Pinkie Pie looked out the window. "Are we there yet?"
Twilight sighed. They'd only been in the air for a few hours, but Pinkie was not a pony who enjoyed just sitting around and waiting. From her own seat behind the pilot, Twilight could see through the windscreen of the airship Celestia had given them. Down below, the landscape zoomed past, plants and rocks appearing blurred as they sped by. Sitting behind her were Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie, as well as a whole company of ponies from the Canterlot Royal Guards, as well as several dozen from the Crystal Empire. Princess Celestia, along with Luna and Cadance, had dispatched these soldiers to join the Equestrian Army on the border of the San Palomino desert, where a war was going on.
Just a few weeks earlier, a number of objects had been shot over the Macintosh Hills into Equestria, landing in the barren areas surrounding the western town of Appleloosa and exploding destructively upon landing. A quick letter to Canterlot alerted the Princesses of the possibility that some new foe has arrived, seeking only to terrorize the residents of Equestria. Following this event were multiple attacks on Appleloosa and Saddle Arabia, ending up all the way near Vanhoover and Manehatten. Adding to this was the discovery of who was behind the attacks: a terrorist organization made up of ponies who care not for peaceful lives, seeking only to use their energy and discoveries to threaten those who live in harmony. Upon hearing of the threat, Prince Shining Armor took command of the Equestrian Army and went down to the south to combat the terrorist ponies, but they needed reinforcements and supplies, so Twilight and her friends had offered to go with the troops to help in any way they could. Now, Twilight was beginning to regret that decision.
"We're almost there, Pinkie," she told the pink pony. "We've still got a bit left to go."
"Actually, Princess," the pilot called over his shoulder, "it's just below us."
"Really? We're here?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Cause I don't know how much longer I'll be able to sit still."
The pilot flicked on his headset microphone. "Everypony, please make sure your seatbelts are fastened. We're beginning our descent." With that, he pulled the airship into a steep but slow dive, throwing everypony back against their seats.
Rarity immediately found something to complain about. "My hair! Somepony please tell the pilot to slow down!"
"Oh Rarity," Fluttershy said calmly. Her mane was also flying behind her. "You'll be able to fix your mane when we land, won't you?"
"I guess your right," Rarity sighed. "But really, this is ridiculous. Do we have to go so fast?"
"Lighten up, Rare!" Rainbow yelled happily, enjoying every second of the descent. Her mane looked like a multicolored comet tail. "This is so cool!"
"Wheeeeeee!" shrieked Pinkie Pie, bouncing in her seat behind the restraints. "I could fly like this forever!"
"You'd best enjoy yerself while it lasts," Applejack said, "cause it's almost over."
The pilot pulled the dirigible up, slowing the dive until they were hovering mere meters above the ground. He carefully lowered the airship down until it bumped against the surface beside a pitched military base made up of several dozen tents. He cut the engines and announced, "Alright everypony, we're here. Thank you for flying with Equestria Airways. As always, please make sure your personal belongings are not left behind. If you have any questions, I will remain here for the duration of the upcoming battles. Welcome to the warzone."
"Very motivating speech," Rarity commented as she and the other mares exited the large gondola.
"Ah'm sure he didn't mean to sound that way," Applejack said, stepping off the ramp and onto firm soil. "Aah, that feels good."
"You mean the dirt?" Rainbow Dash asked with a smirk.
"Ah jus' feel more secure on the ground, that's all."
"Come on girls," Twilight said. "Let's go find Shining." The six friends left the airship behind and entered the base, followed by the Royal Guards. One look around the base told them everything: the soldiers were tired, their food and ammunition was running low, their unit leaders were falling. Twilight kept her eyes open for her brother, hoping to see him somewhere within the crowd of military ponies waiting for their orders. Finally they arrived at the command tent, where the battle plans and decisions were made. Excited and anxious, Twilight rushed into the tent only to find nopony inside. She looked around the interior of the tent, but didn't find anything aside from a couple of mattresses and a table covered with papers and maps.
Applejack and the others joined her inside. "Do you think Shining Armor was even here?" Fluttershy asked.
"I don't know. He's been away for so long, I just hope he's not hurt." Twilight looked at the maps laid out on the table. "Look girls, here!" She pointed out a spot on the map, where a shield and several other symbols were drawn "That's Shining's cutie mark! He must be over here somewhere!"
"But where is 'there' exactly?" Rarity wondered.
"Looks like we'll have to ask around," Applejack concluded. "In the meantime, we should probably get them supplies out. These ponies look like they could do with a good meal."
Nodding in agreement, the mares left the command tent and instructed the Royal Guards to start unloading. Some of the soldiers were so eager, they offered to help too, thus speeding the process along. When all the supplies had been unloaded, Twilight and the others started to distribute the food amongst the soldiers present. They ate with great enthusiasm, relishing in their much-anticipated provisions.
One solider, a pegasus stallion with a light tan coat, stepped forwards and greeted the new arrivals. "Thank you for coming," he said gratefully. "We sorely needed these supplies. After we lost our last commander, we were very depressed."
"It was no trouble," Twilight replied. "How's the war going?"
The pegasus frowned. "Not too well. Our enemies have firepower like nothing I've ever seen before: their carriage are made of metal, they aren't pulled by anything and seem to move around on their own accord. These vehicles have long cannons on them that fire cannonballs that explode when they land. We've also seen enemy troops holding similar but smaller cannons in their hooves. It was thanks to our commander that we discovered another weapon of theirs: exploding shells, planted in the ground, that detonate the moment somepony steps on one." He sighed. "Blade Singer didn't stand a chance. All we found was a lock of emerald green hair floating in the dust."
Twilight shivered. "Who are these ponies?" she asked. "Where did they get such weapons? Why are they attacking us?"
"Nopony knows," the pegasus replied. "They appeared out of nowhere and rain their arsenals down upon us. The Princesses formed an alliance with the griffons and the dragons so we've got a lot of help. The problem is that none of us know where to start with these explosive monsters."
Twilight looked around. Several hundreds ponies in military camouflage sat around eating and mumbling, waiting for a commander to lead them. They had been at war for several weeks now and while casualties were low, each one came as a heavy blow to some family in the land. Twilight decided the try and encourage them and climbed up onto a pile of empty crates. When they saw the alicorn princess above them, the troops immediately stood at attention, saluting smartly. Twilight paced in front of the battalion of soldiers.
"At ease, everypony," she commanded.
The troops lowered their raised hooves en masse, some of them shooting bewildered glances at each other. Their other commanders were sharp, loud and fierce, especially on the battlefield. This alicorn was calm and quiet, with a smart but kind look to her. Hopeful and eager to please her, several ponies smiled. These put Twilight and her friends at ease, knowing that these soldiers were family ponies, fighting for their children, spouses, friends and homes. "Okay, which of you is the second-in-command?" Twilight asked
A unicorn stallion stepped forwards. "Colonel Dynamo Shot, your highness," he barked.
Twilight stepped back in surprise. She hadn't expected such a loud response. "Okay colonel," she said. "Please tell us the orders you were given from Prince Shining Armor, if there were any."
"Of course, Princess." Dynamo waved to his companions and they brought out a map, a larger version of the one in the command tent. He pointed to a star on the map. "This is where we are. The Prince took a company of soldiers and went to meet up with a flock of griffon warriors. They were intending to strike at the enemy's base once they'd found it, but we haven't heard from them yet. Our orders were to wait here and keep anypony from entering Equestria. Nothing more."
"We've sat here like statues," a soldier called out, "watching the horizon until we were drowsy. Nothing happened except a drop in our supplies, which you so kindly replenished for us."
"It was out pleasure," Twilight replied. She pointed at the corner of the map, where she had seen Shining's cutie mark on the inside one. "So Shining Armor's somewhere over here?"
"Over here is pretty vague, your highness," Dynamo explained. "That's uncharted territory. Banished ponies and escapees often run to there and are never seen again. We have no idea what lies there in wait."
"So what are we waiting for?" Rainbow Dash declared. "Let's go out there and blow those bad guys sky-high!"
A few stallion nodded at her statement, but Applejack stepped in. "Recklessly throwin' ourselves into the fray is a bad idea," she pointed out. "An' besides, the Prince said the troops gotta stay here."
"But they're not doing anything!" Rainbow argued. "They could be out there, helping to win the war!"
"Not if the enemy gets in through here," Rarity objected, standing next to Applejack. The forces were beginning to divide themselves among the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Fluttershy and a group of soldiers agreed with Applejack and Rarity, saying that their place was sitting and guarding the border, while Pinkie leapt to Rainbow's side with the other ponies, arguing that Shining probably needed backup out there. Twilight just watched them all, shaking her head. This kind of fighting wasn't going to get them any closer to finding her brother OR ending the war. Just when she was about to step in and grab everypony with her magic, Twilight saw a shadow appear in the sky. As it drew nearer, she distinguished it as a griffon and when it landed on the boxes beside her, it indeed was one.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle?" the griffon asked. She had a dark-blue coat and head feathers the color of a night sky. She wore an official-looking uniform and her claws were sharp and stained.
"Yes?" Twilight replied cautiously.
The griffon held out a scroll. "The name's Zeal. I was asked by the Prince to fly here and give you this."
Twilight took the scroll in her magic and glanced at Zeal. The griffon stood at her side patiently, waiting for her to do something. Twilight looked down at her friends and the soldiers, who were about to start a hoof-wrestling match to settle the argument. So, in a loud and well-practiced Canterlot Voice, taught to her by Princess Luna, Twilight yelled, "STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!"
Rainbow Dash and Dynamo Shot looked up, as did everypony else. Then, quite ashamed, they separated and resumed their previous stances, Rainbow and her other friends standing at the sides while the troops stood together in the center. "Thank you." Twilight unrolled the scroll and read, her eyes growing larger with each line her eyes scanned.
"What's it say, Twi?" Applejack asked.
"What does the Prince want us to do?" Dynamo inquired.
"Could you please read it so we can all know?" Fluttershy said quietly. "If you're okay with it, that is...."
Looking up from the scroll, Twilight examined the ponies before her. She glanced over at Zeal, who merely nodded in agreement. With a sigh, Twilight read the scroll out loud.
"Dear Twilight
If you're reading this, chances are you've arrived at the border base and the troops have gotten the meal they deserved and enough to last them. There was a reason I had them all hang back and guard Equestria: they needed it the most. The soldiers with me agreed that the ones with you were the hardest fighters and deserved an easier job. Thank you for giving them hope.
The war isn't going too well. We've met up with the griffons and have seen the dragons doing their part, drilling along the edge of the Badlands. The enemy's weaponry is truly terrifying but our troops are strong and we haven't lost as many ponies. The price of others' hate is horrifying though.
I was actually hoping that you would join the battle with your friends. You have proven yourself to Equestria may times in the past and have inspired others to work harder to protect the ones they love. If you were to lead them, the spirits of our forces would be lifted, everypony will be overcome by hope and the chances of our ending this war will be far higher.
If you agree to this, write your reply and give it to Zeal. She will then take it to another base a few miles away, hidden in the cliffs. You will then take half the soldiers at the border base, leaving the other half to defend, and join the troops in the second base, taking command of them and increasing your force. Choose which ponies will fight under your friends. I know Rainbow Dash would be a good choice for aerial commander and Fluttershy would do better sending out medics and guiding the other teams. Also, take the airship. It's loaded with the newest weaponry from the Canterlot armories, even some prototype cannons.
Good luck and I hope to see you soon
Shining Armor.
Twilight rolled up the scroll. Some of the ponies before her now looked apprehensive. Twilight knew that they were the ones who should be left behind. "Dynamo," she said quietly. "I want you to take command of these ponies—" She pointed out the uneasy-looking soldiers, "—and stay here on the border. You've got the supplies. Guard our homeland."
Dynamo saluted, a relaxed smile on his face. "At once, Princess. Thank you." He trotted over to the soldiers and led the platoon away, every one of them looking content.
Twilight addressed the remaining soldiers. "You will all be joining us on our mission to the cliff base," she told them. "We'll divide you into teams on the way. Now go pack your things. We leave in ten minutes."
"Yes, your highness!" the soldiers replied, and all ran off to their tents.
Rarity and the others approached Twilight as she wrote down her reply on a separate parchment. "Are we really going to war?" Rarity asked worriedly.
Twilight gave the sealed scroll to Zeal, who nodded once more and flew off into the distance. "I'm afraid so. Shiny's right: we have inspired ponies to do better. Everything we've done has taught others how they can be better at what they're good at. If we did go into battle, everypony and everybody would be motivated and energized, the will to win made stronger within them all." She looked around at her friends, who all smiled at her in agreement. "I just hope we're not making a mistake by agreeing to this."
'Shoot, no," Applejack dismissed. "We're all in this together, no matter what we're going up against."
"We'll fight 'em and beat 'em!" Rainbow yelled.
"A war's no party," Pinkie said seriously, "but that doesn't mean I won't be able to make the most of it."
"I suppose we're doing the right thing," Rarity agreed.
"And we'll be protecting everypony and all who live in Equestria by doing so," Fluttershy finished. "Even if it will be a bit scary."
Twilight smiled happily. Her friends were without a doubt the best companions a pony could ask for. "Well girls," she said, new and old feelings erupting inside her, "we'd best get ready too. We've got a long journey ahead of us and I don't want to go into battle unprepared like we have before."