Author's Note

English is not my first language and I have to use google translate. I didn't find an editor either, so if someone notices something, please let me know so that I can improve it.

The reason why there is such a long time between the prologue and chapter 1 is that I have completely erased the story again and rewrite it, this time I read it more carefully before I put it online.

on Wings of Steel (prolog)

Prolog

Swift Specter was sitting in his bed, looking around the room. It wasn't a normal room, it was a hospital room. Everything was painted in calm light colors. Next to the bed was a side table with a glass of water, a flower arrangement that his parents had sent him and a purple heart. He sighed and lifted the covers off him. There were bandages all around his body. But the worst were those around his chest. He looked at his back as far as he could. His petrol-colored coat was broken by the clean bandages, but he couldn't see what he wanted to see.
His wings were gone. Swift Specter, the wingless Pegasus...
That was the worst thing he could imagine.
What should a pegasus without wings do?

Days later, Swift Specter was allowed to get up again. First of all a manecut, then streching his legs and wings ...
then stretch out his legs.
In the hallway he saw all the posters that were normal for a time like this:

"Join the fight against the Crystal Empire!"

Above it was the picture of a unicorn soldier on a hill facing hundreds of opponents, Horn glowing with magic

"The enemy is at the door, let's push him back!"

Here you could see an earth pony kicking away a soldier of the Crystal Empire with a powerful buck

"They fly for us, they fight for us, buy warbonds to help them!"

A squadron of pegasie flies in perfect V formation over the enemy, led by the war heroine named Rainbow Dash.
This mare was something special ...
But this poster also reminded him of his last mission.

The past
Swift Specter flew an escort mission with six other pegasi from his squadron. They were supposed to bring two pegasi with medical training to a surrounded unit of unicorn soldiers. three other pegasi carried various supplies, from medical supplies to food and water.
Actually it wasn't a difficult job, apart from the terrain that they had to cross and the enemies there.
"Thunderbearers, get ready to take off!" the squad leader had ordered and everyone had started.
for the safety of the 5 non-combatants, they flew in the middle, while the Thunderbearers flew three to each of the flanks, with the Leader in front.

Everything went relatively well by the time they crossed the front line.
Ever since the Crystal Empire began to take settlements in Equestria, more and more unicorns and pegasi have appeared in the enemy ranks alongside the original crystal ponies. And now these subjugated and enslaved unicorns fired at them with deadly spells.
The squadron leader gave the hoovesigns that they should go deeper. There was a canyon in front of them, which the squadron leader wanted to use as cover, although there were contradictions from the ranks of the squadron.
Further down, they would only be easier prey.
Granted, they could use the momentum to make them faster, but higher up there were better evasive options.
Nevertheless, they followed the orders of their leader.

If only they hadn't used this canyon!
The enemy fire came from both sides, the walls made it difficult for them to maneuver, and soon two of the porters and three of its squadron members were hit.
He had seen for himself how one of them hit the ground at high speed and was dead before he could scream. Swift Specter flew closer to one of the paramedics, a yellow mare with a pink mane.
"Don't worry ma'am, I'll protect you as best I can!" he had called to her before he had to duck under an enemy spell.
The mare hadn't answered him. she looked very shocked.
There, another member of the Thunderbearer squadron was hit, but he was still flying, screaming his pain.
"We can't keep up the pace!" shouted one of the surviving porters with the medical supplies, "We have to find cover!"
"no! We press on!" shouted the squadron leader, and looked angrily back before an enemy spell hit him in the neck and killed him instantly.
Swift Specter watched in shock as there was only other fighter left and he spotted one of the enemy unicorn soldiers. He cast a spell towards the medic.
As if in slow motion, Swift Specter could see this destructive and deadly spell moving towards the mare.
He couldn't let that happen.
he wouldn't let that happen!
With a strong flap of his wings he brought himself between the mare and the spell, turned his back on the spell.
After that he only felt pain. His back burned, whether literally or figuratively made no difference to him.
The slow motion continued when he saw a petrol-colored wing fall through his field of vision, followed by deep red drops.
probably blood.
And that was his wing. there was only one petrol-colored Pegasus in his squadron.
Then the impact came, he skidded over the rough stone floor and hit a rock, lost consciousness and greeted the blackness.

He woke up once in the unicorn soldiers' camp, the yellow Pegasus over him, talking to him, but he dosen't hear anything, and then again in a field hospital.
There he was told that he had lost both wings.

present
"Hello Swift Specter, are you going for a walk?" a nurse asked at her desk and smiled at him
"Yes." Swift Specter said with his head hanging, "can't just lie around all day."
"Of course. If you need something, please let me know," said the nurse and hot back to her files.

Outside then Swift Specter sat on a bench and looked up at the sky. It was an almost cloudless day, so he could see the weather team using individual clouds to decorate the Canterlot sky.
And he was trapped down here, never again able to fly up there, never again to take a nap on a cloud.
"Excuse me?"
What would he do now?
"Excuse me, please"
How should he get to his home in Cloudsdale in the future?
"Corporal Swift Specter? Do you have time?"
the voice finally got through to him
"I'm not a Corporal anymore." Swift Specter said, "I have been discharged from the military because of my injuries."
He looked at the lavender-colored unicorn mare.
Saddlebags full to the brim with books and scrolls, judging by the clothes, a student at Celestia's University, looking a little nervous.
"I know, but I'm here because of your injuries!" said the lavender unicorn, "I would like to talk to you about an experiment that I am about to carry out. It is about using special crystal matrices and the latest technology as well as some experimental prototypes ..."
Swift Specter lifted his hoof and said, "Wait a minute. Where I'm from, you introduce yourself before you start babbling wildly."
"Oh sorry. My name is Twilight Sparkle and I'm a student at Celestia's Academy." Twilight Sparkle imagined, "back to my suggestion ..."
"Yeah for that matter," Swift Specter interrupted again, "can we make this shorter?"
"Would you like to fly again?" Twilight asked with a confident smile.
Swift specter had to pull himself together that his facial features didn't derail. He took a few deep breaths before answering: "How exactly is that supposed to work? You don't seem to have an airship in mind."
Twilight Sparkles grin broadened: "No. I'm thinking of a combination of magic, rare gems and technology."

A little later, Swift Specter found himself in a wing of Celestia's Academy for Gifted Unicorns. It was like a laboratory got attacked by a workshop, and now tools, parts, books and the like were lying around everywhere.
and in the midst of this chaos Swift Specter could see the rump of an earth pony mare. Her coat was orange, her mane was red, but the tips of her hair were clearly dyed blue. She wore a overall, had welding goggles on her forehead and headphones over her ears.
"This is Electric Swing. She's the most skilled mechanic around ... unfortunately she's also the messiest." said Twilight and began to tidy up with a levitation charm. On the occasion, she also took the headphones from Electric Swings ears.
"Huh?" she asked and looked around: "Oh Twilight! is that our test object?" she got up and was walking through the chaos as if it weren't there, then held an oily hoof in Swift Specter's direction in greeting, saying: "Electric Swing is my name, a pleasure to meet you!"
Swift Specter just took her hoof, ignoring the oil: "Swift Specter. The pleasure is mine. How is this supposed to work?"
"Didn't twilight tell you?" Electric Swing asked with a giggle, then went to a whitebord and began to draw a Pegasus before continuing, "Well, as everyone knows, pegasus feathers are magical. They generate and store the energy a Pegasus needs to walk on clouds or fly to can, "she wiped the wings away. "A pegasus without wings loses this ability." Now she drew next to the wingless Pegasus wing something that ... looked strange, "Twilight has managed to store magical energy in rare gemstones. If we put these gemstones in special containers, we can not only collect the energy, but also give it off again . That is the main part of what we are up to. "
She picked up a small zylinder and showed it to Swift Specter.
"What's this?" he asked and looked at the small cylinder
"That, corporal Specter, is an MCU. A Magic Containment Unit." explained Twilight Sparkle, "This will help you fly again."
"how?" asked Swift Specter with an raised Eyebrow.
"Well," began Twilight Sparkle, "your body is still creating magic, albeit less than before. These gemstones are able to collect and bundle them. We build the MCUs into prostheses to replace the wings."
"Artificial Wings?" Swift Specter asked skeptically.
"I'll build them." Electric Swing answered, "don't worry, they'll be as good as real ones, maybe even better!"
Swift Specter sighed and hung his head.
It was an opportunity, but was he really going to do that to himself?