Chapter 11
“Urgh…”
The R.E.A.F Captain grumbled in protest of the dawn’s light and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he squinted under the glare of the sunrise peaking over the palace in the distance. He had taken leave. He had stayed up late with his family, and had every intention of sleeping well past noon with his wife cradled under his wing. Instead he had been jolted from his peaceful slumber at the crack of dawn by one of the fliers from 407 Squadron who had come knocking at his door, telling him he was needed at the unit at once. The only thing that had stopped him from tearing that flier a new one was genuine surprise to see that it was a second lieutenant doing it. Normally it was the rookies that were saddled with ‘roundup duty’, which essentially entailed flying around Canterlot and awakening all the members of a unit in the event of a call-out and taking flak from every single one of them. Seeing 2LT Merrilay from 407th—
Or is it Marilyn?
It doesn’t matter. Seeing the off-pink face of 407 Squadron’s second lieutenant had caught him off-guard and he had dismissed her with nothing more than a nod. Now here he stood, leaning on the side rail of his front porch and wishing he could crawl back into bed with his wife for a few more hours. With a loud, sleepy yawn Crimson Sky swept his bright orange mane back and pinned it down underneath his goggles. He rolled his flight suit into a wad and tucked it under his wing, and jogged lightly down the walkway to the street. At the very least the sun was up, so curfew was over and he wouldn’t be accosted for his ID at every turn—
Then where are all the civvies?
He stopped dead in his tracks at the realization that not a single pony in sight was not without the signature black silver alloy armor of the royal guards. They flew about in the sky, stood guard at chokepoints and intersections in the streets, and were running all around, but there were no citizens to be seen. The businesses were all still closed and in darkness, and the houses that lined the streets all had their curtains pulled and their shutters locked and bolted. Not even the morning paper had been delivered, and the sun had been up for at least an hour. All in the course of about a second, it dawned on him that something big must have happened, and he started running for their headquarters. As he ran he took passing glances at all the royal guards he passed. Their usual cold and stern indifference to the world around them was gone, replaced with everything from anger to panic as they ran to their various destinations. Crimson Sky had never seen so many guards at once; in the short three-block trip from his home to headquarters, he passed more guards than he usually saw in a week.
“Sir! Captain Sky, Sir!”
A yellow pegasus with a bright blue mane, one of the rookies from 403, landed harshly and ran to him. He trembled in his flight suit, which had been put on in haste and wasn’t zipped up all the way, and managed a shaky awkward salute which Crimson Sky returned.
The rookie stuttered and spat, grasping for words amidst confusion while trying to act proper at the same time. “Sir, I— I mean, what’s g-going on?! I was— I mean— I—”
Crimson Sky cut him off by patting his shoulder, and took a second to zip his flight suit up properly. “Settle down, Pinstripe. I don’t know what’s going on. Get in there, gear up, and wait. It’ll all come down in good time.”
“Y—Yes Sir! Sorry, Sir!” said Pinstripe with a much more confident salute before running ahead into the headquarters building.
Crimson Sky once again returned the salute, this time with a slight smirk. That had made his day; Pinstripe was competent and showed great promise, but had zero confidence and fell to absolute pieces in front of any authority. He thought no more of it and entered the headquarters, tuning out the coarse ambience of the flier’s combined voices as they threw their gear on and scrabbled for answers. He shrugged off their pleas for an explanation and pushed past, headed for the commander’s lounge in the back.
The door closed behind him and cut him off from the cacophony of confused pegasi, leaving him in peace in the near silence of the commander’s lounge. The room was still in pristine condition from the last time it had been used. Memos, maps, and diagrams were neatly stacked on the table that sat five: Lightning Dust, himself and her other wingpony, and room for two guests. The walls were sound-proofed with frosted windows, the kind you would find in bathrooms, to keep conversations in the room and prying eyes out. Of course this room was also an ideal spot to catch a nap when needed thanks to the large leather sofa in the back, something his partner was currently taking advantage of. Crimson Sky looked over at the heap on the couch: his partner and fellow wingpony Twitch, a runaway they had picked up in Los Pegasus years ago, was sprawled out and snoring quietly with a piece of paper wedged under his goggles turning them into an improvised sleeping blinder. As usual his flight suit was unzipped and looked as if it hadn’t been washed in a while, and Crimson Sky winced at the sight of it. Twitch had helped them form the R.E.A.F, and he was a very agile flier, but he was an inarticulate little brat with little standards and no pride in his appearance at all. On his best day he looked like an unmade bed.
Pride of the R.E.A.F. right there.
“Twitch.”
The mention of his name penetrated his slumber enough to make him flinch with a loud snort and roll onto his side. He pulled the old flight cap he always wore close and cuddled it as if it were a teddy bear, and once more was dead to the world.
“Twitch!” said Crimson Sky loudly, this time kicking the edge of the couch as hard as he could.
“What what what?!” Blubbered Twitch in a half-asleep daze as he tore the goggles off of his face. “I’m awake!”
Crimson Sky scoffed. “Don’t you ever sleep at home?”
Twitch wretched and rubbed at his sleepy eyes. “Why’d I do that? The couch here is more comfortable than my bed.”
“You need to find yourself a mare, Twitch.”
He stood with a wobble and gestured proudly. “Hah! What do you think I did last night?”
“A decent mare, Twitch. I’ve seen the, uh, things you date.” Said Crimson Sky.
The sleepy pegasus put on his trademark lazy smile and let himself fall back onto the sofa. “Now what kind of quote unquote ‘decent’ mare would want anything to do with a stallion like me?”
Can’t argue with that.
Crimson Sky simply nodded to the rare moment of wisdom from his partner. He nudged Twitch to one side of the couch and sat down on the still-warm cushion to wait for Lightning Dust and their orders.
“Oh, hey. You got mail.”
Crimson Sky’s ears shot straight up and he snatched the letter from Twitch’s mouth. He skimmed over the paper and the words in it cut through him, making his shoulders hang with a defeated sigh. They had rejected him. Again.
“Hey…” said Twitch in an almost caring voice, “Why’d you wanna leave the R.E.A.F. and join the Royal Guards anyways? You now the guards are—”
Crimson Sky put his hoof to Twitch’s mouth; He was not in the mood for his crazy conspiracy theories. “The guards are not brainwashed, Twitch.”
“Oh you’re wrong, Sky.” Said Twitch in a very matter-of-fact tone as he pushed the hoof away from his face. “Why else would the guards, the same guards what served Princess What’s-her-butt just drop everything and obey the Queen?” Twitch leaned back on his haunches and gestured with his front hoofs as if to create an image of what he described, “I can see it now: When you join up they give you a shot or something, call it a ‘booster’, and then they take you to this dark little room in the basement and start to do real creepy things when—”
“The guards are NOT BRAINWASHED!!! Will you get that through your thick skull?!” hollered Crimson Sky.
“Alright, alright. Sheesh. Keep your tail on, bud.”
Crimson Sky glared at his partner for a moment, but his expression softened when he saw the almost hurt face staring back at him. He sighed apologetically, “You’re going to get in serious trouble if you keep spouting that nonsense, Twitch. It’s just a rumor, invented by ponies who couldn’t accept why the guards were willing to side with Her Majesty after the ugliness all those years ago.”
“What about Rumble?” said Twitch in a knowing tone. “He ain’t equine, I’m telling you. Remember when he pulled that griffon off’a Dust? He didn’t just shove her off; he threw her, pal. All that monster does is train and fight and scare the flight suit right off’a me. The Queen musta done something to his head to make him like that.”
“I do remember.” Said Crimson Sky. “And I’ll admit seeing a pegasus beat a griffon within an inch of death with his bare hooves is something I thought I would never see. But the captain is like that because he’s loyal. The Queen did something to him, that’s for sure. She pulled him out of the rubble of Ponyville and more or less raised him like a son.”
“But…”
“The rest of the guards are just doing their job. They’re loyal to Equestria, not to the pony on the throne. At the end of the day, they don’t care if it’s Princess Celestia or Queen Twilight Sparkle.” He chuckled briefly at a thought. “Besides, what makes you think we’re not brainwashed into being loyal? Hm?”
“Well, not me.” said Twitch in a rare show of pride as he flexed to show off his lieutenant stripe. “She wouldn’t have to. I couldn’t care less about royalty or the throne. I’m loyal to Dust and Twilight; I wouldn’t have anything if it weren’t for them.”
“I’m loyal to Her Majesty as well.” Said Crimson Sky, making a point to emphasize her proper title. He took his red goggles off and dropped them onto his rejection letter. “I’m just getting too old for this, Twitch. I want a job where I’m home more often, with my wife and kid.”
Twitch made a whip-cracking sound and swung his hoof accordingly with a grin, which quickly faltered when he saw his attempt at humor had failed.
“I was planning to take my filly for a ride today and carry her up to Winsome Falls. She’s never seen a rainbow up close before. Guess what happened to that plan?”
“What?”
He sighed with frustration. “The call-out?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Crimson Sky looped his hoof through the strap of his goggles and swung them gently. “So. Do you have any clue what this is about? Why are the guards going crazy outside? What happened?”
Twitch sputtered dramatically and almost fell off the couch. “How did you not hear about it?! It was the Dink, pal! She got tossed around by some thief!”
The goggles hit the table with a loud clack. “What?! You’re joking!”
“Hey, easy! I wouldn’t joke about something like this. Some thief got into the palace and ran into the Dink. They’s slugged it out, the thief took her down, and swiped her crown!”
His eyes widened. “She’s alright though, right?!”
“Oh yeah, she’s fine. Guess the thief got cold hooves or something and didn’t kill her. Just bit onto her horn and choked her out. The Dink couldn’t break free because, well, y’know.” He bounced closer to Crimson Sky and nudged him with a sly smirk. “You’re married to a unicorn; you know how sensitive those things are eh buddy?”
Crimson Sky shoved Twitch back to the other side of the couch and tried to wrap his head around this turn of events. He was aware that a unicorn’s horn was sensitive enough to be a serious weak spot. It didn’t take much more than a light strike to disrupt their magic, and he could only begin to imagine exactly how painful it must be to have a set of teeth clamped down on it. He had met the princess only a few times, and despite the nasty rumors about her she was always amiable and polite, and willing to take a moment to speak pleasantly even to him and the fliers. The thought of her subdued, helpless, in pain, and being strangled unconscious by some no-account bandit was disgusting.
The door to the lounge flew open with a crash, briefly flooding the room with the noise from the fliers outside. “Alright, listen up!” Lightning Dust yelled over the noise as she slammed the door shut. She was dressed in her flight suit and already wearing her load-webbing. It was fitted with GP Bombs, two more than the standard load-out, and had the dog tag from that blue pegasus wound around the front strap. This meant one thing: They were going on the attack.
“Alrigh-height!” sang Twitch. “We’se getting some action!”
“Take a look.” Lightning Dust slapped a photo on the table as her two wingponys gathered around. It was a gray earth pony mare wearing a green hood and bright blue glasses that had been mended in the center with tape. “I’m sure this pony needs no introduction. She’s the one that’s been driving the guards absolutely mental for the last while, and she just decided to commit suicide. I’m sure you both have heard about the palace intruder and the theft?”
“Her?” said Crimson Sky in disbelief. “Are you sure about this intel, Dust? That’s the one that knocked out Her Majesty and did not kill her?”
“Hard to believe she’d pass up an opportunity like that, I know. I thought the same thing, Sky, but the princess identified her. And the princess is stewed right off; this little brat slipped in and out without so much as being sniffed by a guard and made off with her crown. So we’re gonna catch ourselves a thief.”
“Sounds good, Dust!” laughed Twitch with a clap of his hooves. “What’s the plan? We’se gonna track her down and beat the stupid outta her?”
“That’s the best part.” Said Lightning Dust with a smirk. “Featherweight and his bugs have already tracked her for us. She boarded a train headed to Broncton. All we’re going to do is take three squadrons, ambush her there, and blow her into next Tuesday with these.” Lightning Dust patted one of the bombs that dangled from her webbing. “I can’t wait to rub this in the guard’s smug faces. This is exactly what our unit needs to prove to Her Highness that we are the best!”
“Hold it.” Said Crimson Sky in protest. “Dust, believe me I’d like nothing better than to get that pony and stick a bomb in her where the sun doesn’t shine. But in a town? Innocent ponies are going to get hurt.”
“Yeah, probably.” Shrugged Lightning Dust. “Life sucks sometimes. What’s your point?”
“My point is, is the three of us could catch up to that train and board it before it even arrives. She’s an earth pony; where the heck could she run to, and the three of us could drop hear easily. We wouldn’t even need bombs.”
Lightning Dust ignored him and unfurled a map of Broncton on the table. “The train will arrive as scheduled in Broncton at sunrise tomorrow. We will take one squadron each, full load out, and arrive under cover of darkness at staggered times here, here, and here.” She said as she pointed at different areas on the map. “When the train arrives we wait until we have visual contact, we fan out, close in—”
Twitch leered at the map. “—and make it rain.”
Lightning Dust chuckled and patted his shoulder. “And make it rain. Any objections? Sky?”
Crimson Sky was silent for a moment. “No objections.” He said sternly.
“Good. Both of you take your pick of fliers. Twitch, you arrive at 0100. Sky, 0300. Keep a low profile; we’ve already gotten Environment Equestria to blot out the moon tonight with cloud cover, so stay out of sight. Spread your units out to cut off her escape. Take her alive only if the opportunity presents itself. Recovering the crown and neutralizing Silver Spoon are our only objectives. Any questions, problems, points? Good. Make it happen.”
As quickly as she had arrived, Lightning Dust headed out the door and slammed it behind her. Crimson Sky watched her closely, and almost jumped a full foot when his partner’s hoof slapped his shoulder. “About time, pal!” cheered Twitch, “Finally, some action! I can only toss bombs at wooden targets for so long, right?”
“You really have no qualms about dropping bombs on a town of civilians?”
“Well…” Said Twitch with a hoof to his chin and an expression that turned somewhat somber, “I guess it don’t feel that good, but orders is orders. We’se don’t gotta like it, yeah, but why do we’se not gotta like it? I say just make the best of it.”
“I understand the princess being upset, but what is she thinking ordering an attack like this? And the Queen? Is that crown really worth this much?”
Twitch shrugged and shoved his flight cap over his head. “I dunno. Maybe it has magical powers or something.” He said sarcastically as the two headed out of the lounge. “They’se royalty, pal. They’se just ticked off that their head-gold was stolen. Hey, uh, that reminds me. Queen Twilight is a queen ‘cause she’s the boss, right? So what about Princess Celestial? She was top dog, so why weren’t she a queen? Ain’t that how it works? I mean, it’s king or queen, then prince or princess, then uh… baron, I think…”
Crimson Sky didn’t follow Twitch to the briefing room where the fliers waited, and instead headed for the front door. “You think too much about the wrong things, Twitch.”
“Yeah but— h-hey! Where ya goin’? We’se got work to do!”
“Just need to step out for an hour or so. I have to take care of something.”
“Me and Dust is gonna get the good fliers!”
“Do what you like.” Said Crimson Sky without even looking back. “I’m taking 403 anyways.”
“The rookies?!” said a thoroughly confused Twitch. “Why?”
“They need the practice.” Said Crimson Sky, who let the door close behind him before Twitch could reply.
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so far not too bad. though i never got why people keep thinking that twilight turnin crazy equals kicking alicorn ass. they always seem to base tht on the pricnesses never being shown fighting and the times they got overpowered. and the only times we see them getting overpowered either has to do with tactical msitakes with gluttonous changelings, facing personal issues, or being attacked by vines that are eating the magic of a thing that holds back a giant magical forest.
3623985
I have actually taken that into account. Let's just say Twilight didn't exactly take them down by brute force alone.
Rumble and Featherweight...
This just got SOOOOOO much better.
god, I am just loving this story, keep up the superb work Tonic!
Mentioned Twitch, instantly thought of this Twitch.
fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/037/1/c/dj___twitch_by_amoagtasaloquendo-d5u1ef0.jpg
3624519 she uses the princess kindness against themas well i persom
Twitch is so wrong. Baron is just above Baronet, which is the very bottom of the land-owning classes (knights can own land in feudal Europe, but the title was never hereditary, just meaning that the individual was trained as heavy cavalry). Beneath Prince is Duke, then Marquis, then Earl, then Viscount, then it's Baron.
Well, can't say I was expecting this, since the deviantart gallery and cover art already spoiled it, but it's still a pretty big shock.
Can I ask, when they mention the Queen, who?