With a ring the alarm clock went off at 7:00, just like it always did. Amber rolled over in her bed and slapped at it lazily, not bothering to open her eyes. She just glanced it with the edge of her hoof, sending it skittering across the bedside table and onto the floor, where it still rattled and rang about. ‘Great’ she though dejectedly. There were two types of mornings, mornings where she shut off her alarm clock, and bad ones. She cracked open her eyes and threw off her blanket as she looked over the edge of her bed. ‘Even better,’ she thought. Her alarm had fallen under her bed.

She grudgingly got up and looked under the bed for the infernal noisemaker. There it was, shaking itself out of her reach. “Come back here you!” she muttered as she levitated it up off of the floor and into her waiting hooves. She pressed it off, and the obnoxious ringing stopped.

She looked over at her bed wistfully. On a good morning, she would shut off the alarm and then just lay there for about a half hour. It never took her long to get ready for work, and it was only a five minute walk to her shop anyway. This wasn’t a good morning. She was already out of bed. She trotted over to the window and threw open the curtains. The sun was rising steadily in the morning sky, and the streets were slowly waking up and buzzing to life.

‘I guess I’m up, may as well go out.’ she trotted away from the window and shoved open the door with a hoove. She trotted through her kitchen, levitating her saddlebags up and on as she walked out of her apartment and down the stairs.

“Good morning, ma’am,” the desk clerk said as she descended the stairs. “You missed your alarm?”

She nodded. “Yeah, you know me. Has the Mail arrived yet?” she asked as she trotted over to her mailbox.

“Yes, ma’am,” the clerk said. Amber fished out her key, opened the box and grabbed her mail. She sifted through it quickly, some bills, advertisements, fluff. ‘Aha!’ she thought, holding a letter from the 421rst Equestrian Calvary, C-company, fifth squad. She looked up at the clerk.

“Letter opener?” He fished one out from a drawer, and she levitated it up and cut open the envelope. “Thank you,” she said with a smile as she replaced the letter opener onto the counter.

“You’re welcome,” the desk clerk said as she opened the door and walked out into the morning. A cool breeze blew over her, tossing her mane as it went by. It was a cool, crisp morning for July. She looked down at the letter that she now levitated in front of her. The last one that Sparks sent was from the last day of training. He was worried that he wasn’t going to make it, but that his next letter would tell. ‘Time to find out’, she thought. She folded open the letter before her, and began to read as she trotted down the near empty street.

Dear Amber,

I made it! I am officially a part of the Royal Equestrian Calvary. I passed the body drag, nearly killed me doing it, but I passed it. Turns out being a unicorn is a good advantage to have, I just levitated him up as much as I could, and then I could drag him. Feel like an idiot that it’s taken me this long to figure that out. I suppose that I have to start thinking with my horn. I bet that they do…

So now I’m in, and I guess I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hoof, we ship out tomorrow, off to the Galloping Gorge to help the Royal Guard hold them off. I’m still not sure if I’m ready to fight, but at least I’ve got a good squad to help me. That’s the other hoof. Repeater Rifle, Cold Blooded and Joe, Muddy Ruts and his twin, even 736 and 382 to some extent. They’re the squad, but you know this. They’re also my friends. I’m glad that I meet them, simply because it’s been so long since I’ve had any. It only took the largest war in Equestrian history to get to make them.

Oh, and one last thing.

I have a name.

Manifest Destiny. Repeater gave it to me once I completed the drag. It comes from the settler ponies idea that destiny is something that you have to earn. Repeater says it fits me well. I’m not really used to it yet, but I will be soon.

We ship out to the Galloping Gorge tomorrow, but you don’t have to change anything; as long as you address the letter to my regiment, company, and squad, then I’ll get it. Please keep writing, you have no idea how much it helps to get mail.

Love (should I write love? It seems out of place)

Manifest Destiny

Amber smiled as she trotted into “Mr. Muffin’s Bakery.” She had barely even entered the door when a shout rang out from behind the counter.

“Amber! How have the parasprites been treating you!” Greeted the yellow unicorn behind the counter jauntily. She shuddered at the memories of the great Fillydelphia parasprite plague of 1000

“Not funny, Banana Nut,” she fired back in jest. Immediately, his ears dropped and he put on a comical frown, bottom lip downturned and quivering.

“You don’t have to be so meen. Calling me a nut, you hurt my feelings.”

“It’s your name.”

The unicorn forgot to keep his sad face on as he propped his forehooves on the counter, trying to gain height on Amber. “My name is Mr. Muffin,” He said royally, ”and as long as you are in my store you are not allowed to use my first or middle names.”

“Banana Nut.”

The unicorn gasped in horror, then flung a hoove in the direction of the door. “BEGONE, YOU LOTHESOME MARE! LEAVE AND NEVER RETURN!” Amber just stood there smirking.

“That’s my order.”

Banana Nut dropped back to the ground. “Oh, okay then. Anything else?” he asked as he popped open the counter display and levitated a muffin out.

“Wakeup Fuel.” She said as she looked over the letter. He nodded again, and poured their daily dark roast into a small white mug.

“Heeeeeeeeeeere you go!” He said as he ran the plate over to where Amber sat, skidding across the linoleum floor the last few feet. He hastily set the plate down as he slid into the seat across from Amber. She stared at the unicorn across from her blankly as he bounced up and down in his seat, leaning forward slightly.

Amber placed the letters down. “What are you so excited about?”

“Just wanted to talk to my number one customer! Is that a crime?” before she could move to answer he nodded towards the letters. “Who’s that?”

“Static Sparks.”

“OH-ho-ho!” he said, rubbing his hooves together. “How’s Sparky doing, anyway?”

“Fine, he’s officially made it into the Calvary now, and got a new name.” Banana Nut nodded enthusiastically.

“So he passed that whatever test you told me about, right!?”

“Yeah,” she nodded as she took a bite from her muffin. She had never known a more energetic pony than Banana Nut. Secretly she doubted that one existed. He didn’t give her much time to ponder over it though.

“That’s great!” he said. Quickly he looked around to see if anypony else was in the barren bakery, and then leaned in close. He motioned her to lean in as well. She took a drink from her coffee, and then leaned in.

“What?”

“So when are you two going to hitch the wagon?” he said mutedly.

“We aren’t hitching any wagons, or discussing hitching any wagons.”

“But are you thinking about hitching a wagon?” Banana asked with a grin. “Ah! You are!” She felt the blood rushing to her cheeks now, she must have blushed. “When?”

“Alright, Nut. Maybe, when the war ends, and who knows when that will be, we may go out. Then maybe we’ll think about. Then maybe we’ll hitch a wagon.”

“Good!” Banana Nut said as he leaned back in the bench, “that means that I’ll have at least one party to cater in the distant future!” she opened her mouth to ask if that was all that this conversation was about, but Banana Nut kept on going. Suddenly he was all business, leaning back in, smile gone. “Speaking of which, your family, the farmers, have they sent you any more grain, wheat, barley, oats, whatever to your shop?”

She snapped into seriousness as well. “Mr. Muffin, since the war has started my family has diverted about half of what we grow to go to the Royal Guard and Calvary. Raw goods like what you want are going to be harder to get.”

“Even for your number one consumer?”

“You aren’t my number one consumer. You aren’t even in my top five consumers.”

“How about for your favorite consumer?” he said with an evil grin. She smiled as well.

“Alright, for my favorite consumer.”

“Good,” he said, reclining again, smile losing its edge. “I was going to up the prices for the muffins and coffee you get by 500 bits if you didn’t. How’s that muffin?”

Amber took another bite from the warm muffin, and nodded her head in approval. “It’s pretty darn good.”

“I’m glad you think so. Good enough for a sizable tip, maybe?”

Amber snorted. “You have no tact, you know?”

Banana Nut nodded solemnly. “Maybe…maybe, but maybe I’ll still have a generous tip?” Amber took another bite from her muffin. It was as she said, pretty darn good. She levitated ten bits from her saddlebags and set them on the table before the unicorn.

“OH-ho-ho! Moneymoneymoney !”

“Three for the muffin, three for the coffee, and four for pity.” She said. Banana Nut frowned again.

“Well, if you’re going to be like that then, well, there’s the door.” He stopped as he pointed a hoove toward the door, a look of confusion popping up on his face. Amber turned around in her seat. Through the shop’s front window she could see a bunch of ponies gathered around the street corner, pushing their way toward the center of the impromptu mob. “What the hay is happening outside?” Banana Nut asked as he stood up and slowly trotted to the door. Amber got up out of her seat and started for the door briskly, shoving her way past the unicorn. She opened the door.

“Oh no.”

Out on the street corner, a little colt was waving about a newspaper as he stood on a cart, the ponies all gathered round trying to get a copy of the edition. What the colt was saying brought her to a dead stop.

“Entire regiments of the Royal Calvary lost in battle! Remnants and Royal Guard divisions falling back to the Cloudsdale line! All land west of Canterlot being evacuated in the face of the Unicornian threat! Read all about it in the Flyer!”

Amber sprung forward and into the crowd, shoving her way through the mob to the cart at the center. Quickly she threw out a hooveful of bits onto the cart and snatched up a paper before ducking her way back out of the crowd. Banana Nut was waiting for her at the edge.

“How bad?” Amber didn’t answer, quickly glancing at the front page before she tore the paper open. ‘Where is it?’ she thought. Banana Nut talked again, but she didn’t even register his voice. On page 12 she found what she was looking for. In the far right of the paper there was a column labeled “10,000 estimated casualties”. She scanned down it quickly ‘please don’t be there, please don’t be there,’ she silently pleaded.

421rst Royal Calvary: 40% estimated casualties.

“How bad?” Banana asked again, face fraught with worry. She passed the paper off to him silently, then began to slowly trot down the street. The colt continued to cry out the news to the crowd behind her, but she tuned them out. She kicked open the door to the “Fields of Grain” unprocessed food store. She trotted to the counter, and turned to see if anypony had followed her in. The closed sign still hung above the door.

‘There’s a two in five chance that Sparks is dead. Ten thousand ponies are,’ She thought.

Her legs gave out beneath her. For the next half hour, she cried.