Lessons for a princess, Part One
Chapter 3; Lessons for a princess, part one
Princess Luna sat in front of her vanity in her bed chambers, restless and depressed. It's nightfall now, and after raising the moon she wished to be alone with her thoughts. Her room is dark, minus a single candle lit on her dresser. The curtains are wide open, allowing the pale moonlight in and the chilly night air. Done brushing her mane and tail, she sulks. Earlier that afternoon, Celestia had pulled her away from the wreckage and forced her to go rest. Celestia's logic was not flawed; the night princess would need her rest for the next day when they begun repairs and surveys of Canterlot's damage from the invasion force that swept through only three weeks after the surprise dragon attack.
"Why...why must this pain be so much? What pony did I wrong so that I must endure this..?" Luna whispers to herself. Her gaze falls onto the worn out and faded tan canvas satchel the pilot had carried. In it were the wondrous machines and devices, as well as the confections he had when he was here with her. Next to it, was several stacked packs of the fire sticks he had enjoyed so, that she replicated more for him when his supply was low. The thoughts of knowing that the owner of these items now lay dead somewhere in the wreckage just under her balcony haunted her. Out of anger she punches the mirror with her left fore hoof, shattering it.
The door to her chambers opens as a guard comes to inspect the source of the sound, finding the night princess sitting in her vanity chair, and mirror shards scattered about the vanity top, and carpeted floor all around her. "Princess, are you alright? Can I get you anything?" He speaks in a hushed tone, knowing who it was that shattered the mirror and that there was clearly no danger at this moment.
"Neigh...I am fine. Please return to your post." She comments bitterly, not looking at the Lunar Stallion. Her gaze is fixed at the remaining sharp pieces still left in the frame of the shattered mirror.
The guard nods, somewhat hurt by the princesses reaction, but understanding given the situation. He too was fond of the human, and had grown to like the creature. All of the Lunar Stallions had, knowing he was not only a warrior like themselves, but the one thing that has kept the princess happier than any pony has ever seen her before. Such was the great feat he had accomplished that any pony with half of a brain had come to respect that. The stallion backs out of the room and closes the door quietly, returning to stand guard once more.
Once again left to her own devices, she stands back up and walks to the dresser. With her magic she opens the satchel and pulls out the contents, looking at them. To the far left was a music device, the screen cracked from when she accidentally stepped on it one evening while the human was working on something under the aircraft. In the center was a small billfold, with various colored scraps of paper and plastic sheets in it. And finally to the right, was an old faded photograph.
The edges were worn out and frayed, the corners torn and the photo faded, possibly due to its age and sun damage. Luna gazed at this object, and studied it, remembering when the pilot finally spoke of his past, that fateful night they were at her former home; the castle of the two pony sisters deep within the Ever free Forrest. The image was of the pilot, a female and a child. They were standing in front of what the pilot called a 'Dauntless', holding a sign that said 'First Flight.' She sighed deeply and put the items down, trotting away to the balcony sorrowfully.
Luna looks out to the world before her, seeing the night sky killed with plumes of smoke still wafting throughout Canterlot. Since so much of the city was devastated, not many lamps are lit, bringing the city into a sea of darkness. Far off in the distance, she can make out the small speck that is the ruins of the old castle, and the tree line of the Ever Free Forrest. She sighs deeply and closes her eyes, spreads her wings wide, and leaps into the air. Silently she glides, flying away towards the ruins.
She fly's for a solid hour, finally reaching her destination after a long and uneventful flight under her moonlit sky. She lands softly on the castles broken steps, kicking up some dust as her hooves touch the ground. All round her is dark and quiet, as she steps into the ghostly castle. Memories flood her mind, giving her a faint smile as she looks around. It was in this room they slept, resting after the aircraft had run out of fuel and had to land here.
So many discoveries were made during those days they were stranded here, some if not all were likely to be her fondest memories of her lifetime. After she walks into the room further and reaches the makeshift bed they had made from various materials they had found here. It was here she came to a rest, laying on the cold stony floor and damp fabric, next to the broken stained glass window. She lays on her side, her head resting on the pile of grass stuffed into the quickly made pillow. She goes over the memories of that day in her mind, trying to find something to cling to for the sake of her sanity.
* * * * *
"And this is called the altimeter. It shows how high in the sky this bird is flying." He shows her with a hand motion, then points to the gauge. Luna nods slowly, a smile upon her lips at this. She is spending more time with the pilot, Celestia leaving her in charge of keeping an eye on their unexpected visitor. Luna didn't mind this, however. The aircraft is housed in the ball room, now converted to be the temporary hangar for the time being.
Two custom made tool boxed packed full of equipment for the aircraft rest against the wall. The princesses had requested that they be made, and the specialty tools crafted by the best engineers in Canterlot, just so the pilot could maintain his machine. This was princess Celestia's gift to the pilot, as a way to ask him to stay a little longer. Due to the treatment and accommodations by the princesses, he didn't seem too distressed about remaining in Equestria for a little while longer.
The palace staff and guards, both Solar and Lunar have grown accustomed to the presence of the human, and found his company both interesting and enjoyable. The off duty guards would come and talk with him in the hangar, learning more of the human world and traded war stories. The maids and staff would occasionally seek him out as well to both glimpse at him, and to investigate the massive black machine in the castle.
Ponies outside the gardens entryway were hard at work too, creating a seamless path from the ball rooms entryway to the courtyard, as requested by the princess of the night. It's been a whole month since he came from the sky that fateful night, and half of Canterlot was awakened in alarm at the sound of the banshees cry. The skies have since been silent and quiet as ever, and rumors have spread about it being some sort of stunt by the weather pony's as a joke.
Luna dreamy eyed watches and listens to the pilot some more, interested in everything he had to say about the aircraft and its inner secrets. She finally speaks when a large red switch catches her eye. "Pray-tell Talon, What does this red one do?"
Accidentally slipping in conversation due to the excitement of teaching and being prideful, he says by far the worst thing he could have. He could have lied, said it controlled the flaps, or something small. Instead, he says the truth. "Oh, that's just the weapons bay doors releas---oh hell."
Luna's eyes open wide with surprise hearing this, snapping her back to reality. "Weapons bay you say? And uh...what doth have inside the weapons bay?" She asks with a stern look, her muzzle brought close to the pilots face. She is so close, he can smell her breath and feel her exhale upon him.
"Uhm...classified. I can't talk about it." He finishes, hopeful the secret will be kept. 'Not like she'd know what she was looking at anyway even if she did look. To her they would be just giant spears with fins.' He thinks to himself, backing up slowly from her as far as he could, being he was sitting in the cockpit.
Luna narrows her eyes to him, scowling. "Thou said thy war bird was harmless in its state. Wouldst thou be fibbing to thy princess?" Her hoof slowly moving over to the switch on the panel. Talon holds up his hands, feigning innocence.
"The bird IS harmless while it's on the ground like this. All that is in there is just...gifts..yeah, gifts for some people back on my planet." He swallows hard, looking away. "Well, this concludes our lesson for the day Miss Luna! How about we go for a walk around town?" He offers quickly.
Luna keeps her gaze on him, and flicks her hoof over the switch, a loud click and the sound of grinding metal is heard for a moment, followed by a loud SLAM of the doors flying open. She pushes herself off of the fuselage, landing back on all four hooves from her standing position on her hind legs. She folds her wings in protest tightly against her body, and cranes her neck and head to look for the source of the sound. There right in front of her eyes on the back of the aircraft's belly, two large, long black doors on both sides lay open. She lowers herself down to a crawling position and climbs beneath the aircraft's belly, then stands up inside the weapons bay. "Human, explain what are these?!" She yells, her voice echoes inside the weapons bay. The sight before her is as confusing as it is amazing.
The alicorn sees two long racks in a line, carrying many objects of different sizes. They're all either grey, green or blue with yellow stripes. All with words and numbers on them she doesn't understand. All except for one. The back rack has the largest of these objects, with a black and yellow circle on its plain white case. It's long and wide, shaped like an arrow with a cone tip. There are two slots on its body, one in the middle, and one in the back next to a large black cone. In red, bold letters, she sees one word she knew. She had seen the writing all over the aircraft. From the intake where the war bird breathed, to the tail where the banshees cry's came from. The word, was danger. Talon by now has climbed out of the cockpit and come to her level, joining her in the weapons bay.
"Uh-- you see Luna.." He nervously states, trying to come up with an explanation. "These um...these are normal on all navy aircraft. They're nothing to really talk about!" He tries quickly. "Really it's nothing of inter--"
"What ist so dangerous about the big one? Why is it alone on its rack, and the only one marked danger?" She turns to him, her eyes focused and alarmed. Concern is written on her face as she tilts her head, her horn scraping against one of the missiles in the front rack. The magical spark makes the missiles on board computer turn on, sounding an alert tone in the cockpit. "MISSILE ARMED. MISSILE ARMED." Luna goes wide eyed and backs up in alarm, her head smacking against the front wall of the weapons bay. She winces and rubs the back of her head, then returns her glare to where the pilot once stood.
He's scrambling up the fuselages side steps to hit something on the panel. The alarm silences, and she hears him huff in relief. She crawls out from under the plane, and stands again, looking at the pilot standing there still outside the aircraft's cockpit, his head against the canopy glass. "What was that...What is a missile armed?"
He surrenders, knowing he's probably about to have to kill her and try to fight his way out of the castle. He reaches inside the cockpit with one arm, while turning to face the alicorn. His hand finds the gun he hidden under the seat cushion, and he grabs it; finger on the trigger. "That princess, was you almost blowing us to hell." He answers with finality.
"What you just activated was an AIM-4 sidewinder missile. Those are packed with enough explosives to blow anything out of the sky.... If that went off inside the bay, it could have started a chain reaction that could turn this city into a sheet of glass." He tightens his grip on the gun, about to pull it out and fire. He stops when the next question she asks catches him off guard.
"Will you protect us with those?" Luna asks, sounding unsure and shaken. Her pupils small with terror, thoughts of what kind of power she is really looking at now.
He looks at her, silent for a moment, then loosens his grip, putting the gun back under the seat slowly. "...Yes. I would if I needed to." He says quietly. He looks at Luna's face, seeing something unexpected. Her smile. That same sweet innocent smile he's grown used to seeing on her muzzle every day. The same smile she had when they first spent the night in the hangar here, against the nose landing gear.
"I'm glad." she says happily. Luna looks at him, her gaze soft again and carefree. "I believe you. I honestly believe you." She nods slowly, her eyes fixed on him. She sighs wistfully, color coming to her cheeks and showing through her dark coat.
The doors open to the ballroom from the inside of the castle, revealing Celestia and Twilight, as well as several other pony's Talon hadn't met yet. Luna is startled by the sudden intrusion, and shakes her head out of her trance. She turns to face the offending gaggle, scowling. "Greetings, mine sister." Her voice with a hint of venom.
"Hello, little sister. Hello Mr. Talon. Are you finding your time here enjoyable?" Princess Celestia says sweetly. If she heard the hint of malice in Luna's voice, she shown no signs. Celestia extends her regal hoof to the pilot, who takes it into his own hand and shakes.
"Good afternoon Ma'am." Talon says with a smile and friendly tone. "Yes ma'am, everything is ship shape and working. Thank you very kindly for your hospitality while I am here. Is there something I can do for you today?" He says as he takes an at ease stance before the regal white alicorn. His legs are shoulder width apart, his hands held behind his back and his posture straight and non threatening. He stands exactly as a Navy officer would when addressing a commanding officer after the initial salute.
Celestia smiles, alicorn mischief in her eyes as she gazes slowly upon the pilot. "Yes, now that you mention it. I have here with me some pony's who have been looking forward to finally meeting you. If you're willing to take the time, could you possibly show them your machine?" She says with her calm, regal tone.
"It would be an honor, ma'am." The pilot replies calmly, and nods. Before he can react and dodge, his arm is suddenly grabbed and his hand pumped vigorously in a hand/hoof shake. A blond earth pony with an orange coat and a Stetson hat with apple shapes in her fur on her flank is the first to greet him.
"Weeeeellll howdy there stranger! Welcome to Equestria! Twi here had mentioned we'd be meeting a new kind of folk, she never said it would be a human folk though! Shucks, had ah of known, ah'd have brought more of my sweet apple acres apples with me. Best apples you'd ever try on any world ah tell ya!" The excited country pony says. "Names Applejack. Applejack Apple! It's a reeeal darn tooting pleasure!"
The pilot releases the hoof, his arm still moving on its own until he stops it with his free hand. He opens his mouth to speak when an even more excitable pink earth pony with a pink mane and tail bounces up to him. Her fur markings on her flank look like three balloon shapes. The pony before his eyes is somehow not only defying the laws of physics, but the laws of reality as well with her bouncing motions.
"Omigosh a new friend! I like new friends theyresofunandthisiswonderful!" She squeals, bouncing around him in a circle. His head nods following her motions, until he loses his balance and stumbles backwards. "I'm Pinkie Pie!" The psychotic pink pony squeals in delight, sticking her muzzle inches from his face and a wide, scary grin on her face that seems to go from ear to ear. Her large eyes look like pools of vast, empty dark space to him, causing the pilot to shudder.
Princess Luna gasps in horror and moves herself into position between the pilot and the pink menace, her wings opened up in a threatening manner. "That is enough pink one! You're going to scare him!" Luna protests in defiance and stomps one of her hooves, cracking the tile below it.
"actu--" The pilot is cut off when the pink pony is ripped away, replaced by a cyan pegaus pony with a colored lightning bolt on her flanks fur, and with a rainbow colored mane and tail.
"Relax Pinkie. You don't wanna piss off PL again. Don't you remember what she did to you last time you pushed her?" She floats in the air flapping her wings, keeping herself now positioned between Pinkie and the very irritated Luna. The pegasus looks down at the pilot. "Yo. Name is Rainbow Dash. You can call me Dash or RD. So you fly super fast huh? Where are your wings?" Rainbow dash looks him over with a raised eyebrow and a doubtful expression on her features. "How about a race--WHOA!"
The Stetson wearing blond earth pony yanks Rainbows tail in her teeth, pulling the pegasus to the ground. "Easy there partner, y'all are gonna scare him like the princess says, and ah' think that she'd be a might bit tussled if you'd gone and done that."
Rainbow dash crosses her forelegs with an irritated scowl, and mutters under her breath. Suddenly the pilot is lifted to his feet in a light blue magical aura, and released. A white unicorn with a deep purple main and diamond shapes on her flanks fur appears behind him. "Greetings darling. I am the lady Rarity." She says in her silken voice. This catches the pilots attention hearing the fashionista, and he turns to face her. She's holding out her hoof in a soft bend, and smiles at him. "You may Call me Miss. Or Rarity. Or Miss Rarity if you please." She giggles softly.
"I am Lt. Commander Masters of the United States Navy. It's a pleasure to meet you." He takes her dainty hoof into his hand, leans down and kisses it in his greeting. Talon doesn't see it, but the dark blue alicorns eyes go wide and flash with anger at this sight.
"Ohhh...he's a gentle colt too? I've always loved a stallion in uniform." Rarity smiles seductively, then looks over his attire and grimaces. "Eh...not much for fashion on your world, I take it?"
Talon looks down at his fatigues. It's true, his military uniform has seen better days. Being the only outfit he has at all is a single pair of Navy issue fatigues, a single pair of socks, underwear and combat boots, and his flight suit. He washes them every night after his shower, and Luna dries them with her magic for him while he steps onto the balcony and smokes. He sleeps in the princesses private chambers, officially as her charge.
Unofficially because the night princess flat told Celestia that is exactly where she wanted him, and she didn't even argue. His fatigues as well as his flight suit are now faded from washing so often, the fabric worn a little thin in areas, and the stitches on his squadron patches coming undone. His boots are scuffed and dirty, completely unacceptable on board any navy base of ship. He turns his attention back to the unicorn who already has a tape measure, a scroll and a quill floating in her magic.
"Ma'am, with all due respect...I haven't had much time to find anything in my size." He jokes, trying to lighten her mood with some humor. "This normally looks better, honest." He says quickly.
"Never fear darling, Lady Rarity, fashion extraordinaire is here! You'll have a new fabulous uniform soon enough, I'm sure I can create an ensemble that matches your..." She looks at the war machine behind him, her eyes tracing over its sleek curves and deep black shine of its paint. "You're..black..Contraption. Eh heh...not much to work with..." Her eye twitches slightly.
Twilight chimes in now. "And I'm sure Rarity will do a fine job! We had one more pony for you to meet...but she kinda got distracted when she heard we were going to the gardens. I think she flew off to visit some of the animals..." Twilight trails off, noticing Celestia now snooping around the aircraft. She has her head under the aircraft now, bent over in a very un regal manner as she is staring into the hold. She's found the missiles. "Princess...what's so interesting..?" Twilight canters over to the white alicorn, and looks too. Talon face palms and sighs.
'Busted...here we go again.' He mutters, walking over to the two alicorn mares. "Ladies, please be careful and watch your horns over there! Those are very delicate and as Luna so kindly pointed out, sensitive to magic." He says quickly, trying to shoo them away before Celestia starts poking around more.
"Mr. Talon. What are these devices inside here? Do they have special significance to the aircraft?" Celestia asks whilst looking up at the missiles, her gaze fixed on the large one in the back. She wasn't present during any of his teachings to Luna, so she doesn't know what the human writing or the markings mean. She just knows she sees large red letters...and red never means anything good.
He's about to speak and make up an excuse, when Luna takes position next to him and speaks up. "They're recording devices. These were meant to be given to a friendly nation on his world, but now belong to him since he is here, sister." Luna answers in a friendly voice. "Now they're going to be used to help better Equestria's future."
Celestia knows something is wrong now. Luna is never this friendly, especially after she noticed Luna's hostility earlier. She can't prove it now, but she knows one very important detail. Luna is hiding something. And whatever that something is...it's of a very dire nature. Celestia unwillingly backs out from her position and turns to the two, her features calm and regal, masking her suspicions. "Alright then..I'll accept that answer." She smiles softly, her eyes betraying her real emotions.
'She knows...dammit she knows!' Luna thinks, swallowing hard. She smiles, beads of sweat trickling down her face and neck. "Anyway every pony! Talon and I are quite busy for me moment, what do you say we show every pony the aircraft tomorrow? I'm sure he would be more than willing to even turn it on and let you hear it!" She adds quickly, trying to corral the other pony's in the room and push them out the door. The room is filled with cheers of 'alrighty! Wahoo yeah! and sooo awesome!' from the others, even Celestia nods with an excited smile. It takes a few moments, then they begin to clear the room. Before Celestia steps out, she turns to Luna.
"Lulu...may I speak with you in private, sister?" Celestia smiles innocently, gazing at Luna. The dark alicorn nods and steps forward, her wing brushing against Talons hand. Talon looks at Luna walking away, and turns around himself to get back into the war bird so he can close the bay doors.
* * * * *
"Ok sister, spill it. What are those things really?" Celestia looks at Luna in the eyes, her features displaying a stern look and worry. "I know you're protecting him and hiding whatever those things really are, so don't lie."
Princess Luna puffs out her cheeks in anger, her eyes narrowed at her elder sister. "I hide nothing, sister. Thou insults me!" She protests, her wings deploying as she postures, stepping closer to Celestia. Things are getting dangerous now, with the dark alicorn clearly getting more angry by the second.
"I mean no insult lulu...but we don't know anything about humans yet. I want to trust him...but I can't have anything dangerous in our kingdom. We have no idea what the technology is or where he even came from!" She says in a hushed tone, to not attract the five ponies talking amongst themselves down the hall.
"I trust him! And that's good enough for me!" Luna retaliated. "He was brought here because of ME, sister. Because I was foalish and played a joke with magic, it was I that ripped him from his world by mistake! I was the one who ended his mission and have taken him from his home! And thou knoweth what?! We wish him to stay! We wish that the craft of which he arrived in would fly again soon so that we may partake in the enjoyment of its flight! Have faith mine sister, you worry needlessly." Luna bites out bitterly.
"And your foalish judgment is clouded dear sister! You're letting your desires for contact and affection to cloud your thoughts, and not seeing those for what they are!" Celestia pushes back. "I know they are weapons of some sort! That big one scares me half to death, I know that machine is dangerous!"
Luna snaps, sticking her muzzle into Celestia's with a bump, she goes eye to eye with the elder alicorn. "And you are only thinking of the worst. I know he and his machine are no threat, and will benefit this kingdom. I know and believe you are fretting over nothing! Don't give me this...this manure thou speakist! Leave this be."
"And to what is it you can say that you -know?-" Celestia says, causing Luna to pause. Luna stops and backs away, looking Celestia in the eyes. Softness crosses her features now.
"Because my heart tells me so..." She says in a whisper, adverting her eyes for a moment as her cheeks become hot, flushed and deeply colored. Celestias jaw drops, hearing that completely unexpected answer.
"Your heart...you say?" Celestia says, after a moment of silence. Luna nods slowly, looking intently at the floor. Celestia gives a knowing grin, then sighs happily. "Your heart...very well then sister. I'll believe you..and drop this. " Celestia says gently. Luna smiles a bit, and is about to speak when one of the solar guards approaches the two.
"Princesses!" The guard speaks. "I was just informed that the pathway you requested was just completed and inspected. It is ready for your approval."
"Thank you, Captain Jolt Flash." Celestia says in reply. "Luna, please go get the Commander and have him inspect the pathway, to see if it correctly meets his specifications." The princess of the night nods and bows her head a bit, then trots off back to the ballroom.
* * * * *
Outside the gardens and now looking to the open courtyard, Talon can't believe his eyes. In less than fourteen days, pony's had completely constructed a runway. Not only was it a regulation runway and a taxi way from the hangar to here, but it looked better than any of the ones he's seen on earth. Complete with lights, catch cables a little ways and a wide open space. The only scary part was the mountain side close by. He stood dumbfounded and in shock. Princess Luna watched his reaction, her ears folding back and her head lowering in fear.
"It's wrong..isn't it." The princess breathes shallowly, sorrow and shame crossing her features. Talon looks down at the sulking alicorn and shakes his head in surprise, then looks back to the runway expanse. He removes his sunglasses.
"Wrong? wh--WHAT?!" He mouths words in disbelief. "No no! It's right! Very very right! This is better than even my nations military can build! This is incredible!" He says with honest shock at the alicorns surprise gift. The runway is perfect.
She perks her ears up when she hears this, hey eyes open wide and a smile curls her lips. She bounds forward and nuzzles his side under his left arm with her muzzle, rubbing her head against his form. Her wings twitch in excitement, held loosely on her sides.
He embraces her and strokes her mane and neck, hearing her give a low whinny and grumble in approval. "Princess, this is perfect! I never dreamed you were serious when you said you'd build one.."
She looks up at him, still smiling. "I was happy to do this...Now...about that flight?" Luna asks warily, still nuzzling him affectionately. He turns and starts to walk, Luna closely following in stride.
"Actually..yes. About that...I had an idea. That's...if you're interested." He mentions vaguely, trying to sound uninterested. He continues walking back to the hangar. Luna looks at him as they walk, following the long taxi way.
"What is your idea, Talon?" the alicorn asks, hope evident in her voice. They make it back to the hangar now, and he walks to the aircraft. Luna follows him and rears back on her hind legs again, her fore hooves resting on the fuselage so she can look in. Talon grabs a handle, and pushes back behind the pilots seat. Under the panel, is another identical seat and panel setup. This whole time under that black flexi panel- a co pilots position.
"I was thinking we could find a way for you to fly with me." He says with his typical. cocky navy pilot attitude. (You know the one- the 'I'm a hot shot and I know it')
Luna stands flabbergasted, never knowing there was another whole area this whole time. Who knew this version was made to seat TWO pilots? "Haha! The fun has been doubled!" She says giddy with excitement. She steps down back on all fours again, a troubled expression on her face now.
"What's wrong? Is the mighty princess of the night scared?" He says playfully. She only shakes her head silently in response. "...You do want to go...right?" He asks.
"yes...I very much do...But I don't think I can climb up there...or even fit." She says in return. She closes her eyes and looks down, her ears folding back flat against her head. Suddenly, she's being lifted into the air by her rump. In surprise she opens her eyes and looks behind her, feeling the pilot grab her flank. He's struggling, red faced and obviously exerting himself from lifting her. She weighs a lot..
"You're...getting...in...THERE!" He gives one huge heave, the alicorn landing in the co pilots seat upside down. Her hind legs are sticking out into the air, her tail flicking back and forth in annoyance. He catches his breath and looks up, only to start laughing at the sight. It takes her a few minutes, but she finally twists and turns enough to maneuver and right herself. Finally she's seated and huffs with annoyance. Her hoof taps against the fuselage gunnels, glaring at the pilot.
"Did you have to touch my flank...without permission?" She says, then blows a tuft of her wispy ethereal mane out of her view. Talon only laughs harder at the sight, and climbs into the pilots seat. He starts flicking switches and buttons, bringing the monitors and the aircraft to life.
"Yes..Yes I did." He laughs, hitting the button for the canopy closure as he puts on his flight helmet. "Watch your horn princess, it's going to be a tight fit."
The canopy closes slowly, Luna's long horn barely clearing the top of the glass by just a mere inch. She can't turn her head much, or she'll touch the glass top. Even her muzzle is a bit too big to turn sideways completely in the cramped cockpit. She closes her eyes and alights her horn, casting her alicorn magic for a transformation spell. She engulfs herself in her magic, and becomes slightly smaller. Her mane and tail no longer ethereal, but light blue and made of strands of hair. Her coat lightens a bit and her stature becomes like she was before her magic forced her form to change.
Talon is watching all of this with amazement, and just shakes his head. "You could have done that from the start." He rolls his eyes and turns back around, activating the engines. The warbirds engines begin to come to life, first with a high pitched whine and becoming the sound so many have come to call the banshees cry.
The aircraft rolls forward slowly, coming out of the hangar for the first time since his arrival. The nose comes out slowly, then the rest of the warbird. Pony's in the gardens scatter and animals hide from the sound. Once completely clear and on the taxi way, the canards deploy and open once again, the warbird finally flight ready and appearing as the fierce, terrifying nightmare that it was made to be.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?!" Luna calls out to him, her voice drowned out by the sound of the engines. She looks around her through the aircrafts glass, seeing Celestia standing there in the distance on the castle steps...smiling. Luna smiles and waves happily, and Celestia returns the gesture. The aircraft reaches the beginning of the runway, and comes to a halt.
Talon closes his eyes, remembering the order of operation onboard the Enterprise. By muscle memory from so many takeoffs, he starts operating the controls. He brings the engines to full power first, the aircraft begins to roll and pick up speed. He pushes the throttle to its limit, and the afterburners engage. 'SKREEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!' The sound is deafening to any pony nearby as the aircraft rockets down the newly made runway. He's 3/4 down the path when he pulls the flight stick back, and the bird takes off into the sky with a roar. After a few seconds, he hits the switches, and the landing gear comes up. For the first time in nearly a month; he takes to the skies...now Flying over a new world for the very first time.
Princess Luna is pinned back in her seat while the bird rockets down the runway, the force from the sheer power of the engines crushing her into the chair. Her eyes close tightly, tears trickling out as she screams in terror from never experiencing this kind of take off. As the aircraft takes off and climbs higher and higher, the force upon her body increases. The pressure fades as quickly as it came however, when the aircraft rights itself and the pilot disengages the after burners.
Luna quiets down and opens her eyes slowly, then looks around. What she sees leaves her breathless and in wonder. Though she's flown many many times over her lifetime, she's never been in a flying machine before. Nor has she ever been this high in the sky. Below her, pony's look like small dots, and she can see every street and building in perfect detail. She tries to speak again, but her voice is still drowned out by the aircrafts engines.
Talon looks into his small mirror he has in position on the console so he can watch his RIO when needed. He sees Luna move her lips and mouth to talk, but doesn't here anything. It's then that he points to the mouth piece on his microphone, showing Luna to find the headset.
Luna sees his motions, and starts searching in the small space for a device that looks like what he pointed to. After only a moment of searching, she found one, It has two disk shaped things on metal brace, a long adjustable band hooked on the left side, and some kind of square button piece at the end of that; all connected to a spiraled flexible wire. She takes the device into her magic and fidgets with it, setting the disks over her ears and the microphone boom by her mouth. The next thing that occurs surprises her. She hears his voice in her ears.
"This is your pilot speaking, welcome to Navy airways. You're in for a wild ride today so please keep your seat backs and tray tables in their upright and locked position. Oh, and try not to scream." The pilot says sounding as professionally sarcastic as he could. He grins wickedly. Oh and princess, see that yellow handle to your left with the black stripes?"
Luna looks down, confused with his comments and what she's looking for. She spots it and lights her horn, grasping it in her magic. "Yes! I have it! What should I do?!" She says, curious.
"Do NOT pull, push or touch that unless I tell you too, you'll cause us both to eject from the bird." He says flatly over the radio. His eyes are covered under his helmets visor, but his facial expression clearly says he's not kidding.
She lets go right away, and scoots away from the dangerous handle in fear. "Oh--alright!" She says over the com. "What did you mean by try not to scream by the way?" Luna says looking around, fear welling up in her gut.
"Because, I'm about to do this." He says with a grin, rolling the aircraft into a spiral. He can hear Lunas surprised scream followed by laughter over the radio as he does so, kicking in the afterburners again and bringing the plane into another climb. He banks hard left in the air, doing a aileron roll now over Canterlot.
On the ground pony's watch the display from the strange flying object. As it fly's overhead, they hear the sound of the engines roar above them. Some only stand and watch, their mouths agape. Others panic and hide in shops, hopeful the banshee will go away. And some even fall to their flanks and rock back in forth, babbling about Nightmare Moons return.
Princess Celestia and the ones watching from the castle however, only look at the display and smile, cheering at the spectacle. This is the first time any of them have actually seen the aircraft doing its thing, and are enjoying every second of the show. The look on Celestias muzzle that day was priceless. The look of 'Oh I so have got to try that.'
The fun over from getting to scare the alicorn half to death, then exciting her now past him, he rights the plane and dives slowly, circling over Canterlot in a wide spiral. He keeps the wing pointed at an angle to the ground, so Luna can get a good look of the city below. It's then he hears the question he was hopeful for.
"So how fast can we go?" Luna says jubilant into the radio. She's bouncing in her seat, clopping her forehooves together in joy. "I want to see what this wondrous machine can do!"
He smiles and rights the plane again, leveling off and slowing down his airspeed. "Pick a direction in your nations airspace, and I'll punch it!" He replies.
Luna looks around and sees the EverFree Forrest way off in the distance. She's always wanted to see Ponyville from above during the day, so why not now? "Straight ahead, all the way to the Forrest in the distance!" She speaks into the ill-fitting headset.
Talon throttles up again, activating the afterburners. The canards retract, bringing the F/A-37 into go fast mode. It rockets forward straight ahead, the computer chiming in. "Mach. 1......Mach. 2.......Mach. 3.......Mach. 4...." The aircraft cuts through the sky, screaming forward as fast as the scram jets would take them.
From the ground Celestia and the pony's watch the aircraft suddenly scream off, a loud boom in its wake. Celestia knows from experience that sound; for she herself has broken the sound barrier many...many times in her lifetime. It's when she hears three more behind it in the distance that she goes wide eyed and shakes her head with surprise.
"Oh my..." She blinks, still staring up to the heavens searching for the aircraft, that now has her sister. She blinks and connects the dots, panic setting in. The aircraft just left. He has Luna. Luna is missing... 'Oh. Buck.'
Stats
Page generated in 0.044 seconds
Total duration
1,004 users online
1,334,989 hits today, 2,156,967 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
TALON QUICKLY DO A BARREL ROLL :D
Again, tons of grammar errors, though mostly the same as before.
Nowhere f
4476055
- quote from chapter 2.
Dude, did you even research the jet that you were using in this fic? Yes, I know it's the one from 'Stealth', and it is a fictional jet, but still. ".....add in eight hundred .50 caliber sable rounds." Two things wrong for this. One, the jet isn't armed with a .50 cal machine gun, as the GAU-19 is the only .50 Cal 'minigun' ever built, and it is used on choppers and gunships. The F/A-37, like a lot of other attack jets, uses either an M-61 Vulcan 20mm rotary cannon, or a GAU-12 Equaliser 25mm rotary cannon. Also, the whole "eight hundred rounds" thing is crap. .50 Cal rounds are just over half the size of 20mm (12.7mm), and the most 20mm ammunition that a jet's ever been able to carry is 100 rounds of the stuff, because it is such a large and heavy round. This would mean that a jet would only be able to carry, at the most, 200 rounds of .50 BMG, before the jet becomes too heavy and unbalanced.
Also, the F/A-37 is a SINGLE SEAT JET. There isn't a hidden co-pilot seat, because there is no co-Pilot.
.......just sayin'.....