//------------------------------// // Forced Midflight Detour // Story: Clash of Worlds // by Gunner59524 //------------------------------// Ponyville, Equestria; two weeks after failed Covenant op and Death of Ragas. Twilight was in her library now, reading from a datapad Thorne had taught her how to use. She was studying the First Human-Covenant War in greater detail, wanting to familiarize herself with the human race. She was on an article detailing an ODST's account on his experience with a squad called the "Bullfrogs" during the Fall of Reach. Her heart sank each time she saw the Covenant excavation beams firing in the footage. Yesterday, she had read up on the Battle for Arcadia. She had been particularly intrigued by the disappearance of the starship Spirit of Fire after the battle. She would have to delve into the history articles further to discover its fate no doubt.... if its fate had ever been discovered that is. There was also a particular Spartan II in the history articles that kept being brought up on several occasions. This Master Chief Petty Officer, Sierra-117 was obviously a war hero. After a few more minutes of reading, she powered the datapad off and set it aside on the table. Her thoughts drifted once more. She let her mind wander until she came upon one topic that always dominated her mind whenever it came up. That topic was the stallion who she fell in love with. She sighed sadly then... remembering that she had been invited to a diplomatic summit in Manehattan. She didn't know how long she would be gone, and she didn't even know if Gunnar had been invited. The thought of separation bothered her to some degree. She remembered that Gunnar had gone to his old workshop on the north side of town just then. She wanted to see him again sooner than later, wanted to be in his presence, in his embrace. She felt safer with him nowadays. She sometimes laughed inwardly at how fast they had fallen for each other, but she was happy about it all the same. With all the thoughts in her mind pointing to him, she resolved to go see what he was up to at the workshop. She wanted to be in his presence more than anything right now. An hour later, she set out from her library. Her thoughts continued to drift to him as she walked, but she didn't mind it one bit. After all, he was the one she was going to see. She arrived at the workshop and once again heard noises coming from the Phoenix Dropship's garage. She could only assume that Gunnar was in there, so naturally, that's the door she knocked on. His familiar voice called out, "Just a minute!" as he bustled about in there. She barely stifled a laugh when she heard what she could only assume to be an open toolbox hit the floor and Gunnar started letting out a flurry of curses in response to the unruly equipment. Another minute of bustling about and the door opened to reveal his smiling face. "Hey Twilight," he greeted, then he blushed a bit, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "Uh... hehe... if you heard any of that fiasco a minute ago, I'm sorry about that." "It's alright," Twilight replied gently, "I wanted to come and see you. I... haven't seen you in a few days and I was kinda, you know... starting to miss you." She was blushing a bright shade of red now, rubbing the back of her head nervously. Gunnar smiled and kissed her cheek before he spoke. "I'm glad you did," he admitted, "I have something I want to show you in fact. First I have to explain a bit though." "Um... okay..." "Well, you know the diplomatic summit going on in Manehattan right?" "Yeah, I remember telling you I had been invited too." "Well, I figured I'd surprise you. Not only am I invited too, buuuuut," he paused as he opened the garage door all the way to reveal an improved Phoenix Dropship, "I decided to take you there myself." She looked over it, amazed by the improvements. The armor looked thicker, the jet turbines seemed to have been replaced, all four of them, by the same type of engines used in the UNSC's F-41 Exoatmospheric Broadsword Fighter, which, while slightly bulkier, were obviously much faster. There were also three large cannons arranged in a row under the nose of the Phoenix that were obviously based off of Gunnar's plasma weapon tech. On top of the new engines, armor, and guns, it had a new paint finish: Steel black dominated its color scheme with an intricate design based off the shape of an actual Phoenix painted in brilliant crimson red. The design was mirrored on both sides of the craft. "Say hello to the Phoenix Class Quick Response Combat Transport," Gunnar stated proudly. "I-It's amazing.... How did you do it in such a short amount of time?" "Well, since I'm a soldier unicorn with a knack for futuretech, I kinda figured that would be obvious," he joked. They couldn't help both laughing for a moment before Twilight's gaze locked with his. After a moment they blushed intensely, but slowly leaned towards each other and kissed. Twilight once again found herself wishing the moment would never end, but sadly it had to for the time being. They gently broke the kiss after a minute or two and simply smiled at each other. "This is the best surprise I've gotten in a long while," Twilight giggled after a moment, "I was really hoping I could go with you to the summit." She blushed again. "I would have missed you while I was gone if you weren't coming." "W-well uh... you still would have had your other friends with you right?" She nodded. "Yeah but.... I'll admit... I've gotten used to being with you... now I'm finding it harder and harder to pull myself away. I love you Gunnar. I couldn't imagine life without you now." Gunnar was surprised. She was pouring her heart out now, admitting that she was finding it harder to be separated from him with each passing day. He had no idea what to say... but he did know what to do. He pulled her into a close embrace, wordlessly expressing that he felt the exact same way. Twilight smiled and wrapped her forelegs around him, hugging back gently and leaning into his embrace. She knew she would be safe with him, no matter what. =============================================================== The next morning. Twilight made sure to grab everything she needed. She grabbed her datapad too. She was to go and meet Gunnar outside the UNSC Forward Base where he would have the Phoenix Dropship ready for takeoff. "Spike, you promise to stay out of trouble while I'm gone?" she turned and asked her little baby dragon. "I promise Twilight, no trouble from me," he replied. Satisfied, she gave Spike a quick hug and she was on her way. She had informed Celestia yesterday about a change in plans regarding her means of travel. Celestia saw no problem with it so she allowed it. Her friends still elected to board the designated Pelican Lasky had sent for them yesterday though so It would just be her and Gunnar. Her friends were probably enjoying themselves in Manehattan by now as long as their Pelican wasn't waylaid by one of the pockets of Covenant resistance still remaining planetside. Speaking of the Covies, they had gotten less bold lately as far as covert operations went and now they were just performing all out raids, trying to pick the UNSC's defenses apart. Two stealthed Covenant Corvettes still managed to make it planetside and disappear though, despite the large number of UNSC patrols in the system. Her thoughts were soon interrupted though when she heard Gunnar's voice. "Hey Twilight, you ready to go?" he called as he waved to her. She smiled and galloped over to meet him. "Definitely ready." She quickly kissed his cheek before climbing aboard the Phoenix Dropship. The stallion smiled and blushed a bit before climbing aboard himself and closing the boarding ramp. Twilight was already buckled up in the co-pilot seat. Gunnar took up his place in the pilot seat and put on the headset after making sure his and Twilight's armor were secure in the cargo compartment. "This is Phoenix One to Eagle Actual, requesting clearance for takeoff, over" "Hold up Phoenix One, we have a bit of a situation here." Gunnar and Twilight looked at each other after hearing that over their individual headsets. They listened in, only hearing one part of the conversation. "Well are you sure? Have you double checked the radar array? No.... No i don't think it's a problem. It's probably just another phantom signature or something. A glitch then. Of course not, the Covenant haven't been operating in the area for two weeks now. Alright... alright thank you sir. Copy that, Eagle out. Twilight and Gunnar looked at each other again, feeling a mutual sense of unease now. "Sorry about that Phoenix One, you are cleared for takeoff now. Fly safe." "Uh... roger that Eagle Actual, Phoenix One out." He cut the transmission and piloted the dropship off the ground before pushing the throttle and setting a course for Manehattan. "What was that about?" Twilight asked nervously. "Buck if I know..... but now I'm rather spooked.....," Gunnar admitted, seeming just as uneasy as she was. "You think we should be worried?" "I really don't know." "He seemed a little distant when the Covenant came up, at least as far as I could tell with how he spoke." "Yeah... I noticed it too.... I find myself hoping the others are okay..." "You and me both.... If the Covenant got to them...." She was cut off by a sudden beeping coming from a console among the flight controls. "What's that?" Gunnar checked the screen real quick and his face scrunched up, muttering, "well speak of the devil..." "Gunnar?" "We got three unidentified bogeys on our six, closing fast." "WHAT!?" Gunnar flipped a switch to check rear camera footage. When he zoomed in... his fears were confirmed. Two Type-26 Ground Support 'Banshee' Aircraft and a single Type-31 Exoatmospheric Multirole 'Seraph' Starfighter were closing in fast..... and they weren't sporting the colors of Arbiter's forces. "Twilight, buckle up. This could turn ugly," Gunnar warned. She checked her seatbelts real quick and held on for dear life when Gunnar veered left, performing a perfect barrel roll turn. The Covenant craft turned to follow and accelerated, and as if that wasn't convincing enough, the Seraph fired a barrage of plasma at them. Gunnar had no doubts, these guys were out to kill. "HANG ON TIGHT!" He veered upwards into a right corkscrew, flipping their trajectory and causing the enemy craft to rocket past them. The Covie vehicles turned to pursue as Gunnar piloted the dropship toward's Ghastly Gorge at maximum speed. "This is Gunnar of Phoenix One broadcasting on an emergency channel! We have Covenant aircraft in hot pursuit. Trying to shake them in Ghastly Gorge." "Phoenix One, this is Eagle Actual, what are you still doing in the airspace?" "DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME!? I GOT COVENANT ON MY TAIL!!!!" "Shit, I knew that wasn't a false contact. Idiot's in the watchtowers taking a nap or something? Alright hang in there Gunnar, deploying Broadswords!" "MAKE IT QUICK, I GOT A PRIORITY VIP ABOARD! TWILIGHT SPARKLE!" "You picked a hell of a day to pilot didn't you? Alright, we're double timing it, just stay alive!!" "Roger that Eagle Actual, Phoenix One out," In those short thirty seconds of communication, the Seraph had come into firing range again and started firing. "BUCK!!!" Gunnar cursed loudly. "LOOK OUT!!!" Twilight cried. Gunnar barrel rolled, then corkscrewed left down into Ghastly Gorge. He saw the thick brambles ahead and pulled the trigger, activating the plasma guns on the nose and firing three hundred plasma rounds a second each, tearing up the brambles. He barrel rolled again as he flew through what was left, knocking debris loose with the hardened wingtips of his craft and in the way of their pursuers. The Seraph was unscathed as the garbage bounced off its shields, and one of the Banshee's dodged. The second Banshee wasn't so lucky when a large boulder came loose ahead of it and fell right in its path. One down, two to go. The Gunship shuddered then, taking a hit from the Seraph. "THEY GOT US!!" Twilight cried out. "Don't worry, the shields absorbed it!" "Shields?" "UNSC aided upgrade." "You're just full of surprises aren't you?" she joked "Damn straight." He punched the throttle forward, causing the wings to fold back some as the aircraft accelerated. The Seraph easily matched speeds. "Come on you bastards, come get me," Gunnar muttered as he saw the wind tunnel ahead. He pushed the throttle to its limit and easily blasted through the tunnel in a matter of seconds. To his disappointment, so did the Seraph and the remaining Banshee. "DAMN!" he cursed. "Gunnar! UP AHEAD, QUARRAY EELS!!!" Twilight called. "Ooooh shit! This is gonna get MESSY!!!" He quickly throttled down and started dodging back and forth between the attacking giant eels. The last one nearly clipped his wing as he managed to get clear. The Seraph blasted and killed a few of them while dodging the rest. The last Banshee, however, exploded when one of the massive eels rammed it with its head. "Two down," Gunnar said with a smirk. "What about the big one!?" "One thing at a time," Gunnar responded. The Phantom fired a more sustained barrage this time. Gunnar managed to dodge most of its fire but the Phoenix's shields still flared and popped, allowing one of the engines to take a hit and start trailing fire and smoke. "OKAY, NOW WE'RE IN TROUBLE!!!" Gunnar cried, trying not to panic. "Here I was hoping we'd get some normal alone time for once," Twilight whined. "Things never go our way do they?" "So it would seem!" Gunnar managed a laugh as his voice cracked before saying, "You may wanna brace yourself." She did as Gunnar opened fire on the cliff face up ahead, starting a rock slide. "Say goodnight Covenant bitch!" He just barely managed to veer up at the right moment, narrowly avoiding the first bits of the rockslide and the top edge of the rock face. The Seraph got buried when it wound up hit by the bulk of it. "Last one down," Gunnar sighed with relief. "For a minute, I thought he had us th......" Twilight began to say but was cut off when the Phoenix shuddered and an alarm started going off. "No no no no NO NOOOO!!!" Gunnar yelled out, "The fire spread to a second engine and took it out of commission, we're going down! BRACE YOURSELF!!!!" "Oh please Celestia NO!!!!" Gunnar began trying to throttle down and keep the nose of the aircraft up. A moment later, they crashed, skidding across the ground and leaving a deep gash in the earth. The aircraft went for at least half a mile or more before it finally stopped moving, crippled, broken, and unable to fly. The detour they were forced to take wound up putting them on the edge of the San Palomino Desert. While the Phoenix managed to, surprisingly, stay intact enough for Gunnar and Twilight to survive the landing, it would not be able to fly ever again unless it was picked up and taken back to the garage with heavy lift equipment. "Well... that could have been worse.... right...?" Gunnar asked with a shaky voice, but Twilight didn't respond. "Twilight?" She was clinging to her chair and clenching her eyes shut, muttering in absolute fear. "Hey Twilight, come on snap out of it, you're ok," he tried to reassure her after unbuckling his safety harness and going to her side. "Come on, let go, you're okay, you're alive." He unbuckled her safety harness and wrapped his forelegs around her, trying to comfort her. Twilight was crying and muttering in fear, trying to get a hold of herself, but failing miserably. "Twilight, please calm down. You're safe now. You're okay." He held her close, continuing to comfort her for what felt like forever, but had actually been somewhere around fifteen minutes. She finally loosened her grip on the chair and let go of it only to wrap her forelegs around Gunnar, refusing to open her eyes and sobbing now. Gunnar stroked her mane gently, making every attempt to calm her. She clung to him for dear life, not wanting to let go of this source of security and comfort. She eventually stopped crying, but she didn't let go, even as the sun went down, clinging to him till she fell asleep. Three hours of sheer terror.... He should have just gotten on the Pelican with her.... Instead he brought her out here..... No, I can't think like that! We both wanted to fly together on the Phoenix. My intentions were pure... just our luck was rotten... soon as I finish setting up sleeping bags for us and activate the distress beacon, we can both sleep till morning. He resolved to be strong for her and immediately hoisted her up on his back, where she cuddled into the back of his neck and got comfortable while he used his magic to pull out and set up the sleeping bags. He triggered the distress beacon real quick then lay down with her. She refused to let go, just snuggling into him as she slept. He didn't mind. As long as she felt safe and comfortable, he was happy. He held her close and soon fell asleep himself. The rest of the night was spent in peace.