Cloudy Horizons stood outside the castle gates, eyeing the first transport of fresh soldiers to come in from Stalliongrad. She checked off each wagon that passed through the arched gate and counted the number of ponies in each vehicle, her blue eyes skimming the lists of cutie marks and matching them to what she saw on their flanks. As she had requested, the ponies had been loaded in order by name so as to make the counting process easier. Beside her stood Gilda, boredom playing across her face as she watch Cloudy perform her tasks, eager to get started on her training. They had just returned from Ponyville only minutes before the caravan had begun to arrive.

Cloudy looked at the list that one of the unicorn servants was holding for her as the next wagon pulled up. Looking into the passenger section, she noticed something was off. "You! At the front!" The lead stallion pulling the sky carriage unhitched himself and saluted. "This is wagon number twenty-six. Where are wagons twenty-two through twenty-five?"

The pegasus looked about nervously, not used to the nature of the commander. "Uhm... They.... They were attacked by Griffons on the way here. None of us are really trained for combat so we didn't stand a chance. If we didn't have some of the fresh recruits from Cloudsdale with us, we probably would have all died back there."

"Buck...!" The orange mare seethed under her breath. "They're already attacking our caravans." She turned to the unicorn that was assisting her. "You, what's your name?"

The mare jolted at the strength of the voice directed at her. "It... It's Sunshine, ma'am."

"All right, Sunshine. You are going to finish tallying the wagons as they come in. I want a number of how many we are missing taken to my room when you are finished. I must go speak with the Queen." The mare nodded shakily and focused on the incoming sky wagons.

"Gilda, follow me. We are going to meet the Queen." She turned and walked briskly into the gates, the Griffon following close behind. "You must remember that we are at war with your kind. If you wish to keep your life, I would advise you to remain silent unless you are spoken to directly. Queen Moon has a personal reason to want to kill you on sight so it would be best to not draw attention to yourself."

"Why, in Equestria, would she hate me? What did I ever do to her?" Gilda scowled as they walked through the front doors of the castle. They moved briskly through the corridors, the ponies watching Gilda with blatant worry plastered on their faces. "All of these lame-o's are scared of me. The heck did I do?"

"One of your country's assassins made an attempt on the Queen's life and was thwarted by Twilight Sparkle, her... companion."

"So they hate me cause some rookie got killed? That's totally not cool. Even if she was attacked, that still doesn't explain why she'd kill me!"

"Twilight was gravely wounded by the assassin. Were it not for the Queen, she would have surely died." Cloudy stopped and glared at the young Griffon. "Her Majesty is holding a personal grudge against the Griffons. It is unwise to underestimate the Queen's wrath." Gilda snorted, but nodded her head in compliance as the pegasus resumed her pace and followed behind her once more.

They continued on in silence, the only noises being made were the padding and scraping of Gilda's feet and the clopping of Cloudy's hooves against the obsidian floor. The servants were all avoiding the pair, the news of the assassination attempt scaring them into hiding, leaving the halls empty as they continued their small trek. The young Griffon gazed about her surrounds in awe. "I've never seen anything so... awesome! I mean, Cloudsdale was pretty cool and all, but you can only see so many cloud houses before you've seen them all." They turned down the corridor leading to the staircase as Gilda continued to talk. "We don't have anything like this in Griffonia. We pretty much just live in cut out mountains and tents. Totally uncool. I bet this must have cost a for-"

"We have almost arrived. Be silent and we will make this meeting as brief as possible." Gilda sealed her beak as they approached the black double doors barring passage to Nightmare Moon's private quarters. Cloudy lifted a hoof and, with three quick strikes, alerted the occupants to her presence.

"I'll get it, Mommy!" Shouted a cheerful voice from the opposite side of the doors.

Cloudy frowned and turned to the Griffon. "Horseapples...! I forgot about Moon Beam. I should warn you that-"

One of the doors swung open from Moon Beam's magic to reveal the navy filly, her smoky mane trailing in the air. She looked up at Cloudy and smiled, ready to pounce on her, but then she noticed Gilda. Her eyes widened in shock and her mouth opened. "You...!" She squeaked out, her eyes beginning to glow.

Gilda stared at the foal, confusion showing on her face, as Moon Beam's eyes slowly started to glow brighter. "Moon Beam? Who is it?" A soft voice said, grabbing the Griffon's attention.

The moment her eyes left Moon Beam's she felt a chill in the air. "You...!" The foal said once more, this time her voice was a deep, gravelly terror. "You are the one that hurt Twilight...!"

"What!? That's so not true you little-" Her voice caught in her throat when she looked back to the foal, or, what once was the foal.

Moon Beam had lost all physical similarities to a pony, her body quickly growing and shifting. Hard scales replaced fur as her small body morphed into a giant serpent, her neck flattened into a crest with glowing runes on each side. The black naja hissed and spun around Gilda with lightning speed, crushing the Griffon in her powerful grasp. "You made Twilight die...! You made My Queen cry...! You will pay with your blood...!" The grating sound of Moon Beam's voice hurt Gilda's sensitive hearing, but she was too focused on the slow crushing of her body to care about her aural injuries.

Gilda gasped as she heard joints pop and felt her lungs being compressed to take in less oxygen. Cloudy shouted for Moon Beam to stop, but the foal was not listening. She saw only a creature similar to the one she had been unable to save Twilight from and intended to mete out her vengeance upon it. Gilda screeched as more joints popped, feeling her bones begin to weaken under the might of the constricting serpent, but unable to fight back or worm her way free. Nightmare Moon now stood in the doorway, smiling, as she took great pleasure in the Griffon's suffering. Moon Beam's grip continued to tighten even further until the soft voice from before rang out once again.

"Moonie.... Please stop. That's not the one that hurt me.... He's dead already. Please, let her go."

Gilda's vision had begun to blur from the lack of oxygen being received by her lungs until she felt the giant snake's grip loosen then fully release her. Moon Beam reverted back to her foal form and fell, crying, into Twilight's embrace. "Aunt-Auntie.... I-I'm sorry...! I-I was just..."

Twilight stroked the foal's head soothingly, 'shh'ing her as she began to calm down, while Nightmare Moon stepped closer to the gasping Griffon. "High Commander Horizons. Why have you brought this insect before me? You know that the birds are our enemy, correct?"

Cloudy moved forward, beginning to speak, before Gilda glared up at her. "I... am not... an insect!" She twisted her body and shrieked as her joints popped back into place, but fought back the tears in order to retain her 'cool' demeanor. "I came... to help!" The Griffon seethed in Nightmare Moon's face, breathing heavily as she recovered from her injuries.

Nightmare Moon stared at her, taken aback, then burst out into laughter causing Gilda to shrink back, stunned by the alicorn's reaction. "You surprise me, Griffon. I would not think one such as yourself would have the audacity to stand up to a being with far greater power than yourself, but it seems I misjudged you." She looked to Cloudy who just stood there, her expression unreadable. "Commander Horizons, what were you intending to do with this... ally?"

The pegasus stood at attention and saluted. "I was planning on putting her in the aerial combat unit, specifically the one I intended to use for less direct attacks, Your Majesty."

Nightmare Moon smirked and shook her head. "No. I have a better idea. You are going to recruit a team of the most skilled ponies, or other beings, and train them personally. I assume that your years as a guard and scout have prepared you for stealth, am I correct?" Cloudy nodded curtly. "You and this young Griffon will be the first of my elite guard. I shall oversee your... special training and will also be given tasks based on my needs for your service."

"So... does that make us, like, spies? Cause that'd be pretty sweet!" Gilda pumped one of her fore talons in a cheer. She looked back to Nightmare Moon and her excitement died immediately.

The alicorn glared at her, her eyes burning with distaste. "If you wish to be spared then you will take your role seriously. Were it not for your bravery, whether it was foalish or not, and Twilight's intervention, you would be nothing more than a bag of feathers and meat." The Griffon swallowed hard and nodded, squeaking out a 'Yes, ma'am' as she gave a trembling salute. Nightmare Moon turned back to Cloudy. "I want to meet each possible candidate for your squad before they will be selected to join. I have ways of discerning truth from lies and, after Silent Brook's betrayal, I will no longer be taking any chances. Now, as far as the rest of the recruitment is concerned, how are things proceeding?"

"We have begun bringing in recruits from Stalliongrad and, given a few more days, should be welcoming more from Fillydelphia, Canterlot and Wintertrot. We have had reports that caravans of recruits were being attacked by small squads of Griffons and, today, those attacks have been confirmed as truth. The losses are being tallied, but I'm estimating it to be around ten carriages. That totals to two-hundred fifty ponies. The losses to our sky carriages is of little importance as of now, but, if we continue to take such casualties, it could be highly problematic in the long run. Cloudsdale recruitment is going steadily and the Pegasus Guard Training Facility has been put under new command to make training the pegasi faster." She stopped to think then continued, finishing her report. "The Canterlot guard facility has also been commandeered and any remaining drill sergeant has been requisitioned to assist in the training of the incoming recruits. I estimate that we will be receiving, barring any losses that may occur, four thousand ponies per day. It would be of great importance to begin setting up camps and tents for the mass influx of soldiers and to start hiring more cooks to deal with the increased need for food."

Nightmare Moon stood for a moment as she absorbed all of what the Commander had said before nodding. "I will need to speak with Chancellor Fancy Pants about hiring more workers and acquiring the accommodations for the new recruits." She laughed and moved to find the Chancellor. "This war will be quite the show.... The Griffons will pay for their insolence and I know exactly how to make them...." She stopped and looked back. "Commander Horizons, you and the griffon will begin your training on the morrow. Twilight. Moon Beam. Come with me."

Gilda's feathers bristled in indignation as she shouted at the Queen. "I have a name, you know! It's Gilda!"

Nightmare Moon froze the Griffon with her stare once more. "And I am your Queen. You will address me as such or I will remove that beak of yours to prevent you from speaking out of line again."

Gilda stood still as a statue as Twilight walked slowly along behind Moon Beam to join Nightmare Moon's side. The Griffon remained stationary for several minutes until Cloudy snapped her out of her stupor with a sharp stomp. "I warned you about speaking out of line, but it seems it did some good for you. At least you're not dead. Follow me and I'll have a room set up for you on the guest levels. Seeing as you'll be training under Her Majesty and myself, it would be best for you to be situated close by."

Gilda nodded and hopped closer to the pegasus. "So.... That foal.... Is she...?"

Cloudy shook her head and smiled. "I do not know, but she is very powerful. I owe my life to her." She glanced at the Griffon's features and noted the fear in her eyes. "Do not worry. Moon Beam will grow to like you and will not be attacking you again.... Maliciously, anyway."

The young Griffon stared at Cloudy, bewilderment replacing her fear. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean? She's going to try and kill me again?!" The pegasus ignored her and continued walking, leaving Gilda to catch up and attempt to badger her for answers.

Fancy Pants looked over the list of items Nightmare Moon had told him they needed. The list was quite extensive and some of the items were pretty easy to acquire, but the large number of sky wagons had him worried. "My Queen, while I know we have need of of most of these items for the army, why do we require more sky chariots? They are rather expensive and there are few crafts-ponies capable of making them quickly.... And well."

"We have been losing more and more sky wagons to the Griffons as we bring in more troops. They are attacking the caravans and destroying whatever they can."

"Perhaps we could use something else to transport the ponies?" Twilight said, speaking up from behind the alicorn. "I remember from my time as Celestia's student that airships have begun to be more mass produced. I'm sure that we could requisition all of the larger cruise type airships to bring in even more soldiers at a much faster rate. They'd also be much simpler to defend seeing as it's a single object instead of a large group. We could form the troops we have in a tighter formation around them. If I'm not mistaken, they're also made to be more durable than a sky carriage due to their larger size so they'd be much more difficult to take down."

The ponies stared at Twilight who shrunk back, fearful that she had done something wrong, before Fancy Pants smiled. "That's a brilliant idea! I doubt that the rich will be needing their airships any time in the near future should the griffons win this war so we should be able to requisition them without much issue." Twilight smiled up at Nightmare Moon, proud that she had helped her love once more. "Now, about the supplies for troops. The food will be possible, but I'm not sure how we'll be able to equip so many ponies in such short notice. Even with the large amount of metal workers in Stalliongrad, it will take quite some time to find the materials for the gear."

"Take the armor from the fallen outside my castle. We will use what remains out there to bolster my troops. I would also like to have the bones of the dragons collected as well. I have something I wish to use them for. You can have them stored in one of the empty guest rooms on the second floor. I will work them myself." Nightmare Moon nodded to Fancy Pants who looked at the list again before nodding his confirmation. "Work as quickly as possible, but do not rush. I will not accept failure due to cut corners."

The trio left just as they had come in and quickly made their way back through the halls to their sleeping quarters. Moon Beam bounced around happily once more, her earlier experience pushed out of her mind now that she had been soothed by Twilight. "Can we go outside and play? Huh? Huh?"

The black alicorn frowned and turned to the foal. "I am sorry, but I have much to do to prepare for the war on the horizon." Moon Beam's expression dropped as she began to pout, her bottom lip pushed out as her eyes began to water. "That is not to say that Twilight cannot entertain you. I am just too busy due to recent issues."

"Auntie Twiliiiiiight~! Can you play with me?"

The foal gave her biggest puppy eyes that she could and Twilight felt her heart twinge. "I.... Of course I will, Moonie." She smiled down at Moon Beam whose cheer was beginning to return. "How could I say no to somepony as cute as you? Maybe we could go ask Cloudy to join us too."

"Oh oh! We could even ask the birdie! I bet she'll be lots of fun!" Twilight flinched at the mention of Gilda and tried to mask her concern, but the foal was quick to catch on. "Is something wrong, Auntie?"

The unicorn shook her head and smiled down at the filly. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Come on! Let's go find Cloudy and...," she snickered at Moon Beam's classification of the griffon, "the birdie."

Nightmare Moon watched them race off ahead of her, Twilight moving slower due to the lingering injury, while she contemplated the recent turn of events. The Griffons are becoming more aggressive in their tactics. I did not expect them to proceed so swiftly.... It seems my millennium on the moon has left me behind as far as war times are concerned.... The young Griffon will be quite useful as well. She passed through the halls, her mind wandering onto the byzantium mare. Why does she show sympathy for the griffons? They nearly killed her once already so why spare them? She frowned and trotted up the stairs. Why can I not keep her out of my mind?

Twilight and Moon Beam came upon the open door leading to Cloudy's room and, after peeking in to see if she was present, noted the lack of a certain orange pegasus. Moon Beam put her hoof to her chin and gazed up at the ceiling. "Hmmmm. Where could Cloudy be? I was sure that she'd be in her room! Maybe she went-" A door opened across the hall and Gilda stepped out into view. Moon Beam spun about and, after plastering a devilish grin on her face, charged at the unaware Griffon. She pounced just as Gilda turned her head from the wooden door. "Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~ birdie!!!"

The Griffon flinched back, trying to raise her talons up in an attempt to block the incoming bullet of a pony, but was too slow. "What the-!" Moon Beam plowed into her, sending both of them tumbling across the ground. The filly giggled as she ruffled Gilda's feathers in an attempt to tickle her while the Griffon tried her best to dislodge her assailant from her body. "Get.... Get off!" She grabbed Moon Beam and pushed her off before jumping back and spreading her wings to make herself more intimidating. "That twerp tried to kill me again!" She growled causing Moon Beam to form tears in the corners of her eyes.

The filly turned to Twilight and buried her face in one of the mare's legs, sobbing. "Aunt-Auntie Twiliiight~! The b-birdie... is being... m-meeeaaan~!"

Twilight sighed and brushed her hoof over the foal's head, calming her sobs. "Shhh...! She didn't mean it. You just scared her is all. She wasn't expecting you to be tickling her. Say you're sorry for scaring her and she'll do the same." Twilight glared at the Griffon. "Won't you?"

The Griffon balked. The way twilight's eyes changed colors from purple to deep red just then gripped her soul just as Nightmare Moon's stare had not long before. "I.... I, ummm..." She grimaced, not used to apologizing to anything. "I'm sorry, alright!? She wasn't like this before! She tried to ki-" Another shift of Twilight's eyes ended her sentence. "Fine! Fine. I'm sorry, squirt. Just startled me." Gilda looked away and muttered under her breath, "Totally lame, apologizing to a kid.... Rainbow Dash would never let me live this down...."

Twilight's ears perked up at the mention of a certain rainbow maned pegasus. "You know Rainbow Dash? Where exactly are you from?"

"Psh, yeah! Of course I know Dash. She was the only cool pony in the Junior Speedsters! Not nearly as awesome as yours truly, but the only one worth hanging out with!" The Griffon puffed up her chest in pride. "Why? Do you know her?"

Twilight smiled forlornly, but nodded her head. "Yeah.... She is... was a friend of mine. Can't see her ever being my friend now, though.... She lives in Ponyville."

"I knew it! I was headed there to try and find Dash before I met up with Commander Stick-in-her-Flank. Figured I'd join with you guys to get back at my clan." She laughed before feeling a hoof touch her shoulder. The Griffon turned her head to find Cloudy staring blankly at her, no sign of emotion on her face.

"Commander what?"

Gilda stumbled for words, unable to come up with anything to defend her case, but was rescued by a flying ball of pony. "Cloooooudy~!" The pegasus, having grown accustomed to being tackled by the filly, braced herself and, deftly using her one wing for extra balance, caught Moon Beam in mid air before setting her on the ground. The foal giggled and jumped onto the pegasus' back. "You have to come play with Auntie Twilight and me! Birdie can come too! It's going to be so much fun!"

Cloudy looked to the form of the filly, her face scrunched in the most adorable face she could muster, and sighed, nodding her compliance. "Fine, but if I am coming then Private Gilda is as well." The Griffon made to protest, but Cloudy silenced her before she could begin. "That is an order. There will be no debating it." Gilda huffed, but gave in, knowing she couldn't disagree and moved beside her Commander. "So, Moon Beam, what did you have in mind?"

Twilight laughed at the exchange and followed behind the trio, trying her best to keep pace. I'm so glad that they were able to forgive each other.... She sighed contentedly and looked to the stairs leading to the third floor. Please don't strain yourself too much, My Queen.... I hope you can rely on me more to help out.... Her eyes closed as her feelings welled up inside her, but the sound of hooves clopping and the scraping of talons were growing more distant. She focused back on the group that was now reaching the bottom of the stairs. She had lingered in the hall as she thought of her beloved Queen and had fallen behind. "Wait you guys! I can't walk that fast!" Twilight smiled, quickening her pace in order to close the distance the others had created while she was in her reverie.

Author's Notes: Next chapter! Woo! Distractions galore! Can't get anything done around here! You guys are too much fun. Oh well, it's worth it. I enjoy chatting with all of you whether it be on skype or her or wherever! Hope you guys enjoy this one as well! Since this one was put out relatively early as compared to most times, I'll be able to comment more than before. Can't wait to see what you have to say! Peppy out!

Editor's Notes: Well, thats the last of the post-release-edits. For now, anyway. I'm sure me and Peppy can come up with (or rip out of the comments) ideas for improving the early chapters later. I love Twilight's glare and I loved this chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it.