Detour: The Road to Uprise

by Jetset0099

A Centerpiece for an Empire

Dawn broke as the sun popped up over the horizon, giving Canterlot a rich, golden glow. For a city of stature and dignity, being bathed in a hue of gold was the perfect accent.

The orange pegasus with a cutie mark of green ones and zeros stood at the top floor of a hotel, pacing in front of their room window in deep thought.

The room was just like any other hotel room. Pale white walls with one main area consisting of two twin beds, a desk in the corner, and a small dresser opposite of that.

After ten minutes of frantic pacing from his accomplice, the other stallion, an earth pony with a black coat and white mane, rolled over in his bed and cracked one sleep-filled eye open to look at the bed adjacent to him, finding it empty. He opened both eyes now and gazed up to the window, seeing a large silhouette pass left and right across the sunlight streaming in the window. He rolled his eyes at his friend's hectic ways. Always over-thinking things, and never just relaxing and taking a task step by step. He was surprised he'd even suggested taking a break and staying up in Canterlot rather than blazing trails through the valley in the middle of the night searching for those two.

He thought about the ponies they were after. How much they were valued to their cause. The fight they put up, the hours of research...the knowledge.

His train of thought was derailed as the pegasus looked over to him and saw his eyes slightly open.

"I know you're awake, Hertz! Get up. We're burning daylight."

The earth pony rolled over and pulled the warm covers over his head, mumbling through them.

"Five more minutes, Binary."
Everything fell silent, and for a minute, Hertz thought he'd won the argument until the covers were yanked off of him and he felt two hoofs thump his back as he rolled off on to the floor.

"If we don't find those two soon we're gonna have our heads on a platter! So get up!"
Hertz rubbed the back of his head in pain.

"Ok ok, jeez we'll get going, ok?"
The pegasus snorted and put on his overcoat minus the hood, and threw the other one at his partner who had just managed to pick his sleep-conquered body off the carpet.

Binary opened the door and, without word, ushered Hertz out, who complied without argument.

After they had checked out and went on a brief walk, they found themselves standing at the edge of Canterlot, which led down the mountain to Ponyville and the rest of the valley via a long, winding road.

"Can we at least get something to eat first?" Hertz asked as he rubbed his stomach. "We've been up for awhile and I haven't eaten yet. You know," he smirked, "there's a famous restaurant known for their pizza here."

He knew that pizza, especially plain deep dish cheese, was Binary's favorite.

"Whatcha say? We'll sit down and discuss our next move. They could be anywhere in Equestria by now. You made the right call stopping here. We never would've found them at night while on the run. We need to pace ourselves. This isn't a chase anymore, it's a hunt. A slow, tedious hunt that needs to be planned out with the upmost care. We can do this, and after it's done, our tribe will be the-"

"SHHHH!!"
He was cut off by an orange hoof in his mouth as Binary violently whispered to him.

"You cannot speak of our cause here! If anypony finds out, they'll have us in the dungeon for the rest of our lives! Do you understand?!"
A quick nod assured the pegasus he could release his grasp. He calmed down and exhaled deeply.

"Ok then. Let's go get something to eat, and then we're off to reclaim those two."

They turned around and trotted off back into town, unaware of the dark blue figure at the top of the castle tower that had been watching their conversation through a telescope.
------------------------------------------

Jake dumped his plate of pancake crumbs into the sink and rinsed them off, making sure everything was in order before he left for the day. Seline, not being one for cooking, never made pancakes, nor did she like them. Because she was away on business, today was the first day the pilot was able to make pancakes for himself, and he was happy with the outcome. It's not that Seline was controlling or demanding, it's just that Jake, attempting to be a kind pony, never made them so she could enjoy her breakfast too.

His kitchen, after he got done cleaning, was spotless. The wood floors had been swept, and the granite counters wiped. He walked through the door behind him and into the living room only to find it a mess. There were papers on the small coffee table, and the baby-grand piano in the far corner by a large bay window that rounded around was covered in dust and scrap sheets of music paper. He'd make a mental note to clean up later.

The captain, dressed in his white button down shirt with gold wings and a black tie along with two shoulder boards with four yellow stripes each, threw on his black overcoat and officer hat as he walked to the small foyer that led to the upper level. He opened the door, and immediately the wind struck his face like an icy punch.

When he got onto the street, he looked out to the plane sitting in the field on a tarmac. After the air show, Celestia had approved a grant to build a tarmac and runway for the C-130 in Ponyville, Canterlot, Manehattan, Fillydelphia, and the Crystal Empire. All they asked for in return was that he transport various items between cities to quicken the national delivery process and help to stimulate the economy. So far it'd proven to be a success.

Twilight's weatherproofing spells had made a sheltering hangar unnecessary, as the aircraft just sat out all the time when not in use.

But today, no matter how well the plane was weatherproofed, strong wind would still impact takeoff and landing capabilities. He thought about how he'd approach the situation as he strolled into the town square to pick up his flight plan for the day.

Jake walked into a small building at the end of the square which read Equestrian Transport on the sign above, and approached the desk where a secretary sat filling out paperwork. She took one look at him, and without a word, tossed him the binder and papers for the day and returned to her work. He simply smiled and left. The secretary wasn't rude, they had just been through the process almost every day, and she never wasted any time getting him ready to go.

He reviewed the plan for the day: deliver a sculpted crystal beam to the Crystal Empire. It would be used as a centerpiece for a new park being built. Sculpted in the far west, it had been delivered by rail to this point, and air travel was the best option for the final haul to it's destination. At the bottom of the paper in large red letters it said, "EXTREMELY VALUABLE. HANDLE WITH CARE."

With the wind that would be inevitably tossing the plane around, he prepared for a stressful journey.

He approached the tarmac to find his usual delivery crew ready to go. Sleethoof, a young grey earth pony who was hired so he could work through to pay off schooling, stood in front of a massive crate on rollers. For his young age, he rivaled Big Macintosh in size, which is why Jake knew he'd be the perfect candidate for the job.

"Just came off the train this morning, boss. We had a heck of a time getting this thing here. Those two used all their magic to push this thing along, but we almost had to go get Twilight and have her help with it."
Jake chuckled.

"That's why I trust you three. You haven't failed me yet."
He craned his neck to look around the crate, which was about fifteen feet long and at least six feet high.

"Where are those two?"

"Over here!"
Two blue unicorns came around the right side of the plane and approached him. They were twins, which was obvious by their identical looks with matching white manes and tails. Kline, the slightly taller of the two, which for Jake was the only way to tell them apart, and Klauss, were the key behind the loading operation, being able to push and levitate heavy objects with their magic. Kline handed Jake a checklist.

"We were doing a pre-flight check for you. Making sure everything was up to par before setting off in these hazardous conditions."

"Thanks guys. But I have to be sure for myself that everything is ok. I wouldn't feel comfortable flying. It's not that I don't trust you, but I hope you understand what I mean."

"Of course. We'll do our part and get this thing loaded up for you."

They slowly rolled the crate back to the cargo ramp. The twins on either side, their horns aglow with magic, and Sleethoof simply pushing with his full weight from behind.

Once they got the crate aligned, the earth pony walked around and got up into the cargo bay to release the ramp. Jake hadn't turned on anything yet, so the cargo bay was pitch black save for the small streams of dull light coming through the porthole windows on ether side.

He pulled down on a red lever in the back, and with a whine, the ramp began to drop, filling the interior with light.

Jake was in the cockpit, going over his final checklist. The avionics were on, and he was ready to start the engines. As he reached up for the ignition switch, Klauss ran up from the back.

"Jake! Come quick!"
The pilot, fearing that one of them was injured from the weight of the crate, ran back as quick as he could. He breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the other two still intact, but when he looked down at what they were standing around, he became confused and slightly unsettled. There, on the metal floor, was a large stain of blood next to some stained jump seat cushions.

He looked at his crew for a moment, who waited for him to decide a course of action.

"Do you guys know anything about this?"
They all shook their heads. Jake sighed and looked out to the stretch of runway down the field.

"Call the sheriff. Let's figure this out before we go anywhere. And get on the line with the Crystal Empire, let them know that we're going to be late."

Author's Note:

Sorry about the delays getting this chapter out. It's finals week at school and I'm sure most of you understand. Thanks for reading!

Comments

[trigger fire]

When's the next update and also good job on this fanfic

[Jetset0099]

3639920 the next update will be sometime later in the week. I'm not exactly sure when.

[Rain_Bow_Dashie]

Yes finial's week..... MOST of us understand but some of us dont.... ;P LMAO jk, good luck w/school.... and mmmm pizza