It would be nearly two weeks before Scootaloo’s fighter was in flight worthy condition. During that time, Rainbow Dash and Scoots were inseparable, sharing stories and making up for time they had lost. But all good things had to come to an end, so with a heavy heart, only 11 days after seeing her sister for the first time in two years, Dash watched Scootaloo’s freshly rebuilt P-51 take off from runway 2 into a clear blue sky.

She watched the fighter until it was nothing but a speck of black on the horizon. It had been a hard day for Dash when it happened, but looking back, she was happy with everything, despite still being in hell. Two days later, Rainbow found herself reading her new Daring Do book in her bunk when Rusty came walking in, asking if she could give him a hoof with some work he was doing on a B-24. Dash, having nothing better to do, agreed; but now she wished she hadn’t.

“Next time Rusty asks me for help I’m kicking him in the face.” Dash grumbled. She was crammed into the small crawl space inside the wing of the B-24, removing the bolts that held in the three fuel cells behind the number 4 engine. The bomber had been hammered on it’s last mission, and the fuel tanks on the right wing had been badly damaged, so they needed to be removed and replaced. Rusty had already taken care of the ones closest to the fuselage, but had been ‘too big’ to fit into the crawl space to reach the ones behind the number 4, and that’s where Dash came in. She worked slowly in the tight, dark, cramped, hot hell that was the crawl space, grumbling all the while as her sweat soaked hooves slipped on the ratchet that she was using. She could barely move, the space in the wing ribs being just wide enough to hold her.

Just as she finished loosening a particular bolt, a hoof reached down and grabbed her leg. Dash panicked and tried to move, only to smash her head into the wing rib closest to her. She groaned as she held the spot on her head that was beginning to throb, before she slowly shimmied her way back through the ribs of the wing to the access hole, which sat just to the right of the number 3 engine. She popped her head up over the surface of the wing, wincing slightly at the light of the sun, before turning her attention to the earth pony sat on it’s metal surface. “What the hell Rusty! What do you want!?!” Rusty was slightly taken aback by the anger in Rainbow’s voice, “Eh, huh, a, sorry Dash. But look!” He pointed toward the sky off-base.

Descending towards base Runway 2 was a C-47 transport plane. This C-47, however, wasn’t the average military adapted two engine transporter. This one was painted a deep navy blue, with the mark of the two sisters displayed proudly on the tail. This wasn’t any normal C-47, this was the princess’ royal C-47.*(1)

Dash smiled at the sight the aircraft, before she began to lower herself back into the darkness of the wing, “Luna must be coming by for another review, Nice. I’m gonna get back to work, give me a shout when they land.” Rusty stared back at her in surprise, “What! You don’t want a chance to see one of the princesses!” Dash sprouted a cocky grin, “I know and am personal friends with all of Equestria’s princesses. The novelty of seeing them wore off a while ago” she said, while thinking about how much Celestia actually told the population about her and the other elements. With that, she fully descended back into the wing, and got back to work.

Rusty left the conversation at that, mostly because he was still dumbstruck, and went back to watching as the royal aircraft came down and made the smoothest textbook landing he had ever seen. He watched it slowly make its way over to HQ, before coming to a stop in the best spot next the the concrete shelter. As the engines shut down, the ramp at the back of the plane began to lower. Rusty was still watching in astonishment a minute later as two alicorns exited the C-47, one purple, and one black. “Hey, it’s not Princess Luna at all, it’s that new Princess Twilight Sparkle and the new high commander” Rusty said as he watched the two disembarking alicorns.

A loud ”What!” shook the plane he sat on before the sound of Dash again banging a part of herself into a wing rib. The cyan mare’s now bleeding head popped up through the wing access panel once again. “Where’d the transporter park?” She asked, not even aware of the blood that was now starting to drip down her forehead. Rusty pointed toward the control tower, “Parked over at HQ. Oh, and uh, you got a little...” he then motioned to her head with a rag. It was only then that Dash noticed the feeling of a liquid running down her face, and the pain in her forehead. She took the rag and quickly rubbed the blood off herself, before wrapping it around her head like a bandana, covering the cut as best she could. “Thanks” She said to Rusty before turning her attention back to the transporter, its inhabitants now disembarked and creating a perimeter around the C-47. She, however, was only interested in one of the three figures that were surrounding the front entrance to the building. This one was a head taller that the two around them, and wearing a different type of armor compared to the others in the area.

Dash smiled, “Hey Nyx, long time no see”*(2) she said to herself before turning and making her way towards the ladder that they had used to get up onto the wing, which sat between engines 3 and 4. Dash wasn’t exactly happy that she still couldn’t use her wings after nearly a month of healing, but she had somewhat become used to it. “I’m heading over to HQ to go say hi” She called over to Rusty as she set hoof on the ladder. “What! You can’t just walk up to one of the princesses! Or the High Commander!” Rusty called back as he sat in shock by the access panel. “Just watch me!” Dash shouted as her head disappeared under the leading edge of the wing, simultaneously wondering if Rusty had developed short term memory loss, and again about how much Celestia actually told the population about anything related to herself or her friends.

“But who’s gonna finish the wing!” Rusty yelled as he ran up to the leading edge and looked over. Dash looked up as she touched hoof on solid ground again, “Finish it yourself you lazy prick!” she shouted up at the orange head poking over the edge of the wing, before walking under it in the direction of HQ. Rusty watched gobsmacked as Dash’s body appeared behind the wing, walking in the direction of the now guard-surrounded HQ. What she said finally hit him, and a scowl developed on his face. “Lazy prick am I? Who’s the one who rebuilds your broken shit every week! Ungrateful littl…” The rest of his rant was muffled out as he lowered himself into the wing.

15 minutes earlier

Twilight sat on one of the two couches that took up the private section in the back of Luna’s C-47, going over paperwork that she had taken from the bases she had just finished visiting. Since the start of the war, the efforts of ruling the kingdom had been divided up between Equestria’s four alicorns. Celestia and herself had taken over running Equestria’s day to day operations to make sure the kingdom carried on as though the war wasn’t even happening. This, however, meant that they usually didn’t have much say in the management of the war effort and their deployed troops, that responsibility had fallen to Luna and, much to Twilight’s dislike, Nyx.

After a long time of thinking about what she wanted to do to honor her cutie mark, Nyx had decided that she was going to enlist in the royal guard when she turned 18. When Twilight found out about this she threw a royal tantrum*(3); but, after a number of talks with Nyx, only one of which devolved into a shouting match, a couple with her brother, and one or two with Celestia and Luna, she came to understand and respect her daughter’s decision, even if she still wasn’t exactly a huge fan of the idea. Under the helping hoof of her Uncle Shining, Nyx made it through boot camp and was selected to be a member of Luna’s elite Night Guard; and, though Twilight didn’t always like to admit it, Nyx did make an amazing guard.

Because of her skill with the job, and the fact of her alicorn genealogy, it was decided just over a year prior to the start of the war that Nyx would become the new High Commander of the armed forces, taking over the position from Shining Armor’s successor. Being in this position meant that she held the highest authority for all of the armed forces, only being outweighed in a decision by one of the royal sisters.

“I can’t believe you’re still doing paperwork. All you ever do is paperwork, and now you can’t even enjoy a day off.” Twilight looked up to see a certain black and purple alicorn kitted out with midnight blue armor trimmed in white, looking back at her, that cheeky smile on her face. ”Nearly 21 and she still acts like she’s a teenager sometimes.” Twilight said to herself before addressing her daughter, “This paperwork is necessary so we can be on this ‘day off’ as you call it.” Nyx laughed as she sat down on the couch across from her mother. Twilight couldn’t help but eventually laugh along with her daughter as she set the paperwork she had been working on down at her side. It could get finished later, she didn’t get to see her daughter much anymore, and she was going to make good use of this small time she now had.

“So what’s our next stop?” Twilight asked, knowing her daughter had just come from talking with the pilots and other guards on the transporter. “Next stop is F.O.A.B. Tallahassee, home of the 848th and 851st bomber squadrons of the 490th bomb group, 11th Air Force.” Nyx rattled off. She was quite proud of all the information she had memorized over her time as High Commander, and loved showing it off. Twilight giggled at her daughter before she let the jumble of words and numbers register in her head. “848th, why does that sound familiar?” she asked herself aloud. “Probably because it’s one of our most reliable bomber squadrons we had. They’ve never come home without completing whatever mission that’s been assigned to them, even if it means heavy losses.” Nyx said, with a bit of a sigh, before cracking a smile at the blush that came over her mother’s face when she realized she had actually asked the question out loud. “Yes that’s probably it.”

“So, how far away are we?” “Pilot’s said we should be there in about half an hour.” “Perfect. Now, how have you been holding up? I remember you saying that Luna has been giving you more and more tasks to take care of lately.” Nyx shrugged, “yeah she has. But it’s all stuff I would have to be taking care of as acting High Commander during a war anyways.” “Are you still having trouble with those generals?” Nyx sighed and nodded.

Ever since her humble beginnings in guard boot camp, other ponies around her called favoritism. These claims were the exact opposite of the actual truth. Due to the fact she was an alicorn, her Drill Sergeants expected above average performance out of her, taking anything less as failure. Despite this however, the rumors, jabs, insults, and accusations continued to fly, sharper than bullets. It got so bad at one point that Shining Armor, who had moved back to the castle to help Nyx through her training, found the black alicorn at their normal meeting place in the royal gardens in tears. After calming the young alicorn down, with some gentle prodding Shining found out that Nyx had been attacked that morning by some of her fellow trainees in an attempt to hamper her performance and force her to wash out. When they didn’t get the results they wanted, they had turned back to simple brutal ridicule, even dredging up her past and her attempt to take over the country.

Shining, of course, had been furious when he found out. But his anger couldn’t even touch a candle to the pure rage Twilight had felt when she heard what had happened. Legend has it that you could have seen her rage shift flame from space, and despite how many times she had been asked, Luna would neither confirm nor deny.

So Shining and Twilight, along with a little help from the royal sisters, set up a little treat for those ponies training with Nyx. The next morning, Nyx, along with the rest of the trainees, were surprised to find that their usual Drill Sergeant had been replaced by her uncle. He spent a solid half hour putting everyone in their place. He explained how Nyx was not getting favorable treatment because of who she was, along with why more effort was expected out of her. He then went on to drill the rest of the trainees, except he ran them based off of what was expected out of Nyx. Besides Nyx herself, only two other ponies out of the 53 were able to pass by her standards, if just barely.

From that day to end of basic, the others held a lot more respect for Nyx. Those few who still had a problem with her were often quickly silenced by the more respectful trainees, if only for the fear that her uncle would return once more. At the end of it all, Nyx, Moon Light, and Shadowed Light, the two other ponies who had been able to keep pace with her, ironically both thestral mares, were assigned to Luna’s elite night guard. The rest was history.

“They have definitely gotten better, but they can still be insufferable sometimes.” Nyx said, breaking the short silence that had descended the rear of the transporter. Twilight smiled sympathetically, “They’ll probably always be like that a little bit. But I’m glad to hear that they’ve gotten better.” Just then they heard the curtain move and a thestral poked their head through the curtain separating the guards from the two alicorns. “Sorry to interrupt ma’am, princess, but we should be on the ground in just a few minutes.” “Thank you Shadowed Light.” Nyx said with a nod to the leader of her personal guard. Shadowed Light nodded back before removing her head from the compartment, letting to curtain return to its original, fully closed state.

Almost two minutes later, the C-47 touched down on one of Tallahassee’s large runways. Nyx looked out one of the transporter’s windows in awe of how many bombers, other aircraft, and personnel were present on the base. She was well aware of the fact that Tallahassee was the largest airfield that she had under her command, but being there and actually seeing its true size and scope actually solidified the fact in her mind.

The C-47 quickly taxied over to the control tower, where its pilot shut down the two engines in short order. Once both props had came to a full stop, Shadowed Light’s head appeared once more, “Ma’am, princess, clear to depart.” The two alicorns nodded, before standing and walking through the curtain into the guard section of the aircraft, making their way towards the front exit. Lined up on one side were six of Twilight’s personal guards, while Nyx’s set occupied the other side. They nodded to their guards, before the two alicorns exited the C-47, led by Twilight, the two followed by their respective sets of guards.

“You go talk to the general, I’ll stand guard out here.” Nyx said to her mother. Twilight nodded, making her way inside the control tower flanked by her two highest ranking guards. Nyx took post outside, along with the rest of Twilight’s guards and her six. Inside, twilight walked up to the general’s door and knocked. “Enter.” The muffled reply came soon after. She nodded to her two guards, who nodded back before taking position at either side of the door, only then did Twilight enter the office. “Ah, Princess Twilight good to see you again. Taking over Luna’s job for this review?” Twilight smiled at the general. Gusty Day was one of the few generals she actually enjoyed holding a conversation with, given that before the war had started she had been one of the higher officers in Twilight’s guard.

“Yes I am. Luna’s swamped with planning for this big mission she’s trying to set in motion, so she asked me and Nyx to take this process off her hooves.” “Ah, so Nyx is here as well? Glad to see that she’s starting to fall into her role as high commander.” “Yes I can agree. I also see that your promotion to general is treating you well.” Gusty smile hid the slight bit of exhaustion that she was feeling, “It’s a lot of work managing a base, especially one as big as this one. But I’ve got a good bunch here and they pull off everything that we have sent our way. Anyways, let’s get down to business and go over these numbers.” She said as she pulled out a stack of papers.

Meanwhile outside, Nyx was chatting with the other guards. They were acting a little bit more laid back then they normally would, but then again they were on the largest military base operated by Equestria. A base that had never been attacked by the enemy, surrounded by hundreds of battle hardened airmen, they felt like they were perfectly safe. Nyx had been talking with Shadowed Light when she caughts sight of a walking rainbow making its way towards her.

She smiled, “Rainbow Dash, I forgot you flew for the 848th, how’s it going?” Nyx called to her approaching aunt. Dash walked up and offered nyx a salute out of respect, “Afternoon ma’am.” Nyx couldn’t help but laugh, “Dash come-on, you’re not under inspection here, you can treat me like your niece.” Rainbow couldn’t help but smile as she dropped out of her salute, “Nice to see you again kid.” She said to the black alicorn, the fact that her niece was taller than her not being lost. Nyx laughed again, “Kid? I’m taller than you, and your high commander, and you think I’m still qualified as a kid?” “Height, rank, and your immortality aside, you are still younger than me, which means you’re still a kid in my eyes.” Dash said with a half cocky smile plaster across her muzzle.

Nyx grinned as she tried not to laugh again, “You haven’t changed a bit Dash, it’s good to see you again.” She said, offering up a quick hug, not caring about the other guards gathered around them. All of them had been part of Twilight’s castle guard at some point, and knew the family, and their friends quite well. Dash was happy to accept, also not caring about who saw. Once they broke apart, Dash looked back up at her niece, “So what brings you and your mom around to our quaint little corner of hell?” “Ah, so you saw Twilight walk off did you?” Nyx asked with a smile, receiving a nod from Rainbow. “Well she’s meeting with General Gusty for Tallahassee’s review.”

“Oh, taking over Luna’s job are you? I thought you said that she was easing you into your role.” “Oh she is, but it’s not that simple. Luna’s back at home putting together some big mission she feels could begin the end of the war.” Dash’s eyes almost lit up at the idea of the war being over soon, “Now I like the sound of that.” Nyx nodded with a chuckle, “We all do. But don’t worry about that right now, the mission is still in its planning phase, so it won’t be happening for a few weeks unfortunately. Anyways, what have to been up to lately, anything interesting?” “Well I’ve spent the last few months on the ground. Me and my crew got banged up pretty good on our last mission. Besides that, I spent the last two weeks hanging out with Scootaloo.”

Nyx’s face lit up with a massive grin when she heard the name of one of her long time friends, “Scootaloo, what’s she doing over here? I didn’t think the 49th would ever give her up.” Dash had to laugh, “No they didn’t give her up, I’d think you’d have to fight an all new war against just them before they turn Scoots over to another squadron. She stopped by after her last scouting mission. Herself and her plane got shot up pretty bad, so she had us rebuild it while she took some time to heal up. Left for home just a couple days ago.” Nyx smiled gently, “Well it’s good to hear that the squadrons are working together as well as we thought. But you said that you got banged up good after your last mission, what’s the story behind that?” Dash cracked a proper cocky smile, “You got a minute?”

“Alright, last on the list is bomber numbers.” Gusty said as she looked at the last piece of paper that herself and Twilight hadn’t gone over. “Over the last three months between both the 848th and 851st, we have taken in 29 aircraft, while in the same time, lost 21.” Twilight sighed slightly, “Not exactly the numbers we were hoping to hear, but at least it’s better than last few reviews.” Gusty nodded sympathetically, “I know what you mean. I still remember when I had to tell Luna once that we had lost 66 bombers in the span of three months not too long ago. Then again, Operation Scatter Line didn’t help.” Twilight sighed again, “That was such a horrible day. Nearly 120 bombers, just gone in such a short time. Many squadrons still haven’t recovered, moral wise more than anything.” “I know what you mean.That mission didn’t do the moral around here any favors.” Gusty said as she looked down at her desk.

She then looked up as she thought of something, “Do you remember Operation Production Halt*(4) from three months ago?” Twilight nodded in reply, “I take it that was where most of your losses came from?” “Well, yes it was. However, there was a bit of an, incident isn’t the right word but it’s what I’m going to use, that arose on the return flight from that mission.” “Oh?” Twilight said with a raised eyebrow. Gusty nodded before continuing, “It was the tail end of the mission, all of our numbers had been accounted for, either as returning, or shot down. That is, accept for one, a B-17 belonging to the 848th. The crew was well known all around base. They had come back many times with more holes than plane and injuries that should have left them dead, but they had never taken this long. A bomber that had flown past them had informed us that the B-17 was in bad shape at the time. From what we’ve been able to gather, the #1 engine was struck directly by a flak round that didn’t explode. The tail section was also badly damaged, with much of the rudder shot off, and half of the elevator, yet it was still struggling it’s way back to base. The last contact that we had received from the bomber had been from nearly three hours prior, when we had been informed that they had went down to two engines, and were struggling to stay airborne.”

“Something as big and heavy as a B-17 wasn’t built to fly long distances on only half of its originally engine power.” Twilight commented. Being the reading lover that she was, she had read over many of the plans for their mass produced aircraft. Gusty nodded again, “Exactly our concern. We had fighters waiting at the ready to go out on a search pattern if we deemed the wait for the bomber too long. Yet just before we were about to send them out, the bomber came into view. Here, watch this, I feel it does the situation more credit than anything I could describe.” Gusty said as she pulled up a projector that had been sitting behind her desk and set it running, its film being projected against one of her office’s empty walls. “The landing was recorded by one of the tower controllers.” Gusty said as the bomber properly came into frame.

Twilight watched in shock as the crippled bomber came into view, half the elevator and nose missing, rudder and fuselage shot up, the props on three of its engines sitting unspinning. She watched as it touched down on one wheel, before carreaning down, and then off the runway and into the trees beyond. “I can’t believe that they were able to fly, let alone land an aircraft in such a state.” She finally said as the projection came to a stop.

She then sighed, “How many didn’t make it back.” It was at this that Gusty cracked a smile, “That’s the incredible thing, all ten of the bomber’s crew made it home and survived. They’re still here at base, waiting for one of their ranks to be cleared to fly, and receive a new bomber.” Twilight was absolutely shocked. She had seen bombers in much better condition make it back to their respective bases missing half of their crew. To hear that all ten of the bomber’s crew had returned was truly a feat that she had rarely heard of. “Really? All ten survived? That doesn’t seem possible. I would have guessed that they had lost at least their bombardier and navigator, given the fact that the nose was clearly blown off.” “You would assume, but this crew is well known for their luck in situations such as that.”

Twilight still could barely comprehend what she was hearing, “You said that the entire crew was still here at base correct?” “Yes, yes they are.” Gusty replied with a nod. “Well I would like to have a chance to talk with them. Who are they, if I may ask.” “Of course Princess, the crew consisted of Second Lieutenant Ditzy Doo, First Lieutenant Rainbow Dash, Captain Sorin Cloud, First Lieutenant Cloudwing, Technician Fifth Class Storm Wall, Technician Fourth Class Comet Tail, Technician Fourth Class Mason Lighthooves, Technician Fourth Class Live Wire, Technician Fifth Class Cloudtramp, and Technician Third Class Gusty McArrison.” Gusty said, reciting the names of 44-5651’s crew in order from their position in the ill fated bomber.

Twilight went over the names in her head, taking a surprisingly long time to recognize one of them, “First Lieutenant Rainbow Dash, wait a second, First Lieutenant Rainbow Dash!” Twilight couldn’t believe it, not only was she finally on a base that held one of her closest friends, but she had come to learn that she had not only been involved in one of the most logic defying returns to base she had heard yet, but had also nearly died in the process. Gusty couldn’t help her smile from growing, “Indeed, Rainbow and her crew have delivered first hoof some of the most amazing survival stories of the war to our humble little base.”

Twilight was still in a slight state of shock when she finally spoke, “Do you know where she is by any chance? It has been far too long since I have spoken to her face to face.” Gusty’s smile returned to a casual grin before she nodded, “Yes I do. If I remember correctly, she should be helping our lead mechanic with the repairs to one of the 851st’s B-24’s. I know right where they should be.” With an ever growing smile, Twilight stood from where she had been seated, “Well please then, lead the way.” Gusty nodded before motioning to another door that sat at the side of her office, “We can use the control tower exit if you want to, so you don’t have to disturb your guard.” Twilight nodded enthusiastically as the two made their way out of the office and down the tower’s staircase, planning to surprise her daughter with the sight of one of her aunt’s.

“Wow, that’s just crazy! I can’t believe that you were able to land your bomber that shot up, on one wheel for crying out loud!” Nyx exclaimed as Dash finished up her tale of her crew’s most recent dance with death. The story had drawn the ears of the other guards in the area, and by the time she had finished, Rainbow had acquired quite the crowd. “You wanna go check it out? The old girl is still sitting back in the trees.” Nyx nodded excessively before turning to Shadowed Light, “Go inform Day Break and Iron Side where we’re going. I don’t need my mom freaking out that I’m gone if we don’t get back before she finishes up.” The thestrial mare nodded before making her way into the building, while the rest of the guards returned to their posts as Rainbow Dash and Nyx made their way around the control tower and began walking towards the end of runway 4.

Had either turned around at the sound of a door opening behind them, they would have noticed a lavender alicorn and light purple pegasus exiting the control tower’s entrance, heading towards the maintenance ramps. And had either Twilight or Gusty looked to their right as they left the control tower, they would have seen a black alicorn in midnight blue armor and a cyan pegasus walking away towards the forest that surrounded the base. As it was, neither group knew the other existed.

“So what is the rest of her crew up to right now?” Twilight asked Gusty as the two walked through the rows of battered aircraft. “Well most of them are doing the same as Dash and helping out the maintenance crews, all of her gunners and her radio op are in that boat. Sorin is hanging around Cloudwing trying to help her recover as quick and easy as possible. And Ditzy has been helping around the hospital with whatever they need.” Twilight nodded, “And what can you tell me about the other members of the crew, just so I have an idea of what they’re like.”

Gusty nodded happily, “Of course. They were all fresh out of training when they first joined the squadron, but most already had a reputation. Cloudwing had the nickname Dare Devil, or D.D. following her from flight training. Something about pulling stunts in her trainers. The other big one was McArrison, who was known as Lucky by all of the ponies who knew him. That came around from the time when he jumped out of a C-47 and cannonballed into a lake from 150 feet and came up with no injury.” Twilight’s eyes went wide at that, “I can see why he would become known as Lucky.” “Exactly, oh hey, here we are.”

Gusty said as they approached a particular battered B-24. “Rusty!” Gusty called up at the wing. Muffled mumbling and cursing could be heard from inside the wing before a head popped up through the access hatch, “Whaaaaaaaaa…..” Rusty started out at a yell before taking notice of the pony standing next to his commanding officer. “Pr-pr-pri-princess Twilight!” He was finally able to stutter out. Twilight smiled and waved at the dirty mechanic, having been a princess for nearly nine years at this point, she had grown used to pony’s reactions to her. It was at this moment Gusty cut in and saved Rusty from further embarrassment, “We were looking for Lieutenant Rainbow Dash, and I know you were supposed to be working with her.” “Uh, yeah, yeah I was. But when you’re transport landed, princess, she went off to the control tower.” Rusty was just able to ramble out. Gusty and Twilight each exchanged a glance, “Hmm, must have just missed her. We’ll head back and see if we can’t track her down.” Gusty said to Twilight before turning, “You can go back to work Rusty.” She said to the still frazzled mechanic. “Y-yes ma’am” he once again stuttered before quickly disappearing back into the wing.

As the two mare turned and walked away, Twilight couldn’t help but ask, “I’ll take it that isn’t how he normally acts?” Gusty laughed, “Oh no. That Irish nutcase yells at everypony in ear shot on a normal day. It’s the stress of being the lead mechanic in a place like this, barely a week goes by where he isn't up for over 48 hours straight putting planes back together, and so we let it slide. Most of the time.” The two were quick to make it back to the control tower, surprising the guards. But they were surprised to find that Nyx had gone missing. “Where’d Nyx go?” Twilight asked Shadowed Wing. “She got talking with Rainbow Dash and they decided to check out Rainbow’s old bomber your highness.” She quickly said with a salute. Gusty and Twilight once again stared at each other, before Gusty spoke, “Well, that gives me an excuse to go show you the actual bomber.” Twilight nodded, before she turned to the accumulated guard, “Keep an eye on the transporter, we will most likely be leaving soon after we get back.” She said before she and Gusty started to make their way towards the end of runway 4.

She had been hoping to talk to all the members of Rainbow’s crew, but at the rate things were going, she might not get that chance. “So you said that this scenario with Rainbow and her crew is a regular thing?” “Yes it is. I think Rusty replated the floor in that bomber more than once to cover up blood stains.” Twilight’s face contorted slightly, “That bad?” “If you've got the stomach I can tell you a story about a screw and a bootlace.”

Meanwhile, Nyx and Rainbow had shown up at what was left of Rainbow’s once trusted bomber. Nyx whistled as she looked the wreck of an aircraft, taking it all in. “Faust you weren’t kidding when you said the nose got blown off.” Nyx commented at they took notice of the nose of the battered bomber. Dash rubbed the back of her neck, no matter how many times she had seen it at this point, it was still a hard fact to swallow that she and Ditzy had come so close to biting the bullet, somewhat literally.

“Yeah, the old girl has seen better days, it's almost sad seeing it like this. Two years of my life were spent inside this metal tub, and now it's down for the count. It was the only bomber I ever flew on, and I was almost hoping at this point it would carry me and the others all the way through at this point.” Dash said as she looked the bomber over once again. She had seen it so many times at this point, but it never got easier for her to take in. She really was going to miss Speed of Lead.

Nyx turned to her cyan aunt, “I hope whatever they put you up in next can live up to her.” Dash laughed, “I hope so too, but that won't happen. There isn't a bomber flying that could live up to Speed of Lead. Taking everything she took and bringing us back every time, you only get that once. But with only three missions left, I think we’ll manage.” “Manage what?” A voice asked from behind her.

Dash turned around to find herself greeted by the sight of another alicorn. Twilight smiled softly, “Hey Rainbow, it's been a while.” Rainbow smiled as she walked towards Twilight, wrapping her friend in a hug, “Too long Twilight.” When they dropped Twilight took a look at the bomber that was speared in the trees, “So this is the bomber that Gusty told me about.” It was only then that Dash noticed her general, quickly offering her a salute, “General.” “As you were Lieutenant.” Gusty quickly stated.

Dash nodded as she dropped out of the salute, before turning back to Twilight, “So, she told you a bit about my little old bomber did she?” She asked with a halfway grin. Twilight giggled, Rainbow hadn't changed a bit, “Yes she did. Told me the story of how it ended up here, and showed me the video.” “Video?” Rainbow asked confused, before looking past Twilight to Gusty, “What video?” “One of the tower controls recorded the landing.” “What! How am I just now hearing about this!” Twilight rolled her eyes, definitely the same old Rainbow Dash, “I'm sure she can show it to you later. But first, I think you should tell me how this all started.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes, “Here I go again. Alright Twi, settle in.” For the next twenty minutes Rainbow took Twilight through her last mission in Speed of Lead. Nyx had already heard the story, but she was more than happy to listen in once again. Gusty also sat in, due to how injured the crew had been when they returned to base, she had never been able to get a proper debrief, and thus had never heard the entirety of the story about how the once unkillable bomber had finally met its maker. Both Twilight and Gusty found themselves in greater and greater states of disbelief as Dash told them about more and more details on how the bomber had ended up in such a state.

Soon enough though, Dash’s story came to an end, leaving both Twilight and Gusty in shock. “That’s, that’s just incredible Rainbow! I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t heard it from you.” Twilight said as she stood from the seated position that she had taken at the beginning of the story. “I really wish I could talk to the rest of your crew, but it would take too long to round all of them up.” Gusty cracked a smile as she stood up, “Actually Princess, I left a note when we left to have the crew of Speed of Lead taken over to my office. They should be there right now if you would like to talk with them if you’re still interested.” Twilight turned back to the general, “Still thinking off everything I see Gusty.” “Always Princess.” Gusty said with a wink. Twilight laughed, “Come on Dash, let’s go have a chat with your crew.” Dash nodded as she and Nyx picked themselves up as well, and they all made their way back to Gusty’s office.

Back in Gusty’s office, all nine of Rainbow’s crew members sat around waiting for their commanding officer, wondering why they had been called to the general's office. “So, what do you think we did this time?” D.D. asked from the wheelchair that she resided in. Though the injuries to her hind legs had been minimal, she had been restricted to the wheelchair she was in to keep the strain off her damaged lung, allowing the magic that was healing it to properly do its work. She had been told that she would be in the clear soon, but the day was still not yet here.

“I don’t know. I don’t think we’ve done anything that bad this week.” Ace said, eyes pointed at Lead Leg. The Scottish pony rolled his eyes, “Ay, set a box of ammo off one time an’ no’ne let’s ya forget it.” The other gunners in the room were about to point out the fact that said box of ammo had nearly set off one of the base’s munitions buckers, when Rainbow Dash walked in. “Ah, Bats, was wondering when you’d show up. Got any idea why we’re here?” Lucky asked from his spot in the corner of the room.

Dash nodded happily, “I do, just don’t freak out alright.” As if on cue, Gusty entered the office, followed by the two alicorns. “Princess Twilight and Commander Nyx!” Everyone in the room said in unison, conflicted over whether they should bow, or salute. “At ease all of you, the princess here just wanted to have a little chat before she heads out.” Gusty said as she returned to her desk and retook her seat. “Princess, the floor is yours.” “Thank you general.” Twilight said as she took a position in front of Gusty’s desk, doing her best not to block the general’s view.

“Now, while I was here covering for Princess Luna on the base review, I got into a conversation with General Gusty about Operation Production Halt, and was told about what you went through on your way back to base. I was showed the film of your landing, and have seen your bomber for myself, and I must say, both myself and Commander Nyx are incredibly impressed with what you were able to accomplish with odds so stacked against you.” “If I may speak Princess, we were just doing our best to get ourselves home. Any other crew would have done the same.” Soarin said from behind D.D.. “You may think that Captain, but I have seen the reports from other squadrons. Crews in much better situtions than the one you found yourselves in have been known to bail out of their aircraft in an attempt to save themselves from the exact scenario that happened to you when you made it back to base. The crew, sans Rainbow, hung their heads slightly, “We were tempted Princess. When we attempted to lift the gear that we had left, and found we couldn’t, we were tempted to bail out and hope for the best.” D.D. stated, hanging her head just a little more. “What made you change your minds?” “That’d be the Deceptionist y’er highness.” Lead Leg replied.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the name, but Rainbow was quick to step in and explain. “Nicknames Twilight, we all have them. That’s Lead Leg, Turtle, Sparky, Cannon, Ace, D.D., Iron wing, and Lucky. I’m know as Bats and Ditzy is Deceptionist.” Dash said, pointing to each pony and herself in order. “Ah right, of course. Now, what do they mean by you changed their mind Ditzy?” Ditzy blushed a little, “I refused to bail out of the bomber Twilight. Speed of Lead had gotten us through so much, and I just knew it could get us through one last mission. So I refused to bail, and I was able to talk the rest of them into giving our bomber one last chance.” “That doesn’t make what you did any less extraordinary. Gusty has told me about many of your achievements during your tour of battle, the injuries you’ve occurred and the situations in which you have survived. I also know about how one of you has become and ace as a gunner, not an easy task.” Twilight looked over to Ace, who just rubbed the back of his neck. Though his nickname showcased his achievement, not many ponies praised him for that.

Twilight smirked at the gunner’s reaction, “Taking that all into account, when I return to Canterlot Castle, I will be putting in for all of you to receive not only the Distinguished Flying Cross, but also the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star.” Everyone in the room, including Rainbow, Gusty, and Nyx were shocked by Twilight’s announcement. Dash was the first to recover, as a thought crossed her mind, “Twilight, I think I speak for all of us when we say that you just made our month. But I think that there is one other pony who needs to be honored for the sacrifices that he made.” “And who might that be Rainbow?” Rainbow hung her head a bit, “His name was Night Wing, Shadow to the rest of us. He was a pilot for the 848th who went down with his bomber during Operation Scatter Line.”

Again, the assembled air ponies hung their heads, “I feel that to do his story justic, you need to talk to a pony by the name of Thunder Clap, he’s been in the base’s hospital since returning from the mission.” Twilight nodded, “Then I will have to go talk with him quickly before I leave.” She said, ignoring the little pony in the back of her head screaming about the fact that they should have left twenty minutes ago. Seeing somepony like Rainbow Dash, after receiving such news as what she just gave, point her towards another pony who she deemed more deserving of the medals she was going to receive, needed to be acted upon by her.

After a quick conversation with a quite surprised and finally recovered Thunder Clap, Twilight had come to the decision that Shadow’s family would receive the medals that their son had rightfully earned, along with finally learning the whereabouts of their missing family member. It was also decided that Thunder was to come with them back to Canterlot, as she felt that hearing the story from one of the ponies that their son saved would make it easier on the family when they learned the news of their son’s death. It helped that it had been decided by the doctors at base to send Thunder home, feeling that the internal injuries that he obtained were too severe to return him to active duty. So it was with heavy hearts that Twilight watched the runways of Tallahassee disappear as the royal C-47 lifted off destined for Canterlot only an hour behind schedule.

Thunder had been made comfortable with the rest of the guards up front, while herself and Nyx had taken up their spots at the rear. “Real generous of you to go hoofing out medals like that.” Nyx said to her mom with a wink. “It’s not like they haven’t earned them Nyx. Also, I would like you to put together a proper counsel to look over the reports we have been sent about these sort of situations when we get home. It seems our current systems aren’t rewarding our soldiers as they have rightfully earned.” Nyx smiled, “Consider it done.” Twilight nodded before looking out her window, getting one last glimpse at Tallahassee before it disappeared behind the trees, “Good luck Rainbow.” She said to herself as her view was reduced to just a dense forest of tree tops.

The next week at Tallahassee was full of high spirits, especially among Rainbow and her crew. News of their rewards had quickly spread around, and their fellow bomber crews were all too happy to see such a battered crew finally be recognized for what they had done, new hope spread among themselves as they saw the possibilities for themselves to have the same happen to them. Dash’s spirits were still high the week after when she found herself being called back to Gusty’s office once again. As she entered, she found much of her crew was there as well, including a now wheelchairless D.D..

“D.D., finally got to ditch the chair I see.” The co-pilot smiled with suppressed joy, “Yup! Finally let me up yesterday. You have no idea how weird it felt to finally walk around again.” “I can imagine.” Dash said with a laugh before turning Gusty, “So, what’re we here for this time boss mare?” “I’ll let you know once your entire crew is here.” Gusty said, not picking her head up from the papers she was going through on her desk.

Ace was the last member of the crew to arrive at the office, and once the door closed behind him, Gusty began. “So, as you may know, the medics cleared D.D. yesterday for flight operations again. So, I’m assighing you your new bomber.” Gusty then passed papers to ever member of the crew. “She’s waiting for you in the maintenance hangar W3, Rusty just finished painting the squadron’s markings on it last night. Head over and get yourselves settled in with it, your next mission brief is Thursday at 0600.” The seasoned bomber crew nodded at her before turning and filing out of Gusty’s office.

After the door shut behind them, Gusty let out a long slow sigh and walked back to her desk, before pressing the intercom that let her speak with her second in command. “Lucky Strike, I’m heading to one of the bars in town. Just pile up any paperwork on my desk.” ”Why aren’t you just going to the officer’s club?” “Because I don’t want to be anywhere near that crew for at least a few hours.” Gusty’s nerves of Dash’s crew were well founded as she to one last look at her copy of the paperwork she had given to the veteran crew, specifically at one line that she didn’t have the heart to fill out on their copies. “I just hope they’ll be able to forgive us one day.” She whispered to herself, before grabbing her jacket and leaving her office.

Meanwhile, Dash and her crew were on their way to their new bomber, when they noticed something interesting about their new bomber’s tail number. “44-41967? That’s lower than Speed of Lead’s. Did they give us a hoof me down or something?” Sparky asked, being the first to notice the interesting fact of the tail number. “They probably did. We only have three missions left before we go home, why give us a new bomber.” Mason stated. The others thought this over for a few seconds before D.D. spoke up, “True, bust Gusty said that they finished putting on the squadron markings last night. Why would a hoof me down need to have the squadron markings painted on?” “Maybe they were destroyed by battle damage. That happened to Speed of Lead once or twice.” Ditzy proposed. “Or maybe they brought in some bombers from another squadron again.” Cannon added.

The crew went back and forth on this tail number mystery until they found themselves three hangers away from where their new bomber sat. “I wonder what model B-17 it is?” Ditzy pondered aloud. “I’m hoping for another 17-E, maybe even a late model like Speedy was.” Dash said hopefully. Lead Leg huffed, “As long as it’s not a D. Ah trained on one a-dem, an’ dat ting was a sack of shit.” The crew laughed at this as they walked in front of the last hanger. However, the laughing stopped the second they caught sight of what sat inside.

Four oval intake style radial engines were mounted to a large set of high sitting wings. These wings were attached to a long, rectangular fuselage, which ended in the rear with a large horizontal stabilizer which had a rounded rectangular vertical stabilizer that doubled as a rudder on either end. It was without a shadow of a doubt, a B-24. The Flying Coffin.

There was a long silence before Lead Leg spoke for the whole crew, “Aw fuck.”

Author's Note

*(1): The princesses posses many aircraft, many much more suited for the job of transporting royalty. But, they were all civilian aircraft that would stick out like a sore hoof from the average military line up. So, in an attempt to protect themselves and camouflage themselves, they had commissioned this C-47 for use when visiting military bases out near the front

*(2): Yes I’m putting Nyx in this story, no I’m not sorry. You may now rage in the comments.

*(3): Oh come on that was funny!

*(4): Mot every operation can have cool names like Operation Overlord

Hey everybody, I'm back! Sorry all of this took so long, but real life got in my way at every turn. But never the less, here is chapter 5, only about a month late. I hope you guys enjoy it and are ready to see more in the coming months. Don't worry, next chapter we get back to your regularly scheduled program of high altitude bomber mayhem. Until then, keep your friends close and your mechanics in check, this is Mason a.k.a Bucking Bronco 1968 signing out. I'll see you guys later on the battlefield.