Chapter 12: Dog Fight
The wind roared in Constantine’s ears, his hair flapping about behind him, reminiscent of the multihued mane of the mare he sat astride. They were moving faster than George would have liked, but with a name like Dash, she was clearly built for speed. They flew slower than Rainbow Dash would have liked, but she guessed that by his lack of wings and undisguised glee at getting to ride her, he didn’t have much previous experience so she didn’t want him falling off. Also having Constantine as a passenger was far more taxing than either of them would like to admit.
“So where are we headed?” Rainbow called over the roar of the wind. “I can get us there safe, easy. I just have no clue where we need to go.” The camp by the golf course became visible, a random assortment of around twenty tents, serving as quarters for the workers and visitors at the course.
“There! I can’t see too well when I need to squint, but that looks like it,” He called back, pointing to the camp while using his other hand to grip his wrist. “Take us down slowly, nothing too fancy please.” They began their descent, Rainbow banking left ever so slightly, gradually making a wide arc around and down, slowly but surely making her way down to the waiting AA gun.
“Wait, WHAT?!” Yelled Dash suddenly, as they had fire opened upon them. “Evasive action! Hold on, monkey boy!” She then banked hard right and dove, making George wrap his legs more tightly around her, slipping past the first shot as it blazed far too close to her hoof-tips, exploding above them.
“DO A BARREL ROLL!” Wailed George as another shot thudded behind him. “Tell them we mean no harm!” On the ground, units were mobilised to man searchlights.
“Get those guys ready! This one’s carryin’ somethin’ big!” barked Anonymous unicorn #3 to some unicorns arming pegasi for aerial combat, “And we don’t want any feed issues, like last time. If you can get a good look at what it is, permission to re-evaluate my judgement is granted. Until then, shoot to kill.” He finished as one last ball of lead and burning magnesium was sent into the sky.
From above the shapes of three pegasi running along a strip of painted grass and taking off could be seen. Rainbow didn’t see this but thankfully slowed down and levelled out now the shooting had stopped.
“We’re not outta the woods yet. Looks like we’re gonna have company,” said George as calmly as he could, pointing at the runway. “Please tell me you have a gun.”
“Well, I don’t have a gun, but I do have a way I could stun them. But you aren’t gonna like it.” She turned her head towards him, and she grinned in a way that made him feel she would be safer in a strait jacket and a padded room. He was hesitant for a moment, but when a burst of tracers split the air above his head, he nodded vigorously. Rainbow took a leaf out of Pinkie’s book, and her smile grew wider still.
Suddenly she rolled and he fell, screaming, down, down, down-landing on the back of a heavily armed and golden plated Pegasus, who, turning around, mirrored his look of total shock. Suddenly he dove, in order to take him to safety. Unfortunately, he miscalculated how much room he would need to make a smooth landing.
He felt the weight on his back triple as he tried desperately to pull out, hooves flailing to gain purchase on the runway. He almost succeeded in stopping, right before he collided with a tent load of hay bales.
“Not my smoothest landing ever, but oh well. Are you alright, Constantine?” He said, pulling himself and his machineguns from the hay.
“I’ve…Been better,” He said in a slightly higher than normal voice as he stumbled from a different pile, clutching his head and between his legs.
“The hay did you do that for, soldier!” Berated an obviously irritated officer. His armour had a silver inlay, meaning he could pretty much boss around whoever he liked, bringing questions to mind when he didn’t boss around Constantine, who walked over and threw up between them “Err…Can I…Help you?”
“Water,” he croaked, before dropping again, getting a disgusted look from Anonymous Pegasus #1 as he moved his fore-hoof out of the way. “Next time I ride in on a rainbow and blue pony, please don’t shoot at me,” While this had all happened, Dash had been swooping past their ordnance, making sure her friend had reached the ground safely.
Content that this objective had been achieved, she turned to her pursuers, flashed them a smile and a wink, and made a beeline for the clouds. The pegasi were astounded at her actions, and for a moment almost fell straight out of the sky; before shaking their heads clear and flapped with all their might. Rainbow Dash continued rocketing upwards, heedless of the pain in wing muscles. Suddenly she stopped and hovered, pivoting in place until she faced the military pegasi. They stopped dead in their tracks as they saw the manic gleam in her rose coloured eyes and malevolent smile, teeth glinting in the moonlight. Then at length she spoke to them.
“Think you’re fast enough to keep up with me, huh? Well, that isn’t really the real challenge here. Let’s see if you’re fast enough to get away,” Speaking audibly is difficult in the thin air high above the ground. As a matter of fact, even breathing is difficult in the air high above the ground. But these stallions heard her, alright; and after a single look at each other, they made a decision: Flee. They halted their wings and freefell to a good orientation before suddenly spreading them wide to steer with. Rainbow’s grin widened before she followed them, wings flapping wildly, maniacal laughter following her.
The fleeing stallions heard this laughter, and looked behind them, to see the very pony they were trying to escape was almost upon them, water vapour condensing around the front of her hooves as she rushed down to meet them. Their eyes widened in terror and their attention snapped back to the front as they redoubled their efforts, flapping wildly. Tears sprang to her eyes as a Mach cone formed in front of her, and she knew there was no turning back. The stallions saw that she was still gaining on them and felt their hearts gripped by ice.
Suddenly Rainbow felt the sound barrier and light spectrum beginning to merge and give as she continued dropping. By no small measure of luck, she shattered both of them at precisely the same moment as she reached the terrified soldiers. Every pony on the ground stood blinking in the brilliance, and unicorns for miles around felt an intense headache simultaneously, as this event was tied to a great event of magical significance, so great even some of the nearby non-horned species felt the disturbance. One such creature was George, but he chalked it up to being in a crash landing.
Dash decided to decelerate to avoid a disaster, and seized the stunned stallions by the saddles.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Okay, dude seriously, that’s enough alliteration already,” said George many weeks later, glaring at me. “I’d like to finish telling you how I got back home, and we still got a ways to go yet.”
“Fine, but you have to admit it was clever,” I replied with a grin.
“…Jay, are you putting this in there?”
“…Mayyyyybe…” I said cheekily. Knowing the ‘I’m going to kill you’ look quite well, I continued “I should get back to transcribing, huh?”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
She carried them as if it were nothing, and pulled out of her dive easily, dropping a pair of bodies in a water hazard (they were pulled out immediately) finishing at the end of the runway at a trot. She walked over to a gaping human with a smug grin on her face. There was only one thing he wanted to ask her at this time.
“If I were a pony, would you go out with me?” He asked, still in awe of that manoeuvre.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
“What? That’s not what I said!” He said accusingly. “Fix it immediately!”
“I doubt you really did ask if that was her original plan. And besides, it’s better this way!” I replied defensively. “Come on, all the females will be seeking you!” (My exact words)
“You know I would never say that.” He said. “And besides, this isn’t that kind of story! I don’t care if you have something planned for Trixie and the guards, but I can truthfully say I had no intimate relationships in Equestria.”
I decided against replying with ‘And nor have you since’ or ‘You got that right’, and instead opted for “But you WERE thinking it.” I won’t lie. He blushed, and I knew what he was REALLY thinking. “OOOHHHHH! I see how it is. Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me…And the internet” I smiled deviously.
“Jay don’t you DARE! Ask the IRC guys for pre-reading and I bet everyone will tell you to remove these bits.” I took that message to heart, and may add the IRC conversation at the end. Unless I forget.
“Before we continue, just one thing?” You’ll never guess what it is.
“Somehow I doubt you will be able to keep this as ‘teen’ if I do, but okay, what?” He didn’t guess it.
“Tell me where you think music should be appropriate and what song should play” George then face-palmed.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Yeah, totally. Well, timing was just a happy mistake but hey, it all turned out alright.” She replied, still breathing heavily from the exercise. However, had George asked if she would go out with him had he been a pony, she would have responded by saying something along the lines of ‘You aren’t really my type’
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Stop that. Thanks to you smegging about like a quarter of this chapter is dialogue between us.” Said George angrily. “Count how many words so far, okay, now tell me that isn’t stupid.”
“…311 so far…”
“Okay, well there’s a bit where music would be effective coming up, and when it happened I couldn’t help but think of the 1812 overture.”
“Does it suit the part?”
“No, but I’ll try to find some music that does.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Trixie dashed through the streets, knowing that that blast of magical energy she had felt surely meant something. She ran straight back to where she left her prisoners and lowered the perception field. She was startled, to say the least, to discover two stallions looking back at her. So startled, she barely managed to deflect the Unicorn general’s blast of magic, and had no time to think of disarming the chestnut earth pony, before his device made a buzzing sound and disabled her magic.
“Well, that was easy, now wasn’t it doctor,” Said the unicorn, smiling. “Shame I can’t just bring her in, because one of these ponies is missing. Be a dear and take us to him, will you? Oh, and bring this lot along as well. Don’t want to…Leave anyone behind, now do we? Come along, you lead the way,”
“Excellent work, Golden Shield. You’ll remember to send up that flare, won’t you?” said the doctor, beaming just the same as his companion. They set off at a trot, a weak and powerless Trixie followed by the doctor, pointing his device at Trixie, several hovering unconscious ponies, and Golden Shield brought up the rear, levitating them.
‘Twilight, if you are receiving this I haven’t the strength to fight these ponies off. I need you to be ready for a fight. They will probably bring reinforcements. Call the others.’ This was all Trixie could transmit, it seemed, and Twilight heard it loud and clear. As did anyone else in the base, as telepathic signals were transmitted over the loudspeaker system.
“So sorry to leave you alone, but I need to make a call and get set up.” She said to the bewildered pony in shackles. “Don’t fret, your friends will be joining you soon…If they survive.” She grinned evilly and went to the communications centre in the base. She took a sword with her, just in case.
(Authors notes) Early chapter, because I can't internet tommorrow. Also can't English right now. Last one handed chapter, and as always, GOODBYE, PEOPLEZ!