“You’re the pony who can defeat the monsters, aren’t you.”
It wasn’t a question, but Gusty nodded. “I don’t know how,” she added. “I just - I guess I can’t really explain it, but I kind of let my feelings pour into my magic, and it gets stronger. I’m not a bad pony, I promise.” She paused before adding, “Sir.”
Fire Storm nodded, frowning as he thought. “Oh, I don’t have a doubt about that, cadet,” he assured her. “Would you say that you’re… good at magic?”
“I… like to think so, sir,” Gusty said.
The stallion nodded. Then, quick as a whip, he ignited his horn and grabbed a dozen arrows from a barrel behind him, flinging them through the air at Gusty. There was a flash of silver, and when Fire Storm blinked to clear his vision, he saw all the arrows lying at Gusty’s hooves, and the unicorn mare was holding a silver sword in front of her defensively, her eyes narrowed.
He gaped - all weapons were on his side of the tent. This pony had, somehow, managed to bring a sword to her and deflect a dozen attacks almost at once. It took years of combat training to master only a part of that.
“Wait…” Gusty frowned at the glimmering weapons she was now holding. “How did I get this?”
“You mean - you don’t remember doing anything?”
The mare shrugged. “I don’t know. I just… did.”
“Okay, you act on instantaneous instinct so fast you can’t remember doing it, and you’re already much more magically skilled than just about everypony in our troops,” Fire Storm muttered to himself in a weak voice. “Combined.” He shook his head. To Gusty he called, “Catch!” as he tossed six apples into the air.
Half a dozen arrows rose off the ground and flew through the air, pinning the apples to the wooden tent support beams before Fire Storm could blink.
His jaw dropped. Then, as if his own dignity was at stake, Fire Storm lit his horn and sent a massive blast of magic straight at Gusty, shoving his desk and anything else in the way to the sides of the tent. Gusty met it with a beam of her own, equally strong, and the two were in a stalemate.
Gusty closed her eyes and thought of Whistle - her mother, her friend. She was filled with strength, and she began to push back. Fire Storm gritted his teeth, but it was no use. Gusty’s beam reached his horn, and there was an explosion that threw both ponies back and scorched everything in the tent. Gusty staggered back to her hooves and took a look around. She gasped.
“Oh my stars, I am so sorry,” she apologized hurriedly, using her magic to levitate things back where they belonged. “I can replace everything if you need me to-”
But when Fire Storm stood up, he didn’t look horrified at the destruction around him - in fact, his eyes were shining. “I think you can return to training now,” he said in a quiet voice. “I’m going to speak to Dolphin and see if we can’t-” HE broke off, shaking his head as he left. Gusty stood in silence for a while before returning to her training. Everpine was waiting for her when she returned, standing at the end platform of the bridge as Gusty crossed easily in a daze.
“Well? What happened?” she demanded to know as they trotted across a wooden platform that stretched from one tree to another, leading to the next obstacle.
Gusty shrugged. “I’m… not exactly sure,” she admitted. “We fought, but I think he wanted me to. And I beat him every time. I don’t know how. But he seemed… I don’t know, happy about it.”
“Oh, stars,” Everpine muttered when she saw the obstacle in front of them: robes hanging all the way to the ground, swinging gently in the breeze. The pegasus standing by the start raised an eyebrow at them as they approached. Gusty sighed and prepared to fall on the path to victory.
“Absolutely not,” Trout snapped. Fire Storm mentally groaned, even though he knew that would be what the general would say. Professor Dolphin was off working on something else (the details were rarely ever shared, lest they be infiltrated and found out), so Fire Storm had been forced to lay his request at the hooves of the most disagreeable pony in the rag-tag army.
“You haven’t seen what she can do,” Fire Storm began.
“And I don’t need to.” Trout cut him off. “Nopony’s ready to officially join the army after just two days of training!”
“But she is!” Fire Storm knew that with a fierce certainty, more certain of this fact than anything he had ever been in his entire life. “If you’d just-”
“I will do no such thing,” Trout snapped. “Here, we have rules, regulations, designed to keep us safe and secret until we are ready. I will not jeopardize the well-being and safety of our mission or the ponies involved in it to make an uncalled-for exception for your marefriend.”
Fire Storm felt his face grow hot, and he ducked his head. “She’s not my marefriend,” he muttered.
“Oh, please, it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out,” scoffed Trout as he rolled his eyes. He stood up and paced to the singular window. “Storm told me all about how you stood up for the pathetic mare - a bit sickening, really. We may have to rethink your status. Storm reports that you seem to have abused it. Yes, he gave me all the details.”
I’ll bet he did, Fire Storm thought to himself. But Trout refused to budge, so it was time for the last ditch attempt, that not even he was sure would work. “I think she’s the one,” he blurted.
Trout froze. Very slowly, he turned away from the window to face him. “What?”
Fire Storm squirmed under his intense look. “From the prophecy?” he tried. “The one who makes monsters flee and tyrants topple - the one we need to defeat Grogar. I think - I think it’s her.”
“How do you know about that?” snapped Trout, looking around as if Grogar might have his ear pressed up against the door.
“You’re not the only pony who got their hooves on a copy of Predictions and Prophecies before they were all burned,” Fire Storm said defensively. “I just hope all that business with the ‘Mare in the Moon’ doesn’t happen until after we deal with Grogar, but-”
“You really expect me to act like a collection of foals’ tales is the future?” Trout snorted incredulously. “If the book can be trusted, then where are those ‘Elements of Harmony’? Or what about the ‘Crystal Empire’? Everything in there is foolish nonsense, and you’re a fool if you believe anything in there.”
“The professor believes it,” Fire Storm said quietly. He caught a glimpse of Trout’s disbelieving face, and his voice rose with every word until he was almost shouting. “Everypony does. It’s the only bit of hope that we have that we might be able to come out on top in this fight. And I know you believe it, too - I’ve heard you talking about it with Dolphin.” He shifted his hooves, lifted his head, and met Trout’s eyes.
The unicorn stallion snarled but didn’t deny it. He turned back to the window, staring at the streets of Manehattan Island. Then an idea crept into his mind, and a plan formulated behind his eyes. If it worked… all his problems would be dealt with.
“Do you know why the city was once destroyed?” he asked in a quiet voice.
The colonel nodded. “It seemed like every monster in the world was descending upon us,” he whispered. “I remember. It’s what persuaded me to join. I wanted to fight back.”
“Well, yes,” Trout admitted, “but do you know why?”
Fire Storm thought before he shook his head.
“A pony beat a monster,” said the other pony darkly. “Solar Flare. He was gifted, yes, but incredibly stupid - tried to help other ponies with his magic. So he threw a sphinx out of the city, and Grogar was furious. Firstly, nopony beats his monsters and lives another week. Secondly, he suspected that our city was full of gifted unicorns who could defeat him. So he called monsters from every corner of the world and set them on us, trying to stamp us out.”
“All because of one pony?” Fire Storm asked in disbelief.
“One pony who openly defied him,” Trout muttered, his face clouding over. “Grogar is paranoid - he will destroy you if he even thinks you’re going to betray him.”
The meaning of the story suddenly hit Fire Storm. “You mean… because Gusty beat that monster… the city will be destroyed?”
“Quite possibly,” Trout said calmly, shrugging. “Though that is where my proposal comes in. If this Gusty really is the one from that silly prophecy - the one who makes monsters flee - then she can protect the city. If she can banish every single monster Grogar sends, her training will be suspended, and she will join the troops.”
Fire Storm swallowed. “And… if she fails?”
“Then she’ll be burnt to a crisp, and the Equestrian army will have its first real battle.” Trout turned to give him one last sweeping look. “Either way, it’s time to come out of the shadows.”