No Easy Day
The next morning, when Amel woke up, she looked over to see Frost sitting on the edge of the bed, stretching himself out. She reached out and set her hoof on his back, drawing his gaze back to her and earning a little smile. He wrapped his fingers around her hoof and squeezed gently, then let go and stood up.
Amel watched as he prepared for his day. He started off with a little workout, just some pushups and situps. She listened intently to his rhythmic breathing, perfectly synced with his movement up and down. When he finished and let out a sigh of relief and readiness for the day, he walked over to her and sat next to her on the bed.
“Morning, sleepy,” Frost said.
Amel put her hoof on his arm. “Good morning,” she said. Frost put his hand to her head and scratched her head, eliciting a contented sigh and warm smile from her.
“Do you have everything you could need for a couple of days?” Frost asked.
“Yes,” Amel answered slowly. She was still sluggish on what felt like it should have been a lazy morning. “And if I don’t, I can ask Rarity to help.”
Frost smiled. “Good,” he said. “We won’t be gone long, but with the state of the town, I didn’t want you to be missing anything.”
“I can worry about that,” Amel said. “Will you have everything you need?”
Frost laughed lightly. “Yeah, I will. And I got a bunch of solid dudes to help out, too.”
Amel pulled on frost. “I wish you didn’t have to go,” she said.
“I know,” Frost said. “I do, too. But someone has to, and that’s why I signed up.”
“If this job wasn’t necessary, would you still want to do it?” Amel asked.
“If PJs were no longer needed, I would find some other way to serve,” Frost said. “Maybe as a doctor or nurse or something.”
“That sounds nice,” Amel replied. When the time came, she could ask him to become a doctor.
“But for now, the job needs to be done and it needs to be done well,” Frost said.
“And you always do it well,” Amel said. “I can personally attest to that.”
Amel got out of bed and the pair went down the stairs to eat some breakfast. When they arrived in the kitchen, they saw Duke and the Nighthawks already eating and discussing various things. Ranging from the princesses and president to their gooberish tales of adventure, the guys were just enjoying their morning. Frost and Amel walked over to join the merriment.
“Morning,” Aprotelese greeted. “Have a fun time last night?”
“We did,” Amel answered faster than Frost would have liked. “We danced and had lots of fun.”
“Not what he meant,” Duke said with a chuckle. Amel understood after a moment. “Don’t worry, he’s just jealous.”
“Well, Amel is a pretty mare,” Aprotelese said, getting a blush from her.
“No, I meant you were jealous OF Amel,” Duke said, jerking his head in Frost’s direction. “Look at that piece of ass.” Aprotelese chuckled.
“Actually, you should look at Duke,” Frost said. “He’s not just a piece of ass, he’s an entire ass.” Everyone one in the room, even Amel, started bellowing laughter.
“You got me that time,” Duke said.
“That time?” Frost asked indignantly. “I’m pretty sure I usually get you.”
“I would happily challenge that assertion,” Duke said.
“Bah, this guy is crazy,” Frost said.
“You’re both nuts,” Aprotelese said. “But the good kind of nuts.”
“Deeze nuts?” Frost asked. Duke had been sipping his water and spat it all out. After one last good laughter session, the men and stallions all became more serious.
“Alright, once we finish eating, we’ll need to start getting our gear together,” Duke said.
“Sounds like a plan,” Aprotelese said. He stood up. “I’m done, so I’ll get started on mine now.” The other Nighthawks agreed and got up with him.
“I’ll try to eat fast,” Frost told Duke. Duke nodded, finished the last bite of his breakfast, and then went off to prepare his gear.
Frost and Amel sat down to eat. Frost made himself a tomato and lettuce sandwich with mayo and honey mustard, while Amel just got a bunch of bread and munched on it. Frost chuckled at the way she nibbled on the bread.
“What?” Amel asked.
“You’re just a funny pony,” Frost answered. Amel smiled and kept on nibbling.
When they finished up, Frost got up from the table, excusing himself, and went upstairs to prepare his gear. Amel followed him to watch as he worked, simply because she wanted to spend time with him before he went off.
In the room, Frost laid all his gear out on the bed. He knew he was taking his guns and ammo and the suppressors Luna gave them. He also intended to take his body armor and med kit. The knife always went with him, as did the helmet. Given that they would be in a cave, his NVGs would be good to have, too.
Amel didn’t understand what some of the gear was, but in her time with the men, came to understand a good portion of it. The funny looking things he mounted on the helmet still boggled her mind, but she left it be. What concerned her was the fact that he needed so many weapons. She understood he was a warrior, but for one or two people or ponies to go into a situation where they needed that much firepower seemed incredibly risky.
But it was like Frost believed; it was a job that had to be done. And only a few men could do it anyhow.
Amel put her hoof up to her mane, where she kept the knife Frost had given her so long ago. It was funny, how giving her a weapon like that had meant so much to them both. Any normal pony would think they were the strangest beings in town, lovingly giving and accepting weaponry as a gift.
Amel supposed that it was just the warrior mindset: a warrior’s weapon is one of the most precious items they have. It makes sense that if a warrior values a weapon and places so much meaning into it, that’s what they would give as a gift to signify how special someone or something else was to them. And given her own history, it came as no surprise that she happily accepted it, especially from Frost.
“So much effort and material put into recovering one person,” Amel commented.
Frost grunted. “We can’t leave anyone behind,” he said. “It isn’t the American way.”
“Nor the Equestrian way, I understand,” Amel said. “It’s very honorable.”
“That’s how we stay above these guys,” Frost said. “Don’t hide behind those who can’t fight. Don’t leave your own people behind. Build where you have destroyed. It’s only right.”
“I like that,” Amel said.
“I think you’d like America,” Frost said, still separating gear into what he would bring. He set the climbing gear aside, as he didn’t expect to need it. “You’d fit well there.”
Amel thought for a moment. She had been thinking of asking him to stay. Of course, while she liked the elements, they were busy with their duties. Maybe…
“Could I come with you when you go home?” Amel asked suddenly.
Frost stopped working and looked up at the wall. He hadn’t thought about that. Truth be told, he hadn’t been thinking much about what would happen with Amel after the mission was done. He felt terrible for not considering it before.
“I don’t see why not,” Frost said. “If you came with us, it would probably help to explain where we’ve been too, so you’d be saving our skins.” Frost laughed. “But I’d love to have you there. You could stay with me, of course.”
Amel whinnied with glee. “Yay!”
Frost smiled at her. “I don’t know what people would think of a pony like yourself in the human world, though.”
“Actually, I heard that when Princess Twilight went to the human world some time ago, she turned into a human there,” Amel said. “I don’t understand how it happened, but she did it, and apparently, she went back another time and was able to be a human or a pony. She still chose to go as a human, of course.”
Frost stopped. “Hold the phone. A pony went to the human world?”
“Yes,” Amel answered. “Though she went to a high school at the time and had to stop Sunset Shimmer from creating a zombie army to take over Equestria.”
Frost was totally confused. “Well. That… I guess that happened?” He shook his head. “Weird. But also good news, I suppose.”
“I wonder what I would look like as a human?” Amel said. “I hope I would be pretty.”
“I bet you would be,” Frost said. He went back to working on his gear. “You’re a pretty pony.” Amel blushed and giggled at the compliment.
This was amazing. She hadn’t expected this development. Now, she wouldn’t have to wait for Frost to come and visit; she would be living with him in his home country! She did like the Elements of Harmony, though, and would certainly arrange to be able to see them every now and again, but this chance was too good to pass up.
It was all falling perfectly into place. When Frost returned, she would ask him her most pressing question, and now, she knew he would at least give her a chance. She felt so happy she could burst!
But for now, she just had to sit still and let Frost focus on his gear. All these things would come in due time, and when they came, Amel would be the happiest mare in the entire world.
Hours later, it was finally time.
Duke, Frost, and the Nighthawks had all their gear together and ready to go. They were sitting in the living room, discussing the mission. Amel initially stayed out because she figured she didn’t need to hear it, but eventually came in anyway to sit with Frost.
Everyone was wearing their full battle rattle. It was a little intimidating to Amel, being surrounded by the deadliest warriors in Equestria wearing all their war gear. At least she knew she was safe, though.
Frost’s face wasn’t the usual happy one he wore. Now, it was pure seriousness, totally iced over with focus on the job. While she preferred happy Frost, she certainly didn’t mind knowing how reliable he clearly was. It spoke volumes about one’s character.
Amel wasn’t listening to the details of the mission, really. The more she knew about the danger, the more she would worry. For now, it was easier to just sit there and be with Frost.
After some time, Duke stood up.
“Alright boys, it’s show time,” he said. Everyone stood up, and Duke led the way out of the house toward the airstrip from which they would leave.
Before Frost left, he turned to Amel. “See you tonight or tomorrow,” he said with one last smile before leaving.
Amel smiled back. “We will do something fun when you get back!” Amel said excitedly. Frost laughed.
“Can’t wait!” he said. Amel waved at him, and with that, Frost went out the door and shut it behind him.
Now, Amel was alone in the house once again. She didn’t usually like doing that, and would go to hang out with Rarity or one of the other girls. She would head off to Rarity’s soon to see what she had planned for her, but for now, Amel wanted to clean a couple of things in the house. Those stallions and men tended to leave things pretty unruly.
Amel got to cleaning, and when she finished up, she headed out to Rarity for a day of fun and planning ahead for more fun.