//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 | The Resolve // Story: Golf Echo Bravo // by part time pony //------------------------------// 334 Hours after the disappearance of Golf Echo Bravo Ponyville, Equestria The sun shined brightly, and the wind roared lightly through the morning. The leaves on the trees moved along with the wind. Just outside the Everfree Forest laid a small and cosy cottage, which happened to also be the home of Fluttershy, a pegasus. She had just woken up and began her day of tending to the animals which called her house and the surrounding lands home. Greeting her pet bunny Angel she went outside and fed the birds who were sitting calmly outside their small birdhouses. The yellow pegasus continued with her routine, greeting the animals and feeding them, and by the time she had finished the sun had properly risen to near midday. As she was about to lay down and rest a little she became slightly startled upon hearing loud trotting coming towards her, though she quickly calmed down when she noticed it was Rarity. She looked as the white-coated unicorn slowed down and walked over to her. "Oh hello, Rarity," Fluttershy spoke calmly and quietly. "Hello there, darling, I hope I'm not bothering you." Rarity greeted Fluttershy, speaking in her usual elegant manner. "Oh no, not at all, I was just about to rest anyway." The pegasus responded, looking up at Rarity, who now stood in front of her. "I see. Well, I only came down to tell you that Twilight is coming back from Canterlot today." Rarity said. "That's wonderful, I can't wait to see her again, but why did she leave for Canterlot in such a hurry in the first place?" Fluttershy rejoiced with the news, but at the same time still confused as Twilight had to suddenly leave two days ago, taking the night train to Canterlot, she didn't have time to tell her friends why she had gotten an urgent letter from Luna and Celestia which requested her presence in Canterlot on such short notice, though all of this would hopefully be explained today she hoped. There was also the lunch at Applejack's which she had missed, Antoine and Timothy had been in attendance as they had promised. "I still haven't put my hoof on it, but it was after that loud noise during the night, whatever that was ruined my beauty sleep." Rarity said. Suddenly, just as Fluttershy was about to speak a rainbow-coloured streak appeared in front of both and spun around, both were startled and both mares screamed quietly, though they quickly calmed down upon realising it was their friend, and Ponyville's best prankster Rainbow Dash who had shown up. "Rainbow Dash!" Rarity spoke out loudly in a condemning voice. "What?" She spoke out innocently, then laughing lightly. Fluttershy couldn't help her self but giggle a little from what just happened, and when Rarity noticed both mares in front of her were now finding this situation amusing she rolled her eyes and smiled towards the end. "So what were you two talking about?" Rainbow asked. "Oh about that night." Rarity said, vaguely, however, the cyan-coated mare understood what she meant. "I heard some guards overtalk that in Cloudsdale yesterday," Rainbow said. Fluttershy looked up at the pegasus mare, who was using her wings to hover slightly above the ground. "What did they say?" She asked quietly. "Some tussle in the castle, one or two were hurt I think." She said, sounding unsure towards at the end. "Oh my, that sounds horrible." Rarity said, shocked, she expected the castle of Canterlot to be the last place in Equestria where a small skirmish would break loose. Fluttershy remained quiet. "Yeah, well, things happen I guess. Anyway when's Twilight back?" Rainbow Dash asked, changing from one mood to another just as fast as she flies. "It's not too long from now I presume." Rarity said once more, and right she was as directly after the loud whistle from the Friendship Express was heard in the distance, indicating the train would pull into the Ponyville station at any moment. "That's our cue!" Rainbow Dash said and disappeared from view just as fast as she had arrived. Árborg Muncipality, Iceland Úlrik and Arnaud drove through the Icelandic countryside, passing by several farms and minuscule farming towns. Driving on the mini highway their destination was the town of Selfoss, which was the closest large settlement to the first airfield they'd be visiting. As they drove, however, a question arose in the head of Úlrik. "Are you sure what we're doing is completely legal?" He asked, keeping his attention on the road. Arnaud chuckled. "Well uh, I haven't had the time to contact my attorney but it should be." He said. "Well, that's reassuring" Úlrik answered sarcastically. Arnaud looked over to his right, seeing flatlands, to his left a quarry. "No, but I did some digging on my own, and since you work for the Icelandic aviation authority you have the right to do so." Úlrik awaited to answer, as he carefully navigated his way through a roundabout and into the correct lane. "Uh-huh, and what about you?" "As far as the law is concerned I am simply your assistant." He said to conclude the conversation, as the pick-up truck now entered the town of Selfoss There was a second roundabout, and Úlrik took the second exit, driving now east he continued and near the outskirts of the town passed through yet another roundabout before continuing straight. At the intersection up ahead he turned left and drove on a small concrete road for five kilometres before once again turning left, this time onto a dirt road. In front of them laid a small airfield, with a somewhat large runway, one medium-sized hangar made of steel and some wooden huts, there was a fuel tank adjacent to the hangar. The runway was made out of the dirt as well, and lacked any illumination, as a matter of fact, there was no sign of any illumination anywhere, which rendered the airfield useless during the night. "Well, here we are." The Frenchman said. Úlrik parked his truck next to the hangar, and both stepped out onto the rough dirt below. They both walked onto the runway, standing not too close to the middle, but just far out enough to see all the buildings. "The hangar looks relatively brand new, but where's all the other more necessary infrastructure?" Úlrik wondered out loud. He couldn't exactly put his finger on it, however. "Your guess is as good as mine," Arnaud said. They both walked over to the hangar, the main doors being shut, however the access door on the side being ajar. Naturally, their curiosity got the better of them as both entered the steel hangar. Arnaud located the light switch and flipped it, within seconds the entire hangar was lit up with a bright white light. A bit too bright perhaps. However, what surprised them the most was that despite the closed hangar doors there was no plane inside. "Well, that's peculiar," Arnaud said. "You're right, brand new shiny hangar but no plane," Úlrik added. Arnaud chuckled, looking over to Úlrik. "That too, but I was more referencing those tables and boards over there." He said as he pointed his arm out. What both of them saw looked like something straight out of a typical 1960's detective movie with large investigative boards. All that was missing was a detective in a khaki trench coat and a fedora, smoking a pipe. They naturally, both walked over, and the contents of the board surprised them even further. In the centre, there was a large map of Iceland's south-western coast. The airfield was clearly marked with a large red dot, and so was Keflavik Airport with the same. There was also a continuous dotted line that started at the bottom of the map at an angle and went all the way to Keflavik. However, what shocked Úlrik the most was that on said line there was a small green dot, which happened to be nearly the exact same location where a week prior, Álfur had marked the estimated site of disappearance. "What's up?" Arnaud asked, noticing the shock on Úlrik. "See that dot on the line?" The Icelander said as Arnaud nodded. "Yeah, well, that's nearly the exact same place where Álfur marked the estimated disappearance of GBE." "You mean to tell me someone nicked the map from your office and took it to here?" Arnaud said once more. "Nono, our map is much fancier than this one," Úlrik said, both chuckled slightly before resuming. "Well, I'm all for creepy coincidences but let's check some other stuff in the hangar, I wouldn't really want to be caught snooping around here you know." The Frenchman voiced his concern, as he walked away from the board which featured a map and went over to one of the corners where there were all sorts of things scattered. "I wouldn't worry, this airfield is what we'd call a paper airfield," Úlrik said, referring to a term that was used by his colleagues and himself. "A what now?" Arnaud asked. "As in the airfield only exists on paper, but in actuality is pretty much abandoned, though that wouldn't really explain the hangar I guess." Arnaud acknowledged what Úlrik said, it did indeed seem to match the description of only existing on paper, though as he said, it wouldn't explain the hangar. Regardless if the airfield was abandoned or not, it didn't matter much, right now they had enough proof to say this airfield was suspicious enough o consider related, after all, it had a map that showed a loosely drawn flight and a dot on the map which nearly matched the same one at the Icelandic investigation's warehouse. The rest of the search was mostly uneventful, they had still found some interesting things, however. A mirror covered in a piece of cloth and a machine which looked suspiciously off, there were also some empty boxes which had traces of some rocks as shown by small pieces, but both assumed it was for the most part junk which the owner, assuming there was one just dropped in the hangar as temporary storage. There also was spare parts which belonged to a Cessna-172 and a lot of jerry cans, some empty, some filled with aviation fuel. An hour went by, and by now both decided that they'd revisit this airfield some other time, but now awaited another one in the area. They both walked back to the truck and drove off, away from the airfield. Ponyville, Equestria The train ride to Ponyville had been the opposite of quiet. Twilight, who would be accompanying Connor had been asking a lot of questions during the trip. Connor, naturally, answered them all, but at the same time also took his time to admire the landscape of what was to be perhaps his new home. It was his first time seeing it during daylight, and it looked even better than when he first saw it from the cockpit of his jet or after he had landed in the royal garden. Twilight's questions were for the most part rather specific as if she already knew about the basic things on Earth. How she knew came naturally as strange to the naval aviator. However, after probably over a hundred questions and several pages in Twilight's books later, the train had arrived and both disembarked onto the small wooden station. The platform was empty, no welcome party or anything, not that either of them was expecting one. However, the moment they left the station building and began walking away from it, they were interrupted with a winged pony landing right next to them, sliding a little as she braked using her hooves. "Hey, Twilight!" She said loudly as she was suddenly joined by two more ponies, a white-coated one and a yellow-coated one. "Oh, Twilight, what happened in Canterlot?" The white-coated unicorn spoke. Twilight Sparkle giggled, she expected them to have seen the tall human male next to her, but the fact they didn't make it even more perfect for her. "Girls, meet Connor!" "Another human?" Fluttershy asked in her usual quiet way. "Wait, so he's the reason you had to leave for Canterlot?" Rainbow Dash asked at the same time. Twilight smiled casually, and nodded with her eyes closed, answering both questions at once. Rainbow Dash smirked, as she took off and hovered slightly above the ground, moving over to Connor she poked him in the chest. "So you're another flyboy are you not?" She asked. "If that's what you call a naval aviator, then yes," Connor said, looking at the rainbow-maned mare in the eyes. "Wait, what's a naval aviator?" She asked, confused. Antoine and Timothy had always said pilot to describe the job, rather than aviator or some other fancy words. Just as Connor was about to inform Rainbow Dash, Twilight took out one of many books inside her saddlebags and quickly flipped through the pages where she had noted down what Connor said earlier in the train. She cleared her throat just as Connor was about to begin speaking. "A naval aviator is a commissioned position in the navy, somepony who is qualified to operate military aircraft that launch and operate from Aircraft carriers." Fluttershy and Rarity were confused by the description, the only thing they understood was just how complex the world of humans seemed. Though Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, felt otherwise. "That sounds so AWESOME!" Both Rarity and Fluttershy giggled at the reaction of Rainbow Dash, with Twilight Sparkle herself joining in. Connor was amused, however not in the mood for giggles and chuckles. Some minutes went by, and by the end of the introductions, they resumed walking towards the cafe, with Fluttershy, Rarity and Rainbow Dash now joining them. The Ponyville cafe was rather quiet for the current time of day. Antoine was used to seeing the town cafe's usually busy during midday when everyone had their lunch or a small snack before resuming work. However, that was not the case in Equestria, or Ponyville at least. Both the pilots were seated at a large table, still waiting for Twilight to arrive. A waitress walked over, with two glasses of water, the waitress was a unicorn and was pink-coated with a yellow and purple mane. She used her magic to levitate the two glasses and bring them onto the table. "Thank you, darling." Timothy thanked the waitress, who smiled. "Say, do we pay now or at the end?" He added. "At the end." She answered, smiling once again and leaving. "It's always at the end, Tim." Antoine chuckled as he reaffirmed what the waitress said. "Not in England, at least not in the pubs." He exclaimed a bit loudly as he took a small sip of water from the glass. "Anyway, who are we meeting again?" "I don't know, she was vague in her letter," Antoine said, and just at that moment both of them could see the easily recognizable purple unicorn slowly make her way towards the restaurant. Accompanying her were 3 other ponies, whom the pair also recognized rapidly. Them being Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. However, there was one more being with them, who neither of them had seen before. "Is that?" Antoine started. But before he could finish the group had already arrived. "Yes!" Twilight exclaimed happily, sitting down and already taking out quills and books for notetaking. The rest sat down as well. Connor was still standing, however. Still examining the situation. He sighed and sat down. "Please tell me you both speak English." "Well, I don't think we'd be here if we didn't." Timothy pointed out in his relaxed British accent, referencing to the fact pilots were required to have an understanding of English. Connor was served water with the waitress coming back, the same with the four mares. "Right, let's get introductions out the way, I'm Connor. You two?" "I'm Antoine, and he's Timothy." "Tim works just fine," Timothy said, as Connor nodded. An awkward silence followed, at least in the thoughts of Twilight. Timothy and Antoine waited for the American to ask a question, or say something, but he sat there and looked as if he was suddenly in deep thought. Rainbow Dash nearly fell asleep at the sight, while Rarity and Fluttershy patiently waited. "Wait. Aren't you two the pilots of Gol.." Connor stuttered at the end. "That's us, yes." Antoine pointed out, and Connor was once again back in deep thought. He sat there as if his brain had just imploded, though come to think of it, it probably had imploded. Timothy was seen with a slightly smug smile while chuckling quietly. Antoine on the other hand was seen with a more neutral, serious expression. Minutes went by, and the awkward silence returned as Twilight Sparkle was slightly frustrated at the fact there was nothing to note down except the silence. That was until Spike was seen running towards her, shouting for her attention. "Twilight!" The mares quickly switched their attention, while the two pilots were still focused on Connor, who seemed to be in his own world at this point. Timothy, however, paid small attention towards Spike. "What is it, Spike?" Twilight asked the baby dragon, who stopped next to Rarity and panted. "Le-lett, letter fr-from C-c-celstia!" He continued catching his breath, as he drew out his arm with a letter in his claw. Twilight, immediately taking it with her magic and quickly reading it. "Spike, let's go!" The purple mare said as she suddenly disappeared from view using a simple teleportation spell to bring her to the library. "I-i'll come later..." He said as he plopped himself down onto the soft grass. "Poor Spikey-wikey" Rarity exclaimed, just as Twilight returned with the teleportation spell and smiled awkwardly, taking Spike with her magic and teleporting back to the library. "Well girls, I think that's our cue as well." Rarity said as she made her way towards the library, quickly followed by Fluttershy while Rainbow Dash went to get Pinkie Pie and Applejack. The Main 6 was assembled in Twilight's home. Though the three humans, Antoine, Timothy and Connor walked on a promenade through the town, giving the American naval aviator a tour of the town, mostly just telling him where the more important and significant buildings were located. They were currently walking past Sugarcube Corner. "This is the main bakery here in Ponyville," Timothy said. "Which also happens to be Antoine's favourite place." He added, referring to the Frenchman's fondness of baked foods, sweet or not. "Hey!" Antoine protested, and Timothy grinned in a way that made him look smug. The tour of the town went on, and towards the end, just when they were approaching the train station a loud yell was heard. "JUST A TEST?". Shortly after, the home of Twilight Sparkle was seen being launched up into the sky and back onto the ground. "Sounds like someone is having a rough day." The American stated, with the two pilots next to him chuckling at that comedic comment. "Well, she's unpredictable sometimes," Antoine said. "Just like you," Timothy commented with a wide smug smile seen on him. Antoine rolled his eyes and waved his arm towards both to continue towards the train station, where the tour was to conclude. It had been a relatively long day for everyone, especially Connor. The conclusion of the tour was a relief for his legs who by now were starting to hurt, it didn't help either by the fact he hadn't showered or had any time for relaxation apart from the hospital bed. The next few days though would prove to be interesting, not just for the main six, but also the investigation team back on Earth.