Pilot's Story

Pilot's Story

Chapter 15: Reunion

"Receiving broadcast, additional human presence confirmed."

"Activating scout drones"

"Omega protocol schedule adjusted by eight percent."

~~

"Shouldn't be much farther now, hold on to her, this is going to get rough!" James yelled over the roaring of the engine, the truck tore through the forest, bouncing off of rocks and tree stumps, plowing straight through bushes and saplings with no consideration.

James was driving like a man possessed, the monster chasing them saw to that. "A hydra. A damn hydra! can you believe that?" He yelled as the beast roared behind them. The needle on the speedometer crept up over forty miles per hour, the truck shuddered violently on the rough terrain, and still James kept the throttle to the floor.

"I wouldn't have believed unicorns either, but evidence would seem to contradict that assumption!" Tommy yelled back, his arms wrapped tight around the pale blue pony in his lap, he kept his eyes locked on the rifle sitting in the rack on the dashboard.

"I know what you're thinking, I don't think it'll be enough. Bet you're wishing you let me bring the fifty right about now huh?" James joked despite the situation, the trees were beginning to thin out, the larger hydra was starting to close the distance, the dense trees no longer slowing it down.

"..to any station, is anybody receiving?" the radio crackled over the chaos.

"Eva!" James yelled as he grabbed the handset and keyed up the microphone, "Eva! You're not going to believe this-"

~~

"A hydra, a damn hydra! We're in a deuce and a half tearing through the forest heading towards the signal you fired the other night, well, I assume it was you. We've got wounded and we're heading due east towards your location, I don't know if you're in any position to help, but anything you can do we'd appreciate!"

Eva's eyes widened, she hadn't seen a hydra, but if it had James in such a panic... "James, I... I might have something, try to keep ahead of it, I'll try to pick you up on the portable as you get closer. Hospital is on the east end of town, the DC-3 is in the field next to it, can't miss it. I'll try to cover your approach, over and out!" she yelled into the headset before throwing it off and turning to the confused lavender mare behind her.

Twilight hadn't heard James's half of the conversation, "What was that all about?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"James is being chased by a hydra, I assume that's very very bad. I need to get to the crates we pulled out of the plane, quickly." Eva explained as she trotted out of the cockpit, her face twisted up in pain with each forced step.

"I can get us there faster." the purple mare said, and the trio disappeared in a flash of light...

And reappeared an instant later in the library basement. The green wooden crates were undisturbed, sitting up against the wall. "That'll work." Eva said flatly as she kicked open the latch on the nearest crate and started digging through it, the sounds of metal clanging against metal filled the room as she dug through the container, mumbling under her breath as a pile of packing straw and odd shaped wood and metal objects formed around her.

"What are you looking for?" Twilight asked as she edged closer to the frantic mare. The lavender unicorn turned her gaze to the pile of objects on the floor. The straw was familiar, the other objects were not.

'Actually... They look kind of like that thing she was holding that day at the plane, after the meat incident, a gun she called it...' Twilight thought to herself. The way she'd been holding the 'gun' that day was oddly familiar in her mind, and to be searching through a collection of what looked to be similar devices while a hydra was on the loose... "You're looking for a weapon aren't you?"

"No." Eva answered as she set a final gun down next to the box and pulled the lid closed before she slipped a thin wire headset over her ear, "I found one, let's go."

~~

James dropped the handset and put his hand back on the wheel, "She's going to cover us? How is she going to cover us? Does she have a tank?" He asked Tommy incredulously as they crossed the tree line onto an open plain. The truck settled down as it accelerated up to fifty five, the clear ground allowed a softer ride and a higher speed.

Tommy shrugged his shoulders as he watched the hydra in the side mirror, he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, the monster was close, too close. "Who knows, at this point I'll take any help we can get."

The hydra closed further as it took to a sprint across the open terrain, it's many heads snapping and hissing at the olive green intruder. Rage filled its thoughts, a furious directed rage, that this strange beast would just carelessly tear through its territory, scare off its prey.

If it was going to drive off the hydra's dinner, the hydra would make it his dinner. The beast lunged forward, mouths open, and bit down on the wooden railing around the cargo bed. The truck jumped as the railing snapped away. The hydra slowed it's pursuit slightly, opening up the distance.

The radio crackled, "I've got a visual, confirm speed please." Eva's voice came through the radio, relatively calm under the circumstances. The truck accelerated.

James grabbed up the handset and looked down at the speedometer, "Fifty two miles per hour, we're out of time." he answered as the beast lunged forward again, he knew it wasn't going to come up empty handed this time.

"Fifty two... closing at about five... range nine hundred meters..." Eva rattled off into her open mic, James listened intently to the sound of her voice, hoping, praying that whatever she was doing was going to work. "Firing."

The brothers heard the cadence of gunfire through the radio, evenly spaced shots, one, two, three, four, five. An instant later they heard the gunfire outside of the cabin of the truck, then both turned to their left to see five tracers arc towards the creature pursuing them before flying over its head.

"Missed high, firing second volley, stand by." She called through the radio again, and again they heard the five evenly spaced gunshots. This time they watched the brightly glowing tracers arc directly onto the body of the beast. The shots bounced off the thick hide of the creature, but the effect was still instantaneous; the creature pulled back, as if finally realizing where it was.

James let out a breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding as he looked in his mirror to see the beast break off and head back into the forest. He eased off the throttle and slowed the frantic pace of the truck has he turned down a dirt road towards the... colorful town ahead.

Tommy smirked a little as he looked at his older brother, "So... she hasn't changed much has she?"

~~

"Target is breaking off, you're clear into town. Avoid entering the town proper, the roads are not suitable for vehicle traffic, head around the perimeter to the hospital, you can't miss it, I'll see you there." Eva called into her headset as she pulled the rifle off of the balcony guardrail.

"I didn't expect it to be that loud." Twilight said as she held a hoof to her head. "My ears won't stop ringing..." She complained as she blinked repeatedly, her hooves rubbing at her temples.

Applejack lowered her hooves from her ears and tried, unsuccessfully, to suppress a smirk, "She did tell ya to cover yer ears, ya shoulda listened." The orange mare snickered quietly as she leaned against the railing, her hat hid her grin... poorly.

Eva dropped the empty magazine and slid a fresh one into the rifle before she slung it across her back. "Kind of wish I hadn't had to do that. I'll bet the entire town heard that" She commented finally as she rubbed her eyes with her left forehoof. "Celestia will be hearing about it, and then I imagine I'll be hearing about it from her," she complained.

"Well you didn't hurt anypony... and you did it for good reasons even if the idea of a weapon that can attack at that range is a little disconcerting..." Twilight started, "I'm sure she will understand if you explain it to her."

Eva started towards the door, silently suggesting that they take their conversation on the road, "Yeah, but I get the distinct impression she doesn't like me a whole bunch. The whole 'magical beam of death' trick she tried to pull when I was forced down on 'ol Applejack's farm and all."

"Well, she--" Twilight started in defense of her mentor before being cut off.

"Save it, I'm not mad, she could have had a really good reason for reacting like that. I mean, I was pretty pissed, but I'm over it, water under the bridge... as long as she doesn't do it again." Eva cut in, "What I'm really worried about is how James is going to react to this whole 'by the way, I'm a pony' thing."

Twilight paused, her eyes blinked slowly as the gears began to turn in her head, "Wait... If you became a pony when you arrived here, shouldn't he have also? But... he would have mentioned that to you if he had... So how did you become a pony?" the lavender mare thought aloud, "You both arrived on aircraft..."

"Celestia didn't try to shoot James down... as far as I know anyway." Eva supplied as she continued down the stairs inside the library, "So, I guess she did it somehow."

"Bein a pony ain't that bad." Applejack interjected as she eyed Eva, her eyebrows narrowed.

"I've never had so much fun." Eva deadpanned in reply.

~~

"I'm guessing that's the hospital." Tommy commented as the truck came over a rise.

"Well, it's next to a DC-3, and I can't imagine there are a lot of those around here." James answered with a chuckle. "How's our passenger doing?"

"Same as she has been, can't tell if it's a coma or she's just exhausted, other than the head wound I haven't noticed anything out of the... uh... ordinary." he replied, stifling a laugh at the absurdity of the word.

"Well, life's gotten interesting at least, eh?" James said with a laugh as he slowed the truck to a stop in front of the hospital doors, the hiss of air brakes engaging announced their arrival as the big diesel engine spun to a stop.

Ponies that had moments before been milling about in front of the hospital doors turned to look at the bizarre arrival in a mix of confusion and apprehension. The passenger door opened and Tommy stepped down out of the truck, unicorn on his shoulders.

"Can somebody get a doctor? This girl is hurt!" He yelled at the stunned ponies as he fast-walked towards the front doors.

"R-right this way!" a white pony with a red cross on her hat yelled as she turned for the doors.

~~

The air flashed over in fire for a single instant, and with a pop a brown stallion snapped into existence in the middle of a small charred circle of 'used to be grass', he opened his eyes and scanned the area. "At least this still works..." he commented to nobody, "I may owe Jack an apology."

The pony flipped the leather strapped 'watch' on his fetlock shut and turned his head around and back again, listening intently in the darkness of the forest. "This is where the atron energy readings were coming from but I don't... see... anything..." he trailed off as a low rumbling filled the air, he dove into a bush as the ground in front of him split open, millennia of dirt and rock and rust cracked and broke as the metal doors separated for the first time in the age of ponies.

Two small metalic spheres buzzed out of the parted doors before they loudly, slowly slid back together, leaving a scar where the earth had split. The pony looked at the seam, and then back up at the spheres buzzing into the distance. "This is going to be problematic."

With a flash and a pop, the stallion was gone again, a single camera lens the only witness to the event.

~~

"That's my truck." Eva said suddenly as the trio of ponies stood on the path leading to the hospital. The olive drab truck sat alongside the walkway, engine making 'tink' sounds as it cooled.

"I assume this 'truck' moves using similar technology to your plane?" Twilight asked, her inner scientist examining the machine as they approached, already formulating thoughts on its mode of operation.

"Yeah, sort of." Eva answered halfheartedly, "Listen, I'll tell you all about it later, I just want to make sure everyone's alright." The gray pegasus shambled through the double doors of the quaint small town hospital, the cool air that hit her was a welcome feeling.

She'd not seen a single air conditioner in her entire time in equestria, and yet somehow the hospital managed to be a cool ten degrees colder than the outside. 'Probably magic. Everything is magic.'

"I don't suppose you're here because you've decided to actually submit to medical treatment?"

Eva turned her head towards the voice to find herself face to face with the doctor that had treated her after her fall. "Actually, I might take you up on that later," she answered with a wince as a stabbing pain shot up her neck, "Right now I'm looking for ah... well how to describe him... strange looking guy, about oh, a head taller than a pony on her hind legs?"

The doctor stared at her with a blank expression on his face for a moment before a soft chuckle forced it's way out of his mouth, "It would figure they would have something to do with you. Come on, this way."

The trio of unicorn, earth pony, and pegasus followed the doctor as he lead them down a side corridor, "The mare they brought in was unconscious; dehydration and overexertion combined with a mild head trauma seem to be the likely cause. A simple healing spell and some fluids should have her back on her hooves in no time," he explained as they approached the open door to the room at the end of the hallway.

"-pretty much what happened while you were out."

"Sounds like James." Eva said with a grin as she stepped ahead and pushed on the door with her forehoof and walked into the room. James and Tommy were standing next to a bed occupied by... a sky blue unicorn. 'So, they had already met a pony before getting here.'

Her hoof clops drew attention, the two humans turned to the door. "Who are you?" James asked as he took in the pegasus, she looked like she'd seen better days, mostly healed burns covered her back and wings and she was holding herself as if she was in pain... and she had a Dragunov slung across her back.

Eva turned her head around behind her to look at Twilight and Applejack, "Twi, AJ, this is James Bolton, and his younger brother Tommy." She turned her head back towards the two stunned humans, "The two lovely mares behind me are Twilight Sparkle and Applejack. Now, which of you decided to steal my truck... and since I remember where I parked it, I'm going to guess you stole my plane too."

Tommy stared for a second, taking in the absurdity in front of him. 'Hmm, carrying a rifle, knows who we are, complaining about her truck...' "That would be James's idea. Good to see you Eva, you seem a little hoarse."

Eva let out a groan, "You haven't changed any." She turned to James and stepped further into the room, "So, did you crash my plane? Do I have to kill you?"

"You're a pony." James said, his jaw slack, his eyes wide in incomprehension.

Eva blinked and jerked her head back as if stunned and then looked down at herself. Her wings flapped around in panic and she screamed, "What!? Oh god, James, Tommy, somebody, call a doctor!"

Twilight stifled a laugh at the immature display and stepped forward, past the gray mare, and up to the two humans, "As Princess Celestia's protégé and bearer of the Element of Magic I welcome you to..." she trailed off as her eyes flitted to the silvery mane and sky blue head laying on the pillow in the hospital bed, her eyes widened in shock.

"Trixie...?"