Aviator

Book One: Windigo

The End of a Lazy Summer

Nimbus glanced frantically in all directions as he hovered behind a small cumulus cloud. His pursuers couldn’t be far behind. He had no backup, no MADAR to assist him, and no defensive weaponry, not to mention being outnumbered five to one.

In other words, he was in a considerably bad position.

Not that he minded, of course. He’d faced similar odds before, in very serious circumstances, but these ponies knew exactly how he flew, and they had one edge he didn’t- they were taking this much more seriously than he was.

“Tally-ho!” he heard a high-pitched voice squeak from above. He dove through the cloud, rolling out of the way as a young Pegasus filly blew past him, laughing all the way.

“Missed him!” she called out.

Two faint vapor trails were rapidly climbing up from the ground towards Nimbus. He reversed direction and climbed, gaining distance.

“I have a visual!”

Nimbus recognized the voice- it was his brother, Whirlwind, trying his best to catch him and “shoot him down” by tagging him.

“I repeat, I have a visual. This is Dragon Warrior One, moving to engage!”

Nimbus bit down hard on the inside of his cheek to keep from bursting out with laughter. Dragon Warrior One? Only a pony with the mind of his brother could come up with such a callsign. He decided to have a little fun with this one.

“Dragon Warrior?” he called back, “but… he’s the ace of aces! I don’t stand a chance!”

“Your days are numbered, Griffon!” Whirlwind called back as he and one of his friends moved into a two-pony attack formation. Nimbus turned around, pretending to engage the two. The other three Pegasi were also rapidly closing in. Nimbus twisted his wings and fell in a helical pattern, but Whirlwind was ready, diving down on top of him and tapping him on the head.

“Ha ha! Equestria is safe once again, thanks to the heroes of Dragon Warrior squadron!” Whirlwind whooped as Nimbus faked a death plummet. As he neared the ground he positioned his wings for a soft fall and rolled to a stop, closing his eyes and sticking out his tongue for added effect. Whirlwind performed a victory roll over him and landed by his side.

“Alright, Nimbus! I won, which means it’s time to go get ice cream!”

Nimbus cracked his eyes open. “You know, the deal still stands. We could still go grab hot pepper sandwiches.”

Whirlwind made a disgusted face. “No way. Besides, I won fair and square.”

“Ice cream it is,” Nimbus said, getting back up onto his hooves and bidding farewell to Whirlwind’s grade school friends. The two set off towards the town of Hollow Shades. It was a perfect summer day- not too hot, not too cool- and they’d taken advantage of it to play “Aviator” for a while. This, as Nimbus had quickly found out, consisted of one pony, always himself, being the Griffon while the “Aviators” chased him down. Little fillies and colts had the most violent ideas sometimes…

“Hey Nimbus,” Whirlwind said as the two crossed over a bridge into town, “you said something about the ace of aces. Who’s that?”

Nimbus nodded as they passed by small, family-owned stores preparing for the afternoon. Ponies from out of town had a tendency to come through and buy assorted wares from the “mountain ponies.” Nimbus had always wondered why the shopping was more important than hiking the mountains nearby, which fewer ponies actually did, but he gave up guessing long ago.

“The ace of aces,” he answered, “is the pony with the most aerial kills in combat. Right now, the record stands at fifty-two. The pony in question was Thunder Stride, a veteran of the Great Griffon War. Even though he was shot down before the war ended, his record stands.”

“Wow,” Whirlwind said, his eyes wide with awe, “so are you going to be the next ace of aces?”

Nimbus frowned, “no, I certainly don’t think so.”

“But you have six kills!”

Nimbus had told his brother about the battle over Canterlot a while ago, and ever since then, Whirlwind had kept track of his figures.

“Yes,” he sighed, “yes I do. Please though, Whirly, keep your voice down. That’s supposed to be a secret. Now, are we going to tell Mom I told you about what an ace of aces is?”

“Nope,” Whirlwind answered obediently.

Nimbus ruffled his brother’s mane. “That’s right. Exactly what I want to hear.”

The two ponies took a right turn once they reached the town square and headed into the Sweet Sunrise Ice Cream Parlor- one of Hollow Shades’ biggest attractions. Their ice cream was completely homemade, and tasted like nothing else in Equestria. Inside, Lemon Twist, the owner, greeted them warmly.

“Afternoon, boys,” she said, whipping out two tall, metal ice cream cups, “what can I get for you today?”

“Vanilla cookie dough, please,” Nimbus said, licking his lips.

“Chocolate chunk for me!” Whirlwind said, “did you know that I shot down Nimbus today? I’m an ace of aces!”

Lemon chuckled, “I never doubted you for a second, Whirlwind. You’re tough as nails, and a darn good flier. Seeing as you’re ‘ace of aces’ and all, I’d better make your ice cream two scoops.”

Nimbus grinned and kicked back with his ice cream as the door to the parlor opened up. Sunset Ridge, the town’s mailmare, entered.

“Hey Sunset,” Nimbus said between mouthfuls, “how are your rounds going today?”

“Oh, just fine,” Sunset said, putting her mail bag on the floor and having a seat next to Nimbus, “Mr. and Mrs. Hoofmender should really see about finding a more secure place for their dog, though. Patty was chasing me again today.”

Nimbus nodded. “Yeah, Patty’s certainly the most enthusiastic dog I’ve ever come across.”

“Say,” Sunset added in her low drawl typical of mountain ponies, “Nimbus, I don’t suppose you’d be interested in taking this off my hooves.” She pulled an envelope out of her bag, “it came in this morning.”

Nimbus took the envelope and checked the writing on it. It was addressed to him from Canterlot Air Command- the center for Royal Equestrian Air Force operations. Excitedly, he tore open the envelope to reveal a letter on official Air Force stationary inside.

“Second Lieutenant Nimbus,” he read aloud, “the following are your first official orders. You are to report to Bayside Air Base in Manehattan in three weeks to arrange your lodging and inprocessing. You are hereby assigned to the 132nd Aviator Squadron. When you arrive, you are to head to the inprocessing building, located inside the base gate, and meet your squadron representative. The 132nd has expressed that they look forward to meeting you. Very respectfully, General Stratus.”

Nimbus set down the note while Lemon, Sunset, and Whirlwind gazed at him, waiting for a reaction.

“Well?” Lemon said at last.

“Manehattan,” Nimbus said at last, “did they really have to send me to a big city right off the bat?”

“Oh, it’s not so bad,” Sunset pointed out, “Manehattan’s the Crown Jewel of Equestria, or so they say.”

“But it’s so big,” Nimbus said, “why couldn’t they have stationed me somewhere close, like Cliffrun, just north of here?”

“I’m sure it’s where the Air Force needs you to be,” Lemon said, “you’ll probably get more of a choice later on.”

Nimbus absently twirled his spoon around in his ice cream. “Maybe so. I’ve never heard of the 132nd before, but maybe they’ll be a good squadron.”

Nimbus and Whirlwind finished their ice creams in silence as the sun dipped lower in the sky. Nimbus couldn’t stop thinking about just what was in store for him on the Equestrian coast. Would his squadron welcome him? From what his orders had said, they were looking forward to meeting him. Regardless of what he thought, it was his job now to do what was asked of him. He’d find a way to like Manehattan if it killed him.

…

The two stallions arrived home just in time to catch a whiff of fresh tomato soup coming from the kitchen. Nimbus immediately perked up. Tomato soup was one of his mom’s specialties. He trotted into the kitchen, where his parents were preparing the delicious dish, and held up his orders.

“Looks like I’m going to Manehattan,” he said, pretending to be excited about it.

“Are those- oh, let me see!” Comet Stream said, snatching the paper from her son’s hooves. “In three weeks? But you’ve only been back a month!”

Nimbus shrugged, “I guess they don’t give much time off, what with all the Griffon activity on the coast.”

“That’s for sure,” Updraft said, “they’ve been flying around, pestering some of our ships going into Manehattan. With an Aviator force up there, they might think twice about harassing us.”

“You’ll have to start packing soon,” Comet added, “I wonder if they’ll have you staying in the city… you know how to catch a commuter carriage, right Nimbus? Oh, and groceries- buy your own and make your own food. And you should write to us as often as pos-“

“I’ve got it, Mom,” Nimbus chuckled, “it’s not going to be that tough to get adjusted to living on my own.”

“Of course not,” Comet Stream said, “but it’s my duty as a parent to make sure I’ve got all bases covered.”

Nimbus passed out some bowls and sat down at the table as his mother brought the soup over. “It’ll be close to home as well, only about an hour-long train ride. And if you ever need something from the big city, you can just stop by and visit.”

“You know, Bayside’s the location for the Equestrian Aeronautical Research Center,” Updraft said, “you might get a chance to see the Sol while you’re there.”

“The Sol’s stationed there?” Nimbus said, suddenly brightening up, “really?”

The Sol was Equestria’s latest airship, and it represented the pinnacle of non-winged flight technology. More than twice the length of Equestria’s largest airships, it was in a class of its own, with a gondola longer than a city block mounted between and underneath two huge gas envelopes. It was new, luxurious, and the biggest thing in the sky. The chance to see it up close would be incredible.

Updraft nodded, “apparently they’re conducting preflight tests on it. Odds are you may even get the chance to see it on its maiden flight.”

“I want to see the Sol,” Whirlwind piped in, “can I come?”

“Perhaps you can,” Nimbus said, tasting some of the soup. The rich, creamy tomato dish went down with ease, filling his belly with warmth. This new information about the Sol was beginning to make his situation a bit more desirable. It would be worth living close to such a large, intimidating city just to watch the giant airship take flight.

“I’ll get train tickets tomorrow,” Updraft said, “we’ll come with you to the base, and help you get settled in.”

“That’d be great,” Nimbus said, finishing up his soup and running down a mental list of what he’d need. He looked around the table at his family, excusing himself.

“I’d stay and chat a little longer," he said, stretching as he pushed his chair in, "but it looks like I’m going to have quite a bit of packing to do.”