//------------------------------//
// Chapter 12 
// Story: Civil War of Harmony 
// by SC_Orion 
//------------------------------//


Twilight Sparkle



I looked around the table in my new 'war room'. It had been Spitfire's suggestion to do some major re-organization of the military command structure I had in place. My former military command structure was... Less than adequate, according to her. Of course, I have had no formal training in military strategy or tactics, let alone command. So that was probably mostly my fault, it didn't help only having a single low to mid level captain for advising me.


But now? I had former captain of the Wonderbolts, Spitfire. General Spitfire. She had the military knowledge and training, plus skills to really help. It had made a difference, especially having Wonderbolt drill sergeants to assist with training my soldiers.


I blinked, everybody in the room was starring at me. "Uh right." I did a quick glance around the table again, it looked like everypony I needed was present. "I believe we're all here. As you all know, this meeting is primarily a formality. Please start, General Spitfire." I nodded my head at Spitfire, she nodded back, acknowledging my command.


Spitfire stood from her former sitting position. Her Wonderbolt uniform immediately supplemented her already commanding presence, the formal uniform proudly displayed her many achievements through the many different metal bars adorned on her chest. "In the week since I have been in service to Princess Twilight Sparkle, I have, with the princess' approval, streamlined the command hierarchy. Wonderbolt drill sergeants have taken the place of former Royal Guards, increasing the effectiveness of training, and providing better motivation."


She looked at me, her expression was one of determination, "As it stands, you have roughly eleven-thousand soldiers. It's not a lot compared to Princess Celestia or Princess Luna, but you have the Wonderbolts too. Now, most of the soldiers are pegasi from Cloudsdale, which gives them higher maneuverability, while most of Princess Celestia's soldiers are unicorns. Princess Luna took the bulk of the earth pony and pegasi forces enlisted in the Royal Guard with her."


She looked to her left, towards Soarin. "Lieutenant Soarin is overseeing the training regime for new recruits-" There was a flash of white light cutting her off, and momentarily blinding me.


"Oh, how lovely, you have all of your military advisers assembled here! Wonderful!" The voice was unmistakable, as if the flash of white light did not cue me in to the arrival of Discord. He slithered through the air and curled around my body, receiving a stern glare from me for his effort. Everypony in the room obviously didn't know how to react, judging from the lack of reactions aside from slack jaws.


I sighed, "What do you want, Discord?"


"Oh I just wanted to stop by and check in on my-" he said the next words in a way that unnerved me, and he emphasized them significantly also, "-favourite princess." He trailed a talon down my horn.


"So you just happened to interrupt my first formal meeting between my newly formed war council?" I asked with a healthy amount of skepticism.


Discord snapped his talons, disappearing in a flash of white light, and reappearing a moment later dressed in a green military uniform, and wearing a green helmet. "No, of course not. General Discord reporting for duty!" he saluted and stood at attention.


I blinked.


Discord relaxed and looked unamused. "Oh, anyway." he snapped his talon and the uniform and helmet disappeared, "I actually came to offer advise."


I raised an eyebrow, "You? Offering helpful advise?"


Discord raised a paw to his chest in mock disbelief, "Twilight, my friend, your words hurt me. Besides, I never said it would be helpful. Merely advise."


I sighed and put a hoof on my temple, and began massaging it gently, I had a feeling I would regret hearing him out. "Fine, what is it?"


Discord looked positively delighted at my answer, then he composed himself. "You control Cloudsdale now. The center for almost all pegasi weather control in Equestria. This gives you an advantage that you ponies for some reason don't realize."


"What do you mean?"


"You. Can. Control. The. Weather."


I furrowed my brow in thought, "I don't understand what you..."


"Gah! For pony's sake! You could use this to your advantage. Use the weather against Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!"



'That... Why hadn't I thought of that before?' My mind quickly explored the idea, 'Wait... He's Discord. Doing that would obviously cause chaos.' I frowned. "No. Now, do you have anything actually helpful to suggest? Or do I have to throw you out?"


"Well. That was rather rude of you, Princess. Twilight. It's unbecoming of a princess to be so rude, wouldn't you agree?"


I spoke slowly, and coldly, so even he could understand, "Discord I'm not in the mood for your antics. I have a lot of stress to deal with, and you're not helping any."


"Very well, Twilight." He swam through the air and curled around my body once again, I lit my horn. "Now now, there's no need for that. I'm leaving. But as a friend, Twilight. I recommend staying away from dark magic for a bit. You seem to be... Edgier... Than normal."


I sighed and shook my head, 'Maybe he is trying to help...' I took a softer tone, "I'm being careful, Discord." I paused, "Why... Would you care about my use of dark magic in training?"


"Well, I'm all for a good helping of chaos... But war? No. It's not fun if ponies are dying." He snapped a talon and disappeared in a flash of white light, leaving me without a real answer.


"Right... Well..." I looked around the table once more, 'Good, everypony's still here...' "General Spitfire, please continue."


General Spitfire began again, "Captain Fleetfoot is now the officer in charge of the Wonderbolts." Fleetfoot nodded to Spitfire. "Recruitment and training are progressing nicely, but it will be a while before we can match Princess Luna or Princess Celestia in terms of numbers. We may be able to increase how quickly we are able to recruit more ponies, and we may be able to even the numbers by performing small scale raids and attacks on either princess' forces. Of course, both of those courses of actions would likely result in retaliation, which we may not be able to hold off." Spitfire sat down again.


I thought over her words briefly, "Thank you, Captain Light?"


Captain Light stood up, "Due to the Wonderbolt's taking over training, with the exception of magic, it has freed up more guards for other duties. We do however, have a significant lack of well-trained unicorns. We could divert some of the unicorn guards over to training in magic, and replace them with the pegasi and earth ponies that have been freed up."


I nodded to myself, I would need as many well-trained soldiers as I could get, and having unicorns that could be training more unicorns in combat magic standing guard was not efficient. "Do it."


"Yes, Princess." he saluted and sat down.


"Sergeant Bolt?" Despite his relatively low rank, I trusted his advise, seeing as how he was training me to use combat magic.


The sergeant tentatively stood, "I would like to recommend looking into upgrading the armor and weaponry we use, it would give us an advantage."


"That might be prohibitively expensive... But I will have to look into it." I nodded. 'Speaking of that, I should probably order the construction of that research facility now...'




Twilight Sparkle



"Twilight!" That voice. I stopped dead in my tracks. I turned on a hoof to face the pony who called my name. My brother. Shining Armor. He started walking towards me, flanked by Princess Cadance.


I hadn't been avoiding writing to them, I just... Had been busy. I did manage to send them a letter a couple weeks ago. Of course, I hadn't had time to respond to any of their replies. Well, actually that letter was a reply. Princess Celestia had told them about my secession... I wasn't unhappy to see them, but I was quite aware of them siding with Princess Celestia. I wasn't worried though, they were my family. My brother and my sister in law, they wouldn't hurt me.


"Well? Nothing to say?" he asked.


It was then I realized I had been starring off into space long enough for them to walk over to me. I shook my head somewhat violently and pulled both of them into a hug. "I'm happy to see you two again..."


"Me too, little sis... Although you're not as little as I used to remember you. You're a little taller than I last remember, what's the deal with that?"


I ruffled my wings sheepishly.


Cadance smiled, "Oh Shiny, she's an alicorn, remember?" My brother chuckled a little at that.


"So what brings you two here?" I asked.


"We wanted to come see you of course." Shining armor smiled and hugged me again.


"Well, that and Princess Celestia wanted us to talk to you..." Cadance smiled weakly. I sighed.


"Twilight, while I am proud of you for managing to do this... It's dangerous. Come back with us to Canterlot. Talk with her. She misses you..." Shining spoke with sincerity.


"I can't do that." I shook my head firmly.


"Please, Twilight. This isn't good for Equestria. Crime rates have been on the rise all over the place. The Crystal Empire isn't the only other nation that has taken an interest in what's happening here..." Cadance looked pained as she spoke.


Again I shook my head, but less firm this time. "Let's not talk about that. I'll clear my schedule and we can spend the day together, how''s that sound?"


Cadance opened her mouth to speak, but my brother cut her off, "We'd love to, isn't that right, Cadance?"


Cadance smiled and nodded, "Yes, that would be nice."




Twilight Sparkle



I watched as the train departed from the train station, carrying my brother and sister-in-law back to Canterlot. The sun was setting in the distance, the day had been nice, though it wasn't without a few... Issues. I frowned as the train began to shrink in the distance. 'She didn't even stop the transportation systems... And Equestria is in a state of war.' I sighed and shook my head with frustration.


"Sad to see them go?" Rainbow asked.


I turned my head towards her and nodded sadly, "Yeah... I really miss the days like this. Days where we didn't have to worry about anything, days where we could just hang out, just us girls, you know?" I looked down at my hooves, "If I win this... I won't have time for anything like that anymore... I could delegate duties to other ponies, but I would still be in charge... I find myself wondering if ponies would still see me, or if they would just see my position..."


"Don't be sad, Twilight, it will all be okay." Pinkie pulled me into a hug, soon the other four joined in. I soon found myself smiling.


"Thanks, girls... Well... I'm sorry I took your whole day away, but thank you all for spending the day with me."


"Oh, but of course darling, we hardly ever see each other anymore!" Rarity was right. We did not spend as much time together as we used to... I felt a pang of guilt in my chest.


"Not that I don't like this but um... It's getting kind of late." Fluttershy drew attention to the fading light of the sun.


"Right, I'll teleport you back if you want me to." I offered.


"Oh, yes please." Fluttershy answered.


I nodded, "Anypony else?"


Applejack spoke up, "It's a bit of a walk back to the barracks, I don't think the drill sergeant would appreciate you having me out so late."


"I need to stop by my shop on the way back, so no thank you."


"I'm your bodyguard so no."


"I'll go with Rarity!" Pinkie beamed.


After a few minutes, we said our goodbyes. I teleported Fluttershy and Applejack to their destinations, leaving Rarity and Pinkie to walk to the former's shop, and then to the castle. 


I chose to walk. Despite the fact it was now dark outside, it was relaxing. Sure, Captain Light wouldn't approve of it. But I doubt he would argue with me about it, Rainbow Dash was with me after all. That wasn't really needed anyway, I was an alicorn after all. Well, granted I could be taken off guard... But I was wearing my regalia and crown, the former containing a crystal housing about two weeks worth of my magic.


I looked towards the moon as I walked, it seemed like only yesterday the surface had still been scarred by Luna's... Nightmare Moon's presence. There was no way I could have beat Nightmare Moon on my own, it was only with the help of my friends, each one of us supporting the others that we were able to beat her. Yet, it seems Nightmare Moon wasn't entirely Princess Luna's fault...


Eventually we arrived back at the castle without incident. I made my way to the makeshift lab I had set up in the weeks before, where I had been messing around with the crystals. I didn't need to tell Rainbow where I was going, it was a habit of mine to go to the lab every morning and evening. Normally it wasn't this late, granted, but still.


"You can wait outside if you want." I spoke to Rainbow as I took off my regalia, then carefully removing the crystal from it's center. I sat the regalia and crystal down on the desk.


"You're going to mess with that Void Crystal again, aren't you?" Rainbow asked. She sounded... A bit worried?


I turned to her with confusion, "Yes, why?"


"I don't think you should be messing with it... It's... Even I can feel the magic it radiates."


"I'm just making sure it's stable. Jeez, you'd think everypony was worried I was going to get corrupted by... You are worried about that, aren't you?"


"Yes... You're not acting... Like... Well, you're not acting like you."


"It's just stress... Besides, I'm being careful..." Rainbow didn't look convinced. "Okay, I'll stop messing with the Void Crystal. I'll even stop training with dark magic, if it would get everypony to stop worrying about me." I lifted the crystal with my magic, and examined it carefully. The star glowed with a pink luminescence from the magic held within. My magic. I smiled, this magic was warm and inviting to me, it even felt nicer than my usual magic does when I last tapped into It. It was completely opposite from dark magic, and I had been very careful not to taint this crystal with dark magic.


"Thank you..." Rainbow spoke. I nodded in reply, still examining my crystal.


The amount of magic held within the crystal was about a week and a half of my magic. Since I could regenerate my magic reserves in a few days, this crystal held more magic than I did. It definitely held more magic than Cadance did. Princess Celestia or Princess Luna? I doubted it. I carefully set the crystal back in the center of my regalia, then put it back around my neck. I raised a hoof and lightly touched the crystal, the magic within it seemed to embrace my hoof at my touch.


I momentarily considered accessing the magic within the crystal, but decided against it. I walked to the door and opened it with a hoof, then exited into the hallway followed closely by Rainbow. I turned towards Rainbow, "I'm going to call it a night. You're dismissed. Goodnight, Rainbow."


Rainbow sharply saluted me, "Goodnight Twilight."


We parted ways, I continued on towards my room while she went off in the opposite direction. I silently walked through the crystalline hallway towards my room, the only sounds where my hooves lightly making contact with the floor. I paused and listened, it sounded like somepony was running. The sound was getting closer. I frowned and turned around to investigate.


A few seconds later, Captain Light approached me. he was breathing heavily. He swiftly bowed, "Princess, we have captured a spy attempting to break into the high security vault of the Royal Treasury."


I narrowed my eyes as I considered this development, "Show me." I firmly commanded.


"Yes, Princess." he saluted.




Special Agent Sweetie Drops



'Well this isn't good.' I thought as I looked around the room I was being held in. 'I didn't even know this castle had a dungeon...' The room... For a dungeon? It was... Not that bad actually. Although the jagged wall edges didn't exactly provide any comfort, at least it wasn't the same dull stony color as the dungeons of most castles.


It was nice that I could freely roam in the cell, too. Although there were obvious places for chaining ponies up... I shook my head and exhaled, 'I need to focus on getting out of here... Let's see...' I looked around the room, taking more time to look for anything I could use to escape. The room was dimly lit by a square, glowing purple-green crystal centered in the ceiling, bathing the room in a discomforting, pale light.


I walked over to the wall and lightly tapped a hoof against the crystal. It felt solid, I decided not to try to break any of it off, it likely would have injured me to do so. I could try to fight my way out when the guards came to interrogate me... I was an earth pony, so I likely had strength on my side. I would need to be fast, though.


Well, that was assuming Princess Twilight Sparkle didn't decide to interrogate me herself. I grimaced at that, there was no way I could fight my way out if she were there to interrogate me. I sat in silence for a few seconds before eventually I started hearing the sound of metal striking the crystalline floor. I inhaled deeply, exhaled, and silently walked over to the cell door. A few seconds later my heart stuttered in my chest, Twilight was with them...


She looked confused, it contrasted against the guards' stoic expressions. "Bon Bon? You're the spy?" she asked skeptically.


I backed away from the door as the guards inserted the key, unlocking the door.  One of the guards, a captain by the looks of it, entered, followed by Twilight. The captain stood off to the side of the cell door, standing guard. Twilight turned towards the guard, "What... Proof do you have that she is a spy?"


"Several of the items she had on her are of a suspicious nature, she had a briefcase with her. It had Princess Celestia's seal upon it." he answered.


Twilight nodded solemnly, then turned back towards me. She raised a hoof to her chin, and seemed to think for several seconds, then she spoke, "So you're a spy..." She seemed to be talking to herself, I chose not to respond. "That... I never would have guessed that." She shook her head, "I have a few questions for you, please answer them truthfully. I'm not going to hurt you, but I can't exactly let you go either."


I did not respond. After several seconds she sighed, "If you cooperate, this will be much easier on us all."


I finally spoke after several seconds of silence, "What do you want to know?"


"What were you doing at the high security vault?" she asked.


"Princess Celestia wanted to know what financial resources you had available." I lied, confident she would buy it.


"She's lying." the captain stated matter-of-factly.


"You were there to extract something, weren't you?" Twilight asked.


'Deny any knowledge of what she is talking about.' I told myself. "I don't know what you're talking about."


"She's lying again." the captain stated once more. He seemed to be quite skilled at detecting lies, that could prove troublesome.


Twilight spoke in a conversational tone, "I have a pretty good idea of what you were trying to take..." She paused and stepped forwards, I took a step back, matching her. "You were trying to get that crystal, weren't you?"


"What crystal?" I tried my most convincing 'I know nothing' expression.


"You're lying. How much does Princess Celestia know?" It was Twilight this time to saw through the lie.


"I don't know-"


Twilight lit her horn, and threw her hoof against the crystalline floor, cracking it. I took another step back at the intemidating display of power. "I will only ask you one. More. Time." Tiwlight stepped forwards. "How much does she know?"


"Nice try, Princess. You don't have it in you to follow through with your threats. And just think... If word of this got out... What would happen then?" Twilight visible recoiled at that. 'Good.' I smiled.


"I see you're being uncooperative. I don't feel like dealing with this right now. So here's the deal. You're going to stay in this cell until you tell me what I want to know, or until this war is over." Twilight turned around and opened the guard waiting outside opened the cell door for her. The captain walked out first, followed by Twilight. She paused in the doorway, for a moment I thought she might say something, but she soon continued walking out. The guard silently shut the door behind her and locked it. They followed Twilight as she walked away.


Eventually the sound of hoofsteps were drowned out by silence.