A Stable Community
The train screeched to a stop as it approached Ponyville. The men couldn’t see the town from their window, though, because the angle was too much. They didn’t care much, though; they would just see it when they walked into town.
When the train was completely stopped, everyone stood up, stretched, and headed out. They grabbed all their things, not letting Aprotelese carry anything, and walked off the train onto the platform. The platform was wholly uninhabited when they walked off. Frost glanced around the small area.
“Not much of a welcoming committee,” he said.
“Are you surprised?” Duke asked.
Aprotelese scratched his head. “I am,” he said. “I understand that Princess Twilight was told we would be here. She didn’t even send Captain Sentry to come and greet us.”
Duke shrugged. “If I had three special operators coming into town, I wouldn’t want everyone to see them either. It doesn’t do anything good for OPSEC.”
“Makes sense, I guess,” Aprotelese said. He looked toward the town. “We need to head to Princess Twilight’s castle and meet up with her. She is handling our living situation here.”
“Lead the way,” Frost said.
Aprotelese chuckled and started walking. “Look in the direction of the town,” he said. “You don’t need me to lead the way.”
Duke, Frost, and Amel all looked toward where Aprotelese was walking and saw his point in a heartbeat. There was a huge, crystalline, purple and blue castle in the distance, protruding out of the surrounding area like a ship on fire in the ocean. The men’s and mare’s jaws dropped at seeing it.
“Impressed?” Aprotelese asked.
The trio began to follow him. “That’s an understatement,” Frost said. “Is that thing even safe?”
“What do you mean?” Aprotelese asked.
“I mean, it doesn’t look that secure,” Frost said.
“It’s well guarded,” Aprotelese said.
Frost shook his head. “No, I mean it looks like it could fall over on a windy day. It’s like a super tree house, but with one disproportionately small support keeping it up.”
“Trust me, it’ll stay up,” Aprotelese said. “We have magic for that. It’s how Canterlot is kept on the mountain.” The men looked at each other uncomfortably with the knowledge that magic was the only reason they survived the time they spent in Canterlot.
Aprotelese casually led them into town like it was nothing. Going through, the men saw that this town was definitely more diverse than Canterlot. There were pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies all over the place. And every one of them stared at the men as they passed.
The castle was, of course, all the way on the other side of town, so the men would be the spectacle of the day for the entire town. Everywhere, ponies dropped what they were doing to look at Duke and Frost as they passed, some with open jaws, others with wide eyes. Some with both. Frost waved at a few of them, and they could only slowly wave back in disbelief in response.
There was a small open-air market that they had to pass through on the way. Here was where most of the ponies in town seemed to be. The crowds were incredibly thick, and the only reason they got through as because everypony got out of their way when they saw the humans approaching. Even the shopkeepers stopped to look.
Before they got all the way through, Frost felt a pang of hunger hit his stomach.
“Yo, Aprotelese, is one of the stalls a food stall?” he asked.
“Most of them are,” Aprotelese responded. “What are you thinking?”
“Something to hold me over for now, like an apple or something.” Frost put his hand to his belly to feel it growl.
“Sure, the stall is right over there,” Aprotelese said, pointing toward a stall with a dozen or so apples on display. “I’ll give you some cash...”
“No need,” Frost said. “Still have Sauri’s money.”
Aprotelese blinked. “Oh,” he said. “Cool. You should bank that, set up an account. I’m sure the princess will help you.”
“Sweet,” Frost said.
Frost split from the group and walked over to the apple stall, getting looks the whole way there. Nopony talked to him on the way. At the stall, he could see a young mare, staring off into the sky, daydreaming. But something was oddly familiar about this mare. Her coat was a light yellow and she had a red mane with a bow in it. There were a few places on her where her fur didn’t seem to come in quite right, like it was healing.
“‘Scuse me, miss,” Frost said, curious.
The mare lifted her head. “Yes, can Ah help... you...” She stared at Frost when she looked up into his face. “What..?”
“Wait,” Frost said, narrowing his eyes. “I remember you... You’re-”
Before he finished, the mare leapt over her stall and grabbed him, bringing him to the ground in a powerful bear hug. Frost could feel his ribs bending under the force while being crushed by her full weight. She was making it hard to breathe, but Frost wasn’t going to do anything drastic to get her off.
“Can’t- breathe-” he said.
The mare let him go and stood over him. “Ah can’t believe you’re here! In Ponyville!” she shouted. She stepped away, picked him up, and hugged him again. “Ah can’t believe it!”
Frost coughed. “Yes, I am here, and so is my friend, Duke,” he said.
The mare raised her hoof to the air. “Hey everypony! This is the guy that saved me in Saddle Arabia!”
Suddenly, a raucous cheer rose from the crowd, and everyone swarmed Frost. He couldn’t tell if Duke and Amel would be suffering the same fate, or if the full brunt of the love was on Frost.
“Now I know why Princess Twilight wanted this kept under wraps,” Frost thought.
Frost was hailed with all manner of congratulations, thank-you’s, questions, and pats on the back. He had to admit, it was nice to know that he was appreciated. Even if it was hard to get away.
“So what brings you to Ponyville, mister?” the mare asked.
“Work,” Frost replied simply. “I don’t think I ever got your name?”
“Ah’m Apple Bloom,” she said. “Ah was in Saddle Arabia on a service trip.”
“It didn’t go as planned, did it?” Frost thought. He wouldn’t say it, though. No need to bring the trauma back up.
“You saved mah life,” she said, nuzzling her face into Frost’s side. “Ah never did get to thank you right.”
“Well, I’d say that this is perfectly sufficient,” Frost said, patting her head and stepping back. “But I really need to go-”
“Frost!” Duke shouted from behind.
Frost looked in Duke’s direction. He was trying to push his way through the crowd and having trouble doing it/ When Frost turned his attention there, everypony else did as well, and when they saw Duke, they quickly moved out of the way. When Duke finally got to Frost’s position, he called back to Amel, who came up right after.
“Apple Bloom, this is Duke,” Frost said, pointing at his partner. “And you just heard my name, Frost. This young mare is Amel.”
Amel stepped forward, between Frost and Apple Bloom. “Good to meet you,” she said.
Apple Bloom nodded. “Likewise,” she said, sticking her hoof out. Amel took it and shook.
“So anyway, it was great meeting you, but we really need to get going,” Frost said. “We have to meet up with the princess to get living arrangements.”
Apple Bloom gasped loudly. “You’ll be LIVING here?!” she asked.
“Yes, we will," Duke said. "You’ll be seeing some more of us for a little while.”
"That's great!" Apple bloom said excitedly.
Duke nodded. “It certainly will be. I;m afraid we have to get going now, but we will see you around, ma’am,” he said.
“Later!” Frost shouted.
Amel laughed as they walked off, then turned to Apple Bloom. “It was a pleasure,” she said. “But I must be going with them.”
“Of course,” Apple Bloom said. “Can’t let your man get away for too long.” Amel blushed, smiled awkwardly, and then hurried off.
She met up with the men and Aprotelese, who was waiting for them by a small building. Aprotelese was laughing hard at them, while Duke was pinching his with his fingers and Frost was standing with his hands in his pockets.
“You’re a goon,” Amel heard Duke say.
“No more than you,” Frost replied. “I’m just more public about it.”
Amel walked up and put herself into the view of the men. “Shall we go?” she asked a little quickly.
“Certainly,” Aprotelese said.
The men looked back with smiles as Aprotelese led them away from the crowd and toward the massive castle. As they left, the crowd gradually went back to what each individual was doing, though not without conversation. Rumors were abound already, with speculations as to why the men were here, who they were and what they did, and just what this meant for the near future.
As they grew closer to the castle, it just never seemed to stop getting bigger. It was absurd. How much money had it cost to build this ridiculous thing? Back home, such decadence in a government building would hardly be tolerated. Sure, they were fancy inside, but they weren’t made of crystal.
When they did get there, the initial shock had worn off and the men were able to casually look up toward the body of the castle. The doors at the base stood out from the tree as a bright gold and were at least fifteen feet tall. There was a big star like thing on them, split down the middle by the double doors. That must have been the princess’s symbol.
“We gotta climb up to meet the princess and her council,” Aprotelese said.
Frost sighed and Duke shook his head. “Let’s get this over with, then,” Duke said.
They entered and were immediately greeted by a spiral staircase that led all the way up the tree. Climbing it was a monster of a task, especially with all their gear. Aprotelese had an easy time, flying when he could and sitting when he got too far ahead, but Amel was panting by the end and the men felt like their legs would fall off.
After the stairs, there was a series of halls and guards through said halls. They all wore armor similar to that of the Royal Guard, but theirs was a deep shade of magenta with white straps and had white plumes on the helmets. They looked sillier than they probably were.
“Not quite the pony military,” Duke thought.
The guards watched Aprotelese and the men and Amel as they went through. They all knew that these were the ones they were to expect, but they still didn’t trust them. They had never seen Aprotelese before, or the men, and Amel was no doubt a blaring security risk in their eyes. Though the only security risk from her would come if the guards tried to remove her from the castle without the men.
They stopped before another set of double doors. “Here we are,” Aprotelese said.
Duke sighed. “Time for another royal meeting,” he said.
“How many PJs can say they’ve met three princesses and a king?” Frost asked.
Aprotelese chuckled. “By the end of your time here, you’ll probably have met more than that.”
The doors opened to reveal a big council chamber and six chairs, organized in a circle in the center of the room. The largest one held a purple alicorn princess wearing a crown and those odd metal shoes for hooves. She looked distinctly uncomfortable in them, though. The others held two pegasi, a unicorn, and two earth ponies. If not for the one unicorn, it would have totally politically correct.
Aprotelese went straight for the circle. “Princess,” he said. “Council.”
“Yes, Aprotelese, I was told?” Princess Twilight replied. “You have our guests?”
“Yes ma’am, right behind me,” Aprotelese said. He motioned for the men to come forward. “They are Duke and Frost, and their nice friend Amel.”
The trio stepped forward and took the center of the circle. Aprotelese remained outside the circle, watching. The men wanted to be able to see all the ponies they were talking to. They were surprised at the color variation in the ponies. It didn’t look like genetics had much of a role in physical appearance at all in this world.
“Princess,” Duke greeted.
“You must be Duke,” Princess Twilight said.
“I am,” Duke replied. “And this is my partner, Frost, and our friend, Amel.” Duke pointed to his friends as he introduced them. “We were told that we would have housing here while we are stationed here?”
“Absolutely,” Princess Twilight said. “And please, no formalities. You are not my subject anyhow.”
“Yes Twilight,” Frost responded. “And we trust that Amel will be staying with us?”
“I don’t see why not,” Twilight said.
“Excellent!” Frost said with a smile. “Don’t worry, we won’t cause TOO much trouble.”
“It sounds like you already caused a bit of a scene on your way here,” the unicorn said. “We could hear it all from up here while we waited.”
Frost chuckled. “Like I said, not too much, miss..?”
“Rarity, darling,” she said.
Duke looked around. “And who might you all be? We should at least try to get to know each other.”
They all went one by one introducing themselves. It started with a pegasus next to Twilight.
“I’m Rainbow Dash, flier extraordinaire, Wonderbolts reserve, and Element of Loyalty! I’m awesome in whatever way you can think of. Go ahead, think.”
“Fingers,” Duke said instantly.
Rainbow opened her mouth, then shut it and glared at Duke. Her glare quickly turned into a grin.
“You’re clever,” she said.
“I like to think so,” Duke replied.
The next one was a pink earth mare. “I’m Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter! I like to party and make friends and help ponies and meet humans and watch humans and throw parties and eat cake and bake cake and I should make a cake for your housewarming party that I’m going to throw for you and get presents and get a registry for those two and then throw an after party when it’s all done!”
“You mentioned partying a lot,” Frost said.
“I like parties!” Pinkie said.
The next one was quiet. “And you, miss?” Duke said.
She was a yellow pegasus hiding behind a pink mane. “I- I’m Fluttershy...” she said. Not much else.
“Aaand?” Frost said.
“I’m the E-Element of Kindness. I work with animals. Uhhm, I live in my cottage with my husband, a nice farmer, you would like him. And, I, uhhh...” The men waited. They were willing to wait. “I helped to reform bad guys when they were ready.”
Duke nodded. “Impressive.” The complement drew a smile and a small blush from the mare.
“Ah’m Applejack,” the next one said, saving the first from the spotlight. “Ah’m the Element of Honesty. Mah sister, Apple Bloom, was rescued by none other than you two in Saddle Arabia while she was on that service trip. Ah owe you two more than Ah can ever repay, and this is mah first time meetin’ you.”
“You owe us nothing,” Frost said. “Our motto; These things we do, that others may live.”
Applejack smiled. “Well, ain’t you just a big ol’ blessing to the world.”
Frost smiled. “Thank you.”
Duke made mental notes on all of them. From what he understood, they all had close personal connections to the human from before. When he got the chance, he would have to get one on ones with them to find out what he did and whom he was. His curiosity continued to grow about this guy, to the point where, unless they were on a mission, he couldn’t get it off his mind.
“This is my council,” Twilight said. “My closest friends and my most trusted advisors. I am glad you could meet them.”
“We are too,” Duke said. “So, now that we know each other, what is our living situation like?”
Twilight nodded. “We have an empty home, a large one, on the edge of town, toward the forest. It will be big enough for a four-stallion elements of Nighthawks, you men, and your friend there, Amel.” Twilight nodded to the mare. “It will be fully stocked with food at all times. But if you ever want meat, you’ll have to go into the forest and get it yourselves.”
“That’s fine,” Duke said.
“What?” Frost replied, unsettled. “I can’t hunt.”
“The princesses are giving us ammo,” Duke whispered. “And soon, we’ll hopefully get those silencers Luna mentioned before the last mission. Hunting won’t be so hard.”
“I’ll find a way,” Frost said.
Duke turned his attention back to the princess. “Thank you, Twilight. You have been very helpful to us and our mission here.”
“I’m glad to help. I hope we can cooperate effectively further in the future,” Twilight said.
The men and Amel turned back to Aprotelese. “Let’s go see our new home,” Duke said.
Together, they left to go and settle down for the night in what was likely to be an empty house and a day of searching for cheap furniture followed by sleeping on the floor after the search failed.