All heads turned to the trio as they entered the large chamber. War examined the room quickly as he entered. The chamber appeared to be a war room of sorts, with maps and charts pinned to the walls, and with a large, ovular table in the centre, covered in what War could only assume to be tallies of equipment and force rosters. War then turned his attention to the individuals assembled around the table. His brothers and sister were isolated on one side of the table, the other ponies giving them a wide berth. War frowned slightly at this, taking his place next to his brother Strife. To his surprise, and of several other ponies around the table, Lieutenant Moon Shard sat next to him. Luna raised an eyebrow at Moon Shard, before taking her own seat between an officer of the Celestial Guard and an officer of the Night Guard.
“Well, now that we’re all here, perhaps the Lieutenant would care to explain her tardiness?” A white unicorn with a Major’s rank insignia.
“A fight broke out between a platoon of Celestial and Night guard on the training ground, sir.” She replied. “Lieutenant Beacon is administering appropriate punishment.”
“I will question Beacon about it later then.” Replied the Major. “For now, to business.” He said, looking to Princess Luna. “The floor is yours, your Highness.” He said with a salute.
“Thank you Major.” Said Luna, looking around the assembled faces. “We think it would be best to introduce our new guests. Or, allow them to introduce themselves.” She said, smiling slightly at Death as she gestured for him to speak. Death cleared his throat as he stood, glancing at Lieutenant Shard as he did.
“Thank you Princess.” He paused. “Where we are from, me and my kin are known as the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” He took a second to note the various reactions of the assembled ponies. The general reaction of the Celestial guard was to tense up defensively, whilst the Night guard looked almost eager. “We are the last of our species, the Nephilim. We were agents of a power known as the Charred Council, who was dedicated to maintaining the ‘Balance’.”
“The Balance?” Asked one of the Night guard officers, this one a Captain.
“In my world, there were two opposing powers, known as Heaven and Hell. They were constantly at odds with each other, as well as various other powers that constantly vied for power. Our mission, as it were, was to ensure that no one group became too powerful. Quite literally keeping the balance of power. The only way to ensure peace between the groups was to ensure that no one power could easily defeat another power.”
“So you were peacekeepers?” Asked the Celestial Major, causing Strife to let out a bellow of laughter. Death glared at Strife before turning back to the Major.
“No. We were some of the most powerful and brutal beings in our world. Our mission was to maintain the Balance, through any means necessary.” He replied, letting the implications of that sink in.
“Then why are you here?” Asked the Night Captain. “There are no large wars at present, and Equestria is enjoying a time of peace.”
“I do not know. The first we knew of being sent here was when we woke up in a crater. However, the very fact we are here means it is possible for beings from our world to pass through as well. And given the state that your military is in, any one of the powers I mentioned would make short work of ‘Equestria’.”
“Are we to take it you are here to assist us then?” Asked the Major.
“We are here to maintain the Balance. Evidently part of that is assisting you.” Death said carefully. The Major nodded, before the Night Captain spoke up again.
“You have introduced the group, perhaps now we may be introduced to the individuals?” He asked, treading more carefully around the Horseman.
“Of course, where are my manners? My name is Death, eldest of the Horsemen and, for all intents and purposes, the leader.” He turned to Strife. “This is my brother Strife. He is an excellent marksman, if short-tempered.” Strife snorted at Death, glaring at him from behind his mask. “The only female in our group is our Sister, Fury.” The named mare grinned unsettlingly. “And is in many ways the ‘joker’ of our group. And finally, we have War, the youngest sibling and physically the strongest of our group.” War simply nodded, rolling his shoulders. The Captain nodded again.
“You said you come from a different world. Do you mind elaborating?” He asked.
“Yes, I do mind.” Was all Death said in return, causing the Captain to blanch again, as the Major turned to Princess Luna.
“Your Majesty, what level clearance are we to assume the ‘Horsemen’ have?” He asked. Luna thought for a moment.
“Assume complete security clearance. They have access to the details of the entirety of our military assets. However, they may not assume a command role outside of training, for now at least.” She looked at Death. “Is this acceptable?”
“It is, your Highness.” He said respectfully, pleased that they were willing to be open with him.
“Now that I have introduced my siblings, I must admit I am curious as to your identities.” He said, looking around the table. Princess Luna nodded, motioning for the Major to begin.
“I am Major Bomb Burst of the Royal Artillery Corps.” The white unicorn said, smirking slightly, before turning to the officer to his right, an Earth pony in Celestial Guard armour.
“Captain Quick Draw, First Celestial Rifles.” The stallion said, in an accent, War noted, that a human would identify as Russian.
“Lieutenant Warden of the Equestrian Shield-bearers.” Reported the Earth pony mare next to Quick Draw, another Celestial Guard.
“Captain Dead Eye, First Lunar Rifles.” The next stallion said, a bat pony that, curiously, lacked wings.
“Stalker-Captain Shadow of the Lunar Prowlers.” A winged bat pony mare said. This one, rather than the extravagant, gilded armour that most of the Guards wore; this one was wearing what appeared to be leather, fitted with a few metal plates and studs. The entire set was in a subdued colour, better for stealth than the heavy metal armour her counterparts wore.
“Lieutenant Shard of the Royal Siege Breakers.” Moon Shard said with a grin.
“Sky-Captain Fire Bolt of the Celestial Rangers.” A pegasus stallion said next, Death noting the lighter armour that this pony wore.
“Brigadier Stampede of the First Royal Infantry Brigade.” An earth pony stallion said. Unlike the others, whose armour was either decorated to show they were part of the Celestial or Night guard, the Brigadier’s was split between the two. ‘Presumably he commands Celestial and Night guard’ thought Death.
“Major Aurora of the Lunar Unicorn Corps.” A lunar mare said, this one lacking wings, but instead had a horn.
“Lieutenant Cannonade, Celestial Heavy Support Company.” A large earth pony stallion said, looking impassively at Death.
“Colonel Praetor of the Lunar Chargers.” Said the final pony in the room, a lunar earth pony a few inches taller than Death, and heavily muscled. Death nodded, storing the names away for later reference.
“Nice to meet you all. I assume it is no accident that there are equal numbers of Celestial and Night guard in the room, as well as an independent officer.” Said Death, gesturing to the Brigadier as he finished. Stampede shook his head.
“I’m sure you noticed the incident on the training ground as you arrived?” Asked Stampede. Death shook his head. “Whilst it is less of a problem amongst the higher ranks, though still a present issue, there is a large amount of distrust between the Celestial and Lunar guard. We held this meeting with equal numbers of officers, as well as myself, an independent officer who outranks my comrades, to assure the lower ranks that no one force is being prioritised above the other.” Death nodded, seeing the Brigadier’s point.
“Trust between comrades is essential.” Said Captain Quick Draw. “If you spend too much time worrying about allies, enemy will make short work of you.” He said in an unchanging tone. “I have seen it happen before. Not pleasant, especially afterwards. Allies blame each other for failings.” He sighed, looking a tad melancholy. Fire Bolt nodded in agreement.
“I am highly reluctant to train ponies who are not mature enough to leave their tempers and bigotry behind when they enlist. Unfortunately, we have no choice in the matter, so we have to try and make them work together.”
“Make them hate someone else more than they hate each other.” Said War, with an oddly thoughtful look on his face.
“War?” Asked Luna, raising an eyebrow.
“Do the Celestial and Lunar guard attempt to constantly out-do each other?” He asked. Several officers nodded. “They seek to show-up their rivals, making themselves better than those they hate, in their eyes.” He smirked slightly. “Give them an instructor they hate, and they will begin to attempt to best that instructor, and make them eat the insults they have given. The only way to do that will be to work together. Make them work towards a common, personal goal, and eventually they will see past their differences.”
“Unusually astute, War.” Said Strife, genuinely surprised by how much sense his brother was making. War chuckled slightly.
“I am the Horseman of War. War is my business, and as such so are the soldiers that fight it.”
“Wow, War said something thoughtful. What next, is Strife going to smile?” Asked Fury sarcastically. War shot Fury a look.
“I will happily become the instructor the troops hate, so you do not have to tarnish your reputations.” Said War, looking around the officers.
“I care not for my reputation, so long as the troops can actually work effectively.” Said Captain Shadow, a few of the other officers nodding.
“I’ve already got a bad reputation outside my unit anyway.” Said Moon Shard with a chuckle. “If it gets the troops behaving more like soldiers, I’ll happily help.”
“Excellent. Now that that’s sorted, I would like to know more about the specific units in the Guard forces…”