Night and Day

by BlueLgihtening

Chapter 3: Seven Days

The week passed by quickly, but not without a few mishaps. Four days after I had arrived back in Ponyville, Rainbow Dash was able to gather everyone together to meet at Carousel Boutique, a challenging task considering everyone was extremely busy that week.

A few days after our talk and many failed attempts to see my friends later, Rainbow had managed to drag me over to Rarity’s while she went to gather the others. I sat there awkwardly as Rarity fussed over me, telling me how she had missed me so dearly and that she hoped the dress was okay. I looked at her, politely telling her about my trip and what had happened in the castle.

As I told her about the Coronation, she gasped in horror,”Twilight! Do you have no dignity? A lady does not stir up ruckus at any event, especially not a coronation. Why, you're the first Princess to refuse the crown! Oh, what will the Nobles think?” I huffed as she inhaled sharply,”what will the Princesses think?!”

“The Princesses said they think no less of me and will protect my family’s name from being ruined.” I said, rubbing my temples as Rarity continued to panic, her purple hair becoming ratty as she grabbed at it.

“Oh, Dear, that truly is fantastic news, hopefully this will not affect my business or name either, hm?” She replied through gritted teeth.

“It will not, Princess Celestia promised no harm on me or any of my friends.”

“Good, now continue on,” She prompted me, the Uni staring at me expectantly.

I continued on with my story, telling Rarity all that had happened in the past few days. She grinned when I mentioned the Princesses and their kindness, and frowned in thought when I told her what Luna had said to me not a few days prior.

“Seven cycles of night and day? That is very unnerving, have you found anything that you might be able to do?”

I shook my head,”No, not yet, I haven’t had time to study in on the matter.”

“Well, that seems quite a short notice,” Rarity said, staring at me with her light blue eyes,” I wouldn’t doubt it if Princess Luna might have been ill.”

I continued on telling her of Cobalt and the nobles. She smiled as I mentioned that Cobalt had tried to defend my honor. after that, she managed to keep a straight face until I told her about how Rainbow had scared my Areos guard half to death.

Rarity burst out laughing, which was very unusual for her,” Oh, why that is a hilarious image. The poor man, brought to his knees by a meer weather patrol member.”

I chuckled slightly as I remember the event that happened not more than three days before. Rarity grinned as she willed me to finish my story.

“I have been studying the jobs around town for the past few days....And now I am here,” I said, ending the story abruptly.

“Oh, what an interesting tale, so how do you plan to find a position?”

I grumbled half-heartedly, “I do not have a clue.”

With that, we fell in to companionable silence as I looked about the boutique. Dresses laid scattered around the room, fabric lay haphazardly on the floor from Rarity's latest design spree. The curtains were drawn closed across the huge windows, having been that way the moment I arrived. The doors burst open, causing Rarity to jump in surprise while I winced.

Rainbow jumped through, followed by Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and lastly Fluttershy. Rarity huffed indignantly at Rainbow as she alighted onto the couch, her wings snapping shut. Rainbow caught her expression and shrugged in apology as the others filed in. Pinkie Pie all but bounced in, her crazy pink curls flying around her grinning expression and bright blue eyes. Applejack strutted in, a quiet confidence in the blonde farmer that surpassed that of all her friends except Rainbow. Fluttershy followed, quiet as usual, but not quite as nervous as she was when I met the light pink-haired girl three years prior.

I smiled warmly at my friends as they each said their hellos, sitting down in their respective seats. Applejack was the first to speak, sitting with her hands clasped and her elbows on her knees.

"Nice ta see ya, Twi. But aren't ya s'pposed ta be in Canterlot?" She said with a drawl, lifting one of her hands to correct her Stetson.

I rubbed my hands together nervously, " Yes, but- some..... Issues arose and now I need to do some type of job that will give me political experience."

Her green eyes gave off some confusion as she straightened up and threw one of her arms around the back of the sette. Pinkie Pie soon spoke up as the honest farmer remained silent.

"I knew something was up when my cupcakes exploded!" She said cheerily.

"What?" Asked Rainbow to the eccentric baker.

"Well, I was just sitting there at the front counter, giving a really serious guard a cupcake and some coffee, then-BOOM," we flinched as the nineteen year old screamed," the cupcake exploded , which means something horrible just happened, like the bad-bad kind!"

"Well, Pinkie, nothing happened that was catastrophic..." I trailed off as the pink-haired girl continued, ignoring me.

"And then the guard was all like whoa, and I gasped!" She went on, rambling slightly," cupcake explosions are really horrible, and I told that to the guard. But he didn't believe me!"

Fluttershy squeaked, curling her arms around her legs in her chair, "How horrible?" She spoke in a near whisper, somehow stopping Pinkie in the middle of her rant.

" Like-Like assassination death horrible!" Pinkie stated, causing Fluttershy to cower behind her legs like a shield.

"Pinkie! Be quiet! You scared Fluttershy!" Rainbow said angrily, her protectiveness of the older girl reminding me of a mother and her daughter.

I lifted an eyebrow at Pinkie Pie as she settled down, apologizing to Fluttershy. Rarity sat quietly, having not spoken since the others came in, rather choosing to cross her arms over her chest and white blouse.

I broke the silence after a few seconds, directing my attention to Pinkie," what are you talking about, assassination?"

"Yep, I bet a big old meanie Gryfos got ahold of a poor old governor and killed him!"

I gaped at the girl for a second,"Wait, why would that happen?"

"Tension between our empires," said Applejack nervously, "Ah don't quite agree with th' girl, but ya never know with those good fer nothin liars y'all call Gryfos."

"If this actually happened-" I spoke quietly as the doorbell rung.

Rarity stood up and answered the door, a look of surprise crossing her face as she faced my guard, "Um, hello sir. Can I help you?"

Cobalt looked at her with intense orange eyes, his blue wings ruffled, " I am looking for Twilight."

I raised my hand slowly as Rarity stepped aside to let the older Aeros in, " I am here, Cobalt."

His shoulders relaxed as he hurriedly marched up to me, ignoring the others, "I am sorry to disrupt your get together, but I need to ask you to come with me."

I stood up and followed him, telling everyone to relax while I spoke to him. Going out the door to the boutique, Cobalt led me to a bench a few meters from Rarity's. Despite the option to sit, we both remained standing, my eyebrow raised in question.

Cobalt looked at me nervously, shifting from foot to foot where he stood," Twilight, I just received news of an assassination."

If it was even possible, my jaw would have hit the floor, "What!?"

"The Governor of Roam was murdered by the Gryfos King's personal assistant, Red Wing," Cobalt said calmly, his ruffled feathers the only sign he was just as shocked as I felt.

"Bu- What?" I said, my mind unable to process this information, " S-so, what is going to happen?, are we going to negotiate peace? Send a diplomat? Assassinate? Invade?"

"Twilight, they declared war, they have an army of nearly three million. We are going to fight back, otherwise there might not be an Equestria for you to rule."

My eyes were starting to water as I stared up at the older man, his face having aged fifty years in the past five minutes," A draft?" My voice came out in a small whisper, the words nearly lost in the late-summer air.

Cobalt bowed his head," I am sorry, Twilight."

I wanted to cry, scream, get drunk, shoot myself, but all I could do was stare ahead blankly, tears streaking my face. Cobalt looked at me once and, much like my father once did, hugged me as I sobbed. After a few minutes, or maybe even hours, I stood back and looked at the door to the boutique.

"W-will they be drafted?" I asked quietly, Fluttershy's face flashing through my mind.

"Yes, I am sorry, I truly am."

"Then I should probably tell them," I said sadly, my voice sounding defeated as I walked towards the door.

" I will help you." Cobalt said, placing a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

I took a deep breath as I looked up at the boutique and grabbed the doorknob. Opening the door slowly, I looked over my friends. Rainbow was perched on the settee above Applejack and was chatting casually with the other girl despite the inconvenience of their position. Fluttershy was talking to Rarity and Pinkie about her animals and how she had used her Air Empa to make a nest for some birds.

I stepped in the door and cleared my throat, my friends falling silent as they stared at me and Cobalt. I could feel my palms sweating as I rubbed my hands together, thinking of some way to deliver the news.

"H-" no that would be stupid to say hey, "Um...."

"Are you okay, dear?" Asked Rarity as I breathed deeply, gathering my nerves and thoughts together.

"No, I have some bad news."

I had everyone's full attention at that, Fluttershy looking especially nervous.

"Well?" Said Rainbow impatiently, tapping her foot on the cushion next to Applejack.

"The governor of Roam is dead and the Kingdom of Gryphus has declared war."

Nearly everyone in the room gaped in shock, except for Pinkie, who gave me a look that screamed 'I told you so'. Rainbow was the first to snap out of it, glaring at the man behind me. Cobalt looked at the young Aeros nervously, clearly still intimidated by her. Rainbow launched herself in the air, causing Applejack to fall over, and landed in front of me with a 'thump'.

She shoved me out of the way and grabbed Cobalt roughly by his shirt, still having little respect for the unlucky guard. Her expression turned to one of pure rage as she threw Cobalt to the floor.

"What the BUCK!?" She screamed angrily, glaring at the Aeros at her feet, "You bucking took my family from me! And now you're gonna take my best friends. Why can't you just leave me alone!? You bucking bastard, answer me!" She growled as she kicked him angrily.

"I-I didn't take your family or your friends! You're drafted too!" Said Cobalt as he stood up, blood dripping from his nose.

Rainbow charged at Cobalt, her wings crackling with Storm Empa and her hands filled with electricity. I could hear Applejack yelling and Fluttershy crying as I stepped between the two.

"STOP!" I bellowed as My hand connected with both Aeros' stomachs.

Cobalt stood down immediately, most likely from military drills rather than calming down. Rainbow had to be restrained, having landed a few punches on me before I could stop her.

I turned to Rainbow, glaring at her angrily, " What is your deal? You realize you could go to prison for assault."

Rainbow sneered at me, her rage flaring up,"Okay, Mom."

I sighed as I turned to Cobalt, my look demanding answers, " You need to explain what Rainbow just said."

Cobalt looked down at his feet, blood slowly dripping from his nose, "I was her father's Second in Command of our Cohort. He was captured by the Gryphus Kingdom two years ago, and I was to blame because I did not try to save him. I stepped down from Senior Centurion to remain close to home, Rainbow Dash still blames me for it."

I turned back to Rainbow, her snarl slowly fading to be replaced with sorrow and regret, " Rainbow, I am sorry about your father but you need to let this go."

Rainbow hung her head as she heard Fluttershy crying, "I-I don't know if I can forgive him, but I will for Fluttershy. I'm sorry Flutters," She said as I released her, turning to Fluttershy, "I'm sorry for scaring you."

She turned back to Cobalt and glowered at him, though she still shook his hand in truce. Nodding my head approvingly, I turned back to Cobalt.

"Speaking of the separation of friends, is it possible to keep us six together?" I asked as I deflated from the fight.

Cobalt thought for a minute, running his hands through his wild grey hair, "Actually, yes, it is. But that would require the formation of a Century. But the only Legion short on a Century, a Cohort for that matter, is the First...."

Applejack stood up suddenly, an idea clearly forming in her head, "Th' Seventh."

"Excuse me?" said Rarity as she comforted Fluttershy.

Rainbow lit up, too, clearly understanding whatever Applejack was talking about, "AJ, are you sure? Wasn't that entire Cohort killed off?"

Applejack turned to the prismatic Aeros, "Exactly, ya see, my Pa died in that invasion, but he gave me their 'signa thingy 'fore he left, a falcon."

Cobalt looked between the two girls, "You are both right, that Cohort was killed off and the Insigna was a falcon, the Seventh hasn't existed for eight years."

Fluttershy surprisingly spoke up, "Well, let's do that, I would feel better going with my friends than with strangers."

I nodded slowly, "But a Cohort is 500 men, where are we going to find enough soldiers?"

Cobalt smiled, "Let me get ahold of the Princess, then I think I know exactly where we will find them."

"Yay! We are gonna be awesome bad guy chopping machines of doom! I already got the airship!" Said Pinkie, hopping up and down.

I smiled, forgetting for a second that our lives hung in the balance, "Well, then I will take Cobalt to send that letter, then we should all get some rest. once we receive a response, we start looking for our Cohort."

Everyone, even Fluttershy and Rarity cheered as we left the boutique, filled with childish excitement. If only I realized what I would lose.

Author's Note:

sorry if Rainbow was slightly OOC to you. but honestly, she really would react this badly since Cobalt violated her Element and was partially responsible for the fact that Rainbow doesn't have a present father.

Okay, also, with the possibility that Twilight wasn't upset enough for you, she was drafted, she doesn't have a choice and would be happy to just get to fight with her friends.

Okay, now with that out of the way. I am finished with the rough draft of chapter 4 and chapter 5 is almost finished as well.

P.S. I think I just figured out how hard it is to write characters that already exist.
P.P.S. Empa is the ability to manipulate elements and magic. yes, I totally took this idea from Avatar but it fits the story, so hey, why not?

Comments

[wyrdsmith]

I'm pretty hooked on this now; looking forward to how the story progress.

[CosmonautPony]

A platoon, a unit of roughly 30 men and usually used in conjunction with 2 others to form a company is not an ideal grouping to divide a legion, which is typically around 5000 men, into. Nor would a legion fit into an order of battle also containing platoons. I would recommend using cohorts as your low level tactical Grouping so you don't seem so autistic

[BlueLgihtening]

5707838

Okay, thank you. I was sort of wondering about it, anyways.