The Grand Map of Equestria was a marvel of artistic achievement - a ballroom sized diorama depicting the entire Equestrian kingdom from sea to shining sea. It was also surprisingly topographically accurate, a nigh perfect scale model of the actual length of roads, size of cities, and no small amount of vital and important detail. Scattered across the map, wooden ponies depicted troop numbers and little flags detailed possible threats. It was here that Princess Celestia had kept the finely tuned machinery of her government working in time with itself. Now, however…

A stuffy looking unicorn in a much braided and baubled jacket sighed and cleaned his monocle on a scrap of silk cloth. “I’ve done everything I can, Princess Cadence, but the regional barons have made their position quite clear. They think you’re being…” He paused, as every eye in the room focused upon him. He coughed in a rather embarrassed way before saying in a low and somewhat disgusted voice, “overly emotional after the to-do in the forest.”

It was to her immense credit, and the credit of Shining Armor squeezing her shoulder with enough force to give her just the hint of pain, that Cadence didn’t march out of the room to incinerate those barons on the spot. Instead, she sighed expressively. “And without the governors or the barons, we can’t break the deadlock.” She stuffed her chin into her hoof and glared at the tactical situation around the Everfree Forest which was festooned with yellow and red flags, each one detailing one of the scattered and damnably incomplete intelligence reports.

The stuffy unicorn nodded, replacing the monocle over his eye and using it to glare impressively at the same spot. “Yes. I’m afraid our laissez faire politics are working against us for once. Nopony wants to be seen meddling in the affairs of their neighbors, and without Princess Celestia to lay down a royal decree…” He shrugged his shoulders. “We cannot even convince them that something amiss has happened to Ponyville. Apparently, several of them have sent envoys and have found nothing of consequence.”

That statement brought Cadence out of her mood and into wide-eyed, almost panicked shock. “WHAT?!” she half screeched across the table, sending no few individuals wincing away from her… but not Shining Armor, blessedly. “That’s a quarantine zone! Who in the name of the goddess broke quarantine!?” Her hooves came up, and she almost slammed the table. Fortunately, Shiny stymied that action before she could disturb the delicate nature of the map.

The unicorn snorted derisively. “Who do you think? The usual suspects. Blueblood, High Horse, Capital Gains, Big Bits, Golden Horde, and a few others.” He shook his head slowly. “Nopony wants to believe their most trusted retainers can be subverted, Princess Cadence. Don’t worry, we’ve already had the individuals in question placed under the strictest surveillance. Should need arise, we can collect them all in a matter of minutes.” He blew out a breath past his impressive mustache, and a hook-stemmed pipe floated out from under the table. “Fortunately, I have good news, once you have calmed yourself.”

Cadence stared at the pony. Of all the individuals in the entire kingdom, only a bare hoof-full could treat her so without worrying about reprisal. Fortunately, General Otto von Clauswitz was one such pony. Legend had it he had taken his name from some ancient and dusty historical tome and had simply refused to answer to any other name until it stuck. He had apparently thought that Vibrant Lily was a name unsuited to being an officer in the Guard.

Cadence slowly put her hooves back on the ground and took a deep and cleansing breath, then nodded at him meaningfully. “I apologize, General. Please, continue.” He was one pony she could not afford to antagonize under any circumstances, in spite of his advanced age and his ‘retirement’ from active duty. He was one of the few guards ponies alive with real combat experience, and more importantly, he still held a considerable amount of political clout in Parliament.

The General nodded and tapped the table with an aged but still strong hoof. “I have spoken with some of my former contemporaries amongst the Guard and instructed them as to the severity of the situation. When the worst finally comes, they will be ready to act.” He blew another breath past his mustache, and a grim look settled into his eyes. “While I have always agreed with the fundamental principles of Equestrian law, this is one instance where I must admit our enemy has outflanked us.”

Cadence silently agreed, even as she tried to find some other scrap of good news. The problem was simple… for more than a thousand years, Princess Celestia had preferred to solve any and all internal conflict with diplomacy and covert action. This preference was directly responsible for the relevant Equestrian laws, which made it illegal to utilize the Guard as an offensive force against Equestrian citizens without, as the law quoted, ‘dire need’ or the direct orders of Princess Celestia.

Since ‘dire need’ was a term that could be endlessly debated by politicians and lawyers alike, she had been utterly stymied by the modern Equestrians natural antipathy toward armed conflict. With concrete information about what had happened to Twilight, and Roam almost suspiciously scarce, Cadence had been fighting a losing battle to get Parliament to agree to provide her with such powers in the face of limited accusations. And since Luna had not yet been grandfathered into those laws, and neither had Cadence, they were essentially shackled to Celestia’s idealism. That was not to say they were utterly powerless, but there was not much they could overtly do… yet.

It was then that the pegasus in uniform cleared his throat, a faint and cocky smile crossing his face. Commander Derecho led the Equestrian Guard’s pegasi forces, but more importantly was the de-facto leader of the Cloudsdale Militia. An utterly informal body of soldiers maintained more by ancient pegasi tradition than anything else, they represented a force several times the size of actual Pegasi Guardsponies. “The Pegasopolis Senate has informed me through our usual channels that they will take up your proposal at the Hearths Warming convocation, Princess Cadence. Sadly, there is not enough evidence to call an emergency session.” Derecho winced a little and looked apologetic as he continued to speak, “But I have it on good authority that your measure is expected to pass.”

Cadence shook her head slowly. For the first time in her entire life, she was thoroughly glad that the Pegasi maintained their stubborn adherence to the old political ways and continued to convene their Senate, in spite of the fact that it had little political authority outside of the pegasus cities. Still… “Belated good news is still good news, Commander,” Cadence said with a slight smile twitching up her lips. It was one more golden token in the ‘good’ pile, and they had perilous few enough of those these days.

So with that high note she let out a deep breath, “Gentlecolts, we’ve done what we can for today. Go get some rest, and we’ll reconvene when Commander Spitfire returns to Canterlot.” Both of the ponies nodded respectfully to her and quietly left the room, leaving her alone with Shining Armor and the map. She leaned back against him and just like he always did, he provided her the sturdy support she simply couldn’t find anywhere else. “No word about where she went?” she asked Shiny softly, hoping he might have gotten a scroll from somepony.

But he shook his head once. “No, but it’s got to be someplace in the south.” She shot him a surprised look, and he half chuckled. “Discord’s stopped staring at the town. He moved to the southern balcony yesterday, and he’s been camped out there. She must have taken Fluttershy with her. South’s full of a lot of dangerous things. Dragon gangs, rogue packs of Diamond Dogs, the Zebrican islands, the Badlands…” He trailed off. Trying to list the dangerous things that were down south was like trying to list the number of reasons Pinkie Pie wanted to party. It was kind of a losing proposition.

Still, south could mean a lot of different places and things. Cadence closed her eyes and tried to focus on the warmth from her husband. She would need to speak to Luna tonight about this, and continue to plan for the defense of her City… and hope that Celestia would return in time.

“I would have words with thee, Discord.”

On most other days, Discord would have turned that into a joke. On most other days, he would have turned it into an entire game of jokes at the end of which he would have turned her mane into something tasty and enjoyed a snack. But on most other days, he wasn’t playing chicken with one of the most dangerous forces in the entire multiverse. So today, he simply gave off a noncomittal sound and kept himself focused.

But it seemed like his noncomittalness was not going to dissuade Princess Luna from speaking to him. “You have been pining for the pegasus for weeks now, Discord. Tis incredibly unlike you,” Luna snarked at him, perching on the hoof-railing on the balcony and blocking his sight of the South. And oh how much did it rankle that she was right. This was utterly unlike him, and he hated it like he hated pears! It was like a year without Santa Hooves! Or cupcakes! Or chocolate milk! In fact, it was WORSE than pears! (He really hated pears.)

But he could not act yet - Oh no! Things were still far, far too uncertain for that. “I’m playing a bigger game than just Fluttershy, Lulu,” he half growled, crossing his limbs over his chest and giving her a sullen glare. That was, of course, a big old Lie, but he needed her to believe that Lie lest she start to think him a softie.. “Umbra isn’t like you or Sunbutt. She’s as ruthless as a crocodile around a pirate ship.” He huffed, turning his gaze back to the South, his eyes narrowing.

But Luna did not seem impressed by his intelligent literary references. “Then why not act swiftly, while she still believes you no more than a fool?” Her question was cautious, but there was a certain amount of cunning in that tone. Moonbutt wasn’t like Sunbutt either. She played by her own set of rules and ran her own long game, just like she was doing now. “Or is there something we are not yet aware of?” she queried, and it took every bit of his considerable willpower not to start monologuing.

His plan was genius, of course. But the problem with genius plans was that you had to keep them quiet, because once you started explaining just how smart you were to anyone who wanted to listen, your plan wasn’t quite so genius anymore. “It’s not the right time,” was all he could say, and it was all he said past clenched teeth. Luna arched a delicate eyebrow at him, and he grabbed one edge of his lips and zipped them shut with a bright metal sound and turned his gaze back resolutely to the South.

Nopony could know what he was going to do. The fact that he was going to do it at all was already something he was having a hard time reconciling with himself, but absolutely nopony could know before he did it. It was the ultimate gamble, the biggest roll of the dice he’d ever undertaken in all of his thousands of years of existence, and that was well and truly saying something. It wasn’t every day you got to make one last bet for all the marbles, and Discord wanted to be absolutely sure he was ready to do it at exactly the right time.

And most importantly of all, that nopony saw it coming.

So he watched.

And waited.

“Ahn!~”

Rarity’s sweet moan interrupted the serious discussion by Winterlight, who simply raised a single disapproving eyebrow before continuing as she obviously tried to ignore what was going on under the table. Rarity simply grinned at her, mind filled with the promises Twilight had made to her that she could break the pegasus… so long as she was still an effective commander afterwords. A shame she had taken dear Fluttershy with her, but the poor girl really did need to get out and do something. “So, my orders are that we’re going to start spreading to southern settlements in a slower and more controlled pace, and that I’m to take my cue from you.” Winterlight’s voice was pure deadpan, but Rarity couldn’t blame her. She’d been through quite a lot these past few weeks… and she was going to be put through quite a bit more if Rarity had anything to say about it.

She felt a warm shiver of pleasure slink up her spine from the talented little tongue lapping away at her petals as she daintily hooked her rear leg around the head of her slave and shoved it in closer. The slave responded appropriately by redoubling her efforts and giving Rarity a nice little tingle. “Yes, darling. Appleloosa first, and then the rest of the southern expansion towns. Cherry Jubilee will be a positively wonderful assistant.” Rarity fluttered her fan across her face to dry the sweat that threatened to bead up on her brow, feeling a surge of warmth at the thought of the beautiful older pony rutting with her and her beloved.

Winterlight nodded sullenly and glanced around her before speaking again. “I’ll need to go to Twilight Town first. We’re going to need some decoys if we intend to keep the Crusade off of our backs while we work. Which brings me to my other question, have we heard anything about the weather situation?” Winterlight’s words were cold, and Rarity only half payed attention to them at first. She was caught up in visions of the haughty commander broken to a proper level of respect for the Mistress, then perhaps letting Rainbow Dash and her adorable friend Ribbon play their bondage games with her.

Still, the question demanded an answer, and it took Rarity a moment and a stern squeeze to slow down her pleasuring slave to rally the answer from her mind. “Ah, yes. Cloudsdale has apparently ceased making weather shipments and is now positioning them and blowing them in from afar, according to the few Pegasi who are still in town.” She shrugged her shoulders. The weather was still happening, it was simply not being as precise as the weather teams used to be.

That would be fixed quite soon if Twilight had anything to say about it, she was sure. But Winterlight frowned, then sighed. “I see. Thank you for your time, Miss Rarity. My troops will be ready to move by week’s end.” She turned stiffly and walked away, her fine flank more than just a distraction for Rarity before she left the room.

Rarity let out a dramatic sigh and was just about to dismiss her little joy before a clatter of hooves coming down the stairs distracted that thought. “So. How is Little Tia doing, Sis?” Sweetie Belle said in a cheerful and sly voice, with her friend Applebloom in close attendance. Her eyes were just as bright as ever, but Rarity was pleased to see the firm confidence and power of a dominant in her poise and comportment.

Rarity unhooked her leg and grabbed hold of the mane between her legs, dragging up the hollow eyed former Diamond Tiara with a slight smile. “Oh, she’s coming along fabulously. Now, just be certain that once she is fully accepting that you let her spirited self come back. A mindless slave is the sign of the unskilled, dear. We want to bring them joy and happiness in their submission.” She waggled a hoof at Sweetie Belle as she rolled her eyes but nodded in acceptance.

Rarity smirked and shoved the head back down. “Now, go fetch Big Macintosh. I think I’d enjoy a little something more firm for my luncheon break before I get back to work, but I don’t wish to leave the poor boy without a treat to slake his lust in.” She smirked at Sweetie Belle’s excited look and nod before she scampered out the door to find Rarity what she desired… and what Little Tia would soon be experiencing would be good for her training.

In truth, the pleasure was merely a secondary consideration. The new mission her Beloved had bestowed upon her was going to require all of her attention in the coming months, especially with winter threatening upon the horizon. She would need the aid of all her remaining friends and those closest to her to carry it out as well, though poor Applejack was unlikely to be useful for much beyond bait. Still. She could infect a stallion with the Shadow as readily as any of them could, and Big Macintosh would be an absolute delight to have around on the trip. It would almost be like old times….

Scootaloo almost felt like she had before the battle as the vital members of her command staff were piled into the tent, along with one new addition that she was still trying to wrap her head around, and one that fired up a warm flame in her heart. To her right was Zecora, as always. Followed by Scipio and Gilda, Trixie, Berry Punch, Cloud Chaser (who had been chosen to replace Thunderlane by virtue of there being no other pegasus who wanted to be in charge), Skandranon was still standing for the other refugees, and the two newest members of the camp… Pinkie Pie and Star Swirl.

In spite of her origins, Pinkie Pie’s presence in the camp had been the kind of thing that military legends were made of. Although there had been a lot of uncertainty on the dawn of her first day in camp, Pinkie had instantly livened up the place with any number of ad-hoc celebrations and parties to follow the battle. By the end of that first day, there wasn’t a single pony in the camp who doubted that Pinkie had come back from the dark side. Not the least of which reasons were because no matter where she went, the Cake Twins and Mrs. Cake herself followed… and Mrs. Cake hadn’t looked so alive or happy since the passing of her husband.

Just the sight of the once dour and bitter Mrs. Cake once again cheerfully singing a tune while baking the bread for the day, or the two Cake Twins raising pure mischief only to be pulled back to sanity by the omnipresent pink party pony had been like a shot of espresso into the camp’s mood. The unspoken message had flooded through the camp, and the words were on everypony’s lips. The Crusader cured Pinkie Pie and saved her from the Shadow. The Dark Sun’s power can be broken. The force we are fighting isn’t invincible.

We. Can. Win.

That was all it took to revitalize her troops, and Scootaloo wasn’t going to look a giftpony in the mouth. Truth be told though, it was the presence of the mysterious unicorn wizard who had identified himself as Star Swirl that had her excited. He wasn’t just good, he was Twilight good. Easily magnitudes more powerful than Trixie… so much so that it had taken only twenty minutes of discussion with the older stallion to convince Trixie that her time leading the camp’s unicorns was at an end. Still, she had demanded a spot at the table, and it was a small price to pay for peace and quiet to give it to her.

Still, Scootaloo knew there was more to his story than ‘Princess Luna Sent Me’ as he’d told her upon arrival. He had already performed no less than six spells Scootaloo had never even heard of, and seemed to know far more about the Shadow than anypony else in camp. “We’ve confirmed that Caedryn was captured by Winterlight’s troops and is currently being held somewhere in Twilight Town,” she announced quietly to the table, rapping her hoof upon it to get silence and attention. “Since the Doe left for some unspecified mission, we’re not going to be getting any replacement troops from that end until we can speak with her.”

That got some frowns, but mostly weary nods of acceptance. Nopony here thought they’d be getting much more help from that quarter after the Deerfolk had gotten slaughtered at the battle, and they frankly couldn’t blame them. Scootaloo glared around before speaking again, glad that no one was raising stupid questions. “Fortunately, we’ve got good news. Spitfire is going to be able to keep this camp supplied and comfortable through the winter months and beyond.” That got a considerable wreath of smiles around the table, and Scootaloo was as glad as anyone for the news.

She held up a hoof, though she didn’t need to, to get silence once again. “That being said, winter isn’t going to be a slow season for us. Not much is going to be moving, but we’re going to be preparing none the less.” She nodded to Scipio. “From here on out, all of us ponies are going to train with the Praetorians and Crescent Blade’s Lunar Guard. By the time spring rolls around, we’re going to have to be ready for the fight of our lives.” She exhaled softly, then glanced back around the faces sitting at the table.

She had never imagined that she’d be doing this. Commanding troops like a real general, getting into real fights and with real death. But that was the world she’d been thrown into… and she wasn’t about to stop now. She had to save her friends. She wasn’t sure how she was going to get to them yet, but she knew they could be cured… if only they could be convinced to give up whatever the Shadow had done to them.

Her eyes settled on Star Swirl, who nodded minutely. She was going to need to have a serious talk with him and soon, but right now she needed to make sure the camp knew they were in preparation mode. There would be other raids, other disruptions… but now Scootaloo knew the only way she could help end this was to be ready for the day when this whole ‘false peace’ came crashing down around everypony’s ears. So she focused on Berry Punch, and stabbed her hoof towards her. “Which means we need to get started, right now. Berry - how many ponies can we outfit in decent weapons and armor at any given time?”

Twilight tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and squinted up at the gray skies above her head. Finally back in Equestrian territory not under her control, she realized how quickly the autumn had come upon them. Even now, the leaves were beginning to turn colors and the weather starting to sour, even this far south. “This could be a problem,” she murmured as Mother strode up alongside her and gazed up into the gray clouds.

Umbra nodded once, but said nothing. Twilight did not blame her, as there was little they two could do about the Equestrian Weather Service. Worse still, they would soon be exiting the bubble of weather control that Equestria maintained and heading into the Badlands, where rogue weather ruled the day. She shivered a little in atavistic reaction to such a situation, but she knew her duty. Events were quickly spiraling out of her ability to control them, and she needed to quickly reassert that control before things got completely out of hoof.

Umbra spoke softly, turning her head back to the rough trail in front of them. “We shall need to fly if we intend to make any kind of time. It will be difficult having to search for the Hive, rather than knowing where to look…” Umbra’s mouth twisted at that one, and so did Twilight’s. By this phase of the plan she was supposed to have the loyalty of the Equestrian government, or at least enough elements within it to give her the intelligence she needed to find and deal with Chrysalis.

But with Celestia and Luna still missing and her letters to Cadence having gone unanswered, she simply had to admit that other forces had moved against her plans far swifter than she’d accounted for. This White Doe, whoever she was, had to be dealt with and soon, as did the mysterious wizard that Mother had spoken of. But even more importantly, she had to do something about poor Scootaloo.

Why hadn’t Applebloom or Sweetie Belle told her that she’d seen them be Shadowtouched and then run in fear? She still was trying to wrap her head around that one, but perhaps it had to simply be chalked up to their youth. It was still a serious problem. Somepony was… manipulating the poor filly into some kind of figurehead to rally other ponies against her. It sickened her in a way nothing else to this point had, and it was plain and simply a sign.

She could no longer hesitate. What she had planned for the changelings might be monstrous in a certain light, but Umbra had been right when she said a leader must take such decisions upon herself. She glanced behind her, where Fluttershy waited in silence with her head turned to the north as it always did. Twilight was only now beginning to realize what she must have been looking toward, and the thought sent an ache through her heart for her friend. “Will she be able to keep up?” Twilight asked quietly, and Umbra cocked her head toward Fluttershy.

The shy yellow pony gave a little start and a faint blush of red crossed her cheeks. “Oh! Um… I should be fine. I’m actually a lot quicker than I used to be, so long as I take breaks.” Fluttershy rubbed at her foreleg and cast her eyes to the ground. She was even more reserved than she used to be, but was far more prone to bursts of sudden socialization. “I’m sorry I’m so… distracted, Twilight. I truly am.”

Twilight just shook her head and trotted over to gently embrace her friend. Her first creation in the new world she intended to create… and now that she realized it, much more than that. Fluttershy had been proof that the world could be united… so long as Twilight was prepared to do what was necessary. “Don’t be sorry, Fluttershy. It’s alright.” Twilight gave her best brave smile and kissed Fluttershy’s cheek. She already had a plan on how to use what Fluttershy had taught her to begin that unification. “Just let us know when you need to rest, and we’ll do some shadow jumping.”

Twilight turned and spread her own wings wide. Wings she had stolen from a beautiful, broken maiden in order to save the world she loved. Wings that sometimes she could have sworn still showed flashes of white feathers when she was not paying attention, but they would carry her to where she needed to go. She would make certain all of those who had sacrificed of themselves would not have died in vain.

No matter what it took to do so.

A sudden burst of sound startled Celestia to wakefulness, her coat still sticky with sweat and… other things as a pair of glittering golden eyes stared at her in the darkness of the tent. Fortunately, Whisper was a heavy sleeper and the guards knew that Moon Dancer was permitted to go wherever Celestia went. “What…?” was all she could stumble out of her jumbled tongue before she identified the worry and anger in Moon Dancer’s eyes. Even worse was her tone of voice - a combination of frustration and fury as she spoke.

“We have a problem, Princess. Come with me, right now.”

Author's Notes:

Yeah, I know it's Christmas but... well, I got it written, so I figured what the hell.

Merry Hearthswarming, everypony! (Next update will be...Soonish.)