The two famous ponies entered the barracks and made right for the headquarters, guards snapping to attention at each checkpoint as they saw who their unannounced guests were. They walked straight in to the Joint Operations Room from where Twilight summoned the senior Officers from both the Royal Guard and the Night Guard and requested an herbal tea while she waited, offering similar light refreshment to Rainbow, who declined, mouth agape at how the ‘egghead’ was taking charge. She had never seen Twilight look so assertive.
The tea arrived, and she took a few sips as uniformed pegasi and Bat Ponies tumbled in to see what the Princess required of them. It wasn’t as if it was Celestia or Luna after all; she probably just wanted somepony to get a kite out of a tree or resolve some other constitutional crisis of similar insignificance.
She sat confidently on the raised stage at the front of the room as her audience assembled, Rainbow marvelling at her friend’s self-confidence, knowing what was to come, but unsure of how she would deliver it. Once everypony was gathered in front of her she took one final sip of tea as the last remaining whispered conversations died away.
“Pegasi of the Royal Guard and Bat Ponies of the Night Guard, I come to give you news that I do not want communicated beyond this room. You are all highly disciplined, so I will not insult your integrity; Princess Celestia has disappeared.”
There were gasps all around and shocked comments were exchanged among the audience. Twilight turned to jelly inside and felt her mouth going dry, so covered her nerves by pretending to take a further sip of tea from her empty cup. Because she lifted the cup in her magic rather than by touch, it did not betray the trembling that she felt coursing through her body and allowed her to look controlled as the speculative chatter died away.
“I have spoken with Princess Luna, and she has agreed to stay here in Canterlot to raise the sun and the moon and undertake all the Royal duties that both she and Princess Celestia would do to keep Equestria running. I have reason to believe that the cause of Princess Celestia’s disappearance lies within the Crystal Empire and am mounting a rescue mission for which I require your renowned fighting skills.”
More chatter broke out and Twilight raised her forehoof “You could be right, Sombra’s involvement can’t be ruled out; it would certainly be advisable to prepare for the worst eventuality.”
“Now, I understand you would feel happier under the command of one of the senior Princesses to whom you have sworn allegiance, and whom you serve without question. I too have faced up to enemies of Equestria and defeated them, sometimes completely on my own, but in following me you can best serve the Royal Sisters by liberating Princess Celestia from whatever forces of evil have taken her.”
“Time is against us if we are to fly to the Crystal Empire today, but I dare not postpone until tomorrow because I do not yet know what we are facing. We must realise that such a delay could result in Princess Luna being abducted too.”
“Consequently, we must act soonest and to this end I require you to provide me with a ground attack platoon and a combat air squadron, one each drawn from the Royal Guards and the Night Guards; I want to ensure we have the best firepower for whatever we find whether by day or by night. Further, you will bring the remainder of your guards to alert to protect Canterlot and send word to the guard outposts to go to alert and protect all the key targets in their areas, especially the towns.”
Everypony present was shocked to hear such clear authority radiating from the youngest of the four ruling Princesses; somepony who had been but a filly herself only a few short years ago.
Rainbow broke the stunned silence by clapping her hooves together, and then a ripple of applause and stamping hooves broke out in the room. In a matter of minutes, Twilight had shattered the illusion they had held of her being precious and immature and replaced this image with somepony they could work with, somepony they would follow – a leader.
The Officers spilled out to ready their guards and prepare for a hasty departure, neither Royal Guard nor their friendly rivals the Night Guard wanting the dishonour of being the last to be ready.
“How did I do?” asked Twilight with a vulnerable smile on her face, aching for approval “Did I sound convincing? I read through ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Equestria’s Military’ and ‘Motivational Speaking for Dummies’ earlier today in case it would be needed. I do hope it worked.”
“Twi!” exclaimed Rainbow enthusiastically “You so motivated me, I would follow you to the ends of Equestria!”
“It may just come to that yet” said Twilight, her beaming smile fading as a grim look spread over her face.
The two friends turned to walk outside where the guards were mustering, Twilight feeling uncomfortably tense as she knew that time was tight.
“Are you ready for this, Rainbow?” she asked, “You know you don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”
“Are you kidding?” she retorted, “No way I’m going to let some adventure happen without bringing my awesomeness along too!”
Twilight had her ‘yes’.
Rainbow followed Twilight out onto the balcony to see the guards forming up in the courtyard below them into four distinct groups as requested; two each of twenty combat fliers and thirty ground attackers. The force of one hundred guards arranged ten by ten in rank and file looked small given the potential scale of the task ahead of them, but Twilight knew it was important to keep a large body of guards in reserve to protect the towns and other vulnerable targets. Besides, if they were facing powerful magic, she reasoned, no amount of extra pegasi or Bat ponies would be able to help anyway.
“Rainbow” whispered Twilight “I’ve got to address these guards as their Commander. I’ve never done anything like this before.”
“Hey, don’t sweat it. You read that motivational speeches book, didn’t you? And look at the great job you did at the briefing earlier” Rainbow paused to let her message sink in “You’re every inch a leader Twi. You don’t need to say much; remember the ‘Yetisburg Address’ was only 272 words long; why do you think all colts and fillies have to learn it at school? It’s because it’s great Twi, and so are you; now get out there and show them what you’re made of!”
“Wow, Rainbow!” gasped Twilight “That’s pretty motivational right there.”
The two friends shared a brief nuzzle, and then the guards’ Royal Commander strode out confidently to address them. Last minute adjustments to flight suits and armour had just finished and as they saw the lilac alicorn come into view on the balcony, the last conversations petered out. She stood looking resolute and although her insides were turning somersaults she was determined to be the leader that they needed.
From her window, Princess Luna looked out as Twilight took control.
"My" she said to herself with new respect in her voice "Look at how thou hast grown up."
“Members of the esteemed Royal Guard and Night Guard, brave ponies all" began Twilight "I have summoned you as the proud members of these two most highly respected Regiments to provide vital military support which I fear may be necessary to address a threat facing Equestria.”
“You need to know that Princess Celestia has disappeared, possibly taken prisoner, and we must face the possibility that Princess Luna could be taken by the same pony or group of ponies just as easily. We must therefore, without delay, find and rescue Princes Celestia and take down whoever or whatever is behind this outrage for the safety of all our citizens.”
“I have reason to believe that our trail starts in the Crystal Empire, and it is there that we must fly to face whatever awaits us for Princess Celestia, for Princess Luna and for Equestria!”
The guards erupted in a chorus of euphoric cheering as Twilight looked to the two Majors and the two Squadron Leaders in charge of the respective platoons and squadrons, and upon receiving positive signals from each, sprang into the air accompanied by Rainbow Dash to lead them northwards, to the Crystal Empire, and their destiny.
They flew north, the Bat Ponies becoming more comfortable in the failing light as their pegasi colleagues with day-adapted eyes began to struggle with the onset of darkness. Whilst the Night Guard units maintained their rigidly fixed formations, the Royal Guard spaced themselves further apart to ensure that there were no collisions in the poor light; nopony wanted that to happen, especially with the prospect of coming down in the wilderness below.
Off to their right, the familiar silvery orb clawed its way into the rich pageantry of the star-flecked night sky, providing much needed illumination and a reliable navigation aid as well as confirmation that Princess Luna was still safe and in control. They still had time.
The moonlight glinted menacingly off the guards’ armour and their massed weaponry. These ponies were not farmers or poets; they were the best and most highly trained fighters Equestria had to offer, their ability with weapons and their courage never in doubt.
For all their rivalry; the illicit drinking sessions, their inherently competitive natures and their sometimes boisterous interplay, each pony knew that whoever was next to them in battle, be they Bat Pony or pegasus would fight to the death to defend any and all of their colleagues. Indeed, every one of them had taken an oath before Princess Celestia or Princess Luna to that effect, and none would deliver anything less. Such was their unspoken bond; their pledged solidarity through life until death.
Today they had been inspired in recognising a new leader, a pony who hadn’t even had her wings that long, but one who had none the less motivated them through her words and her actions. True leadership was a quality difficult to define, but whatever it required, Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship had it within her. They liked what they saw, and they were all committed to following her as surely as they would serve the other senior Princesses.
Wingbeat by wingbeat they surged forwards, each carrying loads that most ponies couldn’t even lift, let alone contemplate carrying long distances. Twilight screamed inwardly at the time it was taking, fearing every second could be the last for Princess Luna in Canterlot, whisked away by whatever malevolent force had claimed her sister. Damn it all – she didn’t even know she was leading them in the right direction! She fought to keep her inner demons of self-doubt under control, but Rainbow flying closest to her picked upon the vibe.
“Hey Twi” she said, “Didn’t know you were expert at night flying too.”
“I read a book on it” came the dismissive answer.
“Yeah - figures” replied her friend “Hey, I bet Nyx would love to have been flying with us – night is her element, right?”
“I hate to admit it Rainbow, but right now I would feel so much happier if she was with us as Nightmare Moon. Although it tore me apart to see that sweet little filly inherit the twisted mantle of distorted evil, she fought for us and with us against the monsters of the Everfree at such personal cost.”
“Yeah” concurred Rainbow “She’s pretty cool. I remember facing off a lupus minor, and Nightmare Moon, I mean Nyx, came right out of the sky and T-boned it in the side! Whammm! And then there was that lupus major right at the end of the battle when we all thought the town was clear – remember?”
“And do you remember the exploding Pinkie Pie dummies?” chipped in Twilight, recalling fondly the party pony’s flair for improvisation.
“Yeah” said Rainbow wistfully “Good times. Good times.”
“I am very proud of her” said Twilight “you know?”
“And she’s proud of you too, Twi. Leading the Royal Guard and the Night Guard into battle is a pretty cool thing to do.”
“But what if I’m wrong?” confided Twilight.
“Look Twi, somepony’s got to take charge. Flurry Heart has left her parents to fly down to you and the train from the Crystal Empire hasn’t been seen. It all adds up, and even if it’s wrong these are the only leads you’ve got. It’s the right call and there was nopony else to make it. And your motivational speaking was, like, almost as awesome as a sonic rainboom!”
“Thanks Rainbow” said Twilight, feeling a lot better “You know, you’re pretty motivational yourself.”
“Yeah, you’re right” agreed Rainbow “One of my many strengths.”
“Along with your modesty?”
At this, both friends giggled and Rainbow smiled inwardly, happy to have restored her friend’s mojo. She knew they would all be relying on her being fully on top of her game when they encountered whatever was waiting for them, and that they all stood a much better chance with a confident leader.