Dark Arrow

by Stellar Light Sparkle

Dark Arrow

Machspeed was working on the paperwork for the A.R.R.R.S. latest rescue, an American C-5M Galaxy transport. It had had four Abrams tanks and other interesting vehicles on-board, and over two hundred soldiers, maintenance personnel and crew who were now Ponies, Griffons and one Minotaur. He looked out at the massive aircraft sitting on the tarmac of the former R.A.A.F. Amberley base, as the soldiers were milling about, waiting for busses to take them to the settlement where Brisbane once stood.

Just down the runway, at one of the far taxi-way parking bays, was the Space Shuttle Atlantis. The company that had won the rights to salvage her was doing a good job of it so far, but a group from Brisbane had engaged them before they had even begun to work. They had paid to have the shuttle gutted, but the spaceframe and body left intact, so they could put it in a museum hangar near the Brisbane River. Machspeed shook his head, but with a smile. He had no idea how they intended to get Atlantis from Amberley to Brisbane, but they seemed determined, and he wished them luck.

Then Pounder knocked on his door. "Mach, we have a problem." He said.

"What sort-of problem?" Machspeed asked the Earth Pony stallion.

"Rangi in New Zealand just contacted the office, and Arclight was able to send us a note. There's another aircraft out there and it's inbound, but the pilot is being very cagey about telling us any details. She's just asking for landing instructions." Pounder replied.

"Did she indicate what she's flying, or where she is?" Machspeed asked.

"All she said was she's U.S. Air Force, and she's inbound. She should be in landing range of us just outside of four hours." Pounder answered.

Machspeed thought on that. "Hang on. One of the Air Force personnel on that Galaxy was a general. Maybe he might get the pilot to loosen up." Machspeed suggested. "Get Flashpoint ready for a teleport back to Auckland. We can talk to the pilot from there. I'll go see if I can find the General."

"Rojer, Mach." Pounder said, and left, as Machspeed rounded up his papers and headed for the returnees. After asking several of the crew and other personnel from the Galaxy, he tracked down the General, who was now a very big and handsome pegasus stallion... along with his wife, a unicorn mare, and their three foals.

"General, I am so glad you haven't been moved yet." Machspeed said as he approached the family.

The pegasus grinned at Machspeed. "Well! If it isn't the stallion we have to thank for our safe return to earth." He said, as Machspeed found himself surrounded by the three foals: a pegasus colt, a pegasus filly, and a unicorn filly.

"Heya kids." Machspeed said, then he looked at the General. "Sir, we have a situation that we could use your help with." He told the stallion.

"Oh? What kind-of situation?" Mach was asked.

"We've gotten word that another U.S. Air Force aircraft is in-bound, but the crew is being cagey about details." Machspeed told him.

"And you think someone with former rank might help loosen their tongues a little?" He asked.

"It's worth a shot, Sir." Machspeed said.

The general nodded. "Very well. Can my family come with us?" He asked.

Machspeed grinned. "Of course." He said to them all, as they gathered around the General. "Come this way." Machspeed led them all into the 'terminal', until he'd found Flashpoint.

"Hi Mach Honey, what's up?" Flashpoint asked as she softly nuzzled Machspeed's muzzle. "And who are your new friends?"

"Flashpoint, this is..." Machspeed realised he didn't even know the general's name, let alone that of his family.

The general chuckled. "Miss Flashpoint, I am Douglas Makeland, and this is my wife Shelley, and our..." He looked at their foals.

"Foals." Flashpoint answered helpfully.

Douglas chuckled as Shelley giggled. "Just so, Ma'am." He replied. "Our foals are Michael, Sarah and Alicia." He motioned to the three youngsters, who beamed as each of their names were mentioned.

Machspeed smiled as well. "We have to get to Rangi, Flash. There's another aircraft in-bound, and we need Douglas here to 'facilitate communication' with them." He explained.

Flashpoint grinned. "You're using fancy terms again, Mach." She kissed him deeply, to disgusted noises from the foals. "Keep it up."

Douglas chuckled at the kids' reaction; so very typical. "Okay, so how are we getting there?" Douglas asked.

"Gather around us, Doug, and we'll show you." Machspeed said, and once they were all close, Machspeed and Flashpoint linked to the Makelands by Douglas' and Michael and Sarah's wings, Flashpoint's horn lit, and they all felt as if the room they were in suddenly changed to another room entirely.

"Whoa!" Douglas exclaimed, looking about. "How'd you do that?"

"Teleportation, Doug. It's my speciality." Flashpoint answered, a smug smile on her face.

Alicia came up to Flashpoint. "Can I do that?" She asked in her high, young voice.

Flashpoint looked at the unicorn filly. "Maybe you will, when you get old enough." She told the eight-year-old filly.

"Ah poot." Alicia frowned, as her siblings giggled. "I wanna do it now!"

"Can you make your horn light up, like this?" Flashpoint asked, her horn-tip lighting up with a soft glow.

Alicia tilted her head to one side, then closed her eyes and concentrated. After a few seconds, there came a couple of sparks of light from the tip of her short horn, but she couldn't hold it steady enough yet. As the little filly panted, Flashpoint gently patted Alicia on the withers. "That was good, Honey. Keep practising, and I might be your instructor once you get old enough."

Alicia nodded, tongue hanging out, as Machspeed chuckled. "Come on, Doug, Rangi's through here."

"Lead the way, Mach." Douglas replied, and they walked into another room, as Flashpoint and Shelley took the foals out to where they could play.

=======

Machspeed led Douglas to the radio room, where Rangi was waiting. "Heya Mach." Rangi said as he saw the pair enter. "You here about the new contact?" He asked.

Douglas' eyes had gone wide, for Rangi was a smallish dragon!(or Drake, as Douglas found out later). He calmed down quickly, though, as training took over and he reined in his shock. Smiling, he held out a fore-hoof. "Douglas." He said, looking straight at Rangi.

"Pleased ta meetcha, Doug." Rangi replied. "I take it you're part of the squad for this time around?"

Douglas chuckled. "Apparently." He answered.

"Doug's here to try and convince the Air Force pilot to communicate properly, Rangi." Machspeed explained.

"Oh? You some kind-of specialist?" Rangi asked Douglas.

"You might say that." Douglas said, smiling. "Five years as an U.S. Air Force general gives me a bit of leverage."

"Whoa! And I thought you having time in the R.A.A.F. was something, Mach." Rangi said to the green unicorn with a grin. "So, how are we gonna do this?" Rangi asked.

"Call the bird up and I'll take over talking to them when they're on." Douglas told Rangi.

"Okay, you're the boss on this one, General." Rangi said with a grin. He powered up his radios, then said "Pegasus, this is Auckland Air Traffic Control, do you read me? Over."

Rangi sent the request two more times before they heard "Auckland Air Traffic Control, this is Pegasus. We read you three-by-five, over." Came a female voice through the speaker, as others from the A.R.R.R. Squad gathered in the back of the room.

"Rojer that, Pegasus. You guys still reluctant to help us to get you down? Over." Rangi asked.

"All we need is landing instructions and a beacon to guide us to Amberley, Auckland Control. You don't need to know anything more. Over." The female voice replied.

Rangi shrugged at the stallions, then held out a headset to Douglas. Douglas walked forward to Rangi and slipped the headset on his head. "Pegasus, this is Eagle Five, do you read me? Over."

There was a pause, then the radio crackled to life. "This is Pegasus, please say again? Over." was the reply.

"Pegasus, this is Eagle Five. I know I'm probably the last person you expected to hear from, but that's neither here nor there." Douglas said. "Who am I speaking to? Over."

"I'm Colonel Samantha Holland, Sir." The pilot replied. "I'm here with Captain Fred Kellman, and Lieutenants Jacob Rossini and Michelle Cullen. Over."

Douglas then said to Colonel Holland. "Colonel, this is General Douglas Makeland of SAC." Doug said into the mike. "I am about to identify myself to you as your senior officer and, as far as I know, the most senior officer left in SAC. Do you understand that, Colonel Holland? Over."

"Aye, General. I am ready to receive. Over." Colonel Holland replied.

As the A.R.R.R.S. team listened, Douglas spoke a series of long code-phrases down the radio, with Colonel Holland saying other strings in reply. Eventually, Douglas finished and concluded with: "Are you satisfied, Colonel? Over."

"General, Sir! I acknowledge you as my commanding officer, Sir. Over." Holland said back.

"Very good, Colonel. Now, don't worry about your former mission, it's no longer relevant. I take it you and your co-pilots have become Ponies? Over." Douglas asked.

"Umm... Yes, Sir." Holland answered. "I take it... That it's not just us, Sir? Over."

"No, Colonel. The whole world is like this now, but Ponies are only one of the many different races we were changed into. That isn't important for now, Colonel. Getting you down safely is." Douglas told Holland. "Give me a sitrep. Over."

"General, we're about four hours' flying time away from Amberley Base. We have plenty of fuel, as we had just tankered before this happened. But Sir... We're flying a Spirit, Sir. She's a Live Bow; we're carrying five Blunts and a Sharpened Arrow. Over."

"Good god..." Douglas exclaimed softly. "How long? Over." He asked.

"The Arrow is set for zero-alt, Sir. We tried dumping it, but our bay doors seemed to be jammed. Can a solution be found, Sir? Over." Holland asked.

Douglas thought. "All I can say is, Colonel, that we have two hours to put one together. I'll get back to you. I'll use code-word Delta to identify myself when I log back in. Over."

"Rojer that, General. Code-word Delta to be used for identification. We'll be waiting your next transmission. Pegasus Out." and Rangi flicked the radio to 'Off'.

Douglas looked shaken. "My God... just when I was starting to think we'd left all that in the past..."

"What's wrong, Doug?" Rangi asked him, as the rest gave him some space.

"The aircraft they're on is a B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber." Douglas informed them. "They were on a mission when they were sent forward and Changed. From what Colonel Holland just told me... they're carrying six Nukes, and one of them is live and armed."

The look of horror almost all the ponies had there was something to behold. "So... if they try to land..." Rangi said.

"The landing will set the Nuke off." Douglas confirmed.

"Holy shit..." Machspeed said.

Flashpoint was very worried, even moreso because she had no idea what was being said. "Mach Honey... what is a 'Nuke'?"

Douglas spoke up. "Miss Flashpoint, a 'Nuke' is short for a Nuclear Weapon, one of the most devastating weapons humanity ever invented." He explained. "Needless to say, I and no other sane pony would ever want anything like that even coming near the shores of Australia. One of those on board, according to those on the bomber, is activated and ready to detonate if it reaches sea level or it hits the ground... and that includes landing." Douglas told Flashpoint.

Flashpoint looked absolutely horrified at the explanation, but Machspeed then asked "Is there anything we can do, Doug?"

"I believe so." Douglas replied. "There were several contingency plans to deal with such a problem, but we really need to be on that aircraft to work any of them." Then he looked Machspeed up and down. "And perhaps, my good friend, you might consider enlisting in the Air Force for a while? Colonel Holland would probably consider you more capable of taking control of a Spirit if she was under the impression you were one of those personnel she was familiar with, and could trust."

Machspeed's eyebrows went to maximum altitude on his wide-eyed face. "You want me... to join the U.S.A.F.?" He asked.

Douglas smiled. "I do believe it would give Colonel Holland the confidence in your abilities to allow you to take over from her without her complaint, or perhaps even official reticence, even with me there." Douglas stated. "Plus you have piloted U.S.A.F. aircraft before, in the C-5M you so expertly piloted into Amberley. This will give you official status for the others on the Spirit."

Machspeed looked at Flashpoint, who grinned and nodded. "Whoa. Okay, General, you're on." He replied.

"Excellent." Douglas replied, grinning back. "Now, repeat after me... oh, and use your human name as well, if you please." He said to Machspeed.

"I, Abraham Colburn, being of sound mind and body..." Machspeed repeated after Douglas, as the General led Machspeed through the official United States Air Force recruitment oath.

After they were done, Douglas shook hoofs with Machspeed with a soft smile. "Welcome to the U.S.A.F., Colonel Colburn." He said to Machspeed.

Machspeed and Flashpoint's eyes widened as Douglas said this. "Wha...? A colonel?" Machspeed asked.

"Of course." Douglas answered. "You have to have equal rank with Colonel Holland or she won't let you give her orders, or might not let you have command of the aircraft." Douglas reasoned. "And then you can also order the other crew about as well, especially if I say you out-rank Holland. They will accept this and obey, as they have been taught."

"If you say so, General." Machspeed agreed, saluting Douglas, who chuckled and returned the salute. "Let's get back to Amberley, Flash Love. We're going to have to get uniforms tailored to us, and find where that bomber is located."

Flashpoint nodded, and the trio vanished again.

=======

After half-an-hour at Amberley, while Flashpoint was getting a lock on the Spirit bomber, Machspeed and Douglas came out of the terminal at Amberley, now dressed in U.S. Air Force uniform jackets, Douglas' modified to fit him, while Machspeed had managed to borrow one from one of the colonels who'd been on-board the Galaxy transport. One of the unicorns had also managed to carve him a nametag to match the one with the other colonel's name on it. "Are you sure this is necessary, Doug?" Machspeed asked.

"We have to look the part, Mach." Douglas reiterated. "Colonel Holland is going to expect to see certain things when we arrive: Military discipline and bearing; understanding of procedures; and awareness and respect of Rank, as you should know from your time with the R.A.A.F. The uniform will give you as much weight to your credibility as your thinking as an officer." He explained to Machspeed. "If you can think like a colonel and act like a colonel, you will be a colonel in their eyes. You have to act like a ranked officer: expect salutes from those of lesser rank than yourself, even Colonel Holland. Give them a glare if they don't offer you the respect due to somepony of..." Douglas stopped, then chuckled. "Somepony... it's starting to get into me, isn't it?" Doug asked.

Machspeed chuckled as well. "It gets into everypony eventually, Sir." He replied. "It's only natural."

Douglas nodded. "All right. Let's practise some more." He suggested and, with the help of some of the other personnel from the Galaxy crew, Machspeed relearned how to be an officer... and learned how to respond and initiate things as a much higher-ranked officer as well.

Eventually, Flashpoint came to them and said "I've got a lock on the Spirit, Doug. Are we ready?"

Douglas nodded. "I think so. Your husband remembers how to be an officer quite well, Miss Flashpoint. But first, we have to get in contact with the Spirit again, and that means going back to New Zealand."

Flashpoint nodded. "Anytime you're ready, then."

Douglas nodded back. "Then let's get there. The sooner we solve this conundrum, the sooner we get that aircraft back on the ground safely."

Flashpoint nodded, and with the pair of uniformed stallions pressing into her, they all teleported back to Rangi's radio shack. "Hey again, Ponies." Rangi said as they walked in. "You ready to go... whoa!" Rangi said as he saw Machspeed in uniform. "Hey, Mach! Tight duds. You go and leave A.R.R.R.S. for the U.S. Air Force?"

"A temporary transfer." Machspeed answered after chuckling with Douglas. "Got to look the part when dealing with the Spirit crew."

Rangi nodded as he powered up his radios again. "I take it you're ready to go?"

"That's correct, Rangi." Douglas replied this time. "Are you still in contact with Pegasus?"

"That's a big affirmative, General." Rangi confirmed. "I've been telling them a bit about the state of the world as it is now. I think they're starting to handle it, even if they did go silent there for nearly ten minutes a while ago."

"I can imagine." Douglas commented as he slipped the pony-sized headset back on. He nodded to Rangi, who switched the radio over to 'active'. "Pegasus, this is Eagle Five, do you copy? Over."

After a few seconds, the reply came back clearer than before. "Eagle Five, this is Pegasus. We're getting you at five-by-five now, Sir. Over." Colonel Holland's voice came back to them.

"Rojer that, Pegasus. Identifier: 'Neopolitan' is in effect. Over." Douglas said to her.

"Rojer that, General. Good to hear your voice again, Sir." Holland replied. "Can we assume you have a solution to our predicament, Sir? Over."

"Indeed, Colonel. I have a pilot that can fly your bird, as well as a few possible ways to get rid of your cargo." Douglas told her. "We've also got a way to get to you. Don't doubt what I am telling you, Colonel. I travelled from Amberley to Auckland in an instant just now, and we're going to be aboard your bird very shortly. Have your crew retire to their bunks to give us some room in front of them to arrive in, and we'll be there as soon as you're ready. Over."

Machspeed saw, out the door of the radio room, Flashpoint was now dressed in her safety vest-type jacket, the A.R.R.R.S. logo along her sides, both sides of the velcro fastener, as well as on the front across her chest. He grinned at her and she grinned back, nodding at the logo. He nodded back and returned his attention to Douglas and Rangi as Flashpoint walked up beside him.

"Rojer that, General. We'll be waiting. Pegasus, Out."

"And here we go." Flashpoint said as the stallions pressed up against her. She concentrated for a moment, her horn lighting up, then they vanished...

=======

Colonel Samantha Holland had seen some wierd things in her time. She thought that turning into a Pony was definitely amongst the most extreme of those, but when three Ponies just appeared inside her Spirit bomber, way out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean... her mind got derailed for a couple of seconds.

Douglas looked about, seeing the four crew members there, three on the bunks while one was standing beside the pilots' positions. They'd managed to shed their flight suits, as they didn't fit them any longer, and he saw they were all pegasi now, something that made him smile. He looked at Machspeed, who nodded and yelled "ATTENTION!" That snapped all four of the Air Force ponies out of their trances.

Douglas stepped forward, as the four moved into line to one side of the slightly-cramped cockpit area. Being Ponies made it easier to have all seven of them standing there, and Flashpoint hung back as Douglas and Machspeed faced off with the flight crew. The four saluted first, Douglas and Machspeed returning their salutes, then Douglas began with "Colonel, Captain, Lieutenants; I am General Makeland, this is Colonel Colburn." Machspeed nodded at the flight crew.

"General, Colonel." Holland replied.

"And this is my wife, Flashpoint." Machspeed added, as Flashpoint moved beside Machspeed. "I also go by the name Machspeed now... my 'Pony' name, if you like." Machspeed explained.

The four looked at one another, then Holland asked. "So... everyone's like this now?" She asked.

"More or less." Flashpoint answered. "There are a lot of other races here on Earth now, but Humanity as you knew it no longer exists on Earth."

"The few humans who escaped the original calamity that changed all our ancestors... from what we do know, they had to live in very specific shelters, surrounded by anti-mana shielding, until they found a way to leave Earth and head out into space, to try and find a place that isn't saturated with Mana - Mana being the name of the energy that Ponies and others can process to give us our magical abilities." Machspeed explained. He'd put this little speech together a few years back, then practised it until he could say it off by heart. "Unfortunately, mana is deadly to humans as we were. So being Ponies or any of the other lifeforms we have been transmuted into... it's the only way we can survive being on Earth now."

The four looked at each other. "I see." Holland replied. "So... how did we get back here? You said we're over three thousand years in the future?"

Machspeed and Flashpoint nodded. "You are what we refer to now as 'Returnees'; you're people who were shoved forward in the Timestream, because Earth just after the Calamity couldn't handle the impact of billions of changing people." Machspeed explained. "Like yourselves, General Makeland and I are also Returnees; Douglas here returned less than a day ago, I've been here for nearly twenty years. Flashpoint was born in this time, though." And he nuzzled Flashpoint tenderly.

"So... what year is it?" Samantha asked.

"It is the year, by the Gregorian Calendar, 5253 Common Era." Machspeed told them all.

"Whoa!" Fred Kellman replied, the others showing similar states of astonishment. "And I thought Buck Rogers had it bad..."

That got chuckles from everyone who knew what Fred had referenced, and confused looks from Flashpoint. "I'll explain later." Machspeed whispered to her.

"All right, let's see about your little problem then, shall we?" Douglas suggested.

Fred led them to the access to the bomb-bay, behind the folding bunks. "I tried using the disarm codes I have on it, it refused to acknowledge them." He told Douglas. "I keep getting error messages." The door was just big enough for the four ponies to get through, although with more ease than a full-sized human would have had squeezing through them. The fold-down catwalks made it easy to stand inside the bay as well. Douglas had Flashpoint get out the laptop which could be used to access the bomb's electronics, and the four of them just fit inside, as Fred helped Machspeed plug the laptop into the access port of the armed device. "Hopefully, now that you're here, it might respond to being directly accessed, rather than by the methods I was using before."

"We can hope." Machspeed replied, the bomb's electronics lighting up as the laptop fired up as well. Fred entered the laptop's password, then Fred stood to one side of Machspeed as Douglas stood on the other. Machspeed entered the codes Fred told him, but they got the same error messages as before.

"Maybe your codes will make this piece of Taiwanese junk behave, General." Fred suggested, as Machspeed and Douglas chuckled.

"Another inside joke?" Flashpoint asked as she held the laptop firmly in her magic.

"Movie quote." Machspeed explained.

"Yeah. It goes: 'American components, Russian components, all made in Taiwan!' " Fred grinned.

Douglas just shook his head with a grin as Machspeed chuckled. Flashpoint looked only a little less confused, as Machspeed smiled warmly at her. "Later." He repeated.

Douglas read out to Machspeed the Master Disarm Codes he'd learned off by heart, but the bomb refused to co-operate. "Well, that leaves me stumped." Douglas said with a puzzled look.

"Maybe we can force the systems into diagnostic mode." Fred suggested, but after trying several ways to do so, they were no better off than before. "This piece of..."

"Uh-uh, there's a lady present, Captain." Douglas frowned at him.

"Oh, sorry, Ma'am." Fred said, bowing his head towards Flashpoint. "Anyway, I don't think there's much we can do at this stage, General. If we can't get this piece of... bovine excrement to co-operate, then the only option we have is to get rid of it."

Douglas nodded. "I have to agree." He said, as Machspeed shut down the laptop and unplugged it. "You said the bay doors aren't responding?"

Fred nodded. "Neither the electric mechanism nor the manual back-ups are responding. We lowered the landing gear without a problem, so the Colonel thinks the doors are manually jammed from the outside."

Douglas nodded. ”Well, we can’t fix that in the air... unless you have somepony who can stand on the underside of our hull while wielding equipment to fix it.” He looked at Machspeed.

Machspeed shook his head as they made their way out of the bomb bay again. “No, we don’t have any changelings that could do that kind-of work.” He said as he began to think. "Okay. We can't just drop these bombs into the ocean. Apart from the fact we can’t get the bay doors open, just teleporting them outside and letting them drop isn’t an option. Apart from the damage to our world that a nuclear explosion would cause, if they don’t all explode, hostile forces could and definitely would retrieve them one day.” Machspeed thought hard, then smiled. “Well, if we can’t drop them down, my suggestion is to get rid of them in the opposite direction: out into space."

Samantha looked at Machspeed with a modicum of scepticism. "And how do you plan to do that?" She asked. "You've got a rocket?"

Machspeed grinned as Flashpoint giggled. "No. But we have been out in space. Flash and I have been aboard the I.S.S., and we flew the shuttle Atlantis back to Earth again."

Samantha's eyes widened out to their ultimate size. "You what?" She asked disbelievingly.

"We've flown the Atlantis." Machspeed confirmed. "She's sitting on the tarmac at Amberley Base, where we landed her. We've made a couple of dozen trips up to the I.S.S. before then, and we're going to be attempting to salvage parts of it in the future. So we can get into space. We've got friends from the I.S.S. working to modify the EVA suits from her and the shuttle for us to wear, so we can undock the various modules and bring them back to Earth for us to salvage."

Samantha was silent for a little bit. "So..."

"So, Flashpoint can wear the one suit we have finished; we tape all the bombs together, with a big oxygen tank for the seventh position, and she can teleport the whole lot up into orbit and set it accelerating away from Earth." Machspeed explained.

"But with one of the other devices set to detonate five hours after Flashpoint shoves them on their way." Douglas added. "That way we know they are 'disposed of' beyond retrieval."

Samantha blinked, her huge eyes wide with surprise. "I... guess that'll work." She said.

"I'll head back, then, and get Yuri and Anton to suit me up, while you lot can tape the bombs together." Flashpoint said. "I'll bring back some duct tape first, though. You're going to need a lot of it."

Fred chuckled. "Never has truer words been spoken." He replied.

Flashpoint looked at the other pilots. "Anypony want a lift back to Brisbane?" She asked.

The other ponies looked to Douglas, who nodded. "Lieutenants, I'm relieving your of your current duty. Head back with Flashpoint and start your new lives amongst friends. They'll help you find your new selves, and even eventually learn to use your wings." He grinned at them as they grinned back. "Captain, I'll need your expertise to get the bombs assembled for transport and to program one of the others for a countdown detonation. Once that's done, you can go back with the others."

"Yes Sir!" The three pegasi saluted Douglas, who returned their salute. Flashpoint had Lieutenants Rossini and Cullen stand either side of her and each put a wing over her back. With a kiss blown to Machspeed, Flashpoint and the two pilots vanished.

=======

Flashpoint arrived with her passengers back at Amberley Airfield. The two lieutenants were looking a little green, but they soon shook themselves and adjusted. "Sorry about that. I forgot newbies to teleporting sometimes get a little nauseous their first time." Flashpoint apologised.

"It's okay." Michelle replied.

"Whoa." Jacob then said "You weren't kidding about Atlantis!” He pointed out to where the shuttle sat.

Michelle’s jaw dropped as she saw Atlantis sitting on part of the tarmac. “I would have had a hard time believing it...”

Flashpoint chuckled. “Well, I didn’t fly it back. I was basically a passenger, and the emergency escape system if the flight went badly wrong.” She explained.

“But you rode in one of the shuttles.” Michelle looked at Flashpoint, the admiration for that feat (and more than a little envy) evident in her voice. “Of all the pilots that qualified for that duty, only a tiny number actually made it on-board one of them.” She sighed sadly. “Neither of us even qualified before they announced the shutdown of the program.” Then she tilted her head to one side. “So... the I.S.S. vanished, like we did, with Atlantis still attached?”

Flashpoint nodded. “That’s right.”

Jacob chuckled as Michelle sighed. “Damn... Ah well, at least we’re still alive... even if we are ponies.” She smiled at Jason.

“At least we can still fly... once we learn how to use these.” Jacob said, flapping his wings now that he had space to do so.

Michelle followed suit, but squealed as she lifted off into the air by nearly a metre, only to drop back down as she stopped moving her wings. “What the...?”

Flashpoint chuckled. “Looks like you’re a natural flyer, Michelle.” She told the pegasus mare. “Only one in about a thousand Returnee pegasi can do that like that the first time they try, and very few get so much air under their wings their first try.”

“Well, shave me down and call me Baldy.” Michelle said as she tried it again, getting a bit of height, even if she wobbled in the air a little. She fluttered back to the ground again and settled her wings on her sides. “I think I’m not going to do that again before getting a few lessons.” She stated.

Flashpoint giggled as Jacob moved to Michelle and nuzzled her tenderly, Michelle responding with delight. “I take it you two are a couple?” Flashpoint asked.

“Well... I was hoping Michelle might be willing to be more than that...” Jacob said as he looked Michelle in her big eyes.

“He’s a good... um, male.” Michelle added as she gazed back at Jacob. “Let’s see what develops. I’m not adverse to you trying, Jacob. It would be nice to have somepony to have next to me as we figure out our place in this new world.”

Jacob nodded. “Okay, then.”

Flashpoint gave them a knowing smile, then said “Come on. I’ll take you to where the others are waiting to head back to Brisbane for their orientation lessons.”

The pair nodded, and walked along with Flashpoint towards the terminal.

=======

Flashpoint arrived back in Auckland and proceeded to Rangi's station. She passed by a field of small antenna dishes that surrounded the station, most of them pointing outwards to the horizon, beside the much bigger cable antennae that were set up towards the top of the rise. "Heya Rangi." She said once she entered the radio room.

"Heya Flashy." Rangi replied, smiling. "How's it going?"

"We're doing okay. These 'devices' make this just a little different from a normal rescue." She explained. "Where are Shelley and the foals?"

"They're up on the Rise. Tarrin Longshanks is teaching the young ones and their mother a few beginning lessons from 'How to be a Pony 101'." He answered with a chuckle.

Flashpoint chuckled back and nodded. "Okay. I'm going to take them back to Amberley, so they can wait on their father/husband returning there." She explained.

"Rojer that, Flash. Take care." Rangi said as Flashpoint left the radio room.

Flashpoint walked up the hill behind Rangi's radio station, underneath the huge cable-antenna array, and then around behind the hill to see Shelley and the foals sitting or hovering there in the near-noonday sun, listening to Tarrin Longshanks teaching them the basics about being a Pony. Flashpoint smiled when she saw that Shelley was listening a lot more intently than the foals, who seemed to have picked up the basic skills a lot quicker than their mother had. "G'day, everypony." Flashpoint said as she reached them.

To her delight, Alicia was the first to reach Flashpoint and deigned to give her a hug that threatened to throttle her. Flashpoint hugged the eight-year-old unicorn filly back, snuggling with her, as Alicia's brother and sister landed next to them and hugged Flashpoint as well. Flashpoint looked at Tarrin and Shelley. "I see you got them started on the two most important things about being a Pony, Tarrin." Flashpoint said with a grin.

"Oh yeah." The Earth Pony stallion replied, a grin on his face as well. "Hugs and Friendship. Nothing more important than that." He specified jokingly. "As well as a few basic lessons for them in their specialities. I might not be a pegasus, but I can teach one how to use their wings and how to look after them... until they enrol in more specialised courses." He gave Shelley a wink.

Shelley grinned back. "I can't wait to attend those classes." She said back.

Flashpoint grinned with them both. "Okay. Shelley, it's time to return to Amberley. Your husband's going to be heading there soon, so I'm taking you back and the foals back there to meet him when he lands."

Shelley nodded and gathered her foals around her. After they'd all said "Bye!" to Tarrin, Flashpoint teleported them all to her landing point at Amberley. As they walked out, they all saw that a new building was being constructed there. "What's that for?" Shelley asked.

"Since we got this runway uncovered, Machy and I felt we could keep Amberley open as the new major runway/terminal for the area." Flashpoint answered. "After all, a runway for heavy aircraft, like this one is, are rarities these days. So we're going to be establishing a proper terminal here from now on." She explained.

"That makes sense." Shelley agreed.

Flashpoint nodded. "Okay, you can use the small lounge in the building there... I won't call it the 'Terminal' yet, because it's really no such thing... and wait for Machy and Doug to return with the Spirit."

"Thanks, Flashpoint." Shelley said, then gave Flashpoint a hug.

Flashpoint returned the hug, saying "Hey, we mares have to stick together, especially those of us who are mothers." She told Shelley. "If you like, when everypony's back together again, would you like to come and stop with us, until they find you a house to settle into? Machy and I would be more than happy to have you stay with us, and so will Starstruck. Any time she gets new playmates is a fantastic day for her." Flashpoint grinned.

Shelley looked embarrassed. "Are you sure we're not going to put you out?" She asked.

"Not at all." Flashpoint replied. "We'd be glad to have you as our guests."

"In that case, we accept." Shelley answered as they headed for the 'terminal' building.

=======

After settling Shelley and her foals in to wait, Flashpoint teleported across to Brisbane, and the house-workshop the two griffon former-cosmonauts had been assigned. "Yuri! Anton! Are you in?" Flashpoint asked in a loud voice.

"In the back!" Came the answer.

Flashpoint trotted around to the shed entrance, to see the pair of griffon males working on one of the spacesuits they'd salvaged from the I.S.S. "Heya guys." She said as she entered.

"Ah! Flashy-point!" Yuri said in his almost-thick russian-accented english. "What brings you to our nest?"

"I need a big favor, guys." Flashpoint asked. "Do you have the prototype spacesuit ready for trials?"

Anton looked out from his section of the workshop. "Funny you should mention that, Flashpoint." He said, his russian accent almost unnoticeable. "Indeed, we have just finished the ground trials with the dummy and the new helmet, and the suit seems to be fully-integral and ready for the next phase of testing." He told Flashpoint. "Do you need it for something?"

Flashpoint nodded. "Yeah, a very sticky and dangerous situation." She answered.

Anton and Yuri could see the seriousness of her statement in her face, and they nodded. "This way, then." Anton led Flashpoint into his work area, Yuri shutting the door behind them. "So what's the problem?"

Flashpoint filled the griffon pair in on the situation with the Spirit bomber, seeing their faces change with the shock of realisation. "So, I need the suit to be able to get the 'package' out to where it can just fly off and detonate harmlessly. Is it ready to go?"

Yuri and Anton looked at each other. "You're going to need more oxygen than the suit can hold as back-up, in case you need to do smaller jumps." Anton said. "Fortunately, some of the back-up cylinders from Atlantis are here amongst our collection of parts, so we can supply you with one of those to use."

"So give us some time to get things ready, maybe fifteen minutes?" Yuri asked.

"If the tank's ready, I can take it out to the Spirit with me, when I take the duct tape out to them." Flashpoint suggested.

"Good idea! Just let us get the proper braided hose to attach to the intake on the suit's backpack, and it will be good to go." Yuri said, grinning.

"To save time, we have a large amount of duct tape here. You can take a load of rolls with you instead of buying them." Anton rummaged around in a pile of boxes, bringing one out. "This is some of the thickest, strongest tape we have found so far. Just bring back what you don't use, please."

Flashpoint nodded. "For sure." She replied as Anton put it before her.

A few minutes later, Yuri brought out the oxygen tank. It was four feet tall and heavily-reinforced. "This is ready." Yuri stated as he put it before Flashpoint. "Just connect it to the backpack's inlet and it will extend your life-support considerably."

Flashpoint was smiling at Yuri's considerable effort at speaking clear English. "Thank you, Yuri." She told him.

" 'Tis nuh-zzing." Yuri replied with a grin, letting his thick russian accent out at the end.

Flashpoint nodded. "We'll get the suit ready for you for when you return." Anton then said as Flashpoint touched the box and the tank.

"I won't be long." Flashpoint replied, then she vanished again.

Yuri sighed. "It muzzt be naice to be hayble to travehl like zat." He said to Anton.

"Yes, and you need to resume your English lessons." Anton poked Yuri in the chest with a claw.

"Meh. Aft-her we get ze suit ready, Brat (Brother)." Yuri said with a smile.

Anton snorted, but the pair headed back to the workshop.

=======

Flashpoint arrived back on the Spirit, tank and box in tow. "Hi, everypony! I have what we need right here." She told them all, seeing Machspeed in the pilot's seat, Samantha beside him, while Douglas and Fred were in the bomb-bay. Fred stuck his head out, to nearly get a box in the face. "Oops! Sorry." Flashpoint said, as she moved the box inside as Fred backed up.

"No problem." Fred replied. He pushed the box to the access catwalks inside the bomb-bay and opened it, revealing the rolls of bright silver reinforced duct-tape.

Flashpoint turned around, moved to Machspeed and nuzzled him lovingly. "How's things here?" She asked.

Machspeed shrugged. "Apart from the advanced electronics and the multi-function displays (MFDs), it's not much different from flying any other aircraft." He answered.

"Apart from the fact we're really flying the computers, and they tell the aircraft what to do." Samantha added.

"Apart from that." Machspeed agreed with a grin.

"We're heading for Amberley, aren't we?" Flashpoint asked.

Machspeed nodded. "We decided to start for Home now, since we're confident that you can get that lot off-world and out of the way." He told Flashpoint. "That way we'll be that much closer to landing once everything's safe."

Flashpoint nodded. "Well, Shelley and the foals are back at Amberley, Douglas, and Yuri and Anton are getting the suit ready. I just have to get back there and suited up, and we can do this."

Douglas and Samantha nodded, grinning, then Machspeed gave Flashpoint one deep kiss. "See you when you get back, Beloved." He said softly.

"See you then." Flashpoint replied, and she stepped back and vanished.

Samantha watched as Machspeed sighed, his head drooped just a little, then he turned about to face forward again, as the sound of duct-tape ripping off rolls came from the bomb-bay. "I'd better get back there and help them." Machspeed told Samantha and unharnessed himself. Samantha watched him go, a small pang of envy touching her heart at that moment. Sighing, she turned back and took over watching the instruments.

=======

After arriving at the griffons' workshop, Flashpoint was happy to see two other ponies there. Both unicorn stallions, she knew both of them. They were some of the most talented unicorns she knew. "Artificier! Spanner!" She said and trotted over to hug the pair.

"Heya Flashpoint!" They both said, giving her hugs. Flashpoint had known the pair of them for a long time. They had been aboard one of the first airliners she and Machspeed had rescued as a co-ordinated team. "We got told you want to give the first of the suits a real test." Spanner said to her.

The pair, although supposedly twins, couldn't have looked more different if they'd tried hard. Artificer was of a thin build, while Spanner was more like an earth pony in his body-shape and musculature. They both had long horns, and while Artificier had a mane and tail that could do Vinyl Scratch proud, Spanner's mane and tail were both short. Artificier was a sky-blue, his mane and tail dark-blue and streaked with dark red, while Spanner's body was a muddy grey, his mane and tail a greasy black. The most interesting thing was they both had deep green eyes that swirled like crystal, with the most intelligent gaze Flashpoint had ever seen.

Flashpoint nodded. "I have a very dangerous cargo that has to be launched out into space. So Machy figured the suit would be necessary to let me get as far as I can before letting it go." She explained.

The unicorns nodded. "Well, we've gotten the backpack and the new helmet finished, ready to fit in place, so I guess it's only fitting you get the first suit." Artificier said.

"Ho-kay! Over here, Flashy!" Yuri said, and the three ponies joined the two griffons. Flashpoint saw the rebuilt spacesuit sitting before her, spread out on a table.

"First, we need to get you into the undersuit." Anton said, as Yuri began to braid Flashpoint's mane and tail for her. "It's been designed to keep your body temperature as even throughout your body as we can possibly make it." He told her.

The soft, silky material felt like liquid silk to Flashpoint as they had her step into it and slid it carefully up her body. It slid over her fur, hardly disturbing the way her pelt lay over her skin, even to the pockets for her ears with connections for the headphones and the essential connections for bodily functions under her tail. As it took in her body-warmth, it contracted around her and became like a second skin. "This stuff is amazing." Flashpoint commented.

Spanner chuckled as Artificier smiled proudly. "My baby brother's managed to come up with some great stuff while we were researching how to remake the suits." He commented.

"Yes, it was a challenge, but I have made some very interesting breakthroughs." Artificier admitted.

"Certainly feels like it." Flashpoint said, as the griffon brothers laid the body of the suit out for Flashpoint to step into its confines. She placed her hoofs down into the boot-area on all four legs, and the griffons pulled the suit up around her, making sure everything went where it was supposed-to, including the lead for her headphones. Once Flashpoint had slid her head through the mounting-ring for the helmet, they did the back of the suit up, sealing it securely and made it airtight. The air-lines into the suit were under the backpack, where they would be safe from being trapped or damaged, and soon Flashpoint was standing, sealed into the suit, save for the helmet. Artificier took the new helmet from the case it was in. It was a lot bigger in diameter than the ones made for the human astronauts for whom the suits had originally made for. Yuri and Anton carefully fitted it over Flashpoint's head, making sure her horn was safe and not touching the internal lining. "Well, that fits okay." Flashpoint commented as she moved her head around.

The griffon brothers let Flashpoint walk around for a short time, to settle the bulky suit and to help Flashpoint get used to it. Then Artificier took out an amulet from his side-bags. "This will help you a lot, Flash." He told Flashpoint. "It will create a shield around you while you're exposed to the solar wind that should keep any radiation from reaching you."

Yuri took the amulet and slipped it inside the helmet, letting it settle against Flashpoint's upper-chest. "Thanks, Art." Flashpoint told Artificier.

Artificier and Spanner smiled as they helped with the final checks. They explained the small control panel on her right fore-leg, and had her practise with it for a few moments, until Flashpoint could read it and use it properly. They then sealed the helmet and checked out the suit's air-integrity. The small time the suit was over-inflated around her was uncomfortable, but it proved the suit was air-tight and space-worthy with Flashpoint inside it. After deflating it and opening her visor again, Flashpoint looked at the four-some. "So, I'm ready?" She asked.

"Just a few more things." Anton said. "We have one of the little umbrella-like folding radio antennas for you to use, if you need to." He slid it's folded form into a carrier pouch along the side of the suit's backpack.

"And I have more mana-beacons for you." Artificier added as he tucked two of them in little pockets on her upper fore-legs. "Can never be too careful."

"I totally agree." Flashpoint replied.

After a few more checks, Yuri and Anton sat back and nodded. "Pravil'no! (Right!) I cannot see anything we've missed. Do you feel confident enough to go now?" Anton asked Flashpoint.

"With you guys behind this rebuild, you bet I do!" Flashpoint answered confidently. "When I get back, I'll land on the roof, and you can lift me down from there." She told them.

"Of course." Anton and Yuri said together, then chuckled. "With the help of our good friends here, we shall head over to Rangi's and await word of your exploits."

Flashpoint looked at Artificier. She knew Spanner could reach Auckland, but Artificier had previously had trouble doing so. "Can you make it that far this time?" She asked him.

"I have been practising." Artificier declared. "While the art of teleporting is not my forte, I can make it that far... with a good hour's rest before attempting to return, of course."

Flashpoint smiled. It was good having the pair as back-up in case she needed to transport more than her normal amount of people. "Okay then. See you later." And, charging up her horn, Flashpoint vanished.

Yuri grinned at Anton, then said "Ho-kay, my friends. Let us head for Rangi's." He declared and, teaming up with one of the brothers, the four of them vanished not too long after Flashpoint left.

=======

As the Spirit bomber headed for Australia, Flashpoint appeared inside the cockpit, encased in her modified spacesuit. Douglas and Samantha blinked in surprise, then looked her over. "So... this came from the Atlantis?" Samantha asked.

"That's right." Flashpoint said as she moved to the bomb-bay. "Yuri and Anton from the I.S.S. are suit-technicians, amongst their other skills, so they were able to modify the suits to suit our body-pattern." She explained. "Apart from the nine suits from Atlantis, we have the ones from the I.S.S. as well, so eventually we could have twenty-five spacesuits... with Anton and Yuri claiming two of them, that means twenty-three suits for Ponies to wear." Flashpoint grinned.

Douglas nodded. "Okay. Mach and I have everything ready for you, Flashpoint." He said, leading her back to the bomb-bay. Once they were back in the bomb-bay, Flashpoint saw that they'd liberally duct-taped the six bombs together, her oxygen tank on top of the assembly. "Now, this is the first active device; don't worry about it. The one you need to know about is this one." Douglas showed Flashpoint the device on the other side of the oxygen tank. "We've got this one on a manual countdown. Once you're travelling at speed, flip the cover of this button open and press it. The timer will begin a five-hour countdown from that point. Then you use your magic or a knife to cut the duct-tape holding the tank in place and let them go."

"Got it." Flashpoint said as she levitated herself up onto the top of the assembly. "Okay, I have them." Flashpoint said as she gripped the assembly of bombs and tank in her hoofs and field.

"Rojer that, Flash." Machspeed said to her as he plugged the braided line from the tank into the backpack of her suit. "You're connected and ready to go."

"Prepare for lift-off!" Flashpoint said cheekily as she prepared to lift the load in her magic, closed the helmet's visor and sealed it, then readied for the teleport. She held the assembly aloft with Machspeed's help, as he removed the cables and shackles holding the assembly in place. Once she was floating free, Flashpoint locked onto her jump-point reference, using the mana beacon on the I.S.S. as a height reference. Once she had that, she said "See you later!" and vanished, along with the assembly.

"Holy..." Was all Samantha said, as the Spirit continued towards the Australian mainland.

=======

Flashpoint arrived in orbit after counting three. "Whoo! That was almost too much of a jump." She said to herself, as she rested for a few minutes. She maneuvered herself around to feel the Earth at her back, then she checked the panel on the timed device. She saw it was still awaiting the final press to start the timer. "So, teleporting doesn't affect the mechanism... must have been the trip through time." She surmised as she looked at the other active device and found its systems were still stable. She waited, her velocity mostly constant as she drifted out-bound away from the Earth. "Okay... Now, to teleport for speed, not distance." Flashpoint said to herself, concentrating on a different type of teleport.

Flashpoint teleported, heading outbound and conserving her mana even as she doubled her velocity every five minutes with each teleport. She'd started heading out-bound at the same speed the I.S.S. was travelling around the Earth, about twenty-eight thousand miles-per-hour (MPH), she estimated, so, after her fifth teleport, she was doing five hundred and twelve thousand MPH. Flashpoint giggled. "Never has a pony travelled so fast." She said to herself.

As she stabilised herself, Flashpoint pressed the activation button on the timer, cut the duct-tape holding her oxygen tank to the bomb assembly, then gave the assembly a little kick at the right spot and set it loose. She stabilised herself and the tank she was carrying as the bombs seemed to slowly move away from her, then she started braking. The bomb assembly vanished almost in an instant as she dropped half her speed, then she was alone as she came to a halt, relative to the Earth behind her. Flashpoint then noticed the field around her was glowing slightly, the magic shield the pendant she wore under her space-suit was generating was lit-up with radiation from the Sun's solar wind, keeping it from reaching her. She was so glad that Artificier had perfected these pendants, and now she had proof that they worked. As she sat there, she realised there was a light coming from one side of her. She slowly rotated herself around towards it... and she gasped in amazement at what she saw.

The Moon was sitting right next to her, to the point where she couldn't see all of it's surface in her helmet's visor. "How the hell did I miss that?" She said to herself. Had she really teleported out that far? She rolled herself around more, and saw the small sphere of the Earth behind her. "By the gods..." The sight took her breath away. Flashpoint then returned her gaze to the Moon, and an idea came over her... a silly, insane idea, but one she might never thought of if she hadn't been right there. She gathered her magic to her, then teleported again, hoping her recollection of the stories Machspeed had told her was true. Putting herself between the Earth and the Moon, she arrived above one of the vast lava plains that ancient Human astronomers had called 'seas', and she slowly lowered herself further down, until she felt the gravity of the Moon catch her. Looking about, she felt for and found the feel of processed metals, ever so tiny but findable, on the surface, and she teleported as close to them as she dared. Her ability to detect and pinpoint groups of processed metals was one of the things that allowed her to find aircraft in the sky and teleport to them so easily. As she fell to the surface, Flashpoint pushed the Moon away with her kinetic power to softly land on the surface, only a hundred metres from the base of an ancient space vehicle.

Resting from her efforts, she could feel the Lunar mana flowing about her. The Earth's satellite had also been bathed in the gargantuan wash of magic from the galactic core, and Flashpoint soaked it up eagerly. She looked up at the Earth above her, and a feeling of profound wonder filled her. "So small..." She said and, stepping off her oxygen tank, she sat and raised a fore-hoof, it covering her home planet easily at this distance. She sat there for a time, the wonder of her situation filling her mind. 'Is this how Luna saw Equis, all the time she was on their moon? Did she sit and wonder of the fragility of it all?' Shaking her head, Flashpoint knew she needed to make contact with home. Carefully rummaging around in the pockets at the side of her backpack, she pulled out the collapsed dish antenna stored there and set it up. It opened out like an umbrella and Flashpoint aimed it as best she could, at least getting the Earth right in her sights. Connecting it to her transmitter, Flashpoint added a boost to the signal using her magic and was about to call, when another idea made her grin. She activated the transmitter and said...

=======

Machspeed was getting a feel for the way the Spirit bomber flew, Samantha in the co-pilot's seat beside him. "You're pretty good at doing that." She commented.

"Thanks." Machspeed said off-handedly.

Douglas could see the distraction Machspeed was feeling. He knew what was behind it, too. "She'll be all right, Son. Your mare is strong and capable."

Machspeed let go a sigh. "I know... but she's out there, all alone without me. I can't help but worry."

"That's only natural, Mach. Just trust in her." Douglas counselled him. "She'll call in once the job is done."

Machspeed just nodded and went back to flying.

=======

Rangi was listening intently, along with the rest of the A.R.R.R.S. team, as they awaited a transmission from Flashpoint. It had not been nearly an hour since she had teleported the nuclear devices away from the Spirit, and everypony was so tense. "I'm getting something..." Rangi said, as every person in the room fell silent. Rangi turned up the gain as he tried to hear a signal. "Flashpoint, this is Auckland Control. Can you hear me? Over." Rangi said. While normally all the little antennas would be focussed to try and catch signals from all around the facility, the big antenna complex outside was now pointed almost at the Moon, where Flashpoint supposedly was. Rangi repeated himself three more times, waiting patiently between them as everyone else held their collective breath.

Then the speakers crackled to life. "Auckland Control, this is Tranquillity Base. The Pony has landed." Flashpoint's excited voice replied. "That's one small step for a Pony, one giant leap for Ponykind."

Scarcely believing what they'd heard, all those there erupted in cheers. Rangi had to hush them down. "Flash, where are you? Over."

"I'm on the Moon!" Flashpoint's voice said again. "I'm standing about a hundred metres from Apollo Eleven's landing spot! I can see the base of the lander clearly from here. Over."

"The Moon? Why the hell did you go there? Over." Rangi asked.

"After letting go of the package and slowing down, I found I was right beside the Moon. I needed to rest and recharge, so I picked a point to land and dropped down to the surface." Flashpoint explained. "After the tales Machy told me, I figured if the astronauts could contact Earth from here, then I should be able to as well. Over." She reasoned.

Rangi chuckled as everyone else whispered raucously to each other. "Well, thanks for calling Home, you got us all breathing again. Over." He replied.

There was a giggle over the speakers, and Flashpoint then said "Glad to hear that, over."

Then Anton stepped forward and gestured for the stand-alone mike. Rangi handed it to him. "Flashpoint, how is the suit holding up? Over." He asked.

"It's doing fine, Anton." Flashpoint replied. "Integrity is a hundred percent, I've got three-quarters of the big tank still left, and the suit's rad-counter isn't even ticking over, thanks to the shield. Over."

"Good to know." Anton replied. "We can start modifying the other suits, then. That should make things a lot more exciting in the future. Over."

"It certainly will! Over." Flashpoint replied.

"What are your plans now, Flash? Over." Arclight then asked, taking the mike from Anton.

"I'm going to rest here for about an hour and build up my mana reserves." Flashpoint replied. "The big battery pack's only down a eighth of its capacity, and I can spare the time to recharge my mana. Once I'm at full strength again, I'll 'port back down to Brisbane and get out of the suit, then I'll go back to Amberley and wait on Machy arriving with Doug and the Spirit. Over."

Arclight chuckled. "Sounds like a plan. We'll be back waiting for you."

Then Yuri butted in "Indeed! We shall await your arrival with sardined breathings!"

"What?!?" Flashpoint asked, as Anton and a lot of the others chuckled.

"He means 'with baited breath'." Anton explained. "See you in Brisbane, Flashpoint. Over." Anton signed off.

"See you, Anton, Yuri!" Flashpoint replied, even as her signal started to get weaker. The two griffons and their friends walked out of the radio shack, then vanished a few minutes later.

"Looks like we're about to lose you, Flash. You'll be back on the ground long before you come back into range again, so stay cool, you astro-pony, you. Over." Rangi said

"You got it, Rangi." Flashpoint said, her voice getting softer and more staticky. "Tranquillity Base, ou...." And she faded entirely.

Rangi chuckled. "Who'd have thought?" He asked softly. "I would have sworn Machspeed would have been first Pony on the Moon, not Flashpoint." He shook his head. "Ah well. Time to tell Mach his wife made it a lot farther than he ever thought."

=======

Machspeed was sitting in the pilot's seat of the Spirit as they passed the hour-out point on their ETA to Amberley. His face was relaxed as he flew along, but even Samantha could see the signs of his worry, under the stoic face he wore. "So, you two been together long?" She asked.

Machspeed looked at Samantha, then chuckled. "Yeah. Twelve years now." He sighed. "Flashy is what makes A.R.R.R.S. possible. Her pinpoint accuracy with her teleporting means we can get into places like this bomber's cockpit from anywhere on Earth without trouble, which makes getting into airliners even easier." Machspeed checked over the MFDs before him again, then relaxed a little. "I have no idea why she agreed to marry me, she just made me the luckiest stallion on this silly planet we dwell on when she popped the question." He told Samantha.

"Any kids? I mean, foals?" Samantha asked.

"We have a daughter. She's a ten-year-old unicorn filly, as you can guess. We named her Starstruck, after the star-shaped blaze below her cute little horn." Machspeed proudly answered Samantha.

Samantha smiled. "That's so wonderful." She said. "So, how long have you been in the Air Force?"

Machspeed chuckled. "You want the truth?" He asked.

Samantha looked confused. "Uh, I guess." She replied.

Machspeed chuckled. "I served for a full term in the R.A.A.F., then flew commercial for a while. Since getting here, I have flown everything from light aircraft to a C-5 Galaxy... ironically, just before your Spirit here. And, of course, Atlantis." He sighed. "Never thought I'd ever get to fly one of these, though."

Samantha nodded. "Yeah, they're something, all right." She agreed.

Machspeed nodded. "To answer your question honestly, Doug inducted me into the U.S.A.F. this morning." Machspeed answered Samantha. "He thought it would make you accept me a little more easily than if I showed up in my A.R.R.R.S. gear."

Samantha looked shocked, then nodded thoughtfully. "Well, he is a general. He can induct others and make them whatever rank he wants to, I guess." She said acceptingly. "But you do have air force experience, and a lot of flight experience..." She sighed longingly. "And you flew Atlantis. God above, I would give my tail and mane to have been able to do that." She told Machspeed, who grinned smugly.

"Yeah. Never thought I'd do anything like that. Biggest aircraft I'd flown before getting here was a 747. Now I have the A380 Airbus and the C-5M Galaxy to add to my resume." He told her. "Maybe you might like to join A.R.R.R.S. when we land and you get used to your new body." Machspeed suggested.

Samantha chuckled. "I'll keep it in mind." She replied.

Then the radio picked up Rangi. "This is Auckland Control to Pegasus. Are you receiving? Over."

Samantha looked at Machspeed, who gestured to the radio. Samantha slid her helmet back on... somewhat uncomfortably, since it didn't quite fit her any longer, but she replied "This is Pegasus to Auckland Control. We receive you five-by-five. Over."

"Good to hear you, Pegasus. You got your ears on, Mach? Over." Rangi asked Machspeed, who was sliding another helmet on.

"I got you, Rangi. What's the news? Over." Machspeed asked.

"Just heard back from Flashpoint. Operation Stardrop was a success, the package has been dropped off... but she's not back just yet. Over."

Machspeed was surprised. "She's not? Where is she, if I have to ask? Over."

Rangi chuckled. "Would you believe she's on the Moon, right now?" Rangi asked back.

Samantha's jaw dropped. "She's WHERE?" She almost demanded.

Machspeed's jaw dropped as well, but he recovered with a laugh and replied "THAT'S my mare!" He said, a lot of pride leaking into his voice. "What is she doing there, of all places? Over."

Rangi was chuckling himself. "Apparently when she let the package go, she came to a halt right next to the Moon. She took advantage of it to land next to the Apollo Eleven site and recharge her mana. Over." Rangi explained.

Machspeed grinned, as Samantha shook her head slowly. "Is there nothing you lot won't attempt?" She asked.

"This is our world now, Sam." Machspeed replied. "We get to do everything all over again. We've got Magic now as a huge advantage, but there's still things that need the technology we rescue to make happen." Machspeed sighed and he leaned back in the ejector seat. "I wonder if anypony else knows what just happened... or will we be the only ones on Earth to know, maybe for years?" He chuckled and shook his head. "It's not like the entire world could watch, not like when Neil Armstrong stepped there. Okay, Rangi, we're still an hour out from Amberley. We'll see everypony when we get back there. Pegasus out."

"Rojer that, Pegasus. Auckland Out." And the radio fell silent.

=======

Flashpoint knew she had to go back, and soon. So many would be worried about her, her Machy more than most. But she took a few moments longer to look over the Apollo Eleven site beside her, and at what she'd made before her. She'd made something to make sure others found out she had been there. Out of lunar rock and dust, she had made raised letters on the surface. They read:

FLASHPOiNT WAS HERE

First Pony on the Moon

15th March 5253CE

Flashpoint grinned as she took a mana beacon out of one pocket on the suit and placed it on the dot of the 'i' in her name. Now she could find her way back here without fail. She couldn't feel the cold of the lunar surface through her suit, but she was sure the tank she had with her might suffer nasty effects if she brought it home with her. Once she was sure the on-board tank in her suit backpack was full, Flashpoint shut the regulator valve off and disconnected the hose from her backpack. She knew the oxygen gas in the tank would probably liquify over time, but better than having the metal in the tank possibly explode after cooling down on the lunar surface, then expand as it was instantly brought back into normal daytime temperatures at Brisbane. She'd bring a thermal sleeve next time to warm it up before she brought it back again.

Flashpoint stepped away from the tank and her little memorial, then turned to look up at the Earth again. Smiling to herself, she closed her eyes, imaging the Earth much closer to her, as she'd seen it from the I.S.S., and she vanished. Flashpoint appeared right next to Station Alpha and gently touched down on the observation module, then she opened her eyes to look down on her home planet from orbit once again. In her heart, she knew she'd never take it for granted ever again. One more teleport, and she was standing on the roof of Yuri and Anton's workshop in Brisbane.

"Flashy-point!" Sounded in her headphones, startling Flashpoint. She looked about, to see Yuri and Anton coming down to land beside her. "Welcome back, little astro-pony!"

Flashpoint laughed as she opened her helmet's visor and looked at the pair. "Great to be back, boys."

"Okay, let's get you downstairs and out of that suit." Anton told her, and he and Yuri grabbed hold of some of the tether-points on the suit and lifted Flashpoint off the roof, carrying her over the edge and setting her down right outside their workshop door. Flashpoint walked a little awkwardly into the workshop and, as she stood on the small platform again, the griffons hooked her up to a portable airconditioning unit as they checked the suit over. "You got the hoof-boots a bit dirty." Anton exclaimed.

"Da, but it is genuine moon-dust, Brat. A worthy christening for our prototype." Yuri countered.

Anton chuckled as Yuri put a chilled water container where Flashpoint could sip at the straw. "Yes, I would agree, Brat." He replied. "One of our suits was the first to walk on the Moon in over thirty-two hundred years." Anton sat back and sighed happily. "Moy Bog (My God), I never even dreamed that I would ever say that." He chuckled, as Yuri laughed and Flashpoint giggled. "When you get out of that suit, Flash, be prepared for the biggest pair of hugs you might ever get!"

"Looking forward to it, Anton." Flashpoint stated, grinning as the pair of griffons started removing the backpack unit. It was close to fifteen minutes later that the pair lowered the suit to the platform and lifted Flashpoint out of it. Once she was out of the main suit, Anton proceeded to help Flashpoint out of the undersuit, as Yuri picked up the main suit and moved it to where it would be cleaned and serviced before being readied to be used again.

Once out of the undersuit, Flashpoint shook herself out, her braided mane and tail flying everywhere. "Oh! It was a marvel to be inside, but it's also so good to have it off." She told Anton.

Anton nodded. "Ponies and Griffons are not designed to wear clothing... much." He agreed. "Having said that, how did it feel over your occupancy? Any issues on fit or comfort we need to address?"

"It felt good, for the amount of time I was in it." Flashpoint answered. "I think I'd need a few more hours inside to really find any issues with chafing or other such things. But that undersuit Artificier made was incredible. I barely felt it there under the big suit, and I think I could wear that all day."

Anton nodded. "Good, good." He said back to Flashpoint. "We shall label this one as yours, then." As Yuri returned, Anton gave Flashpoint a huge grin for a griffon. "And now, we have the most enjoyable part of this occasion to enact." He told Flashpoint.

"Oh? What's that?" Flashpoint asked.

"What we promised." Yuri told Flashpoint, and both griffons gave her the hugest hugs they could.

Flashpoint almost purred as she was snuggled between four strong arms and four huge wings. It certainly was one of the best hugs she had ever received. "Thanks, you two cossacks." She said, using a pet nickname the pair had been given by their new friends.

The russian brothers chuckled as they finally let go of Flashpoint. "It was our pleasure." Anton replied.

"And next time you wish to go up, let us know. We shall have your suit ready for you, Flashy-point, post-haste!" Yuri grinned at Flashpoint. "Maybe we have our suits ready then, too, and we will join you back on the I.S.S. with your Machy-speed."

Flashpoint giggled at Yuri's mangling of their names. "You're on." She agreed. "See you two around." And as she concentrated, her horn lit up and she vanished again.

The brothers high-fived each other, then headed back to work. Now that they knew they could produce suits that worked properly, they had more to make for their friends...

=======

Something had been worrying Machspeed as he sat beside Samantha. Douglas had crashed on one of the bunks behind the flight deck as Machspeed and Samantha went over the landing procedure as they flew north of New Zealand. It finally crystallised as Machspeed saw the Australian shore appear. "Colonel... you said the device that was active was set to go off at zero altitude, am I correct?" He asked Samantha.

Samantha looked over at Machspeed from where she'd been going over the landing checklist. "That's right." She confirmed.

Machspeed frowned. "So, if that's the case... why did you keep asking for landing instructions?" He asked. "You knew that thing would detonate on landing... so why were you so insistent on doing so?"

Samantha looked away for a few seconds, taking a deep breath. "I can see where this is leading... and no, we weren't going to actually try to land, Mach."

Machspeed thought about that, then said "Go on, Sam."

Samantha sighed. "We all knew the danger of what we were carrying. I was going to bring us over Amberley at about three thousand feet... and we all would have bailed." She explained. "I was going to set the autopilot to take the Spirit out as far as it could from Australia until it ran out of fuel. We'd worked out it could get at least another two hours' flying time after we bailed out, so the detonation wouldn't have happened close to the shore."

Machspeed nodded, his frown disappearing. "And you were all ready to just try and drift down?" He asked.

"Well, we all had wings, so we figured that, if nothing else, we could have tried gliding." Samantha explained to Machspeed. "If worse came to worse, we could have simply got our 'chutes on and jumped. But all of us have experience with hang gliders, so we felt we could glide down pretty successfully... if not actually fly." Then she smiled. "And there was always the chance, after you called, that we could have had other pegasi there to help us get down."

Machspeed smiled at that. "Yeah, well... you would have stood a better chance of that there, that's for sure." He agreed. "And I apologise for being suspicious." He added.

Samantha nodded, smiling. "That's okay. I understand that it sounded a bit suss to you. I'm only surprised it took you this long to work it out." She grinned.

"Hey, I've been... worried about other things, and other people." Machspeed reminded Samantha.

Samantha sighed. "Too true, too true." She acknowledged. Then a part of the navigation system lit up. "Hey, we've got an I.L.S. beacon." Samantha said to Machspeed.

"Really?" Machspeed asked, checking on the final point. "It's... coming from roughly where Amberley is." He said.

"Or maybe it is Amberley." Samantha suggested.

Machspeed got his helmet on again. "Amberley Control, this is Pegasus, do you copy? Over." He called ahead.

"Pegasus, this is Amberley Control. We are reading you five-by-five. We can see you on our radar at thirty kilometres out and headed in-bound. Land at your discretion, over."

"Amberley Control, this is Pegasus. You have Radar now, as well as I.L.S.? Over." Machspeed asked.

The voice that replied was cheery and up-beat. "Pegasus, this is Amberley Control. We sure do. The technicians from the Galaxy have set up the portable equipment they had on-board so we can use it." The controller replied. "It'll make things a lot easier from now on, at least until we can get permanent equipment. Over."

Machspeed chuckled. "Pegasus to Amberley Control. Glad to hear it, Amberley. We're five minutes out and heading down now. See you on the ground. Pegasus, out." And he grinned at Samantha.

Samantha grinned back and started running through the landing checklist with Machspeed.

=======

Flashpoint could almost feel Machspeed as the Spirit bomber approached. "They're almost here!" She told Shelley, and the two mares and four foals headed out to the 'observation area', which was a roped-off section of tarmac beside the shed that served as the 'terminal'. They were joined moments later by Yuri, Anton, Artificier and Spanner, as well as the other members of A.R.R.R.S., who arrived in a bus from Brisbane. They'd just made it to the observation area, as the black speck of the Spirit slowly defined itself into its unmistakeable boomerang shape. It seemed to drift down as lightly as a feather, until it touched down and raced past the group, engines in full-reverse mode, to cheers from everyone there...

=======

"Okay, flaps set at five degrees, gear down." Samantha said as they came below a thousand feet up.

"Rojer. Flaps set, five degrees; gear down, aye." Machspeed replied.

Samantha nodded. "Landing speed is eighty knots indicated." She read out to Machspeed.

"Rojer that, eighty knots indicated, aye." Machspeed replied. "Slowing to one-forty knots at five hundred feet... one-hundred knots at two hundred feet..." He gently pulled back on the stick beside him to raise the nose a little, and the main gear touched down perfectly.

As the nose wheel touched down, Samantha said "Engines to full reverse; extend airbrakes."

"Engines to full reverse, airbrakes extended, aye." Machspeed repeated as the throttles pulled down and into full reverse thrust. The big bomber slowed rapidly with the brakes helping, until they were at twenty knots.

"Engines to five percent." Samantha said.

"Engines to five percent, aye." Machspeed slid the throttles back above idle, and the Spirit gently rolled off the main runway, to eventually park behind the Galaxy. Once there, Machspeed pulled the throttles back to idle and Samantha started the shutdown checklist. One pegasus pony slid chocks under the main wheels, then raced out to give Machspeed the 'secure' sign. "Main wheels secure, engines off." He said to Samantha, and the whine of the turbines died away.

"And we're down." Samantha said, with a relieved sigh as they finished the checklist.

Just then, there was a snort from behind them, and a loud yawn. "What? Are we down already?" Came Douglas' voice from the bunks.

Machspeed and Samantha looked back at the sleepy pegasus, then at each other, and they burst out laughing together.

=======

Everyone on Amberley Airfield was there, cheering from in front of the Spirit, as the main hatch lowered and first Douglas, then Samantha, were floated down to the ground. They moved aside to let Machspeed lower himself to the tarmac, then the trio of Ponies walked out, to the adulation of the crowd. Machspeed found himself hugged by Flashpoint, Starstruck and Amelia, as Douglas was hugged by his family and Samantha by her three colleagues. The rest of A.R.R.R.S. had their turn at hugging Machspeed as well as the ponies moved out to where they could be mobbed by those waiting. They were joined by the cheers from the other Air Force and Army ponies, as they surrounded and welcomed those who had saved them before home again, and those that had waited for them.

Machspeed shut the hatch of the almost-unearthly bomber aircraft before they left her sitting there. Her job may have been aborted by History and Circumstance, but even Samantha felt that, just this once, that intervention was definitely better than what might have happened if they'd succeeded in their mission.

Samantha looked about, seeing Atlantis sitting there, and a small twinge of longing went through her as one of her dreams touched her again. Waiting as the rest of the group moved away, she diverted from their path and trotted over towards the Space Shuttle. As she slowed and walked under its bulk, she moved to the nose gear and, hesitantly, extended a forehoof and touched the center of the wheel she was facing. Her eyes travelled up the gear's leg, until her gaze fell on the tiles of the nose. Tears started to flow from her eyes as she moved forward to touch her head to the rough rubber of the nose wheel, resting the bridge of her muzzle against it.

Samantha didn't know how long she was standing there, until a wing gently rested itself on her back, then a warm body pressed against her side. She opened her eyes to see a caring face looking at her, a face that she'd seen only for a few hours, yet she knew so well the person behind it. He leaned in and gently nuzzled her, tenderly licking her tears away, which made Samantha giggle slightly.

"So close... yet still too late." He said softly to her.

"Yeah." Samantha could only agree. She moved back, moving out from under the wing on her back until she faced the one that came after her. He pressed his head to hers and sighed softly. "Thanks for coming after me. I know that, at least, you understand." She told him.

Fred smiled and moved his head to rub alongside Samantha's as they moved closer. "More than you know." He replied.

"Oh?" Samantha asked as she turned to look at him.

Fred nodded. "It's strange, how Fate plays with us." He told Samantha. "I never told anyone this, but you know that period when I disappeared from the base?"

Sam nodded. "I remember. Everyone was wondering where you went to."

"I had to report for Astronaut training." Fred revealed.

Samantha's eyes went as wide as they could. "You?" She asked incredulously.

Fred nodded, his eyes steady. "Yep. I went through the whole she-bang. I got named as one of the eight preliminary pilots for Atlantis' last mission... until they named the squad. I missed out on flying her, then I got back to the Base and found myself assigned back to you, and this mission." He told Samantha as they both unconsciously did a walk-around Atlantis. "I don't know if this was compensation for missing out on flying her, being assigned to fly the Spirit." He chuckled. "Flying the B-2 is... was almost as elite an assignment as flying the Space Shuttle.

"Almost." Samantha agreed. "So, why didn't you say anything?" She asked.

"It was too close." Fred answered. "I was still a bit disappointed about missing out... but then, who knows? I might have missed out on being back here with you." He reached out his neck and nuzzled Samantha tenderly, making her nicker.

Samantha smiled at Fred as they walked on. "Does that mean...?" She asked him.

Fred chuckled, a big grin on his face. "They say romance between air crew members is a fallacy... but after knowing you as long as I have... I don't think I could find anyone... anypony whom I'd rather start up a relationship with." He admitted. "You do know Jacob and Michelle were already involved, don't you?"

Samantha laughed. "I don't think there was anyone on our old digs that didn't know Jacob was chasing Michelle." She answered. "You want to chase me, then?" She asked.

"More than that." Fred said back. He got down on one fore-leg before Samantha and took her fore-hoof. "I swear to you, dearest lady, that I will pursue you through fair weather and foul, through the sky and along the ground, until you let me make you the happiest mare on this new world we dwell in."

Samantha was a bit taken aback by the force in Fred's voice... but then she smiled and leaned forward to kiss him softly. Fred got to his hoofs as the kiss progressed, then she nuzzled him lovingly. "I don't know if you're the one for me, Fred Kellman... but I give you permission to woo me, until you catch me, or somepony else does." Samantha told Fred. "But... don't just focus on me. Don't be so enamoured that, if the one truly for you catches your eye, you give her up for pursuing me hopelessly." She requested.

Fred softly kissed Samantha's forehead. "I promise you, I will keep my heart open, until you give me yours." He replied.

Samantha moved to hug Fred with her wings, as he did the same. "Then yes. Let's see if we're the ones for each other." She agreed.

Then a bus pulled up alongside them. Michelle and Jacob were leaning out the window and yelled "Come on, you two! We're heading back to Brisbane!"

Samantha looked at Fred with a big grin and he grinned back, then they trotted over to the opening doors of the bus and climbed in. Finding themselves seated behind Jacob and Michelle and surrounded by other Air Force ponies, the foursome chatted on as they drove away from the last part of their old lives, towards the new world they'd been thrusted into. Part of them tried to remind them of what they were leaving behind... but the majority of their minds just decided to roll with things and start all over.

After all, it was the most sensible thing to do...

=======

Machspeed, Flashpoint and the members of A.R.R.R.S. were gathered around the Makelands as the group made arrangements to meet back at their headquarters on the following day. "Don't be late!" Amelia told them as she stood by Sunbeam.

"No worries! You know that we're hardly ever late." Flashpoint said as she moved to stand with Machspeed and the Makelands.

"Just don't sleep in!" Arclight added.

Flashpoint poked her tongue out at them, which broke everypony up. Then Machspeed, Douglas, Shelley and the four foals all gathered around Flashpoint, and in an instant, they were gone, heading to their now-shared home on what used to be the Noosa coast. Arriving in the back yard, the three Makeland foals all followed Starstruck inside, to be shown to their rooms. As Flashpoint and Shelley made for the interior after them, Machspeed showed Douglas around the outside of the home. "So, do you have any plans yet, General?" Machspeed asked.

Douglas chuckled. "Hey, not so heavy on the 'General' rank any more, Mach." He replied. "I don't know if the rank still has any meaning today."

"Well, you could always form a defense force here in Brisbane." Machspeed suggested. "You're younger than I am in many ways, now. You have a lot of time at your disposal."

Douglas took a deep breath of the perfectly clean air, then exhaled slowly. "I guess that's true." He admitted. "I was talking to some of the Galaxy flight crew and the technicians. They don't want to give up the aircraft just yet. They seem to think they could keep it flying, and since a lot of them were trained to service her, I suppose they could manage to do that for a time. And a great many of them are unicorns, too, plus a few griffons. Once they get their magic sorted, I bet they could keep the big girl flying."

"As long as they have the fuel, I guess they could." Machspeed hesitantly agreed. "But there's quite a few bills that would need to be paid for them to keep the Galaxy for themselves." Machspeed reminded Douglas.

Douglas nodded. "They plan to pay with some of the equipment, such as the portable radar and I.L.S. equipment that are now deployed at Amberley." He told Machspeed. "I'm sure Brisbane would like to have a few Abrams tanks for defense as well."

Machspeed chuckled. "Yeah, considering the problems that Charybdis and its minions have caused in the past. A couple of tanks wouldn't go astray, I imagine."

Douglas smiled and nodded. "So, let the crew sell off some of their assets, and you'll all get paid eventually." He said as they headed back to the rear verandah. "And that big lady is going to be far more useful than any airliner in this day and age. Her lifting and cargo-handling capacity is something that's going to be probably irreplaceable, since there's nothing like her in the air today. That means she's capable of making a lot of money from charters and other services."

"Very true." Machspeed had to agree. "I just hope they can work something out. It would be good to see the Galaxy flying still, instead of being dismantled, I have to admit."

"Then, maybe you and A.R.R.R.S. can help us keep our dream going as well, and you might find us of great aid to you in doing what you do as well." Douglas suggested as they walked up the broad stairs.

"Hopefully you're right, Doug, hopefully you're right." Machspeed agreed as they started getting the verandah ready for an outside dinner.

=======

After a hearty dinner, everypony relaxed in the slowly-darkening twilight of the day. Down on the grass of their yard, Starstruck played with Michael, Sarah and Alicia as their parents relaxed together. Machspeed had brought their small stereo system out onto the verandah and smiled as he put a record on the turntable. Once it was in place, he returned to settle beside Flashpoint. Kissing her lovingly, he said "This one's for you, Beloved, in celebration of your stupendous achievement."

"Here, here." Douglas and Shelley agreed, slapping the wooden decking with their forehoofs in applause.

Flashpoint blushed, but smiled and replied "Thank you, Love."

Machspeed nodded and used his magic to set the needle on the record. As Flashpoint leaned into Machspeed, the music started. She'd heard Machspeed play this song before, but now it had so much more meaning to her, now that she'd been there and saw what those who were there before her had seen. She swore to herself that she'd take Machspeed and Starstruck with her up there, so they could see it for themselves. Flashpoint sighed and returned to listening, as her favorite verse played...

River's gettin' dirty
Wind is gettin' bad
War and hate is killing off
The only Earth we have

But the World all stopped to watch
On a July afternoon
Watch the man named Armstrong
Walk upon the Moon
Watch the man named Armstrong
Walk upon the Moon

As she lay there against Machspeed, Flashpoint's eyes closed and she dreamed of another verse...

And I wonder if a short time ago
In another universe
They watched a mare named Flashpoint
Walk upon her Moon
They watched the mare named Flashpoint
Walk upon the Moon...

Author's Note:

This is something that was suggested to me by a good friend of mine, after reading Goldfur's A.R.R.R.S. group's story on the I.S.S. The main premises are:

How would they handle a nuclear-armed bomber coming back with one device active?

How would Flashpoint handle landing on the Moon? How would she get there, and how could she do it?

Hopefully this doesn't generate too much disbelief or go against any of you readers' beliefs about what can be done. I truly believe that Flashpoint has the capability of going out that far and coming back again. And with the 50th anniversary of the Moon landings getting closer (2019), wouldn't we all like the chance to live that dream?

Song: 'Armstrong' Copyright John Stewart
Best cover by Reg Lindsay

Comments

[Bronzedragon]

I don't have a clue if anyone on site can answer this or would be allowed to if they knew, but. when the one armed device detonated I do know that there would be an intense burst of x-rays , gamma rays and fast neutrons. the question is this, would that "cook off' the other devices or would they vaporize too fast?

[Stellar Light Sparkle]

8430993
Actually, there's two armed devices amongst those Flashpoint sent soaring off into space. The one that was causing the problem, making it impossible for the Spirit to land, and the one set to go off on the timer. From the research I've done into the devices the Americans exploded in space back in the Fifties, being that close to two detonating devices would be enough to shred the others at the least, maybe trigger them off competely at the worst. So I'd say they'd be either shredded or would vaporise before they were triggered.

[Posted]

8430993
They have to detonate in a very controlled and specific way. It would just create more radioactive shrapnel.

[Brass Case]

8430993
Most likely not. When a nuclear device goes off they also release an Electromagnetic pulse frying the arming a detonating mechanism. Nukes are built in a way so that if it were to detonate, the arming and firing mechanism need to happen in a specific order. If done incorrectly, the safeties activate thus disarming the weapon. They would most likely just vaporize if exposed to the blast, and add to the radiation. If they're in their Silos however, they will be exposed to the EMP, and be unable to fire forever until either the fissle material decays and leaks, or someone replaces the fried electronics.

[Da Fennec]

The only part I had issue with is WHY OH WHY were they flying with an armed bomb. Some of the other parts were a bit of a stretch but not impossible.
Why didn't they at least look the plane over?
Anything that disabled both manual and electronic opening of the Bombay why didn't it affect the landing gear? The bomb release is more likely at least to me.
The bombs electronics refusing to respond without anything else on the plane be8mg affected

[Alden MacManx]

The other weapons will not have time to detonate before the blast reduces them to their component ions. Seeing as they were all duct taped together, the one going off should vaporize the other five.

[Stellar Light Sparkle]

8431230

The only part I had issue with is WHY OH WHY were they flying with an armed bomb. Some of the other parts were a bit of a stretch but not impossible.

The bomb wasn't armed when they were flying in the past. They only found it was armed after they appeared in the future.

Why didn't they at least look the plane over?

They were caught up in the moment of their arrival. Samantha was going to see what the problem was, but she got distracted by an old dream that she ended up very close to (and yet still too far). She will remember later, though.

Anything that disabled both manual and electronic opening of the Bombay why didn't it affect the landing gear? The bomb release is more likely at least to me.

The problem wasn't what they thought it was at first. It's not a problem with the aircraft itself, but something external.

The bomb's electronics refusing to respond without anything else on the plane being affected?

I'm afraid you'll have to wait to see what really happened. There might be a follow-up to this (if things go the way I want them to). It won't be another chapter, but another story.

[Stellar Light Sparkle]

8431279

The other weapons will not have time to detonate before the blast reduces them to their component ions. Seeing as they were all duct taped together, the one going off should vaporize the other five.

That's the most likely outcome. There is a very small chance (About 0.7%) that the already active device will actually detonate, rather than be vaped, but it's a very small chance.

[Da Fennec]

8431382. I wasn't referring to the planes crew but the rescue squad. They might of not had a changeling to hang on the craft but that wouldn't stop them from looking

[wildlander84]

Wouldn't the O2 tank be hot due to unfiltered solor radiation?

[Stellar Light Sparkle]

8431481 .

I wasn't referring to the planes crew but the rescue squad. They might of not had a changeling to hang on the craft but that wouldn't stop them from looking

If they'd had an experienced pegasus with them, they might have been able to. But this time around, it was Machspeed and Flashpoint by themselves. What happened will be revealed later...

[Stellar Light Sparkle]

8433013

Wouldn't the O2 tank be hot due to unfiltered solor radiation?

It can get hot, but conduction (lying on the cold surface) will cool it much faster than solar radiation will heat it up. Besides, Flashpoint is right in not risking it. A thermal sleeve for the tank will keep it from getting too hot or cold when she brings it back to Earth again.

[Da Fennec]

8433519 8433013 It would be a matter of degree too long and it would be hot in 2 senses. Actually both thermal and various types of hard radiation are potential concerns.. In lower orbits there is still some shielding from the Earth's magnetic field

8433516 I'm sure you'll explain in time but they have Flashpoint with them along with radio communications. Getting a Pegasus to the plane to examine the outside would be a minor matter. Literally as one of the character says they are flying a computer without the computer the B-2 won;t fly

[readsponies]

I really really hope Flashpoint did a lot of mental math that you haven't told us about when she realized she released the nuclear weapons within the moon's gravity well...

[Stellar Light Sparkle]

8435982

I really really hope Flashpoint did a lot of mental math that you haven't told us about when she realized she released the nuclear weapons within the moon's gravity well...

Nah. At the speed the assembly is travelling, the Moon's gravity has no hope of capturing it. The final speed of the assembly is 142.2 km/s, way above even Earth's escape velocity (40 km/s). There's no danger of them ending up anywhere except maybe taking out a passing Grey saucer.

[StormySkiesPony]

This story was great fun to read, and it invokes a lot of great emotions, all while having an inanimate object as its antagonist.
It reminds me of a Miyazaki film in a lot of ways.

Thank you for writing and sharing!

[PresentPerfect]

Rojer?

I can't believe you defined a common initialism like "MPH" but not "ARRS". If this was a direct sequel to something, you really should have noted it in the story description.

[Stellar Light Sparkle]

9641114

I can't believe you defined a common initialism like "MPH" but not "ARRS".

You mean I didn't put the stops in A.R.R.R.S. somewhere? Bugger, I thought I got all of them...

If this was a direct sequel to something, you really should have noted it in the story description.

Well, I would have, but the prequel hasn't been written yet, so I don't know what I'm going to call it. That's why it isn't noted at this time.

[PresentPerfect]

9641858
...That's just really confusing @_@ I basically had no idea what was going on throughout the entirety of this story.

And can you really just duct tape multiple nukes together like that?

[Stellar Light Sparkle]

9642242

...That's just really confusing @_@ I basically had no idea what was going on throughout the entirety of this story.

It is a stand-alone story, set in Goldfur's A.R.R.R.S. Universe. The 'prequel' will simply tell the story of why only Machspeed and Flashpoint answered the call to rescue the crew of the Spirit, and not other members of the squad (they were busy elsewhere at the time). I thought the storyline was pretty straight-forward: B-2 bomber returns with a live nuke on-board, and can't land without setting it off. Attempts to shut it down fail and, rather than have it and the others fall into evil 'hands' (i.e., Charybdis or others), they use Flashpoint's teleporting abilities to get rid of all of them into space. She lands on the Moon for a short time (because it's there, and she's there too), then returns to Earth and, when Machspeed and the B-2 land, there's a welcoming party for the new Ponies it brings with it.

And can you really just duct tape multiple nukes together like that?

Sure you can. I've seen two cars duct-taped together and lifted off the ground, the lower one hanging from the top one. The duct tape is only to hold the six bombs together while they're being transported, so Flashpoint doesn't lose contact with them all. Once they're in space, there's no weight, so handling them isn't a problem.

[PresentPerfect]

9642792
I mean, the major story beats are there, but there's also a whole ton of slice of life stuff you did with other side characters that had nothing to do with the main story. And it took me a while to get used to the characters to begin with.

I'll just have to take your word on it for the duct tape then!

[JDunk1971]

Since you mentioned Charybdis is passing, does this mean that “Along New Tides” is becoming closer to canon in the Ponies After People setting?

[Kentavritsa]

Okay, you have my Woot!
This was very entertaining, I enjoyed it furoughly ..