Ace Combat: Equis

Date: 09-17 1850 hrs

Coordinates: Classified

Area: UEAS Neighagra

Weather: Few Clouds

Lucky "Phoenix" Seven, one of the few remaining United Equestria Aces, sat near a window of the massive airship that the princesses had bought from Dimtec at the beginning of this dreaded war. He looked out at the land below and the numerous ponies and others that would probably never know what he and the other pilots of Wonderbolt Squadron had done to save them. Soarin walked up behind him and gently placed a hand on Lucky Seven's shoulder "Come on Lucky, we both know that she wouldn't want you to carry on like this."

Lucky glared at Soarin before saying "It's my fault that she's dead." The navy blue stallion then stood up and shrugged Soarin's hand off his shoulder, he then turned and started to walk out of the room saying "I'm sorry Soarin, but I need to clear my head." Soarin watched the young pilot leave, as Spitfire walked in. She briefly watched Lucky leave before turning to her second in command and asked "Is the kid still beating himself up over Surprise?" Soarin replied with a silent nod and they both turned to look out the window and watched a MIG-31 Foxhound that had a dark red and gray paint job start to fly off from the UEAS Neighagra.

Lucky had left in his MIG-31 and was pushing the thrust as much as he could swiftly reaching 4,300 km/h as he flew toward Celestia's setting sun. The radio then turned on and he heard the voice of his CO Bookslot, "Would you like to explain why your out on an unscheduled flight?"

"I'm just trying to clear my head "Librarian"." Lucky responded using the old unicorn's call-sign. "I am also aware that I have my own wings sir."

"I'm not going to try stopping you Phoenix," Bookalot said "I actually understand how you are feeling about what happened with Surprise."

"You don't understand anything Gramps, it's my fault she's dead anyway."

"There was nothing you could do and we both know it son."

"I SHOULD HAVE SAVED HER!" Lucky cried out back through his mic, a single tear falling down his cheek as he watched the sun finish falling over the horizon. He could see the lights of Los Pegasus below him. Lucky put his plane on autopilot and started to openly cry "I... I let her down, I had promised her she would be safe." he managed to say through his sobs.

"The same thing happened with my fiance a long time ago, before this war." Booksalot said over the radio trying to comfort him. "I had promised her that she would be forever safe and happy in my arms, and she was, until one day I found out she had been fillynapped. I rushed to find her as fast as I could but I arrived to late to save her. Phoenix, I saw the one I love die a gruesome death at the hands of some evil ponies and in a fit of rage and sorrow I burned them all without mercy. The pain of my regret from doing that is much worse than the pain of losing somepony that you love." Lucky Seven kept crying in self pity as Booksalot talked. "So, how about you and me recall every moment you and Surprise shared and think about how she would want you to be acting right now."

Lucky nodded in agreement before wiping his tears away and replying, "I never knew how similar we were Books."

"Not many do."

Lucky then sighed and looked at a picture of him and Surprise happily smiling with an arm around each other's waists. It had been taken shortly after Surprise had surprised Lucky and asked him out before he could ask her. "The first time I had ever seen surprise was the day of my first mission her and Misty Fly where starting to fly off in the new F-16 Fighting Flacon's."

"And that's when our world fell into more of a hell hole than it currently was." Booksalot said