The Combat Air Guard was a new concept, implemented only with the arrival of a vessel from which pegasi could launch and support. Thankfully, the CAG was not required to actually fly alongside the ship as escort ships or squads usually were. Their job, as it turned out, was to sit on the deck, watch the night crews work, and scan the skies for dragons. If the lizards showed up, they would be the first to jump, and would have to hold the line for however long it took the rest of the squad to arrive.
Comet Shimmer hummed as liquid warmth entered her belly. She had managed a few hours of sleep, and early mornings were nothing new to the chiroptequus, but being roused at 3am to sit on deck was not the highlight of her day. She, Moon Beam, Lily Nimbus, and Willow Wisp all hovered out of bed, armor still on, and crept out when the second CAG had similarly slipped in and woken them. Tin mugs of coffee had been waiting for them, a small blessing against the bitter wind.
"It's August," Willow Wisp muttered, "which means it's only going to get colder."
"Buck that," Moon Beam groaned. Dragon free clouds had been racing by for the past two hours. They spent the time making small talk with the night shift, learning more about the Adamant. Night Light had been pretty thorough about the vessel before, and they knew some of the rigging and operation from training, but it was a marvel to watch unicorns do it. Ropes seemed to come alive and weave themselves into intricate knots that refused to break until they wanted them to. By the end of their drills, their fake ship had run like a well oiled machine, but with unicorn magic and earth pony dexterity, it became a living creature.
Comet stole a long glance at the deep purple balloon above them. She imagined a whale must swim the same way they were flying: peaceful, lazily drifting, almost moving along through presence alone rather than effort. She had never minded flying, and really found it quite comfortable and convenient compared to her land-bound kin, but this was a new level of luxury. If only one could be made entirely of cloud, it would be the greatest creation in history.
"I'm not going to complain about a peaceful night," Comet said simply.
"Nah, but I will complain about a cold one," Willow Wisp grumbled over his mug. The team had found, to their relief, that their breastplates, backplates, and helmets were partially insulated. The crew were all decked in warm jackets to protect from windy nights on deck, but nopony had thought to give the CAG the same. Most of their fur was still exposed, and they did not dare ask for blankets. It seemed to them that the crew already thought of them as children.
"You really think so?" Comet asked after a hushed conversation on the matter.
"I'd say so," Moon Beam said, "given how we've been treated."
"What, being talked down to? Half the ponies here outrank us, Beam," Lily pointed out. "It'd be weird if they didn't."
"Well what about all the laughing?"
"Moon Beam, you were laughing right along with them," Wisp deadpanned.
The snowfall blue filly's eyes widened as if discovering a life changing epiphone. "Oh... oh yeah!" Willow Wisp groaned into his coffee.
Comet swirled her brew. "I think we're just outsiders. These ponies all trained together. This is their ship. They know each other the same way we know each other, and we didn't jump at the chance of meeting new ponies either." The others nodded. "If we're going to spend a lot of time on this ship, I imagine that will change."
"Until then," Lily raised her mug, "to CAG number 3, the coldest CAG yet." Tin mugs tinked off of each other, and the group fell to silence. Not even a dragon shaped cloud appeared that night.
~*~
Dawn painted the skies in delicate pastels as the crew of the Adamant rose from their slumber. The CAG stole a quick shower by jumping through a cloud that rolled close to the starboard bow. The water was bitter cold, but it did the trick.
It would have to, as they were immediately rounded up with the rest of the company. Cyclone Company looked fine in their new suits, almost like game pieces rather than soldiers. Rainbow Blaze gave them a once over and snorted. "Nice work on your first CAG rounds, kiddies. We're short staffed for now, so we're going to have to pull day shifts on top of night shifts. Captain Candescence has seen fit to relieve you of most of your duties because of this, so I don't want to hear any belly aching." He motioned them close and dropped his voice to a whisper. "You're basically getting out of duties to sit around all day, so try to look miserable, ok?" And then he was back to officer mode. "Same teams for today, we'll switch it up tonight. First CAG, you're up. The rest of you, get some breakfast and see about your duties." The ponies saluted and departed for the galley.
"You think this is going to be it?" Moon Fang asked. "We sit around on a ship and watch for dragons until the war's over?"
"As long as we're sitting in Dodge with buck all to do, yeah," Drifter snorted. Comet, for one, did not mind the prospect. They would be bored, no doubt, but a war spent idle was hardly the worst she could hope for.
The scent of warm oatmeal wafted through the galley. Cubes of dried apple and mixed berries swam in rich, brown soup. Earth ponies certainly had a magic of their own. Comet devoured her helping and was eager for more.
"Um, hey," she poked the unicorn behind her, "are there rules on second helpings?"
"If everypony's got theirs, you can get one more. The cooks hold some back for the crew on deck, so no worries there."
"Thanks." She extended a hoof. "Comet Shimmer."
"Crushed Satin." He shook her hoof. The filly took her tray, stood, and winked at Willow. He shrugged like it was nothing. The line, as it turned out, was anything but done, and it took her ten minutes to return to her seat. The others were all ready to leave by the time she sat, and the filly had to pour the contents into her mouth.
"Careful, Egghead. We don't need Chunks #2." The filly slowed, but the clock only allowed so much. The last thing she wanted was to miss her rounds and get a reputation so early. But the oatmeal wasn't disappearing fast enough. With a sigh, she turned around.
"Hey, Satin, you want any more?" The unicorn eyed her bowl.
"Dunno, are you sick with anything?"
"If I am, we're stuck on a ship together for ten more days anyway." He nodded and accepted the bowl with a magic glow. Comet washed her mouth with a swig of coffee and flew over to her squad.
"So elegant," Lily mocked. She pointed at her own mouth, and the indigo filly hurriedly wiped her muzzle clean. Their armor rattled against itself as they clambered to the duty roster. Each CAG had their watch period, two assignments, and the rest of the day was theirs. For Third CAG, they were stuck on-
“Deck cleaning,” Moon Beam deadpanned.
“Right now.” A low groan formed in Comet’s throat and refused to leave. Right next to her, Willow was letting out the same irritated noise. It wasn’t that they were cleaning, it was that they were cleaning on five hours of sleep, and after a three hour watch. Without a word, they trudged up to the top deck. A lieutenant pointed them to their cleaning equipment, and the next few hours were spent scrubbing the top deck from end to end.
At least they were able to mentally shut down for the chore; so long as they were aware enough to not run into anypony, they could practically sleep standing up. CAG 2 had been saddled with weapon station supply, and periodically Comet spotted one of them hauling spears up for the ballistae. She hoped it was just to familiarize them with the system, as a pegasus could only haul one spear at a time while a unicorn could levitate two or three. Unless every unicorn crewmember was busy, which they weren’t, it was just inefficient.
“Hey Moon Beam!” Lily called from the port bow. The blue filly was half way up the ship, but turned at her name. “What do you do with a drunken flier?” The pink filly started tapping her hoof.
“For Celestia’s sake, please, no,” Willow Wisp grumbled, but it was to no avail.
“What do you do with a drunken flier?” Moon Beam asked back.
“What do you do with a drunken flier, early in the morning?” Lily responded. Moon Beam caught on. Despite herself, Comet started scrubbing to the beat of the tune.
What do you do with a drunken flier?
What do you do with a drunken flier?
What do you do with a drunken flier
Early in the morning?
Pin him to a cloud until he’s sober.
Pin him to a cloud until he’s sober?
Pin him to a cloud until he’s sober
Early in the morning!
Weigh heigh, and up she rises
Weigh heigh, and up she rises
Weigh heigh, and up she rises
Early in the morning!
The deck crew had never heard an Air Guard version of a shanty, but shanties, by nature, are easy to grasp.
Pluck his feathers with some squeaky tweezers.
Pluck his feathers with some squeaky tweezers?
Pluck his feathers with some squeaky tweezers
Early in the morning!
Despite Willow’s pleading glare, Comet had to join.
Dunk him in a tuft of freezing nimbus.
Dunk him in a tuft of freezing nimbus?
Dunk him in a tuft of freezing nimbus
Early in the morning!
By this point, the entire deck crew was belting out the tune from bow to stern. Whenever a verse ended, somepony was quick on the draw for the next. Ropes were tied, spears were set, boards were scrubbed, all to the steady beat of the stupidest song anypony had heard since last night.
Put him in bed with the captain’s daughter.
Put him in bed with the captain’s daughter?
put him in bed with-
“Captain on deck!” Nothing kills the mood like singing about the captain’s daughter in front of the captain. Candescence looked up and down the deck, her jaw set and her eyes cold. One would think her crew consisted of naught but scared puppies from how their tails hid between their legs.
“You certainly could, but I think he’d be in for a hell of a surprise.” She turned around. “And I’d wonder where my son found a dress that fits him. Carry on.” The entire deck stood in stunned silence long after she had returned to her quarters. As if waiting for the pin to drop, everypony burst into knee buckling laughter. It took a long while for any of them to actually manage an ounce of work again. Once they had, though, the crew kicked right back into work and song, though a few times the words “dandy stallion” replaced “drunken sailor.”
~*~
Without her armor, Comet Shimmer felt light enough to float away. But that was the last thing she wanted as she hovered from yardarm to yardarm to inspect the lines for wear. The Adamant was so new that not a single dowel, line, board, or bolt needed replacement, but it never hurt to check anyway. Unfortunately, this was a task delegated to the winged crew nine times out of nine. The tenth stood ten yards down, overseeing their work.
Misty Morning, a seafoam green unicorn with hair like a lagoon, stood poised on the yardarm as if she were waiting in line for her coffee. Her hooves were in single file, balanced underneath her with no margin for error, yet the blustery winds so far out from the ship should have toppled her ages ago. Only a rope tied around her barrel prevented her imminent demise.
“Something wrong, Airpony?” The unicorn made her way over to where the chiroptequus was working.
“Nothing, Ma’am, just lost in thought.”
“Well, careful with that. Lose track of the wind and you’ll be lost in our wake. You lot, how do things look on your ends?” The others waved the OK. “Alright, let’s get back. Shouldn’t be much longer before lunch, and I want to claim a seat in the lounge before that.”
“Can you claim a seat and not be there?”
“Oh no, that would be unfair. Ensign Trade Jack grabs the food, I grab the seats. It’s an amicable arrangement.” Misty Morning trotted back across the yardarm as if completely oblivious to the four thousand feet between her and the ground.
“Lieutenant, I was wondering,” Comet said as she hovered alongside the unicorn, “how do you not, you know… fall to your death out here?”
“Magic.” Misty waved her hoof in a wide arc and kept walking. “No, really, we’re almost always casting magic up here in small doses, we unicorns. It’s how we adjust for the roll of the ship. You guys are so used to flying, you probably don’t even know what you do-”
“Flitting of the wings and ears to adjust air pressure and read currents.” Comet smiled at her overseer. Now that she knew about it, Comet noticed a faint glow coming from the unicorn's horn. “I read a lot.” The unicorn harumphed with a smile and stepped onto the deck.
“Fine, smartass."
~*~
One pony at a time, Cyclone Company worked their way into the crew. They found singing helped a great deal, particularly during rounds. Their days were spent on watch, helping maintain the ship, or sneaking naps. The nights were almost identical, save for the absence of chores and the loss of roughly thirty degrees.
As the CAGs shivered their tails off on the third night, solace only available in their tin mugs of coffee, the unicorn night shift finally offered an olive branch in the form of blankets. Comet Shimmer, Moon Fang, Sparky Bolts, and Sun Ray hovered up onto the top deck to find the first CAG sitting cozy.
"Deck's all yours, kids." Rainbow Blaze stretched his neck and wings and headed for the stairs. "Looks like another quiet night. You know the drill. See you in the morning." The ponies wrapped themselves up in the blankets and poured each other coffee. They had to admit, it was far better than their first few rounds.
"Well aren't you lot sitting like a bunch of nobles." Night Light took a seat beside the CAG. Moon Fang poured him a mug. "Thanks. Where'd you get the blankets?"
"The crew shift gave them to CAG One." Sun Ray shifted under hers. "It's like night and day against this wind."
"Speaking of gifts, Sir," Comet grabbed something under her blanket, "I have something for you." She pulled out a dark green bottle and offered it to the cobalt unicorn.
"Well I'll be a manticore's cousin, you actually brought some. Thank you much." He immediately uncorked the bottle and put it to his lips. "Tastes like home. You know they make this just south of Canterlot? They'd serve it constantly up at the palace, and the kitchen staff would sneak us guardponies bottles pretty often."
"Sounds like a fun job," Moon Fang grinned.
"It was. Don't get me wrong, the Royal Guard takes its job very seriously. But there's really not much to do. Patrol the halls, patrol the streets sometimes, escort the princess when she goes places, and count the armor suits in the castle. Four hundred seventy six, by the way."
"So that's why you transferred?"
"Yep."
"You regret it?"
Night Light took another drink from his wine bottle. "Not yet." He offered them each a drink. Even with the aftertaste of the coffee, it was indeed a fine beverage.
~*~
Shortly after noon of the tenth day, the rolling plains and tufts of forest gave way to rocky crags and open expanses of dirt, sand, and coarse shrubbery. A broad canyon marked the northern border of Dodge Province. Mostly arid terrain, Dodge was one of Equestria's larger holdings, reaching all the way to the badlands in the far south. Dodge Junction, a train station and little else, was poised to be the launching point for all manner of southern settlement for pony kind. For now, however, it served a different purpose.
As the Adamant descended early the morning following, the sight that beheld them was like nothing most of them had ever seen. The newbies of Cyclone Company had been amazed when they had first seen the Dauntless. To see her and the Adamant flying close together had been incredible. The skies of Dodge Junction, considering, were breathtaking.
Seventeen airships kept a healthy distance from each other, floating like clouds above the tiny town. Pegasus flight groups flitted about from ship to ground to ship, relaying messages and running drills. Around the town in every direction, camps and makeshift structures had been erected to house thousands of ponies. Around their borders, sharpened stakes and defensive runes had been erected to fortify the base. Far to the east and west, tiny airships floated above more camps, and it was entirely believable that more of the same lay beyond the horizon.
Rainbow Blaze had described the series of fortified positions known as "The Line" to them, but it was another thing entirely to see it. As they neared, the airborne ponies could see their comrades rising with the sun far below. The earth pony and unicorn battalions far outnumbered them, which may have been the reason for their seemingly more battered equipment. The air groups', notably, were only slightly better. Some bore gashes and scratches similar to the sergeant's, some were shiny like theirs, and some looked like they had seen action against the griffins.
The Adamant descended below the other airships and dropped anchor only a few yards above the ground, her bow resting just beside the roof of the train station. A ramp swung out and rested against her side, and ponies started swarming on and off, supplies emptying with the flow. Suits of armor, food, weapons, ammunition, medicine and bandages, paper, quills, spyglasses, tents, they had brought some of everything it seemed.
A brilliant fuchsia mare in golden armor marched on deck, mulling over the activity with minimal interest. As much as she was looking forward to the extra supplies, her want was elsewhere. She finally found it standing in an even row well out of the way of the main traffic. Flicking her tail, she sauntered up to the waiting row and looked them over. The last of Firefly's new recruits had arrived, and she was eager to make use of them.
"Lieutenant on deck, attention!" Rainbow Blaze bellowed. The squad saluted. "Sergeant Rainbow Blaze reporting with new company members from Fort Hurricane, ma'am."
"At ease," Firefly said with a wave of her hoof. "Congratulations on your promotion, Sergeant. Now, what kind of morsels have you brought me?" She recognized the bat winged filly she had drafted half a year ago, but the others were all unfamiliar to her.
"I got my hooves on a whole squad and then some, ma'am. They did well in their final exam, placed third." The newbies had not known that, and had to try very hard to not show it. "All twelve of them together was a hard deal, but we definitely got the best outcome."
"Corkscrew, you wouldn't know a good deal if it bit your ear off." Firefly took the time to thoroughly, and invasively, examine each pony. She scowled like they were dogs caught in a closet full of torn linens, but there was a spark of mirth in her eyes. "And what was The Gambit for these foals?"
"Live combat against dragon constructs, Ma'am. The Dauntless and the Adamant provided the magic and support." The pink pegasus honestly looked impressed.
"Well then, at least you're not a bunch of completely brain dead oafs who have no idea what they'll be going up against. Maybe command does have a brain among them." Firefly trotted back to the start of the line. "Well, good to have you. Hopefully we'll have you for a while yet. We're still waiting on orders for our deployment along The Line, so for now we're sitting tight in Dodge Junction."
"Permission to speak, ma'am?" Sparky Bolts said.
"Go ahead."
"Sgt. Blaze has been informing us of the state of the war since we were assigned to Cyclone Company, but has anything changed since he departed?"
"Not a bucking thing." Firefly flashed a lopsided frown at the rainbow maned stallion. "The dragons are out somewhere to the south, most likely planning something. Every day, maybe a few times a day, they attack again somewhere. Sometimes it's in the middle of the day, sometimes at midnight, sometimes at the crack of dawn. Sometimes it's only a dozen, sometimes it's a couple hundred.
"Our current line of reasoning is that they're looking for weaknesses in our line. So we keep things fluid, try to randomly reinforce positions so their probes don't reveal lasting faults in our deployment." Firefly looked around. "Come on, let's clear the deck. I'll show you tender babbies where the rest of the company has been camping."
Comet was glad to find Lt. Firefly was just she remembered. The fuschia mare led them off the ship, catching them up on recent events as they walked. A few scratches and dents aside, she looked no worse for wear than she had when they had first met. Her armor, the filly noticed, as slightly different than theirs. The breast and back plates were the same, but her foreleg plates were divided into two sections. A gold band protected her cannon, and metal boots covered her hoof. A series of grooves was set into the boots along the outside.
"Ma'am, permission for a question?" Comet said.
"Celestia's sunkissed butt, are you all going to ask permission like a bunch of golems? Yes, what."
"Are we going to be wearing armor at all times here as well?" The pink mare stopped and stared at her.
"As well? Oh my- Blaze, you are a bastard," Firefly laughed. "Oh that's good, I love it. No, kid, you practiced fast equip drills for a reason. If you have to respond to a crisis, you should be able to suit up in under a minute, but that's part of why we have the CAG. They can deploy immediately. Sgt. Blaze here had you wearing armor all the time because, well, maybe he has a sadistic side I didn't know about."
"I thought it best they get used to wearing their suits early, ma'am," he said as sternly as his wide smile could allow. The newbies looked at him like he'd kicked their dog.
"Too right, Sergeant," Firefly said between laughing. "If we're expecting a battle, you'll be armored up long before the fighting begins. It's best to be comfortable in them."
"Comfortable enough to sleep in, apparently." Somepony was seriously going to kill him. Firefly could not stop laughing.
On a peaceful day, Dodge Junction would have been a pretty little town. The train station was easily the largest building, but the post office, general store, and various other little shops spread away from it to form a wide ring. A block of homes stood adjacent, and in the distance, a few orchards could be seen sprouting into existence. What had formed in the midst of the fledgeling settlement, however, was a military base with all the construction discipline of a shack and only the best military efficiency. Everywhere, ponies were running supplies, doing morning exercises, delivering messages, cleaning equipment, or standing watch. The base built around Dodge Junction dwarfed the town, and Comet wondered for a moment what happened to the residents.
The train station had been converted into a military headquarters, but the company's destination lay out beyond the borders of the town proper. Far into the camp, a series of large tents were marked with the name "Cyclone Company," their regiment number, and their sigil, a red and gold tornado devouring a cloud. A few pegasi milled about outside, and from the sounds of it, many more were seeing to their business inside. When the lieutenant stepped inside the nearest tent, however, all chatter ceased instantly.
The newbies followed her in and were met by a platoon of winged ponies standing neatly at attention. It was clear some had only just woken up. Firefly waved them to ease with her wing and motioned at the new blood. "These are the rest of our new recruits, boys and girls. Along with them, we got the last ship of our battlegroup, and a shipment of new armor and weapons. So you've all got that to look forward to." A few happy sighs and cheers echoed through the tent. "Duster, the standing roster." A cinnamon red pegasus passed her a clipboard. A table of names, ranks, and assignments spanned over eight pages, though a few names were notably crossed off. "Mmmm. Here's our plan then. Command is still sitting on our deployment, so until then, we're not going anywhere. All the same, pack your gear and be ready to move. I want squad and platoon leads with me to discuss assigning the newbies. The rest of you, pack and get to know our newest ponies."
The mare spun on a bit and left. Four ponies, including Rainbow Blaze, followed her out and went to the other tents to call for officers. The foal squad was suddenly very much alone with ponies they had never met. Thankfully, there were those in their ranks that did well with awkward, in that social grace was little more than a bother.
"Faust almighty, who's hungry," Lily shouted. Apparently, everypony was. First order of business, then, was food. It is a known fact that ice breaking is easier when eating can substitute for talking. This was doubly true, as Sun Ray and Moon Beam were perfectly willing to talk between themselves without end. Comet, caught in the wave of pegasi, found herself caught in a headlock and shaken around like a ragdoll.
"Well I didn't think it possible. It's that filly from the pub all those months ago." Comet slipped free and turned on her attacker. He was a lanky pegasus, thistly blue mane and white coat with eyes like icicles. His smile, however, was warm like a hearth and full of straight, pearly teeth. "I thought the boss was crazy, draftin' some teary filly who hadn't even been to Basic. 'Kid's gonna wash out, I tell ya.' I said that, Corkscrew'll tell ya I did. But wasn't I just plain wrong."
Comet's memories of the evening were blurred by alcohol, but the pegasus' face shone through with enough searching. "Snowdrift? Oh wow, it's been ages. Wait- you thought I was going to fail?"
"You were a tiny little filly crying her eyes out at the bar. What was I supposed to think?"
"You colossal jerk." She smacked him on the shoulder, but her wide smile hardly made her attack convincing. "How have you been?"
"Hot," Snowdrift grumbled. "Summers down here are brutal. I'm praying we're done and out of here before the next one arrives, for more reasons than one. Aside from sweating buckets, alright all things considered."
"Seen much action?" Stratus trotted up beside them.
"Seen enough. And you are?"
"Snowdrift, this is Stratus Drifter, Airpony First Class. Drifter, this is Snowdrift... Sorry, I don't know your rank."
"Lancer," Snowdrift said, "Just below a sergeant. Nice to meet ya, Drifter. Where ya from?" The line slowed as they merged into the queue for the mess tent.
"Manehatten, sir."
"Thought I heard it, slight tinge in your voice."
"You from there?"
"Parents were, raised me in Buckshire. Lotsa family in the big city though." Comet smiled at the two. She remembered the squad she'd met at the pub being easy to get along with. It had mostly been her own nerves that had kept her from being especially social, but they had given her plenty of opportunity. She was glad to see it was, at least in some cases, not a one time thing.
~*~
Firefly looked over the rosters spread out before her. They had lost nineteen airponies, and nineteen new heads had arrived. But who would fit best where?
"We've got to split them up," the mare said. "There's no platoon that needs a full squad. Everypony needs a few." The others said nothing; she would let them know when she was done. "On one hoof, we could move others around to let them stay together. Our vets already have experience with each other, and I don't doubt they would be able to work together easily. On the other hoof, I'm not inclined to bend down for a bunch of newbies, and I don't want them keeping to an isolated group just because they already know each other well." Firefly stopped her pacing and turned to face them. "Thoughts?"
"You could do a bit of both," Canyon Howl, one of the Blizzard platoon officers, offered. "Move all the empty positions to one platoon, then spread them out amongst that. They'll be close enough most of the time to reinforce each other, but they still integrate into the group at large."
"Might work. Any other ideas?"
"We could keep them in flight pairs but assign them as needed."
"I'm hearing compromise in all these ideas." Firefly shifted the rosters around. "Fine, we’ll go with Howl’s idea. Corkscrew, you fine staying on as their nanny?"
"I've had worse, ma'am." Rainbow Blaze took a quill to the closest roster. "What if we dumped them in Crescent Platoon? They have the most casualties as it is, and a rotation might do them some good. We can keep them off the front for a bit, regulate them to support roles." The squad commanders from Crescent glanced at each other. As much as Rainbow Blaze's idea sounded a touch demeaning, it was entirely true.
"Complaints?" Firefly glanced around. "Good, make it happen. Now, about our ships." She pulled three tiny wooden models of the airships to the center of the table, along with sixteen models of pegasi. "We have three ships, but I'm guessing nopony at Command can do division. We can't evenly split our platoons across them. Thoughts?"
"Assign two platoons to one and have it be the lead ship?"
"Or assign two to two and keep the third as a support ship."
"The former would have one ship bearing the brunt of every battle, the other would leave a ship without a support group. And having two on the support ship would leave too many out of action." Firefly was grinding her teeth. "What are the odds of getting another ship, Sergeant?"
"I'm pretty sure every ship they've built has been deployed, ma'am. It'll take weeks before another one is built and sent our way." The stallion looked to his commander. He had seen her deal with far worse and maintain her demeanor. He frowned, but held his tongue.
"...Ok, we're going to adopt a tight fork deployment." She rearranged the pieces on the board so the ships formed a triangle, one elevated above the rest. "Two ships lead the charge, one platoon to each. Third ship hangs back at a higher altitude. It's platoons launch and support wherever we need." The others all seemed to agree. "Good. Dauntless and Starfall will form the front, Adamant will support. Blaze, Duster, Ardent, you three handle squad assignments. The rest of you, dismissed." The ponies filed out of the tent while Firefly started clearing the table.
Rainbow Blaze excused himself and went up to the lieutenant. "Firefly, what happened?"
"You're going to have to be more specific than that, Sergeant."
"I mean you got bothered about squad deployments and formations. It's not like you." He stared into her eyes. "Something happened while I was gone."
The mare frowned at him. "They attacked the junction a week ago. Our most fortified location, and they sent eighty plus fliers and over twelve hundred ground troops straight at us." The mare resumed her cleaning. "We pushed them back, of course, but it was too bold. I don't know what they're up to, but I don't like it."
"Nopony knows the mind of a dragon. Maybe they got riled up and charged the line without any thought for strategy."
"Never underestimate, your enemy, Rainbow, come on." Firefly whacked him with her tail. "Dragons are smart. Well, enough of them are."
"You think another attack is coming?"
"without a doubt. The real question is when."
"Thus the nerves." She glanced at him. He nodded. "As you wish."
~*~
Cyclone Company read over the newly arranged roster that was posted that afternoon. For most of the company, nothing was objectionable or out of the ordinary. Comet's heart floated precariously as she read over the platoon her friends had spread over.
"Could have been worse, Egghead," Thunder Clap said, "At least we're all on the same boat."
"True," she sighed, "and it's the Adamant, so not too much new territory."
"It's not like we were ever a proper squad to begin with," Stargaze pointed out.
"Nah, just a gang of misfits and weirdos." Lily poked Rain. "Eh, Stuffshirt?"
"Speak for yourself, you little monster." A voice rang out over the group, calling their squads to gather up and get acquainted. "Well, I'll see you ponies around."
"Oh don't get all dramatic." Moon Fang nudged a hoof at the twins, who were clinging to Stargaze and crying huge, fake tears. "We'll be right by each other the whole time." Fang, Lily, Sparky Bolts, and Comet had all been dumped in the same squad, the fifteen other ponies sprinkled throughout Crescent platoon. Comet stared pensively at the pink filly; she had to admit, Lily had made a good lead pony for her, even if she could be painfully obnoxious.
In pairs, they made their way over to the circle for their squad. A well built, brown pegasus with a dark mane was waving them together. "Alright, boys and girls, get over here." He hovered to the ground when the other seven had gathered. "Let's get this started. I'm Sergeant Cinnamon Cane, lead for Crescent Platoon Squad Four. I know you all read this on the chart, but let me get through it. We're assigned to the Adamant to act as its second support wing. The Adamant has been situated to be center rear in the formation, to give us a chance to recover.
"As you might have figured out, over half our platoon now consists of new blood. Sergeant Rainbow Blaze has been assigned Crescent Platoon lead, so don't expect anything resembling a holiday. Oh, and while we're here, last word I got is..." Cinnamon Cane pulled out a slip of paper, "we're not distributing our ranks to three pony wings, so we're sticking with the current pairs."
"How're we supposed to do sabre teams with only two ponies?" a mare to Comet's left asked.
"The same way you have been, Dew. One vanguard, one sabre." There was a chorus of mutters from the experienced half of the squad. "Shove it, you mules. This isn’t the Griffin War, and this is what we have to work with. Fact is, we don't even have enough gear to field that many sabres anyway. Now, for good measure, we're heading out with Squad Two to practice some maneuvers. Nothing brings ponies together like precision turns. Suits on, we're up in five. Dismissed." The filly was glad she had opted for a light breakfast.
~*~
The Dodge skies were pleasantly warm and full of updrafts that made flying easy as breathing. It helped, because the turns and dives Squad Four were executing were on par with the hardest exercises Basic had run the newbies through, and setting up for another run was a long climb. The filly was pointed straight for the ground one second, banking hard to her left the next, flipping over an invisible opponent, rolling away from their attack, and spinning almost in place to come in for the kill. She could picture the glimmerback, scales shining in the sun, teeth sharp as razors, and how every move she made corresponded to killing the imaginary beast.
The flight pairs would fall dangerously close to each other, overlapping each other's trajectories and coming within a yard of colliding. Every run, she and Lily wound up riding the wake of the pair they merged into, reading the wind off their wings and legs to follow a more complex maneuver. Wake reading had been introduced to them early in their training, and had accounted for nearly every injury the infirmary saw in the month following.
A sabre lead their line. Her spear was entirely absent, replaced by two long, curved blades, one extending from either fore hoof. The grooved boots matched the ones she had seen Firefly wearing before. The way she seemed to cut the air, leaving empty space behind her, Comet could only imagine what it must have been capable of against dragon skin.
The lead looked over her shoulder at the three in her wake, grinned, and tucked her wings tighter to her sides. Their maneuver called for fifty more feet of fall before a tight turn, but the mark came and went and they continued to drop. Comet tried to glance at Lily, but the pink pegasus was locked on the mare in front of her. Down, down, down, the ground grew larger in their vision. Details could be made out, details like a glade of tall cacti spanning out in front of them. She didn't think gravity could pull them any harder when the lead mare flared her wings.
All together, the four ponies spread their wings as wide as they could. Feathers strained, skin was pulled taught, but they kept falling. Only feet above the ground, their flight path leveled out, though their speed was seemingly undiminished. The mare tucked her wings back and sped for the cacti. The three ponies followed her in, slipping through her wake like fish in a river. With no time to send a signal beat before a maneuver, the ponies following had to read her movements as she made them. She led them over branches, under arches, looping between the thick green stalks with inches to spare. A stray clump of plant tore a few hairs from Lily's mane, but she didn’t seem to notice. They ducked low through the far edge of the glade, bellies nearly scraping the rocky ground, before the sky opened again at last and the ponies arched up into a glide.
The mare laughed between pants as they came to a landing. She took off her helmet and beamed. "That was a hell of a run, newbies. I'm impressed."
"Me too," Comet managed before she collapsed. Her wings screamed at her. A fifth pony set down hard beside the group.
"What the hell was that, Dewbead?" Cinnamon Cane scowled.
"Just seeing what the newbies could do, sir. Better than I expected, I thought they'd bug out before we hit the first cactus." Dewbead looked to her wingpony, Summer Seas, who nodded sagely. With the adrenaline washing out of her system, Comet noticed a pain rising in her hind leg. A chunk of cactus had gotten stuck there, though her boot seemed to have deflected far more. Her gurgle alerted the other ponies. "Oh, well..." The mare scratched the back of her neck sheepishly.
Cinnamon Cane snorted and inspected Comet's leg. "Nothing serious here. Head back to camp and get it wrapped up, Airpony. Nimbus, right? See she gets back. As for you two," he turned to the veteran ponies, "you can do the dive again, twice more in fact. but no tricks this time." The ponies' gaze trailed up and up to the cloud high above where they had jumped from. "Is there a problem?" The two saluted and took off. Cinnamon Cane gave the newbies an irritated glance and headed up as well.
"Great." Comet Shimmer sat in the dirt and inspected her wounds. They were really nothing, just a few pricks barely deep enough to draw blood. But her orders were to get it cleaned up, and she could hardly disobey. "Hey Jitterbug."
"Yeah?"
"How fast you think we can be back up there?" The pink filly smiled.
"Shoot for ten minutes?"
"Where's your competitive spirit?"
The pink pegasus smirked. "Six it is."
Six and a half minutes later, Lily and Comet thumped into the cloud where the rest of their squad was gathered. The ointment the medic had given Comet had made the pricks nigh impossible to notice, though she still favored the other three legs.
"All set then, airponies?" Cinnamon Cane asked.
"Right as rain, sir," Comet said.
"Good. You two will be jumping next. Wren Song, up here, we'll be leading. Newbie hazing is all well and good, but let's try to not have any more near misses today, hm?" The other three ponies saluted and lined up on the edge. Comet caught Dewbead’s gaze and gave the mare a reassuring nod. The sky devoured everything in howling wind after that, and the four ponies were falling. Five thousand feet and counting.
~*~
Crescent platoon hurt in nearly all the right places when they retired for the night. The newbies who had come in on the Adamant found it weird to not have night watch, but they weren’t about to complain. Comet Shimmer and her squad sat around the fire in the center of their platoon's circle and got to know each other. Wren Song, she found out, was a harpist for the Baltimare Symphony Orchestra. Her uncle, who she'd been close to, had been in the Air Guard, so she had gone through Basic years ago. When war was declared, she set down her harp and took up her polearm.
Cinnamon Cane had been a chef in Cloudsdale. Dewbead had been a dock worker out of Fillydelphia, and Summer Seas was an accountant. They were surprised to be recounting their tales again; they had all been in the same tents for six months now. They all knew each other. When Comet apologized for having to get the four of them up to speed, Summer Seas smiled.
"We just hadn't thought about it, really." He looked up. "If the seasons weren't changing, you wouldn't know one day follows another out here. They'll be doing the Running of the Leaves soon, back home." Nopony had heard of the event. "It's something they do in Ponyville every autumn. There's a big race, and the tremors from everypony running knocks all the leaves off the trees. It's a big event."
"So, Autumn Wrap Up?" The stallion shrugged and nodded. "Huh, Canterlot doesn't do anything like that."
"That's because Canterlot doesn't have seasons," Cinnamon Cane huffed.
"We do so! It snows in winter, and it's hot and dry in summer."
"You wouldn't know snow if your house was made of it," the squad lead huffed again, "which is weird, considering you live on a mountain. You should see the storms that get sent Vanhoover's way. Miles across and packed full, those things. It takes entire weather teams to move just one." He laughed and sipped from his mug. "It's always a big thing when the first blizzard of the year gets shipped out from the factory, like christening a new ship. Everypony's cheering and poppin’ bottles. You should see it."
"Wow, Sergeant Cinnamon Stick-up-my-ass is getting all sentimental?" Dewbead laughed. "What is the world coming to?" Comet chuckled and excused herself to use the toilet.
This far from a city, the sky shone like a sea of diamonds. Great bands of glittering lights danced from horizon to horizon on a bed of blues and purples. The cooling earth glowed blue with the light of the heavens. It was a sight impossible to find in the suburbs of Canterlot. The filly wished she could take part of it home with her.
"Enjoying the view, Recruit?" Firefly was sitting only a few yards from the stargazing filly. Comet snapped to attention. "Oh relax. I will seriously beat the stiffness out of you guys, just so you all know. We're a team, not a machine part." The pink mare patted the dirt beside her. The filly sat down and kept stealing glances at her. "There a problem, kid?"
"Did you think I was going to wash out too?"
The mare shrugged. "Even chances, I figured. But I like a gamble once in a while." Comet tilted her head.
"Ma'am, why did you pick me?"
Firefly's face was completely blank as she looked out on the level desert to the south. "That night at the pub, we'd been officially at war for, what, a month? We knew we were going to get shipped out sooner or later. It's what we're for. I'd been down to the recruitment office once or twice, and you know what I saw? I saw oafs like that one you brought along, Thunder Clap. I saw brutes and bullies, fillies and colts who saw the whole thing as a chance to fight somepony and get away with it.
"So what am I supposed to think when I see you? 'Great, another one.' But you didn't want to hurt anyone. Your words, any-one, not just ponies. So if it wasn't the violence, wasn't the glory, wasn't our ‘generous’ pay and benefits, what made you join?"
"I wanted to protect my family."
"Right there. You have a real reason. You have something you want to protect, something that's more important to you than you." Firefly pushed her in the chest. "I already know you'd do anything for what you want to protect. Tartarus' bad side, you're already out here when I can tell a book store suits you better. I want ponies with that kind of heart in my company, and only that kind. You and your training squad even managed to turn a brute into a half decent specimen. We'll see how the lot of you do, though, when things really get going."
The mare's gaze turned back to the horizon. Her eyes narrowed, and Comet heard a pensive growl reverberate through her throat. Out at the edge of the camp, a series of bright flashes flared and disappeared like falling stars. To the west, more flashes could be seen. Comet tensed and stood.
"Simmer down, kid. It's just a skirmishing party. Longtails, most likely. If the border guards needed help, we'll hear it." The filly sat back down, but her wings still jittered at her sides. "Looking for a fight so soon, Recruit?"
Comet turned to snap at her leader, but caught herself at the last minute. She clenched her jaw. "Did Sgt. Blaze tell you about our Gambit?" The mare nodded. "One of our kills, I tore open a glimmerback's throat with my glaive from jaw to collar. I was completely covered in blood, and at the time I thought it was real. I held it together for the rest of the fight, but when we got back..." She found it hard to look Firefly in the eye. "I thought it was real. The whole time, I thought I was soaked in the blood of something I had killed, and I hated it. I hated it for having to die. I hated myself for killing it. In my sleep, I could still see it trying to eat me. I still do..."
"And now you're afraid you're going to let us all down when you face a real one, isn't that right?" Comet's nose was nearly touching the ground. "You won't." The filly looked up at her. "Being afraid doesn't make you a coward. I don't pick cowards for my company." Firefly watched the flashes continue to flare on the edge of the camp. "When you're afraid, that's the only time you can really be brave. Remember why you're here, recruit, and you'll figure it out." The flashes had still not ceased. "Something's wrong."
The first horn sounded to the west, then one from the edge of their camp- distress calls, reinforcements needed. Firefly was already on her feet with Comet just behind. "All platoons, suit up." A thunderstorm would have had a hard time matching her command voice. "Apex, Dawn platoons, you're flying lead, Blizzard and Crescent support. High altitude recon first, let's get a lay of the land. If the enemy is all ground based, we only engage on outlying units. Do not assault their main force. Let's move, ponies." Cyclone Company slipped into their armor and grabbed their weapons.
For the first time, Comet saw Dewbead's sabres up close. They looked more like metal fangs than weapons. The pegasus slipped each one into a latch along her boot and tested their stability. Satisfied, she trotted up to the squad, her blades angled to avoid striking anything. It seemed to Comet like walking in them should be awkward, but there was a grace in the mare's step that could make Rain blush.
"Crescent Platoon, listen up." Rainbow Blaze appeared in his new armor. He looked like a tank; his collar was higher on his neck than theirs, and his helmet sported a visor that covered the top half of his face where their nose guard would be. There was almost nothing to hit on the front of his body. "We're following Apex in, keep in their wake and let them take the first strike. No heroics tonight, got it?" The platoon barked the affirmative. "Let's go, airponies." They took to the air and rose steadily through the night. In front, behind, left, right, below, platoons were moving to the source of the call. Boasting squads of earth ponies with all manner of weapons, unicorns with their foci and runed armor, and winged ponies with spear and sabre, they surely outnumbered the attackers.
By the time Cyclone Company arrived on the scene, the dragons were already outmatched twelve to one. Only a few of the beasts were airborne, and those few were surrounded by airponies and being poked left and right. The ground scene was only slightly worse. The longtail force was greater in number, but had failed to penetrate past the second line. Apex Platoon broke in half and swooped in a dive, each half striking down either flank of the reptilian army.
"Stay high and watch for additional forces," Rainbow Blaze called above the wind. The company fell into an alert but lazy circle, coasting high above the battle. The last glimmerback fell on a dozen spears at once and plummeted like a stone. With their momentum broken, the longtails began to fall back at any opportunity. The dragons' backs exposed to them, eager pegasi platoons swooped in and picked off the stragglers. A tense calm fell over the field while everypony waited for what could come next.
After five minutes gliding in the dark and the quiet, the all clear sounded. Not long after, the camp to the west sounded the all clear as well, and everypony visibly calmed. A few casualties could be seen down on the ground, but nowhere near as many as the dragons had suffered. Cyclone Company pulled through one more pass and headed back for their camp.
"What was all that, then?" Stratus Drifter said as he landed.
"Rules are," Coriolis, his lead, said, "if they breach the first line, sound the call. The scouts out at the trenches wouldn't have held against a force that big. There were reinforcements in the lot too."
"And most assaults don't cross the first defense?"
"No, and most assaults don't hit here either. I don't know what they were thinking, attacking Dodge with so few."
"Maybe they were hoping to surprise us," Wren Song said. "Slip through the outer defenses, kill the patrol, slip into our ranks and bite some throats before we knew they were there." She started undoing her armor. "I don't think they'll try again."
"It's awfully wasteful, isn't it?" Comet helped Lily out of her backplate. "Why send so few on a suicide mission? If they have an army, why not attack in force?"
"Don't give them ideas." Rainbow's armor hit the ground with mighty thumps and clouds of dust. "Most of what's going on beyond that trench is unknown. They might be building an army but don't have it ready yet."
"Better, then, to not waste units, right?"
"Give it a rest, kid." The stallion ran a hoof through his mane. "We don't know what their strategy is. We just respond. Why do you think we have a line of fortified positions spanning through the desert?"
"To defend against the inevitable dragon attacks."
"But building positions like these takes weeks. Why spend all that time on a temporary fixture?"
"Because it's not temporary." Firefly moved silently even in her armor. Her sabres sparkled in the firelight save for where deep cuts marred their surfaces. "Command doesn't have a plan of attack, so we're sitting here and waiting them out."
"If we're playing the waiting game," Comet said slowly, "why build dozens of airships?"
A flicker of mirth appeared in Firefly's eye. "Why indeed." The mare turned. "Get some rest. I don't think we can expect another attack tonight, but by tomorrow morning, I’ll make sure we’re moving." She turned and slipped into her tent without another word. The rest of the company milled about, removing armor or grabbing half finished dinners. Comet sat back with her squad and turned her helmet over in her hooves. Still shiny, then.