//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 - Beachhead // Story: Flight of the Golden Eagle - A New World // by Acacia Sgt //------------------------------// The pegasus flew as fast as he could, leaving the shore behind. His flight took him northeast across valleys and forests. Soon after he spotted some figures off in the distance on the ground below, and thus began his descend. His destination was a camp, where many other pegasi were around. They were in the middle of packing up, most of the camp already dismantled. The few that were first to spot him approaching had stopped their packing and focused on him, soon slowly joined by the rest and they all began to murmur between themselves. “Isn’t that Keen Eyes?” “Shouldn’t he be waiting for us back at the shore?” “What’s he doing here?” Soon, the whole camp had their eyes on him, their previous task seemingly forgotten. “Hey, what’s going on here!?” The one who shouted was another pegasus, clad in armor and wearing a stern expression as he stared to the slackers. “Why has everypony stopped working?” He asked. “It’s Keen Eyes, sir. He’s coming this way,” one of them answered. “What?” The pegasus looked up as well. Sure enough, there he was, now descending in altitude. He soon landed in the middle of the camp. Should’ve… he panted. Slowed down sooner… “Keen Eyes!” Keen Eyes quickly turned and straightened out to face the armored pegasus. “Ah, sir, Captain Wing Shield, I…” “Why did you left your post?” Wing Shield went straight to the point. “I’ve come to repot sir; I saw a ship approaching the shore!” This caused the other pegasi to break into murmurs again. Wing Shield narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure, Keen Eyes?” “Yes sir, it is true.” Just what is the meaning of this? Wing Shield wondered. Is it a coincidence, or…? He shook his head. Still, I must investigate this. “Keen Eyes, take me where you saw this ship,” he ordered. “Yes sir, follow me,” Keen Eyes took flight once more. Wing Shield still stood on the ground. The other pegasi still only stared… “Why are you still standing there doing nothing? Get back to work!” … until promptly reminded they had work to do. With that, Wing Shield took flight and followed where Keen Eyes had flown to. Both pegasi were now standing on top of a cloud overlooking the beach, where the ship had now taken anchor. They saw several creatures disembarking into the shore, bringing with them various things, like crates and barrels. Wing Shield didn’t like what he saw. This is just what Starswirl warned the princesses about, he thought. Still, it amazes me that news have spread this fast. They might not be that far across the ocean if they could be here at best a few weeks’ time. “Captain?” Keen Eyes snapped Wing Shield from his thoughts. “Uh, sir, should this be a cause of concern?” Wing Shield glanced briefly at him, before looking back below. “It’s too early to tell. We don’t know of their intentions. They just arrived to this beach. We could try to make contact with them, and find out.” Keen Eyes was surprised to hear this. “S-sir! You think it would be a good idea? What if they’re hostile?” “Then we can find out now, rather than later. What if their goal is to reach Equestria? If they don’t do it with good intentions, then at least we can warn the princesses before they arrive. Those creatures don’t seem to have wings. If things do go wrong, we can easily get away.” Keen Eyes took a step back. “I still think it’s a bad idea.” “I would still have to consult it with everypony,” Wing Shield said. “For now, we better go back to tell them to not fly over the mountain. We’ll set up camp on the other side from the beach. That should buy us time. I would guess these creatures might do the same and not head inland until tomorrow at best.” “What if they do, sir?” “It would still take them time to reach us,” Wing Shield turned around. “I know you’re concerned, Keen Eyes, I am too. But we wouldn’t let our fears guide our actions. Just as much they could be hostile they might not be. I would not want to be the cause that Equestria’s first contact with another nation went wrong due to not thinking things through.” Keen Eyes turned to face him. He sighed, “if you say so, sir.” And I thought with Discord gone we’d finally have some peace and quiet. “Good. Now, we should make haste; we have to intercept the others before they reach the mountain after all.” With that, the two pegasi took flight once more. Back on the beach, a man was finishing carrying a crate and placing it on top of another. He wiped the sweat from his forehead as he glanced to the sky and a sigh escaped his lips. Just then, he took notice of two distant figures in the sky. Birds…? The man thought. He stood there watching them go out of sight. He watched for a few moments more before shrugging and resuming work. Guerrero overlooked the beach from the ship’s deck, watching the men below work. Having crossed the ocean and finally finding land, it felt like their journey had only truly begun. There were so many unknowns, and here they were, in position to confront them. Meanwhile coming up the ramp connecting the deck to the beach was Lemaur. He soon came to the deck, and spotting Guerreo, he walked over to him. “Unloading is almost done,” Lemaur said. “We can begin setting up camp. The place is quite open, but so far it doesn’t look like there’s any real danger.” “We’ll have to post sentries, just in case,” Guerrero said. “We must not let our guard down. Even if so far there’s no signs the area is inhabited.” “Understood,” Lemaur turned around and began to walk back to the ramp. Guerreo watched him go before looking back at the beach. Just what will we find here, he thought. In this land… He shook his head. I can only pray we can head back and report our findings once we find out.