//------------------------------//
// Smoke In The West 
// Story: In Flame 
// by SteelEagle 
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Applejack’s hooves hurt.
That wasn’t some earth shattering revelation, as anypony who worked the orchards and applebucked knew that a few hours of it sent throbbing pangs of, well, pain through their hooves. Some hated it. She loved it, as each little bullet of pain represented a few hours of work that went towards a greater future for her family and town. That was worth any measure of pain, a drop in the bucket compared to what progress demanded and a single bit as a down payment.

But still, that nagging pain could put her rightly in a sore mood and it just wasn’t fair to nopony else. The best antidote for anypony in the seeding stage of a poor mood was a nice visit with good friends, and this great Equestrian truth held as true for Applejack as any other pony. That was why she found herself out back of Fluttershy’s cottage, lapping up tea in a manner Rarity considered uncouth while listening to Pinkie’s continued raving. It was an excellent backdrop.

“And that’s when Rainbow Dash came up with the best idea ever! The best idea since her last idea, which was the best idea since the idea before that! And before that-” She continued on and on, drinking from an already empty cup before the straw itself vanished into the pink void.

“What Pinkie’s TRYING to say is that I figured that if Granny Smith can’t head down to city hall to celebrate being the oldest mare in Equestria, and if she can’t walk down to Sugarcube Corner, AND your barn is unavailable, we could just have it in the park outside your farm. That has all the room we’d need and it isn’t too far away. I could even fly her over!” Rainbow crackled with excitement, wanting to feel at least partially useful. That day had seen nary a cloud in the sky, as if pegasi nationwide had declared a war on them and won it with great swiftness. Without the customary cloud clearing, she hadn’t done anything worthy of her title. Maybe carrying an elderly mare would suffice.

“That sounds like a smashing idea, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity added, lifting her tea telekineticaly and giving a half-smile and took in its essence.

Applejack raised her head and sighed, looking down at the ground in worry.
“Well, that’s mighty kind of ya, but ah don’t think that Granny could take that for any length o’ time. Old coot...she can hardly go up an’ down the stairs, let alone tha rigors of pegasi flight- even somepony as good as ya, Rainbow,” Applejack said with increasingly lowered tone, her ears finally dropping low.
Her mind was troubled by such thoughts, incurring them in increasing frequency as her elderly mentor- caretaker, for a part of her life- slowly started to succumb to the ticking clock. It was scary- she was a fixture more so than any building in town, and seeing her start to fall from her lofty position atop the family brought to Applejack the reality that nothing was permanent. For a mind that willingly focused on the day to day aspects of life, it was disconcerting to be confronted by it.

Her friends took note of her dark expression and through their collective willpower tried to summon a smile on her weary face. Having failed in that, they summoned Pinkie instead.

"Well we could always use my party cannon! I've never fit a mare in there before, just some fillies and colts, but I think we could do it and then she gets dinner and a show!" She blathered on as Applejack chortled and shook her head.

"Pinkie, we ain't puttin' Gran- wait, a minute, ya put real-life fillies in yer cannon!?" Applejack's head seemingly suffered from an earthquake as she stared wide-eyed at her hyperactive friend.

"Yep!" All smiles, all the time. Her friends looked at her slackjawed.

"Oh dear, Pinkie, I don't think that sounds very...safe," Fluttershy's meek voice could only weakly echo above the din of the chickens behind her. She turned to deal with those she felt a close connection to; the ponies were nice too.

"It's perfectly safe! I shot them right into the lake!" As she spoke, everypony's mind tried to wrap around her words and her ceaselessly reassuring and joyous expression. Failure abound and rebooting of one's logic was required.

"Pinkie, shooting little foals out of cannons is not a safe activity for them, dear," Rarity added with far less venom than one may have expected. She may not have been one for silly acts of fun, but that didn't somehow preclude her from speaking on ths subject. Rarity's opinion was always important.

"Sweetie Belle is not a little foal! She's a big filly who's gonna earn her cutie mark any day now! Besides, she didn't do it alone. It was fun!" Before anypony could sink into her words, Rarity slammed her hooves on the table, sending the tea cups currently on the table crashing to the grass below.

"You did WHAAAAT?!" The fashionista roared with fury well-deserved, Pinkie clasping her front hooves behind her back and giving a desperate smile in a vain attempt to ward off whatever devastating anger-induced rage was about to come her way. The animals fled from the incoming firestorm and Fluttershy ducked beneath the table. Luckily for all, Rainbow Dash had a one-track mind.

"Aren't we getting off topic? We've gotta find a way to get Granny Smith out so she can celebrate her birthday!" Rainbow Dash pleaded pathetically, saving Pinkie less from conscious action and more from an immature sensibility disabling her from continuing conversation as long as a previous topic was left open.

"Yeah, if smartypants were here, I'm sure she could come up with a solution like THAT!" Pinkie formulated her speech as if she were answering Rarity, trying to cool the unicorn off with a clap of her hooves at the end. The fact it worked as a response to Rainbow Dash's question was an added bonus, but little more.

"When was Twilight supposed to get back from visiting the Princess? I thought it was just one of her little trips. She is usually just gone for a few hours! It's been almost the whole day," Rainbow pouted, provoking a series of odd looks from her friends.

"Ah don't know. Somethin' must be holdin' Twi up, isn't like 'er to scoot off for the whole dang day. Ya know how she is with her plannin', a wasted second's as bad as a wasted hour with her," Applejack's voice raised as she grew concerned with that previously uninvestigated fact. Twilight was one of the most organized ponies in all of Equestria and as much as she loved her visits with the Princess, as rare and seemingly random a schedule date it was, she had never once been gone but half as long as this trip.

The six hardly got together lately, Granny Smith's failing faculties occupying Applejack for starters. She had steeled herself, resolved herself, to make do with what time she had and honor her less by showing signs of grave sympathy and instead by working her flank off. It was the Apple way: You worked hard so the younger generation could gain a better existence, and they worked hard so their young could become even greater. It would be a betrayal of that very ethos if she succumbed to the same drumbeat of emotion that once felled her as a filly.

Rainbow Dash had truly started taking her dreams with a manner of seriousness after the wedding, her command of the sonic rainboom providing such an enormous lift to her spirits and ego that she was training daily less on tricks and more on flight patterns. She was approaching the day when she would try out for the Wonderbolts and to everypony but Rainbow Dash, her inclusion was less of a process than a minor formality.

Rarity's business continued to thrive against the odds in a town ill-inclined to sustain it. Buoyed by her connections in Canterlot and to royalty, to describe her as euphoric and swimming in riches professionally and financially would have just started to scratch the surface. Of course, few ponies made such consistent efforts to please others and give of herself for the greater good of others. That had led to her burning the candle at more than both ends; pleasing clients, friends, and one’s own sense of generosity when confronted by charity left little time for rest.

Pinkie and Fluttershy were the same, constants in a wild universe. Fluttershy was just too shy and nopony would count Pinkie’s endless party schedule as valued get togethers. It wasn’t because they were disliked, it had more to do with how she’d throw a party for any conceivable reason and as such they lost impact. How much cake had been tossed politely behind her back into garbages town-wide would be a question for Celestia herself which, if rumors were to be believed, she would personally investigate with untamed vigor.

And Twilight was, well, Twilight. In all things outside her direct view and terms of dominance, she was still somewhat hesitant. Formulating large gatherings was one thing that hesitancy disallowed her from being the leader in. It wasn’t an insult as she countered that with being able to come up with all sorts of activities for them. That was probably why they were sipping tea instead of playing a game or having a picnic, as Twilight was the one who normally gave such plans the required verve to see it through.

And it was something they all enjoyed. Some friendships would be weakened as the waves of time thrashed violently against them and set upon destroying them through mischievous ends. Theirs had endured and become even stronger in the face of adversity, a bond more ethereal than they had previously any reason to suspect would become theirs. Twilight of all the group knew that, perhaps her entire being was devoted to it in a sense. They were her family in a town that lacked any and her first real friends as she left the embrace of what amounted to a surrogate mother. They could also be thought of as her test subjects in her experiments on friendship and the very cause of her continued excellence in the eyes of her mentor and hero.

The more Applejack gave thought to Twilight’s length of visit, the more she grew concerned. Even if somepony proposed that Twilight was cold and considered them little more than magical experiments for advancement in the eyes of the Princess, Applejack would have to buck them right in the mouth for simply being very wrong first off and for being extremely stupid to boot. If that was the case, then she would value above all else the time to gather them together and study or experiment. Even for evil imaginary Twilight this made no sense.

“Girls, ah’m-” Applejack began before Rarity leapt over the table at Pinkie. Apparently, she was still mad.

“PINKIE PIEEEEEEE!” She roared, the aptly named target of her lunge ducking into the ground itself as Rarity flew harmlessly above her, landing face first in the grass. Rarity didn’t know whether the fact Sweetie Belle had been shot out of the cannon or that her snout was now colored green was worse, but she could blame Pinkie for both horrors and gave little thought elsewise.

“Oh, give it a break Rarity!” Rainbow moaned, facehoofing as she floated above the emerging field of battle.

“P-Please don’t, you’re scaring all the critters!” Fluttershy begged. Like most days, she was ignored.

“That was a pretty good lunge, Rarity! Why, maybe your name should be Lungity!” Pinkie added as she grew out of the mud like some mythological beast, though her chosen name for Rarity caused everypony’s brains to reboot again, hard.

Applejack could only laugh. Rarity was wasting her time. The farmer closed her eyes and dove down to take another sip of tea, her cup spared the destruction from Rarity earlier. Friends will be friends.

Instead of cup, her snout was buried deep into a sudden rush of air as she dropped flank first into the Royal Throne Room.

The sudden change in environment finally slammed against her senses a few moments later, the small distortion from the teleportation taking a second to fail around them. It never got easier, dealing with a warped reality shimmering around the edges of your consciousness and collapsing seemingly the second you were aware of it as the new landscape stuttered into place. Never any easier and the mare responsible for it had to deal with a collection of somewhat befuddled and shocked ponies for a few seconds afterwards. Of course, their shock could by itself silence any ray of argumentation if the surroundings demanded awe and the Throne Room certainly did.

It didn't need much in the way of description, having become sadly well known to Applejack. Not that she minded having been here, but never could she say the experience that brought them there was always poor, and if the utterly disheveled Twilight weakly shaking in front of the five ponies was any indication, this would be no different. Her horn was aglow with the most desperate and cutting purple Applejack's spectrum could imagine, her mane and tail splitting hairs individually by the dozens as the great exertion sent her body into shivers. Applejack landed harshly on her flank, Fluttershy following as she had failed to deploy her wings in time, Rainbow's powerful thrust averting her own date with the floor and both Rarity and Pinkie Pie tumbling until they slammed into a pillar. The dull thud that followed was echoed in the great hall, which was striped of all form of life aside from the six ponies- and the more important collection halfway down the room, Princesses Luna and Celestia with a humble-clothed zebra prostrate in front of them. As interesting as that situation was, Applejack was more concerned about the shaking mare in front of her.

Immediately after warping back into material existence, Applejack stumbled towards Twilight.

"Sugarcube, you okay?" The orchard-weathered pony inquired, the unicorn shaking her head and seemingly unable to force out a reply. Applejack placed a hoof on the quaking shoulders that belonged to Twilight, but her attention was drawn by the speech of an obviously disgruntled Princess.

"Zecora, the news you bring us is dire and unpleasant, confrontational in nature and an act of the greatest grievance! Yet you stand before us as if you are a mere supplicant and have taken risks of great magnitude to give this to us. I can only say thank you...and admit to some difficulty as to whether classify you as enemy or friend," Luna said, her voice loud though without aid of the royal canterlot voice and quaking with a mixture of both great anger and fear. Her wings were spread wide and her eyes narrow and sharp as she studied the form before her.

"Dear Princess Luna, you may consider me both enemy and friend. For while I bring to you now tidings of doom, it is of my existence that I prophesy shall end," Zecora stated, retrieving herself from her position, knocking the hood back to reveal her striped mohawk. Applejack could only look around in shock, her friends coming around with equally confused glances. Before any could summon the fortitude to ask a question, Celestia shot them a glance. As opposed to the severity of tone used by her sister, Celestia's gaze and voice remained even and soft.

"I see, Twilight, that your worry was not well-founded. I told you that you could get them all here, my faithful student," She motioned to Twilight, who was on her flank and breathing in deep rasps.

"Princess...we have...greater issues at hand..." She bleated pathetically, standing up and shaking her head.

"Twilight, dear, what in the name of Equestria is wrong?" Rarity asked, her hair still askew from her tumble with Pinkie, who seemingly had repelled the mud earlier with no repeatable method and stood spotless behind Rarity.

"War, my dear friends from Ponyville, the effects of which shall make all of your society ill," Zecora's voice echoed, the truth breadth of it from within the minds of each pony who heard it. 'War' echoed in the confused minds as if in a cave until after a few moments of stunned silence, the peaceful lot collectively felt their jaws hit the floor.

"War? WAR?!" Rainbow belted out, her voice shocked and tinted with anger.

"It is true, my loyal subjects and friends. It appears as though the Zebra Confederacy has made a foolish and unfortunate decision."

"The Zebra wha?" Pinkie asked, snout flared in confusion.

"The...Zebra confederacy is the alliance of...zebra tribes on our borders...we...they've been trying to move...settle inside our borders for years. We've always said no since the zebras are so many and our land can only sustain so much," Twilight explained, slowly standing and regaining her normal faculties. Truth be told, a harmed Twilight was still superior to the best of most others, so the regaining of her full faculties was more of a boon to her than anypony else.

"We were pushed out of our ancestral homes by the centaurs of the river West Einlorse, whose armies fight without remorse. We found our own borders too porous and our armies of great size and skill witless in many violent comparisons, our operations little more than fool's errands. To the borders with Equestria we fled, where we heard of ponies well-fed. We knew not of your land's relative barrenness outside of that tilled by the work of the Earth ponies, and your pleading was to our ears little more than stories. I am an elder in my tribe of the Fangstyu, and I was sent here to live amongst you. To learn the truth of the ponyfolk was my sincere mission, this an honest admission.

Of friendship's true power I have now learned, though many of my fellows have been spurned. We have attempted for almost ten full years of the passing of the sun to negotiate for lands to settle, and through hard work and fellowship prove to you our mettle. For that time period full and long, our requests have been rebuffed in a manner best declared as strong. I and others know why your reluctance is so, for it would interrupt your dear land's flow.

But others see not the causes you so care for, and believe the lies spread about you to their core. They see their young starving on the poor lands they are forced to subside on, and do not appreciate the arrogance in pony calls for calm. Finally, elders called for a meeting of the fifty tribes of the Zebra Confederation, and the decision they reached came after much meditation.

War for the land you currently call home, regrettably now to be torn. My tribe is one of seven that voted against such a harsh action, though our arguments made little traction. Even now the armies of the fifty tribes assemble, and truth be told Princess, my heart, it does tremble. In their great mass they are a terrifying sight, and nopony could be faulted for giving flight," Zecora recited from memory what she had said now four times since arriving. The air around her was cold as the newly arrived ponies tried to take in this tidal wave of information.

"Oh...oh no, this isn't good at all..." Fluttershy's voice seemingly waffed through the air with the sincerest quiet anything above a whisper could attempt. The throne room was silent enough that it carried.

"No, not at all my dear Fluttershy, for soon many a zebra and pony will die. The fates have aligned so that I may deliver to you these manuscripts and details of the army fifty tribes strong, though my treason will be discovered before long," Zecora added glumly, her eyes closing and face looking down at the ground. Her form seemed to be continually losing stature as the eight pairs of eyes bored into her for reasons ranging from rage, sympathy, and confusion to awe, admiration, resignation.

"But wait, I thought seven of the tribes voted to stay OUT of this war? What do you think we are, stupid?! You're lying! Fess up!" Rainbow Dash asked, shooting over the Zebra and with arms on hips staring down at her. Zecora waited a moment before pivoting and looking straight up at the pegasus, her eyes watering and red and lacking that flair that once sparked behind them, replaced by a sense of dullness, resignation and defeat. Rainbow's accusation stoked the fires of rage.

"Rainbow Dash, as usual your words are crass! By Zebra Law are all tribes obliged, to send their warriors to the Confederacy to die. When we lost that vote, we condemned our own kin to die on their blood, choke. I and those who voted for peace were quickly replaced with those with hearts of rock, who have set forth their plans and to target us to mock. I am an elder of a tribe that shall soon no longer live in a world so dire, for it shall have perished in this unending fire.

I have committed treason against my tribe and species, and despite the immorality of this war it is I who feel like feces. War will claim its first victim when I return to the land of my birth, and as I face my executioner I shall remember only the mirth," Zecora blasted at the pegasus while still standing still, the veins in her neck pumping visibly as she shot Rainbow Dash a thousand times every moment of existence with imaginary arrows. It wasn't the mare's fault and Zecora knew it, but holding all the heavy emotional bags of the realization that no matter one did one was bound to die ingloriously and was to be the vanguard of many more unrequired deaths was a toll she would wish on not even her greatest enemy. Mortality once confronted emotionally becomes a matter of great mental fragility before one actually faces it.

"Do you mean...?" Applejack started, lifting a hoof that suddenly felt a thousand times heavier than it had any right to feel up slowly.

"Yes, my dear friend Applejack, it will be my neck that shall be snapped. I am a criminal in the eyes of my tribe, kin, and species, and the thought of living much longer with this foul stench is quite frankly uneasy. I deserve the gallows for my crime, and I believe the punishment shall be carried out in no less than three week's time.
To my surrogate Princesses Luna and Celestia and dear friends Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, I ask that you do not cry, for this is a fate I embrace and welcome for it is a chance, with honor, to die.  Goodbye."
She spoke humbly and frankly, giving a small and courteous bow before turning her flank to the throne and with a slow but sure gait, walking out of the throne room. Her head was held high and she loosened the neck that would seen feel the sting of burning rope, her fear of death equalled only by the mortal terror of a dishonorable death. All eventually died. Few died with such dishonor forever haunting their names and tribes; Please, Actal, Lord of Names, spare me.

With that, Zecora left the throne room and the lives of her friends, permanently. There was a silent agreement amongst the ponies in the room to observe this moment, though for most it was more due to the stunning revelations dropped lazily at their hooves rather than any solemnity. Rainbow Dash landed and withdrew her wings in shame, Applejack taking her hat and hiding her face while Fluttershy tried to retreat into the deep yellow of her own body. Rarity's head hung limply in stunned silence while Pinkie's color drained and her and her trademark mane deflated slowly. Twilight had recovered to the point that weakly could she walk towards Celestia and Luna, who remained stonefaced.

"Oh, Princess, what can we do? None of us are prepared for something like this!" Twilight begged for answers as she drew near to the Princess, she who rose the sun not rising to comfort her student.

"No, Twilight I suspect as much. Especially since you teleported your friends here before we could find a way to best summon them," Celestia said with only a slight edge to her voice. That was enough for Twilight to wilt.

"My sister, please, go and wake your guard captains. I must speak with the Elements of Harmony," Celestia added, her sister bowing and in one graceful motion leaping out of the window. Dusk trailed behind her through no action of hers.

"Please, step forward," She ordered. As if tied by more than the chosen bonds of fellowship, the six bewildered and frightened mares formed up six across and slowly moved towards the regal form before them.

"Huh...ah guess now we know why ya couldn't make it to the meetin', sugarcube," Applejack whispered for no conscious reason to Twilight.

"Yeah...sorry for that..." She said, sarcasm giving everyone a little bit of mirth. Giggles all around, a release of tension as they approached the Princess and bowed.

No speech for a moment, Celestia slow to rise and when she did, her wings extended wide sent a chill rather than the usual warmth.

"My loyal subjects..." A sigh.
"My friends. I do not know how to make this easier, as it has come as a shock to all. We are in a state of war, and not only with the Zebras," She said, trotting slowly past the six who stared up as one at their majesty's form, save for Twilight who glumly considered the floor beneath her with intensity. Looks shared between the five increased the confusion before Rainbow Dashed poked Twilight in the ribs disrespectfully.

"What does she mean by that, we aren't just fighting the zebras? The zebras don't have any client races that I don't know about, right?" She asked, accepting the possibility that they may very well have a full dozen client species. She never claimed to be the most up-to date pony around, as it tended to interfere with her near stalking of the Wonderbolts.

Twilight sighed in resignation.
"What turned the voting ‘round in favor of the zebras going to war was that they had deals in place with the Griffon Kingdoms nearby, some Diamond Dog clans, and a few disgruntled Buffalo tribes. They wouldn't have done this otherwise!" Twilight screeched out, her eyes nearly wild with anguish. To be there when the Princesses' Peace was so rudely shattered and to slowly realize the burden on one's soldier was a fate best left to the young and ignorant. She was too smart to not know

"Griffons?! How did they get those greedy, disloyal maniacs to do something this stupid? Why, I would think after we destroyed their empire all those centuries ago they would have learned their lesson," Rarity spoke, her voice attaining a sense of due calm. It was a wondrous cover for a mare whose pelt started to itch as nervous energy and sweat ate at her preened condition.

"Money talks, especially lots of it. They're basically mercenaries."

"And those buffalo, I thought they were our friends! I thought we settled that dispute in Apploosa?!" Rainbow Dash asked in exasperation, searching for some cause to believe this was some cruel joke.

"Yeah, Braeburn said thay've been havin' no problems with them buffalo, not for some time," Applejack added with excitement, noticing an opportunity to hollow out a fiction for herself.

"Yes, those ones are friendly. So are a few others. But there are many more who are angry, or even fear us because we can fly and use magic. They send warriors and in return, they are promised all of their ancestral lands. I don't know if we can blame them," Twilight's mind flashed before her the images of entire towns being destroyed in brutal charges by the buffalo. The fact these mental snapshots of a disturbing internal variety could play out in the physical world shook her as for the first time the brutality of the coming conflict struck home.

"And...what about the Diamond Dogs? After what happened with Rarity, I'm not sure I could ever stand to see one again," Fluttershy hid behind her hooves as she fought against tears. For a pony so kind, the sheer thought of the coming reality was worse than perhaps the act of violence itself. War signified the end of kindness between societies, the death of all common ground. A horrifying thought for one so ingrained towards the act of love.

"They aren't useful in a fight, but they know the lay of the land well enough. They won't be working directly with the zebras on the field, but...they'll try to cut supply lines and cause all sorts of havoc wherever we are weak. All they asked for in return for helping the zebras was the ability to kidnap and take as slaves," She finished, finding some comfort in the recitation of known facts. It did little to soothe the blows to her friends, whose reserves of shock and horror were being depleted at record levels. She looked at them and then nodded her head.

"It's horrifying, all of this...and...I got scared. I wanted my friends. Somponies I could share this with. I'm...sorry, Princess," Twilight pleaded, turning to face the Princess. She got only Celestia's backside, the ruler of the land staring out of the window. More silence followed.

"You are all so young. So raw. It has been my privilege to preside over the emergence of the greatest ponies to have ever lived, and all of you have secured your place in Equestria's long history. A history that I assure you will always be written by ponies. But war is a matter entirely different from anything you have experienced. There are no magical solutions to problems that fracture societies and bring them to this point. War is the antithesis of everything a pony is. Between us and our enemies, we cannot love nor extend friendship, the very cornerstones of our being," Celestia began, almost ignoring the ponies behind her before she turned around and stared at each one of them, her face growing a certain shade of cold that once seen in a monarch can forever chill her subjects.

"I hate war more than I fear eternal night or chaos. It destroys souls along with mind and flesh. I remember ages ago when I had to stand upon a field of broken ponies, lions, and griffins and dictated such harsh terms for peace purely out of my hatred of war. Not a day goes by when I fail to think back to the field and the blood and the bodies, of the screaming of the mad and crippled, how years later I would visit expiring veterans and see in their eyes that they had truly died decades ago. There is no victory in war, just survival. And just surviving is a state of being that nopony should accept as a mark of success. Yet, it is upon us and as great a fear I have in saying so, you will have parts to play. You are symbols of everything Equestria stands for, and more importantly, thanks to the magic that has flowed through you, supremely talented. I am looking at the strongest, smartest, fastest, and most cunning group in my realm. You are natural leaders of communities and war is nothing if not a conflict of community. What parts you play, how to use you, these are questions that I do not know the answers. All I can say now is that no matter what you see or hear, feel or breathe, think and lose, do or touch, remember who you are. It may seem silly now, my little ponies but war..." Celestia said, staring mournfully out over her realm for a few seconds. They had the stare of one whose memories now conspired to do harm and she closed them shut.

"War will kill you long before you die," She finished, shaking her head as she walked towards her subjects. Before they could respond with any of the thousand burning questions in flame on their tongues, she raised her hoof.

"Twilight, I require the presence of you and your friends in the Star Swirl the Bearded section of the library. Head to the farthest section marked 'Pour l'utilisation des droits', and open the door. Inside will be texts not required for an age. I would tell you more, but the Captains of the Guard have been summoned and I have held them all off for long enough. Let Equestria be at your hindquarters, girls," The Princess spoke rapidly, her face starting to take the form of a witness in stone. Passivity ended then, as her wings jettisoned themselved swiftly into her body, the motion blasting the six in front of her with hot, furious wind that jolted them out of their semi-catatonic state. Slowly at first but with gaining momentum, they moved away from the princess and towards the door.

Soon, they were running, running from the rutless waves of reality that claimed their shored up mental defenses one by one. As they burst through the doors leading down the banner-flanked hallway, their hoofsteps took on a manic and crazed character. No matter what they did, however, the drum beat of war that would soon echo out across the land shattered the fragility of inner peace for each of the elements of harmony.

"What good could we possibly be? I don't know the first thing about any sort...of armed conflict..." Rarity whispered more in an effort to shake an answer out of Twilight.

"War, Rarity. It's called a war," Rainbow mumbled aggressively, firing ahead of the group.

"I'd rather not-" rarity tried to field a defense, but Rainbow's head snapped back and ended the effort.

"It's WAR. If you lie to yourself you're not going to be prepared and you'll die and if you die on me I'll never forgive your detail oriented flank," Rainbow spat as she roared at Rarity, her eyes finally revealing the depth of her fear masked by anger. Rarity could only look down while Fluttershy broke her silence.

"Rainbow, what's the matt-" She began, Rainbow unleashing an utterly frustrated howl that echoed far down the lonely hallway.

"What's the matter?! WE'RE AT WAR, WHAT THE BUC-" Dash started up, getting in Fluttershy's face without so much as a single care before she was rudely snapped back down to the ground by an impatient and angry Applejack, who gave a caring glance to Fluttershy before nodding and trotting on, followed by the rest.

"Gosh darn Rainbow Dash, yer interruptin' more than just everypony here! Ah need to think and you're turnin' mah brain into spoiled apples! An' yer scarin' everypony, shut yer trap," She muttered in a vain attempt to bring her friend back around, effort being worth more to her in this regard than any sort of success. Rainbow Dash tried to reply, but bit her own hoof. She knew Applejack was right, and despite her own rising tension, knew she was being a right bitch. She nodded to nopony but herself and followed.

"We're heroes, Rarity. I don't know what she has in store for us, but...well, it has to be this way," Twilight said in response to Rarity's earlier question. She had become used to expectations and despite the horror she knew was in store she was the most capable of coming to terms with lofty goals being set for her.

The group slowed as they neared the wing, which was still silent. A pin drop would have echoed hollowly across the length of the hallway, which would have suited Twilight just fine as she opened the door. There was little to mark this wing as something incredible from the way it was structured, only when one looked at the books did the difference become apparent. Each book was the very greatest in its field, from single-print thesis on the nature of time and how best to manipulate it to copies of advanced and banned black magic, the list was endless. There was one wing even she had never been to, however, and as she galloped towards it, the words that seemed to have been etched above it magically were fading. They had been a ward meant to keep safe the vast trove of documents stored within considered vital to the running of a state and exclusively for use by Royalty.

But now, the wards vanished and tepidly Twilight led the ponies into the old wing. Her expectations were let down, as there were not towering bookshelves overflowing with ancient tomes and the air was not harsh and stuffy from centuries of being contained. There were very few bookshelves, each one organized neatly and with no sense of conspiracy attached. Above, ancient banners unfurled magically, Ancient Equestrian etched into them and in the colors of royalty. The First Heartland, Sixth Coast- names she could only scarcely recall from her texts. Regiments of the Old Army, names long unheard of, their banners preserved by the ward. Twilight now felt as if she was standing in hollow ground, for the great generals of old were supposed to have been buried directly underneath the banners of their old commands. Her hooves felt unsure against the cement below- Celestia knew what lay beneath, but not her charges. She took a few more steps in and found between each row of bookshelves were old oak tables, hoof-carved and etched with dozens of symbols that she couldn't place. She sighed and looked around, spotting the markings above each book shelf. They were not marked with letters, but words: Muster Orders and Manuals, Organization, Strategy and Tactics, Logistics. Her eyes closed in.

"What're we lookin' for, Twi?" Applejack asked, her eyes still taking in this space. She never once thought she'd be entering any place like this, though by this time in her life it was stupid of her to not just accept she was going to be tossed into such situations.

Twilight didn't bother answering, instead cantering towards the Organization section, eating up each and every title.

"Equestrian Staff Organization...Arrangement of Formation..." She trailed off, each and every title being levitated out of position as she passed them. The other five stood flat hooved for a moment in time, unsure of what to do. They knew of course what she was doing, but only slowly started to move out.

"Heartland Muster Order, South, Muster Order North, Coastal West..." Rarity began, doing the same as Twilight gathering up muster orders, Fluttershy behind her pensively gauging the manuals.

"...Equestrian Army Field Manual, Basic Training Primer..." The yellow pegasi whispered as if doing so would lessen the vulgarity of the situation.

"Deploying Pegasi; A Treastise on the Nature of Operational Flanking, the Equestrian Way of War, Formation Warfare," Rainbow Dash had an air of excitement about her as she seemingly dove through the strategy section, picking up any unique text she could and placing them on her back.

"The Requirements of the Equestrian Army, Maintenance of Arms, Feeding The Sword and Resting the Shield: the Nature of Supply," Pinkie added into the mix her own confused and wholly saddened tone, wanting desperately to find within these walls something to elicit an ounce of joy. She failed.

Applejack walked slowly down the same lane as Rainbow Dash, though on the other side. her eyes ate up the texts on tactics, tying to understand what the hay any of it meant. She grabbed every new one silently- The Wall: Deployment of the Lochos in Battle, Using the Centurias, Pilla in Mobile Formation- and hoisted them on her back.

After a few minutes, each pony was carrying or levitating a large collection of books, every unique book in the wing being in their possession. They trotted to the center of the room which hosted the largest and most ornate of all the tables and shared looks, trying to read the books as much as each other. This small moment ended as Twilight lifted all of the books from every pony and started to organize them on the table. After a few strained moments, the six looked upon the pile.

"Ah've never eve' books like these before, Twi," Applejack nearly stuttered before herself, gulping as she read the titles of the assembled tomes of knowledge that no society could escape knowing despite the high ideals of utopia.

"Yeah, we haven't...needed them, and we're going to read them, I guess. Learn them," Twilight said evenly.

A pregnant pause.

"And then we're supposed to teach others?" Rarity asked but before an answer was given, the entrance was breached by a full dozen of the Royal Guards, each one dressed in personalized armor and wearing frowns of the pale sort. Leading the peaceful if intense charge was the Captain of the Guard himself in brilliant purple, Shining Armor, whose pelt hid the color he had turned mere moments earlier. Twilight lost any pretense of control and with shut eyes galloped towards her brother and laid herself across his neck. Like the mountain of strength he was, he supported her entirely and kissed her on her mane, one hoof on her back. Gentle sobs escaped Twilight as the fortress of strength and barrier she kept up for appearances fell in his presence, kin holding no secrets amongst kin.

"It'll be okay, Twiley. Hey- hey, it'll be okay, alright?" He cooed in an attempt to calm her, which had the desired effect as she pulled her head off of him.

"But what about you? The Royal Guards? Equestria doesn't have an army! You're the Captain and you have to-" Twilight started to panic before yet again the aura that was her brother's love calmed her.

"What we have to do is prepare the Royal Army of Equestria, first and foremost. We have the time. What we need are trustworthy, reliable ponies to help us. And by order of Princess Celestia, you six are the first officers of the Royal Army," He spoke with the innate air of authortity natural to those who dominated others through little more than force of presence.

The six ponies looked at one another, the continued revelations of this day not getting any easier.

"B-beg yer pardon?"

"You are all officers of the Royal Equestrian Army, effective immediately. Enomotarchs Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and-" Shiing Armor squezzed his sister's hoof, "Twilight Sparkle, you are to remain here. Enomotarchs Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, you are to return to Ponyville and help my staff prepare it as a training ground," He said slowly but forcefully, the six nodding with no conscious desire to do so.

"What's an Enomotarch?" Fluttershy asked, her mind failing to formulate any higher thought due to shock. Shining Armor looked up.

"Old term, old term, what's the best modern word..." His mind moved at the speed of a phoenix in an attempt to find an answer. Twilight didn't have to do as much thinking.

"Lieutenant, Fluttershy. We're all Lieutenants," Twilight found solace in knowledge.

"What's a lieutenant?" Pinkie Pie asked, the silliness and inability to answer causing a small ripple of laughter amongst the seven as around them the various Captains of the Guard started to leaf through the shelves, picking out the same collection of books currently on the table. Shining Armor took off his helmet and ruffled his mane before looking out over the six.

"Also, I am no longer Captain of the Guard. I am Strategos of the Army. After I leave this room," His face took on a hint of pain as if the words were barbed as they left his tongue, "We are no longer friends or family, at least in the eyes of rank. You will be my shoulder-spears and hoof-shields. I have to keep this veneer up for the good of all, so please, don't get angry or upset at me if I ever treat you sternly. Do you understand?" He asked and the reply was five slow nods of the head and one salute being shot from Rainbow, whose hover took on a frantic energy.

“Spend the next hour doing what you must, Enomotarchs. After that, say goodbye,” He said as he eyed up Applejack, whose form was as stone. She would make a fine officer; strong, good morality, took orders well, smart even if that intelligence was less well represented in pure knowledge as it was a certain sense of fine luck that seemed inherent to her blessed bloodline. Shining Armor was well-versed on the virtues of his sister’s closest, dearest friends and Equestria’s greatest heroines and saviors. Of them, two in particular stood out as ponies that could be exceptional in their new roles. One would require discipline. The other would just require training in the art of war. They all would because without it, they would be consumed by fire.
They might be anyway.

“Say your goodbyes, girls. I can’t guarantee you’ll have a second chance.”