ValtonAceby ValtonAceChaptersChapter One: A New World.Chapter Two: Incoming!Chapter Three: An Ace is BornChapter One: A New World."Fox Two, Fox Two!" I shouted as I rolled my F-22 Raptor and fired a Sidewinder at the Russian MiG. An explosion marked the end of the MiG and my third kill of the engagement. "Hell yeah, Three just bagged another! You're and ace now Rook." "We're not out of the woods yet, Two. AWACS says another flight of bogeys incoming." "Ehh, it's just a mop up now guys." I said. "They've thrown everything they had at us." "Attention Phoenix Flight. Second group of bogeys at 5.2 klicks. Advise you return to base." AWACS's voice echoed in my cockpit. "Alert! Third flight of bogeys incoming! 1.0 klicks! Get the hell out of there!" The normally calm radio operator sounded scared. "Holy shit, how many more do these guys have?" Two cried. "Let’s turn and burn, gentlemen." One spoke calmly, as though we were just in a routine patrol. "Shit, shit! Missile, Miss-" An explosion shook my Raptor. "AWACS, Two is down! Repeat, Two is down!" I shouted into the radio as I stood the Raptor on its tail and rocketed into the clouds. One's voice came over the radio. "Got one on me! I can't see him! Oh fuck, tell Sus-" Another explosion under the clouds. "Fucking Russians! Three, get out of there!" "I got nothing! Where are they? I don't see the- holy shit." My jaw hit my chin-strap. There were hundreds of them. The sea was nearly blotted out with Russian MiGs. "Three? Three! Get the fuck out of there NOW! There's just too many!" Numbly, I pulled back on the stick and rose to 30 angles. Suddenly stucco thumping appeared near the back of my Raptor. Warning beeps started to sound inside the cockpit. "I-I'm hit! Left engine flameout! What the hell got me?" My Raptor began to shudder as it began to stall. I quickly pushed the nose down and dove, trying to get away from the MiGs on my tail. "I'm going down! Last know location is-" I began to rattle off coordinates. A buzzing warned me that a bandit was trying to get a lock-on. I yanked back on the stick, but the Raptor was too damaged. The left aileron broke off and the nose snapped back to going straight down. "Shiiiiiiiiiiiiii-" "Yah!" Applejack kicked the tree and every apple fell right into the baskets. "Whoo, this is the best crop yet, huh Mac?" "Yupp" the big horse said, pulling a cart full of apples back to the barn. Plop! An apple hit Applejack right on the head. "What in tarnation?" the cowpony said as she looked up just in time to see something pass overhead, trailing smoke and making the ground beneath her hooves shake. "Wa-was that a-a-a dragon?" she gasped. "Yuup!" gulped Macintosh, looking quite afraid. "Well, whatever it was, it-it went down by the swamp. I'm goin' to go check it out, m-make sure it didn’t hit any critters." Applejack whistled. "Here Finona." The dog trotted up to her owner and gave a bark. "I'm goin' with you. No dragon is goin' to hurt my little sister." The trio walked from the orchid to swamp, all the while trying to figure out what it was that rumpled past the Apples' farm. "It couldn't have been a dragon, because those fellers have already migrated not two days ago." "Yuup. Maybe this one was lost." Applejack pulled off her hat and wiped sweat from her brow. "Hoowe, it's getting mighty hot out here. Maybe we should have brought some apple juice for the little critter, or big one." "Yuup." Mac panted; sweat dripping off of his ears. "Hey there it is! Thare's the swamp!" Applejack noticed a thin stream of smoke trailing from inside. "C'mon Finona! Whatever it was, it could light the swamp on fire!" The dog barked in approval and plunged into the swamp. "Uhh, wuh?" I opened my eyes an inch and licked my lips. I heard barking. "Hello there? Are you hurt sir?" A female voice floated into my ears, her Texan accent music to my ears. I tried to call back, but just started coughing. "Mac, get over here! Whatever it is, it ain't gonna last long in the heat!" My eyes closed and I passed out. "I'm sorry, but we can't do anything until we get word from Princess Celestia. We're awaiting her response now." The nurse smiled, trying to look comforting. "Well, alright. I just want to know where it came from is all. It sure made a racket when it came down into the swamp." Applejack paced the floor. "Hey, what's all the fuss about?" Twilight Sparkle came into the hospital tent. "Some...thing came down in the swamp, and nearly scared me and Macintosh to death!" Twilight cocked her head. "What kind of creature?" she asked, trying to see if she could recognize it from her studies. "Well, it was tall, and it looked like a bug. It had hooves, but these weird things were sticking out of it, like little sausages." "Huh." was all Twilight could say before a fanfare played outside. "Princess Celestia!" Twilight cried. "How's my favorite student doing?" Celestia said. "Princess, come quick! The creature that crashed is coming around!" "Come Twilight. I want you to see this creature with me." Celestia said, and she turned to the nurse pony. The harsh light stung my eyes. I tried to cover them with my hands, but I couldn't move my arms. "Ho-holy shit." I murmured, as my brain slowly began to piece together what had happened. My last memory was flying into the Pacific Ocean, and that Texan girl, though that might have just been a dream. "Princess, through here!" Twilights' eyes grew wide as she saw the creature lying on the bed. Applejack was right, it was big. It was too big for the bed, and that could handle even Princess Celestia herself! The thing coughed and looked at the both of them. "Wh-who are you?" I said. The two unicorns glanced at each other and back at me. I could hear the smaller one whisper: "As if it doesn't know who you are, Princess." The big unicorn nodded and spoke. "I am Princess Celestia, and this is my student, Twilight Sparkle." The "Princess" nodded to the smaller unicorn. "May I ask what you're name is?" "Lieutenant Chris J. Telford, Royal Canadian Air Force, serial number 7J-R3, no next of kin. That's all you're getting "Princess"." Twilight shuddered at the sarcasm that dripped from Telford's voice. She looked over at Celestia, who shrugged off the insult as if it were nothing, and looked back at Twilight. "We'll have to transform him. Are you familiar with the spell?" "Of course, Celestia." "On the count of three. One...two....three." "Auggggggh!" I screamed as the combined beams from the unicorn’s horns hit me. It was more painful than anything I had every felt in my life. I shut my eyes, trying to block out the pain. It was no use, and I was at the mercy of whatever hell I had fallen into. "Augggggggh!" "Ahhhh!" Thud. Rainbow Dash stood and shook her head. "Ouch. Hey, who said that?" The pegasus moved her rainbow colored mane out of her eyes and glared accusingly around her. “Excuse me Rainbow Dash, but I think the shout came from town.” A quiet voice said. Rainbow Dash turned around and looked at Fluttershy, who was standing right benind her. “It scared all my bunnies away. Oh, I do hope they weren’t too scared. Do you remember what happened last time?” Rainbow Dash stood and stetched her wings. “Then let’s go to town. Maybe there’s an explanation for this.” She said, taking to the air. “You go without me; I still have to find the bunnies again.” I dropped against the straps, panting. “Okay, okay. I give. I’ll tell you everything. Just, no more! Please!” “It is finished.” The Princess spoke. “You are now one of us.” Chapter Two: Incoming!What the fuck did that mean? One of us? Was I a horse now? These questions raced in my head as a white pony wearing nurses’ clothes undid the straps that held me to the bed. I dropped to the floor with a clack, my flight suit fluttering down around me. I glanced at the table next to the bed. My helmet still sat there, the number 3 emblazoned on the sides and my call sign, Valton, underneath. A phoenix soaring over the top showed my flight groups logo. The helmet looked odd though. There were two triangular bumps on the top. I was trying to figure out what they would be for when a voice interrupted my thoughts. “Hey, who’s the new guy?” Rainbow Dash glanced at the gray horse before turning to look at Twilight. “Please don’t talk to him Rainbow. He had a bad-” Twilight sighed as Rainbow Dash ran past her into the room. The weather pony had a habit of rushing into things without thinking ahead. “Hi, I’m Rainbow Dash. What’s your name?” She said, sticking her hoof out to shake hooves with the newcomer. “Uhh, what?”The horse said, staring at the proffered hoof. “What’s your name? And what are you wearing?” Rainbow repeated, looking confused. The new pony apparently didn’t understand the common courtesies of Equestria. “I’m wearing my flight suit, or whats left of it.” He said as if it was normal for a male pony to be wearing a dress. “Well, take it off. I wanna see your cutie mark.” The new pony looked horrified. “But I’ll be... I’ll be naked.” Rainbow grabbed the garment and said, somewhat muffled: “So?” as she pulled. The movement was so sudden I scuttled back in surprise, but I tripped over my feet (hooves?) and sat heavily on the ground. “Whoa! Twilight, come here! I've never seen anything like this!” The purple unicorn came over and looked at me. “What does it mean?” Twilight, or whatever her name is, looked confused. “I- I’m not sure. I’ll have to do some more research into this.” I craned my neck, trying to see what they were talking about. There was a mark near where my thigh would be, but I couldn't see. “Here, this should help you.” Twilight said, before closing her eyes. Her horn started to glow, and I slid backwards again. “Oh Jesus, please don’t hit me again. I’ll do anything, I swear!” I pleaded, closing my in preparation of the pain. “What? You never saw a mirror before? Sheesh, where do you find these guys, Twilight?” I opened my eyes to see a giant mirror in front of me. The pony inside didn't look familiar. “Who’s this?” I asked. “You!” Both Rainbow and Twilight’s voices yelled, exasperated. “Oh.” I said, studying my new form. My skin was gun-metal gray, and my hair (mane?) was jet black. The mark I couldn't see before was clearly visible. It was a plane within red cross hairs. The cross hairs looked like old WWII cross hairs, like ones you might find on a Spitfire. “Kick-ass.” I muttered. I always wanted to be a Spitfire pilot, after all the stories my grandfather told me when I was just a kid. “What's all the commotion?” Rarity said as she walked in. “Yeah! I saw sparkles!” said Pinky Pie, who came bouncing in on the scene. “Guys, meet uhhhh...” Twilight glanced at the table beside the hospital bed. The name painted on the helmet jumped out at her. “...Valton? Yeah, Valton!” “Actually, my name is-” A voice called from behind a mirror, but was cut off by Pinky. “Huuuuuuuuuh!” She shouted, before bolting from the room. Valton pushed the mirror aside and walked out of the corner awkwardly, as if he had never walked before. “Is that... normal?” He asked, glancing at Twilight. “Yes. Valton, this is Rarity. The pony that screamed was Pinkie Pie.” Twilight said. “Pleased to meet you. But my name is-” Valton was cut off yet again when Applejack came rushing in. “Hey, have you guys seen the big galloot I dragged in here? I wanted to see if he wasn't hurt.” “Wait, it was you who saved me? Thanks! I owe you my life.” Valton said. “AJ, this is Valton. Celestia and I transformed him into a pony.” Twilight explained to the confused farmer. “Well, how is it he ain't hurt? He looked pretty beat up when I picked him up.” Applejack said. “Yeah, I was wondering about that too.” Valton said, looking accusingly at Twilight. “The spell transforms the recipient and heals any wounds he/she may have. Well, that’s what the spell description says.” She explained. A beeping interrupted my welcoming party. We all looked at my helmet, which was beginning to flash a red light as well as beeping. “What is it doing?’ Rainbow Dash cried. “I don’t know. I think it wants me to put it on.” I replied, walking over to it. “Is that safe?” Twilight asked, looking worried. “I should do some research beforehand.” “It’s just a helmet.” I said. “What’s the worst that could happen?” I picked up the helmet. The beeping immediatly stopped. “Here goes nothing.” The helmet slid smoothly onto my head. I couldn't hear anything, nor see anything. Suddenly green text appeared in the darkness. “Welcome Phoenix Three. This is the Tactical Advanced Targeting System or TATS for short.” “What? What happened to my old helmet?” I asked, not expecting an answer. “I have alerted you because a flight of twelve MiG 35s and Tupolev Tu-22s. Recommend you climb to 35000 feet to deal with intruders.” “MiGs? Here?!?” I exclaimed. “That’s impossible! “ “Loading airal footage of intruders...” My eyes were treated by the sight of twelve MiG 35s flashing by a forest. The planes had no markings and were matte black. “Oh shit! That’s a city!” The planes, in perfect rows of two turned towards a small town and dropped their fuel tanks. Twelve subsequent explosions thudded in my ears. “This is live footage. The planes are about 3.5 kilometers away from your current location.” “Fuck.” I whispered before taking off the helmet. I looked around the group of worried faces. “We have to evacuate the village. There are bombers incoming.” I said. “What in tarnation are those?” The Texan pony asked. I sighed. “They are bigger versions of the plane I came down in. They carry bombs, which will destroy this town unless we can stop them. “How?” Twilight asked. “If I can get my plane back up in the air, I had some ammo I hadn't used yet. Where is my plane?” I asked. Twilight glanced at the others. “It’s still in the swamp. There's no way we can get there in time.” I stepped into the daylight. The sun looked beautiful on the clouds. ‘Too bad it won’t last long enough.’ I thought. Anger started to well inside of me. ‘Too bad I can’t get into the air. Too bad I can’t fucking kill the bastards.’ I closed my eyes, tears fighting to be free. ‘Too bad I can’t avenge Buzz and Mikey.’ “Uhh, Twilight? What’s happening to his cutie mark?” Rainbow Dash asked. Valton’s cutie mark was beginning to glow. “I...I don’t know.” She replied, taking a step back. The wind began to pick up around them, cycloning around Valton. Trees began to bend and snap. “He’s whipping up a tornado!” Applejack cried. The images flashed into my head. Wings, stuts, pylons, all congregating on one thing. A plane the likes of which I had never seen before. I felt nothing, not the ground underneath my hooves nor the sun’s rays on my flanks. ‘Too bad that the fucking Russians tried to mess with me.’ “What is happening?” Rarity yelled over the wind. “My hair is getting ruined!” Twilight didn't answer. She was too busy staring at the thing Valton was assembling. It was made of wood, yet looked like metal, shining in the sunlight. Suddenly the wind began to die down. Valton staggered and fell in front of the contraption. “What is that thing Valton?” I heard Rainbow ask. The word just popped into my head. “Phoenix.” I whispered. “Can anybody get to my plane and bring back some supplies?” I asked, slowly standing from the grass. I had noticed that although the plane had missile struts, it had no missiles. Chapter Three: An Ace is BornI looked around the group of worried faces. “We have to evacuate the village. There are bombers incoming.” I said. “What in tarnation are those?” The Texan pony asked. I sighed. “They are bigger versions of the plane I came down in. They carry bombs, which will destroy this town unless we can stop them.” “How?” Twilight asked. “If I can get my plane back up in the air, I had some ammo I hadn’t used yet. Where is my plane?” I asked. Twilight glanced at the others. “It’s still in the swamp. There's no way we can get there in time.” I stepped into the daylight. The sun looked beautiful on the clouds. ‘Too bad it won’t last long enough.’ I thought. Anger started to well inside of me. ‘Too bad I can’t get into the air. Too bad I can’t fucking kill the bastards.’ I closed my eyes, tears fighting to be free. ‘Too bad I can’t avenge Buzz and Mikey.’ “Uhh, Twilight? What’s happening to his cutie mark?” Rainbow Dash asked. Valton’s cutie mark was beginning to glow. “I...I don’t know.” She replied, taking a step back. The wind began to pick up around them, cycloning around Valton. Trees began to bend and snap. “He’s whipping up a tornado!” Applejack cried. The images flashed into my head. Wings, struts, pylons, all congregating on one thing. A plane the likes of which I had never seen before. I felt nothing, not the ground underneath my hooves nor the sun’s rays on my flanks. ‘Too bad that the fucking Russians tried to mess with me.’ “What is happening?” Rarity yelled over the wind. “My hair is getting messed up.” Twilight didn’t answer. She was too busy staring at the thing Valton was assembling. It was made of wood, yet looked like metal, shining in the sunlight. Suddenly the wind began to die down. Valton staggered and fell in front of the contraption. “What is that thing Valton?” I heard Rainbow ask. I shook my head and stood shakily.“I don’t know.” I looked back at the others. “How did I do that? How did I build that out of thin air?” “I’m not sure. You’re not a unicorn. Only unicorns can do magic.” Twilight said, looking off into the distance. “I’d like to run some tests on you.” “I don’t have time right now. I’ll see you on the ground later.” I climbed into the cockpit, noticing that the helmet was sitting on the seat, and that the controls seemed similar to the Raptor’s. I placed the helmet on my head and the diaplay showed up, showing me my altitude and other things. “Welcome back sir.” The green text appeared near the bottom left. “Do you have an audio option?” I asked, barely able to read the text. “Yes sir.” A crisp English accent answered me. “Holy shit, you sound like Jarvis!” I exclaimed. “I must inquire, who?” ‘You know, Jarvis? From Iron Man? Never mind. Mind if I call you Jarvis anyway?” I said. “Armaments at 20% sir. Only enough for 5 planes sir.” Jarvis said. “Uhhh, okay. Hows the fuel?” “50%.” “Shit” “Ready for takeoff sir?” I glanced around the plane. “We don’t have enough room to take off, Jarvis.” “Sir, the ED-101 Phoenix is a VTOL fighter.” That explained why I didn’t recognize it. I’d never heard of the Phoenix before. I looked out the window and gestured wildly at the group to get them out of the way. “I’m ready.” I said, mentally switching myself off as I always did before a fight and grabbed the stick between my hooves “Let’s do this.” The giant metal...thing lifted off with a roar. “Uh, Twi? What just happened?” Applejack said, picking her hat up off of a fence post. “Oh, my hair! It’s ruined!” Rarity cried “Switching to regular flight mode sir.” There was a slight bump and the plane shot forwards. “How long to engagement Jarvis?” “60 seconds sir. Advise you climb to 2500 feet. The bombers are descending.” “Roger.” I said as I pulled the stick back and felt the G-Forces press me backwards. I scanned in front of me, eyes searching for anything. I spotted a few black dots headed towards town. “Got’em. Activate radar.” The plane’s radar began to sweep, and pinged one of the planes. “Too far off for a shot, sir. 100 feet to maximum range.” “Fuck it.” I said firing a missile. The radar locked on a second later and the missile began to track towards the fighter. It broke left, and exploded. The debris fell to the ground, smashing into a barn and lighting it. The bombers began a slow turn to run as three of the fighters raced closer to me. I rolled and dove, as a beeping told me that the MiGs were trying to get a lock. I brought the stick back, flashing over their heads as I went airborne. I rolled over again, flying straight down at them as I fired short bursts of the machine gun in the nose. One of the planes’ wing fell off and it rolled into a deadman’s spiral. I came out of the dive, right behind a MiG, and got an immediate lock. I fired, and the missile turned the plane, and pilot, into an airbound torch. The lone surviving MiG turned tail and ran. “Whoo! Hell yeah!” I whooped, sweat pouring down my body. “Nailed the bastards!” “Sir, you are now what’s considered an ace. Congratulations!” The reverberating sounds of the dogfight were still over Applejack’s head as she ran to Sweet Apple Acres. She galloped through the gates and stopped dead in her tracks as she saw what waited in front of her. Applebloom was crying beside Big Macintosh, as Granny Smith lay in front of both. “No, nononononononono!” Applejack yelled and ran towards her family. She skidded to a halt next to granny’s body and stared at Big Mac as tears welled in her eyes. “Is- is she-?” Applejack couldn’t finish her sentence. “Yup.” Mac said, looking down sadly. Applejack slumped to the ground, sobbing. “Sir, I suggest you don’t do that again. We only have 5% fuel left.” Jarvis scolded after I did a barrel roll. “Then I’d better find a place to land.” I replied, pulling the throttle back to idle. “Sir, I have found three places to land. One is in the middle of town, the other is in the middle of the forest, and the third is where we took off from.” “What’s the closest? I’m running out of sky here.” I wasn't kidding. The plane was just gliding, and the ground was getting closer by the second. “The town.” Jarvis said. “It is 2.5 meters closer tha-” “Stuff the lecture.” I said. “Just tell me how to get there.” A small directional arrow appeared under my display, and I relit the engines. The plane turned and rumbled towards the center of the small town I had saved. “Switching to hover mode now, sir.” “Here he comes.” Rainbow Dash said, swooping down to where the others stood. Fluttershy looked worriedly at Dash. “I wonder how he did that.” Twilight said, chewing on her lip in concentration. “I didn’t help him, and Rarity said she didn’t, so who did?” “I don’t know, but that was AWESOME!” Dash said, doing a quick flip before landing. “I want to know how to do that. Do you think he will teach me?” She grinned wildly. “You’ll get a chance” Twilight said. “But I’m first.” She was still looking at the plane as it came wobbling into view, its roar becoming louder with every second. “Looks like I have a welcoming committee.” I said. “Jarvis, let’s make this look good, eh?” “Sir, I doubt we have the fuel. We are down to 1% fuel capacity.” “So no fireworks, then?” I said, starting to concentrate on landing. “Undoubtedly, sir.”
Chapter One: A New World."Fox Two, Fox Two!" I shouted as I rolled my F-22 Raptor and fired a Sidewinder at the Russian MiG. An explosion marked the end of the MiG and my third kill of the engagement. "Hell yeah, Three just bagged another! You're and ace now Rook." "We're not out of the woods yet, Two. AWACS says another flight of bogeys incoming." "Ehh, it's just a mop up now guys." I said. "They've thrown everything they had at us." "Attention Phoenix Flight. Second group of bogeys at 5.2 klicks. Advise you return to base." AWACS's voice echoed in my cockpit. "Alert! Third flight of bogeys incoming! 1.0 klicks! Get the hell out of there!" The normally calm radio operator sounded scared. "Holy shit, how many more do these guys have?" Two cried. "Let’s turn and burn, gentlemen." One spoke calmly, as though we were just in a routine patrol. "Shit, shit! Missile, Miss-" An explosion shook my Raptor. "AWACS, Two is down! Repeat, Two is down!" I shouted into the radio as I stood the Raptor on its tail and rocketed into the clouds. One's voice came over the radio. "Got one on me! I can't see him! Oh fuck, tell Sus-" Another explosion under the clouds. "Fucking Russians! Three, get out of there!" "I got nothing! Where are they? I don't see the- holy shit." My jaw hit my chin-strap. There were hundreds of them. The sea was nearly blotted out with Russian MiGs. "Three? Three! Get the fuck out of there NOW! There's just too many!" Numbly, I pulled back on the stick and rose to 30 angles. Suddenly stucco thumping appeared near the back of my Raptor. Warning beeps started to sound inside the cockpit. "I-I'm hit! Left engine flameout! What the hell got me?" My Raptor began to shudder as it began to stall. I quickly pushed the nose down and dove, trying to get away from the MiGs on my tail. "I'm going down! Last know location is-" I began to rattle off coordinates. A buzzing warned me that a bandit was trying to get a lock-on. I yanked back on the stick, but the Raptor was too damaged. The left aileron broke off and the nose snapped back to going straight down. "Shiiiiiiiiiiiiii-" "Yah!" Applejack kicked the tree and every apple fell right into the baskets. "Whoo, this is the best crop yet, huh Mac?" "Yupp" the big horse said, pulling a cart full of apples back to the barn. Plop! An apple hit Applejack right on the head. "What in tarnation?" the cowpony said as she looked up just in time to see something pass overhead, trailing smoke and making the ground beneath her hooves shake. "Wa-was that a-a-a dragon?" she gasped. "Yuup!" gulped Macintosh, looking quite afraid. "Well, whatever it was, it-it went down by the swamp. I'm goin' to go check it out, m-make sure it didn’t hit any critters." Applejack whistled. "Here Finona." The dog trotted up to her owner and gave a bark. "I'm goin' with you. No dragon is goin' to hurt my little sister." The trio walked from the orchid to swamp, all the while trying to figure out what it was that rumpled past the Apples' farm. "It couldn't have been a dragon, because those fellers have already migrated not two days ago." "Yuup. Maybe this one was lost." Applejack pulled off her hat and wiped sweat from her brow. "Hoowe, it's getting mighty hot out here. Maybe we should have brought some apple juice for the little critter, or big one." "Yuup." Mac panted; sweat dripping off of his ears. "Hey there it is! Thare's the swamp!" Applejack noticed a thin stream of smoke trailing from inside. "C'mon Finona! Whatever it was, it could light the swamp on fire!" The dog barked in approval and plunged into the swamp. "Uhh, wuh?" I opened my eyes an inch and licked my lips. I heard barking. "Hello there? Are you hurt sir?" A female voice floated into my ears, her Texan accent music to my ears. I tried to call back, but just started coughing. "Mac, get over here! Whatever it is, it ain't gonna last long in the heat!" My eyes closed and I passed out. "I'm sorry, but we can't do anything until we get word from Princess Celestia. We're awaiting her response now." The nurse smiled, trying to look comforting. "Well, alright. I just want to know where it came from is all. It sure made a racket when it came down into the swamp." Applejack paced the floor. "Hey, what's all the fuss about?" Twilight Sparkle came into the hospital tent. "Some...thing came down in the swamp, and nearly scared me and Macintosh to death!" Twilight cocked her head. "What kind of creature?" she asked, trying to see if she could recognize it from her studies. "Well, it was tall, and it looked like a bug. It had hooves, but these weird things were sticking out of it, like little sausages." "Huh." was all Twilight could say before a fanfare played outside. "Princess Celestia!" Twilight cried. "How's my favorite student doing?" Celestia said. "Princess, come quick! The creature that crashed is coming around!" "Come Twilight. I want you to see this creature with me." Celestia said, and she turned to the nurse pony. The harsh light stung my eyes. I tried to cover them with my hands, but I couldn't move my arms. "Ho-holy shit." I murmured, as my brain slowly began to piece together what had happened. My last memory was flying into the Pacific Ocean, and that Texan girl, though that might have just been a dream. "Princess, through here!" Twilights' eyes grew wide as she saw the creature lying on the bed. Applejack was right, it was big. It was too big for the bed, and that could handle even Princess Celestia herself! The thing coughed and looked at the both of them. "Wh-who are you?" I said. The two unicorns glanced at each other and back at me. I could hear the smaller one whisper: "As if it doesn't know who you are, Princess." The big unicorn nodded and spoke. "I am Princess Celestia, and this is my student, Twilight Sparkle." The "Princess" nodded to the smaller unicorn. "May I ask what you're name is?" "Lieutenant Chris J. Telford, Royal Canadian Air Force, serial number 7J-R3, no next of kin. That's all you're getting "Princess"." Twilight shuddered at the sarcasm that dripped from Telford's voice. She looked over at Celestia, who shrugged off the insult as if it were nothing, and looked back at Twilight. "We'll have to transform him. Are you familiar with the spell?" "Of course, Celestia." "On the count of three. One...two....three." "Auggggggh!" I screamed as the combined beams from the unicorn’s horns hit me. It was more painful than anything I had every felt in my life. I shut my eyes, trying to block out the pain. It was no use, and I was at the mercy of whatever hell I had fallen into. "Augggggggh!" "Ahhhh!" Thud. Rainbow Dash stood and shook her head. "Ouch. Hey, who said that?" The pegasus moved her rainbow colored mane out of her eyes and glared accusingly around her. “Excuse me Rainbow Dash, but I think the shout came from town.” A quiet voice said. Rainbow Dash turned around and looked at Fluttershy, who was standing right benind her. “It scared all my bunnies away. Oh, I do hope they weren’t too scared. Do you remember what happened last time?” Rainbow Dash stood and stetched her wings. “Then let’s go to town. Maybe there’s an explanation for this.” She said, taking to the air. “You go without me; I still have to find the bunnies again.” I dropped against the straps, panting. “Okay, okay. I give. I’ll tell you everything. Just, no more! Please!” “It is finished.” The Princess spoke. “You are now one of us.”
Chapter Two: Incoming!What the fuck did that mean? One of us? Was I a horse now? These questions raced in my head as a white pony wearing nurses’ clothes undid the straps that held me to the bed. I dropped to the floor with a clack, my flight suit fluttering down around me. I glanced at the table next to the bed. My helmet still sat there, the number 3 emblazoned on the sides and my call sign, Valton, underneath. A phoenix soaring over the top showed my flight groups logo. The helmet looked odd though. There were two triangular bumps on the top. I was trying to figure out what they would be for when a voice interrupted my thoughts. “Hey, who’s the new guy?” Rainbow Dash glanced at the gray horse before turning to look at Twilight. “Please don’t talk to him Rainbow. He had a bad-” Twilight sighed as Rainbow Dash ran past her into the room. The weather pony had a habit of rushing into things without thinking ahead. “Hi, I’m Rainbow Dash. What’s your name?” She said, sticking her hoof out to shake hooves with the newcomer. “Uhh, what?”The horse said, staring at the proffered hoof. “What’s your name? And what are you wearing?” Rainbow repeated, looking confused. The new pony apparently didn’t understand the common courtesies of Equestria. “I’m wearing my flight suit, or whats left of it.” He said as if it was normal for a male pony to be wearing a dress. “Well, take it off. I wanna see your cutie mark.” The new pony looked horrified. “But I’ll be... I’ll be naked.” Rainbow grabbed the garment and said, somewhat muffled: “So?” as she pulled. The movement was so sudden I scuttled back in surprise, but I tripped over my feet (hooves?) and sat heavily on the ground. “Whoa! Twilight, come here! I've never seen anything like this!” The purple unicorn came over and looked at me. “What does it mean?” Twilight, or whatever her name is, looked confused. “I- I’m not sure. I’ll have to do some more research into this.” I craned my neck, trying to see what they were talking about. There was a mark near where my thigh would be, but I couldn't see. “Here, this should help you.” Twilight said, before closing her eyes. Her horn started to glow, and I slid backwards again. “Oh Jesus, please don’t hit me again. I’ll do anything, I swear!” I pleaded, closing my in preparation of the pain. “What? You never saw a mirror before? Sheesh, where do you find these guys, Twilight?” I opened my eyes to see a giant mirror in front of me. The pony inside didn't look familiar. “Who’s this?” I asked. “You!” Both Rainbow and Twilight’s voices yelled, exasperated. “Oh.” I said, studying my new form. My skin was gun-metal gray, and my hair (mane?) was jet black. The mark I couldn't see before was clearly visible. It was a plane within red cross hairs. The cross hairs looked like old WWII cross hairs, like ones you might find on a Spitfire. “Kick-ass.” I muttered. I always wanted to be a Spitfire pilot, after all the stories my grandfather told me when I was just a kid. “What's all the commotion?” Rarity said as she walked in. “Yeah! I saw sparkles!” said Pinky Pie, who came bouncing in on the scene. “Guys, meet uhhhh...” Twilight glanced at the table beside the hospital bed. The name painted on the helmet jumped out at her. “...Valton? Yeah, Valton!” “Actually, my name is-” A voice called from behind a mirror, but was cut off by Pinky. “Huuuuuuuuuh!” She shouted, before bolting from the room. Valton pushed the mirror aside and walked out of the corner awkwardly, as if he had never walked before. “Is that... normal?” He asked, glancing at Twilight. “Yes. Valton, this is Rarity. The pony that screamed was Pinkie Pie.” Twilight said. “Pleased to meet you. But my name is-” Valton was cut off yet again when Applejack came rushing in. “Hey, have you guys seen the big galloot I dragged in here? I wanted to see if he wasn't hurt.” “Wait, it was you who saved me? Thanks! I owe you my life.” Valton said. “AJ, this is Valton. Celestia and I transformed him into a pony.” Twilight explained to the confused farmer. “Well, how is it he ain't hurt? He looked pretty beat up when I picked him up.” Applejack said. “Yeah, I was wondering about that too.” Valton said, looking accusingly at Twilight. “The spell transforms the recipient and heals any wounds he/she may have. Well, that’s what the spell description says.” She explained. A beeping interrupted my welcoming party. We all looked at my helmet, which was beginning to flash a red light as well as beeping. “What is it doing?’ Rainbow Dash cried. “I don’t know. I think it wants me to put it on.” I replied, walking over to it. “Is that safe?” Twilight asked, looking worried. “I should do some research beforehand.” “It’s just a helmet.” I said. “What’s the worst that could happen?” I picked up the helmet. The beeping immediatly stopped. “Here goes nothing.” The helmet slid smoothly onto my head. I couldn't hear anything, nor see anything. Suddenly green text appeared in the darkness. “Welcome Phoenix Three. This is the Tactical Advanced Targeting System or TATS for short.” “What? What happened to my old helmet?” I asked, not expecting an answer. “I have alerted you because a flight of twelve MiG 35s and Tupolev Tu-22s. Recommend you climb to 35000 feet to deal with intruders.” “MiGs? Here?!?” I exclaimed. “That’s impossible! “ “Loading airal footage of intruders...” My eyes were treated by the sight of twelve MiG 35s flashing by a forest. The planes had no markings and were matte black. “Oh shit! That’s a city!” The planes, in perfect rows of two turned towards a small town and dropped their fuel tanks. Twelve subsequent explosions thudded in my ears. “This is live footage. The planes are about 3.5 kilometers away from your current location.” “Fuck.” I whispered before taking off the helmet. I looked around the group of worried faces. “We have to evacuate the village. There are bombers incoming.” I said. “What in tarnation are those?” The Texan pony asked. I sighed. “They are bigger versions of the plane I came down in. They carry bombs, which will destroy this town unless we can stop them. “How?” Twilight asked. “If I can get my plane back up in the air, I had some ammo I hadn't used yet. Where is my plane?” I asked. Twilight glanced at the others. “It’s still in the swamp. There's no way we can get there in time.” I stepped into the daylight. The sun looked beautiful on the clouds. ‘Too bad it won’t last long enough.’ I thought. Anger started to well inside of me. ‘Too bad I can’t get into the air. Too bad I can’t fucking kill the bastards.’ I closed my eyes, tears fighting to be free. ‘Too bad I can’t avenge Buzz and Mikey.’ “Uhh, Twilight? What’s happening to his cutie mark?” Rainbow Dash asked. Valton’s cutie mark was beginning to glow. “I...I don’t know.” She replied, taking a step back. The wind began to pick up around them, cycloning around Valton. Trees began to bend and snap. “He’s whipping up a tornado!” Applejack cried. The images flashed into my head. Wings, stuts, pylons, all congregating on one thing. A plane the likes of which I had never seen before. I felt nothing, not the ground underneath my hooves nor the sun’s rays on my flanks. ‘Too bad that the fucking Russians tried to mess with me.’ “What is happening?” Rarity yelled over the wind. “My hair is getting ruined!” Twilight didn't answer. She was too busy staring at the thing Valton was assembling. It was made of wood, yet looked like metal, shining in the sunlight. Suddenly the wind began to die down. Valton staggered and fell in front of the contraption. “What is that thing Valton?” I heard Rainbow ask. The word just popped into my head. “Phoenix.” I whispered. “Can anybody get to my plane and bring back some supplies?” I asked, slowly standing from the grass. I had noticed that although the plane had missile struts, it had no missiles.
Chapter Three: An Ace is BornI looked around the group of worried faces. “We have to evacuate the village. There are bombers incoming.” I said. “What in tarnation are those?” The Texan pony asked. I sighed. “They are bigger versions of the plane I came down in. They carry bombs, which will destroy this town unless we can stop them.” “How?” Twilight asked. “If I can get my plane back up in the air, I had some ammo I hadn’t used yet. Where is my plane?” I asked. Twilight glanced at the others. “It’s still in the swamp. There's no way we can get there in time.” I stepped into the daylight. The sun looked beautiful on the clouds. ‘Too bad it won’t last long enough.’ I thought. Anger started to well inside of me. ‘Too bad I can’t get into the air. Too bad I can’t fucking kill the bastards.’ I closed my eyes, tears fighting to be free. ‘Too bad I can’t avenge Buzz and Mikey.’ “Uhh, Twilight? What’s happening to his cutie mark?” Rainbow Dash asked. Valton’s cutie mark was beginning to glow. “I...I don’t know.” She replied, taking a step back. The wind began to pick up around them, cycloning around Valton. Trees began to bend and snap. “He’s whipping up a tornado!” Applejack cried. The images flashed into my head. Wings, struts, pylons, all congregating on one thing. A plane the likes of which I had never seen before. I felt nothing, not the ground underneath my hooves nor the sun’s rays on my flanks. ‘Too bad that the fucking Russians tried to mess with me.’ “What is happening?” Rarity yelled over the wind. “My hair is getting messed up.” Twilight didn’t answer. She was too busy staring at the thing Valton was assembling. It was made of wood, yet looked like metal, shining in the sunlight. Suddenly the wind began to die down. Valton staggered and fell in front of the contraption. “What is that thing Valton?” I heard Rainbow ask. I shook my head and stood shakily.“I don’t know.” I looked back at the others. “How did I do that? How did I build that out of thin air?” “I’m not sure. You’re not a unicorn. Only unicorns can do magic.” Twilight said, looking off into the distance. “I’d like to run some tests on you.” “I don’t have time right now. I’ll see you on the ground later.” I climbed into the cockpit, noticing that the helmet was sitting on the seat, and that the controls seemed similar to the Raptor’s. I placed the helmet on my head and the diaplay showed up, showing me my altitude and other things. “Welcome back sir.” The green text appeared near the bottom left. “Do you have an audio option?” I asked, barely able to read the text. “Yes sir.” A crisp English accent answered me. “Holy shit, you sound like Jarvis!” I exclaimed. “I must inquire, who?” ‘You know, Jarvis? From Iron Man? Never mind. Mind if I call you Jarvis anyway?” I said. “Armaments at 20% sir. Only enough for 5 planes sir.” Jarvis said. “Uhhh, okay. Hows the fuel?” “50%.” “Shit” “Ready for takeoff sir?” I glanced around the plane. “We don’t have enough room to take off, Jarvis.” “Sir, the ED-101 Phoenix is a VTOL fighter.” That explained why I didn’t recognize it. I’d never heard of the Phoenix before. I looked out the window and gestured wildly at the group to get them out of the way. “I’m ready.” I said, mentally switching myself off as I always did before a fight and grabbed the stick between my hooves “Let’s do this.” The giant metal...thing lifted off with a roar. “Uh, Twi? What just happened?” Applejack said, picking her hat up off of a fence post. “Oh, my hair! It’s ruined!” Rarity cried “Switching to regular flight mode sir.” There was a slight bump and the plane shot forwards. “How long to engagement Jarvis?” “60 seconds sir. Advise you climb to 2500 feet. The bombers are descending.” “Roger.” I said as I pulled the stick back and felt the G-Forces press me backwards. I scanned in front of me, eyes searching for anything. I spotted a few black dots headed towards town. “Got’em. Activate radar.” The plane’s radar began to sweep, and pinged one of the planes. “Too far off for a shot, sir. 100 feet to maximum range.” “Fuck it.” I said firing a missile. The radar locked on a second later and the missile began to track towards the fighter. It broke left, and exploded. The debris fell to the ground, smashing into a barn and lighting it. The bombers began a slow turn to run as three of the fighters raced closer to me. I rolled and dove, as a beeping told me that the MiGs were trying to get a lock. I brought the stick back, flashing over their heads as I went airborne. I rolled over again, flying straight down at them as I fired short bursts of the machine gun in the nose. One of the planes’ wing fell off and it rolled into a deadman’s spiral. I came out of the dive, right behind a MiG, and got an immediate lock. I fired, and the missile turned the plane, and pilot, into an airbound torch. The lone surviving MiG turned tail and ran. “Whoo! Hell yeah!” I whooped, sweat pouring down my body. “Nailed the bastards!” “Sir, you are now what’s considered an ace. Congratulations!” The reverberating sounds of the dogfight were still over Applejack’s head as she ran to Sweet Apple Acres. She galloped through the gates and stopped dead in her tracks as she saw what waited in front of her. Applebloom was crying beside Big Macintosh, as Granny Smith lay in front of both. “No, nononononononono!” Applejack yelled and ran towards her family. She skidded to a halt next to granny’s body and stared at Big Mac as tears welled in her eyes. “Is- is she-?” Applejack couldn’t finish her sentence. “Yup.” Mac said, looking down sadly. Applejack slumped to the ground, sobbing. “Sir, I suggest you don’t do that again. We only have 5% fuel left.” Jarvis scolded after I did a barrel roll. “Then I’d better find a place to land.” I replied, pulling the throttle back to idle. “Sir, I have found three places to land. One is in the middle of town, the other is in the middle of the forest, and the third is where we took off from.” “What’s the closest? I’m running out of sky here.” I wasn't kidding. The plane was just gliding, and the ground was getting closer by the second. “The town.” Jarvis said. “It is 2.5 meters closer tha-” “Stuff the lecture.” I said. “Just tell me how to get there.” A small directional arrow appeared under my display, and I relit the engines. The plane turned and rumbled towards the center of the small town I had saved. “Switching to hover mode now, sir.” “Here he comes.” Rainbow Dash said, swooping down to where the others stood. Fluttershy looked worriedly at Dash. “I wonder how he did that.” Twilight said, chewing on her lip in concentration. “I didn’t help him, and Rarity said she didn’t, so who did?” “I don’t know, but that was AWESOME!” Dash said, doing a quick flip before landing. “I want to know how to do that. Do you think he will teach me?” She grinned wildly. “You’ll get a chance” Twilight said. “But I’m first.” She was still looking at the plane as it came wobbling into view, its roar becoming louder with every second. “Looks like I have a welcoming committee.” I said. “Jarvis, let’s make this look good, eh?” “Sir, I doubt we have the fuel. We are down to 1% fuel capacity.” “So no fireworks, then?” I said, starting to concentrate on landing. “Undoubtedly, sir.”
