Catalyst

Fire in the Sky

The griffon stalked through the streets. He crept along, sticking to shadows and dark alleys of Ponyville. He wasn't alone. Four other griffons followed his steps; staying just behind their leader. The leading griffon was a fearsome beast; front half eagle, back half lion, and heavily built, with muscles rippling through his fur and feathers. The other four griffons were built similar, although not quite as large. The leader's harsh yellow eyes were focussed on one thing and one thing only. The cyan pegasus with a rainbow coloured mane and tail that was gliding just above the rooftops.

Rainbow Dash knew nothing of the griffons tailing her. It was a warm evening in Ponyville, and she had finished her job of weather control for the day. Rainbow Dash had made the decision earlier in the day to visit her friend Twilight at her treehouse. Rainbow Dash was tired. She had had a long day keeping the skies over Ponyville clear, and her wings were aching as they tried to keep her aloft. She dropped to the ground and continued her journey on hooves. The griffons sped up.

Rainbow Dash strolled along a side street and down an alley. She stopped when she came to a crossroad, the alley splitting into four alleys. Rainbow Dash didn't usually walk through Ponyville, she preferred flying, and she hadn't been down this way before. She decided to take the left path, and walked down it until she came to a wall. Dead end. Rainbow Dash turned around and walked back the way she came, only to stop dead in her tracks. Through the gloom of the alley, three pairs of gold eyes were glaring at her, and coming closer. A voice rang out.

"Well, well, what have we here?"

Rainbow Dash glared back.

"Who the hell are you?"

The lead griffon stepped into the light, two more just behind him. The lead griffon laughed.

"We've been looking for a while trying to catch you," he smirked, "You're old pal Gilda sent us."

"What do you want?" Rainbow Dash snarled. The griffon only laughed again. Rainbow Dash flared her wings and prepared to take off. All her earlier tiredness had gone, replaced by a rush of adrenaline. She was the fastest pegasus in Ponyville! No mangy old griffon could hope to catch her. The lead griffon grinned.

"I wouldn't try to fly away if I were you. Look up."

"Yeah, like I'm going to fall for that." Rainbow Dash replied sarcastically.

"Do it."

Rainbow Dash risked a glance up. Crouched on the rooftops of the buildings forming the alley was another two griffons. Rainbow Dash was trapped. It was then that she felt the first major pang of fear run through her. She had been nervous before, but now it was far worse. She was trapped and outnumbered five to one. What was she going to do?

Just then, a clear voice rang out down the alley.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

A pegasus stepped into the light. He was white, young, with a dark blue mane cropped short. His piercing blue eyes were staring ferociously at the lead griffon. The griffon wheeled to face him.

"Back off, colt. Don't meddle in things that don't concern you," he snarled.

The pegasus was unabashed.

"Leave her alone and get out of this alley," he ordered.

The three griffons formed a circle around him. Above, the two griffons sat upright and tensed, preparing to spring off the rooftops.

"Last chance, pony. Get out of here now," the lead griffon said. "You don't want to mess with us."

The pegasus flared his wings and bent his legs slightly, about to jump into the air. The griffons copied him, all thoughts of Rainbow Dash forgotten. The new pegasus, with one powerful beat of his wings, shot into the air. The griffons jumped into the air as well and lashed out with their talons, only to meet air. Rainbow Dash gasped. The pegasus had shot back down to the ground quicker than he had shot up. How had he done that? Again the pegasus blasted into the air, this time on an angle. He forcefully head butted the lead griffon. The griffon collapsed onto the ground, winded. The pegasus lashed out with his back hooves, catching another griffon full in the face, before shooting forward towards Rainbow Dash. The two griffons from the rooftop slammed onto the ground, missing him by inches. The pegasus shouted at Rainbow Dash, snapping her out of her reverie.

"Come on, let's get moving!"

Rainbow Dash needed no further encouragement. Together, the pegasi took off and sped into the air. Being Rainbow Dash, she quickly took the lead and quickly moved away from the other pegasus. Rainbow Dash glanced back. As fast as the pegasus was on the ground, he was painfully slow in the air, and the enraged griffons were quickly catching up to him. Rainbow Dash screamed back at him.

"Hurry up! They're catching us."

The pegasus glanced behind him. They were still climbing up towards the sky, the pegasi being pursued by four furious griffons. The lead griffon was only metres away from the pegasus when suddenly he stopped climbing. The pegasus turned around and with one powerful beat of his wings, dove back at the griffon, smashed his fore hooves into the griffons face. The griffon fell out of the sky, only to be caught by two of the griffons following behind. They cursed him and turned back, carrying their injured leader between them. The other two griffons flew for a few more metres before giving up and turning back. The fifth griffon was nowhere to be seen, probably still lying injured in the alley. The pegasus flew up to where Rainbow Dash was hovering. Together they flew to a nearby cloud, the new pegasus seemly much faster than he had been before.

"Thanks for saving me," said Rainbow Dash.

"No problem"

Rainbow Dash used the moment to study the pegasus in closer detail. His mane and tail were blue with a thick grey streak running through them, despite his seemingly young age. He looked barely older than Rainbow Dash herself. His cutey mark was a vertical sword with wings sprouting out of the hilt. The pegasus was excited, Rainbow Dash noticed. He was striding around the cloud, muttering to himself. Suddenly he strode to the edge of the cloud and prepared to jump off.

"Wait!" Rainbow Dash shouted. The pegasus turned around.

"What?" he asked impatiently.

"Who are you? You can't just leave."

"I'm Captain Wolf of the Royal Equestrian Army, and I'd love to stop and chat, but I need to get to Canterlot as quickly as possible."

This just raised further questions in Rainbow Dashes mind. Royal Equestrian Army? Equestria didn't have an army, only the Royal Guard.

"But..."

"Sorry, but I need to talk to Princess Celestia. It's an emergency." Once again the pegasus turned to jump off the cloud. Rainbow Dash was galvanised into action.

"My friend Twilight is a unicorn. She can send a message to Princess Celestia almost instantly."

The pegasus looked at her.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go.

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Rainbow Dash knocked on the door of Twilights Library. Twilight opened it.

"Hello Rainbow Dash. How are you?"

"Sorry Twi," said Rainbow Dash as she pushed past her into the library. "It's an emergency. Is Spike here?"

"Yes, he's upstairs. What's the emergency? Who's your friend?"

"That's Captain Wolf of the Royal Equestrian Army. He needs to send an urgent letter to Princess Celestia."

Captain Wolf looked at Spike, who had come stumbling down the stairs holding a piece of parchment and a quill.

"So, I just tell you the message and you write it down and send it, right?"

"Yup," answered Spike.

"Oh, ok. Um, Dear Princess Celestia. We have a catalyst. I got attacked by griffons in Ponyville. I'm on my way to Canterlot now. From, Captain Wolf, First Pegasi Division."

Spike wrote it down and blew flames over it. The letter burned away.

"There, it's sent."

"Just like that?"

"Yup. She'll probably be reading it right now. "

"Alright, I'll be off then. Miss Sparkle, Mr Spike, Miss Dash, it was a pleasure. Sorry for the intrusion."

He started walking for the door. Rainbow Dash scrambled to her hooves and jumped in front of him.

"Hold up. You can't leave."

"Why not?"

"'Cause I need answers, that's why."

Captain Wolf sighed and sat down again.

"To what questions?"

"First of all, Wolf? What kind of a name is Wolf?"

"My parents named me Daring Wolf in the hope that it would give me courage. Animal names aren't as rare as you might think. My superior officer is Commander Desert Fox."

"That's my next question. Royal Equestrian Army? Equestria doesn't have an army."

"Yes, we do. It's a rather new development. Also a secret, so I'd appreciate it if you guys didn't repeat this," he said with a sideways glance at Twilight and Spike.

"In your letter you said you had 'found a catalyst'. What catalyst? The griffons? How were they a catalyst?"

"Sorry, I can't answer that one. You'll find out soon enough. Anyway, I really have to go now."

"But I'm not done asking you questions."

Captain Wolf looked at her.

"Do you want to come to Canterlot with me?"

Rainbow Dash was speechless. Go to Canterlot?

"For how long?"

"You're a pegasus. You can return whenever you want."

"...Sure."

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A/N First ever fanfiction! Reviews would be very much appreciated. Be as unkind as you want. I've had this story flitting around in my head for a while, so I want it to be as good as possible. Fun challenge: all OC officers (except Daring Wolf) are named after famous historical officers. Some are easy, others more subtle. First person to PM me with the officers and who they are named after from each chapter will get a mention in the note in the next chapter.

Secret Army

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The skies were clear over Equestria. No rain, only a few clouds. Not too cold. No wind. Perfect flying conditions. And soaring over the land, making full use of the good weather, were two pegasi. One was male, white, with a short blue mane. The other was female, cyan, with a rainbow-coloured mane. They were gliding slowly, not hurrying as they flew towards the mountainside city of Canterlot. Since Captain Wolf had sent a letter to Princess Celestia, his urgency had ended, and Rainbow Dash decided this was as good a time as ever to get the rest of her answers. Why wait until they reached Canterlot? She glided closer to Wolf.

“So, why were you looking for a catalyst?” she asked, “Are we going to war?”

“You really can’t wait until we get to Canterlot, can you?”

“No, I can’t. Answer the questions.”

Wolf sighed. “I could get court-marshalled for this. Promise me you won’t go repeating anything I tell you.” Rainbow Dash promised.

“Yes, we were looking for a catalyst. A reason to go to war with the Griffons.” Wolf said.

“Why?”

“That’s a long story.”

“It’s a long flight.”

Wolf laughed. “Ok then. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” he began.”Eight hundred years ago, this part of the world was very different. There were many smaller nations, and plenty of petty feuds. Few nations trusted each other, and most kept to themselves. That changed when the Griffon nations banded together and formed a single nation. This didn’t seem like a big deal, but then the strength of the Griffon military started increasing. They were building an army, and it wasn’t going to be just for defence. Other nations started to get worried, and started to increase their military spending hugely. But not us. The Griffons had never warred against Equestria, and we weren’t a danger to them. But the Griffons got stronger and stronger, and slowly our fears grew larger and larger. Then finally the Griffons did attack. Not us or any of our neighbours, but east. We thought that would be the end. The Griffons would spread east as much as they wanted, and we could keep farming and building our economy. Other nations remained suspicious, and increased their militaries further, but we figured this meant the end, that everyone would be happy. We were wrong.

A few years later, the Griffons returned to the west. The nations who had spent the most on their militaries had burned out, their economies unable to keep up with their spending. They were easy pickings for the Griffon armies. At last we realised the danger, and built up an army. By the time the Griffons had conquered the nations between us and them, we were ready. And we weren’t alone. South-west of the Griffons was the nation of Trotland. South of the Griffons, three smaller nations had joined forces to form a nation called the Coalition. All of us were prepared to defeat the Griffons. When the right time came, we attacked. And that’s when everything went wrong.

The Griffons were far more powerful than we thought. They had become stronger during their wars in the east. Our armies were destroyed. The Griffons attacked back. Trotland was ravaged. The Coalition forces were in full retreat, the Griffons chasing after to prevent them from regrouping. We managed to form another army, but that was also defeated by the Griffons. Equestria was invaded. We were on the brink of capitulation, all hope was lost, when a young pegasus, a Commander named Park Flyer, gathered Equestria’s last remaining reserves and defeated one of the Griffon armies. That changed everything. Since the start of the war, the Griffons had never been defeated. They didn’t know what to do, and they stopped advancing. This allowed us to ready our defences and let the Coalition forces regroup, and the winds of revolution started to blow in conquered countries, once they realised the Griffons weren’t invulnerable. But the war wasn’t won yet, not by a long shot. The Griffons were still strong, so when they offered the chance to end the war, we took it. But the terms were harsh. We were banned from having an army other than a restricted guard force. Our military history was not allowed to be taught. We lost land. And every year we pay the Griffons taxes, or ‘reparations’ as they call them. Princess Celestia had banished Princess Luna to the moon two hundred years prior, and didn’t have the energy to continue the war. So she accepted.

Eight hundred years of paying taxes has passed. But now Princess Luna is back. It is time to stop paying taxes, time to retake our land. And that is why we are going to war with the Griffons.”

Rainbow Dash mulled over what she had just heard. “But why do we need a reason? Why don’t we just attack?”

“Reparations aside, the region has been at peace for eight hundred years. Some nations may not approve of going to war, and we need to have a reason, else they might support the Griffons.”

They flew in silence for a few more minutes, before Rainbow Dash spoke up again. “Your story just raised further questions.”

“Such as?”

“If Equestria, Trotland and the Coalition tried and almost failed to defeat the Griffons before, what makes you think we can do it alone now?”

“A number of things. We have the element of surprise. Improved tactics. A different organisation of our army. The fact that the Griffons have gone eight hundred years without facing a competent opponent. And the hope that, should we start winning, other nations will also rise up against them.”

“Do you think that will happen?”

Wolf looked thoughtful. “I don’t know. No one can know for sure what will happen in a war. But it’s a distinct possibility and I’m willing to take the chance.”

“Ok, another question. You said one of the terms was no army. How do we have one, then?”

Wolf grinned broadly at this. “That is because one of the higher ups had a stroke of genius. We used the recent attack on Canterlot by the Changelings to recruit more guards, and then used that as a cover while we shifted older guards into positions in the army and leading training camps. We raised the main force slowly over a long period. Talking to the relatives of guards, and others, doing a careful analysis of everyone to make sure they can be trusted to keep a secret. It’s taken many months, but we have managed to build quite a substantial army. I’m only a Captain, so I don’t know the full details.”

“How substantial?”

“I believe the maximum army we could raise would be nearing a hundred thousand ponies, around half of them pegasi.”
Rainbow Dash was shocked. A hundred thousand ponies! She couldn’t even comprehend an army that size.

“That’s twice as big as we need, hopefully.” said Wolf, noticing her expression. “Since almost all Griffons can fly, earth ponies and unicorns are fairly useless against them. They are in case of emergencies, and won’t be called up for the initial invasion. The invasion force is completely pegasi based. They're camped out in forests closer to the border, well camouflaged and waiting for the order to move.”

“So, when we get to Canterlot...” Rainbow Dash began.

“We are at Canterlot.” Wolf interrupted.

Rainbow Dash looked up, and sure enough, Canterlot was right ahead of them, only a few more minutes flying away. She had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed.

“So, what happens now?”

“I give my report to my superiors, and then I return to my Division and await further orders. You may do whatever you want, but you won’t be allowed to travel with me to my Division.”

“Why not?”

“Only members of the unit and ponies with ranks higher than Field Marshal are allowed to know the location of the unit. The fewer ponies that know what our forces are like the better. I’ve already told you far too much as it is.”

“So, what, I just go home and act surprised when I hear about the invasion?” asked Rainbow Dash in a flash of anger.

“Yup.”

They flew together through the streets of Canterlot and landed outside the entrance to the palace, Rainbow Dash still seething. Wolf muttered to the guards stationed at the entrance, who saluted and let them in without a word. They walked down the halls and stopped outside another guarded door. Rainbow Dash went to open it, but Wolf stopped her.

“Sorry, Rainbow Dash. You’ll have to wait outside.”

With that, Wolf opened the door and walked into the room, shutting it behind him. Rainbow stared at the door in disbelief. She started pacing the corridor, thinking to herself about all she had just learned. For fifteen minutes she stalked the corridor, ignoring the stares of the two guards, before Wolf remerged. By then she had made her decision.

“Wolf, I want in. I want to join the invasion force.”

A/N Congratulations to Edragon, who figured out the identity of Commander Desert Fox. Sorry about the amount of dialogue in this chapter, but it was necessary. I will most likely add one more chapter after this one, before I edit the current story and fix all the errors that are so glaringly obvious now that they have been pointed out to me. Keep reviewing, it's the only way I'll improve.