Generation Stealth

I sat alone in the darkness which enveloped me. I felt like I was suffocating, I sat there almost in tears. I kept chanting, my mouth was out of control.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to….I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” I sat there against the darkness. I looked around as dark forms began to appear.

“My family! My son, my daughter! My wife, my mother and father!” I sat there as the dark forms began to wallow and cry. Tears flowed freely down my face. I sat there taking all of the abuse, all of the emotional torment I was being dealt. I finally looked up and began to scream.

“I said I’m sorry!” The scream echoed throughout the blackness which aroused me from slumber. I awoke gasping for breath, I felt as if I had just been through hell. I looked at my now sweaty hooves in horror. This dream has been plaguing me ever since the first battles over the enemy supply transport. I sighed looking to the side to see Sky Dive looking at me with a questioning look on his face.

“Hey Sky Dive, what are you doing here?” I asked with a questioning tone in my voice. He didn’t answer he just jumped straight to the point.

“What happened with Rainbow Dash?” He asked, he always had a sharp voice; you just sort of had to admire it.

“She’s wounded, we went out to take a short fly, we were ambushed by around fifteen PAC fighters, you didn’t know this already?” I looked at him from the side, he seemed distracted. As If he wasn’t focusing on the matter at hand.

“No nobody told me, then again I don’t seem to hear anything anymore.” I looked at him with a bored look on my face.

“Man, do you always have to sound so depressed? You need to lighten up a little Sky Dive.” He looked at me with a cocked eyebrow.

“Depressed? What do you mean I sound completely normal.” I sighed leaning back a little bit. I wanted to go and check on Rainbow Dash not sit here and bicker about his voice.

“Listen, first off add a little more hop to your voice, it’s so monotonous you’re nearly putting me to sleep. Second, smile a little bit, you always look so damn gloomy it’s getting on my nerves. With that I’m off to check on Rainbow.”

I didn’t give him a chance to respond, rather I rose up to my hooves and raced down to the Ponyville Medical center. I arrived at the front desk where the Intern gave me a questioning look.

"Name and condition sir…” She said with the same monotonous voice as Sky Dive.

“Man, what is up with every pony today? Anyway, I’m here to see Rainbow Dash.” She sighed scooting back in her chair to a back computer. She began to type in a name while scanning through a list of rooms in the hospital.

“Room 408, take a visitors pass, you have an hour of visiting time.” I took the pass from her trotting down the hall way along the maze of rooms.

I knocked on her door lightly with my hoof before trotting in. She lay there with her forelegs folded behind her head. She looked incredibly bored by the looks of it, all she was doing was staring at the ceiling after all.

“Hey there Dashie, I see you’re doing well.” She cocked an eyebrow at me with a thoughtful frown on her face.

“Oh, bite me Shade.” She shook her head looking back up at the ceiling in her thoughtful manner. I sighed walking next to her bed. I looked around slowly taking in the scenery.

“Wow, this place is dead, what the hell do you do for fun around here?” She sighed turning to face me again. She looked like she was going to jump out of the window if she didn’t get out soon.

“You don’t do anything for fun…This place is killing me!” She slammed her pillow over her face in mental torment.

“Well, maybe if you didn’t rush in like that you wouldn’t have gotten shot.” I said shrugging my shoulders. It was sort of my fault; I should have kept us from leaving there in the first place. But I had news to share with her, she needed to hear it.

“Look, I have a mission I’m taking the rest of the squad on. Sorry to say you can’t come due to your condition. We’re infiltrating a small suspected PAC controlled facility. We have to cleanse the facility and take out the enemy air. We have ground support to clear the base on the inside.” I kept on talking, the more I explained though the wider her eyes became, almost as if she had fear in her eyes. Now I wonder what the hell could scare Rainbow Dash.

“Are you serious!? You’re not bringing me along! I’m fine really!” I sighed rubbing the back of my head. Rainbow was always hard headed. She really couldn’t make anything easy for me, everything had to be an argument first.

“Rainbow, you’re still wounded first of all, second I’ll be fine. I don’t need you to hold my hand Rainbow.” I leaned back against the wall tiredly.

“Well…..fine, just don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” I began to laugh against my exhaustion.

“Trust me Rainbow if I did something you would do I’d be dead.” She smacked my shoulder in a sort of play punch. I laughed now uncontrollably. I sighed leaning back against the wall again. That dream was still occupying my mind. But I was talking to Rainbow Dash I had to stay focused.

“Rainbow, I’ll talk to you later. Trust me when I tell you that this is for the best. I’m not going to have you getting hurt again, not on my watch.” I began to trot towards the door way to her room when she began to speak.

“Hey….stay alive out there Shade.” I looked back at her with a surprised look on my face. Was she expressing worry for me? This was already starting to seem off.

“Uhm, okay?” I said rubbing the back of my head curiously. That was interesting. Never thought Rainbow had feelings much less expressed them.

I walked out of the hospital into the bright daylight provided by Celestia’s sun. The weather team obviously didn’t schedule a shower today. The sky was perfectly clear; I looked back towards the hospital in silence. I guess I really couldn’t die now. Rainbow Dash was sort of the boss, well I was technically the boss. But she sure did order me around like one.

I walked back towards the air strip. I had to assemble the squad and give them the briefing. This could be the deciding battle in the war, though I strongly doubted it, this victory could be the push we need to tip the odds into our favor. It was going to be a long day tomorrow that much was clear. I can only imagine what Rainbow Dash is feeling right now. Flying was her passion, her excitement, and I was the one depriving her of it.

“Oh, I got a really bad feeling about this.” I muttered to myself walking through the silent roads of Ponyville. For some reason the streets seemed especially quiet today, like some eerie foreboding. I somehow knew this mission would end horribly for someone.

I arrived at the Air Center in silence, the squad obviously got the memo and decided to wait for me. It was going to be a long briefing that much was sure. The odds were heavily against us for this battle. We had to rely on the ground forces for this battle.

“Alright then, let’s get this show on the road eh?” I said to the gloomy looking squad. I guess most of them knew the probability of us coming back from this mission. But Sky Blazers never show fear. We fight until the very end, no retreat, no surrender. I looked around them sensing the gloomy air about the room.

“Alright, I’m not exactly the pep talker. But the sooner we can finish this mission, and get on with this war. The sooner the war will be over right? If that’s the case then if I were you I would get off of my lazy ass and cheer up a little bit.” I looked at all of them still seeming unconvinced. I sighed walking into the briefing room. They didn’t hesitate in following behind me.

I know this mission is going to end horribly for someone, the question is who?