• Published 23rd Jul 2012
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Displacement - hornethead



A Special Operative gets stranded in a strange unfamiliar world and must learn how to cope.

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Eye Of The Storm

Chapter 64: Eye Of The Storm

The afternoon sun was half way down the sky. Most of the day had been spent in the heat, cutting down timber from the forest and shaving the ends down to points. James had drawn up a pattern for the Engineer Corps. To use when the tide was low enough for placement. After that, he left the task to Sparks who used to be part of the unit. They had also run into Ira, the Captain of the Corps., who mentioned how strange it felt taking orders from a pony that just over a year ago had been one of his lieutenants. They all had a laugh at that before James left them for his next task.

The Royal Pavilion was situated far back into White Tail woods, out of sight and difficult to get to. The Princess had insisted that her quarters be more centralized in the army's encampment to better attend her subjects who would soon be fighting to defend their lands, but James had advised heavily against it, it would be too close to the fighting should they be attacked. After receiving support from Shining Armor, the human eventually won out and had the pavilion placed in an ideal defensible location on an open hill in the forest.

He climbed a winding path, bristling with guards, up the hill to the pavilion. It was almost all white with gold trimmings along the edges and hems. The entrance was a large flap staked open with two wooden poles, creating an awning over a regal red carpet that rolled out from inside. Taking a deep breath, James strode in to report to his boss.

"Ma'am, reporting as ordered."

Inside, the structure was spacious and roomy. On one side was a simple, yet very comfortable looking bed. On the other was a long table next to three book shelves, their rows thoroughly stocked. The entire ground was covered in plush carpet. The Princess was sitting on a cushion at one end of the pavilion, reading a large book. At James' introduction, she looked up and set the book down next to her, the glow of her magic fading from the object. Quickly she stood up and walked towards him.

"Ah, James, I'm glad you've come."

"Well, just like you asked me to." He replied, a little confused.

"Yes, but I didn't actually give you an order. You could have waited until then if you had wished."

"I guess so?"

"The defenses are coming along well, I trust?"

"Yes ma'am. Your Corps. Of Engineers is really something. I don't think I've ever actually seen them in action before. They're very impressive."

"Yes indeed. I believe I made the right decision when I appointed Captain Iron Horn to that post. He's done very well with it I think. Speaking of decisions, the placement of my quarters was an interesting one." Celestia commented.

"Just a safety precaution ma'am. We have to protect the nation's leaders."

"James, I've been around for thousands of years. I think I know how to fight, let alone take care of myself."

"Uh,,,"

"How else do you think I've kept this land safe for so long?"

"So..."

"Yes James, I moved back here just for yours and Captain Shining Armor's sake."

"You don't to participate in the fighting, do you?" James asked with some concern.

"No, not directly. But I do some very powerful magics at my command. I will be helping my subjects in the defense of our home." She said with determination.

James considered what she told him for a moment before nodding, "Well, you are my boss and it is your country at stake. If that's what you want to do, then I won't stop you."

"I expect nothing less. Now, why don't you tell me what's troubling you?"

"Excuse me ma'am?"

"Come now James, we've been far past this. You look the absolute worst right now. You're having the nightmares again, aren't you?"

*sigh* "Sometimes it's nightmares, but other times they're actually old memories."

"Your job?"

"Yeah. Hopefully after this, I won't be needed. I actually wanted to ask you about that. If after we're all finished here and we're able to repel the invasion, I could just... retire."

"Hmm," Celestia considered his request for a moment, "I see no reason why not. You've already trained a highly professional and skilled task force. What would you do with your new freedom?"

"Honestly, I don't know ma'am. But I know one thing, I'm through with fighting. And killing."

"That, I'm glad to hear."

"One other thing, could I ask you a favor, ma'am?" James asked, pulling a folded envelope out from a pocket.

"I will do what I can, if it is within my power."

"Well, this shouldn't be all that big a deal, but, could you please hold onto this for me?" He requested, holding the envelope out in front of him towards the Princess.

Celestia took a hold of it with here magic and floated it over to a small ornate chest. Her horn aglow, she opened the lid, dropped the paper inside and once again sealed the container.

"There, safe with my own personal belongings. What is it, if I may ask?"

"My will, ma'am." James said bluntly.

"A living one, I hope."

"Hopefully."

Behind them, one of the guards knocked on one of the wooden posts holding the entrance flap up, "Your Majesty, a messenger has arrived for you." He announced.

"Please excuse me James, this might be important," to the guard she called, "Please send them in!"

From the entrance of the pavilion, a rainbow maned mare trotted in, laden with saddlebags.

"Ah, Rainbow Dash, you had a smooth flight I hope?" The Princess greeted.

"Yes Your Highness. I have letters both from Princess Luna and Princess Cadence. The Reserve Guard at Canterlot reports all conditions normal. Admiral Darkwing also sends his regards and asked me to pass on that his fleet will arrive by sundown." She reported.

"Thank you Rainbow Dash. I'll take the letter from Luna." She magicked a dark blue envelope from the saddlebags, "As for Cadence's correspondence, you can find Shining Armor in camp around the Command Tent." Celestia turned to the human, "James, I think we are done here, why don't you escort our messenger down to the camp and help her find the Captain?"

"Ma'am." James snapped off a short salute and left the pavilion, followed by Dash. They walked in silence together for a moment until they were away from the pavilion and on the road to the encampment.

"So, you haven't gotten hurt yet." The mare commented.

"Yeah, we got really lucky. They weren't expecting us to hit them so soon, so they were pretty unprepared. How's your job going?"

"Actually, pretty awesome. Usually, the princesses would use the Wonderbolts fro this sort of thing, but ever since you recommended me for the task, they've been coming to me for almost everything! Best part is, the Wonderbolts aren't even mad about it, they actually came to thank me for taking some of the pressure off!" She excitedly explained.

"Wow, sounds like they might be taking a shine to you." James said with a smile.

"I really hope so, maybe I could finally join this year."

"That would be something. Maybe after all this is over you could go talk to them about it." James suggested.

"Yeah, I think I will. What about you?"

"Huh?"

"When this is over, what do you want to do?" Dash stopped and looked at him expectantly.

"Actually, I'm not to sure. I know I'm done fighting, that's for sure, but I don't really have any other skills." He said, a little downcast.

"You could teach self defense. Oh oh, or you could open a sky diving company, you're really good at that, even without wings! Think of all the earth ponies and unicorns that would pay for that experience. I know Pinkie really enjoyed it."

James stood there and mulled it over in his mind for a minute, "That's actually not a bad idea. I already like sky diving, getting paid for it would be a bonus. You know what? I just might do that."

"Ha ha, the Ponyville Sky Diving Company, only place like it in the country!" Dash exclaimed, happily resuming her trot forward.

"Heh, yeah. Title needs work, but I'm really starting to like it. I might even get Flash and Myst to help me out, he could be an instructor and she could teach me how to fly that contraption of hers."

"Just don't forget who came up with the idea." Dash slyly reminded him.

"Oh yeah, where would I be without you?" James jokingly asked.

"Ha! Without me, I think you'd be pretty lost."

Together they entered the camp, James leading the way to Shining's tent. When they reached it, James had a brief discussion with the Captain about morale before Dash butted in and delivered the letter. Shining seemed to be pretty happy when he saw who sent it and had actually already written a letter of his own. He asked Dash to deliver it as soon as she could and just like that, she was already on her way. Before she left, she told James to stay safe, her usually cocky and collected facial feature softening for the briefest moment.

After Dash left, James began to head down to the beach to check up on the defenses with Sparks. He really didn't have anything else to do that afternoon, but he wanted to keep his mind busy and alert. He found the engineer overseeing the project from the top of one of the ramparts with Captain Iron Horn. Both greeted him warmly and reported that nearly seventy percent of the preparations were complete. Satisfied, James left for the Fixers' own camp at the outskirts of the main one to inventory his equipment and check up on Garth and their pilot, the aeronautical engineer, Myst.

Striding to the small maneuverable aircraft, James slid open the side door and stepped inside. Various weapons were lashed to the bulkheads, boxes of their ammunition stacked and strapped to the inside of the ship's hull. There were rifles, a few shotguns, a couple submachine guns, a locker full of explosives, some pistols, the machine guns that were still mounted on the ship and most of all, the big fifty. James took the gargantuan rifle down from the bulkhead and inspected it. He cycled the bolt a few times, producing a satisfying clack.

"Mmm? Hey, who's in there?" Came a tired voice from the cockpit.

"Hey Myst. It's just me."

"Oh," there was some shuffling before James heard hooves on the deck, "Hey boss, what'cha need?" Myst asked as she entered the cabin. She looked as if she'd just woken up.

"Nothing really. Just checking up on our equipment."

"Oh, all right then. Well the Clipper is all set and ready for action."

"Good to hear." James put the rifle down and turned to the pilot, "Actually, I also had a question for you."

"Go ahead."

"Any chance you could teach me to fly one of these?"

Myst perked up a little at the question, "Ah, have an itch for the wild blue yonder do ya?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Well it all depends, do you have any prior experience?"

"I've been trained to fly various aircraft, from ultra lights to multi engine craft, I have just over three hundred hours behind the yoke and flown various missions 'under pressure'."

"Uh... huh.... well I'm sure I can work with that. Here, come with me, I'll show you around the cockpit."

=====================================================================

Hours later, James was exhausted from Myst's training. While James had flown before, the Clipper was quite different to the aircraft he was used to. After paying close attention while Myst demonstrated and lectured about the controls and handling properties of the vehicle, James was fairly sure he had the hang of it and excused himself, as it was getting late. While he was tired, James didn't feel sleepy. He tried, unsuccessfully, to find Flash or Garth and strike a conversation of some sort, so taking only his pistol and knife, James set out to the beach, angling towards the north.

In no time, he was there, the sun just finishing it's descent to the horizon. He walked around for a little bit, just enjoying the warm air and sound of the rushing waves. As the glow of the sun receded to the west, stars and constellations gradually began to come forth and dot the sky. James looked up to them, the absolute multitude and clarity of the burning sky lights still amazing him even now. Briefly, he thoughts flickered back to his own home and he wondered if he really was in some kind of other universe or if Earth was one of those pinpricks of light so far away up high.

Behind him, James heard the soft flutter of movement. He turned around, expecting to see Flash or Sparks, but there was nothing there. Just the slight rise of a sand dune and some random driftwood. Becoming suspicious, he placed a hand on his pistol in anticipation of an attack. He was fairly sure his teams had cleared the area of hostiles, but it was never a good idea to let your guard down.

"Who's there?" He called out, "If someone is spying on me, they should know it's not a good idea."

When there was no response, he began to wonder if he was just hearing things, his mind playing tricks on him. Or if he had just yelled at some innocent creature that lived here. Still, he chose to check the area just to be sure.

"If there's anyone there, don't make any sudden movements, I'm coming for a look." He warned. If it was a pony from the camp, he didn't want to risk accidentally hurting one of them.

"Hey, whoa, no reason to soldier out on me!" Came a scratchy voice from behind the dune.

"Dash? Is that you back there? Why are you hiding?"

From behind the sandy structure walked the fast flying weather mare, looking a little guilty about something, "Uh... you just looked pretty deep in thought, I didn't want to interrupt."

James relaxed, letting out some of the air he had been holding in, "C'mon, how long have we known each other now?"

"I know. But sometimes I just like to watch." She said with an innocent smile.

"Good thing our shower back home doesn't have any windows, you'd have given me a few heart attacks." James joked. "What brings you out here anyway, weren't you going to stay in Canterlot tonight?"

"Yeah, I was. I wanted to come see you again, before you went and hurt yourself." She explained.

"Dash, you know how I feel about you being anywhere near here."

"Aw, come on! Fluttershy and Twilight are both doing their parts, why can't I be here?"

"They're both halfway to Ponyville, organizing a triage for the wounded at one of the supply camps, far from here."

"Please, can't we just hang out for a little bit?" She pleaded, giving him a puppy dog eye look.

*sigh* "Ok, just for a while, but after that I want you to head back to the supply camp, understood?"

"All right! Don't worry, I just wanna chill for a little." She assured him, trotting over the edge of the dune and retrieving a saddlebag.

"Any sign of trouble and you take off." James added.

"Ok, ok, sheesh."

She glided down from the top of the dune and began rummaging around in the bag. From it she pulled a little blanket and started laying it out on the sand, letting some of it rest on the slope of the dune. James helped her spread it out. When that was done, they both lay down on it, the pegasus pressing her body up against the human, he put an arm around her shoulders and together they looked up to the sky.

They just lay there for a while in silence, listening to the pound of waves on the shore, the rustle of soft grass nearby as an errant breeze rolled through it, the steady rhythm of each other's breathing. James lay there next to her, actually feeling somewhat at peace. If there was anything anywhere worth fighting for, he thought, it was moments like this.

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