Legends of Equestria: Hesturland

by The Blue EM2


Assault on Mount Talladega-Preparations

There was a quiet hum as a holographic table booted up, and finally the image displayed on screen.

"Nice piece of equipment, this," Rockhoof said to Stygian. "Where did you find this?"

"According to my source," Stygian replied, "this holographic map is of the same design as the one used in Twilight's Castle. The Cutie Map, after all, is nothing more than a giant holographic map powered by an ancient tree. This one, however, is entirely electronic, and is powered by that plug socket over there, connected to your hydroelectric dam."

"So, we can look at any place on the globe and instantly see what's goin' on?" Meadowbrook asked.

"Not quite," Stygian replied. "The map is a map, not a radar unit or an IFF tracker."

"IFF?"

"Identification Friend or Foe." Stygian paused, to let them soak up this information, and then continued with his spiel when he was absolutely certain that they had correctly absorbed the information that he had just been at the liberty of telling them. "Today's information was given to us by the good Colonel."

They all temporarily lowered their heads. Ever since the Colonel's death a few days ago, they had redoubled their efforts to fight the Pony of Shadows, especially given his dark design over the world. "So," Rockhoof ventured. "Find out anything useful from that map or your analysis?"

"Well," Stygian said, "I did find a useful chip set into his armour. Despite all the gunfire and combat a few days ago, the chip survived the firefight completely undamaged, and contains a full record of Project 722 data before his connection was cut. I was also able to glean some useful information on tactics and weaponry, including some they've developed by studying us."

"Can you show us this?" Meadowbrook asked.

"Certainly." Gripping the card gently in his teeth, Stygian popped it into the side of the holographic map. There was a click, a small whirr, and suddenly the map sprung to life with a roar, with colours and images appearing all over it. Data flickered over the screen and through the air, and text messages flew about like aeroplanes trying to find a place to land at a chaotic airport (or Heathrow on any given morning). Stygian looked closely. "Now, I know the data we need is in here somewhere. Perfect!"

As he said this, a series of letters and numbers flashed past him, all spelling out a location.

"Those letters and numbers are coordinates to a place!" Rockhoof realised. "Clearly there is a place of importance to them that we need to find and potentially destroy."

"OK, inputting that now," Stygian replied, his teeth clenched as he did so, making his words rather hard to understand. "33°27'37.6"N 85°48'44.3"W."

The machine whirred to life, and suddenly the map went whizzing along out of control until they stopped over the top of a hill, a whole series of hills as a matter of fact, which climbed high into the sky and seemed to scrape the top of the map (which, luckily, was a hologram).

"What is that?" Meadowbrook asked. "That looks like it's a long way from here!"

"That's because it is," Stygian replied. "33°27'37.6"N 85°48'44.3"W is the coordinates for Mount Talladega in Alabama, a mountain in the Blue Ridge Mountain Chain of the Southeastern United States. This particular peak is actually several mountains joined together. This particular one appears to be Cheaha Mountain, with the marker noting that the other mountains are also of interest."

"Should we try a ground penetrating radar scan?" Rockhoof suggested. "If plans highlight mountains, there's usually something hidden underneath said mountains."

Stygian pushed some more buttons, and suddenly the map shifted. The mountains went transparent, and the entire world below them was revealed for everypony to see. There was a massive base beneath the hills, complete with armouries, barracks, refuelling depots, and a massive buildup of objects producing a very big heat signature beneath the peak.

"It's an entire army base," Rockhoof said. "I'm impressed they managed to hide something that big in the middle of nowhere."

"Nobody ever thinks to look underground," Stygian noted. "Based on my observations, the facility was originally built for use as a bunker for officials in the event of a nuclear war, but fell out of use after the Cold War ended. At some point, Project 722 found the sight and extensively refitted it, rendering it able to carry out a number of functions suitable to their needs."

"Such as storing a nuke, apparently," Rockhoof muttered. "I can't think of any other plausible explanation for them clearly having such a massive heat signature coming off that site. Still, it does rather raise the question. Who built it, and why?"

"The facility was originally built for use as a bunker for officials in the event of a nuclear war, but fe-"

"I meant the nuke, not the base," Rockhoof said. "The base I already know about, as you just said. But what interests me more is how they got their hands on a nuclear missile. The United States doesn't normally throw those things around!"

"I think this evidence will help you on that front," Stygian said, and he moved his hoof to hit another button. This button was linked to an audio recording, and this started to play by itself.

"General, are you suggesting that magical entities are at work in our world?"

"Unless there is some other explanation for a man turning into a winged horse that I'm not aware of, that would be the case, Mr Secretary."

There was a momentary silence. "Very well, General. I'll give Project 722 the go ahead, along with the funding required and a blank cheque."

"A blank cheque? I understand this matter is serious, sir, but I doubt that we need to give them total free reign to do what they want. I think we need some form of oversight to ensure that they don't misuse funds. The public were pretty angry when they learned how much money had been spent on the F-35 and still hadn't produced a working, functioning aircraft."

"When the defence of the nation is at stake, money is not the concern. The effectiveness of our forces to counter any threat is, and that's why they need all the support they can. Project 722 with protect the nation, but the project must be kept secret, so that the public doesn't panic."

"Very well, sir. I'll notify the Colonel that the job is his if he wants it."

Rockhoof looked stunned. "So, it seems this may extend as far as the former Secretary for Defence," he said. "The DoD are tangled up in this pretty deep, not to mention billions of dollars of public money. So, any ideas as to how we'll get in?"

"I have a few," Stygian said. A giant arrow appeared over an inconspicous building. "See this nice looking country cottage here?"

"It would look nice, if it weren't for the fact it's in the middle of nowhere for no good reason," Rockhoof said gruffly.

"It is in the middle of nowhere, but it is there for a very good reason." The map scrolled over a bit. "The building is within 100 miles of the city of Lafayette, home to one hundred and twenty seven thousand people, give or take a few hundred. People could easily see something there, so it has to look innocous. As it sits right on top of the bunker entrance."

He switched back to the ground penetrating radar screen. "The building has a thick steel door built into one of its walls, and this hides access to the elevator. This takes people down into the basement of the bunker. The other wall houses another steel door, which leads to a flight of stairs for use if the elevator is knocked out. That descends for a bit, but unfortunately I cannot get any detailed images or corridor scans down there. They're very deep, and something is interfering with the tracking system of this table."

"We'll need ta find a way in and out," Meadowbrook noted. "Ah know that, as a pony, we're protected from this virus, but radiation? Ah have no clue."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Rockhoof replied, wanting to get a move on. "I would suggest infiltrating via the bunker entrance would be the best route, then start our plan once we are inside the facility proper. And for that, we're going to need some troops."

"We do have the Native Guard," Stygian pointed out. "As we have seen, they are very effective soldiers indeed, and ready for virtually anything that may come their way."

"We'll make our march in the morning," Rockhoof said finally. "For now, it is best if we rest for a while, and take the opportunity to brief the troops for what is ahead. I can only home that the Mighty Helm can come to their aid, or else this will be a very hard fight indeed."