Ten Months Later
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As quickly as hope and a spark in Lyra's life had arisen, the winds of a harsh reality and a cold and cruel irony had doused any flame that could have arisen. Things had calmed after that fateful night where Lyra had finally realized the crushing cruelty of her life. Both she and her wife had clung to one another all night, never leaving the dining room and quietly sobbing into each other's manes. It seemed that life had decided to pepper them with more trials than anypony else they could know, and each time they tried to enrich their lives or pursue greater happiness, an even greater obstacle would stand in their way to crush any hope like brittle, fallen leaves.
The seasons passed; autumn came with the promises of the chill winter whispering on the breeze. The colors of the foliage changed and changed again, giving one last splash of oranges and reds before falling down to lifelessness under the pounding hooves of the ponies of Ponyville. Life began to take on some normalcy, as normal as events could occur in the quaint hamlet. Monsters came and where driven back, political strife was endured, and friendships were tried and trusted. It was even said amongst the denizens of Equestria that the Elements of Harmony had been called upon once again to fight an impending darkness. And as always, harmony had triumphed over chaos.
The cool autumn gave way to to the bone chilling depths of winter. The fields lay fallow and barren, and Lyra would often gaze out the frost rimmed windows and know how this seemingly dead landscape was an outer reflection of her own body. Cold, barren, and incapable of life. The deep and drifting snows brought her spirits down to depths of which she never could believe existed.
Normally the falling of snowflakes around the lonely street lamps of Ponyville would raise a warm and gentle love from Lyra, a remembrance of the moment when she had realized her true love had been her best friend for months, and her true love had loved her back. But not this year. Each falling flake only tore a tiny rend into her heart. And like the lifeless fields across Equestria, Lyra began to feel cold inside.
But she kept good on one promise to herself, she let the music once again flow freely through her. The talent agent she had hired back in the summer began to book her for fancy galas, high class banquets, charity events, parties for the well to do and anywhere where her music could be heard. And after a few months, the name Heartstrings was one that was nodded to in respect for her talent of pouring her heart and soul through the soft pluck of a simple string. And though their dream of becoming a family had been crushed by impotence, both Lyra and Bonbon managed to find some solace and minor happiness through the vast inward flow of wealth coming from Lyra's music gigs.
Lyra knew many ponies were beginning to look up to her for her soulful ballads, and in truth it was the pain of her failure to become a mother that gave those notes power. And each time she sat upon a stage, bedecked in some silly dress to fit the occasion, a tear would fall. A tear shed in dedication for the life she could not create.
Winter slowly loosened its grip upon the slumbering world; the cycle of life and death coming to fruition and bearing the signs of resurrection once more. The melting snows dripped away slowly in most parts of the world. But in Equestria, where the aloof pegasi controlled the weather, the transition from the cold depths of winter to the vibrant colors of spring would pass unnaturally quick.
Almost literally in the blink of an eye.
Ponyville's three resident adult humans expected a longer and slower change of season, and groggily peered out the windows of their respective homes when a certain tune was sung by all the ponies as they went about their seasonal duty of changing the season manually. Not knowing nor truly caring what the town's ponies meant about 'Winter Wrap Up', they kept sleeping through it. At one point a groggy (and considerably hungover) Dr Patterson leaned out a window and began to shriek unrepeatable obscenities in the vague hope of stopping the incredibly well balanced singing. Only after being pelted with snowballs did he stop and just go back to bed.
Spring came with the warm promise of summer days with a cool reminder of winter's howling gales on the breeze. Spring was a season to be enjoyed and loved by all races across the Earth (with the exception of the wyverns of Snowreach, which are invariably driven to utter psychosis by even the slightest climb in the mercury).
But one race took this spring to be a particularly blessed one, and would celebrate its coming with the greatest joy and mirth. The eldest yet newest race on the Earth had just survived their first winter in over two thousand years. With the first anniversary of their peace with the creatures of magic coming up, the humans of the city of Lazarus felt as though they should do something to celebrate such a momentous milestone in their new history. And the leaders of Equestria agreed, meeting in secret with the Elements of Harmony and even the human ambassador to prepare a gift for the infant nation.
And it was this desire to celebrate their lives and their independence amongst the humans that would ultimately set in motion events that would even confound the gods and make Lyra Heartstrings a household name.
It began as all things do, a tiny little spark that erupts into a roaring inferno, a infinitesimal ripple that travels across the oceans until it is a towering tsunami of change. And most importantly in pony society, it began with a picnic.
....and a small fleet of helicopter gunships. Can't forget that, it's not a memorable event if high tech war machines aren't involved in some tiny way.
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Lyra poured a cup of warm coffee from her thermos, taking a careful sip to see if it had cooled enough for her to drink. Satisfied, she laid down her cup and unpacked a sandwich from the basket. Bonbon also poured a cup from the thermos, leaving her cup only half full and filling it the rest of the way with cream and sugar.
Lyra smirked at the earth pony who had to dilute her bitter with so much sweet. "Geez honey, you want some coffee with your creamer?"
Bonbon rolled her eyes, taking a sip from her cup and laying down on their checkered picnic blanket. "That's the difference between you and me, I take the bitter with the sweet so neither one can overwhelm me. You tend to just take one or the other full force. Speaking of going full force, did I ever tell you that Comet Tail and Golden Harvest actually were dating for a few months?"
Lyra took a large bite of her sandwich, a few crumbs falling from her mouth as she replied, "They made such a cute couple."
"Tell me about it, but I think he broke it off in the end. Something about needing his space." Lyra began to go through her typical ritual of completely zoning out while Bonnie went through her gossip girl act. She lay down in the shade of one of Ponyville park's many oak trees, the expansive and stretching branches covering more than enough room for several picnic blankets. But today the public park seemed devoid of anypony at all, only Lyra and Bonbon seemed to inhabit the serene and peaceful park.
Occasionally drifting back in to the conversation, Lyra would catch snippets of Bonbon's second-hoof gossip ramblings, just in case she was questioned about it later. Typically they were complete nonsense and sometimes just plain breaches of somepony's privacy. But it made Bonbon feel good to know about the personal lives of her friends and neighbors.
And against her will, Lyra's thoughts began to drift. Two particular subjects seemed to badger her today, one she had thought about nearly every hour for the last few months, and one that she had almost completely forgotten about. She felt it strange that her obsession with humans would pick right now to tickle at her thoughts. Her old passion seemed to rekindle right now for some reason, like something would come along soon to stoke that flame.
Lyra felt so odd about the situation. Only a year ago ponies had been dropping subtle hints about her seeing a psychotherapist. And by 'subtle', a few of her friends had even secretly put brochures in her mail every week, hoping to curb the seemingly unhealthy fixation. Lyra even had a small collection of them all entitled 'How to Spot Signs of Obsession'. But, she had been right. So right that many of her friends and acquaintances had stopped talking to her for a few weeks out of embarrassment.
All the dreams of glamour and fame, none of it had come to fruition. The smiling crowds standing in awe of the famous researcher and theorist that had proven that humanity indeed existed. Who stood resolute in her beliefs despite everypony telling her she was crazy and despite the multiple threats from government officials for her to stop poking her nose in things. The imminent awards, statues, recognition.....none of it had happened.
Humans were the norm now. Hell, some of their technology had been passing through Ponyville on its way to the markets in Canterlot and Manehattan. Huge, lumbering steam engines, far stronger and larger than anything ponies had ever built passed through once a week or so on the Equestrian railway, a human engineer piloting the mountain of muscular steel and hauling metal ores, lumber, foodstuffs and textiles all back across the expanses to the markets and warehouses in his nation. And another thing Lyra noticed about those human-made trains as they crossed through Ponyville, they were all dull and painted in plain colors when they were even painted at all. They made them to be workhorses, not to be a gaudy display of color and frivolity.
Everything they did right now had to be for a purpose; any waste or letting down their guard could be a fatal blow to their fragile nation. Their species was still on the brink of extinction; a long drought, a few bad storms, some rampant virus or even an invasion from another race could utterly wipe them out in this vulnerable state. And for that reason, the humans were stocking up on every single staple and necessity needed and driving themselves into an overwhelming national debt to do it. But more importantly, they were driving themselves to the limit to increase their population and fill the maternity ward.
Maternity, the second nagging idea that had plagued her so much over these past few months. Lyra had barely psychologically survived the winter, even going so far as to think about the unthinkable once or twice. She'd always been a tomboy, so when this urge to fulfill the most feminine of desires struck her, it hit hard and it sank deep. The very thought of bearing a foal was pleasing to the mare, but the process of making one was repugnant to her. The hungry touch of a stallion as he lowered himself towards her...
A shiver ran down Lyra's spine as she lay on that checkered blanket in the park. With a start she realized that she hadn't tuned back into Bonbon in quite a while. Changing her thoughts from inward to outward, she heard nothing but silence and the chirp of birds in the park. Glancing over at Bonbon, she almost breathed a sigh of relief that Bonnie wasn't glaring at her for not listening. Instead, the earth pony leaned up on an elbow, looking almost concernedly at Lyra.
"Bit for your thoughts?" Bonbon asked inquisitively.
Lyra rolled over to grab another cup of coffee out of the picnic basket. "It's nothing."
"It's not nothing, something's bothering you, and I want to know what so I can help you."
Lyra sighed, taking a sip of the much cooler drink. "It's about last summer."
Bonbon rolled her eyes and groaned, knowing this subject almost always ended in tears and one of them locking themselves away for several days. "This again? I thought we were over that. It's just something that we can't do and we'll just have to keep on living as a couple. Lots of couples live happily without children, besides, think of the agony of childbirth that we'll be spared. Think of the finances that we will save, with your music career at its best right now and my candy business booming, we could afford to retire young if we wanted to."
"What happened to your childhood dream?" Lyra said calmly. "I mean, look at all families in Ponyville; the Cakes, the Apples, Derpy and Dinky, even the humans. Don't they just seem so happy? So close and loving? Even your brother and his wife and kids are so happy with each other."
Bonbon wanted to rebut that, seeing as both her brother and his wife looked to be dead tired when they last visited, their hyper active foals climbing on all the furniture and threatening to break some very precious and valuable things in their rambunctious rampage. But Lyra had enjoyed having her niece and nephew over for a day.
Bonbon pulled a biscuit out of the basket, spreading some jam on and taking a bite. "Speaking of the humans-" Bonbon nodded down the pathway that ran through Ponyville park, and Lyra turned her head to see what she was indicating.
She flashed a smile and waved over at her human friend and her young daughter as they took a nice stroll through the park.
Sara noticed the waving pony, smiling and waving back. Carrying Sophie in her arm, she walked over to the pair of ponies on their picnic blanket. "Hi gals!" she said excitedly.
"Hey Sara, what brings you out here today?" Lyra asked politely.
The human woman took an open corner of the blanket, sitting down gracefully and setting down her toddler. "Oh, not much. Fred's out with the boys and I thought that maybe I should try to get off the farm today and have some time for myself."
"Well good for you," Bonbon said earnestly. "How is your little farm doing?"
Sara took a moment to calculate in her head, nodding at the handsome profits they should be raking in fairly soon. "Pretty good, the fish are maturing much quicker than either of us expected, and we even started dredging out a new pond. Things are pretty good for us here in Ponyville. Say, are there any good plays in any theaters right now? It's been literally more years than I care to count since Fred and I had a little date night."
"Well, Lyra and I had tickets to go see Canterlot Gardens, but the show didn't receive very good reviews. Hey hon, isn't Les Droits de Petit Chevals in Canterlot right now?"
"The one starring Curtains Up?" Lyra replied between bites of an orange.
"Yeah, that one."
"Oh Celestia yes. Sara, you should see it, if not just for Curtains. He's such a charming actor, and I think they must have rigged the awards last year when they said he was only the runner up for Best Dramatic Lead. And to think that yokel Show Tunes won the Best Dramatic Lead award with his interpretation of Commander Hurricane in Days of Reckoning. I mean, come on! It's a female role that they gave to an effeminate stallion! There's seriously something wrong with those judges in my opinion."
Bonbon leaned over to the human woman. "Lyra played the harp in a few pit orchestras for those shows, she knows a lot of the theatrical big wigs through rehearsals and gets very opinionated sometimes," she whispered.
Sara giggled a little bit, stopping to grab a rock out of her daughter's blue aura and return it to the pathway. Lyra ignored them and kept ranting about what shows she had seen and been a part of. "And of course Curtains Up wouldn't be a name at all if it weren't for that role in The Steel Dictator. Did I ever tell you about that one, Bonnie? He played such a good Vulcanos that ponies in the crowd were actually trembling! Talk about projecting your voice! And I may have played a small part in it when I did a dramatic harp solo for the scene in the baths." Lyra sat smugly, holding her head high and proudly taking a drink out of her cup.
Bonbon rolled her eyes, groaning in exasperation. "Again with the harp solo. Lyra, you might want to get an ice pack, your head is getting a little swollen there."
Lyra snapped out of her little soliloquy. "So anyway, Bonnie and I have season tickets, and we probably aren't going to use them. I mean, can you find any break in your schedule so that we can go see a play?"
"Unfortunately no," Bonbon replied, knowing that both were too tied up in their work to take the several hour train ride to Canterlot, spend the day in the capital and finally see the show once before taking the train back to Ponyville and getting back at around two in the morning.
"So yeah," Lyra said, "We could probably just give you and your husband our tickets as a little gift."
Sara smiled, giving Lyra a pat on the shoulder. "What would I do without friends like you? Oh, dang it! I'd need to find a babysitter for Sophie. Pinkie would be game for it, but she's so tied up with those twins all the time."
"Oh that's no big deal, Bonnie and I could watch her for awhile," Lyra replied. Looking down at the human toddler, she smiled. "We could have so much fun! Go on, tell Mommy, 'I'd love to spend time with Mrs Lyra!'" she coddled in a baby talk.
Sophia giggled, taking a few toddling steps forward before taking a tumble into Lyra's forelegs. Carefully catching the child, Lyra felt her heart gushing with love as she wrapped her tiny arms around her forelegs and gave a little hug.
"Awwwwwwww," Bonbon cooed, "You are so good with children."
Leaning down, Lyra nuzzled Sophia's soft crown of black hair. "She really is something special, Sara. You're one...lucky woman." The unicorn stifled a sorrowful hiccup, holding back a tear for her own failure.
Sara looked on at her child resting comfortably in Lyra's hooves. "You really are good mother material, Lyra. It's a shame about....your problem."
"I know," Lyra replied meekly. "It's probably for the best though. I'd make a terrible mom. I can barely keep myself out of trouble, and I just don't have the experience to be a mom."
"Don't say that! You'd make a great mom, you're kind, fun-loving, you have an even temperament and so far I've seen you keep a pretty cool head. Besides, what mother conceives her first child and knows everything she'll need to know? And so what if you can't conceive? Why not make a child's life better by becoming their mother when they need someone in their life?"
Lyra glanced up and into Sara's eyes. "You really think I should adopt? You're the second of my friends that has told me I should skip pregnancy and just adopt."
"Well, if two different people came to the same conclusion, it can't really be a bad idea, can it? Why bring another life into this world when you can enrich one that needs love? Trust me, I spent two thousand years as a spirit in the care of someone who fancies herself as the ultimate adoptive mother, it's the right thing to do and you won't regret it."
Lyra glanced over at Bonbon, and once her eyes met with her partner's she noticed something she had not seen in months. A tiny little glimmer of light that glowed with hope, and without words the unicorn knew that Bonbon wanted to take that step and become a mother, even if she wasn't the bearer of their foal. "Bonbon? Do you really think we could?"
Bonbon leaned over and gave her love a nuzzle. "I don't think that not only we could, I think we should."
"I love you," she whispered back, careful to protect the human child still clinging to her aquamarine fur.
Sara cleared her throat loudly, interrupting the special and intimate moment between the mares. "Glad to help out, but Sophie and I had really better be goin-" Her awkward goodbye speech was interrupted a noise on the wind. The human turned her head westward, listening intently. Sara's smile turned very quickly into an annoyed frown. "Oh hell, what are they doing around here?"
"Who is doing what?" Bonbon asked, picking up the sound that was steadily growing louder by the second. Lyra strained to listen, catching what sounded like a wasp of titanic proportions heading their direction. But the buzz began to filter into separate sounds, like a whupwhupwhupwhupwhup that seemed to rattle the very air and reverberate off the trees.
The noise grew into a cacophonous din, and both ponies slapped their hooves to their ears to try and drown out the increasing flurry of noise. "What is that?!" Lyra almost shouted.
"You'll see," Sara calmly replied, scooping up her child and walking away as if some trio of gigantic monsters wasn't approaching on the horizon. Both Lyra and Bonbon turned to the horizon to catch a glimpse of a trio of black shapes emerge from over the trees and make a beeline for Ponyville.
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"Fold."
"Pansy! That's the fifth hand in a row!"
"Well I recall no rule stating that I must play boldly!" Dr Whooves said in his defense, laying all five of his cards on the table face down in the fifth hand he had been dealt.
"Alright, let's take a look at those cards, see what Mr Know When to Hold 'Em dropped this round." Aaron scooped up the cards, flipping them over. "Oh come on! Three fives, a jack and a deuce! You coulda won if you stayed! How am I going to take your money if you don't start playing like a man?"
Dr Whooves scowled, dealing out another hand of cards. "Well there's your problem, I'm not a 'man' as you call it, I'm what we call in the anthropological field call a 'stallion'."
"Some stallion you are," the human muttered, throwing down two cards and drawing another pair, "When was the last time you hit on a mare?"
His question went unanswered as a flush resounded from the general direction of the bathroom, Fred Coppell walking out and drying his hands on his pants. "Hey, uh, Doc. You're out of hand soap, so I had to use a little from your shower."
"What kind of soap?" the brown earth pony asked quizzically.
Aaron wiggled his fingers in the air. "Hand soap. You know, for washing hands?"
"Oh, all I have is good old hoof soap. I warn you though, it probably will burn your exposed skin."
Fred meandered through the massive stacks of papers, precarious piles of quirky mechanics and sat down in his chair, pulling into the table and grabbing a cigar out of an open box. Plugging it into his teeth, he lit it up and took a long draw. "Good tobacco you got here, Whooves."
"Thank you, I try to please."
"Okay, back to my question," Aaron interrupted.
"What was your question?" Fred inquired.
Aaron scooped out a chip full of salsa and drained it down with a swig of beer. Wiping his lip, he continued. "When was the last time he got frisky with a girl."
Fred reached across the table and placed a hand consolingly on Dr Whoove's shoulder. "Now son, it's important to have a healthy sex life, but you can't keep starving yourself like you do. And it's completely okay to maybe 'release' some tension once in a while."
The pony scowled and batted off the human's hand. "Stop that! I'm not your son, I'm thirty years old, and I have a very healthy...bedroom life."
Aaron jabbed a finger into the pony's side. "Then fess up! When was the last time you got laid, boyo?"
Fred stared blankly at his fellow human. "Did you just say 'boyo'?"
"Yeah, I kind of went through that 'kiss me I'm Irish' phase in my late teens. But don't shift the attention elsewhere! We're prying on him! Come on Whoovesy, when was the last time you got freaky with a filly?"
Dr Whooves lay his ears flat and ground his teeth in a rage. "Alright! It was about fourteen months ago with a nice lady that you don't know!"
"Geez dude, just an innocent question. No need to flip out......unless you're embarrassed!"
"I AM NOT EMBARRASSED!" the Doc shouted.
"Then just chill out," Fred said calmly, taking a swig of cold beer.
Aaron waggled his fingers in the air, a devious grin and a slight glow of magic tingling around him. "Naw, now I'm too curious to go back. Let's take a looksie, shall we!" he said suddenly, slapping a glowing hand to Dr Whooves' forehead.
"Hey! What in the blazes are you doing?!"
Aaron's face went through various expressions while he did his magical work while keeping his hand on the wriggling Dr Whooves. "Oh nothing special, just sifting through your memories. Damn, it's so tidy in here! It's like a warehouse of files! Let me see; old travel memories, boring. Technical schematics for crazy inventions, boring as all hell. What you ate for lunch through all of fifth grade, give me a break how boring is that? Oooohhh!!" he squealed in delight. "What do we have hyar! Old love letters!"
Dr Whooves redoubled his efforts to disentangle from the human's magical grasp. "No, no! Stay out of there! I cast you out, demon!"
"Aaron, I think you should stop while you're behind," Fred warned from his side of the table.
"No way, this is too much fun! Let me see, let's move through the older ones. Hearts and Hooves letters to classmates, yadda yadda, note to a crush in high school, here we are! Fourteen months ago you went on a sexy date with-" He bit his lip, withdrawing his hand slowly and leaning back to his side of the table. "Oh Doc, the mailmare? I didn't know you went for-"
"A charming personality, a good sense of humor, and more than looks? Why yes, I DO!" the Doc said venomously.
"Okay okay! Just...be cool man. Sorry about that." Aaron grabbed the cast aside deck of cards, dealing out another hand. Swiping up his cards, Dr Whooves almost immediately tossed out three. Tossing three back from the pile, a light of mischief and a horrible thought passed through his mind. "Sssssooooooooo.....that filly of hers...."
"It's not mine," Dr Whooves said, answering his question very curtly. "Since you want to pry into my life so much, you might as well return the favor. When was the last time you pleased a lady? And doing it by yourself does not count, mind you."
Beads of sweat formed on Aaron's face, and he tugged at his shirt collar. "Uh, well, you see, the thing is....Fred! Why don't you go first?"
Mr Coppell stared intently at his cards, occasionally glancing out at the table. "What time is it?" he asked after breathing out a stream of cigar smoke.
Dr Whooves checked a pocket watch. "Why, it's one o'clock, why do you ask?"
"About fifteen hours ago," he replied, holding an open palm out for Aaron, who promptly slapped him a high-five. "Despite what all you bachelors say, marriage has its perks. And now it's your turn, buddy boy."
"Crap," Aaron muttered. "Well, you see, I don't get to be around many humans. And even fewer single women. You know what? A gentleman never tells!"
"Cut the excuses, nancy-boy! When was the last time? If you don't tell, I know where we can go to get a straight answer, and I know She will gladly tell us," Fred said with a smirk on his face. Dr Whooves chuckled maniacally, staring across the table with devilish intent.
Aaron sweated it out, shaking in his seat. "Oh alright! Stacy Hammond, winter of 2016! She went cold for two months and then dumped me and killed my cat! Then the whole world went freaking 'Planet of the Ponies' and I haven't had the time to really get out there."
Both of the other's faces squelched up, and they glanced at each other, holding it in. "BWAHAHAHA! Aaron, you do realize that means you've gone well over two thousand years without getting laid! And you gave us crap? You don't have a platform to stand on! You're drowning in Celibacy Creek!"
"I hate you guys right now," Aaron murmured, embarrassed beyond all belief. "I'm a priest...or something. I have to stay celibate for my service to my Goddess."
No you don't, I fully encourage a healthy dose of what you organisms refer to as 'sex'. As long as it is consensual and obeys all of your laws. Of course, it couldn't come to within one ten-thousandth of what I do for stimulatory pleasure.
"Shut up, nobody asked you!"
Don't talk to me like that or I will broadcast your dirtiest secrets on every radio frequency across the planet. By the way, did you ever finish our little present for your kin?
"Yeah, it's ready and I'm waiting for a good time to present it."
Don't get comfy, that opportunity is coming sooner than you think.
Dr Whooves and Fred stared in utter boredom at Aaron. "Can you at least let us in on the conversation, Aaron? It's like being in the room with a schizophrenic while they talk to the voices in their head."
"No, it's a surprise. Now whose turn is it to deal-"
His question was abruptly stopped by a humming sound that vibrated the windows and began to increase in ferocity as it approached.
"What in the flaming pit of Tartarus is that racket?" Dr Whooves asked.
Both Fred and Aaron grinned as they stood from the table and rushed over to the nearest window. "Oh my, the cavalry has indeed arrived. What are they doing out here?"
Dr Whooves squeezed between them, catching a glimpse of a black shape as it pulled over the town square of Ponyville, its spinning bladed wings creating enough noise and wind to blow dust storms out into the streets. "What is that thing?!" the pony said fearfully. The more he looked at this thing, the more it screamed of human war machinery. Four blades spun overhead in a blinding blur, keeping the main body of the aircraft aloft. It had a sleek and slender black body that tapered out into a tail with another set of spinning blades mounted for stability. Tinted windows greeted the onlookers, concealing any signs of life on the inside.
"Sikorsky UH 60L Black Hawk utility aircraft. Medium weight, capable of carrying ten thousand pounds of cargo. Looks like she's not hauling anything though, strange," Aaron replied in answer to the earth pony's question. "Oh, lookie there, she's got an escort of two Boeing AH-64 Apache gunships. See 'em up there?" He pointed out the other two helicopters flying much higher overhead. In comparison, they made their utility cousin look bulbous and fat. Sleek and planar, the Apaches were equipped with far more gadgets than the simple troop transport. And from the look of some of those attachments, Dr Whooves guessed them to be a truly awesome arsenal of flying death.
"Are they here to kill us?" Dr Whooves asked, his voice trembling in an instinctive fear.
Aaron glanced down at the pony and smirked. "If they were here for that, we wouldn't even have heard them coming. We would be dead already in a smoldering crater. Those Hellfire missiles on the Apaches have an effective range of five miles."
"That's how we humans fight," Fred murmured, "We'll kill you before you can even see us."
"What are they up to?" Aaron asked nobody in particular. The Blackhawk broke away from its formation, dropping low over town square and banking to the right. The Blackhawk circled town square twice before coming to a hover about one hundred feet overhead. Aaron's eyes snapped wide as he realized what they wanted. "They're looking for a landing zone! Oh shit, let's hope the pegasi don't caught up in those blades!"
Both humans and the pony bolted out the door and into the busy street, shoving through the crowds of townsponies that had come to gawk at the noisy intruder. A few ponies in police uniforms pushed through the crowds with crossbows at the ready, believing the hovering machine to be some kind of unknown monster come to raze Ponyville.
Both humans forcibly lowered the policeponies crossbows. "Don't shoot! It's just a transport! It's my people!" Aaron shouted over the noise. "Clear the market! Get all those carts out of the way!"
Several townsfolk obliged, very quickly pulling strapping into their carts and pulling them full force out of the way. Lighting up his hands in a fluorescent glow, the magic wielding human waved his hands in a 'safe landing' pattern to the cockpit. The pilot seemed to understand, and confirmed the visual display by slowly coming down to land in the cleared market square. Cutting the engines, the massive helicopter landed with a bounce on its landing gear, the spinning blades above coming slowly to a rest.
A black door unlatched and slid open, three human soldiers in full forest fatigues and combat gear hopping out and dropping to a kneeling position, their guns at the ready in case the assembled crowd of harmless technicolor ponies decided to get mean.
Seeing no immediate threat, the soldier in center waved back into the chopper and rose from his shooting position. Stalking out of the crowd, Aaron walked over to the trio of soldiers and shouted, "Atten-HUT!" the trio immediately stiffened, moving their rifles to a resting position by their sides and snapping a hand stiffly in salute. "Alright, who is in charge here?"
"Sergeant Major Holloway, sir!" one replied.
"And may First Lieutenant Patterson speak with Sergeant Major Holloway?" Aaron replied, speaking in third person to indicate his rank.
"Sir, yes sir!" The soldier turned around and shouted into the helicopter cockpit. Moments later, a man not wearing a combat helmet and bearing the six stripes and single star of a Sergeant Major swung out lazily, giving a salute to his superior officer.
Aaron returned his obeisance. "At ease, soldier. First Lieutenant Aaron Patterson, ambassador to the Realm of Equestria." He extended a hand in greeting to his fellow man.
The soldier gripped his hand firmly and shook once. "Sergeant Major James Holloway, First Terran Infantry. And may I say it is an honor to meet you, sir."
"Okay, all that crap aside, what are you doing out here? From the apparent success of my diplomacy with the Princesses, we aren't at war with Equestria. And judging by your escorts you came to do some serious fighting."
Holloway nodded. "Yes sir. But we're not here to fight the ponies. There's actually several reasons we're out here, sir. Our detachment has been contracted by the Equestrian diarchy to assist their soldiers in suppression of a bandit group near old Bangor in Maine."
"Contracted? Let me see your mission specs." Holloway dug a scrap of paper out of one of his many pockets, handing it over to Aaron. Scanning it over, Aaron came close to tearing it apart in rage. "Since when did Terran soldiers start selling themselves as mercenaries!?"
Holloway took a step back, his hand unconsciously slipping over to his side where his various forms of self defense lay, fully knowing Aaron's magical potential. "Sir, High Command does not see this as mercenary work. The Republic is in an overwhelming economic debt to Equestria and we see this service as a way to alleviate their loans."
Aaron groaned loudly, handing back the official orders from the Republic's commanding general, signed by both Terran General Pilotte and Equestrian General Steel Specter. "What else you got to rain on my parade?"
"For you, this." Once again Holloway reached into a pocket, pulling out a sealed letter and handing it over. The letter itself was very hefty, as though it contained several sets of notes. "And are Republic sources correct when they assume this is the resident town of Frederick and Sara Coppell?"
Fred walked up to the Sergeant Major. "Yeah, I'm Fred Coppell. What do you guys want with me?"
Holloway gave a mischievous grin. "We got a little package for you." He turned back to his boys in the chopper. "Alright boys! This is the right place! Let her out!"
Several of the soldiers laughed as they gently let a young woman out of the helicopter bay. "Ugh! Hands off, you brutes!" she shrilly shouted back. They only laughed even louder, one of them leaning out and puckering his lips at their former charge.
Sergeant Major Holloway laughed like a madman, shaking his head before climbing back into the Blackhawk and signalling for the pilot to take off, leaving the young woman behind. Glancing up from his sealed letter, Aaron's eyes went wide, and the thick stack of papers fell out of his hands. She wore a grey, professional woman's attire, with a calf length skirt. Her blonde hair was tied back in a bun, and her blue eyes, delicate cheekbones and carefully plucked eyebrows were hidden behind horn rimmed glasses that threatened to slide down her slender nose.
Smoothing out the wrinkles in her skirt, she muttered to herself about being pinched and manhandled nearly the entire way to Ponyville. Clutching a small briefcase in her delicate fingers, the young woman awkwardly walked over to Fred, the heels on her stilettos getting caught in every crack in the cobblestone street, and extended a hand. "Anita Cook, Republic Social Services. I assume you are Mr Coppell?"
Fred took her hand and shook it carefully. "Uh, yeah, that's me. Pardon me for asking, but why is the Republic sending a social worker out here to see me?"
Ms Cook opened her briefcase, pulling out a profile folder. "This is the residence of Sophia Coppell? The Republic Senate has recently passed a bill stating that we must keep tabs on all newly born human beings. I'm here to inspect her living conditions and the local healthcare system, educational programs, and anything else that may pose a risk to the development of your child."
"Risk? Sophie is in a great environment!" Fred tried to rebut.
"I never said there was negligence or a risk to your child involved, Mr Coppell. But we need to be to sure, every human child is precious to us, and we will go well out of our way to protect our next generation."
While Fred and the social worker continued to chatter away, the crowds in Ponyville began to disperse. The engines of the Blackhawk cut out all other noise for a few moments, then became quiet as it flew away to rejoin its escorts. And only then were Lyra, Bonbon and Mrs Coppell able to make it to town square.
Lyra walked over next to her good friend and stood side by side with Dr Whooves, who had remained silent throughout the entire exchange with the humans. "What's going on?" she asked her Trottingham friend.
"Well," he whispered back, "Apparently the humans are taking military contracts with Equestria and Aaron isn't too pleased with that. The Coppells are having a social worker inspect their home and Ponyville in general, as ordered by their government. And then there's the mystery package." He indicated the package that lay mostly forgotten in the dirt, Aaron staring rather dumbly at Ms Cook while she was preoccupied with the Coppells.
"What's his problem?" Lyra asked, pointing a hoof at the silent and staring human man.
Dr Whooves poked him in the side, yet he remained unresponsive. Cocking back his hoof, his shoved his human friend rather hard.
"I wasn't staring!" Aaron said rather defensively and in a rush, snapping out of his daze.
The Doc grinned. "I know that look. Somepony's got a little crush."
"On her? No, no.....maybe a little. Okay, hell yes. I mean, look at that!" he quietly whispered. "Talk about a woman in uniform, HROW!" he growled like a tiger.
Dr Whooves squinted at the young woman in the grey suit. "I...I don't really see any attractive qualities."
"That's because you're a pony! Watch when she walks away. Carefully though, we don't want to look like pervs." Ms Cook did exactly that, following the Coppells to their farmhouse on the outskirts of town. And those stilettos did their job perfectly, each step came with a sensual sway of her curvaceous hips.
"Okay, I can see some kind of attraction there."
"You're damn right there, buddy. I think I might have to show her around Ponyville, maybe talk about local issues over dinner."
Dr Whooves took one more glance before shrugging and trotting away. "Well, best of luck. Maybe you can finally break your dry spell!"
Both Lyra and Bonbon had stared in confusion at the bachelor males, and when Dr Whooves left, Bonbon nudged Lyra and motioned to the envelope on the ground. Grabbing up the envelope with her magic, she gently tugged on his shirt sleeve. "I believe you dropped this, Mr Patterson, sir," she said as politely and sweetly as possible.
"Huh? Oh! Thanks," he replied in surprise, just noticing Lyra and Bonbon for the first time. Tearing open the envelope, he pulled out what looked to be about fifteen copies of the same letter and one sheet of paper that looked military in origin. unfolding his orders, he began to read it to himself. "First Lieutenant Patterson....yadda yadda......recalled to the Republic? Why have I been recalled?" He continued to read on. "'Please present these invitations to the leaders of Equestria and to the Elements of Harmony. We are also in need of entertainers for our plan.' Entertainers?"
He cocked an eyebrow, and looked up from his letter. Spying Lyra, he nodded in approval. "Mrs Heartstrings, you play an instrument, right?"
"Yeah!" she exclaimed excitedly, "I play both the lyre and the harp professionally."
"Good, you want to take a little vacation? Maybe earn some money while you're at it?"
Glancing at Bonbon, the earth pony nodded heartily. If anything, both of them needed a well earned vacation. "I don't see why not."
"Then you're hired. You'll be playing at a gala in my home country in about a week. You'll need to bring your own instruments though, and enough money to pay for food and lodging until my government can pay you."
Lyra's jaw fell, and her eyes were filled with stars. "Your country? You mean....I get to see the human nation?" She turned over to Bonbon, who was just as gobsmacked at this offer of such a rare invitation. "Can we? Do you think we could find the time?" Bonbon only nodded, still in shock about the suddenness of it all.
"Here's your invitation. And one for your wife while I'm at it." He passed them two of the letters, turning about to either give out the rest of them, or see what he could do about getting Ms Cook's attention.
"Can you believe it? We're going to see where the humans come from!" Lyra said, nearly bouncing out of her horseshoes. "We're gonna see their country, experience everything about the human culture, and we're BOTH going! Maybe...maybe things are starting to look up for us," she said before hugging Bonbon tightly around the neck.
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I'm having trouble thinking of a proper flag for The Republic, so I might need you guys to help out a tiny bit with a design and basic colors. Any suggestions?