• Published 28th Jul 2012
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Of War and Friendship - DocDelray



Mandalorians and Ponies working together to stop the Deathwatch, what could be better than that?

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Best Laid Plans and Intentions

The cold grip of night kept a strong hold upon the city of Canterlot, casting deep shadows upon the dimly-lit hallways of the castle. Once patrolled by the royal guards in regal armor, the new occupation had spared no time in taking their place. Armed Deathwatch troopers stalked the hallways and corridors of the palace on guard for any possible challenge to the new rule.

One trooper in particular was busy tending to a rather important assignment. In front of him, a pair of very young Unicorn colts trotted closely together, eyeing the armored soldiers warily. The pair were more than slightly similar-looking to the other; deep khaki coats with dark brown manes and tails, the only way to tell them apart were their eyes. One having a pair of crystal blue and the other having bright green eyes. They kept pressed tightly to each other as they were escorted to parts unknown. For as long as they had known, the castle had been like a home to them, but now it brought only a tinge of fear to their hearts.

As they came to a large set of double doors, their escort stepped forward and opened them. Beyond was a brightly-lit study where the alien they and all the city had come to know as the leader of this invading force. With a disarmingly soft smile he motioned for them to enter, “Good evening children, please enter,” His gaze shifted to their escort, “You’re dismissed, trooper.”

With a salute he quickly stepped back and shut the large heavy doors behind the foals, sealing them in. Teth made his way over to the pair, who instinctively backed away in fright. Coming to a stop, the Commander knelt down to bring himself closer to their level, a very small and subtle application of the Force calmed them slightly to make the interaction easier, “Tell me boys, what are your names?”

The pair exchanged a frightened look before the blue-eyed colt took a brave step forward and spoke in a shaky voice, “M… My name is Hammer, sir, and this is my brother, Anvil,” He said motioning to the other, “Why are we here?”

Teth looked between the pair, “Hammer and Anvil. Yes; fine, strong names,” He said softly, “No one has told you yet, have they?”

“Told us what?” Anvil, the decidedly more timid of the two finally spoke up.

Teth took a deep calming breath as he stood up and made his way to the large fireplace at the center of the back wall of the study, “Children, I am afraid I have some grim news for you…” With his back to the children he stared into the flames as he prepped himself for his coming performance, “It… Has to do with your mother… I’m afraid…”

“Momma…” Anvil’s voice cracked as he stared ahead in disbelief.

His brother Hammer took a brave stride forward, his eyes riveted to Teth, “What happened to our mother, what did you aliens do to her!?” The anger in his voice barely drowned out the shake brought on by frustration and confusion.

He took this moment to smile to himself, children had such fertile minds. Replacing it with a mask of sadness and distress he finally looked back at the foals, “WE tried to save her,” Teth stated firmly as he took a step towards the pair, “A weapon was smuggled into the palace, a weapon that your mother set off unknowingly.”

Part of him drank the looks of bewilderment in their eyes, the swelling pools of tears threatening to burst out. They were at their breaking point, all it would take is a little more, “We tried everything we could to save her… Her injuries were far too… extensive. Had our ship not been destroyed, there is a good chance her life would have been saved with the medical equipment we had onboard.” Teth informed them with a growing hint of frustration in his own voice.

Turning away from them, he let out a sigh and gathered his thoughts before looking back at them, “I am so sorry for you both…” Kneeling down, he reached out and placed a hand on both of their backs, “But there is no doubt in my mind that her last thoughts were of her children.”

The two could no longer hold back their emotions as they pulled away from Teth’s grasp. Hammer continued to glare daggers at Teth as tears streamed down the sides of his face matting into his coat, “I don’t believe you; why would anypony do something like that, why would they hurt our mom!?”

“Fear,” Teth said in a flat, emotionless tone, his gaze becoming a lifeless mask, “Fear and ignorance of the new way of life we seek to usher in for you and your people.” Teth brushed the tears away from their eyes as he continued, “Because of this fear they lash out, your poor mother was caught in the crossfire, she was never the true target of the attack, I was.”

Placing a hand under their chins, he gently lifted their gazes to meet his own, “It’s my fault she was killed, and it was by my hand your father rests honorably, so it is my duty to raise you both, as Mado’ade.” Another small application of the Force through subtle words overwhelmed what little will they had left. Placing a hand on their heads, he spoke softly to them, “Ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad, I know your name as my child. Dry your tears and rest my sons, tomorrow you start your lives as Mandalorians.”


Twilight Sparkle laid wide awake curled up on an empty hospital bed in the back corner of the waiting room staring at the wall in front her. She couldn’t sleep; no matter how many ways she reminded herself that she would need the energy for the coming day, she still couldn’t force herself into slumber. Every time her eyes closed, she could see that look of fear and disbelief in that mare’s eyes just before the muzzle flash, before they glazed over and she fell on the floor. Dead. She didn’t want to see those eyes anymore, she had to make it right again.

A hand at her back roughly nudged her to stir, “Up an’ at ’em ad’ika,” The voice of her Captain commanded.

With an annoyed grunt the purple Unicorn forced herself to sit up on the bedding, her armor making the task feel a lot more labored than it should have been, “Fine… Not like I slept anyways.”

Kad gave her a wry smile and shoved a cup of hot black liquid into her hooves, “Drink up an’ fill your boots Cadet, we move before sun up.”

She gave the contents a cautious stare before giving it a test sip and quickly pull away from it in disgust, “GAH, what is this stuff!?”

With a laugh he gave the Unicorn a slap across the back, “Hot cup’a caff, liquid focus in a glass. That stuff’s dragged our people from one end’a the galaxy to other five times over for centuries.”

Twilight gave him a weary glare before forcing another sip to pass down her throat, “Let me guess, they were trying to get away from this swill.”

“Give it a few years, Twilight, an’ you’ll start to hate it even more.” He stated with a smirk before leaving her to regain her senses.

Rolling her eyes she continued to force down the hot beverage using every bit of her restraint not to gag on the wretched drink. Forcing herself off the cot, she found herself barely able to keep her legs from wobbling. Her body trapped between wide awake and the demand to pass out from exhaustion enhancing every sensation tenfold.

With a grunt she followed after the Captain as best her sluggish form could grant her. A voice in the back of her mind kept telling her that he would lead her to Teth, an opportunity she couldn’t let slip by. She needed to face this monster for herself; the only way that would happen was if she stuck to Kad every step of the way.

Losing sight of him for a moment, she rounded the corner that lead to what had more or less become a sort of office and infirmary for Zex, “Just what in the haran is this!?” Her hooves came to stop near the doorway at the sound of anger that soaked Kad’s voice, just out of sight. Curiosity was always the mare’s biggest weakness. Slowly, she peeked her head around the corner to see what had him so angry.

Kad stood glaring at Zex, a knocked-over waste paper basket between the two of them. In the Captain’s hand was a crumpled piece of paper, he held it accusingly towards the dejected looking medic. From where she was hiding, Twilight could barely make out what was on the discarded paper, only able to see a number of strange symbols similar to the ones that showed up on her visor’s HUD and sketches that looked almost like ponies.

“Sir, I… I can explain,” Zex stammered out as he put his hands up in defense.

“Zex, I asked ya to look into possible armor mods an’ prosthetics, optional procedures,” He held up the paper in his hand for emphasis as he fought to keep his words in a hushed tone, “This stuff here ain’t nothin’ short’a butchery.”

“I know it looks bad, sir; it was a lack of judgment on my part is all,” Zex defended his actions all the more.

Kad glanced at the sleeping wounded and still soundly sleeping Pegasus in the corner, “Has anyone else seen this?”

“No, sir, just you,”

“Good,” Kad shoved the papers into Zex’s hands and snarled under his breath, “Take this osik out back an’ burn it, all of it.” Kad’s face slowly shifted from anger to disappointment, “I thought you were past this demagolka junk Zex…”

Zex stared at the notes for what seemed like an eternity before taking them back from Kad, “So did I…”

As Kad left the infirmary, Twilight quickly hugged the side wall, letting him pass her by. Maybe he was just too mad or focused; perhaps he didn’t even see the armored mare hiding in the hallway since he didn’t even give her a glance. Once he was well enough away, she quietly entered the room, “What the hay was that all about?”

Zex gave the Unicorn a scowl before gathering the rest of his ill conceived notes, “Nothing you need to worry about Cadet…”

“The senior members of my team are at each others’ throats; I think it’s only reasonable that I ask why.” She shot back at him. She might not have been considered a full-fledged warrior yet, but she had learned that one needed to hold their ground when confronting one of them.

Zex was quiet for a moment after her sharp words, “Tell me Twilight, on your world do you have a saying along the lines of ‘The road to ruin is paved with good intentions’?”

She nodded leaning her side against the door frame, “Of course, it’s a common lesson among all cultures of this world,” Putting a hoof to her chin she let herself muse out loud, “So you have the same lesson where you’re from as well. Fascinating that even with light-years of separation there are common tales and stories that exist on whole other worlds.”

“Indeed…” Zex muttered in reply as he strode towards the door allowing the Unicorn to join him in tow, “There was a man during a period of time known to the galaxy as the Mandalorian Wars. His name was Demagol,” He practically forced himself to spit the name out as he spoke it with great disdain, “And he was nothing short of a true and horrible butcher.”

Twilight quietly followed along with the medic as he gave her the history lesson, “During the war he sought to create Force wielding Mandalorians to serve as a counter against the Republic’s Jedi. The experiments that followed were horrible, they were our enemies but what he did to them, even to the children… what he did was unforgivable.”

Her stomach lurched a bit at the thought of what could have happened at the time, “It’s kind of hard to fathom sometimes, so much has happened throughout the galaxy and nopony was ever the wiser,” She turned the information over in her head for a time as things began to snap into place, “So that word the Captain called your work must mean… What is it you came up with?” She asked recoiling a bit in disgust.

Zex stopped a few feet outside the back door of the hospital. He looked to the stack of crumpled paper in his hand then back to Twilight, shaking his head, “A sin against everything we stand for.” He stated flatly as he produced a lighter and began to bring the flame to the paper.

The scientist in her took hold of the Pony’s actions as she quickly reached out and wrapped a forelimb around his arm, “Wait, but what if there was something we could learn from your theories? For all we know, this could change life as we know it for ponykind.”

His eyes grew cold and uncaring as he bore into her, “And are you willing to lose your soul just because you THINK it might help?”

“I… well, I mean…” She stammered against his question.

“Twilight, Demagol thought he could take apart the Force itself and put it back together for the Mandalorians, all he succeeded in doing was killing children. Do you want to walk the same path as one of the most hated men in galactic history?”

After a moment her grip on his arm loosened as she took a step back from him, “No… I’m so sorry…” Her gaze shifted to the ground in front of her as shame crawled its way through her. She had spent every moment of her life in the pursuit of knowledge and now she had come to learn the price some pay for it.

Zex set fire to the papers, letting the flames consume his work and the wind spread the ashes like petals on the wind. With a weak smile he placed a hand on the back of Twilight’s neck, running his hand through her mane soothingly, “Twilight, look at the Captain. He’s one of many in a new wave of Force using warriors, true Mandalorian Knights. We have the Force users that monster sought to create centuries ago, and we did it without his sick methods. You see, in the end, we succeeded without Demagol. You and your people will succeed without this too.”

A timid smile teased at the edges of her mouth as she watched the ashes fly away on the morning breeze. The scent left behind lingering in the air around them brought a touch of fear to the back of her mind. Canterlot; how much of her hometown was still intact, how much would be left after all of this was done? Slowly her gaze lifted to the distant peak where the crown jewel of Equestria was nestled. The only way she would know would be to climb the mountain alongside her new allies.

Far over the horizon, hints of the coming day were already starting to split the night away. Zex let out a tired sigh as he started towards the front of the hospital, “Come on Sparkle, don’t wanna be late for the briefing, do you?”


Everyone left that was able to fight, be they human, pony or anything in between had gathered in the main lobby of the hospital. The benches and chairs had been arranged in a circle around the holographic image of the city. Kad took a moment to look over his would-be platoon; they were looking ragged, tired and most importantly hungry to see this all come to an end. His eyes stopped on the Royal Guardspony he’d come to know as Gallant, the golden armor of his sect had been replaced with obviously salvaged armor plates from the dead Deathwatch. The sloppily pieced-together suit of armor was somewhat laughable, but it looked like it might do the job to protect the Unicorn. Shaking off the urge to break into laughter, he turned his attention to the hologram, “Alright folks, here it is; one last push an’ we’re done with this osik,”

Torb stepped forward, “After some deliberation, we have come up with this plan of attack for assaulting the capital city of Canterlot.” With a motion the image moved to the sewer grate, “Our main force will enter the city through the underground; once inside, it will be up to Sergeant Gallant to lead us through the catacombs to get us as close as possible to the palace.”

“I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to track thieves and the sort through those sewers, I can get you within spitting distance of the palace grounds,” The newly armored Unicorn stated proudly.

“While this is going on,” Torb shifted the image again to the far side of the mountain, “A stealth incursion team of Private Arkanna and Staff Sergeant Kell will scale the blind side of the mountain using rappelling equipment.”

“Never see us coming,” Kell stated coldly with a grim smirk as he nudged Arkanna.

“Let’s hope not,” Torb replied moving the image out to show the mountain as a whole, “During all of this, Cadets Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash will be using the unchecked cloud cover of the area to move in and provide logistic support on enemy movements.”

“We’re doing what, now?” The cyan Pegasus was more than confused by the large words.

The Chiss strategist couldn’t hold back the groan, “Hiding in the clouds and pointing out where the bad guys are…” Torb stated, dumbing it down a bit for her as he rubbed a sudden, growing soreness in temples.

“Oh, well that makes more-” Rainbow Dash froze mid sentence as she suddenly realized something important, “Wait, what the hay! I’m not going to be a part of the big battle!?”

Kad raised a brow at her outburst, “Got somethin’ to say ‘bout your assignment, Cadet Dash?”

“You bet I do,” She snarled stomping her hoof against the ground, “You’ve got me running RECON while the fight is on the ground! You need me in the fight Cap, no other pony here has as many kills as I do.” As the words left her mouth it quickly dawned on her that her friends were eyeing her uneasily. A cold lump of ice formed in her stomach as she looked around the room.

The shame of her outburst had only begun as Kad strode forward, “No, CADET, what I need is somePONY that can keep an eye on the enemy for me an’ let me know when I’m ‘bout to get a blaster shoved up my sheb!”

The booming anger in his voice caused her to cringe, the coldness in his gaze pushed her back a few steps, “I… I just…”

Crossing his arms over his chest Kad seemed to soften slightly, “What I need, Cadet Dash, is for you to make sure we all get out’a this alive. Without your eyes watchin’ out for us, we lose a vital edge against the enemy. Now, you ready to fall in?”

The tomboy mare smiled weakly as she gave the warrior a salute with her forelimb, “You can count on me Cap, none of those punks are gonna sneak up on you if I have anything to say about it!”

“If we’re all done, I have one last aspect of this briefing to cover,” Torb reminded the room, returning their attention to him, “Now, all of this hinges on one last aspect of the plan: our distraction at the front gates.” He stated motioning to Rarity, “Ms. Rarity, Apple and Pie will be posing as a group of merchants on their way to the capital with their loaded down wagon of goods. The guards on duty will no doubt stop them, confiscate their wares and more than likely turn them away. This is exactly what we want to happen.”

Twilight raised her hoof drawing attention to herself, “Why is this, Lieutenant?”

The Chiss smiled from ear to ear, eagerly looking forward to the chance to explain his grand gambit within the plan, “Very simple, we will have hidden the small handful of thermal detonators we still have within the goods. Once we give you girls the signal you’ll have to detonate them; the explosion will draw the majority of the Deathwatch forces out to investigate. We use this as a cover to break into the castle from the front while Arkanna and Kell find and neutralize Teth.”

The look on Twilight’s face was nothing short of disdain, “You want our friends to carry dangerous explosives to the front gate and HOPE the troopers there take it all away and kick them out?”

“They’ll have the detonator switches with them; if they get into trouble they can use the bombs then and there.” Torb stated casually.

“That’s not the point-” Twilight’s rant was stopped before it began as Applejack put a limb around her shoulder.

“Listen sugarcube, ya’ll been doin’ the fightin’ fer us this whole time,” A forced smile did little to hide the unease in her friend’s voice, “If we got a chance ta help some, then I wanna do my part.”

“It sounds super scary and all, but we can’t just sit around and do nothing while our friends are in trouble!” Pinkie happily added with a bubbling smile.

“Besides darling, I’ll be there to make sure everything goes according to plan.” Rarity proudly reassured her.

“You’ve all got your assignments,” Kad stated as he moved to the center of the room through the hologram, “I won’t lie to any of ya ‘bout our chances, it looks grim; they still got well over a hundred strong up there an’ all we got is one platoon’s worth’a folks. To top it all off, they not only got the high ground but the blasted castle to boot.”

“Everything hinges on us takin’ down Teth one way or another,” Kad looked to each of them as he spoke gauging their reaction, “It ain’t been an easy trip this far. Getin’ shot down twice on the same planet, fightin’ tooth an’ nail through dusty old ruins an’ then crashin’ a war ship into the planet. We have long since surpassed the point in which Teth and Deathwatch are gonna be underestimatin’ us. Well ya know what, that’s what bein’ in Epsilon Squad is all about!”

“We’re the under dogs, even amongst our own people we’re looked down on as the dregs an’ mad beasts of Mandalore,” His voice echoed with pride, “But every time they push us up against the wall we find a way to beat the odds. We’ve made a life out’a makin’ the impossible happen, with all odds against us we blast our way clear to the other side. We always manage, because that’s what we do, that’s why we’re Epsilon, that’s why we are MANDALORIANS!”

“Now I ain’t much for makin’ fancy speeches an’ the like. I’m a warrior, a verd, first and foremost, my actions speak for me. Now I aim to send one hell of’a message when I march up that hill out there, find that hut’uun chakaaryc an’ put my boot heel to his jaw!” He stated loudly as he pointed in the general direction of Canterlot, “Who here is comin’ with me?”

In response, Kad was answered with the sounds of weapons being loaded and readied and hooves stomping against the floor between excited cheers for a swift victory, “Then what’re ya lot waitin’ on, me to get all the blasted glory for myself? Let’s move out!”

As Epsilon and their new allies made their way out of the hospital they began breaking into their appointed teams. Arkanna and Kell were at the edge of the forest about off ahead of the rest of the teams when the soft spoken armor plated Pegasus mare landed alongside them, “Uhm, Arkanna, do you maybe have a moment please?”

“Of course mesh’la,” He stated with a smile tucking his helmet under his arm, “What’s on your mind?”

She fidgeted a bit nervously, “Well, I went and learned a little more Mando’a last night, I was hoping I could give you a message before we all head off, if that’s okay I mean…”

He gave her a soft smile while taking a knee to come face to face with her, “Yeah, that’d be just fine Fluttershy,” Indulging her before what very well may be their final fight was the least he could do for her, “What do you want me to know?”

Clearing her throat she quickly recalled the words she’d learned the night before and their pronunciations, “Ni kar'taylir darasuum gar ti an ner kar'rta,” She stated happily and proudly as she formed each word.

Her expression quickly changed to shock and confusion as Arkanna’s reaction was less than what she’d expected. The young warrior’s eyes had gone wide while it appeared as though ever drop of blood in his body had rushed to his head bringing a bright flush to his face, “Oh dear, did I say something wrong?”

“N-no, no you didn’t, there’s nothing wrong with what you said,” He was quick to defend her, “But, I mean, I just didn’t know you felt like that, well I’d hoped you might but, uh, I mean,”

Arkanna’s stuttering was cut short as Kell took the helmet from under the younger warrior’s arm and forced on over his head. Taking the boy by the collar of his armor he began dragging him away, “Come on Kid, we got work to do, talk to your girlfriend when we’re done.”

“Erm, uh, yes sir!”

Fluttershy was left surprised and flushed as the pair disappeared into the wilderness heading towards the mountain. She could feel her heart beating almost uncontrollably after Kell’s words, “G-girlfriend?”