Convergence

Colonel Starblink took a deep breath, straightened his uniform, and pushed open the doors to the command room.  His wings fidgeted slightly on his back.  He couldn’t help himself; he was nervous, and frightened.  His Princess was speaking with the three humans.  Starblink eyed the humans with mistrust.  He knew that they were trying to help, but… after hearing what he had heard, it was next to impossible to trust a human.  The Colonel looked back to Celestia.  Her mane shimmered in the dim light of the room, giving off a soft glow.  Her voice, while regal, was always personal, and sincere.  It was impossible to not adore the sun princess, and of course it had fallen to him to deliver the bad news to her.

“My Princess, I am so sorry to interrupt, but I need to inform you of…”

Starblink’s voice cracked slightly.  He took a deep breath, pushing the thoughts of his family and home out of his mind.

“Cloudsdale… has been destroyed.”

The temperature in the room seemed to plummet.  The Princess looked at the colonel, one of her most trusted officers.

“How?”

“We received word less than four minutes ago… several flying craft, no doubt from the humans, attacked and completely demolished the city.  We are still trying to uncover the details but… so far, we have reports of thousands of casualties, and at least four hundred dead… probably more.”

Starblink could hardly speak.  He simply stopped, making no effort to further explain.  He knew what was coming next.

“Your family?” Celestia asked gently, her face fallen, eyes sad.

Starblink hung his head.

“I... I don’t know.”

Celestia slowly nodded.

“We will all be hurt by this Starblink.  Some more than others.  I need you to go now, and tell the mages to send a call to all the garrisons of Equestria; we are at war, and it is a war for our very survival.”

The Colonel pulled himself to attention.

“Yes, my Princess.”

Starblink quickly backed out of the room.  The doors closed behind him.  The Princess turned to the table in the middle of the room, her horn glowing.  From shelves all over the room, small models of armor clad ponies floated, and then alighted at various points on the terrain map of Equestria.  James looked at the clusters of models.  They were woefully few, even if each one represented a division.  The Princess then looked at the three humans.

“Is there anypony in your world that would have the ability to help us?”

Jonathan shook his head, “Not that I can think of…”

Alex slowly tapped the table that held the Equestrian map.

“General Anderson… James and I spoke with him shortly after we went back to our world.  He seemed to sympathize with you, and everybody knows that what the president and his gang are doing is wrong… I just think that he is one of the only people brave enough to do anything about it.”

Celestia observed the humans.

“All three of you proved that you are brave enough to do something, when you ensured that Canterlot would not share Cloudsdales fate.  You were prepared to turn your weapons on evil, disregarding the fact that it dwelt in what you considered to be friends.”

“That’s just it,” James said, “When we were talking with the General, he told us that the IFF, which is a system that identifies Friendlies and Hostiles, might be acting up.  He said that we would have to make sure that we were shooting at the right stuff.  At the time I just thought he meant the systems were having trouble… but I think he was hinting to us, that we might have to… you know.”

Alex spoke.

“I’m sorry that we didn’t know about the Cloudsdale attack, your Highness.  We might have been able to save the city, but we didn’t bother to look at the attack schedule.”

The Princess shook her head.

“Cities can be rebuilt, they’re merely objects.  It’s the ponies that inhabit them that are irreplaceable.  Also, do not blame yourself for the sins of others.  I’ve made that mistake many, many times.  It never solves anything.”

It was Jonathan that offered the next suggestion.

“I don’t mean to rapidly change topics here but, I think that we have the fate of a country on the line.  So I’d like start off with a question; how quickly could you have several hundred pounds of sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter delivered to this place?”

<(^)>

“Dang that man!  How can he be so twisted?”

“I don’t know, but he told me his little evil scheme himself, less than twenty minutes ago.”

“Ugh!  I hope that Alex and James can show them that not all humans want them dead, or else our relation with the ponies is screwed.”

“We can’t worry about that right now, and besides, I got our man.  He’s technically a radar operator on an AWACs, but he has flight training.  I have everything that General Quentin over at Edwards will need to have the Senate throw Nickelson into a very, very deep hole in the ground.”

“Do you think that Edwards will be able to provide more… open resistance to the President, should the Senate take too long?”

“I’ve enclosed a file containing information on that contingency… and I think that I may know a way we can set up a secure line of communications to the outside world.”

<(^)>

David Blackburn slid wordlessly out of the Apache, then sank to the tarmac, his back against the smooth metal of his bird.  His helmet clunked unceremoniously to the ground.  His gunner, Aaron Blastringer, hopped out of his seat at the front of the Apache.

“You’re not looking so hot Dave.”

“I’m not feeling so hot Aaron.”

Aaron took a knee in front of his pilot.  He picked up the wayward helmet, setting it next to him.

“This ain’t like you Dave.  What’s gotten you so shook up?”

David looked at his gunner in a state of near disbelief.

“What do you mean why am I so shaken up?  Do you not remember what we just did?  It was just a hour ago!”

David put his head between his knees.

“Just a freaking hour…”

The voice was now muffled.

Aaron was slightly disturbed by his friends grief.

“Look Dave, we was just doin’ our job.  It doesn’t matter whether or not it seemed right or not.  That’s for the guys with the stripe to decide.”

“No it’s not.  Just because someone gets a freaking bigger paycheck doesn’t give them the right to determine right and wrong.  And I’m not quite sure what the heck what that was back there, but I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t right.  And we did it.  I did it.”

“They’re just freaking horses Dave.  Cool off man, just think for a while.  You’re just a little shaken up, that’s all.  I’m sure you’ll be fine in a jiffy.”

Aaron handed the helmet back to David, who reluctantly took it.

“You just chill out here for a bit, I’ll see you inside.”

Aaron turned and jogged off to the main base facility.

David’s resolve hardened.  Never again.  He swore to himself.

<(^)>

The Ground rumbled, and the air vibrated with noise.  The tank line advanced through the desert, surrounded by a phalanx of Humvees and APCs.  The lead tank dipped into the depression, followed closely by the other vehicles.  Quickly, they made their way through the portal, and began descending down the mountainside.

<(^)>

Swiftwing lay on one of the couches in the forts main room.  He slowly perused the latest edition of the Equestria Daily.  Aliens?  Flying machines?  Sighing; he threw down the paper.  He had thought that EQD was still a reliable source of news, but apparently they too had joined the crowd that would do anything for a juicy story.

“Think the Mares will go for this?”

Swiftwing looked up at the dark blue Pegasus that had just entered the room.  He was admiring the striped ribbon with the emblem of the Equestrian military that adorned his neck.

“I think you need all the help you can get, Clouddancer.”

Clouddancer looked at Swiftwing.

“You’re one to talk, you don’t have a very special somepony either.”

Swiftwing stretched his wings, opening them to their full span.

“You know that there isn’t a mare in all Equestria that’s special enough for me Cloudy.”

“Interesting words, considering you haven’t been to all of Equestria.”

“We’re in the military, I’ll prove my hypothesis soon enough.”

Clouddancer laughed.

The doors burst open, and a Pegasus with aerial combat armor soared in.

“What’s the occasion Colonel?”

“Shut up Swiftwing, and you better not make any bright comments either Clouddancer.  We’re scrambling to Canterlot, now.  Grab your armor, basic combat kits, and light packs.  We’re going to war.”

“What?!”

“We’re all going to get briefed on what the buck is going on once we arrive in Canterlot.  So I suggest that you hurry up.”

Swiftwing launched himself off the couch, spreading his wings mid leap.  Beating them furiously, he soared through the hallways, the air whistling through his mane.  Celestia, I love flying.  The Pegasus winged his way through the fort, hearing the occasional cries of; “Watch it!”

Swiftwing skidded to a stop in his room.  He leaned over, bit onto his armor, and pulled it over his body.  Carefully, he secured the armor clasps.  Then he turned to a saddle bag in the corner.  He dumped several objects into it.  A photo of his family, the few books that he owned, mainly Daring Do, his compass, his canteen…  Swiftwing continued placing objects in his saddlebags, before finally turning to the last things he needed to pack.

He looked at the shining blades, and the deadly points.  Would he have to use them on somepony before long?  This troubled Swiftwing, despite the fact that he joined the military, he had never thought he would have to kill anypony.  There hadn’t been a war in fifteen hundred years, why did that have to change now?

He slid his sword into its sheath, then buckled the sheath onto his armor.  He slid his hoof daggers into his bag, blades sheathed.  The hoof daggers were designed for aerial battle, fastened to a ponies fore hooves.  They could be used to dice enemies without impeding mobility.  Swiftwing slid into his saddlebag, and trotted from his room, securing the door behind him.

Swiftwing spread his plumage once more, feeling the cool air on his feathers.  He beat his wings, barely noticing the extra weight strapped to his body.  I guess that working out really does pay off… He flew into the main courtyard, where other pegasi were pouring in.  He took his place in the courtyard, standing at attention.  The last stragglers trickled in, and stood at attention.  All was silent.

Hooves sounded on the cobblestone courtyard.  The sounds grew nearer.  Swiftwing saw a gray maned pegasus trot past him, making her way to the podium.  General Sky rider.  She trotted to the base of the podium, then spread her wings.  She beat them once, enough to propel her the four feet up to the top of the podium.  She turned to her troops.

“Gentlecolts, Equestria is at war.  We received word just a few minutes ago that a new enemy, one that we have never heard of before, has attacked.”

She paused for a moment.

“Cloudsdale… has been destroyed.  It is currently unknown how many casualties there were, but the number is at least in the thousands.  These new foes show no distinction between civilian and combatant; their only rules appears to be; kill them all.  Gentlecolts, we make wing for Canterlot.  On my mark.”

The General spread her wings.

“Mark!”

The giant formation of pegasi burst into the air, the beating of their wings akin to the sound of thunder.  Swiftwing flew near the front of the formation, just behind the General.  He gritted his teeth.  His sister lived in Cloudsdale, with her husband.  If this new enemy had laid a single hoof on either of them, they would rue the day they had messed with Captain Swiftwing, of the Equestrian Royal military.