(A2) - Chapter 4: The Inferno

No Glory Won

Chapter 4: The Inferno

“A shape filled the sky, like a black blanket covering the stars. For a moment, there was another Darkness in the already pitch black night.”

“We’re getting nowhere with this.” Grim started. “You keep avoiding the main question, filling me in on useless information-”

“Useless to you.”

“Yes, to me. What’s your point?”

“You want to know what happened with the Aigaion. What it was. What it actually did. Correct?” I asked.

“Yes. And you are failing to do so.”

“No I am not. If you really want to understand the Aigaion, you had to be there from the very beginning all the way through to the end. That is what I am doing. I-”

The door behind me made a knocking sound. Somepony was outside. Grim, annoyed by the interruption, trotted to the door, and proceeded to open it.

“I’m in the middle of something. This better be good.”

“We have a situation with Number Two. She-” I turned to look, and found a mare I didn’t recognize standing at the door. We made eye contact, and she spoke again. “She’s having a breakdown. PTSD might be causing it. She may be having a panic attack.”

My mind raced to Sunshine. “Is it Sunshine? Is she alright? What are you doing to her!?”

“Quiet!” Grim snapped at me, staring hard into my eyes, urging me to sit down. I just then noticed my hooves standing up. I don’t remember when I actually stood up.

Grim continued “What did they do to her before you were sent here?”

“They had her restrained to a chair in the same room, to-”

“You tied her to a chair?!” I yelled, outraged that they would do such a thing.

“I said QUIET!” Grim was yelling as well. He took a deep breath, before turning to face the mare. “Continue.”

“Like I said, we restrained her to her chair to prevent physical injuries on herself or others. Medical Staff is on the way to assist her. What are your orders?”

Grim pondered to himself for a long while, trading glances at me and his acquaintance.

“Have the Unicorns implement a calm spell on her if the doctors can’t find a solution. For now though, keep her restrained and monitored. If or when she’s stable enough to talk, than proceed as planned with the session.”

“Yes sir!” The mare answered diligently, before closing the door and trotting out. Grim took a seat in front of me.

“What are you doing to Sunshine that could possibly cause her to have a breakdown?”

“Too much, apparently…” he muttered. I felt angry at him. He was the reason me and her were apart. And he didn’t seem to give a damn about her, or my well-being.

“If you hurt her, I swear, upon Celestia’s Mystical Mane, you will regret it.” Grim didn’t falter, nor react to my threat. He simply stared at me, with a stoic expression.

“I’m not hurting her.” He replied matter-of-factly. “And neither are they. Sometimes though, there will be ponies who refuse to cooperate. Maybe that is what Sunshine is doing. Rest assured, we’re not trying to keep you seperated. We’re not trying to hurt you. We’re doing our job and duty. For the Princesses and Equestria.”

“I still don’t get what is so damned important about the Aigaion that you are obsessed in prying it out of me?!”

“Do you even understand the amount of public fear that was accumulated from the Changelings? How where every city that had ponies, or griffins, or yaks, there was always the chance a Changeling was infiltrating that city? The Changelings were no strangers to espionage, just as they are no strangers to combat as well.

“The paranoia that the public experienced as long as we were still fighting the Changelings wasn’t doing any good for the war effort. Defeatism was common across the country, which might’ve been the result of Changeling Espionage as well for all I know. The Aigaion was especially feared by many, when it made its debut in the war.

“The reason for our ‘obsession’, Night Light, is because we need to put an end to the reign of terror caused by this monstrosity. Most ponies think this thing still exists, even though it’s destroyed. Once we bury the hatchet of the Aigaion, the ponies will have no more reason to fear. THAT is why we are doing this.”

“Why would that matter? The war is over!”

“Well, that’s not the only reason. But I’m not entitled to tell you what the other reasons are.”

I sat still, pondering at Grim’s words. As much as I hate to admit it, he was right. The Aigaion was a monstrosity that inspired fear in the hearts of many, me included when I first saw it. After what happened in Los Pegasus, I could definitely see why the public feared it. I also understood why the public doesn’t know the truth of the Aigaion.

Documents regarding the history of The Great War were not released yet, and no official records of what happened was actually recorded. Not yet, at least. From what I could estimate, they could be in the making right now.

I sighed, and stared at the window in front of me. About 3 hours has passed by since I entered this room. Though I had no way of telling, considering there was no clock in here.

“Do you know the saying ‘Remember December 7th’? What happened in Los Pegasus stays in Los Pegasus, right? Describe what happened there. You were there that day, weren’t you?” Grim asked.

“I was, yes. I… it’s difficult to talk about. What I saw there, it…” It haunted me. It was the first time that I really saw the destruction of war.

“You do not have to go into detail about the things you don’t want to remember. We only want anything to do with the Aigaion.”

“...Okay. I… I was stationed on the Blueblood still, when the fleet was being docked there. I was told to stay put, and await further orders from Admiral Cynosura, or from Lieutenant Hawk Eyes…”

December 7th 1012, 14:24 CST

Hearth’s Warming.

It was a holiday that everypony knew well, and one that was widely celebrated across Equestria. Though not as festive and enthusiastic as the previous Hearth’s Warmings before the war, ponies were still trying to be merry and cheerful despite the circumstances. The fleet was docked at Los Pegasus for Repairs and Maintenance. A common problem many of the ships faced was their lack of fuel storage. They could only cruise for about 2 weeks, before having to refuel. That’s one week at least of total operation time during the their voyage, before we had to head back to port.

This time around, ponies didn’t seem to complain about the sudden change of course to Los Pegasus. A couple of the crew ponies said they had families in the city they wished to see, or at the very least, to send a postcard to. The mood was optimistic across the ship, and Ponies felt less anxious. They weren’t on edge as much as they were out in the sea. At least in Los Pegasus, they were in Equestrian territory.

They even changed the composition of the Rations for Lunch and Supper. We arrived at the city about 2 days ago, giving them plenty of time to refill our rations, ammunition, and fuel. The rations - instead of the Usual Hayburger and Ham, or sometimes Celery - had Roasted Beef Stew with Mashed Potatoes, as well as Eggnog and Milk. A festive and welcome change.

For the last two days, in celebration of the holidays, Ponies around the ship were singing holiday ditties and songs, whilst eating their newly prepared feast. Some would even get up and dance to the music, if they weren’t eating. Although Hearth’s Warming was about a week and a half away, ponies didn’t seem to mind celebrating early. Some even gotten letters from their distant families, loved ones, or friends, which was their present for the year. They were also given the luxury to write back.

The last letter I’ve written to Sunshine was more than a year ago. I never got a response back from her. Than again, with her fighting on the frontlines, I doubt she had a lot of free time to write back. I was terrified of the fact that she might be dead, but something deep in my soul told me she was still alive. I had no idea, of course, but it felt right. Despite my efforts to pry it out of almost every high-ranking military official I’ve come across, I could not find out where Sunshine was stationed. She could be in the Shire, or maybe she could be in the Crystal Empire. In fact, for all I knew, she could be one of the stationed garrison soldiers here in Los Pegasus. But I had no way of knowing for sure.

Until now. I was sitting in the cafeteria with my friends, munching on our food while listening to ponies sing “White Hearth’s Warming”, when a courier waltzed through the room.

“Everypony, I’ve got letters from your loved ones, families, and friends for you all. Gather round!” he yelled, which urged everypony to line up near the courier as he handed out letters and postcards. About 2 minutes later, after trotting around the room, he stopped in front of me.

“Is your name Night Light?”

I felt my heart skip a beat. “Y-yes?”

“This one’s for you. From an ‘ST’, if you recognize that initial.” I felt my hooves go numb. I quickly got a hold of the small envelope with two fancy initials scribbled on it.

ST to NL.

“Who is that from?” Lucky asked.

I didn’t answer. I hastily opened it, and found a piece of paper, with writing on it. I immediately recognize the mouth writing. I silently read to myself.

“Dearest Night Light,

At the time I am writing this, it is somewhere in the middle October, 1012. I can’t remember what date exactly it is, but that’s beside the point. I am writing to you because I’ve received the letter that you’ve wrote to me. I feel happy, knowing you are safe and sound for now. I have no idea how long that will last, however, so I am writing this for you to read so that you will know what is going on with me.

I cannot say where I am currently, due to Counter-Intelligence protocols, but I am not far from our home in Cloudsdale, if that helps you at all. It’s also very cold here, but me being a pegasi and all, it’s not too bad. And the uniforms that Rarity made have good insulation, so I haven’t any need to worry so far. Except for the Changelings; we’re constantly on alert for any attack by them, it actually makes some of the ponies here a bit paranoid. Which is understandable.

I hope you are doing as well as one can be during times of war. Celestia knows that I worry for you almost everyday. I keep thinking about waking up one day, and hear that you were killed in action on a mission, and the thought of it terrifies me. But so far, that thought has not become reality yet. I pray to Celestia and Luna every day to keep you safe.

And as for me, how I am doing, things are hectic around here. We keep getting pushed back by the Changeling Blitzkrieg, giving away more and more land to the enemy. There are not as many casualties than what I was expecting when I was first deployed. Ponies, they… they still die, but fortunately not as often as before. We’ve adapted to the war at this point. I hope you did as well, for your safety.

I made new friends as well, if you can believe it. I like to think me and them would’ve also been good friends before the war, but you know how it is. It is strange how fate and destiny works. If not for the war, I probably would’ve never met them. Now, they are my family. The closest I got to one, anyway. You are as well, my love. I promise that if I return to you, I will never leave you again. We won’t have to be seperated.

But that’s for another day, I suppose. I hope you have a happy Hearth’s Warming, and a happy New Year! And I hope to hear from you again soon.

-Sunshine Tempest.”

I had to fight the sudden urge to cry. Tears were pricking the side of my eyes, as I finished reading the letter. She did it. Spitfire actually submitted my letter. Next time I see her in person, I’m giving her a hug.

“You okay boss? Is something wrong?” Lucky asked, noticing my tears with a worried expression.

“No, I- er, I mean, yes. I am fine. I feel better now.”

“Who wrote that letter?”

“Sunshine. She wrote back to me.”

“Your marefriend?” Naya inquired.

“Yeah. She wrote me back after I told Spitfire to submit my letter to her.”

“She actually helped you out on that?”

“Yeah, apparently.”

“I didn’t know you even had a special somepony, or that you were a fillyfooler.” Bigs butted in, his remark making me blush slightly.

“Well, I-I never could find a s-stallion for me to Herd, s-so I… t-tried a mare, instead. A-And one thing led to another, and now here we are.”

“You miss her, don’t you?” Lucky asked.

“Of course I do. I’d do anything to be with her again. Literally.”

“I know the feeling. I miss my folks back at Appaloosa. And i’m sure they miss me too.”

“Same with me. I have 4 brothers who are fighting out there right now, and all of us miss each other so.” Bigs then piped up.

I didn’t know Bigs had brothers “What are their names?” I asked.

“Muddy, Gimpy, Hoppy, and Benny. Muddy likes to get dirty and roll around in whatever filth he can find. Gimpy is small framed, and easily pushed around. He wasn’t the most physical of us all. But he is pretty damn smart, for a small colt. Hoppy likes to jump around alot, and is always moving. He likes to ‘remain active and physical’, as he would say. And finally, Benny is a silver tongued devil. He could persuade any mare to fall for her in less than a week.”

“That sounds rather coarse…” Naya muttered.

“We were troublemakers, what can we say? We always found some way to cause havoc. Anything for a good bit of fun, I guess.”

“What did you do with them? All of your brothers did these crazy pranks and such. What were you doing?” Lucky questioned. Bigs made a cocky, smug grin.

“I was called ‘Big Mouth’ because I was always getting into fight with ponies I didn’t know. And I got into those fights by giving them the meanest cussing streak of their lives. And when they tried to tussle, they end up with such bloody features on their faces, that you can’t even recognize them.”

“That’s even more coarse. You all caused nothing but trouble?” Naya piped up.

“Some of us did intentionally, others did so unintentionally. Me? I did it on purpose.” He gave a wicked smile. First time I’ve seen him smile like that. It was very… primal, like he was a wild animal ready to pounce on his prey.

“And I thought my family was crazy…” I heard Lucky mutter to himself.

“Why? What did they do?” I inquired.

“Mud wars. Once a year, every year, we would gather up all of our family members - distant and close - and have a feud by throwing mud at each other. We would divide up into two teams, based on which side of the family we were on. Whichever group was the least filthy wins bits as a reward. It was actually kinda fun.”

“That’s not crazy. That’s just plain stupid.” Bigs corrected.

“It was fun though! We all enjoyed it. It was a family tradition.”

“What was most traditional: being stupid, or throwing mud?” Naya joked.

“Both!” Lucky laughed. Naya chuckled as well, which I took as a good sign that she was recovering well from her depressive state. Bigs just smiled.

“What about you, Naya?” Bigs questioned.

“What about me?”

“Did your family do anything special for the holidays? Or anything at all?”

“Well, no. My family was not the traditional type.”

“Come on, you must’ve done something special for Hearth’s Warming, right?” Lucky probed.

“Well, aside from singing a few carols and some dances, we didn’t do much for Hearth’s Warming. All I ever remember from those times was singing.”

“You can sing?”

“Yes, I think.” Me, Lucky, and Bigs were looking at her skeptically. Naya waved her hooves in front of her in disapproval “B-but that does NOT mean I am good at it! I-I’m not that great of a singer.” she stuttered.

“Well, prove it.” I spoke up finally.

“What?”

“Sing for us. Anything, it doesn’t matter what, sing us a carol!”

“Yeah! Come on, I wanna hear this!” Lucky agreed.

“Didn’t you hear me say 20 seconds ago that I was not a good singer?”

“I don’t believe that. I mean, why are you doubting yourself so much? Come on, I’m sure you’ll sound fine!”

“I don’t even know that many songs! Seriously, I am not that good.”

“And I’m saying I disagree. Give it a chance it’ll only be this one time.” I promised.

Naya shifted in her seat with her cheeks flashing red, which was barely noticeable beneath her scarlet coat. Reluctantly, she finally answered. “Alright, fine! But just one time, and that’s it!”

We all looked at her anticipatingly, waiting for her to start. She cleared her throat, and sat upright on her haunches. In a crystal clear voice, with the pitch of a goddess, she closed her eyes and began to sing.

“Ages pass. Snow falls.
All the earth sleeps beneath
a blanket of white.
Darkness clouds the sky.
Snow falls without end.
Recalling our past, we march on.
Times of turmoil shall pass.
Dawn fills our hearts with light.
Our hopes rise with the brilliant.
Sun rises with faith in tomorrow, we march on.”

When Naya was finished, she opened her eyes, and was greeted with the sight of me, Bigs, and Lucky staring at her, jaws and eyes wide open. Naya looked worried.

“Was… was it good?” She asked, afraid of our answer. Some of the other ponies were looking at her with astonishment as well. Everypony who managed to overhear the song were staring at Naya with shock.

And an in instant, everypony began to simultaneously cheer for her.

“That was amazing! Seriously, how could you think you weren’t good with a voice like that!?” Lucky practically yelled. Everypony else agreed with Lucky’s connection.

“Was it that good?” Naya asked.

“Are you kidding me? It was better than good! It was amazing, you have the voice of a princess!” one of the other pilots piped up.

“He’s right.” I agreed. “I don’t know why you doubt yourself so much, you sounded awesome!”

Naya was furiously blushing now. It actually looked kind of adorable. “I… thank you, Night Light. That really means a lot to me.”

“Of course! that’s what friends are for, right?”

She gave a warm and optimistic smile, making me feel happy for her. She’s definitely recovering.

Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted by a horrendous noise that filled the entire room. BWAAAA! BWAAAA! BWAAAA! It was the “Battle Stations” alarm. Through the never ending siren, I heard Hawk Eyes yell through the intercom, barely hearable over the noise.

“All Personnel, Battlestations! Battlestations! Pilots, report to the Mission Room IMMEDIATELY! All Personnel, Battlestations!” He was screaming in the intercom

In an instant, everypony stopped; The caroling, dancing, eating, talking, festivities, and fun simultaneously stopped, replaced by a vigorous determination for ponies to move to their spots as fast as physically possible. Everypony stood up and mingled their way to their assigned positions.

Most of the crew ponies were moving to the flight deck, to mount the AA batteries on the ship. The others were heading further below deck, to monitor and maintain the ship’s vital parts to keep it in working condition. They would be there to help keep the Blueblood afloat if it takes damage. The rest of the ponies were pilots, such as myself, and they were galloping, flying, and trotting their way to the Hanger Bay to reach the Mission Room.

When I arrived at the Hanger Bay, I lost sight of my friends in the midst of the confused chaos. I flew my way over the large crowd of ponies to the other side of the large Hanger, towards the Mission Room. When I opened the door, the ponies working the projector were frantically working to sort the different pictures for their slides. A few pilots were already sitting down in their seats, waiting for new orders. Some of them looked anxious. I noticed my stomach began to coil, as I realized that a few of these ponies might not survive. A few of these ponies were still rookies: this would be their first mission… and possibly their last.

I sat down in one of the metal chairs, facing the wall away from the projector behind me. More ponies began to mingle in, including Naya. She sat in the chair next to me.

“What’s happening?” Naya asked, in a noticeably worried tone of voice.

“I don’t know.” I replied.

More pilots trotted in and sat down in their chairs. About two minutes later, the lights began to dim. I could hear the projector behind me start up as Hawk Eyes trotted into the room, his face as grim as it can be.

The Battle-Stations alarm was starting to die down in volume when most of the ponies began to realize what was going on. The screen was filled with a white light, and Hawk Eyes cleared his throat before he began to speak. His voice was gruff and serious, earning everypony’s attention from the moment he started talking.

“Everypony, listen up! This is a grave situation for us all right now. I’ll fill you in on what’s going on. LPRS, the Radar Station, has picked a massive formation of enemy aircraft about 45 minutes away from here to the northwest, and they are approaching on our location. We’re expecting Bombers and Fighters of all kinds to be present. The fleet is exposed to any air attack, meaning we’re sitting ducks!

“The city of Los Pegasus will be under attack, and Civilians are making their way to the bomb shelters now. We’re launching all available aircraft in the vicinity to join us on this fight. Blueblood and Ark Royal are requested to launch all available fighters to intercept. As long as those enemy planes are still in the air, the city is at risk of being damaged.”

The pictures on the screen began to change, revealing the city but at an even higher altitude and facing top down. I could see warships in the harbor, which were very small compared to the city.

“Many of the industrial centers are at risk of being annihilated. Your orders are to keep the city safe, and to intercept all threats present over the city. We’re counting on flawless execution here! I want you all to wipe these bugs from our skies! If they want to attack us, let them come!

“Since this will be an extended operation, the Sky Strip and the Carriers will act as forward air bases for planes to resupply if needed. There are no Guarantees that the Sky Strip will remain operational throughout the battle, since it is likely that it’ll suffer damage during the bombing. More information will follow from Long Eye once he’s in the air.

“Garuda will take off first, followed by Nimbus, Cumulus, Dash, Stratus, and Sky. You all have 5 minutes to suit up and to be at your assigned positions! Dismissed! Go go go!”

With those three words, everypony sprung to action. All the ponies sprinted out of the room and made their way to the lockers, to go off on sortie. I flew over the crowd of ponies again, and saw ponies all around the Hanger Bay moving aircraft to one of the elevating platforms, preparing for take off. Once I made it to the locker room, I galloped toward my designated locker. Upon opening it, I retrieved the jacket that I’ve worn over Mead Lake. It wasn’t as filthy as it was before, but it still had some stains on it from the ordeal, though barely noticeable.

I reached into the right pocket, and pulled out the Eavesdropper. It hadn’t left my pocket ever since I first acquired it from ‘Doc’. I stowed it back in the pocket, and proceeded to suit up. Naya, Bigs, and Lucky were at their lockers suiting up as well. Lucky was already finished with his, and he then galloped outside, to the flight deck no doubt. I put on my flight cap, and my life preserver vest as Bigs was also finished as he galloped to the flight deck as well.

When I was finally done preparing, I looked over to Naya, who was still trying to get into her jacket. She struggled a little bit. I noticed her shoulders were visibly shaking. She was very nervous, I can tell. I tapped her right wither, and she turned to face me. I yelled over the noise at her.

“How are you holding up?” I asked. She didn’t reply at first. She seemed to be trying to hold back something...

“I’ll live.” she finally spoke, as she finished putting on her jacket. She turned to trot out the door, before I stopped her.

“Hey, listen to me.” I began. She turned to face me, anxiety etched on her expression. “Whatever happens up there, I need you to keep your cool. Don’t panic, shoot straight, and fly true. Alright?”

She pondered to herself for a little while, before replying “I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about all of us. What’ll happen if you get shot down again? Who will guide us?”

“If I do get shot down, we’ll be in home territory, and close to the fleet. I’ll be fine. What you need to focus on is to keep the ponies in the city and in the fleet safe and sound. I want you to focus on that for me. Okay?”

Naya was looking down at the floor, her bangs hiding her facial features. I placed my hoof under her chin, and propped her face up to me. She looked almost sick. I then gave her a rough hug, which she did not expect.

“Everything will be alright. I know it will be. I need you to be confident and strong, not just for me, but for Equestria. You won’t be alone.”

She didn’t move. Didn’t speak. She simply stood there, as I continued to hold her.

“I’ll try.” She softly assured.

Afterwards, me and Naya made our way to the flight deck as fast as we could. Upon stepping outside, we could hear more sirens in the distance, feeling the cold against our coats due to light snowfall, and could see the fleet mobilizing for action. The sky was overcast, filling the air and atmosphere with a grey tint. Towards Los Pegasus, Air Raid sirens were being played, which sounded very eerie. The Battle Stations alarm was also going off on all of the other ships in the harbor. The Blueblood was currently trying to steer away from the harbor, heading further south.

The Ark Royal was doing the same thing, both of which had Destroyers escorting them. The Cruisers and Battleships, along with several other Capital Ships, were forming closer together in formation, their AA Batteries ready for combat. I saw a large squadron of planes form up in the sky over Los Pegasus, coming from the Sky Strip. The whole city seemed to be wide awake.

I saw our planes for my team being lined up by crew ponies, who were frantically working their flanks off to get the planes into position. Others were too busy trying to shovel snow off of the flight deck and prepare for take off. The rest were doing… something. I can’t tell what else they were doing.

“Hey, you four over there, get on board while we get you set up!” one of the ponies yelled at us whilst pulling onto one of our aircraft. My friends and I galloped towards the aircraft and proceeded to board them. It was easy for me and Naya; we were pegasi. We would just hover over the aircraft and land atop of it, boarding it soon after.

For Bigs and Lucky, however, it proved to be a rather difficult task. Due to the snow that was staining the metal, and the crew ponies who were still moving the plane into position, Bigs and Lucky repeatedly fell off the plane as they attempted to board it. Finally, they’ve managed to get a grip on, and proceeded to embark the aircraft.

When I sat down in my seat inside the cockpit, the plane was moving on it’s own. We still weren’t lined up for take off just yet, as the ponies were working tirelessly to ready us for takeoff. I fetched out the Eavesdropper from my pocket again, and inspected it. It looked like it was some kind of hook that wrapped around my ear, with the tiny speaker inserting inside my earhole. I put it on my left ear, and snuggled it tight in place.

Afterwards, I set my other earphone for communications on my right ear, and proceeded to set the correct frequencies. The channels remained unchanged, until we were compromised by some infiltration of radio frequencies. By then, we would change it to something else, and spend a good amount of time trying to remember it.

As soon as I set the following radio channels, I heard a tinny voice speak to me on my left ear.

“Hello hello.” it spoke. It’s voice sounded vaguely familiar. “If you can hear this, then that means the device is working. Listen carefully.” It was Doc’s voice. “You cannot speak through this thing, but we can speak to you. Although, we will refrain from communications once you are airborne. Your task, besides your military objective, is to tune in on the enemy communications, and find out what they are saying in the air. If you can listen to them, we can listen to them as well.”

I continued to listen to Doc’s almost mechanical voice as the plane stopped moving. The crew ponies seemed to have moved the planes into position now.

“We will monitor enemy communication throughout the rest of the flight. You may also use this device against your enemies in a dogfight as well, so use it responsibly. But other than that, there is not much else to say to you.” He was silent for a while, but he finished by saying “Good luck, Night Light.” before the voice went dead.

I heard another tinny voice speak to me, this time in my right ear. “Blueblood control to Garuda Team, are all members ready?”

I looked back behind me, and saw the other planes lined up, prepped, and ready to go. “Affirmative, Blueblood. We’re ready for war.” I spoke half heartedly.

“Roger, standby. We’re analyzing the situation.” I sat in the cockpit canopy, switching radio frequencies for my team, and for Spitfire’s team. There was light snowfall that littered the canopy glass, slightly obscuring my vision. Once I’m in the air, that shouldn’t be a problem for much longer. I spoke into my mask again, speaking to my friends. “Garuda team, are you ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Da.”

“Eyup.” They all spoke at once.

“Set your flaps for takeoff, and start your engines. Keep the throttle back until I say so.” I ordered, as I did the same. I set the radiator flaps open about halfway, to reduce engine heat and drag. I also had my ailerons trimmed about 7% to the right, to even it out and prevent it from rolling.

“Garuda, you have permission to take off. Launch now!” Blueblood announced.

“Affirm, Control. We’re launching now.” I switched to my team’s frequency. “Everypony, we’re on a tight schedule again, so do a speedy takeoff. After the plane in front of you moves forward, you hit the throttle.”

“We read you, Night Light. Waiting on you.” Lucky responded.

I slid the throttle all the way forward, and the propeller began to spin even faster. Soon, my plane was slowly gliding along the small runway and was floating in the air in less than 20 seconds. I pulled the stick back to increase altitude, and raised my flaps. I glanced behind me, and saw the others beginning to lurch forward along the runway. I flew upward, gaining altitude as I continued to watch. One by one, they were in the air.

“Garuda team launched. Good Hunting!” Blueblood spoke once again.

“Everypony, get to a higher altitude, 1500 meters or so, and regroup on me. No formation this time, just meet with me.”

“Affirmative.” Bigs answered. I looked down below, and saw a better view of the area around me. And the chaos with it. The entire fleet was moving into action, as they prepared for the incoming onslaught. There were more planes being launched from the Ark Royal, as well as the Sky Strip. I couldn’t tell exactly how many aircraft are over the city, but I estimated at least 80 of them so far. More on the way.

I noticed Blue Smoke streaming from one of the planes launched from the Ark Royal. Soon after, more planes from the carrier began following the smoke, trailing behind in a neat and spaced out line formation. It was the Wonderbolts again.

Spitfire and her team was stationed on the Ark Royal. Me and my team, along with several others, were stationed on the Blueblood. This is obvious enough. What I did not know, however, was that there was more Wonderbolts than I originally thought. During the raid over Pegasi Gulf, the Wonderbolts had about 8 to 12 planes with them. A large number for one team. Now though, I could make out at least 18 of them, maybe more. So many planes from everywhere were being launched for this battle. I felt my hooves quivering at the stick.

My friends were steadily gaining on me as I reached the objective altitude. They began to form up on me in an echelon - a diagonal line - to my right. I noticed in the distance that more planes were being lined up for takeoff on the Blueblood’s runway. I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming premonition that something terrible was coming. The sounds of Air Raid sirens can still be heard from the city over the roar of the engine, as I continued to fly westbound.

I switched my frequency to the Blueblood, and proceeded to speak into the mask. “Blueblood, this is Garuda, what is our current objective at this time?”

There was silence for a little while, before they answered. “Current orders are unknown at this time. Universally, the Primary Objective is to defend Los Pegasus. Other than that, I can’t tell.”

“Roger, we’ll get in contact with somepony, and go from there. What’s the estimation on when the enemy will arrive?”

“At least a half-an-hour. Exact time is unknown. They’ll be approaching from the Northwest”

“Ten-four, Garuda out.” I finished, and switched channels. “Okay Garuda, the enemy is expected to be over the city in less than half-an-hour, arriving from Northwest. This isn’t a tactical air raid, this is an all out battle. Free engagement is allowed as far as I know, so remain vigilant and wary of allied planes with enemy planes. I don’t want any friendly fire accidents!”

“Finally, I get to up my ‘Bugs Squashed’ count.” Bigs muttered to himself.

“I reckon this’ll be quite a perilous mission. Y’all oughta be careful.” Lucky warned.

“I’m ready for what they throw at me.” Naya reassured… although I do not know if she was trying to convince us, or herself.

“Keep your head in the game, and stay focused on your surroundings. The sky will no doubt get crowded, so don’t fly too erratically and crash into somepony.” I instructed to my friends. Not one of them said another word.

I heard another voice speak in my right ear, one of a mare. “Night Light, I hope you and your squad are ready for action! We’re heading 295, along the coastline, to try and find the bombers before they reach the city limits. You’re more than welcome to join us, or to stay and defend the city. Your choice.” It was Spitfire, calling out to me on Lead Channel. I switched to it, and replied back to her.

“Roger that, I’ll decide what to do soon. Good luck to you.”

“Yeah, you too. Be careful.”

I switched channels again, back to my team. “Okay, listen carefully. Here’s what’s going to happen. Naya, you’re flying with me. We’ll be heading 295 along the coast with others in hopes of finding the enemy before they find us. Bigs and Lucky, you two will stay above the Harbor and the Gulf, engaging any enemies you may encounter. Lucky, you’re in charge of your 2-pony group until I say so. Be effective and thorough in your call outs.”

“Affirmative. I’ll do my best not to disappoint.” Lucky answered. Bigs remained silent.

“Naya, you’re my wingpony for this fight. Stay strong, alright?”

“Okay…” she softly replied. She sounded hesitant, but it was too late to gripe and talk about it now. I’ll just have to take her word for it. Afterwards, I switched to Lead Channel and spoke into the mask, talking to Spitfire.

“Wonderbolt Lead, Garuda 1 and 2 are linking up with you guys. We’ll assist you in the interception mission.”

“Good to hear, Night Light. We’ll be up ahead.” she answered before speaking again, this time to everypony listening in on Lead Channel. “All Teams, Roll Call!”

“Nimbus is 6 Strong!”

“Gryphus is ready, 3 Strong!”

“Cumulus is currently 2 Strong, more members are on the way.”

“Dash is 5 Strong, with more incoming.”

“Sapphire is ready, 8 Strong!”

“Stratus is 3 Strong, more on the way.”

“Garuda is 4 Strong, and ready!” I joined in soon after.

“And Wonderbolts are 22 Strong, with more reserves incoming.” Spitfire butted in. “More teams are incoming, but it looks like most of everypony is here.”

“Sergeant Spitfire, what are our current orders?” One pony asked.

“I’m getting to that, listen carefully. Nimbus, Sapphire, Gryphus, and Garuda are assisting the Wonderbolts with Interception duty, heading 295 along the coastline. Cumulus, Dash, and Stratus will loiter over the city’s harbor and act as a second line of defense. Our goal is to shoot down as many bombers as we can, with fighters joining them.” She paused a moment, to catch her breath. “Gryphus, you’ll be Booming and Zooming while shooting down as many fighter escorts as you can before you have to RTB. Nimbus, and Sapphire will bait enemy fighters away from the formation to the west, and they’ll assist you in engaging them.”

“Copy that, Wonderbolt Lead. moving into position.” Gryphus lead replied.

“Sapphire confirms orders, mobilizing now.”

“Affirm from Nimbus, we’re moving.”

“Right, Garuda and us will be focusing on the Bombers. Kill as many as you can. Do all teams copy?” Spitfire asked over the radio, to everypony listening.

“Garuda copies.” I replied.

“Nimbus copies.”

“Cumulus copies.”

“Stratus copies.”

“Dash copies.”

“Gryphus confirms orders.”

“Sapphire copies move orders.” they all replied at once.

“Right then, move it or lose it!” Spitfire barked as all the planes around us began to mobilize. I could count at least 10 planes turning back and heading toward the city, in a scrambled and loose formation. More planes from the fleet and the Sky Strip were joining the sky in this great crusade. More and more planes began forming near me, flying in the same direction as my team was.

I switched my channels to Garuda again, and spoke into the mask. “Garuda Team, listen up: We’re tasked to shoot down as many bombers as we can before having to RTB. as you know, the Sky Strip and the Blueblood are available if you need to RTB for resupply. Do not hesitate to use it. Stay close to each other or to a Wonderbolt, and you’ll be fine. Understood?”

“We copy, Night Light.” Bigs responded first.

We flew Northwest for about 10 minutes or so, the Air Raid Sirens steadily moving out of earshot as we moved away from the city. During this time, Spitfire continued to call roll and order newcomers from the Blueblood or Ark Royal to loiter over the harbor. More planes from the Sky Strip began to follow our formation heading Northwest. About half of our force was split up: one half intercepting the bombers, the other half defending the city harbor. With more still incoming from the Sky Strip, as well as other airfields in close proximity. In total, it should be about 200-300 planes. I have no idea if it would be enough, but we were about to find out.

Suddenly, in my left ear, I heard static noises emit from The Eavesdropper. No other noise or voice was heard. Nothing but static. I then realized that enemy communications were being transmitted through the earpiece, but was just out of range. We had to be close to them by now. my altitude was currently 1400 Meters, just underneath the cloud cover. I didn’t know if the Changelings would be over, inside, or underneath the clouds. Gryphus was above it, keeping an eye out for any aircraft. I could not see anything beyond a few hundred yards; the snowfall and fog was making it difficult to see very far.

“Spitfire to all planes, do you see anything?” Spitfire called out in my Right Earmuff.

“I see clouds, water, and sky. And planes, but they’re just our planes.” Somepony else remarked rather sarcastically.

“Be serious! Gryphus, do you have a visual?”

“Negative. We have no visual contact.”

More static emitted from my left ear, and more garbled voices can be heard. I could almost make out what they say, but not quite enough. My hooves were slightly shaking, and I could feel tingles down my spine. Maybe goosebumps.

“All planes, spread out and keep your eyes peeled. The second you see them, call ‘em out!” Spitfire ordered in my right ear.

“Ten-four! Sapphire is peeling off to the west a bit.” I heard somepony else say, before seeing some of our planes break off from the large formation we were flying in. Another group of planes proceeded to increase altitude, trying to climb above the clouds.

Another fit of garbled voices were speaking in my left ear, but I could recognize some bits and pieces of it.

“... eep an eye for… can’t give away our position for…”

There wasn’t much to go on. All I knew for certain was that they didn’t want to be revealed. What did Doc say the range on this thing was again? Five Kilometers? We had to be alarmingly close by now, if I could hear them like so. It also spoke in a strangely natural yet artificial voice, almost like someone was reading a script and was getting very drawn into it. The voices continued.

“-ay inside the clouds. The closer we are - kzt bsht - ithout becoming detected.”

I understood it that time. They were hiding in the clouds it seems. How close they were was unclear, nor what altitude they were. There was also the potential fundamental problem that they could be using the imperial measurement system instead of metric, like how I was using, to throw me off. But wherever they are, they were really close.

“I see something.” Someone from Gryphus called out.

“What is it?” Spitfire answered

“It’s… something. I can’t say it’s an aircraft, because it’s not. But whatever shape it is, it’s big, and hiding in the clouds.”

“Weird. How far is it?”

“Eh, about… eight to twelve klicks. Give or take. Can’t make out what it is.”

“Okay, roger that. Do you see anything else?”

“Negative.”

“Alright, climb higher and find out what it is. The rest of you, maintain formation.”

Then I heard something that finally gave me a clue to where the enemy was. More voices emit from my left ear.

“Maintain formation and stay above 1000 meters. If we stay just above the lower cloud layer, we’ll slip through easily.”

I glanced downward to my left, after rolling my plane a bit to the side. I saw a couple of cracks through the clouds, revealing a greyish ocean that somehow looked colder than before. Through one of the cracks I saw a mass of shapes glide underneath us… and nobody noticed it.

“I see them! They’re below us!” I yelled through the mask. “Naya, dive! Dive now!”

“What? Below us?” Spitfire repeated, clearly confused of what’s happening. I proceeded to dip my plane downward, towards the crack in the clouds below us. Naya was following close behind.

“Wait… I see them too! They were hiding in the clouds below us!” Somepony else called out.

“Ah shit! Okay, dive! Intercept them immediately!” Soon after, more planes began to fly downward. I was ahead of everypony, Naya beside me to my left as we continued to descend. Soon, we were speeding very fast, and very far down, until we were below the cloud cover. As soon as I could see around me, I found - not one, but several - large formations of bombers. No fighter escorts. Strange. But I counted at least 20 or so bombers before moving to engage.

I heard more voices on my left ear. "Oh shit, contact! 6 o’clock level! They found us!"

“Engage them! Don’t let them find the Aigaion!”

More allied planes broke through the clouds as tracers began to fill the air around me. And once again, Chaos ensued.

“Stop,” Grim interrupted. “Are you going to reenact another battle that has nothing to do with the Aigaion?”

“No.” I replied. “You told me to recall Los Pegasus. And that’s what I’m doing.”

“I asked you to recall anything that has to do with the Aigaion.”

“I am! I’m getting to that part-”

“We don’t have time, Night Light! We need to speed this along.”

“Why? What’s the rush all of the sudden?”

Grim didn’t immediately answer. Instead, he looked down to the floor, pondering to himself. The sun outside the large window had moved over the Canterlot Mountain, as it was now transitioning into Afternoon. There was a long shadow, stretching from the mountains and the buildings around it into a long, black silhouette of its shape.

“Listen,”Grim finally spoke. “we are running out of time. You may not know it, but there are… certain people, who wish to use this monstrosity for their own benefits-”

“It’s useless now.” I butted in. “It’s destroyed. Ruined! How and why would anyone want to use it?”

“Hmph… Why. Why is a good question. And one I don’t know the answer to. And even if I did know the answer to ‘why’, what good does it do? But ‘how’... How is more of an educated guess at this point. Maybe Reverse Engineering. Maybe they could repair it somehow. All I know is that there are Chan-... specific suspects, who will do anything to get their hooves or claws on it for their own twisted gains.”

“You think Changelings are responsible for this?” I asked. His faced grimaced and he gave a low growl, cursing something under his breath. He took a deep breath.

“Not just Changelings… That’s all I’m willing to say on that note. Now, back to the matter at hoof: The Aigaion. I want you to recall when you first saw it, during the battle over Los Pegasus. And please stay on topic this time.”

“I was on topic this entire time… but alright.” I stared at my hooves, feeling a bit queasy.

My hooves were slightly shaking...

My hooves were violently shaking!

A part of it was because of the adrenaline and fear that was coursing through my being. Flying like this was always perilous, and each mission always resulted in the loss of a pony, or more… and even more Changelings sometimes.

The other part was because I was losing control of my plane, which vibrated the stick I was holding quite badly.

I was engaging several 111s while diving down above them, gold tracers striking their craft as one by one they began to dissipate into unrecognizable pieces of steel and aluminum. Soon, they began to spread out, from panic and shock of their casualties I assumed. I zoomed past the formation, descending downward as pieces of the bombers fell down with me. I pulled back on the stick to elevate upward and engage them again. It was at that moment that my plane began to vibrate and shake, before it spun flatly to the right. Soon, I found myself in a flat spin, descending downward.

“Night Light, respond. Are you alright?” Naya called out in my right ear. I didn’t answer. I stepped my left hind leg down on the rudder, trying to counteract the momentum of the spin. While doing so, I carefully tried to steer the nose of my craft downward, to gain speed and energy. Soon, the plane was now in a barrel roll instead of a flat spin, and I carefully elevated upward. As this was happening, I saw the ocean rapidly closing in on me. It reminded me of that Nightmare I keep having…

No! Not like this! I gave it everything I had, and pulled the stick back as far as I could. My speed was well above 500 knots, and my altitude even lower. As my plane began to stabilize and climb, it barely missed the flat churning plane of water, spraying water around me as I flew just over. Once I began to gain altitude, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

“Night Light, please respond! Are you okay?” Naya asked again. I pulled the mask to my face.

“Yeah yeah, I’m right as rain.” I half-casually responded, even though I nearly defecated myself from such a near death experience.

“All planes, give me a sitrep: What’s the status on those bombers?” Spitfire called out.

“Sadly poor: We’ve lost 5 of our guys already. Not too many of them gone either.”

“Keep up the pressure. We kill more of them, they’ll break. Gryphus, gimme a roll call.”

They didn’t respond. While this was happening, I saw the bombers above me were gradually getting closer to the city. The fighting had ensued for only about 5 minutes, and we weren’t making any big progress.

“Gryphus, respond! What’s happening over there?” again, no response.

“All units, we’re 7 minutes out from the city. Maintain formation.” a voice spoke in my left ear. We’re running out of time…

“Affirmative. Once we’ve done our job, the Aigaion will finish them off. Prioritize Destruction over Accuracy." another one spoke.

At that transmission, I felt something familiar. I felt rage. They were intent on destroying everything. And at that moment, I felt like I was responsible for all of those ponies down below me. I felt like I was doing everything I could, and yet it would not be enough.

... Well, fuck that!

I gained altitude once more, aiming for the front bomber formation. I learned that their blindspot was underneath them, while somewhat in front of them. There would be no turret protecting them from that angle. So as I was about a few hundred meters below them, I accelerated forward, speeding past them. After I was a good distance in front of them, I turned to the right and flew straight up from underneath them. As I suspected, their front gunners tried to open up on me, and almost all of them were missing; I was in their deadzone.

More golden tracers were sent from my craft, as communications on both ears were getting hectic. I heard sporadic bits and pieces of dialogue that I could faintly make out on both sides. But it was impossible to interpret them all at once. More bombers began to fall down to the ocean below as I shot them down one by one. After I zoomed past them again, their rear gunners opened up, forcing me to descend downward again to regain speed and to exit their range.

“Another bomber shot down! Where the hell is our escort!?” my left ear heard more Changeling voices.

“Stay cool, it won’t be long now. They can’t shoot all of us down. The Aigaion will maintain air superiority once we’ve done our job.” There’s that name again… what is ‘Aigaion’?

“All planes, Radar Station has picked up more aircraft approaching from the Northwest. Looks like fighters.” Spitfire announced.

“No! Sapphire lead is down!”

“Berry, get a grip! You gotta take over command!”

“How many of them are there?!” One mare screeched.

“Too many. Let’s fix that!”

I performed the same strategy as I engaged the bomber formation again. With each time I pass by them, at least 2 or 4 of them were shot down. They were steadily withering, but about 10 or 12 still remained. Soon though, there won’t be any. If I can’t stop the damage, then I’ll make sure the ones who caused it won’t get back alive.

More golden tracers strike their planes, the 20 MM Cannons ripping them to shreds. It only required a small burst to shoot one down. The only problem was the ammo count was much smaller, meaning I can’t spray and pray. I’ll have to be selective on my targets.

“4 minutes out.”

At that moment, spitfires from the East, appearing seemingly out of thin air, began to swarm the formation. More and more of them began to fall and burn. It was the reserves that were loitering over Los Pegasus. They arrived just in time to stop the first formation.

“Group one has been shot down. Groups two and three are down to 43 in total.”

“We’re almost there. Keep flying, we’ll make them pay.” There was no way we could stop them all in time...

“All planes, they’re over the Gulf. Everypony, engage at will!” Another pony called out.

“Gryphus, this is Wonderbolt Lead, respond! What’s happening over there?” Once again, no response was heard. They might have been shot down… but from what? Maybe it was the fighters that Spitfire was warning us about.

“Ah forget it - Wonderbolts, on me! Let’s fry these Bugs!” Spitfire ordered.

“3 minutes out.”

I turned my plane to the North to engage the second group of bombers, and more allied planes began to do the same thing. Green and Golden tracers danced in the sky around me, as many of ours and their planes were falling down to the earth. Some on fire, some in pieces, some not even recognized as a plane. Just bits of metal. I saw one of our spitfires catch fire. Screams were filling my right ear. Then the plane exploded, and the screams abruptly stopped. I felt sick.

Some of the green tracers were striking my craft, creating holes all over my wings and fuselage. Thankfully they were 7MM Machine Guns, not 20MM Cannons. Although my plane was littered with holes, it was still airborne and flyable. And I still had ammo left, though not a lot. Only about 15 were left in the second group.

“2 Minutes out… Pilot to Bombardier, your ship.”

“Bombardier to Pilot, roger that.”

“We’re running out of time. All planes, give it everything we got!” I ordered to my team in the mask. “Bigs, Lucky, intercept them immediately!”

“What does it look like I’m doing?!” Bigs replied.

“I’m coming from up top, 12 o'clock high!” Lucky called out.

More fiery wrecks of bombers descended downward to the earth, but the number of bombers that still remained was not enough to minimize the damage… there was no avoiding it. Soon, Flak started to erupt in the sky, and the Air Raid Siren from Los Pegasus could be heard again.

“Pod 5 has been hit! We’re down to 8 in the second group!”

“Keep it steady! 1 minute!”

“Opening bomb bay doors!”

I saw the bombers beginning to drop altitude a little bit, but not going down. They were gaining speed and preparing to release the Payload.

“Everypony, now or never! SHOOT DOWN THOSE BOMBERS!”

The number of Golden tracers that filled the sky seemed to have increased tenfold. And steadily, one by one, more bombers were going down.

... But it wasn’t enough. Soon, I saw many small, cylinder shaped objects - Bombs, I assumed - drop from the bomb bay doors. There were at least 80 bombs, most likely more, that were dropping towards the city. Soon after, the bombers veered Northbound, away from the city.

“Bombs away!”

“We’re done here! It won’t be long now. Soon, the ponies will break with the might of our Aigaion.” That stupid name was starting to get on my nerves. What the hell is an ‘Aigaion’?

“They dropped their payload! They’re breaking formation.”

“Nimbus, Dash, intercept the remaining bombers of that group. The rest of you who are still alive, intercept the third formation! Bearing 275, move it!” Spitfire barked through my right ear. Only a handful of bombers from the second group were still airborne, with more on the way.

Soon, I saw a flash of light to my right as my plane faced west. It was coming from Los Pegasus, as I saw a nearly blinding light emit from the ground. Seconds later, that light transformed into a giant blaze of fire.

“What the hell is going on? The city is on fire!” Somepony called out.

“It’s… it’s spreading. The whole city is gonna go up in flames!”

“Those must’ve been Thermobaric Bombs. They don’t want to destroy us, they want to burn us alive...“

“My God!”

The inferno was slowly starting to seep into the many buildings that cluster around the harbor. Soon, they were burning to the ground until nothing but glass remained. Staring at the fire, I felt more rage well up inside me. There were still ponies inside those homes down there, and they could be burning…

“Night Light, what are your orders now?” Bigs called out in my right ear. I felt a single tear run down my left cheek, as I pulled the mask slowly to my face.

“Garuda team…” I didn’t finish my sentence; I struggled to hold back more tears. “... Kill them all.” I finished.

“With pleasure!” Bigs replied.

The third formation of Bombers flew into view as they broke through the clouds. Spitfires were swarming them from all sides, sending golden tracers towards them as they fired back.

“This is Pod 7 to Aigaion, payload delivered. Returning to base.”

“Aigaion to Pod, roger that. We’re moving into position now… All planes, Equestria’s days are numbered.”

I screamed out loud in frustration. This Aigaion character was really starting to piss me off. I fired my cannons at the bombers, tearing their hull to literal shreds as their wrecks dropped to the ocean below. Soon, the third formation released their payload as well, adding more fuel to the Inferno.

“The third group has completed their course… Aigaion, the rest is on you.”

“Aigaion confirms orders. Moving to establish Air Superiority.”

The bomber formation began to spread and dissipate, leaving nothing but a burning city, smoke, planes, bullets, and flak filling the sky. Many of the planes ventured in the clouds, giving chase to the 111s that were retreating.

Suddenly, a new sound pervaded the air. It was loud, ominous, and mighty. A deep, long horn was being blown seemingly from the heavens itself. soon, I saw flashes of light shine through the clouds.

“What the hell is that noise!?” Lucky asked.

Soon, the clouds began to fade and twirl away, revealing a new shape… one I have never seen. It had a poly-like material for the giant balloon that was effortlessly gliding through the air. The horn sounded again, just as awful as the first time I heard it. The underbelly of this beast was mostly metal, with many industrial-sized propellers accelerating it forward. It had massive cannons sticking out from seemingly every direction, and machine guns in the same spots. Spotlights below the ship were flashing their beams of light everywhere. It was a geometric shape that seemed to have swallowed the clouds around it.

“What in Celestia’s name is that thing!?” A mare screamed through the radio.

Embedded at the very front of this monstrosity was cursive writing:

Aigaion

Author's Note

Naya's Song: