Chapter 45: Firefly
Later that afternoon to my surprise and delight we found the Firefly inside a large hangar that had been carved into the side of the mountain itself. Airship hangars have always had an issue concerning the size needed and subsequent lack of support. I remember the big airship hangar at Moffett Field. It was, and is, one of the world’s largest unsupported structures. During periods of extreme weather, it would be evacuated in fear that it might collapse. Making a, well, pony-made cavern hollowed into the side of a mountain just made all kinds of sense. As for the ship, it did indeed resemble a firefly and even had features that made it look very much like an airship version of the Firefly-class ship from the science fiction show of the same name. The body of the superstructure was straight and thin and thanks to two large extendable wings on its back it looked very much like a giant firefly. The back of the ship had a large set of windows where there were observation decks, and a little past the halfway point were two large thrust engines that were attached to stubby support columns which hung down at a forty-five-degree angle. On the underside was a long wide gondola that protruded from the bottom running a good two-thirds the length of the craft with a ramp dropping down at the aft end.
Of course the ramp was the first thing I wanted to look at and dashed across the hard stone floor with Scootaloo right behind.
“Now, fillies, you don’t need to run,” Lofty admonished.
“Wow!” Ya, that was Scootaloo and me on looking up into the hangar bay.
“Walk,” Admonished a unicorn mare at the top of the ramp. Her uniform name tape read Pound.
I pronked and glided in.
“Hey!” Protested Scootaloo while launching herself into the air.
The guard cleared her throat while giving us a dirty look.
“You didn’t want us tripping on the ramp, right?” I offered with a big smile.
“What I wanted was for you to go slow. What if some pony had been exiting?”
“If they had been I would have seen them when I was at the apex of my pronk.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Well, you don’t expect me to…” My sentence trailed off as my ears perked up. The funny thing about all that magic I used all at once is that it’s made me extra vigilant. My ears zero in on the sound of the ramp clacking against the floor of the hangar like someone had just stepped onto it. I sniff, my nose picks up a sent, my sixth sense, which is more acute than it was before, picks up a blob slowly ascending the ramp. I am not getting into another fight that puts me in the hospital, but what if? If alicorn magic is when we mix our manna, what will happen if I hit Harvey with a mix of all four?
I will up manna from all four reservoirs bringing them up to my horn, turn to face the enemy, ram up the power, and release a fireball at my target, careful to cut off the flow of manna just as quickly. The last thing I want is to deplete my reserves again. My target is engulfed in a blue aura while blue arcs of electricity dance about them, they are slammed down the ramp, and across the floor to finally come to a halt when they hit the far wall with a loud crash. With their cloak gone they are revealed to be a pony in Guard uniform. City garrison by the looks of it.
“Stay,” I say, as the guard standing by me starts to move. I can hear other guards on the move as well as the sound of running comes to my ears. That is to say that more than Ms Lofty who just came into view. She stopped at the bottom of the ramp and keeps looking back and forth from me to the pony in the City guard uniform. A moment later my victim is being roused and identified.
“Nova, Scootaloo, are you two alright?” Lofty inquired.
“We’re fine,” I offered. “I don’t understand why though? Who is that? What were they doing using a cloaking spell? How did they even get this far into the secure areas?” Why were they even here? And then a wave of panic hit me, and I teleported. A moment later I’m running through the halls of the keep casting out foxfire to see if I could spot anyone unseen. I find sunset in the library with Cadence. Their look of surprise as I cast out the foxfire is worth a thousand words. The blue fireball I sent their way brought about a look of panic in their eyes, they dive for cover but the unseen figure behind them didn’t. As before they are engulfed in that blue ball, only this time they don’t have as far to go.
“Nova! What the buck!” Sunset yelled as the sound of something pony-sized can be heard crashing into a stack of books. Books start falling and this time the blue arches of electricity are all over the place.
“I had a guest,” I offered after things quieted down. “And it seems you did too.”
The sound of my handy work brings palace guards running.
“Under that pile of land grants in the back,” I offered. “I swear you guys need to install detection fields that will let you know if a pony is using a cloaking spell. There was another one in the secure hangar.”
“What?” Now Sunset is looking around frantically.
“They were in a downtown guard uniform,” I offered. “I couldn't figure out why they were trying to get onto the airship and then it hit me. It’s not about us. Someone wants to make Aunt Tia Miserable.
“What was that blue fireball?!” Cadance asked as she looked up from behind the desk.
“What’s happened?” Shouted a frantic Celestia as she dashed into the library.
“I figured out how to mix my magic,” I offered. “It just results in a massive flare right now, but it’s effective against cloaked ponies.”
“Nova, why are you here and not on the Firefly?”
“We had an incident,” I offered. “And then I figured if some pony could get into the hangar…”
“So you rushed over here,” Celestia asked.
“You’re highness, we’ve got a pony under the books,” Called one of the guards. “Definitely not supposed to be here.”
I hazard a look in the direction I’d sent the intruder. Don’t touch that!” My blood ran cold on sighting the Alicorn Amulet. There is dark magic rolling off the thing. I can see it, like a black mist seeping out of it. “Oh, dear sweet harmony. Sunset, I think they were trying to put that amulet over your head.”
“Oh no, do as Nova said,” Celestia admonished the guard who was about to pick up the amulet. “We need the hazardous materials team. That amulet mustn't be touched.”
“The amulet will make anyone who dares to wear it go mad with power,” I offered. “And I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Sombra had something to do with it.”
“If they had put that on my neck?” Sunset asked.
“All the worst parts of your personality would have been forced to the surface,” I offered. “And to the best of my knowledge, there are only two ways to get it off a pony wearing it. Either they take it off and they are not going to want to, or cut it off.”
“The chain can’t be cut,” Celestia said softly, went over to Sunset, and hugged her.
“Nova? What’s going on?” Mom asked as she walked into the small library.
“We had some intruders,” I offered. “I should probably get back to the airship. Any chance I can get an escort. I think I’m out of teleports for today.”
“Luna, go ahead and go with her,” Celestia offered.
💠
Luna and I returned to the Firefly a short time later with a sizable escort. We’d be taking off with a mixed crew of seven ponies, a dozen pegasi guards, six unicorn guards, and four passengers. The Airship itself had to be searched top to bottom and checked for signs of sabotage.
It was getting late with the sun on its way down by the time we were ready to go. Mom, Lofty, Scootaloo, and myself sat in a lounge behind the command deck, the doors were opened, and the engines started. Lines were cast off, and then we started forward ever so slowly. Oh for the theme music from Star Trek the motion picture to be playing as we exited the mountain hangar.
I had no idea just how high up the hangar had been either. Canterlot lay far below, its spires now cast golden in the light of the setting sun. As for myself, I found myself waking up in a berth sometime later. I’d simply pushed myself too hard too soon after having pushed myself way too hard. Granted if I’d known about mixing I probably could have dealt with my initial assailant with far less output of energy.
I was also ravenously hungry thanks to the outlay of manna and having missed dinner. But where can I scrounge up food in an airship?”
As I wasn’t going to get any less hungry by laying in bed, I decided to get up. My keen night vision showed that I was sharing a cabin with Scootaloo, so I made sure to climb down out of my birth as quietly as possible. Moving across a painted hardwood floor I opened the door to the cabin, and quietly crept out into the corridor. I then closed the door as quietly as I could, followed by wondering which direction was which. I'd gotten seriously turned around with no clue as to aft, or stern. Not even the gentle motion of the ship could clue me into which direction to go. Bucking relativity. In truth, it was I who was absolutely still while the world raced past. Or not?
I’d a fifty-fifty chance of going in the right direction… or I could let my nose find the way to food. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath via my nostrils, pointed my nose into the air, and took in several more sniffs. Ya, I know, I’m not a bloodhound. I am a hungry fox pony, and my nose had picked up on an airy sent drifting down the corridor. Is that coffee? The chase was a-hoof.
Trotting along I came to a stop at an open door to what looked like the officers' mess and spotted mom sitting at a table. Her hair was slowly drifting from a light breeze felt by no other, there was a gentle blue aura about her, and her eyes were all glowy. One of the ship’s officers, a stallion named Washboard by the name tape on his uniform, was sitting at the table about as far away as he could get, and each had a cup of coffee.
I walked in and climbed into a chair next to Luna. “It’s just a communication's spell,” I offered as the officer looked at me to acknowledge my presence. His look of concern shifted to one of understanding. “I’m going to see if I can cut in,” I added, placed a hoof against Mom’s side, and began the meditation sequence that would place me in the dream realm.
“They all worked for the Equestrian Daily News,” Celestia was saying to Luna. The setting was a garden patio and tea had been served on a small table between the two. “The Gentle-colt who attempted to place the Alicorn Amulet on Sunset had been told it would lead to an exclusive for the paper.”
“By any chance is the paper owned by Daisy Bellis Woods?” I asked as I walked over to join them.
“Nova? You can dream walk?” Mom asked.
“That was you who taught me wasn’t it?” I asked. “Granted you didn’t seem to know who I was at the time?”
“Considering the state I was in, anything’s possible, I’d imagine,” Mom offered. She gave me a knowing smile which made me wonder if it had been her at all. Of course, she wasn’t likely to say anything about Nightmare Moon wandering the dreamscape trying to make right the harm she’d done in front of Celestia.
“What makes you think Mrs Woods owns the paper?” Celestia asked.
“Reporters for a news rag that’s sold in grocery stores touting dubious headlines don’t typically put themselves at risk the way they’ve been doing. I mean, why interfere with the test at all when you can just make something up?”
“Either way, they aren’t likely to try again anytime soon. Any chance we’ve figured out how they are getting past the scanners?” Mom asked.
“I figure they are piggybacking. Walking in right next to someone with authorization,” I offered.
“You think the system may be registering it as an escort then?” Celestia mused. “That’s certainly worth looking into along with some procedural changes. And Nova, thank you for not frying the last two. Thank’s to that we’ve been able to get a good idea what that invisibility spell is and will be able to work out a counter.”
“Afraid the only reason I didn’t fry them, was because they weren’t actively engaged in suppressing my magic,” I offered. “As is I figured out how to mix my magic on the fly. I’m probably lucky I didn’t incinerate them.”
“I suppose there is that,” Celestia admitted.
“So, were you wandering the dreamscape before finding us?” Mom asked.
“No, I was wandering the corridor in the airship in search of food because I missed dinner.”
“Why did she miss dinner?” Celestia asked.
“Fell asleep and didn’t want to wake up,” Mom offered.
“Why didn’t you wake her?”
“Because one, she was exhausted, and two, she gets nippy. We gave up and plopped her in a bunk to sleep.”
“About Mrs Woods, did they find any remains?” I pressed.
“There’s no way she could have survived?” Celestia protested.
“Don’t be so sure. Nobody, not even so much as a splatter or smear down the side of the escarpment, and she’s still alive. I’m not going to rule out the possibility that fleeing to the Pegasi quarter wasn’t intentional.” Yes I know, I'm sounding really callous here, but my time in the human world had taught me that there is a time for emotions and a time for cold hard facts. So far as I was concerned, Mrs Woods was still alive until proven otherwise. Appearing to have fallen off a cliff was not proof.
“The paper is owned by a Mr Rich Muddock,” Celestia offered.
“Then why is he so willing to put ponies at risk just to sell a newspaper?” I ask.
“It just might be that they’ve been infiltrating places of business and government offices for some time,” Celestia proposed. “As is the investigators have been turning up a chain of magical feedback induced incidents and your assailant seems to have had a front seat to nearly everyone. The paper would then write a report claiming the victims had been drunk.”
“I get this feeling you might want to get your hooves on their story drafts,” I offered. I was just a little worried they’d already printed the story about my demise or Sunset’s ongoing rampage.
“How’d you know there would be some pony after Sunset,” Celestia asked after a moment’s contemplation. I couldn't help but wonder why she was asking that now.
“I didn’t. I was going on a gut feeling,” I offered. “That pony had to have known they’d be found out in the tight quarters of an airship. Their being there didn’t make a whole lot of sense. I just reasoned that if they were trying to get on the airship, they might not be the only ones wandering about where they didn’t belong. I imagine the guards and other personnel can describe how I was casting about my foxfire. The reason I was doing that, was because it would give away the presence of someone invisible.”
“Ah, that’s what that was for,” Celestia said softly.
“Speaking of gut feelings, I’m really hungry,” I pleaded.
“You get going, and I’ll catch up in a minute,” Mom offered.
“Alright,” I replied and backed out.
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little surprise the only thing they haven't been caught doing is intercepting of tamping with communications
Military raid on alleged terrorist organization (and newspaper) time!
I kept passing over this story and to be honest, I think it was the title that turned me off. But as it happens, every now and then, I run out of new stuff to listen to. Well, I finally decided to boot this up for a good listen to.
I'm very surprised. I was expecting something throw away, and what I got was a well told story, with some fairly fleshed out characters.
Very well done to the author. Thank you for giving me a very pleasant surprise.
The Monk
“Heat? isn't that when... I took a whiff of air when I smelled a smelly smell that smells smelly.” -The Kitsune
10794493
Thank you. Glad you like it so far.
That Anon-a-miss story I did, was throw away. It's over on my DA account now. "Free Floating Portal" is kind of a throw-away story too. Both were written to try out ideas I really had no intention of following up on.
"I am my own OC" actually saw several major revisions prior to the start of posting. "Not Quite Canon" was inspired by it. By calling it what I did I'd hoped to impart that yes, it's kind of a self-insert, while at the same time hinting that people might want to give it a look before downvoting. As is I got a bunch of downvotes right out of the gate. Can't help but wonder if any of those people even gave it a chance.
I thought the same thing i thought that it wasn't very good but i'm glade that i was wrong i can't get enough of the story best ever
airship hanger
airship hanger
...
10961944
That's one of those that's really easy to get switched and it ends up the wrong way ... every time. It's also a fairly common mistake.
Oh look, a professionally build web page where they did the same thing: Airship Hangers
Using back and front then naval terms saying the same thing is redundant. Did you mean left/right?