Chapter Twenty Four: We Are Soldiers.

***

Pontefract Base, March 11th, 2030.

A thirty-strong troop of grim looking, uniformed ponies with unwaveringly hard, stern expressions stood in three rows of ten in the courtyard of Pontefract Castle, eyes facing forwards, all of them standing rigidly at attention, not moving a muscle, barely blinking. A stern looking Earth Pony paced in front of the troop, his eyes sweeping the lines of disciplined ponies with a practiced, keen eye and a slight smile twitching at the corner of his lips.

"My, my, my," Iron Gait said as he paced up and down the line of stern faced, strong looking ponies. "I do believe I've never seen a stronger, more badass looking group of ponies in my entire life, and I have seen some pretty badass ponies!"

The ponies remained silent in the face of this praise, though a couple looked as though they were fighting back small smiles.

"You started out being nothing, but thanks to your hard work and my tutelage, you have become something!" Iron Gait yelled at the ponies. He paced up and down some more, smiling as he did so. "You have become more than the sum of your parts, more than the useless, cringing little horseapples you began as."

"Sir, thank you sir!" the ponies yelled in unison.

"When you came here," the Sergeant continued, "you were a sorry pile of useless horsefeathers! You came here with no purpose, no drive, no reason to be on this sorry island and no idea how you were ever going to be usefully anypony and anybody!" He smiled as he came to a stop in front of the three rows. "But now look at you: you're a thirty strong batch of lean, mean, pony killing machines! What are you?!"

"Lean, mean, pony killing machines sir!" the soldiers said as one, yelling at the top of their voices.

"Uh huh! Darn right you are, ponies!" Iron Gait said. A slightly sombre note came to the pony's voice as he continued. "Now you're all leaving for the big bad world out there, to fight and kill and maybe die." He paused, and then a feral grin came upon his face. "All I can think is this: the big bad world doesn't stand a chance, does it soldiers?!"

"Sir, no sir!" the ponies yelled as one, some of them smiling slightly at the implication.

"Darn right!" Iron Gait said with a smile. He took a list from his saddlebag. "Right then, I have a list of assignments for each of you: these assign,ends will hopefully be where you manage to make the best of yourself. Which means, I'd better hear that you're making the best of yourselves, understood?!"

"Sir, yes sir!" the ponies yelled.

"Glad we're clear," Gait said. He turned to his list. "Right then! Private Jewel Seeker..."

As he read off assignments, ponies stepped out of the lines and stood ready to go to their new tasks. Some were assigned to Pontefract base defence, some to infantry tasks across the country.

"Private Pinkamena Pie!" Iron Gait yelled, his eyes finding the pink party pony. She stepped forward with a smile.

"Sir, hi sir!" she yelled. The Sergeant sighed, shaking his head. Try as he might, he never could clear that pony of her somewhat... eccentric personality.

"You're assigned to... special operations at Leeds base," he said, frowning slightly at the notice. "Huh. Was sort of expecting you to go into the Recreational corps, myself, but command sent this from the highest position." He checked his roster. "In fact, Privates True Grit, Lyra Heartstrings, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity and Applejack have all been assigned to Spec Ops at Leeds base too."

Twilight Sparkle, at the centre of the front row, frowned slightly, turning to look at her friends. Spec Ops? Was this something to do with being the Element bearers? But then, why were Grit and Lyra coming too? Or was this something else? She was certain that she and the others, while certainly competent fighters now that they had been through their training, were not worthy of Special Operations positions - ponies assigned to Spec Ops tended to be either assigned to Albion's personal squad, as Hell Blazer, Lyra and True Grit had been, or else they tended towards being sent on extremely dangerous missions for the Resistance.

"In addition, Privates Desert Wind and Sapphire Steel are both assigned to Leeds base as garrison infantry," Iron Gait added. "And Private Chick Pea..." and here he gave Private Dipstick, who hadn't heard his real name used by anyone in a while, a quick glance, "is assigned as part the base's Resistance jeep division."

"Sir, yes sir!" the three ponies yelled out, Chick Pea looking slightly surprised at getting the jeep division: he'd never so much as been near a jeep.

With that, the list was complete, and Iron Gait put it away.

"It's been an honour to be your Sergeant," he said to them all with a wry grin. "Good luck ponies."

"Sir, thank you sir!" the troop yelled back, all of them saluting. He saluted back.

"Dismissed!" he yelled.

***

As they loaded onto the transport helicopter, Twilight reflected on everything she had learned while she had been here. She had gone from a bookish pony to a trained killer, capable of dealing death to anypony she needed to - if not exactly comfortable with that fact, she added mentally, a rueful smile working it's way onto her face.

"What do you think Leeds is like?" Pinkie asked her, startling her from her thoughts. "Do you think we'll be able to have a 'new assignment party'?"

Some of the group chuckled: nothing ever seemed to keep Pinkie's cheer down.

"Sugarcube, I reckon this Leeds place is gonna be pretty low on parties," Applejack said after a moment, a wry grin on her face. Of all the group, save perhaps True Grit, she was the one who had taken the most to this training: the discipline had been similar to her life on the farm, and the hard work no stranger either. While the military formality had been an adjustment, the rest of it managed to not be too hard for her to cope with.

"I, for one, am just looking forward to a change of scenery," Rarity said primly. She was smiling slightly, pleased to be done with training - if Applejack had taken to it best, Rarity had taken to it the worst. There had been no style, no sense of dignity, and she had disliked the manner in which Iron Gait had decided to train them, feeling the antagonism unnecessary to the goal of making them efficient troopers. "Apart from our brief sojourn to Hull and back at the start of training, we've been stuck in this dreary castle-base all these long weeks."

"I'm kinda gonna miss it," Lyra said wistfully, a faraway look in her eyes.

"Seriously?" Twilight asked her, looking surprised. Twilight, more a thinker than an athlete or fighter, had disliked the training as well. It surprised her that Lyra, who came from a similar background, did not feel the same way.

"Have you been in the magazine?" Lyra asked grinning widely.

"The what?" Applejack said from near her.

"It's a kind of dungeon," Twilight explained offhandedly. "But I never went inside."

"It's sort of been turned into a bunker," Lyra added, a smile on her face, "but in the old days they kept prisoners down there: you can still see the signatures of the men they kept prisoner. That castle's not just a base - it's a piece of living human history!" She sighed contentedly. "I wish we could come back a study it when the war's over."

"That's if we survive the war," Rarity said softly, and Lyra's grin vanished.

The others exchanged glances. This was a reality that - as of yet - none of them had are become accustomed to. Fighting? Sure. Killing? Well, they accepted the need. Death? That was almost unreal to them - apart from Lyra and True Grit - the latter because he knew his counterpart, who had been stronger, faster and more experienced than him, had died, and the former because she had seen herself die, right in front of her eyes.

"We're well trained and well equipped," True Grit said sharply after a moment. "If we keep to our training, we should be fine."

They were hollow words, and everypony knew it all too well. When they got to where they were going, they were as likely to die as anypony else - and that terrified them all, though most of them were able to hide it.

"Come on, everypony!" Pinkie said, smiling widely. "Don't look so glum! I'm sure we'll have lots of fun! And we'll see Dashie and Fluttershy again, so that'll be awesome!"

She said it with such sincerity and with such an honest smile on her face that everypony in the transport believed her, if only for a little while. With that, they continued conversing about their new station, and reminisced about their training.

***

Leeds Royal Armouries, March 11th, 2030.

Rainbow Dash span around and around in a clockwise motion, hitting one target, two targets, three targets... soon, all four of the targets she was aiming for were spinning wildly.

This move was the famed 'corkscrew' attack, a tactic by which a member of Grey Squadron would go into an almost uncontrollable barrel roll that would continue and continue, their forelegs and blades held out and he pitting any targets that happened to come near them. This tactic was among the most dangerous in the Resistance Air Force's arsenal, so much so in fact that since the disbanding of the original a Grey Squadron, nopony had dared use it save Errant Flight. It was a tactic that, if you didn't control your spin exactly and add in a counterbalancing spin at the end of the move, would probably kill you as easily as it killed the enemy.

Errant had been reluctant to teach the move, but realising that Grey Squadron needed Grey Squadron's signature move, he had relented at last. He had taught them the best possible number of spins (seven, plus one counter spin), the best position to hold your forelegs out to... he had done his best to ensure that anypony using the corkscrew wouldn't kill themselves in the process.

Right now, Rainbow Dash was performing especially well on the target range.

She came out of her spin, span once in an anticlockwise direction to counterbalance her inner ear, then smirked and landed next to Errant Flight, who was timing the whole thing.

"Third fastest time ever on the corkscrew," he said after a moment, eyes lighting up with surprise at the numbers. "Second was Lightning Dust's last time when she did her last training test four years ago, and the first was the original Ditzy's!"

"Good time then," Rainbow said simply smirking. Errant nodded, smiling slightly himself.

"Oh yes," he said, "that is a very good time. You should be impressed with yourself."

"I am," she replied with a slightly cocky grin, but then she sobered up. "But not that impressed. I could always do better."

"That's also good," Errant said with a slightly sarcastic smirk. "Means you've learned to control your ego a bit."

"A little," Rainbow admitted with a shrug. She was grateful that she was able to banter with Flight this much - though he still didn't trust her as much as the rest of the squadron, he had eased up on her slightly.

Errant sniggered at that, shaking his head as he put away his stopwatch. He turned to the gathered group of ponies. The other members of Grey Squadron were gathered around in Leeds base's courtyard.

"Alright, team! Listen up!" he called. "With each of you having perfected the corkscrew to at what I at least call a satisfactory degree, I feel I can safely conclude that Grey Squadron is ready for action!"

The entire group cheered, immensely cheered up by this news. It had been a hard month and a half, and they were grateful that it had paid off.

"However," Errant continued, "we will not, as I had previously expected, be sent out to our immediate assignment is base defence here in Leeds Base."

The ponies exchanged glances. This was surprising: those who knew of Grey Squadron had expected such a prestigious role to come with equal amounts of danger - good flyer squadrons were always needed, after all, and Grey was among the best.

"All due respect, sir," Silver Spire said, speaking for all the squadron, "but why is this base in need of defence? We're pretty far inland and there's no way that Solamina would have the audacity to launch a large scale strike."

"I don't know, Spire," Errant replied with a shrug. "I'm just relating orders. This comes from top brass, probably Prince Blueblood himself."

At the mention of the head of the pony Government-In-Exile, murmurs sent through the squadron, filled with trepidation. If Prince Blueblood himself was giving orders, this must be... important. And if it was important, that meant that it might very well be dangerous. What was coming?

"Sir," True Blue asked, "could it be to do with the Element bearers?"

Fluttershy threw Rainbow Dash a glance, and Rainbow frowned thoughtfully. Was it possible?

"It's a possibility, Ten," Errant replied, a somewhat thoughtful look on his face and an odd tone in his voice. "But I think it's more likely to be something to do with Albion's presence in the Leeds sickbay. I doubt the top brass want him to be left without some serious defences."

"How long has he been out, anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked, frowning slightly. "Shouldn't he have been awake by now?"

Errant looked from left to right, frowning slightly, before looking back at her.

"You didn't hear this from me," he said quietly, "but there's a possibility he might never wake up at all."

The ponies of Grey Squadron gasped in shock, Rainbow Dash aside; the idea that Albion might not pull through was... well, for most ponies, the thing would have been a death knell for their morale. Only Grey Squadron could hear it and not lose all hope.

"In any case," Errant added, "the Council are sending Prince Blueblood personally to discuss security for Albion, as well as to hopefully discuss the disposition of... forces."

The way he said "forces" made Rainbow frown even more. She definitely felt like something was specifically being planned for her and Fluttershy - but what? They were firmly part of Grey Squadron: even leaving aside the possibility that the powers that be wanted to make some use of the Elements of Harmony as a weapon (something Rainbow was still certain would never work, though she considered asking Twilight about it next time she saw her) there was still the possibility that the council would reassign Dash and Fluttershy to a special group with the others.

She found herself not wanting that - much as she missed her friends (and it was only when she thought about it that she realised just how much she missed her friends, like a sort of aching emptiness in her guts that she couldn't shift) she knew her place was with Grey, fighting in the sky. It was what she was most suited to, she just knew it.

"Anyway," Errant said, jarring her from her thoughts. "Don't worry too much about the PTB and their scheming, team. We're in a good posting for the moment, so make the most of it. Knowing our luck they'll assign us to the HMS Queen Elizabeth after this."

Everypony chuckled: the Queen Elizabeth, affectionately called the Lizzy's Revenge, was an aircraft carrier and the first of the Queen Elizabeth class. It had been fully commissioned at the same time the portal first appeared. Along with it's sister, the Prince of Wales, it had been at the stopping of the Barrier, and since then it had seen more action than half the remaining Royal Navy and other naval forces combined. After the sinking of the Wales (shortly after the death of King Charles, ironically enough), it had been unofficially renamed the Lizzy's Revenge to signify the burning need for vengeance the people of Britain - by now, the de facto people of the world - felt. It was known for being a high-risk assignment for any pony squadrons assigned to it, given that it was on the front lines.

"Take some RnR, ponies," Errant said as the chuckling died down. "You'll need it, and you certainly deserve it."

The squadron dispersed. True Blue stayed close to Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash - as the leader of their flight, he knew them better than most of the ponies, but since he was younger than either of them, they treated him more like a little brother off of the field. Ditzy walked with them, though she was quiet and thoughtful, behaviours she had been exhibiting more and more since training had begun.

"You guys think it's anything serious?" True Blue asked the three other ponies.

"That what is serious?" Ditzy asked, looking up at him. She sounded like she had been thinking about something and been dragged from it,

"Our being assigned here!" True Blue said earnestly. "I mean, we're Grey Squadron! There isn't a better team in the entire Resistance Air Force and the brass know it!"

"I don't know," Fluttershy said with a self deprecating shrug. "Some of those other squadrons are very good."

"Yeah, right," True Blue said. "We're ten times better than Griffon and Lance Squadrons, but they were assigned to frontline posts."

"We'll see action soon enough," Rainbow assured him. "I bet it's just that we're new."

"That's just it though!" True Blue said, looking around before whispering softly. "We wouldn't be assigned here if they weren't expecting action of some kind! New or not, we'd be shipped out unless they thought we were needed here!"

"Our thoughts exactly," a grim voice said from behind them. The three members of Four Flight turned to see Silver Spire, Bright Wonder, White Blossom and Swift Strike walking up to them. The four ponies looked concerned.

"It makes no sense, us being assigned here," Bright Wonder said, the chirpy pony unusually serious. "Like Blue said, we're the best!"

"We can do most good on the frontline," White Blossom added quietly.

"Which is why there must be more to it," Spire finished grimly, the eloquent pony looking perturbed.

"Doesn't this place need air defence?" Fluttershy asked. "In case the Equestrian army attacks?"

"Well sure, but that's a job for turrets, bludgeon fighters and lesser squadrons," Swift Strike said. "Eagle Squadron's largely a base defence squadron, and they're nowhere near our level."

"So what could it be?" Rainbow Dash asked. "It's not gonna be anything like a secret attack they're planning, is it?"

"Could be," Swift Strike shrugged. "I've heard they've considered sending groups of ponies to attack the Equestrian colonies. Trouble is, we've not got the numbers."

"If that were the case, though, this is hardly a fit staging area," Silver Spire added. "Leeds is too far inland for such a plan."

"Agreed," White Blossom said softly. "Islands like Mann would make more sense if that were the case, or positions on coastline towns. Whitby. Scarborough. Dover. Newquay."

"Might be a gathering point?" True Blue asked.

"But if so," Spire replied, "why gather here and give the enemy time to observe our movements when we could gather our forces piecemeal at a dozen bases and move them to a staging position at the eleventh hour?"

"That might be what they are doing," Ditzy said suddenly. Her voice silenced most of the conversation: a side effect of who she was meant that most ponies listened when she spoke. Rainbow didn't know how her friend was handling that kind of pressure - if it was hard being the spitting image of someone who was reviled and distrusted, how hard must it be to be a pony who was loved and respected? "They might be keeping us here to moved later."

Everypony stayed quiet for a moment. Ditzy was right - it was a possibility.

"Look," Rainbow said after a moment. "This is all just us guessing: the reason we're being kept here could be anything! It's not doing us any good to keep thinking about it."

Everypony thought about Rainbow's words for a moment, most nodding slowly.

"You're right, Rainbow," Fluttershy said after a moment. "We shouldn't be worrying about it right now. We should do what Errant said and relax."

The others, though not convinced, agreed. Most of the group headed off to the canteen after the rest of the squadron, leaving Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash to ponder their situation.

"Do you really think we'll see action soon?" the yellow Pegasus asked. Rainbow sighed, unsure how to respond: of all of them, Fluttershy was the least happy about the idea of combat. However, before she could reply to her friend's question, somepony called over to them.

"Hey, guys!" the voice of Errant Flight yelled over to the group. He was waving from near a landing pad and smiling widely. "Get over here!"

Confused by Flight's demeanour, Rainbow Dash and the others walked over to him. He pointed up at a transport helicopter that had begun landing. The transport descended slowly, the blades slowing as it did so. Rainbow stepped back slightly on instinct as the blades whirred to a stop.

A moment later, the hatch on the side of the transport popped open, and ponies began filing out. One pony, a stern faced purple mare in a camouflage infantry uniform, looked around with a slightly wistful expression, before her gaze settled on Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash's eyes widened in shock, at around the same time the mare's did, and they both grinned in disbelief.

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight Sparkle yelled with a smile of joy.

"Twilight!" Fluttershy yelled from behind Rainbow, who was too stunned to speak. Twilight raced up to her and threw her fore hooves around her in a tight hug.

A moment later, the rest of the ponies from their world stepped off of the transport. Pinkie squealed in delight at the sight of her friends, hugging them and speaking so quickly that all Rainbow Dash could catch was the words "reunion party" and frequent instances of "yay!" Applejack smiled and hoof-bumped Rainbow. Rarity smiled and greeted them with a hug. Lyra and True Grit were both polite as well, though since Rainbow didn't know either of them well, she was less effusive in her happiness for seeing them again. Ditzy, however, greeted Lyra with a hug.

"How are you?!" she asked enthusiastically.

"I'm good, Ditzy," Lyra replied with a soft smile. "It's just been a long six weeks."

"It's been a long six weeks for everypony," Twilight said, grinning at all her friends. "But we're together again, and that's what's important."

Rainbow turned to Errant Flight, who was smiling slightly.

"You knew about this, didn't you?" she said, grinning.

"Yes, I did," he replied, his smile fading slightly, "though I didn't plan this so you could have a happy reunion."

"Then why did you?" Twilight asked, looking at Errant Flight with narrowed, thoughtful eyes.

"Because I asked him to," a new voice said. The ponies turned, to see a yellow Earth Pony wearing a long trenchcoat, shirt and tie walking up to them, a cigarette in his mouth.

"Hello everypony," Hell Blazer said, a slight smile on his face. "How're things."

Author's Notes:

So: it's been about a week since my last update, my longest time yet on this story. Despite the fact that that's not really a "long" time, I thought I'd offer a quick explanation. Me and my fiancée recently moved house, which has taken up some time as well as some financial worrying. As such, my time for writing has been somewhat curtailed of late. I've only managed to finish this chapter because I'd started it before writing Twenty One and Twenty Three, and I wrangled some evenings to devote to it. I can't promise the next update won't take the same length of time or longer, because said financial wrangling (and moving house) is an ongoing thing (still have some stuff to clear from the old flat before we're done with it). Expect the next update in about a week again, maybe a week and a half.

EDIT 11th July. The Unpublish button is very easy to press on a small touch screen. :-( Sorry folks.