The next day Twilight, Shining Armor, LaurFa and her generals met in the throne room after breakfast. They could feel that Twilight was just itching to go and get that relic. They could see it in her eyes and in her actions.
"Alright everypony, we need to start preparing for our trip to Faustica. We need to start preparing our forces for our mission. Remember, this is not an invasion, so we will not fire upon them unless they fire on us first." said Twilight
LaurFa asked, "How are we going to prevent them from firing on us? I am pretty sure that when they see us they will think it is an attack."
Twilight replied, "Thank you for bringing that up LaurFa. I was going to wait until later to address it but I will address it now."
Shining Armor asked, "What will her role be in our mission?"
Twilight replied, "LaurFa looks a lot like a pony they used to worship as a goddess. We will send her in first. They will see her coming and run straight towards her, as they will think their goddess has returned. While they are gathered around her we shall take our ship in on the northeast shore of Faustica because it is hidden from view from the rest of the city."
LaurFa asked, "What do I tell them when they come flocking to me thinking I am their goddess?"
Twilight replied, "You will simply tell them that you have returned. Anything you can do to draw their love and adoration is what we want you to do. That will give us time to gather the materials from the library and transport them to the ship. That will also give me more than enough time to retrieve that relic."
"Alright Twilight, I'm not overly good with words so you may have to help me out with making them love me." said LaurFa
Twilight replied, "I am more of a commander. I think that perhaps having you read a book about giving good speeches might be the best option. Giving them a pep rally speech like I do my soldiers won't win them over."
With it being a Saturday Colgate did not have her office open and Lyra and Lemon Hearts were not busy either. They showed up ten minutes before ten in the morning to start training.
"Twilight," said Colgate "We are ready to start training."
"Wow Colgate. You got here even earlier today. I like that, you are any commanders dream come true. You arrive early, you are focused and you inspire those around you." said Twilight
Colgate replied, "Well I am getting Lyra and Lemon Hearts to put a lot of importance to being on time. If we are to succeed, we can't be late and we must be focused."
Twilight said, "Alright, my friends will be here this afternoon but I think we need to go over to the target range at the base. There I will have you practice levitating skills and firing beams of energy at targets that measure your power."
"Alright," said Lemon Hearts "I'm ready for this!"
Twilight took her new recruits over to the base where she took LaurFa. There were no military exercises going on at the time so there would be no danger of her recruits getting int he way.
"Colgate," said Twilight "I want you to go first. I want you to try to levitate that rock as high as you can and for as long as you can."
"You got it Twilight." replied Colgate
Colgate pointed her horn at the rock and levitated it well over 100 feet in the air and was still holding it at that height three minutes later.
Twilight said, "Colgate, you can put the rock down. You did a spectacular job there. Were you getting tired levitating at that height for that long?"
Colgate replied, "Nope, not at all. I didn't even feel any kind of stress. I was out to the west of Ponyville practicing levitating rocks last night after work. I wanted to be ready."
Twilight smiled and realized that Colgate was the model Alicorn. She said, "Wow Colgate, now that is what I love to hear. Not only do you come here and do a good job, but you practiced after a long day of work as well."
Next it was Lyra's turn. She pointed her horn and levitated the rock at a height of around fifty feet for a couple of minutes before getting a grimace on her face and set the rock down.
"Lyra," asked Twilight "were you starting to get a bit tired there?"
"Yes, I was. I am sorry that I did not do all that well." replied Lyra
Twilight replied, "Hey, it isn't that big of a deal. You still levitated the rock higher and for longer than LaurFa did."
Lyra asked, "Who is LaurFa? I have never even heard that name before, much less seen her here around town."
Twilight replied, "LaurFa is a recruit from abroad who has sworn her allegiance to me. She also possesses a quality that will aid us greatly in our mission."
Lemon Hearts asked, "What is that Twilight?"
Twilight rolled her eyes and replied, "That is currently classified information. Right now the only ponies that know that are her and me. It is your turn now. I want to see how you do on levitating this rock."
Lemon Hearts pointed her horn at the rock and began to levitate it. She had a performance exactly like Lyra. Twilight was pleased, but hoped that they could improve their time and height.
"Colgate, Lemon Hearts and Lyra did pretty good on this, but I want you to work with them on getting their performance to equal yours. Can you work with them?" asked Twilight
Colgate gave Twilight a huge smile and said, "Yes, you bet I can! I am honored that you want me to lead a training exercise!"
Twilight replied, "Well you have proven to me with your promptness and devotion that you are leadership material. Now it is time for us to do the accuracy and power test."
Lemon Hearts asked, "Twilight, what do we do here?"
Twilight replied, "I want each of you to fire beams of energy at those targets. They are able to measure the amount of energy your energy beams have when you fire them. Colgate, you are up first."
"Alright Twilight, let me know when you are ready." said Colgate
Twilight replied, "I am ready for you to do this now, FIRE!"
Colgate aimed her horn at the three targets and fired energy at them, getting direct hits on all of them. Twilight flew over to the targets to read the results and thought to herself, "Holy moly. She has power almost equal to me. I had no clue she was that powerful."
Colgate flew over to the other end of the range and asked Twilight, "How did I do?"
Twilight replied, "You got direct hits on all three targets and your energy is almost as powerful as mine is! I don't know where you got that much energy from, but this is beyond amazing."
Colgate replied, "I didn't know I had that kind of energy. I guess you never know until you push yourself."
Next up it was Lemon Hearts's turn. She fired energy at the targets. She was not as fast as Colgate was but she did hit all three targets. Lemon Hearts flew to the other end of the range and asked, "Twilight, how did I do?"
"You did well Lemon Hearts." replied Twilight "You hit each target directly but your power is average for a new Alicorn. I am impressed with your accuracy though. Lyra, it's your turn."
Lyra stood at the other end of the range and pointed her horn at the targets, she hit each target directly. As she was flying to the other end of the range, she was hoping that she did not disappoint Twilight.
When she reached the other end of the range she asked Twilight how she did.
"Lyra," said Twilight, "Your performance was the same as Lemon Hearts. Your accuracy is good and your power is normal for a new Alicorn."
Lyra replied, "That is good, I guess."
Twilight said, "Colgate, I want you to help Lyra and Lemon Hearts increase their power. I want you to be the team leader among the three of you. I am sure that after you work with these two for a few days, they will have the same abilities that you do."
"Thank you Twilight for having so much confidence in me! I have never felt more appreciated in my life." said Colgate
Twilight smiled and said, "Let's head back to the tower and discuss some things. My friends will be here this afternoon and will be doing the same skills tests that the three of you did. Colgate, I want you to conduct the tests this afternoon as I have a meeting with my generals."
"You can count on me," said Colgate "I will not let you down!"
Twilight said, "I know you won't. It is getting close to time for lunch. Let's go eat."
After lunch Twilight's friends flew down to the base of the tower and was greeted by Colgate. Colgate said, "Twilight has put me in charge of your training exercises this afternoon. She has an important meeting with Shining Armor and her military officers."
Applejack said, "Why can't Twilight just wait. She knows us more than you do and I trust her completely."
Rarity added, "Why you? You are nothing special."
Colgate replied, "Applejack, we need to get started on these as soon as possible, that is why she is having me conduct them. Rarity, she is having me conduct these because my power is almost equal to hers."
Rarity looked shocked and shouted, "HOW ARE YOU ALMOST AS POWERFUL AS HER? YOU'RE NOT ROYALTY!"
Colgate glared at her and replied, "No, I am not royalty but I have written my own magic. That is probably why my abilities are almost equal to hers. Let's go, there are five of you and Twilight wants this done before supper time."
Colgate and Twilight's friends flew over to the training range. "Alirght," said Colgate "There are two exercises Twilight wants you to do. First we will test your levitation skills using that large rock off to our left, then we will do the energy and accuracy tests using those targets at the other end of the range. Applejack, you will go first."
Applejack asked, "So what do ah do with that rock?"
Colgate replied, "You need to levitate it as high as you can for as long as you can."
Applejack pointed her horn at the rock and lifted it up into the air to a height of 100 feet. She was still levitating it three minutes later when Colgate told her she could set it down.
Colgate asked, "Applejack, did you feel any stress while you were levitating that rock?"
Applejack replied, "No, ah didn't even feel any stress. Is that good?"
Colgate replied, "That is spectacular Applejack. That is the same performance I had doing the rock levitation. Twilight will be very pleased with your performance."
Next it was Rarity's turn. Rarity said, "I don't know why we have to engage in such ridiculous activities. How is this going to help us?"
Applejack said, "Just levitate the rock Rarity. Complaining and whining isn't going to help us any."
Rarity rolled her eyes and pointed her horn at the rock. She was not able to lift the rock even ten feet and dropped it after only ten seconds.
Rarity sighed and said, "Let me guess, you and Twilight are not pleased with my performance."
Colgate replied, "Twilight will not be pleased at all. If you lose the attitude you could have potential. Focus is key Rarity. Complaining will get you nowhere and on the battle field or even on a simple mission like what we have planned, it could be the difference between success and failure."
Rarity replied, "Oh, you're talking about her plan to go and steal that relic and library from Faustica, aren't you?"
Colgate said, "I will pretend I didn't hear that. Pinkie, you're up next!"
Pinkie said, "Weeee, this is gonna be fun!"
Colgate smiled and said, "Give it your best shot Pinkie, and yes it can be fun!"
Pinkie pointed her horn at the rock and levitated it to seventy feet in the air easily and was throwing it around in a circle watching it with a big smile on her face. After three minutes Colgate told her to gently set the rock down.
Pinkie asked, "How did I do? That was fun. Let's do it again!"
Colgate replied, "Well we don't have time for you to do it again but you did spectacular. I am amazed how you threw that thing around so easily. I need to try to do that myself. I am sure Twilight will be pleased."
Next it was Fluttershy's turn. Colgate knew of how tender Fluttershy has always been and was not expecting too much of her but knew that she would give it her best.
Fluttershy pointed her horn at the rock and elevated it easily to a height of 100 feet and held it there for over three minutes when Colgate told her to put it down.
"How did I do?" whispered Fluttershy
Colgate replied, "No need to whisper Fluttershy! You kicked that rock's flank! Twilight is going to be thrilled. I am proud of you! We just need to get some fighting spirit in you. That I will leave up to Twilight."
"Thank you commander!" said Fluttershy
Colgate replied, "Just call me Colgate. I like things more laid back. Rainbow Dash, you're up next. Let's see how you do."
Rainbow Dash replied, "You got it boss!"
Rainbow levitated the rock easily. She flew around the rock while she was levitating it and just to prove her awesomeness, she carried the rock with her while she did a sonic rainboom. She then slammed the rock down away from everypony else.
Colgate said, "I was expecting that out of you Rainbow. I am pretty sure Twilight would have expected the same thing. Now for the target practice."
Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Rainbow scored perfectly on the targets before it was Rarity's turn.
Rarity was just standing around playing with her hair not paying attention when Colgate yelled, "RARITY, IT IS YOUR TURN!"
"Oh Colgate, be a dear and just tell Twilight that I did fine." replied Rarity
Applejack said, "Rarity, the rest of us did that now you need to do the same. We're all getting sick of your whining."
"Oh ok Applejack. I'm only doing this because you said so." said Rarity sarcastically
Rarity aimed her horn at the targets and started firing beams of energy in a pattern rather than aiming for the targets. She left burn marks in the grass in the shape of her cutie mark.
"Colgate, you have to give me credit for that. It is simply magnificent!" said Rarity
"RARITY, YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO HIT THE TARGETS, NOT MAKE PATTERNS. TRY AGAIN! THIS TIME, AIM FOR THE TARGETS." ordered Colgate
"Oh fine!" said Rarity "Nopony appreciates art anymore!"
Rarity pointed her horn at the targets. She fired her energy at the targets but missed two of three of them and the one she did hit the results were not good.
Rarity flew down to the other end of the range where Colgate was standing and said sarcastically, "So commander, how pathetic was I?"
Colgate replied, "There is no need to sass with me. By the way, I think your cat could have hit that target with more energy and she doesn't have magical powers at all. Twilight will be disappointed in your performance and unhappy with your attitude. Come on everypony. It is getting close to supper time. Let's head back to the tower."