“All ya have ta do is aim fer the knots in the wood of the tree.”
Ale eyed the apple tree carefully, wondering whether or not this was a good idea. Earlier that day AJ had asked Twilight for help in the orchards. Ale, being the gentleman he is, volunteered to take her place instead. AJ had taken Ale to her farm and was currently instructing him in the art of applebucking.
“Are you sure AJ? I think I might hit it too hard.”
“Don’t ya worry. Ah purposely selected the strongest tree in the field. Just so ya could get a feel fer it.”
“If you say so.”
Ale took a step back from the tree as he shook out his arms briefly. He breathed in before throwing out his right fist with the speed of a runaway freight train. His armored gauntlet made contact with a solid crack, a shudder resonating throughout the ground. The immediate area surrounding his fist shattered into a million pieces resulting in the top half of the tree falling over. Ale slowly turned around to find AJ staring at him in disbelief. Ale lifted his hands, palms facing upwards, as he stared at them in silent contemplation.
“I probably should have mentioned that I’ve punched through grade A titanium battle armor in certain situations.”
AJ’s mouth still hung open as she seemed to still be registering what just happened.
“You know, you should close your mouth, especially in a place swarming with birds.”
She still didn’t respond.
“AJ? Hello?”
Ale seriously considered bringing her to the hospital before a distant shout caught his attention.
“Hey Ale!”
A rainbow blur flashed in front of Ale as RD came to a stop. She stood there heaving in breath as though she had just flown a few hundred miles nonstop. She breathed in deeply before calming down slightly. She looked over at AJ and pointed to her.
“What happened to her?”
“I guess she couldn’t handle that I just snapped one of her trees in half.”
RD nodded in understanding, taking the information in stride. She opened one of her wings and pulled out a letter.
“You have to read this!”
Ale opened the letter and read it carefully before lifting up his head in surprise.
“You’re being recruited into the Wonderbolts?”
RD looked elated when she heard it spoken; confirming that it wasn’t a dream.
“Yes! Do you remember when you were sick and I told you about my training with them?” Ale nodded. “Well, they finally accepted me! My dreams are coming true!”
“That’s nice RD. So, when are you leaving?”
“I’m going to grab some stuff right now and leave as soon as I can.”
An idea popped into Ale’s head when she told him she wanted to leave as soon as possible.
“Well, would you like me to give you a ride?”
RD’s eyes opened in suppressed excitement.
“The fast one?”
Ale chuckled out loud. “Well they’re both fast. But yes, we would take the Broadsword.”
RD flew straight up into the air, whooping in excitement. She soon fluttered back down in embarrassment as she cleared her throat.
“I mean, sounds cool.”
Ale simply shook his head before glancing over to the still frozen Applejack.
“Will she be okay?”
“Yeah, she’ll be fine. Let’s go.”
RD began flying towards town leaving Ale behind. He glanced between AJ and town before shrugging. He turned towards town and began jogging.
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Ale was standing next to the Broadsword when he spotted Rainbow flying towards him. She waved as she approached; Ale reciprocated her greeting.
“You ready to go?” Ale asked.
“You know it! So, do I just jump into the backseat there?”
“Yep. Tuck your saddlebags beneath my seat okay?”
RD nodded as she flew up into the cockpit. Ale climbed up some footholds and watched her settle in. He reached over and helped her buckle into the awkward seat. After he finished he moved over and climbed into his seat. After securing himself Ale sealed the canopy and began the start up sequence.
“Where do I need to head towards Rainbow?”
“Well, the facility is near Cloudsdale. So head northeast.”
Ale opened the vertical thrusters, allowing the Broadsword to rise into the air. He nudged the thrusters towards the specified heading and slammed the throttle home; the Broadsword rocketed forward with Dash giving an ‘uncool’ squeal of excitement.
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Ale headed towards a very large cloud that seemed to have an island stuck on top of it. He once again shook off the complete absurdness of it to prevent a complete brain meltdown. As he approached he was surprised to see the pegasi on the cloud acting with complete normalcy. So far everywhere else Ale went with one of his machines the local ponies would freak out. Here however, they were lining up in neat lines as a yellow mare walked along the front of them. Ale landed the Broadsword on the runway and began powering down the engines. He heard Dash tapping on the canopy with impatience. Ale chuckled as he pressed the release and let RD fly up and out of the cockpit.
“C’mon Ale! There’s somepony I want you to meet!”
Ale climbed out and jumped onto the solid ground. He walked around the front where he had seen Rainbow land earlier. He rounded the corner to find Dash saluting to the yellow pony from earlier. The mare acknowledged Dash with a quick salute before turning towards Ale.
“Welcome to the Wonderbolts training facility. My name is Captain Spitfire.”
Ale reflexively stood at attention, saluting the captain as he replied, “CPO, Ale 02-05.”
Spitfire waved a hoof at him. “There’s no need for that. I may outrank you but I’ve heard stories about you. You’ve probably had more combat experience than the whole Royal Guard.”
Ale stood at parade rest as he responded, “You have no idea ma’am.”
Spitfire looked over to Rainbow Dash. “Well then, are you ready to be a part of my team?”
“Yes ma’am!”
“Go get your uniform from the locker room. A locker has already been marked for you.”
RD saluted smartly before running off towards one of the buildings. Ale chuckled slightly.
“She sure is excited huh?”
Spitfire smirked as she looked in the same direction. “Every one of my recruits reacts the same way. I have high expectations from her.” Spitfire looked up at Ale. “Don’t tell her I said this but she will be unknowingly competing for my second in command. With that said, I’m confident she’ll be the winner.”
Ale nodded, silently cheering Rainbow in his head. The yellow mare looked at the Broadsword behind Ale.
“So, how fast does that go?”
“Hmm… Well, I could tell you, or I could lie and deny my knowledge of the craft and instead take it for a spin as an excuse to find out its speed and to potentially show off my technological prowess.”
“… Stallions,” Spitfire murmured.
Ale smiled widely as he turned around and jumped into the Broadsword. He strapped himself in and began flicking switches; a slow whine beginning to build up. Spitfire stood back alongside the other ponies that were still lined up. Ale lifted off the ‘ground’ and gently began flying a safe distance away from the base while circling back around. When he was sure he had their attention he throttled rapidly and began running through an air show that was sure to make their jaws drop.
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Ale eased up his air speed as he finished his on-the-fly routine. He banked hard enough to allow a visual between him and Spitfire. He saw said mare and a familiar rainbow maned mare waving at him. Ale lifted his hand and gave them a slight shake of his hand. He then turned towards Ponyville, rocking his wings side to side as a final salute. Ale decided to warm up his engines one last time and raced towards his home.
Time flew by as the crystal blue sky with a smattering of white fluffy clouds passed overhead while the rough green and brown terrain blurred beneath him. The Broadsword's radar picked up the beacon he had placed in Ponyville; signifying the time to slow down. Ale had learned earlier that the radar was able to pick up objects the size of pegasi, thus allowing him to travel rapidly through the skies without having any fatal collisions.
He was soon able to see the town and smiled at how peaceful it looked. It didn’t have any marks of war present and the occupants were happy. Ale slowed down to a crawl as he approached the giant tree housing the library. The leaves shook violently as he lowered himself towards the ground. After the feeling the bump of the landing gear making contact he powered down the war machine and opened the canopy. He was about to jump out when a pink blur toppled him out of the machine and onto the ground.
“Ale! Have you seen Trixie?! She was supposed to stop by SugarCube Corner earlier today to help me with something.”
Ale stared up at Pinkie in bewilderment, mostly curious as to why she tackled him for such a trivial problem.
“Uhh, no Pinkie. I haven’t seen her. Have you tried the library? She may be talking to Twilight about magic or something.”
Pinkie continued to stare at him with a panicked expression for a few moments longer before donning a look of realization.
She giggled a bit as she lifted a hoof to her chin.
“Oh yeah…”
Ale sighed before pushing her off and standing up. Pinkie shot into the library where a loud scream followed by a crashing sound emanated. Ale walked into the library to find Pinkie and Rarity in a tangled mess. Pinkie shot up and zipped around the library, most likely still searching for Trixie. Rarity put a hoof to her forehead and groaned as she picked herself off the floor. She looked up at Ale and gasped in horror. Ale was about to question her when instead he found her standing on her hind legs and staring intently into Ales visor.
“Rarity, what’s wrong?”
Her eyes furrowed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Why my mane of course! Pinkie ruined it and your helmet is the only reflective surface available at the moment.”
Ale shrugged. ‘Mares.’
“Is Twilight around?” Ale asked.
Rarity stepped down as she finished touching up her mane.
“No. I believe she went with Fluttershy to talk to Zecora.”
Pinkie zipped between them as she looked down at the ground with a crestfallen expression.
“I can’t find Trixie.”
Rarity smiled at Pinkie as she lifted her face up with a hoof.
“Are you sure you looked everywhere?”
Pinkie nodded. “She’s not in Ponyville.”
Rarity was about to reassure her until a dreadful thought flashed through her mind.
“What… what if the Diamond Dogs took her?”
Ale looked away in thought before shrugging.
“Can’t hurt to pay them a visit and ensure that they heeded my warning.”
Pinkie nodded rapidly causing her oversized camouflaged army helmet to slide down her face; Ale seriously wondering where she got an item hundreds of years old from his own world. Rarity nodded a bit more hesitantly before standing with a determined expression.
“Well then,” Ale hefted his assault rifle, “…let’s go.”
Ales pace, while fast and leaving two haggard ponies struggling to keep up, had them standing in front of the Diamond Dog hole in no time. Ale immediately could tell something was wrong though. His first clue being the stench that wafted from the hole. He inspected the dirt and found it to be torn up violently as if a whole army had tore through here. Turning around, he found the two ponies to be turning green as they struggled to keep the contents of their stomachs in. They didn’t seem like they realized what the smell actually was; Ales suspicions confirmed when Rarity spoke.
“What is that dreadful smell?”
“… Bog water,” Ale lied.
The two ponies nodded, still clenching their muzzles in disgust.
“You two should leave. In fact, have Twilight wait for me when she returns.”
They looked like they were about to argue until Ale pointed back the way they had come. They nodded obediently and began to make their way back home. Ale turned around and activated his helmet lights. Unlike the girls he knew exactly what made that smell. Being a soldier and around as much death as he had one soon learns the different sounds and smells of the battlefield.
Ale navigated the darkness until he rounded a corner and the tunnel widened into a cavern. There he found the source of the stench. Piles upon piles of dead Diamond Dogs were strewn about the cavern. Ales helmet lights weaved back and forth across the cavern. As he was moving he thought he saw a shadow dart across the wall, his lights illuminating a dark shape. Ale confirmed this contact by the brief red blip that had shown up on his radar. He swiftly ran around a pile of dogs and brought his rifle to bear.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He checked his radar and cautiously walked around the area only to find nothing. While he was a Spartan and had no fear he couldn’t help but be unnerved at the situation being eerily similar to that of the Flood. He performed one last sweep before retreating and leaving the cave.
After his lights had completely left the cavern a flash of green illuminated the cavern. A black figure stared after the bipedal figure closed its eyes briefly. Its horn lit up as it connected to its superior.
‘… Understood. We will accelerate ahead of schedule.”