//------------------------------//
// IX - Allies and Enemies 
// Story: With All Its Glory, And All Its Horror 
// by GeoffNunchucks 
//------------------------------//




The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can better trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity.
Ulysses S Grant




Celestia awoke before dawn, as per usual, and made her way to the palace dining room for breakfast. Already she was considering what to say to her subjects about allying with the Terrans against the Zerg invaders. Luna was evidently already on board, so perhaps she would let her do most of the talking. Even so, Equestria had looked up to Celestia as their sole leader and guardian for a thousand years. Whether or not she wanted to admit it, her words still carried that weight.

She almost failed to notice the lanky form of Sergeant Hobbes waiting patiently outside the door. He had forgone his armor, thankfully, and instead wore a peculiar skintight black jumpsuit made of a thick material, unzipped partially at the collar. Judging by the dark circles under his eyes, he hadn't seemed to have slept well.

"Good morning, Sergeant. You're up early."

When he looked at her bemused, she mentally slapped herself. Of course, he needs Queen Dorylus to help translate. Having been the ruler of Equestria for so long, Celestia was fluent in all languages spoken by the other world leaders, as well as in Equestria itself. The only inhabitants of Equis that actively practiced the use of translation spells regularly were changelings, and while she knew the spell, casting it on anypony other than herself was a different matter. Still, it would allow her to speak to the Sergeant, at least.

She cast the spell and repeated herself, begrudgingly accepting that the changelings would have a larger role to play than she was comfortable with.

"'Morning your highness," the Sergeant said. "We're usually up early, but I figured I'd let my guys sleep in for a bit."

"I warrant a 'your highness' from you now?" she teased. "Yesterday you were a hair's breadth from calling my mother a whorse."

The corner of his mouth lifted in a weak smile. "I'm sure she was a saint, ma'am."

"Let's not make assumptions now, Sergeant," she said with a chuckle as she opened the door to the dining room. "Have you not eaten yet?"

He shook his head. "Gotta wait for my Joes to eat first. NCOs always eat last."

"Ah. Is that typical for your military?"

"It is now. One of the changes since we switched to an all volunteer force."

Celestia entered the door, motioning for Sergeant Hobbes to follow. Despite their rather contentious first meeting, she wanted the chance to speak with him one on one.

When he hesitated to accompany her, she said, "You don't need to eat right now, but at least this way you don't have to stand there looking lost."

"Come on, now, I'm not a butter bar. I land-navved my way through the desert just fine." He followed her in anyway and sat down, not motioning for any kind of food or drink.

"'Butter bar'?" Celestia echoed.

"Second Lieutenant. Can't spell lost without LT."

She chuckled despite herself as she sat down across from him. "You speak as though you haven't been a volunteer military for long," Celeatia observed. "I take it you used to have mandatory service? I recall the griffins have a similar law."

Though he looked intrigued by the mention of griffins, Sergeant Hobbes shook his head. "We used to conscript convicts. In the Marines, anyway."

"Convicts? You use prisoners?" The Terran Dominion sounded less and less appealing the more she learned.

"I said we used to. Doing away with that was one of Emperor Valerian's reforms after he took the throne."

"I see," Celestia said, breathing a sigh of relief. She wondered what other reforms this new Emperor had enacted. "So I take it then that you volunteered?"

"Mm hm. Shipped off to boot camp right out of high school. I'd originally wanted to go navy, but the Marines offered a quick ship bonus." Then he laughed at himself. "If I knew then what I know now..."

"How long have you served?" she asked as she poured herself a mug of coffee, suppressing a laugh as the Sergeant eyed it longingly.

"Little over four years. I actually re-upped my contract last year."

"So then, that makes you how old?"

"Twenty three."

That young... To think that those we entrust with protecting us are barely even adults.

"And why did you join? It sounds like the need for warriors is at a low in the Dominion."

He smirked at her. "Why the curiosity? Yesterday you wanted nothing to do with me."

I suppose now is as good a time as any. "Because," Celestia began, finding herself hesitating. "I would like to accept your offer of alliance. And, if we're going to be friends, I'd like to know who I'm working with."

"Uh huh," the Sergeant muttered with a skeptical raised eyebrow.

"And... I'd also like to apologize for my behavior yesterday. You've been through too much lately for me to have treated you like that."

For a brief moment, she saw a pained look on Sergeant Hobbes' face. "It's fine," he said. "Really. I made an ass out of myself too. Said some things I shouldn't have."

Somehow, Celestia thought, I don't think he's talking about me. "Well, I'm glad we're on the level then."

"Yeah..." he trailed off, his mind elsewhere. "I joined because of my Dad," he suddenly said.

"Oh?" Celestia sipped her coffee, interested.

"The man served in the Mar Sara colonial militia from day one under Magistrate Doe, back in the First Great War. Later on with Raynor's Raiders in the second. He saw it all, and... I don't know. I liked the idea of following in his shoes, that maybe one day I'd be a part of history like he was." He made a sardonic laugh. "Guess I got what I asked for, huh?"

"Be careful what you wish for," Celestia mused.

"Because you might just get it," he finished. "How does the old curse go? 'May you live in interesting times'?"

"And times are very interesting indeed. I take it your Emperor's predecessor was not as popular as Valerian."

Sergeant Hobbes' face contorted in disgust. "Emperor Arcturus Mengsk," he spat. "A tyrant that crowned himself emperor after overthrowing the Terran Confederacy in the First Great War. Sergei could tell you more, but be prepared to learn a lot of Russian profanity."

"Confederacy?"

"Riiight... I think I forgot to mention that. The Dominion is only thirty years old. Well, it will be in a few months on Dominion Day, anyway. The Terran Confederacy was the former dominant power in the Koprulu sector, but after the Zerg invasion and the revolution from Korhal, it collapsed. Most of the Dominion now is composed of former Confederate worlds, plus a few others that fought against it."

"What made the Confederacy so bad?" Celestia asked.

"Mmm... Mostly it's unwillingness to protect the outer colonies when the Zerg attacked the fringe worlds. My Dad said there were also rumors that they'd been breeding the Zerg as a sort of bioweapon to keep colonies from rebelling. Something about plausible deniability when they went in to 'save' them."

Celestia winced. "I can see how that would warrant a revolution, then. But I take it Arcturus wasn't much of an improvement?"

"Nope. If anything it was worse. Forced labor camps, imprisoning political dissidents, state-controlled media... You get the picture."

"... Quite."

"So would you believe that the Second Great War had a revolution against the Dominion when the Zerg invaded again?"

"I'm starting to think you Terrans just like war," Celestia said sourly.

That got a laugh out of the Sergeant. "You're not wrong. Might as well be the one thing we are good at. To be fair though, the galaxy's a dangerous place."

"As I am quickly learning. No offense intended, Sergeant, but I'm starting to have second thoughts on this alliance."

He sighed. "None taken. I doubt you could find a people with a more checkered past than us. I will say this though: the Dominion of today is a far different animal than twenty five years ago. We don't use convicts for soldiers, we endorse individual liberties, and we don't have labor camps or political prisons. For that matter, even the Protoss and Zerg have changed a lot since the Great Wars. There's still rogue factions, sure, but on the whole we get along."

"The Protoss? When I was just a filly they posed as gods and manipulated the early peoples of Equis into servitude. Ponies used to dream of going through the gate to Khyrador, thinking it was a paradise, but in reality they became slaves. Toys, even."

Sergeant Hobbes flinched at her description. "We found old ruins that showed something like that when we first got here... Were you really there?"

"Yes," Celestia sighed, regretting bringing up the discussion topic, and the painful memories that followed. "I never had the misfortune of going to Khyrador, but... we heard rumors."

"I'm... sorry to hear that. Admittedly I don't know much about Protoss history, but my Dad said he was with Raynor's Raiders when they helped them escape Aiur - that's uh, their homeworld, by the way - when the Zerg invaded. I remember he said something about how they had a civil war themselves and overthrew the 'Conclave,' which I'd bet were the same people that conquered Equis. Probably. I dont know, 'Protoss history' wasn't an elective in high school. Then again, my graduating class was about fifty so... not like I had many to choose from."

Celestia would have liked to continue the discussion, but the dining room door swung open to reveal the four remaining troopers dressed much the same as their Sergeant, as well as Queen Dorylus. The other Terrans greeted her politely as they sat down and served themselves breakfast. For some reason, Sergeant Hobbes and Dorylus barely spoke. Odd, considering how familiar they'd acted the other day.

Perhaps he was referring to her earlier, she thought, remembering how caught off guard she was when Sergeant Hobbes had mentioned the infested changeling. The thought of such an abhorrence sent shivers down her spine.

She made small talk with the other Terrans, who were more interested in their food than conversation. Understandable, considering their recent ordeal.

Dorylus on the other hoof, was much more pleasant to speak to than she anticipated. Celestia had apologized profusely about her treatment of her mother following the attempted coup. Luckily, the newly crowned queen was forgiving of her, saying that there was no room for past grudges in the present.

When it was time, Celestia excused herself to go raise the sun. She was met with looks of intrigue by the Terrans as she stated it, but the blonde haired youth among them was especially interested. Private Connelly, she remembered his name was. He'd given a pleading look to his Sergeant, unable to find the words to speak, but luckily Hobbes put two and two together as he looked between Celestia and the Private.

He sighed and laughed at his trooper's antics. "Princess, is it alright if Mike watches? He's been wanting to know about that since we heard about it."

Celestia chuckled, thinking how silly it was that despite having the ability to travel between the stars themselves, this was what captivated them. In a way she found it endearing. At the same time, the gesture did more to improve her image of them than the Sergeant's words could; they still maintained a sense of curiosity and wonder even with all their advancements.

"Of course, Sergeant," she said as she rose to leave. Seeing the looks on the other troopers' faces, she rolled her eyes. "The rest of you can come as well, if you like."

She very nearly burst out laughing as the Terrans fell over themselves standing up and eagerly followed her, Sergeant Hobbes included. Leading them to the balcony where she performed her daily ritual, Celestia approached the railing, the troopers - and Queen Dorylus, interestingly - watched in rapt fascination. She spread her wings and reached for the sun, feeling its familiar warmth as she coaxed it over the horizon, making sure to put on a bit of a show for the bewildered Terrans.

"Now then," she said, turning back to the Terrans. "I must go and relieve my sister. We will be announcing the declaration of our alliance at noon today, and I would like you, Sergeant, Queen Dorylus, to be present. My little ponies will be worried and afraid, but I fear they must know the truth, sooner rather than later. For that, we will need your testimonies."

"I'll be there, your highness," Sergeant Hobbes said resolutely. "... Dory?"

"Of course I'll be there. No guarantees they won't panic, though, once I tell my story."

Hobbes turned to Celestia, concern etched on his face. "They, uh, they aren't going to start a riot are they?"

"Honestly, Sergeant? They've done so over less."

"Greeeat... alright boys, go take it easy. Monitor your radios, if shit goes sideways, be ready to beat feet."

"Roger, sar'nt, standby to standby," quipped Private Clay.





As they left to return to their rooms to wait, Matt walked beside Dory behind the troopers. Neither of them said a word, but Matt could feel that she was still angry at him from yesterday. He waited until the troopers disappeared inside their rooms before saying anything.

"Dory, can we talk about yesterday?" Matt asked as he pulled her aside. "Please?"

She narrowed her eyes as she snapped. "Going to give me a 'poor me' speech? How it's not your fault or something?"

He flinched. That stung. And the worst part was that Matt knew that she knew how much it hurt. "I just... feel like I owe you something more than an apology."

"Oh good. It only took you all night to realize that?"

"No... It's just... Fuck, I dont know. Thinking of the right thing to say sometimes, it's not something I'm good at."

"You managed talking to Celestia pretty well. Can't do more than one a day, huh?"

Matt felt a surge of anger well up. Dory raised an eyebrow, as if challenging him to have another outburst. She knew she was getting under his skin with her comments.

Don't give in, Matt, he thought as he fought to calm himself down. Breathing exercises. That's what the counselor had suggested way back when. Come on, you grew up with three older sisters. This ain't any different, right?

With the red in his vision subsiding as he took several slow breaths, he said hesitantly, "Please, Dory, just hear me out. I know you know this isn't easy for me."

She locked her eyes on his. Even though Matt towered over the changeling, he felt small under the piercing gaze of Dory's feline eyes. It was then Matt understood the amount of power and strength a changeling queen could wield, and his assumption of her not being able to handle the realities of war against the Zerg were dashed.

Finally she relented. "Fine."

Matt had thought long and hard about what he wanted to say. Now that he had the opportunity, he doubted she'd accept his words.

"I... I had assumed you wouldn't be able to handle the knowledge of what the Zerg would do, what they could do."

"You said that already," Dorylus countered.

"There's more to it.. It's because I thought the people here were stupidly naive when it came to things like this. And... I hate to say it, but I extended that to you too."

Dory's eyes tightened. Matt couldn't tell if she was insulted or intrigued by where he was going... But probably both, all things considered.

"Remember when we first met? Who am I kidding, it was like three days ago... When I'd asked if you'd ever been in a fight, you looked like you were going to have a panic attack. I mean hell, you said people here fought actual battles with pies as weapons. But then when we got to Appleloosa and you killed that roach you fucking laughed. And then yesterday you probably saved all of us, and not just me and the guys, probably the town too."

As Dory's gaze softened, he knew he was making some headway. "And that's what I'm sorry about. I was wrong about you. Even if everything I assumed about the rest of the people here is true, it wasn't for you and I made an ass out of myself. For what it's worth, I'm glad I'm wrong."

Matt was, admittedly, disappointed when Dorylus didn't seem to accept it right away. Then again, he probably shouldn't have been surprised. He had essentially admitted to thinking she was a naive idiot.

"And when you dropped that piece of information in front of Celestia anyway?"

Oh, shit, that. Fuck, I didn't think this far ahead... In his panic, Matt failed to see her amused smirk at his reaction.

"Uh... Well... That's on me just being a fucking dumbass."

He had Dory smiling now, at least. "Go on... ?"

He deadpanned at her. Okay, you're enjoying this. "I don't know... You've heard how I talk. Sometimes I get on a roll."

"That's it? 'You were on a roll'?"

"... Celestia was also kinda pissing me off. Brain go no worky a bit when that happens. I mean, yeah, that's no excuse, but... Yeah. I got mad and mentally regressed about a hundred thousand years."

Finally, Matt got a laugh out of the changeling, and felt a weight come off his chest. She does have a cute laugh, actually... Nope! No! Bad, Matt! You're talking to Angie, not the girl at the bar. Right? ... Fuck. Ah, well, this is going about as well as every other time I try talking to girls... Except Dory could rip me in half if she wanted. Then again I've never seen a girl on Mar Sara with anything less than a 10mm on her hip, and she's got a pair of blenders on hers... Why am I looking at her hips? She's not even close to human! FUCK HOW MUCH OF THIS CAN SHE HEAR!?

"Alright," Dory said with a sly smirk, pulling Matt out of his increasingly panicked thoughts. "I'll take it."

"'Take it'?" Take what?

"You were wrong," she said, still smiling devilishly. "And you're an idiot."

Yep. Just like every date I've ever been on.

"And you're still in the doghouse."

Dammit.

... Why am I disappointed?

"For now," she said as she turned and walked away, gently swatting his thigh with her tail.

Yes!

WHY AM I HAPPY!?

As her door closed behind her, Matt glanced around the hallway. The other troopers' doors were cracked open and a single eye was visible in each. When they noticed him looking they slammed shut.

With the exception of Stuart, who swung his wide open yelling, "That's my boy!"

"God dammit, Stu!"





Matt and Dory stood off to the side of the pedestal the Princess' throne sat on. Though not the focus, the eyes of at least a hundred ponies packed into the throne room were on them, most of them journalists and photographers. Matt wondered how much they knew about what was to be addressed in the coming speech, but judging by their apprehensive looks, they probably knew it was nothing good.

And so Matt was grateful Dory was at his side, and that he'd at least done his best to make amends with her. For some reason, he felt at ease with her nearby, though every time he thought about it he felt the same rush of conflicting emotions. It didn't help that she would occasionally lean against him whenever those thoughts came into play.

Celestia and Luna stood side by side atop the platform as they addressed the crowd.

"My little ponies," said Celestia with a somber tone. "No doubt you have all been made aware of the events of the past few days, in particular those regarding Appleloosa. It is with great trepidation that we must inform you of what we have recently learned about the creatures that have invaded our lands, for an invasion it is.

"We have learned the nature of these creatures, courtesy of the Terran arrivals whom you have likely already heard of. They are called the Zerg, and they belong to a vast entity that seeks to consume and devour entire worlds for their own gain. Regretfully, they have made Equestria, nay, all of Equis the target of their next conquest. It is with great sadness that we must admit there will be no peaceful solution, for their rampage will not end until either they or us are extinguished.

"You may have heard mention of a small changeling hive helping defend Appleloosa. This, is Queen Dorylus, the leader of said changelings. As you will hear, the threat posed by the Zerg is not to be taken lightly or ignored, as her hive was the first victim of these vile creatures."

At her cue, Dory stepped forward, standing on the steps in front of the Princesses. Though Matt knew she was tougher than she looked, he knew public speaking was rough on anyone.

"Ponies of Equestria," she began. "I am Dorylus, Queen of the High Desert Changelings. As Princess Celestia stated, our hive was the first to be struck by the Zerg. They were first seen about five days ago, when they killed a patrol in gruesome manner. While we were concerned, we had no way of anticipating what would happen next." Matt saw her gulp as she recalled the memory.

"The following day a swarm of them burst through the walls of our canyon. In a matter of minutes, they tore apart most of the changelings in the hive, and we only succeeded in killing a few of them before they retreated. My... Mother, Queen Formicidae ordered me to travel to Appleloosa, to ensure that the changelings from the hive hiding there were safe. Instead, I turned back, and found the entire hive massacred just a few days later. The Zerg left behind no bodies, changeling or their own, including my mother's." She was trembling as she spoke.

"The Zerg are the greatest threat Equis has ever faced, in this I am certain. There can be no room for us to let petty grudges keep us apart at a time like this. I know that the changelings, especially those of us who didn't follow King Thorax, have not gotten along with the other peoples of Equis, but let me be the first to say here that we must all stand together. Thank you."

The crowd listened, frozen in shock by what they were hearing. Even the sounds of pencil scratches had ceased.

Luna spoke up next, with a bit more levity than the previous two.

"Take heart, ponies of Equestria, for such a fate is not a forgone conclusion. While we face an unprecedented foe, there is still hope on the horizon. You will recall what you have heard of the Terrans, how they bravely and expertly defended the town of Appleloosa at outrageously staggered odds. They have experience fighting these Zerg, and have been sent here to defeat them here. While they are few in number now, what follows them is a nation that spans across tbe stars themselves, ready and willing to fight back the Zerg menace. Here with us is Sergeant Matthew Hobbes, a trooper of the Terran Dominion and appointed by their Emperor to speak on their behalf."

Dory nudged him with her shoulder. She'd returned to his side after she finished, sniffling from her speech. Pulling herself together enough to speak, she simply said, "Good luck."

Matt took a deep breath. Talking in front of crowds was practically his worst nightmare.

Here goes nothing... "Ahem. Hello... everypony. As Princess Luna said, I'm Sergeant Matthew Hobbes. I am a reconnaisance scout trooper of the Terran Dominion. My fellow troopers and I have been tasked with hunting down and destroying the Zerg on this world, and to clear the way for reinforcements to arrive. Right now, there aren't many of us, its just me and my four subordinates, but in three weeks the Dominion will be sending as many of our forces here as possible to purge the Zerg.

He started pacing back and forth in front of the throne. "But I'm going to be honest with you. We can't save everyone. What happened to Queen Dorylus' hive and Appleloosa will be repeated a hundred times over before we arrive in force. Many lives will be lost, and many sacrifices will have to be made. We lost entire worlds and billions of lives to the Zerg before we defeated them, so don't expect it to be any easier here.

"But I'll say this: We, the Terran Dominion will not allow this infestation to persist. My men and I will do everything in our power to stop the Zerg and save as many lives as we can, you have that as my solemn promise. We will use every resource at our disposal, and do whatever we can to ensure that you have the best chance possible at surviving. And when our fleets arrive, we'll send the Zerg running for their lives, and we won't stop chasing them until every last one of them is burning in a mass grave.

"We've been waiting a long time to kill these bastards, and you best believe the wrath of God won't compare to what we'll throw at them."

Then, stupidly, something compelled Matt to say the words:

"Any questions?"

A hundred hooves shot into the air.