Luna nursed her coffee, doing her best to ignore the dull roar of conversation around the massive table. Sleep had done her good, but she was going to enjoy this last bit of relative quiet while she could. Tow her right Twilight ran a hoof along the hem of her caparison; an absent minded fidget as she read from a loose stack of notes, discussing small points with Charm Weaver as she leafed through them. To her left, the newly vowed chiefs did there best to look calm, their armor betraying every nervous trich with a clank.
Fourteen ponies sat around the great disk of a table today; counting Celestia and herself. The private ceremony an hour ago had Celestia and her lay eight caparison on the backs of the ponies present: the other three having been barded yesterday. Twilight’s friends were a strange addition to the council, but the elements they wore gave them the right to be here, and they were useful in their own right beyond that.
Fourteen ponies, there would be more soon. She’d seen thirty gathered here, though twenty was a much more comfortable number. She’d rather the table and its rites be forgotten about. Looking down at the table she ran hoof across a deep set of scratches. May Hawk had been an animated speaker. ‘How long has he been dead now? At Least two hundred years before I-’ A sharp rap interrupted Luna’s thoughts.
“Ponies,” Celestia said, looking across the great ring of a table, all eyes now firmly on her. “It has been a long time since We have set cavaliers at this table.”
Several of the faces around the table jolted at her words. More than a few ran a hoof along the edge of the table before them, touching it with reverence for the lore attached to it.
Celestia allowed the moment to set into the gathered ponies before continuing. “Twilight Sparkle and Charm Weaver, would you two please brief us on what you have learned.”
“We have concluded that the same force that freed Discord, is also eroding the spell that banished the plaguebringers,” Charm said, pausing with a sideways glance towards Twilight.
“Both spells began degrading at the same time,” Twilight continued. “And to the best of our calculations, it was when the Elements of Harmony were first used. Total failure of the seal is expected in three months. We will have a more accurate time table very soon.”
A low murmur rolled around the room at the statement. As the disruption luled, Charm Weaver filled the silence. “We have found that the usage of the Elements has, what we are calling, a global effect. It is not merely the target of their usage that is affected, but all of creation. The result is the weakening of all things that disrupt the natural balance of creation.”
Twilight watched the three ponies she had seen earlier in Celestia’s study mumble amongst themselves in reaction to her report. Even here they still wore their armor. But given Celestia revelation about the table, that made far more sense that it had a moment ago. The pegasus eventually standing, and speaking for the armored three; her voice immediately betraying her to be non other than Spitfire.
“Then the elements of harmony cannot be used without speeding up the problem?” she asked.
“I’m afraid not,” Luna answered.
“My siblings will return soon enough.” Cadence said, pulling all eyes to her. “While I hope the spell can be amended, Let us talk of preparing for the worst.”
“We need to secure a food reserve,” Applejack said not allowing a lull between speakers.
“Very good,” Celestia said. “The national food reserve is a ghost of what it once was. I want two years rations put away by fall. Report to Thrifty Bit after the meeting, you two will submit a plan to Us by tomorrow.
Applejack gave a nervous nod to acknowledge the task. Her mind spinning around how that much food could be found in one harvest season. Ponies were going to be eating a lot of hay.
The armored earth pony shifted is weight, and spoke up with a rich tenor voice, “The guard requests that the train system be commandeered.” Twilight knew that voice too, Shining’s old commander; Sergeant Batton.
“I will not have civilian use interrupted yet. But I will see that extra cars are made to accommodate your numbers, and you have permission to commandeer the trains, once we are officially in a state of emergency,” Celestia said. Making a few notes she looked around the table, waiting for another pony to speak up.
Shining took the cue to rifle through his notes and speak up. “With the help of Moon Dancer,” Shining gave a polite nod to the armored unicorn, who returned the gesture, “I have chosen twenty-four ponies to become instructors. I will have each trained in a different killing thought by the end of the month. At that point they will begin training the common tropes, while I continue their training.”
Twilight and Cadence matched expressions at Shining’s mention of killing thoughts; Shining had dipped deep into the history of war magic.
Shuffling through his notes Shining returned his attention to the gathered ponies. “However it seems that dark magic relies heavily on material components. Particularly for the devices that lend themselve to organised conflict. To supply every guard with the required tools... I’m going to need a very large number of gems.”
“I think I can be of help there,” Rarity said with as much dignity as she could muster, despite feeling vastly out of place.
Celestia gave Rarity a nod before scribbling more notes. “Very well. Get with Shining Armor and see what will meet his needs. You have the Crowns backing to organise and implement whatever is needed. Moon Dancer, is there anything you would like to add?”
“No princess,” Moon Dancer said.
Rarity nodded with a dry gulp. Eyeing the water class in front of her, she resisted the desire to take a drink, for fear of betraying her trembling nerves. Instead she began the mental checklist of what the operation would require.
“Weather division is also requesting funds to ramp up production of thunder heads, and staff training,” Spitfire said, as Celestia’s gaze drifted to her.
“Give them what ever funds you deem appropriate,” Celestia said. “I want you to recruit heavily from their lightning handlers. Storm riders will be needed.“
The very idea of storm riders sent shivers down Dash’s spine. As a lightning handler, if things turned bad, she would likely be one of the ponies welding weaponized lightning. The old stories echoed in her mind, the manic malus of the storm riders for legend made her sick.
“Rainbow Dash,” Luna said, snapping dash from her melancholy. “I understand it that you are on good terms with the Griffon aerie.”
Dash blinked for a moment, a bit embarrassed. “Not as good as I once did, but yea,” Dash said.
“And Fluttershy, the deer have granted you hospice among their kind, have they not,” Luna said
Fluttershy nodded her head as a timid answer.
“Then I charge the two of you with alerting your respective allies about the upcoming danger. We may need our old friends very soon,” Luna said Looking around the table she found a rather dejected looking Pinkie Pie quietly taking notes at their seat. The poor thing having no idea just how useful she would soon be. “And Pinkie Pie, meet with Us after counsel. We have an old tradition that you would be most suited to revive.”
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