//------------------------------// // Making Allies // Story: That Others May Live // by CptBrony //------------------------------// Making Allies Duke placed his hands behind his back and held them tightly together. The princess seemed nice enough, but as with all politicians and rulers, it could easily be a façade she was putting on to get the men to trust her. He made sure to only give her respectful glances and to never smile. If her guards could keep their emotions in check, so could Duke and Frost. “You’ve been expecting us?” Duke asked. Princess Celestia nodded. “Yes, we have for a bit of time now,” she said. “King Sauri of Saddle Arabia informed us of your coming arrival not so long ago. We had sent a dispatch of guards to meet you outside the docks where you arrived, but you seemed to have a different plan.” “Yeah, we’re sorry about that,” Duke said. “We weren’t sure that Sauri sent the message ahead of our arrival. Wanted to avoid a confrontation.” “Yes, I can imagine why,” Princess Celestia said. She stood up and walked forward to the men, her sister falling in next to her. “We have heard quite a bit about you from the King’s message. Including your equipment.” She smiled a bit more, ever gentle in her countenance. “I thank you for avoiding confrontations; it speaks quite well of you.” “That’s the way we prefer to do it,” Frost said. Princess Celestia nodded. “I understand,” she said. She walked in between the men and lowered her head to view Amel, who instinctively cowered back. “Relax, young one, I am not going to be so cruel as those you knew before. You will live a good life here, I promise you.” Amel swallowed and stood back up. “Really?” she asked, betraying the amount of hope on her voice. Princess Celestia nodded. “T-thank you.” “Princess,” Duke interrupted, trying to keep the attention off of Amel and stay on topic. “If you received a message from Sauri, then you surely know why we are here.” Princess Celestia stepped back and nodded again. “Yes, I know,” she said, face turning solemn. “I promise you, we will do what we can to help you find your friend.” “Thank you, Princess,” Frost said. “When shall we discuss the details of how we will advance?” “We can take care of that later,” Princess Celestia said with a wave of her hoof. “I must take care of certain matters pertaining to our kingdom for the time being. So, I shall leave you in the capable hooves of my sister, Luna.” The men looked away from Princess Celestia and glanced at Princess Luna. She wore a big smile and waved excitedly at them. “She has been eager to talk to you.” “Our understanding is that she already did,” Frost said. “Though we don’t seem to remember it very well.” Luna frowned at Frost. “Dost thou believeth that I erased thine memories?” she asked. Frost opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. “What?” he finally said. “Do you think I did that?” Princess Luna asked. “Honestly, yes,” Duke said. “You might know that you’re nice and good, but we don’t. We can’t go assuming the best about anyone here, it isn’t safe.” Princess Luna nodded understandingly. “I see,” she said, eying Frost for an uncomfortable moment. “Well, I did no such thing. After failing to get any information about either of you from you, I went to your friend Amel for answers.” Princess Luna bowed her head to Amel. “Thank you for answering my questions.” Amel blinked. “You are welcome?” she said uncertainly. Princess Celestia cleared her throat, regaining everyone’s attention. “We shall discuss the details of your work here later over dinner,” she said. “For now, my sister shall help you with anything you may need to take care of. Relax for now, as troubling times shall surely come soon.” With that, Princess Celestia took her leave of the group and her sister and went off to do whatever princesses do. That left the men and Amel alone with an eager looking Princess Luna, who stared at them expectantly. Frost did his best not to look her way, instead observing the intricate patterns on the ceiling and in the floor. Duke watched the stained glass windows, also trying to avoid being the one who started a conversation that could go almost anywhere. Amel was kicking her hooves at the ground, trying to think of something to say. But what could she say to a princess? She led a life of slavery, then was freed, and was now in front of the princess. And the princess knew all of that. So, she went with the most standard thing she could. “Nice weather out, today,” Amel said. Princess Luna nodded and looked to a window. “Quite,” she said. “The Air Guard has done a good job of keeping Canterlot clear this day.” “Air Guard?” Frost asked, now intrigued. Duke listened in as well, hoping that this Air Guard was what it sounded like it would be. “Yes, the Air Guard,” Princess Luna said. “They are in charge of guarding Equestrian air space and providing us a means of air superiority and airpower. There are many facets of this branch of our forces, but this is one of our more commonly used assets.” “What kinds of soldiers make up the Air Guard, Princess Luna?” Duke asked. Princess Luna started walking toward the door, motioning for the group to follow. The men took the lead in a heartbeat, and Amel trailed in behind, also eager to hear about this. If there were soldiers like Duke and Frost in Equestria, that would be almost too much of a coincidence. “Please, just call me Luna,” Princess Luna said. Duke nodded to her. “In Sauri’s letter, he said that you told him you were with the United States Air Force?” Luna asked. “Yes, that is correct,” Duke said. “Our Air Force’s power is mostly in fighter and bomber aircraft, but we have some ground guys. And then there’s us.” Luna nodded. “Well, we have no ‘aircraft’, but we have flying soldiers who carry explosives and ranged weapons. However, most of our Air Guard consists of airborne soldiers, and there are different roles amongst them.” “What kinds of roles?” Frost asked. They were standing outside now, and Luna took in a deep breath of the fresh mountain air. They were surrounded by guards who wore golden armor and carried a variety of weapons. Before, they seemed to be watching the men, ready to pounce if necessary, but now, they couldn’t seem to care less. They now watched the men like any normal passersby. “Many,” Luna began, answering Frost’s question. “There are plenty of battalions in our guard, each with a different purpose. There is the 2nd ‘Spirit’ and 52nd ‘Strato-Bunkers’ Heavy Ordinance Battalions, the 15th ‘Eagle Strike’ and 16th ‘Battle Falcons’ Assault Battalions, the 5th ‘Cosmos’, 17th ‘Globe Mistresses’, and 130th ‘Herculean Helpers’ battalions-“ “Any clues on which battalion we might work with?” Frost interrupted, trying to get to what the men wanted to hear. Luna nodded. “Sure,” she said. “It won’t be any of them, though. You might work with the 22nd, the 35th, or the 117th.” “And what are their names?” Amel asked. Luna looked at the young mare and pursed her lips for a moment in thought. Amel shrunk back a bit, thinking she did something wrong, but Frost patted her back t let her know it was alright. Eventually, Luna shrugged and seemed to relax her thoughts. ”I suppose if you’ve been with these two, it won’t matter if you hear this,” she said. “You will likely hear about it anyhow. But please, tell no one, as we would like to keep these units as unknown as possible.” Amel nodded, and Luna went on. “The 22nd is the Rapid Assault, Prosecution, Termination, Observation, and Reconnaissance Battalion. The name pretty much says it all. The 35th Joint Strike Force takes the best from different units in the Air Guard and puts them together for assaults that require many different fighters. And the 117th is the unit you, Duke and Frost, will likely work with. They handle… special, missions. You and them are not so different. I think that you will find that you shall like them.” Luna wore a confident grin as she finished speaking. Amel blinked, trying to get all of that. “Ah,” she said. “What are the typical missions of the 117th?” Frost asked. Luna started walking again and they started heading toward a garden. The garden was filled with many statues of different ponies, strange creatures, and symbols. The trio took the opportunity to take a look at whom the ponies honored and gave respect to after they were gone. “A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors and the men it remembers,” Duke thought. Many of the statues were just symbolic, but those that were of specific ponies did not disappoint. One of them was of a 117th soldier, many years ago, whose team was killed and he stayed behind to make sure a group of civilians could get away from the battlefield. Another was of a soldier from the Royal Unicorps who was killed while rescuing a downed teammate. The group kept on walking, and Luna started to explain what types of missions the 117th takes on. Duke listened intently, but as they passed a certain statue, Frost’s attention was pulled elsewhere. This statue was quite odd. It didn’t have a pony on it, but the symbol was different from anything else he had seen around. It was a pair of hooves connected to the base of the statue, a pair of wings coming out to either side from behind, and a horn coming out of the top and pointing at the sky. In the middle, there was a bad eagle, wings spread, facing sideways. When Frost took a closer look at the pedestal, the only word on it was Harkness. He returned to the conversation just in time to have missed what missions the 117th did. Duke got it, though, and he would tell Frost later before dinner when they recapped what they had learned from Luna today. The group was still walking and re-entered the castle by a side entrance. They walked down a long corridor, no longer talking about the coming missions, but about other heroes. “The Elements of Harmony protect Equestria from threats that are of a less military nature,” Luna explained. “They battle single entities that are too much for our armed forces to handle, though they are not capable of handling a military threat.” “You guys have to deal with quite a few problems,” Duke said. “Must be frustrating at times, never having a decent break.” Luna shook her head. “No, no, it is not a problem to me. I handle the moon, dreamscape, and Night Court. My problems are little, and I only help the Elements or military in times of dire need, or when they are short staffed. Generally, our specific groups can handle the jobs they are given, and if they need help, it is arranged, and the problem is taken care of.” They continue down the corridor until they found a stairwell, which they climbed up to the next floor. On that floor, there were fewer guards, though the ones that were there weren’t wearing the fancy golden armor any more. These ones wore lighter, sturdier armor that protected against cutting tools as well as blunt force, while being flexible enough for fast maneuvering. Whatever was here, it was really important. “Please, allow me to show you where you will stay for the next couple of nights,” Luna said, leading them forward. The group followed, hoping that they would finally get to drop the equipment somewhere safe. They passed a number of rooms labeled storage, some of weapons, others of armor. There was other stuff in other rooms, but most of it was tactical gear that the men couldn’t use because it was designed for ponies. When they reached the room Luna was talking about, it wasn’t labeled as anything. “This is where you three shall stay for now,” Luna said as she opened the door. The trio walked into a very nice room with marble tile flooring and three queen-sized beds. The sheets on each of them were white and purple with gold trimmings, and the bedposts were made of brass. There were dressers and nightstands for each bed in the large room, and toiletries on each nightstand to use in an attached bathroom. The ceiling was just high enough that the men couldn’t get to it even if they jumped, and from it, in the middle of the room, hung a chandelier made of crystal and more brass. Duke whistled. “You spared no expense.” He walked to one of the beds. “Thank you. We’ll make good use of everything.” “I am glad,” Luna said with closed eyes and a soft smile. “Please, feel free to do whatever you shall. As long as the guards do not stop you, of course. I must go take care of some things.” Luna turned around to walk away. “What kinds of things?” Frost asked nonchalantly. Luna smiled, facing out the door. “I must go and take care of my subjects in my own way.” Without explaining further, she left them in there. The trio dropped the gear in the corner of the room and went about the room, seeing what they had. There were bathrobes designed for ponies, but none for humans, which was fine. There were two shaving kits in the room, which Duke and Frost eagerly grabbed and used. If they were to meet the princesses, they should be clean-shaven, as they would be expected to be when speaking to the commander of the Twenty-Fourth STS. Once they finished that, the men looked for new clothes, but there was nothing. Amel found a simple white dress to wear, but the men were stuck with their uniforms. The trio finished getting themselves ready for dinner and, once they were ready, decided to walk around the castle. They hadn’t been told when or where dinner would be, but odds were that a guard would come and find them when it was time. Until then, they tried to learn what they could about this land. There was a public library on the first floor used often by scholars, so they started there. The library had many thousands of books, so it was the perfect way to spend the time until dinner. The day went by quickly, with food deliveries made to the library for lunch, and at around 1800 hours, a guard came and found them. “Dinner is soon,” he said from the door. “If you will come with me.” He turned around without waiting for them and started walking. The trio dropped their books where they were and followed. They were brought to a massive dining hall with one long table down the middle, then several smaller tables off to the side. The ponies had managed to create what must have been a fifteen meter tablecloth for the table, held down by hundreds of pounds of silverware. At the end of the table sat the princesses, looking content and peaceful. Duke went down the right of the table and Frost and Amel went left. As they approached, the princesses smiled at them. Celestia’s horn started to glow yellow, and the chairs glowed as well, poking at the men’s curiosity. When the chairs moved backwards, it took the men a moment before they realized what had just happened. Though, with everything they had seen lately, it was no real surprise, so they simply sat down and let their chairs move back in on their own. “I trust you have had a fine day?” Celestia asked. Duke nodded. “Yes, very informative, Princess.” Celestia smiled again. “Please, just Celestia,” she said. “Might I inquire as to what you learned?” “Luna told us a bit about your Air Guard,” Duke said, nodding toward Luna. “After she left us to our own devices, we went to your library to do some research on gryphons and historical problem areas of this world.” “Ah, I see,” Celestia said. She took a slow sip of her tea. “And you must have seen the Southern Gryphon Colonies?” “It was mentioned more than a few times,” Frost said. Celestia sighed. “Yes, that is where all this began many years ago. You will quite possibly find yourselves there at some point.” “Assuming that’s where OGA is,” Duke said. “Of course,” Celestia said. “We will make sure that you aren’t sent anywhere that isn’t relevant to your own mission.” “That’s good,” Frost said. “Though we have no idea where the places are that might be relevant.” “The gryphons are causing trouble all over the world,” Celestia said. “Though some are worse than others. You will not be taking missions within our borders, but you may have to go to our neighbors. The Crystal Empire to the north, the Southern Gryphon Colonies, the Lands of the Dragons… It goes on.” “Well, we’re trained for any environment, any day of any week of the year,” Duke said. “However short notice, we’ll be ready to deploy somewhere within half an hour. So where isn’t so much a problem, but why and when. The how, we leave to you.” “I thank you for your trust,” Celestia said. “Though for missions, my sister shall handle operational details. She has a mind for these things.” Luna nodded, a serious look on her face. “I have always prided myself on my military mind,” she said. “You can trust me take the right path.” “Thank you, Luna,” Duke said. “Where will we be stationed?” “I believe that, for now, here would be best,” Luna said. “Though soon, we will place you elsewhere. We might station you in Ponyville or Fillydephia. Wherever it is, we will be able to get you where you need to be in no time.” “Will we be living in military barracks?” Frost asked. “Not exactly,” Luna said. “We must wait to place you because we need to first build your quarters. Add the necessary things to live and whatnot. It will be a military style barracks, at least, and a special mission unit detachment may live with you, permanently or from time to time, for rapid deployment.” “Where will Amel live?” Frost asked. “She isn’t a citizen here, and we don’t want to send her back…” Luna put up a hoof. “Not to worry, we can take care of that. There are some small places in Ponyville, so I suppose we will put you there. We wouldn’t want to separate friends.” Frost looked to Amel, who was smiling warmly at him. “Thank you,” she said. “Don’t mention it,” Frost replied, ruffling her nicely done mane into a mess. Duke continued the discussion. “When will we meet this team that we will work with?” he asked. Luna closed her eyes for a moment, and her horn started to glow a deep navy blue. A fine, dark mist advanced from the horn and went through the roof and into the night sky, reaching out for whatever was up there. When Luna returned, she addressed Duke’s question. “The team leader will be here shortly,” she said. "He is one of our best Nighthawks." “Okay,” Duke replied. ‘While we wait: what kinds of operational tasking do you expect to give us?” “You are Pararescuemen,” Luna said, reaffirming what she knew. “Suffice it to say, we will need to do rescues occasionally, though without your OGA, you will be able to say no. Besides that, you may join the Nighthawks on assaults where we expect heavy enemy presence and where having a highly trained medic is advisable. We have heard much of your exploits, and would be interested in using your skills.” “I think that sounds fair,” Duke said. “Frost?” “Seems good to me,” Frost said. “Just what we usually do.” Duke turned his attention back to the princesses. “So, when will this Nighthawks leader be here?” he asked. He felt his stomach growl a bit. “And is there a menu or something we could select from?” Celestia’s horn glowed, and a serving pony came over. “We have every vegetable and fruit under the sun, and we still serve some meat for when partakers of meat come to dine at our table. Whatever you think of, we probably have.” Duke, Frost, and Amel thought over their orders for a minute, then asked for steak rare, steak medium, and steamed vegetables respectively. As the server left, there were several knocks on the door to the dining hall. “This should be him,” Luna said. “Come in!” The doors opened, and in walked an ash gray pegasus wearing what looked like a utility outfit with a dozen pockets. He wore a black watch on his right foreleg, and had some cloth bands on his hind legs. His eyes were striking shade of blue against his gray body, and his mane was mostly red with a streak of gray running through it. He couldn’t have been any older than Duke or Frost. “Friends, I would like to introduce Aprotelese,” Luna said, standing up. The men stood up as well, followed by Amel. “He is the leader of his platoon in the 117th. Few are greater than he in combat.” “Thank you, Princess,” Aprotelese said. He looked at the men. “Are these the humans you mentioned?” “Indeed they are,” Luna said. “They are not quite the same as you, but their missions are similar enough and their skills are unmatched. You shall find them to be quite adequate.” Duke thought that their short conversation was a bit odd, but didn’t pursue it and moved from the table to shake hands with Aprotelese. When he approached, the Pegasus took the initiative and stuck his hoof out. “I think we know each other’s names,” he said. Duke took the hoof and shook it. “I believe that we do. You’re good?” Aprotelese grinned. “I am,” he said. “Are you?” “We are,” Duke replied. “It’ll be nice to work with a team of trained spec ops guys.” “Thanks,” Aprotelese said. “And it’ll be good for us to work with such uniquely trained guys.” They released themselves from the shake and Duke returned to his seat. Aprotelese remained standing, keeping his eyes on his princess. When she dismissed him, he gave a quick salute and then flew off. Overall, he seemed like a decent soldier. “So, that was Aprotelese,” Luna said. “I trust that you can work with him and his team?” “I think so,” Duke said with a slow nod. He leaned forward and rested his elbows in the table. “So, what should we do now?” he asked. Celestia answered, “Now, we can eat in peace and have simple conversation,” she said. “I believe that our business has been taken care of.” They all waited for the food to arrive, and made small talk while they waited. Luna spoke mostly to Duke, asking him a dozen questions he wasn’t allowed to answer, while Celestia was talking to Frost and Amel, curious about the cultures of both their homes from the perspective of nationals from said homes. When the food arrived, it was set down with glasses of wine and water, as Amel did not drink. Celestia raised her wineglass. “To a prosperous new partnership,” she said, pushing it forward. Duke and Frost stuck their glasses out, clinging them against Celestia’s and then Luna’s, which was also out. The crystal made a light ding noise that resounded through the dining hall. The men pulled their glasses back and held them up or a moment more. “To a prosperous new partnership,” Duke repeated, hiding his secret suspicions. The rest of dinner went by casually into the night, with no more heavy conversation or subjects. The time for discussion was over.