private Eastern Skies Ablaze

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

"Eh...?" Half dazed sitting up, rubbing her eyes with her wings.

 

"Fligh...flight commander?! Oh buck..." She got out of bed in a daze getting to the door opening it. "Where? When, is he here yet?" She got out the door to be with Kris at least.

 

She looked a mess getting straight from bed, but she didn't usually look to sleek anyway, even after being attacked with a brush.

[FancyHorse 1,209]

Kris stood outside ready in his flight suit he gave her a puzzled look.

"You better get your flight suit on!" He says, stumbling out in a hurried mess Soft Soar stumbled from her room barely in her own suit.

 

"Ofh! Umm... Little help?" She requested.With a soft snicker Kris approached helping her about with her dress issue.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

"My flight suit!" She face hoofed and raced into her room to put the bloody thing on. Putting on a latex suit was always a pain in the flank. It took her a few minutes of struggling to get her reservist suit on. Then ran back to the hall, putting her mane up like she normally did. "Ok I look half like death so that should do where is the F.C?"

[FancyHorse 1,209]

"Right here." A gruff appleoosan voice spoke. At the end of the hall the stout tall wall of a stallion that is Ironwing. He approaches in stern poise as Soft Soar got to her hooves. Both Kri and Soar stand at attention.

The age in him was rather apparent but his body tone was still in high strength despite the aging. Upon his slick metal grey coat he wore the typical piolts coat, with fluffy neck collar to boot. His mane had been shave but the bits of gray with black are noted.

"You three shouldve been up earlier. The rest of the team is downstairs waiting to go. " The commander spoke, hints of dissapointment obvious in his expression.

"Get yourselves shaped in 5 minutes. Report down at the lobby. Get to it!" He spouted and turned tail departing to the elevator.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

She went back into her room, got some food for Cirrus. Then she washed up a little, making herself actually look half presentable. After this was all done she locked her room and headed downstairs to join everpony else. "I wonder what will be ocvuring today?..."

[FancyHorse 1,209]

Regrouped at the lobby all 16 wonderbolts, Commander Ironwing and the fellow interpreter follow outward. Seperating into groups of eight they squads are loaded into seperate buses awaiting for them. Kris and Soft Soar are among with Thestrals bus group. Before departing the commander had the large sortie split depending on which event they would be attending. Thestral knowing hers will be the Edurance test.

First through the bustling motorways and soon out from the city into vast arid grasslands which slowly degrading into more barren desert but not the sandy type more so rocky terrian. Perhaps they where heading to mountainous place? It'd be an ideal one considering the high winds and gusts.

 

"Looks like commander Ironwing went with the Speed event."Kris spoke, sitting just across from Star.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

"Not my thing speed, not in comparison to you guys. I'm simply not fast enough with these wings." She looked out the window as the world went by. "Why are you on endurance? Most of the newer flyers wang to test their mettle against the A team." It's what most did, desperate to prove their worth despite passing to get in anyway.

[FancyHorse 1,209]

"Maybe a PR move? Showing Wonderbolts can specialize in other types of you know?" Kris trailed off looking at a large propaganda billboard. Upon it in a stylized fashion of four pegasi with large jet packs upon them. Centered between the group in raising fashion is a green colored Osprey. In large letters below them they read - GREEN OSPREYS FLIGHT GROUP : FIGHT THE SCOURGE. Some type of recruitment ad or such.

 

"I'm guessing thats their special flight team?" Kris predicted.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

"This trip is getting concerning, a lot of things are not adding up. I have a bad feeling about the coming days and weeks." She hoped she was wrong, Luna let her be wrong about this.

 

"So why are you doing this course then?" She did not think Kris had actually answered that question.

[FancyHorse 1,209]

"Well its just the whole stigma I guess on..You know?.." He seems to be struggling to find the right words, he ponders a bit.

"So I get that like, im a fast stallion yeah? But you know Iv'e been trained in a lot of different conditions you know? Gotta be able to fight off the wind, roll into a direction instead of turn, yatta yatta." He rambles a bit.

"And after all these rough times practicing to build endurance its all about just simple streamlined racing? Wanna try something I haven't done. I know I can handle it!" He says.

 

"Guys?" Soar called for the two, looking out the left window they peer at what seems to be an accident. A large pony sized charred metal scrap lays about near the roading. Two armored vehicles sit about off the road near it. An emergency fire truck and a medical van await near by.

 

Passing by laid near the ambulance two paramedic ponies carefully hoist what looks to be a piolt. The stallion is geared in some serious flight equipment. G-Suit, oxygen nozzles and helmet. He seems to be breathing.

 

"This place is getting worse every minute..."Kris muttered under his breath.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

"Um... guys..." Addressing everyone on the bus. "Who remembers sighing up to go to a bloody war zone!" Making note of the fighter (pack) crash. She just had to say that before sitting down again a look of worry on her face.

 

She kept this look on her face as they drove on.

[FancyHorse 1,209]

Everyone seems to have grown silent. But shortly they mutter amongst themselves, chatter of everything about the visit so far. News, War the simple distaste. In the front seat a certain Veteran mare sits her eyes narrowing and her patience thining.

"Settle down." She said in an audible voice. Everypony grew silent as she stood scanning the bus and looking athe Thestral. Her worn grey blue coat one of her striking features along with her bun shapd ebony hair. It was First Lieutent RazorWing.

"What ever is happening isn't in concern. Saddle Arabia has problems just like any other country. Don't want to here another peep out of any of you." She says

"You're wonderbolts! Seeing sights as these should'nt be detracting any of you. But then, things have been rather soft. We've got a job to do! It would'nt be a good impression knowing we chickned out just because of a view bad sights. So shapen up! " She huffs a bit giving everypony a stern look before taking her seat.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

Star said nothing, she looked out her window, worry was still on her mind. She didn't sign up for this nor had she "seen" this before either. She was left to her thoughts about why they were there, Celestia knows the officers know why but they weren't telling the rest.

[FancyHorse 1,209]

The rest of the trip was simple silence. Winding roads and heavy breeze from the shifting winds. Was like more so the atmospehre took a turn for the depressing. From glorious beaches and sprawling cities to arid deserts , near mountians and to a turmoiling atmosphere. No wonder forgein medias are not allowed entry into the country. Speculating, perhaps this could've upset the majority of Equestrian's had they learned about the conditions here.

 

And the Wondebolts.

 

Traffic was soon picking up. They seemed to be in the middle of nowhere! But surely as the bus trudged on they seemed to be approaching one of the mountians. Closer and closer, the crowds seeming to gather largely just from the base of it. Remarkably just off north from it (leftish from the ground perspective) a narrowing canyon/ravine can be noted stretching farther along the desert terrian and into the distance another mountian could be seen connecting to it.

 

"Woah! What is that? Is massive! Are we racing in that?" The various wonderbolt cadets spoke.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

Star was drawn to look at the cayon, but she saw the distance of the mountain. "That's a good distance..." She wondered if there was more to this than what met the eye. But shrugged if there was more, then there'd be more no use in worring about it.

 

'Roll with the wind, don't fight it or worry...'

[FancyHorse 1,209]

Past the assortment of vehicles and crowds of people, th bus rolls along near what seems to be camp ground walled off by the fences. Over the vast masses of ponies and automobiles a large stage like structure can be seen.

And at last the bus comes to a halt and the wonderbolts filed out, greeted by a well dressed Arabian mare, her hijab draping over her mane.

"Welcome Wonderbolts! Its a pleasure. " She greeted ina soft motherly tone.

"If you'll follow me I'll show you to your lounge where you will rest until the begining of the event." She says.

 

Kris and Soar follow at your sides. Reaching into one of the large olive drab tents, a large carpet is laid about decorated in unique mezmerizing diamond shapes. Fluffy pillow seats lay about along with table to the side. A planning board behind it.

"If there is anything you need do let us know." She bowed, primarily at Razorwing.

 

"Alright cadets take a seat and let me spill out the beans on the race layout." She says turning her attention to the table strewn about with documents and sheets.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

Star walks over to the seats and sits down. After she was good her attention was focused on Razerwing. Shw wasn't sure what to make of her honestly, Star got on with her fellows but officers give her pause. Always have she was just in that mood set with her commanders.

[FancyHorse 1,209]

Picking up a large map she pinned the paper to the planning board to show to the attentive cadets. The geogrpahic piece shows assumingly what is the mountian close by and the long ravine canyon along it. The entirty of it runs along to the mountian across.

 

"Little magic history for you on Arabia. Not a really known tale, more so just shared between astudious unicorn magic studies and such. So! You got these powerful mages here, we're talking Starswirl powerful. They got a mass swarm of chaneglings charging at them, litterally obliterated the massive force of warriors the first king could muster. So the tale goes that these grand wizards summoned the abduance of ther magicka and creating a mass wave of energy and destroying the entire swarm. The earth shook and litterally split the ground of their connected energies. That they say is what caused this massive rip in the desert here. And even further they say that the mages conjured so much magic they turned into the mountians we see here."

 

Half of the cadets chuckled in disbelif. Razorwing included.

 

"Sounds like a bestseller right?" She says.

 

"That does really badass you gotta admit." Kris whispered to Star.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

Star did not laugh. She'd seen things in her life, things that made this 'tale' not so unbelievable than what the others thought.

 

She leaned to Kris. "Yeah, I think that's plausible." Whispering back, still trying to pay attention to Razerwing.

 

"So what's the course then ma'am?" Speaking up through the laughter.

[FancyHorse 1,209]

"Glad you asked. " She points back to the board.

"Track starts at the base of here, Mount Razriah, right next to us. Arabians got a ridiulously long barrier net strecthing the surface of the ravine. Prevents cheating by high flying. How'd they made it ? Dont ask me." She says.

"The entirety of the trench stretches for nearly 30 miles. More then your average mile lap around the air base. But here's the real kicker... theres another section of the race and involves elaborte tunnels within the next mountian once youve made it to the other side."

 

This caused some stir in the cadets.

"Sweet Celestia? Flying in tunnels? What iif theres taztulworms in them? Itll be dark as hell in it." The various voices spoke.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

Star couldn't help but laugh at the tunnel bit. "You gonna handicap me? I can see in the dark Razor." She was quite serious, tunnels were no issue at all for her night time, darkness and such was no issue she would have advantage over everyone else.

 

"I mean I don't want one but..." She shrugged.

[FancyHorse 1,209]

Razor smirked, "Thats not a bad idea. It'd make quite the specticale to fly blindfolded. But dont worry. Its perfectly i'm told. But its not because of the lighting, rather is size." She pulls up another showing a rather simple sketch of the innards of what seems to be an elaborate congolomerate of winding tunnels in the mountian. Its like a natural labyrinth.

 

"Sweet Celestia." Soar whispered softly.

 

"The final section is to race from the base tunnel entry and toward the summit tunnel. Unfortunately they did provide a full 3D map of the tunnels system. We're kinda left with this excuse of sketch." Razor grumbled.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

"Really? They want us to fly inside a mountain all of you can't see in, and they didn't give us a good map? Razer this is really dodgy I mean by all standards I can even think about." She shook her head looking at the map (or an excuse for one). She was not impressed by any aspect of this trip so far.

[FancyHorse 1,209]

From the side, an Arabian stallion peeks his head in, noteable facial hair on his chin.

"Hallo. Am I interuptting?" He asks.

"No no come in." Razor beckons.

Thhe pegasus in question is adorned with a purple military beret, Star recalls seeing a similar one from the admiral she saw on television. His coat a typical brown with dark short mane and tail. His cutie mark of a flying osprey. Perhaps he was one of the flyers, yet he seemed rather aged to be one.

"Have you reviewd the track information?-" He asked and before Razor could respond they were interupted.

"Yea, you expect us to fly through a damn mountian?" One of the Cadets roared out.

 

The Arabian immediately took on an offended look obviously insulted. He exhaled and compossed himself.

 

"I see theres some concern. Allow me to explain." He offfers.

 

"Before this casim, ravine, canyon which eer you prefer was used for our yearly events it was at one point a major mining and excavation site. Miners would dig through the burrowed holes of the gaping entries left by ancient sand threshers. But do relax there are no threshers they have long since become extinct." He says

 

"Once all the minerals have been extracted, nomads and stunt seeking pegasi have used these nature made couses as testing grounds to prove their endurance in these harsh conditions. As such many have taken note to these trails. And since then our military air units and other flyers have since used these to create proficent and eduring flyers." He explains.

Edited August 3, 2016 by IllusivePony

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

Star stands up aswell to add to her fellow Bolt. "If that is the case then why are these maps..." She paused, to think she supposed.

 

"Bad... these maps are bad, honestly there worse than." She walked towards him. "I know you may have traditional things here, heck we all do but these maps won't do. We have no experience, no test flight, everyone else can't see. It's all well and good for natives but we are not." She turned to look at the others.

 

A slow sweeping leg as she spoke. "These are, and can be the best flyers of our nation, if not the world, but we do shows we're preformers not suicide ponies." Looking back at him, she stood tall as she did.