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// Chapter 17: Planing is Essential… 
// Story: The Engineer’s Wings 
// by Keeper of time RD 
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When morning came, Scootaloo awoke to unusually comforting warmth. The usual morning chill was missing from the hanger air. The sound of sizzling and the sent of eggs and hash browns coming from the stove mere feet away from her hammock gave a strong hint as to why. Somepony had fired up the stove.

Lazily opening her eyes, Scoots found her guest was indeed making breakfast. Although that conjured another question in her young mind.

“Rainbow Dash, where did you get the food?” she asked knowing that she didn’t keep perishable foods like eggs or potatoes in the hanger.

The blue mare gave a small chuckle. “It turns out that the market in a small farm town like this is open early enough to buy actual breakfast food in the morning. Back in Cloudsdale, there was maybe a bakery or three open that early. So if you wanted anything other than muffins or bagels in the morning it had to come from your fridge. But not here! I saw Applejack was already in the fields and the morning market had several stalls already open!”

“Wait, you’ve already been to the market and back this morning?” the filly asked, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“Of course! It’s not that far!” Rainbow Dash answered, opening her wings and giving them a mock flap.

“Right. To an awesome flyer like you, the whole town is like just a minute away, huh?” Scootaloo said, giving her own flightless wings a wistful look.

Reaching a hoof over to ruffle Scootaloo’s mane, Dash smiled and said, “Squirt, to an awesome flyer like me, Canterlot is a minute away.”

With that said, she took the frying pan off of the stove and divided its contents among two plates sitting on the crate-table. Sitting down by one of the plates, the blue mare tapped the table by the far plate and said, “Eat up. We have a long day ahead of us.”

“We do?” the filly asked as she climbed down from her hammock.

“Yeah, I thought you three deserved to see what your efforts amounted to. That and I think we’re borrowing your goggles again for our next mission. Although I really do just mean borrow the goggles this time. I’m fairly sure this next mission will be too dangerous to ask you to join me in the field. But that’s no reason you can’t watch from the safety of H.Q.”

With that, Scootaloo dug in to her breakfast. It wasn’t until she was almost done that something Dash had said finally registered in her mind.

“Wait, you three?”

After finishing her own breakfast, Rainbow Dash looked up with a guilty smile and said, “I may have intercepted your friends on the way to school. In fact they’re already downstairs. At this point, we’re just waiting on Twilight. Once she’s here, we’re heading out.”

Scootaloo quickly finished her food, guzzled down the glass of orange juice Dash had provided with it and headed out to the main hanger room.

Sure enough, she found Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle gathered around a map that they’d laid out on the floor not far from the base of the stairs. And apparently, Rainbow Dash had given the farm filly the coordinates for the rendezvous point and Bloom had already worked out where it was and what flight heading they’d need to fly there from Ponyville.

Scootaloo couldn’t help but chuckle at the realization that what had once been a bluff about her friend being her navigator was now true.

That was also about the time Twilight Sparkle showed up.

“What an interesting town,” the unicorn said mostly thinking out loud. “I’d have never guessed that an inn with a bear standing guard in the lobby would be run by such a kind mare.”

“I take it you stayed at Fluttershy’s Sanctuary Inn?” Scootaloo asked.

“Wait! Did you say Fluttershy?” Dash interrupted.

“Yeah. She owns the inn near here. Why?” the orange filly answered with an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

The mare with the rainbow mane drew a hoof up to her chin and put on a rare thoughtful look. “I used to know a Fluttershy growing up in Cloudsdale. We lost touch when we went our separate ways after school. Me off to become a Wonderbolt, and her… Well, I always took her for a homebody, so I thought she’d still be there when I got out of the academy. But by the time I did, she’d moved out, and I never did find out where to. I wonder if this is the same Fluttershy…”

“Potential reunions will have to wait. We have a task to accomplish this morning. Speaking of which, are we ready, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked.

“I’m always ready!” the ace pilot boasted.

With that the two adults left the hanger, heading for the tie-down area, where Dash’s fighter jet was parked. And the three fillies pilled into Scootaloo’s jet.

“Are you sure about this, Apple Bloom? I can’t imagine that Applejack’s going to go easy on you for ditching school two days in a row.”

The yellow filly gave a wily grin. “Actually, Rainbow Dash talked to us early enough that Ah was able to tell Cheerilee about it. She gave me permission to ditch today as long as Ah write a report on our adventure. She even said she’d let it be makeup work for yesterday. As long as she’s happy with my work, she’s got no reason to tell AJ that Ah wasn’t there today.”

With the back of her seat between them, Scootaloo settled for shooting a scornful look at the instrument panel in front of her and said, “…So you’re betting everything on the hope that AJ doesn’t find out?”

“The Cutie Mark Crusaders are a team! Remember?” Bloom defended her choice.

To that the young pilot smiled. Then she said, “Speaking of team, Sweetie Belle, can you see that switch by the hanger door?”

Sweetie did her best to stand up in her harness and spotted the industrial-grade electric switch by the open hanger doors. “Yep, I see it! What of it?”

“Think you can flip that switch with your magic once we’re outside?”

“Sure!”

“Thanks!” Scootaloo responded.

A smile graced her face at the realization that with her unicorn friend around she didn’t have to turn the plane off, jump out to go close the doors herself and then start the plane back up every time she left when the airport staff weren’t around to close the door for her.

And true to her word, once they’d rolled out of the hanger, Sweetie’s horn glowed its soft green glow for a moment and the hanger doors started to close. With that out of the way, Scootaloo pointed the plane to the taxiways and followed Rainbow Dash’s Mark 2 toward the active runway.


* * * * * * *


The flight to the north proved to be an uneventful one. Perhaps not a surprising revelation, after all how many sky pirates would attack two military-grade aircraft, one of which was painted in official Wonderbolt colors?

The rendezvous point was a little north of where the city of Cloudsdale was normal parked. Although ever since the Crystal Empire had declared war on Equestria, the cloud city had been moved down near Las Pegasus instead.

Yet as they drew near enough to make out the shapes that were there, Scootaloo’s eyes grew wide in awe. In addition to the C.S. Cloudsdale with its Wonderbolt flag, there were three more cloud ships flying the flag of the regular E.U.P Guard.

With her mouth slightly agape, she managed to mutter, “The Storm Breaker, the Las Pegasus, the Sky Haven… If they’re all here… This is the entire Air Force!”

The young pilot and her friends didn’t have long to admire the sight before Rainbow Dash radioed in and got landing assignments for the both of them. Once on board the Cloudsdale, they were instructed to head up to the bridge where Spitfire was waiting for them.

As they were making their way there, Twilight Sparkle turned to Rainbow Dash and asked, “When Shining Armor betrayed you, do you remember what color his magic was?”

The ace Wonderbolt shrugged and said, “I don’t know, some kinda purple. I wasn’t paying that much attention to it. Kinda like yours, I guess.” As she answered Dash couldn’t help but notice a frown appear on the unicorn’s face. And so she added “Why?”

Looking up and gazing through the ceiling, Twilight answered, “Because I didn’t want to believe that my brother betrayed Equestria… I don’t want to…”

“Wait! Shining Armor is your brother?!”

The revelation brought Dash and the fillies to a stop.

“Well, I’m sure the Shining Armor we met was a changeling,” Sweetie Belle offered.

“Yeah… a changeling…” Twilight responded in a distant tone.

Rainbow Dash wore a concerned look, but resumed leading the team toward the bridge. It seemed clear to her that the purple unicorn knew something that she wasn’t sharing, and Dash suddenly found herself questioning the loyalty of the unicorn researcher. Although she kept her thoughts to herself, she decided to keep a wary eye on Twilight whenever circumstance allowed.


On the bridge, they found that several ponies in officer uniforms of the E.U.P. Guard had joined the usual Wonderbolt staff, as had a regal white alicorn who was instantly recognizable as Princess Celestia. Most of the non-Wonderbolts raised a curious eyebrow when they saw three fillies enter the room.

The exception being a mint green pegasus mare with a fancy cap and shoulder boards that marked her as the commander of the E.U.P.’s air forces. Making her and Celestia the only two ponies above Spitfire in the chain of command. For her part, Commander Spring Rain looked on Scootaloo with both recognition and annoyance. She recognized the filly she’d dragged into court trying to repossess her Lightning Bolt Mark 1. And without a doubt she still remembered the face of the child that surprised everypony and turned an act of charity into a huge tactical mistake.

Scootaloo returned the commander’s glare with a timid smile. And quickly decided that it would be best if she didn’t speak unless spoken to. As the commander still seemed sour over the judge pointing out that the manufacturer’s agreement only forbade THEM from selling Mark 1’s to civilians, and the law only forbade civilians from owning the top of the line fighter jets. Nether condition was true by the time Scootaloo’s ownership of a Lightning Bolt Mark 1 was challenged. Regardless the look in the commander’s eyes made it clear that a grudge was still held against her for having the plane that no pony else was supposed to have yet.

Despite all of that, it was the earth pony stallion with the general’s cap that motioned to the youngsters and spoke up. “Should they even be here?”

“Relax, they’re just here to watch,” Rainbow Dash said in response. “They won’t even be leaving the bridge until the operation is already underway.”

With that, Spitfire motioned to an out-of-the-way corner between two workstations. The trio of fillies took the hint and got ‘out of the way’ while the adults gathered around the central table of the command room.

The ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia, was first to speak. Although all she did was ask, “Do you have the items?”

Twilight nodded and brought out the Tranquility Stone. At the same time Rainbow motioned to Scootaloo, and the filly came forward and placed the Goggles of True Light on the table in front of the elder pilot.

The princess looked to the captain of the Wonderbolts and simply asked, “Spitfire?”

“They’re fitting it onto Dash’s plane as we speak.”

“Then all the pieces are in place,” Celestia said with a solemn tone. “Seeing as King Sombra refuses to see the truth of the changelings for himself, we must force him to see it. While we can not force him to wear the goggles, we can use the Tranquility Stone to dispel the changelings transformations and expose whatever advisers have been whispering lies into his ear. That should get him to see that it was indeed the changelings behind the attacks that provoked this war.”

Moving a hoof to the map on the table, the alicorn with the sun cutie mark traced out three paths. “General, your ground forces will push into the Crystal Empire along these paths. We have no interest in the outlying towns along the way, only the capital. The air force will cover your attack and harass the defenses in the outlying towns until the ground force near the crystal city.”

Then the princess looked right at the Wonderbolt ace. “Rainbow Dash, Spitfire tells me you’re the best flyer we have. Your task is to take the goggles and use the special modification on your plane to point out any changelings among the enemy ranks for our unicorns on the ground to expose. That should help create confusion among the enemy. When the strike team breaches the castle, abandon your plane and join us.”

Looking up from the map, the princess with the rainbow-like mane that flowed in an unfelt breeze said, “The anti-air guns in the southern part of the city need to be disabled by the ground forces and the castle plaza secured. Once that’s done and it’s safe for us to air drop, I will personally lead the strike team with the Tranquility Stone into the castle. We storm the throne room and set off the Tranquility Stone right where he can see it so there will be no doubt as to what just happened. A unicorn of his caliber will know the legends. As long as he sees the magic come from the stone, he’ll know it's dispel magic and not some kind of illusion spell.”

Stepping back from the table and casting her gaze to the room at large, Celestia continued, “While I realize that our troops must prioritize their own wellbeing, keep in mind that these crystal ponies are convinced that we are guilty of crimes we did not commit. Their only crime is believing reasonable-sounding lies over the unlikely truth. So whenever possible, have your ponies disarm or disable even though the enemy will be trying to kill us.

“That said, time is of the essence. Confusion will only buy us so much time. We’ll have an hour, maybe two before they realize that softening up the defenses of the outlying towns was a bluff. Once that happens, the outer forces will converge on our ground forces. If that happens, we’ll have no choice but to unleash the full force of these cloud ships to bring the fighting to a stop… Needless to say, I’d rather not reduce the city to rubble as such a fight would be a slaughter for both sides. So let’s be sure to get King Sombra to surrender with the Tranquility Stone before then.”

With one last look around the room, Celestia stood confidently before those gathered in the command room and finished by saying, “You have your orders and my trust. Operation Shattered Veil begins now!”