Me: Thunder Crasher, do the disclaimer for me. I am tired after my writing frenzy.

Thunder Crasher: Me? Really? Must I?

Me: Yes. Now do it, or I will find a way to kill you by the end of this fan fiction.

Thunder Crasher: Fine. Mint20 owns no part of My Little Pony. And by the way, its Commander Thunder Crasher.

Chapter 4: War Begins

The Great Equestrian War

"Excellent!" said Princess Celestia. "If that is the case, we must not dawdle. War might be upon us at the end of the hour."

As if on cue, a knock boomed throughout the chamber. All of the members of the council, myself included, looked at each other. Luna seized the initiative and cast a spell to open the doors. There stood First Lieutenant Storm Rager.

He shot me a gaze that mixed contempt and curiosity quite well.

"Well?" asked Princess Luna. "Stop wasting our time."

Storm Rager finched, then said, "My apologies, Your Highnesses. We have news from across the Eastern Sea." He produced an envelope from a slit in his armor.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," said Princess Twilight. "Dismissed."

Princess Celestia grasped the envelope with her magical grasp. The door slammed as Storm Rager walked out.

"Classified as Class Alpha," she muttered.

I stood and saluted the council. "Seeing as this is ten or eleven levels above my pay grade, I will leave you to it," I said. They all looked at me strangely, "What?"" I said.

Princess Twilight said in a sarcastic voice, "What is your new rank?"

"Commander…" I said.

"And what does that entail?"

"Leading Equestria's army."

"Well, in order for you to properly lead the armies of Equestria, you need to be privy to all of the important details of the nation. Nothing is above your pay grade."

"On the other hoof…" Shining Armor said carefully. "I am not. The Captain of the Royal Guard is only entitled to view documents classified as equal to or less than Class Gamma." With that, he walked out of the room. The door boomed shut behind him.

"Alright…" I said carefully, sitting down gingerly. "What is the deal?"

Princess Celestia slowly broke the seal of the envelope. Starting to feel my fear, I stole a glance around the table to see how the alicorns were doing. Princess Luna looked determined and Princess Cadence looked uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Princess Twilight had an air of paranoia about her. Mean-meanwhile, Princess Celestia's face was a mask of calm as she read the report. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with my sword.

Finally, after what seemed to be years, Princess Celestia looked up. Before she could even open her mouth, Princess Twilight jumped in and asked frantically, "What has happened? Is somebody marching on us? Has the Changeling Hives declared war? Has-"

Princess Celestia held up a hoof, cutting of the rambling flow of words from her former student. "What has happened," she said, speaking slowly and with great emphasis, "is that the Griffon Empire has declared war upon Saddle Arabia. Even now, their armies are pouring into the nation."

I was taken aback. "Remind me, what is the story about the Saddle Arabians? I know they are a nation ponies, but that is about it."

Princess Twilight rolled her eyes and looked at Princess Celestia and said, "I told you that we need a stronger emphasis on world politics in public schools."

"Touche," Princess Celestia said, snorting. "Anyways, the Saddle Arabians control a respectable tract of land on the far side of the Eastern Sea. Their nation is a republic. It was born when my sister and myself overthrew Discord and established the Equestrian Diarchy. They were not happy with living there lives under our rule, and decided to leave Equestria and form a new nation. They have a history of war-like ways. In addition, they are secretive and territorial. Regardless, they are still fellow ponies and our brothers and sisters."

"Agreed," I said. "Do we know anything about the Rules of Engagement? Do we know anything about how prisoners of war are being treated?"

Princess Celestia glanced back at the document, then said in a sorrowful voice, "It is mostly confusion. Based off of this report, the Saddle Arabians are fighting with everything they have. However, the Griffons are using...questionable tactics and the prisoners...well, it is harsh."

I was suspicious and asked, "Exactly what is happening with the prisoners?"

"Well, nopony is sure. However, it is believed that they are being taken as slaves. As we all know, the Griffons are very harsh with their slaves, especially the ones that work in the mines."

A shocked silence filled the room. Slavery had never been a part of Equestrian culture. Finally, I broke the silence with the ten-million-bit question.

"What happens with the slaves in the mines?"

"Well...keep in mind that most of this is unconfirmed, but the suspicions are that the earth ponies are forced to do hard digging and move huge cartfuls of minerals. The unicorns are drained of their magic finding deposits of valuable materials. If they fail to recover their magic fast enough, they are beaten and tortured. Worst of all, the pegasi are locked in cages and act as living poison detectors, their anatomy making them sensitive to poisonous gases."

My eyes narrowed into slits. Even for me, who expected something like that, the descriptions of how they were being treated was repugnant.

"We should intervene," said Princess Twilight. "We must intervene."

I quickly thought about that and said, "Not yet. First, we must know more about the enemy."

Princess Twilight turned and looked at me. "What do you mean, not yet? Ponies are being hurt and dying, forced to work in terrible conditions, and you say to wait? Maybe we made a mistake in selecting you for the office of Commander."

I closed my eyes and counted to five. When I opened my eyes again, I said in a steely calm voice, "I am forced to allow that comment to pass, due to the fact that you outrank me. However, kindly never say anything like that to me again. With all due respect, think a little, Princess Twilight Sparkle. The Royal Guard is far from an effective fighting force, and there is only two hundred of them! I need at least a few months to build an effective army, probably closer to a year."

Princess Twilight looked down and said, "I am sorry, Commander. My emotions got the better of me."

"Apology accepted," I responded. Turning to Princess Cadence, I asked, "I trust that we will have the backing of the Crystal Empire in this affair?"

"Of course," she said, without hesitation. "I will mobilize the Crystal Army as soon as I return to my realm."

"Good. On a different note, I would like to request that we call Shining Armor back, and grant him clearance to read this document. Try as we might, we cannot keep this a secret for long. He has a right to know."

"Very well," said Princess Celestia. Her horn glowed briefly. "He is coming."

Barely ten seconds later, there was a bright purple flash, and Shining Armor materialized in the room. "You called, Your Highnesses?"

Princess Twilight passed him the document. "Read it. You need to know."

He took the document with only a second's hesitation and read it. His eyebrows met in a narrow line and he snorted angrily. "I worried about something like this."

"Captain Shining Armor, attention!" I barked at him.

He snapped to attention.

I saluted him, then said, "I would like to give you a choice. Please, feel no obligations when making a decision."

He nodded.

"I would like to have you join Princess Cadence in the Crystal Empire. You will be released from all obligations with the Royal Guard. Or, if you so choose, you may remain in Equestria with us and retain your rank and title."

He paused, a look of confusion forming on his face. "Permission to speak freely and off the record, sir?"

"Of course," I answered.

"Why would you ask me a question like that? Are you not satisfied with my service?"

"No, of course not!" I responded, shocked that he would think such a thing. "The reason I ask is two reasons. First, Princess Cadence will most likely need assistance in the Crystal Empire, preparing it for war. Also, the world is about to enter its darkest hour. I thought that you may appreciate the opportunity to spend more time with your loved ones."

Shining Armor's face relaxed. "I appreciate the offer. However, I am an Equestrian Pony at heart."

I smiled. "Glad to hear that. Dismissed, Captain."

He left.

I turned and looked to the council. "By your leave?" I asked.

Princess Celestia nodded and said, "Go. You have a lot of business to attend to."

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