Constellation

by Locomotion

Chapter 15: Aerial Arrest

“...well, Professor, seems that princess and the Constellation type are as good as dead by now.”

McPommel smirked triumphantly as he looked back towards the general direction of the airport. “Excellent. You've done very well indeed, Tailstrike,” he praised. “You'll be rewarded very generously for this.”

“Like I would ever let you down, sir!” chortled Tailstrike smugly.

“And thanks to you,” finished McPommel, “nothing will stand in the way of my Phantom project. That airliner will take the lead it deserves, and that meddlesome de Hoofilland will be stuck in the light aircraft market where he belongs.”

But he had spoken far too soon. Barely a minute or two had passed, with the two stallions enjoying a light cocktail in the main cabin when suddenly, with a loud roar, the plane rocked violently and knocked them off their balance.

Tailstrike staggered to his hooves, gritting his teeth at the stains their spilt drinks had left on the carpet. “What the dickens does that idiot pilot think he's playing at?!” he exclaimed.

“I don't know,” replied McPommel grimly, “but I'm going to find out.” He marched crossly over to the cockpit and flung the door open, startling its occupants. “Just what are you imbeciles trying to do?!” he demanded.

“Wasn't anything to do with us, sir,” protested the pilot. “Jet of some sort came diving past us – caught us unawares, it did.”

“Yeah, and that ain't all – we saw a couple of ponies perched on the wing of the aircraft,” put in the co-pilot.

McPommel stared in confusion. “What are you talking about?! You never told me there was a jet on our flight level!”

“No, sir, and neither did Air Traffic Control. I don't understand why they didn't, but...”

“Constellation Equine Zebra Quarter to Equine Apple Iron, this is Princess Twilight Sparkle speaking. You have been classified as a hostile craft and are requested to return with us to Starswirl Airport.”

“Constellation?!” McPommel's eyes bulged with rage as the damning realisation struck him. He immediately swung round to face Tailstrike, who had only just entered the cockpit himself; “You fool!! You said you'd sealed their fate!”

“But...but I had, Professor!” blustered Tailstrike, visibly horrified. “I was going to take that last measure while you checked the PC3 over, but you wouldn't let me!”

“Then you should have killed him while you were still in the hangar instead of tying him up and letting him sit it out!”

“Come in, Equine Apple Iron!” said Twilight's voice over the radio. “If you don't comply, we shall have to resort to more persuasive methods!”

“Alright, I've had enough of this charade,” growled McPommel impatiently, “give me that!” and he grabbed the pilot's headset. “And just how do you intend to make me turn back with that flying bomb, you meddling duchess?!”

“Okay, firstly, I'll thank you to know it's 'princess'. Secondly, you're not going to scare me with that 'flying bomb' claim of yours – now do as I ask, or else!”

“Listen, Sparkle,” snarled McPommel menacingly, “in case you haven't already guessed, I have one of the finest unicorns in existence on my side, and you are on little more than a heap of scrap in the making! Now leave the area before your precious Constellation falls out of the sky like all the others!!” and before Twilight could reply, he reached over the flight engineer's shoulder and turned off the radio.

Back on the Constellation, Twilight, who had cast an adhesion spell on herself and Flash and was now riding with him on the plane's port wing, stared anxiously at the microphone of her own headset. “Seems they're not going to give in without a fight, Flash,” she remarked, her voice more than audible over the sound of the engines thanks to a sound baffle spell she had also used.

“No kidding, Twily,” agreed Flash. “Seems we're going to have to really give it to them.”

Twilight nodded grimly. “Sorry about this, McPommel, but I'm afraid you leave me no choice.” With that, she spoke into the microphone again; “Equine Zebra Quarter cockpit from Twilight. Turn her around, Captain – we're going in again.”

“Roger, Your Highness; but be careful,” advised Victor. “Leave it too late, and we'll all be goners.”

“Not if I can help it,” replied Twilight. “Just keep her steady as you approach.”

“Will do. Hold on tight!” and the huge airliner banked sharply round to the right, the lavender-coated alicorn and her Pegasus clinging onto its wing as they headed back towards the smaller and more archaic PC3.

From inside the propeller-driven plane's cockpit, McPommel watched with a frustrated snarl as the jet made a tight U-turn and began climbing towards their flight level. “Foolish young brat!” he growled. “Why won't she get it into her head that she's wasting her time?!”

“She will – so long as I'm on this plane with you,” smirked Tailstrike, eager to seek revenge against Flash and Twilight for foiling his plans.

“Then what are you waiting for?! Give them what they deserve!!”

“My pleasure. Just as soon as we're within a nautical mile of the plane, they'll wish it had never existed.”

McPommel turned towards the navigator; “How long before we come in range?”

“We're about thirty seconds away – twenty-eight – twenty-seven – twenty-six...”

The white-furred Earth pony gazed out of the cockpit with an agitated expression on his face. All he wanted right now was to see the Constellation blow out of the sky, but time seemed to pass so slowly that it might as well have been taunting him with every passing second. In his angst, however, he failed to notice a small, pinkish purple light emitting from its wing.

Closer and closer they came. Any second now, thought McPommel, it would all be over – but for which one?

“...twelve – eleven – ten – nine – eight...”

Suddenly, the navigator was cut off by the sound of creaking towards the back of the plane, and a buzzer began wailing urgently.

“What the......what's going on?!”

“Ailerons aren't responding to order!” exclaimed the pilot. “I can't control her!”

This set off alarm bells in McPommel's head, and only then did he remember that he was dealing with a pony far more accomplished at magic than Tailstrike could ever hope to be. Could it be that she had mimicked his ultrasound spell? Or could she have been using a different sort of magic? He didn't know – but it was tantalisingly clear by now that, by underestimating her abilities, he had landed himself, Tailstrike and his crew in grave peril. “Quick!” he bellowed. “Never mind the ultrasound, just zap them!”

“Yes, sir!” replied Tailstrike, and began to focus his magic; but it was too late. One minute, they were still safe and sound in the cockpit – the next, everything around them seemed to vanish as the PC3 suddenly fell apart, and Tailstrike, McPommel and their flight crew plunged out of the sky amid a sprinkling of wreckage. In that very moment, the destruction of the Constellation was the last thing on the grey unicorn's mind; all he could think about was the terrifying end he would inevitably face...

But as if fate had suddenly changed its mind, he felt something furry wrapping around his barrel, and everything seemed to slow down until he was hovering in mid-air. Slowly, gingerly, he gathered his awareness – but he soon wished he hadn't.

“Well, Tailstrike, we've caught you at last!” said Flash triumphantly.

“Make that all eight of you, even!” put in Twilight, pointing upwards to where she had McPommel and the flight crew suspended with a levitation spell. “So, McPommel, I believe you told me a plane would blow apart if Flash and I didn't leave the area – surely you didn't mean your own, did you?”

“So what if I said any of that, Twinkle Hooves?!” railed McPommel defiantly. “You've no evidence to show I was responsible for de Hoofilland's death-traps blowing apart!”

“Think again, McPommel.” Twilight pointed upwards a second time, and when McPommel looked, all he wanted was to scream with anguish. There, hovering just above his head, were the black boxes from his plane. “I think your libellous threat and hasty reactions will be more than enough to see you behind bars for good. Just a pity you forgot that planes can still tell the truth long after they've met their end.”

Tailstrike snarled bitterly as he glowered at the black boxes. “You'll pay for this!”

“Oh, we've already paid for it, Tailstrike,” quipped Flash smugly. “All we need now is for you to repay your 'loan', and...say – I think that's Canterlot Castle down there!” he remarked.

“Is it?” Twilight looked down towards the ground. “Why, so it is – seems we won't have to head back to Manehattan after all. Well spotted, Flash!”

“Hey – nothing at all, Twily,” chuckled Flash modestly.

With a small chuckle of her own, Twilight made one final radio transmission as they drifted back down to firm ground; “Twilight Sparkle to Equine Zebra Quarter, mission successfully completed. Opposition has been captured, and we're taking them back to Canterlot. You can go home now.”

“Thanks, Your Highness. Returning to Starswirl Airport.”

And with that, the mighty Constellation soared away into the distance, none the worse for its adventure, while Twilight and Flash touched down gently in front of the castle...

---

“Your Highness?”

Princess Celestia looked up from the documents through which she was reading. “Yes?”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle and Lieutenant Flash Sentry to see you, Your Highness. They have a few prisoners with them as well.”

This took Celestia by surprise. Surely Twilight and Flash were supposed to be still in Manehattan...weren't they? Still, she reasoned with herself, there had to be a logical explanation as to why they were in Canterlot of all places. “Very well. Let them in, then.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” The messenger exited the study, shortly replaced by Twilight and Flash.

“Twilight,” asked Celestia anxiously, “how did it go?”

“Few hiccups here and there, but I ultimately have to report complete success,” declared Twilight. “We've not only exposed the saboteur, but we also have his, er...'client' and the evidence we need to convict them.”

“Excellent work, you two,” smiled Celestia. She then shot a disapproving glance towards Tailstrike; “Quite frankly, though, I shouldn't have expected any less out of you. As if trying to murder my niece wasn't enough, you go on to rid Saddle Arabia of its finest ambassador and nearly do the same to both my most faithful student and her consort?”

“Only because you won't accept that my own plane is the superior!” hissed McPommel under his breath.

“I heard that!” said Celestia severely. “Need I remind you, Professor, your own plane was too flawed for us to invest in it any further – if you had accepted that instead of crashing two Constellations in a way that made them seem like a repeat of the Comet Mark 1 crashes, you might have been a lot better off. As it stands, you're both under arrest for terrorism, malicious damage, mass murder and endangering the life of Princess Twilight Sparkle. Guards!” she called out.

Moments later, three Royal Guards entered the room. “You called, Your Highness?”

“Take these two down to the dungeons at once,” instructed Celestia, indicating towards McPommel and Tailstrike. “They're to remain there until I can arrange a trial for them.”

“What?! Now just a minute,” burst out McPommel, “I've got an entire aircraft factory to oversee! You can't just fling me in prison...”

“You're not overseeing any factory, McPommel,” interrupted Celestia firmly. “Until your trial is over, your company won't be producing any further aircraft, and that's final. Alright, guards, take them away.”

McPommel seethed with rage. “Curse you meddling alicorns!” he shouted as he and Tailstrike were dragged away.

But any further protest ultimately fell on deaf ears as Celestia, none too bothered about McPommel's insults, shut the door behind the guards and turned back to her student and the younger guardspony with a warm smile. “Well done, Twilight and Flash,” she praised, “well done.”

Comments

[JFalk]

Great climax!

A question: visually, the Constellation resemble which aircraft?

[NyOs29]

5968659
The Antonov An-225 Mriya?

[Locomotion]

5968659 Well, essentially I'm aiming for it to resemble the Comet, especially on the nose cone, but with some major tweaks to the design. First and most obvious, the windows will be rounded instead of the defective square pattern; but in addition, its wings will be a slightly swept-back Delta pattern with winglets at the tips, the tailplane will be T-shaped, and the passenger area will be a double-decker configuration. The four jet engines will be situated under the wings close to the fuselage, and will resemble those of the Concorde. Essentially it's somewhere between Comet, Concorde and the Airbus A-380 in appearance.

[JFalk]

5968793 Thank you for the clarification.

[JediWaffles]

WORDS AND WORDS AND WORDS.