//------------------------------//
// Models  
// Story: Nearing the Edge 
// by Eagle 
//------------------------------//

August 15th, 2005
1508 Hours
Academy

“Come in,” Cole replied blandly to the knock on the wooden door.

For the past few days, his whole world was centered on this little room. Cole initially did not mind as he actually somewhat preferred small homes, finding them more comfy than large ones with too much space to use, but one room was a bit too small. After all this time it was becoming maddening.

“Good morning, Captain.”

By now he had grown accustomed to the Spitfire’s voice, but he still had to sit up from the couch and speak directly to her; at least for respect’s sake.

“Good morning, ma’am.”

“I hope you’ve had a nice stay here so far.”

“It’s a little rude to keep your guest all cooped up in here,” Cole joked lightly.

“It’s a little rude for an intruder to think that he’s a guest,” she replied accordingly. “But, you might be a guest soon. The last session of negotiations went better than expected, apparently.”

This new piece of information quickly grabbed Cole’s attention with its prospects, and he visibly brightened up.  He had been informed that discussions were being held between the two nations, but he did not know how they were coming along. Even without specifics, the detail that they had ended well was an encouraging one.

“Really? So I’ll be going home soon?” he asked hopefully. 

“Not exactly… I’m not too sure of the details,” Spitfire admitted. “But I do know our countries entered some kind of… agreement.”

“Yeah, you told me that yesterday,” Cole reminded her.

“You also asked me if you were leaving then,” Spitfire returned. “And I said no, and as far as I can tell I’m still saying no.”

“What? So what was the agreement about?”

“Well to keep it simple, you’re not leaving,” she clarified. “But you’re not leaving because this is going to be your home for a little bit. Some of your soldiers are going to be landing here later on today, and a squadron from your Air Force.”

“Really? What for?”

“I’m not really sure,” the pony admitted. “I’m allowed to share everything I was told with you, but that’s the extent of it. The only other point was that it was the same squadron you headed.”

The First Tactical was being sent here as well. This could not be a simple pick-up; there would be no reason to have a full squadron land as well as troops. It simply served no purpose to do so. Though Spitfire had already clarified that he would be staying here, so what was the meaning of it? Were they rebasing to here? Were they going to give some kind of demonstration to the Equestrians? Or was it a threat? Was it supposed to be some kind of pre-emptive strike, or retaliation for his capture? None of it made any sense.

“All I was ordered to do was to prepare you by sharing this information,” she continued. “Other than that I was told to ‘cooperate with American units in what they deem as necessary’, whatever that may be.”

“Combat operations?”

“I don’t think so; I haven’t heard anything about your country declaring war against the Bloc, or any other action. But we’ll know more when your friends get here.”

“Yea, we’ll know then,” Cole agreed, now realizing just how the situation has changed. “So… I… guess I’m… not a prisoner anymore?”

“Until your men arrive and the official handover takes place, you’re still a prisoner under me,” she replied sternly.

“Alright, alright. And when that happens, what does that make us? Partners or… friends or something?”

“I… guess so,” she replied hesitantly. “I mean you seem like a nice guy… when you’re not invading someone else’s country.”

“Hey, I didn’t invade it; I’d just rather be on land instead of floating around in the ocean,” he retorted. “And your land was the only one around.”

“And it’s still my land,” Spitfire said with a grin. “So you’re still my guest here, and you still have to follow my rules, for now anyways.”

“So does that mean more interrogation?” Cole groaned.

“Yes and no. You will be answering some questions, but I doubt any of it is classified information. And it won’t be to me, either.”

It was not Spitfire, and the details were not secret. So who would be questioning him? And on what? What kind of details were not secret that he could answer; things about life or people? And who would want to ask him such questions? A reporter? An author maybe?

“Captain? Something wrong?” Spitfire asked the brainstorming pilot.

“Oh, no ma’am; just thinking,” he assured her. “Mind if I ask what those details will be? And with whom I’ll be discussing them with?”

“Just a few curious ponies. They should be here soon,” she said nonchalantly. “And you’ll be talking about whatever they wish to discuss with you.”

“Well… alright,” Cole resigned.

With that, the two went quiet, with Spitfire turning away a bit and staring into space. Cole did the same for a bit, pondering what his new job was going to be once he was officially released. After almost a minute, the silence was becoming awkward to him, and despite her also daydreaming, he felt a bit uncomfortable with it.

“So how have things been?” he asked, not referring to anything in particular.

“Good; the front looks pretty quiet for now.”

“That sounds… good,” he agreed oddly, trying to think of something else to talk about. “Is there… anything you’d like to know about? At all?”

Spitfire brought a hoof to her chin for a few seconds, pondering of what she could ask.

“Not really, but thanks. There are a few things, but I’ll find them out soon,” she responded, remembering an important part of the deal she had forgotten. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, Equestria’s isolation has been lifted.”

“That’s a pretty big detail to leave out.”

“I just forgot; I didn’t mean to keep it from you!” Spitfire replied defensively.

“Hey, I’m not mad at you; I can be pretty forgetful myself,” Cole replied before internally lambasting himself. “Otherwise I might not have been caught.”

“Really? I kind of thought-”

A knocking on the door interrupted the Equestrian before she could finish her sentence.

“Colonel, can we start now?” another girl’s voice asked from the other side.

“Colonel, so that’s her rank,” Cole thought.

“Yeah, you can come in,” she answered, before turning back to the human. “Well, Captain, I hope you’ll be kind and helpful. I’ll see you later.”

She did not stay to hear his reply of ‘yes ma’am’, turning back and heading to the door. She stepped out and closed it behind her, once again leaving Cole to his isolation. Some voices were heard on the other side of the door before it opened up once again. This time a group entered made up of one unicorn and three pegasi who were purple, dark blue, white, and brown, respectively.

“Good morning,” Cole said, wanting to take the first step. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too,” the unicorn replied. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, personal student of the Princess.”

She turned back to her side and took it upon herself to introduce the rest of the group, pointing to each in the same order they had come in.

“This is Star Hunter, Starry Eyes, and Star Compass-”

“Compass Star!” the brown pegasus immediately corrected.

“Oh, right… sorry,” Twilight apologized.

“So…with all the star names…are you guys related or…something?” Cole asked.

“Yea, actually,” Compass confirmed.

Despite having guessed this, Cole was, for some reason he could not explain, was surprised.

“Partially related,” Hunter corrected the young pegasus. “Starry Eyes and I are distant cousins, and Compass here… well he might as well be in another family that happens to share a name with Star in it.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he was,” Starry carried on the subject, much to Compass’ discomfort. “I’m sure he is connected somewhere in the tree, but I can’t say where or how.”

“It’s a big family,” Compass said.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you all,” the pilot repeated, with each of them responding in kind.

“So do you mind if I start the interview now?” Twilight asked.

“Interview? So you guys really are reporters?”

“Oh, no no,” she rectified. “This is more of a...studying mission. I’ve only gotten a few pieces of information on humans, and since you’re the first to be an official guest of Equestria, I thought it would be a great opportunity to learn more about the outside world.  So I sent a letter to the Princess, and she said yes! ”

“Probably from lifting the self-issued embargo,” he thought.

“After that, I packed up and came here to see you, along with a few other ponies that were interested,” she said, referring to the others in the group.

“Ok,” Cole replied simply, taking in Twilight’s chronicle of events that lead her here.

For a moment he thought about telling her not to ask anything too sensitive involving his job, but remembered that due to a certain magical spell that could be cast on him, he did not truly have the ability to do so.

“So, first question,” Twilight began, believing that was the go-ahead for the questions to be asked. “What’s America like?”

“Like the land or… people or something?”

“Just overall.”

In a somewhat embarrassing stump, Cole could not answer right away. To him it was such a general question covering many different topics. It was a country, a chunk of land, his home, a political entity, and all sorts of things. He had several ideas, but debated on which to begin with until he settled on the easiest one.

“Well, it’s a country; a pretty nice one,” he explained. “I mean it’s… big and it’s got a lot of power, there’s a lot of different people and places in it… and…uh. Sorry, there’s a lot to it, could you be more specific?”

“What about the people? What are they like?”

“All kinds of people really; they come from all over the world.”

“For opportunity?” Twilight asked.

“Among other things, but yeah, you could say that’s the main reason,” Cole confirmed. “It sounds like you did some studying even before this.”

“Just a little,” the unicorn smiled. “But there wasn’t a lot that I could study with.”

“Well, you’re right,” the pilot said, much to her delight.

As the two were discussing the matter, the other three ponies were simply sitting there, listening and watching, attentively. Although Cole did trust that this was not intended to be a press interview, it still felt a bit like it. More than that, it felt like teaching a class, or answering questions from a group of young students.

“And everyone gets along well?” Twilight asked, continuing onward.

“Better than some places I’ve seen. Of course there are always a few problems.”

“What kind of problems?”

“Mostly just people fighting over being different,” Cole said uncomfortably, not wanting to delve too deeply into the darker areas.

“Like what they believe in?” Twilight guessed.

“Well… yes, that’d be one reason. Some people just have to have things go their way, no exceptions.”

“Don’t feel too bad; we have lots of ponies who do that, too,” she replied.

“Like Sombra?”

“He’s not Equestrian,” she corrected him. “But he is a good example, to say the least.”

“’Least’ sounds pretty charitable for a guy invading other countries. I doubt he’s trying to help people get along.”

“I guess his logic is that it’s better to control differences rather than befriend them,” Twilight commented, “as if it will keep the thugs and thieves and crazies under control.”

“The crazy people like him?”

“Pony, in his case,” she corrected him before continuing. “But that’s his plan for making a peaceful world.”

“Yea, I can see his paradise now,” Cole grumbled, “a bright, cold day in April with the clock striking thirteen.”

“What? Is that supposed to be some kind of human maxim?” Twilight asked.

“Not really, just a passage from a book I read once,” he answered. “But anyways, what else did you want to talk about?”

“What about geography?”  Compass blurted out; breaking the silence the other three had held since the questioning began.

“Uh… y-yea, sure,” Cole agreed, taking a moment to register the odd request. “I enjoy geography enough, but what would you want to know about it? Couldn’t you just buy a map of the U.S. whenever they start selling it here?”

“I wanted to talk more about the places themselves,” he clarified. “Now that the travel ban has been lifted, I’m looking forward to exploring places.”

“So you want vacation advice?” the human grinned.

“Hehe, kinda. I already visited most places in our world before we were dropped on Earth, so I figured I might as well do it again here.”

“I hear you, it’s no problem. Where did you want to go; to a city or to the countryside or somewhere else?”

“What kind of places are in America?” Star asked. “In terms of land?”

“Well, like I said, it’s a big place,” Cole repeated. “There’s forests, plains, deserts, mountains, cities, swamp. The first probably takes up most of the land and is sort of spread out. The plains take up most of the central part of the country.”

“We also have some large plains in the east. What are yours like?”

“I can’t really say much, couldn’t get into them; but if its plains then probably not very different from yours. They all just look the same, just a whole lot of flat nothing. Good for farming, sure, but there’s not much to see.”

“Really? I think they’re kind of charming because of that. Nice and simple,” the pegasus replied. “Guess it’s just opinion. What about the deserts?”

“Mostly in the west-southwest part, though that tends to vary. I know some parts of the southwestern ones can have a good deal of life in them. But I remember going into Utah once and that was barren. There was less there than in the plains!”

“Utah?”

“It’s one of our states. Do you guys know about that yet?”

All of them answered in the affirmative; apparently that was one of the pieces of information that had gotten in and spread enough for many to know.

“Alright, good. But yea, those are there if you’re interested. Plenty of cities that are scattered around, too. New York’s pretty cool if you’re interested.”

“I more of a country colt,” Compass replied, shaking his head a couple of times. “But I’ll keep it in mind. I have heard of it a couple times, but it never really grabbed my attention.”

Cole was going to talk about the finer details of the city, but was stopped by some loud knocking from the door. A girl’s voice called Twilight’s name causing the unicorn to stop her note-taking and excitedly run to it. She opened the door to reveal the voice’s owner, a light-blue pegasus with a colorful mane.

“Rainbow!”

“Hey!” the pegasus replied, wrapping her friend in a hug. “I heard you were around here somewhere, so I figured I should say hi at least.”

“I’m glad you did! It’s been months since I’ve seen you. How have things been around here?”

"Kinda boring, actually; we haven’t gone on many flights lately,” she explained. “It’s a little annoying, but from what I’ve heard about the fighting, I’m ok with it. But what about you? What are you doing here anyways?”

“The Princess said I could make a visit to talk with that American pilot we found.”

“Oh him?” Rainbow asked, looking past Twilight at the human. “Yea, I heard we caught him. But nopony on the base has been allowed to actually talk with him other than Spitfire.”

“She actually told me quite a lot from her own talks with him,” Twilight added. “Apparently his squadron was from some kind of special project. He’s supposed to be really good.”

“If we caught him he can’t be that good,” Rainbow replied.

Cole would have been annoyed by that statement if he was not so perplexed by the pegasus. There was something about her that seemed familiar, particularly with her multi-colored mane. He continued to stare at it, trying to find what was rustling around in his memory, as she trotted over herself.

“Nice to meet you,” she said, extending a hoof. “Name’s Rainbow Dash.”

“C-captain John Cole, U.S. Air Force,” he stuttered, coming partially back to reality. “Did you want to talk to me?”

“Maybe a little, now that you mention it,” Dash affirmed. “I was just going to stop by and chat with Twilight, but it is kind of cool that you fly jets, and I’ve got plenty of time on my… hoof…what are you staring at?”

“Uh, nothing nothing! Just thought I noticed something kind of off,” he said, flipping his vision between her eyes and mane.

“What’s your problem pal?” she asked, clearly becoming irritated. “This is getting creepy.”

“I swear… you look familiar, but-”

“Maybe you’ve heard of me?” she suggested. “I am the fastest natural flier in Equestria, so ponies tend to throw my name around a little; I’m kinda well-known.”

“No, it’s almost like I’ve met you before.”

“Not unless some fan was dressing up and pretending to be me,” Rainbow stated. “I’ve never met a human before, at least not till now.”

Cole’s mind finally retrieved the memory he was looking for, and it was somewhat annoying that he had forgotten the experience.

“On the first day the continent got to Earth, a few years back, did you get attacked by one of those Shadow pegasi near the south coast?”

Rainbow’s expression instantly turned to shock at the mention of this event.

“H-how do you know that!? I’ve never told anypony that!” she shot back.

“Really?”

“Well, nopony but Twilight and my friends, but they didn’t tell anypony else!” she said, turning her head back towards the observing unicorn. “Right?”

“Nopony but the princesses, and I don’t think they would spread it around,” she confirmed.

“So how do you know!?” Rainbow asked, now in a state between surprise and anger.

“And you were saved by a fighter jet,” Cole replied, a slight grin coming across his face. “An American one, right?

“I never told anypony that, either!” she cried. “And I really mean nopony this time! Really!”

“What!?” Twilight jumped from behind the two. “Why didn’t you tell us Rainbow?”

“I-I don’t know! I guess I was kinda… embarrassed that I got snuck up on and had to be rescued… I know it was dumb,” she admitted. “But I never talked about it, which must mean…that.”

She looked back to Cole, who now wore a friendly smile dotted with a dimple, with his right arm up and waving slightly, the two fingers up and showing the peace sign. There was only one clear and obvious answer for it. As the realization struck her, she felt an elation that she had not in a long time.

“You saved me!” she jumped, shooting up and hovering in the air.

“I figured you looked famil-ack!”

Cole coughed a bit as the pegasus flew into him and wrapped him in a hug, nearly knocking him back onto the couch.

“I can’t believe it’s really you!” she said happily. “Thank you so, so much! You’re the best!”

“You’re, uh…you’re welcome… Rainbow,” he replied, only now wrapping his arm to return the hug, being careful not to hit her wings. “My pleasure.”

“This is so great! I never thought I’d be able to meet you! I can’t thank you enough, you’re awesome!”

“Thanks, but it’s really just my job,” he retorted, still trapped in the hug. “Flying, I mean. I guess I saved you, but-”

“Oh, I want to show you something!” Rainbow interrupted, pulling him up from the couch. “Follow me!”

Cole was not quite sure what to make of this request, but as Dash tugged him towards the door, he realized this would be a chance to finally exit his bland cell, and did not utter a question towards it. The guard standing outside the door, being a lower rank than Dash’s Lieutenant status, also kept his silence as the two left. Of the original interviewers in the room, Twilight was the only one to follow them out. The remaining three pegasi were left alone, two of them greatly irritated.

“What!? You’re joking!” Hunter shouted in frustration. “I’ve kept quiet up till now, and I don’t get to ask my questions? The universe must hate me!”

“Relax Hunter, it’s not like it’ll be the only chance you’ll get for the rest of your life,” Compass reminded him. “We’ll get plenty of chances to talk with other humans now that we can visit them, and that they can visit us.”

“I don’t know why, but that doesn’t make me feel all that better,” the dark blue pegasus replied.

Meanwhile, Rainbow continued to drag her new friend through the maze of hallways that made up the building. The building itself was nothing very special, being very much the same in structure to any normal building; white and tan paint and tiled floors completing a stodgy look of professionalism. More interestingly was the number of windows they passed, and each time Cole took a moment to glance out and take in the sight of the outside, and the feel of the sunlight.

The halls themselves weren’t entirely dead, despite the dull look given to them. Many troops filtered through them, carrying out the multiple tasks necessary to maintain a base and its operations. Those that were not too focused on their jobs were distracted by the sight of a man being dragged on by a gleeful pegasus. For many, it was their first time seeing a human in real life, and for most it only lasted a second or two, leaving them to continue their personal doings.

“Hang on a second,” Rainbow said upon reaching one of the many identical, green doors in a long hallway, the only identification being the number ‘033’.

She fiddled with the doorknob for a minute, opening it and walking in, waving her hoof for Cole to follow. It was her room, or rather a small room she shared with four others, as there were two sets of small bunk beds. The other occupants, however, were nowhere to be seen; the sheets on three of them were folded and tucked neatly, and even seemed to have a light layer of dust on them. There was not much to the room than that, other than a set of lockers at the end and a small desk and chair with a lantern on it.

“So this is your room?” Cole assumed.

His new friend was more focused on yanking on the side of one of the beds for some reason.

“It seems…comfy,” he complimented awkwardly as Dash pulled back the corner of the bed slightly.

“Thanks! Just give me a second; I wanted to show you something from my collection.”

“Collection of what?”

Dash again ignored him, dunking her head into the small area and making an odd ruckus before popping back up with a bag clenched between her teeth. She patted the bottom, unkempt bunk, asking him to sit as she set the small, dark bag next to her. Cole did so, slouching forward a bit so as not to hit his head, and watched as Rainbow pressed a hoof in the bag, widened the opening, and reached in deeper before pulling something out.

“Check it out! Pretty awesome huh?”

She had pulled it out and stuck it in Cole’s face faster than he could make out what it was. But in no time he could see the pointed nose, outstretched wings, and protruding tail fins connected to the body, all covered in a faded coat of light-grey paint. It was a small model fighter jet, an F-16. Glancing into the bag, it seemed to be filled with them, all of various makes and conditions.

“It is pretty neat,” he said, being honest but not exactly sure what Dash was so excited about.

“I know, right!? I’ve got dozens of them,” she replied happily, going through the cluttered pile. “This one’s my favorite! Do you know it?”

“The Falcon?”

“Yea, it’s my favorite jet!” she reiterated, running the blue model through the air with her hoof. “It just looks so cool! And it’s got such a great name!”

Cole was going to agree when it struck him why these were such a big deal to her. She could not have gotten all of these within the short period that the embargo had been lifted; she had to have obtained them beforehand. That, in turn, meant she had bought them illegally, probably for a high price, and kept them in secret, and on a military instillation, no less. With how beaten some of them looked, it was safe to assume this had been going on for some time, and Cole wanted to know just how long.

“Dash, how long have you been collecting these?”

“Um…ever since the displacement,” she blushed, referring to the same day she learned jets existed. “I guess since then I kinda…sorta…got a thing for planes. But can you blame me? They’re so fast and loud and awesome! Just like me!”

“Yea, they are. But are-weren’t these illegal, Dash?”

“Very illegal,” a voice belonging to an annoyed Twilight came from the open doorway. “And you two really couldn’t wait for me to catch up? You know I don’t know the layout of this place. I almost got arrested for going into some important control center!”

“Heh, sorry Twilight,” Rainbow apologized, blushing again.

“But to go back to your question, Captain, these were highly illegal a few days ago,” the unicorn explained, trotting up to examine the bag’s contents. “I know it’s hard to believe, but all of this could have landed her a few days in jail and a minimal fine; not to mention being kicked out of the military.”

“I do find that hard to believe,” Cole agreed skeptically, but not seeing any realistic reason for lying. “But why would you risk something like that Dash?”

“I don’t know, I just really wanted to see one and fly one and stuff,” she said, giving her best explanation. “These were the closest I could get to it. So I just started collecting all these over time, like that Falcon and…like this one.”

Dash pulled out another model, this one being an F-15. The Eagle seemed to have some age to it, yet the condition was still very good in comparison to some of the others. There were few scratches on the model’s coat, which still shined when held at the right angle. She handed it over to Cole, who nudged it on its sides with his fingers.

“That’s the one you fly, right?”

“Yep,” Cole confirmed simply with a slight grin.

“I want you to keep it,” she demanded. “You deserve something for being a big hero.”

“What? No, Dash, I already told you I was just doing my job,” Cole vainly restated.

“Well you’re a hero for doing it,” Dash shot back. “So suck it up, ‘cause I’m not taking that back!”

Cole was, admittedly, going to accept it before a voice outside rang out Dash’s name. It did not sound like one Cole had heard before, but the pegasus flew out of the room and slammed the door before he could see the pony it belonged to. The sudden bang left him jarred, and he remained dazed for a moment before Twilight snapped him out of it.

“You know, I guess I should thank you. I haven’t seen Rainbow that happy in a long time.”

“Really? How come?”

“The war, probably. Before it started we used to live in the same town with all our close friends, and most of the problems we encountered we could solve ourselves,” she recalled fondly. “She always dreamed of getting into the Wonderbolts and performing shows with them, she would practice moves to dazzles crowds and everything. When the war started she finally reached it, and was drafted into their reserve unit here, but they never performed any shows.”

“And the combat shook her up?” Cole guessed.

“She hasn’t seen any,” Twilight pointed out. “She’s been out on patrols, but the few times they needed to actually fight, others were selected instead of her. But all the bad news, and seeing so few friends come back every time…it must have had some effect on her.”
“That is understandable. Though I guess it’s better than having to go herself and getting killed.”

“Most of the wingponies she started with have been killed, including all of her roommates,” she added, waving a hoof over the empty bunks.

Looking at the bunks suddenly took on a darker tone. Though the thought had entered Cole’s mind when he first saw them, the confirmation made it worse. The neatly tucked sheets had not been changed since their occupants left this world. It felt more like looking at a grave than a place of comfort.

“I could tell from the writing in her letters she was brought down by it, but hopefully she’ll perk up after this,” the unicorn theorized. “She is right, you know; you really are a hero for saving her.”

“It just felt like the right thing to do,” Cole replied, not agreeing or rejecting the statement.

“And you can’t be a hero for that?”

“Well…I don’t feel like it,” he admitted. “I still feel like more of a failure.”

“Because project your unit was part of turned out to be a failure?”

“Is nothing kept classified on this base?” Cole thought to himself.

“You know, you don't need special training to do something special, you just have to do something special,” Twilight pointed out.  “All that training didn't just make you great on your own, you have to use it. Just look, you've already done something special and you don't even know it.”

Cole simply nodded in agreement as he let that philosophy sink in. He still felt as though all of the resources poured into the Tactical Corps had been a waste, but he had done something important. Regardless of whether or not it was the intention of that development, he had actually done something. He had saved a life, and even if it was his job, he had done a good job at it.

“Hey Twilight! I need your help with something!” Rainbow called from the outside.

“Coming!” she replied, turning back to Cole. “You might want to come along, too. I think your friends should be arriving soon.”

“Sure, I’ll be out in a minute.”

Twilight exited the room, leaving the American alone again to think on this new look of himself. He held the small model Eagle Dash had given him in his hand and examined it closely. Looking at it, he found himself grinning happily; for the first time in a while, he felt a sense of satisfaction deep down. Pocketing the memento, he exited the room to see what awaited him next.





Growing up in the heat of Santa Fe was a rather uneventful experience for First Lieutenant Walker. The most significant events were usually the trips with his father and friends to the snowy mountains in the east, a far cry from the warm deserts that covered over areas of the American Southwest. Some close calls on those slopes instilled an early fear of death in him, and an even greater one in the deaths of others, fears he held in common with his Captain.

Because of this, the thought of military service was unappealing at best. The idea of meeting an early death, or being the cause of another’s, drove him away for some time. That ended with a school trip to Kirtland Air Force Base. It was a minor visit, kept away from most areas of the base, but the idea of flight captured his fascination. Indeed, the high secrecy also heightened his curiosity, and he began to study more into the subject of flight and the Air Force. He never became especially keen on the death part, but the desire to be a pilot trumped that.

He ran this goal down, becoming a fighter pilot once college was complete. Only days after he took up the nickname ‘Roadrunner’, after his state’s bird, which he always had a liking to. Usually shortened to just ‘Runner’, he volunteered for the experiment of the Tactical Corps and eventually reached the second-in-command position of Executive Officer, with his former flight lead taking the first position, but with neither getting the appropriate rank. 

Now the Captain was captured, and it fell to him to lead the squadron in the days that followed. It was an interesting new position, having a few more responsibilities, but not being too difficult to handle, with most of these duties being nothing more than papers and busy work. Most of his mind was worrying if Cole was ok and when they would get him back. Though the job was not hard, he was not keen on taking command of the squadron. Actually leading it into war hardly sounded enjoyable.

Thankfully, that worrying would cease today. Following the talks between the two nations, Captain Cole would not only be released, but the Wonderbolts Academy, his prison and the most modern base in Equestria, was to become the 1st Tac’s new home. Though Walker was happy to get the Captain back, and enter into an alliance with Equestria, it still scared him about exactly what would happen while based there. All he was told was that the Academy would become their new base, with no indication on how to treat Bloc forces that wandered into Equestria. More detailed orders were said to be in the works, but that could still lead to conflict. The squadron could be moving into the position as the first unit in an all-out war.

He had to focus on the task at hand for now, that task being to land. They had already passed over the country’s borders without incident, being escorted to the base by a group of pegasi. It was an interesting place, the entire thing lying on top of a flat, towering rock, surrounded by clouds in the form of small homes. Its base seemed to have been expanded artificially, as it was rounded perfectly, holding many buildings, though not one hanger.

The runway itself was rather short, according to reports it was only used to assist heavy-laden pegasi in taking off and fast-flyers in landing, not for a jet. Still, it seemed to be just long enough to come to a stop. The ground unit assigned to help them, an oversized company detached from the 101st Airborne Division, had already landed via parachute, secured, and inspected the runway. Declaring it safe for use for aircraft, the first aircraft to land was one of the durable C-130 Hercules transport planes, which, being better suited for landing on rougher surfaces, tested it. Coming safely to a stop with no major bumps or holes, the ground unit gave the clear for the fighters to follow.

Being in command, Walker’s F-15 was the first to land, hitting the edge of the runway at a reduced speed. He was impressed by just how smooth the runway was; though it was safe for landing, he expected at least a few jarring hits, not thinking the Equestrians would keep such a runway in excellent shape when they did not need it for planes. The Eagle gradually slowed, coasting along the runway before coming to a halt just past the small river the runway ran over.

Safely on the ground, the fighter was taxied over to its resting spot, which added up to little more than a generally flat, large space; though it was hardly suitable for the jets, it was one of the few areas that were clear. Being helped out of the craft by some ground support personnel, who had landed first on the transport plane, he left the care of the fighter in their hands, whilst keeping most of the equipment on, as there was nowhere to leave it. The first soldier he talked to was a Staff Sergeant from the airborne units, with the digital grey camouflage on his uniform contrasting greatly with most of the things around him.

“Good afternoon, sir,” the man greeted, saluting the Lieutenant and holding it until he replied in kind. “I’m Staff Sergeant Morris. The Captain asked me to assist you while he organized things around here.”

“Thanks Sergeant. How are things looking around here? No problems? Got enough room for all the aircraft?”

“It’s pretty hectic right now. Biggest problem right now is finding out how to take care of the planes. The lack of hangars is going to be a problem, but the ground crew’ll cover them as best they can. Only thing we’ve got right now are some oversized tents. We should have enough space to accommodate them all, though.”

“That’s good to hear,” Walker replied, moving on to a more important matter. “Now, where is the base commander?”

“Well, the base commander isn’t…I’m sorry sir, excuse me for a moment.”

He was looking back on a couple soldiers, chatting with each other a short distance off.

“Estudillo!”

Both of them glanced in his direction, but only one, the closest, actually turned to face him, replying over the short distance.

“Yes sir?”

“Tell your Sergeant to get your team together and help guard those planes so the crew can work on it!” Morris shouted. “That means don’t let our new friends mess around with it!”

The soldier took a split-second glance at the area where the planes were assembling, and saw they were attracting considerable attention from the base’s residents.

“Yes sir!”

“And tell Sergeant Leone to get his men over here!”

“Yes sir!” the paratrooper repeated a third time, allowing his NCO to get back to his conversation.

“Sorry about that, sir,” he apologized in a simple manner. “Like I said, things are kind of crazy right now.”

“It’s no problem. What were you saying about the base commander?”

“The base commander’s actually discussing things with my company’s Captain, and the crew chief,” Morris explained. “You’re actually going to be meeting with the resident squadron’s CO; Colonel that goes by Spitfire.”

“Ah, right; I was told I’d be meeting with her. Thought she was the base commander though.”

Morris simply shook his head lightly a few times before restating what he said, adding a few more points.

“No sir, she’s the CO of the squadron this base is named for. She ought to have your man with her, as well…according to my briefing.”

“And mine,” Walker concurred, happy the planning between the two units seemed to synch up, even when it was something as basic as this.

“One of their troops told me she’s waiting near the main entrance building, right over there,” he said, gesturing to a nearby single-story white building. “She should have the prisoner with her and in healthy condition.”

“And there’s been no conflict with them so far?”

“No sir, but to be safe I’ll be escorting you, along with one of my fire teams,” he added, looking off to his right a bit at the four soldiers that made up that team, sauntering in their direction. “Alpha, hustle up!”

“Alright, let’s go,” Walker ordered as he began heading to the building, not willing to wait. “I’m more than ready to turn the crown back over.”

Sergeant Morris followed right next to him, while the now jogging fire team caught up within a few seconds.

“Sir, you needed us to do something?” the Sergeant asked through a Chicago accent.

“The one we’ve been assigned to do, Sergeant Leone.”

“Ah, that shouldn’t be too hard,” he replied, having also been told the situation ahead of time.

The entrance to the building was unguarded, leaving Walker to push open the heavy double-doors on his own. It was nothing special or different from most other facilities, the entrance being an open lobby with hallways on each end and a third directly to the front. It was also empty, even at the entrance desk, with only the dimmed sounds of the hustle outside to break the silence.

It also left the group to stand there awkwardly, not knowing where to go, and feeling very out-of-place. One of the soldiers was going to suggest choosing one of the halls and finding their own way, but was stopped by the sound of steps hitting the tiled floor down one of the hallways. A guard clad in golden armor walked in to check on what the noise was and, though mildly surprised by the new guests, quickly guessed their intention.

“Are you all here to get your pilot?”

“Yes. You have him, don’t you?”

“Of course we have him. Where else would he be?”

Walker chose to ignore the half condescending, half joking remark.

“Well, could you bring him to us?”

“Sure, just give me a minute or two.”

The guard about-faced and trotted back down the hall, leaving the group to solitude once more. Morris was rather surprised that the guard had paid no mind to the group’s weapons; he assumed he would at least be asked to remove them, but they did not seem to be a problem so far. Instead, seeing no real threat, he contented himself with relaxing on the nearby couch next to Walker. Of the rest of his fire team, Private Risso, the team’s Rifleman, took a seat on the other side in a chair and took out a pen to write something on his hand as a reminder, while the remaining three discussed the current events quietly among themselves.

The guard’s time estimation was accurate, as within a minute, footsteps, this time larger in number, could again be heard coming from the hall. The Lieutenant stood from the couch to meet his superior, who was being escorted by a yellow pegasus in a dark blue uniform. Thankfully, the Captain did seem to be in good health, the only things wrong seeming to be his dirty, worn clothing and the need for a good shower.

“Captain Cole,” Walker greeted, giving him a salute. “It’s good to see you’re alright, sir.”

“Don’t salute indoors, Lieutenant Walker,” Cole pointed out. “Don’t tell me you guys are falling apart without me this early.”

Jack quickly lowered the hand from his forehead; he had been thinking about so many other things that he had begun to forget the more simple and basic procedures.

“Sorry sir; slipped my mind.”

Cole did not mind much, giving a tired grin in response.

“It’s good to see you too, Runner,” he quipped, exchanging a firm handshake with his Executive Officer.

“Would this be one of your men?” the pony asked.

“Yes ma’am, he is,” Cole confirmed, feeling introductions were necessary. “Walker, this is Colonel Spitfire, commander of the resident squadron this place is named after. He, ma’am, is First Lieutenant Jack Walker, the First Tac’s XO.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Colonel,” Walker stated, extending his arm for a shake, which was taken.

“You too, Lieutenant.”

“So, Walker, I’ve been told this is going to be the squadron’s home for a while,” Cole commented, turning the conversation to the most important topic. “What are the orders exactly? What’s our mission?”

“Only orders we got were to rebase here and work with the Equestrians, nothing other than that,” Runner stated truthfully. “I was kind of hoping the ponies were told more than me.”

“Not really,” Spitfire replied in frustration. “All we got was that we’re friends now and I’m supposed to work with you.”

“What? There’s got to be more to it than that,” Cole stated. “Maybe we should figure out what we’re supposed to do before we try anything else.”

“Agreed.”

“Runner, you think you can go harass the intel gang and get me some info?”

“Got it sir.”

Walker exited the building immediately, followed by Spitfire, who wanted to take a glance at the outside activity. The paratroopers, their security mission being entirely uneventful, began to exit the building, as well. Cole, who initially did not understand why the soldiers were here, chose to introduce himself to their Sergeant, whom he did not notice until now.

“Sorry I didn’t say hello earlier. What are you guys doing here?”

“It’s no big deal, sir,” he replied. “Staff Sergeant Morris, hundred-and-first; we’re mostly just here for ground security.”

“I should’ve thought of that, it’s so obvious. But it’s nice to have ya’ll here; airborne’s always a good friend to have,” Cole stated with his slight accent slipping out as he held the door open. “Chicken men first.”

Morris chuckled a bit but did not seem to fully catch what Cole was saying. The pilot followed him out, taking his first steps outside in nearly a week’s time. It felt good to breathe the fresh air and feel the sun’s rays strike his skin again. It was also the first time he got to see any of the base from the outside, and despite what Spitfire said about the bombing, it still looked to be in good shape all around.

“Huh…the whole place looks pretty nice,” he commented to Spitfire, who was looking over all the activity herself.

“They try to give Equestria’s best a good home,” she said. “I hope you’ll enjoy your stay.”

“I think we will, Colonel.”

“You can still call me ‘Spitfire’ when we’re just talking, y’know,” she pointed out. “You’re not my prisoner anymore, remember?”

“I almost did considering how cozy the-whoa!”

At the back of the runway, one of the large E-3 AWACS planes touched down, rolling along the whole length and stopping with barely enough length left to stand on.

“You gotta expand that damn thing,” Cole stated, pointing at the tarmac.

“I’ll…see what I can do,” she said, trotting off to deal with the matter, and leaving Cole to observe alone.

Other than that scare, the rest of the landings seemed to have gone off well. Much off the squadron was already placed in some organized fashion in an open area, sitting calmly in lines of four. Those that could not fit on this area found smaller, individual spaces. It was a horribly inhospitable environment for the jets, having nothing like a hangar to shield them, and being crammed into what space they could.

Working on them would be more painful than usual, but it was what they had to work with. Hopefully, as time went on, it would become easier with the Equestrians’ help. Looking at the fighters reminded him of an issue that needed to be resolved, one that he would ask Runner about, who was just now returning with a sheet of paper.

“I assume you brought a spare plane for me, right?” he asked. “Mine’s still in the ocean.”

“Yes sir, we had a spare flown out,” he replied, handing over the small sheet to the Captain. “I only got a few new orders, but they said a more detailed set of orders should follow soon. Other than that, they said there’s a few updates on the situation in there.”

“Alright, let’s see,” Cole mused, skimming over the writing. “Warning line established, Commander-in-Chief’s trying to establish a no-fly zone for the Bloc, probably won’t work though. Wait, ‘be prepared to…engage…possible hostile units that enter Equestrian territory’…what?”

“What!?” Runner repeated. “Did we declare war on them?”

“No-I…I mean it doesn’t say we did. I don’t think they’d leave a part like that out,” Cole said, running through the rest of the message. “‘Further support will be sent to you, wait for further orders.’ The hell is all this about?”

“Well shit, if we have to be ready to fight them then we must be close, right?”

“I don’t know Jack.”

“God, how bad did things get lately? Do they know something, like we’re going to be attacked? Or…are we planning to hit them first?”

“I don’t know Jack,” Cole reiterated. “All I know is that we can be ready for it. “Do me a favor and start spreading the word; make sure everyone’s ready to go if we need to. I need to go let Colonel Spitfire know.”

“Yes sir,” Runner replied, starting off but turning around before he got far. “Oh, sir! I forgot to mention, but you might want to shave sometime soon. You caught a little stubble during your stay.”

Cole ran his hand from his mouth and cheeks downward, running over his chin. He had not noticed it before, but his facial hair was indeed growing out a good deal, with a thin layer of the stuff filling into a five O’clock shadow. Usually any facial hair went against uniform regulations, and this was not one of the exceptions to it.

“Thanks, see if you can find me a razor,” he replied, turning and going off on his own way to find the Colonel.