A/N: Slow day at work so I decided to work on the next two chapters. Enjoy! Feel free to R&R

Chapter 5: HOOF

Twilight flung the door to her room in Canterlot Castle and leaned on it, sighing heavily, as it closed. Another successful yet tiring day of training with the troops. Only this time, it was with Luna's Nightshade Battalion. She smiled at the success of her day, making a great impression on General White Noise as well as Luna. She then trotted to her bed, wrote a few notes down in a notebook, and collapsed on her bed, eyes closed. Before she could drift off to sleep, there was a hefty knock at her door. Twilight grumbled but went to answer it. Upon opening the door, she was face to face with Rainbow Dash, who wore a huge smile on her face. This instantly lit up Twilight's face as Dash embraced her in a bone crushing hug.

"Good… to see you to… Dash! Can't… Breathe!" Twilight struggled.

"hehe oops! My bad" Dash chuckled as she let Twilight go and catch her breath.

"How did your operation go?" Twilight asked as they both sat down on her bed.

Dash was a bit more hesitant to answer, not really wanting to divulge some of the worse details of the mission.

"It was so awesome!" She said genuinely, letting the other details slide past her.

"I take it you didn't mind the actual combat role? And what was it?" Twilight inquired

"Not at all. Suited my style completely. And it was the Gryphons. They had a base inside Equestria" Dash shook her head

"Did you have to… kill anypony? Or gryphon, actually?" Twilight asked hesitantly.

Rainbow Dash looked away slightly, not sure what to tell Twilight. She obviously did have to. Hell, she killed seven gryphons, six in direct combat. But, she is the element of loyalty, and with loyalty comes honesty.

"Yeah… I did" She said, avoiding a sad undertone to try and make it seem like it hadn't affected her as much, which it didn't… at least as much as she thought it would. She didn't want Twilight to worry about her. Twilight took those words to heart, looked away for a bit, and then turned back.

"Was it difficult?" she asked, truly curious. This question surprised Dash. She expected Twilight to look upon her with disdain. Now that she was merely inquiring, there wasn't much to be afraid of. She gave an honest answer:

"When you're fighting for your life, or something you believe is right and for the safety of those you love, it really isn't difficult to muster the strength to take the life of those who would threaten those ideals."

"Your vocabulary has become remarkable, Dashie" Twilight complemented her, to which Dash began to blush a bit.

"hehe, I guess so. But why do you ask?"

"Well, I want to be reassigned to combat role. I asked Luna last night and she granted my request." Twilight told her. Dash was floored.

"Are you serious? You've never been one for fighting… at least unless you really have to. Why the change of heart?" Dash asked very curiously.

"Well, assuming conflict breaks out over this incident, which I'm sure it will, you're going to be on the front, and I feel I owe it to you to be there as well." Twilight admitted.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to for me, Twilight" Rainbow Dash replied, truly touched.

"Not just for you, Dash, but for me as well. I feel it would toughen my resolve. I know how the Gryphons work and I believe that it would be good for me if I at least tried to make it work" Twilight lied a bit. She was terrified, but did not want to let Dash go alone.

"If you say so, Twilight. Thanks" Dash said as she nuzzled her friend, eliciting blushes from both of them and then a yawn from Twilight.

"Alright, I'll let you get some sleep Twilight. It was wonderful to see you, and tell me as soon as you find out what awesome reassignment you get!" Dash said with a big smile.

"Will do, Dashie. Goodnight!" Twilight said as she showed Dash to the door. Dash left and Twilight let out another yawn. About to pass out on the spot, she walked back to her bed and suddenly there was another loud knock at the door, further frustrating Twilight.

"What the hell is it now I'm trying to-" She stopped her speaking as she spotted the General, Luna, and Celestia at her door.

"Oh… my sincerest apologies!" she quickly stated as she gave a bow to the princesses and saluted the General.

"No need for formalities now, Twilight Sparkle" the General stated as he removed his cap.

"And what did we tell you about bowing to us, your friends?" Celestia chimed in with a jesting smile. Twilight smiled back and composed herself.

"Alright, well, what can I do for you all at this hour of the night?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, the General here would like to speak with you on a very important matter" Luna stated as she motioned the General forward. He then spoke to Twilight.

"I must express my gratitude in your training of my colts today. Your techniques were impeccable and your skills are impressive, and that's a major understatement" the General stated, again, eliciting a blush from Twilight. He continued:

"Not to mention that your track record before hand is a most stunning one. You and your friends have come to Equestria's aid numerous times in the past, plus your magical prowess is most admirable and fearful" the General stated in a truly impressed manner. Twilight attempted to speak through the flurry of compliments.

"You're too kind, General, but I was only doing my duty for my friends and Equestria" Twilight said proudly. The General smiled.

"And that's the kind of dedication, attitude, and ultimately, strength, we are looking for" The General said

"What exactly do you mean?" Twilight asked. Luna and Celestia both shuffled and mustered a bit of a smile at anticipating the General's next words.

"I heard you were looking for reassignment, particularly to a combat role should conflict break out over this whole mess, and you know how the Gryphons have an appetite for conflict, especially with us. I have come with a proposition for you, Twilight" the General stated almost excited. Twilight was now very intrigued.

"What kind of proposition?" Twilight asked, extremely curious.

"Before conflict inevitably is upon us, we still see it fit to attempt to stop anything before it happens. Special Forces are going to be in order." The general began to explain

"Naturally" Twilight acknowledged

"We do have Special Forces, but for different types of operations. Under Princess Luna's and Celestia's direction, we created a new combat force for extremely gifted ponies of unicorn nature. This program requires power, dedication, loyalty, and potential unlike no other. It will test your very resolve. It is called the Heavy Ordinance and Operations Force: HOOF. The training regiment employs ridiculous use of magic for heavy purposes and special operations, whether they be covert, support, or attacking roles in nature."

Twilight looked at them in awe as she attempted to take in what was just told to her. Then the general continued:

"Twilight Sparkle, would you be up to the job as our first HOOF?" The General asked with a smirk on his face. The princesses awaited her response as Twilight's jaw dropped.

Twilight thought for about twenty seconds. This would get rid of the monotony of her daily life, granted with much more risk to her own life involved, but she could be on the front with Rainbow Dash in the future most likely.

"General, Princesses, I accept the offer" She proudly stated with a smile. The others gave her an approving nod and smile. She then continued

"Have you worked out what exactly I can expect to encounter in training? What we will be utilizing? Etc. If so, what can I expect?" Twilight asked.

"As you know, this force is horrendously picky on its candidates, so you will be few in number. Out of all of Equestria, twenty, maybe thirty at best. Naturally, your training will be incredible. This is a unicorn only program, so you will be using magic to essentially perform all your combat roles and enhancements beyond what normal unicorn soldiers are trained to do. You will be trained, of course, in basic weapons handling and what not as a diagnostic, but ultimately, the power tied to your name will be from magic combat ability and hoof-to-hoof combat at a much more advanced level than any other soldier. These abilities at many times will require you to stand on your hind legs, so massive training will be needed to ensure that you can comfortably support yourself as well as fight and maintain finesse and dexterity on two legs. Also, massive magic training will allow you to channel your magic abilities into other parts of your body, not just your horn" the general was beginning to explain, but the last part caught Twilight's ears.

"You mean you can control magic not just through your horn, but through other appendages?"

"Correct. Our training will ensure that you can perform spells and engage in combat with your fore-hooves. This is why we also emphasize having full capability to support yourself and function on your hind legs. This provides an enormous advantage in combat" the General confirmed. This only fueled Twilight's curiosity even more, and consequently, her desire.

"I accept once again, and will do whatever it takes for me, my friends, and for Equestria." Twilight proudly stated with force in her voice and she saluted. The general gave a great smile.

"Very well then, Twilight. Your training will begin in a week. Be prepared to-" the General and princesses were interrupted by a royal messenger at the door.

"Princesses, I have an urgent intelligence report!" he handed Celestia the scroll.

"Thank you very much. You are dismissed." She said with a stern yet motherly voice. The messenger bowed and was off. Celestia then levitated the scroll and began to read. Her face turned from one of concern to extreme worry in seconds.

"Luna… you might want to take a look at this." She showed Luna the scroll.

"The Gryphons have mobilized and are moving troops closer to their border? This can't be, we intercepted the transmissions. This wasn't supposed to happen for another month!" Luna exclaimed in shock. The General grew concerned.

"Do we know anything else?" he asked them. Luna peered down at the scroll again.

"Approximate strength: thirty thousand ground forces, five thousand air troops, and five thousand elite air and ground combined. There's well more on the way if things heat up. They must have been alerted to our interception… but how?" Luna said, pondering. The general turned back to Twilight.

"Scratch my earlier remark, Twilight. Your training begins tomorrow. Is that well?" The general asked sternly.

"Sir, yes sir" Twilight responded boldly, to which the general nodded.

"Luna, you do what you have to do and get your specialty forces combat ready tomorrow. I'm going to order a full mobilization. I'm also going to attempt to contact the Gryphon Leader one last time. This may be able to be averted, but I don't have too much hope, I'm ashamed to say. The continent may well be engulfed in conflict." Celestia said with a darker undertone. She then turned to the General.

"Thank you, General. You are dismissed. Goodnight Twilight and best of luck in your training. Keep me posted, please." Celestia bade her close student and friend goodnight, still worried for her.

"Will do, Celestia. Good luck with the last ditch. We'll get through this yet!" Twilight attempted an encouraging smile. Celestia turned to walk out with the others and smiled.

"Yes we will Twilight… yes we will." And she closed the door.

Twilight walked over to her bed and turned to the giant mirror ahead of the foot of her bed. She looked at herself, her figure, her horn, and the purple eyes staring back at her. She then bore a stern look and stood herself on her hind legs, while powering her horn. She gazed at her pulsing eyes as she could feel magical energy coursing through her body, and she attempted to channel the magic into her fore-hooves. No luck, she couldn't find the mental discipline. She then got back down on all four legs and dispersed the magic in her horn. She gave a long sigh, and turned to her bed and got under the covers. She still had much to learn, but when this was all said and done, she would be more powerful than she could ever imagine. She hoped, in the end, this power, and what she would be getting into, would not change who she was as a pony.

"With great power comes great responsibility" she muttered before she drifted off to a deep slumber.