July 13th, 1012
Skies Over Dimpeak, Imperial Occupied Whitetail Mountains

”Keiler Two to Flight Lead, come in over.”

“This is Lead, go ahead Two, over.”

“Lead be advised, Anomales Flugobjekt spotted, bearing 330, twenty kilometers out. Interrogative, is this the target? Over.”

“Two, Lead. I see him, that’s the one. All Keiler Flight elements, this is Lead. Change bearing to 334 and form up for interception. Time to see what we’re dealing with here, over.”

“Lead, Three. Affirmative, over.”

“Lead, Two; moving to comply, over.”

“Lead, Four. Will comply, but be advised my compass is acting a bit strange…damn, that’s weird.”

“Four, Lead. Everything okay, Nebelklaue?”

“Lead, Four. Aye, just had a strange instance with the compass spinning around. All 100% again, moving to comply. Over.”

“Confirm, all Keiler elements in formation. Arrowpeak, this is Keiler Flight, wing of four Habichts responding to AFO, reporting object sighted. Moving to intercept, over.”

“Keiler Lead, this is Arrowpeak Kommando. Advise caution, you are moving out of effective radio and radar range. Interrogative, can you identify the AFO, over?”

“Arrowpeak Kommando, AFO is sixteen kilometers and closing fast, bearing 335, north-northwest. We are approaching the AFO from behind. All Keiler elements, arm cannons and prepare for possible contact, over.”

“Copy, armed.”

“Roger, armed.”

“Armed, Lead.”

“Arrowpeak Kommando, be advised that Keiler Lead is now armed and prepared for hostile contact, over.”

“Kommando to Lead, hold fire until positive identification of AFO, over.”

“Copy, Arrowpeak. Be advised, have moved to…are those wings? Two, are you seeing this?”

“Confirm, Lead. AFO is a winged creature, over.”

“Is it a wyvern or a dragon?”

“Can’t tell, gotta get a bit closer.”

“Lock up and cut the chatter! Observe proper radio discipline! Sound back confirms, over!”

“Confirm, Lead, over.”

“Confirm, Lead. Sorry, over.”

“Arrowpeak Kommando this is Keiler Lead. Can confirm AFO is a winged creature, can’t discern if wyvern or dragon, over.”

“Lead, Kommando. This creature triggered a reading on our radar set, you’re likely looking at a dragon. Can you get close enough to confirm, over?”

“Copy that, Kommando. All Keiler elements, move to overtake AFO. Let’s get a look at this thing’s wings, over.”

…..

“Uh…Arrowpeak Kommando, Keiler Lead. Got a better look at the AFO. Target is definitely a dragon, but err…it looks a little unwell. Over.”

“Lead, Kommando. Elaborate, over.”

“Kommando, it looks like its flesh is pretty thin. Holes in the wing membranes, broken spikes on the tail. I can see ribs jutting out from here. Wait is…is that it’s spine? How can its spine be-HOLY BOREAS!”

“Lead, come in! Report, what’s happening?”

“Kommando, this thing just swung its head around to look at us! Half of its face is skull and I swear by the Three it's got this sick green light glowing in its eyes. I think this thing’s dead, over.”

“Lead, this is Three. I see movement on the spine. Look there, just between the wings, over.”

“This is Four, I can see it too. Is that a…pony?”

“Kommando, this is Lead. We may have a rider on the AFO’s back. Advise on what-”

*A squeal of radio static, screaming and cursing over the line.*

“Keiler Lead, this is Arrowpeak Kommando! Come in! Report, what happened? Over!”

“Arrowpeak, this is Keiler Two! That pony just blew Lead out of the sky with some kind of magic bolt! Arcturius’ claws, I don’t even know-BREAK BREAK! THREE, EVADE!”

*More screaming, more static.*

“Arrowpeak, this is Keiler Two! We are engaging AFO with lethal force! Nebelklaue, flank from the opposite side, I’m going in from above!”

“This is Four, hard copy! Moving to-FUCK! Eyr’s mercy, that bastard blew half my wing off!”

“Four, this is Two! You’ve got smoke rolling out of your whole frame! Eject Nebelklaue, eject!”

“Can’t…can’t get the cockpit open! I’m going in hard, spin’s too fast! I’m…gonna…pass-”

*More squealing, more static.*

“Dammit! You son of a bitch!”

*Automatic gunfire rings out in the background. Two has left his transmit on.*

“Yeah, have some more! Let’s go, you bastard-”

*The radio squeals, the pilot starts screaming as something audibly tears at the plane. An explosion, then the channel goes dead.*

Author's Note

Welcome, one and all to Across Burning Skies, my attempt to create a separate story for the Front to Front timeline, a fictional account of the mod Equestria at War. This is not quite a sequel, more of a side piece, the place where I've decided to start putting accounts that have little to do with our main characters in the main story, so I can try and keep the accounts more comprehensive. Across Burning Skies will deal with the various events that occur in the background, across the world at various times, so the timeline may get a little skippy here and there. Just know that I'll do my best to keep things understandable, and dates clear so no one is in the dark about when this is taking place. Expect to see chapters from all over, at all times as the fancy takes me, and above all enjoy and provide all the feedback you think necessary. Allons y!