The Blue and the Gray

by CoyoteXray

Into the Wild Blue Yonder

The breeze blowing in off the harbor was a bit on the cool side this particular morning, in spite of the season. At least that was the thought that came to Dawn Rider’s mind as she stepped out onto the roof of the building from which in two hours she would launch herself.

She couldn’t decide whether or not this was normal or not. She had only been to Manehatten a couple of times before and then only in the role of tourist, which didn’t give her much to compare to. And she had heard stories about what was normally called "Founder's Day" in this town, and even from her far away vantage point the crowds at the harbor front preparing to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the city's royal charter looked massive.

“Ma’am?” came a voice from somewhere to the right.

She turned and saw the Wonderbolt’s ground director, Fast Clip, next to her.

“Yes?” she answered.

“Uh ma’am, I’m going down to the mezzanine for a little while,” he answered, “Can I get you anything?”

An obvious answer immediately came to mind, but she dismissed it and simply answered, “Oh…uh, no thank you.”

The other pony left, leaving Dawn with her thoughts. She still couldn't believe that she went along with this. She wasn't a show pony dammit, she was a combat flyer, plain and simple. And ultimately, would all those ponies even understand what they were seeing? There were reasons why everypony referred to the R.F.C. as the 'silent service'. 'Heck," she thought, 'I can't even remember the last time I saw one of our recruiting posters.' And who could forget what happened last month when the "Intrepid" came into Phillydelphia for routine servicing, and it caused a panic...in that big zeppelin's home port!?! She certainly understood the idea of post invasion jitters, but come on?

"Aww...to hell with it," she said to herself as she began the process of loosening up, "Some ponies out there are overdue for a reality check." and she moved over to an open area. She was feeling reasonably decent all things considered as she went through her routine. At least, until she moved to her wings, and felt a slight twinge; her left was still rather stiff. Not too surprising, she had spent more time in the air over the last week than she had over the previous couple of months. Hopefully, it would pay off.

When she had finished up, she checked her watch. 'It's about time," she concluded, and she reached down to her right flank and turned on her radio. She then hit the switch a couple of times till she got the right tone in her ear, and she called out into her throat mic, "Manehatten A.T.C....this is Romeo Foxtrot Charlie fight one...callsign Hellhound 14 Delta...radio check...over!"

"Wait one," came the reply after a minute or two, and she stood there for a moment before hearing, "Hellhound 14 Delta...this is Manehatten A.T.C....we read you lima charlie. Be advised, show is proceeding as scheduled. Synchronize current time at 10:50. Expecting your takeoff from current location at 12:45. Call for clearance before you launch...over!"

"Roger that," Dawn answered, "Hellhound 14 Delta...out." With that, Dawn sat down and tried to get comfortable.

"Hey!" came a call from behind, "What's up!"

Dawn turned towards the familiar voice, and saw Spitfire approach, followed by Princess Twilight and Scootaloo.

"I thought that you were still under restrictions," Dawn said as Spitfire got close enough.

"Well yeah, I am...doofus. You didn't see me fly up here, did you?" Spitfire answered with a smile, "Even I'm still capable of riding an elevator and walking up some stairs."

"A likely story," Dawn responded as she caught hold of Spitfire's outstretched arm and pulled her into a hug. They held on for just long enough to give each other a pat on the side, and then separated.

"So," Twilight chimed in as she and Scoot joined the pair, "we just came by to let you know that we're here to cheer you on, and check and see how you're feeling."

This caused Spitfire to turn back to Dawn, and take a closer look at her friend. "Hey!" she exclaimed, You're wearing the old suit...aren't you?"

"Huh?" Scootaloo asked as she got closer.

"Uh...it's the flight suit sweety," Dawn answered, "It's the one from my old squadron...now with my current rank of course."

"Oh indeed," Twilight responded, "I've never seen an R.F.C. flightsuit. "and she moved in closer to see. She walked around Dawn and examined the garment, but suddenly paused as she got to Dawn's flanks.

"Uh...that's an interesting unit crest, and quite a motto that your squadron had," she said with a note of discomfort, "I mean really...'Death or Glory'?"

Spitfire looked to Dawn, and they both laughed before answering, "Yeah well...some squadrons are a bit more hard core than most. And others are just plain nuts"

"Uh well, that's interesting...I guess", Twilight answered, "But anyway...Dawn...how are you feeling about all this?"

"Oh please," Spitfire answered, "I can tell you what she's thinking with one glance. It's basically 'What am I doing here', "This is nuts', 'I want to crawl under a rock and hide'."

"O.k. now," Dawn answered, "the last one hasn't occurred to me...yet."

"Oh come on...this is your perfect chance to show those clods out there that you are the ace of the base," Spitfire replied, her hoof gently poking Dawn's chest, "You fly this routine half as well here as you did in practice, and you're going to blow those ponies minds."

"Uh...we'll see," Dawn answered, "We may have a more cynical crowd than you think."

"Oh, get real!" Spitfire answered, shaking her head, "You are NOT going to be allowed to talk your way out of this, so drop that right now. I am going to make a hero out of you...like it or not."

Dawn took a deep breath and closed her eyes. That only lasted a moment until she felt Twilight give her a gentle jab in the ribs. She looked towards Twilight and saw her smile, then looked over to Scootaloo, who held up her leg for a high hoof. Dawn smiled, and shifted her weight slightly and completed the gesture.

"I hear you there kiddo," she said to Scoot, "Hero time...right?"

---

The lone police officer had been moving along at a brisk trot for four blocks now. It didn't take a genius to figure out where the traffic blockage probably was given what were the normal pinch points in this part of the city were, but that didn't make getting there any easier. And the further she got, the more it became clear to her, any backup was going to take awhile to get there.

“Hey, you gonna do something about this?” called one pony from the top of one wagon as he balanced himself between the seat and the toe board, while the pair pulling the wagon watched.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get yourself into a tizzy there bud,” she answered, “Got any idea what’s going on?”

“Yeah, went up and looked, and officer…you aint gonna believe it,” was the answer she got, “It’s up around the corner.”

“Got it,” she replied, “Just stay back here, and try to keep it civil, o.k.?” She didn’t wait for a reply, but kept moving through the ever growing crowd as well as she could till she finally rounded the corner.

And then she saw it, parked in the middle of the six lane intersection, its wings barely avoiding the adjoining buildings. It was a huge cruising zeppelin, its hull a gleaming white, trimmed in gold, with the large envelope over it studded with speakers. It was just hovering there, it's keel six feet above the pavement at best.

The officer had to do a double take. The whole scene was almost too much. She sighed, and said to no one in particular, “Why the hell not…” and then approached the scene.

She made a point of dodging around the crowd that had gathered and trotted up to one of the larger passenger coaches. She hopped up on the boot, and then climbed up on the roof, and looked up to the vessel and called out “HEY!!!”

A lone pony peered over the side.

“WHO’S IN CHARGE UP THERE?!?” she yelled.

The lone pony disappeared for a moment, and suddenly several other ponies peered over the rail at the lone police officer, none of which appearing to be crew. After a moment or two, someone else met her gaze, a large shaggy character with impossibly broad shoulders and…horns?

“Is there a problem officer?” the figure asked.

The police pony recoiled back, and then replied, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?! WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA HERE!?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING BRINGING THIS SHIP DOWN INTO THE MIDDLE OF A DAMN INTERSECTION!? AT THIS RATE YOU'LL JAM UP TRAFFIC FROM HERE TO FILLEYDELPHIA!”

The creature answered, "Well...I'm glad you asked...because you see...we're lost! Could you by chance direct us towards the harbor!"

The officer gasped, and fired back, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE LOST!?! ARE YOU INSANE OR JUST INCOMPETANT!?! WHAT IN EQUIS ARE DOING HERE ANYWAY!?!"

“Ah yes, I’m glad you asked,” the figure answered, “We’re here for the celebration of course! All part of Iron Will’s famous 'Manehatten Tour Extraordinaire'." He paused and struck a pose before continuing, "Picture it...the four night cruise…luxury accommodations included…culminating in the ‘Manehatten 300’…with the airshow included for the nominal fee of…!”

“WILL YOU CAN THE SALES PITCH!! I’M NOT IN THE MARKET, O.K.!!” the officer answered and then continued, “WHERE’S YOUR PILOT!?! YOU CAN”T JUST GO SAILING THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE BOROUGH WITHOUT A LICENSED PILOT! AND DIMWIT, IF YOU WERE COMING FOR THE AIRSHOW, YOU NEEDED TO BE HERE AND DOCKED AT THE HARBOR YESTERDAY!! THIS AIRSPACE IS CLOSED!!”

The figure looking over the rail recoiled back, obviously surprised. “But…that’s restraint of trade!” he answered.

The officer facehoofed and growled, and then fired back, “ARE YOU TOTALLY INSANE!?! “ She then pointed to the figure and commanded, “LISTEN TO ME....PARK THIS STUPID THING AND GET DOWN HERE NOW!! I’M TAKING YOU IN BEFORE YOU GET SOME PONY KILLED!!”

Almost instantly, the figure at the rail disappeared, and from somewhere above, an indecipherable voice called out apparently from the loudspeakers. A second later, a huge gust of wind kicked up from the ship’s engines and a deluge of water emitted from the bow as the ship dropped ballast. As the engine thrust increased, it knocked over dozens of wagons and carriages, turning the previously clogged roadway into a tangled disaster area of ponies and equipment. The ship rose slowly into the air, one wing scraping up the side of an adjoining building as it went.

The officer did her best to brace herself against the downdraft both to hold on to the carriage and her hat, and then could only stand there and watch, shaking her head in disbelief. Finally, the vessel cleared the intersection, toppling a couple of streetlights along the way, and proceeded down the avenue at a ridiculously low altitude.

The officer hopped down from her perch, and ignoring for the moment the mess she knew would take her hours to clear headed at a brisk trot to the nearest callbox, muttering to herself as she went, “What I wouldn’t give to get through one damn celebration in this town without some idiot screwing it up.”

---

“Hey guys,” High Winds called out as she reached down and adjusted her flight suit, and she hoped, all things underneath, “Does anyone else here think that radios suck besides me? I mean, how do those R.F.C. types deal with them everyday?”

“What brings that to mind, dare I ask,” Rainbow responded.

High Winds came over to the bench, and planted herself. “Oh, about what you would expect,” she answered, “the stupid pack is jabbing me in the hindquarters; the microphone wire makes me feel like I’m strangling; and the jolt from the antenna going up my spine is a bit more of a thrill for me than I should probably admit to."

The entire group who heard that burst out laughing, and Fleetfoot answered, “Suck it up High. We need them for Dawn’s sake.”

Rainbow shook her head and added with a chuckle, “Yeah, small price considering what we’re going to get here show wise. She’s going to be great."

“All right gang!” came the call from Misty as she stuck her head in the door, “We start our preflight in fifteen minutes! Let’s move it along please!”

“Got it boss!” Rainbow answered, and slowly the group migrated out of the room.

---

“You’ve got to be kidding me?” the Fast Clip answered as he tried to process what he had just heard, “That sounds like a total pain in the rear.”

“Tell me about it,” Spitfire answered from the spot she had picked on the graveled surface of the roof. “We spent most of the day making one damn run after another. Big surprise…no one had the guts to tell that stupid air marshal that the whole idea of dropping a bomb into a pickle barrel violated the laws of both physics and sanity. Let’s just say that it was not what you would call a profile in courage.”

“That’s looney,” the Fast Clip replied, “How did you ever get past that nuttiness? Did you just have to wait till the attackers just dropped from exhaustion?”

“Well, actually it was the work of my main mare here…” Spitfire replied, pointing to Dawn, “You may not guessed, but once upon a time…she was a bit of a rebel.”

“Well,” the ground director replied turning to Dawn, “what did you do?”

Dawn answered at first with an obviously nervous smile, and then replied, “Uh…well, I…talked to the armorer and convinced him to switch the practice bombs we were using to live ordinance.”

The stallion's jaw dropped, and he shook his head in obvious disbelief. "You're kidding me!?!" he answered, "How did that work out?"

"Well, as you can no doubt imagine the air marshal was mad as hell, and it did scare the crap out of everypony," Dawn answered, "but...it did finally destroy whatever remained of those barrels...and it clued the base commander into just why all his practice bombs were coming back from the field in pieces, which as you can imagine pissed him off. And thankfully, the whole thing was just embarrassing enough that a court martial would have only made things worse, so...I got away with it."

"Oh yeah, that was classic," Spitfire answered with a chuckle, and then added, "Just be careful when you tell that story. I remember a while back when I told that story to our old friend Brillance, who unfortunately was drinking tea at the time. I swear she shot that stuff halfway across the room."

No pony could speak for several minutes as the trio was consumed in laughter. That is...until an unusual sound caught the ear above the city's typical din. Spitfire heard it first, and looked up, followed by the others.

"Does anypony else hear something in the distance besides normal traffic?" Spitfire asked.

"Yeah," the ground controller answered, pausing to listen closer, "What is it?'

The trio stayed quiet for a moment.

"That's a chopper," Dawn said in a low voice, and she stood up. "No..." she continued, "It's more than one."

The three ponies all stood up and moved in different directions, scanning the skies as they did.

"There it is!" Spitfire called out, and the group immediately gathered on either side of her as a small single rotor helicopter came into view. It was cruising a couple of hundred feet over the rooftops, obviously searching for something. There was nothing obvious to clue the trio in on what it was looking for given the normal sounds of the city, but who was looking was abundantly clear, as even from a distance three letters were clearly visible on the side of the craft before it ducked between the larger buildings beyond...M.P.D..

"What are the cops doing around here? Aren't we already in a no fly zone?" Dawn asked.

"I don't know, but whatever it is...I don't like it," Spitfire replied, "Those guys should be just patrolling the perimeter this late in the morning," and then added, "Fast...why don't you go over and set up that portable radio we brought up here. Something tells me we're going to need it."

Fast Clip looked over to the pair of large cases sitting about twenty five feet away, and nodded.

"Got it," he answered.

Almost as soon as she said this, a distant, but clearly identifiable boom caught every ponies ear. The trio stood there in silence, not quite believing what they just heard. Spitfire heard a sound and looked over her shoulder to see Dawn plodding up next to her, her jaw hanging open in obvious surprise.

"What the heck was that?" she asked.

"I have no idea," Spitfire answered, and then turned and said, "Hey Fast...uh, let me give you a hoof," and quickly moved to join the other pony in his project.

---

"All stations...all stations....this is Manehatten A.T.C....I need a status report immediately on that accident," came the voice over the radio for those ponies equipped to hear it that day.

"This is M.P.D. Dispatch....Stand by Manehatten Control...." was the response. "We're still getting an update."

After a few moments, the voice continued, "Manhatten Control this is M.P.D. Dispatch...got a confirmation on the initial. We have an air unit forced down due to near miss in vicinity of Midway Park West. Report is hard landing...no casualties."

"Understood dispatch," was the reply, "Need to know...is an intercept still possible before this craft reaches the harbor area?"

There was a long pause, and then the reply came, "Difficult to say. Pegasi units on scene report that subject craft is flying very low and very erratically and is apparently evading. And the on-scene commander says he doesn't want to risk a boarding after what happened to that chopper."

There was another moment of silence, and then it was heard, "Understood M.P.D. Dispatch. Advise your units to hang back and observe. Guard Authority has declared an Air Defense Alert for the city, and they're calling in for support."

"M.P.D. Dispatch to Manehatten A.T.C....request confirmation on last transmission on A.D.A...over," one side questioned.

"Manehatten A.T.C...that is confirmed," was the answer, "Craft is considered possible threat to code name Diamond. They don't want another damn Storm King debacle like last year...how copy over?"

"M.P.D. Dispatch...roger that and will comply,"

---

The crowd in the stands was barely able to part for Twilight and Scootaloo as they made their way back to the Royal Box. Twilight could only shake her head and smile. There were any number of attendants that could have made this trip for them, but after a couple of hours of sitting, they both just had to move. Well that, and there was the challenge of explaining the ice cream cone combination they eventually settled on, which she now held suspended in front of her in her magic aura as she walked. It just wouldn't have worked out.

"Well Scoot," Twilight said, looking towards the filly walking with her, "It looks like the Washouts are performing now."

Scootaloo gave a quick sideways glance to her right, then turned back and gave a clearly audible harrumph before replying, "Yeah...and they haven't gotten any pony killed...yet."

Twilight could only smile and roll her eyes. But in an instant, a young dark purple pegasus shot past her. She stopped short as the young colt passed, but she immediately spotted a unicorn filly following him, shouting "Will you wait up!"

The young mare tried hard to stop and just managed to turn a major collision into a minor bump. Twilight took a moment to steady her ice cream cone, and looked down at the stranger, the filly backing up at the same time.

She was taller than Scoot: her fur, mane, and tail all black; and she wore a large green bow in her mane, and Twilight noticed, a dribble of ice cream on her nose.

Twilight was going to say something, But the young mare, looking like she was in shock, backed away slowly, and then quickly blurted out, "Sorry...sorry...sorry...sorry..." and then quickly turned away and continued her previous pursuit.

"Well, that was strange," Twilight said to no one in particular, not seeing Scoot as her friend watched the stranger leave.

"Uh...Twilight," Scootaloo said as peaked around the older mare, "Do you remember when Dawn showed us that picture of her daughter Serenity? You know...the black fur...the green eyes...and that cutie mark? Uh, I...think that was her."

Twilight puzzled over the words for a second, and then gasped. "WAIT...WHAT?!? You mean that...that was...? Ohhhh...." she groaned as she facehoofed, "I can't believe that in the midst of all this it didn't occur to me that her family would come! I am totally dropping the ball here."

It was then that Twilight noticed the change in the sound of the crowd. She looked up and noticed that no pony appeared to be watching the performance anymore. Then she turned towards the harbor and noticed that Lightning Dust was arguing with one of the officials, as her show had come to a stop. Then something caught her eye, and she looked up and saw a strange glow in the sky around her.

"Uh Scoot honey," she said in the calmest voice she could manage, "I don't want you to panic, but some pony has put a shield over us."

"Attention everypony!," came a voice from the loudspeaker, "We're going to have a brief pause in our show today! We please ask that all spectators please remain in their seats! We should be able to get back to our program in just a few minutes!"

"Well, that doesn't sound too bad," Twilight said to Scootaloo. But when she looked to the young pegasus, she was looking towards the harbor.

"Uh Twilight," Scootaloo answered, "There's something else going on here. Take a look over there" she said, pointing into the distance.

Twilight looked, and then she saw them, two flights of grey clad pegasi, both in tight finger four formations, approaching quickly at what looked like maybe fifteen hundred feet off the deck. One of the two then banked to the right while the other winged its way towards the city beyond with a clearly audible whoosh as they passed directly overhead. Then, the first group appeared again, having circled around show center, then split into it's two elements, and began orbiting the harbor.

"Twilight," Scoot said, "Remember how you said you'd never seen an R.F.C flight suit before."

"Uh huh," Twilight answered, still watching the spectacle.

"Well," Scoot continued, "Here's your chance. Those guys are R.F.C. pursuit fliers."

The pair continued to watch as the two elements circled over head. Then Twilight heard Scootaloo gasp.

"Oh wow Twilight," Scoot said as she pointed to the fliers. "Did you see that metallic flash from the leading edge of their wings as they turned?"

"Uh...maybe," Twilight answered, "What does that mean?"

"It means," Scoot answered, her anxiety plainly obvious from the tension in her voice, "those guys are armed!!"