Chapter 14: A Call For Help
“Here is your room, humans. You will remain here, but I will be in the room next door. Two guards will be out in the hallway at all times, so if you require something, ask them.”
“Yes, sir.” Sandman responded respectfully. The group entered to see a wet lit room. It was rather bare though, much like the spare bedroom at Sweet Apple Acres, except more elegant. It had a large bed in the middle, with a dining table and six chairs around it, as well as a sitting area which consisted of 2 couches with a fireplace across from them.
“Damn, compared to most places I have had to stay, this is heaven!” Grinch said in an unnaturally cheery tone.
“You can say that again.” Frost agreed.
“Excuse me sir, but we have been without food for around a day or so. Can we have some refreshments, or perhaps some water at least?” Sandman asked Haybrun.
“Yes, you can. I will send one of the guards to retrieve some food and water for you all.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“It’s not a problem. I would recommend getting some rest though. We will have a big day tomorrow, if not sooner.”
“Okay, thank you once aga….” Sandman started, but was cut off with Haybrun abruptly leaving and shutting the door behind him.
“Ok, I guess he hates us now too.” Sandman said as he sat down on one of the couches. Truck was set down on the bed while Andrei was given the couch across from Sandman. Frost and Grinch sat down at the dining table.
“No, he is probably stressed out though, being the Captain of the Royal Guard and all.” Frost reasoned.
“Yeah, especially since one of their towns just got wiped off the face of the planet.” Grinch added.
“AND most of them think we had something to do with it.” Truck interjected.
“Leyonid did not do it…” Andrei mumbled the group with a hiss.
“Oh Jesus, no! Not this again! We are not getting into another argument over this! None of us did it, and we will leave it like that for now.” Sandman said with force. The rest of the group just slumped down into their chairs or let out a sigh.
“Man, I just want to get the hell home. I would rather be in the middle of our war with the Russians than getting involved in this weird shit.” Frost said to nobody in particular.
“Yeah, I think most of us would agree with that one, but right now, all I want is some damn food.” Sandman said, causing everyone to laugh a little bit.
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Princess Celestia walked down the hallways of Canterlot Castle with a solemn attitude, occasionally letting out a small sigh or allowing a tear to fall to the ground. For once, she couldn’t think straight. He mind kept racing around into thousands of different scenarios, dilemmas, problems. It was something that she couldn’t fully grasp in such a short amount of time. The events over the past few days had been some of the most odd and terrible days of her rule. Too many questions, not enough answers, and now the floating city of Cloudsdale was nowhere to be found. It was as though it had just vanished. So many ponies lived there… and now they were nowhere to be seen. Even though she tried to think positive, there was no getting around it. Whatever that explosion was, it was powerful enough to level a giant chunk of the Everfree Forest, as well as cause the destruction of Cloudsdale… which meant that anypony who was in Cloudsdale….
“Tia, I am back!” Princess Luna called out to her sister from down the hall, causing Celestia’s train of thought to be cut short.
“Oh, thank heavens your well. Are the Elements safe?”
“Yes, as well as the humans. Each has been given different rooms. They are in the East Wing, while the Elements are in the West Wing.”
“Good, but was it necessary to split them off so far away?”
“Yes, I don’t think you know how distraught the Element of Loyalty is right now. If she was near the humans, I think we would end up having one or both hurt rather badly….”
“I see… I must go talk to her then. I need to make sure that all of them are in their right minds if they are needed to defend Equestria.”
“What do you mean?”
“They are the Elements of Harmony, our strongest… and probably our ONLY weapon we have at the moment. If whatever caused that explosion is still out there, we will more than likely need them to stop it. I know of nothing that could do this much destruction.”
“Speaking of which, how did the meeting with the council go?”
“About as well as you would expect. The citizens are afraid, and we can’t do anything to help them because we don’t even know what’s going on ourselves. They recommended to me that we reopen the ESDF… at least until the problem is resolved.”
“What? The ESDF hasn’t been in use since the reign of Discord! It was discarded after he fell because it had no more need!”
“Yeah, I know. We also don’t have any ponies with a skill set required to reopen it.”
“Well…”
“What?”
“I think I know where we can find some recruits, but you might not approve.”
“I’m about willing to accept any help from anypony we can get at this point. Who do you have in mind?”
Princess Luna did nothing but nod her head off in the direction of the East Wing.
“… Oh, you must be joking…”
“Well, who else can we choose?”
“Anypony BUT them… I cannot ask that of them, not now. I am supposed to be getting them home, not drug into a mess that they need not burden themselves with!”
“You said their planet is at war most of the time and that they are soldiers.”
“Yes… but…”
“Then why not ask for their help? I mean, the worst that could happen would be them saying no. They have experience, and are skilled in the art of warfare. They are the perfect choice, for there are no ponies I know of who are knowledgeable… or for that matter willing to take part in something like this. We can’t rely on our guards forever! They are spread out thin as it is!”
“But… I… ugh, why is this happening to us? It feels like this is all Discords work, but it can’t be, for he is currently standing outside as a stone statue in the garden. At this rate, I would much rather have it be Discord. At least that would be something familiar.”
“Nopony said it would be easy. We both knew the challenges we would face when we stepped forward to take the crown so many years ago.”
“Yes, but unfortunately, this happens to be one of the hardest I have faced in a very long time. Let us go, I will ask them…”
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“Well, it wasn’t the most filling meal I have ever eaten, but I have eaten worse for sure.” Truck mumbled to the group.
“It was apples and celery, don’t complain. Plus, we got water.” Sandman said.
“I could have done with some meat…” Andrei mumbled to himself.
At that moment, the door opened and in walked Haybrun with the two Princesses following close behind. Each one of the humans, excluding the injured Truck and Andrei, stood up.
“Humans, the Princesses wish to speak with you.”
“Yes, sir. What is it you would like to speak to us about, ma’am?” Sandman asked.
Princess Celestia thought for a moment of how to best ask them, but couldn’t come up with anything. She just got straight to the point, trying to reflect on how the humans seemed to be. Straight to the point.
“We need your help.”
After a brief exchanging of glances between the humans, Sandman spoke up again.
“With exactly what, ma’am?”
“We believe that whatever caused that explosion and the destruction of Cloudsdale was no sheer accident. Our country of Equestria is at risk, and the citizens are very scared. I just got out of a council meeting with other nobles, and it was recommended to me that we reactivate an old group that hasn’t been active since Discord’s rule.”
“I’m sorry, who or what is Discord, ma’am?”
“An old enemy of ours, but that is beside the point.”
“Go on, ma’am.”
“This group was called the ESDF, the Equestrian Special Detachment Force. It was used as a more flexible group of ponies who would carry out certain missions we needed to get done without the use of our royal guards or, at the time, the Equestrian Military.”
“So, you have had a working army before, but just got rid of it, ma’am?”
“Yes, once Discord was overthrown, peace and harmony spread throughout the land. We felt that there was no more need of a standing army then, so we got rid of it to help make our jobs easier. You know, less things to control and pay for.”
Sandman facepalmed.
“Vy s uma soshli?! Why would you get rid of your army?” Andrei asked, a hint of disgust in his voice.
“Like I said, the need for one vanished. We haven’t even considered bringing it back before because there was never any conflict, until now.”
“So, where do we come in?” Frost asked.
“Well, there are currently no ponies alive that have the skill set necessary to restart it. You however, have been through war most of your life and are trained. I hate to ask this of you, and we will not think any less of you should you refuse, but we want you to be a part of the ESDF.”
“Ma’am, I am afraid we cannot do that. We are already members of a Special Forces group on our planet. We cannot stay here and act as one for you. We need to get home to make sure nothing horrific has happened on our planet as well.”
“Well, perhaps you could help train some volunteers for us while you wait?” Princess Luna blurted out.
“Luna, they already said no. Do not pressure them any further.”
“Well, at least they can be helpful while they wait! If they can’t be a part of it, why not help train ponies who will be?”
“Luna! Please forgive her; it is difficult to change her mind.”
“Ma’am, I am sorry, but we have to discuss this over with the rest of our group in private.”
“Oh, that is quite alright. We will leave you be.”
With that, the two Princesses and Haybrun walked out and shut the door.
“Boss, we can do that though.” Grinch started.
“I don’t want to get involved in this ordeal. It’s not our problem, so let’s let them solve it on their own. It will make them stronger.”
“No, not about joining them, but about training them. I would much rather do that than sit up here all day long.”
“I agree with Grinch, they are being generous enough to help find us a way home. It’s the least we can do in return.” Frost reasoned.
“We aren’t in a position to make agreements like this. We are soldiers, not diplomats.”
“But wasn’t it your idea to talk to the Princesses in the first place?” Grinch asked.
“Soldier, what is your rank?”
“Sergeant First Class, sir.” He responded, standing straight.
“And what is mine?”
“Master Sergeant, sir.”
“Exactly, so stop being a smartass and follow your orders! We are NOT helping them with this! We don’t make these kinds of calls. We came to negotiate with the Princesses because the situation we were in required us to do that. This one does not.”
“But we still don’t know who caused the explosion.” Truck said from across the room.
“It doesn’t matter to us who caused it or not. It wasn’t us, so we don’t have to worry.”
“Don’t have to worry? Gospodi, kak glupo eti amerikantsy?” Andrei mumbled.
“WE may know we didn’t cause it, but THEY don’t know that. They probably still suspect us.”
“Oh, for the love of God! This is really starting to piss me off!” Sandman said with a sigh. After a few moments of thinking, he spoke again.
“Ok, fine. I don’t know how exactly the Rules of Engagement and all those other rules work cross worlds, but I guess we will vote. If you want to help them, raise your hand.”
Frost, Grinch, and Truck each raised their hands.
“Ok, so that leaves me and Andrei over there against. Two to three…” He mumbled as he rested his head in his hands.
“So, does this mean we will help them?” Truck asked.
“No, it means we will TRAIN them. Nothing more. Hand to hand… or, I guess hoof to hoof combat.”
“Etot plan obrechen na proval! How is this going to work? How are WE supposed to train ponies? We have two legs, they have four. Not to mention some use magic and others fly. We can’t help them.” Andrei reasoned.
“Well, it will be something they can use. None of them have any experience excluding some of the guards, but even that is a long shot. At least we can give them something to branch off of and lay a foundation.”
“This will be interesting to say the least. I doubt the recruits will be happy to have a bunch of strange creatures teaching them combat tactics. We don’t even know if they are fighting anyone. But… we voted. I will respect it.” Sandman said while he walked up to the door and opened it. He stepped outside to see the Princesses nowhere in sight. Haybrun was standing next to the door.
“What are you doing?”
“We need to talk to the Princesses again, sir. We came to an agreement.”
“Very well, come with me.”
“Thank you. Grinch, come with me. Frost, you stay here and make sure everyone gets along.”
“Yes, sir.”
With that, Haybrun, Sandman, and Grinch set off down the hallway. After a couple of turns here and there, they found the Princesses entering the West Wing of the castle.
“Princesses!” Haybrun called out to them. Each turned around in surprise to see Haybrun with two of the humans standing next to him. “The humans wish to speak to you again.”
“Very well. What is it you have to say?” Celestia asked as they approached one another.
“We came to an agreement about this ESDF issue, ma’am. We have agreed to help TRAIN new recruits, but nothing more. We cannot join it, but we can help it that way.” Sandman said, causing Luna to nearly jump for joy.
“Thank you so much, humans. You have no idea what this means to us.” Princess Celestia began.
“We do have a problem though.”
“Oh, and what might that be?”
“How are we supposed to train ponies? All of our training and tactics are meant for humans, and thus things with two legs. I am not sure how effective it will be with ponies.”
“Well, it will be something at least. Haybrun, come here.”
“Yes, Princess?”
“You will be assigned to watch over the humans during training, and will give them help and information about ANYTHING they need to better help us. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Princess.”
“Good. Now, I will have some ponies go out and begin recruiting ponies that they believe would be suitable.”
“Princess, when are we going to announce to the public the destruction of Cloudsdale? We can’t keep it a secret forever, and I am positive most are starting to hear about it now.” Haybrun asked.
“I have sent a letter to each mayor of every town describing what we know. They will hold a town meeting and explain it to the ponies, which I hope doesn’t cause too much trouble.”
“Ma’am, doing that will start a panic. The citizens will become even more afraid than they are now, and there will be chaos in the streets.” Sandman said.
“How do you know?”
“Because I have seen it happen many times, ma’am.”
“Well, what do you suppose I do? Lie to them? Withhold the information from them? What will they think of me then?”
“Ma’am, I don’t know. I am just saying that is what will happen. If you are set on not withholding the information, then you better send a lot of guards to each town to help keep the peace.”
“I already have a regiment of guards in each town to help protect them.”
“How many guards are in a regiment?”
“Around thirty or so, why?”
“Thirty? That’s it? How many guards do you have in total?”
“Well, I have one regiment in Baltimare, Hoofington, Manehatten, Ponyville, Las Pegasus, Trottingham, Fillydelphia, Appleloosa, and two here in Canterlot. One regiment was in Cloudsdale at the time… but… I think we can assume they are no longer with us. So, that totals to around three hundred.”
“Three hundred service members?” Sandman said while he facepalmed… again. “You need to recruit more, ma’am.”
“Well, we never needed a large army. We needed something small to keep the peace.”
“Do you have weapons, ma’am?”
“What type of weapons?”
“Anything your guards use, ma’am. Please tell me they don’t just fight with their hooves…”
“We have some weapons, but they haven’t been used for a while.”
“What type?”
“Spears, some swords, and a catapult.”
“Does the catapult have ammo?”
“We used large boulders, but mostly anything we can get our hooves on is ammo.”
“At least it’s something.” Grinch interjected. Sandman let out a long sigh.
“I’m sorry ma’am, but you don’t have anything to work with here. Not enough troops, not enough weapons, no GOOD weapons excluding the catapult, but even that can be borderline useless depending on the situation. A catapult is slow and takes a hell of a long time to manually load it. Plus, it is giant and unarmored, making it a relatively easy target.”
“Our physical weapons may be less than adequate, but we have a weapon more powerful than anything in existence.”
“Well, what is it ma’am?”
“The Elements of Harmony.”
“The what?”
“The Elements of Harmony. They were used to defeat Discord twice, along with Nightmare Moon. They are the most powerful force we have ever encountered.”
“Where are these… ‘Elements of Harmony’? May I see them, ma’am?”
“You already have.”
“Wait, what? What do you mean?”
“Those six ponies you met when you first arrived, they are the Elements of Harmony. Kindness is Fluttershy, Generosity is Rarity, Loyalty is Rainbow Dash, Laughter is Pinkie Pie, Honesty is Applejack, and Magic is Twilight Sparkle.”
A moment passed with nothing but blank stares from Grinch and Sandman.
“I’m sorry, I am lost.” Grinch said.
“I figured you would be, for it something that is difficult to understand. Elements of Harmony are thing that’s bond with certain ponies that best represent the Element. For example, Twilight is one of the most magically gifted unicorns in all of Equestria, so the Element of Magic chose her. There are only six Elements active at a time. Once the bearer of an Element dies, either the same Element or a new Element is formed and takes the place of another pony. Elements of Harmony hold great power, and can be channeled if all six Elements are together.”
Once again, blank stares were all that was returned form the two humans.
“Does it make any more sense to you?”
“Um, a little bit I guess, but nevermind that, we need to focus on recruiting troops to this ESDF.”
“It was in the letter I sent to the mayors earlier to ask for volunteers. Although, I believe we should start with more experienced ponies, such as some of the guards. Do you have any recommendations, Haybrun?”
“Yes Princess, I do. White Flash and Storm Breaker. They are loyal and are some of the best guards I have seen. I believe they would be excellent additions to the ESDF.”
“Ok, it is settled then. Tomorrow, we will start organizing this out. In the meantime, get some rest.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
With that, the humans and Haybrun returned to their respective rooms. Sandman and Grinch walked into the room without a word and shut the door behind them. Everyone inside turned and eagerly waited to hear what had happened.
“So boss, what happened?”
It took Sandman a minute to respond.
“A lot of things, but I can tell you one thing I know for certain.”
“What?”
“These ponies are completely fucked.”