The cold air cut through my feathers as Lunatic and I flew through our ninth hour of scouting patrol. The column of ponies stretching behind us was moving along at a snails pace, and the flyers were paying for it. Our jobs were simple, scout ahead and protect the convoy from ambushes. The problem was that we weren’t relieved after the four hours of flying like they were supposed to. To compound things, the cold air made the flight even more difficult.
The distant echoes of artillery could be heard rolling through the clouds like rumbling thunder, informing us we were getting close. If there were any ambushes ahead of us, the main equestrian military force would be on them in at the blink of an eye.
“I think we’re clear, Lunatic,” I radioed to my wingman. “Unless you can see anything, I say we call this sweep good.”
Lunatic flapped his wings once, his fatigue evident in the movement.
“Sounds like a plan,” he said as he scanned the ground one last time.
I looked for anything suspicious in the clouds, but I didn’t see anything dangerous. It seemed a safe bet to come in for the day.
“Control, this is Kessel Flight; we’re returning from patrol.” I said, my voiced sounded tired, even to my ears.
“Rodger Kessel flight,” the reply came in. “Take your place at the end of the line.”
I rolled my eyes, I just wanted to land.
“Control, do we have to?” I asked.
“Roger, Kessel flight. Protocol is protocol; now get to the rear guard.”
Bucking wonderful. I thought, turning to head to the back of the company.
“My wings are about to fall off,” Lunatic said next to me.
I spread out my feathers trying to get as much surface as possible in hopes that I could glide the rest of the way; it wasn’t working.
“Pull it together, two miles and we can rest.” I said, trying to encourage myself as much as my wingman.
I raised my visor trying to see our destination, but I couldn’t see where the line ended. I looked over at Lunatic, and suppressed a laugh; he looked as tired as I felt.
“What do you think the eastern front is gonna be like?” he asked, obviously trying to pass the time.
“Hell…just like the rest of it.”
“As bad as Fort A?”
I felt a chill run through me and shuddered involuntarily.
“Faust, I hope not.” I said, solemnly.
The thought that we’d have to relive another experience like Fort A killed whatever conversation we were going to have. Not that it mattered, I could feel my wings starting cramp on me, and I had to focus all my energy on staying aloft.
Finally, we reached the end of the contingent and I spiraled lazily to the ground. The dust rose as my hooves hit the ground, and I felt my knees buckle. I knelt down to rest for a second before getting back to my feet. We made our way to the carts rolling along the road, and were greeted by a familiar face as she cantered up to us.
“Private Silver Lining, sirs!” the young unicorn mare shouted enthusiastically.
“At ease private,” I said with a smile, “Glad to see you again.”
“You know her?” Show asked, as the private’s face lit up.
“Sergeant Shot? Is that you?” she asked, practically bouncing in place.
I laughed at the young mare’s complete disregard for military protocol; something about it seemed to lighten my day.
“Under the stress and fatigue, yeah, I think I’m down there somewhere. How are you holding up, Lining?”
“As well as can be expected, sir! “I’m anxious to see some action.”
Our touching reunion was interrupted by my wingman making a snide comment.
“So you’ve been out making friends behind my back, eh Snap?”
For being such a good actor, Show Off had horrible timing when it came to jokes.
“Put a bridle in it, Show!” I snapped, a little sharper than I intended.
I took a breath to calm myself.
“This is Silver Lining. The mare I was telling you about; she first clued me into the…well, you know.”
I had informed him of the conspiracy that the Princess had warned me about after the award ceremony. Part of me still wished that it wasn’t true; the other part knew it was.
“I’m on ground crew duty today, sirs. I’d be happy to take your flight gear if you’d like to rest in the bunk wagon just a little ways up the line,” Silver Lining said, shattering the tension.
The idea of a nap sounded almost as good as an invitation to dine at the officer’s club. I walked up to the private and ruffled her silver mane with a hoof.
“Thanks private,” I said, handing over my helmet.
The young unicorn rolled her crimson eyes up to her now messy mane and flattened it back into place.
“Would you like me to take yours too, Sergeant Offington?” she asked my wingman; reading his proper last name off his flight suit.
“No, thank you, private; I’ve got a little work to do on it, but if you could point in the direction of some black paint, I’d much appreciate it.”
I noticed that the “I ‘heart’ Luna” on the front of his helmet had faded almost into nothing. He was most likely going to replace it, that or he was going to use the paint to somehow get back at Captain Famosity for constantly drawing on him. Either way it would keep him entertained.
Silver Lining jumped at the chance to help her superior.
“There’s some in a supply wagon a ways up the line, sir. I can bring it back to you once I’ve stowed Sergeant Shot’s helmet.”
“Thank you, Silver” Show replied.
“My pleasure, Sergeant!”
The private galloped off happily to complete her task. Something about that gallop; that attitude brought a memory back to me, followed by a dull ache in my chest.
“Sweet kid,” Show stated.
“Yeah…yeah she is.” I replied, pulling my dog tags out of my flight suit.
The dragon scale glowed orange in the setting sun. My eyes drifted to the initials carved at the bottom of it, and the pain in my chest grew slightly stronger.
“Reminding you of anypony?” Show asked, sincere concern in his voice.
The question barely registered in my mind.
“Kinda…” I replied quietly.
I felt a wing wrap a round my shoulder.
“Come on,” Show said, “let’s go see about that bunk wagon.”
We made our way to the covered wagon that was set up for letting the flyers and ground scouts rest after patrols. It was empty, which saved me some embarrassment. I announced to the pullers that I was entering and jumped. The plan was to jump and get a boost from my wings, but my wings decided that they had enough for the day. They cramped up and remained steadfastly locked to my back. My back hooves caught the lip of wagon and I fell into the back of the wagon. I rolled over and found myself tangled up in a blanket.
“Ow…” I said, as I tried to disentangle myself from the fabric.
I managed to the wrestle my head loose of the blanket as Show Off announced that he was jumping into the wagon as well.
“Boarding!” he shouted and he tumbled over the edge.
He hit the floor of the wagon hard and I thought he might have scraped his nose on the wood. I was worried that he had hurt himself, but he got to his feet and shook himself no worse for the wear.
“Ain’t easy is it?” I teased.
“Yours wasn’t much better.”
I saw him look at the kill tally on his helmet; something seemed to be weighing on his mind.
“What’re you up to now?” I asked trying to read his thoughts.
“Thirteen,” he said darkly.
I sighed; we had seen so much death since we got out of basic, it wasn’t a happy thought.
“We weren’t meant to kill,” I said as I felt my eyelids droop, “Or die…”
And I slowly drifted off to sleep.
***
I was awoken by somepony shaking my shoulder. I opened one eye to see a unicorn standing over me; she was tall, slender and stunningly beautiful. Her pearl white coat was well groomed and spotless; which told me she wasn’t a soldier.
“What?” I asked annoyed.
“Come with me please.” She said, and left the wagon.
I grumbled as I got to my feet, Show was still asleep in a bed roll and I tried not to wake him leaving.
The column had stopped to camp, and the sun had set. I walked over to meet the mysterious mare in a dark corner of the camp illuminated only by starlight.
“Okay, what’s this about?” I asked her.
The unicorn flicked her pink mane around composing herself. She looked around, checking to make sure that nopony was listening before she answered.
“I’m Agent White, and I’m with the Canterlot Intelligence Agency.”
I had heard enough; the last thing I needed was to have some damn spook walking around, without a word I turned to leave.
“Wait!” she shouted, “I’m here on official business from the Princess.”
I stopped and felt my blood boil.
“I’m here to ask your help with an investigation.” She continued.
“Look lady, I ain’t a spook,” I said, angrily, “I’m a soldier, and an unwilling one at that.”
The agents face didn’t change, as I continued my little rant.
“As far as I know, the enemy is shooting at us, the royalty may or may not be supporting us and somepony in the government is trying to sabotage us. My job is clear, ‘keep my friends alive’ and that’s hard enough without having to play spy for you. You do your job for the princess and I’ll do mine.”
The mare cocked an eyebrow at me, it was clear that she wasn’t used to being talked to like that. Frankly, I didn’t care.
“Alright,” she said, “I can understand your priorities, but if you come up with anything, contact Universal Exports. You’ll be doing yourself a favor.”
With that she left the path and headed off the trail.
“That area hasn’t been swept!” I shouted at her tail.
“So little that you know, soldier.” She shouted back.
I watched her melt away into the darkness and sighed, one more thing to worry about.
***
The next day I walked up close to the front of the line. Air patrol had been taken over by two new recruits, a pair of azure blue pegasi who both were practically bouncing with energy. I wasn’t sure how long that energy would last but I figured I’d stay close to the officers incase I needed to relieve the rookies, or worse protect them from an attack. I watched Show fly overhead, making his way to the front of the line. The obsidian pegasus was headed for wagon were the Information Officers were studying charts and maps. He landed next to a mint green unicorn, with a brown mane; our captain. I wondered what kind of conversation they were having, contemplating what sort of romantic nothings he was whispering to her. That vision was shattered when she drew a mustache and top hat on him.
Famosity’s magic allowed her to draw images in mid air and have the images take form. They were fragile and easily removed but that didn’t keep her from abusing her power and drawing random articles of clothing on ponies.
Show took a quick hop and launched himself from the wagon as hard as he could. Famosity jumped off the wagon to watch him go, her amber eyes gazing at the sky longingly.
I galloped up to her, and she flashed me a coy smile. I ducked as a green pencil tried to draw a fedora on my head.
She scowled at me.
“Sergeant, I’m giving you a direct order. Stay still.”
I sighed, and let the Captain finish her drawing. By the time she was done I was wearing a fedora and a green striped scarf.
“Are you finished, ma’am?” I asked her.
She studied her work, and gave an approving nod.
“Yep.”
I shook myself and the clothes disintegrated into dust.
“You wanted to talk with me sergeant,” She stated, since she had already had her fun.
“Yes Ma’am,” I replied, “I wanted to let you know that the CIA is poking around.”
The captain looked perplexed.
“Why?”
“I don’t know why they are here, it might be related Fort A.”
She cocked her head at me.
“No, I mean why are you telling me?”
“I thought you should know, she’s tall white coat, pink mane.”
“Oh, I know she’s here, silly. I’ve known Agent Snow a long time.”
This shocked me, the CIA weren’t the kinds of ponies you wanted to get too cozy with. Rumor was that our former CO ran afoul of them, that’s why he disappeared. I knew the truth though. Lieutenant Lilyliver had been a bully and a coward; as soon as things started turning south he fled, taking a chunk the company with him. I was happy to see him go, and I doubt the CIA had anything to do with him turning tail. Still not a pony I’d want to know.
“How? And she’s calling herself Agent White.”
“Old friend of a friend. Don’t worry, she’s pretty harmless.”
I didn’t like the fact that the CIA was now involved, but there was nothing I could really do about it; except watch for the knife in my back.
Chow was being served and I decided that it would be better to eat and worry than starve and worry. I found Quill and Show and we walked together talking about nothing, mainly we were trying to calm our nerves as another artillery barrage echoed up the road.
The road rose along a series of hills and at the top of the path we saw it.
“By Faust...it’s huge,” Quill swore.
“Huge” wouldn’t be the word I’d describe for it; hell would have been more accurate. A massive valley lay before us, trenches were etched throughout the ground; making it seem like a giant jigsaw puzzle. The vegetation had been burned away and the land had been scarred black and dotted with artillery craters. Pegasi patrolled the skies above the trenches and I could see cloud ships moving at the far end of the valley; both sides sitting in an uneasy stalemate.
Famosity managed to meet up with us as we began down the hill.
“Suddenly I miss the old fort,” she said, solemly.
Things must have really been bad if even she was getting depressed. To make things worse, she was right. Compared to this wasteland, Fort A seemed almost inviting.
“Welcome to the war.”
Bucking A, I thought, gazing out at the battlefield, the sheer amount of destruction rendered me speechless.
***
We sat at the basic briefing from the CO in charge of the sector we were assigned. The lavender unicorn looked almost comical as she paced on the stage addressing the new arrivals. I was starting to grow worried about the chain of command, but Quill was practically dancing with excitement.
“She’s a friend of Rarity’s!” Quill said excitedly. “I wager she knows where I could find my love.”
My heart went out to him, but right now we had bigger things to worry about; like staying alive long enough to look.
Whoever this friend of Rarity’s was, she obviously didn’t realize that she was dealing ponies who had seen a bit of action.
Most of the battalion were leftovers from Fort A; those who weren’t wounded or sent off to the funny farm. There were some rookies, but the veterans would keep an eye on the green horns. That or she did realize and we were in for more trouble than we knew. She addressed the gathered ponies with a voice that was amplified by magic.
“This isn’t basic training; things out here are probably going to be much different from what you’re used to. We don’t put much stock in ranks, but if a superior tells you do something, do it. We have to maintain order. Now, while you’re off duty, nothing is as important as getting to know the ponies around you. Look to the pony on your left, then on your right.”
The she said something that no pony expected.
“If you don’t know their names, find time in the next two days to learn them. If you do, you’ve just seen your new bunkmates.”
This was a shock to me; it also meant that Show and I would be bunking with the officers, a daunting prospect in its own right. I wasn’t the only one that seemed upset, the rest of the group caused such a ruckus that the general had to shout in her already amplified voice. She asked the front row a couple questions, but I was distracted by the prospect of what she was proposing. More ruckus came from the gathered soldiers and the general once again had to shout.
“Quiet everypony! Now, I know this seems strange, but we have to remember that we have the one thing the mindless horde of Carebears don’t…friendship.”
She gave us all a warm smile as she continued.
“Yes; the bonds of friendship are our ultimate weapon against this invading force. It is of utmost importance that we maintain the connections that we share with each other; they’re what give us strength in such a dark chapter of Equestrian history. Bunking assignments will be done based upon the ponies you already know. Find the ponies who are your closest friends, grab a tent, and get to work!”
I had to fight down a sarcastic remark; it wouldn’t be good for morale to criticize a General in front of the new recruits. The truth was friendship didn’t buy you much on the battlefield. Friendship isn’t magic, it won’t stop bullets, it won’t heal the wounded, and I had enough experience to know that love and friendship won’t keep you from dying. But, it did give you was a reason to fight; I couldn’t give my friends much, but I would do anything to keep them alive…even if it cost me everything.
I couldn’t think of anything to really say on the General sappy speech, so I turned my attention to the rolls of canvas in front of use.
“So, at least that explains where they sent all bucking tents we needed back at the hill…”
The comment brought an uneasy smile from everyone, which given the circumstances seemed better than nothing.
“Well…shall we?” Show said, trotting up to the supply carts.
Famosity followed him grudgingly.
“I can’t believe I have to share a tent with you three…”
You mean me and Quill, I thought as she walked in front of me, her nose held high in the air. I had no doubt that she and Show Off would love to have a tent just for the two of them.
Quill wasn’t too happy with the situation either.
“Indeed. The thought of having to share quarters with a mare is quite…well, I suppose it’s quite nice, actually, but I am spoken for.”
I could already sense that this was going to end in disaster, not only for us but other groups as well. Show Off seemed to be thinking the same thing because he tapped me on the shoulder and we lagged behind the officers.
“They’ve gotten too used to their glamorous private tents,” he whispered in my ear.
I laughed, but the sleeping arrangements still worried me.
“Do you think it’s wise to break up the natural pecking order? You and I can handle bunking together, but do you really think Quill and Famosity can deal with it?”
He considered for a moment.
“They’re gonna have to; I don’t really see where we have much choice.”
In truth, he was right we had to follow orders, no matter how ridiculous. If the General had said we were to sleep under the lake, that’s what we would do. I trotted up to the Quartermaster on duty and got some of the pieces for the frame of our new home. Famosity looked disdainfully at the roll of canvas that indicated the size of our tent. She took her annoyance at the sleeping arrangements out on the Quartermaster. I shook my head and took to the sky, flying was difficult because of the bulk of the frame pieces, but it was certainly better than waiting around listening to Fam quarrel Quartermaster corps.
I found us a nice empty space and started to put the frame together. No matter how you looked at it, the tent was going to be small, but it was better than nothing.
I flew back to Quill and Show, who had finally managed to drag Famosity away for the Quartermaster who looked more annoyed than the mint green unicorn. I walked them over to where our spot was. The sea of tents made it difficult to remember where I had left the incomplete framework, but we found it eventually.
“How the buck are we supposed to find our tents in this mess?” I commented, more to myself than anypony in particular.
After an exhausting half hour we managed to get out tent set up and Quill and Show wandered off to get our cots and other essentials while Famosity and I tightened down the ropes to make sure that our new home didn’t collapse on itself. The mare was still upset about the size of our living quarters, almost to the point of crying.
“Hey, it’s not that bad,” I said, trying to keep her morale up. “It just needs a few, um, homey touches?”
She snapped around on me.
“Like what?” she asked, irate.
“Um,” I had to pick my words carefully, “some drawings.”
This seemed to calm her down a little; at least it seemed that she wasn’t going to kill me. She flashed smiled and opened the door to the tent, no doubt heading in to draw pictures on the walls with her magic.
Quill and Show arrived with our cots and we went inside to set them up. It was a little cramped, but livable. I curled up on my cot and fell asleep.
***
The next morning I awoke to a bugle echoing in my ears. I was half-way through contemplating where to stick the buglers instrument, when I noticed Quill scribbling madly on the notepad that he always carried with him.
“Been busy, eh Lieutenant?”
He dismissed my comment with a wave, obviously dead set on finishing what he was working on. I began to worry about him, he hadn’t written this much since we escaped Fort A. Before I could ask him he hustle us off to the mess tent.
Breakfast was being served as we arrived, and I got into line behind a fellow flyer who seemed very happy with the selection. I grabbed a tray and watched the unicorn behind the food scoop eggs, carrot strips and a muffin onto my plate. The food didn’t seem very appetizing, but I loaded up because I was sure it was going to be a long day.
“I guess you are saving the gourmet food for dinner?” I asked the server sarcastically.
I was given a reproachful look as he slopped something brownish onto my tray. I looked up at the canvas roof asking for some patience from the heavens. When my eyes returned to my tray, my muffin was missing. The blond maned, gray mare next to me in line had crumbs on her cheek and a broad smile on her face. I opened my mouth to say something but decided that she seemed happy enough for me not to ruin it.
I sat at a table and was quickly set upon by Quill.
“Eat come on we are losing daylight.”
I glared at him, but he didn’t seem phased and went on hurrying the three of us to eat.
After breakfast we followed the Lieutenant down to the trenches, and suddenly I wished I hadn’t eaten so much. The mud squelched under my hooves as I walked, and the smell was nauseating. Quill obviously didn’t enjoy the mud, but he had a determined air around him.
“Alright, here’s the plan; Show, Snap, you take off and search by air. Famosity, you’re with me to map their progress. With luck, we’ll find Rarity by early afternoon.”
I looked back at the expanse of tents littering the camp; early afternoon was a very optimistic estimate to say the least.
“Shouldn’t you ask the general what she thinks about that?” Show asked.
“Please, Show. I’m asking for just one day to find her. Surely the general wouldn’t mind that…” Quill explained, giving us a pleading look.
Show checked with me for conformation. We would be going against orders, but I was willing it to risk it and so was Show Off.
“You can count on us, sir!”
Quill was visibly relieve that we were willing to help him.
“I know this isn’t exactly protocol, I’m asking you to act under the orders of a lower officer. But I promise that the ire of command will not fall on you.”
I rolled my eyes, as far as I was concerned command could stick its “ire” where the sun don’t shine.
“Quill, this front isn’t exactly the most organized offensive in the world. I think we’ll manage to slip away for one day.” I told him.
Manic fire caught in our lieutenant’s eyes.
“Alright then; let’s get to it!” He shouted.
“Houah!” We shouted in reply.
Quill took of down the trench, splattering mud as his hooves impacted the floor.
I watched him run, as excited as foal on Hearths Warming Eve. I shook my head and began my pre flight exercises, aside from a stiff pinion feather on my right wing everything felt fine. I waited for Lunatic to finish his warm up before I radioed Flight Control using our new designation.
“Flight Control, Friesian Flight, requesting permission to begin scouting patrol.”
The only reply I got was static. I tried again, nothing. Finally on the third attempt I got a response from a filly in the control booth.
"Friesian Flight, Outpost 3 Control, you are cleared for take off; go when ready. Just watch out for Shire Flight coming down; they have wounded.”
The panic in her voice was disheartening. I took out my dog tags and gave the dragon scale a quick kiss and then I lifted off.
We began a basic search pattern flying up and back the line. The pony we were looking for had a white coat which should have made her easier to find, but the mud in the trenches had colored everypony a dapper shade of grey. To complicate matters, the CB’s decided to shell the area that we were flying.
We would check in with Famosity after every unsuccessful sweep which didn’t seem to please Quill who every so often would tell us to recheck an area. After about six hours our small search party started to attract attention…and it wasn’t friendly.
“Watch it, Lunatic; you’ve picked up a shadow.”
He looked back to see the CB behind him and closing in fast.
“Roger that, I see him.”
I pulled around trying to get a better angle to hit the enemy fighter before it got to my wingman.
“Shutterbug… Why did we think it was a good idea to go out on a battlefield with our armaments?”
I looked behind me, no guns.
“Horse Apples…” I swore.
This was going to get real ugly real quick, I had to do something. I dove down planning to at least draw the attention of the CB to myself rather than my wingman. Lunatic pulled up, grabbing as much sky as he could. It was a good idea; most CBs could fight well in the horizontal but not in the vertical. Unfortunately, this CB was better than most and stayed on his tail. I overshot them and tried to pull out of my dive. I managed to level off in time to see Lunatic knock the cloud out from under the enemy. The pegasus chased after the pilot as he fell, kicking him hard before he hit the ground.
“Don’t you think that was a bit unnecessary?” I asked, as he came back into line with me.
“Maybe,” he replied. “But it was still fun.”
I rolled my eyes, Show Off was aptly named. I just hoped it wouldn’t get him killed.
The rest of the flight was uneventful, no enemy attacks and both sides decided to save the artillery for another day. It also meant that there wasn’t any sign of Quill’s mare, and he wasn’t happy with it.
“We’ll have to hit it again tomorrow,” he said as he irritably paced around our small tent.
Lunatic sat with his fight helmet in his hooves, carving another tally into his kill count.
“Quill, we have other duties tomorrow. Snap and I are on the roster for camp patrol. We can’t go running off.” He informed the lieutenant.
This didn’t satisfy Quill at all, his quest to find his mare was bordering on mania.
“When do your duties end?”
I pulled a duty log out of a pocket in my flight suit.
“1800 hours.”
Quill nodded authoritatively, he obvious accepted whatever plan he had for us.
“That will give us about an hour of light afterwards. Meet me on the far western edge of the camp; we will continue from there.”
And with that he left the tent.
“I’m worried about him…” Famosity said, staring at the door.
“Me too,” I acknowledged.
Show put his helmet on the corner of his cot, the new hash mark clearly visible.
“Yeah… I’m afraid this won’t end well,” he said, distantly.
I looked at the other two ponies in the tent. Of the three of us, I was probably the only one that could really relate to what Quill was going through. I could feel the dragon scale up against my chest, and I understood what motivated Quill. If there was anyway to be reunited with a lost lover, I would take any means necessary to do so. The lieutenant had the worst of it, to be so close to the one he loved, and yet not being able to find her; it must have been like torture.
“You can’t blame him though,” I said, voicing my thoughts.
Show looked over at me and must have noticed my hoof over my chest because he nodded understandingly.
“Well, if he keeps this up he’s going to get himself court-martialed or killed. We have to do something.”
“Technically, there’s nothing we can do,” Fam replied. “He hasn’t broken protocol or anything like that, and we promised we would help.”
I knew there would be no stopping Quill, but Show Off was right; Quill was going to find his love or die trying.
“We’ll just have to keep an eye on him until we find out where she is.” I said, resolutely.
“Let’s hope that happens soon…” Fam grumbled.
Show was obviously tired, and the two of us had to be up early in the morning to start our duties.
“We better tuck in,” he said with a yawn. “Long day tomorrow.”
I had to agree with him; tomorrow was going to be long.
***
The one good thing about being woken up at o’dark thirty is you get to see the sunrise. Show and I found ourselves in front of a gorgeous crimson sky prepping for our flight. There were two other flyers with us, as the forty pony squadron had been broken up into ten flight groups. As two of the most experienced pegasi, we were assigned two rookies to mentor. Our real job would be to keep them alive long enough for them to get some blood in their feathers. We ended up with the twins, Flitter and Cloudchaser, known to us as Rookie One and Rookie Two; they’d get proper callsigns once they earned them.
I started my usual pre-flight warm up, Cloudchaser made a display of her stretching. She had managed to flip her self over and brace herself with her hooves above her head bracing herself in an inverted pose.
Flitter rolled her eyes at her twin’s antics. The other filly had taken a section red ribbon and tied around her forehead like a bandana; the ends running the full length of her long sea blue mane. A second piece had been tied to the base of her tail, giving her the appearance that she had crimson streaks put in. The ribbon was Show Off’s idea, it would make them easier for us to distinguish between the two of them in combat.
“Alright Rookie Two, stop showing off.” I chided Cloudchaser.
She smiled at me upside down; the filly must have been born with a slinky for a spine. I made a mental note to keep that in mind for her callsign before making my way to the launching area.
I turned to the two mares and addressed them with as much authority as I could fake.
“Okay, ladies. Here’s how we are going to play this, Lunatic and I will take the lead, you follow behind us about half a click back but stay within visible range. Sergeant Show Off is the pony in charge, follow his orders to the letter. Do you understand?”
“Yes Sir!” they replied, cheerfully.
I pulled out the dragon scale and gave it a quick kiss as the ground crew outfitted us with our weapons. Silver Lining shot me a smile as she loaded the lighting guns onto my wingman’s back. I slid the visor down on my helmet and gave her a nod, before turning my attention to the sky.
Our mission was to simply patrol the camp and intercept any threats. The twins held formation at a good distance, though it was difficult to see their azure pelts against the blue sky. I had them spread out so that if we were attacked the whole group couldn’t be taken out and so that I could talk with Show Off with some privacy.
For the most part, patrol was uneventful. Every now and then we could see Quill checking tents. His desperation was visible, even from where we were flying. I felt my hoof move to the dog tags resting over my heart.
I looked back at the rest of our group to make sure that they were well out of earshot. I lifted the visor of my flight helmet and looked over at Lunatic, flying close to discuss the behavior of our CO.
“You know, before I saw the size of this place, I had some hope he’d find her quickly; but now…”
I couldn’t think a good way to finish that sentence, I was worried for Quill and I didn’t want to say what could be the truth.
Luckily, Lunatic could tell what I was thinking and finished it for me.
“But now we don’t even have the slightest idea of whether or not she’s alive.”
“He’ll do anything to find her.” I sighed.
“I know.”
The rest of the flight was uneventful aside from a few stray clouds that diverted our attention. It felt strange to have such a calm mission for a change. I was so used to being under siege at the old hill that this seemed to be a relaxing morning flight.
The most excitement that occurred was a fight that we had to break up between two ponies arguing over which “Daring Do” novel was the best, which sent the twins into a giggling fit when they heard the topic of the argument. I think the fillies’ laughter diffused the situation better than anything we could do as the two stallions realized how stupid the fight they were having was.
Quill flagged us down at 1800 hours on the dot, he was anxious to renew the search for his lost love. The captain was holding a clipboard and a pencil; I kept my distance, not wanting to wind up wearing some strange article of clothing.
“Ready to begin again?” Quill asked anxiously.
The short answer was no; the extra long patrol had taken a lot out of me. Show wasn’t much better off; he spread his feathers as far as he could and flapped a couple of times. He was trying to get a knot worked out of his wing.
“Let us catch our breath, Quill. We’ve been on patrol all day.”
Quill checked a clipboard and kindly gave us a reprieve.
“Very well; you have five minutes. Captain, trim the last sweep of sector twelve.”
So much for a reprieve, I thought.
“If he trimmed a sweep, that means he had us booked solid from 1800 hours until dark…” I grimaced.
Show lay down on the ground and stretched his wings out. I could tell one of them was giving him trouble because it didn’t have the range it normally should.
I didn’t want to lie down, because I knew if I did I wouldn’t get up again. I settled for a glass of water from a nearby wagon and tried some minor stretching. I began trying to preen the stiff pinion feather that had gone from an annoyance to now being painful with overuse. Unfortunately, I couldn’t reach it and had to stop trying as Famosity walked by. It wasn’t polite to preen in front of a mare.
The Captain wandered over to where my wingman was sprawled on the ground. She whispered something in his ear and began to rub on his sore wing. I could feel myself blush; it felt as though I was sitting in on a romantic moment. Suddenly, Show sat bolt upright.
“Okay, you’re gonna have to stop,” He stated, quickly.
“I thought you said it was helping.”
The expression on Fam’s face was a mixture of confusion and concern. She was obviously worried that she had done something wrong.
“It was; I just…” Show quickly tried to come up with a reason, but eventually gave up. “I’m good now, thanks.”
Famosity looked down at the ground, pawing the dust with a hoof.
“Okay…” She said quietly, and she turned to leave.
It took a beat for me to realize what happened, but when it dawned on me I couldn’t help but smile.
“She hit the right nerve, eh Show?” I teased.
“Snap, I swear to Faust, if you do not cram a hoof in it, I will…”
Whatever threat he was planning got cut off by Quill.
“So are we ready to start?”
“Yes sir!” the two of us replied in unison.
“I want to thank you both,” the lieutenant said. “You’re fine stallions. I know you won’t let me down.”
I did a quick weapon check while he was getting clearance for us to start our patrol. Quill finally got a hold of the flight controller as I was finishing up my good luck ritual.
We moved from waypoint to waypoint without a sign of the white unicorn. Everything was proceeding calmly at first; then chaos erupted. A line of gumballs flew across the open space between Lunatic and myself. I rolled left trying to avoid the deadly projectiles.
“Ground fire!” Lunatic shouted, “Take evasive!”
I looked down seeing several enemy units moving across the open plain, a particularly large CB was occupying a mobile turret and firing at my wingman.
“Ground Control, Friesian Flight! We are under fire from enemy Triple-A, in sector nine! Enemy is advancing toward our line requesting reinforcements!” I shouted over the radio.
“Friesian Flight, Ground Control; we read you, friendly ground forces inbound. Support as you are able.”
I was hoping for some more wings, control! I thought, as I dodged more fire.
“Lunatic, we are on our own! Ground Grunts only!”
“Mule Fritters!” My wingman swore. “Alright, run a Steeplechase.”
Steeplechase was an extremely effective maneuver, but could be disastrous when it backfired. The lead pegasi would fly low and draw the attention of the anti-air gun, and the trailing pegasi would come in at a steeper angle and hit the gun from above. The move worked well, but it could turn nasty if the gunner turned its attention to back flyer and it left the lead pegasus vulnerable. It wasn’t the most ideal way to deal with the AA but, with just the two of us, we didn’t have a lot of options.
“Got it! Stay Frosty!” I shouted.
“Just make sure you tag him!” Lunatic shouted and began a shallow angle dive.
I made a wide, arching roll, gaining altitude and bleeding off speed. Then I tucked my wings and dove at the enemy with as much haste as I could muster. I saw the turret turn and track the low flying pony in front of me, causing me to coax more momentum from my dive; I had to be quick before Lunatic got splashed. I waited until the magical pipper on my visor was at the base of the turret and fired. I dragged the sight up the enemy line; lightning arced out crashing into the enemy turret splitting it in half and incinerating the driver. The advancing enemy line faltered, as the panicked bears scattered in all directions.
“Got ‘im!” I shouted in the radio.
“Good kill!” Lunatic responded, and he grabbed some sky.
The ground forces had finally arrived and began exchanging fire with the CBs. Our search for Quill’s love was placed on hiatus as the battlefield was electrified with lightning spells. Lunatic and I had to guard the soldiers from enemy fighters or provide air support to fend off any Bravos that were trying to flank our own smaller force. We did our best to protect them, but there was nothing we could do to change the fate of the unlucky ones. I flew over the trenches and saw a downed pony being worked on by the medics. The poor filly had taken a round to the chest and the medical ponies were struggling to keep her from bleeding out; it didn’t seem to be going well.
After two hours of fighting, we had managed to drive the CBs back to their line. The battlefield was once again quiet as if nothing had happened; the only evidence that the firefight took place was the bodies of the bears and the bloodstains of the wounded ponies.
“Well…That was fun,” Lunatic said, trying to lighten the mood.
“You need a better idea of fun,” I replied.
The sun was beginning to set as we returned to the landing strip. Quill was obviously frustrated with our lack of progress but there was nothing we could have done to prevent the CBs from attacking. Silver Lining and the rest of the ground crew relieved us of our weapons. The normally enthusiastic unicorn had sobered up a bit after seeing some action for the first time, yet she still managed to flash us both a smile as she stored our weapons.
Famosity was waiting in the tent when we arrived, but Quill was no where to be found. I had assumed that he had gone out searching again.
The two started to complain about Quill, I was too tired to care. Besides, I knew that trying to stop him would be like trying to stop Celestia from raising the sun. I sighed; maybe things would be better in the morning.
***
The next morning Quill wasn’t in his rack, and that had my mane bristling.
“Does anyone know if he even came back last night?” I asked.
“I don’t know; I slept like a rock.” Show Off said, with a massive yawn.
Famosity pawed at the floor of the tent nervously.
“Last I saw, he headed out for a walk.”
Oh, this can’t be good. I thought.
“Well, he wouldn’t desert his post. I’m sure he’s out there somewhere.” Show said, firing a quick nod at the trenches.
As far as I was concerned, Quill deserting was one of the better scenarios. I had been in Quill’s horseshoes, and if he was in the same place I was; he might have done something drastic. I didn’t mention my fears to the others; Quill wasn’t the type of pony who would take his own life, but given his current state, it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility.
The three of us made our way down to the battle lines, picking up the twins on the way over. Mud from the trenches squelched under hoof as we trotted, not the most pleasant feeling in the world, but it was bearable for me at least. Famosity, on the other hoof, found the quagmire to be incredibly offensive.
“This is disgusting,” Fam said. “I didn’t realize they were this bad.”
She hastily peeled away from the rest of us, heading for the relative cleanliness of the advanced command bunker.
“What’s the matter with the Captain?” Flitter asked.
“She’s an officer,” was Show Off’s reply.
The fillies exchanged confused looks; they were still too green to understand the joke. Show Off just pressed on with his briefing.
“Alright ladies, listen up. We are on standby today, which means that we are to stay here at the rear lines until when or if we are called upon.”
As if his words brought misfortune, Silver Lining came running up to us, splattering mud as she did.
“Sergeants! Sergeants!” She shouted at the top of her lungs. “Sirs! We have an emergency!”
I spread my wings getting ready to fly to the arming station.
“What’s wrong Private?” Show asked quickly.
The private was gasping for air after running so hard in the slog.
“Sir,” she wheezed, “We have a situation in sector 7.”
She levitated a pair of binoculars so that I could see the area.
“Buck it all,” I said, turning over the binoculars to Show.
“Is that..?” He asked, “What’s he doing out there?”
I looked up at the sky and saw that we weren’t the only one to notice the lone pony. Cloud ships began to descend on the battle field. We didn’t have time to wait.
“Getting himself killed! Come on!” I shouted at my wingman as I launched myself out of the trench.
Show turned to the two rookies waiting behind us.
“Get armed and come support us when you can!” He ordered and quickly followed me into the sky.
I kept my wings going trying to entice more speed from my feathers.
“What’s the plan?” Lunatic shouted from behind me.
I really didn’t have a plan; we were flying into a sortie in which we were outnumbered and unarmed. Chances were I was leading all three of us to our deaths. My mind raced to come up with some sort of strategy.
“Fly out, grab him, and haul haunches back to our line.” I replied with the best plan I could come up with.
“Simple and sweet,” my wingman stated. “I like it!”
Out on the horizon, I could see the enemy rallying for an attack, the single pony on the battlefield proving too tempting for the bloodthirsty bears.
Mortars began to fall on the battlefield, showering us with dirt and debris. We were close enough now to hear Quill calling out.
“Rarity, darling? Are you out here?”
“He’s completely lost it!” I shouted as a shell exploded next to me.
We finally reached where Quill was wandering about, oblivious to the chaos erupting around him. My wingman and I grabbed him under the forelegs and we tried to carry the kicking and screaming officer back to our line. After a stream of curses, Quill managed to connect his head with the bottom of my chin and he slipped from my grasp as I was dazed. He hit the ground and rolled before tumbling awkwardly into a foxhole. I pivoted on my wing, swinging back around and diving into the shell crater after Quill.
I tackled him just as he was trying to clamber out of the foxhole, throwing him back into the mud. We wrestled for a half second before I managed to pin one of this forelegs to the ground. Lunatic managed to secure the other one, but Quill was fighting with us like a pony possessed.
“If you don’t let me up this instant, I will see you both hanged!” He bellowed at us.
I had enough; I threw a hard right that caught him in the side of the muzzle.
“Get a grip, soldier!” I shouted. “Just listen to yourself.”
The lieutenant blinked away whatever trance he had been trapped in.
“I…”
Whatever, he was going to say was cut off by Lunatic.
“Quill, I know it’s hard, but for Faust’s sake, you’ve got to hold it together. With a traitor somewhere in the upper ranks, our little family is all we’ve got. We can’t go having you get blown to bits.”
The earth pony stared at Show, then turning to me. He seemed to be back to our reality now, so we let him up. He sat quietly staring at the mud, while the war raged overhead.
“I…I apologize,” he said finally. “I never slept last night. I kept justifying maybe she’d be somewhere out here if I kept looking.”
I looked up at a sky that was rapidly filling with enemies.
“This is not the time for apologies Lieutenant!” I yelled. “Our wings are really in the cirrus now!”
“We need to get out of here,” Lunatic said, “I’ll…”
A small female voice cried out amongst the mortar shells.
“I say, is someone out there?”
Quills ears perked up.
“Could it be?” he asked, and then made another mad scramble to get out of the foxhole.
Show grabbed him and pulled him down to the ground.
“Keep you head down Sarge!” My wingman shouted. “There a war on.”
“Rarity, darling?” Quill called out, his ears strained .
“Oh Quill! I knew you would come for me! I’ve been stuck out here all night and the mud is going to stain my coat if I stay here much longer! And I’m terribly hungry; I could eat a whole flower bed.”
I couldn’t believe it.
“You’ve got to be bucking kidding…”
A shell exploded close enough to ring our ears; all three of us hit the deck as we were showered with dirt.
“Show…Please.” Quill begged.
I could see a plan forming in Show Off’s head, me made his way to the edge of the foxhole.
“Hold on, I’ll check,” I shouted at him.
Of the three of us in that crater, I had the least to lose. I crawled up to the lip of our little shelter; keeping my head as low as possible.
“Corporal? Can you hear me?” I yelled as loud as I could.
“Yes.”
“Okay, Corporal I need to figure out where you are. Grab a stick or something and tie some fabric to it.”
“Okay, done.”
I took a deep breath to steady my heart rate.
“Alright, wave it above your foxhole.”
I poked my head about the ground just high enough to see at ground level. Back behind us there a blue ribbon waved back and forth. I looked toward the enemy line to see a squad of CBs jumping through craters and closing up on us quickly. A gumball skipped in the dirt in front of me, and I instinctually ducked back down.
“She’s 15 meters to the right, back behind us,” I informed Show. “And we have Bravos inbound.”
“Okay, I’m going to go over there and get her; you two wait for my signal and then get back to our line as fast as you can.”
“Thank you Show…for everything.” Quill said gratefully.
“Thank me when we’re out of here.”
I thought about how far it was from our foxhole to Rarity’s.
“That’s a lot of open space to cover Show, be careful.”
He considered this.
“Corporal! Are you armed?”
“Yes, but I’m running low on ammunition.”
“Corporal, my name is Sergeant Show Off, I’m a friend of Quill’s. I’m going to get you out of there but you are going to have to cover me on our mark.”
“Y-yes Sir!” came fearful reply.
I looked over at my friend, he nodded me to start counting.
“Good luck, Show.”
He glared at me.
“Buck it all Snap, you never tell an actor ‘good luck’,” and then he laughed. “Count it.”
“Three!” I bellowed.
Show jumped into the center of the foxhole.
“Two!”
He began to rapidly work his wings; spraying flecks of mud everywhere.
“One!”
He crouched down.
“Suppressing!” I shouted as loud as I could.
Show launched himself from the foxhole. I could hear the sound of a lightning gun being fired and then the return fire from the Charlie Bravos. And then silence.
“Show?” I called out.
I held my breath waiting for a reply, the agonizing seconds seemed to go on for years.
“I’m good,” his voice rang out from Rarity’s location. “Get ready to move!”
“What do you think the signal is?” Quill asked.
There was a bright flash and the crackling of electricity.
“That!” I shouted and grabbed Quill.
The two of us sprang from the crater, I picked Quill up and flew as fast as I could while burdened with another pony. We passed Rarity’s foxhole, a brilliant blue ball of electric magic was blossoming a few yards from it.
Clever, I thought. He overloaded her lighting gun.
Gumball bullets flew around us as I flew, but the closer we got to our line the less accurate they would be. We were almost halfway there, when I felt a shadow wash over me. I looked at the ground and recognized the shape; a cloud ship.
Not good, was the only thought that entered my mind.
Unarmed and weighed down, we were sitting ducks to the enemy fighters. The shadow pulled ahead of me and he was about to dive on us, getting ready to take out his prey. But before I could take any evasive action, lighting cut the sky above us and the shadow dissolved into tiny specks. I looked up to see an azure blue pegasus with a long red ribbon training behind her.
Flitter loosed another volley at the enemy and then turned to escort us back to the line. The CBs must have been in retreat, it wouldn’t be worth killing four ponies if it meant having to take on our entire front.
I made it the first trench and deposited Quill quiet unceremoniously into the sludge and dove in behind him. As soon as I landed I hit him again; my hoof catching him square on the nose.
“What the buck is the matter with you?!” I shouted at him.
He stared at me with wide eyes, blood from his nose dribbling into his mustache and down his chin.
“I-I’m sorry, but you of all ponies should understand…”
“Of course I understand, Quill, that’s why you should have come talk to me before doing anything stupid.”
“You’re right…I just…”
“I understand, Quill…sorry about the punch.”
“It’s alright.”
I could help but smile at him; I hadn’t really meant to hit him so hard, but he did kind of deserve it.
Flitter landed behind me, I turned to thank her. She was visibly shaking from head to wingtips.
“You okay, Rookie?”
She raised the visor of her flight helmet; tears were streaming down her cheeks.
“I…I killed him.”
The poor filly was in a state of shock; it had been her first sortie. I trotted over and gave her a hug, trying to comfort her the best that I could.
“You saved us, private. Thank you.” I said quietly.
This seemed to stop the shaking, but I could feel the tears drenching my flight suit.
“Go find your sister and get something warm from the mess tent, you’ll feel better,” I said, looking her in the eyes. “After that meet me at the E Club and I’ll buy you and Cloudchaser a cider, alright?”
She nodded distantly and took off again. I turned back to the lieutenant.
“You’re paying for that cider, you know.” I chided.
“Of course.” He replied.
“Alright, let’s find this mare of yours that has been causing all this trouble.”
“Yes,” Quill responded, “let’s.”
“Oh, and lieutenant…after this we have to go to Las Pegasus, because you are one lucky son of a mule.”
Quill laughed, and began cleaning the blood off of his face.
“I’m lucky I have friends like you,” he said. “Though I’m not sure I need to be hit in the head anymore.”
The two of us navigated the maze of trenches back to the rear command bunker where Show, Fam and Quill’s love were waiting. Upon seeing the white mare, Quill galloped up and kissed her deeply. Famosity and Show cantered over to where I was standing.
Quill and Rarity whispered something to each and the walked back toward the camp tails intertwined. I sighed, they certainly were cute together.
“I’m glad we found her,” Famosity said, tears welling in her eyes.
“What do you mean ‘we’,” Show Off chided, and was rewarded with a mint green hoof across his face.
“You’ll learn to keep your mouth shut one of these days.” I teased.
“Not likely,” he replied, rubbing where Famosity had struck him. “Looks like our little family just got a little bigger.”
Famosity’s ears perked up at that statement.
“So, does that mean we get a bigger tent?”
“Faust, I hope so,” Show stated.
Fam seemed to have her priorities confused, we were alive and we were together that’s what counted.
“At least you won’t be the only filly anymore,” I suggested hoping that it would provide her with some consolation.
Unfortunately, I don’t think it helped much. Fam’s ears pointed to the ground and she fussed with a small rock on the floor,
as if a sudden realization came over her.
“Show, tell me I’m prettier than her.”
My wingman didn’t hesitate with his answer.
“You’re the most gorgeous mare on this battlefield.”
Good response, I thought, giving him a brief wink.
He scowled back at me none too happy.
“I’ve had enough brushes with death for today,” I said. “Captain, would you be so kind as to order us all to the mess hall? Show Off, you and I owe the twins a drink for saving our skins, plus I think they’ve officially outgrown the ‘rookie’ title.”
“Let’s go eat.” The captain said.
We arrived at the mess tent and got in line for dinner. The twins were seated at a table in the corner; both still looked a little rattled but the food had obviously helped calm their nerves. I watched the cook slop more unidentifiable green matter onto my plate; at least I could identify the Hay Fries.
“I think you screwed up,” I told the colt holding the ladle, “I can tell what this is.”
Once again, I received nothing but a glare from the server.
“That guy needs a sense of humor,” I said to Show Off.
“I think he lost it in whatever this brown stuff is.”
I laughed as we sat down at the twins table. Famosity busied herself by drawing gowns on the two fillies.
“You did good today,” I said to the twins. “Both of you.”
“Saved our lives.” Show Off added.
The two azure pegusai gave us sober looks.
“How do you do it?” Cloudchaser asked.
“Do what?”
“Go out there fight…kill, and then come on back like nothing happened.”
I sighed; I wasn’t really sure how to respond to that. The truth was, it wasn’t like nothing happened. We were just able to build a defense against the violence and I didn’t know how long that defense would hold. It could falter in two days or twenty years, but someday everything was going to catch up with us.
“We just go out there and protect each other. You can’t think about anything other than the safety of your wingman. Block everything else out,” Show Off stated. “As long as you do that you can sleep well at night.”
He gave the two rookies a broad grin.
“And don’t forget to smile, it helps to smile and make jokes.”
It was times like these that I was glad that he was an actor; there was a time when the two of us were more of a wreck than these fillies. At least his speech was better than the one we received from Lieutenant Lilly Liver, which consisted of degrading insults and simply telling us to get the enemy in the crosshairs and fire.
I shook that bad memory from my mind, those days were behind us.
Looking down at my try I suddenly realized that I had eaten all of the hay fries and managed to get through half of the green slop.
When did I do that? I thought.
“Well my gentle mares,” Show exclaimed. “I believe that we owe you two some drinks. That’s how we settle debts here.”
The fillies smiled at us. By this point Famosity had given them a full evening gown, jewelry and matching tiaras.
“Okay, let’s head to the Enlisted Club.” I said.
Show Off stood and gave Famosity a hug.
“We’ll be back later.” He told her and we headed for the door.
“Keep them out of trouble.” Fam called to us.
“We’ll try.” I replied.
“I was talking to the fillies.” She called back.
We made our way across the camp to where the Officer’s Club and Enlisted’s Club stood.
“You know, I figure Fam would be jealous that we are leaving her to go to a club with the twins.” I said to Show.
“She probably is, but I’d bet bits to apples that she’s more concerned with the new mare moving in on her turf.”
“That would make sense.” I said, and I noticed something moving in the corner of my eye.
I checked again and thought I saw a pink tail disappear into the shadows.
“Go on, I’ll catch up.”
Show gave me a perplexed look, but he didn’t say anything. Instead he ushered the twins into the club with his wings.
I looked over to where I saw the movement.
“Agent Snow! I know you’re there,” I shouted.
The truth was I didn’t know, it could have been her or it could have been a rat. Though when dealing with The Agency, there probably wasn’t much difference.
The tall white unicorn stepped out from behind the tent.
“I guess I’m getting too soft,” she said. “Oh well, it’s too late now.”
“So I guess this is just a social visit.” I responded, incredulously.
“No, is a second chance at my offer. I saw your little stunt today, I was impressed.”
This had me worried; we had violated several regulations with our impromptu rescue mission. My fears must have registered on my face because the agent continued.
“Don’t worry; I’m not going to run you in. This is just a second offer, you know I preen your feathers you preen mine.”
Reached out and tugged a pinion feather from my wing.
“First off, you don’t have feathers. Secondly, my answer is still no.”
I turned my back on her and strode purposefully towards the E club. Then I realized, the feather on my wing didn’t hurt anymore. She knew exactly where my bad pinion was…she had been watching. I turned back around to confront her, but she was gone; her words echoed in my head.
So little you know soldier.
