"Contact!"
The propeller of my plane was pulled down by the engineer and a short bang sounded as it began spinning without a hitch.
Me and my squadron were going on a mission to gain aerial superiority in the south for the Griffin Empire, which could also hinder their naval weapons as well. That's what we were hoping for at least. So far our operations had been mostly successful, so I at least had some confidence in this mission.
The mission was a part of "Operation: Domination", which was about cutting the enemy's supply lines across the Celestial sea. Our job was to clear the skies, so that the bombers could easily clear out enemy positions and airfields. This would make aerial offensive in the regions significantly harder for the enemy. It would also make it easier to set up the naval blockade that was being planned.
"Hey Musashi!" I looked over my shoulder and down on the ground beside my plane, where one of my friends from another squadron was standing.
"Don't do anything stupid this time!" he shouted over the loud engine of my plane.
"Me?! Stupid?! No way, man! I'm as careful as it can get!" I shouted back jokingly to which we both laughed at for a short moment before he stepped away and I closed the cockpit.
Rolling out on the runway of the airfield our squadron lined up for takeoff, and one by one we flew up into the air, course set southeast out over the ocean.
A few hours had passed when land began to become visible on the horizon and enemy aircraft started to make themselves known. AA artillery began to explode all around once we got closer and the battle officially began.
I was not late on getting behind an enemy aircraft, a Yak-3, and even though he tried to shake me off I managed to keep myself behind. Admittedly it became harder to hit him, but what do you expect? The enemy plane began to climb higher for a loop in an attempt to get behind me, but I kept on following him. The feeling of being upside down was always a little weird and sometimes uncomfortable, but once you get used to it you won't pay as much mind as you did in the beginning. When the loop was over I took my chance and opened fire and my intuition proved correct as the Yak was riddled with holes, the right wing broke off and flew past me. The plane immediately spun out of control and was sent plummeting towards the blue sea.
I soon climbed higher in an attempt to avoid AA fire, which was hard, but achievable. It was easier if it was cloudy, but I didn't have that luck as it was a clear blue sky today. Suddenly I felt the plane vibrate and shake from the left and looking out on the left wing I saw bullet holes appearing. I hadn't noticed, but a Yak-7 had managed to sneak above me and had opened fire. I pulled to the right, but continued to climb higher. I soon passed the Yak and stopped climbing. I let the plane slow down until gravity began to pull at it and it began to fall nose first down. At that moment I pushed forward and set course downward towards the Yak. Closer, closer. The distance was getting smaller by second and it looked a lot like I was planning on crashing into him, heck I almost believed it myself for a second.
Just a little longer. Wait for it...Fire! I pulled down the trigger and the Yak was totaled almost instantly as the left wing broke off, the cockpit glass was shattered and the engine became a burning inferno. I pulled upwards and flew away as the enemy plane crashed onto the ground below in a blaze.
Even though that last one had done a number on my wing, my plane was still in relatively good condition and I wasn't going to leave like a coward. I pushed on to the left and began to climb again. I soon noticed a minuscule shadow flickering in front of the sun and changed my course to get a view from below inside a possible blind spot in case the shadow was an enemy aircraft. Despite AA guns never ceasing fire, I didn't seem to be in the most dangerous position at the moment and I took the chance to prioritize the high altitude flying plane.
I flew beneath and turned my plane upwards 90 degrees to swoop in from below. The plane turned out to be a MiG-3, a high altitude flying interceptor and fighter. I was directly beneath which was a blind spot of any plane unless you move to look and the pilot of the MiG must have noticed me as it began to move away, but he had noticed me too late. I opened fire on the hostile plane and it's fate was sealed. The wheels were damaged to the point where emergency landing was impossible, the propeller stopped in place as at least 3 cylinders worth of smoke came out. The plane spun down as fire now erupted from the engine and before ground contact the plane blew up in a ball of fire.
This turned out to be where my luck ran out, as out of nowhere a Yak-9 flew from beneath me and hit my right wing, which caught fire soon after. Flying a damaged aircraft is bad enough, but flying a damaged and burning aircraft? Now that's nightmare fuel for someone like me.
The Yak noticed my weakened situation and opened fire a second time. This time the tail was hit and maneuvering this plane just got a whole lot worse. I held my plane stable as I closed my eyes and said my prayers before I leaned back in my seat and waited for the end to come, but before it came I was blinded by a bright light in front of me. Thousands of questions thumped in my head as the light grew brighter and consumed me. The plane almost shook like a wild bull before everything except the sound of my engine became silent. I opened my eyes again to see green fields, woods, mountain ranges and a partially cloudy sky. It was a beautiful sight, but a certain flaming wing quickly dragged me back to my senses and I began looking for a flat enough area to perform an emergency landing.
Something in the distance caught my eye as it grew closer. It was a town of some sort, outdated by centuries at least! It looked like the old Ponyville I had heard about during history class. It was once one of the strangest places to live in Equestria. It was supposedly a monster attack almost every single day, and it was also home of the Empress and her council in the past. But, why was it there, right in front of me on the ground? I pulled myself out of my own thoughts as I spotted an open field on the other side of the town. Unfortunately it wasn't the biggest one, and thus I had to fly low across the town.
I began lowering the speed and altitude as I grew closer by the second and I prepared for emergency landing. I lowered the plane's wheels and flew lower and slower as I angled myself for the field. The landing wasn't smooth, nor was it a disaster, it was somewhere in between. I think 'mediocre' is the word for it.
Once I got the plane to stop and shut off the engine, I wasted no time. I opened the cockpit and flew into the sky as fast as I could for a cloud. I grabbed the first one within reach and flew back to my plane equally fast. I positioned the cloud before I gave it a hard kick and rain poured out. Water is no friend of fire and the flames quickly died out, leaving a scorched mark in its place. The damage was substantial enough for the plane to need repairs before it could fly again, but at least it wasn't too much. If I could just get it to an airfield or one of the aircraft factories the plane would fly again.
However that all changed when they appeared.
"Hey, you there!" a feminine voice sounded behind me.
I turned around to see six mares standing behind me, but because of the sun shining directly in my face, it was hard to make out any details.
"Are you absolutely sure about this Twilight?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah, we know you're good at magic and all, but this seems a little... intense." Rainbow Dash added.
"Don't worry. I did my research. There is no way this can go wrong." the named purple Alicorn said reassuringly.
"We know that, but ya've had a few moments where yer spells didn't work as intended." Applejack said with uncertainty.
"Girls, I understand your worries, but I have studied every single detail of this spell. I'm sure this will go well." Twilight said as she flipped through a book before stopping at a certain page.
Putting the book down, Twilight ignited her horn as she prepared the spell.
"Now, this may feel weird for some of you as it is a group teleportation spell, and you are not used to teleportation, but I'm sure we'll be fine." she said as she began charging up her magic.
"What if we get fused together?! What if we're all turned into frosting?! What if you pull someone from the future into the present?!" Pinkie asked rapidly.
Twilight merely chuckled. "Pinkie, there is no way either of those options will occur." she laughed as the spell activated.
A bright flash of white surrounded them all for a short moment before it faded and a slight wind blew across their faces. The mane 6 opened their eyes to find themselves standing just outside Golden Oaks Library. After a few seconds of silence a few relieved sighs were heard and Pinkie was bouncing around like always.
"See? I told you it would work!" Twilight said proudly.
"Gee Twi, no need to rub it in." Rainbow grumbled slightly.
Everyone proceeded to look at her with unamused expressions.
"What?!" the rainbow maned Pegasus responded.
Before any more things could be said a strange sound caught their attention. It was some kind of deep buzzing and it was growing louder by the second.
"Look! Up in the sky!" a random background pony shouted with a pointing hoof.
Everyone in the area stopped what they were doing to look at a strange figure in the sky that was progressively coming closer. As it came closer, smoke was visibly coming from a platform or a wing of some kind that was sticking out of it. The figure began to fly lower and was evidently trying to land, but it looked like it had trouble staying still and was shakily coming towards the town. The thing began to lower something from underneath, which looked like wheels. It was most likely a way for it to land, but it was still weird. It was now flying at a very low altitude and anyone would be forgiven if they thought the figure would crash into the rooftops, but it flew across the town without damaging the structure before it disappeared behind a hill leading to some open fields.
"What in tarnation was that?!" Applejack shouted in confusion.
"I have no idea!" Twilight said in equal confusion.
"C'mon! Let's check it out!" Rainbow Dash said as she took flight and flew up to the hill with the other five running behind her.
A few minutes passed before everyone had climbed up the hill and they could now see a weird looking chariot standing on the open field. The chariot lacked pegasi to pull it, it lacked space for passengers and it didn't have any resemblance to a chariot. It's right wing was charred on the tip and it had multiple holes all around it. On the tip of this thing was what looked like a minuscule version of windmill sails. There was also a stallion wearing some weird forms of clothing standing by it and looking around at the damage.
"Hey, you there!" Rainbow shouted to him when they got closer to him.
The stallion turned around to face them with a hoof trying to shield from the sun shining into his face.
The six mares came closer to me and despite the fact that it should not indicate danger, I still moved my hoof to take a hold of the handle of the sword that was fastened around my waist. It was an impulse I had developed over the years and one that had helped me out before. I drew my sword and held it pointed at the mares, who had now stopped in their tracks.
"Whoa Nelly! Slow down there partner!" said one of them with a country accent that sounded very familiar, but I didn't stop for questions.
"Who are you and what do you want?" I asked them impatiently.
"Ah'm Applejack and we saw yer chariot-thingamajig and came to investigate." the mare answered.
The grip on my sword faltered a little when I heard that name. "Come again?"
"Ah said, we saw your-" she tried to repeat, but not the part I wanted repeated.
"Not that! Your name!" I said pointing my sword at her.
"Mah name is Applejack." she repeated.
Confusion took a hold on me as I turned my attention to the rest.
"You! What's your name?" I asked a yellow pegasus that eeped as she pulled away slightly.
"I-It's.....Fluttershy" she whispered for the most part.
"What was that?" I asked as I put a hoof to my ear.
"It's Fluttershy." she whispered even lower. How that was even possible, I had no idea.
"Her name is Fluttershy." a cyan Pegasus said while being held back by her tail. She had a rainbow coloured mane that I could recognize anywhere, but I kept my defensive position.
"What's your name then?!" I asked her with more agitation as she seemed so eager to pick up a fight.
"I'm Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in Equestria and you better believe it!" she answered.
I squinted my eyes at her before I turned my attention to the three remaining ponies.
"You three. What are your names?"
Two of them introduced themselves as Rarity and Pinkie Pie, and my stance continued to falter at each name. Finally I turned my attention to the purple one.
"You?" I couldn't find anything more to say than that simple word as I was close to just dropping my sword then and there,
"I'm Twilight Sparkle."
"You are not tricking me here, are you?" I said as my hooves were shaking.
"What would we gain from using different names than our own?" the purple mare asked.
I could hear that wasn't lying and that was the last straw. I planted the sword's edge into the ground and bowed deep.
"Forgive me for my hostile behavior, your majesties!" I said almost desperately, but to my great confusion they just sounded confused at my action.
I lifted my head to meet six confused looks from the now identified mares.
"What do you mean 'your majesties'" Twilight asked confusedly.
I looked at her with a confused look of my own. Indeed she was an Alicorn, but she was so... short. The others were normal looking as well. I brought my hoof to my chin in thought as I walked past them up a small hill to look at the town I had flown across a few minutes ago.
The town had a design that was common in the 1200s, but the last remaining house of that design was demolished years before I was born. So, how was the old Ponyville standing right there? I looked up towards the mountains, and after a thorough look, spotted Canterlot in the distance. I couldn't make out any major details due to the distance, but I could see it well enough to draw comparison to the Canterlot I knew, and by the looks of it, it was smaller than I remember it being. It seemed as if everything around me had turned back in time.
"Time." I mumbled to myself as I suddenly felt a hoof poking my shoulder and I turned around to face Twilight who stood behind.
"Are you alright? You just zoned out." she said with slight worry, but a still present confusion.
"What year is it?" I asked flat out.
"1243. Why?" she said with a raised eyebrow.
1243? No. That just wasn't possible. It was supposed to be 1743. My family bloodline probably hadn't even started!
"How is that possible? It's 1743!" I said out loud in confusion as I passed by Twilight and walked back down to my plane. "How am I supposed to repair my plane if a common plane factory doesn't even exist?" I continued as I examined the bullet holes on my plane's tail.
"What's a plane?" Rainbow Dash questioned.
Oh, of course! It's 1243. The first functional plane is 460 years into the future!
I lifted my hoof and motioned the very obvious piece of technology in front of them.
"This is a plane." I said as I continued to examine the damage. "It's a Nakajima Ki-84, the fastest of them all." I added as I looked back at them.
"Now, I want answers. How the heck am I here!" I received no spoken answer, but five of the mares looked at Twilight with straight faces. Twilight herself let out a nervous laugh.
"It may have been the spell I tried out earlier?" she said as five facehooves were heard.
"We told you!" Rainbow Dash said annoyed as the other four nodded in agreement.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, confusedly.
"I tried a group teleportation spell earlier. Everypony was nervous about it, despite my reassurance, but it seems I made a tiny mistake or something like that."
Three of the mares let out sighs, Fluttershy was silent, but Pinkie jumped into the air with a gasp before she, despite the laws of physics and gravity, zipped over to me while still airborne.
"You're from the future, right?!" she said excitedly and before I could say anything she started to speak again. "Three questions. One: Which Cake-nado movie are we on? Two: Is Ponyville still a thing? Three: Has anypony surpassed me in party planning?" she asked while lifting a front hoof for every question, somehow lifting a third front hoof that disappeared after she had asked every question.
"Uh... I don't know what Cake-nado is. Yes, Ponyville still exists, and as for the third question... Let's just say that it's not a fair competition with somepony that has been throwing parties since fillyhood and is over 500 years old." I answered as best as I could.
"WHAT?!" Pinkie shouted in shock, but not for the reason I thought.
"You've never heard of Cake-nado?! How is that possible?!" she exclaimed all up in my face with eyes literally wider than plates.
"Uh, certain things fade into obscurity after some time." I said with a nervous laugh.
Before Pinkie could comment further, Twilight spoke up.
"Hold up. I heard you say that Pinkie was over 500 years old. Am I correct?" she asked as the rest nodded in agreement.
"Yes. I did." I confirmed as I knew exactly what she would say next.
"But, she's not an Alicorn." Twilight said as she pointed at the very obvious lack of a horn and a pair of wings on the pink earth pony.
I pondered whether or not I should tell it as it is, but screw it. May as well joke around with it when I have the chance.
"Oh, sorry. How stupid of me. I apologize for mixing this poor earth pony mare with Pinkamena Diane Pie, Element of Laughter who came from a rock farm owned by the pie family. She discovered her talent when a Pegasus by the name of Rainbow Dash created a sonic rainboom during fillyhood, and soon moved to Ponyville where she began working for the Cakes." I said with a straight face.
I tell you, it's hard to keep that face when you see 5 jaws drop, while one just stares wide eyed.
"Oh my..." Fluttershy muttered.
"Wha-what?" Twilight said, almost in disbelief.
Pinkie on the other hand was smiling wide.
"OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!!!" she shouted bouncing up and down. "I'm going to be over 500 years old! That's so cool I stole Rainbow's line for a second!"
"Not just you. All 7 of you are basically immortal." I said then I realized something. "Wait... Where is Starlight?"
The mares just looked between each other with confused expressions.
"Who is Starlight?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Shit, it's 1243, not 1244. They haven't met her yet. Shouldn't have said that. I should NOT have said that.
"Uh... Just pretend I didn't say that." I said as I climbed up to my plane's cockpit.
"What are you doing?" Twilight asked as I leaned into the cockpit.
I didn't answer until I came out again. I was holding the rolled up blueprints of my plane, I always had one in case it was necessary and since a plane is unheard of in 1243, they'd need to see the blueprints in order to know how to repair my plane.
"Getting my plane's blueprints! How else am I going to get help to repair my plane?" I answered as I climbed down from the wing and showed them the detailed drawing of my plane's structure. Once they had gotten a quick look at it, I rolled it up again.
"Now, do any of you know how I can get parts for my plane at this point in time?" I asked with detail so that I wouldn't get any comments about the plane being from the future and therefore parts weren't being built.
Everyone once again looked at Twilight.
"Well, if you want help making parts for your... plane, you should ask Princess Celestia, but she is in the middle of court at the moment and I don't want to disturb her." Twilight said as she scratched her chin in thought.
"I think a soldier from the future accidentally ending up in the past is more important than the common problems of today." Rainbow Dash said.
"Touché." Twilight mumbled to herself as she turned and began to turn back towards town. "Come on, Spike is still at the library."
"Uh, should I stay here with my plane or what?" I asked, which stopped the mares in their tracks.
They looked at each other for a few seconds before I got an answer and I hoped it wasn't a 'oh, I can teleport it' answer to rush things.
"How much does it weigh?" Twilight asked.
"It weighs two tons, six hundred and sixty kilos when it's empty, but it gains an extra ton on full load." I answered from memory. I don't know for sure, but it's what I remember.
Twilight scratched her chin in thought for a few moments before she came with a suggestion.
"Well, the plane has to stay here regardless, unless you can move it in some way. You'll have to choose yourself. You can stay with one of us overnight or you can stay by your plane." she said. "Although, I wouldn't advise staying out here. It is scheduled to rain tonight." she added.
I had to think over that. My plane shouldn't stay out in the open, but it's weight and the fact that the plane wasn't invented yet made it certain that it couldn't be stolen that easily.
Although I had to think harder about staying overnight with one of them.
Twilight was the obvious choice, but something told me it was too obvious and that I should go for something else.
Fluttershy's cottage would probably be a nice place to stay, but there would probably be a LOT of animals that could disturb my sleep. Lest not forget the terror that is, Angel Bunny.
Pinkie Pie? No, that would probably be too much candy and madness.
Staying with Rarity would probably end with my flight uniform getting turned into a gala suit, so nah.
Sweet Apple Acres is probably the most welcoming option and it would probably be a comfortable stay, but I've heard that Applejack younger sister Apple Bloom couldn't keep her hooves to herself as a filly and she could seriously injure herself if she got her hooves on my 8mm Nambu or my Katana.
Rainbow Dash was a Pegasus like me and she lived in a cloud house at this time, and my body has been longing to sleep on a nice soft cloud, but Rainbow isn't the most trusting of ponies, which could build tension.
"I think I'll stay with Rainbow Dash for the night." I said simply, it was the best option from my point of view.
Rainbow didn't have the exact reaction I thought she would have.
"Uh, what? Me? Why?" she asked, confused.
"What? I heard Twilight say, and I quote, "You can stay with one of us overnight". You didn't say anything so I figured you were open for it." I said as I lifted myself off the ground and up to her level.
She sighed and looked over to Twilight.
"Don't look at me, he chose you. You can at least show some hospitality for once." Twilight said bluntly.
"Yeah, but we just met him. Are we going to be that trusting?" she asked.
I knew she wouldn't just let me walk into her house, but I knew how to prove I meant no harm.
"Hey, Applejack!" I said to the cowgirl, who looked at me at the call of her name. "Have you noticed me lying at any time during our conversation?"
"Ah can't say Ah have. Ah've had mah doubts, but ya've been very honest the whole time." she answered honestly.
"You trust me now?" I asked with a small grin. "Applejack is the element of honesty, are you going to doubt her?"
"Okay, you win." Rainbow said with a sigh. "But I'm keeping an eye on you."
I merely shrugged before I flew up to my plane. I looked around the engine area to check for damages, but luckily the engine was intact, thus I could at least drive the plane on the ground. I turned on the engine and the propeller slowly moved as the engine buzzed. Suddenly the engine let out a bang and the propeller began to spin quickly. The five mares watched in awe as I slowly turned the plane around. I pointed at Rainbow Dash and motioned for her to come closer. She reluctantly did and came up beside me.
"Which way is your house?!" I shouted over the loud engine.
"It's about a quarter way across the town on the outskirts!" she shouted back, to which I nodded.
I drove the plane around the small hill as I had no chance of going over it, but the difficult part was to drive it around the town. Many of Ponyville inhabitants were either standing by the road watching me pass or hiding from the loud noise of the engine. It was hard, but after something between 15 and 45 minutes, my plane was standing underneath Rainbow's house. I switched off the engine and the propeller slowed down until it stopped completely.
With the plane shut down and no other things left to do, I climbed out of the cockpit, closed it and flew up after Rainbow.
She was waiting for me outside the door and when I got there we went inside without a word (what else did you expect?).
"So, what's your name anyway?" Rainbow asked as I put down my Katana and handgun.
"Oh, how incredibly rude of me." I said as I slapped my own forehead. "My name is Musashi. Musashi Yamamoto."
Author's Note
The Nakajima Ki-84 weighed 2,660 kg when it was empty and weighed 3,601.5 kg on a full load.
I'm no expert on planes, so if I got anything wrong I would appreciate if mistakes are pointed out.
