Nova leaned and whispered to Blue Moon. “Get back to the barracks. Inform Nightshade and Moonseed they are needed here. Tell them the princess is safe, but another requires aid.” Blue Moon started to go, but Nova gave her one last instruction. “Bring a stretcher.”

Luna continued to address the pegasus throughout. “Thou art in clear need of care, yet would speak with us first. Why?”

“I was freed by a griffin who said he’s in command of their forces,” Canard said through pained breaths. “He made me memorize a message meant for the Princess Luna, and when they let me go they were preparing to move civilian prisoners.”

The princess scrunched her nose. “Did he threaten to hurt them?”

“No, but…they had me count them all myself.” Canard closed his eyes, remembering. His wings twitched. “Five hundred thirty-seven. There wasn’t a full grown stallion in the bunch.”

Nova felt her jaw drop, similar shock being expressed throughout the room. Hostages, she swore internally, closing her mouth and grinding her teeth. The cowards threaten to slay defenseless hostages.

“Madness,” Colonel Stratus spat with the anger of a curse. “The griffins have gone mad.”

“This griffin,” Luna asked, raising a hoof to silence everypony else. “What was his name?”

Canard took a few pained breaths before answering. “He called himself ‘Khan Cyrus of Aquila.’”

As commander of the Night Order, Nova Drive had believed she had seen her princess angered on at least a few occasions. She was wrong. Luna set her jaw and spread her wings, the tingle of magic filling the room. Nova could have sworn the light in the room dimmed around her princess.

“Only for the sakes of those ponies he now threatens,” the Princess of the Night rumbled, “shall we hear the words of our adversary. Tell me this message.”

Author's Note

As a side note, Canard's return gave me a need to look up GI serial numbers, something I knew existed but nothing beyond that. For the curious, his is 289407302 P9358.

Chapter 14: Friends Close

Friends Close

The sun rose higher, nearing noon and the appointed time. The wind had picked up and the chill had worsened. The air reeked of ozone and aether. Kaleb looked east, realizing the odor must be coming from the weather factories, which were upwind. Two of the great industrial chimneys that were part of the complex were beginning to come to life, spewing tiny wisps of blue smoke.

He stood, making a quick patrol of the southeastern edge of the building. The roofing ponies used was uncomfortable anyway.

He had been told it was some kind of sporting building for fillies, something called a gym. That was more pony foolishness that confused him; why have walls and a roof for games that were meant for open sky? Yet Cyrus had need of a large empty building, so this was where they would wait. Talon-picked warriors of the Immortals secured the gym, high and low, but were few in number. Cyrus had said this would be an honest summit, and Kaleb had never had cause to doubt his blood-brother.

Even so, Cyrus and the Immortals would not be the only griffins present for the meeting. This was a Confederate matter, and witnesses were the way of law in the Confederacy. And so while many were here to observe the Khan, Kaleb kept his own vigil over the witnesses.

Khan Tomalak relaxed near the north corner, seeming to nap. The smallest of his daughters sat near him, keeping a watch over her father. Kaleb had not seen her sisters, though he doubted they were far. She became aware of his gaze.

She winked at him.

He scowled back at her, feeling his tail twitch behind him.

She smiled, with a mischievous eyes playing at an innocence Kaleb did not trust. Gotcha, tee-hee.

Kaleb moved on in a huff, willfully choosing to ignore her. It seemed that the offspring of Tomalak had also been cursed with a troublemaker in their midst, much as Jochi's sons had Herger. Perhaps all large families have such a nuisance? Kaleb took a moment to thank Tengri that he had been spared from having such a sibling of his own.

What worried Kaleb most was the uninvited Strix. Seer Ragnar had come on his own. He had rolled bones, looking over them carefully with those unsettling neck twists. This lasted for ten minutes, before he had kicked them from the roof with a screech. Now he sat eyeing the sun, judging it, as if some great portent. What he meant to do here no griffin could guess, but Kaleb’s experience with seers left him doubting that even the seer himself knew.

Ingrid and her Valkyries were a too-present distraction. Ingrid herself had insisted that she and her legion have a part in security. Cyrus had not objected. She stood with Orm, her tall form almost towering over the stout warrior, and occasionally offered respectful opinions on his orders. Her worry was genuine, if mostly veiled. Orm chose to tolerate her comments, though Kaleb guessed the warrior wanted to slash something by now.

Gilda, too, had been anxious last he saw her. To her credit, she’d expressed it in silence. Now she was on a courier run for Ingrid. Tengri’s blessing, Kaleb thought. Hopefully this would be settled one way or another before she returned.

At least the fool Khan Pyrrhus was absent, likely by design. That was the only part of this that made any sense to the hunter. He had offered insult to Cyrus and Aquila and neglected his duty to respond to a summons by a higher khan. Now, he would not be included in the fruits of that meeting. He’d squawk about it to be sure, but it would come to nothing. Or he would do more than that, be replaced by succession, and none outside of Hierax would mourn his passing.

Khan Cyrus perched on the roof’s southern edge. No griffin had spoken with or even come near him since they had arrived at the building; Orm and Ingri had taken charge of the preparations in his stead. Cyrus was a griffin claimed by Fate, prophesied to perform great deeds by the most venerated seer of a generation. Even crude griffins had always given him space. Now it seemed that all present felt that the time of such things was near, and they kept their distance out of some misplaced mysticism.

Kaleb could feel it too. He just did not care. Cyrus was a griffin like any other, and he had met him before prophesy and portent had changed his life. He kept walking in a straight line, piecing the imaginary bubble around the khan. Ingrid and several Immortals noticed and turned as he did so.

“You pace, Kaleb,” Khan Cyrus said as the smaller griffin passed his perch on the ledge. His voice cracked as he spoke, dry from the cold air, and he swallowed to wet his voice.

“I am not worried,” Kaleb replied, not quite in denial.

Cyrus smiled. “You do not pace when you worry. You pace when you do not understand. It is close, but not the same.” He offered Kaleb a perch next to him with a flick of his wing tip.

Kaleb frowned, but did so. He felt the eyes of many griffins watching them, maybe listening. He pondered before speaking again. “She would be fool to come,” Kaleb said.

Cyrus raised his beak to the wind, breathing deeply. “She will come.”

Kaleb shook his head, expressing himself with a doubtful grunt.

Cyrus nodded in the direction of Canterlot. “The Nightmare plays the good sister, the defender of the herd. She does not wish to be revealed. She has cast herself the hero.” He took an easy breath. “She must come.”

“Then…what will her arrival tell us?”

Cyrus blinked. “From that, nothing.”

“Then what can we learn?”

The large Aquila’s wings tensed. Bits of roof crumbled underneath Cyrus’s armored talons. “You are trying to think like a politician. Do not. I tire of speaking in those ways.”

Kaleb waited, unconcerned. These were frustrating matters, but Cyrus was not one to strike another for questions asked of him. “I will listen.”

Cyrus bottled his frustration before speaking again. It took only a few breaths. “Friend, this is a matter of Fate. Years I have toiled, searched…waited. Today I shall see my fated enemy for the first time. A hunter must understand.”

He did, at least partly. Kaleb had once taken to tracking a stag in the winter with the sole intent of seeing how long he could follow the beast without being seen. Two moons later he felt like he knew it as friend, even having never seen it. Cyrus had been waiting years. Kaleb nodded.

“I shall see her. We shall have words. Then we shall part company, and try to end one another in open battle. It is like the old ways.” Cyrus took another deep breath, this one nearly meditative. “Old wrongs should be made right in the old ways. And this is a very, very old wrong.”

Another question came to the smaller griffin. “Where is Herger?”

Cyrus did not answer right away. “I sent him on an errand.”

“To where?”

The khan’s tail twitched. It was a little thing. “An errand.”

Kaleb considered. “He will be late to return.”

“Yes,” Cyrus agreed.

“He is always late.”

“Yes.”

Kaleb blinked. “And you sent him anyway? It is his duty to protect his khan.”

Cyrus’s shoulder feathers rippled. “I am protected, so long as the prophesy remains unfulfilled. He is not. You are not.”

Kaleb had still only spoken of Ragnar’s words over him to Gilda. He would not share it now. “I know of this thinking. It is still his duty.”

The larger griffin sat silent in thought. The winds picked up and died off again several times before he answered.

“Already in this day-old war have the sons of Jochi lost a brother.”

That was something Kaleb could understand, at least. With Aun slain just the previous night in Canterlot, Cyrus would be wary of losing his last brother. Kaleb even bore Aun's starmetal gauntlets, bequeathed from Cyrus himself, and for the first time they felt heavy on his talons. Kaleb could ask no more, and so they waited for the Nightmare in silence, while the griffins behind them toiled over nothing. They did not wait long.

From the direction of the stadium came a flight of ponies. They did not fly low, nor try to hide their intent with a weaving flight path. Dark coats and armor stood out against the winter sky, though when he squinted Kaleb could make out several with lighter colors. As they drew nearer he began to make out more details.

Among them, many wore armor. Those that did seemed to match the color to their coat, dark colored ponies with dark armor and the few white ponies with lighter armor that reflected the sunlight. These among them looked like the castle guards Orm had described, but it was the others that drew most of Kaleb’s attention. He had heard stories of the bat winged tribe, but griffin myths thought them hunted to extinction and only fit for children’s tales—mostly for those meant to keep hatchlings from wandering at night.

At the lead flew a horse with feathered wings, leaner than the others and much taller. She wore no armor, but cast a martial gaze over the city as she conversed with the others. Upon her brow she wore a simple crown behind a long and regal horn.

The Nightmare. Kaleb realized. I am looking at the Nightmare.

The stories of this pony muddled the lines between griffin history and mythology. In the youth of Equestria, the Confederacy had ignored their new neighbors, seeing the nation as feeble and doomed to failure. When time failed to smother them, the griffins had taken to raiding and eventually declaring the occasional war against the ponies. The other alicorn had her place in those tales, often as a master statespony, but it was the Nightmare who had openly took to the field in wartime, both as pony commander and champion. In defense of the herds she had routed invaders, broken sieges and burned cities. Eventually the pridemothers decided enough griffin blood had been split in wars against the ponies, and the Confederacy recognized their neighbors and the new border.

All of this was supposed to have happened before her turn to true evil and attempt to shroud the world in darkness.

Kaleb found himself juggling emotions. Seeing her even at great distance he could not doubt that the alicorn was likely capable of such deeds, but mostly he was struck by how young she appeared. She seemed younger than most of the ponies he had captured last night. Struck by the contrast, for a few moments he could not look away.

That is, until he noticed another horned pony, whose wings were…different.

"I must say," Rarity declared while peering through her opera glasses at the griffins ahead, "They don’t look that menacing at all." They seemed to be friendly enough, at least with each other, and they were all sporting marvelous little sashes with little badges on them. There was such a range of plumage between them! Sonnet had mentioned there were different kinds of griffins, but Rarity had never dreamed there would be such a range of hues and patterns. One of the darlings even had the most adorable little feline ears. He had the cutest little crook in his beak, too.

Beside her, the usually talkative Corporal Sonnet remained silent, and Rarity felt the quiet of the pegasi around her turn dower. She looked back at the, um, ‘flight,’ the royal guards had called it. Almost everypony was looking at her with different measures of disapproval, excepting, perhaps, Colonel Daybreak and Corporal Sonnet. Since they had left the stadium, the Colonel hadn’t seemed to notice any conversation that wasn’t an order from Princess Luna, and Sonnet just looked down, her ears folded back in a melancholy little way.

“What did I say?” Rarity asked with a dainty blink. Display aside, she truly had no idea what had bothered them. “We’re here to talk, after all.”

Nova Drive harrumphed and looked away, as if that were all that needed to be said on the matter. If only Rainbow Dash were here to translate, Rarity thought.

At least one pony was willing to take up the matter. “We can assure thee that they look quite a bit different up close.” Princess Luna’s eyes returned to her appraisal of the griffins below. Several ‘huzzah’s rose up in the wake of her words from the Night Order ponies who clearly agreed with the sentiment.

Something about Luna’s focused gaze reminded Rarity of her own ‘zone,’ when she was measuring a new pony for a dress. She was clearly taking the measure of the griffins ahead, though to what end Rarity could only guess. From her tone, she doubted the Princess was considering colors for the griffins or what accessories would go with their feathers.

“And we are not so sure,” Luna added after a few moments.

“Sure of what?”

“That they are ready to talk,” Princess Luna clarified, still absorbing the griffin positions below. “The Confederacy has known nothing but victory since this invasion began. Were it not for the hostages, we would not have even considered the meeting.”

Rarity frowned. “Come now, Princess, you couldn’t possibly suspect that—”

“Yes, we do. That and worse.”

“You didn’t even let me finish!”

Luna finally glanced up at the unicorn. “Thou art a good pony, Rarity.” A smile touched her eyes, but she seemed not to have the will to bring it to her lips. “Truly, that is what we believe. We doubt thou hast ever had thoughts dark enough to understand the minds of these griffins.”

“Well spoken, Princess.”

Colonel Daybreak’s sudden interjection caught the whole company by surprise. He met their sudden looks with complete self-assurance. “It was.”

Even Princess Luna studied him for a moment. "We thank thee, Colonel."

Nova Drive turned away, a subtle pout on her lips.

Awww, Rarity thought. She’s so cute when she’s jealous. When this was all over, she’d have to have a session with Nova and make something special for her. Perhaps something with a sea green sash? No, a scarf, definitely a scarf. It would bring out her eyes. While Rarity considered patterns, the Princess gave commands to the guards. Eventually Luna’s words were again meant for the unicorn.

“Rarity, when we land, please allow us to do most of the talking,” Princess Luna said. “We did appoint thee Equestria’s civilian representative and we believe thou art more than capable, but whatever their plans might be, we must not allow them to delay. When they spring the trap, Sonnet, Blue Moon, and Daybreak shall attempt to get amongst the hostages. Thou shall not be far wrong to move with those three. Aid and protect the hostages as you are able. And please,” she added, deepening her tone, “the next time we give thee a writ of passage, please listen when we express the potential danger to thyself in involving thee in a mission of this sort.”

Rarity gulped.

“Lady Rarity.” Sonnet put a gentle hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. It was shaking, the poor thing was so nervous. “I cannot promise thee a safe return. Only that if harm should come to thee today, it shall come to thee last of all.”

Oh my, Rarity thought, blinking as she absorbed the weight of the promise. She truly means it.

“Hear, hear!” shouted a few pegasi behind them.

Princess Luna nodded once, and with finality as if signing a document into law. “Huzzah,” she added quietly.

Nopony spoke for a while. Luna signaled for the flight to begin its decent, and the formation followed her. “Speaking of harm, if this rendezvous does turn out to be a trap, of which I am not totally convinced is the case...” Rarity swallowed. “is there a plan?”

“Protect thee and our Princess,” Nova declared, as if reciting from a list of most patriotic facts. “Signal for reinforcement. Extract the captives.”

“And we shall slay every griffin in attendance,” Luna added darkly. Several ‘huzzah’s came from the surrounding Night Order, including Nova. Rarity couldn’t help but notice Luna’s use of “we” in this case was particularly ambiguous.

Something about the tone of Luna’s declaration struck Rarity as…off. She was angry, certainly, and what pony wouldn’t be, but it was almost as if the Princess had a barely unspoken need for violence. Looking from face to face, she tried to reassure herself that no pony could be that bloodthirsty, let alone an Equestrian princess.

In the grim looks of the ponies around her, Rarity saw something quite different. These ponies didn’t just expect a trap; they believed that was the only explanation for Cyrus’s offer. Anything they saw here would be considered in that light. With that many eyes and hearts all convinced that treachery was so close at hoof, somepony would find it. They would spot something, take it as evidence, and lash out before it could be used against them. There was no way this meeting could not turn to violence.

If that happened, at the very least both sides would distrust the other even more at the next meeting, making peace even harder to achieve. That was why Princess Celestia had wanted the Elements involved, right? To find a way to peace?

Rarity considered her next words carefully. “And what if they intend to honor the truce?”

“Then it is a different kind of trap,” Luna answered, “and they shall suffer all the same for their arrogance.”

There it was, then. In spite of Luna’s command, she would have to play a part in the proceedings. Perhaps the meeting was a ploy, but Rarity had to give peace a chance just in case the Princess was wrong. If nothing else, Equestria could not strike first.

No pressure, Rarity. She gulped. It’s not as though the fate of Equestria might depend on your words in the coming minutes.

Or at least, she prayed to Celestia it wouldn’t.