Chapter 3: First Call
8:30 AM
May 2nd, 1005 New Solar Calendar
For a fleeting moment, Rainbow Dash was convinced that she was back in Cloudsdale suffering her way through the evaluation. Incoherent noise blasted through her ears, seeming to radiate from everywhere. Her head was in an ever-tightening vise grip that threatened to split her skull as she helplessly searched for the source of her waking migraine.
Her mind slowly reoriented itself. Through the stabbing pain in her ears, she reminded herself that the evaluation had happened a year ago. The more pressing issue was the warbling screech that filled the room, carrying a stabbing pain that pierced through her mind like a driven nail. Vaguely remembering the location of her alarm clock, she desperately flailed her hoof in its general direction. After several painful seconds of searching, she found the source of her pain. A solid whack silenced it.
The room was quiet once more. She closed her eyes, savoring the silence for a moment before flopping back onto her mattress. The previous night’s celebration was exacting its revenge on the poor pegasus in as many ways as possible. She was not acclimated to such levels of consumption, especially not in such a short amount of time. Her head was still throbbing in a dull pain that invaded her every thought. In her waking stupor, she cursed Spitfire, cursed the Wonderbolts, cursed her classmates, cursed the drinking games, and anything else she could vaguely connect to her pathetic state.
A knock at her door interrupted her silent rant. A familiar voice, rough but feminine, floated through the door.
“Dash? Are you up yet?”
Well, isn’t this the worst case of déjà vu ever, Rainbow thought. Spitfire knocking at my door while I wake up in pain.
Her lack of response prompted Spitfire to try again, this time with more force.
“Dash, I know you’re up. I heard your alarm go off.”
The brand-new operative pulled the covers over her head in the futile hope that the Wonderbolt would simply leave her be. To her dismay, Spitfire entered the room anyway. She trotted to Rainbow’s bed, flinging the covers off of the suffering mare.
“Come on, get up. You need to get some food and water before you keel over.”
“Just… just let me die here,” Dash groaned, blocking the light wit her hooves. “I don’t think I can go on.”
Spitfire chuckled at her protege’s pitiful state. “You made it through the evaluation and a year of training – you can handle a little hangover.”
“Nngh – a little hangover?” Dash asked, her voice cracking. “You call this a little hangover? I feel like I got hit by the Friendship Express!”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” the yellow mare replied. “When you decide to stop feeling sorry for yourself, there’s breakfast in the chow hall. I recommend getting something inside you before you get really dehydrated. A good meal will do wonders for your condition.”
Dash mumbled something incoherent as she rolled to her side. Spitfire sighed in resignation and turned towards the door. If she had discovered one thing over the past year, it was that Rainbow Dash could not learn the easy way. If she did not earn her experience through pain and frustration, she did not learn anything at all. The pony was stubborn as a mule (no offense).
Spitfire exited the room and briskly trotted to the chow hall. Time for some warm whole-milk oatmeal with cinnamon and sugar. With any luck, her protege would soon follow. Then again, Celestia might decide to raise the sun in the west tomorrow. She shrugged to herself, pushing through the living quarters’ double door entrance. No sense in worrying about it. There was food to be had... far more important. She picked up her pace, eagerly awaiting the meal ahead.
---
9:45 AM
May 2nd, 1005 New Solar Calendar
“An Individual Augmentee,” Spitfire began, mock gravitas in her tone. “It’s rare to see one come through. Last one I remember was, oh, three years ago?” She shrugged indifferently. “Something like that. They aren’t common.”
The two pegasi walked down a concrete lined tunnel as they descended further and further into the bowels of the Hub. It was large enough to fit three trains side-by-side and equally as tall. Lights were recessed into the ceiling, casting yellow pools of illumination below. Blue stenciled numbers painted on the floor and walls assisted in the navigation of Beta Division’s sprawling headquarters.
The hoofsteps of the two mares echoed off of distant grey-brown walls before being swallowed up by the enormity of the passage. Though quiet, the noise was still enough to sting Rainbow’s ears. The effects of the previous night were still taking their toll on the young flier, despite her twelve-hour rest. Sparing her cottony mouth the effort, she silently cursed the graduation day traditions. I bet this is their idea of a great joke, she bitterly concluded.
“Huh. And, uh… what exactly is an Individual Augmentee?” Dash asked, rubbing her temple with a hoof.
“I’d explain it,” Spitfire replied, stopping on a flat landing in front of a large garage door, “but I’ll leave it to your handler.”
Rainbow glanced above the door while Spitfire tapped a code into a nearby keypad embedded in the concrete wall. The label ‘B-W-05-037 IA’ had been painted in large blue letters. She was vaguely familiar with the numbering scheme used in the Hub. Beta Division, West Wing, Level Five, Section Three-Seven. Given Spitfire’s talk about Individual Augmentees, Dash felt comfortable assuming that was what the last two letters represented.
Spitfire’s keypad beeped agreeably as she entered the proper sequence. A warning klaxon blared to life, accompanied by a pair of strobing orange lights. Beyond the door, a motor whirred to life, retracting the hinged metal slats into the ceiling. Beyond the entrance, there was only an eerie, uninviting darkness, starkly contrasting with the industrial-strength vapor lamps lighting the rest of Beta Division’s headquarters. As much as Rainbow disliked the murky orange light of the tunnels, pitch blackness was not an improvement she had been seeking.
Dash leaned forward hesitantly, squinting to make out any detail. The room seemed to swallow light whole, allowing no reflections or shadows. A slight nudge from her mentor prompted her to take a few reserved steps into the darkness. Her apprehension doubled when the door automatically shut behind them, plunging their surroundings into complete blackness. In the dark antechamber, there was no light and no sound. Without warning, both pegasi were surrounded by a magical red aura. It lingered for a moment before disappearing as quickly as it came. An automated voice squawked into the room through unseen speakers.
“Identities confirmed. Spitfire – Active Wonderbolt. Rainbow Dash – Beta Division, Section Three-Seven. Access granted.”
A slit of light appeared along the floor, gradually widening as a second door was pulled up and into the concrete. A shadow interrupted the solid band of light, coalescing into coherent form as Dash’s eyes readjusted to the interior’s brightness. Standing before the entrance was a freshly preened griffon, smirking at the new operative. Her tail twitched as she examined Rainbow’s condition.
“Celestia help us all,” Gilda taunted, “Dash is a no-kidding RAID operative.”
“Ha, ha, G. Very funny.”
“And not just any operative, either.” She tapped the nearby wall, upon which was painted the same serial number Dash had seen above the door. “She’s in Section Three-Seven.”
Rainbow’s eyes narrowed. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re probably gonna break a lot of expensive stuff,” she replied with a mischievous grin. Upon seeing the dirty look Spitfire shot her way, though, she clarified, “It means you’re an IA.”
“Yeah, that doesn’t help much, G.”
Gilda turned, motioning for the pair to follow her. “Individual Augmentee. You’ll be assigned to any team that needs your skills. Why they would need a slowpoke like you, though...”
She led Dash and Spitfire past the poured-concrete lobby and towards a black metal door studded with rivets. A keypad was set into the wall, similar to the one outside. Gilda tapped in a long string of digits before she was rewarded with the clanging of lock rods from within the door. It swung open on lubricated bearings, hardly making a noise as the three RAID operatives passed through the doorway into the small, dimly lit cell within. A red interior light switched to yellow as the door resealed itself, opening vents in the walls. Surprise jolted through Dash as white plumes loudly hissed from the vents. They closed as quickly as they opened, leaving the newest member of RAID startled and confused.
“Pressure room,” Spitfire explained. “Always kept above surrounding pressure. Keeps it sealed up so nothing gets in without us knowing.”
Rainbow scowled. “Would’ve been nice to know that beforehoof,” she muttered under her breath, smoothing her ruffled feathers.
The yellow interior light switched to green when the pressure equalized, unlocking the antechamber’s second armored door. All three operatives silently walked into the darkened room beyond.
Dash’s jaw fell, stunned at the sheer amount of technology before her. She had seen computers a few times before, but most ponies in Ponyville preferred more traditional methods for day-to-day communication, calculation, and bookkeeping. RAID, however, did not subscribe to that philosophy. Glowing pale blue monitors ringed the room’s exterior, each displaying a slowly rotating model of the RAID unit insignia. A single huge screen showing the same motif took up an entire wall.
The most impressive feature, though, was in the center of the room. A tabletop holographic display of Equestria rendered the entire country in minute detail. Clouds drifted and water flowed in real time. If she looked very closely at the small cluster of buildings just southwest of Canterlot, she could pick out a tiny speck of a cloud where her house should be. She didn’t know much about technology or magic, but she was certain that a bunch of wires and metal couldn’t create such a detailed image without some arcane assistance.
Gilda relished the silent awe on her friend’s face for a moment. “Impressive, isn’t it? I bet all of Ponyville doesn’t have this many computers.”
Dash made a small noise of acknowledgement, her attention still focused on the ghostly map of Equestria. Even Spitfire was impressed. She circled the humming projection, her practiced eyes scanning the detailed image.
“Is this the Three-Echo model?” the Wonderbolt captain asked, lightly running a hoof across the gently glowing control panel. “I used the Three-Delta back when I was with Gamma Division, but it wasn’t nearly so detailed.”
“Sure is,” the griffon replied. “Got all the bells and whistles. Underway ops, team locations, IA operative tracking... It’s all there, plus a little extra.”
She clawed a button on the display’s side. Needle-thin lines connected floating labels to locations on the map. Cubes and pyramids in many colors appeared in the air and on water, each with their own labels. Glowing hemispheres sprouted in a ring along the coasts and borders, each regularly sending out gentle pulses from their centers.
Gilda playfully elbowed the yellow mare. “Pretty impressive, huh? We can watch our teams, monitor zeppelin and boat traffic, and get input from the Border Watch stations, all in the same display. It’s pretty sweet.”
Spitfire slowly nodded, an approving smile growing wider on her face. “That’s awesome. I wish we’d had toys this cool when I was in Gamma.” She tore her gaze away for a moment. “How high does the security clearance go on this thing?”
The self-satisfied smirk Gilda had been sporting since their arrival vanished, replaced with a frustrated scowl. “Only Level Two,” she scoffed.
“Why ‘only’ Two?”
“Because we’re only IA, and that’s not important enough for Level One clearance,” the griffon replied in a mocking falsetto.
Spitfire shrugged. “There isn’t really much you could do with Level One clearance. That’s Theta Division territory, and they work best when they’re left alone. Getting in their way never ends well.”
“It would sure be nice to know if we’re gonna bump into one of their spooks before we go someplace,” Gilda retorted.
Rainbow Dash, oblivious to the conversation taking place on the other side of the display, absentmindedly asked, “Is this really Equestria?”
Both RAID veterans shot her an annoyed glance before Gilda shut down the tabletop. “Come on, Dash, let’s get you up to speed on your assignment.”
She produced a remote control and pointed it at the wall screen. It abruptly switched from the rotating insignia to a tree diagram that branched off into dozens of segments, every one originating from a central line leading to the unmistakable cutie mark of Celestia herself.
“This is the overall chain of command for RAID,” Gilda explained. She pushed another button, highlighting a specific branch from Beta Division. “The highlighted bit is your place in all this. If you’re wondering why it doesn’t split off very much, well, that’s why your assignment is so useful.
“You report directly to the Beta Division Commander, who reports to the CO of RAID itself, who only answers to the Princesses.” She glanced at the diagram, cocking her head at the solar cutie mark at the top. “This chart is a bit out of date – y’know, two Princesses now – but it’s right besides that.”
Another button press magnified the Beta Division segment of the diagram. The highlighted branch was labeled ‘37’ at its endpoint.
“As a member of Section Three-Seven, you’ll be attached to any unit that need your… ‘special talents,’” Gilda continued, barely containing her sarcasm. “Apparently, you can fly really fast. I’ve never seen it, but, hey, it wasn’t my decision to put you here.”
A stern glance from Spitfire restored some of the professionalism to Gilda’s tone. “So, yeah, you’re a faster flier than almost anypony here, so you’ll be sent with any squad that needs your speed. I’ve also heard that you’re a bit of an aerial combat prodigy, so that may have been part of the decision, too.”
Dash pondered the multitude of glowing fingers extending down the screen. “So even though I’m not in Gamma Division, I’ll still be going on missions and stuff?”
“You sure will,” Spitfire interjected. “And you could get called at any time. You might do three ops in two weeks; you might not gear up for three months. It all depends on what we need for a particular mission. You will augment any team you’re placed on, hence Individual Augmentee. Your job is so important that they never let a prospective IA through training without a veteran mentor.” She put a hoof to her chest. “That’s why, aside from show weeks, I’ve been here the whole way.”
Rainbow mulled her new job description in her head. Spitfire’s enigmatic assurance during the ceremony last night suddenly made sense. Even though she was not formally assigned to Gamma Division, she would still be working with them in the field. She would be the specialist on every mission. That would work for her. Even on a classified mission for an organization that did not exist, she would still be in the spotlight.
“Do I have to do any more training?” she asked, dreading the answer. “’Cause I’ve been training for over a year now. It’s really starting to get lame.”
Spitfire chuckled. “Well, then I have good news and bad news. Bad news first?”
“Uh, only always.”
“Alright. Yes, there is more training.” She could see a fresh wave of frustration rising in the young mare. Moving quickly to counter it, she continued, “The good news, though, is that it’s all on-the-job training.”
Dash cocked her head in confusion.
“You start tomorrow. A Gamma division team is working with their new recruit, so you’ll join them for a little training op in the morning.”
The news was delightfully welcome, but Dash had become wary of good news since she left Ponyville. “What are we doing? Boulder pushes? Buddy-carry flights? Some other lame drill?”
Spitfire smiled knowingly. “Oh, it’s much more than that. Challenging, realistic… and as awesome as they come.”
---
0600
03 MAY 05 MIL-STD CAL
As usual, RAID began its day at zero-six-hundred sharp. The Gamma Division team Rainbow would be training with had met in the Hub’s large atrium, standing before a dizzying array of armor, weapons, communication gear, and all other manner of toys. The team’s veterans hardly responded to the setup, but Rainbow and another young rookie assigned to the squad had to employ all of their discipline to keep from pouncing on the tables to pick out all of the coolest gear.
The rookie stallion was one she recognized from several phases of her training. She had done close-quarters drills with him a few months ago. Then, two weeks later, he showed up in her sparring training. About a month later, he was in learning how to move in heavy armor with her. He had graduated in the same class. If Rainbow’s memory served her right, he was the one who had started the whole idea of the funnel during the party afterwards. Her memory, though, was hardly trustworthy when considering the events of those few hours.
She leaned over to speak as the team waited for the quartermaster to finish preparing the selection.
“I remember you. We graduated at the same time, didn’t we?” she whispered, still facing forward.
He subtly nodded his acknowledgement. “Some party, huh?” he whispered in return, also maintaining a forward stare.
Dash rolled her eyes. “Thanks for the funnel, by the way. That totally didn’t mess me up for the rest of the night.”
A wry smile cracked across the stallion’s face. “One of my better ideas.”
“Very funny,” she replied in hushed tones. “By the way, in case you don’t remember much from that party, I’m Rainbow Dash. Some say I’m the fastest pony in Equestria.” She allowed an abundance of arrogance to flow into her voice. “I say they’re onto something.”
Unfazed, the young stallion returned the introduction. “Saga Soul. They say what I lack in speed I make up for in power. Just ask the last pony who made me angry.”
Dash was readying what she was sure would be a witty comeback when the platoon commander swept in from above, flaring his wings to land gently on the stone floor. He stood in front of the assembled platoon, addressing them with the confidence and force of a seasoned veteran.
“Okay, boys and girls. We got ourselves a little training op today to help break in our newbie. The Lotus Bloom Scenario is nothing you regulars haven’t seen before, but it’ll be a nice kick in the flank for the new guy.” He stared directly at the team’s newest member. “You think you know RAID, rookie? You got no clue. But we’ll fix that.”
The platoon sergeant by his side leaned over and whispered something in the commander’s ear. His eyes widened after a moment.
“Is that so?” he asked, to which his right-hoof mare nodded confidently. He turned back to his platoon. “It looks like we’ve got the – heh – ‘honor’ of training a Beta today. And not just any Beta – a Section Three-Seven recruit. How about them apples, eh?”
A murmur swept through the platoon, which was quickly silenced by a sharp whistle from the platoon sergeant. Silence fell over the assembled ponies, but Dash could see them stealing furtive glances in her direction. Her skin crawled at the looks on the other ponies’ faces as they examined her out of the corner of their vision. She loved having ponies look at her… but not like that. Though their expressions were well hidden behind masks of discipline, the looks in their eyes were ones of… disgust? She suddenly felt very small in the cavernous atrium.
“Yes, fillies and gentlecolts, we’re training an IA. Let’s show her how we do things in Gamma before she gets all soft like the rest of Beta.” The commander’s declaration was met with whoops and cheers from his platoon. “Now grab your gear and suit up – we’ll be briefed en route. Move!”
---
0623
03 MAY 05 MIL-STD CAL
Operation LOTUS BLOOM mission clock: T minus 00:21:45
Eighty kilometers inland from Equestrian coast
Rainbow Dash leveled out in sync with the rest of her formation nearly ten kilometers above the ground. The sun was still low on the eastern horizon, providing meager warmth to her face. Even though spring had arrived weeks ago, the wind still had a chilly bite, especially at high altitude. The form-fitting bodysuit she had donned beneath her armor served to insulate her from the worst of the icy gusts, but she could still feel the shearing winds freezing tiny droplets of ice to her feathers. Despite being uncomfortable and distracting, it would not become a problem for at least another hour. If she remembered correctly, they would be well over the ocean by then. It would still be very cold flying, but the ice crystals would fall victim to warmer updrafts from the water.
She was flying the number eight position in a formation used to flying seven across. Her presence upset second squad’s precise V, extending one side into a disproportionate stretch. She kept precise station with the number six flier, keeping the sleekly armored stallion just in front and to her right, but she couldn’t suppress the tension in her chest when she saw nopony trailing the formation’s number seven on the other side of the flying wedge. A brief burst of static from the crystal matrix that formed her communication array brought her mind back to the mission. An authoritative male voice buzzed from the tiny speakers in her ears.
“Operation LOTUS BLOOM will commence at zero-six-forty-five. Callsign for Second Platoon, Quick Response Group is Copper. Callsign for Strike Group Delta 1 is Padlock. Individual callsigns are squad number followed by flight position. Commander callsigns are Actual. Platoon commanders, acknowledge.”
“Roger.”
“Acknowledged.”
There was another short burp of static before the voice returned to Rainbow’s earbuds. “Teams will now receive their individual briefings.”
The earbuds clicked and buzzed as the input feed changed. A different voice, smooth and feminine, floated through the enchanted crystals and into Dash’s ears.
“Copper Team will be playing the role of a response team that has encountered an intruding hostile force. Your objective is to neutralize the threat before it can reach the coast, a distance of forty kilometers from the engagement’s starting point. You have received authorization to use deadly force upon contact. If the enemy reaches the coast or successfully disengages to retreat, the mission has failed.
“Your company commander has expressed interest in capturing one of the hostiles for interrogation. This is to be considered a secondary objective. Completion of this objective is not justification for failing a primary objective. However, the team that is able to complete their secondary objective earns three days of leave.
“Kill box for this exercise is below six thousand meters altitude and outside twenty kilometers north or south of engagement start point. Any operative crossing these boundaries is considered a casualty. Hard deck is below five thousand meters altitude and outside twenty-one kilometers north or south of engagement start point. Operatives are not to exit this area for any reason.”
“The Lotus Bloom scenario is not a graded event and does not influence the Honor Platoon competition. It is designed to familiarize new RAID operatives with aerial combat. Scenario will begin in eighteen minutes.”
Rainbow banked to her left as the formation altered course to the north. Having such a large area to fly in excited Rainbow Dash. She could go flat-out for a long time with that much space, something she had not been able to do for several weeks. What excited her even more, though, was the chance to compete against her so-called ‘equals’ in a fair fight. The thrill of competition had been absent from her life since the evaluation so long ago. She craved the adrenaline rush that came with every victory. Her heart beat rapidly, awaking an old giddiness that she sorely missed. Time to show off her skills!
“Copper Actual to Copper Team. Sound off for mission go.”
“Copper One-One, standing by.”
“Copper One-Two, standing by.”
The first squad checked in one by one, followed by second squad. After all the regularly assigned team members gave their ready reports, Dash clicked the talk button integrated into her chest armor. “Copper Two-Eight, standing by.”
“All Copper operatives standing by. We are go for Operation LOTUS BLOOM.”
A thin gold band below separated the rolling hills of green to the west from the flat expanse of deep blue to the east. Dash could feel the uneven updrafts from land meld into the uniform convection currents over the ocean. She relaxed her posture, no longer worried about sudden turbulence.
The formation flew east towards their start point, zigzagging to burn time before the training operation began. Dash hugged her faux spear to her torso, anticipating the command to begin. She activated the projectors on her clear visor, checking the integrated display for the time. Glowing characters in the upper left corner read T- 00:01:49.
Copper Team covered several kilometers as the mission clock ticked closer to zero. With ten seconds remaining, the no-nonsense male voice from the pre-briefing returned.
“T minus ten seconds.”
Nine. Eight. Seven. The green numbers on Dash’s display ticked lower. Six. Five. Four. The platoon commander radioed his operatives.
“Contact – five klicks. Track bogeys.”
Three. Two. One.
“Begin Operation LOTUS BLOOM.”
The two squads split up, breaking to the north and south. In the distance, Dash could see two specks just above the horizon, almost obscured by the sun. The specks gradually became lines, which differentiated into individual figures.
“Bandits confirmed at two klicks. It’s Padlock Team. Break and engage pony-to-pony. Pick targets and stay with them.”
Dash rolled to her left, diving to pick up speed. With any luck, Padlock would concentrate on the formation she had just left, allowing her to fly underneath them and come up from behind, attacking them before they could react.
She streamlined her body, accelerating into the sunrise. Her wings beat powerfully in the air, straining against the weight of her body and matte black armor. The airspeed indicator on her display passed five hundred kilometers per hour. Though her weapon and armor were constructed of some of the lightest materials known to ponykind, they still slowed the high-performance flier.
The opposing formation approached her from above. Hoping her black armor would camouflage her with the still-dark ocean below, Dash tucked her wings and rode her momentum forward, arcing through the sky. Her altimeter dropped precipitously. Nine thousand meters… eight… seven…
As soon as she thought the formation had passed, she opened her wings, stopping her descent. She pumped them furiously to regain stability and pulled up, soaring high into the cloudless sky. The loop continued until its apogee, where she did a half-roll to level out above and behind her target.
She eyed the wedge of pegasi hungrily, eager to show up all of the veterans who had been making the past year so difficult. Letting her training take over, she set the spear’s counterweight in her legplate’s dimple, ready to strike. The spearhead had been replaced with a padded block secured to a collapsing shaft, so it would not do any lasting damage, but Rainbow was determined to make her former instructors feel the impact. She gripped the lightweight training weapon tightly, beginning her attack run towards the six unaware ponies before her.
Wait… six?
Before Rainbow could fully process her revelation, something whistled past her ear, arcing into the dark blue expanse below before disappearing from sight entirely. She turned to look over her shoulder. Nearly a hundred meters behind her, an archer was readying a follow-up shot. Ponyfeathers, she thought, he must have dropped out of their formation right behind me!
His first had been a near miss – the second would find its mark. As much as she wanted to get the jump on an entire squad on her first training mission, she had to deal with the stallion shooting at her from behind. She had few options, but a course of action was already forming in her adrenaline-enhanced mind.
Growling in frustration, Dash angled her wings and banked hard to the right. The archer’s second arrow passed harmlessly behind her. He tucked his bow away, giving chase to his quarry. Dash knew she could outrun him in a dead sprint, so she added dips, dives, and turns to her erratic route. She needed him to stay close, but she couldn’t make herself an easy target. A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed that the stallion was mirroring her every move. Phase One of her hastily concocted plan was working. Dash was banking on her pursuer not noticing the gradual increase in altitude she had worked into her evasive maneuvers.
A chill forced its way through the machined seams of her matte black bodysuit as the cat-and-mouse pair climbed even higher. If there had been any clouds in the sky, she would have used them to sucker him into a close-quarters fight with reduced visibility. As it was, though, the lack of clouds disguised the fact that the two pegasi had ascended to almost thirteen thousand meters.
Dash leveled out, breaking into a sprint. She glanced back to judge the stallion’s speed, matching it to minimize the distance she gained. The pair of them accelerated through four, five, six hundred kilometers per hour before the archer could go no faster. He drew his bow, hoping that the close range of his shot would not fall victim to the near-supersonic air rushing by.
He never got a chance to fire, as Dash angled herself skyward, climbing directly towards the early dawn sky. She was taking a big gamble, but she couldn’t see any other way to get the dogged pursuer off of her tail. He was just as determined to knock somepony out of the sky as Rainbow. Her best chance at salvaging her situation was to use that against him.
The altimeter on her display soared through seventeen thousand meters. She could feel her wings getting less purchase as she ascended into the thin air of high altitudes. Her momentum was carrying her more than her wings. She looked back at the stallion chasing her. A form-fitting cloth mask obscured his face, but the panicked flailing of his wings told her everything she needed to know.
The stallion quickly nocked another arrow to his bow, firing a desperate shot at the lighter pegasus in a last-ditch effort as his greater bulk pulled him down from the ever-thinning air. The arrow went wide by a dozen meters. Dash stowed her spear on her back and tucked her wings, diving at the helpless archer. The air warmed as it whipped past her exposed face. As rapid as their ascent had been, the descent was five times faster. Rainbow’s airspeed indicator topped one thousand kilometers per hour as she rocketed after her target.
Just as the stallion flared his wings to slow his descent, Dash slammed into his back, wrapping her legs around him, pinning his wings to his side. The two pegasi fell as one. The final phase of Dash’s plan was unfolding.
“Surrender!” she screamed into his ear.
He continued struggling against her grip, but it was like fighting iron shackles. She was not budging after working so hard to turn the tables.
“Drop your weapon, or I’ll put you through the kill box!” she threatened. Still no response. The pair hurtled through ten thousand meters, rapidly approaching the scenario’s edge.
“Come on! Give up, or I’ll take you out!”
Nine thousand. Eight thousand.
“This is your last warning! Drop your weapon!”
Just before seven thousand meters, the stallion finally gave in.
“Stop! I surrender! Pull up!”
Dash flared her wings, struggling to slow them both. Her altimeter dropped below six thousand five hundred. She released the stallion’s wings, allowing him to slow his own momentum. Desperately, the pair tried to pull up. Six thousand one hundred. Dash was still descending. Six thousand fifty. She was almost level. Six thousand twenty five. Almost.
At six thousand ten meters, Rainbow Dash finally pulled up, the stallion following directly behind her. When they had slowed to a reasonable velocity, Dash drew her spear, pointing its blunt tip at the enemy archer’s throat.
“Nice try, pal, but nopony outflies Rainbow Dash!”
Her prey panted heavily, struggling to form a coherent sentence. “You’re… crazy… know that?”
She responded by lightly tapping his nose with the spear’s padded tip. She was rewarded with an angry scowl. Ignoring the defeated stallion’s ire, she hoofed the transmit button for her radio crystals. “This is Copper Two-Eight. I’ve captured an enemy operative. Standing by for further instructions. Over.”
“Copper Actual to Copper Two-Eight. Nice work. Bring him to the coast – we’re mopping up here.”
“Roger that. On my way.” She prodded the archer with her spear. “You heard him. Get movin’. And don’t try anything funny, either – wouldn’t wanna get beat twice in one day, right?”
He rewarded Rainbow with a second angry scowl before reluctantly flying towards the coastline, his captor following close behind. Dash allowed herself an arrogant smirk. Not bad for my first mission, she thought, keeping her quarry close to the business end of her spear. Not bad at all.
NEXT CHAPTER: “Intrusion”