We held the hug for what felt like hours, but was really only a few minutes. Twilight had sobbed into my shoulder, the damp fur on her face leaving a damp spot on my flight suit; I guess my story about the war and my selfless sacrifice had tugged at a few heartstrings or something. It would make for a good book, I could only assume that much.

"W-w-why?" She sniffed, pulling away from my shoulder and wiping tears from her eyes. "J-just why?"

"Like I said, I don't know why Yuktobania attacked us, and I don't know why we retaliated to the extent that we did. That's just one thing about human nature, Twilight. Fighting and bloodshed is part of our basic nature. It used to be our default response, even over the littlest of things. Hell, in some instances it still is. Look at a girl the wrong way in a bar? You'll get a glass to the face or a knee in the gut. It's taken hundreds of years to evolve from the bloodthirsty maniacs we once were to the somewhat peaceful race we are now."

"Somewhat peaceful? I don't understand..."

I spent the next hour and a half outlining the various major events of our recent history: the discovery of Ulysses XF04, and the realisation that it was going to collide with Earth; the development of super weapons such the Arkbird, Stonehenge, Chandelier, Excalibur and Megalith; the Belkan War of 1995, including the destruction of the Excalibur and V2 weapons; the First Usean Continental War; the fall of the Ulysses fragments and the massive amount of casualties sustained; the Usean Refugee Crisis, the takeover of Stonehenge and the subsequent Second Usean Continental War; the ongoing Estovakian Civil War; and even Operation Katina. I even explained a little about the war I had been fighting in, the Circum-Pacific War, and even delved into what I knew about the aces of each major war: Mobius One, and an ace only known as 'The Demon Lord of the Round Table'.

"So, Mobius and 'The Demon' just disappeared after their respective fights?" Twilight asked, now onto her second notepad.

"Essentially, yes. I mean, Mobius returned for Katina at the request of ISAF, but it's said that he officially re-retired after the op and has vanished once more. As for The Demon, I saw this documentary a few years ago. The reporter who was making it traced down all these pilots who had supposedly fought against him during the war, including his former wingman, in the hope that they might know where he might have been. But he couldn't find him. That and the fact that Osean and Ustio officials had heavily redacted any and all reports that hinted towards the identity of that pilot, he was basically chasing a ghost." I sighed, thinking about anything else I could say. "At least Phoenix took up a career as a civilian stunt pilot after his service with the FCU's Unified Command."

"What about your and your friends? You haven't spoken much about them during our conversation." She was right, too. I realised that I hadn't spoken about my friends. I hope they managed to get to safety, or at least repel any remnant forces. "Chopper?"

"Yeah?" I shook my head, trying to refocus on the topic at hand.

"You zoned out for a second, was it something I said?" She sounded a little worried, like she thought I had offended me.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. But it's nothing to worry about. Just wondering if my friends are still okay, that's all..."

"What were they like?" Jeez, where do I begin?

"Well, there were initially three of us: myself, Kei Nagase and Jayson Edwards. Edge and Blaze, respectively. Edge was quiet, a little introverted if you didn't know her. But man, she would fight to the very death if it meant protecting someone she cared about. She was one of the few survivors of the ambush just before the war started. I still feel sorry for her, after having to witness something like that and then get thrown into a war she didn't really want to fight. She only joined up as a pathway into the Osean Space Administration, working towards a career as a technician aboard the Arkbird." I laughed a little as a few of the happier memories before the war came to mind. "Man, she would go on and on about the Arkbird, regardless if you mentioned it in passing during a conversation." I looked up at Twilight, who had a little blush on her face. Maybe it's something they have in common. "I think you would get along with her."

"I'd like to think that." She smiled a little at that.

"Then there was our flight lead; Blaze. I'm still amazed at the amount of prowess he showed during each and every mission I flew with him. He had to put up with a lot of shit from everybody, myself included. Blaze was the leader that the people above him hated, and the people below him loved. I think that's one of the reasons why Captain Bartlett and him connected they way they did, maybe he saw a little of himself in Blaze. And the way he made his jet dance, I could just sit down and watch it for days and days. He could take a training jet and make it move like a top-of-the-line fighter like the F-15, and not many people could do that. But it was the fact that he was extremely humble about his actions that made him stand out. Not once did he ever brag about his duty, in the sky or on the ground. Whenever we flew above our guys, the radio practically buzzed with celebration of our presence and general thanks for our service."

"He sounds like quite the ace. Why do you think he's that way?" I laughed a little as her question triggered a memory of a conversation with one of my friends prior to the war breaking out...

"Hey Aero," I started, leaning closer to the pilot seated beside me. He looked up from his tray of food and swallowed what was in his mouth.

"What is it now Chop?" He said deadpan, but with a very faint smirk.

"You hear the rumour about that new guy? 'Fire' or 'Flame', something like that?"

"You mean 'Blaze'? No, I haven't heard any chatter about him. What, is something going around?" His voice got very hush-hush. He and I were both suckers for a bit of fighter jock gossip. Typically it usually about which pilots managed to sneak girls onto the base or hide Perrault's stack of snacks he kept around the base, but sometimes it got interesting.

"Well, I heard from a buddy up at Heirlark that he went toe-to-toe with Magellan, the chief instructor pilot, and won." The spoon in his hand fell to the table. He leaned in real close to me, waiting for me to finish. "Hell, he broke Bartlett's record by five kills."

"No fucking way."

"Yes way. Bartlett's record has been standing since pre-Belkan War, only to be shot to pieces by a nugget." Aero let out a slow whistle as he took in the information. At that moment, the pilot in question walked into the mess hall. I watched as Aero studied him, and saw a flicker in his eyes. He was thinking about something...

"You don't think... no... maybe..." He started to mumble.

"What is it man?" I asked, grabbing his arm to make him focus on me.

"You don't think he might be related to... well... you know..."

"No, I don't know. Who?!" He leaned in for a whisper.

"Mobius One, or 'The Demon'?" I took in his theory and pondered over it, for a few seconds.

"Well, if he's related to them, then I'm the embodiment of Razgriz itself."

"A buddy of mine came up with the theory that he was a relative of either 'The Demon' or Mobius One. When I first heard it, I just waved it off as just some crackpot idea that eased the fear of being shown up. But, now that I look back on it, at all the times we flew... maybe Aero was onto something. I mean, nobody outside of their respective flights or commands knew the full names of each pilot, and even if they had no known family it doesn't stop them from having one from before or after their service. Also, Blaze seems to be at the right age to be the son or younger relative of either of those aces." I rubbed my face and let a sigh escape. "Great... now I'm sounding like Aero..."

"That's not a bad thing, is it?" Twilight said, chuckling at my statement. "So, that's Nagase and Blaze. Who was the third?"

"Ah, that would be Hans Grimm, known as 'Archer' to the rest of us. Probably the greenest nugget I've ever met, but he's also probably the fastest learning nugget I've ever met. I think he'd been at Sand Island for about half a month prior to war breaking out, he technically wasn't an official member of our squadron; only a junior airman attached to us for replacement pilot training. I'd never associated with him up until the air raid on Sand Island on the second day of the war. He took Captain Bartlett's reserve F-5 Tiger from the hangars and took off to help us in the middle of the raid. Blaze and Nagase made sure that none of the enemy fighters or bombers got a shot off at him while he was on the ground. Once he was airborne he jumped straight into the fight, and it made a difference. Ever since that flight, he's only been improving in his skill. Archer was officially made a member of our squadron, and was placed as my wingman."

I yawned and looked at the clock mounted on the wall. It had been a number of hours since we had started talking, and the better part of a day had passed. Now, as I looked through the window, I could see the sun starting to set. Twilight noticed my observation and looked at the clock as well, gasping with a little shock at the amount of time that had passed.

"Oh my, I had no idea we'd talk for this long. I guess you want some rest?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan for now. Talk again tomorrow, perhaps?" I smiled at her, offering a little reassurance along with my proposal. She seemed to like the idea.

"Well, if you want to do so, then I guess I'll be here in the morning. It was nice meeting you and talking to you Chopper." Twilight waved and left through the door, closing it behind her. I let myself sink into the bed and started reflecting on the last day or two's events. One minute I'm seconds away from dying in a fiery crash during an air raid, the next I'm flying my crippled aircraft through a peaceful countryside, and then I'm in medical care and talking to a human-like being called a pony. I would have liked to believe that this was some weird version of an afterlife and that I had indeed died in that crash. But since I could still feel tired, hungry and sore from talking hours on end, I had to reject that theory and accept that I had in fact transported myself to a new world.

The space around me was dark, almost pitch black, and deathly quiet. In every direction, all I could see was black, yet there was enough light for me to see myself in full detail. There was a sense of depth to this place, as if I were in a room of sorts with clear walls. The feeling was practically unexplainable.

"Hello?" I called out, and I could hear my voice in perfect clarity. There was no muffling, but no echoing either. It was strange. "Hey, is anything or anybody out there?" I waited for any kind of response. A shout, cry, scream, chirp, any noise that might mean a presence other than myself. I felt a cold shiver down my spine, and turned to see if there was anything behind me. When I did, I jumped out of sheer shock and surprise. It was enough to send me down to the ground on my ass, and I quickly crawled back to make distance between it and me.

The shape was clearly distinguishable as another one of those 'ponies', but it was different. It had both a horn and wings from what I could see, and a distinctly feminine shape. Her dark fur was a dark blue, almost midnight blue if anything, with long, deep blue hair that seemed to float and move with an non-existent breeze. She wore a long flowing dress that was a shade darker than her skin. Her eyes were captivating, yet intimidating; it felt like she was searching through my soul for the meaning of life while giving me an Emmerian kiss...

"Good evening, Lieutenant Colonel Davenport..." And there goes the kissing feeling. Now she was truly intimidating. Only two, possibly three, other people... ponies know my name. And this chick... mare isn't one of them.

"Sorry if I'm a bit blunt, but who the fuck are you?" I shouted the last bit as I started taking a few backward steps away from this newcomer.

"Relax, Lieutenant Colonel. I will not and cannot harm you here. You have nothing to be afraid of." Her voice alone was giving me the shivers. Coupled with her stature and stance, and the fact that she knew my name off the bat without me telling her or hinting to it... "I don't know if you've noticed, but there is no place for you to hide or escape to here." Freaky mare has a point.

"Okay, you got me. Sorry about the freak out there. Just, I didn't tell you my name or my rank. And for that matter, I'm not a 'light bird', I'm just a Captain." Her eyes seemed to glow for what seemed to be a few seconds, before they returned to normal and focused back onto me.

"Osean Military guidelines state that in the event of a combat death of service personnel, a two-rank posthumous promotion may be granted as recognition of meritorious service or if the circumstances surrounding their death are deemed meritorious in their own right." That statement sparked something in my mind, more specifically the moment I had read that in one of the manuals given to me in basic training. I looked around the place where we stood and thought about what happened when she had recited that statement. It clicked.

"We're in my head, aren't we?" I smirked, crossing my arms.

"We could be, there is only one way to find out." She smirked back at me, mirroring my stance. I looked to the blank space beside us and concentrated. In a flash, there stood my F-15 Eagle, painted up in the markings of Wardog Squadron with my kill count sprayed onto the space below and in front of the cockpit. Five arrowhead silhouettes formed the top row, with tally marks counting to fifteen filling the columns below first four. A lone tally mark sat below the fifth arrow.

"Yep, definitely in my mind. But how?" The mare in front of me started to walk around the parked fighter jet, and with a click of her fingers, the midnight blue dress she wore vanished and was replaced by a midnight blue flight suit, complete with a crescent moon patch on her shoulder. She stood over by the cockpit, and turned to look at me.

"I guess I should introduce myself. I am Princess Luna, ruler of the night and caretaker of the Dreamscape."

Author's Note

Just a quick FYI, different nations in the Ace Combat universe have parallels to real world nations (taken from the Ace Combat wiki and personal opinion:
Osea - United States
Yuktobania - USSR (Soviet Russia specifically)
Belka - Germany (Mixture of Nazi and Berlin Wall era)
Emmeria - Canada/France/Italy/UK mix
Estovakia - Soviet-era Yugoslavia
ISAF/FCU - An alliance similar to NATO/EU, made up of various European-style nations

I list them because there will be times I will have to substitute words in a reference to reflect that of an Ace Combat world: French Kiss - Emmerian Kiss, American Football - Osean Football, In Soviet Russia... - In Soviet Yuktobania, and so on.

Also, for the purposes of this fic, Luna is fully reformed as far as speech is concerned (I can't write old English consistently to save my life).

Chopper's Jet (undamaged, replace 016 with 008)