//------------------------------// // Fly Like An Eagle Part 1 // Story: The Blue and the Gray // by CoyoteXray //------------------------------// “Your Highness, I really don’t think that this is a good idea,” the young guardspony said as he tried to keep up with the obviously agitated royal, “There is a potential threat up there, and I mean ma’am…you don’t even have a radio. You’ll have no way of communicating with them once you're airborne.” “I know…I know…but there’s no time for that,” Twilight Sparkle answered as she exited the grandstand and moved to the only halfway clear area for what looked like at least two blocks. “Just have somepony give those guys up there some warning and I'm sure this will work out.” Upon reaching her objective, she paused and looked back to Scootaloo, who had followed her closely. “Twilight, are you sure that you know what you’re doing?” Scoot asked, her concern plainly evident, “I mean, with that magic shield up, we’re really not in any actual danger, or at least that’s what everyone’s saying.” “I know Scoot, but I can’t take any chances,” Twilight answered, and gave an exasperated sigh and added, “I have to try and help. I mean, what if this is another invasion? I’m the Princess of Friendship, I’ve got to try and head this off if I can.” Twilight stopped in the middle of the small clearing and took a moment to stretch out her wings as four guard members took up positions needed to keep the crowd back. “Ma’am?” another guardspony asked, “What should we tell the others in the Royal Box?” “Uh…oh my,” Twilight said to herself, and then turned to the questioner and answered, “Tell them I’ll be right back.” And with that, she launched herself into the air, climbing steadily until she reached the perimeter of the shield, and she cast her own spell, surrounding herself in a dark red aura before continuing on up and through the shielding and flying off towards the city. Scootaloo sat back on her haunches and ran an arm through her mane, then looked over to the guard next to her and asked, "Sooo....is somebody going to call this in?" The young unicorn next to her cringed, but gave an uncertain smile, and levitated a small microphone from her saddlebag, depressed the button and said, "Central this is Guard Post 2. Repeat...Central this is Guard Post 2...come in." "Guard Post 2, this is Central...report your status. Is codename Amethyst still at your location?" came the reply. The unicorn looked to the little pegasus next to her, who could only shrug her shoulders, and answered, "Uh...not exactly." The air over Manehatten's western most borough seemed to be buzzing with activity as M.P.D. search parties crisscrossed overhead, ducking and diving around flights of civilians apparently clued into the drama and trying to observe. Dawn Rider could only watch from her perch and shake her head. The whole situation had disaster written all over it. She looked over to where Spitfire was talking on the radio, and tried to listen in. “Guys…yeah o.k…. I understand the concern that this guy may be some sort of threat. He's broken about every rule of flying in an urban area currently on the books. But…work with me here o.k. What if he’s not? Your guys already identified the ship involved, and the captain of that particular clown college. And we’ve already concluded that this guy has way more ego than brains. So maybe…just maybe…this guy isn’t a terrorist. Maybe he’s just a moron." “Captain Spitfire…I’m not prepared right now to debate this with you!” the voice from the speaker declared, “The decision is out of my hands. Without an ability for the police to intervene, a military response is our only option.” “Yeah, I’ll grant you that the situation totally reeks right now,” Spitfire replied, “But even once the R.F.C. catches up to this dork…what’s next? Those guys aren’t exactly known for subtlety. And you said it yourself, there are civilian passengers on that thing, not to mention all those ponies on the ground to think of." Spitfire paused, and then continued, "Listen, you guys said that Princess Twilight is up there somewhere, right? Why can’t she just teleport on board that stupid thing?” “Captain…speaking as a fellow unicorn,” the caller responded, “I have to inform you that teleportation onto a moving object is quite difficult from a stationary position, let alone while flying.” “Yeah, but if any pony can do it…it’s Princess Twilight,” Spitfire answered. She paused, and then added, “But she’s going to need some support up there. Listen, you guys said that my team hasn’t been called off yet right? Would anyone on your end object if I brought them in to give her some backup.” There was silence for a moment, and then a reply, “Captain, my boss here has no objections, as long as they stay clear of the cops and those pursuits.” “Acknowledged Manehatten A.T.C.” Spitfire answered, and then set the microphone down and began adjusting the frequency. As she did so, she looked back for a moment and saw Dawn sitting a few feet away, her eyes towards the skyline and a look of resignation on her face. “Hey!” Spitfire called to her friend, “Don’t think you’re off the hook just yet. I’m still going to make a hero out of you…you can bet your ass on it.” She then turned back to the radio set, and added, “I just hope this thing’s got the range we need,” as she finally got to the setting she needed and reached for the microphone, pressed the switch with her other hoof, and called out “Blue Leader…Blue Leader...this is Whisky Bravo Xray! Repeat this is Whisky Bravo Xray! Come in Blue Leader...over!” The morning had looked promising from the get-go, Rainbow thought, as she surveyed the crystal-clear blue sky and the slight chill of temps starting out around 65 degrees. ‘The weather ponies really out did themselves today’, she thought, and it seemed that nothing had changed as the morning went on other than the temps as she and the team suited up and went through their preflight briefings. And now, here she was flying along with the team in line abreast formation over the borough of Trotbeca as the team made its way towards the harbor. She guessed from the appearance of things that they were cruising at about 2,000 feet in altitude, already putting out their customary smoke trails while more ponies than she could ever hope to count watched and waved from the various rooftops along the way. It was a perfect day for an airshow. “Blue Flight…Blue Flight…this is Blue Leader!” came a sudden call into her earpiece, “Trails fall into line with your leaders and stand by for new orders!” The unexpected call put Rainbow Dash on an even higher state of alert than usual, and she couldn’t help but feel her gut tighten a bit when she glanced over her shoulder and saw Vapor fall back into position behind her. ‘Of all the times to break up the Vapor/Sting combo’, she thought. “Alright Wonderbolts,” the voice of Misty Fly continued, “We’ve got an emergency here! We’ve got unauthorized traffic heading towards show center! They can’t contact this guy and they're worried enough about it that they’ve called in the R.F.C. to intercept! Princess Twilight is trying to intervene, but she’s up all by herself and with no commo! Our job is to locate the princess and provide whatever support she needs! Do not interfere with the pursuits! Do not interfere with the cops! Leaders sound off and report readiness!?!” “Got it boss,” High Winds answered, “Were ready!” came the voice of Fire Streak. Rainbow took a second to confirm Vapor’s position, and then called out, “Roger that boss.” “Alright everyone, let's do this!” Misty answered, “And let’s make sure we fly smart everypony! All pairs...prepare to break formation…in three…two…one…BREAK!” And with that call, and formation dispersed, one to the left, one higher, one lower while Rainbow and Vapor peeled off to the right. Dawn paced back and forth across the ridge of the roofline, looking up periodically to note the local air traffic. She saw a flight of Wonderbolts at one point, but it only lasted a moment as they passed by and went on their way. “Hey, look at this,” came a call from behind her, and she turned quickly and shaded her eyes as she concentrated on the passing scene. It was instantly recognizable as R.F.C. flyers, the two-tone grey being unmistakable even at a distance. “Whoa?” Fast Clip said as the pair passed overhead, “Did you see that flash as they passed? And what the heck do they have on their backs?” Dawn looked over to Spitfire, who nodded to her and then turned to Fast and replied, “The flash is from their wingsabers. They use them in close quarter fights. The bigger problem here is the weapon pods that their carrying. Those things are designed to take down dragons if needed.” Fast Clip's eyes went wide. “How the heck would that work?” Fast questioned. Overhearing the conversation, Dawn sighed and moved over to join the others, and answered, “Have you ever heard of a weapon called canister shot?” Fast Clip’s ears drooped, and he nodded. “Well, it’s basically the same thing, fired from those pods on their backs,” Dawn continued, “If they use those things against that zeppelin’s envelope, they’ll tear the damn thing to shreds, and that airship will come down like a ton of bricks.” "Damn," Fast Clip answered, "I never knew we had stuff like that." Dawn smiled. "No reason that you would actually," she answered, "They don't use them much. Heck, they didn't even have them for the initial encounter with the Storm King, which as you can imagine didn't give them a lot of options when they finally encountered his fleet." Spitfire waved to Dawn and gestured to her to move to the sidelines. Dawn moved over to where Spit had gone and came up close to her. "So wing commander," Spitfire said to her friend, "What's your reading on this situation from a tactical standpoint?" Dawn pursed her lips and answered, "This whole thing looks like train wreck in the making. And if they turn those weapons against that ship in the middle of a crowded street, and it goes total fubar as I expect it will, the least that will happen is that there won't be a R.F.C. when this all shakes out." "Yeah," Spitfire replied, "That was my conclusion too." She took a step back and looked upward at the skyline and added, "All due respect to Princess Twilight, what we need right now, I think, is someone up there who can coordinate this whole thing and keep some hotshot squadron leader from doing something rash. Some pony who can actually talk to those those flyers up there in a language that they can understand..." she paused, and then added, "...some senior officer." Spit turned towards her friend. She couldn't help but notice that her friend's eyes had gone wide, and she looked a bit smaller all of a sudden...like the weight of the world had suddenly landed on her back. She smiled, and asked, "So... how's your sense of adventure?" Dawn closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, and replied, "I think that I left it in my other suit." Spitfire scowled, and answered, "Well, that's a nice glass half empty approach to the whole thing." She turned and approached her friend and continued, "The use of force here isn't set in stone...right? There are still options here...right? The question here is whether some hot shot flight leader up there is going to look for alternatives, or just take the expedient route. That's why you call in the senior leadership." "Oh great," Dawn answered, clearly annoyed, "So what do you suggest exactly?" "I don't know," Spitfire answered, "I mean really...you're asking me? Is this coming from the queen of improvisation herself? Come on Dawn," Spitfire continued as she came up to her friend's side, "You're forgetting that I've seen how you work. Disaster is not preordained here. You're forgetting that you're going to have the advantage in numbers, and with Twilight up there, you'll have some magical firepower. This guy is determined, but it seems clear to me at least that he isn't very bright. Maybe we can outsmart him. I mean really, it's just like your favorite old saying, "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance..."" Dawn closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and then answered, ".... baffle them with bullshit." She turned and walked a few feet away, her mind obviously trying to wrap itself around the problem. She paused for a moment, and then turned and said to Spitfire, "O.k. coach, put me in." "Now you're talking," Spitfire answered with a smile, and then turned to get back on the radio.