(A2) - Chapter 2: Wake-up call

No Glory Won

Chapter 2: Wake Up Call

“Back from the dead, and reporting for duty sir!”

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“You made it back all the way to Las Pegasus, after flying over the frontlines, crash landing your plane, and after you suffered a bullet wound? All in one day?” Grim asked me as if he wasn’t able to comprehend the insanity of the situation I just described to him.

“I did what I could do, and did what I had to do. And I probably wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for that. I got lucky. Really lucky.” I answered, thinking back to the plane diving down to the ground, and how I was barely able to get out moments before the crash. I was so close to dying so many times that day, I felt like I was teasing death at that point.

Grim continued to read the several documents laid out on the table, as if trying to find a clue or detail. He still couldn’t comprehend how insane all of this sounded. Honestly, I don’t blame him. If I was told by my future self, before the war started, that all of this would happen, I would’ve thought I was dreaming or something, maybe a mild nightmare. Instead, it was a memory, not a dream. I remember it clear as day.

“So, Las Pegasus. Why go there?”

“It was the only place I could think of that had somepony there who could trust me and possibly help me. It was the only thing that made sense to me at the time. I didn’t know what else to do. If I headed west, I would be in changeling territory. If I headed North, it'll lead to more frontline combat and more open terrain. And I had no indication of where the Blueblood was, so I just... didn't take any risks and flew East. And eventually, I found Las Pegasus.”

“You said that somepony was there to help you. Who else was there that could possibly help?” Grim inquired.

“My old Instructor Sergeant, when I was still in training.”

For yet another moment, Grim took time to read the documents scattered about before him across the table. He suddenly stopped cold and looked like he saw a Ghost.

“R-Rainbow Dash?! She was your Drill Sergeant?” Grim Stuttered. I could not help but smile at his reaction. “You mean to tell me that the Rainbow Dash, Bearer of the Element of Loyalty, was your Drill Sergeant?”

“Yes.” I simply replied. He did not follow suit with any other form of reply for a short while, before he frowned.

“What else have you been holding out on me?” Grim asked, slowly leaning towards me.

“I would care to enlighten you on that question if you could only allow me. I must take it through chronologically if you wish to understand, though! Now are you going to let me finish what happens next, or not?”

He looked away for a moment. The room was dead silent, as I could hear his slow breathing. He turned his head back, before speaking in a gruff voice. “Continue.”

“As I said, I flew to Las Pegasus in the hopes of find Rainbow. I thought that maybe I could have her help me get back to the Blueblood.” I paused. "... But that didn't work." I concluded.

"Why and how?" Grim pressed.

"It didn't go quite as planned."

Las Pegasus. A part of me thought I was never going to see this place again, or at least for a long time, after training. Hard to believe I was back here again, more than a year later. I was currently flying over the northern city limits, which was the ‘cloud district’, as the ponies called it. Large monoliths of reshaped clouds now converted into multiple buildings decorated the sky around me. I was standing atop a smaller puff of cloud as I analyzed the city around me. I could see the Sky Strip, which was the airfield in the clouds that I stayed for months during training. Rainbow was there, last I saw her. If she was anywhere, she was there.

I took a breather atop of that cloud, after flying for so long. I felt exhausted, and pain still pricked my left side, even with the bandaged wound. I felt exhausted and hurt all over. Stopping on top of a cloud, I took about five minutes to rest for a while.

In the timespan of those five minutes, I took a moment to gently life open the bandages that covered my wound. It was difficult since my hooves were not great at pulling things. I eventually resorted to using my teeth, gently prying open the red-stained cloth. My Wither has definitely seen better days, but the cleaning and bandaging seemed to have stopped any sort of infection at least. It still looked nasty, though. I unfolded all of the bandages wrapped around my torso and pulled out the FAK from my vest once more. Opening it up, I found one more Syringe of morphine, and one more bundle of Bandages. I decided that since I was already close to Las Pegasus, I would just use them both here and now.

And so, after five minutes of that, I was freshly bandaged and felt somewhat loose on the muscles. I then proceeded to fly Southeast, to the airfield in the sky. The flight took about another five minutes, and as I proceeded to the entrance A pair of Royal Pegasi Guards were standing by the front entrance. As I landed, I was immediately stopped by one of them as he stepped forward.

"Halt! Who are you?"

"Night Light.

“I need to see Rainbow Dash. She was my drill Sergeant, she knows me.”

They gazed at each other for a while, doubt on their face. “Ok, now I’m starting to doubt that’s true. Why would Rainbow Dash remember you? And why would you want to see her?”

“She was my teacher. You can ask her yourself. Tell her she knows Night Light. She’ll listen.”

“Look, lady, we get you’re a pilot and all, but we can’t let you in without a good reason. And your 'want to see Rainbow Dash' response is not a good enough reason.” One of them chuckled. “Hell, for all I know, you could be a changeling spy, trying to assassinate her, or something. In fact,” one of them leaned closer to me. “Who’s to say you aren’t?”

I sighed, head hanging low. I thought my words carefully for about a minute or so when one of them spoke again. "Just leave, or be prosecuted. Your choice."

Prosecuted. That word alone gave me an idea.

“Look, you have orders to follow. I get it. But I am telling you all the truth." They looked unimpressed. Now, maybe to you that doesn’t matter. But one of two things is gonna happen: Either one, I get in and get what I want, which is seeing Rainbow Dash, and everypony’s happy. Or two, you could send me away, and pretend this whole encounter never happened - and that is also fine." I lied through my teeth. "But if you do send me away, and if Rainbow finds out that two certain Royal Guards didn’t let a pilot under her guidance through to see her - after surviving behind enemy lines in the middle of a storm - what do you think she would say? Because I don’t think she would like that.”

"In fact - dare I say - she may prosecute you two."

The two guards looked at me, with conflicting expressions. They did a double-take between me, then each other. They were hesitant to say anything.

“So let’s make an agreement. For each of us. I stay here, and one of you go find her, and fetch her to me if you’re still hesitant. Or even better, you could just let me in…” I finished and waited for their reply. They didn’t say a word. They gazed at each other again, before slightly nodding, and proceeded to step aside.

“Fine. Go on ahead.” One of them spoke.

“Thank you kindly,” I said to them, gingerly stepping through the gate and inside to the airbase. "I'll be sure to tell Rainbow Dash how well you cooperated." I wryly muttered to myself.

I noticed not much has changed since the last time I was here, aside from the new and different aircraft in the hangers. But other than that, the rest of the complex remained unchanged for the most part. I could see different groups of ponies frolicking about doing their daily activities, which was either training, maintenance, or test flights. I couldn’t see Rainbow in the midst of it though. She might be inside somewhere, in one of the many buildings. I decided it would be better not to waste my time on searching for her without any sense of where she was and decided to ask others instead, who were more willing to assist me than the two guards at the gate.

One Maintenance Pony guided me towards one of the closed hangers, saying she’s inspecting the new aircraft that had just arrived out of commission. Hanger A2, to be more specific, which was located on the Eastern Wing of the airfield. I looked both ways before crossing the runway and proceeded to make my way to the Hanger. Ponies all around me were giving skeptical and curious looks, as they see a muddy and bandaged pilot stroll along the runway. Some even dropped their tools to stare. I couldn’t help but feel flushed on my cheeks. Picking up the pace, I stood in front of the large sliding door, which was closed. I trotted to the right of it, to a much more smaller door, and opened it slowly, hearing voices echo off the interior walls. There was a plane, much like the Seafire, but different. It had the same shape and guns, but different paint and look. A Spitfire was stationary inside the hanger.

Upon entering inside, the voices became more distinct, and I could make out a passing conversation.

“...New Merlin Engines, with 1,720 Horsepower, a climbing rate of 22.7 Meters per second, 150+ octane fuel, and a turn time of 15.8 seconds. Rainbow, you might call this ‘just another plane’, but for me? This is an achieving feat in aviation.” A stallion spoke.

“I don’t need all the egghead stuff, Doc. I need to know if it is ready to fly, because we got newcomers who are anxious to get their hooves on the stick, and they need these planes.” I heard Rainbow reply.

“Of course it can fly. I’m simply trying to tell you the significant improvements we made from the Hurricane to this. This is a formidable aircraft, one that can counter the Changeling threat.”

“Here’s hoping. The sooner we can find some way to implement Air Superiority across Equestria, the better chance we have to win this war.”

“Wars are not won just in the air, Rainbow. They are fought on the ground. Yet in the air, wars can change. Aircraft nowadays have a chance to change the tide of battle, just by one move. The sooner we adapt to it, and the sooner we exploit it, the better.” The Stallion explained.

I trotted around the aircraft, silently admiring it as I listened to the conversation. Rainbow and a white Unicorn Stallion wearing a Black coat came into view, the Stallion immediately noticing my presence. Rainbow was facing away from me, as she continued to talk.

“We have ponies who are dying on the frontlines left and right because we can’t find a way to properly dive-bomb without CAS planes, or Bombers. Tell me this thing can at least carry a bomb.”

“It does. And..." he stopped, as his eyes locked onto mine. I then noticed that they - ever so subtly - widened just a tiny bit. "You have a visitor.” The Stallion gazed towards me, rather surprised at my sudden appearance. Rainbow sighed.

“Dammit Corporal, I said no-” She turned to face me, stopping cold as soon as she caught sight of me. We both stood there, staring at each other for seemingly forever. I held my breath, as Rainbow began to speak. “Who are… wait.” She leaned in closer, noticing my Lime Green Eyes, my Silver Mane, and Lavender Coat. “Night Light?” She squeaked.

I gave a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of my head with a hoof. “Yeah… I can-” A streak of Cyan flashed in front of me, followed by a large force pushing my chest as I was sent flying a few meters back. The pain was roaring from my left side after the tackle, as some of the bandages started to become looser. Rainbow was standing over me on all four hooves, frowning at me. She squinted her eyes and scanned me all over.

“Look look, I know you’re suspicious as to why I’m here and not at the Blueblood, but I promise it’s not what it-” Before I could finish, I noticed her eyes squinted once more. Another strong force slammed into the side of my head, and I soon fell unconscious.

I woke up to a splitting headache and searing pain on my left side. My head felt like it was constantly being hammered. I awoke, only to find myself laying on a hard concrete floor. I stood up, finding myself in a small, monotone grey walled room, with only one metallic door on one of the walls. There were no beds, no chairs or tables, or windows. Just four walls and a ceiling. A single light bulb was hanging from the ceiling, being the only source of illumination in this room.

“Hello?” I called out weakly, shakily getting on my hooves. The room started to spin, as my head erupted in piercing pain. I sat hard on my haunches, clinging my temples. Groaning, I stared at the door. There was literally nothing else in this room, but me. I peered to my left side, finding my bandages to be more secure and tight. They looked like they were redressed... again. Somepony else must’ve done that.

I gazed around the room once more, still finding nothing. Slowly, I stood on my hooves. My skull felt like it was being violated constantly. It actually felt nauseating. Memories came back to me one by one. I remember... being in a hanger and was knocked out by... something- no, somepony... Rainbow Dash! That was it! The Revelation of my former mentor possibly being the one to drag me in here did not do wonders to my morale or esteem.

There was a soft click emitting in front of me, and a loud groan as the metallic door swung open, revealing the same white Unicorn Stallion that was in the Hanger with Rainbow. He levitated a long rod-shaped object in his telekinetic grasp, with a crystal at the end of it. Some kind of staff?

“You’re awake.” He spoke, in a more calming and debatable manner. "Good." He closed the door and proceeded to trot towards me, stopping just a few meters in front of my face. "You're probably in pain, aren't you?" He asked, still and quiet. I could only nod. His magic gently set the staff aside leaning against the wall. then his horn glowed even brighter, as a wave of warm and soothing energy was flowing through me. I suddenly felt lighter in the head, and the pain instantly receded.

"You should feel better now." He spoke again, as his horn glowed softly again. the staff was waved over me, and the crystal began to softly hum with a soft grey hued glow. “Hold Still.” He commanded. I felt a wave of vibration resonating me. Then the humming stop, as there was a ‘ping’ noise. The Crystal suddenly blinked green. The white unicorn looked relieved.

“Good. Good. You really aren’t one of them. That’s good.” He spoke slowly.

“What’s going on? Why am I here?” I stared hard at him. “And who are you?”

“Relax, Night Light. I’m not going to harm you. I just needed to make sure you really weren’t a Changeling. Can’t be too careful.” He paused and looked to the side of my head. “And... sorry about Rainbow Dash. She always acts before thinking like that.”

I rubbed my head softly. “Yeah, I know she does. I was her student at a time.” I paused. “Wait. How do you know my name?” I asked.

"Rainbow said your name... before she knocked you unconscious. Perhaps you do not remember." He answered. My mind instinctively wandered back, and I did remember her saying that before tackling me.

"How... How long was I out?"

“Just an hour.” he replied. Standing up now, I tried to trot towards the door. The Stallion stopped me with a hoof. “I wouldn't do that. It is not the wisest course of action, right now. You need to stay here. She’s still not convinced.”

“Convinced of what?”

“That you are not a Changeling Spy. Simply ‘waving a staff’ around you, as she said, is apparently not enough for her.”

What? Why could she not believe that... Nevermind, I shook my head. That wasn't important. "I need to see her."

“You can’t.” he interrupted. “Right now, if you tried to ask Rainbow again, by just waltzing through that door, you’ll set off a chain of events that will ultimately lead to your real death. So do not do that.” he turned back and closed the door behind him. “Right now, I’m trying to make sure you make it through this alive. As long as Rainbow thinks you’re a spy, you’ll never be safe. I’ve tried to convince her otherwise, but it is usually like talking to a brick wall.”

“I… what’s happening?”

“I’m saving your life, that's what’s happening. I need your help with something as well.”

He slowly levitated the Square Spectacles he was wearing, folding them up neatly before stowing it in his coat pocket. “But first, are you alright? The bandages are not too tight, are they?” He asked me. I gazed at my left side, now noticing the numbing effects of Morphine in me. I felt slow and groggy. It could've been mine, but it felt really intense. I might've been doubled dosed again as I was unconscious.

“I’m fine. Who patched me up?”

“Well, I did.”

“You?”

“Yes.” He gazed at the bandaged wound. “After Rainbow knocked you unconscious, I talked some sense into her. I told her I would inspect you while you were out, and see if you were a changeling. Of course, it’s not that easy, but lying to her was the only way to calm her down… and to make sure you weren’t dead.” He blankly spoke. “After that, I took a look at that wound of yours. It wasn’t infected, thank the goddess, so redressing your wound was all I had to do.”

“I… Thank you. Why would she not just listen to me though? I could’ve explained everything to both of you had she not done that.”

“Night Light, we are at war. We currently live in a world that is locked in conflict all across the planet. At least, where we are. Who knows what could lie beyond the ‘World Ocean’? But I digress. In Equestria we are fighting the Changeling Hegemony, that has slowly been taking our land and killing off our population for their ‘love’. A cruel Irony, if you ask me. We are also fighting the Karthinian Pact, which is Wingbardy, those foolish Fascist Griffins in Griffonia along with several other fascist griffon countries, next to our colony there!

“In the Northern part of that same continent, we have the Aquilean Republic now in a Two-Front war because of our plea for help. They are fighting the Changelings for us, and fighting the Griffonian Empire that currently owns a good big chunk of their land due to their military aggressiveness, and are also hostile to us.

“And as if that doesn’t sound more insane enough, there’s Another Griffon Empire that resides to our North, just next to Stalliongrad, Yakyakistan, and the Crystal Empire. And they are also trying to be Hostile with us AS WELL!” He was yelling now. I stayed stoic and silent, as he was silently breathing heavily. He took a moment to close his eyes, to reassert himself, and to calm down. “The point is, do you think you would be as suspicious as Rainbow was when she first saw you?”

It was a logical... rant, that he did. Yet the fact that Rainbow would just blatantly refuse to see reason did not make sense to me. Why? Why wouldn't she just hear me out? “I still could've explained everything though. You know, talked some sense into her…” I paused for a moment. “... And what did you mean earlier when you said you were trying to prevent my ‘Real Death’?”

“Night, everypony thinks you’re dead.” Doc said with a firm tone. I stopped cold

“Wh… What?”

“I remember the Report in my head exactly when I first read it. ‘At 12:54 hours on November 18th, 1012, Night Light was confirmed shot down by a Changeling Plane. No witnesses were able to see her bailout of the plane, due to bad weather, so she is assumed KIA.’ Night Light, me and Rainbow read that report only about 2 hours ago. And as of this moment, you just came back from the dead. That’s why Rainbow was suspicious.”

I felt a heavy weight sink down in my chest. All of my friends think I’m dead. No wonder Rainbow tackled me. “Does anypony else know?”

“We haven’t sent a letter and a flag home to your mother in a box yet if that’s what you’re saying. But other than that, only Me and Rainbow, and your crew know about it.” He paused, levitated his glasses and put them on. “Anyway, I digress again. You want my help, and I want your help.” He sat down on his Haunches, sitting in front of me now. “Does the name… ‘Strigon’ sound familiar?” He asked. My mind instantly raced back to the last image I saw of the plane I was fighting before crashing. That Insignia. That Reaper.

“Yes. Very much so yes.” I nodded.

“That’s good… because I have a question I think only you can answer, Garuda.”

I widened my eyes in shock. How did he know?

“You’re Garuda 1, aren’t you? Of the 28th Fighter Squadron?” He asked me.

“How… Who told you that?” I gasped back.

“Nopony did. We have ways of knowing that sort of thing. I have ways, at least. Anyway, you are Garuda Lead. You were there at the multiple Skirmishes and Battles against the ‘Strigons’. You fought against them. You and your team helped to destroy one of their smaller, but more Elite Air Units over Pegasi Gulf. That apparently made them very upset. Then we heard last night that your team also destroyed about 40 or so of their planes during the large storm battle over Mead Lake yesterday. You’ve now officially pissed them off. And they are feeling themselves for taking you down.”

He paused to catch his breath. “But now you’re here, you’re not dead, and everypony except a few select others doesn’t know that. I want you to do a big favor for me, as a token for me conceptually saving your life.” He offered.

“What kind of Favor?” He then pulled out another object from his Coat Pocket. A small accessory, though I can’t tell what for.

“This is something I like to call ‘The Eavesdropper’. Something a few of the lab ponies made for counterintelligence. It’s supposed to automatically decrypt and relay enemy communications, much like a Radar. Anything the Changelings say in radio communication, whatever frequency it is, this thing can auto-track, translate, and relay. In almost an instant.”

I stared at the tiny object. It was barely big enough to clip behind my ear, like an incomplete Earmuff. It was so small, but yet it could do so much.

“This is the only one of its kind that exists. We tested it, and it works as long as you are in close proximity of the enemy. About five Kilometers or so, give or take. I want you to use it on the ‘Strigons.’ during you’re missions against them, equip this on your ear in order to hear the communications. My job in my..." He took a long moment to carefully pick his words. "My Department has selected me to pick somepony qualified to use this for it's intended purposes. That somepony is you. Do you think you could that for me?”

I stared at Doc's stretched out hof, holding the delicate item in the palm of his hoof. “Why would I want to know what they are saying?” I asked.

“You probably don’t. But we do. This thing is also connected to our one-band frequencies, so we can hear everything it’s saying without putting it on ourselves. That’s why I’m asking you to do it. You’d be helping us immensely.”

I gazed at the small object. “You want me to hear what they are saying, so you can hear what they are saying?”

“Essentially, yes. As a token for doing so, I’ll help you get back to your friends and the Blueblood. Do we have a deal?" He asked. I contemplated his offer for about a minute or so, I cannot say for certain. I didn't really have much of a choice, honestly. It's either me going back to my friends while carrying a piece of plastic or... Celestia only knows what else.

"Alright. I'll do it." I reluctantly accepted, grabbing the Eavesdropper from his hoof. It felt virtually weightless and easy to conceal. Doc gave no reaction to my acceptance.

"Now in order for this to work, Rainbow must think you’re still dead for a little while longer. I have a plan. I need you to wait here for me, and I’ll be back.” He turned and trotted towards the door, and proceeded to leave through the door, leaving me alone again. I noticed a patch embroidered on his left shoulder of the coat. A Face, with a very wide smile.

Somehow, it disturbed me.

I trotted towards one of the walls, and sat against it, counting little sheep in my head doing so. Ten. Twenty. Fifty. A Hundred. I was starting to lose count. I had absolutely nothing on me, or in this room with me, to do anything. I was confined in a monotone square box and was starting to feel claustrophobic. Two Hundred Sheep. Three Hundred.

The door clicked, and groaned open once more, revealing the same Unicorn whose name I still don’t know. He had two things in his telekinetic grasp. A Large Bag, and a Gun. The Gun, in particular, looked different. It was some kind of specially shaped pistol, from what I could tell. I shifted back against the wall, clearly skeptical of what the gun was for.

“Alright, I know you’re not going to like the plan I have in store for you, so I’ll just go ahead and do it and tell you what to do instead of wasting time arguing about it. You’re going to wake up and find yourself in a hanger. Inside that Hanger is a Plane I’ve assigned you to fly back to your carrier. And inside that plane will be coordinates on where the Blueblood should be. Don’t ask how I got the plane, just take it and go.” He paused and lifted the gun towards me. “And… sorry for what happens next.”

“Wh-” I could barely get a word out before a soft ‘pshew’ noise emitted from the pistol, firing a painful syringe on my right side. I cried out in pain and felt an enormous wave of exhaustion crash over me. In an instant, I was unconscious again

I was starting to get tired of waking up in random places in pain, by the hooves of ponies who I thought could help me no less. I rubbed my mane again, and found myself in a quiet, but larger room this time. I was staring at a tool bench fixated against the wall.

“You’re awake.” I heard a mare’s voice behind me. I turned to look, only to find a plane parked in front of me… and a griffon laying atop of it. “You’re a Heavy Sleeper.” she spoke nonchalantly.

“Ow,” I muttered as another headache invaded my skull. “Why does everyone knock me unconscious? It’s annoying.”

“Rainbow did it ‘cause she thought you were a spy. Doc did it ‘cause it’s how he moves things. And ponies, apparently.” she scanned me all over. “But anyway, I did my job, you’re awake, and I can go now. Here,” she tossed a metallic ring with dangling objects attached to it to the ground in front of me. I picked it up, finding multiple Keys attached to it. “Big Blue one opens the Hanger doors. Smallest Key is the key to the plane. And the ‘Blueblood’, as Doc said, is in the plane seat. Enjoy.” She opened her larger fur wings and proceeded to slowly hover towards a large hole in the ceiling, revealing the stars in the night sky.

“Thanks, I guess.” I spoke. She turned to face me, confusion wracked on her face.

“For what?”

“For watching me. And carrying me. And helping me... For everything really.”

She shrugged. “Meh, it’s nothing. Doc usually calls in favors like this, and every time he does I get paid, so I don’t complain. If you wanna thank anypony, thank Doc for caring enough to help you.” With that, she turned and flew away to the sky.

I turned to face the large hangar door that was currently closed. To the left of it, hanging against the wall, lied a Red Button with a keyhole underneath. After trotting towards it and inserting the Blue Key, the button now blimped green. I pressed it, and the door slid open, revealing more of Luna’s beautiful starry night. There was no clouds apparent in the sky, just an abundance of twinkling crystals that decorated the void of the atmosphere, along with a waning moon just off to the northwestern horizon. I was standing in the middle of a dirt runway, made of gravel and tiny pebbles, along with some sand. A derelict airfield. I must be in the San Palomino Desert… or the Badlands. Either way, I was in the middle of nowhere, with no signs of life around me… except myself.

A Coyote howled in the distance, its lonely howl echoing across the barren desert. There were large, some even colossal, Cacti that litter the landscape. Giant Rock Formations, which I assume were ancient, tower over the empty horizon. A humid smell of Sulfur pervaded the air around me. The wind was blowing stray Sand and Dust across the abandoned runway, wherever I was. Sounds of Crickets and Cicadas buzzed all around me.

I felt a sense of overwhelming stillness inside my soul as I basked in the moonlight. Everything was completely still. Not a single Pony, Griffon, Changeling, or otherwise was seen out here. Nothing from the war affected the terrain or the wildlife in any way. It’s as if there was never a war to begin with in the first place. Like it was all just a Nightmare, that felt so real yet distant. You could lose your train of thought, and lose yourself as well out here… and yet, I feel nothing but peace.

It was a calming, blissful void of silence, one that seemed to stretch on infinitely. I wanted to stay here forever.

But I can’t. Not now. There’s still so much to be done for me, I couldn’t stop now. I turned back to the Hanger, and trotted towards the plane in the hanger. I hovered over the cockpit and grabbed the piece of paper that was laying in the pilot seat. It was a neatly drawn map of the southern part of Equestria. I was in San Palomino, just as I first predicted. There was an arrow guiding me Northwest, to the Lunar Ocean. Actually, they were specific Coordinates. Writing was etched next to the Arrow. “Be there by 0600 Hours at the given Coordinates.” was all that was written.

I boarded it and closed the cockpit Canopy. Controls look the same as the Seafires from the Blueblood, but the outer layer is painted differently. It had woodland camo on it. This must’ve been one of the Spitfires that ‘Doc’ was talking about.

I started the engine and waited for the propeller to spin up first before slowly easing my throttle forward. The plan gently taxied outside of the Hanger, and I stepped on the right Rudder Pedal to face the runway. When straightened out, I pulled back the throttle and hit the brakes. The plane stopped its movement and faced straight, propeller still spinning. I calibrated the propeller pitch, the Ailerons, Elevators, Flaps… Rudders already worked. Guns were on safety still. I didn’t bother to change it, due to the fact that I probably won’t find any planes along the way. But I could always change it when the time does come.

Once I was finished Calibrating my craft, I slid the throttle forward, sending the plane speeding along the runway. In a matter of 11 seconds, I was already ascending in the air. Almost ten seconds flat. Rainbow would’ve been proud of these things, had she seen me flying this thing. Part of me wished I was still able to convince her, instead of pretending to be dead all this time.

I ascended to about 800 meters above the ground, and turned the plane Northwest, bearing 310. I checked the clock. It read 4:51. I had to be there by four. I had over an hour. It was all the time I needed, as my Fuel read 80 Gallons. The tank was fully loaded for this flight. I could stay up here for at least an hour, maybe more.

I switched to Blueblood’s Frequency. I was obviously out of range at the time, but I would be ready to respond to his communications when I get close. No doubt they will not be expecting me, so hopefully, nopony shoots me down.

Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.

After about 50 or so minutes of Flying, I was already over the location I was supposed to be at. by that time, the sun was coming up, and I could see farther ahead of me now. There was a very little amount of clouds formed in the sky today, as I continued to fly.

The still, flat plane of churning water below me was reflecting the dawning light as I soared overhead. There was a sense of tranquility racking over me as I listened to the engine’s constant rumble. Other than that, no other sound was clearly hearable. I also saw nothing but water, cloud, and sky. Not much to listen to, or look at. Still, it was a pretty sight thanks to the sunrise. Intricate, yet simply beautiful to look at.

I kept darting my eyes below me, and around me, eyeing the water for any sight of strange shapes, or silhouettes. Any kind of sign that indicates where the fleet was. The flotilla composition shouldn’t have changed since I last took off from The Blueblood. A sum of over 20 destroyers or more, a decent amount of all kinds of cruisers, 2 Battleships, and the 2 Carriers. I didn’t know too much about the other ships. I caught bits and pieces from the other sailors of a few names: Ursa Minor, Canterlot, Luna, Celestia, Twilight, Cadence (All the princess named ships were Battlecruisers). I couldn’t keep track of all of them. The only ones I knew for certain were The Blueblood, and the Ark Royal, which were both of the carriers.

About 5 minutes of scanning the have passed and still no sign of them. I tipped my nose down, losing altitude, to get a closer inspection of the sea around me. I eased the throttle back, as I gained speed. When I was below 1500 Meters or so, I leveled out, sliding the throttle forward about halfway. I did a quick half-roll and stabilized, looking “Below” me through the top of the cockpit. No sight of any ships was found.

I was running dangerously low on fuel, and if I didn’t find the fleet soon, I may have to ditch the plane and fly on my own. I had about 12 Gallons left. That’s about under 15 minutes of flying time left in this thing. I veered my head left and right, up and down, continuously searching for the Lunar Ocean Fleet. Hidden away beneath a small break in between two clouds, I barely notice a strange shape on the ocean surface. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was a wake, from a moving ship. The fleet had to be there.

I descended downward toward the gap in the clouds, revealing more and more of the wake until finally, a Destroyer came into view. I dove straight down again, descending for a few hundred more Meters, before leveling out, facing the Destroyer. The rest of the fleet then came into view, revealing many small and large ships spread out, separating themselves at large distances. A gap of about a kilometer was in between every ship. I saw no aircraft flying around, which was odd because most of the time there would usually be pilots out on C.A.P. around the fleet for most of the day. The Carriers were located in the middle of the large Formation, which was shaped into a colossal Diamond shape.

Static emitted from my right earmuff, followed by a stern stallion’s voice. “Attention Unidentified Aircraft, you are violating Equestrian Law and are flying in a Restricted Airspace. State your intention, or divert your course Immediately, or else, we will use deadly force.”

Well, at least they actually tried to talk to me first. That was a good sign for me.

“Might I ask who is speaking?” I replied.

“That is classified. I will ask again: state your intention, or divert your course.”

“I’m a verified Equestrian Pilot. I wish for permission to land on the Blueblood.”

“Negative. Only assigned Pilots for the Blueblood are verified to land. And as far as I know, I have no clue who you are. Now Divert your course Immediately!”

“But I am assigned to the Blueblood! I’m from the 6th Air Unit, 28th Tactical Fighter Squadron. You must know me, or have my name somewhere!”

There was silence for a long while, and I worried if I must’ve lost the connection, or if he hung up on me. But about a minute later, he spoke again. “Garuda 1… Night Light. She is confirmed Killed in Action over Mead Lake.” He paused. “So you mean to tell me that you came back from the dead, and flew back here? And how am I supposed to believe that?”

Dammit, this isn't working. I had to convince him, and fast; I was running on fumes at this point. “I am telling the truth!” Just at that moment, two planes buzzed overhead. I didn’t even see them coming. They flew side by side until they broke off and turned toward me. They did not seem friendly. Though I could tell by their sloppy flying form that they were rookies.

“Right, and I am Princess Cadence, coming all the way from the Crystal Empire. Last chance; Divert your course immediately.” The planes behind me were gaining on me, fixing their sights on me. I slowly set my left hoof on the throttle and kept my right on the stick.

All or nothing.

“Okay then, I guess I will have to give you a last chance as well. I have 3 other ponies on that Goddess forsaken Carrier that need to know I am still alive, and for some reason you are making this very difficult for me to even achieve this simple task, so I will just cut to the chase: You order those planes to shoot me down, and you’ll be forced to send two more Equestrian Flags to those Pilot’s Mommas, courtesy of me. All I am asking is permission to land. If you refuse, I can and will shoot them down. I don’t want to, however, so put aside your wartime anxiety for just one moment and actually use your pea-sized brain to think about this for a second.” I paused to catch my breath, before continuing. “There are three Ponies who were with me when they saw me crash: Naya, Big Mouth who is also known commonly as ‘Bigs’, and Four Leaf who goes by ‘Lucky’. Tell them that Night Light wants them to talk to me. And tell them to ask me a question only I would know the answer to.” I paused again. He hasn’t bothered to speak over me yet, meaning I must be getting to him.

“If you do that, telling them I sent you, they will oblige and will help you prevent two more senseless deaths. You have my word. The only factor in all of this that can change that is whether or not you are willing to comply with this request. And whether or not you think Pony Lives are expendable.” The two planes behind me were still gaining and were even closer now. There was nothing but the sound of the engine that filled the air, as tension grew. There was no response from the guy on the radio. I checked my fuel; 10 Gallons. For about 2 minutes, I flew in dead silence, eyeing the aircraft behind me in case if the planes were given the order to fire on me.

Please don’t make me do this…

More minutes of Silence passed on until finally there was another voice, one I recognized almost instantly. “Night Light?” She spoke timidly.

“Hey, Naya.” Was all I replied.

“Wait a moment, hold on, let me through here just for a…” there was a lot of background chatter and commotion before I could hear another voice clearly. “Night Light, is that really you?”

“Yes, it’s me Lucky.”

“Holy shit, it actually is. Night Light, we thought you were dead!” Bigs then spoke.

“Everypony thinks I’m dead, Bigs, tell me something I don’t know.”

“Whew, where do I start? Uh, well, for one, Naya is Team Lead… well, was, now that you’re here.” Lucky casually nickered.

“Not so fast.” the stallion from earlier then spoke again. “I brought you up here to validate whether or not that is actually Night Light, so I order you three to each ask ‘Night Light’ a question that only you would know the answer to.”

“That all? Shoot, that’s easy!” Lucky interrupted. “Night Light, remember the time you had to help me get that bandit off of my tail over Mead Lake, where you had to hit him head on?”

“Vaguely, yes.”

“What did I say, or I guess Bellow, afterwards?”

“You said:” I cleared my throat, trying my best to pull off the best impression of Lucky I could muster, “YEEEEEHAWWW, that’s some solid shooting, Night Light!”

More silence. About half a minute passed by, before Lucky spoke again. “Welp, I’m convinced, can we let her down now?”

“No! We haven’t started with the other two yet. Bigs, step toward the mic.” More sounds of ruckus emitted from the tower, before Bigs’ voice could be heard.

“Shit, uh… I never really told her anything that could be used against us, so I don’t know what to say.” more silence, as Bigs must be pondering to himself on what to say. “What is my favorite vulgar word to say?”

Oh… that was easy. “All of them.” I spoke blankly.

“Wow… she’s right.”

“Oh for- move aside!” the stallion spoke again. “You, Red Pony, get over here!” He must’ve been referring to Naya. I could hear indistinct conversations between my team, and several other ponies, before finally there was silence. The silence lasted for about a minute or so. I checked my fuel, and it read 6 gallons. Come on Naya…

Finally, I heard her voice. She was far timider and quiet than I had ever seen her been. “Night Light, I…” her voice was quivering as if she was scared out of her life. She didn’t speak again, she was silent.

“Get on with it!” The Stallion prompted.

“Give her a break, asswipe, she’s distressed!” Lucky snapped.

“Shut it, both of you!” I barked back. “Naya, are you still there?”

More silence. At this point, I was starting to get worried. What was going on with Naya? It was uncharacteristic for her to be this quiet. Did my fake death had something to do with that? Actually, my death wasn’t fake… just falsified.

“Night Light, remember… when I told you what I was afraid of?”

“I do, but I do not think you want others to hear that, don’t you?”

“To Tartarus with them, I don’t care! Just tell me… what was I afraid of?”

I didn’t respond right away. I sat there pondering what to say, trying to find the right words. She told me she was afraid that all her efforts would be for naught. But I struggled to find a simpler way of saying that. Finally, I spoke, “You’re afraid of dying.”

She didn’t reply, so I continued. “You’re afraid of dying when you reach closer to the end. You’re afraid of tripping at the finish line after going through so much turmoil. But most importantly, you’re afraid of failing. Failing your team, your country, and yourself. And Naya? It’s okay. It’s okay to be afraid.” She was still silent.

“Naya, at the battle over mead lake, before we dove down to the chaos, I froze. I was paralyzed with fear, literally. I couldn’t stop shaking, I was on the verge of hyperventilating, and I wanted to do nothing but fly away and hide from this hellhole we found ourselves in. But I remember what you told me earlier before that battle: that I was a pony who made you feel like you could survive through anything. And if I survived Mead Lake, and cheated death, then you can too.”

I heard nothing from the radio. I was flying over the entire fleet, the escort fighters still on my tail. They were about 50 meters away from me. Despite the hostility, and the fact that an “Unknown” Aircraft was flying overhead, not one ship opened fire on me.

After a long silence, I heard Naya speak again. “It’s her. It’s definitely her. There is no doubt in my mind about that.”

“Yup, I agree. That is definitely her, alright.” Lucky added.

“Hell yeah, that is something Night Light would definitely say.” Bigs replied.

“So can I land now? I have 4 Gallons left in this thing, I can’t keep it in the air any longer.” I interrupted.

“It still doesn’t explain How Night Light is alive, even after the crash. For all we know it could be a changeling trying to infiltrate!”

...Is he serious? Is he actually serious?

“And you’re not going to give her a chance to explain how? Come on, give the Mare a break, she probably had to endure pure hell to get to us!” Lucky snapped.

“It doesn’t prove anything! I’m trying to keep this ship, and ultimately the fleet, from being compromised.”

“How the hell would a changeling manage to get a hold of a spitfire then? They wouldn’t be this determined to infiltrate, they would be more direct and-”

“WILL YOU SHUT IT!” I yelled. I had enough of this shit. “I am about to crash because you ponies - not you Lucky - cannot make up your damn minds about me! Just let me land already, and I’ll tell you everything.”

“Yeah, enough’s enough. Just give her permission. Trust me, she’s the real deal.” Lucky responded. There was silence for a while, before the stallion cleared his throat and spoke.

“Alright, I’m giving you permission to land on the Blueblood. But just for the record, if you really are a spy, you’ll be executed right on the spot.”

I rolled my eyes. A useless gesture, given that nobody could actually see it. “Yeah yeah, you’re all heart, sir.”

5 minutes, and 2 more Gallons later, I barely managed to land on the Blueblood in time before the fuel expired. In fact, not even that. The propeller died before I was 80 Meters from the small runway. I glided toward the carrier, and gracefully landed.

I was back home.

Author's Note

sorry for the wait