//------------------------------//
// Prepare for Battle 
// Story: The Equestrian Army 
// by DE4DLIESTP0NY 
//------------------------------//

  

Nova slept soundly, but not pleasantly. her mind was clouded with terrible thoughts; Images of her father, Gallop Town, the Shadow Hooves, things from her past, and the helpless mare kidnapped last night.  The fiery beast haunted her thoughts , mentally battling her as she slept.

Nova awoke abruptly as soon as her tired body would allow her. She was glad to be up and out of that nightmare. She arose from her bed and looked outside her window which had a view of the palace. she saw hundreds of ponies. Almost everypony in the city gathered in the courtyard nearby, even a few zebras showed up. As she looked more closely at the situation, She saw Princess Celestia standing at the top of the courtyard stairs just outside the palace. She looked as thought she was going to say something important. Judging by the number of ponies there she knew it was. Nova grabbed her rifle from her dresser (with no intention to use it), and gave her mane a few quick brushes before exiting her house to get to the palace, which was only a minute or two away. Once there she saw Camoflash and Recon Groove in the crowd. She moved towards them and nudged their shoulders to indicate her arrival. They looked back, and were relieved to see her.

"What's going on?" Nova asked anxiuosly

"I don't know exactly either, but whatever it is it seems bad," Camoflash replied.

"I've heard rumors that somepony's gone missing," Recon added "Perhaps even killed."

"The mare who was kidnapped last night?" Nova suggested.

"Possibly," said Camoflash. 

A herald started blowing a cornet to signify that Celestia was going to speak. She began shortly afterwards.

"Citizens of Cheval City, I have an announcement of terrible news. Disaster has struck at the city of Gallop Town. Mysterious creatures covered in flames have annihilated the city, reducing it to ashes. These dark beings clearly want nothing more than Equestria's end, but that wont happen. Starting tomorrow we'll go into hiding. Everypony will be evacuated to Cloudsdale. The creatures that I speak of can't possibly reach there. I assure that nopony else will lose their life this way."

Everypony was shocked and terrified at what they'd just heard, the same expression that Camoflash and Recon Groove gave when they first found out. The three gave one look at each other and knew Celestia's plan would fail. Nova   looked up at the princess. She was looking down at the crowd in despair. She probably knew that it wasn't going to work either, but it was the best course of action that she could think of, but Nova knew a better way.

Without thought or hesitation she rushed to the top of the stairs, and beside the Princess of the Sun. Celestia thought that Nova would just have a few questions about her solution, but was awestruck a split-second later when Nova readdressed the crowd.

"Citizens of Cheval City, I know a better way to solve this. I say this with as much respect as possible towards the princess, but her plan will bring the end of Equestria. I've encountered these creatures before, and mere rainwater cannot douse their flames. Even if it did, earth ponies and unicorns can't live in Cloudsdale, only the pegusi would survive, and they can't grow food or raise the sun or moon. The only way for Equestria to survive is for us fight back."

Celestia looked at her guards, but they didn't act. They knew that trying to apprehend Nova would be suicide, and that siding with Nova could mean banishment.

"Equestria needs an army," Nova continued."It is the only way to defeat this rising threat. I may be gifted, but i'm not a warlord. Equestria needs everypony it can get to stop this new foe. The fate of Equestria and life as we know it rests in the balance..." 

Celestia was angry at Nova for interrupting her, yet she knew that her plan would bring the certain doom of the land. While Nova's plan was extremely risky, it was better than inevitable destruction. The princess let out a sigh of relief
as the crowd cheered for Nova. Everypony seemed to agree with her, and were probably ready to fight as well. When she had finished Nova looked nervously at Celestia. The princess simply smiled and said a single inspirational sentence.

"You have a lot of work to do General Sunshine." 

Nova went back to Camoflash and Recon Groove. The three then started recruiting as many ponies as they could. Most of the stallions and a few mares were eager to keep Equestria safe. At the end of the day about half of the population of the city had joined The Equestrian Army. The three mercenaries parted ways for the rest of the night. Tomorrow they would leave that title behind, and become generals.

Training started early the next morning. Nova took the pegasi and made them into the Equestrian Air Force. They would provide support for the infantry from above. She taught the multiple aerial maneuvers and strategies. They all progressed well and few got demoted to infantry. Their determination and Nova's inspirational speeches made their training relatively shorter than she thought. There was even a foal capable of flying in the air force among the rest. though she was young she stunningly had a wing power of 10.2! more than double that of some of the other recruits. The filly even had power superior to her own parents. She was grey with a purple mane, her name was Static (not OC).  Nova put static and the other six fastest pegusi in a special scouting division, known as OP 115 With the air force's training going so well within the day nova also taught them a few sniper tactics. Pegusi can fly above clouds and remain hidden whilst picking off enemies from an unknown location. By the end of the day 99% of the pegusi were battle-ready. Nova gave them their rifles and guided them to the mercenary HQ, which was the new base of The Equestrian Army. She told them to stay there and await further orders.

Camoflash was in charge of the former mercenaries. They already knew how to fight really well, and would be an elite squadron of ponies. They would charge into battle first with brutal demolition tactics. With a blast first and ask questions later attitude. Camoflash would be in charge of The Equestrian Black Ops. The mercenaries had much combat experience, so Camoflash taught them the destructive, reckless, and precise brutality only he could teach. He lead them to a barren land far from town where he gave them several different kinds of high=powered weapons. They blew up several rocks with CFE-056 rocket launchers, and other explosive ordinances. They also trained with assault rifles and machine guns. Though they were automatic and usually clumsy weapons for a precision strike force, Camoflash taught them stabilization tactics that made a heavy machine gun about as accurate as a semi-automatic carbine. Camoflash trained them to use almost any existing weapon at anytime. After training he lead the recruits to a different wing of the mercenary HQ and told them to wait for further instructions.

Recon Groove was in charge of calvary and  everypony who didn't qualify for the Air Force or Strike Team. This was almost 75% of the entire army. They upgraded standard chariots into armored machines of war, and regular carriages into semi-impenetrable personnel transports. Recon couldn't teach the ponies any more than what they needed to know. They used their time making sure that the vehicles were stable and functional. The majority of the infantry got standard issue rifles, while more qualified groups would get assault rifles. Recon ordered several hundred ponies to patrol the streets of the city. He wouldn't give them a chance to destroy his home, or the thousands of ponies that live there. The rest of the reruits went back to the HQ with the rest of the army awaiting further orders.

Even Princess Celestia helped the war effort. She taught several unicorns that didn't join the army defensive magic. in one day Cheval City went from a peaceful town to a war-ready fortress. Nova sent her scouting squad to monitor the area where Gallop Town once stood. They wouldn't be back until morning, The three generals knew that when or if they come back it wouldn't be good news. All they could do is sit, wait, and prepare for battle.