Don't Go Outside...II...

Later that morning...

"Everyone is out...?"
"Yes Captain!"
"Assemble the others...it's time."

The Air-Docks of Canterlot were an interesting thing to see, according to tourists. A sort of 'ship-yard' if you will, but more air-based than anything. Balloons, zeppelins, air-boats, chariots and their many varieties. All housed in a gigantic warehouse situated next to long wooden piers suspended in the air, anchored to the mountain with several supports. While in past times the Air-Docks were used for convenient trading and tourism...the drums of war were beating, and the Air-Docks ferried soldiers instead of civilians.

It was on one of these long piers that a calm looking Captain Shadow-Mane sat, his yellow eyes fixated on the far horizon. His wings were restless, fluttering at his side slightly in anticipation. If he wasn't a veteran, he would have said it was out of nervousness...but no, merely eagerness. Eagerness to get out into the sky, to dive, to soar....to fight. It would be his tenth combat drop this month, more action then he had ever seen in his entire military career. Sure there were a few skirmishes to be had here and there...a rebellion, a police action....but this. This wasn't any simple war. No...it was much more personal this time.

It was Cloudsdale....his home.

Behind them, a flurry of activity was taking place. The docks swarmed with Pegasai who ran about, checking and rechecking gear and making sure the Air-Boats and chariots were ready to go. The Air-Boats looked like any ship you'd see in the water...only fitted with some internal, magical crystals imbued with a levitation spell, and slightly less sails. Quite ingenious, if you had an extended knowledge in that sort of arcane knowledge. Shadow-Mane remembered that day and scoffed, thinking back on his Arcaneium 101 classes. Those crystals were life savers...the only known piece of rock able to be charged and manipulable with magic.

He turned his to watch the preparations at hoof, watching as several of the Pegasai were fitted with small, metallic frames on their back. They flapped their wings comfortably through the slits of the frame, the buckles of the harness attached to it being buckled around their belly.

Shadow-Mane scoffed, looking back forward towards the horizon. Ah yes...another weapon of war for the Pegasus ponies who were helpless in combat while flying. Shadow-Mane often had never seen the use for them...but I guess somepony got tired of lugging around unicorns in a chariot for any sort of ranged combat. From behind, one of The Lunar Guard heaved up a long, metal sort of contraption. It consisted of a small box with a long barrel on the end of it, with two sort of metal arms dangling from the side that had a hoof shaped cover on the ends of them, like shoes. The contraption was fitted onto one of the metal frames worn by the other soldiers, the sounds of clicking indicating it had been secured. After the box and barrel were fitted, the pony wearing the frame fit his hooves into the metallic shoes attached to the arms, flexing slightly and getting used to their feel.

'A simple device...', Shadow-Mane thought, his eye looming and looking towards the rear. 'A case of bullets loaded into the metal box...a heavy push forward with your hooves...and the rifle goes kaboom...' Sure it added a weight issue...but after wearing it for so long, you learned to get used to it. They called it a 'Wing-Cannon'...but he preferred the title 'Pain in the Fucking Ass'.

"Captain, I've got your rig!" said a voice, one familiar to the Captain.

"Bring it here Nightfire...let's do this quick." Shadow-Mane sighed, turning to face the other Pegasus who was trotting up to him with a Wing-Cannon of his own on his back, pulling a disassembled cannon in a wagon behind him. Shadow-Mane had often admired Nightfire's spirit, the colt willing to do just about anything for his fellow pony or his Captain. He often remembered the times when Nightfire had saved his flank, always keeping an eye out for danger that that everypony else may have missed. Careful and precise, but humorous and likeable...just the kind of soldier Shadow-Mane needed.

The Captain said nothing as Nightfire fitted the Wing-Cannon across his back, checking its cleanliness and functionality. There was no use in having a gun if you couldn't even fire it. "Nightfire..." Shadow-Mane suddenly said, looking up into the sky.

"Sir?" Nightfire replied, fitting the metal box and cannon onto the frame.

"Do you ever get scared before a drop, or any kind of mission that you know will combat?" Shadow-Mane muttered, his eyes vacant of emotion.

"Course, you'd be an idiot not to sir" Nightfire replied, opening up a small panel on the back of the cannon. "I always get scared. The possibility of dying up there is always constant...but as long as you watch your back and your buddies, everypony will go home at the end of the day."

"Good words Nightfire..." Shadow-Mane whispered as Nightfire slid a metal box of ammo into the slot located in the cannon box, closing it up tight and giving it a few taps with his hoof. He then proceeded to pull a large, blue-colored knife in a sheath off the table nearby, strapping it to the Captain's leg. He also handed him his pair of flight goggles, stringing them around his neck.

"Course sir, all ready to go!" came the Seargent's gleeful cry, the Pegasus sitting on his haunches next to the Captain.

The two of them were quiet for a moment, simply staring out into the horizon before Nightfire spoke up. "Captain...," he began "Are you scared?"

Shadow-Mane didn't answer right away, letting the words sink in along with the sounds of groaning wood and metallic clanking. "Yes, Nightfire, I'm scared." He finally replied "But I'm more angry than anything. Angry and eager..."

"Because of Cloudsdale sir?" Nightfire whispered.

Shadow-Mane nodded and muttered "Indeed...I may not be a pony of many emotions...but you know how soft I get when I start thinking about home..."

Nightfire put a hoof on his shoulder as the commanding shouts of other Captains and Seargent's filled the air. "We'll take it back Captain...we will!" He whispered as he got to his hooves, the roars of the soldiers growing louder and louder.

"Onto the ships!!!"

"Move it up! Get on board!"

"Fall in! FALL IN!!!"

The two got to their hooves, turning and clambering forward with their weapons. They moved towards one of the filling Air-Boats, climbing the wooden ramp upwards and onto the ship. After finding an empty spot on the deck, Shadow-Mane lifted his hoof and shouted as Nightfire sat on his haunches next to him.

"Shadow Company, over here! Form up on me! Moon-Lance, Sky-Driver, Wind-Weaver, over here!"

Several ponies moved out of the steadily moving line in front of the Air-Boat, clambering aboard quickly and moving over towards the Captain. They all snapped to attention and gave him a proper salute as the rest of The Lunar Guard swarmed onto the other ships. "Listen up..." Shadow-Mane growled, his eyes narrowing in determination. "We've done these drops before, we all know the drill. They don't have guns so they can't shoot back, but they will swarm so keep a steady eye on your ass, got it?" The ponies nodded, jumping slightly as the Air-Boat gave a lurch forward, floating towards the shield.

"Open er' up!" came the shout of somepony at the head of one of the boats, the blueish shield dissipating in a large section on the side. Guns were cocked and aimed towards the hole, unicorn crew members doing the same with their horns. They couldn't afford to let anything get through as they got out...they couldn't let the last stand fall. It was a tense set of minutes as the Air-Boats passed through the hole, and as they did, the shield quickly reformed behind them. As the shield closed up behind them, Shadow-Mane grimaced and looked at the passing mountains.

It was funny...the common joke around some of the guards had been a friendly mockery of the rules many Ponyville Citizens lived by during their imprisonment three months ago. 'Don't go outside!!!' they often hissed, watching as the boats or soldiers left Canterlot. The Captain couldn't really blame them...just being outside the shield made him feel dirty.

"All right..." Shadow-Mane grumbled "Dismissed...take some time for yourselves...get loose, get comfy." His squad nodded, dispersing quietly to attend to their own business. Prayers, letters to home in case the battle left them no longer amongst the living...or one of them.

There we no letters to be had from Shadow-Mane...he had no family. The last of his kin, The Captain did not waste time with such trivial matters. He was too busy for love...too bloody for comfort. War was his mare, and he fucked her like a plow would a field. Prayers though...were not beyond him. He walked quietly to the port side of the ship, kneeling slightly and closing his eyes. His words were quiet, a hushed whisper as he prayed to Luna.

"My Lunar Princess...watch over me this day. Watch over my soldiers...let them come home. If a pony needs to die today, let it be me. Guide my aim, guide my blade, guide my spirit. Let my wings carry me forward once more into the fray, and into my once cherished home. Please...allow it to be this day...the day I atone for all my sins. In the Moon's name, I pray to you my Princess, Amen."

Minutes passed at first...then hours...and then finally...

He stood up as the first of the Captain's shouted "Form up! Prepare to drop!". Shadow-Mane quickly waved a hoof in his air, signaling his ponies to move towards the side of the ship. Ponies flocked to the wooden railings of the air-boats, getting into formation and turning their flanks towards the open sky. "Just like scuba-diving" one Pegasus said, drawing a chuckle out of his friend.

Shadow-Mane took his position next to Nightfire and grimaced, getting his mind as battle-ready as he could. He knew what he was going to be facing down there...he always did. The words from the others weren't helping him at all however...

"You hear what they say about Dale?"

"Whole fucking place is a diseased hornet's nest now..."

"Yeah, and we're about to buck the shit out of it..."

"How many they get out again?"

"Around seventy something I heard..."

"Leaves about...two thousand plus?"

"Oh shit...there's that many?"

"Ah fuck it, Phillydelphia had more"

"Wait, Philly was hit!?"

"Shit wasn't that one of the last cities to go?"

"Poor bastards...maybe we'll get to drop there too."

"Quiet..." Shadow-Mane growled towards his right, looking at the watch that wrapped around his hoof, opposite of his knife.

Thirty Seconds...

"Red Signal, drop is in standby! Thirty Seconds to wing-off!" Shadow-Mane barked to his ponies, the other Captains mimicking his words to their own squads.

This was it...the calm before the storm. Already he could hear the crackle of magic from below as the Air-Boats and chariots combated their soaring assailants, distracting them from the drop crews.

Twenty Seconds...

"Yellow Signal! Prepare to Drop! Safety's off!" Shadow-Mane shouted, twisting his right hoof and pulling backwards, making the metal arm push up against a switch marked 'Safety'. Clicks were heard all around as the cannons were armed, a small machine inside the box loading a round.

This was it...this was the end...once more into the fray...into the clear blue skies...into the beautiful ocean of air.

Ten Seconds....

"Stand by!!! STAND BY!!!!" Shadow-Mane barked, pushing a whistle in his mouth that Nightfire had handed to him, flicking his flight goggles down at the same time.

5....

4....

3...

2...

1....

"FOR CLOUDSDALE!" Roared The Lunar Guard, whistles blowing shrilly in the air. "Green Light! DIVE DIVE DIVE!" Shouted the Captains, the ponies standing on the side of the railing leaning backwards and falling through the air. Captain Shadow-Mane sucked in a breath as he stood on his back hooves, extending his front hooves outwards and letting himself fall back. Seconds became years as he slowly let out a tired breath, his mind as free and clear as it would ever be that day.

He fell through the air with his fellow soldiers, his eyes open and staring downwards into the chaotic hell they were diving into.

Cloudsdale...the very city he grew up in...was in utter chaos. Bolts of magic flew this way and that, the tracers of bullets visible in the air. The city itself looked to be in utter ruin, with swarms of Afflicted rushing through the air. "Shadow Squad, break formation and form attack pattern Omega! On me, now!" Shadow-Mane roared over the wind, fanning out his wings and banking sharply to the right. His squad of four quickly followed from behind, forming into a V-shaped pattern of ponies.

All around, the rest of the mass broke off, forming their own units and squads and soaring down towards the city of white. "Clear the skies and prepare a landing zone! We need to secure the middle square for the unicorns!" came the order from Shadow-Mane, the group angling their front hooves in preparations to push them forward and open fire. A group of ten afflicted Pegasai had turned from the main swarm, their eyes gleaming with the color of red and their snarls echoing across the air currents. "Single out your targets, do not panic and steady your aim!" Shadow-Mane commanded, looking up at the cannon over his head and aiming it carefully with a slight adjustment of his body.

As the Afflicted drew closer, Shadow-Mane waited until he could see cutie-marks before shouting "OPEN FIRE!!!" His ears rang as his and his other squad-mates' cannons went off. Five Afflicted went down with bullets, their bodies falling out of their swarming formation and tumbling down through the air. Shadow-Mane pulled back his front hooves and the machine clicked, shooting out the bullet casing. He threw them back forward with a heaving push, firing off another round which struck home. All but one of the Afflicted remained, and he had come too close for rifle fire.

"I've got him!" Nightfire roared, banking hard to the left and doing a barrel roll as he pulled his leg-knife out with his teeth. He caught the Afflicted in mid-air, falling back behind the squad as they surged forward. Shadow-Mane took a glance back and watched as Nightfire gutted the Afflicted in the throat, shoving him away with a buck and re-sheathing his blade. With a quick surge of his wings, Nightfire was already well on his way to catching up. As the group got lower, the streets of Cloudsdale opened up to them. A large section had been blocked off, with Pegasai trying their best to barricade and cut off the streets while defending their overhead position.

"Down there!" Shadow-Mane barked, pointing with a hoof towards the middle of the barricades were several Lunar Guard were already holding the line. Shadow Squad dove quickly, coming down with a quick landing as they galloped forward with momentum onto the ground. "Form up! Secure the perimeter and prepare to move out!" Gunfire rang out everywhere as bodies fell from the sky, tumbling towards the ground far below.

Afflicted rained down from the sky in troves, with bullets meeting them halfway. "SHOOT UP! SHOOT, UP!" Roared Shadow-Mane who reared back on his hooves, aiming his cannon upwards and firing. Afflicted fell around their hooves, but it still wasn't enough to thin the horde that was slowly building up in numbers. "Take cover! Get into the alleys!"

Shadow Squad rushed into one of the alleys between the cloud buildings, hunkering down and aiming their cannons towards the entrance. As Afflicted landed on the street, they were quickly dispatched by the ambushing squad...but the numbers still did not let up. "Fucking hell!" Moon-Lance screamed "There may as well be two MILLION of em'!"

"Shut up and get your head in the fight Lance!" Wind-Weaver barked, gunning a bullet into one of the Afflicted's eyes.

For two minutes the slaughter continued, bodies piling higher and higher in the street. It wasn't until a charred body fell that Shadow-Mane shouted "HOLD YOUR FIRE!" With careful hoof movements, Shadow Squad slowly made their way towards the front of the entrance, looking up and taking a moment to stare in horror and awe.

"Holy shit..." Nightfire wheezed, putting a hoof over his mouth.

All around, unicorn's in pulled chariots used their combine magic to ignite and launch fire through the skies. Flame and molten fire was thrown about the sky, crashing into several swarms of the diseased ponies. "Oh that's just sick..." Moon-Lance groaned, his stomach heaving.

"Better them then us" Sky-Driver grumbled, shifting the weight of Wing-Cannon to his left side.

"Alright cut the chatter" Shadow-Mane grumbled "Let's get moving to the main district. The sooner we take Cloud Square, the sooner we can establish a forward command and get the 'Cloud-Crete' crystals up here." The Cloud-Crete crystals...just another twist of unrestricted magic...a crystal with a powerful aura enough to allow unicorns and earth ponies to walk on clouds as they would the ground.

It was the only way they could properly secure Cloudsdale...the only way to save it, despite the many arguments that Shadow-Mane threw towards the subject. The crystals were still a fresh form of new magic in Equestria...they were too unpredictable. If that crystal suddenly decided to shit out on them...they were going to have to find quite a few more body bags to pick up all the broken unicorns strewn about on the ground below Cloudsdale.

"Alright...let's get moving" Shadow-Mane muttered, moving up the street quickly with his squad. It had only been ten minutes since Shadow-Mane first dove backwards out of the Air-Boat...and it'd be another two days until Cloudsdale could be taken...considering everything went well.

With the lines drawn and the blood raining down from the sky, The Lunar Guard began their vicious struggle to retake the sky.

The Battle for Cloudsdale, had begun.