The next few months passed without incident; the Russian and Chinese reps had left during that first night, followed by the Griffon Ambassador at the end of the week, after all the excitement I took the time to learn my job and the layout of the castle properly. Raven and I had a lot of fun reviewing documents and bantering back and forth. I had a few fascinating one on one conversations with Luna. The mare was really funny once you got past her fire-breathing exterior, and I never tired of listening to her stories of the Equestria long since past. Celestia turned out to be less Goddess and more normal mare with a biting sense of humor; evenings would find the three of us in Celestia's office, sharing a drink and swapping stories. The other side of life came into play when my presence was requested at State to meet with and brief the new Ambo.

I swiped my creds at the airlock door, waved to the security contractor working the desk, and made my way up to the seventh floor. Ambassador Christina Reed was said to be hell on wheels, but hey, you had to be in the world of politics. I just hoped she wouldn't be as much of an asshole as Ted. I stepped off the elevator and turned the corner, the Ambo's office ahead of me.

"Andrews!"

I knew that voice, "Scotty!"

He walked up, clapping a hand on my shoulder, "How ya been brother?"

"It's been real bud, working for the EQ's has been eye-opening, I'm having a great time with it, man. Plus, I get to stay here permanently. Win-win."

Scotty smiled at me, "I'm thrilled to hear it, man." He lowered his voice, "For real, though, is the Royal ass as good up close as it looks from far away?"

For some reason I couldn't place, I felt a little pissed, almost offended on Celestia's behalf. It must have shown on my face.

"Hey, easy man, just joking."

"I'm sorry Scott, I know that I don't know what the hell that was, it's just that after working so closely with her, even though it's only been a little while, she just doesn't seem like the kinda mare you talk about like that. Almost feels sacrilegious."

Scott just stared.

"Yeah, I Can't believe that shit just came out of my mouth. Yes, the Royal booty is fantastic, both of them, if we're honest."

Scott smiled, "There he is. Thought you were going native on me for a second. Gotta jet man, Ambo is waiting on you in her office, good luck."

As Scotty walked off, I struggled with the fact that I actually meant what I'd said all the way to the office door—offering a quick knock.

"Come in."

There she stood, blonde hair, blue eyes, and an incredible figure for a woman pushing fifty. I almost bowed before catching myself. "Ambassador Reed, it's an honor to meet you, I hear nothing but good things."

A smile appeared on her ruby-red lips, "Bullshit Mr. Andrews. I've heard the rumors and fire-breathing bitch tops the list."

I laughed, deciding to test the waters. "Fire-breathing cunt actually, but I'll reserve judgment ma'am."

She chuckled, indicating the chair across from her as she sat, "Good to hear, so I hear you're here to brief me on your efforts in the palace?"

"I am Madam Ambassador, whenever you're ready."

"Christina."

"Come again?"

"Call me Christina, I've never been one for formalities, and I imagine you aren't either, given your track record."

Well this sounds familiar

I smiled, "You've got me there, Christina. Call me Zack."

She leaned back in her chair, "Very well, Zack, what can you tell me?"

I filled her in on the comings and goings, juggling what little I knew with what she needed to know. When we got to the Chang and Ivanov, she perked up. "What's your read on them?"

I could feel myself grimace, "Honestly? I know for a fact they're spooky, no one else would be trusted by the Reds to follow the Ambo that closely, plus there's an air about them that you just can't miss."

She nodded, looking less than thrilled. "What do you think their intentions are? "

"Being blunt? I think we should brace for some issues in the future. They were all over the idea of bringing Marx to Ponykind. Celestia shot them down hard, but these aren't the types to give up easy."

Her eyebrow quirked at how I referred to the Princess, "Celestia, huh? You guys getting close?"

I shook my head, "She just has the same ideas on formalities that you do, ma'am."

"Good, if we were anywhere else I'd tell you to maintain distance, but the EQ's have done more for the US than any statesman in the last seventy years, plus my husband is a Pony, so I'm a touch biased. Work for them, befriend them, fuck 'em for all I care. As long as you keep on doing what you're doing, we'll have zero issues."

I laughed, "Yes, Ma'am."

I loved this woman already.

An hour later, I slid the key in the lock, ready for a weekend of doing nothing. But no sooner had I stepped across the threshold than my phone went off, "Hello?"

"Hey Kid, you busy?"

I shifted the phone to my other ear. "For you, Frank? Never too busy, brother. What's up?"

"Just wanted to let you know that the threads are starting to lead places, be careful out there."

"Like that, huh?"

"Yeah, it seems our friends have some ambitions. We're working on it."

I grimaced, "Ambitions, yeah, I got that impression. Why don't we meet up for drinks tomorrow night and I'll fill you in."

"That's a plan; stay outta trouble, kid."

'You too old man, have a good night."

I tossed my jacket on the rack and lit a smoke, a sinking feeling in my chest told me that things were going to get very interesting in Equestria, for good or ill. I grabbed a sandwich and turned on the TV; Frank wasn't kidding. Russia and China had called for an increased presence in Equestria and were demanding the Princesses respond; things were getting heated. I was wondering how Celestia was gonna feel about this bullshit when across the room my work phone vibrated, I made it over and picked it up on what had to be the last ring.

"Andrews."

"Zack?"

I straightened unconsciously, "Celestia? What's going on? Everything okay?"

I could feel her hesitation, "I need your advice, and I need it in person. I'm so very sorry about the late hour."

I didn't even have to think about it. "On my way."

A few minutes later, I hustled down Solar hall, I flagged down a guard on my way, noting his stripes. "Sergeant, I'm here to see Princess Celestia, is she in her office."

When he spoke, it was with an almost Irish accent, "No, Mr. Andrews, sure at this hour you'll be finding her Highness in her chambers. End of the hall, bang a right."

"Thanks, Sarge. Have a safe one."

"Cheers."

It took me a moment of walking before I realized I'd be in Celestia's bedroom shortly.

Don't even go there and keep your fucking eyes above the baseline cowboy.

I kept walking, shaking off those thoughts, and found myself in front of what looked to be a set of solid gold doors, A sun adorning each one and a pair of Pegasi Guards flanking them.

"Halt, state your business." One of them snapped, her hand inching toward her wasp-waisted short sword.

"Here at the request of her Highness."

She turned on her heel, knocking softly and sticking her head inside Celestia's room as her partner kept an eye on me, after a moment she looked over her shoulder. "Her Highness will see you."

"Thank you." She stepped aside, and I walked into the room, feeling more than a little trepidation for reasons I couldn't quite place. Celestia was sitting at a small table net to the window, her hair in a thick braid, a white dressing gown hugging her figure and flowing down to her ankles. She looked deep in thought, those big beautiful eyes focused on a distant star, swirling some deep red liquid in a long-stemmed glass as moonlight silhouetted her. The whole scene was ethereal, and it damn near took my breath away.

Lord have mercy.

My mouth was dry as I tried to speak, "You called Princess?"

She looked over at me, a soft smile blossoming on her face, "And You came."

I returned her smile, holding her gaze for a little longer than what could strictly be considered appropriate, before clearing my throat and finding an interesting spot on the wall behind her. I knew the honeyed way she said that couldn't have been deliberate. Shit like that just didn't happen. "It um, it sounded pretty urgent on the phone. Has something happened?"

She kept smiling that same smile as she stood and poured some more of that unidentified liquid into another glass. Crossing the room, the picture of grace, she offered me the drink. Her expression shifted as she moved, and I could see she was grappling with something. "I need to speak with you regarding recent happenings, namely the Russian-Sino alliance and their demands of my sister and I. I need a Human perspective, and I trust you to speak frankly about the matter."

"I'll do my best" I accepted the glass from her outstretched hand, taking a sip, it was intense but smooth. "They're trying to paint you into a corner."

"And make me the unreasonable one in the equation, yes, I surmised as much. I'm most concerned with their history. How far are they willing to go? In your experience, knowing what you do, how do I refuse them without provoking war?" She regarded me over her glass, hope, and worry in her eyes. I couldn't believe she trusted me like this, but it hit me, she believed in me, all of the compliments she'd paid me, those weren't just empty words—time to deliver.

"I don't believe you can, Celestia. Men like them? They made up their minds the second the portal was opened; they want this world for themselves. I'm just the finance guy, but even I know that evil, real evil, knows no bounds. It will consume and keep consuming unless someone is there to stop it. That much is true no matter the world beneath our feet, or hooves I suppose."

Her eyes changed, sadness crept into the edges, and I hated every second of it. "Then it will be war, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not even a year from now, but I will not compromise my nation in the face of threats. Luna said much the same thing; you two are more alike than I think she would be comfortable admitting."

"A noble sentiment, I expected nothing less from you. I can talk to my people, make sure they know what the score is. The US and our allies will stand behind you for no reason other than they want their piece of the pie, but somewhere under all that; it will be because it's the right thing to do; we haven't fallen so far that forgot what right and wrong is."

She relaxed a little, "Thank you, for both your counsel and your support. I knew I was right about you from that first night in the Embassy. You have not let me down yet."

I finished up the last of the booze in my glass, "And I won't."

A real smile came to her face, chasing away the worry, "I don't doubt that Zack. Thank you for coming down, I should try and get some rest, tomorrow will be an auspicious day in the history of my country."

I nodded, "I'll be right there if you need me."

She nodded in turn, "I may very well." She slipped her hand into mine, and I almost swallowed my tongue, until I realized she was palming me a key. "The guards can direct you to the guest room; I would feel awful if you had to walk home at such an hour." She finished on a whisper and did nothing to lower my body temperature. I realized then how close she was, and it got a little hard to breathe.

"Thank you, Celestia, I suppose I'll see you in the morning?"

She stepped back and smiled as we walked to her door, "I would ask you to join me for breakfast if you don't have anything pressing?"

"Of course, sounds great."

Her smile brightened, "Very well. Goodnight, Zack."

I stepped into the hallway. "Goodnight, Celestia."

A quick conversation with the Guards later, and I found myself in a room that could only be described as opulent. The bed was bigger than a bed had any right to be, and there were precisely four-thousand pillows. I shucked off my clothes and climbed in, trying to get my heart rate under control and failing miserably, those eyes were all I could see, and when I finally fell asleep, I dreamt of the Sun.

I awoke to a gentle knock on the door, "Mr. Andrews?" Came a soft female voice from out in the hall.

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, "Yes?"

"Breakfast will be served in fifteen minutes."

I got dressed in record time, my t-shirt and jeans would have to do, kind of underdressed to be dining with royalty, but she had insisted, and mom said never disappoint a lady. I popped out the door a moment later. A shorter light coated Unicorn in a maid uniform stood there, her blue eyes regarding me expectantly, "Ready sir?"

"I am. Call me Zack. Mr. Andrews makes me feel old."

She smiled as we started down the hall, "Very well, Zack, I'm Comet."

"A pleasure, Comet."

The rest of the walk was spent in comfortable silence. Equestrians were like that; they always knew how to make you feel welcome without saying much. We finally made our way into a massive dining hall, adorned with an equally large table. Celestia was already waiting, thumbing through her morning briefs as we entered. Her eyes brightening and a smile crossing her lips. "Zack! I hope you slept well. Comet? Thank you for showing our guest the way."

Comet bowed, "A pleasure your Highness, by your leave." Celestia nodded, and the little Unicorn headed off to her duties.

I took a seat a few chairs down from Celestia, doing my best not to stare, even first thing in the morning she was radiant. "I slept like a log Princess, thank you for the room."

"No, thank you for the counsel, I spoke with Luna; briefly, she agrees with your assertions, and we have drafted a rebuttal that I believe will keep the bad actors on the other side of the ocean at bay."

Now she had my attention, "How so?"

"We will agree to a non-aggression pact; no territory will be ceded, no new embassies built. The diplomatic outposts will have to suffice, for the time being, a price paid for their presumption. We will revisit the treaty within a year's time. The language is dry, but it favors them heavily if they comply with it."

I raised an eyebrow, "Pardon me, but that sounds a lot like giving them what they want, just down the road."

"On the contrary, it incentivizes them to play nice; I have no intention of bowing to naked aggression, as I said last night."

It clicked, "So you're going to ward them off and buy time, see what they do in the interim, and probably get your military ready for a scrap if and when it comes down to it?"

She winked at me, "State secrets."

I was about to speak when a chef entered, pushing a cart overflowing with fruits, veggies, and eggs, I even saw bacon.

"Breakfast is served Highness."

I regarded the Goddess across from me, currently buttering her toast, a small smile never leaving her face, she was adept at this game, a night's deliberation, and she had the Reds by the balls. As I dug in, I realized the gravity of my friendship with both her and Luna and just how lucky that made me. After that massive spread (there was bacon) Celestia excused herself to get ready for her public response to the Reds, I made my way back to the apartment to shower, Celestia assuring me that I didn't need to be present, quite frankly that level of exposure wasn't something I needed. But I was going to scope it out on TV; I wanted to see her politely hand them their ass.

I wrestled with more than a few conflicting thoughts on my way home, Celestia was the dominant factor. I had an ideal when it came to women, classy, elegant and well-spoken were my kryptonite, and she ticked all those boxes, add in her personality and the fact that she could turn on sensuality like most people flipped a light switch and make it look effortless as evidenced by last night. I'd been attracted to her physically since day one, and now these feelings were adding a layer that I wasn't ready to deal with. So I turned it off, shoved it deep inside, along with all the other things I couldn't handle.

Besides, there's no way those feelings would ever be returned; she was an immortal goddess; I was a broken down finance major with one good eye. The closer I got to my apartment, the better I felt, I just needed to forget about her and focus on the bigger picture. Part of which was standing outside my building, pulling up his coat against the fall air.

"Hey, Frank."

"Hey Kid, how's tricks?"

I shrugged, "Same old same, just getting back from the castle."

"Yeah, I know, keeping your head on straight?"

"You know my grandmother lived to be ninety-eight? Wanna know what her secret was?"

"Hmm?"

"She minded her own fucking business."

Frank burst out laughing; it was an old joke between the two of us. "Fair enough, listen, this isn't a social call, take a walk with me."

I lit up another smoke, and we started towards the park. "What's up?"

"Well, we know about Celestia's little rendezvous with a certain someone, for starters. Care to fill in the blanks?"

"You had me followed? Dirty pool Frank."

"Only to keep you, safe kid, things are rough out here on the street."

"Yeah, I can't say I blame you. She's gonna tell the Reds to suck it."

"Your idea?"

"Nah, hers, she doesn't want their kind of ideology anywhere near Equestria."

"Smart woman, but then again, she's been at this for a very long time,"

"Yeah. She sure is. Either way, bud? I think there's gonna be a fight."

"The winds are certainly blowing that way, kid, listen, I know it might suck to hear, but I have a message from Ms. Daisy Fields."

I froze in my tracks, a whole slew of emotions running through me at once," Y-yeah?"

"Yeah, she wanted me to tell you she's sorry, whatever the fuck that's worth."

I flicked my smoke onto the sidewalk, "That and twenty-five cents will get you a quarter."

"I figure as much; I've gotta head out, head on a swivel yeah?"

"Always."

The walk back to my apartment was full of introspection. This place that I'd grown to love was on the cusp of something ugly, a storm was coming, and we'd all have to hang on tight to be still standing when it ended.

I was so far in my head that I didn't notice the tail until I was right up on my door.

Two guys in a black sedan about a block in the back of me, tinted windows so I couldn't see their faces, another car was headed toward me, this one a red panel van. I walked right past the apartment, keeping my pace steady despite my racing heart, and cut down an alley breaking into a full sprint. Squealing tires followed me as I vaulted over a low fence, and kept running if I could get to a public place, the snatch wouldn't go down. I pulled out my phone and frantically punched in Frank's number.

"Hey kid, what's up?"

I answered in between labored breaths, "Heading North on Cherry street, two guys, black sedan, tags 1367 Bravo, Red panel van, unknown tags, no idea on how many guys. It looks like a snatch; I'm headed to the Embassy. But I might not make it."

Frank didn't panic, ever. But concern edged into his voice, "Standby." I heard him set the phone down, a moment passed, and he started talking to someone that wasn't me. "My State guy has contact, being followed by two or more possible Vics, get Chili, Speck or Nitrate rolling immediately. He's about a mile and a half from Embassy Boulevard, heading North." There was some rattling on the line as I kept running, "Still with me, kid?"

"I'm *huff* all ears Frank!"

"Help is on the way."

"Got it!" Fuck was this alley ever going to end? I felt like I was going to pass out.

“Не отпускай его!”

On second thought, I could probably keep going.

I burst out of the alley, Ponies on both sides of the street giving me odd looks, I glanced over my shoulder to see five guys in hot pursuit. I still had about sixteen blocks to the Embassy.

Push.

I ran like my life depended on it (it did). The Russians never wavered, they wanted me bad it seemed, maybe leverage against Celestia? I pushed past and through crowds of Ponies, ignoring their angry shouts. I chanced a look back; the bad guys were gaining on me with every passing second.

Not gonna make it.

Around the eighth block, a white beater of a vehicle shot out of a side street and screeched to a halt in front of me, I bounced off the hood and rolled onto the blacktop. While I was shaking it off, three big bearded guys piled out, from the tell-tale bulges along with the muzzle of an MK18 poking out from the bottom of one's jacket, I could tell that these guys were not out for a Sunday drive. Everything stopped at once, the Russians skidding to a stop twenty feet in back of me, the newcomers staring them down, and little old me caught in the middle. Nobody blinked, nobody breathed as the two armed groups gave each other the death glare. Finally, one of the newcomers spoke.

"Hey, Zack."

I smiled from the ground, I was safe. "Hey, Scotty."

He never took his eyes off the livid looking Russians. "Best get in the rig, bud."

One of Frank's guys moved away from cover and offered a hand, which I gladly accepted, and he pulled me to my feet and hustled me into the back seat of the nineteen eighty-two shitbox. Scotty gave the Russians the finger and slid into the passenger seat, the driver hopped in, and we were off.

Well, it appears things have taken a turn.

Author's Notes:

What do you think the Russian's had in mind? Probably a car-battery and a wire hangar (yeesh). TIll next time!

Translation:
Не отпускай его!-Don't let him go!