TCB - Zero Hour

Chapter 4

Applejack's eyes fluttered open as she slowly regained consciousness. Her head felt like a lead weight as she examined her surroundings; her vision was blurred and she had a pounding headache. She was laying half-in half-out of the water, on top of a piece of floating wreckage. She could see other, smaller pieces of the fuselage floating around her, as well as burning pools of jet fuel and bits of luggage that would never reach their destination.

The water was freezing, and she could feel its icy chill creeping up her body. It was unpleasant, but at least it chased away the last of the grogginess and dulled the pounding in her head. It was then that she realized that Applebloom was not with her.

"APPLEBLOOM! APPLEBLOOM!"

The orange mare yelled into the darkness, but there was no reply. The only sounds that she could hear were the gentle lapping of water against her "raft" and the crackle of fires burning around her.

"APPLEBLOOM!"

She tried again, but again; only silence answered her call.

"Applebloom..." Applejack sniffed, a tear slowly tracking its way down her cheek as she realised the painful truth. Applebloom was gone. She replayed those last few moments over and over in her head - seconds that felt like an eternity - right before they hit the water.

"Don't let go! No matter what happens, don't let go!"

Applejack had screamed to her sister over the noise of the aircraft coming apart around them, and then what had she done... she'd let go. Applejack vividly remembered the look on Applebloom's face; it was burned into her memory. Applebloom had looked terrified, her eyes tightly closed with tears streaming down her cheeks. She had gripped onto Applejack so tightly. Then the impact had torn the frightened filly, her precious little sister, away from here.

Applejack then became aware of a strange sound, "puttputtputt". She cocked an ear. "puttputtputt". There it was again! She scanned the area around her searching for the source of the strange noise. Then she saw it; a small sloop making its way cautiously through the floating debris field, a searchlight mounted on the bow sweeping the wreckage.

"Hey... over here." Her voice was cracked and broken. The salt in the air had made her throat raw and painful, and she could barely manage more than a weak whisper right now.

"Hey... over here." She tried again, but it was no good; they weren't going to hear her. How to make them hear me? Applejack couldn't yell because her voice was too broken, and she was too tired to wave. Then she got an idea; it was risky, but she had to try... she was definitely dead if she did nothing.

Applejack entered the water with as much of a splash as she could manage. Her world was suddenly very dark and quiet. Her limbs felt like lead weights pulling her down into the dark, crushing depths below. She tried to swim upwards, but she was too tired to move.
They had to have heard me, they had to... oh, sweet Celestia, what the hay have I done?

Applejack began to panic. If the people on the boat hadn't heard the splash, she would drown. Her lungs began to burn and she had to fight to stay conscious in her weakened state. Then the water above her lit up like the gates of Heaven.
Stay awake... got... to... stay... a... wa... ke...

Her vision was beginning to go dark. She tried to stay awake, but she was too tired. The last thing that

she remembered before blacking out was being grabbed and pulled upwards.

(Mount Inostranka Prison Facility, Mount Inostranka, Alaska)

Blake Sterling walked down the cold, dimly lit corridors of the mountain fortress. Hugging his woolen coat closer to his body he blew a visible cloud of breath into his mittens. The base was largely unheated - well, it was supposed to be a secret - and was freezing year-round. I'd hate to be stationed here, thought Sterling. Coming here had always made him nervous, especially considering what they were keeping locked up down here. The design and atmosphere of the Mount Inostranka Prison Facility mirrored perfectly with the people that owned and ran it.

They were simply called, "The Department", and just like the facility that Sterling was in, they didn't exist. The Department operated in the shadows, behind the scenes. They solved problems that governments didn't want to recognize; whenever a world leader wanted something buried they called in the Department.

Roswell - and UFOs in general - the shooter on the grassy knoll, the Philadelphia experiment. They were all events that "never happened", in files that "don't exist". Sterling was nearing a large pair of hangar doors covered in a thin layer of frost; he flashed his security pass and typed the security code into the console beside the doors with practised ease. The doors then slowly slid apart, groaning and shedding icicles that had grown along the top.

Sterling then entered a circular room that looked like a metal bell jar, with two wire mesh doors at either side. As he entered, a security camera above the door locked into him and tracked him as he approached the semi-circular device in the middle of the room. The man sitting behind the desk looked up from his terminal and stood to greet Sterling. He was wearing a long woolen coat, a ushanka, and a pair of woolen gloves - this room didn't have heating, either. What a ghastly place to work, thought Sterling, as he shook the man's hand.

"Please go on through, Mr. Sterling. She's waiting for you."

Sterling approached the wire mesh door to the right of the desk, pushing it open when he heard the loud buzzing sound. From there he proceeded down another corridor to a door similar to that of an industrial fridge. Sterling placed his hand on the handle, which glowed amber for a few seconds before changing to green, allowing Sterling to open the door. There was a hissing sound as the door opened, and Sterling was hit by a blast of warm air.

"Ah Mr. Sterling... it's good to see you again."

A warm, sweet voice greeted him from inside the room.

(OHR Ponyville Office, Ponyville, Equestria)

It was 6:45 AM, and Josh was at work in the OHR office in Ponyville. He'd been at work for 2 hours already, and was reading through emails from his agents operating in the town. All of the emails had to be checked either by himself or by Lyra, and appropriate paperwork needed to be filled out on their contents. The emails contained the same information that they always did.
Investigated event, found nothing out of the ordinary. No action required. Event report closed.

It was stupid. They'd been here for two years and in tha time there had to be a grand total of three events that had caused concern... and none of them were in Ponyville. Still, the orders came through from HQ in Canterlot. Investigate this pony, spy on this meeting, and if you encounter any situation that may lead to "dissident activity" - which they never did - then appropriate action must be taken. Josh sighed and carried on filling out the event report for a meeting in the Ponyville town hall the other day to discuss the Summer Sun Celebration.

The celebration had been banned in the early days after the war by the United Nations, but recently they had received a communication to allow the ponies to celebrate it again... though how they were going to do that without Princess Celestia was beyond Josh.

"Moning, boss. You're in work early." The sudden noise startled Josh. He looked up and saw a mint green unicorn switching her computer on. Levitating in front of her were two cups in a cardboard container.

"Morning, Lyra." Josh smiled as Lyra levitated one of the cups over to him; he took it and pulled off the plastic lid to reveal steaming, golden-coloured liquid. He thanked her for the tea and then went back to the mountain of reports on his desk as she turned on the TV.

Lyra settled herself behind her desk and clicked into her email account. There were a few emails from various agents and a couple from HQ regarding the Summer Sun Celebration. After reading through a couple she sat back to watch the news.

"Good morning, fillies and gentlecolts, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the World News Network," announced the anchorstallion, dressed in a sharp grey suit.

"The top stories at 7:00 AM. Tensions continue to grow as Great Britain moves three more of its new aircraft carriers into the area surrounding the Falkland Islands, as a response to Argentina's threats of a second invasion. In a surprising move, the United States has pledged one of its Ohio-class nuclear submarines to the defence of the island. President Obama stated in a press conference at the White House yesterday, "The United States will not abandon its European ally. Argentina is intentionally violating the wishes of the people of the Falkland Islands to remain British, and they need to be aware that this will not be tolerated". The Argentinean President has yet to respond to this revelation, although there has been no reduction in its fleet presence in the area."

"In other news, Ewing Oil Ltd. is set to become the first oil corporation to supply oil from the Equestrian territory of Saddle Arabia. Mr. Ewing, the multi-millionare CEO of Ewing Oil, stated that he was incredibly excited about this new venture, and will be proud to personally switch on the first drilling platform next month."

"The Office of Human Relations is set to expand its operations into territory held by the Griffon Kingdoms after negotations during the past week. The deal apparently includes access to the vast stockpiles of uranium that exist within the mountainous terrain of Griffon territory, although what the Griffons have asked for in return is still a mystery."

"Last up this morning, a trans-Atlantic Boeing 747 operated by United Airlines has crashed in the South Pacific, close to Peru, killing all on-board. The aircraft was flying from the Equestrian town of Ponyville to Dallas, Texas when it ran into technical difficulties. The plane went down shortly after reporting a problem with their autopilot, and the investigation into exactly why the plane crashed is still ongoing."

"That's it for this morning. Our next bulletin is at 9:00 AM, have a great morning."

As the broadcast finished Lyra turned to Josh and said, in a shaky voice, "Wasn't Applejack on a plane to America yesterday?"

Josh nodded, slowly grasping what she was saying. "I'll phone Central, see if there's anything we should know."

Lyra nodded and returned to the pile of papers on her desk, but found it hard to concentrate. She hoped and prayed that Applejack hadn't been on that plane. Across the office she could hear Josh talking to someone at the head office in Canterlot. When he came off the phone his face was ashen, and her heart sank.

"I think we need to speak with Twilight and her friends."

(Isla Azul Agua, Carribbean Sea)

Applejack opened her eyes slowly. Soft shafts of amber light spilled across her face, causing her to squint, as her eyes adjusted to the light. She looked around, discovering she was laid on a four poster bed made of dark wood; a warm breeze was blowing through an open window on the other side of the room, causing the silk curtains to flutter gently. There was a knock at the door and a man entered, wearing a dark suit and tie. He approached the bed and smiled warmyly at her.

"Please forgive me. I did not know that you were still asleep."

"Where am I?", asked Applejack uncertainly.

"You are in the Villa La Luna on the Isla Azul Agua. My employer wishes to speak with you when you are ready... one of the staff ran you a bat, by the way." The man nodded politely and left the room, closing the door with a soft click. Applejack rolled off the bed and walked into the white tiled en-suite bathroom. In the center of the room was a ceramic bathtub full of steaming water; it was surrounded by candles that gave off a scent of vanilla.

The orange mare lowered herself into the warm water - it was the perfet temperature - and inhaled the comforting aroma of the candles that surrounded it. She rested her head against the back of the tub, fully relaxed.

Some time later, Applejack woke with a start. She did not know how long she had been asleep, but the bath water was now cold. She got out, wrapped herself in a towel, and proceeded back into the bedroom, the amber light of dawn replaced by the deep orange light of evening. She walked over to the bed and noticed her trademark Stetson has been placed there. They must have fished it out of the water, Applejack thought, as she flipped it onto her head.

As Applejack exited the room, she saw a young woman in a maid's outfit arranging flowers in a vase.

"Excuse me," she said. The woman jumped and turned to face the orange mare.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Applejack apologized.

"No, it's no trouble Miss Applejack. Is there something I can do for you?"

"I was told that someone wanted to speak with me."

"Oh, yes... Mr. Santiago is on the balcony," replied the woman, gesturing to a pair of French doors leading out onto terra cotta tiles. Applejack nudged the door aside and walked out into the still warm sunlight. Before her sat a man in a white casual suit. He had steel gray hair - though he didn't look old - combed back, as well as bright blue eyes and tanned skin. He smiled warmly at her, cradling a glass of red wine in his left hand.

"Ah, you're awake... I assume you slept well," he spoke, with a strong Italian accent. Applejack merely nodded. "Please, come... sit." Santiago gestured to a wicker chair opposite his own. "We have much to discuss."

(OHR Ponyville Office, Ponyville, Equestria)

Twilight and her friends had met outside the Ponyville town hall, where the OHR office was located. Everyone was there; Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. Everyone except Applejack. Well, she's on Earth... so you can't expect her to be here, reasoned Twilight. The door to the office opened, and Lyra beckoned them in.

Twilight spoke. "Hey, Lyra. Any idea why we've been called here?"

Lyra smiled sadly. "Hey Twilight. You should speak to Josh."

Twilight followed Lyra across the office - which was by now full of people sitting at their desks or exchanging papers - to a desk at the back of the office, directly opposite the door. Behind the desk sat Josh, wearing the standard OHR uniform of a grey suit and a black shirt and tie. His expression made Twilight uneasy. She and her friends sat in the chairs that had been arranged for their arrival. When they were settled, Josh leaned forwards in his chair and steepled his hands.

"Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie. I'm so, so sorry to have to tell you this... but your friend Applejack is dead."