//------------------------------// // The Crusader // Story: Resurrection // by Silverstreak //------------------------------// Scootaloo heard a far and distant voice, but couldn't make out the words. She was in complete darkness, nothing but herself as the voice grew closer. "....scootaloo.....scootaloo..." The voice repeated and repeated growing closer and louder. Scootaloo wanted to run, to hide in the darkness, but her hooves wouldn't move. She couldn't feel anything but the fear in her head. "...scootaloo....scootaloo...." The voice continued to grow, not only in volume, but in familiarity. Scootaloo couldn't run, couldn't fight, memories of what happened after the artifact played that message ran through her mind. Prince Blueblood taking control of Equestria....Changlings attacking Canterlot in bigger numbers....The strange creatures forming from ash.... running....running "SCOOTALOO!" Apple Bloom screamed into Scootaloo's ear. Scootaloo awoke screaming, jumping, and flopping on the floor. She stood rubbing her forhead with a hoof looking around the terminal they were stuck in until the imperial crews checked their ship and cargo. "What? Are we leaving?" Scootaloo said still a little dazed. "Yeah, c'mon." "Wait were's Sweetie Belle?" "She's already at the ship silly, now c'mon." Apple Bloom started to walk towards hanger three, Scootaloo following behind ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sweetie Belle watched as the last of the imperial checking crew left her ship. Well her's, Scootaloo's, and Apple Bloom's ship, but still. An officer came toward her, her horn magically holding a dossier of their cargo. Sweetie hated the imperial forces, not only for there terrible gray uniforms, but how they came to be. No one else cared if Celestia and Luna had known about those creatures that took Canterlot in one fell swoop. They justed wanted their Princesses back to end Bluebloods rule. "Well ma'am, everything checks out." She didn't even look up from the dossier as she spoke. "You're free to go." "Thanks." Sweetie made sure to say it with as much sarcasm as she could muster, but the officer was already gone by then. Sweetie wanted to punch every last imperial pony she could, they thought they could do anything in those gray uniforms. She'd like to see them stay in those uniforms with both princesses and the elements of harmony fight them. The only promblem was finding Celestia from where ever Blueblood hid her, Luna was fighting, Rainbow Dash was fighting. Pinkie was fighting in her own way. What did she call herself? Sweetie couldn't remember. She wish she could find where Twilight went missing. She wished she knew why her sister Rarity, and Applejack, didn't fight back. Fluttershy was understandable, having the most successful hospital in Equestria, but Rarity and Applejack did nothing to fight back. Nothing. That's what she and her friends where doing, nothing. Sure they were aiding in the fight, dropping off supplies to the Lunar forces, but that was about it. Maybe she did know why some didn't fight the imperial forces. Sweetie started walking up the ramp leading into the Crusader, A ballon of about 30 ft in length with a hanger/cargo hold on the bottom, a command/beds on top, and engine in the back, it wasn't the biggest airship out there, but it was fast, manervable, and theirs. Sweetie carefully moved through the cargo hold, she wasn't planning to be pinned underneath all these boxes, not again. Finally she reached the hanger her favorite part of the lower ship, not for the space, not that it had any, just very little of it, and what space it had was covered with grease, oil, bits and peices of the new fighter they had, "Orange Lighting" The name made her laugh, only Scootaloo would use her code name as a ship name too. Speaking of code names. Sweetie lifted a hoof to her headset pushed a button, and climbed the ladder leading up to the command section. "SweetEyes, to RedTail, come in." "RedTail here over." "Have you found Orange Lighting yet?" "Eup." "On your way?" "Eup. Got the engines warm?" "On it." "Roger." "Roger, out." Sweetie reached the command section lifted her hoof again to press the button to turn off her comm. Heading to the engine she was glad they had covers over the ladders, she hated trying to climb those when they were in flight. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sweetie was going through her lift off check list again, when Apple Bloom came up the ladder. "Is she ready?" "Yeah. Also your tool boxes fell over again." "Dang it! Thought I tied it down this time." Apple Bloom left for the engine leaving Sweetie alone at the wheel. She didn't mind it, it was usally like this before take off. Scootaloo down in the hanger checking on her bird, making sure every nut was down tight, Apple Bloom in the engine tying her toolbox down tight, making sure the zapapple fuel was steady, and keeping the engine core functioning correctly. All Sweetie had to do was keep them up and flying straight. "Crusader to air tower is the sky clear." "Air tower to crusader sky is clear. I repeat sky is clear." Sweetie pressed the comm button on the dashboard. "Sky is clear. Prepare for liftoff." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Sky is clear. Prepare for liftoff." Scootaloo didn't bother to know why Sweetie annouced it everytime they were about to take off. She was pretty sure the vibrations from the engines would let everyone onboard know that the Crusader was taking off. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Sky is clear. Prepare for liftoff." Apple Bloom finished tying off her toolbox to the wall. Walked over to the zapapple fuel tank, flipped the switch allowing zapapple fuel to power the engine for lift and momentum. The core came to life, vibrating and spinning to achieve full power. Apple Bloom felt the thrust of the engines coming online, the gravitational force trying to pull them back down to the soil. She loved it. It was the closest thing she or any earth pony could get to flying with wings. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Apple Bloom looked over the cards in her hooves at the other two. Sweetie had five cards this round, Scootaloo had two, and she had three. "One king." Sweetie said as she placed a card faced down on the pile. "B.S." Scootaloo called with a smerk on her face. Sweetie magically flipped the card over face up to show that it was a king. "Ha, now you have to take the whole pile this time Scoots." "Ugh." Scootaloo reached to grab the whole pile of cards in the middle of the table, when the comm on the dashboard turned on. "....You're in a pr.....or you will be bor...." Apple Bloom got to the dashboard, removed a panal, and crawled inside. She muttered to herself as she fixed the comm wires. "...get a new fighter, but new wires are a little to much!" Sweetie looked towards Scootaloo who just shook her head. After a few moments the static faded enough so that they could here what was being said. "Attention airship Crusader. You are flying in a restricted area. This is your finally warning, turn back now or be boarded by orders of the Imperial Military." Sweetie raced to the wheel, while Scootaloo raced back down the ladder to the Orange Lighting, while Apple Bloom raced to the left side of the command section, lifted another panal, and slid inside to operate the turret up top. Sweetie started to turn the Crusader around when the clouds below them parted enough that she could see what remained of Appleloosa. She couldn't believe it. Appleloosa was a beautiful city, one of the few cities that didn't relocated after Blueblood took control of Equestria. Now it was a pile of rubble, and fire. Sweetie didn't understand what could have happened to it, the Imperial Military might be the largest military in Equestia, but they didn't have any real offensive weapons or attack. Nor could the Lunar Forces do this, not with Luna as their leader. Sweetie just couldn't look away from it, she'd seen fighting and death before, but this...this was something different. It didn't have the same feeling to it. The Orange Lighting zoomed pass the command section bring Sweetie out of her trance and back to turning the Crusader around. Sweetie couldn't help but look at Orange Lighting as it zoomed by, not only did it bring her back, but the new fighter seemed different from the other ones she'd seen, v-shaped, wings slighted downward from where Scootaloo sat by twenty degrees, engines sticking out from the wings back. It looked exactly like all the other's she'd seen, but still...A harpoon crashed through the roof of the bed section through the floor and hooked itself there. The Crusader lurged forward trying to break free of the harpoon to no avail. A second harpoon whizzed past the front of the Crusader, flying towards the ground. Apple Bloom started to fire the turret at the harpoon holding them in place. Another harpoon shot threw the engines, shaking Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom tried again to shoot the harpoon's with the turret, but a third one shot through it and the dashboard, nearly killing Sweetie Belle. Two more harpoons were shot at them hooking themselves in the ballon. Apple Bloom started crawling out of the turret controls. "What the hell! They're suppose to warn us before they shoot us!" "Apple Bloom can you..." The harpoons started pulling the Crusader up into the jaws of an Imperial Command class airship. "Damn it, where's Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom looked out the window to see Scootaloo having a dog fight with three Imperial fighter ships. "Damn it! What do we do Sweetie?" "I don't know!" Hoofsteps were pounding on the outside of the command/bed sections, Imperial forces were trying to get in. Apple Bloom grabbed a wrech that was lying on the ground, while Sweeite grabbed a frying pan. Both of them heard the hoofsteps move towards the ladder leading to the engine, where they could see a small blue flame cutting through the metal. Sweetie looked outside, seeing that Scootaloo was still out there fighting the Imperial forces when they all knew they had lost. Apple Bloom seemed to have seen it to, because she got to the comm. "Scootaloo run! They have the Crusader! Just run!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Scootaloo flew over the ship completely ingoring Apple Bloom's warning, she coudn't just let her friends get caught by Imperial forces, not like this, they didn't do anything wrong. She had to get them out some how she just needed to think. Shots whizzed by her as the last Imperal fighter stayed on her tail. She couldn't shake this one no matter how hard she tried. She flipped back around to see the Crusader already in the Imperial ship with troops trying to make there way in. Then it hit her there was nothing she could do. The Imperial Command ships had to many turrets for her to dogde, get her friends, and leave before she was shot down. "Just run!" Scootaloo looked up at the Crusader one last time, she watched as the imperial forces made their way into the ship, she knew what would happen, she knew it wouldn't turn out if she attempted to rescue them. "Just run!" Scootaloo flew west, punching the gas as hard as she could.