Once again, General Hooves appeared in the sky.

" Great job Gold Team. Extra rations for you tonight. Now, everypony else, dismantle your bases, and head back to the bunker. Get all wounded into the hospital wing. Once everyone is back up to speed, you need to be debriefed. Also, the special team chosen by Spitfire, I need you all in my office ASAP. Hooves out. "

At that exact moment, Rainbow Dash crashed through the window of their Gold base command center. She landed with a huff. She was pretty roughed up. She had feathers missing from her wings, she was scraped all over, and had a gash on her forehead. Her breathing was strained.

" Oh my gosh guys! That was so exciting! We won! I can't... I can't believe it...we...we won. " As she said her last word, she collapsed, unconcious, to the deck. The last thing she remembered was seeing her friends galloping toward her.

Five hours later. Estimated time: 1828

Rainbow Dash's eyes flickered open. She looked around. Ugh. Where? Where am I? What happened? Little did she know, her questions were about to be answered. The door to her room opened. She saw a sign in the hall that read ICU.

General Hooves trotted in, followed by her team.

" Hello there Rainbow Dash. How are you feeling? " He asked.

She didn't immediately answer. Her mind was sluggish. " What happened? "

Pinkie Pie interrupted the general, " Oh my gosh Rainbow Dash! It was awesome! You we're all Aaahhhhh! boom! Pow! POOOOOOOSSSSHHH! " She flailed her arms around. She stopped mid-flail and looked at the general. " Oh...Sorry Sir. "

" Quite alright Pinkie Pie. And to answer your question, Rainbow Dash, simply put, you won. First, you completely destroyed the "enemy's" base, and were only minorly injured. You then pushed your body past it's limit when you broke the sound barrier. You provided an excellent distraction, not only for your team to bring the flag back, but you also enabled your team to take out some of the enemy. Miss Rarity here is quite the shot. You put yourself in harm's way, but not necessarily. You saved many of your teammates, and I feel you exemplify the qualities your teammates should also have. Devotion to duty, courage, and self-sacrifice. I want to personally congratulate you and your team. " General Hooves explained.

Rainbow Dash simply smiled. She understood, but her head was still a little fuzzy. It was then that she noticed all the IVs and monitors next to her bed. She forced out a question, " What happened to me? "

Applejack explained, " Oh, sugarcube, we were so worried! You pushed yourself too far. You barely managed to make it home, and you were all beat up and exhausted. You collapsed as soon as you landed. "

Rainbow Dash took the explanation with a simple hmph. " Okay. So, what else are you here for? I doubt you made a visit to every wounded pony. "

General Hooves chuckled, " You're sharper than you look, kid. Alright, here's the scoop. I already briefed your team, so they know what's going on. Look, everypony else we've been training, we've just been training them for guard duty. We can't have a full scale battle going on. There's too much chaos involved. You and your team are the only ones that are going to be put on the front lines. If we send everyone, and they all bite the dust, there's no one left to protect the bunker. You guys are the best of the best, and you work together well. Also, there's one last minute addition to your team. Her name is Vinyl, Vinyl Scratch. "

Rainbow Dash vaguely remembered the DJ from a party she had attended, which seemed like years ago. " Why her? She's just a DJ. " Rainbow asked.

"I've left everything you need to know in the team file. " The general said, handing out a binder to the team, which contained information on everypony in the group. " I'll leave you to read that over. I'll come back around 2200 hours to discuss your first mission. " With that, the general walked out of the room.

Derpy perked up, " Read it Rainbow Dash! What does it say? ".

" Yeah! " The team said all at once.

Rainbow Dash opened the binder.

Special Forces Squad of Equestria: Team Analysis

Team Member: Rainbow Dash. A fiercely loyal teammate, she'll do anything to save her friends. Can push herself extraordinarily far, physically. She is a very talented flyer, capable of extreme maneuvers such as the Sonic Rainboom/nuke, which are very powerful. Able to withstand much physical damage, seemingly brushing it off. Cocky and slightly rebellious.

Team Member: Twilight Sparkle. A born leader. Great at organizing. She's also possibly the worlds most talented unicorn, able to perform seemingly endless types of magic, which include levitation, spontaneous combustion, and teleportation. Has banished an Ursa Minor single-hoofedly, and is the star student of Princess Celestia herself.

Team Member: Pinkie Pie. She's a mystery. She loves sweets. Able to, seemingly, ignore the laws of gravity and physics. Carries around a mobile cannon, and can manipulate the universe to her wim, fitting inside impossible small places, and always take a pinkie promise to heart. Normally cheerful, if you break one of her special promises, she will track you down to the ends of Equestria.

Team Member: Fluttershy. A shy pony if there ever was once. Socially awkward, and afraid of the smallest things. However, she has another side to her, where her true courage lies. She can be fierce and intimidating, even to the largest of creatures. She has tamed a full grown dragon and a cockatrice, among others. She's a wonder with animals, which will be a great help in any battlefield situation.

Team Member: Rarity. A wonder with clothes, she redesigned our camouflage and has made it more effective in the field. Maybe she'll be able to whip something up for our team. She's very generous at times, and is a good tracker. A lady on the outside, but, if it's necessary, she'll get down and dirty with the rest of 'em.

Team Member: Applejack. She's a tough one. Her legs are pretty tough. She kicks trees for a living. She's a master chef, at least when it comes to apples. Her brother is Big Mac, and they have an inseparable bond that only siblings have. They're the strongest, physically, of the team, and she's always honest. You may not like what she has to say, but she'll give you nothing but the truth.

Team Member: Big Mac. He's a quiet one. His main vocabulary includes " Eeyup " and " Nope ". He's always listening. He can uproot a grown tree with one leg. Imagine what would happen if he used two. A born workpony, he can work for hours without breaking a sweat. Doesn't over-analyze things. A valuable member indeed.

Team Member: Derpy Hooves. We weren't quite sure about adding her to the team, but she was one of the first few to volunteer, right after Big Macintosh. She's good with food, always having extra muffins around. She can be clumsy, but she has flanks of iron, which gives the assumption that she's tough. She cares greatly for her friends, and despite her eyes, seems to see just fine. She seems to pop up everywhere, even in the most unseemly places.

Team Member: Vinyl Scratch. The teams most recent addition. Goes by the stage name DJ P0N-3. While the Alpha and Gold teams were having their simulation, she proved her worth by demonstrating a somewhat unorthodox type of warfare. She can use music, or rather, sound waves, to disrupt and confuse enemies. Was initially denied entry at first, due to her rowdiness and partying attitude. She doesn't speak often, but rather uses music to express herself. We're sure the team will handle and accept her.  

The team had just finished reading Vinyl's file when she and the general walked in. Vinyl took a seat between Rarity and Twilight, her purple shades mirroring the images before her. The general spoke.

" Alright everypony, this is your new teammate. I'm sure you'll get along just fine. Now, about your first mission. We've had reports that the enemy force is a month away, and they seem to have stopped. All we want you to do right now is run some reconnaissance on their activity. We expect you to head out two days from now, so that Rainbow here has time to heal. Also, tomorrow, Princess Celestia has requested an audience with you, so you'll head up to her castle tomorrow. Understood? "

" I'll be back up to full speed tomorrow, sir! " Said Rainbow Dash as the rest of the team answered, " Yes sir! "

General Hooves looked satisfied as he left the room.

The next day. Estimated time: 1030

The team stood before the throne of Princess Celestia and her sister, Princess Luna. Rainbow Dash wasn't at full speed, but she looked it. She ached, but she would never admit it. The team waited patiently while the princesses conferred in whispers. Suddenly, Celestia spoke.

" Hello there, my little ponies. It's good to see you again. " She said, with a sad smile on her face. What she had to say was going to devastate them, and she didn't expect them to forgive her. Ever.

Twilight spoke for the team, " Hello princess, it's good to see you too. Before you start, I just have one question. Why aren't you helping us fight whatever it is that's coming toward us? "

" That's exactly what I wanted to talk about Twilight. " The princess said. She spoke out loud, " You can come out now. "

Who was she talking about? A pink cloud floated in, and it started to rain chocolate milk. The rain slowly formed into the form they all knew too well... Discord.

" What's he doing here!? " Twilight shouted? Her horn lit up as she started charging a bolt of magic. Discord looked down at his nails, and pretended to file them.

" Relax Twilight. " Celestia instructed. The magic faded from her horn. " He is not here to fight you, rather, I freed him to help me explain what is going on. Now, you know Discord as the spirit of Chaos. My eternal enemy. My sister's eternal enemy. But today, we are on neutral ground. Do you know why? " She asked.

No one answered.

" It is because none of us immortals can help you fight this war. " Celestia said.

The team was shocked, even the normally expressionless Big Mac. Their beloved princess wasn't helping them?!

" Why not!? " Shouted Fluttershy. Her other side had shown itself for this brief moment. " You're supposed to care for us, we're your subjects! We care and love you! Don't you love us? " Fluttershy cried. Her stream of courage ended. She broke down and started to cry into Pinkie Pie's shoulder. Pinkie Pie glared at Celestia.

" Oh dear Fluttershy. It's not easy to explain, or understand, but I'll try my best. You think of me and my sister as good and Discord as evil. Well...We are not good. And Discord is not evil. " She explained. She met looks of confusion and disbelief.

Discord took over, " Yes ponies, it is true. I am not evil, though you may think otherwise. I am the spirit of Chaos. Now, tell me why you think I enjoy toying with your beloved princesses. Ah, I'll answer that one for you. Because they are the embodiment of Order. Think of a compass. North, South, East, and West. Well, the princesses over here are East, and I am the West. We believe the coming force is South, or embodied Evil. North, the side of Good, and South, Evil, are stronger than the forces of Order and Chaos. That is why you six, and some of your friends, have been chosen to fight it alone. We believe that you nine are the embodiment of Good. You also cannot use the Elements of Harmony on our new foe. They only work on me, see. The only reason they worked on Nightmare Moon was because her mind was a chaotic jumble. Now, you, the force of Good, must combat Evil. Any questions? "

The team was stunned. Their princesses weren't Good? Just...Order? It was a heavy blow to take.

Twilight had nothing to say to any of the immortals that stood near the throne. She teleported the team back to a conference room back in the Ponyville bunker.

" Alright team, rest up. We have a big day tomorrow. Rarity, come with me. We have suits to make. " Twilight instructed the team.

They all went to their respective racks, and tried to sleep. They still couldn't handle the betrayal that they thought their princess had committed. But, it would have to wait. For tomorrow, they had their first mission to accomplish. Next Chapter: Chapter 6: Recon Estimated time remaining: 47 Minutes