Princess Celestia
The castle was teeming with activity, which was unsurprising considering what was happening. My sister was repositioning her forces for a major offensive, and at the same time, General Hoof was preparing for the assault on Twilight's forces. It was a war on two fronts. It was a good thing that the gryphons were staying out of it. Although, reports indicated my sister had hired some gryphon mercenaries. It was a troubling thought, if the Gryphon Kingdom attacked, it would be a war on three fronts. There would be no way to win that war even if I managed to hold Luna back from directly engaging in battle.
I pushed the thought aside and watched a few ponies run passed me as I made my way to the war room. The twin guards saluted me and held their heads high with pride as I opened the door and strode in. Almost immediately, dozens of ponies turned to look at me, looking away from the projection screens of Equestria and the surrounding lands. Even with just a quick glance, I could see the strategic positioning of Luna's forces. It looked like she was committing over half her entire army for the offensive. I shivered at the sight, despite being over five hundred miles away from the front lines. General Breaker had been dispatched with reinforcements to back up General Maneuver when the time came.
It would buy us the time we needed to hopefully turn it into a single front war. "Princess, we've prepared the supply line and have the necessary food and medical supplies for the invasion. We estimate it should take less than two weeks to defeat Princess Twilight's forces and annex the rebelling cities." General Hoof announced proudly.
I nodded absently. "I'm authorizing the deployment of a fully armed and armored division, but Twilight is to be taken alive at all costs." I could see the vehement glare he tried to hide at hearing that. Undoubtedly, he wanted to skew my student. Even if she was trying to kill me, I didn't want to hurt her. I just wanted her to come to see reason. Besides, I needed her. "Understood, General?"
He bowed his head and I could almost hear him grinding his teeth. "Yes, Princess," he replied through clenched teeth. More than a few pairs of eyes were watching him, and when he realized he was drawing attention to himself he quickly adjusted his attitude.
"What do you need to succeed?" I asked him. I had a good idea of what he would ask for, but I wasn't going to handicap him by not providing everything he needed to capture Twilight. 'Then again... Maybe Twilight will simply surrender when faced with the prospect of being responsible for thousands of deaths?' I shivered at that thought. I didn't want Twilight to have to go through something like that. She had killed some of my soldiers before, but there was a big difference between a few enemy soldiers and the lives of a few thousand of your own soldiers.
"I need a brigade of fully outfitted earth ponies, two brigades of fully armored unicorns, fire support, and authorization to use chemical weapons," he said without missing a beat.
I pursed my lips and considered his requirements. General Maneuver had most of the earth ponies, and he needed them to protect his unicorns from enemy earth ponies. Twilight didn't have many unicorns or earth ponies, but she did have a lot of pegasi. She could easily replace the earth ponies with Crystal Empire soldiers. Two brigades of fully armored unicorns and unicorn fire support was doable. I wasn't about to authorize a full-scale chemical attack. "You have a full brigade of earth ponies, two brigades of unicorns and unicorn fire support, but I will not authorize the deployment of chemical weapons, General."
"Then I need a brigade of pegasi," he immediately countered.
I sighed. "General, we don't have any available pegasi. All of them are currently tied up on the western front." My sister's army consisted mainly of pegasi and earth ponies, but she had a fair share of unicorns too. Our forces weren't well balanced now. She had more pegasi than I did, and she had more earth ponies than I did. I had more unicorns than she did, however. That evened the odds some, a pegasi charge against a unicorn position would likely end in slaughter. The volume of spell fire would be too great for the pegasi to avoid all of it. On the other side of that was pegasi harassment, which she had been using to great efficiency. "Take another brigade of unicorns," I said with finality.
He relented and nodded. "Yes, Princess..."
I smiled and turned to regard Director Tap, who stood patiently at the side of the room, holding a clipboard and a pen in his magic. "Director."
"Princess," he acknowledged with a short bow.
"How are the logistics coming?" I asked.
"I'll divert the forces necessary for the attack. I already had two unicorn brigades on standby, it won't take long to reposition the remaining forces," he said as he looked at the clipboard. A few seconds later, he looked up and met my gaze, "I don't think it would be wise to send Crystal Empire soldiers against Princess Twilight. We can send them to replace the brigades we withdraw from the western front. We can reposition a brigade of unicorns from Las Pegasus without losing too much of the city's defense capability."
I nodded. "Do it," I said firmly. Las Pegasus wasn't strategically important. The city had a well-mixed population of pegasi and unicorns, despite the name. It was a good source of income because of tourism, but the city itself was out of the way and held no strategic importance. Director Tap nodded in acknowledgment. "What sort of timetable are we looking at? Last time, you said two weeks, it's been a week."
General Hoof and Director Tap exchanged a pained look. "Princess Luna's military buildup caught us off-guard and slowed us down, Princess." Director Tap answered. "Having to send General Breaker out to reinforce him depleted a lot of our available forces. It will take us at least another two weeks to reposition the forces required."
'Luna, why?' I asked. As I expected, I got no answer. It pained me, having to ask that. I knew why. I failed her again, expect this time thousands had already died because of it, and thousands more would die. But if I didn't stand up to her, Equestria wouldn't survive, and countless more would die. I held back a sigh. "Get it done, Director." I turned to General Hoof, "General," I said curtly. I turned around and walked back out of the war room. Immediately, the door closed behind me, and the sounds of ponies darting about the room faded behind the enchantment. I quickly powered up my horn and teleported straight to my bedchambers, then teleported a bottle of wine from the kitchen to my room. I didn't bother teleporting a glass.
Princess Twilight Sparkle
"So, think you're up for the challenge?" I asked.
Professor Altrot looked over the schematic he held in his magic, nodding his head as his eyes darted back in forth. His expression remained mostly neutral, and with every passing second, I felt more anxious than the last. He looked up and met my gaze, I smiled as brightly as I could. "A very interesting premise," he commented with a nod. "The schematic itself needs work, but the science is sound. I assume you already have an engineering team at my disposal if I accept the position?"
I nodded vigorously. "Yes, of course, Professor. Though, I think you misunderstand the position I'm offering you." I couldn't hold back my smile, even with as much effort I put into it.
He raised an eyebrow at me, "Oh?" he asked without betraying a hint of emotion.
"I want to make you the head of the Experimental Research and Development Department," I answered. He nodded absently at that and looked back at the schematic. "You'd have my full backing for research and development of anything that can help me win, Professor, along with any side projects that could contribute."
He looked deep in thought, appearing to mull it over. He flipped the page and looked at the next one. "Your experiments with crystal magic storage and attempts to store spells inside of crystals are light years beyond the most advanced work I've seen before. I'm assuming you did this yourself, correct?" he looked up from the schematic and met my gaze.
I nodded quickly. "It goes much quicker when you're an alicorn with a pool of magic a dozen times greater than the average unicorn, and have a special talent for magic," I said lightly.
He nodded absently, "I imagine it would..." He licked his lips and flipped the page again, then skimmed over the next file and accompanying schematic. He curtly closed the manila folder and met my gaze. For a few seconds, I help my breath, unsure as to whether or not I had enticed him enough. He slowly smiled, his smile reminded me of Rainbow's smile. "I accept your offer, Princess. When do I start?"
I smiled and let go of the breath I was holding. "As soon as you're ready, Professor."
He curtly nodded. "Then I shall take my leave, Princess," he chirped, then bowed before turning around and calmly walking out of the throne room. As soon as the door closed, I fell back into my throne and closed my eyes. I could picture it already, both of us working together, late into the night, figuring out how to create arcane accelerator cannons powerful enough to use as weapons. Or working together to store complex spells inside of crystals, so that my ponies whenever injured would be teleported out of battle, or to shield them from harm. Or the potential to augment industrial processes, or augment my own magic, or-
"Princess?"
I opened my eyes at the sound of Rainbow's voice. I quickly turned to my right to face her. "Yes, Rainbow?"
"You... okay?" she asked. Her gaze wasn't quite meeting my own.
"Of course! Why... do you ask?"
"Well, you were just... sitting there... not moving... for the past five minutes?" Rainbow said cautiously.
'Oops...' I shifted my weight and felt heat rising to my cheeks. "R-really?" I asked. She nodded cautiously. "I... got lost in thought..." I admitted sheepishly. Rainbow slowly looked away from me, but her eyes lingered on me for a few seconds. Eventually, she blinked and looked back towards the door. I turned to my left, "Amethyst, I believe you can handle it from here," I said with a smile. Amethyst smiled back at me, although she shifted her weight on her hooves. She was nervous, despite helping me so much. Really, she was invaluable to me. Without her help and Mayor Mare's help, I couldn't run my nation.
I jumped out of my throne. Rainbow immediately stepped forward and stood beside me. I made my way to the door, then parted them open with my magic. We walked out of the room in silence, and I paused. I teleported my checklist to myself, then looked it over. I smiled and teleported a quill, then made a checkmark through the last completed item's box. I took a deep breath and teleported the checklist and quill away. With Amethyst and Mayor Mare running the governmental side of my kingdom, which I really wasn't needed for currently, I wasn't installing new legislation, etc, it gave me time to recover from the previous week's excitement. I took a brief moment to touch my regalia. It was a little warmer than the air, and I could feel the magic stored inside of it. It paled in comparison to what it had stored, and what I had wielded to kill the ursa, but it was still a lot of magic.
I frowned. 'Note to self: investigate my efficiency in spell casting combined with the effects of having a cutie mark and or special talent for magic.' Cutie marks represented pony's special talents. My special talent was magic. I was the bearer of the Element of Magic. Even as a filly, I was a strong unicorn. At least when not under pressure. I didn't have the age and experience of Celestia or Luna, so my magic wasn't as matured as either of theirs, but my youth and special talent had to count for something. I mean, just thinking about it, Pricness Celestia and Princess Luna could move the sun and moon. Celestia could move the sun. An entire star. I frowned, suddenly curious as to why that was actually needed. The gravity of the sun should have made it so that Equis orbited it, rather than it having to be moved around Equis.
So many questions I didn't have the answer to. I was a lot stronger than the average unicorn, or even the talented unicorns. I was stronger than my sister-in-law, Cadance, too, and she was an alicorn older than myself. She had been ascended when she was a filly, so she was older as an alicorn and older than me in general, and yet I was more powerful than her. I blinked and looked around the hallway. Standing in the middle of the hall, in front of a door probably wasn't the best place to ponder such things.
I channeled magic into my horn and teleported myself to my room. Rainbow could catch up later, she'd figure out where I went in a few minutes. I immediately fell onto my bed and sank into the plush cloud. "So soft..." My voice was mumbled by the cloud, blankets, and covers. Replacing my bed with a cloud bed was one of the best decisions I had ever made, if not the best one I had ever made.
But yes, I was a powerful pony, and that wasn't even factoring in that I could use the Elements of Harmony, something capable of outmatching Lord Tirek at his full might when he had all of the magic in Equestria at his disposal.
I rolled over, slid out of bed, and then walked over to the mirror and looked at my reflection. My eyes hadn't played tricks on me for a while, which was a good thing. At least I hoped it was a good thing. I took my regalia in my magic and pulled it off, then held it in front of my vision. I looked it over, it was so dark and dull. It would remain that way for several weeks until it fully recharged. The sight saddened me, the crystal had almost become a part of myself. I sighed.
There was a short, strong knock on the door. I turned away from the mirror and put my regalia back on. I walked over to the door and opened it with my magic, expecting to see Rainbow Dash. Instead, General Spitfire met my gaze, to her left stood Rainbow Dash. 'How did you get here so fast..?' I wondered. I pushed the thought aside, Spitfire looked upset. "General, you-"
"Princess, emergency staff meeting. Now." Spitfire said with all the seriousness of a general who had bad news. very, very bad news. Nation ending news.
I swallowed and nodded, then stepped out of the room, closing the door behind me. Spitfire and Rainbow stepped out of the way, and I took off walking. I didn't want to teleport straight to the staff room. I was afraid what I would find out. Both Spitfire and Rainbow quickly joined me, walking beside me. As much as I was afraid, I needed to know. If I didn't, they wouldn't have come and informed me of the emergency meeting. The fact that it was an emergency meeting alone was a warning sign. 'It would be better if I had some idea of what I'm walking into...' I swallowed again as we turned a corner. "What happened?" I asked with as much strength as I could.
"Princess Celestia's forces are preparing to move against you..." Spitfire said in a hushed voice.
I shivered. We weren't prepared for that. I hadn't recovered from my battle with the ursa. Well, I had recovered, but my regalia hadn't, so I couldn't sling the army shattering spells I knew, and knew I would have to use, but still didn't want to use, nor did I think I could use. Unless I used dark magic, which I didn't want to. The rest of the walk to the briefing room went in silence. Neither Spitfire nor Rainbow asked me why I didn't just teleport there. Part of me felt like they knew why I didn't. I was glad they didn't bring it up.
I quickly glanced around the room as I barged inside. Spitfire hastily made her way over to her spot at the table as everypony present rose to acknowledge my arrival. I strode across the room and sat down in the chair. Ignoring the discomfort the chair caused, I immediately spoke, even before half the ponies had sat down. Rainbow wasn't even standing beside me yet. "Everypony here? Good." I didn't give them a chance to object. I needed to take control of the situation. I needed to show leadership, even if I wasn't ready to lead an army into battle. I had led a squad in a rescue mission, so I had some experience with combat and leading a team in battle, but nothing on the scale I feared I was going to have to command before I was ready.
I turned to Spitfire, she nodded without me saying a word. "Intelligence report just came in, Princess Celestia's repositioning a brigade from the western front to be used in an attack against us. Princess Luna is amassing her forces, which may delay Princess Celestia's offensive against us, but we can't count on it. The soldiers of the Crystal Empire are being deployed to the western front in force to replace and reinforce General Maneuver's efforts to fight Princess Luna. We have no idea where General Breaker is as of right now. Another brigade is being repositioned from Las Pegasus to Canterlot, in preparation for the offense against us. In Canterlot, there are at least two brigades standing by." Spitfire looked across the table. I followed her gaze to General Fleetfoot.
General Fleetfoot cleared her throat, and a unicorn soldier went around the room dispensing manila folders. I took mine in my magic as soon as she sat it down and I opened it to the first page. I recognized the picture, he was an earth pony, and on top of that, I knew him as a general. He was a real pain in the flank the one time I met him. "This is General Iron Hoof," Fleetfoot stated. I looked back at her and had the sneaking suspicion I knew where she was going with that, and I did not like that one bit. "The report indicates he will be the general in command of the offensive against Princess Twilight."
I was right. I didn't like it. I mostly ignored the next section of the briefing, it was all information I already knew. Instead, I took the time to look around the room and gauge how everypony felt, and their reactions to the news. I was not surprised in the slightest that the general sentiment wasn't a good one. 'Thank you all for all of your confidence,' I snarked dryly.
"From what we can tell, he'll be leading four brigades totaling twenty-two thousand soldiers. Three unicorn brigades and an earth pony infantry brigade. All of the brigades are going to be fully outfitted," Fleetfoot continued.
'Fully outfitted... right... that means the whole deal, armor, weapons..." I grimaced, 'fire support...' That was bad. Very, very bad. And that was ignoring the fact we were outnumbered nearly two-to-one, and that we didn't have a lot of unicorns.
Fleetfoot turned to Soarin and nodded, "Lieutenant?"
At the prompting, Soarin sat up a little straighter. "Right now we have thirteen regiments of pegasi, consisting of Wonderbolts, Wonderbolts Reservists, and former Royal Guards. Add to that half a regiment of unicorns and a regiment of earth ponies, and we have about fifteen thousand soldiers available. Unfortunately, of those, only twelve of the pegasi regiments are ready, and about half the unicorns and earth ponies."
"Twelve-thousand pegasi, two hundred unicorns, and five hundred earth ponies?" I asked as I read over the file. It was an approximate, not perfectly accurate, but all things considered, it was close enough. I mulled it over. "I... think I can work with that..." I turned to Spitfire. We exchanged grave looks. "Now we just need a plan to take out sixteen thousand unicorns and five thousand earth ponies," I said dryly. I masked my fear well, but of course, I needed to. We were outmatched, and I wasn't sure if I could actually even the odds if it came down to it. I didn't know if I was even willing to even the odds. Killing less than a dozen ponies in a mission to rescue my friend was one thing, murdering a few thousand ponies was another.
From a purely ethical standpoint, it was wrong. But, for the greater good, weren't their lives expendable? If I didn't win this war, how long until Equestria collapsed? If I did win the war, would I be able to prevent Equestria's collapse? Was I really going to consider using my vastly superior alicorn magic, perhaps even dark magic spells, to confront an entire army? Did I have the capability of doing that? Could I bring myself to do that? 'For my friends... I will if it comes down to it.' I would keep those options in reserve, I wasn't ready to attempt to defeat an entire army on my own. I also doubted my alicorn magic was strong enough for that. Besides, we didn't have to kill twenty-two thousand soldiers. Just enough to route the survivors. And I couldn't sustain a high casualty ratio. As it was, I hardly had enough forces to defend Ponyville, and most of my territory was undefended. 'I'm outmatched, aren't I?' Well if push came to shove... I could always try using the Element of Magic, though I didn't want to use it to destroy.
"We have limited equipment and weaponry, but now would be the perfect time to set up a defensive weather front, along with a cloudfort with the unicorns stationed on it to provide fire support," Spitfire said.
I frowned and pursed my lips. "They would have an advantage, but they'd be vulnerable to enemy unicorn fire up there. Considering the relative weakness of cloudcrete, even if it's military grade, I'm not sure risking it is a good idea..."
Spitfire grimaced. "We need some kind of advantage, Princess, we're outnumbered and outmatched."
I felt a grimace tug on my lips. "Pegasi airstrikes, dropping the lightning bombs from altitude wouldn't be very effective, but it could cause enough chaos to even the odds..." It sounded weak, even to me, but it was better than nothing. I looked up from the table and at Spitfire, she looked back at me, deep in thought and troubled. "Do we have any conventional explosives?"
She bobbed her head and shrugged, "Nothing that could help with this, Princess."
'Okay, scratch that... Think... Think... I need a way for my forces to match a force nearly twice its size, and to take minimal casualties...' "If we can pinpoint where the offensive is coming from, we could deploy the weather front there." I said. "If we're facing three battalions of unicorns, that could certainly help, but what if we deploy fog also? That would limit their visibility and give us an advantage if we're using pegasi to drop the lightning bombs."
Spitfire's eyes darted across the table, and eventually, she started nodding. "That could work, but it wouldn't last very long. Of course, all of this requires us to know where the attack is coming from."
"If we act fast enough, we may be able to choose where we fight the battle since we have the defense advantage. They're coming after you, Princess," Lieutenant Colonel Light said aloud. "We could force them into a confrontation on terrain they aren't familiar with, add in the fog and hostile weather, and we'd have enough advantages to match forces with them."
"If we attack them from multiple angles, it would also contribute to chaos among their ranks. If we have pegasi bombing them from low altitudes and fighting on the front, we could have a small team sneak through their position and attack their command infrastructure, primarily targeting high-level officers and General Hoof. If we could disable their ability to organize, the offensive would fall apart," Soarin added.
"I'll take command of that force," I said. The silence following it was deafening. I shifted my weight in the chair as all eyes fell on me. I could practically hear their counterarguments, that I was too important.
"Are you sure that's wise, Princess?" Spitfire asked.
'Honestly? No, and it's probably a bad idea, but I don't really have a choice, now do I?' I forced the thought away and nodded my head once. As much as I wanted to, staying on the sidelines wasn't an option. The ponies surrounding me looked to me for leadership and protection. "If Luna is preparing an offensive, then Celestia won't be there to help General Hoof, which means I don't have to worry about engaging her."
"Princess, given the fact that last week you killed an ursa major and depleted your regalia's magic, I'm not sure it would be wise for you to fight in this battle," Spitfire said.
"And considering how you handled the rescue mission-"
"We succeeded, didn't we?" I snapped at Soarin. I immediately regretted it, despite him showing no outward reaction. Snapping at him wasn't the right thing to do. I felt horrible. I was supposed to be a leader, a good leader, and here I was snapping at somepony who cared about me. A good leader doesn't snap at somepony who cared about them. "Sorry," I quickly apologized.
Soarin and Spitfire exchanged a strained look. Soarin slowly looked back to me. His expression was concerned and caring. "Princess, I know you want to help, and you handled the rescue mission... but this is different. This is going to be a full-scale battle. Ponies will die, not just Princess Celestia's soldiers, your soldiers will too. Ponies you know may die, do you really want to be there when that happens?" I swallowed. "If you lead the team going after General Hoof, you will be behind Princess Celestia's forces' lines. Unlike last time, once things happen, stealth isn't going to be an option. If you lead that team, you will have to kill or be killed, or ponies with you will die. You will be fighting for your life, and you won't be able to rely on everypony else to be there for you if something bad happens."
"On that topic," Spitfire cut in, "you've never actually gone into detail about how much you can do. Soarin and Ace said that you almost had a breakdown in the middle of the op. They also said they doubted how capable you are when it comes to combat. They said you handled defending well, but that you could use work on your offense."
I shifted my weight in my chair. All eyes were on me, and it felt like they were boring into my very soul. My chest felt tight, and for some reason, I was having trouble breathing. "General, that's..." I took a deep breath. The air felt thin and heavy at the same time. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing, then raised a hoof to my chest, took a deep breath, and then exhaled. I opened my eyes, feeling refreshed, having prevented, or at least averted a panic attack. "I could potentially destroy an entire army on my own if I used dark magic or alicorn magic, if my alicorn magic was stronger," I said evenly.
Spitfire didn't look convinced. "Potentially?" she asked skeptically.
I lifted a hoof to massage my temple. "We're getting off topic..."
"Princess, I fail to see how asking if you could destroy an entire army on your own is off topic, considering that an entire army is coming after you and that ponies will be fighting for and dying for you," Spitfire retorted.
I glared at her. "Right now, no. I can't." I answered sharply. "Which is why I am going to lead that team to disable their officers," I explained. "It would be the best use of my abilities. I can't direct an entire army, but I can direct a small team, and I've already proven that I can fight and... kill. I just cannot take on an entire army on my own... yet. I've recovered from fighting the ursa major, and if I'm not on the front line, then I shouldn't need the magic I've stored in my regalia." I paused and took a deep breath. "General Spitfire, you will coordinate the defense and command the army while I lead a team to take down General Hoof," I said firmly.
For a few seconds, there was silence, then Spitfire relented. "Yes, Princess."
"Good, now, Lieutenant Soarin, I would ask you to assemble a team, but I already have a team in mind. Instead, I want you to manage troop deployment. Lieutenant Colonel Light, you will coordinate with unicorns and make them as good as you can in the time we have- but don't push them to the breaking point. We need them to be ready and not incapacitated." I turned to General Fleetfoot, "We don't have the resources, equipment, or technology to amplify our abilities, instead I want you to focus on identifying where we want to engage them, and if we will be able to draw them into that zone, while at the same time preparing the weather front." I looked around at everyone, clearly, they didn't expect me to take command like that. I had to admit, I was pleased with myself. "Everypony else, find something useful to do. Coordinate, et cetera. Get it done, ponies."
A chorus of "Yes, Princess," rang out. It was music to my ears.
"Now, what else do we need to discuss?" I asked.
I buried my head in my pillow and groaned. For a few seconds, I just laid there, then I brought my hooves to my temples and nursed the headache I felt. 'I swear they're trying to drive me insane...' I knew they weren't actually trying to drive me insane. For one, it would be bad for them if that happened.
"You doing okay?" Rainbow asked. Her armored hooves clanked against the crystalline floor as she made her way over to me.
I sighed. "I don't know. This is giving me a headache. If this is what Princess Celestia deals with every day..." I trailed off, grimacing. 'I'm giving up so much for Equestria...' I mused. I wondered how Celestia thought of it, she had been the sole ruler of Equestria for a thousand years. 'Maybe it's not as bad as it sounds... I mean, all these ponies listen to what I say and respect me... And we are in the middle of a war. It won't be this bad all the time...'
"You want me to get you anything?" Rainbow asked.
I mulled her question over. Nothing really sounded good, besides, she was my friend and bodyguard, not my servant. 'Although, I probably could get away with...' I bobbed my head as I considered everything I could get away with because of my position, then I realized what I was considering. I felt my heart beat faster. I closed my eyes and forced the thought away. "No, thank you," I replied. I rolled over onto my back and teleported a book from the library and held it over my head with my magic. It was a recent acquisition of mine on strategy and tactics. I had been studying up on strategy and combat, but I needed to study it more. I didn't feel like I was ready.
"You know you can only learn so much from a book, right?" Rainbow asked.
I lifted my head from the pillow and looked at her. "Seriously? Do you think it's a good idea for me to just wing it when it comes to ruling my nation? To wing it when leading an army? To-"
Rainbow stared at me blankly as she interrupted me, "Twilight. You're you. You're a good leader. Sure, you can make mistakes... but you're probably already a better leader than General Spitfire is. Besides, I know you can fight, and I know you're powerful. I saw you kill an ursa major, Twilight. How many ponies can say they've killed an ursa major?"
I closed my mouth. She had a point. I had killed an ursa major, and to my knowledge, nopony else had ever done that before. I squinted at her, "How does that even factor into only learning so much from a book? How is that related in the slightest?" I asked incredulously.
"You can fight, but it needs work. You can't learn that from a book, Twilight," she answered.
I groaned as I set up and levitated the book over to the nightstand, but held it there in the air. "What do you suggest then?"
"Go practice magic with Sergeant Bolt or something. Fight him. That's the only way you can really improve fighting skills, I know from experience."
I rolled my eyes at her. "I'm as strong as I am because I studied, Rainbow. Not because-"
"So you're saying that practice has nothing to do with it?" she asked in mock ignorance.
I dropped the book onto the nightstand, then slid out of bed. I sighed but nodded. "Alright, fine. You win." Rainbow smiled.