General Blackjack watched from atop the observation platform as his crew made the necessary preparations. He knew that he didn't have much time given the age of the reports he had. Once again he thought of the plan for more trained civilian observers that had been kicked around recently. He shook his head and groaned. He could have really used them today.
But now, everything depended on the pulse that Brillance was organizing, assuming she had enough magical firepower to work with. If he could figure out a direction, he had four squadrons that he could get up in a matter of minutes, and almost the entire garrison of Canterlot at the ready. But where were they coming from, and when?
"Sir? came a voice from somewhere to his left. He turned and spotted a young sergeant next to him. "We have a call for you sir."
"Really?" the general replied, "Any damn clue who it is, or is this going to be a surprise?"
The young N.C.O. turned back and conversed with the caller for a few moments, and then turned back and answered, "Sir, it's some courtier calling from Canterlot Castle sir. He insists that he needs to talk to you."
The general gave an exasperated sigh. It was hardly a surprise that somepony at the castle would have heard of the issues that had cropped up during the day. But to have to deal with some anonymous underling expecting information while he was still trying to confirm just what the hell he was up against in the first place was just a royal pain in the but.
But protocol was protocol.
"O.k. sergeant, put it through to my personal line," he finally replied.
"Yes sir," the sergeant answered, and he motioned to another guardspony, who flipped a couple of switches on an adjacent control panel while General Blackjack moved over to a set of wired headphones hanging from a box attached to the railing with a sign marked "O.I.C. use only." He then put the headphones on and pressed the button on the box.
"This is General Blackjack, to whom am I speaking?" he asked.
"One moment please general," was the reply, followed by a moment of silence before a magic portal appeared in front of him, and an all too familiar voice was heard, "Good morning general."
Blackjack had to make a deliberate effort to control his reaction as he recognized his ultimate superior. But he took a quick breath and responded, "Good morning your highness. It's good to hear from you, though your timing is a bit inconvenient."
"As I guessed general," the princess replied, "I have been receiving reports of some possible security issues. Is there anything that you can tell me about the situation?"
"Your highness...I'll be blunt. In a nutshell, we have persistent communications issues with a large section of the northwest territories; a confirmed report of an incursion by the forces of the Storm King in that same area; and a report that the Storm King may be in possession of an extremely dangerous magical device," Blackjack answered.
"Hmmm," Celestia replied, her voice betraying her concern, "That is quite a nutshell."
"Indeed your highness," Blackjack replied, "I have to ask, if you can tell me, do you know if Princess Twilight invited anyone from the empire to this celebration?'
There was silence for a moment, and then Celestia answered, "Unfortunately, I really don't know. She has been putting a lot of pressure on herself to make this celebration perfect. Given that she has made several friends and new allies among other kingdoms, it's entirely possible that she would have made such an effort, though granted I wish she would consult with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs first."
"Your highness," the general replied, "We're still trying to locate these intruders, and we're way behind the curve here. The time that we have to spend making I.F.F. inquiries when we do find these guys is that much less time to respond militarily. Given those factors, I can not guarantee that once we do confirm hostile intent that we will have the time to employ enough of our forces to defend you."
There was silence on the line for a moment or two as Celestia pondered the question, and then she reponded, "I understand that risk general. That is a chance I'm prepared to take. If this is a friendly visit, we don't want to do anything to aggravate them. And...if it is an attack, I will not abandon the ponies here."
Blackjack nodded, "I understand your highness. With that in mind, would it be possible to delay the opening ceremonies for at least an hour, and possibly limit access to the castle proper for at least that long?"
"I believe that we can pause things at the main gate for that long," Celestia replied, "That I think I can manage."
"Thank you, your highness. That will help." Blackjack answered.
There was a small pause as someone appeared behind the princess and whispered something to her, and then Celestia continued, "I'm afraid that I am needed elsewhere general, so I'll have to move on. My best wishes to you and your command, and good luck to all of you."
"Indeed your highness," Blackjack answered, "My best wishes to both you and your sister. I'll do my best to keep you informed."
A moment later, the line went silent, and Blackjack removed his headphones and hung them up carefully. Once done, he turned around to face the map table.
"Red!" he called out, "what is the status of that pulse!"
"We'll be ready in a minute," Brillants replied.
"We don't have a damn minute!" Blackjack answered.
"Duly noted," Brillants replied.
Grey Bolt paused for a second and looked back towards the small grove that his parents had chosen to conceal themselves in. It wasn't impressive, but it was fairly dense, and certainly did the trick. 'What the heck was going on?' he thought. He certainly knew what he saw back at the farm, with the hulking shaggy creatures, at least two of them carrying spears. That was certainly not a friendly way to begin a visit. But so far, he had only seen one other ship since that first one landed. If it truly was an invasion, where were the rest of them? Different scenarios danced through his head; a general invasion; a decapitation strike; or some rouge group on a raid. Or...was he overreacting? Did he bring his whole family to the middle of nowhere...for nothing.
He shook his head and tried to clear his mind, and then looked around. He spotted a line of trees in the near distance, apparently strung along the banks of a small river. And then it all clicked. "Good," he thought, "Now I know where I am." Based on what he could see, they had at best travelled only about twenty miles from the farm, and the nearest village was at worst five miles way. Even in the worst-case scenario, that meant that he knew how to get the family to the safety of Manechester, assuming it had not fallen. And at best, he could report the incursion to the authorities and then they could stay overnight, or even get back to the farm before nightfall. Either way, he could handle this.
But first, he thought, there were immediate needs to consider. He needed to check out the river and see if it was reasonably safe to drink. He moved at a steady gait towards the treeline, pausing at the edge to look and listen. Having satisfied himself, he slowly proceeded forward, always alert for any surprises.
At first, there was only the scene of the stream ahead of him, and the shade of the canopy overhead. But then, a sound caught his ear, and he immediately crouched down and looked for cover. He spotted some dense bushes a few feet away, and moved towards them slowly, and on arriving crouched down in the midst of them. Once he felt reasonably concealed, he carefully studied the surroundings much more deliberately.
Something caught his eye off to his right, and he flattened himself out on the ground, and carefully peered out from between the bushes and carefully scanned the perimeter around him.
It only took to spot the source of the sound he had heard, as from out of the tall grass appeared a small unicorn filly, or so it appeared. He had to look closely to confirm his original idea, as the young pony's color pattern was unlike any he'd ever seen before, all black, the mane, the fur, everything. Grey had to think for a moment. He'd never seen a pure black pony before, though it was a color that appeared as often as any he had seen.
It was then that she turned her head and saw him. Grey wasn't sure just what she expected or how she would react, but instinctively grinned and gave her a quick wave, which was answered with a look that could best be described as one of annoyance.
For a moment, he remained in his concealed position, contemplating whether or not to go over and explain himself. But, out of the corner of his eye, something got his attention. He turned his head and squinted towards the opposite bank of the river and saw them, three hulking blue furred creatures, almost identical to the ones that had landed at the farm.
His mind scrambled to process what he saw. 'Did they follow us all this way?' he thought 'or is this another scout group?' 'How close are they to the grove where the family was?' "Do I have time to warn them?' He couldn't answer those questions, but one thing was clear to him as he surveyed the scene, that filly was now directly in harm's way.
As Blackjack watched, three unicorns took up positions around the large map table that dominated this part of the command post while Major Brillants directed them from the head of the table. When she was apparently satisfied, she looked back over her shoulder and nodded to the general.
Seeing this, Blackjack turned towards the communications board to his left and commanded, "Alright captain, I need commo to go dark for three minutes. Make it happen!"
"Yes sir!" was the answer, and he turned back to his crew. Blackjack didn't hear the actual order, but the effect became apparent quite quickly as the chatter from that side of the room began to rapidly drop off.
When quiet finally became the norm, Blackjack turned and looked to Brillants, and said, "Let's do this major!"
"Yes sir," she replied, and she looked towards the others and said in a calm voice, "O.k. friends...let us begin. I will take the lead, and keep in mind that we will need as much range as possible, so give it your best effort."
She looked around the room, and seeing affirmation from those around her, she took a couple of deep breaths, closed her eyes, and concentrated. The others around the table did the same, and for a few seconds there was nothing but silence.
But in a few seconds, all four of the unicorn's horns began to glow, first dimly...and then with steadily increasing intensity. The light that was generated grew steadily, eventually becoming one intense source, illuminating the entire cavern, while a low resonating sound began to build...slowly but steadily. As the spell grew, the sound became more intense, and the magical energy seemed to concentrate itself, like a magic halo over the four ponies involved. Meanwhile the sound continued to increase, while the halo became more concentrated.
Brillants still had her eyes closed, but she was smiling, and obviously in control of the whole process as the sound became more and more intense.
"Get ready my friends," she said in a raised, but steady voice, and then called out, "Now!" All four of the gathered unicorns threw their heads back and in an instant the halo closed on itself, and a burst of energy shot out from the center towards the commo equipment overhead with a resonating tone that reminded the assembled ponies of standing next to a giant bell as the clapper struck the side.
In that instant, the bright light faded, and General Blackjack looked down to the map table. He could see the halo rise above the representation of their current location, and slowly spread out from there, with several glowing dots suddenly appearing, floating over the map at various locations and heights. The magic energy continued to expand outward, with more and more dots filling the airspace over the table.
Blackjack then looked over to Brillants, who by now had already moved away from the map table to congratulate her fellow unicorns, before turning back towards her commander and reporting, "Sir...there you are. Remember, it will only last for at best 15 minutes. We must use it wisely."
"Thank you major," he replied, and then looked to the officer next to him and asked, "Any first impressions flight leader?"
The other officer studied the picture in front of him, and replied, "I'm concerned about that cluster to the south. It's a tight group, and they appear to be large craft...flying in what appears to be a defensive formation. Not to mention they're way too close for my comfort. Also, the group about 100 kilometers to the north northwest. It's got the same characteristics. Given the choice though, the first group is the more immediate danger."
"O.k.", Blackjack answered, "What's availalable?"
The R.F.C. pegasi looked back to the blips, and answered "Sir, I think that the pair of blips there just to the north of Ponyville might be ours, if those guys from VR-19 are on the heading that they reported ten minutes ago." She turned and signaled to one of the ponies who had been obviously listening in from his communications station, who turned to the console in front of him, made a quick adjustment of frequencies, and the pressed the microphone button and called out, "Fastrack 1-1...Fastrack 1-1...this is the Tower calling...come in."
There was a moments silence, and then came the reply, "Tower...this is Fastrack 1-1...I read you lima charlie...over."
"Fastrack 1-1...this is the Tower...request current vector and assigned waypoint...over," the operator called out.
"Tower, this is Fastrack 1-1...we are on vector 190...assigned waypoint is Ponyville...repeat Ponyville...over."
The operator looked over to the general, who had obviously listened in. The general nodded and ordered, "Send them in flight leader."
"Yes sir," he answered, and then turned back to the microphone and pressed the button. "Fastrack 1-1...this is the Tower...you are to continue to waypoint Ponyville...then vector to 1 2 0 for multiple large bogeys last reported at angels 2 approximately ...upon contact I.F.F inquiry is to be made at your discretion...how copy over?"
There was a moments pause, and then came the reply, "Tower....Fastrack 1-1...roger that."
Blackjack watched the entire exchange, and when that last call was acknowledged, he turned back to the map table, and once more studied the scene. He knew that someone needed to check out the other contact, but he wasn't in a hurry just yet. He didn't want to commit his pursuits, and he had a bad feeling about that group to the south.
Vapor Trail had to take a bit longer than usual this morning to gear up, as the ground crew member assigned to the task of wrapping up her tail seemed to be having more trouble than expected. It was more than a bit embarrassing to have someone fuss over something so intimate, but it was mandatory, as the blast effect from the pod she would carry would otherwise fry her tail fur if she had to ignite it. She had been singed enough in training too many times to have any remaining doubts.
It amazed her even now that she could have adjusted to the idea of carrying what was essentially a magically infused 100 pound rear firing light artillery piece loaded with 40 rounds of grapeshot on her back.
"Oh my," she thought, "adjusted? Am I kidding myself?" She looked back over her shoulder to the empty frame on which the weapon would eventually be mounted. She thought back over the times in which she had fired off that weapon. It always felt like a surprise when it went off, with the feeling of having been kicked in the backside; and those tests against paper targets had made it abundantly clear just how much damage that weapon could do.
She felt her stomach tighted, and her pulse increase by what seemed like a factor of four. "Oh my," she thought, "Breath...just breath...just breath..."
Whe she felt a bit calmer she opened her eyes and looked around at the expressions on the faces of the others around her. Some of them seemed reasonably calm, but no one looked truly at ease. She took a bit of comfort from that at least. "Misery loves company?" she thought, and then took a deep breath and moved towards some of the lower ranking squadron mates as she tried to focus once more on her responsibilities, her mind running the checklist in her head as she studied them.
"Alright every pony!" came a call from somewhere to her right, "Let's rally up on me!"
Immediately the entire squadron, ground crew included, trotted over to their squadron leader, forming a circle around him as they did. As Vapor joined the group, Sky Stinger appeared out of the crowd and fell in next to her, giving her a wink as he arrived. Vapor couldn't help but smile. As nervous as she was, it felt good to have her best friend by her side.
Meanwhile, Squadron Leader Sky Dancer took his position in the center of the circle, pausing for a moment to make a few quick drawings in the sand table in front of him before looking up to his squadron.
"Alright everypony! Get in close! I've got today's warning order! I need everypony to hear this!" he called out, "But first...who's got today's joke!?!"
For a minute or two, the squadron members looked around to their comrades, no pony answering their leader's question. But finally, a member of the ground crew raised her arm, and the young leader pointed to her.
"Uh...actually...it's a food joke," she said, and then cleared her throat and asked, "What's brown and crunchy on the outside and white and gooey on the inside?"
The other ponies around her looked to each other in obvious confusion, not sure how to respond. Finally, one pony rolled his eyes and said, "Alright already. What the heck is it?"
The young mare looked around to her fellow service ponies, and finally answered, "A cockroach."
"Ewwwww..." said more than a few of the ponies in the group, and Sky Dancer shook his head and said, "That's a good one...now don't ever tell that joke again."
"Agreed," another pony added.
Sky Dancer then looked down to his paperwork for a moment, then looked back to the group and said, "Apparently according to reports the Storm King has sent some sort of armada heading towards us! There's still some confusion as to whether it's hostile or not, so we're going to be on scramble alert probably for the next twenty minutes at least! And that means we'll be loaded up for a bit longer than what's ideal! So, that being the case, leaders...keep a close eye on the rank and file! We're going to need to do a running takeoff with all the weight we'll have, so maintain your positions in the lineup! We don't need to make things harder by messing up flights and elements!
"If there's any question about heading, your landmark will be Friendship Castle in Ponyville, on a heading of 1 6 0 off the bullseye, which just happens to be this aerodrome," Sky Dancer continued, "From the sound of it, if you can make it there your target should be pretty obvious."
"Also, make damn sure if we have to use the pods to be certain of your targets and of the whereabouts of the rest of the team!" he continued, "We don't need any fratricide! We don't need to be our own worst enemies out there! Am I clear?!?"
"Sir...yes sir!" the assembled ponies replied.
"O.k., if any of you do use your pods, remember to cut them lose when your done and go back to assist the others," Sky Dancer continued, "Wing sabers may not be a viable weapon in this fight, but remember that your friends are out there risking it all! And in this squadron, we fly, and we fight as a team...always! Am I clear!?!"
"Sir...yes sir!" the squadron answered.
"Alright everypony," he continued, "Hoofs in!"
Everyone in the group stuck their right front hoof out, some touching the hoof of the pony next to them, others on the back of the pony in front of them.
"Alright fellow travelers, let's make this work! Let's do it to them before they do it to us!" Sky Dancer continued, "And whatever happens today, I want all of you to know that I consider it an honor and a privilege to be here today with each and every one of you!" He then took a breath, and then reached out and touched hoofs with his command, and called out, "FORWARD INTO DANGER!!!! ONE...TWO...THREE...!!!"
"HOOOAH!!!" the squadron answered, and the group began to break up as fliers and ground crew moved to the side to finish loading up. As they did, Vapor and Sting moved to one side. Vapor looked around, trying to find Fair Winds. In a moment, she spotted her, standing by herself. Vapor gestured to Sting, and they both went over.
"You ready for all this Fair?" Vapor asked as they came up alongside her.
"Uh yeah," she answered, "I think so."
Vapor reached over and patted her friend on the shoulder.
"You'll do just fine," Vapor answered.
"Yeah," Sting continued, "Let's do this!"
Fair Winds just smiled and nodded.
As 11am approached, the number of pedestrians on a certain street in Canterlot City seemed to double by the hour as the group of five made their way along. As they slowly made their way long, Trixie Lulamoon looked back over her shoulder and smiled at seeing her best friend Starlite Glimmer following closely behind. Trixie loved having her best friend so close by, and the fact that they were there with Shining Armor, Sunburst, and Flurry Heart made the day seem perfect. There was definitely a lot to be said about keeping distinguished company.
"So," Starlite called out from behind, "How are you holding up?"
"Who me?" Trixie answered, "I'm holding up just fine, thank you very much."
"I'm surprised to hear that," Sunburst chimed in, "considering the way you attacked the breakfast buffet. Before you were finished, I half expected them to chase you out wielding pitchforks."
"Oh hah hah," Trixie answered, "I can't help it if I hadn't eaten since dinner."
"Yeah right," Starlite added with a smile.
"Well, we need to keep moving," Shining Armor replied, "I've got a lot to show Flurry before the celebration begins.
"No problem," Trixie replied, "We'll make it. I've got a good feeling about today."
General Blackjack had been shifting his attention between the communications board and the map table for several minutes now, watching as the two blips that represented two young patrol fliers slowly creep up on the mysterious cluster approaching from the vicinity of Ponyville. He knew that if things went wrong, he had little time, as given the speed and position the strangers could look out and see Canterlot Castle already. The time needed to cross that last distance by air could be measured in minutes, not hours. There was no margin for error...period.
"Anything yet sergeant?" he asked of the N.C.O. who was monitoring communications through the headphones he was wearing.
"There should be something about now sir," was his reply as he took the headphones off with his magic and switched over to the loudspeaker.
"At first there was just light static. But then the communications officer called out, "Fastrack 1-1, this is the Tower...repeat Fastrack 1-1, this is the Tower...come in..."
Static was the response at first. But after a moment came the response, "Tower...this is Fastrack 1-1...I have visual contact with the bogies...stand by."
"This is the Tower...standing by," was the reply.
A few seconds later came another report, "Tower...this is Fastrack 1-1...reporting at least 8 to 10 large bogies...flying mostly in line abreast on heading of 5 at angels 2...approximately 1 kilometer north northwest of waypoint Ponyville...vessels displaying no obvious markings. Standby Tower...we are preparing to overfly..."
"Standing by...", was the response.
Blackjack looked down to the map table, and watched the clusters of blips merge even as the spell slowly began to fade. He heard a noise behind him, and turned to see Brillants come up behind him, and in the distance the clearly recognizable form of A.K Yearling lingering at the edge of the crowd, obviously curious about what was happening.
But a burst of loud static brought him back to the matter at hand, followed quickly by another one, and then by the clear unmistakable call "Break right...break right!", followed a moment or two later by "MAYDAY...MAYDAY...this is Fastrack 1-2...repeat this is Fastrack 1-2...we are under attack...repeat...we are under attack...my element leader has been hit by some sort of burst of magic...I...I can't locate him...I...I think that he's down...I need... immediate assistance...repeat immediate assistance...how copy over?"
The commo officer turned to Blackjack who pointed at him and nodded. He then looked back to his microphone and called out, "This is the Tower....roger that Fastrack 1-2...orders are to pull out of range if possible and assume an overwatch position...report on any course changes or increases of speed...help is on the way...how copy over?"
"Roger that," the flyer responded.
"Alright everypony, you just heard that stallion, let's get everything we can into the air right now!" Blackjack called out. "Commo," he continued, "see if you can redirect those two patrol craft that I saw to our west and head them this way!"
He then looked to the N.C.O. next to him, and ordered, "As for you sergeant...alert the Canterlot garrison...and get me in touch with some pony in that castle...preferably the Princess...or baring that the Captain of the Guard."
"Yes sir," he answered, and quickly went to his task as his commander turned once again to the map table, just in time to see the spell that had helped so much finally peter out.
"Shit..." he muttered under his breath.