//------------------------------// // Chapter Eleven // Story: Earning Wings of a Different Nature // by Strayan Phoenix //------------------------------// Earning Wings of a Different Nature By Strayan Phoenix Chapter Eleven [2130 Hours, May 15th, 2020] [HMAS Brisbane’s Combat Information Center]         Captain John Stevenson rubbed his temples with a heavy sigh. While he was glad that Brisbane was still mostly in workable condition upon his return, the lack of a navigation radar meant that they would be relying solely on satellite GPS for direction. Not only that, but their only immediate source of aerial support was in a critical condition, so they were also reliant on the US Air Force and their F-15 Eagles for air cover, which were being drawn from a land base a considerable distance away. Top Brass back home had assured him that back-up was on the way, in the form of Brisbane's sister ship, HMAS Hobart, and the aging Anzac-class frigate HMAS Toowoomba. However, taking into account the time required to prepare the ships and the long distance from their base in Australia to the Middle East, it was going to take them a very long time to get there; two or three weeks, at least. Considering their situation, Skipper wasn't very optimistic that the reinforcements would arrive in time for whatever grand show was most likely around the corner. Still, this decision on the behalf of Top Brass took him by surprise. A considerable portion of Australia's naval power was now devoted to this region, given the RAN's rather dimmunitive overall size compared to that of the US Navy. In the past, there was rarely, if ever more than one Australian warship per deployment to a combat zone, so for them to go all-out like this was a bold and risky move, with much to lose at stake in the event that something goes wrong. It couldn't have been a decision made lightly, that much he knew for sure.         “Skipper, Admiral Del Rio is on the line for you,” a Communications sailor nearby spoke up.         “Put ‘im on loudspeaker,” He gestured.         “Aye sir,” the sailor clicked a button, and Del Rio’s voice became audible over the radio.         “Avenger to Brisbane, what’s your status, over?” Skipper reached for a nearby microphone. “Brisbane to Avenger, Status is minor damage, but still operational, over.”         “Brisbane, be advised: Avenger’s Task Force is changing heading for the port of Jebel Ali. Australian Fleet Command has been informed, and has given permission to have you temporarily placed under US command, effective immediately. New heading is Vector One-Six-Zero, on our mark. Confirm?”         “Copy that, new heading is Three-Five-Zero,” He glanced across at the Principal Warfare Officer nearby, who nodded knowingly, “Awaiting your mark.”         The PWO grabbed a second microphone. “CIC to the Bridge, prepare for new heading, vector one-six-zero.”         “Aye sir, new heading one-six-zero,” came the reply.         There was a brief pause pause, before Del Rio’s voice returned. “Mark!”         After a few moments, the deck tilted about as Brisbane veered about onto the new course.         "Remain on high alert until further notice," Del Rio instructed, "Link your ACS with Vella Gulf so that we can better coordinate our defences in case of future attack. They caught us napping before, but next time, we'll be ready for them. Avenger out."         “Alright, you heard the man!” Skipper said aloud, grabbing the attention of everyone present, “From now on, this ship is on high alert! If anything else dares poke their sneaky little rat-faced mug into our firing radius, that thing is going to have the all-consuming fire of God himself rain down upon them! Am I clear?”         There was a thunderous chorus throughout the room of “Yes sir!”         “Let’s show these Yanks how it’s done, Brisbane! Get to it!” -----         Daring Do sat down in her seat with an apprehensive frown, as the ponies around her murmured amongst each other. Listening in on Wellman’s phone call didn’t exactly reveal anything of relevant use to their current situation.         “What would Daring do?” She pondered.         'Too many unknowns in this situation. Not enough solid evidence to make any decisions on. No-one on board this plane trustworthy enough.' 'Let’s see, the main players in this game are as follows: First off, there’s the ponies, lost and scattered throughout the world with limited communication and coordination. Princess Luna is no doubt trying to rally a group together and formulate something, but until I can rendezvous with her, she’s not of very much use to me. Secondly and most immediately are the Americans. The Government must be putting an idea of their own into action, but I don’t know what their plan is, nor what the consequences will be if it comes to fruition. They could either be harmless, or the most dangerous threat on the planet. I just don’t know. Thirdly is this mysterious external power which organised the air strike, most likely either Russia or China. What was their angle in all of this? Surely they were not ordered to attack just on a whim. No-one would be so brazen as to attack a heavily-armed American battle group like that without a hidden agenda. And finally, if we somehow find a way to reach Equestria… we still have Discord to deal with. I don’t know if he is influencing any events around here, but I highly doubt he’s just sitting there on his throne twiddling his thumbs. Chaos doesn’t sit still for no-one. Now… what are you going to do about it, Daring Do? You need to make a move, make a choice. What is your goal, your game plan, with all of this information in mind? Are you going to keep asking these questions, or are you finally going to get your arse into gear and do something about it?' She narrowed her eyes, keeping her gaze on the hard metal floor. “I need to get off this plane and get away from these guys. Somewhere on the North American continent is a lead to the answer for all of my problems. I don’t have all of the information I need, but I’m not going to find any answers unless I look for them. Treasures don’t find themselves, after all.”         Daring blinked in surprise as something nudged her side. She turned about to face Firefly, who was staring at her expectantly.         “So! What’s our game plan?” asked Firefly. “...What?” Daring tilted her head quizzically. “You look like a man with a plan, and whatever it is, I want in!” Firefly grinned eagerly. “I don’t really have a plan, per say,” Daring admitted, “But I have an objective. We need to find the Princess. She might know something we don’t, and will most likely have contact with other ponies on the mainland. If we find her, then we will find the others.” “...Who’s the Princess?” Firefly asked. “Princess Luna,” Daring clarified. “Never heard of her.” Daring’s eye visibly twitched. “Have you been living under a rock these past few years?! How have you not heard of Princess Luna?” “The last time I watched a pony video was in 2001 with my little sister, long before Lauren Faust took the reins.” Firefly deadpanned, “I don’t know very many of the new characters beyond their face and some of their names.” “Princess Luna is the big navy-blue one with both wings and a horn, and a sparkly mane which isn’t actually made of hair,” Daring explained. “Oh, that one!” Firefly blinked, “I’ve seen that one around on the interwebs here and there… So anyway, we find this Princess, and then what? What are we gonna achieve by linking up with these other ponies in America?” Daring’s eyes widened. That’s right… what ARE we going to do once we’re all together? I highly doubt anyone would know any cross-dimensional spells to get us back home... She sighed and shook her head. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, I guess. But we need to find a way to Equestria, and we can’t do anything until we’re all in one place.” “If Equestria even exists,” Firefly muttered, “How do we cross the dimensions anyway, if that’s even possible?” “With Magic of course,” Daring answered, as if it were obvious. “I have a feeling that’s going to be the answer to a lot of our questions in the near future,” Firefly frowned skeptically. “Most likely,” Daring shrugged. ----- [Somewhere else over the North Atlantic]         “Dragon Actual, this is Dragon One. We have radar lock on the target and are ready to intercept and execute on your order, over.”         “Dragon Actual to Dragon One, fire at will.”         “May God have mercy on our souls.” ----- Without warning, their conversation was cut off by a sudden ruckus from the front of the plane. Several voices were shouting loudly at once, and everyone in the main cabin went deathly silent trying to listen in. “Tell that damn bogey who we are, and the amount of shit he will be in if he comes any closer!” Wellman’s voice shouted. “I can’t do anything if he’s not fucking responding to us now, can I?” Another voice countered angrily, whom Daring presumed to be one of the flight deck crew. “Don’t get lippy with me, smartass!” Wellman growled, “And get Command on the line while you’re at it!” “Missile fired!” The pilot exclaimed, and a warning siren began blaring throughout the Globemaster. “Make that two missiles! Deploying flares and counter-measures.” “Ah shit! Hold onto your teeth, people!” Wellman shouted aloud, “This is gonna be a bumpy ride!” The ponies had just a few seconds warning to strap themselves securely to their seats before the big plane suddenly lurched about to the right, throwing any loose baggage across to the opposite side of the cabin. Daring grimaced as the belts of her harness dug into her sore shoulders, the only things keeping her in place. There was a brief, intense flash of light through the port windows as a hostile missile blitzed past the Globemaster’s fuselage. “Second missile incoming! Brace for impact!” “What--?” was all Daring could utter as the back half of the passenger cabin suddenly disappeared in a brilliant orange explosion. An intense heat-wave tore up the cabin, causing Daring to cringe in pain. Voices screamed in panic as the entire plane began shaking violently, yawing to the right and tumbling out of the sky in a lethal spinning dive. Daring gripped on tightly to her seat belt as anything which wasn’t strapped down was flung about mercilessly across the cabin. Every single muscle in her body strained against the g-forces as she turned her head to glance across the cabin. Metal groaned loudly as it twisted about, and there was an ear-piercing screech as the wings and the back half of the Globemaster ripped clean off, opening it up to the chilly night sky. The thin, atmospheric air of thirty thousand feet sucked the oxygen from the cabin like a vacuum, taking with it anything which wasn’t tied down.  The oxygen levels were dangerously low, and she was already beginning to feel dizzy and lightheaded from the sudden deprivation. Some ponies were already out cold, and others were looking woozy, barely coherent enough to scream.         She blinked in horror as a pony flashed past her vision, screaming as he disappeared out of the gaping hole where the rear fuselage had been. Flash was yelling something in her direction and gesturing towards what was left of the rear fuselage, but his voice was lost amidst the screams of the perpetually panicking ponies. She grit her teeth, glancing over her shoulder. The horizon was quickly creeping up towards them as the plane continued to drop, any hope of recovery long dashed. “The Good Lord tells me He can get me out of this mess,” Firefly turned to the pony next to her, “But He’s pretty sure you’re fucked.” Redheart’s face turned even whiter than normal. “Just kidding,” She offered a hoof, “Grab hold.” “What are you…?” Redheart reluctantly reached out towards her. Firefly deftly wrapped one arm around Redheart’s barrel, her wings flaring out as she released her seatbelt. The g-forces immediately took hold, and Redheart screamed loudly as she and Firefly were sucked out of the aircraft. “Firefly!” Daring exclaimed worriedly. “They have the right idea,” Flash grimaced, releasing his seatbelt, “We’re going to have to jump, Daring!” “But what about the others?!” She exclaimed worriedly, “We can’t just leave them here to die!” “I’m sorry,” Flash grimaced and shook his head, “I am so, so sorry, but we’re running out of breathing room real quick, so it’s now or never!” With that, he reached across and unclipped Daring’s seatbelt harness. Reaching out reflexively, she looped her arm through the strap of her carry-bag just as the g-forces took hold. She paled as her lunch was nearly forced back up, and in the blink of an eye, she was suddenly on air, maybe only ten thousand feet up. Daring took a moment to twist herself about in a three-hundred and sixty degree turn, briefly taking in the view and analysing her new situation. The temperature was bitterly cold, and the cloud cover down below looked to be quite dense. She stared in horror as what was left of the Globemaster continued its death-spiral; feeling helpless to do anything to save the doomed souls left on board as they disappeared through the clouds. The moment of stillness was fleeting as she realised gravity had already taken hold. Flipping about so that she was right-way-up, she spread herself out as far as she could stretch, creating as much drag as she could muster. She tilted herself forward as to turn her flat stall into forward momentum, and once she felt she had sufficient airspeed, she gently pulled herself out of the dive and arrested her speed back to a gentle hover. A loud scream drew her attention to Firefly down below, who was having difficulty flying properly with Redheart in her arms. “I really didn’t think this through!” She screamed as they plummeted towards the clouds. Without warning, they suddenly came an abrupt halt in mid-air, almost as if they hit an invisible floor amongst the clouds.         “Ow!” Both ponies yelped in pain and surprise.         “I didn’t know the cloud cover was this dense!” Firefly grunted. She went to stretch out her shoulders, when Redheart suddenly screamed loudly and wrapped herself around Firefly’s arm.         "If we survive this, I’m gonna throttle you!” Redheart screamed. “I don’t get it,” Firefly was perplexed as she secured her grip on the Earth Pony, “How am I sitting on the cloud, whereas you’re falling straight through it like it’s a normal cloud?” A loud, sicking crash of metal and water resounded as the plane disintegrated upon the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. Daring’s ear pricked as jet engines screamed overhead, and she slowly turned her gaze up into the night sky. Her eyes quickly honed in on a set of flickering red, green and white navigation lights circling about overhead, the red star emblem emblazoned on each of the fighter jet’s wings and tail fins. “Fuckin’ Russians,” Flash growled coldly, before shouting at the top of his lungs, “I hope you get ebola and die, you worthless cocksucker!” Daring remained silent, keeping her gaze locked on the fighter jet as it banked and flew off towards the east. ----- “Dragon One to Dragon Actual,” the pilot said in a grim tone, “Priority-One Target has been destroyed. I repeat, Priority-One Target has been destroyed, over.” “Kill confirmed, Dragon One, excellent work. Were there any survivors?” “We have eyes on four potential survivors. I repeat, four potential survivors. No humans.” There’s nothing but ocean around for hundreds of miles in any direction. They’ll freeze to death before the dawn. Return to base, Dragon One. Dragon Actual out.” -----         Daring’s eye twitched as her brain finally caught up to speed with the typhoon of events within the last five minutes.         The agents from the FBI, the flight crew, and nearly every single pony that she encountered from the Middle East were dead. Had Daring stayed on the plane any longer, she would most likely be down there with them.         She unexpectedly shivered and wiped a stray bead of sweat from her brow. “Come on Sheffield, snap out of it!” Flash said worriedly, clapping his hooves in her face, “There might still be someone else who survived the crash down there!” Daring blinked back to reality and shook her head morosely, muttering under her breath. She shifted the clouds apart for a view of the crash sight. Her eyes widened in fright as she beheld the ghastly sight before her. Chunks upon chunks of wrecked C-17 and debris drifted aimlessly amongst the waves. An engine here, a section of the fuselage there. Someone’s luggage bag. Someone’s lifeless, crumpled body. Firefly tutted irritably. “That plane would’ve been doing around six hundred knots as it hit the water, easily. Anything inside was likely flattened out like a pancake. No way in hell anyone survived that mess.” “Why the fuck would someone shoot down an unarmed, unescorted cargo jet and murder innocent people in cold blood?” Flash snarled, “That’s just… that’s just pretty damn low if you ask me.” “... T-they must’ve been after us…” Daring stammered, wide-eyed. “They weren’t targeting the carrier just because it’s a carrier… They attacked it because of us!” “Now come on, that’s a little far-fetched,” Flash scoffed, “They couldn’t have possibly known that we were on board the George Bush. Any communication regarding us would’ve been top secret communique in code.” Daring continued her rant. “And then, second-guessing that the Americans would try to evacuate us from a combat-zone, sent an interceptor to attack whatever method of transport we could possibly be taking! Besides, even if they didn’t know about us specifically, their intelligence network would no doubt have picked up on the several dozen ponies we picked up in the Middle East!” “That’s… a little more believable,” He admitted with a frown. “Well that’s just fantastic!” Redheart muttered exasperatedly, “Because now we’re in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere with no land for several hundred miles in every direction, and no sunlight for another six or seven hours!” “I sure hope that the Russians are aware that when word of this gets out, there’s no way in hell that we’re gonna let this one slide,” Flash continued, “All hell’s gonna break loose, and it’s gonna be a shitstorm on the proportions of World War Two! Chaos and anarchy everywhere!” “Chaos and anarchy…” Daring murmured as a realisation struck. “Oh Discord, you clever, magnificent bastard!” “What? Who’s Discord?” Firefly asked, puzzled. Daring paid her query no attention. “Sending the ponies to Earth, which is already controlled chaos as it is, as normal ordinary humans. And then when the curse wears wears off, they turn back into ponies. No-one knows how this is happening, because of course, Magic wasn’t a real thing up until now and thus no-one knows how to explain what’s going on, and when humans don’t understand what’s going on, they start panicking, and when they start panicking, everything goes to complete and utter shit! The perfect, most chaotic clusterfuck of anarchy imaginable! Human sacrifices, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!” “Whoa whoa, slow down there! I didn’t even get half of that!” Flash said worriedly.  “And now the Americans finally have their reason to go to war with Russia!” She exclaimed, tapping one hoof into the palm of the other, “Jesus Christ, this guy’s a fuckin' genius when he wants to be!” “Yeah, well that’s great and all, but what do you expect us to do about it, eh?!” Redheart asked irritably, “We’ve got no method of transportation to America, nor do we have a ticket in now that that Wellman guy is kind’a dead!” “Of course we have transportation,” Daring snorted, “What do you think’s keeping you aloft right now?” Firefly blinked in surprise. “What, me? No offense, but I don't think I'll be able to carry Snow White for three hundred miles.” “We’ll take turns carrying her if we have to,” Daring said determinedly, “But we’re going to America, aeroplane or not.” “Do you even know where we are?” asked Redheart, “There are no landmarks to help us, nor any sunlight, and that compass on your butt isn’t exactly real.” “Actually, there is a landmark,” Daring gestured downwards, “The crash site.” She pointed off into the distance, “The Flanker went that way, most likely back to his base in Europe, so we go in the opposite direction to him, which is this way.” “The what?” Firefly quirked an eyebrow. “Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker, that’s what attacked us,” Daring explained, “I saw him as he circled overhead for about a minute. The slightly off-kilter nose section was the give-away from a distance that it was a Flanker of some sort. The Russian Navy doesn’t have the navalised Su-33 in service anymore, which rules out an aircraft carrier within five hundred miles, so flying from a land base and without slowing down for a tanker, he must’ve been flying for quite a while in order to be on station in time. That’s well beyond the endurance of a Fulcrum, as well as most other land-based versions of the Flanker, so trust me, it was an Su-35.” “... Holy shit, you’re a nerd,” Firefly’s eye twitched. “I’m not a nerd,” Daring defended, “I’m just well-read.” “By the way, no-one’s answered my question yet,” Firefly frowned, “How am I sitting on clouds of vapourised water?!” “Magic,” Daring answered simply. “Of course." Redheart facepalmed. “You’re a Pegasus, Firefly," Daring explained, "Besides flying, Pegasi can walk on and manipulate clouds. You can do it, I can do it, and Flash can do it.” “I thought his name was Ferguson?” Redheart tilted her head quizzically. “No, that was his name as a human. Since he is now a pony, his name is Flash, just as yours is Redheart and that's Firefly.” She frowned. “And who are they supposed to be?” asked Firefly. “How should I know?” Daring furrowed her brow irritably, “I’ve only just met youse guys!” “Well, you just seem to be so wise and knowledgeable about everything there is to know about ponies, that's all,” Redheart shrugged.         “I don’t know everything, nor did I ever claim to,” Daring defended, “Look, this isn’t getting us anywhere! Let’s just get away from this place already.” “So we’re going this way then?” Flash gestured towards what she sure hoped was west. “Yes we are!” Daring nodded in confirmation, “We might reach America for at least another hour, but we might as well start now. There’s sufficient moonlight to help us see each other, so keep close.” Firefly glanced down at the floating wreckage and sighed in reluctance. “Alright, fine. But you’re carrying the nurse.” She unceremoniously dumped Redheart into Flash’s arms. “Merry Christmas.” Flash blinked in surprise, shuffling himself about so that Redheart was in a more comfortable carrying position. "Damn, you’re heavier than you look." "You better not drop me," Redheart warned. Daring stared determinedly off into the distance as they flew off and began their long flight west-ward. I swear, when I get my hands on that fuckin' Discord cunt, I'm gonna rip his horns off and shove them so far up his arse that he'll choke to death.