Aces High

by CrazedRambling

Revolution

Damn it!

Damn it all but she was right!

I hated myself for it, but I forced myself to admit it; Celestia was right. She had done nothing to prevent the utter destruction of Ponyville, to stop it from being razed to the ground, but she was right. Equestria needed a cause against the gryphons and the minotaurs, something personal to drive the ponies of Equestria to war with their enemies rather than backing down and giving reparations. The downside was, that in order to ignite the inferno of hatred against our enemies, we needed to be the victims, not the antagonists.

Luna knew this just as well as her sister, but she had wanted to prevent Ponyville from being destroyed, and to defend it instead. But she could do nothing against her sister's wishes. Celestia knew that a martyr would bring an outpouring of support from all of her subjects, from Stalliongrad, to Fillydelphia, even in the more aristocratic minded Canterlot itself. Donations, supplies, volunteers for the Royal Army, all would be coming forthwith as news broke of Ponyville's sudden and unprovoked destruction. From the smoldering ashes of burning Ponyville would rise the new fires of industrious ponies all over the country.

Damn it, Celestia was right!

While I could never fully forgive her for allowing my home to be destroyed, I could tolerate the tactical advantage that letting the enemies strike the first blow would afford us. I would remain loyal to the throne, if only because Equestria needed me now more than ever, and I was unwilling to allow further losses to slide by so easily.

However, there was one thing that I could not forgive her for; she had forced me to watch. Celestia had allowed her scrying pool to remain open throughout the defilement of Ponyville, both of us watching as its citizens were butchered by minotaur and gryphon alike. It was all to teach me a lesson, I assumed, that the gryphons and minotaurs were more than willing, perhaps eager even to spill pony blood for their nations. As we watched in disgust and horror, tears continued to roll down my already soaked cheeks, and the first few beginning to make their appearance on Celestia's.

In the end, as the scene continued to play itself out in the pool, Celestia's magic broke mercifully, dropping me to the floor in a sobbing heap. A tear for each pony I knew that had surely died in the tragedy, either due to the blaze engulfing the town, or to an enemy's lethal blows. I threw in more for the pegasi that were falling from the skies, their mock small arms being useless against the real ones being wielded by the gryphons and minotaurs.

In the end, it was Celestia who came to me, and laid down beside me, cradling me as a mother would. She cried silent tears of her own into my mane, trying to be strong enough for the both of us as I laid my head against her breast as the well of my tears dried up. I was sitting there pathetically, still whispering 'Why?'

Why was it that we could both sit there and simply do nothing when there was still plenty to be done?

Instead, I was met with silence as Celestia sat there, her once unmarred and seemingly meticulously groomed fur being disheveled as I buried my face in it. She listened to every question painfully, knowing full well that I was silently accusing her for everything that was unfolding around me. Considering her voluntary inaction, she asked herself if it had all truly been worth it to bring any of her subjects to such grief, and all for a tactical advantage. Five more similar ponies waited for her to break the news to them as well, blindsiding them in the process. Each would react with tears and grief just as I had, one of the victims of her news being her most favorite subject in all of Equestria, her most faithful student.

But for right now, all Celestia had to be worried about was to remain a pillar of stability for the pony who was already unleashing her sorrow before her.

I awoke the next morning still in Celestia's chambers, my face nuzzled against her body. Apparently she had waited to whole night out, having told the guards that entered once they had awoken not to be worried, even raising the Sun without ascending the Grand Spire. Throughout that time, she remained unmoving, simply holding me there. In fact, that was the way I had awoken, Celestia's forelegs still wrapped around me, the Princess herself meditating there with her eyes closed.

My first movements alerted her that I was awake, her eyes shooting open and directing themselves to regard me. I got a hoof under myself to stand, Celestia releasing me from her grasp, only to have to dart back out and catch me before I collapsed again. While the presence of the Princess had eventually become comforting, the same could not be said for the stone floors that I had lain on throughout the night, leaving my body stiff and refusing to move.

"Thanks." I said dully, managing to rise under my own power this time. As I stretched out my limbs and wings, the Princess got to her hooves as well, not facing the same trouble I had. Both of us stood there, the Princess staring at me, whereas I shied away from looking at her, only shooting her a glance. "So what do we do now?" I questioned, my back still turned to Celestia.

"Now? We tell your friends what has befallen Ponyville. Then Canterlot, and all of Equestria. Even now, some neighboring towns have probably seen the plumes of smoke rising from Ponyville, and will be concerned, though hopefully none have attempted to get close to the ruins." Celestia explained to me. "But first, your friends, they are- were, inhabitants of the town after all." the Princess said, pausing afterwords though. "I would ask that you not tell them that we knew of the attack prior to it's occurrence. I would not wish to lose the only good thing to have come from such a loss." she requested of me before walking over and placing a hoof on my shoulder.

"I know that you probably harbor a great deal of contempt for me right now Rainbow Dash, and I am deserving of it. I alone am responsible for the tragedy that occurred last night." Celestia said empathetically. I shot a dagger glare at her, but I could not maintain the stare for long as I saw the pain and sorrow etched across the Princess' face. The look was almost an apology unto itself, but then the words that I had silently and unconsciously awaited came. "Most of all, I'm sorry that you- that anypony had to witness what should have been my and Luna's burden alone. I don't expect forgiveness to come easy, not so soon, but it is my wish that you can some day find some solace in what I've done."

That was the last straw.

I whipped my head around, my mane a whirlwind of color, and gave Celestia a hard glare. Then, I sighed and let my head hang limply towards the floor. I struggled to find the right words for how I felt right then. "I... understand why you did what you did Princess. Even now I agree that it was the right thing to have done. I just- I just wish there had been another way." I said solemnly. A hoof pushed my chin up, forcing me to face Celestia once more. She wore a grin on her muzzle, some slight moisture ringing those regal eyes of hers. "Thank you Rainbow Dash..." she said, the last words dying in a whisper as she blinked the tears away.

Now that the two of us were in about as good as mood as we were likely going to be in for a long while, we proceeded out of Celestia's chambers. I apologized to the two guards ponies awkwardly as we passed the doors, both simply nodding sternly at me in acceptance. Briefly, I was concerned about my appearance after having flown, cried, and tumbled all last evening. Noting my own inspections of my coat and mane, Celestia raised her horn slightly, a small glow emanating from the tip. A soothing golden glow encompassed me, cleaning my coat of blemishes while flattening it, and readjusting my mane to its normal style before it faded away like its presence had never been known. Majestic as always, Celestia had needed no such touch ups, her coat immaculate as always and her ghostly mane never remaining still for long to begin with.

As we passed through halls of the smaller spire at a far more leisurely pace than I had last evening, I noticed the adornments of the walls. Several paintings were affixed to the stone walls, portraying various ponies in a number of poses. Most were unicorns, though there were some earth ponies, and even a few pegasi. Among the other differences based mainly on the pony involved, one thing struck me as interesting. Each painting was in various stages of weathering, some being truly ancient, while others seemed newer, while still maintaining a sense of age.

As I followed the paintings, each one in better condition that the last, my face screwed up at the final painting, this one actually having been of Twilight Sparkle. The painting featured a younger Twilight, though only from a few years ago, maybe from the time just before she came to Ponyville. In the painting, a booked was splayed out before the purple pony, with several stacks of what I presumed were books she had already finished reading, though instead of focusing her attention on the book, Twilight was instead looking of the direction of what was surely the painter. A smile befitting of her twinkling eyes adorned her face, looking absolutely pleased. I was already forming conclusions of what each painting signified, though with the best pony to question standing right beside, I felt I could ask aloud to confirm or deny my suspicions.

"Hey Princess," I said, looking up to the taller pony, who had at that point stopped and moved beside me. "Who are all these ponies? And why is Twilight up there?" I inquired. The Princess turned and bade me to continue walking with her. "Those," she began, "are all the ponies whom I've ever taken under my wing for personal tutelage." she told me, confirming what I had already thought of.

"For millennia, since even before my sister was banished, I have been training exceptional ponies in the art of magic. Some of the unicorns, such as Twilight Sparkle, have had enough raw potential for magic that they have impressed me. Though as I'm sure you've noticed, not all of my students were unicorns. The pegasi and earth ponies, along with a few of the less magic oriented unicorns, were ponies who I deemed capable of wielding a piece of the Elements of Harmony. Its usually several generations before I can gather all six bearers of the Elements, such as you and your friends, but I like to keep any that I find safe as a precaution." Celestia continued, only stopping for the momentary breath.

So all of those ponies, and there had been dozens, had shown the same potential, if not more than my closest friends, or even me? It suddenly struck me how monumentally old Celestia and her sister must be for her to have been instructing the bright young minds of ponies for that long. That thought led me to wonder if Celestia hadn't been in the same position she currently was several times before, of the suffering that she had seen in her subjects as victims of war in the past. Perhaps it had been her experience in those types of situations that led her to choose this particular course of action to save herself from witnessing the pain of as many ponies as she had seen in past wars?

For her part, Celestia had remained silent, allowing me to stew in the pool of my own thoughts as we continued, reaching the next set of spiraling stairs. I had seen Twilight smile with the same glee of the painting just the previous day as she had greeted me in the courtyard. How would she handle the news of Ponyville's destruction? Her few years may not equal the time that I or the others had been living in Ponyville, but in that almost brief period, a lifetime of experiences had occurred compared to her time spent in Canterlot. And what if Twilight learned that it had been her very mentor, her idol who had stood aside and let her memories be laid to waste by foreign interlopers? I wished suddenly that I had simply stayed with my friends last night, that I could have avoided the horrendous knowledge that I now housed in my skull.

My jumble of thoughts drove more questions into my skull, and not enough answers were present. The question I did ask aloud was not the one I had expected though. "Princess, do you think we can win this? If the gryphons and minotaurs are really serious about this, do you think we can actually defeat them?" I had asked before I realized it. The Princess remained silent, though from shock at the question, or actually measuring the odds of success, I could not tell.

"Yes. I have a firm confidence that we can beat our opponents back out of Equestria." Celestia said carefully. "I've kept our military investments and advancements of the past several years secret so that only the highest members of our government truly know. The truth is, we've seen the signs of trouble since Gilda first riled up the High Gryphon Council four years ago." the Princess revealed. "Relations had been improving recently, and I was hoping that all my fears of attack had been unfounded. But then the gryphons, who at that point had recruited the minotaurs, began asking for reparations, which was something that I wasn't willing to comply with." she continued.

"Now, I believe that we have have, at the very least, enough military power to drive the gryphons and minotaurs back. In fact, one might say that we have a military might that exceeds even our combined enemies." Celestia concluded, the words inspiring some semblance of confidence in me after having witnessed the previous night's seemingly unstoppable enemies. However, Celestia's countenance remained dark, even after assuring me that we could defeat our enemies. Catching my scrutinizing look, she elaborated on the matter.

"My only concern is that the gryphons and minotaurs even chose to attack at all. Even prior to my and my sister's efforts to increase the power of our military, we could probably have beaten our new found foes back. Now, this may simply be me being paranoid, but I feel that the gryphons and minotaurs have some knowledge that we don't that could potentially turn the tides in their favor." the Princess told me.

Okay, some of my confidence evaporated at this.

"But I would say that the answer to your question is still yes. We can stop the gryphons and minotaurs. And I intend to tell all of the citizens of Equestria the same thing." Celestia added to allay any newly forming fears. If she was willing to tell me that she thought we could win this 'war', then she would surely tell all the ponies in Equestria the same thing. I was beginning to feel that this wasn't such a back and forth thing anymore, that I could really trust in Celestia as she assured me the Equestria would be the victors.

I felt some vengeful pleasure at the thought that the gryphons and minotaurs would pay for what they had done to my home. A little pony in my head told me that we should beat them back and then wreck a few towns in their lands, to show them how if felt! I quickly silenced the bloodthirsty pony in my head who was demanding a swift and gruesome form of retribution. It was one thing for us to crush their armies and make them (ironically) pay reparations, but it was another thing entirely for us to attack what would most likely be defenseless territories at that point.

Our extended conversation had eaten away at the time it had taken to reach the ground floor of the tower, and I had to quickly shield my eyes from the unexpected sunlight that dazzled me as the guards opened to doors for us. Just as Celestia promised to the ponies of Equestria each day, the sun shone brightly towards the earth, caressing those it touched with its warmth. My surprise at being blinded by the light of the Sun was replaced by a sense of calm as I recognized that some form of my life remained stable, that the glowing ball of fire still swung high in the sky every day.

'Glowing ball of fire... every day', I suddenly thought. The gryphons and minotaurs shared the same heavenly bodies as the rest of the world. It dawned on me, no pun intended, that regardless of how this war went, Celestia and Luna would survive everything, unless the gryphons and minotaurs were willing to risk eliminating the catalysts of their own sunny days and cool nights. Even in the time before the Princesses, the ponies whose secrets were lost to the ages had been forced to utilize powerful magic to raise the Sun and Moon each day.

Maybe all the time spent stuck indoors during training had been bad for me after all. The Sun seemed to make me think better.

It was due to the sunlight that I could see all the carefree guards inhabiting the castle. Well, as carefree as being castle guards allowed them to be. None of them seemed to be aware of what had happened in the night of the previous day. If only I could say the same about myself. No, instead, here I was, off to inform my friends of the fate that had befallen Ponyville. How does one share that kind of information? 'Hey guys, got some bad news. Gryphons and minotaurs kinda burned down Ponyville. Bummer, huh?'

No, I didn't look forward to what I would have to do in the next hour. Maybe I could get out of it though? I wasn't supposed to know about this yet either, was I? 'Of course I would.' I told myself. 'Kinda comes with being on the personal guard of the Princess you spent all night with last night.' I scolded. This wasn't an enviable job in the slightest, but it had to be done.

It was all I could do to keep my head high just as Celestia was doing, trying to prove to everypony that nothing was wrong in the slightest. We passed by the fountain of the larger than life Celestia, this time a few of the castle servants on break were relaxing there, enjoying the splendid weather reading or just chatting. All of them gave Celestia a wave or short verbal greeting, Celestia responding to each with a gracious nod. Where would they all be when the new came through the grapevine that Equestria was under attack? Perhaps in a hallway, moving about their tasks, perhaps asleep in their quarters, perhaps still sitting here in the tranquil courtyard. How would the Pony of Death, Gravesend react inside of his suit of armor?

I shut my eyes tightly, driving my thoughts to what lay in front of me at the current moment. My friends would need me in due time, and I needed myself to be there for them too. Me and Celestia proceeded down the endless corridor, far more endless than it had seemed yesterday now that silence formed a buffer between me and the nearest pony. We had talked about all that either of us had been willing to talk about at the time, which was for the best perhaps. Maybe then I wouldn't bring up any more sensitive topics or personal questions. Yes, shutting up was certainly for the best.

After an eternity of walking (seriously, could they be any more out of the way?), we reached the current quarters of my friends. I could hear the shuffling of hooves, and the muffled voices of ponies conversing in the room already. I took a deep breath to steady myself, and raised my hoof up to knock. Instead, Celestia held hers up, pushing my own hoof down. "I'll handle the explanation. You just be there for them." she told me. Raising her hoof again, Celestia knocked in a short succession of three hoof taps. I steadied myself again, keeping a straight face. All was supposed to well, I didn't know anything yet, just be as shocked as the others.

I heard muffled voice before Twilight opened the door, her eyes gleaming as she saw the two ponies she was greeting. "Princess! We're so happy to see you!" Twilight said enthusiastically as the others echoed her joy. "You too Rainbow Dash." she included, slightly less enthusiastically. Twilight made a sweeping gesture with her hoof, indicating we should enter. I complied, following Celestia as she entered first, Twilight giving me a barely restrained giggle at the thought of Celestia visiting her.

As I walked in behind the Princess, I saw that everypony was gathered together at the prospect of seeing Celestia. While this was hardly the first time she had been with my friends, in fact, many of us had the privilege of saying that we saw the Princess fairly frequently, each visit was still a treat. As such, this visit promised just that. That was what my friends had wanted to believe, anyhow.

Once we were all in the recreation area of the large room, the Princess bade my friends to take a seat on one of the several couches about the room before she began. A dark expression was cast over Celestia's face as she began.

"Girls, I have some bad news..."

Stunned silence and pained expressions filled the room as Celestia finished explaining what had happened to Ponyville during the night.

"Ponyville... was attacked last night." she began. "The minotaurs and gryphons have allied with one another against us for various political reasons, and made Ponyville a target for their forces during what should have been a mock fight between the gryphons and a detachment of our Air Corps." she continued, pausing at this point. "I'm sorry, but Ponyville was completely destroyed in the assault."

That was when the weird looks and silence had begun.

Pinkie Pie was the first to speak up, but as she ran a hoof through her mane, the hair deflated, reminiscent of her 'Pinkamena' episode several years ago. "But... what about Sugarcube corner?" she asked Celestia. The Princess simply shook her head slowly in response. "I had orders to finish..." Pinkie said with a sniffle. "and Featherweight's birthday was coming up..." the pink pony continued. "At least the Cakes weren't around still." she finished, looking to the floor as her tears began to fall.

At the normally delightful pony's innocent questions, and her following tears, the rest of my friends all lost control of themselves, breaking down in various degrees themselves.

"But... all my dresses.. heh, Photofinish wanted more. I was working on those though..." Rarity mumbled to nopony in particular, covering up for her shock by displacing her thoughts. "Sweetie Belle!" she said with a harsh whisper, the realization cutting through the haze of her thoughts as her eyes went wide. "No no no no no, not Sweetie Belle!" she began to say frantically, pacing about the room as she did so. "I- I'll take her place, just let Sweetie Belle back into the world!" Rarity pleaded in the direction of the sky.

Applejack stood still, her eyes beginning to water as she processed what she had just heard. Then, her primary concern was revealed."Princess, what about Sweet Apple Acres? Mah farm, mah family?" she begged of Celestia. "From the last information I've gathered, Sweet Apple Acres still stands. It is far enough from both the town itself, and the path the minotaurs took on the ground to remain unscathed." the Princess told Applejack. Relief flooded Applejack's face, and her tears were now primarily of joy that it seemed her family was spared, though she got serious a second later. "Any stray survivors from Ponyville would probably have gone to Sweet Apple Acres. We need to get them some kind of help Princess." Applejack urged.

Of all the ponies present in the room, Fluttershy looked the most devastated. The kind pony couldn't comprehend such senseless violence, taking on a scared expression and backing away from the Princess, as if putting distance between herself and the source of the news would prevent it from ever reaching her. Instead, she simply fell on her rump, back up against the wall, her own tears beginning to make themselves known. Celestia turned to face the poor yellow pegasus, and if her expression could get even more grim, it did so then.

"Fluttershy..." the Princess began, softly, as if to stop herself from damaging the cowering pony more. Celestia heaved a great sigh, regretting what she had to tell Fluttershy even more than the destruction of Ponyville. "Your cottage... it was the first target struck by the minotaurs as they followed the path to Ponyville." Celestia said gingerly. Fluttershy bit her lower lip, her watery eyes seeming to almost burst from the pressure. "But Angel bunny... and the other critters... they were all in the cottage too. They got out, didn't they?" Fluttershy whimpered. Celestia shook her head, causing Fluttershy's expression to change drastically. This was news to me as well, having probably happened as I was on the way up Celestia's spire.

Fluttershy took on a perturbed expression at first. "No... not Angel and the others... they didn't do anything." she began, her expression quickly shifting to that of outrage. "How- how dare they!? How could they kill all the ponies in Ponyville and the innocent woodland creatures!? How could they, what gives them the right!?" she screamed, only adding to the already high tensions in the room as every head turned to the normally reserved pony. Fluttershy gave a quick grunt born of utter frustration, attempting to fly off and visit her own personal wrath upon the minotaurs and gryphons. I quickly blocked her path at the threshold of the door, not wanting her to recklessly charge in only to get herself killed. I couldn't stand to lose one of my best friends on top of those already lost in Ponyville.

"Let... me... go!" Fluttershy screamed, struggling to get past me in order to mete out her punishment. It pained me to see the normally quiet pony enraged as she was, but I wouldn't let her by, and I was certainly the stronger of the two of us. Training had made sure of that. As her struggles proved futile, Fluttershy ended her rage by collapsing on the floor in a sobbing heap, similar to my own actions last night. I picked up the prone form of my friend, carrying her back over to the others who were concerned for her well being after witnessing the rampage.

Twilight took Fluttershy from me, cradling her as Celestia had done for me as I released my own grief the previous evening. Twilight was the only one that hadn't spoken her mind so far at the destruction of Ponyville, and it didn't seem like she was going to at first. "What about Spike?" she asked, surprisingly unworried about the loss of her impressive collection of books. "I've heard nothing from him, and none of my information leads me to believe he made it out." Celestia told her. Twilight looked even more crestfallen once that news hit her, but she handled the news far better than the others, barely shedding a tear.

"Now, I'm afraid I have to inform the rest of Equestria. I wish I could have come bearing some type of good news, rather than this, but you all deserved to know first." Celestia informed the group gathered before her. As the Princess turned to leave, I made to follow her, but paused for one last comment. "I'll be back." I promised all of my friends, and I did intend to keep my promise. But for now, I had to fulfill what little I knew of my job by escorting Celestia.

In their own grief, none of my friends had noticed that I had not even shed a tear for the loss of Ponyville. No, I was out of tears for Ponyville at the moment; it was time to get to work.

Just as I turned to leave once more, I heard a startled gasp from Celestia in the hallway. Quickly, I leapt to the aid of our ruler, uncertain as to what could possibly have gotten through the castle to surprise Celestia so. I was expecting some type of intruder or evil magics attempting to harm the Princess, ready to use my limited experience to fight to the death if I had to. My fears turned out to be unfounded, as when I made it into the hallway Celestia was simply levitating a rolled up parchment before her.

A message from Spike, my mind interposed, and I sincerely hoped that was the case.

Cautiously, I approached. "What is it Celestia?" I inquired, unsure of what the parchment might hold. In response, the Princess unfurled the parchment, scanning its contents quickly. "Back in the room. Some information has come to light." she commanded. I complied, opening the door again for Celestia to walk in first. I quickly followed behind her, checking my back as we went to make sure we weren't being followed, paranoia getting the better of me.

"Twilight, I have a message from Spike." Celestia informed her student, catching the attention of all in attendance. "Really? He's okay? What does it say?" Twilight quickly requested. Celestia levitated the letter over to Twilight allowing her to take control of it and read from the letter aloud.

"Spike here. Still alive. At Sweet Apple Acres, Ponyville attacked if you don't already know. Dragon scales good against fire after all." Twilight read. "Other survivors here, Apple family doing what they can to help out those with injuries. Sweetie Belle made it, but hurt bad. Scootaloo dead." Twilight paused, wincing at the loss of one of the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders', who had all gotten their cutie marks by now. "Big Macintosh keeping guard right now, lets us know if anything is coming. Safe to correspond for now, don't send help yet, gryphons and minotaurs might spot the apple trees and try to take over farm." she concluded.

After allowing a moment of silence to make sure Twilight was finished reading, Applejack began speaking excitedly. "Well this is great news!" she started. From the sound of it, several ponies had managed to make it out of Ponyville alive, if somewhat worse for wear. Looking over at Rarity, Applejack continued. "Your sister made it out Rarity!" Applejack said enthusiastically. Rarity grinned at Applejack, though her makeup had smeared a trail on her face from her tears. "Yes, yes she did." she said quietly.

"Well we have to write back, get some more information if we can. Spike, take a-" Twilight began, stopping when she realized her assistant was the very one she was attempting to write to. Instead, she quickly located a quill and parchment of her own, setting to writing as soon as she could. When she was finished, she blew on the ink, trying to dry it faster. Ever the traditionalist, Twilight always wrote her letters with a quill and ink, rather than a simple pen or pencil. Trying to make sure she hadn't missed anything important, Twilight read the letter aloud first.

"Spike, we're all happy to hear that you're alive." she began. "How many survivors are there at Sweet Apple Acres, and how many are wounded? Also, what is the state of medical supplies and food? When do you think you can move to the nearest settlement? Signed, Twilight Sparkle." she concluded, then scribbling something else at the bottom. "P.S.- Keep up correspondence if possible, your information can help us." she added. Celestia nodded in consent, levitating the rolled up parchment to herself and concentrating as she relayed the letter to Spike.

Several tense minutes passed, the silence only broken by the occasional sniffle from Fluttershy. I was beginning to worry that our timing had been inconvenient, and that the materializing letter had alerted some type of enemy. My fears were alleviated as a new letter popped into existence above Celestia's horn, the alicorn quickly levitating the newest arrival down to Twilight. The parchment unraveled as Twilight began to read aloud again.

"Yeah, I'm happy about it too. Thirteen ponies made it out, not counting me, Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Apple Bloom. Six injured, mostly burns, only one severe case. Sweetie Belle shot with a through and through in both hind legs." Twilight read, wincing at Sweetie Belle's condition. Somehow, despite her injuries, Sweetie Belle had managed to drag herself to Sweet Apple Acres, perhaps aided by magic. "Plenty of food," she continued. "Granny Smith's apple balm is helping those with burns, but we're running low on anything to turn into bandages. As for movement, those that can't walk under their own power can be placed in a cart for Big Mac to pull, but we should spend a little longer letting the burns heal a little before transporting anypony." Spike cautioned.

"We got lucky. Sugarcube Corner exploded for some reason, looked like fireworks to me. Killed several minotaurs surrounding the building with torches and blew a few gryphons out of the sky." Spike added. Surely the fireworks had been Pinkie Pie's doing, keeping a store of them all over the building. I silently thanked the party pony for her antics. "Been thinking about heading into Everfree to stay at Zecora's, she can help with the injuries. Trees obscure the gryphon's view, minotaurs are good with mazes though, so we'd have to get out without any of them seeing us. That's all. Signed, Spike the Dragon." Twilight concluded. "P.S.- Tell the Princess not to be startled if she gets a message during the night, that's the best time for movement." she added.

"Sounds like Spike has everything well in hoof- er, hand." I said to everypony. "Going to Zecora's is probably the best idea right now, if anypony can help, she can." I added, the others nodding in agreement. "Well," the Princess began. "Now that we have an idea of what things are like, I can begin to make plans." said, turning to leave again. "Now, I really can't delay this any longer. Shortly, I'll call a press conference to announce the attack on Ponyville. Equestria must know what has happened." the Princess concluded.

As Celestia began to leave, I followed, not looking back this time, knowing that my friends we doing better now that a correspondence had been established with Spike. Soon enough, Equestria would know what has happened, and hopefully ponies everywhere reacted as Celestia had planned, readying themselves to strike back at the aggressors.

Now all that remained to be done was to wait.

And watch.

Celestia's press release had been short and to the point. A few of the most pressing questions were taken and answered during the brief media attention, though further prodding for details were met with silence.

Once Celestia had alerted a few of her personal aides of the need to contact the media, she had gone to the official media room of the castle. The media room held a reasonably sized stage, and was meant to only house a couple dozen reporters at most, though once they began to arrive, much space was being taken up by ponies using recording equipment. I had taken the space immediately behind Celestia, two far more experienced bodyguards of hers covering each side. I had chosen my placement both out of my lack of expertise, and due to a desire to stay out of the spotlight in the event some news pony recognized me.

Glancing over the Princess' shoulder, I thought I could make out a total of five camera crews with an equal number of live reporters. I couldn't be sure though as Celestia's billowing tail obscured most of my view. I concerned myself with the backstage portion of the room, watching as an assistant gave all of the camera crews a count down to start filming.

Five... four... three.. two...

One.

"Hello, Equestrians." Celestia said smoothly as the cameras began to roll. "I hope that all of you have been enjoying your day so far." she continued happily. I could almost feel the false smile Celestia gave the cameras, even with my back turned. "Unfortunately, I have some pressing news for everypony who is listening on radio, or watching this live broadcast." the Princess said, her tone growing dark.

"As of late last night, Equestria is at war." Celestia said, pausing to allow everypony to react and let the news sink in. "Ponyville was the target of a joint attack between the gryphons and minotaurs. The mock aerial battle that was being held above quickly turned into a quite real battle, one that our unarmed pegasi could not react to with any semblance of effectiveness." the Princess explained, her tone turning to that of disapproval.

"No chance was given for surrender, the gryphons and their minotaur allies showing blatant disregard for pony life as they burned Ponyville to the ground, nor have we been contacted by the gryphon High Council or minotaur Protectorate. As of this point, the attack seems to have been unprovoked by the ponies of Ponyville, and no reason has been given by the gryphons or minotaurs, not that anything could possibly excuse such barbarism. There are no known survivors." Celestia paused for dramatic effect. The last part had been a lie, but it would be far more inspirational to reveal that there had indeed been a few surviving inhabitants of Ponyville, especially if they were to give testimony of the merciless actions of the gryphons and minotaurs.

"Very little is known about the threat that this invading force poses, but we will operate under the assumption that our enemies will treat every settlement they encounter with the same disregard for life as Ponyville. To that effect, I request that nopony approach any stray minotaurs or gryphons, and for those living nearby to migrate to the refugee camps that we will be setting up shortly outside Canterlot." the Princess advised. "That is all. I will take further questions should there be anypony here with a concern." Celestia said, speaking to the numerous journalists behind the broadcasting cameras.

"Yes, I have a question Princess." said a light green unicorn pony who was floating a notepad in front of herself. All cameras focused on the pony asking the question. "What will happen to any minotaurs or gryphons currently living in Equestria?" the reporter asked, the cameras quickly darting back to Celestia as she prepared to answer.

"The gryphons and minotaurs who currently live in Equestria are not considered to be part of this heinous attack, though they will be detained in living areas that we will establish. This is not meant to be punishment or imprisonment. Rather, it is for their own protection, should anypony wish to do harm to them otherwise." Celestia assured her listeners and viewers.

"Detainees will be allowed to bring many of their personal belongings with them, though large items may be required to stay behind. Businesses operated by gryphons of minotaurs shall be handed down to the highest ranking pony employee, the profits being handled by same pony, hopefully for the benefit of the business. Businesses run solely by gryphons or minotaurs will be handled by a government handler. Any businesses that offer services that only a gryphon or minotaur can perform will have all of its transactions frozen until this conflict is resolved." the Princess continued, trying to handle the broad set of circumstances with fairness.

"The current gryphon and minotaur ambassadors on the other hand will be held as prisoners under the assumption that they were aware of the impending conflict. However, it seems that any remaining ambassadors have had their government willingly abandon them in Equestria, and as such some lenience shall be given." Celestia explained, her tone moving from harshness to sympathy as she hit each point. "I would ask that gryphons and minotaurs not involved in their homeland's government comply with authorities. We only wish to prevent any harm from coming to you from any potentially overzealous ponies." she requested. "I also expect that the pony citizens of Equestria will treat any innocent gryphons and minotaurs with fairness. Discrimination is hardly something that I wish to fall upon the shoulders of the gryphon and minotaur inhabitants of Equestria. Failure to comply will end with the offending pony in jail." Celestia warned.

Throughout the explanation of what would happen to gryphon and minotaur citizens, ponies frantically scribbled their own notes and subsequent questions that led off of the first one. One pony, this one a pegasus with a bright yellow coat and contrasting platinum mane and tail, stood out to Celestia as she pointed into the crowd. Stepping forward, the pegasus began her question nervously. "What kind of support is expected of the citizens of Equestrian in response to this attack?" she asked.

"We hold nopony to any expectations. Military applications, information, monetary donations. All would be greatly appreciated, but the government is quite in control at the moment, and the military can very well make do with what they currently have. Our resources are available for those who require aid, and we will do our best to make everypony as safe and comfortable as possible during wartime." Celestia told the reporter. I wondered just how well the government must be doing to not come out and ask for any assistance its citizens would offer.

Amid the sea of waving ponies, Celestia pointed to another reporter with a ruddy brown coat, his short black mane concealed by a stereotypical newspony's fedora. "Yes, you. With the hat." Celestia said as she pointed out the pony she was referring to. The pony cleared his throat, preparing for his question.

"How prepared is Equestria for a war, assuming that the our opponents intend to carry this all the way through?" the pony asked. Celestia paused, pretending to weigh her information against the question, though I already knew what the answer was having asked the very same question myself. "The Equestrian military is more than prepared for any type of fight our opponents may offer up. We host only the best and most disciplined ponies of the military in our training camps, and they instill those virtues into the ponies they instruct. I have absolute confidence in our abilities to protect our borders now that we have a defined threat, and that retribution will be swift for those responsible for damaging our nation." Celestia said with determination.

Celestia glared at each camera, a merciless gaze that sought to both entrap and enrapture the eyes and ears of everypony who was watching. They needed to know that the Princess meant everything she had said.

"We. Will. Win."

Through the press release, I had finally met a few of the other members of Celestia's personal guard, though I thought that it was odd that they had been absent from her presence for so long. Coincidentally, the two ponies that had been at Celestia's sides were twin unicorn ponies. Schism and Rift Walk were their names, though it would seem that those were not their real names, that every member of the personal guard had a code name. Was that why Gravesend was named that way? To indicate a higher rank than that of a officer of the castle guard?

Schism was the mare of the pair, and she had a pale silver mane that seemed to compliment her dark jade coat and lavender eyes. She had a cutie mark that looked like a melted candle, though no flame was apparent. At my request, she had explained that her specialty in magic was an ability to essentially dissolve a substance by breaking its molecules away from each other. To prove the point, she asked to borrow a single bit.

As the coin was consumed by an intense glow, I shielded my eyes from the brightness. Upon looking at the single bit I had given to Schism moments ago, I was struck by the fact that it was in several smaller pieces. It appeared that the spell struck with precision, allowing all the elements to remain in equal parts, simply separated from each other, with that being why there seemed to be several smaller bits. "Watch this." Schism told me then, a smirk on her face. Another intense glow overtook the pieces, though I refused to shield my eyes this time. When her work was done, Schism showed me that all of the pieces had become whole again.

"It's more difficult, putting things back together. Also there seems to be some boundary that prevents me from putting two foreign objects together, though I can put the same object together again in a different way." Schism explained, flipping the bit back into my shocked grasp. "So I can break down that bit like you saw, and put it back together again in a different shape, but I can't form it with another broken down bit. Same thing goes for objects that haven't been broken down." she continued. That was a pretty amazing talent when I thought about it, the things such a skill could be applied to. I wonder, was difficulty affected by scale too? I asked this question aloud, receiving an answer to my question and more.

"Yeah, aside from a minimum effort for even the smallest thing, the size of what I'm trying to dissolve or put back together makes a difference. It uh- It even works on ponies. That's why I have the job I have. I'm a very talented weapon at best." Schism told me, sounding somewhat disappointed at the reasoning for her employment. The prospect scared me some, the idea that somepony could silently dissolve my body not sitting well with my mind. I stopped my thoughts for a moment, an idea striking me that I had to share.

"Say Schism, d'ya think that the reverse could be done with ponies like you did with the bit? You know, rebuild them?" I asked. A spark of light seemed to strike the guard pony's eyes. "Well I- I never even thought to use my spell like that. I mean, I'd need pretty much everything there, but... flesh wounds or cuts and scrapes, heck, maybe even internal injuries could be fixed. I can move a little bit of the excess from the body to replace little parts that are gone..." she trailed off, quickly giving me a toothy grin.

"Hey, thanks Rainbow Dash. You just gave me an idea of how I could help better around here. Medical ponies might need more help around here with a war just on the horizon." she said gratefully. "Heh, sure. No problem, just glad to help out, y'know." I responded, a little nervously despite the fact that I had just done something good. It would be a good time to visit Schism's sibling now I thought, especially if I was supposed to be working with both of them in the future.

Now, on the opposite end of the spectrum of the twins was Rift Walk. Obviously, the two had similar physical features, mane and tail colors, coat, eye color, along with a little patch of lighter fur just beneath the neck of each twin. While Schism had seemed friendly enough, Rift Walk appeared entirely different... until you saw his eyes that is. A stern expression adorned his face at most times, but one look at his darting eyes showed a pony that was full of life and always observing his surroundings. Something to do with his special talent I assumed.

I took a glance at Celestia, who was gathered among the crowd of reporters answering more mundane questions than the ones she had been presented with during the public announcement. The standard castle guards stood at her sides after the Princess had deemed it acceptable for her body guards to mingle elsewhere.

Clearly the reporters hadn't quite adjusted to the idea that we were at war yet, preferring to remain in the comfortable territory of their familiar questions.

As I directed my gaze back to where Rift Walk had been standing watch, I immediately realized he was no longer there. No sooner had I recognized that fact than I felt a poke at my flank. "Boo." somepony said behind me as I spun quickly to react to the touch. I had turned too quickly while I was startled and nearly fell on my rump in the process, but merely teetered, attempting to maintain my balance. Facing my antagonist, I found Rift Walk standing there with a bemused expression on his face.

"Couldn't help myself once I noticed you were staring. Saw you talking to my sister, probably know who I am by now." the pony said quickly, his eyes still darting to someplace else every few seconds. Then he focused his eyes on me, and I could have sworn I felt myself being drawn into a void as I matched his gaze. Something was quite unnatural about this pony I decided. "Dunno what you said, but I saw her eyes light up, and she actually smiled. Means you must have done something good. I appreciate that. Sister never has been okay with being a weapon. Thank you." he rapidly shot at me. I think I brushed it off, saying it was no problem, but I hadn't stopped feeling unsettled by Rift Walk's eyes.

I was still confused as to how anypony could possibly have been stealthy enough to not only sneak past me, but right up behind me without notice. As I looked up again to say something, I was startled once more as Rift Walk had made his way over to his sister without me noticing has absence again. Damn that pony was quiet! There had to be some trick to how he could escape so stealthily. What was his cutie mark...?

I felt absolutely silly as both of my questions were answered right before my eyes. Once Rift Walk had finished his short chat with his sister, he blinked out of existence to quietly reappear right in front of me. I took a step back, not expecting the closeness with which Rift Walk appeared, his muzzle barely inches away from mine. "Yes, that was a good thing you did for my sister." he stated flatly, unblinking and unmoving. I hesitated before saying anything else. "So, that's your special talent I assume?"

I cocked my head to the side a bit to get a better glimpse of his cutie mark. I was rewarded with a look at Rift Walk's purple bruise colored magical void cutie mark. I looked about the same as the magical burst of a typical teleportation spell, only frozen in place at the point of transition.

"Yes, I'd say I've grown pretty good at teleportation spells over the years." the dark unicorn said playfully. "I might even hazard the guess that I'm the best in Equestrian history. Soundless, sightless, and instantaneous, I can simply slip in and out of existence." he continued. I should have seen this coming based on the name. Dead giveaway. "It's possible for me to manipulate the teleportation field itself, bringing others with me in the same manner. I can even bend the light typically given off by teleportation to create a temporary cloak of 'invisibility' in the target area."

This last bit was demonstrated as Rift Walk pointed back to his previous place on the stage, blinking away wordlessly. I couldn't see him land, though having been alerted to the area in question, I could barely make out a distortion in the air, again, only because I knew where to look. The twitchy unicorn blinked back in front of me again, at a far more comfortable distance this time, luckily. "Distance is also less of a factor for me, so long as I know where I'm going." he said before teleporting himself to the top of Grand Spire. I knew this was where he had gone because he had dragged me with him!

Admittedly, the view from the top of the tower was breathtaking. I could see the entire vast expanse of Canterlot from the apex point, the sky chariots bustling about the airspace above the city, other ponies trotting along the streets like tiny ants. Life went on, even in the face of the news that had just been relayed to Equestria less than an hour ago, everypony busy being somewhere and doing something. I could make out the Training Grounds in the distance, imagining a line of volunteers forming even now to join the Royal Army. "Sure is a sight to see up here." Rift Walk said, looking more towards the castle than the city.

"Coolest thing I can do with my teleportation is creating an explosion from the remaining forces of the spell, but-" he was cut off momentarily as I was dragged disorientingly back into the media room. The floor rushed to my eyes as I collapsed on the ground, my stomach churning as I was unused to such immediate travel. "That would probably be a bad thing to demonstrate since it hits everything around me as I land." Rift Walk continued, unfazed by his own magic, and unaware of my collapse. "However, I prefer to- oh, not quite ready for the teleportation, were you?"

I rolled my eyes at him, which didn't help with the spinning room. "As I was saying," Rift Walk began again. "I prefer to think of my self simply as transportation for Celestia in the event of an emergency. It's not a glamorous job, admittedly, but I like to think that this is where my particular skill set is appreciated the most." he concluded. I got my hooves under myself and managed to stand again with only a slight churning of my stomach, and I admit that I could go without another teleportation event for a long while.

Now that greetings were done with for both of the twins, (and I already thought I knew which one I liked the most) I felt I needed to learn a bit more about my other co-workers. "So, Rift Walk, how many ponies are there in this 'bodyguard' program?" I inquired. Rift Walk bit his lip and looked up and to the right as he thought. "You makes fourteen- no, Darius is gone... thirteen I believe." he decided after correcting himself. I raised an eyebrow and twirled a forehoof at Rift Walk, urging him to elaborate some more.

Catching the hint, Rift Walk continued. "Well, you've already met my sister and I. There's Mordekai, he's an earth pony. His skill set is fairly straight forward; he's the traditional sharpshooter and scout of the group. Me and Mordekai have a special relationship since I'm typically the one that sends him to the high ground where he can get off a clear shot."

"Blood..." Rift Walk paused for a moment, scoffing at the name. "...has a stupid codename. But he makes up for it by being an amazingly gifted medic. Blood is the leading unicorn in the field of medical magic throughout Equestria, and many of his spells have been focused on mending damage from extreme trauma, such as the kind you find in wounds sustained from battle. I can imagine that his work will save hundreds of lives during the coming conflict."

"As silent as I may be at times, Ashen is our real stealth and infiltration specialist. Any place that she can't fly into like a ghost I teleport her into like a shadow plastered on the wall. In fact, it was at her bidding that I invented the light bending teleportation landing spell. We've been developing a special spell based technology that should allow a limited chameleon effect field to surround the user, also requested by Ashen." Rift Walk told me of the shadow pony. She could be in the same room as us at this very moment, and I wouldn't even know it. I shuddered at the chill that ran up my spine. Rift Walk was very forthcoming about the inner workings of the government R&D team.

"Crawler is our own little tech wizard, and he works his on brand of magic on machines, even without a horn. I've even seen him crack through our toughest Maverick level security systems in thirty-five seconds flat. While he may not be the most physically imposing pony, he's tricky as all hell, and always has some hidden card in up his sleeve. He also has to be the one to make all the wisecracks because he knows we need him." Rift Walk explained, though his tone approached distaste at the last bit.

"As for Gravesend... well..." Rift Walk trailed off a bit as he talked about the Pony of Death himself. "Let's just say that she's our resident bad ass."

Herself, I corrected, though I seemed to vaguely recall the scanner unicorn at the gate referring to Gravesend as a 'he'.

"Essentially, if the Princesses want something done that they don't think any one of us can handle, they send in Gravesend. Her family has had somepony on protection detail for the Princesses for the past five generations. In fact, she's just now officially taking over Darius' role, and he's mighty proud of his daughter's ability to do so. Honestly, she's our Jack of All Trades, and while she may not be better at any one skill than any of us others, aside from killing, she could certainly fulfill any role in our stead." Rift Walk told me of Gravesend.

"Wait, wait wait... how can you tell that she's good at killing?" I asked, confused at how anypony could assuredly be good at that, though the trophy hunter part explained a lot. Rift Walk smirked at me. "Duels." he said. "Here in Canterlot, since we've had no reason to be concerned about a shortage of soldiers, families are allowed to settle feuds with duels between each family's champion. Not to mention she moonlights as a trophy hunter." he continued. "Anyhow, while every family has this opportunity available, usually only the richest and oldest of families rely on duels to settle disputes. Gravesend happens to belong to such a family, and she has been in several duels. Each duel is to the death unless the victor spares the loser." Rift Walk concluded, but then thought to add something else. "Gravesend has never chosen to... invoke this right as victor."

I shuddered at the ruthlessness of Gravesend's actions, and made it a point of mine to never get on her bad side. I also decided right then that Gravesend would be a great ally to seek out if I was ever in trouble.

"Zodiac, Anthem, and Zephyr are zebra triplets that specialize in coordinated attacks. While each of the three is a formidable opponent unto herself, being masters of unarmed and melee combat alike, they are most fearsome when acting in concert. I've seen the three of them take out two training squads of ponies in an exhibition bout of theirs. But the worst part is probably how humble each is about their skills outside of battle. Possibly the nicest bunch of ponies you'll find anywhere." Rift Walk said of the triplets. I found myself doubting the last part, betting Fluttershy outdid them all in kindness. Not that an excess of kindness was necessarily a bad thing.

Zebras? That was a surprise. I knew that the Zebra Republic was under personal protection from Equestria, but as I had seen of Zecora around Ponyville, they still weren't seen in Equestria with any type of commonality. Many ponies held very little suspicion of the zebras themselves, but rather their odd cultural practices. As I had also seen of Zecora, the zebras did indeed have an odd culture, though everything they did was harmless, if a little creepy. In fact, the traditional medicinal and herbal practices of zebras matched up against the pharmaceutical companies based in Equestria, and in combination actually worked better than either by themselves. This aided in eliminating any suspicion in the zebras while not quite outright dispersing it.

"Brayn also has a stupid codename, but he's far less gruff than Blood is. Honestly, for a medical pony, Blood seems pretty unfriendly." Rift Walk added of Blood. "Anyhow, Brayn is our all around tactician/ worrywart. While he isn't such a genius at other matters, Brayn has studied battle history since he was a young colt. Luckily his skills should be able to help us win this thing." Rift Walk stated with confidence. "I might add, he also has a specialty for defensive magic, and quite a variety at that."

"Lastly we come to Perdition." Rift Walk said with a smile. "Perdition is our one and only heavy weapons specialist. Discounting Gravesend that is." he paused, his grin dying away as it had when he brought up Gravesend before. I was getting the feeling that there was a general distaste for Gravesend among the others of the personal guard. "Perdition is one tough mare, but also probably the most fun member of our little group. She has a thing for explosions." he continued. "Heh, I had- have a friend that would probably get along with her pretty well." I said, referring to Cherry Tresses and her own love of explosives.

"Now don't tell anypony else this..." Rift Walk said, leaning close. "...but I kinda have a thing for Perdition. So just in case you... y'know, dig the mares... I got my eye on her. Just sayin'." he told me in a whisper. I chuckled a little, awkwardly. "Don't worry, you won't see any competition from me." I assured Rift Walk, his face showing relief. Honestly, I hadn't really thought about my love life seriously for a long time. When I was younger I had held a few relationships of either gender, though I hadn't been struck by anypony like that for several years.

"So, where are all these other ponies of our 'group'?" I asked of Rift Walk.

"Oh, you know. Around."

I was awoken in the night by a hoof covering my mouth, preventing me from alerting anypony. I tried to scream, but a hissed 'shhhhh' prevented me from emitting any more muffled screams. I immediately thought of what Marble had told me about the Spec Ops abduction squads, and began to fear for my safety. A glow blinked into existence in front of my eyes, dazzling me for a moment. When I could see again, I found Rift Walk was the one holding his hoof over my muzzle... along with nearly a dozen other ponies who had surrounded me. "Get up." Rift Walk urged quietly.

I complied wordlessly as the hoof was removed from my muzzle.

After my talk about the other members of the 'Royal Guard', I was already feeling worn out from the few hours of events I had been through during the day. I had a bit of small talk with Schism and Rift Walk, even a few of the reporters that recognized me asked me some questions about what I was doing at the castle. At Rift Walk and Schism's insistence that it was okay to talk about my new duties, I revealed to the public for the first time what my role at the castle was to be. Many of the reporters had been shocked, some even requesting an interview at a later point. I told them that I would consider it, though I wasn't sure if I actually would since I was trying to be less or a showboat now.

Once the excitement had died down at the media center, I asked Celestia for permission to leave, which she immediately granted. I really wanted to take a nap or something, but I also wanted to check up on my friends to see how they were coping with the loss of Ponyville. I owed them that much, and I had promised after all.

When I arrived to their room, I found that Applejack and Rarity had gone off to see if they could get any help for the ponies at Sweet Apple Acres, despite Spike's warning. Applejack had just seen it as wrong to leave the ponies at her farm in such danger without some type of assistance from her end, while Rarity tagged along since her little sister was one of the injured ponies trapped at the farm.

Fluttershy was sleeping off her grief in her own quarters, with Twilight talking with the recovering Pinkie Pie. When I stopped in, both greeted me warmly, though they looked even more tired than I felt right then. With that in mind, I kept my conversation short, simply letting Twilight know about the ponies I had been told of as Pinkie Pie was lost in a daydream. Twilight had realized she knew of the twins, having seen both of them even before her time in Ponyville, and she had gotten along fairly well with Schism, while Rift Walk had creeped her out. I wasn't too surprised, my own spine tingling whenever he looked at me, even after having spoken with him extensively.

After my sadly brief visit, I decided to take a brief flight to the top of the Grand Spire again to get another look at the view from the top. So peaceful it seemed, even once the news broke. Equestria hardly seemed like it should have been at war, but the truth could not be denied, the minotaurs and gryphons having announced their intent the moment the conflagration that was Ponyville had formed.

My imagination played out the events of Ponyville upon Canterlot to terrifying effect. A blaze formed at the outer edges of the city, spreading inwards in the direction of the castle, flames and minotaur alike driving ponies along like one of Applejack's cattle herds. Gryphons were swooping down and clutching ponies in their talons, only to drop them like rocks onto the hard pavement. Screaming, gyrating rocks. The cobblestones were stained with blood in my twisted version of reality, with no military even presenting itself to even attempt to stop the invaders along their bloody warpath.

I forced myself to look away, shutting my eyes tightly, trying to keep fresh tears away. There was no attack on Canterlot, no matter how real the screams had sounded, no matter how brightly the imaginary fires burned, licking the rooftops of each building before jumping to the next. Opening my eyes, I breathed a sigh of relief as my hallucination faded to nothingness, leaving the true Canterlot for me to bask in the presence of.

Only at that point the only presence I wanted to bask in was that of a few pillows, a mattress, and a warm blanket.

And so I had found my own chambers for the first time, separated from my friends due to my position in the castle's employment. Only, my welcome sleep couldn't last forever, as I was presently awoken by the small gathering of ponies before me.

As I stood, I saw Schism, as well as three identical ponies- no, zebras, as I began to be able to see in the soft glow of Rift Walk's horn. I felt sure now that the gathering before me was all of the ponies in my new squad. Was this to be an initiation of some sort? What, was I going to fight with one of them, just to show how useless I could be? Was I to be presented with some sort of technical challenge, something else for me to prove how limited in value I would be to the squad?

Bitterness overtook my mind as I began to get upset over having been awoken in the dead of night just to be humiliated.

Despite all of this, I followed the group just as had been requested of me. We moved silently, not waking a single soul in the darkness of the night. I realized as I walked that the pony next to me made not a single sound as her hooves struck the floor, that her breath was like the whisper of a ghost. I was so focused on attempting to hear a single sound emitted from the pony that I could have sworn I had gone deaf for my efforts. With the wings, the midnight blue pegasus could only be Ashen, my only fellow pegasus in the squad, though if it weren't for the missing horn, she could almost have passed herself off as the spitting image of a younger Luna. Only, a deathly silent Luna with an electric blue mane and slashed musical note cutie mark.

More than likely, I had only seen Ashen because she wished to make her presence known to me, not out of any sense of supernatural perception that I had. I made the pegasus my focal point as our group continued wordlessly down the corridor that lead to my quarters. Surprisingly, we made a left at the fork that was on the path to my room, heading down a short hallway that ended with a clear glass window which was busy shining beams of moonlight across the floor. I could see Schism and Rift Walk, each with their horn aglow, pressing on particular stones in the wall of an alcove, each stone sinking in before releasing itself again. Once the secretive pattern was finished, part of the wall sunk in, swinging silently open for us.

I stood there as everypony else filed in until my silent 'companion' prodded me to move forward into the chamber as she closed the door behind us. Inside, the was a small pool of bio-luminescence at the center which gave off enough light for the twins to dismiss their own magical lighting. A large desk encircled the pool of light, everypony else taking a seat. I took note of the fact that there were precisely thirteen seats, with the one between Perdition and the pony that I assumed was Gravesend out of her armor, remaining empty. 'My seat', I thought.

The pony in the center, Brayn I assumed, cleared his throat, the sound echoing off of the walls of the chamber. Brayn himself was a rich chocolate brown pony with a slightly graying caramel colored mane. A horrific scar crossed his muzzle, barely having missed his left eye and surely blinding him. Well, he certainly looked the part of the master tactician, appearing to be a grizzled veteran of conflict, though of what conflict I knew not, but that he was also the 'worrywart' of the group surprised me.

"I'm sure you're wondering why you're here, Rainbow Dash." the middle-aged pony began, his voice stern, but tender. "To start off, despite the circumstances under which we greet you, we are not some secret society, let me allay any such fears here and now. Our meeting chamber is simply out of the way of any prying eyes." Brayn continued. "Nor, is this an initiation." he added. "We trust the judgement of the Princesses in their choosing of you to join the Royal Guard."

"To be brief, it was your initiation by the Princesses that forced Darius from his own seat as the protector." Brayn revealed. "It was about time for the old stallion to be moving on anyhow." a gunmetal grey pony with a neon green mane said snidely before he was silenced by a glower from Gravesend. "As our colleague Crawler says," Brayn began again. "Darius was most likely going to be retiring in the near future anyhow, so this was also an opportunity to fill an upcoming vacancy in our membership." Brayn said before pausing again, making sure there were not further outbursts from Crawler.

"To be frank, Darius has left some rather large horseshoes to fill. His own dedication and experience over the decades was an asset to our team." Brayn paused again, taking on a more skeptical look. "To that end, we made sure to be aware of your own experience, both in combat and technical aspects. What we have seen is not... promising." Brayn said, mulling over which word would be best to describe how absolutely pathetic I was. Apparently, 'promising' had won out in his head.

"With this fact in mind, we cannot allow you to partake in any missions from the Princesses. If one of us cannot go, none of us can. We are a team for a reason." Brayn recited. I had remained silent up to that point, but at the mention of 'missions' from the Princess, I was both confused and intrigued. "What do you mean missions?" I intoned to that end. I could see Brayn sigh visibly at my apparent incompetence, though he forced himself to continue anyhow.

"From time to time, the Princesses call upon us for external activities, to leave the Castle and handle matters elsewhere, either within Equestria or without." the leader pony explained. "It is due to the efforts this group that wars have been prevented over the centuries since Luna's banishment. Espionage, false information, misdirection... assassination when necessary. All have been handled by the Royal Guard ever since its formation after Luna's banishment. All to protect Equestria." Brayn further elaborated.

"Now, after all these years, we have failed. Equestria has found itself at war once again, and we must repay our debt of failure by assisting in the resolution of this conflict." Brayn said with grim determination. "Subterfuge, sabotage, ambushes, all that and more must be handled by the Royal Guard, though we will hardly be the only Equestrian forces engaged in such activities. Direct oversight of battles, direct intervention to change the tide of a fight, may also be required. However, we refrain from mass conflicts unless ordered to partake by the Princesses, or until we determine that it would be detrimental to Equestria not to engage." Brayn informed me further.

"It will be through our efforts that Equestria will emerge the victors in this war, though we do not stand alone. The might of the Royal Army backs us, buying us precious time to work. We will honor their sacrifice by pulling through. This is our lot in life, and we are sworn to fulfill it." Brayn concluded. All eyes turned to me as Brayn prepared to give his ultimatum. "Rainbow Dash, now it the time to swear yourself over to the Princesses. There is no oath, it is simply your word, and your faith in us. A token gesture if you will."

"Rainbow Dash, will you swear to defend Equestria and its rulers? Will you lay down your life for their ultimate survival, can you handle orders that may clash with your own opinions in the knowledge that Equestria will benefit in the end? Can you fulfill these requirements?" Brayn asked with finality. I felt a nervous sweat break across my body, and I gulped hard, my throat and mouth suddenly feeling dry. My legs began to feel wobbly, my eyes darted around the room to each member, I felt I was going to faint under the pressure.

But I didn't. I forced myself to breath calmly, collecting my courage. I straightened, standing tall, breathing fresh air into my chest, letting my hesitation fade to nothingness. I faced Brayn, looking him in the eyes, which he returned with an almost surprised gaze.

"I swear I will perform to the best of my ability for the Princesses, for all of Equestria!" I swore with confidence.

Brayn smiled for the first time that night. "Then step forward, into the pool. Let its waters encase your form and make you more than you ever have been. It is in us that you put your faith, that we lead you only to success. It is only with trust in your squad that you can fully function with us. So I ask you now to step forward." Brayn said with strength.

I paused for only a second, just to observe the glowing light of the bio-luminescent pool before me. The waters pulsed with some unknown power, an energy that almost filled the air, promising to make me more as I gazed longer. I stepped forward, gingerly putting my first hoof in, testing the waters. My hoof ground against the crystalline rock that made up the walls of the pool. I brought the other hoof in, concluding that there was no turning back now. I waded deeper into the water, reaching roughly the center before I was pulled under by some unknown force.

I tried to scream under the water, only releasing a great cloud of bubbles. I was pulled far deeper into the pool than I felt there had been room for, and opening my eyes, I saw nothing but the glow of the water. I felt myself running out of air, having expended what was in my lungs with the primal watery scream. Was I going to die now, when Equestria needed me the most, after I had been willing to put my trust, my 'faith' in these strange ponies?

No. Came an eery response inside my head.

You are here to learn, to see what your predecessors have left of themselves in the pool.

An amorphous blob of light detached itself from the pool, forming what vaguely resembled a pony head. I felt my fears being soothed away, feeling the urge to breath again. When I did so, I found that I could inhale the mysterious liquid without any repercussions.

Trust in the past, the voice said again, this time the pony thing's mouth moving with the words.

I was beginning to believe that I could trust in the past, trust in these ponies around me. They had not led me astray after all, they merely nudged me closer to were I needed to be.

'Why am I here?' I intoned in my head, consciously attempting to communicate with the blob.

You know already why you are here. Because Equestria needs you. The voice responded, itself a blending of pony whispers built upon further by each new pony that entered the pool.

You will learn, the voice continued. But you can only become better by applying what you have learned here. What we give you is only the basis of knowledge. You must trust in your allies to teach you themselves.

I could do that. If the pool simply gave me the push required to start the wheels of change in motion, I could keep the efforts going. So long as my team helped me, and I trusted now that they would beyond a reasonable doubt help me, wanting just as much as I did for me to become better.

'Show me.' I told the pool.

And it the pool responded just as I requested.

Threads of memories from all of the past Royal Guard's mind wove themselves through my brain as I was assaulted with a barrage of images and events. These would not last, would not remain. All I would feel is a sense of deja vou, enough to familiarize myself with everything my allies would wish to teach me, to make their work that much easier. I was almost saddened to feel the memories slip away, some of my own being copied over as well for those that entered the pool later. Yes, I would contribute what I could to every initiate willing to dare these waters.

It was then that I felt an infusion of energy, urging me to leave the pool, to fly high in the chamber, and I was compelled to do so. Up and up I swam, using my wings to help mush myself faster. The depths of the pool were belied by the width of the waters, but I only felt more energized for every second I spent reaching the surface again until I finally broke free.

A spray of water launched off of my wings as I finally burst free of the friendly clutch of the waters, sprinkling the ponies around me. I did not simply stop once I was out though, suddenly grateful for the vastness of the chamber as I spun around the room performing aerial maneuvers. My glistening droplet contrail left a sparkling rainbow wherever I passed.

I felt better than I ever had in my life, my own stresses floating away as I was energized with the water's knowledge. A polite cough brought me back to reality as Brayn called for my attention.

"I would like to inform you that you have three months to train starting tomorrow. That is all we can spare." he informed me. "Three months?" I asked, sounding honestly confused as I landed, my expression matching my voice. I gave the ponies gathered before me a toothy grin.

"I only need one."