Chapter 1

"Alright men. We have an escort mission along the northern border heading up into the alps. The next group will be flying with you until you clear the mountains. Then, you will break off and they will continue the escort. This bomber flight will be heading to northern France to take out some air bases that're giving our boys some problems. Any questions?"

We sat in the conference room for our air base. Our banner hung on the wall, reminding us of what we needed to be. Its design was simple. A pegasus spreading its wings over stars while lightning flew off it. We need to be that pegasus and put our wings around those we were duty bound to protect. This was the mission of the 2187th fighter escort group.

A man raised his hand. He was one of the new recruits, a shiny. I think his name was Darrel, but we just call him Beats. Always drumming, that one. The commander looked at him and nodded. "Sir, why won't we be taking them the whole way? Our P-40s can make the trip, right?"

"Well, probably, but we are expecting some resistance around the pass at Lyon, so you will be engaging there while the 3720th picks up the bombers. Anything else? Good. Let's move, we have first takeoff at 2100 hours! Say goodbye while you can."

We all filed out of the hall and back towards our barracks. Suddenly, I heard my buddy, Cut call out. "Hey! Rev, you excited 'bout the mission? Ready to frag some Luftwaffe?"

"Yeah, sure. About as ready as anyone can be to die in a burning metal bird."

"Aww, quit being such a downer Rev. We've survived worse than this. Remember that time over Genoa?" I shuddered remembering how close I was to losing my plane and my life in that dogfight. A 109 had caught me by surprise and left me smoking the entire way back to base. If not for Cut, I would be dead.

"Alright, I guess I can lighten up a bit. Just don't say I didn't warn you when we end up getting shot."

He gave a loud laugh and clapped me on the back. "I wouldn't have it any other way. Whaddya say we go down to Tosche station and grab a drink? Maybe we can sneak a quick one in before we go... Hehe."

"C'mon Cut. You've hit more girls than you have Germans. Let's grab a drink then get our planes prepped." We hopped in a jeep with some of our flight, and headed out into town. When we arrived at the bar, we saw some pilots already walking in or staggering out. We climbed out of the jeep and saw some pilots from the 501st. They were a paratrooper division involved in d-day.

"Hey hey, it's Rev! Nice to see ya again!" A pilot from the 501st walked over to me and shook my hand. "Haven't seen you since camp all those tours ago." He laughed. "How ya doin, ol' pal?"

"Ah, same old, same old, Joe. Just catching a drink before we head out tonight."

"You too? We got a mission around 2100 or so, I think you guys'll be escorting us. You're in the 2178th, right?"

"Yeah,  I guess we'll be covering you guys as well with the 3720th. I though we were escorting bombers though?"

"Hey, Rev, before you get into all this," Cut interrupted, "who the heck is this guy?"

"Oh, sorry Cut. This is Joe, an old friend from training back in the states. We met back in the trainer flights, right?"

"Oh, and don't think I'll forget that, we almost crashed before we took off. If I remember correctly, that's why you got moved to the fighter division."

I shrugged nervously and stuck my hands in my pockets. "Hehe, yeah... Well I'll see you in the sky, Joe."

"Yep. See you brother." He grasped my hand in an unreasonably strong handshake and left with some of his friends. After that we walked on into the bar, and we were hit with the smell of tobacco and alcohol."

"Ah, smells like home," commented Grant, a kid from our barracks. We all shared a laugh and made our way to the source of goodness and wonder, the bar. The barkeep smiled at us and waved us over to some empty stools. He finished drying up a mug as we sag down.

"So, what can I get you boys? You here for a pre-flight tuneup?"

"The usual," I said.

"Same as him."

"Yep."

The last of us, Beats, only nodded. A few moments later, the man came back with our drinks. We all downed them in near-record time. "Geez, Rev, didn't know you were such a lightweight." Again we laughed as we left the bar. "Money's on the counter, keep."

When we reached the base, it was nearing 1800, so while the other guys were sleeping (among other bed related activities), we were giving our planes a final check. Our planes were special for our group. While most of them had custom decals, we completely repainted the noses. Also, we added some special designs to the wings. Of the four planes in my flight, we had a yellow, a red, a blue, and an orange nosed bird. Once we finished up, we headed back to the barracks to take a nice nap.

My alarm clock rang, and I rose from bed. Soon, the others followed me as we got dressed for the mission. Once we were out the door, we went to the strip to our special planes. Their feather painted wings and brilliant noses were like beacons to us even in the late sun. The alpine mountains cast a shadow over our base in Turin and our planes, but it still let some of the great sun's light through. We climbed in our cockpits and strapped ourselves in, waiting for the go-ahead.

After a few moments, a gunshot rang out, and all the planes took to the sky. Within the first fifteen minutes we had spotted the bombers, along with a few troop transports from the 501st. Once we reached altitude, we cruised along until we hit a spontaneous snowstorm.

"Alright, I know that these are 'snow-peaked mountains' and all, but seriously? Where did this come from?"

"Cut, shut it," I said, "watch those bombers. It look like some of them are breaking off. Hold on a sec." I tried to make radio contact with the bombers. After a few moments of static, we finally got a connection.

"Rogue leader, this is Gold leader, what is it?"

"I Noticed some of your bombers breaking off. What's wrong?"

"Not much, just the snow giving them some engine trouble. Your commander advised a few escorts take them home."

"Copy that, me and my flight will take 'em."

As we said this, the blue 501st planes began to peel off as well, heading west with the bombers. Again I tried for radio contact.

"Rogue leader, this is Blue leader, what is it?"

"Just wondering on your target, you seem to be following some crippled bombers that we're taking home."

"We are dropping our troops over by Valence. Over West. We'll follow you out of the mountains though. The snow and winds are giving us some problems. If your cripples can survive, we should be able to. I hope we make it."

"Don't we all." I switched my radio back to my squad after breaking contact with Blue squadron. "Alright boys, change of plan. We are taking these old bombers home today. Guess we'll see action later." I heard a mixture of sighs of relief and the sound of Cut complaining.

We continued west so that we could get out of the alps sooner. After what seemed like an eternity, the snowstorm began to pick up. The winds were tossing our little birds back and forth while spinning the larger planes  and bending their wings. Eventually, the storm slowed and we saw some railroad tracks. We followed them, hoping to reach the coast. I called up Blue leader. "This is Rogue leader, do you have any idea where we are?"

"Sorry. Our maps and calculations say that we passed over our target an hour ago, but all we saw was mountains. I'm sorry, but we are very, very lost."

"Well, let's stay by the tracks and we will eventually find something, right?" I didn't get a response other than static, but they didn't veer from our current course, so I took that as a "right."

Grant spoke up over the radio. "Rev, correct me if I'm wrong, but does that look like a giant crystal castle to you?" I wondered what He was talking about when I looked and saw a gleaming crystal palace, shining in the sun.

"How drunk did I get?" Asked Cut.

"For once, I agree with Cut. How much was in that stuff Rev?"

"That was a coca cola. And this is not a hallucination, but Blue leader is right. We are very, very lost."

Life was going on as normal for the crystal ponies. They talked in the streets and chatted in the market with friendly and fair vendors. The vendors sold their wares with a smile on their face and enjoyed every sale. Everypony was content. That is, until one pony yelled.

"Dragons!" The shout was heard throughout the square and ponies began to look up. Great dull green beasts roared in the skies above them. There were four small ones and five larger monsters. Their constant roaring could be heard even at the ground, considering how high up they were.

Once the beasts had been spotted, chaos reigned. The streets were full of ponies rushing home to slam the door and board up windows. Stall were knocked over and fruits and crafts spilled onto the ground. The dragons continued in a straight path, descending as they neared a large field. By this time though, everypony had hidden away leaving no pony to see the landing.

A guard burst into Princess Cadence's throne room. "M'lady! Dragons have been spotted over the empire!"

Alarmed but not surprised, Cadence began, "It was only a matter of time before they found such a large amount of gems and crystal. Mobilize the guard! We move to displace them at once."

The guard bowed deeply. "It will be done, m'lady." Cadence then turned to her husband, Prince Shining Armor. She nodded at him and he ignited his horn. Outside, a near-transparent shield Gagan to form as a dome around the Crystal Empire.

"Are you certain that the guard can defeat dragons? We've never been in combat before, you remember."

"I have faith in them Shining. You trained them after all. But, we shall have to wait and see. Let's hope we aren't starting a war."

"That's all we can do."

"I see a clearing. It looks flat enough to touch down. You think so?" Confirmations came in through the radio from the other planes. We began our descent slower than usual, just to be extra careful. The clearing was long and grassy, with one area off by the ends that formed a square at that end, it was almost like a landing strip. However, there were various shrubs and grasses throughout but mostly by the forest. The clearing was about half a mile long and wide enough to fit two of our B-17s side by side.

The moment we hit ground, our planes started tilting side to side as the wheels rolled over bumps and holes. Shrubs hit the wings and broke, sending woodchips and sticks to hit our cockpits. At the end of the "runway," we turned and taxied our planes so that they could be somewhat organized.

I hopped out of my cockpit and landed on my wing. I took off my flight vest and grabbed my gun from the cockpit. Earlier in the war, I had managed to smuggle a Thompson submachine gun and a few boxes of ammunition into my cockpit. I kept them hidden behind the headrest on the seat, and I always felt that I would need them at some point. I turned to see the rest of my team and saw them holding their revolvers looking around the clearing.

We could hear the roar of the engines as the troop transports landed. Once they had taxied in and stopped, the planes opened up and troops began pouring out. Each of them had forgone their parachute but still carried their guns and packs. Once the bombers had parked and unloaded, we began to discuss our plan.

We were going to hike to the crystal city and see what we could find with fuel and food, then make plans from there. When we began to walk, the paratroopers formed a protective barrier around all of us airmen. They constantly scanned the forest for any signs of movement. In all, there was around 122 of us. Forty two airmen and the rest were infantry.

Suddenly, the soldier leading the group motioned to stop. We all readied our guns and began to breathe quietly. Our camouflage can only do so much to hide us. Soon, we saw various horses pass by, though some were unicorns or had wings, while there were some lacking either. They all wore armor and it appeared that they were made of the same crystal as the city we saw. All except one. He was a goldenrod color and wore gold armor, while the rest wore crystalline plates. He had a blue plume on his helmet and seemed to lead the army.

The major motioned to one of his soldiers. The man quietly moved up into a tree and another soldier handed him a sniper rifle. The major motioned again and three men stood up and walked towards the horses. I heard them talking (strange, right?), and it sounded like the horses were getting angry about something. All I heard was "dragon" used repeatedly. When the men came back, one of the horses decided to throw his spear. It stuck in one of the men's legs and he fell. He was screaming and the spear managed to go all the way through his thigh. Two medics rushed over while we sat in shock.

Then, we opened fire. At first, we all aimed at the one who had thrown the spear, but the others began to throw them when their comrade died. I hid behind a tree and slowly crept up to the army of horses. When I turned around the tree, I came face to face with one of them. He sneered and I reached for my gun. He knocked it out of my hands however and kicked me into the tree. I slumped to the ground and pulled my feet close to me. The horse stood over me triumphantly and said, "Don't mess with the crystal ponies, monster." He pulled a dagger put from his armor, but I was faster. I had managed to retrieve my pistol from its boot holster. I shot him in the chest three times and scrambled away before he even hit the ground. I picked up my Thompson and went back into the fray.

Again, a guard burst in to the throne room. " Your Highness! Our guards have reported engaging an armed force on the way to meet the dragons. There are casualties. Should we send reinforcements?"

"No! I will handle this myself. Come Shining, you can take down the shield. We are going in." He put out his horn as the mystical dome surrounding the Crystal Empire faded and disappeared. Then, Cadence lit up her own horn and there was a loud bang. Suddenly, they were gone.

When they arrived, they saw a horrific scene. Bipeds were walking around. Some carried strange boxes with tubes attached and holes at the ends of the tubes, while others carried spears, swords, and other crystal weapons into a pile or carried the crystal guards to hastily dug shallow graves.

Shining Armor stood in disbelief. His guards had been defeated by a group of what pearled to be soldiers. "Celestia help us..."