//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Camaraderie // by walk-in closet brony //------------------------------// "All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers." - Francois Fenelon Canterlot Castle, Throne Room 6:34PM (39 days after first contact with mankind) It was a rather somber evening in Canterlot due to the fact that the Pegasi were behind schedule in weather duties. A brisk rain fell outside the stain-glassed windows of the royal hall and booming thunder could be heard in the distance. Because of recent events, what with the arrival of an entirely new alien race, everyday responsibilities had been halted for such an extraordinary happening. Even the age-old ruler of the land, Princess Celestia, had not anticipated the disruption of commerce and her own royal duties. She sat quietly at her throne, contemplating the events of the past couple weeks for it was not but a few days ago she had discussed trade agreements between these "humans" and her own kind. They had come to an agreement to barter human commodities such as exotic foods, oils, and precious metals in exchange for Equestria's valuable, one-of-a-kind diamonds, sapphires, and ruby's. All at once a blinding green light flashed in front of her eyes followed by the distinctive, royally stamped scroll, disrupting her thoughts. This was the twelfth letter this week from her apprentice, most likely describing another interaction between her and the humans, that of which Twilight Sparkle sought a deep interest in. After all, it had only been a few weeks since Sarah Renault's humble expedition visited Ponyville. "Very well, lets see what she has to say this time." Celestia chuckled, unraveling the scroll. Dear Princess Celestia, Ms. Renault visited today and brought me one of those human deserts! What did she call them? Parfaits was it? Celestia laughed quietly to herself, amused at Twilight's infatuation with human delicacies. I offered her some daisy sandwiches but she politely refused, saying quote-unquote, "Isn't that just a bunch of flowers wedged in between two slices of bread?" Can you believe that? Apparently humans don't eat flowers OR hay! How ridiculous. They're really missing out on - Once again, Celestia's train of thought had been interrupted by a loud slam coming from the end of the hallway. What now stood before her both puzzled and shocked her senses. Barely standing at the foot of her throne was a royal Pegasus guard adorned in armor that was tarnished, wet, and covered in dirty residue. Obviously exhausted, the ragged guard attempted to speak. "Your highness... I... I need... need to show you"- "Please, calm yourself my little pony and gather your thoughts." Celestia spoke in the most motherly voice possible. "No time... must read... letter!" At this, the weary guard pony pulled a letter from his saddle pack with his teeth and hoofed it to Celestia, who promptly plucked it from his mouth and began skimming the document. "Oh... oh my..." The words barely left her mouth before the rain-drenched letter dropped to the ground. __________________________________________________________________ USMC Camp Pendleton San Diego, California (4 days after the sacking of Detrot) "Lets move Roycewitz, the grass ain't gettin' any greener!" Captain Arthur Ross of the 1st Marine division had been working his men all day on an extended training run after torrential downpours and hail had postponed their original schedule the day before. "Aye skipper!" Shouted the sweaty, tired private. The exercise was as such: Ross's troops would run an intricate obstacle course filled with zip-lines, walls, and barbed wire nets that the soldiers were instructed to crawl under while under live fire from Staff Sergeant Avery's SAW machine gun. Next, the men were to run a 30 minute "Currahee". This motto and form of training, borrowed from their friends in the airborne branch of the military, consisted of a timed jog up and down a nearby hill without a drink from their canteens while sporting full combat equipment and fatigues. "Captain Ross, a word please?" Spinning on his heels, Ross directed his attention to the voice. It was none other than Colonel James B. Seaton, the commander of camp Pendleton. "Yes sir, of course sir!" Ross replied dutifully. "Sergeant Avery, take over while I'm gone." "Aye skip!" Ross followed Seaton into his office and respectfully stood at attention while the Col. pulled out his chair and took a seat. The office walls were contoured with medals of the highest honor and plaques with degrees of all sorts. "At ease son, and take a seat." "Thank you sir." Said Ross. "Now listen here Captain, and these orders come down from the top." Seaton stood up, walked over to the door, and locked it. Once that was done, he returned to his seat and leaned in close, gesturing to Ross to do the same. "We have orders to begin training for combat." Seaton said quietly. He continued in this hushed voice. "Apparently, a close ally with strategic importance to America is under attack by an unknown enemy." "Who sir?" Said Ross, curious as to who needed the military aid of the United States. "I cant say. General Taylor told us that our mutual friends were being threatened by enemy forces and we needed to intervene. Not just us but the whole damn United Nations. After that he just stood up and left the room. I'm just as confused as you are." "Shit..." Replied Ross in disbelief, running a hand through his hair. "Ain't that the truth. All I know is that we're to complete combat training and join our foreign allies at an area unknown to us at the time somewhere in Geneva, Switzerland. I trust you can inform your men of the news?" "Yes sir, they'll be notified immediately." Ross reluctantly replied. "Good, I expect you and your men can be combat-ready within a weeks time?" Asked Seaton. "We can be ready in half that time sir!" "Excellent. You're dismissed captain." "Yes sir." Ross rose from his seat, saluted, and left the room readying himself to tell the men of the 1st Marine division to ready themselves for war. Outside, Ross's men were panting after completing their training run. Ross confronted them with the utmost respect, preparing himself for an elaborate speech in order to boost the morale of his troops. "Alright boys bring it in." Ordered Ross. The eager marines crowded around their captain, anxious to hear what he had to say, hit the mess-hall for some hot chow, and then the barracks for some well deserved rest. Ross took a deep breath. "Gear up men, we're going to war..."