"Next!" Shining Armour called. Looking through the window at the side of the darkened room he was currently inhabiting, he cast a glance towards the dejected white pegasus departing from the arena. The assorted pieces of his armour were strewn across his back haphazardly as he stepped through the archway at the far end of the arena. The captain of the royal guard shook his head and turned back towards the door at the end of the dark room.
The worn door creaked open, revealing a grey unicorn guard complete with the traditional gold breastplate, helmet and protected saddle of every Royal Guard in Canterlot. He stepped forward and saluted smartly.
"Name?" Shining Armour asked.
"Blitz, sir." The guard replied without lowering his leg. He was surprisingly stable on three hooves.
"Rank?"
"Staff Sergeant, sir."
"I see." Shining Armour's horn glowed as the quill on his desk rose, enveloped in a purple aura, and scribbled down several words on the piece of parchment that sat on the aged table in front of him. "What makes you think that you have what it takes to join Princess Celestia's personal guard?"
"I am skilled with both a sword and spear, and am also a black belt in over nine forms of martial arts."
"Ah." In truth, the white unicorn wasn't paying much attention to the soldier in front of him. The interview wouldn't play the greatest part in proving his expertise.
"Take off your armour." The captain commanded.
"Yes, sir." Unflinchingly, Blitz used his magic to undo the straps that kept the pieces of metal in one piece, and his armour fell apart. Once the enchantments of the steel wore off, his grey coat lightened a little bit, and his brown irises shifted their hue to a striking crimson red. His jet-black mane was not in the usual crew cut that most of the Guard wore, but was instead short and messy. His cutie mark, a black belt that stood out from his grey coat, adorned his flank. Lastly, a grey aura enveloped his shoes, tugging them off and letting them tumble onto the ground noisily.
Not once had he lowered his hoof.
"Take this with you." A short sword flew through the air and was caught in Blitz's grey aura. "You're going to need it."
"What are your orders, sir?" Blitz asked, barely moving at all.
"This is a test of your combat prowess. Out there," Shining Armour gestured to the arena beyond the window, "is a manticore we have captured to aid you in this... exercise. If it proves too difficult to defeat, or if you are in grave danger, then you may escape through this window," The white horn's glow increased in intensity, and the window was flung open, "or the archway at the end." Shining Armour grinned slightly. "If you are capable of achieving victory, then you have passed the first stage of the test, and you can meet Princess Celestia herself." The captain's grin disappeared as the enticing reward of meeting Equestria's diarch failed to elicit a reaction from Blitz. He sighed. "And put that hoof down. You need all four to fight."
"Yes, sir." In a rapid, almost mechanical movement, Blitz's hoof made contact with the floorboards, causing them to groan under his weight. The old surface was granted relief a moment later as the grey unicorn executed a leap that took him out of the safety of the room and into the arena. Seconds after he had cleared the window, a dull thud caused him to turn his head. He was just in time to see the window being locked with a click. Shining Armour, horn still aglow with great intensity, levitated a quill and parchment to his side and began to watch the grey-coated warrior. When the sound of a magical barrier being put in place echoed throughout the confined space, Blitz didn't even to check to know that the archway had been sealed shut.
He muttered a very rude word under his breath.
Dominating the field before him was one of the largest, most dangerous looking manticores he had ever seen. Its tail, with the poisonous stinger at its tip, was easily longer than three ponies standing side by side. The creature itself could have towered over even a draconequus like Discord. It was already blocking out the sun. The entire manticore seemed to be sparkling with magic; perhaps it had a restraining spell placed on it.
Or maybe a strengthening spell. Blitz grimaced.
The monster wasted no time in taking advantage of the grey unicorn's momentary distraction. With a roar, it leapt up into the sky and brought its claws and stinger to bear as it homed in on Blitz. Finally focusing on the danger at hoof, Blitz rolled to one side, narrowly avoiding the creature's venomous extremeities, and pulled the short sword out of its scabbard with his telekinetic grip. He slashed at the manticore, but the sharp blade only met air as the manticore stepped back.
Contemplative. Gets distracted easily. The quill danced across the surface of the scroll, held aloft by Shining Armour's magic.
Meanwhile, the short sword was executing a much more deadly dance as it twirled and slashed across the field, keeping the manticore at bay. The creature growled as it tried to reach its prey, but all of its efforts proved fruitless. Blitz, noticing the manticore's hesitation, switched his attack to an offensive style. His horn glowed even brighter as he prepared a spell.
FWOOSH
The powerful wall of air rushed forward and collided with the manticore. Blitz could almost sense a bit of lag time as the monster's efforts to keep itself rooted to the ground failed, and was pushed back a few centimetres. That was all the time the grey unicorn needed. A burst of light revealed the usage of a teleportation spell, and when he appeared behind the manticore he swung his short sword at it with all the strength he could muster.
The creature howled in pain as the sword slashed through its arm as if it were nothing more than air. Dark blue blood rushed out of the wound and splashed on the ground. The arm itself fell to the dirt and lay still.
Capable of executing Grade 5 strength spells. Excellent swordsmaster. Is able to make opportunities and take advantage of them on the spot.
Blinded by rage, the manticore rushed at Blitz at a shockingly fast speed. The grey unicorn sidestepped calmly and raised his blade in a defensive position. When its venom-tipped claws failed to meet anything substantial, the manticore turned and did something Blitz had no idea manticores were capable of.
Mimicking a markspony, the creature raised its stinger and fired a high-pressure stream of poison straight towards Blitz.
The surprised expression registered on the grey unidorn's face for only a second before he conjured a grey concave shield with his magic. The lethal fluid rushed straight into the shield and arced back towards the manticore.
The creature was in the midst of a sprint towards Blitz when the venom met its face. It howled in pain as the poison did its job, seeping into the monster's pores and into its bloodstream.
Very intelligent and creative. Is able to respond to unexpected attacks efficiently and swiftly.
Blitz raised his sword into the air and flung it at the manticore with all of his magical might. The blade struck the creature's heart.
And passed right through.
The image of the howling beast flickered a few times before disappearing into nothingness. The sparkles of magic subsided as the manticore vanished, revealing an empty field behind it. His sword lay in the dust, completely clean of any blood whatsoever.
Confident. Sometimes takes risks in order to minimize danger.
Blitz turned his head just in time to see the window to the room swing open. Shining Armour stepped through the opening, the glow from his horn absent for the first time since he had seen him.
"An illusion spell." Blitz breathed.
The white unicorn nodded his head. "Correct. Personally, I'm disappointed that you didn't manage to find out. I've half a mind to fail you for this test."
"I had my suspicions." Blitz replied. "The magical sparks were almost a dead giveaway." A ghost of a grin appeared on his face. "But if you must know, it isn't that hard to make somepony believe that an illusion is the real deal."
"What do you-" Shining Armour gaped as the stallion in front of him faded away.
"Your expression betrays you." Blitz said from behind the captain. "I can see your slack jaw from here."
Shining Armour turned around and saw Blitz next to the window from which he had just exited, the only blind spot from the room itself. "Wha- How did you get there?!"
"I've been here ever since I teleported." The grey unicorn explained. "I was confirming my suspicions of the manticore being an illusion. And I was right. The venom failed to pass through my illusory shield." His horn glowed and the shortsword was dragged across the field to the scabbard. "Now, did I pass the test?"
"Definitely. Not many ponies can successfully trick me like that."
"Good. Now I just need to... need... to..." Struck by a sudden spell of dizziness, Blitz swayed on his hooves for a few moments before collapsing to the ground.
"Blitz!" Shining Armour was by his side in an instant. His horn relit itself as he probed the fallen unicorn for injuries.
"Thank goodness... It's just magical exhaustion. He'll be alright in a few hours." He glanced up into the noonday sky, noticing the sun at the height of its glory. "That should be in time for his appointment with Princess Celestia." A purple glow encompassed the grey unicorn as he levitated him over to the archway. "I'd better get him back to the barracks."
Meanwhile, in the aged room, an image of Shining Armour appeared behind the wooden table. Clearing his throat, he shouted, "Next!"
Later
Princess Celestia took a sip from her cup of tea as she filtered out the droning of her economic minister explaining the financial repercussions of the changeling attack on Canterlot.
"So, in order to repair the damages caused by the impact of the changelings upon the castle, the total cost rises to... three hundred and eighty-six thousand, four hundred and forty-two bits." The green-coated unicorn stallion prostrated before Celestia explained. "Approximately."
The alicorn couldn't remember when estimations were so exact. Or maybe that was just her minister. "I see. Well, Bit Saver, the Treasury should be able to cover that."
"That's not all, your highness." Bit Saver shook his head. "That was only the cost to repair the impact craters. There are still all of the damaged tapestries, carpets, antiques-"
Celestia barely managed to suppress a groan. "We do not actually require any of those in order to survive."
Bit Saver, for his part, looked absolutely horrified. "What?! Princess, surely you can't possibly be considering such a drastic course of action to cut our costs! Do you know what kind of impact this will make across all of Equestria?"
Celestia had absolutely no idea what kind of impact would result from deciding not to replace all of the assorted items in the palace- especially since they seemed to have no purpose other than to boast of the Princess' wealth- but she decided to play along so she could get her minister to leave. "I am fully aware of them, Bit Saver, and I will consider what you have said. I will give you my verdict tomorrow."
Her minister bowed deeply. "I thank you for your time, your highness."
A knock at the throne room door caught her attention. "Your majesty, there is somepony here to see you." One of her guards called from outside.
Celestia nodded. Gesturing to Bit Saver, she said, "You may leave now. There is something else I need to attend to." The minister eased out of his bowing position and trotted to the door that had been opened by the guards.
Blitz, fully armoured with an additional sword at his side just in case Celestia tried to pull the same trick her captain had, met the minister of economics on his way out. His gaze, however, was directed towards the floor as his legs bent to settle into a bow.
"There's no need for formalities here, my little pony." Celestia said. "Rise, and we may discuss your appointment as a member of my personal guard."
Blitz noticed the intricately carved blade on the Princess' table the moment he straightened his legs and stood up. He grimaced.
Please let me be wrong. I'm still too tired for this.
"You may approach. It would be too troublesome to speak over such a large distance."
Blitz trotted closer to the Princess and settled into an awkward half-bow as he spoke. "Your will is my command."
Celestia cleared her throat. "Now, as you know, ever since the Changeling invasion, ponies all across Equestria have been worried for my safety." She winced as the memory of her embarrassing defeat at the hooves of Queen Chrysalis swam to the forefront of the mind. Subconsciously, she took a sip of her tea. "And frankly, I am beginning to doubt my ability as well. So if you want to join the newly-formed Aegis Guard, you need to demonstrate three virtues. The first is your combat prowess, which I believe you have already proven. The second is-"
All of a sudden, the throne room door burst open, and a snarling manticore charged into the room, its claws extended and its stinger ready to strike. Blitz sighed in resignation.
They did it to me again.
It took only an instant against the unprepared creature. One moment, Blitz's sword rested in his scabbard, and the next, it had buried itself in the manticore's chest. The familiar dark blue blood erupted from its chest wound, decorating the throne room with several splotches of what looked like paint. Instinctively, the grey unicorn shielded both himself and his leader with a barrier spell.
One illusion down. Blitz mentally frowned. Wait a second. If that's an illusion, then how is my sword stuck... in... its... His mental train of thought tapered off into realisation.
Blitz's ears perked up as a voice spoke up from outside the throne room. "Uhh... Princess? Are you alright? Your guards certainly aren't." Blitz glanced towards the door to see a brown unicorn stallion in a laboratory suit round the corner and enter the throne room. "One of our test subjects for the new anti-venom has gone missing. It's a manticore, about one and a half metres tall, and..." He stared at the corpse of the recently slaughtered beast as it continued to leak blood across the floor. "...I see you found it."
Celestia glared at the wilting unicorn. "I suggest that you take better care of your test subjects from now on." She scratched her chin contemplatively with a hoof. "As a matter of fact, I do not even remember authorising a project like this."
"Well... about that..." Blitz sighed and watched as the unicorn squirmed under the alicorn's harsh glare. I'm just glad that I'm not the one on the receiving end of that. His horn ached a little from the rapid spellcasting, and the shield he had created wavered a slightly.
His weakness had not gone unnoticed by Celestia. "Take a rest, my little pony. I do not expect you to have the magical aptitude of Twilight Sparkle. You may lower your shield," Blitz complied, and the shield dissolved into thin air.
The Princess turned her gaze back to the brown unicorn. "i await your response."
The unicorn looked up, the distraught expression on his face replaced with one of defiance. "I do not take orders from you."
Celestia's stood up abruptly with anger. "I am your Princess! You will show me the proper respect!"
"No, Princess. I am better than you." The unicorn's horn began to shine with power. "I am a Queen."
Blitz watched in horrified fascination as the unicorn in front of him transformed into a vile creature he knew all too well from the time when he had been forcibly evicted from Shining Armour's wedding.
"Chrysalis!" He hissed.
"That's right!" The changeling queen laughed. "You have no idea how easy it was to get in here!"
"How did you manage to infiltrate the shield?" Celestia demanded.
Chrysalis snorted. "Do you really think that I can be defeated by the very thing I feed on? You've failed to defeat me, and I still have most of the magic that I drained from Shining Armour, plus all the additional magic I collected from the shield! I'm invincible now!" The changeling lowered her horn towards Celestia. "Prepare to die!"
The green beam of pure energy that erupted from Chrysalis' horn met Celestia's yellow one in mid-air, and the resulting wave of sound rippled across the throne room. Blitz was thrown off his hooves, and his head hit the wall at one end of the throne room.
This has to be an illusion, right? The grey unicorn's mind tried to piece the situation together. There's no way both a manticore and Chrysalis can just happen to show up when I'm here! He cast a glance towards the two warring alicorns. Even if Chrysalis is fake, it would be prudent to escape while she's distracted. His facial expression sank into a determined grimace. No, on the off chance that the changeling is real, the princess is in big trouble, and I have to protect her no matter what the cost may be!
His limbs powered by a vastly powerful energy he hadn't felt before, Blitz leapt into action, pulling the blade on Celestia's desk over to himself with his telekinesis and raising it into the air. The downwards slash he executed caught the changeling queen by surprise. The sword slashed right through Chrysalis smoothly, confirming Blitz's suspicions. The changeling dissipated instantly, along with the nearby manticore, which revealed a mess of animated blueberries beneath the exterior.
Blitz groaned as he dropped Celestia's sword in frustration. I knew it!
"Excellent work, my little pony, for risking your life to save me even when the odds were thoroughly stacked against you." Celestia smiled warmly. "You have proven your loyalty both to me and Equestria. However, there is one thing that I must ask you."
"What is it, your highness?" Blitz was getting sick of chasing illusions around at his leader's whim.
"You fight for something you clearly hold dear. Tell me, do you have any friends or family?"
Blitz thought about this for a moment. "I devote my life fully to protecting both you and Canterlot, your highness."
"That did not answer my question."
Blitz sighed. "No, I have none."
Celestia gasped. "That will not do. I have an opportunity for you, though. You may join my entourage as an Aegis Guard two days from now when I go to Ponyville to celebrate the defeat of the changelings with the Elements of Harmony. You will be entrusted with the important task of protecting me, but I will give you an even more important task."
The alicorn paused before continuing with a grin on her face. "Make some friends!"
This time, the grey unicorn managed to suppress his groan. That sounds strangely rehearsed.
The Princess sat down once more. "You have received your instructions. Prepare yourself for the day after tomorrow. Have I made myself clear?"
Despite his fatigue, Blitz still managed to pull off a respectably smart salute. "Crystal, your majesty."
Celestia took a sip of her tea as she gestured towards the door with a hoof. "You may return to your barracks and rest. I'm sure that today was a long day for you."
Blitz bowed deeply before departing the throne room, closing the door with a resounding bang. Only when the door was firmly between him and Equestria's diarch did Blitz let out a loud sigh. He shook his head to clear the whirlwind of thoughts that threatened to overwhelm him.
"Hopefully tomorrow will be better than today."
He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he failed to notice a blue alicorn slip into the throne room behind him.
"We do not ask for much. Merely a sound rest during the day and appreciation for our night. We did not predict that the former would be harder to acquire!"
A very angry Princess Luna stormed through the halls of Canterlot Castle, lightning flashing from various mini-thunderclouds that surrounded her flowing mane of stars. However, the effect was somewhat ruined by the fact that she had forgotten to remove her pyjamas and socks, the latter of which caused her to lose her balance every now and then. She considered abandoning decorum and yelling her sister's name at the top of her voice, but the result of her latest brush with the effects of the Royal Canterlot Voice dissuaded her. If she remembered correctly, some of the windows that had been irrevocably shattered had not yet been replaced, leaving large, gaping holes at the side of the castle for invaders to fly into.
Then again, windows probably wouldn't have been enough to stop a determined group of attackers anyway.
Luna approached the source of the noise, which just happened to be the throne room, with as much stealth as she could muster. Due to the hindering nature of her socks, however, she decided to hover in the air with her wings.
Then she noticed a problem.
The two guards who were protecting the throne room remained unaffected by the recent explosion of noise, and were standing as still as statues, as most of the royal guards did. In fact, they were standing so still that Luna wouldn't have been surprised if her sister had switched them with deceptively well-painted sculptures. She was tempted to treat them as such and advance without discretion, but decided against it at the last moment. From her current position around the corner, Luna could hear snippets of a conversation within the throne room.
"...have any friends or family?" The blue alicorn recognised her sister's voice instantly.
The response was slow in coming. "I devote my life fully to protecting both you and Canterlot, your highness." The strict, monotone voice gave away the occupation of the pony.
Why would 'Tia be speaking with a common guardspony?
"That did not answer my question."
A sigh, and then the response was forthcoming. "No, I have none."
Her sister gasped, a sound that Luna, with her centuries of experience with her sister, knew was forced. "That will not do. I have an opportunity for you, though. You may join my entourage as an Aegis Guard two days from now when I go to Ponyville to celebrate the defeat of the changelings with the Elements of Harmony. You will be entrusted with the important task of protecting me, but I will give you an even more important task. Make some friends!"
Luna could almost hear an exasperated groan in the silence that followed.
"You have received your instructions. Prepare yourself for the day after tomorrow. Have I made myself clear?"
"Crystal, your majesty."
"You may return to your barracks and rest. I'm sure that today was a long day for you."
Luna realised that the conversation was over, and she peeked her head around the corner to see a perfectly ordinary grey unicorn guardspony close the throne room door and sigh. The guards protecting the princess turned their heads and waved to see off their companion.
This is our chance! Luna thought. She flew towards the space above the heads of the guards at the door as fast as her wings could take her. Having reached her destination, she shoved open the door with all of her might and entered the room.
She caught her sister in the midst of upending her teacup into a potted plant nearby. Celestia froze instinctively and supercharged her horn with magic before she realised who the intruder was.
"Lulu!" Celestia cried, racing towards the blue alicorn and enveloping her in an extremely tight hug. The guards who were stationed outside the room looked at each other hesitantly, unsure of how to respond.
"Ack! 'Tia! Need... air..." Luna somehow began to turn even bluer than she already was.
"Oops! Sorry, Lulu!" Celestia released her deathgrip on Luna instantly. The guards watching the scene tried their hardest not to giggle at the display.
The solar princess finally noticed the other two ponies. "Return to your posts immediately, guards." She thought for a moment. "And tell nopony of this."
The two guards saluted immediately and went back to the front door, though Celestia could have sworn that a she heard muffled "oomph!" when she slammed the door shut with her magic. She turned back to Luna when she was finally certain that the door was secure.
"What brings you here, sister?" Celestia asked. "Normally, you would be resting at this time of day."
"And indeed we were." Luna snorted. "We would still be asleep if that infernal racket originating in thy room had not roused us from our well-earned slumber." She narrowed her eyes at her sister. "Care to explain?"
"That was... just a test." The white alicorn grinned sheepishly. "For the new recruit of the Aegis Guard."
"We heard that as well, 'Tia." The princess of the night eyed Celestia suspiciously. "We hath no idea of thy intentions, but this is outrageous! To force a soldier to make new friends is like setting those friends up for inevitable despair. A soldier's lifelong mission is to slaughter all in his way until he himself succumbs to the enemy. Thou knowest this as well as we do."
"Equestria lives in a time of peace." Celestia retorted. "There is no war. I merely wanted him to enjoy life as he should."
"Lies." Luna growled. "Even we, with our poor knowledge of modern Equestrian relations, are aware that both the dragons and the griffins covet our land, and the changeling incursion is proof of the presence of powerful adversaries!" Luna's eyes narrowed even further. "Even as we speak, our troops along the border are skirmishing with bandits and vagabonds. Equestria is at war, sister. An unofficial one, but one that results in the deaths of many all the same!"
"Fine!" Celestia suddenly exploded with anger. "Do you want to know why I have to do this?!" Her sister's unexpected outburst made Luna cringe, but the blue alicorn remained firmly in place. "It's not like I want to cause any of my little ponies misery! But I have no choice!" A crack formed in Celestia's now-empty teacup. "I've checked the records for our military, and you know what? More and more soldiers are resigning from the Equestrian Armed Forces. Do you know why?"
"Well, I... Uhh..." Luna was still trying to get over the fact that her sister- her kind, gentle, eternally calm sister- had so suddenly yelled at her younger sister for the first time in several millennia.
"WRONG!" Celestia shouted. "It's because they have nothing to fight for! The danger in their occupations means that they are risking their lives for nothing! Most of our soldiers have no family or friends to speak of! And," Celestia's eyes burned with conviction, "why stand in the way of danger for nothing?"
Luna finally managed to regain her composure. "That... is a rather fallacious argument, 'Tia."
"Is it?" Celestia calmed down at last, and her cheeks turned a shade of red at her outburst. However, she refused to back down from her argument. "I had every single one of my captains inquire as to why the soldiers decided to resign from their jobs. And almost all of them said the exact same thing!"
"They said: 'Putting my life on the line is meaningless without something to defend.' Do you realise now, Luna? Equestria is at risk because our soldiers lack the conviction to fight!"
"Surely many of them would want to resign in order to ensure their safety for their families." Luna countered.
"Indeed. Some would. But all of the ex-military ponies know that the soldiers remaining to defend our nation has been steadily decreasing. At yet none of them volunteer to rejoin." Celestia shot back.
"How about releasing news of our army's weakness to the general public?" Luna suggested. "I'm sure that many of them would join the army to protect their loved ones."
"Aside from the fact that our vulnerability could not only cause mass panic, but could also alert our enemies' spies of an opportunity, many ponies would probably refuse to join for the very reason that you stated." Celestia replied. "Even if we get a huge number of new recruits, the amount of funds needed to train such a large army on such short notice would cripple the Treasury. We might be unable to even fund the army that we raised!"
"What does thou suggest that we try then, sister?" Luna asked softly.
"I have decided to distribute bonuses to all of the soldiers who decide to start a family." Celestia said. "That, our Treasury will be able to afford. Also, I recently raised the pay of all soldiers in proportion to the battles they have fought before, and will continue to do so for all who prove their loyalty to Equestria."
"And," The white alicorn continued, "I issue missions to ponies like Blitz, who is a part of my personal guard. He defended me bravely just now, but based on what Shining Armour told me, he is quite smart, and saw through my captain's illusion halfway through the battle." Celestia's posture sagged slightly. "I do not know whether he risked his life to defend me, or if he did it because he knew his life was not in any danger from the start."
"Perhaps thou should be less suspicious of others." Luna told her sister. "Thy cynical attitude might cause thee to see threats where there are none."
"I can't, Luna." The solar princess sighed heavily. "I have spent many a millennium watching the political assassinations between my royal ministers fly back and forth around me. I adapted to the life of the court several centuries ago, and it's hard not to expect somepony to have an ulterior motive even when they're sincere."
"Then just trust us on this one, 'Tia." Luna nuzzled her sister. "Thy soldiers are loyal if they stay behind even after many have left. Their duty is to protect thee. Do not fault them for doing their jobs."
"I suppose you're right." Celestia returned the nuzzle. "I might as well relax. Getting stressed over nothing won't be good for my decision making capabilities."
"Just remember that thou can discuss anything thou wants with me." The lunar princess comforted her sister. "I'll always be here to listen to your troubles."
Celestia smiled weakly. "At least I can look forward to the celebration in Ponyville two days from now." Her half-smile morphed into a true one as she envisioned the party that her protégé's friend Pinkie Pie would throw for her. "I'll get to see Twilight again."
"That's the spirit." Luna nodded approvingly. "After all, what could possibly go wrong?"
A soldier. The ideal candidate should be a soldier.
I hear that Celestia is coming to Ponyville in two days' time. She'll definitely bring some guards with her. That will be my chance to put my plan into motion.
A certain pink earth pony mare was trotting down the streets of Ponyville when suddenly, her entire body began to vibrate vigorously.
"Ooh! Is there another cattle stampede?" The aforementioned pink mare surveyed her surroundings energetically, searching for the catalyst of her sudden quivering.
Nothing but the confused stares of other ponies greeted her gaze.
If that's not a sign, I don't know what is. A doozy! Something is going to go wrong, and there's nothing major enough to go wrong until the day after tomorrow! This is the end of the line for her.
Nothing will go wrong.