Celestia looked over the reports she had gotten from those at every level of government. Just like the cheers of her subjects the day before, she couldn’t help but see a glimmer of hope. The number of those who wished to enter the military was more than she had expected. She was true to her word and did not enact a draft, and additionally she implemented the choice of offering her subjects to either enter the standard military or instead enter what was named the “Equestrian Militia”. Those who entered the militia would not have as much required of them as standard soldiers and would act more as a defense force at multiple locations that could be called upon when needed. As a trade off, those in the Militia could never achieve an officer rank without fully enlisting into the military. It was meant as a way to let those who were still somewhat hesitant about committing themselves to the military entirely to still contribute. Though there were much more entrants into the Militia than the standard military, like she expected, the numbers of both were promising.
But more importantly were the reports she had received from the other nations. By far the best news she had received had come from Griffonia. Though she knew they were likely to be the most supportive, she had no idea it would be to such an extent. If the numbers she had received were accurate, as were what she remembered of the size of their military, Griffonia was sending them more than half of their entire armed forces.
Gerard… I knew you would come through for Equestria, but I never anticipated to such an extent. I am in your debt, old friend.
Right then a familiar tear in reality opened in front of her, Gilgamesh stepping out.
“Celly! How ya doin’? Sorry if I’ve been gone long, I had to help out a friend.”
“It’s fine. So, what happened with the dragons? Good news, I hope?”
“Eh… sorta. Turns out the new Dragon King is an old friend of mine, Crimsonwing’s daughter, and she’s still kinda pissed at you for sealing me away. Still, I managed to get her to drop any plans for revenge against Equestria.”
Celestia winced at that. She still remembered how stunned she and Luna were when King Crimsonwing proclaimed his fury at them when they gave him the sword for safekeeping. “I see,” she replied.
“Still, I did manage to convince her not to join up with the demons under any circumstances. Also, she allowed any dragons who wanted to fight against the demons to come join us, but they’re likely going to only be the ones who are looking for a good fight, and maybe the occasional one smart enough to see its the best move for them in the long run. So… I may need to be around to bring them in line. The rest are just going to stay in the Dragon Lands and hold down the fort.”
“I see. Well, for once, I have more good news than you do,” she chuckled and levitated the report she was reading. Gilgamesh took it, scanning it for a moment before his eyes widened.
“Are these numbers accurate?” he asked.
“Indeed.”
“Holy shit. I mean, I figured you and Griffonia were on good terms, but not that good terms.”
“King Gerard Ironclaw and I have been good friends for many years now.”
Gilgamesh kept reading and was surprised again. “Reindeer? We have Reindeer?”
“Ah yes, you never met them, did you? Yes, we met them a few centuries after we had sealed you away, having pushed north the create the Crystal Empire, and interacted with them. Luckily, King Nicholas was willing to allow us to be their new neighbors after some negotiations. He may be a bit solitary, but we’ve stayed on good terms.”
“Wait, ‘he may be’? You mean-?”
“Yes, the Reindeer are quite long lived due to their special magic.”
“I see…” he said before going back to list. After checking it over a few times he looked back to her. “I don’t see the minotaurs on this list.”
“Yes, I’m concerned by that as well. They have yet to respond to the call for the Pact of Nations. I don’t think they would turn on us, but…”
“I’m sure they have their reasons. They have their pride, and they’d never just sneak attack Equestria after making such a big promise. With luck they’re just trying to make a show of their arrival.” Gilgamesh assured her. “That being said, this is one hell of a show of good faith from Griffonia,” he muttered. “Hey, are the Mane Six still in Canterlot?”
“The… The what?” she asked, confused.
“Oh, right, you don’t call them that. Uh, the Element Bearers. Or, rather, former Element Bearers.”
“Um, yes they are, but why-?”
“Sweet. Listen, you handle this for now, I’ll work on trying to smooth things over as much as I can. See ya later!” he said, tossing her the report over to her before using his weapon to cut open a path and hop away.
“... Smooth things over?” she wondered aloud
Rarity stepped out of the bathroom after doing what she could to style herself up without her usual cosmetics. She was able to change her mane and tail to their usual style with some work, but was depressingly without any form of eyeshadow, eyeliner, or anything else to spruce up her face.
I think I should get used to this, she thought. I highly doubt I’ll have time to work myself up to my usual appearance when I’ll be fighting in this war.
That last thought made her stop for a moment. Was she really going to fight a war? Was she really about to put her life on the line in an event where she could easily lose her life? It seemed so odd to her, until she thought back to Blueblood. That pompous, arrogant stallion had humbled himself and shown that he truly could act like a prince, even going so far as to put his life on the line. She also thought of all the times she had put her life on the line to defend Equestria as the Element of Generosity.
Rarity smirked to herself. I never thought he would be a source of inspiration for me.
At that moment the air next to her tore itself open. She felt fear race through her for a moment before she saw a familiar figure step out of it and sighed in relief.
“Gilgamesh! Goodness, dear, you gave me quite the start!” she chided.
“Oh, perfect! Rarity, listen I need a favor,” he said before grabbing her and, without waiting for her response, pulling her in. There was a brief moment where she stared into the Rift, unable to process what she was seeing except that it was somehow both beautiful and terrible beyond anything she could imagine, before appearing back in Equestria. It took her a moment to regain her senses and she realized that the location they were in was very familiar.
“Carousel Boutique?” she asked before turning to him. “Why did you-?”
“Listen, I know you probably don’t believe this, but I need your help making a good impression.”
“Wh-What?” she stuttered, genuinely surprised.
“I’m pretty sure the Griffons are going to be coming within a few days, and I want to make sure things go over smoothly, so I’m gonna need a different look other than ‘indomitable warrior’ to play the whole ‘politics’ song and dance routine, much as I don’t want to.”
“You… have experience in politics?” she asked incredulously.
“Well, more negotiations than straight up politics. Anyway, can you help a guy out?”
“Hm…” she thought, scanning him up and down. “Did you have anything particular in mind?”
He smirked. “Do you know what a kimono is?”
Trixie watched Zecora dodge the spear thrust and counterattack with her staff in one fluid motion, striking the stallion on the side of the head, then following with a hit to his back, and then a sweep of all four of his legs before using it to keep him pressed to the ground by his neck.
“Alright, that’s enough!” one of the higher ranked stallions shouted. Zecora removed her staff from her opponent’s neck and bowed. “Good job, you'll definitely be useful on the front lines. Maybe as a trainer, too.” The stallion who had been defeated groaned as he got up and headed to be checked over by the medics while the commanding stallion called in another earth pony. “Head over there for a physical checkup and measurement,” ordered, motioning to one of the nearby tents with a decent sized line leading out of it. “NEXT!” he called out.
As Trixie looked around her at the many recruiting stations she couldn't help but feel pride. Even if only in a small way, she was responsible for this. Despite this she kept a lid on her urge to boast. You don't need their approval, only yours, she reminded herself, a lesson she still had to remind herself time and again. Still, she had certainly gotten better.
“NEXT!” the stallion called out again. She turned and realized it was her turn. She approached the earth pony who was to be her opponent, her plan already prepared, having ran it hundreds of times in her head. “Ready… FIGHT!” The earth pony charged, but leapt to the side the moment he saw her charging her magic, anticipating a shot of magic, but instead Trixie produced a flash of blinding light to cover up her other spell. She finished casting it before the stallion’s eyes readjusted, and judging by his confused look it worked.
“What the… Did she just teleport away?” he wondered aloud.
Still not entirely confident about the effectiveness of her ability she quietly trotted up to him before turning and bucking him in the face, sending him sprawling to the ground, and surprising everypony else around them.
“Wh-What the-!?” the stallion sputtered as he got up, looking around frantically for what hit him. Trixie, feeling more confident, rushed the stallion, giving him a hard right to the face, then a strike to his side, followed by an uppercut. She backed off and he struck out wildly trying to find her, only for her to rush back in and lay him out with a brutal haymaker. As he fell to the ground, groaning in pain, she deactivated her spell, soaking in the shocked expressions of those nearby. Out of habit she turned to see Zecora, who had been watching, and gave her a small nod. Trixie’s heart swelled with joy and pride in response.
“YOU THERE!” someone shouted. Trixie was startled and turned towards the voice, surprised and a little scared to see a changeling walking towards her. Despite Celestia claiming they were allies of Equestria, she was still afraid and wary of them.
“Y-Yes?” she stuttered.
“That spell, do it again,” it ordered.
“H-Huh?”
“You can do it again, can’t you?”
“U-Uh, y-yes! One moment,” she replied and cast her spell again, hiding her from perception. She saw the changeling look at her curiously, before its eyes widened in surprise. “Alright that’s enough.” Trixie deactivated her spell. “Follow me, please,” it said before turning around and beginning to trot away, not waiting for her response.
“U-Uh, wait, what-?” she stuttered. She looked to the stallion that had been directing things for some explanation, only for him to motion to follow the changeling. Trixie gulped and followed.
After about five minutes of walking she had left the packed training and recruitment area and was instead heading to some of the larger tents near the edges of the encampment. Trixie was starting to get particularly nervous as the area was noticeably less crowded, meaning that something bad could happen and nopony would notice. The changeling eventually reached a tent and opened it, motioning for her to go inside, which she hesitantly obeyed. Inside she found several changelings and some unicorns, or at least she hoped they were. They all looked to her as she came in.
“Is this the one?” one of the unicorn mares asked, getting a nod in response from one of the changelings. “Alright,” she said simply before turning to Trixie. “We’re about to teleport you somewhere. Please stay still for a moment.” Trixie was confused nodded anyway as the mare and the other unicorns gathered their magic. After a few seconds of charging there was a blinding flash and Trixie felt herself moved. After she opened her eyes she found that she was somewhere dark, lit with only torches lines along the stone wall.
“Follow us, please,” came a voice. Trixie turned around and yelped a bit in surprise as she saw two pairs of yellow slitted eyes staring back at her. It took her a moment, but she recognized the forms they were attached to as bat ponies, thestrals was the official name, one mare and one stallion. Still a bit scared, but slightly more comfortable seeing ponies instead of changelings, she nodded and followed as they turned to lead her down the dark stone passageways. After about three minutes of trotting she heard a dim murmur of voices, and within another two she was lead into a more open chambers. Inside were a few hundred equines, most thestrals and changelings, but quite a few of unicorns as well. Most of the ponies bore the armor and insignia of the Night Guard of Canterlot, and the changelings had their own armor, but there were at least fifty or so ponies that were unarmored and talking amongst each other. They seemed just as confused as she was, which strangely enough made her a bit more comfortable that she wasn’t alone.
After a few more minutes the torches in the room all went out, startling many, but they were soon replaced by a series of lines and symbols all around the the room glowing a calming blue light. Before anypony could question what was happening, two figures stepped out from one of the hallways that made everyone clam up and devote their attention in one direction.
Princess Luna and Queen Chrysalis.
“Good afternoon to you all. We hope that you have not been waiting for too long,” Princess Luna began. “We apologize for the suddenness and secrecy of this meeting, but if you accept our offer that is something you will have to become accustomed to.”
‘Become accustomed to’? Trixie thought.
“Now, I’m sure most of you know why you’re here, but for those of you aren’t,” Queen Chrysalis began. “I’m sure many of you have heard stories where wars and battles are won by heroes with great strength and skill, or leaders with intelligence and cunning, and that their contributions singlehoofedly contributed to victory. This is a foalish way of thinking. These heroic tales you latch onto are nothing more than the final phases of an intense and often overlooked battle that has been fought and decided long before any troops have even been deployed. A battle of information. And that’s why you’re here.”
“To those of you who accept, you will operate under the most dangerous of circumstances, maneuvering just under the enemy’s muzzle to achieve vital data for our strategists to process and make decisions with,” Princess Luna took over. “You will be like phantoms, leaving no trace of your presence as you retrieve vital information. When you strike it will be without your foes even knowing whom or even if they are being assaulted. And if you fail and are captured, you will not expect rescue and your duty will demand that you reveal nothing of what you know, even at the cost of your life.”
Trixie was overwhelmed by the expectations that were presented before her, her imagination running wild and thinking of how she would be subjected to the most horrifying of tortures after being caught.
“Those of you feel you can perform this task, you will take the same path that led you here tomorrow evening. Your training will begin and within a few weeks time you will be sent on your first mission. You will help gather the vital resources and information that will ultimately change the tides of battle in our favor and lead our armies to victory. And though your deeds may not be spoken of in song or written in history texts, you will be able to hold your heads high and tell your families and the next generation, without the slightest hint of doubt, that you made a difference as part of the Spy and Sabotage division. Those of you who accept, we will see you tomorrow evening. You are all dismissed.” Princess Luna finished.
Trixie’s mind was still a whirlwind of emotions, not sure how to process everything she’d just been told, and not sure where he heart lay. She was so confused that she didn’t even notice that Princess Luna and Queen Chrysalis had trotted up to her until they spoke.
“Is this her?” Princess Luna asked, starling Trixie out of her thoughts and then causing her heart to pound when she realized exactly whom was right in front of her.
“Yes. She’s the one I received the message about,” Queen Chrysalis replied.
Princess Luna cleared her throat. “Excuse me, miss. What is your name?”
“T-T-T-Tri-Trixie, your m-m-majesties,” she stuttered out.
Princess Luna chuckled. “Calm yourself, my little pony, you are among allies here. Chrysalis’ changelings have brought something very interesting about you to our attention.”
“‘I-I-Interesting’?”
“While most of the ponies gathered here already have some experience and training with operating as part of stealth missions, we also made sure to keep an eye on anypony in recruitment that had qualities we might be looking for,” Queen Chrysalis explained. “In your case, it was that unique spell of yours.”
“Th-The Enigma Spell?” Trixie asked.
“‘Enigma’, is it? Who taught you such a spell?”
“Nopony. I… I developed it myself.”
Both of the royals looked surprised.
“Truly?” Princess Luna asked.
“Y-Yes. I’ve been honing my magic under a Zebra shamaness for a few months now, working on my illusion magic. It’s something of a special talent of mine. My intent was to create a spell that not only turned somepony invisible, but would mask their presence as much as possible. Muffling sounds, masking scents, even reducing the sensation being touched. I’m still trying to perfect it.”
“If that’s true, I can’t see how much more better you could make it,” Queen Chrysalis stated. “That spell of yours masks even more than you intended. My changelings were unable to even sense the aura of emotions that you give off, something even an invisibility or transformation spell couldn’t mask.”
Trixie was genuinely surprised to hear that she had developed something that not even a changeling knew how to counter.
“Miss Trixie, you and your Enigma spell would be a great asset to the Spy and Sabotage division, and Equus as a whole,”Princess Luna stated. “It would please us greatly if you were to accept our invitation and return tomorrow evening. If not, we would at least ask that you attempt to teach this spell to as many unicorns as possible and keep developing your skill. Can we count on your support?”
Trixie’s mind was still reeling. Princess Luna, the Princess Luna, was asking for her help. Not just the help of an illusionist unicorn, her. She thought of everything that she had trained for, the desire to achieve real power and skill, and make up for her past misdeeds. After some gathering of her thoughts she took and deep breath and exhaled before smiling.
“I hope to meet and exceed your expectations, your majesties.”
The residents of the Crystal Empire had grown rather restless lately. Their rulers had been out in Canterlot of more than a week now, and though they had been informed of the situation and that Shining and Cadance were still alive, the very mention of war had sent a cold shiver through the Empire. Still, everypony tried to remain as positive as possible, but they really would’ve appreciated their beloved Prince and Princess to return.
Today, they finally got their wish. And some change.
In a flash of blue Shining Armor, Cadance, and Twilight Sparkle all arrived, along with a tall unicorn mare with a yellow coat, black mane and tail, blue eyes, and a cutie mark of a textbook with magic flowing out of it. They also had a unicorn stallion with red coat, maroon mane and tail, green eyes, and cutie mark of a spear crossed with a sword. All five of them appeared in the middle of town, allowing the populace to breath a sigh of relief and praise their return.
That is, until the unicorn mare and stallion suddenly collapsed, gasping for air, and began flickering green for a few moments before their disguise dropped.
“CHANGELINGS!” one of the nearby mares screamed before they all scrambled away.
“What the hay happened?” Shining Armor asked.
Twilight bent down to check on them. “Nectar! What’s wrong!?” she asked in a panic.
“... I was wrong Twilight… I… I severely underestimated… the amount of ambient love in the Empire,” Nectar panted as she struggled to acclimate herself. “It’s like… having a full course meal with every breath! I have to actively... try to not absorb it!”
As Twilight and Cadance helped the two changelings up the group was surrounded by Crystal Guards. “Halt!” one of them shouted.
“It’s alright, guys. Stand down,” Shining Armor ordered.
“I’m sorry sir, but we’re following your previous orders. I’m afraid we’re going to have to take you all in and check you for any mind control spells.”
“... You guys… did get the letter I sent, right? Equestria and the changelings are on the same side now.”
“It was decided that you could’ve written that message while under manipulation.”
Shining Armor groaned.
“Shining… Why wasn’t I informed about this?” Cadance asked, a noticeable edge in her voice.
“Uh… well-”
“Shining, I know we agreed that you would take priority when commanding the Guard, but I at least expected you to keep my informed.”
“I, uh… sorry…” he apologized.
Cadance sighed. “Let’s just get this over with,” she said following the guards.
“Our apologize, your majesties,” one of the guards said. To his credit, he did look sorry.
“It’s fine. You’re following orders. Twily, you’ll have to come with us. Guards, take the changelings somewhere secure. Not the dungeon,” he ordered.
“Very well.”
“B-But-!” Twilight tried to protest, but stopped when Nectar rested a hoof onto her withers.
“It’s alright, Twilight. This is something we’re going to have to deal with for the moment,” she said in an understanding tone.
Twilight wanted to protest further, but sighed and nodded. “See you soon.”
The two groups headed into the palace before parting to opposite directions. After only a few minutes of walking Twilight turned a corner only to trot smack dab into somepony else, the collision knocking them both to the floor. Twilight groaned a bit before opening her eyes, only to freeze up and for her face to flush red as she was face to face with a familiar orange pegasus.
Flash Sentry looked surprised as well before getting up and chuckling. “We’ve really got to stop meeting like this, Princess,” he joked, offering his hoof.
She bashfully accepted and let him pull her up. “Maybe we can meet up normally later,” she replied.
“Heh. Maybe,” he said. He saluted Cadance and Shining Armor before resuming his route around the corner.
The group continued to walk for a few moments before Cadance spoke up. “So that’s your type?” she asked in a teasing tone.
“CADANCE!” Twilight shouted, her face flushing red again.
“I can get you his schedule, if you want.”
“This is hardly the time! We’ve got so much preparation to do, it’d be months before I could make room for somepony cool like him!”
“‘Somepony cool like him’?” Cadance’s smiled widened.
“STOOOOOOP!” Twilight whined. Unnoticed by her, Shining Armor and the guards exchanged knowing smirks.
“STUPID!” *WHAM* “CLUMSY!” *WHAM* “ WORTHLESS!” *WHAM*
Colonel Buzz had been separated from his Princess, the pony guards insisting that it was safer and the Princess agreeing, much to his chagrin. On the way to his designated “guest” room he noticed an orange-coated pegasus stallion repeatedly slamming his head into a wall and degrading himself.
“So… Anypony want to explain what I’m looking at?” he asked.
“Ah, that’s Flash Sentry. He must’ve bumped into Princess Twilight again,” one of the three guards explained.
“And why is he injuring himself both physically and emotionally?’
“He’s got the hots for Princess Twilight, but the only interactions he’s had with her and bumping into her knocking her over, and then trying to play it off all cool. Then he goes somewhere else in the palace and does this.”
“Poor thing,” Buzz sighed.
“Yeah. Actually the whole guard has a betting pool on how it’ll turn out when he finally asks her out.”
“Really?”
“Uh-huh. In fact, each one of us here is one of the three separate categories on how we think it’ll happen..”
“Which are?”
“I bet she’ll turn him down.”
“I bet she’ll accept and then he’ll screw up the date and she’ll leave,” the second one stated.
“I bet he’ll manage to keep her around until he takes her back home and then she never goes on a date with him again,” the third one added.
“... You realize you’re all betting on him to fail,” Buzz said.
“It’s the safest bet!” the all said simultaneously.
“... I’ll take a piece of that,” Buzz said after some thought.
“Oh yeah? Which category? Minimum is five bits.”
“I want to make my own.”
“In that case, minimum twenty bits.”
“Put me down for forty.”
One of the guards whistled, impressed.
“Alright then, how do you think it’ll go down?”
“She’ll accept the date, he won’t screw it up, they’ll have a few more and then eventually have sex… Then they’ll feel really awkward about it and decide to break off the relationship and pretend it never happened.”
“Playing the long-game, are we?”
“Oh trust me, I’ve seen these relationships enough times to feel confident about my decision,” Buzz smirked.