Royal Directive
The lecture hall exploded with pony activity. Everypony stood, and the room shook with excited cheers and stamping applause. The pony in front of Twilight, in what she thought to be a naval uniform, had taken her hoof and was shaking it excitedly. The ordered meeting quickly devolved into a mass of ponies all excitedly discussing ideas for how the new spell could be used to save Cloudsdale.
Somepony tapped her shoulder from behind, and she turned to see Major Vedette trying to tell her something over the din. He pointed to two unicorn guards in the aisle, both of them giving threatening glances to any pony trying to leave their seat to get closer to the purple unicorn.
She couldn’t hear him. “What?”
He leaned in close to her ear. “Go with them, they’ll escort you out.”
Suddenly feeling very alone, she glanced nervously at Shining Armor. Being so close to her brother was the safest she had felt since the griffin attack on the chariot. She didn’t want to leave him so soon.
Shining Armor gave her a proud smile, and a wink. “Go, Twily!” With a loving nudge, he prodded her out of her seat and into the walkway. The two guards flanked her and hurriedly moved her to the front of the lecture hall.
The guards didn’t give her much chance to look around as they rushed her toward the side exit, but the ever-curious unicorn stole as many glances as she could. To her right, the officers continued to grow louder in their individual conversations as they tried to talk over the room's acoustics. In the front row, Director Petronel was scribbling some notes to one of a few ponies also dressed in a simple collar and tie. Seeing Twilight, he quickly excused himself and joined the trio.
To her left, Princess Luna had risen and was stamping her hooves desperately trying to return the meeting to order. Her royal demeanor had been overcome by anxiety, and she pleaded in vain for the assembly to be seated. Beginning to anger, she reared up and brought her front hooves down on the table with a mighty crash. The officers’ clamor continued.
Petronel rushed in front of their little procession and with a steely glare at the door’s guards, they cleared out the way. He, Twilight, and the two unicorn guards escorting her left the lecture hall and the doors slammed shut behind them.
The director stopped and turned to Twilight. “I have a map room down the hall. This way,” he said, pointing. He looked past her to the closed door behind them. “And we should probably hur—“
“BE STILL!”
Twilight reflexively put her hooves over her ears as Luna’s booming voice echoed through the university. As it died away, she realized that the two guards and the director had done the same thing.
Petronel rubbed a temple with a hoof, wincing. “Too late.”
The director led her down the hall to one of the smaller classrooms and left the guards at the door as she followed him in. Several large folding desks and freestanding chalkboards had been brought in, replacing the usual desks and chairs for students. Every one of them was covered with maps and tube-shaped map cases. There were several stacks of the cases along the far wall, each one numbered and labeled in a specific order except for a few stacks near the window. They had been clearly rummaged through and left as they were.
Half a dozen uniformed ponies, two with horns, stood crunched together over a table arguing. Their debate was loud enough that not one noticed Twilight and Petronel enter. As they jostled each other she saw a large map on the table that must have been the source of their dispute. One of them pointed and yelled something about positions to his companions.
Petronel stopped a few steps inside the door and put out a front leg to stop Twilight. The director motioned that she should remain quiet, and she couldn’t help but raise a questioning eyebrow at him. As she watched, his horn began to light up with a spell. Even as it began to build, she recognized it at the one she had seen used at security checkpoints earlier, but somehow more elaborate than the others. He closed his eyes and inhaled, and when he opened his eyes he breathed out and released the pent up magic. It wasn’t a powerful spell, but Twilight could feel its working reverberate in the room like a note from a tuning fork, and for just a moment Petronel’s eyes took on a pale yellow light.
The unicorns at the table felt it too, and stopped talking. They looked up at the newcomers, surprised at the sudden use of magic. After a series of quiet elbow jabs, the earth ponies looked up as well. The room fell silent.
The director’s icy, detached gaze slowly swept over the room’s occupants as the yellow glint faded. He narrowed his eyes and set his jaw. “I require this space.” The officers hesitated, a few of them exchanging unsure glances. Petronel put his hoof down with a heavy clop. “Now.”
The officers filed out of the room quickly and without complaint. With the room clear and the door shut, the director quickly began to magically rearrange the room to his liking. Chalkboards and maps went flying across the room in a dizzying whirlwind. Twilight had often seen Rarity working in a fit of inspiration, and much like those times she found herself weaving to avoid floating projectiles.
It was the first moment since arriving in the city that Twilight didn’t feel rushed or pressured. She took that time to consider the director. Most of the ponies she had seen in the meeting would have been about twice her age, like Major Vedette. Now that she saw him up close, she guessed that the director would have been about Shining Armor’s age. He was tall like her brother, but with more of a runner's build. His cutie mark was a curious-looking arrangement of black geometric lines all framed in a white triangle, with every line going back to one of the three points of the triangle.
She was still curious about the projection spell’s workings, but was hesitant to press him about it while there was work to be done. While he rearranged the room Twilight’s mind was left to wander, and her inquisitive nature soon got the best of her. “So,” she hemmed, trying to decide where to start. “Do you outrank those officers?”
Focused on his telekinetic twister, the Petronel didn’t even glance sideways at her. “Not anymore. I was honorably discharged from the service when I was appointed to the directorship.”
Twilight’s mane flopped loosely when she tilted her head, confused. “Wait. Does that mean you’re a civilian?”
“A civilian with full access to every level of the Equestrian military and Echo-level clearance, yes, but that’s not why they left.” He pondered for a moment, distracted. “Although ‘Echo’ is really just a placeholder term until I finish reworking the intelligence clearance structure. The previous system was woefully inadequate. A color-coded structure will likely replace it in a few months. Since it is my system and only five ponies have Echo clearance, I’ve been considering changing it to blue clearance.” He finished returning the last stack of maps to their cases, and smiled distractedly. “I’m fond of blue.”
She raised an eyebrow, confused. “If your position wasn’t enough authority, why did they follow your order?”
Petronel didn’t bat an eye, but his reply was slower this time. “I have a reputation from my days in uniform.” He didn’t elaborate.
“That…” Twilight stalled, glancing around the now immaculately organized workspace. She tried not to imagine what kind of reputation could clear a room of a half dozen officer ponies, “…is nice.” She needed to change the subject.
“Oh!” She beamed with sudden inspiration. “When do we meet the unicorns I’ll be teaching the cloud walk spell?”
“You will only be showing it to me.” He telekinetically dragged a long chalkboard in front of her, mounted on a freestanding frame with wheels. He collected a fresh piece of chalk the same way, and held it before her insistently. “Please begin with the formula.”
“What?” she fumbled. Dumbfounded, she took the chalk, almost dropping it when the director let go a bit early. “Wouldn’t it be better if I taught a bunch of ponies at once?”
“Twilight Sparkle,” Petronel lectured firmly, “I am in contact with over a dozen unicorns all over Equestria. All I need is formula I can commit to memory and any notes you might make about the casting.” The stern pony leaned back and narrowed his eyes. “Quickly.”
“Oh.” Twilight blushed. “In that case, do you have a quill and parchment I could use?”
The director quickly fetched them, even if he was irritated with the apparent delay. “May I ask what for?”
“When I did the spell the first time I was kind of in a hurry. I, well, did the math in my head, and one thing led to another and,” she nervously pawed the floor in front of her. “I forgot to write the formula down.”
Petronel froze. Seconds passed, long enough for her to be unsettled by just how still he could be. Finally, Twilight saw his eyebrow twitch. “You what?”
She gave him her most reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, director. I remember the theory and can cast it from memory. The formula is going to be just a few minutes.”
She reverse engineered the spell while Petronel waited, impatiently tapping a hoof. Even working in ink she was able to simplify some components as well. After announcing she was finished, Director Petronel pointed her back to the chalkboard. Even after simplifying it, she couldn’t fit it all on one row. Worried that the director would think it too complex, she braced for his critique. “I hope that’s not too difficult. I tried to shorten it, but that’s the simplest form I can derive.”
The director’s eyes followed the numbers and symbols once, and then again. “This,” he mouthed quietly, absorbing the mathematical expression, “is marvelous.”
Twilight blushed again, this time at the unexpected compliment. “You really think so?”
He missed her reaction; his eyes were still glued to the chalkboard. Sitting down, he raised one front hoof to scratch his chin thoughtfully. “You spliced a gravimetric force reduction spell with a selective repulsion field. Then you fueled them both with,” his eyes narrowed while he considered the last part of the formula, and his jaw suddenly dropped. “The subject’s body heat?”
Twilight nodded happily. “Well yes. Since living ponies were the intended subjects anyway, it made sense to fuel the spell with something they would be producing already, rather than spend a bunch of energy trying to affix my own magic to the target.” She rolled her eyes with a smile. “After all, that was the problem with the flight spell. Most of the imputed power goes into creating the wing constructs. If I had done it the traditional way, it would have been just as draining as the spell I was trying to replace.”
The director cocked his head, still focused on the board. “I remember from Energy Dynamics 303 that Star Swirl played with ambient power sources, but only as a booster to his spells. He never tried to replace the magic energies. Since he couldn’t harness more energy than he could produce normally, he dropped the study early in his career.” He finally turned to Twilight, awestruck. “How long did it take you to devise this?”
“Um.” The mare smiled bashfully. “An afternoon?”
Petronel sat speechless for a moment, glancing between the chalkboard and the purple pony. Finally he blinked twice, which seemed to clear his head. “How do you muster the spell?”
They talked for another ten minutes as Twilight explained how the spell was focused and fixed to the target. Petronel was more than just a fast learner; now that he understood the basics of the spell, he was able to fill in much of the workings with his own assumptions and guesses. It was the first time Twilight could remember discussing spell theory on that level with a pony who wasn’t a teacher, and she couldn’t help but get excited.
When she tried to bridge into how the spell could theoretically be further improved, Petronel put up a hoof to stop her and stood. “While I would love to learn more about your process, Miss Sparkle, sending the formula to the field must take priority. Guard!” The terse word brought one of the unicorn guards outside the door to his side in an instant.
“I think,” the director pondered, “it would only disrupt the assembly if you were to return to the meeting now.” He gave her a conspiratorial nod. “And besides that, Princess Celestia had wanted to see you when the meeting was adjourned.”
Twilight smiled wide as Petronel turned to stolidly address the guard. “Please escort the Element of Magic to Princess Celestia. She will be expecting her student.”
Twilight beamed at the door the guard had shown her. Finally she was about to see the princess. As the unicorn guard opened the door to let her pass, the joy of being near her mentor was enough to let her push aside the night’s events. She stepped through the door with a spring in her step and a broad smile on her face.
Like the other classroom, the student seating had been removed, but now all the normal furnishings for a classroom were missing. Several couches, tables, and other royal finery had been brought from the castle. The princess was now resting on a long, red chaise longue.
She ground to a halt when she saw her beloved teacher. Celestia had been hurt. A more level headed pony would have seen her bodily injuries for what they were; just a few shallow scratches from what could have just been an extended scuffle with Opalescence, but Twilight had never seen her mentor injured before. The sight of all the little marks made her bones go cold.
Crestfallen, Twilight took a few cautious steps toward her mentor. The guard gently closed the door behind her, leaving the two alone. “Princess?” she asked in a whisper.
Celestia sleepily opened her eyes and gave her faithful student a happy but weary smile. “Twilight Sparkle, come in.” She sat up slowly, allowing herself a dignified little yawn. “Oh, excuse me.” She blinked the sleep out her eyes. “I hope Luna was able to handle the generals. I know they have a lot of responsibility, but they can be so dramatic.”
Twilight remained concerned. She couldn’t see any injury but the scratches, but somehow her mentor seemed more than just tired. Her mane of so many colors still glowed but hung limp instead of flowing freely, as if some of her magic had been stripped away. The unicorn quickly put that disturbing thought aside; no power existed that could drain the magic of a pony, let alone an alicorn. It was ridiculous to even imagine such a thing. She drew in a short breath and slowly approached her mentor. “Princess Celestia, what happened to you?”
She smiled tenderly. “Thank you for your concern, Twilight, but it is nothing that a few days of rest cannot cure.” She looked out the window towards Canterlot. “We have more pressing matters to discuss, and only a little time to do so.”
Twilight recalled her aerial view of Canterlot and Percheron’s face before he had so boldly dove to protect her from harm. “Do you need my friends to wield the elements again?”
“If only it were that simple.” Even Princess Celestia’s beauty seemed diminished by her deep, sorrowful frown. “War is a complex and dangerous thing, and in its own way far more insidious than even a foe like Discord. Worse still, when an enemy is strong and emboldened by victory, the fighting may continue for months or even years.” Twilight couldn’t hold back a worried gulp at the princess’s grim description, but Celestia winked reassuringly. “Warfare is the purview and responsibility of the Equestrian military, but even in war there are things they cannot accomplish alone. All of Equestria must unite behind the purpose of restoring peace to its lands and ponies, and the Elements of Harmony are no exception.” The alicorn shook her head regretfully. “From you and your friends I must ask two things.”
Twilight stood tall and gazed up at the princess. Whatever her mentor was about to ask, it had been worth risking her guard’s lives. “Anything for you, Princess.”
The proud glint in Celestia’s eye was unmistakable. “When you and your friends first joined together to stop Nightmare Moon, you proved that not only can you wield the elements, but that you truly embody their deeper essence. In each challenge you faced together, your friendships have grown stronger. Now the ponies of Equestria are in danger once again, they will look for guidance in these trying times. You have all proven in your letters that you are ready to give that guidance.
“You must all take to the field with our brave soldiers, not as warriors, but as symbols of what truly makes Equestria so special. Stand with them as a reminder of why they fight. It is the spirit of the ponies who follow and the pony who leads that gain victory. I must ask you to guide that spirit and see it through to the end.”
Doubt nibbled at Twilight’s heart. “Are you sure, princess? I mean, I’m sure the girls will be happy to lend a hoof any way they can, but…” she fumbled. “I don’t know what any of us could do to help soldiers.”
“Battles are not all about fighting, Twilight. I think you’ll find there is plenty to be done. As for how you each choose to help your fellow ponies, I leave that in your hooves.”
Celestia hung her head. “The second task I have for you may prove the most difficult. As long as Equestria’s lands and territories are threatened, so are the spirits of ponies. Many hearts will begin to turn black with anger as the pains inflicted on their friends and loved ones continue to grow. In that darkness lasting hate can be born, the one thing that cannot be allowed. If the ponies of Equestria come to hate griffin-kind, it could begin a cycle of bloodshed between our two peoples that could last for centuries. The peace we have known could crumble, replaced by senseless wars where each generation strikes out to avenge the wounds of those who came before. Certainly borders must be protected, but the true light of Equestria is the love and harmony of the ponies that live here.”
The saddened alicorn princess locked eyes with her student. “Twilight, you must find a path to end this conflict to prevent this cycle from ever taking hold, or it could slowly unmake the harmony so many have worked to preserve. In time, it could even weaken the elements themselves.”
“You want me to apply my studies of friendship to two countries?” Twilight blinked and felt faint, her head swirling with all the possible variables. “But there are so many more things to consider. Variables in national opinion, border disputes, troop displacements, and, and…I’ve studied almost none of those things!”
The princess smiled warmly. “Of course those studies would be useful, but you won’t need them. In the end, it will be the friendship between our nations that will need to be restored. Your letters have already proven you have all the wisdom and understanding you will need to do it.”
“Ahem.”
Twilight spun to see Director Petronel standing casually a few steps behind her. Gaping, her eyes darted to the far door and back to the light blue unicorn. How had he snuck up on her in such a quiet room?
The princess didn’t startle in the least. “Hello, director. Do you have something to report?”
He bowed deeply. “Several things, Highness.” He remained that way for a few moments, until Celestia playfully rolled her eyes and waved a hoof for him to stand. He continued to speak as he rose, his magic lifting a clipboard from a saddlebag he wore to check his notes.
“Princess Luna has just concluded the emergency war council, and has called a personal advisory meeting. The assault was multi-pronged and expertly timed.” He briefly summarized the different assaults in military terms Twilight found difficult to follow, ending with the situation of Cloudsdale.
He nodded toward Twilight. “Thanks to Miss Sparkle’s spellcrafting talents, we will be able to reinforce positions in Cloudsdale with unicorns and earth ponies within the hour. The city is still in peril but the reinforcements should slow the griffins long enough to organize a counter-offensive.”
The sun princess smiled proudly at Twilight, who blushed. “That’s wonderful.”
Petronel’s eyes narrowed. “And princess, if I may be so bold…” Celestia nodded her approval. “It is fortunate that just after the war council started, a battalion of combat ready stallions were ordered to force-march the fields under Cloudsdale to,” he paused to flip through a few pages of his clipboard. “'Render aid to the wounded and assist with the evacuation of civilians.’ Especially considering that it’s an armored unit, not suited to either of those roles, but ideal for holding a city.”
He gave Celestia a flat look. “I wonder who could have ordered them there, against all conventional wisdom.”
Princess Celestia lifted a hoof to her face in playful shock, her foreleg concealing her broad smile from the director but not Twilight. “I can’t imagine.”
The director sighed again. “Princess Celestia, it is my life to serve you and Equestria. As your director of intelligence I feel obligated to point out that your habit of withholding vital information from my office undermines my ability to perfo—”
The alicorn cut him off with a polite but firm wave of her hoof. “Director Petronel, you are a talented analyst and administrator. My sister made a wise choice in selecting you for the position.” She gave him a doting smile. “But you have some things to learn about having faith in other ponies.”
She yawned daintily. “I am sorry, but that will be all. We can continue exploring your concerns after daybreak. For now, I will need a bit more rest.”
“Of course.” Petronel was clearly unhappy about the situation, but his thoughtful look suggested he wasn’t quite ready to give up yet. “Perhaps it would be best if I were to file a memo regarding the handling of known-knowns for future cabinet meetings.”
Celestia nodded. “Yes, that would be wonderful.” She tapped a hoof thoughtfully. “File, file, oh yes that reminds me.”
Petronel braced himself as Celestia magically retrieved a trio of scrolls from a nearby table, and offered them to the director. “Please sign these and see that they are filed before Twilight attends the advisory meeting with my sister.”
At Celestia’s last word, his eyes went wide as saucers and he quickly opened one of the scrolls, giving it a lightning-fast skim read. Twilight thought she saw angry steam flow from his ears, but somehow he kept his voice calm and even. “I thought we discussed this already, Princess. Clearance levels are based on need-to-know. Restraining authorizations is our first method of information security.”
“I agreed with you then, just as I do now,” she said with a solemn nod. “That is why I restrained myself to granting Echo clearance only to Twilight Sparkle, rather than all six of the elements.”
Celestia winked at Twilight as the director signed off on the scrolls, his quill almost cutting the parchment. “You should both be getting along now, my little ponies. Princess Luna was looking forward to talking with you again, Twilight.”
The director either didn’t feel the need for a more formal dismissal or was so tired of surprises that he was ready to leave without one. He stowed the clipboard and scrolls in his saddlebag and turned to leave, giving Twilight an expectant glance as he waited for her to follow.
She couldn’t, not yet. There was one more thing Twilight just had to say. “A pony told me what you did for my brother. He wouldn’t talk about it, but…” she buried her face in Celestia’s mane to hide her tears. “Th-thank you.”
Celestia put a comforting foreleg around her student. “Thank you for saving my sister, Twilight.” They held the embrace for a long moment before the princess pulled away.
“Go now. The fate of Equestria is once again in your hooves.”