"What is he?"
"Is he dead?"
"Poke him."
Through my slumber I felt an object that felt like a hoof poking at my forehead. I slowly opened my eyes to see three fillies standing over me and looking at me as though I were a bug under a magnifying glass. I rolled over and looked at the clock, 6:30.
"What the hell are ya kids doin' wakin' me up at six thirty in the monin'?"
"What are ya?"
"Ah'm a human. And don't think ah don't recognize your lil friends either cause ah 'member them from yesterday. They're lucky ah didn't whip their asses fer that little stunt they pulled."
With that the two fillies proceeded to take a step back.
"Why 're ya in my house?"
"Well, uh..."
"Applebloom"
"Well Applebloom, until ah can get a permanent residence ah'm stayin' here."
I rolled over again and hoped the filly would take the hint that I wanted to go back to sleep. Unfortunately for me she didn't.
"So there's an alien in mah house? Awesome!"
"Yeah, awesome. Shouldn't you be goin' to school or somethin'?"
"It's summer."
As the filly continued to bug me the smell of pancakes and coffee slowly drifted up stairs. Obviously I wasn't the only one to notice as the fillies jumped down from the bed and ran down the stairs. Slowly I rolled over and sat up, cringing slightly as my feet hit the cold floor. I stood up and walked down the stairs to see the fillies, Applejack, a large red stallion, and an elderly green mare all gathered around the table.
"Good mornin' James." was the cheerful greeting from Applejack.
"Not till ah've had mah coffee it ain"t."
I grabbed a mug from a shelf and poured my coffee before finding a seat at the table. A plate slid over in front of me with six pancakes and two pieces of toast on it. I looked up to see everyone else beginning to dig in. After a few minutes I had virtually inhaled the breakfast and finished off three cups of coffee, much to the amazement and slight amusement of the ponies at the table.
"Ah ain't never seen anyone eat that fast before."
"Instinct ah still have from when ah was a kid. When you're the youngest of six kids ya gotta eat fast 'fore the others can steal it off yer plate."
The others finished their breakfast and set about doing morning chores, and I was no exception. But as I was heading out the door I was met by a white unicorn stallion in gold armor about to knock.
"Are you Lieutenant Commander James Jones?"
"Yes."
"Urgent message from Canterlot. Your presence is requested immediately."
I grabbed the note levitating in front me. The stallion saluted before turning and walking out the front gate.
"What's going on?"
I turned to see Applejack looking at the envelope worriedly.
"No clue. But we're 'bout to find out."
I ripped the top of the envelope and pulled out the letter.
To Lt. Cdr. Jones
Your assistance is requested immediately. As a it is a matter of international security the information will be withheld until such time as you will need it.
~Princess Celestia
I crammed the letter into my pocket and immediately headed out the door for town, with Applejack hot on my heals. We made it to town a few minutes later and headed for Golden Oaks Library. As we entered the library we were meet by the sight of the other five mares along with my men.
"Hey Skipper, what the hell's going on?"
"Will, if ah knew I'd tell ya."
As we stood there another letter floated over to me. I grabbed the letter and looked over to see Twilight's worried eyes darting between me and the note. What ever was going on, it couldn't be good. I looked at the letter in my hand.
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
You and the other element bearers must come to Canterlot at once. This is an urgent matter and is of the utmost secrecy so for this reason I am sending a private train for you. As I expect Lieutenant Commander Jones will most likely come to see you about his letter please tell him that his aircraft are needed for this matter. Due to this they're to fly to the runway at the Wonderbolts Academy. Enclosed is a map that should help them.
~Princess Celestia
As I finished reading the letter a map of Equestria floated over in the lavender aura of Twilight's magic. I grabbed the map and slid it into my pocket and placed the letter on the table in the center of the library. If this was as big an emergency as it seemed then there was no time to lose.
"Will!"
"Yes, sir?"
"Ah need you and John to go get the Tomcat's ready for takeoff. Austin, you and me are gunna get the missiles and load em on the planes."
"Right away Skipper. Where are the missiles by the way?"
"That, is an excellent question. Anyone know where they are?"
"Ah think Big Macintosh put em in the barn."
"Thanks Applejack. 'Mon Dumbass, we got work to do."
"Right behind ya Skipper."
We walked out the library and began jogging down the road to the farm. As we jogged up the lane up to the house we could see Big Macintosh sitting on the porch.
"Mac! We need you to help us take the missiles to the planes."
He carefully trotted down the steps as though if he stepped on one wrong his hoof would go through the boards. When he reached the bottom of the steps he broke into a sprint to catch up to us as we ran for the barn. We slowed to a walk as we got to the door and opened it to see the missiles sitting in six carts in the middle of the barn.
"Alright, this needs done fast as possible. Mac, is it possible to hook one cart to the other so we can do two at a time?"
"Eeyup."
"Good. If we each pull two that means only one trip."
We hurriedly hooked up the carts and moved down the lane for town as fast as we could move. As we moved through town we got quite a few looks from ponies, with some of them following us to see what was going on. We reached the field and were met by Will and John wiping the windscreens of the Tomcat's clean.
"Alright fellers. Lets get the missiles loaded up and get movin'."
With that order we began loading the missiles off the carts and onto the racks under the Tomcat's. As we unloaded the missiles from the cart we quickly found it is much easier to take them off the racks then putting them on and after yesterdays encounter with the Mig's we only had about half of them left. After lifting the last one into position we all silently thanked god it was done. With that over we made a mad dash for the cockpit ladders on the planes and began a quick pre-flight check. When we finished the check we started up the engines and rolled to the end of the field. As we lowered the canopies we slid on our helmets and put on the oxygen masks.
"Radio check. Can ya hear me Hawk?"
"This is Hawk. Read ya loud and clear Skipper."
"Dragon, ah need ya to be the navigator for this flight." I pulled the map from my pocket and passed it over the instrument panel behind me to Austin. "What can ya make of this?"
"Well I can make a hat, a swan, maybe a boat."
"Not what ah meant smartass."
"I know. Well let's get airborne and then we can worry about navigation."
"Alright. Let's get movin'."
I slowly pushed the throttle open and listened to the sweet roar of the jet engines. We released the brakes and began speeding down across the field. I gently began to pull back on the stick and felt the Tomcat lift from the ground and begin climbing. We raised the gear and flaps and let the Tomcat's begin to gain more altitude, which they happily did. As we continued our climb out I turned and looked over my shoulder to see Austin unfolding the map.
"Looks like we need a heading of 3-4-0 Skipper."
"Alright, 3-4-0."
We banked right until we were headed almost directly over Ponyville.
"From the scale on this map it looks like we're going to fly on this heading for about two hundred miles before we reach the runway that's marked on here."
"Well at this speed that ought to take only about thirty to forty minutes."
"Or, Hawk, we haul ass and full throttle it all the way there."
"You think that's a good idea Skipper? I mean, we only have so much fuel. If we use afterburners it'll use up a hell of a lot more fuel then we should. I don't wanna be at thirty thousand feet and this thing run outta gas."
"I'm with Hawk on that one Skipper."
"Fine, we'll keep it subsonic."
~thirty minutes later~
"Any of ya'll fellas see that runway yet?"
"Not yet Skipper. But I just noticed something. Down here in the corner of this map there's some number's written down. Looks like a radio frequency."
"Well let's try it. Switch over to the frequency and see if we pick up anything."
"Yes sir. Cobra, the frequency is 1-0-3 point 9."
"Copy that Dragon. Switching to 1-0-3 point 9."
There was the sound of static as the radio was being switched before the sound we had hoped for broke through.
"Whiskey Bravo Alpha Charley traffic. Recruit 15 is left downwind for runway 3-6. Full stop."
"15, you're clear for full stop."
"Copy that. 15 is clear for full stop."
I looked out the canopy to my right to see Will and John giving a thumbs up to show they were on the right frequency.
"Whiskey Bravo Alpha Charley tower, this is Tomcat flight. We can't see to see you. Request heading check."
"Tomcat flight our radar is showing you headed directly for us so you're on the correct coarse. Weather is 9/10 cloud cover all around the runway. Visibility is fifty yards. We'll clear it for you."
"Rodger that."
"We're grounding all non-essential traffic until you're both on the tarmac."
"Then we'll make this as quick as possible for ya."
As we roared across the sky we looked down to see the runway barely visible below us. Amongst the sights below were several pegasi taking to the sky and beginning to push the clouds away from the airstrip. Soon the sky was cleared and the runway fully visible.
"Tomcat flight this is the tower. Clouds are gone and you're cleared for landing on runway 3-6."
"Rodger that. Runway 3-6 for Tomcat flight."
We banked and circled around until we lined up with the runway.
"Hawk ah don't think that runway can handle both of us at once. Plus the turbulence from one of us would knock the other right out of the sky."
"I was just thinking the same thing. I'll circle around again and come in once you're down."
"Rodger that."
I began pulling back on the throttle before lowering the flaps and landing gear. 'Alright, it's been a while since ya landed on a paved runway. Let's see if ya can still do it.' My eyes locked onto a set spot on the runway, the third stripe on the closest end. I aimed the Tomcat at the spot and pulled back on the throttle more and more as I got closer. As the Tomcat began losing altitude I pulled back on the stick and pulled the nose above the horizon as I got over the third stripe. There was a loud thud and the screech of the tires hitting the runway as we made contact with the pavement. I slammed on the brakes in an attempt to slow the plane enough to turn out of the way enough for Will to land his Tomcat as soon as possible. As the plane rolled to a stop on the side of the runway the headset burst to life again as Will competed the circle around the runway.
"Tower this is Tomcat two. I'm inbound to land, runway 3-6"
"Roger that Tomcat two."
I raised the canopy of my Tomcat and looked over my shoulder to see Will's Tomcat coming in behind us. We watched as it seemingly floated down towards the runway like a leaf falling from a tree. As the seconds ticked by the Tomcat came closer towards us and the runway. Finally after what seemed like an eternity Will touched down on the runway and began applying the brakes, which let out an ear shattering screech as he pushed on them. 'Need to get that looked at soon.' The other Tomcat slowed and turned in next to us, nearly scraping against our wingtip with theirs. I reached down and shutdown the engines before lowering the ladder on the side of the plane and removing my flight helmet. Swinging my leg over the side I placed my foot in the first step and began my decent from the cockpit. As I stepped down from the final rung of the ladder I noticed several pegasi out of the corner of my eye. I turned to see a mare in the middle of the small group with an orange and gold mane and yellow coat in a blue dress uniform and sunglasses coming towards us with a small briefcase.
"Lieutenant Commander Jones?"
"Yes?"
"I'm Colonel Spitfire, commander of the Wonderbolts. I have vital information here that you need to see." With that she opened the briefcase and carefully reached in and pulled out several pictures. "These reconnaissance photos where taken early this morning and only about an hour ago. We had reports yesterday from the Crystal Empire of an aircraft crashing in the mountains. We think it may be related to your appearance here."
I took the photos from her and began looking them over. From what I could make out from the photos there was a wing with a red star and large chunks of metal scattered all about the mountain but as I flipped through the pictures two things caught my eye.
"Which of these was taken last?"
"These four." Spitfire stated as she pointed a hoof at the pictures.
"Then there's something that doesn't match in the others. See this spot there?"
"Yeah. What about it?"
"It moved. It's alive. Then there's another thing. This here, it's a missile."
"So that's it? Just another human with an over grown firework?"
"Well Colonel, that's where you're wrong. The human we can handle. But that 'over grown firework', that's the problem. That thing is a nuclear missile and ah'm willing to bet my life it's armed. You're looking at an explosion that would destroy an entire city and poison many more from the fallout. If that thing goes off, you're very well looking at the end of the world."