Chapter 2: Rebellion

The Great Equestrian War

I walked down the corridor to the Great Hall, my mind teeming with possibilities. None of them appealed to me. Rather than bore you with them, I'll just cut to the important part.

The guards- an earth pony on the left and a unicorn on the right- posted in front of the Hall entrance crossed their spears, barring the doors. I stared into their eyes, silently contemplating all the various ways I could defeat both of them and force entrance into the room. I knew that they were doing the same to me.

It was a game we play.

Without taking his eyes off of me, the earth pony used one of his hind legs to knock on the door. Okay, so that would be my window. I would leap forward, using my wings for speed. I would crash into the earth pony before he had time to react. He would be off balance, so I would be able to draw my dagger and sl-

The doors opened. Both of the guards flinched and looked towards them. I smirked as I passed them, knowing that their disruption of focus would have been enough to overpower at least one of them before the other could react.

"Next time, colts," I whispered to them as I entered the Great Hall.

I entered the Great Hall, head bowed. I entered slowly and respectfully, as is required by ceremony.

"At ease, Lieutenant," a voice I recognized as belonging to Princess Celestia said.

I slowly raised my head and said "Second Lieutenant Thunder Crasher, reporting as ordered, Your Highness." With the formalities out of the way, I stole a glance around the hall.

A large rectangular wooden table sat in the middle of the hall, which was odd. I had never seen large tables in the hall before, and this one had all kinds of oddities. Most prominently, a map of Equestria was laid out. This map was massive. It covered over half of the table, which was about a fourth the size of the hall. Around it laid other maps. I recognized most of them as maps of the rest of the world, including the Griffon Empire and Saddle Arabia.

My gaze shifted from the table and its contents to the ponies that surrounded it. All of the Princesses were there, including the newly-elevated Princess Twilight Sparkle. She was a legend. The former Bearer of the Element of Magic and a pony who had saved Equestria several times. I was surprised it took so long for her to be elevated to Princess. I also Luna and Cadence around the table. Looking out of place among the Alicorns, the Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor, was also at that table. He probably teleported there.

Nopony spoke for a long moment. I shifted in place, unsure if I should speak or wait for one of them. Before I could make up my mind, however, Princess Twilight beat me to it.

"Thunder Crasher, have you heard anything regarding the Crystal Empire's military state?"

I thought for a second, then said, "No, Your Highness."

She winced at "Your Highness," but plowed on. "Well then. You should know that there has been a rebellion."

I was shocked. "The Crystal Ponies have rebelled?"

Cadence jumped in, saying, "Yes, some have. Three days ago, a force of fifteen thousand attacked the barracks in my realm. We held them off, but they escaped after the fighting."

"Do we have any idea why the Crystal Ponies turned on you?" I asked.

"It is unknown. However, we have suspicions, none of them pleasant."

"Could you tell me the most likely?"

Princess Luna sighed, then said, "As is my duty as the guardian of the night, I keep watch over ponies' dreams. Oftentimes, my mental probe strays outside of the borders of Equestria. Recently, it went into the Crystal Empire. What I saw in some of those minds-" she shuddered, then gathered her thoughts, "-it was awful. Some foreign presence was in many of those ponies dreams. It was speaking terrible things about Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. I tried to dispel the presence, but I only succeed some of the time."

I felt a shiver run down my spine. Unconsciously, my wings gave a nervous flap. "Okay," I said, "this all has been very frightening. However, what does this have to do with me?"

"Before we tell you that, there is more bad news," Princess Celestia said. "We have been watching both the Griffon Empire and the Changeling Hives, and we have discovered an alarming degree of military activity from them. We estimate that the griffons have doubled, at least, the size of their army."

I felt myself turning white. But that was not all. "In addition, the Changeling Hives had banded together. It seems they have formed a confederacy."

At this, I almost blacked out. "It's too much to hope they are going to war with each other, isn't it?"

Celestia nodded. "We have reason to suspect that Saddle Arabia is their first target."

I nodded, but then froze. "If Saddle Arabia is their first target, then who, pray tell, is their second?"

The Princesses looked at each other. "Equestria," they said simultaneously.