//------------------------------// // Chapter Twenty-Three: The Excrement Strikes the Ventilation Unit- Part IV- Arise Fair Sun // Story: Heroes and Allies // by LewisClarke //------------------------------// A/N Author here. This one is for all the awesome readers that have stuck with the story and encouraged me along the way with your suggestions and comments. (You know who you are!) Kenx41, Velkaden, Ghost-91, Rambo Pilot, Vi Et Armis, Meta Knight, and Johnny Nerdy just to name a few. This one's for you guys. Enjoy the chapter. -Lynolius Chapter Twenty Three: The Excrement Strikes the Ventilation Unit- Part IV- Arise Fair Sun Colonel Highlander stood up at the meeting room table. "I just want to know one thing. Who. Are. The Banded?" Celestia and Luna stared down at their hooves. Celestia looked up. "The Banded, as we knew them, were a secret society of Eclipstrian citizens that refused to live under royal rule. We were told stories about their sometimes violent exploits as foals. As we told Captain Greene and his friends, they were rumored to have had a hoof in starting the original conflict between the Kingdom of Eclipstria and the ancient Caprastian Empire, centuries ago." Luna looked up. "We were most certain their traitorous ranks had been completely eradicated. It is most disturbing to see that they have been festering under our muzzles for such a time." Highlander put his hands together in a mock clap of excitement. "Okay then! Lets sum all this up. Shall We?" Around the table, Celestia, Luna, Snow Wisp, Rock, Cleaves, Lenard, Mike, and Gerri stared at the Colonel, as if waiting for him to continue. "Here's our progress report. We've lost two battalions, a general, almost all of our air support, our only method of replenishing these things is malfunctioning," The colonel continued. "And to top that off, every pony in this base could be a Banded saboteur or assassin preparing to destroy us as we speak!" "What about the array? What exactly is the deal regarding these- malfunctions?" Lieutenant Cleaves questioned. "The entire base's technicians are working to find out, but it really does look like some kind of outside interference," The colonel answered. Greene raised his hand. "How is that possible? Unless you're telling me the alliance progressed though an entire era of technological development in three hours." "Anomaly science is almost always guesswork at best. Maybe the alliance knows something we don't," Highlander answered. "You may be more correct than thou knowest, human." Luna added. "After this last display, it would behoove us all not to presume anything regarding this alliance of liberation. If not only for thy own safety." "I agree." Celestia started. "The alliance is going on the offensive. They will most certainly be coming here next to force us to surrender, and they will be bringing their airship to seal the deal." "What exactly is that thing?" Kaiser questioned. Snow Wisp turned to Kaiser. "We rescued some of the survivors from Matchbox battalion, they got to see it up close. It is called the HailFire, and apparently it is some kind of crazy hybrid between a steam generator powered Leviathan landship, and a heavily armored hot air filled blimp. Even worse, according to the survivors, it is armed to the teeth with the same weapons that destroyed Matchbox and Steel Hoof battalions, and is continuously refitted to repel even our heaviest weapons." Highlander put a hand to his face. "So you're telling me they actually made a lead zeppelin? Great. What did you say it was carrying?" Major Classified strode into the room. "They call them Magma Orbs, and I saw them destroy a chopper with just one of them when we were en route to Canterlot to free the prisoners." "Any defense against them?" Highlander asked. "Only one," Classified answered. "Destroy whatever, or whoever, is carrying them." "Great." Cleaves laid his head down on the table. "Forgetting about whatever we have waiting on the other side, we have nothing even close to being capable of keeping that flying battleship from bombing us back into the stone age! The LA made sure of that before the revealed it!" Highlander smirked. "What reason could you possible have to smile?" Cleaves asked. "I wouldn't say we have nothing that could bring it down." "What do you mean? Are you saying you have some kind of plan?" General Rock questioned. "Let's just say the LA aren't the only ones with a ace up their sleeve. The president left us with a contingency of our own, though he, and I, were both hoping we wouldn't need it." "What in the world are you talking about, Timmy?" Cleaves wondered aloud. Surprisingly, Highlander let that one go, and turned to Lenard. "Captain Greene, is your fighter still capable of flight?" "Apparently, the Banded spies didn't think so. They didn't bother trying to sabotage it." Greene fumed. "Then you will deliver our... present." Highland added. "I'm not sure I like where this is going." Celestia commented. Highlander shrugged. "Me neither, but this just turned into a matter of life and death for everyone here, and it's time to act on that." "I agree." Luna added. "The time for regulation is at an end. If thy plans evolve crushing our shared enemy, I will stand by your mysterious plan." Highlander put his fingertips together. "Excellent." **************** Rainbow Dash galloped up to her friends, the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony. "Hey guys! I was talking to some of the soldiers that survived that huge battle, and they said there's a huge flying boat thing coming this way!" All five of the other bearers and Spike snapped their attention to the rainbow maned pegasus. "A flying boat? That doesn't make any sense. If it's a boat, why would it be flying?" Twilight questioned with a hoof on her chin. Rainbow shrugged. "Boat, ship, same thing but-" "No, a ship would imply that it's much larger." Twilight interjected. "Doesn't matter! It's big, it has bombs, and it's coming here!" AJ took her hat off. "That don't sound too good." "Not good? It's absolutely dreadful!" Rarity shrieked. "What if they do the same thing here that they did to Ponyville?" Fluttershy questioned. "It's not safe here! I have to go gather the animals!" Fluttershy began to gallop away, until Applejack grabbed her tail. "Now just wait a dag gone minute! We're not beat jus' yet!" Applejack interjected. "But they're on their way!" Rainbow argued. "If somepony doesn't stop them, they'll blow up all our homes! Again!" "Aw," Pinkie moaned. "I just got my new kitchen the way I wanted it. Ooh! Maybe we could convince them to go around it!" Everypony stared at the pink earth pony. "Just a tiny little joke... Sorry..." Pinkie spoke, sounding eerily similar to another one of her friends. "This is serious!" Rainbow shouted. "We gotta do something!" "Well, what did you have in mind?" Twilight questioned. "I'm gonna go take a look!" Rainbow answered. "How are you going to do that? You can't fly there." Twilight stated. "Oh yeah? Watch me!" Rainbow Dash rose into the air and darted off into the darkened skies. Twilight nodded. "Well I'm sure that's fine an- Wait, what!?" The purple unicorn performed her trademark facehoof. "Well I guess she can fly again. We've got to stop her before she gets herself killed!" Everypony turned to Fluttershy. "Uhm, I can try..." The pegasus fluttered her wings and ascended a few feet into the air. "I think I've got it." Fluttershy's wings gave out, and the butterscotch pegasus landed on top of the rest of the group in a heap. Fluttershy dug her way out of the mass of mares. "I let you all down, didn't I?" Fluttershy whimpered. "Guess I should have practiced more. I'm so, so, sorry!" "It's okay, Shy." Applejack reassured her as she realigned her corkscrewing eyes and put her hat back on. Rarity stood back up. "What are we to do!? She's going to be mauled out there!" Twilight shook her head. "Something isn't right. Why is she so motivated to go to that ship? She knows it's too dangerous just to go: "Take a look." Once again, Twilight actually made quote marks with her hooves. "You think she's got another reason?" Spike wondered aloud. Twilight nodded. "There's got to be." **************** Private Crescent Skies galloped up to Sky Blade. "Sargent Sky Blade, glad I found you. Sabre's having some kind of mental breakdown. Says he won't talk to anyone but you." "Great. We're about to be hit with the biggest attack in ten years and the kid picks now to flip out? Where is he?" "He's in his tent. Won't let anypony else anywhere near him." "Alright," Sky Blade groaned. "I'll see what I can do." ***************** John Simms lounged in his hospital bed in Zero Base's triage tent. A purple unicorn flipped open the tent flap. "Excuse me, but are you Private Simms?" "That's me. Is there something I can help you with?" "Yes. A friend of mine was with you and the other soldiers not to long ago. She's got-" "Rainbow colored hair? Yeah, that's pretty hard to forget. There some kind of problem?" Simms wondered. Twilight sighted. "You could say that. She's run off toward the approaching enemy airship, and I think it's got something to do with what she heard or saw while she was talking to you and the other soldiers." "I think I know what you're talking about. She took a look at some of the stills we brought back. It's like she saw a ghost or something." "Stills?" "Oh. Photos. Pictures. Images and the like." Simms clarified. "Interesting. Do you still have them?" Twilight wondered. "I gave them to my commanding officer when they took me here for treatment. I think Lieutenant Cleaves has them now. I think he's in the barracks." "Okay, thanks. I'll just go find him then. Get well soon." Twilight spoke as she trotted out of the tent. "Thanks." Simms spoke as he looked over to a glass jar with a red stained fire-bolt casing floating in it. **************** Sky Blade made his way to Star Sabre's barrack tent, and tossed aside the door flap. "I came as soon as they told me about your condition." Sky Blade explained. "S- S- Sarge! I've been looking for you?!" Sabre stuttered. "In your tent, Sabre?" Star Sabre put a hoof to his chin. "So that's why I couldn't find you..." Sky Blade hiked up one of his eyebrows. "Sabre, what's this about?" "The ship! The ship! This is all about the ship!" "What's the ship, Sabre? You're not making sense." "Back at the Gala- well what would have been the Gala- well before the Gala would have happened and-" "Star, you said you couldn't remember what happened that night. Nopony caught in the blast could." "FLYING! That's what I was doing! Then the blast. The big red blast! It must have messed with my head! It came from that ship!" "Are you talking about the HailFire, Star?" "Y- yes! I saw it! Patrol. I was patrolling the Gala routes. I saw it rise above the city. The flying ship launched the IMP! I swear it!" "Wait, you might be on to something. The city was covered in a thick cloud cover after that first attack. We couldn't even see the city for hours because of it. The airship is leaving a thick cloud cover in its wake. That could mean-" "Yes! Yes! The HailFire is behind everything! Everything! I saw it!" Star Sabre screamed. Sky Blade backed up and dragged his hoof through is mane. "By the royals, that's how they're going to deliver their new weapons!" "Yes! That's what I'm trying to tell you!" Sabre exclaimed. "Get some rest soldier. You may have overworked, and the heat may be getting to you, but you just helped us all more than you can possibly know! I've got to tell command!" ************** Rainbow Dash landed within the confines of Zero Base's restricted area. Despite her conspicuous appearance, years of playing practical jokes had served the pegasus well, and she managed to sneak into the armory tent undetected. Working quickly, she took a single Colt 54 side arm bow, an arrow magazine, and one of the custom built ear-clip radios built for Steel Hoof battalion. "Yeah, that'll do nicely," The polychromatic pegasus thought. She clumsily tied the bow onto her right foreleg, tucked the radio and arrows into her saddlebag, and took off into the night. **************** Captain Greene took a long look at the familiar sights of the inside of his F-15. The canopy was cracked, the gear wheels were bent, making the plane list to the right when on the ground, and burn marks ran down the entire left side of the fuselage. "This just can't end well." Greene thought to himself. A group of technicians hustled over with large, metal, cylindrical object, and began attaching it to bottom of the plane. Lieutenant Cleaves, acting as Tree House commander, walked up to the cockpit. "It'll be alright. The techies say your plane should hold together long enough to complete your mission." "And after the mission it'll just explode right underneath me, right?" Greene jokingly questioned. The colonel walked up and stopped to think a moment. "I hope not. There's a lot of money invested in that thing." Greene's expression could only be interpreted as saying: "Are you serious?" "Just a joke to take the edge off." The colonel chuckled. "Now here's the deal. According to radar, the HailFire is only seventeen minutes from wiping this base and everyone in it off the face of this Earth. The LA knows we know that, so their forces are staying with the ship to defend it. That means we won't fall under attack until the ships get here." Greene nodded. "Okay, that's good. So what exactly are they fitting to that hard point under there?" "Your mission is to get within bomb-toss distance and deploy this bomb. It is a miniaturized nuclear air drop explosive, so the yield won't kill you, but it should still easily knock that thing out of the sky, and end this threat." Greene's jaw dropped. "Excuse me, did you just say, nuclear explosive?" "Yes. That's not going to be a problem, is it?" "No, no, no. No problem at all!" Greene stammered. "Well, nothing other than the fact that they're strapping a nuke to the bottom of a jet that's about as flight capable as a motor boat! How did you even get this in here? You're not going to be court martialed later, are you?" "We snuck it in on one of the transports, under the president's orders. He never said he wouldn't allow us to have nuclear weapons, he said we wasn't going to authorize their use yet." Highlander explained. "Well, did he?" Greene asked. "Well, no. But without reliable communications trough the portals, he gave General Locklear special authority to use one only it in the case of extreme peril, like this. He did so behind closed doors, so the three of us were the only people to know of it. With the general's capture, that special authority falls to me. So, with you and everyone else here as my witness, I am hereby authorizing the use of nuclear weapons." "You couldn't have snuck in a cruse missile or something?" Greene questioned. "Why a bomb?" "Oh I'm sorry!" The colonel facepalmed, "The Air Force doesn't keep the bulk of its nuclear weapons on reserve bases like Dobbins! This is the best we could do on short notice! Be glad we have anything to keep the LA from melting us! Without reliable on board radar you'll have to fly it in and aim it manually. Congratulations, you get to be our guidance computer, captain." "Great. Well I hope I don't wind up being guided into the ground. This '15 is pretty beat up." "Just deliver the bomb and get away as fast as possible. If you can't make the landing, eject and we'll pick you up In one of the transports." "Sounds easy enough." Lenard muttered. "Don't push yourself, or your aircraft. We need both if we're going to win this. If she won't handle, turn her around. The last thing we need is a misguided super weapon. I don't have to tell you that there's a lot at stake here. Good luck captain." "Thanks colonel. I'll give it my best, that I assure you." Lenard closed the cracked canopy. "Wait!" Princess Celestia charged up to the aircraft, completely out of breath. "I *pant* haven't moved like that for several generations of time! Now listen, the HailFire is clearly the result of decades of design and research. They will protect it with their lives. DO NOT underestimate their ability to defend it. Get in, get out. Now go, our thoughts will be with you. You succeeded before. I don't think you will fail us now." "Thanks for the pep talk you two, I needed that. Chocks away!" Greene cheered as the aircraft's rattled engines began to spin up. As the F-15 began to roll down the partially cratered runway, Celestia turned to Highlander. "What does "Chocks away" mean?" "It's an old British expression in World War Two tha-" Celestia wasn't following. "It means I'm ready." Tim clarified. "Ah. I will return to the camp to help prepare for this upcoming battle. If you can, I'd like you to keep me updated on the airship's approach." Highlander nodded. "I can do that." **************** Yet again, Twilight strode into one of Zero Base's many tents. "Hi, are you Lieutenant Cleaves?" "Yeah miss. What can I do for you ya?" Cleaves answered. Twilight looked relieved. "Great! I'm looking for the recordings from the surviving battle vehicle." Cleaves' expression changed. "And why exactly do you want to see them?" "I think a friend of mine, one of the other element bearers, saw something that upset her, and I want find out what it was. I talked to some of the soldiers that recently returned, and one said you had them." "I see. Unfortunately, I can't just give information like that to a civie, let alone a civie I'm not sure I can trust." Cleaves gave Twilight a discerning look and un-safetied a pistol behind his back. Twilight appeared to be shocked. "Can't trust? Well, I am Princess Celestia's most trusted student. She can vouch for me." "Interesting. Well fortunately for you, the princesses are looking over some of that stuff right now. If you are who you say you are, they should allow you to see them. They are on the far side of the base in the war tent." "Thank you." Twilight nodded. "This runaround was getting tiring." As the purple mare left, Lieutenant Cleaves shook his head and set the pistol on a table. "You have no idea." ***************** Kaiser, Gerri, Mace, Lime Tree, and Major Classified gathered around one of the tables in the rec tent. "Alright." Classy began. "There are traitors among us. We don't know who, and we don't know how many, but the recent sabotages suggest that the spy Lieutenant Kaiser discovered was not acting alone." "Also." Lime Tree added. "These backstabbers would have to have had close relations with the human repair crews. It's the only way they could possibly gotten close enough to the aircraft to tamper with them, or to know how to tamper with them." "Are we sure the perpetrators weren't human?" Kaiser asked. Gerri nodded. "I've got a little forensics know-how in me. My old man is a retired police detective. He used to tell me to always focus on the details. For example, there were nowhere near enough fingerprints on the sections that were tampered with. And to clear up any doubt, there were hairs stuck between some of the helicopter internals. Fur. Definitely not human colors either. I'm pretty sure Tree House doesn't have any technicians with fur, so that can only mean that the perpetrators were ponies, rams, or both." Mace nodded. "She's right. No human would have any reason to betray us, but the enemy would want us to think there was. They probably hoped that we'd be too busy springing traps on ourselves to defend against their upcoming attack. Face it. This "Banded" has somehow found a way up our shorts. Soldiers are on every corner. No one could even get close to the helos now. Though It still makes me a little nervous knowing that every other pony I look at could be plotting my demise." Classy furrowed his brow. "Yes. It's clear we need to deal with this. I don't know how deep this cult runs, so I'm considering this group to be the only beings I can trust." Lime Tree cocked his head to one side. "Then why did you pick me to be in this little group?" "Easy. As the mayor's assistant, your actions, as well as all who work close to major government officials, have been closely monitored by the AOD Department sect for years." Lime Tree backed up a bit. "Y- years?" Classy nodded. "Yep. You have nothing to fear though. We don't have spies in your backyard or in your closet or anything." "Oh." Lime Tree sighed. "They're actually under your bed." Classy stated flatly. "What?!" Lime Tree exclaimed. Classy rolled his eyes. "Kidding! Take a joke for royals sake! Now, I'd like to hear all of your suggestions on how to deal with this Banded threat." Kaiser nodded, "First things first. How do we tell the allies from the traitors? Do you ponies carry ID on you?" Kaiser wondered. "Soldiers and military personnel do, but I'm guessing most of the traitors are in the civilian population. In a small town like Ponyville, most ponies don't even bother with ID's. If this was New Yoke or Sesaddle, maybe we could uncover them that way, but the system here is just too thin. Ponyville is too much of a down home, friendly community. Everpony trusts everypony else. It's the perfect place for a massive espionage operation." "So how do we crack it?" Gerri questioned. "If we knew somepony on the inside, we could undermine their operation." Lime Tree suggested. "True," Kaiser nodded. "But the last guy I tried to bring back for questioning poisoned himself to stay quiet. How do catch a spy without tipping him off and causing him to swallow those "herbs of death?" Classy's face lit up. "Kaiser, that's brilliant! The herbs! You said the spy swallowed some sort of greenish yellow plant to silence himself. I know of these drugs! They come from the Kerricoita plant, which only grows in the Everfree forest. If we can find anypony who's got those herbs in their possession, we'll know they're a spy. Why else would somepony have them? We can sneak search the tents, dig trough the rations, and find our pony on the inside." "It's a clear invasion of privacy, but a brilliant plan." Lime Tree commented. Kaiser nodded. "Great. Now who's up for a little snooping?" **************** Twilight passed a group of human marines and royal guards, who allowed the young mare to enter the Zero Base war tent. "Excuse me princess. Sorry to intrude." "Ah, Twilight." Celestia smiled for the first time in several hours. "You are always welcome to see me when you need to. Is there something you need help with?" "Yes. I was told that Lieutenant Cleaves gave you some pictures from the surviving human battle vehicle." "You mean the photos from the tank? Yes. Luna and I were examining them a little while ago-" "Please tell me you didn't give them to somepony else! Please, please, please!" Twilight begged. Celestia chuckled at Twilight's goofy antics. "No, I still have them. Why do you need them so desperately?" Her expression changed. "Is something wrong? You can tell me Twilight." "Rainbow flew off toward that big airship for some reason. I just want to know why, so we can help her before she gets hurt." Celestia sighed. "She always was the impulsive one." The alabaster alicorn used her teeth to pull a manilla folder from a filing cabinet. "They managed to extract these from their damaged equipment. Take a look. Perhaps you will find the answers you need." Twilight twisted the metal pin holding the folder together and attempted to pull out the pictures with her teeth. Still unused to life without magic, the purple unicorn gave up and dumped the photos onto a nearby table. Twilight grabbed a hoofful and held them up to her face. "Hmm. These are pretty beat up. This one is just a bunch of clouds." Twilight flipped through a few more of them. "There's one of the airship. It's massive!" "They must have been constructing it for quite a while." Celestia added. Twilight nodded in agreement. "Here's a close up. Must have a really good zoom on that camera. I can actually make out the faces of two of those griffi-" Twilight froze. Celestia noticed the purple unicorn's stunned expression. "Twilight, what's wrong? Is there something I missed?" "Of course! I should have known! How did I not figure that out?!" Twilight babbled. "Figure what out, Twilight?" Twilight dropped the photos and galloped out of the room, leaving a very confused Celestia in her wake. The photo in question fluttered to the ground. It was hazy, and the reduced light made it hard to make out, but the figure standing on the right was clearly none other than Rainbow Dash's old friend, turned rival... ...a griffin named Gilda. ************** Despite the reduced speeds of non-magically assisted flight, Rainbow Dash managed to reach the HailFire in relatively good time. The looming warship traveled at a menacingly slow pace, and was literally swarming with griffins and pandragons. "How am I supposed to get in?" Rainbow thought to herself. A pandragon mount roared overhead, oblivious to the pegasus's plight. In a moment of quick thinking, Rainbow flew forward and took up a position underneath the large beast. Fortunately for Dash, the beast and its minor were both clearly tired from a long patrol, and were returning to the ship to rest. Exhausted, the pandragon pair stayed at a leisurely pace, allowing the brightly colored flying pony to remain hidden underneath. "Uhk! This thing smells!" Rainbow flinched, but kept with the lumbering beast. The dragon mount sleepily drifted toward the massive flying carrier. After passing the outer layer of patrolling griffins and pandragons, the mount and its barely awake jockey touched down on the HailFire's upper deck. Dash dived away to avoid being crushed beneath the mighty mount, and snuck toward the large spire, the structure that formed the HailIFire's main bridge. Seeing as most of the alliance army was stationed in a perimeter around the ship, this was much easier than Dash expected. "This is too easy, but how the hay do I find her?" She thought to herself as she crept along. She climbed up to one of the higher decks, closer to the bridge, making sure to stay in the shadows. Dash cringed as she tripped on a stack of glass orbs, filled with a strange orange liquid. The orbs rolled around on the wooden deck, making enough noise to wake even the most sleep deprived bear. Spurred into action by all the noise, a ram guard opened an access hatch and crawled out onto the deck. The bored guard looked around, searching for whatever had dared wake him up from his nap at the interior guard post. The ram nearly jumped out of his fur when he spotted a case-full of the most dangerous weapons in alliance possession rolling around on the floor. He dove for the magma orbs and gathered them up in his hooves, sighing a breath of relief. "Who is responsible for this?!" The ram bellowed. He sat the orbs back into their crate and began looking around. Hiding just a few feet away in a dark corner of the room, Rainbow Dash began sweating profusely. "This is not a good time to be me!" The pegasus thought to herself, cursing the flashy appearance she was usually quite proud of. The guard shook his head, and groaned. "Morons! I'm on a ship filled with morons!" The ram carried on as he climbed back up into the lower levels of the ship. Rainbow twitched. It was all she could do to keep herself from hyperventilating. "Okay. Okay. Keep going." She darted upward toward a ledge on the top of the spire, where a lookout's bunker had been built at the very top of the ship. Rainbow spotted a single griffin, standing alone inside the bunker. Dash dropped into the bunker behind the lone griffin and raised her right foreleg, bringing her bow to bear. "I know that's you, Gilda. You always did put yourself above everypony else." The aforementioned griffin turned around. "Dash? But how did you- Doesn't matter. What are you doing here?" "I just wanted to know why! I mean, you were in Equestria not too long ago! I thought you wanted to be friends again! Then you just decide to stand with these- these freaks!?" "These freaks are my family! Some of them in blood, some of them in sweat and tears. These are my real friends! The kind that got my back! But what do you know about that, huh Dash?! I tried to fit in. I just wanted to see why you ponies lived so well. Now I know, and it makes me sick! Just like you! You just wanted to look good in front of your little pony friends! So you embarrassed me in front of everyone!" "Because you thought you could just trot all over them! Nopony is that cruel!" "Cruel? Do you know what your kind did to mine? Because of ponies, I was raised thinkin' griffins had gone the way of the dinosaurs! When I found out we were alive and back in business, I knew I'd found my real friends! Not you! So what's it gonna be, Dash?! Your move!" Rainbow paused. "I- I don't know," Dash spoke, still pointing the bow at Gilda's head. Gilda nodded. "Alright. So how's this gonna go down? You gonna try to break the ship? You gonna beat up everybody here? I'd like to see you try." "I can't stop everypony here, but I'm not gonna let you hurt my friends again. Even if- Even if I have to hurt you." Gilda raised one of her eyebrows. "Oh really?" Rainbow leveled the bow. Gilda swiftly brought one of her rear paws to Rainbows stomach, taking her by complete surprise. She shoved Rainbow's bow arm into the wall, shattering the crossbow's firing bolt, then put her griffin warrior blade, a gift from Phalanx, to Rainbow's throat. "What was that you said earlier? 'Bout hurting me?" "You-" Rainbow started. "Let me tell you how this is going to go down. Because we used to be friends, I'm not going to turn you into a doormat. But if I ever see you again, I'm not gonna hold back." Rainbow broke from Gilda's grip and delivered a hoof to her beaked head. "I wouldn't have it any other way." Dash threw down the broken bow and bolted out of the spire. As the sky blue pegusus glided out of sight, Gilda rubbed a talon on her chin. "Yeah, see ya around, pal." Pandragon guards burst forth from a hatch. "We heard noises! Is everything well, mistress?" Gilda continued rubbing her jaw. "Everything's cool. Just talking to an old friend of mine. Hey, can you guys do me a favor?" "Yes, m'lady?" The chin sore griffin sighed. "Tell somebody to tighten up security around here." ****************** Captain Greene was sweating. Not because of the ominous noises coming from the engines, not from the nuclear explosive strapped just a few feet below and behind him, not even the swarm of Pandragon pairs thundering toward him. It was the sheer size of the ship he was tasked to destroy. The ship that had spotted him from miles away. ...."Intrepid-Sparrow, this is Tree House. Radar's got thirty-seven blips headed your way, and after your previous experience, with- well four, I would highly suggest you gun and run. There's two many to engage."... "Right." Greene commented. "Hit and run it is." The F-15 screamed toward the Liberation Alliance flagship. A blue spec zipped by in the corner of Lenard's eye. "Was that- " The pilot chuckled to himself. "Nah, what would she be doing all the way out here? Gotta focus on the mission." The approaching squadron of griffins and pandragons stopped in mid air and held their fire. The F-15 zoomed right past them without so much as an insult. Greene looked behind him. The enemy fliers remained hovering in place, with no intention of following him. "Why don't I like the looks of this?" Greene spoke to no one in particular. "Tree House, this is Greene. They aren't shooting at me. They aren't even trying to block me." ...."Is that supposed to be bad news? Keep going!"... "You don't have to tell me twice. If their just going to let me- wait." Lenard craned his head upward and saw exactly what he was expecting to see: a fierce looking pandragon mount with that same flight goggle-wearing griffin leader piloting it. The deadly griffin pilot was charging down at him at hundreds of miles per hour, plugging away with his casters. Greene rolled his eyes. "You again? Figured you'd want some kind of rematch." The pilot tucked and rolled, pulling the jet sharply to the right to avoid the incoming bolt fire. "Sorry, now's not the time. But if you set up an appointment I can get back to yo-" A fire-bolt to the tail interrupted the pilot's simi-witty response. "I see you aren't very patient. Very well then, as soon as I'm rid of the great equalizer under there, we can dance," The pilot continued, knowing that his adversary still couldn't hear him. _________________ As Phalanx watched the flying machine barrel toward the HailFire, he knew he was running out of time. "It seems my ploy to distract you has been unsuccessful. Perhaps these will convince you to face me!" Phalanx flipped up his goggles and put a talon around one of the switches attached to the pandragon saddle. "These will teach you to ignore me!" _________________ Greene swiveled his head as a maroon glare filled his cockpit mirrors. The sight behind him realized his greatest fears. "Seekers!" Sure enough, the same flare powered, magnet-guided seeker spears he'd read about and faced once before, were now bearing down on him once again. The pilot knew all to well that staying straight and level would surely bring about a fiery death, and was forced to break away from his run on the HailFire. Veering violently to the left, Lenard pulled every bit of g-force the butchered frame of the plane would allow, shaking the would be missiles. Lenard gritted his teeth. "You've got my attention." Greene rolled the aircraft back over to face his opponent. With a squeeze of the flight stick trigger, heavy cannon fire arced toward the assailing griffin and his mount. _________________ After watching human weapons cut down countless numbers of his comrades, Phalanx was in no great need to let a similar fate claim him. "Not today, human." He pushed forward on the the rein-attached talonbars to charge his mount forward, forcing his nemesis to over shoot him and expose its metal belly. Phalanx pulled on a second trigger, which was mounted on the left talonbar. The trigger pulled a latch, which then fired a set of twin heavy-bolt casters. Once again, two streams of bolt-fire went forth to meet their target, riddling the already battered fuselage. _________________ The F-15 defiantly solidered on despite its fresh wounds. Captain Greene pulled the fighter into a tight half stall, pulling himself out of the line of fire and turning the tables on his aggressor. "Now we see how you like it!" He pulled the trigger once again, this time managing to land several hits on the extremely agile creature. Cannon rounds tore into one of the beast's webbed wings. ________________ Phalanx growled as his mount cried out in agony. "It will take more than a punctured wings to down this mighty mount! Come at me!" The mount, spurred on by its own pain, charged even faster now, managing to out run the crippled human flying machine. With his renewed anger, Phalanx violently shifted the talonbars to the left, turning the beast on a bit, the way only a flying reptile could. Praetor Phalanx now stared down his enemy, head on. "Now you must face me!" ________________ Lenard frowned as the mount hurtled toward him. "It figures the bird wants to play chicken." Greene opened up the throttle. "Fine! Full speed ahead!" The two pilots closed on each other at breakneck speeds. Phalanx fired first with a volley of heavy-bolt rounds. Lenard rocked his fighter from side to side to avoid the deadly projectiles. As the distance between them grew smaller and smaller, Lenard squeezed the flight stick trigger to return the favor. A barely audible click was all that came forth. The pilot stared down at the cockpit instruments in disbelief. "Out?! I can't be out! Where did they all go-" Lenard remembered his role during the assault on the leviathan landship before. "Right." The pilot muttered. "That's where all my rounds are." The attacking griffin pilot clearly didn't have this problem, as a torrent of over-sized fire-bolts continued to assault the wounded jet like a horizontal hailstorm. As the dragon grew bigger and bigger in the pilot's sights, Lenard's mind spawned one last desperate idea. "Just you and me, griffin!" The pilot shouted over the sounds of fire-bolts striking the frame. The two flying hunters finally closed to point blank range. A fire-bolt shattered the rear section of Lenard's canopy, leaving only the forward part intact. Greene didn't even notice, his plan was already in motion. "Hope this doesn't kill me!" At the last second before impact, Lenard shifted the rudder sharply to the left, tilting the plane to line up his right wing with the dragon's. ________________ Phalanx leaped off of his mount just in time to avoid being cut in half by the leading edge of the metal flying machine's swept wing. Holding himself in place with his own wings, the praetor watched as his mount flailed helplessly without its right wing, slowly spiraling toward the ground. "You have killed my mount, and made a great enemy this day, human." Phalanx quietly spoke. The praetor reached for his preferred choice of infantry weapons, a custom fire-bolt "One Liner" precision caster, a weapon he almost wore on his harness. "Your victory will mean nothing in a few moments. Here. A parting gift for you, none the less." With the legendary eyesight all of griffin kind was known for, Phalanx lined up a shot and pulled the trigger. A single fire-bolt flew straight and true, out of the barrel, through the air, and straight into the F-15's main fuel tank. ________________ Lenard, who had witnessed the incredible shot with his own eyes, could only stare at the griffin as he slowly grew smaller in the distance. "Banded spies. Guess they did give this thing a look over. Heh. Who knew?" He hadn't come out unscathed from his last ditch plan, but he had come out the victor. His right wing was badly bent, but still intact. Captain Greene looked over to the fuel gauge. "Hmm. Don't have much time." The pilot pulled the aircraft into an upward zoom to gain sufficient altitude over the looming airship below. Suddenly, a familiar, but unexpected voice came over the radio. ..."Greene! This is Sky Blade! You have to destroy the HailFire now! They're going to use it to detonate the elements!"... "What?!" ..."The HailFire is the key! It's what they used to attack Canterlot to start this whole mess! They're almost right over us, you have to stop it now!"... Greene shook his head. "But it should still be a considerable distance away from the- Uh oh." The HailFire had picked up the pace, and while the intrepid young pilot was wasted time dueling the griffin praetor, the ship had closed its distance to Zero Base considerably. Colonel Highlander's voice came on the radio. ..."He's right! The array interference has increased with every yard that thing gets closer to here! Somehow they're jamming the array from that ship! You have to sink the HailFIre now or you'll be too close, and the bomb will take us out too!" "No pressure then! I'm on it!" After climbing to a sufficient altitude, Captain Greene switched his HUD to bombsight mode, flipped up the button guard, and armed the extremely powerful weapon that had been so carefully fitted to one of the jet's main hard points. ..."Hurry up! We're getting massive readings like the ones we picked up during the initial alliance strike!"... "Working as fast as I can, colonel!" Lenard carefully lined up the shot. There could be no retries if he missed. With a trembling hand, Lenard Greene pressed the button. A metallic clank echoed through the cockpit as the bomb released from its nesting and fell toward the airship below. Lenard dared to watch its descent until he could stand it no longer. He snapped his vision away, but not before noticing six multicolored glowing projectiles rising from the HailFire's hull. Lenard's heart sank. "No! No! No! I'm too late!" Arching into the sky, the greatest forces of destruction ever created by hand and hoof collided in mid air, giving life to a combined nuclear and elemental magical event. There was not a flash of light, rather an approaching wall of luminous energy that blinded the pilot through his visor. Panels and gauges began to spark. The jet veered wildly in the shock wave. When his vision returned, all the pilot could see was what can only be described as a mass of energy in it's purest form. It was a perfect pearl of power, pulsing with unnatural might. It was almost beautiful. The HailFire now found itself caught up in the event, slowly being broken up by just the proximity to the almost stellar well of power. Pandragons and griffins flew for their lives as the energy well began to consume the ship. "She's going down! We sunk the HailFire! Repeat, we have sunk the HailFire!" Greene shouted through the radio. And then the energy well began to expand. ..."Jamming's gone, but that's the least of our problems!".... Dr. Harrison yelled through the radio. ...."Be warned that all six of the bearers are unconscious! The nuclear blast and the elemental weapons must have been detonated within seconds of each other! The result has created some kind of- phenomenon! According to my readings, the combined energies of the nuke and the elements are putting out more power than our sensors can even recognize! It is going to detonate! And when it does, you can count on it being a much larger than you were expecting!"... "I take it that's very, very bad then?" Greene suggested. ..."That's extremely bad! Without the interference, the array is back online! It's our only escape! You need to get back here now!"... Without so much as a second thought, Lenard jammed open the throttle, yet again pushing the aircraft to its limits. The jet began to accelerate away from the deadly singularity. As the phenomenon began to pulse like a dieing star preparing to go super nova, Lenard spotted a familiar blue pegasus flying in the same direction, fleeing for her life. "Rainbow Dash?!" _______________ Rainbow Dash was not a skittish pony, but in the face of what must be certain death, she was scared. No. She was utterly terrified. The wall of energy was gaining on her. It was now moving faster than she could even outrun normally, and the worst part was, Dash knew it. "I always thought I'd go out in a blaze of glory, but not like this!" The pegasus panted to herself as the energy grew closer. Realizing that this really was the end, Rainbow did something she would almost never do in any other situation. She cried. She cried for herself. She cried for Gilda. She cried for everypony that was about to die in this blast along with her. Just as she was about to give up and accept that fate, Captain Greene's fighter maneuvered up to her. Remembering the radio she'd stolen from the base, Rainbow pulled it out as quickly as she could and held it to her mouth. "Lenny! Lenny! Can you here me!?" ..."Dash!? You have a radio?! Doesn't matter! We don't have much time! I going to hang the plane in the air for a few seconds. When I do, you have to jump into the cockpit, understand!?"... "Just do it!" Dash bellowed. Lenard cut the throttle and kicked the aircraft into a high angle-of-attack stall. For a few moments, the aircraft appeared to have frozen in the sky. As it began to slip, Lenard pulled the canopy release. The remainder of the shattered rear section of the canopy sheared off, leaving only the "windscreen" part of the canopy remaining. Summoning all the strength she had left, Rainbow Dash charged for the open cockpit, as the surging forces of the phenomenon grew closer. Lenard stuck out his hand, grabbing onto one of Dash's hooves and tucking her into the space behind the pilot's seat. "We're are so totally even now!" Greene shouted over the approaching storm. "Done and settled! NOW GO!" Dash yelled back. "Hold on!" Rainbow grabbed onto the back of the seat with all her might as Lenard gunned the engines into full afterburner. Time seemed to slow to crawl as an escaping pandragon mount zoomed toward them in the other direction. Sitting in the saddle was a panicking Gilda, and behind her, Phalanx held on to the saddle for dear life. Almost in slow motion, the two pairs stared at each other as they passed, each somehow relieved and angered to see the other escape. Time resumed its normal pace, and the pandragon mount veered away from the jet. ***************** Amongst the horror of the approaching phenomenon, a glorious sight awed those who dared to look behind them as they ran. Just over the horizon, The sun was rising. "Move! Move!" The soldiers and scientists yelled as a mass of humans, ponies, wagons, and humvees flooded through the array archway. "Figures the sun comes up when we're on our way out!" Steven Mace complained to Sky Blade, who dragged an exhausted Star Sabre behind him. "I'm more concerned by the fact that the princesses didn't do it!" Sky Blade answered. "Guess this place has some logic to it after all!" Steven answered. "Now come on, it's high time we get out of here!" The three soldiers made a dash towards the blue glow of the anomaly. Major Classified and General-Prince Blueblood galloped just behind them. "This is just terrible!" The prince exclaimed. "I know! I've never seen anything like it!" Classy answered. "That monstrosity of a machine is going to singe my coat! First my house, then the sewers, now this! What does the world have against my appearance?!" The prince questioned the universe. Major Classified had no words. The two leaped into the vortex. Lyra and Bonbon galloped at full tilt, not too far behind. "You said you wanted soooooo much to see this thing! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!?" Bonbon shrieked. Lyra gave bonbon a look of pure disbelief. "Are you kidding me?! Now's not the time Bon! Galloping for our lives here!" "Sure it is! Why do you always get what you want?! One way or anothe-" The two arguing mares faded into the anomaly. Commander Mason Stuart acted as a crutch for Private John Simms, as the navy scientist and the wounded marine attempted to escape the imminent destruction on foot. "Easy, sir! Got a hole in my side, remember?" Simms groaned. "Sorry private." Stuart shook his head. "We don't have time to go easy! I've studied energy fluctuations and anomalies for a while now, and my greater instinct is telling me we don't want to wait around for whatever's coming up behind us!" Simms craned his head to look behind him. "Point taken." The wounded marine limped a little faster, until the pair reached the large swooping exit point. Mike Kaiser and Gerri Reed followed close behind on Mike's prized motorcycle. "You think the captain's okay?" Gerri asked as the two pilots rode toward the massive metal archway. "No one pulls himself out of the fire quite like Lenard Greene." Kaiser answered. Gerri nodded. "I hope you're right, because that's one serious fire!" Kaiser brought the bike up on the rear tire, and the two pilots wheelied into the portal. "Keep moving! You have to keep moving!" Celestia yelled as she and Luna helped guide the fleeing mob. Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity galloped up to the princesses, followed by many of their friends, relatives, and pets. "I'm sorry we couldn't come sooner, but the backlash from the elements knocked us out! That thing is getting closer and Rainbow Dash is still missing! What's going on princess?!" Twilight shouted over the roar of the approaching phenomenon. Celestia answered with words the purple unicorn never expected to hear her mentor say. "I truly do not know! I'm sorry, but there is no time to wait! You need to go, now!" Celestia answered. "But prin-" "GO!" Celestia and Luna roared in their royal Canterlot voices. In that moment, for the first time in their lives, Twilight and her friends truly feared the princesses as they gazed at Celestia' and Luna's hardened faces. "Just go," Celestia whispered with a bowed head. Lime Tree galloped past them. "You don't have to tell me twice! Maybe her, but not me!" Without further question, the element bearers and the whole of Ponyville's familiar townsponies entered the grounded anomaly. Timothy Highlander and Marc Harrison jumped down from the array control tower and ran up to the two princesses. "We gotta go! We're the last ones!" Harrison yelled. "No we aren't! Look!" Highlander pointed toward the approaching phenomenon.. Keeping just in front of the wave of solid energy, and silhouetted in the rising sun, the F-15 rocketed toward them at supersonic speed. "I dare not believe what mine eyes witness!" Luna exclaimed. "Tis the human Greene! And he has come with the rainbow maned one!" Celestia shook her head. "I can't believe it!" "Along with him, the sun has risen of its own volition! This must be a good omen!" Luna exclaimed Discord swooped in from the sky, covered in burns, bruises, and lacerations. "You better believe it's good!" The lord of chaos answered. "Discord? What happened to you?!" Celestia yelled in confusion. "Where did yo-" "There'll be plenty of fun times explaining that later!" He grabbed both royal sisters' hooves and pulled them through the anomaly. Highlander grabbed Harrison by the shoulders. "We gotta make way! If I know Greene, he's going to fly that thing straight through the arch! We gotta get people out of the way! Come on!" The two broke into a sprint. Lieutenant Cleaves pulled up beside them in the only remaining Abrams tank, Matchbox Nine, with Generals Rock and Snow Wisp riding on top. "Hop on!" Rock called down to them. The colonel and scientist gladly obliged. The tank rumbled into the portal, leaving only two to escape. ______________ Riding just in front of the continuing blast, the holed frame of the F-15 began to break apart at the seams as its pilot gave it all he had. "We're coming in hot! This is it! Archway dead ahead! You really gotta hold on now Dash!" Greene shouted over the roar of the wind and the deafening screams of the phenomenon. "Definitely not going to let go!" Rainbow screamed. "It won't be too much longer!" Lenard Shouted. "Don't say things like that!" Rainbow yelled back. "Something's wrong!" Greene yelled as the engines suddenly shut down. Lenard silently cursed his nemesis. "We're out of fuel! I promised you a ride, but it's going to be a rough one!" "That's just great!" Dash retorted. Greene leveled the plane out at a ridiculously low altitude just above the ground. "Here we go!" Lenard and Dash screamed as the momentum alone carried the aircraft toward the archway. Without the added thrust from the engines, the phenomenon gained on them, inch by inch. To the sheer terror of the pilot and pegasus, the blast caught up with them just as the nose touched the anomaly terminator, blasting the jet through at incredible speed. Lenard and Dash found themselves in a realm of flowing blues and whites, a cascade of unimaginable definition. It was a corridor of bouncing lights and weightless fluid, a place where up and down, left and right, any kind of direction, meant absolutely nothing. A ethereal visage hung before them. It had two curved horns, and an enraged scowl on its muzzle. The visage let forth a might roar, its screams echoing in the shapeless void, rattling the jet. The visage expanded into the body of an enormous ram, hundreds, if not thousands of feet tall. It stomped on the "floor" of the emptiness, shaking the very foundations of reality. As it reared into the horizon-less sky, It brought a hoof down toward the F-15, which almost seemed to be floating in thin air. Just as Lenard and Rainbow Dash were both sure they were dead, a great white flash enveloped the craft. When it faded, a wonderful and very welcome sight awaited the pilot's eyes, The beautifully lit skyline of downtown Atlanta. Equestrian Catalog of Information Factoid #23: Equestrian Blast Geodes. Blast Geodes are the result of a classified mixture of various minerals found deep within the Earth. Because of the lethality the weapon represents, the military mines the minerals needed in very secure and secret mines, where the minerals are extracted, shaped, and sealed together. As soon as a geode is completed, it is immediately painted a dark red hue and cut in the shape of a sphere, to avoid mistaking the deadly weapons for a normal stone. The once completed, softness of the geode allows it to be cut with a knife or drill, allowing them to be used with several applications. However, because of the obvious risks involved in allowing such a weapon to become readily available, mine locations, as well as the exact composition of the geodes, are classified as above top secret. To detonate a blast geode, all one has to do is cut one in half, put the two halves together again, and twist vigorously. Once the geode begins to smoke, the user should immediately run in the other direction, as the geode will detonate withing twelve seconds. Geodes are crafted so that only two matching halves can detonate, and the only way to set one off is the method above, so it is almost impossible to detonate one unintentionally. Liberation Alliance Central Command Factoid #16: PDR-9 Flare Spear Launcher. Flare spear Launchers, or FSL's as the are known, are soldier held, turret mountable heavy weapons, which are typically used to bring down large flying targets, (such as pegasai-pulled geode bombers.) They employ the same basic principal as the fire-bolt system, only brought to a much larger scale. The spear like projectiles obtained the name of "flares" because of their distinct purple glow when fired. There are rumors that an advanced variant of this weapon, capable of homing in on a target, are in development, but nothing has been officially released. Liberation Alliance Central Command Factoid #6: GR-6 Fire-bolt "One Liner" Caster, and the Liberation Alliance Sharp Shooters that use them. In contrast to the fully auto fire-bolt platforms, which are incredibly inaccurate, fire bolt "one liners" are single shot variants developed, built, and fielded by Liberation Alliance sharp shooters. (Typically griffins, due to their exceptional eyesight.) One Liner casters are not mass produced, so a sharp shooter actually has to construct one by talon. Once this is done, a sharp shooter must master the weapon by using specially made "dummy-bolts," practice rounds which inflict no harm. Up and coming sharp shooters test themselves in special training events called, shootouts, in which a class of sharp shooters practice against each other in a location filled with different cover spots, (typically the forest.) Once proven, sharp shooters are among the most feared soldiers within the Liberation Alliance combined forces. .