“You've got to be shitting me.”

The flight from Canterlot to the Wonderbolt's headquarters was rather short, being only about twenty minutes, and the transfer from the train to the airship went without a hitch.

There was only one small problem. Emphasis on small.

“That has got to be, without a doubt, the smallest runway I have ever seen.”

The reason that they needed an escort from Commander Spitfire was due to the massive “privacy barrier” of clouds surrounding the plateau that the airbase was on. If the airship didn't enter the base at the proper altitude, or from the correct angle, it could've smashed into the side of the plateau or through one of the many cloud buildings surrounding it.

Although from John's point of view looking out one of the small windows in the cargo hold of the airship, calling it an airbase would be like calling his smashed up aircraft perfectly flyable.

It looked as if someone had chopped the top off the world's smallest mountain and paved a half-assed, two-lane road on top of it.

“Oh, It can't be that bad, sir.”

He looked over at the Sergeant Major, then stepped back and gestured at the window. “See for yourself.” The Sergeant Major stood up from the small canvas seat he was sitting in and walked to the window. “Well?”

“Jesus...” The Sergeant was quiet for a moment. “I've been stationed on aircraft carriers bigger than that.”

“Yeah. Even if I'm able to somehow take off from that, there's no way in hell that I'll be able to land again.” He sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. “I guess we'll have to deal with it when the time comes.”

“Not much else we can do, I guess.” The Sergeant Major said as he returned to where he was sitting.

“Alright gents, prepare for landing!” A voice sounded out from a hatch leading to the deck above.

The landing procedure was… slow.

It took somewhere around ten minutes to land the rather cumbersome aircraft. It was almost akin to docking a large boat, except done vertically. As the airship neared the ground, lines were tossed from the deck to waiting ponies on the ground, who then tied them off onto cleats anchored into the ground.

Eventually, the doors were opened, the cargo ramp was lowered, and the unloading process began.

It didn't take nearly as long to unload the airship as it did to load it, as the pieces were just placed off to the side in the grass instead of being wedged and fit into the small cargo hold like pieces to a puzzle.

After awhile, he could hear the telltale sound of the whomping of rotors from the blackhawk.

Apparently, Spitfire wasn't informed that a second aircraft would be coming with them, so the blackhawk had to remain behind until a second escort could be found.

“Sir,” John turned to see the Air Force JTAC jogging up to him. “Blackhawk's running on fumes, they want to know where to land it.”

Crap.

He looked around, trying to find the yellow form of Spitfire. Spotting her talking to a few of the ponies moving parts around, he quickly made his way over, the JTAC close on his heels.

“- and try not to drop it this time.”

Wait, what?

“Drop what, exactly?” He asked, slightly startling the Commander.

“Oh, didn't see you there Lieutenant. That bozo over there dropped my coffee.” She pointed at a quickly fleeing stallion. “So, what can I do for ya?”

John took a moment to regain his train of thought. “My helicopter is almost out of fuel.” He pointed at the Blackhawk slowly orbiting the plateau. “I need to know where I can land it.”

Spitfire thought for a moment. “I guess you can stick it down there somewhere.” She waved a hoof towards the opposite end of the runway. “Wherever you can get it to fit.”

“Ok, thank you ma-am.” He turned to the JTAC. “You hear that?” the Controller nodded his head. “Make it happen.”

“You've certainly got some interesting stuff here.”

He turned back to Spitfire, who was currently poking at a bent and twisted up piece of sheet metal. “You should see her when she gets put back together again.”

“I'm looking forward to it. Anyways, let me show you where you'll be bunking.” She turned and gestured for him to follow her. She led him over to a small path winding through a copse of trees and bushes. Pushing his way past the foliage, he saw a set of stairs leading down into the ground. “We've hollowed out part of the plateau and turned it into barracks and a mess hall for any ground-pounders that come to visit, as well as any overflow from Academy classes.”

John was surprised as he was lead down the stairs. “Honestly, I thought you'd make us camp out.”

Spitfire let out a chuckle. “I mean, if you really want to, I'm sure I've got a few tents around here somewhere.” She pushed open a heavy metal door that opened up into a rather spacious mess hall. “Welcome to 'The Cave'.” The room was rather well lit by artificial light-crystals embedded into the ceiling. There were several tables spread throughout the room, and on the far side was a cafeteria-style serving line leading into a kitchen. “As you can see, here's the Mess. Kinda sparse at the moment, but we're between Academy cycles at the moment and our cooks are rather bored, so I'll have them move some stuff down here.” She turned and led him to a staircase leading further down. “Living quarters are down here. There are a total of three floors with ten rooms on each. First floor has the Officer and Senior Enlisted quarters, second and third are Enlisted. Each room can sleep a total of four, so there should be plenty of room for everyone.” She opened the door to one of the first Officer rooms. “It ain’t exactly five stars, but it could definitely be worse.”

John eyed the room. It was rather sparse, only containing a bed, desk, and dresser, with a small bathroom just inside the door. “I'm sure I'll make due.”

Spitfire closed the door and reached into the pocket of her dress shirt, pulling out a small pin and sticking it to the door. “To let the janitorial staff know this room's taken.” She explained when she saw John's confused expression. “They'll get you sorted with some linens and toiletries and stuff.” She walked back up the stairs into the mess hall. “All the other rooms are pretty much the same as that one, just with more beds. Any questions?”

John thought for a moment. “Yeah. Are there any places you want us to stay out of?”

“Nah, not really. At least, nowhere that you guys will actually be able to get into.” Spitfire pulled a manila folder out of her shirt and gave it a pat. “I've got a brief planned that's got all the details and what not, but it can wait until everyone's settled in.”

“Sounds good.”

“Ok, I'll leave you to it then.”

“Ma-am.” John snapped off a salute, which Spitfire returned before heading back outside.

Looking around the vacant room, John could only wonder how long he would spend here.

Author's Note

So, my update schedule has already been screwed up, but it's nothing to really worry about. If you want more details on that, check out my last two blog updates, they'll fill you in on what's going on.

Anywho, this one's a little longer than the last one.

And for visual reference, here's a picture of the WBHQ:

If everything goes according to plan, the next update should be in 2 days, so keep an eye out for that.

...

Yup.