The Reiter Pony War

by ASDeckard

6: It Begins

Rainbow Dash and Rapidfire had been flying laps around the Areion Peak for well over an hour now. They were circling about half way up the mountain, far above Canterlot. Rainbow hadn't been counting the laps themselves—we have to be well over a hundred by now—but she was counting how many times she had lapped Rapidfire. This is going to be thirteen now, she though, as she closed in on Rapidfire again.

Every time she passed the golden pony it had taken her longer to come around behind her again, and this time she had to fight tooth and feather for every inch she gained.

"That's thirteen!" Rainbow shouted, wobbling in the air as her she struggled to catch the breath she had wasted with the shout.

"I'm, happy, for, you," Rapidfire replied, muttering the words between quick gasps, timed between her flaps. Sweat had darkened her coat to a much less vibrant gold, but the look of youthful determination was as bright as ever.

With her lungs on fire, and every flap bringing a sharper and sharper pain to her sides and chest, Rainbow slowed slightly to match pace with Rapid. Whoa, this really, really sucks; but I'm winning! I'm so winning!

"Hey, Rain, bo... wow. It's, been, awhile, ha." Rapidfire was still maintaining a very good pace; faster than most Pegasi could manage fresh. "Why, did, you, slow?"

"This is it," Rainbow only slightly lied. Every flap further the two Pegasi flew, Rainbow could steadily feel her energy fading; if Rapidfire didn't slow soon she might start to out run Rainbow. I won't let that happen! Rainbow pushed harder, and harder to stay by Rapidfire's side, but as she once again closed in on the limit of her endurance Rapidfire began to slowly inch ahead.

No, no, no! Rainbow pushed herself back to her limit, and managed to hold steady with Rapidfire for a few more minutes, but soon enough Rapidfire began to pull ahead again, and no matter how hard she strained her wings forcing all of her strength into every flap, Rainbow couldn't quite keep up. Slowly, over the course of several minutes, Rapidfire opened a solid lead over Rainbow. Yea, well... I'm still twelve full laps ahead.

As Rainbow tried to push herself to close in again, her vision began to swim, and Rapidfire's tail appeared to blur and distort, eventually splitting in two. The pains in her side began to turn from sharp, hot spikes, into a cold throbbing and the world began to lose what color it had in the rock and snow. Soon, a dark blur began to close in around her vision.

"Ah hay, I think I'm out," Rainbow finally admitted to herself as she began to slow. I just need a moment to rest my eyes a little; they can hardly see anything anyway...

"Hey... are... you... napping?" Rapidfire's voice came from behind. She was panting now, and her words came very strained.

"No..." Rainbow managed, forcing her eyes open. A grey scale version of Rapidfire poked into her field of view, putting a concerned hoof on her shoulder.

"You don't... look so good," Rapidfire forced out, wobbling unsteadily.

It took Rainbow a moment to realize both of them were struggling to hold themselves in a glide. I could have sworn I was flying...

"I think we're done," Rapidfire said shakily. "I sure as hay can't hover; can you?"

Rainbow smiled, remembering Luna's order's. "No, I don't think I can."

"Then we better get back before you pass out; I can't carry you like this."

As they descended into the thicker air Rainbow was watching Rapidfire, and the color in her mane and coat began to return. It's my eyes, Rainbow realized; I've run myself out of air to the point of going color blind. I've never done that before.

Approaching the area they'd left Luna, Rainbow also spotted Twilight sitting by her sided. They were having a discussion about magic; Rainbow wasn't sure she could follow the conversation even if the world didn't sound like it was underwater, but with everything muffled and blurry she didn't even try listening.

Her landing was not as graceful as usual, but she was proud to have not stumbled, unlike Rapidfire who ended up with her muzzle in the grass.

"Ouch," Rapidfire muttered, rolling onto her side. "Well... that was fun."

"I hope so; I plan on having us start all of our training sessions this way," Luna offered, turning away from her quiet discussion with Twilight. "I think it is time to call the others back," she added, eyes going unfocused as she manually advanced the moon's position, in a way only the Princes Of The Night And Moon could.

Luna looked exactly as they had left her, mane sparkling in a constellation of stars Rainbow could almost recognize, but Twilight had changed noticeably. Her fur was ruffled, and her mane was frayed quite badly, and her eyes were filled with concern as she stared back at Rainbow.

"Do I really look that bad?" Rainbow asked with what little air she had collected in her lungs, before returning to her painful panting. When nopony answered—although the childish smile on Luna's snout gave her an idea—Rainbow turned her head around to inspect her flank. Oh... Her fur was more disjointed that she had ever seen before, with patches bent in every direction held up by sweat, and her feathers looked like they would take days to straighten out, while her tail and mane, that usually flowed straight, was spiked worse than Scootaloo's usually was. Honestly, my mane's not a bad look, she thought, but had to admit the rest of her looked like it had been buried for several days.

"Whoa, I look as bad as I feel!" Rainbow declared, turning back around. Her expression elicited a grin from Rapidfire and a giggle from Luna, but Twilight still wore a deeply concerned expression.

Before Rainbow could ask the rest of their comrades began arriving. They all looked truly terrible; one of the griffons specifically, a male with obsidian black fur and gleaming silver feathers, looked like he had been badly mauled. He was the only one present that truly rivaled Rainbow's own disheveled appearance.

"Now, are we all here? Good," Luna began in a calm voice. "Now I want each of you to hover in place."

Rainbow was a bit confused for a moment, but quickly connected the dots with a smile. Oh, Luna, why do you tease us so? Rather than cheat, Rainbow leaped into the air on her still reasonably strong legs, with every intent set on hovering in place and failing Luna's earlier challenge. Unfortunately—or should I say fortunately?—her right wing crumpled under the strain of the very first flap and she collapsed heavily on her right side.

"That was terrible," Rapidfire commented from the sidelines.

"Let's see what you can do!" Rainbow shouted, without the strength to raise her head, and remained on her side.

"Yea, that's a no. I can't even stand!" Rapidfire dragged herself along the ground into Rainbows field of view, and then relaxed on her side. "I honestly wasn't expecting you to have that level of endurance, Dash; I though stunt ponies only trained for speed!"

"I'm also our towns Weather Manager; I spend a lot of time flying around chasing clouds, with nothing better to do than push myself." Rainbow tried to shrug, but stopped to focus on her breathing for a minute. "...What about you? You look more like an Earth Pony than a Pegasus!"

Rapidfire blushed quite heavily, but managed not to look away. "I... grew up on a rock farm, and when I finally managed to get out, I ended up working on a corn farm. I don't know why, I just never really fit in with Pegasi."

A few of Luna's students had managed to hover for a few moments, but it seemed none of them could stay in the air for long.

"Very good everyone! I was not expecting this level of commitment so early." Luna wore a large smile as she spoke. "We all have a long way to go, but endurance will be the cornerstone that all of our tactics will be built from. The longer you can fly, the longer we can train. There is one more thing we will do tonight; we will sometimes need to fly long distances to spot our prey, so we must become adapt at fighting when low on energy, and we must learn to conserve what we have and know when to use it."

Luna paused as she looked around at those arrayed in front of her. "I see one of you has a question. Do not be afraid to speak up; we are all comrades in arms here, and the better we know each other the better we can support one another." When the black furred griffon refused to ask his question, Luna spoke again. "Do not be afraid to speak to me, as I have no patience for those that lack initiative. If you must always be told what to do, and are afraid to make your own moves and voice your concerns, you will find no succsess with this squadron."

"Yes... Luna." The griffons voice was far deeper than Rainbow had been expecting. As far as griffons went he was not actually very large; he looked to be about the same size as Gilda, possibly a little smaller, but he spoke with the well honed precision of a trained warrior. "I am beginning to understand why I am here, and what you're planning to do, and I see great wisdom in your plan. You are looking to maximize our effectiveness while minimizing the number of soldiers at risk, but I don't understand why she is here."

The griffon gestured at Twilight.

"Hey!" Rainbow shouted, jumping to her hooves, her bodies painful protests ignored. "What do you mean—"

"Rainbow," Luna cut her off. "Let us hear what he has to say before we judge the validity of his complaint."

Rainbow held her tongue, but she remained standing, finding herself suddenly filled with energy she didn't know she had.

The griffon continued. "I don't see why you would be willing to risk somepony as powerful, and as valuable as a princess. If you must put an Alicorn in charge, you would make a far better leader than her." There was nothing personal about how the griffon spoke of Twilight, if anything his speech was tinted with humble respect. It still set Rainbow's ears back and flared her wings wide to hear him speak of Twilight like that.

"What is your name, griffon?" Luna's voice was still calm and friendly, but was tinged with authority.

"Procyon, ma'am," the griffon replied with a quick bow.

"Call me Luna, Procyon," Luna said, giving Procyon a curt bow of her own, before turning to address the entire group. "Twilight is not here to be your leader. I will be placing the very best of you in charge of the group as a whole, but no one is subject to anyone else in this squadron. You will all be your own leaders by the time we're done here. Have I answered your question, Procyon?"

"No," Procyon said plainly. "If she is not here to lead us, then why is she here? There are hundreds of other griffons that could—"

"Silence." The word was gentle, even as it was sharp. "Are you questioning my decision, Procyon?"

"I—"

"If so you're coming along far more quickly that I would have expected, given you're strong military background. There is nothing wrong with questioning my decisions, if anything you must learn to question your leaders, because if they make a mistake it can get you all killed. As I've explained, you will be operating alone and heavily out numbered; one wrong call and it's over for all of you. We do not lead our little squad with authority, we lead it with respect, but part of respecting each other is not judging someone's worth until you have seen what they are capable of. Have I answered your question now?"

"Well... no. I've seen what she can do; she was hardly flapping along after just an hour, and she returned to you well before we were finished. I don't know what you—"

As Procyon was speaking Luna's eyes had began to narrow, but he froze as her expression twisted into a scowl. "It is true; Twilight is not ready to fly into combat yet, but none of you are; not the type of combat I'm asking you to commit to. She may be the furthest from ready, but that also means she has the most room to improve, and will likely improve the fastest. I understand your concerns perfectly, but there is no one in all our armies that can do what Twilight can to replace her. You still have a question; ask it."

"...What can she do?" Procyon's was standing his ground, but there was fear in his voice. Rainbow Dash couldn't blame him in the slightest.

Luna's expression softened back to cool contentment, and any hint of anger was gone when she spoke. "That is a very wise question, and I feel a demonstration is in order. Twilight Sparkle, do you feel up for a challenge?"

Twilight's ears snapped up and her eyes widened. "Luna, I don't kno—"

"Good. Rainbow Dash, would you lend me your strength?" All eyes shifted to Rainbow at Luna's request.

Like you even need to ask. "Of course, Luna."

"Good. There is a game we're going to use to practice our... energy conservation. Most soldiers fight in formation, supporting each other, and since a formation cannot dodge attacks they must stand their ground to protect those next to them. If we tried to fight like that we would be bowled over by even a token force, so instead we must fight swiftly and as individuals only loosely supporting each other.

"The focus of this game is to practice the skills necessary for this type of warfare. The goal is not to land repeated strikes, or grapple with your opponent. If you latch on to an opponent, and attempt to defeat them with strength alone, then you will be an easy target for their allies. Instead we will strike quickly, and retreat before they can counter. We will dodge by staying out or reach until they leave an opening, and then you will strike.

"So in this game, the goal is to land a solid connection with the opponent, while denying them the opportunity to strike back. When you two are ready you may begin. Strikes to the legs or wings will not be counted yet, and while you may attempt to block strikes understand this is an unnecessary risk and a waste of strength."

Luna and the rest of her students had moved a good distance away, creating a loose and disorganized circle around the two friends. Rainbow crouched low to the ground and began pacing around Twilight, who slowly turned in place to watch her but otherwise stayed still.

Rainbow took a tentative flap of her wings. Ouch, well... I guess I'm on hoof for the time being. While her wings where out of action, she hadn't put much stress on her legs today and they were still responding well, even though she had very little energy. Twilight had to be feeling the same way, and even at full strength Twilight was not a very fast runner and her reaction's were relatively slow. She may have been exhausted, but Rainbow was confident this would be a quick win.

She cantered up to Twilight, staying just out of her slightly longer reach, but Twilight backed away. Oh really? Rainbow moved forward again, curving to Twilight's left before pressing in quicker this time. Again Twilight tried to move away, but she stumbled slightly. Rainbow took the opportunity to leap forwards, leading with her left fore-hoof. Before she made contact Twilight disappeared in a bright purple flash, leaving Rainbow to land awkwardly in her place.

Twilight reappeared a short distance away on Rainbows left. "You can't keep this up all night, Twi," Rainbow said, rushing at Twilight before she could recover from the short distance teleportation, but once again before Rainbow could make contact Twilight winked out. Rainbow nearly fell on her face this time as her legs buckled under the strain of the rough landing.

"Twilight, you are doing very well, but stop wasting opportunities and energy," Luna spoke from the sidelines.

Before Rainbow could turn around she heard Twilight teleport again, then felt a weight drop on her from above, forcing her legs to give out and pressing her belly into the ground. "Twilight!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, but isn't that a point?" Twilight asked Luna as Rainbow struggled to lift both her own weight and Twilight's.

"Technically yes, but as I said grappling is an unnecessary risk," Luna answered.

"But why—" Twilight began.

"Point!" Rainbow shouted, reaching a hoof behind her to hit Twilight in the side. It wasn't strong enough to be a real punch, more of a hard pat, but the whap if hoof striking soft fur echoed through the still night air. "Poi—" Rainbow began to shout again, intending to strike Twilight's other side, but during her windup a great weight set in across her entire body, pressing all four of her hooves into the soft grass.

"Rainbow, that wasn't very nice!"

"We're preparing you to go to war, Twilight," Luna said coldly. "This is not going to be nice, and what we're training you to do to others is even less nice. Still, you have proven your strength admirably. Get up from Rainbow Dash, but keep her pinned down if you'd please."

Rainbow could feel Twilight climb off of her back, and watched her walk away in front of her, before turning back to face her captive, and through it all the weight holding Rainbow pinned to the ground did not waver. It only took Rainbow a moment to realize what was happening; her right foreleg was cast in front of her face and she could clearly see the purple glow of Twilight's magic shimmering across her own fur.

"Rainbow Dash, would you please rise," Luna asked politely.

Rainbow strained every muscle in her body, dumping what strength she had left into finding any part of her that would move. Her only reward for her efforts was seeing Twilight's expression strain as she was forced to put extra concentration into her spell. I can't, she tried to say, but Twilight's spell had clamped around her muzzle too, and it came out in an unintelligible mumble.

"You may release her, Twilight. Procyon, have we now addressed your concerns over Twilight's value?"

As Rainbow struggled to her hooves, helped by Twilight's gentle push, she turned to look at the black and silver griffon. He was slowly nodding his head, a curious look directed at Twilight.

"Good. As I'm sure you have just noticed, a powerful Unicorn can leave even the strongest and fastest of us helpless. Luckily, powerful Unicorns are relatively rare, and there are tactics you can employ to reduce their effectiveness that I will teach you, but as the best defense is a powerful offense, the best counter for a Unicorn is another.

"This puts Twilight in a very powerful position, as she will allow you to bring a truly massive amount of magical firepower to bear, without being slowed down by a ground bound pony. I hope you understand why I have given Twilight a larger room for error, as she is truly irreplaceable, but by the end of our training she will be judged every bit as fairly as the rest of you.

"Now, I was planing on having you begin practicing with our little game, but I see most of you have yet to adapt to our new sleep schedule, so we are ending for today. Get some rest, as we will be doing the same thing tomorrow. Twilight, would you stay to have a word with me please."

"Um, yea, sure," Twilight answered, turning to Rainbow. "Are you ok?"

"Yea, I'm perfectly fine. All of me hurts now, so I hardly notice the gashes on my side." Rainbow spared them a quick glance; they hadn't been reopened and the center cut, the one Twilight had sealed, was hardly visible. "I'll see you back at the room." Rainbow gave Twilight a gentle—by her standards—bump as she turned to fly away. She managed to get airborne through shear stubbornness; Equestria's fastest flier will not be forced to walk back!

⁂

Twilight watched as Rainbow somehow managed to find the strength to fly. Watching her climb towards Canterlot made Twilight's own wings ache.

"Twilight, I... there is something I should share with you about our dear friend." Luna was looking up at her night sky, eyes shimmering with the light of billions of stars, all at her command.

"What is it Luna?" The others had all gone, most trotting towards Canterlot but a few, most notably Rainbow's new friend Rapidfire, flew in other directions. Rapidfire had also somehow managed to find the strength to fly, although she looked almost intoxicated as she wobbled down into the valley below Canterlot. She must live somewhere nearby if she's flying home in this condition... maybe I should invite her back to the castle with us some time; I'm sure there's room.

"Twilight, do you know how we become Alicorns?"

"Well that's an odd question. Is Rainbow being considered?" Twilight had never even considered what it would be like to have another one of her friends become an Alicorn, but Twilight couldn't imagine Rainbow would even want to be a princess; that sound's more like Rarity if anyone.

"We do not consider ponies for the position Twilight; so I take it you don't know everything?" Luna had moved close, standing just to Twilight's side at a comfortable distance for a close friend.

"I suppose not."

"But you know Alicorns are made, not born. That is enough for this discussion. What do you think Cadance was before she became an Alicorn?"

"I've always known her as an Alicorn, but after becoming one myself I asked Cadance, and she told me everything. She was born a Pegasus, and raised by Earth Ponies before Celestia adopted her."

"That is true, Twilight, she was. What do you think I and Celestia were?"

The thought had never even occurred to her; in all of Twilight's readings Celestia and Luna were always referred to as Alicorns, with the exception of translation errors were they where referred to as Pegasus Unicorns. "I honestly have no idea," Twilight admitted with wonder creeping into her voice.

"I'm not sure I should actually be telling you this... I was born a Pegasus, and Tia..." Luna paused, her eyes shifting towards Canterlot's Castle, were Celestia was undoubtedly fast asleep.

"...Luna! You know I'll find out somehow; there are a lot of books in the Canterlot library, and I'm sure Celestia will give me full access!"

"Calm yourself, Twilight. Celestia was born an Earth Pony. I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Celestia how you know," followed with a quick wink.

"An Earth Pony...? But isn't magic a necessary part of the tests, or was that unique to me?"

"No pony alive today knows exactly what the test's are; if we did we might be tempted to push our students through, and then the tests may as well not exist in the first place, but this is not relevant to our discussion on Rainbow Dash."

"Wait, how is any of this relevant to Rainbow?" Twilight was thoroughly confused now, with no solution in sight she forced her mind to stop, and waited for Luna to explain.

"Even before becoming an Alicorn, Cadance showed extreme gifts in magic, being able to master powerful illusion spells; spells even a power Unicorn would struggle with. Despite being on simple Earth Pony Celestia showed great potential at mastering complex spells. I, personally, became one of the most powerful spell casters in the Republic, and both myself and Celestia were trained by Star Swirl personally, well before becoming Alicorns."

"The Republic...? Oh! You and Celestia became the first Alicorns during the Empires founding! I always forget you and Celestia are not actually as old as the Empire, but even older than it. I still don't get what this has to do with Rainbow, so all Alicorns can use magic even before?"

"We don't know if magic is truly required to become an Alicorn, but that's not the point. Twilight, it's not just pre-Alicorns that can use magic without a horn, many other ponies can too."

Twilight's mind went blank for a minute. "Well, yes, Pegasi can walk on clouds and effect the weath—"

"Yes, but that's not what I mean. Some Pegasi and Earth Ponies can gain conscious control of their magic, and cast spells as Unicorns do."

"...Why isn't this common knowledge? How am I just now hearing about this? Is it rare?"

"We are not sure exactly how rare it is, but the first two questions are part of what we must talk about. While Pegasi and Earth Ponies can control magic, it is much more difficult for them, and much more dangerous. It requires great focus and concentration to control. If they do not have these traits, they can become an extreme danger to themselves and those around them. When Rainbow Dash was struggling against your telekinesis I could feel her emotions pushing outward, and I could feel her inter power. With training and great practice I feel she may even rival you and I."

Twilight spent a full minute considering this, and allowing time for the truth to sink in. Rainbow Dash is as strong as I am? That's great; we could really use the extra push... but will she be able to control herself? "Why have you told me this?"

"I do not know Rainbow Dash well enough to judge if she can be trusted with the truth. Some things you must consider, Twilight; even if Rainbow proves not to be a threat to herself with these abilities, she may not have enough time to train before we're at war, so even if we take this great risk—and do not be fooled for a moment, a great risk she is—it may not pay off in time to be relevant. I will trust your judgment, Twilight Sparkle, but understand her actions will reflect on you, and recognize that this knowledge is a state secret; if it became common knowledge countless ponies could be injured, or killed. You must share this with no one else without consulting myself or Celestia."

"...What about Cadance?" Twilight wasn't sure why she asked, but the thought of her old foal-sitter was comforting.

"...Cadance does not know."

It took a moment for the words to sink in. "What? How does Cadance not know about this? She was one of the ponies that could do magic without a horn!"

"She believes her magic was simply her gift; much as your friend, Fluttershy, believes the illusion magic she calls 'the stare' is part of her gift as well. It is not, she is casting a spell by instinct alone. This is not dangerous, but if she were to learn that she could consciously control her magic, she would inevitably start 'modifying' it, and trying new spells. You, of all ponies, great Bearer of Magic, should recognize how dangerous wild magic can be, made even more dangerous by the lack of a focal point." Luna tapped her own horn.

"...I don't... Does Celestia know?"

"That I'm telling you this? We discussed the possibility, of telling and training some of the Pegasi if they showed talent, and we agreed you would be the best pony for the job. After feeling Rainbow Dash's power... I had to tell you, and Celestia will understand and approve."

"Luna, I... have no idea what to do."

"I wouldn't expect you to. If I had known what to do, I would have simply told you, but I do not know Rainbow Dash well enough to make this choice for her. Take some time to think it through, and do not rush into a decision. We will not have enough time to train her this coming week anyway. Just remember, Twilight, that once she knows, she will never be able to forget what power is within her grasp, and she will use it, with or without training. If you chose to walk this path with her, you must do it together all the way to it's conclusion, which will carry on even after the war has ended."

There were too many questions Twilight wanted to ask, and they all blurred together, choking her thoughts to a standstill. "...I'm going to need some time to think about this."

"Of course, and remember no matter the time of day or night Celestia or I will be able to answer your questions." And with that Luna rose into the air on gentle flaps, moving hardly any air as she slipped into the sky. "Any time, Twilight," she called down, then turned and climbed into the sky.

Mind still awash in noisy questions, Twilight considered attempting to fly back to the Castle. The ache as she tried to stretch her wings answered a resounding, no. With one of the questions answered, she began the long walk back into Canterlot.

Author's Note:

Cadance growing up as a Pegasi, and being raised by Earth Ponies before being adopted by Celestia is cannon, as seen in this book; http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Twilight_Sparkle_and_the_Crystal_Heart_Spell

The rest (Luna and Celestia's time before the Empire) is part of my own interpretation, and part of why this series is marked as alternative universe. It will not become a major player in this specific story, although it will be alluded to and explained in a bit more detail.

The interpretation that any pony can use magic to it's fullest with proper training is also my own design, as is the theoretical dangers of letting it go unchecked. This will become extremely important throughout the story, and most of if not all of your questions regarding it will be answered in future chapters.

Feel free to ask any questions you want in the comments, but understand a lot of it may fall into spoiler territory, and I'll have to tell you 'wait and see.'

And (yep, I just started a paragraph with and: deal with it), as always, feel free to point out any spelling or punctuation errors in the comments. Please include a copy and paste of were the error is so I can easily find it using the search function. If there is any grammatical device I consistently use that irritates you, feel free to bring it up. Having me explain to you why I do it may help you enjoy the story, and if it's something I don't have a good reason for doing then I should stop doing it and would love the opportunity for you to teach me. Happy readings.