Chapter 16
"A giant cannon?" Rainbow Dash guessed while they both stared at what was on the laptop.
"Looks like it," Gilda replied while still staring at the monitor as well. "They must've started building it when I left for the Gryphon Kingdoms since I've never seen it while I stayed there."
'How long ago was that?"
"About a month. Plenty of time to build something like this," Gilda responded quickly.
There was a short pause as they both stared at the screen, trying to figure out the schematics for themselves. The sound of rain still pounded outside the window to their left, but it seemed to be lessening. Finally Rainbow Dash stood up.
"We need to get going. Are you helping us destroy this thing, Gilda? We can't let Gilford have control of something so destructive." Gilda continued to stare at the blue screen before nodding her head.
"I'm still pissed at you for declining my earlier offer to help." Gilda switched her gaze at Rainbow Dash, her eyes narrowed into a glare. "However, this is something bigger than both of us. I met Gilford once while posted there. He was downright crazy, so I expect him to be planning something like world domination or something stupid like that." Gilda waved a talon in a circle. "So, yes. I'll help you."
"Awesome!" Rainbow Dash looked outside and noticed the rain had died down to a light patter. "And not a moment too soon. The weather seems to be clearing up. We better get going."
She shut the laptop and found a nearby brown saddlebag to put it in. Securing it to herself, she began to make her way out the door. She then noticed Gilda was still inside the room looking at the acoustic guitar in the corner.
"Gilda, you coming?"
"Yeah, just... just saying goodbye to a friend."
Gilda's eyes were closed with her head held high as if in prayer. Rainbow Dash stepped back inside the room and sat down next to Gilda to join her. She wasn't sure who Gilda was thinking of, but Rainbow had a certain gryphon on her mind. Not sure what to really say, she just thought whatever came to mind.
I'm sorry we had to meet like that, Razorwing. The short time we talked, you seemed like a cool guy to be with. It's a shame we were enemies. I hope you will be with us when we take the fight to Gilford. That sack of feathers won't know what hit him! This war needs to finally come to an end. Goodbye, Razorwing. Wherever you may be.
Rainbow Dash cracked open an eye and heard Gilda exhaled through her nose then open her eyes. Her face held a small sense of longing, which quickly vanished when she stood up and turned toward Rainbow.
"Let's get going," Gilda stated quietly.
Giving a small smile at Gilda, Rainbow Dash lead the way downstairs. She was immediately greeted by the patrons again, still having a good time. Several threw small jeers her way. It suddenly disappeared and the room went deathly silent upon seeing Gilda come down the stairs.
"Did you hear? Canterlot was attacked by the gryphons again." A nearby pony whispered.
"Serves those gryphons right for losing the war." Another said quietly.
Several more condescending whispers could be heard and Rainbow Dash's anger just kept rising. Finally she had enough and she stood on her hind legs and stomped both her hooves on top of a nearby table. The mugs that rested on it jumped in the air and spilled its contents across the table and on several patrons, but she didn't care.
"Enough!" Rainbow yelled.
If the stomp she created didn't startle everypony, her shouting did. The already quiet atmosphere amplified the commotion she created.
"Gryphon's are no different from you and I. We both have feelings, families, and plans for the future. Being a condescending ass just degrades yourself."
"Pff," a nearby stallion responded. He quickly learned his mistake as he was pushed to the ground with an angry Rainbow Dash staring down at him.
Have you ever killed before?" Rainbow asked loudly. Not getting a response, she repeated herself. "Have you ever killed?" Each word punctuated.
"N-no," the stallion said quietly.
"I have," Rainbow admitted. "I killed until it has become as simple as breathing. In fact, I could kill you right now without a second thought."
The stallions eyes widened in fear upon hearing this.
"But I won't, because you have a life to live. I've killed gryphons who had families back home. Gryphons who might have planned to visit their child when the war was over. Do you think I enjoy taking something like that away? That I enjoy this happening between two countries?"
Rainbow lifted her head to look at the crowd for a moment, waiting for an answer. All that came was the sound of her own hammering heart.
"My point is: everypony loses something in war," Rainbow continued in her normal tone, "So you go ahead and hide behind your drinks and celebrations. After the war, I'll be mourning the loss of a currently burning Stalliongrad." Everypony gasped when they heard that.
Rainbow was slightly surprised that they were. She guessed news about it was never released to not spread fear to the other cities. This was possibly the only news about Stalliongrad they had received ever since it was burned to the ground.
No other words were said as a still simmering Rainbow Dash and stunned Gilda left the inn and made their way back to their jets. Only after getting into their planes did they speak.
"I'm sorry you had to see that Gilda," Rainbow apologized. "It wasn't right for them to think like that about the war. Especially in front of you." Rainbow saluted to a crewpony and steered her jet to the runway.
"Eh, I would've beaten that pony to a pulp, but we have bigger fish to fry. Maybe I'll come back when this is over and do just that," Gilda added with a thoughtful hum.
"Skies have cleared up enough to safely fly. Don't know how you landed earlier, but that's Pegasus squadron for ya. Rainbow heard the male voice of the control tower chuckle at his statement. "Rainboom One, you are cleared for take off. Good luck."
"Copy that tower. Rainboom One taking off."
Gilda watched Rainbow's jet soar through the sky as she placed her jet on the runway. She waited for the go ahead from control. A small grin spread on her beak as the stallion in the tower gave a customary gryphon send-off for pilots.
"Feather Fourteen, talons out. Good hunting.
"Roger control. Talons out and taking off."
The flight over to Canterlot was quiet and uneventful. When they reached their destination, the sun was at its peak. Rainbow Dash landed with a warm welcome back from Canterlot's control tower. Gilda however only received orders to land and where to put her jet. Thankfully the other ponies in the large hangar were too busy prepping for the coming battle to care about the gryphon wandering around.
However, the guards weren't so aloof upon seeing Gilda enter the long hallway leading to Celestia's throne room. They said it was standard procedure, but Rainbow wanted to call their bluff. They were about to search the saddlebag Rainbow Dash carried when Celestia decided to rescue them. The double doors the guards were standing beside flung in and behind them stood a slightly disappointed white alicorn.
"That's quite enough. Thank you for doing your jobs, but there's no need to harass a guest." Celestia looked at Gilda with a warm smile on her face. "Come both of you, we are having a discussion in the throne room."
The guards bowed respectfully as Rainbow Dash and Gilda followed Celestia inside. The door behind them clicked softly as it closed. Inside it seemed everypony was a part of the discussion.
Spitfire, Luna, Celestia, Mist, Twilight, Fluttershy, Flare, Derpy, Rarity, and goldwing all stood around a large table with a map splayed on top. Fluttershy spotted Rainbow Dash and ran over to give a tight hug.
"I'm so glad to see you're alright, Rainbow. I was worried something might've happened after fighting Goldwing."
"What happened anyway? It's like you fell off the face of Equestria when the attack began."
Fluttershy blushed in embarressment from Rainbow's question. To her relief, Flare Chaser spoke up for her.
"One of the darn crewpony's forgot to fill the tank reserves after our last flight. We had to fly back before we crashed into Canterlot," she said angrily.
"It's good to see you will both be a part of this fight though," Rainbow pointed out with a grin. "We're going to need all the help we can get."
"Quite," Goldwing spoke up. She walked around the table to get a better look at Gilda. "It's been a long time since we last saw each other, Gilda."
"It has," Gilda agreed simply.
"I understand you are angry at me for my actions and I will hide nothing. However, let us focus on the more important task at talon." Goldwing motioned with a talon to gather and rested both of them on the table. "We have spoke amongst ourselves for a plan of attack and have come up with a crude idea, but we have been waiting for your input. You have been there personally and your outlook would be priceless."
"Very well."
Gilda put her talons on the table and looked at the map. Across it were several ideas on what forces to bring and general ideas on how to win this fight. The look on her face clearly showed her thoughts. She didn't like what she saw.
"You would all be killed within several minutes," Gilda stated bluntly.
"What?" Luna said in a raised voice. "We have conducted reasonable guesses on the forces on the island. We even sent several scouts to observe its defenses. You cannot tell me-"
"Rainbow Dash," Gilda interrupted, receiving a glare from the moon goddess. "This would be a lot easier with the information on the laptop. Do any of you have a projector?"
Celestia's eyes lit up after hearing Gilda's request. Her horn glowed and a roll of thick parchment descended on the opposite side of the table from the throne. She got several odd stares from the others in the room and she smiled sheepishly in response.
"What? Luna and I like to enjoy a movie every now and then," Celestia admitted.
Rainbow Dash took the laptop out of the saddlebag and let go when Celestia's magic grabbed hold. She levitated it over to a black rectangle beside her throne. Several muttered curses and tugging of cables later, she managed to connect it. After fiddling with the projector to turn on and finding the blueprint did everypony finally stare in awe.
"Is that what I think it is?" Mist spoke up.
"A giant cannon built above the facility we're about to attack? Yes."
"That would explain how they're able to launch their attacks from so far away," Luna pointed out, a hoof rubbing her chin thoughtfully.
"All of these lines look overlapped, like somepony stacked tracing paper. Is there some way to separate them?" twilight Sparkle asked.
Celestia eyes the laptop and noticed several small buttons on the bottom of the screen. Apparently it wasn't a picture at all, but a program. Pressing a button that looked like stacks of paper at a angle, the lines suddenly shifted into organized floors.
The top-most was obviously the cannon. The others showed individual floors along with any defenses build into the facility. There were five floors above ground for everything from cafeterias to officer's quarters. two more floors below acted as a basement for storage and a standard barracks. The floor that was level with the island opened up into a runway in front of the facility. Something particular caught Twilight's eye.
"Princess, can you zoom closer to the left. See those three boxes that are away from the main facility?" The picture zoomed in on where Twilight was pointing out. On the boxes the words "cooling station" showed on each one. "There seems to be three more on the other side of the facility, and four others located around the cannon itself."
"The island itself is mostly a giant glacier." Gilda explained, mostly speaking to herself. If that cannon needs that many cooling units..." She trailed off.
"It would fall into the ocean if destroyed, melting the glacier from the massive heat," Luna finished. "Sounds simple enough." Spitfire let out a guffaw at Luna calling this operation simple.
"Oh yeah, cause flying through forty gun emplacements sounds simple." Spitfire spoke sarcastically."
"We'll just have to deal with them when we get there, Spitfire." Rainbow Dash replied. "I don't like it either, but hey, we're the best there is. We'll handle it."
Rainbow Dash felt the familiar sense of doubt fill her mind. She knew this fight had as much of a chance for failure as success. She couldn't show her fear though. As leader of Rainboom Squadron, she had to be stoic in the face of danger, else risk spreading fear to the others.
She took small comfort in knowing her friends would be with her in this. Even in the face of danger, they would stand against Gilford.
"It seems the cooling units have a covering of some sort to prevent it from being attacked. The controls would probably located somewhere inside the facility, most likely... here." Twilight pointed to a square located on the third floor in the middle of the blueprint."
"Very observant, my student," Celestia praised. Twiligth beamed back at the Princess with a smile. "I believe we have all the request information to perform an attack." Returning to the table, she sat down next to her sister. "Luna, would you like to begin?"
"Of course!" Luna stated happily. "We will continue with our original plan of attack, though slightly changed with this new information. With the help from the royal guard, they will lead a ground attack inside the facility. Their objective is to open the panels covering the cooling stations so our air forces can take them out. Air forces are to destroy all other targets until the ground forces are able to complete their objective."
"Ground forces will involve three battalions with a mix of earth and unicorns from militia's all over Equestria. Air forces will consist of twenty-two jets, plus Rainboom Squadron and their AWAC team. Most of them are from Canterlot, but due to a strain in our defenses, we asked the assistance of pilots from Manehatten, Trottingham, and Hoofington."
"How will the ground forces get to the island?" Mist asked.
"We have transport helicopters being prepared as we speak, along with all of our other forces. I will give the battalion and squadron leaders the new orders, so they're not left in the dark." Luna gave Celestia a small smile, which she received one in return." I suggest we go meet them sister. I'm sure you have something to say to them before they depart?"
"I do. Come everypony, they're waiting for us in the hangar."
That's a lot of ponies. Rainbow Dash thought as she admired the crowd behind her. She was standing with her friends in the hangar, with front row seats for the coming speech. All of them had some form of clothing on. Unicorns had dark-purple vests, while earth pony's wore beige versions of the same thing, only heavier looking.
A grin broke out on her face when everypony cheered upon seeing Celestia, happy to see their Princess alive and well. She walked toward the small pedestal with a microphone waiting for her. Celestia tapped once on the device, causing a loud thud to echo through the room.
"Hello everypony," Celestia began in her usual motherly tone. "I wish I could tell how much I love each and every one of you for defending this great nation, but I must keep this short. You are all about to make history as you embark on this journey to destroy an evil foe."
"I will not keep it a secret that some of you may not return, but know that you will not be forgotten. Look upon your leaders, friends, and colleagues among you. Only together will you accomplish this task, for not even war itself can break the bonds of friendship!"
Everypony stomped their hooves in approval. She thought she heard somepony in the back yell they loved her too, which brought a warm smile to Celestia's face.
"Goodbye my ponies, and good luck."
With that said, everypony broke off to their designated groups. Unicorns and Earth pony's could be seen lining up in front of several black choppers, while a sparse amount got into jets of their own. Rainbow Dash immediately recognized the choppers. It was the same one used during her rescue at Stalliongrad's detention Center.
She moved through the crowd until she found the rest of her squadron near the entrance of the large hangar. Gilda was with them and they were all standing in front of their jets. Giving a quick nod to each one, they flew toward their respective aircraft. Rainbow Dash placed her helmet on and heard several voices chatter over the speakers while going through the same routine.
"Shyeye, you are cleared for take off."
"Oh. Uhm, okay," Fluttershy said timidly.
The loud whir of the AWAC aircraft's four engines momentarily drowned out all other noise as it took off down the runway.
"This is blackbird one, we're full and ready to lift off. Waiting for all other blackbirds.
Rainbow Dash saw the area in front of her jet clear and she began to inch her plane forward.
"This is Rainboom One, is it clear to move out for take off?" There was a short pause before she got a response.
"Runway is clear, Rainboom One. Steer out and prep for take off.
Most of the hangar was clear of the crowd that was there earlier, making the small drive to the tarmac easy. The crewpony's were smart enough to stay out of the way as they ran last minute armaments to equip to the other jets waiting their turn.
Rainboom One steered to the front with the rest of her squadron, and Gilda, in back in a "V" shape. The tarmac was large enough for each plane to spread out far enough so they were clear of the jet engine in front of them. Rainbow Dash waited for the tower to give the go ahead.
"Rainboom Squadron, you are cleared for take off. Good luck out there and be safe."
"Don't worry, we will." Rainbow Dash smiled to herself as she increased her thrust.
The jet lurched forward immediately. Spreading her wings in the Wingdings, she took off into the air with her squadron following close behind, already in formation. They circled around Canterlot several times as they waited for the other jets to take off. It took several painfully long minutes until finally the last one, Sun Sqaudron, took to the air.
"Gilda, your callsign is Rainboom Two. Due to, uh...complications, he won't be joining us." Rainbow Dash swore she could feel Mist glaring at her through the canopy and shivered a bit.
"Roger," Gilda accepted with a quick answer.
"All aircraft! You are given to go ahead to attack! For the Princesses! For Equestria!"
The long white hallways around the facility was quiet, except the steady rap of talons on the sterile floors. A lone gryphon with a pressed white coat walked down the hallway with a stoic expression on his face. Turning left after facing a cross-way, he walked up to a pair of doors. Straightening his coat with a tug down, he opened them both and stepped into the room.
Lines of computers filled the room with gryphons sitting in swivel chairs in front of them. Three large monitors in front of the room formed into a larger screen, showing a map of the known world. Already Canterlot and Stalliongrad had red "X's" marked over them.
"Gilford!" a lanky gryphon ran to his side, carrying a worn touch pad. He was busy showing how much he used it with several rapid taps on it as he stopped next to him. He had a bright smile to his face as he showed what was on it. Several bars moved slowly down, turning from red to blue the further they went.
"Our improvement to the cooling system has allowed the heat to dissipate 20 percent faster. We could improve it even more if we-urk!"
"I don't care about that!" Gilford yelled as he grabbed the other gryphon by the neck, bringing him closer. Already the other gryphons in the room were watching silently. "All I want is reports on casualties. I want to know the destruction this wonderful weapon I have constructed has wrought to those damn ponies. Is that clear?" He Punctuating each final word.
Gilford let the gryphon go who took a step back and nodded furiously. He clutched his datapad like a child would hug their favorite stuffed animal as he quickly walked out of sight. The coated gryphon looked at the others in the room and saw they were still busy at work. With a annoyed grunt, he continued to a door to his left which held the elevator.
Damn scientists and their useless information, Gilford muttered as he pressed the first floor button inside the elevator. The doors closed silently and the feeling of descent disoriented him for a moment. After two bells from the floor indicator above him and the elevator coming to a stop, the doors opened to reveal a large hangar made of stone.
He stood on the catwalk high above, quietly observing the spectacle below. the hangar was full of gryphons, crew members and pilots alike. A few members of Feather Squadron were seen preparing their aircraft for their usual mid-afternoon patrol.
"Gilford..." A female voice spoke from behind.
He already knew who it was just from the voice. Turning around and facing the lab coated gryphon, she held a disappointed look on her face. She held up a notepad, showing a distraught message from the lanky gryphon he had grabbed.
"You really need to stop frightening my subordinates. The last thing I need is another one offing himself because he's scared out of his wits."
Gilford let out a heavy sigh. He always wondered why he put up with Sam's disagreements. The thought of killing her had crossed his mind, but he couldn't do it. She represented a little bit of himself. She was relentless in her research and wasn't afraid to get her talons dirty if need be. Sadly she wouldn't kill unless it involved science, which disappointed him greatly.
"Don't have your little pets get in my way then. Unless it has something to do with it's success," holding his talons up to bask in his creation. "I could care less how its maintained. Now, if there's anything that's actually important you'd like to bring to my attention..."
"No," Sam growled.
"Good!" Gilford beamed. "Now, I must bid you-"
He felt a steady buzz on his chest and reached into a coat pocket to take out a small black device. With the press of a button, a gryphon showed on the screen with panic in his eyes.
"This better be good. I already had enough distractions today."
"Yes, of course, Gilford. Though you may want to come up to the observation deck yourself."
Sighing, Gildford turned back to the elevator.
"And just where do you think you're going?" Gilford asked as Sam joined him inside the small cube.
"What? Can't a lady sate her curiosity," she teased. She pressed the button that lead to the observatory on floor four and stood beside him as the door closed.
Gilford silently stared forward at the elevator door, ignoring the insistent sparking for conversation from Sam. Several pain staking seconds later, the doors opened and Gilford hurried forward to get sam out of sight. A gryphon with a pair of glasses hurried to meet him and bowed deeply.
"Report, Sharpeye."
"Of course, Gilford." He motioned both of them forward.
The entire room was like a giant green house. Thick bulletproof windows covered everything but the floor, giving a clear view of the blue ocean around the island. While the view was beautiful, what got Gilford's attention was the radar system Sharpeye stood beside.
"What am i looking at?" Gilford asked. "Don't tell me the little pony's are actually coming here."
"I... wish I was lying, Sir. We haven't sent any planes out except the two jets that were about to do their afternoon patrol. Looking at the mass of those pings, they're sending everything they've got."
Gilford chuckled at the thought that they would have the gall to attack his facility head on. His chuckle quickly turned into outright laughter which got the attention of everyone in the room. Prodding Sharpeye out of the way, he slammed down a button where a microphone was located next to the radar.
"This is Gilford speaking," his voice echoing through the loudspeakers across the entire facility. "We have unexpected guests coming to join us to the south. I want all guns manned for when they come, please give them a very warm welcome." He let go of the button to think if that would be enough.
"Eh, why not." He pressed the button down again. "Feather Squadron, I want all of your planes to prep for take off. You're going to have some fun today."
"Sir?" Sharpeye said, pressing up his glasses after they slid down from hearing Gilford's orders. "Isn't that..." he gulped, scared he might annoy him. "Overkill?"
Gilford said nothing and turned back toward the elevator with a purposeful stride. When he entered the elevator, he stared at Sam and Sharpeye for a moment, a smile on his face.
"But of course! After all, overkill is the best way to kill."
With that said, the elevator doors shut.