“Please, be careful,” The asphalt-colored stallion beside me said. His coat was as soft as any velvet I had ever seen, much less felt. It was as if my hoofs were gliding across cascading plains of smooth, delicate fur.

It was a moment unlike any other, something that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. Times like now were so rare that ponies got to see their significant others, much less someone as wonderful as my coltfriend Kilo.

I gave my signature charming smile. “I’m always careful. Things could be much worse, you know.” My hooves continued to dash over his coat, over and around his chest.

“I guess. I’m just scared is all.”

“Me too,” I responded.

“Then why did you do all this? Why did you go since you were a colt saying, ‘I want to be a Wonderbolt or a pilot!’ when it scares you?” Kilo raised his voice into a harsh tone.

“Why do you think?”

“Because you’re a hotsho-'' I cut him off with a playful hit to his flank.

“Very funny. You know why I really do it?” I held him slightly closer.

“Go ahead,” His voice returned to that intoxicatingly smooth tone. I wrapped my hooves around his neck, our muzzles nearly touching.

“Because of you,” I planted a soft kiss on his cheek, “I do everything I do for you. I mean, don’t get me wrong, if this war didn’t start then I’d have stuck with you in Neighton. But I joined because I couldn’t live with myself if I let the Changelings take over all of Equestria without a fight, especially with you in it. I do what I do to protect you. You’re my everything. I could never lose you.”

I felt a light tug at my hips, his hooves held tightly around them before he kissed my cheek. “You really are a sweet talker, you know that?”

“Hence the name,” I replied slyly.

“Very original,” He said playfully. “You know you’re lucky. You got a cool name or at least one that gets all the mares.”

“And stallions,” I said.

“Yes and that. I got a pretty lame name, all things considered.” He turned over, scratching his face.

“Ah, come on! Kilowatt Hour is a pretty cute name.” I tried my best to humor him. We’d been through this conversation for what felt like a million times before.

“How? Really, explain it to me.”

“Uh…” I thought for a quick second before a quip popped into my brain. “Because you’re electrifying!”

“That’s a new one. I like it.” Kilo’s smile was absolutely gorgeous.

“They don’t call me-” My mouth was covered by Kilo’s hoof.

“Sweet Talker, please,” Kilo whispered. “You’ve said that, like, a hundred times already.”

I chuckled nervously. “Heh, yeah.”

Kilo stayed silent for a moment, just watching me before he opened his lips. “When do you have to leave?” He said dejectedly.

“Kilo, baby, not for a few more hours.”

“Good,” He mumbled, turning back over to hug me even tighter.

“Are we actually gonna do anything today?”

“No. Just this.” He pressed his muzzle close to my chest, snuggling against me.

“That’s fine. Perfectly fine.”

The rain patted against my face, unfortunately awakening me from my wonderful dream. It felt so incredibly real. Perhaps because it was merely a memory of my last rendezvous with Kilo. That was just a few months ago.

How long had I been doing this? It had been years since the war began. Three or four maybe? It didn’t matter how long it had been. All that mattered was it was nearly over. The Changelings were on the run and they were at the gates of Vesalipolis. So close, and yet, so far.

“Hey, Sweetheart, are you with me over there?” My attention turned to Corporal Primrose who was lightly tapping the edge of the table I was at. I was confused as to who she was referring to as ‘Sweetheart,’ but I remembered that was my nickname.

I was outside near one of the many hangers at Acornage. I just wanted to rest my eyes before the party tonight, but I guess I snoozed off thinking about Kilo. I couldn’t blame myself really, I could have gone on about him for hours. Finally my attention returned back to Primrose, my mouth quickly spewing out the first sentence I could think of.

“Uh y-yeah Rosie? Sorry, snoozed off for a minute there.”

“So I saw, no biggie. I mean, they've been keeping us up later and later. Even I need a break sometimes.” She paused, rubbing her pastel pink snout with her hoof. “Thankfully though we have a party tonight.”

“Yeah. I only wish Pinkie Pie would get out here, she has the most legendary parties.”

“So I’ve heard. I’m sure she’ll throw a big one in Canterlot once she’s done liberating Olenia.” Primrose decided to sit next to me, occasionally fixing her hair while she sat there. It wasn’t long before she started giggling.

I furrowed my eyebrows, a wave of annoyance coursing through me. “What’s so funny?”

“Listen, no offense, but you were making some pretty… weird noises to say the least when you were dozing.”

A thin veil of blush burned onto my face. “Shut it. We all have weird dreams sometimes.”

Primrose guffawed, her smile getting ever wider as she opened her lips. “Lemme guess, it’s about Kilowatt again?”

“Yeah, what's it to you?”

She leaned back in her seat. “It ain't nothing to me, he just seems like a real sweetheart is all.” Primrose hopped out of her seat. “Well then, do you wanna come pick out some decorations for-”

Before Primrose could finish speaking, the PA system blared throughout the airfield. My ears disoriented by the harsh sound. “111th Squadron, saddle up! Report in five for briefing.”

Primrose rolled her eyes before stretching and dusting herself off. “So much for that party huh? Let’s get to it.”

I followed her, my eyes set straight forward. Looks like that party would have to wait.

“Alright, I’m gonna make this real quick. We’re doing an air raid on Vesalipolis.” Colonel Slipstream stood in front of us all as we huddled together on the edge of our seats.

“Today? But I thought we were halfway through capturing-” Sergeant Compass yelled, before he was cut off.

“Look, we’ve been pushed out by them and this’ll supposedly knock ‘em back hard enough to send our soldiers in to capture the city.” Slipstream pointed with his wing towards the map behind him, indicating divisions, both Changeling and Equestrian, near Vesalipolis. “That’s why I called you in. Last minute orders. All you have to do is meet up with the 347th Bombers northwest of here, escort them while they blow those Changelings to smithereens, then come back safe and sound.”

“Great, we sat around for over two weeks and now they send us out. Typical,” Primrose groveled under her breath.

Slipstream paced about on the rough concrete beneath, gesticulating as he went. "I know this is all very sudden, I hope do understand. We're this close to winning. This is the last step in finishing off the Changelings. Once you do this, I'm sure you'll all get medals on top of being able to get back home to your families. Does that sound reasonable?"

Everypony murmured despondently in slight agreement at Slipstreams orders.

"Good. Go out there and finish this."

We all collectively nodded and jogged outside to get to our aircraft, hooves clopping on the hard asphalt of the runway.

I felt a certain wave of despair wash over me. It was uncomfortable. Oddly for the first time I could feel my rugged uniform rubbing up against my fur, I could feel the cold air blow through my crimson mane, sending a shiver down my spine which reverberated throughout my being. Uncomfortable was a bit of an understatement. It was loathsome.

My Spitfire stood within a hangar nearby, its hefty aluminum construction always made me feel safe and secure within it. It was an earlier model, still lacking many of the new modern conveniences of other more high powered aircraft. Everypony on base had the same make and model as I did, but it was hard not to be extremely jealous of other pilots though, them getting all the new high tech stuff.

It was nice to see the old bird. It had been there for a few weeks, basically gathering dust. Besides regular maintenance, it hadn’t moved.

Air crew formations began to lug out everypony’s planes. All I could do was watch as I suited up, wrapping my thick wool lined jacket around my body before pulling on my chocolate colored leg warmers. They were a gift from Kilo, something I was incredibly thankful for.

My plane was on the tarmac, its engine sputtering to life as the air crew did final checks over the aircraft. I galloped over and hopped up the side of the plane, nearly stumbling over the sleek metal surface. Thankfully I kept myself steady and opened the canopy, before plopping down inside.

I poked my head out one last time to the air crew outside. “All good?” I asked. The pony outside nodded with a determined look and waved me off.

Without pause, I closed the canopy over my head before slapping my flight helmet over my skull, plugging in the cord to the internal radio, and flipping the few switches above me, each one giving off a satisfying clack. Then I latched the connected oxygen mask over my muzzle. I was ready to fly.

The radio flared up with a soft crackle. “Alright, Everypony better be saddled up.” It was Sergeant Compass. “Captain Quickbolt is out because of his bum eyesight and since nopony else can take up the reins, I’m in charge. We’re heading out now. As soon as you take off, aim straight north.”

Other pilots around the airfield began rolling forward, their wheels rubbing along the rough surface of the runway. I cranked the throttle forward and inserted my hoof into the control ring, pushing the controls in front of me and quickly followed behind the rest of the pilots.

I always felt a little sick when flying despite being a fighter pilot. Maybe it was just the peculiar feeling of taking off or the weighted feeling of gravity on me as the propeller held the plane precariously in the air, stopping me from falling to an untimely demise.

My plane lifted upwards, engine riveting, wings buckling. It took a few minutes before my Spitfire finally stabilized and began to glide smoothly through the air.

“Forgot to mention we’re running on half strength today. We have seven instead of fourteen. The rest of the squadron is in for maintenance and well… you’re the cream of the crop for this I guess.” I could barely hear Compass as he whispered begrudgingly over the radio.

“Half strength? Are they mad? How in the name of Celestia are we supposed to escort an air raid with just seven fighters?” Primrose shouted. If she was any louder I thought my headset would crumble to pieces.

“Back in ‘15 they did an air raid over Vaverfront and they had only seven planes in total! And that was when the Luftwaffe was still a major threat!” Somepony said quietly into their microphone. They were nearly unintelligible on my end.

“Yeah but they had a-” Before Primrose could offer a rebuttal, Compass stopped the argument.

“Oh shut it Rosie we got a job to do. You can both fight about it once we land," Compass sighed before continuing. “Alright, aim due northwest. I’ll offer any changes in heading as we move. This should line us up with them. Unless it’s an emergency, keep the radio quiet for me eh?”

The crackles of the radio died down and I was left with my thoughts. I latched onto the lever to my right and began pumping feverishly to raise the landing gear. It was an agonizing amount of effort before it finally settled into place. These old models were horrible, though it did make sense. The more advanced models were currently destroying any Luftwaffe planes over Olenia and the rest of the Changeling lands. They were lucky, they got to participate in turkey shoots with the powerful Spitfire Mk. IX’s.

I turned on my gunsight, its bright yellow crosshair imbued over the glass. Finally my aircraft was ready for any Changelings that came my way. All I had to do was relax for a bit while we flew to our destination.

We’d been flying for a while, for what felt like hours, though it was definitely much less than that. For a majority of the time I kept my eyes focused on the rest of the squadron, which soared through each cloud in a tight formation. Thankfully the rain back at Acornage had dissipated once we had taken off.

Occasionally I would stare at the picture taped right above my instruments. It was of Kilo, his sweet beaming face always sent butterflies through my stomach. It was odd considering we’d been together for a few years at this point. Yet every time I even thought about him or looked at his picture, my heart was sent aflutter, pounding in my chest.

“Compass, we nearly there?” Primrose inquired with a bored tone, breaking the extended radio silence.

“Yep. Keep your eyes peeled everypony. Point north from here.” I could see Compass pivot his plane northward, the rest of the squadron followed suit.

We continued to fly our planes, which turned and zipped through the vast orange expanse around us. After rising above one final set of irregularly shaped clouds, I spotted them. Friendly Beaufort bombers gliding through the air.

“Looks like we finally found the party,” I said with a smile. “What should we do now, Compass?”

“Let’s fall in. Spread yourselves out and yell if any Changelings pop up,” Compass’s voice was raspy as he spoke. His plane, along with the rest of the squadron, moved toward the friendly bombers.

I cranked the throttle forward and my Spitfire advanced through the icy air. Our column of fighters soared swiftly through the sky, moving closer to our comrades ahead. Our planes fell into formation with Compass flying close to the front while I flew close to the back. We divided ourselves with there being about ten to fifteen bombers in all, making our combined force of over twenty a very real threat to the Luftwaffe. Since last year the Changelings air power had severely diminished and was now replaced with a token force of aging planes.

The radio fired up. “Glad y'all could make it, heh, this is the Appleloosan Almiraj!” The pilot said with a southern drawl. “Welcome to the 347th Bomb Squadron. We’ll be headin’ over our target soon enough! Eyes peeled now!”

“Where you go we follow. Right behind ya,” Compass affirmed.

We flew for a little while longer, the unmistakable cityscape of Vesalipolis under us. It was impressive. The city was a gigantic mishmash of close knit apartment blocks, factories, and a large spire rising out of the middle of the city. I was surprised something that big hadn’t fallen to a stray bomb or shell yet.

Compass audibly coughed over the radio before speaking. “Okay Triple-one, here’s where the action-” Compass’ plane exploded into a ball of searing hot flames and metal. His wings were ripped off from his hull and nearly disintegrated as it fell through the amber colored sky.

“Buck it! Respond! What the heck was that?” One of our pilots screamed out. After a few seconds a Changeling plane zoomed upwards through the air, spinning and whirling around behind some clouds.

Just as we breached the clouds ahead of us, there was a small squadron of Changeling planes. Some were nearly defunct biplanes whilst others looked like barely held together monoplanes.

I pushed the throttle down hard, zooming past our squadron and up into the air towards the Luftwaffe planes ahead of us. “They got around us!” I yelled, my voice breaking. “Fight 'em off!”

The other Triple-one fighters followed, their planes ripping through the air. Most zoomed off to intercept the Luftwaffe formation, while I tried to zero in on the Changeling who destroyed Compass. His aerial maneuvers made me dizzy as I tried to keep up with him. Before long his erratic movements ceased and I moved my hoof to the fire button.

The gunsight was directly on him, his gray Messerschmitt firmly within my crosshair. I pressed the button hard, a steady stream of bullets flying through the air to the target. I had twenty seconds of ammo in my plane, I hoped that would last me.

Twenty, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen…

The burst had hit him, which created tiny holes in the back half of his fighter. Though it did little to slow him down. Surprisingly he began to ascend, before whipping around to attack my friends. I tried to move my Spitfire to follow him, but the old frame could only move so fast.

Eventually my plane lurched back toward the 347th squadron who, thankfully, had taken little damage. Most of the squadron was dealing with new fighters that had seemingly appeared out of thin air. I turned my attention to a stray duo of fighters, a plume of smoke flowing from one of their engines.

It was extremely unfortunate that they were lagging behind their brethren further along in the sky. I quickly lined up my sights with the smoking plane. This time I only used short bursts, tapping the button every now and then.

Sixteen…

A few of the bullets rammed into the side of his fuselage, only making small holes. I aimed further to the left as my plane flew behind the damaged fighter.

Fifteen…

Finally, the next hail of fire from my guns made their way through to his engine. The Changeling plane veered back and forth whilst I adjusted to attack the other fighter close by. The other Changeling moved to try and avoid my gunfire, but the first plane barreled to the side, ramming into the other. The two began to cascade down through the air, collecting into a burning heap of metal.

“Two down over here, how are we all doing?” I said breathily over the radio.

“Got three more fighters, that first one is a helluva-” Primrose stopped speaking, her radio suddenly fizzling out. “Crap, Sweetheart! Behind you!”

“Huh?”

Hot lead streamed against my plane while I was battered with bullets. Surprisingly, my plane stayed stable and I was able to wrangle it in with little difficulty.

I pushed down on the throttle, my plane accelerating through the air. I could see the Changeling behind me as I looked to the rearview mirror above my cockpit.

“Rosie, hell, anypony! I need some help here! Get this… monster off my tail!” I shouted, continually shifting and moving to and fro to shake him off.

The radio merely fizzled in response to my pleas for help. It was only then I realized why. From where I was flying I could see the previous Luftwaffe squadron scattered while our own flew triumphantly through the air. Everypony was much more incredibly focused on completing the mission than saving me. I understood though, the war was nearly over and if these planes failed their mission the Changelings on the ground might fight back.

I took a deep breath, realizing that the only pony I could rely on was myself. All I had to do was get around him. Simple.

I clutched my controls and drove them to my left. My body barely grappled with the harsh movement, but the Changeling behind me wasn’t deterred. Another hail of bullets exited from his guns, most of them missing me. Ramming the controls to the right, I did a loop to try and get around him. He wasn’t dissuaded however and stayed close behind.

“Sweetheart, I’m on my way,” Primrose yelled, her voice sending a wave of comfort over my body.

Another cacophony of bullets plunged into my plane, the frame buckled against it and I nearly lost control of everything. My composure was waning and my hoof shook as I did my best to keep it steady. I was starting to lose it. I could feel the heat from the engine burning through; the searing, burning hot roar of its pistons filled me with panic. I had to act fast or I’d get blown to bits.

Thoughts and choices coursed through my brain. Endless training missions, sorties, and classes demonstrating exactly what and what not to do in this situation. All that I could hear was the air streaming through several gaping holes in my chassis and my hot, aggravated breath heaving from my mouth. Finally, an idea popped into my head.

I pressed hard on my controls to my left and pulled my throttle back as far as it would go, before pushing down even harder to the right. My plane rose into the air and violently flung upwards, the forces making my stomach churn in discomfort. The creaking of the fuselage around me was terrifying, but this would work. It had to work.

Once I saw the Changeling fighter ahead of me, I kicked the throttle forward and straightened out towards him. He was just barely in my sights and I could tell he was about to loop around me again. He began to turn towards the right to complete the maneuver. But by then, though, it was too late.

I pressed the button. It was done.

My machine guns sent red hot bullets into his side. First the fins and rudders, then the back half of his plane. If I had stopped firing now he’d have fallen to the ground and been crushed like a tin can. I didn’t cease. Instead I continued laying into him with the rest of my ammunition. It broke open the side of him, reaching his cockpit and finally, the engine.

My weapons were red hot and unfortunately empty, but it was over. The enemy plane exploded into a wreck of smoldering scrap metal and nosedived to the floor.

“Don’t worry Rosie, I got ‘em.” The tension finally escaped my body as I saw the derelict corpse of the Luftwaffe plane descend through the air.

That made thirty two planes downed. An impressive feat. Then again it was over the course of a few years rather than a few days. It still made me overjoyed, mostly that I had survived and partly because maybe I’d get a medal. Anything was possible at that point.

I checked my instruments and all the diagnostics were in good shape. But as my eyes drifted over to the fuel gauge, a wave of fear pulsed through my body. It was nearly empty. The Changeling must have shot holes in my tank. I was just about to turn and relay my unfortunate situation with the rest of the squadron when a dark figure appeared behind my plane. It was another Changeling fighter, guns aimed directly on me.

I was about to slow down to get around him, but before I could even make the slightest movement his bullets began peppering the side of my plane.

“You sure as hell don’t got ‘em. I’m right behind him!” Primrose yelled. I could hear the telltale rattle of her four machine guns. But it was much too late and my plane began to sputter and slow, then the right wing splintered and warped before detaching from the rest of the plane.

Thankfully the Changeling fighter bloomed into a bright orange flame and glided in a downwards spiral to the earth.

But by then I started to lose control, my hoof barely able to keep any semblance of stability. It was all up to fate now.

“Mayday! Mayday!” I screamed frantically, my voice breaking as I spoke. “Rosie! I’m spinning out!”

Primrose's voice was just a faint echo on the radio. The power to my equipment must have been faltering or at the very least some portion of the radio was shot up.

My parachute was still strapped under me, an easy escape awaited me once I opened the cockpit. However, as much as I pulled back on the canopy it wouldn’t budge. The metal must have been warped so badly that it was impossible to move. If I focused too much of my energy on pulling back the cockpit, my plane would get into an uncontrollable spin. I’d be dead if that happened. Any other method of escape was fruitless and wouldn't be worthwhile unless I kept my hooves on the controls.

I had to land it. It was the only way to try and survive or I’d never see Kilo again. I couldn’t let that happen.

The ground began to come into view below me, my plane still wildly out of control. But it was alright, I could still fix this. I grappled with the controls and yanked it to the left, opposite of the spin. It struggled and the metal groaned as I hoped and prayed that I could equalize it.

It took a solid minute of straining myself before the plane stood steady. It was still shaky and uneven. If I let my hoof off of the controls it surely would have begun to spin out again.

The earth came ever closer into view. Fields and forests blanketing the soil beneath me. Again I prayed and begged to let this not be the end.

As my plane buckled under the stresses of flight, I had to pick a field to try and crash-land onto. There was only one option, a yellow field filled with wheat. It was small and a very tight fit. If I screwed anything up even slightly It would be over.

I liked those odds however. Probably because it was the only shot I had at making it out of this alive. I let the landing gear fall into place.

I continued to descend just barely above the treetops. The field I needed to be in was just in view. I took one last deep breath, perhaps my last.

My Spitfire’s wheels skidded along the wheat before falling off, sending my plane sideway into the field. It began to follow the crests and curves of the landscape, the destroyed wing slicing into the dirt. The treeline was in view and I was heading right for it.

I braced for impact.

I stood by the door waiting impatiently for him. Kilo usually took forever, regardless of if we were going out. Maybe it was different this time, maybe he was just trying to keep me waiting just to have me around for a little longer. To be honest, I didn’t want to leave. I was lucky enough to be able to even see him in the first place.

Finally Kilo came down the stairs, slowly trotting with a frown on his face. I could just barely see tears in his glassy eyes.

I swallowed, nearly tearing up myself. “So, I guess this is it huh?” I said.

“I guess it is,” Kilo coughed out.

A long silence followed and we studied each other. I always found it funny how he was older than me but so much shorter. I could see his eyes through his glasses, distorted by the lenses. I hated seeing him all miserable like this. If I didn’t have to leave then I wouldn’t have.

I wrapped my hooves around him, bringing him in for an embrace. I could feel his heartbeat through his chest. He was anxious, his breath uneven as he pulled me in closer, holding me tight against him. I didn’t want to let him go. That’s when I could hear him softly whimpering, tears streaming from his eyes.

“Shh… it’s okay…” I whispered. His tears soaked into my coat. “I’ll be back soon. The war’s almost over and then we can figure out what we’ll do next, okay?”

“B-but…” He started choking on his tears. “What if you don’t come back?”

“What?” I responded with confusion.

“W-what if… what if you die? What if this is it?”

“It won’t be. I’m smart. I’ll be okay-” I said before Kilo cut me off.

“You don’t know that!” He separated from me, his eyes a muddied mess of sadness and longing. “What if you go to an airbase in Vanhoover and some Changelings kill and impersonate you?”

“Kilo, baby, that’s-”

He placed a hoof over my mouth. “Don’t ‘Kilo,’ me. What if this is really it? What if you die on a mission? Or you just…” He collapsed on the floor. “I don’t want to lose you.”

I watched him for a moment, his tears falling from his muzzle and falling on the hardwood floor beneath. I wanted to say he was wrong and that nothing like that would ever happen, but at the end of the day he was right. That could happen. I just caressed him against me and waited as his sobs quieted.

“When I signed up for the air force, I didn’t do it because I wanted to go on death defying missions or because I wanted the honor of being in the military.”

He sniffled, finally looking up at me.

“I do what I do for everyone, but especially you. I fight Changeling planes in death defying battles because I want to… no, need to protect you. Because if I let everything in Equestria fall apart, especially with you involved, I couldn’t live with myself. So if I die or get hurt or don’t come back, but you and everyone I love lives, then… so be it. Because at least then you’re safe,” I spoke softly into his ear, he was still trembling as I did so.

He swallowed before opening his mouth. “O-okay…”

“You're the reason I get up every morning, Kilo. I couldn't let anything bad ever happen to you.”

Kilo finally wrapped his legs around me. “Promise me you’ll be smart.”.

“When am I not-”

He looked directly into my eyes. “Promise me.”

“I promise,” I said. “With all my heart.”

Kilo kissed me again, standing up afterwards. I regretfully opened the door, stepping outside before turning back to face him, his red eyes finally dry of tears. Celestia, I’d miss him.

“I love you,” He said warmly.

A wave of longing flowed through me. “Believe me I know,” I said jokingly.

Kilo giggled the most beautiful giggle in all of Equestria.

“I love you, too. Never forget that,” I said, smooching him lightly on the tip of his snout. “I’ll see you soon.”

He nodded. As much as I didn’t want to, I closed the door. My hooves clopped against the stone path beneath and I began making my way to the bus stop.

No matter what, I would see him again. I had to.

My eyes fluttered open. I could barely see anything, my vision blurred and distorted. Everything was tinted red. Fire crackled around me. Beyond that my senses were dull and numb, preventing me from fully understanding the situation around me.

I was slumped over my controls, a small pool of blood covering the console. I could only assume that my head was rammed into it, though I couldn't feel any pain. I pushed myself up, the canopy above me was thankfully broken, meaning I could easily hop out. But as much as I tried, I couldn’t. I realized that a thick piece of metal extended from the fuselage into my hind leg. Blood poured from the wound, thin streams of red descended down into the plane.

It wouldn’t be long before the fire spread and either I died amidst the flames, or some other gruesome fate would find me. I couldn’t let that happen.

I wrapped my hooves around the metal and pushed. Slowly it came out, blood enveloping it while more pooled out. It was only then I started to feel a burning pain coming from my leg. I nearly stopped, I almost considered leaving the metal chunk stuck in me and just lying there while my insides flowed out of me. Just as that thought crossed my mind, the bar clattered to the floor, exiting my wound with a pop.

My movements were sluggish and painful and I was barely able to lift my hooves up over my head. With much difficulty, I raised myself above the canopy and jumped over and out.

My body fell to the dirt beneath, a small splatter of blood created where I landed. More of my blood fell as I sat there. I nearly wanted to give in and collapse, but I kept pushing myself. I had to live. I used my hoof to wipe my eyes clean, though it only cleared up slightly. The left half of my vision was still dark and muddied.

Just then I realized that I was in the middle of a forest. Shafts of golden light flowed through and around the leaves, creating a bright tapestry of shade and light on the forest floor. I could feel Celestia’s sun, its radiating heat falling down on me. I begged to see that sun rise again.

I limped forward, taking each step slowly and with caution. My legs trembled with each step and by only the fifth step, I could barely keep myself steady.

Then there was the crack of a branch and some distant shouting. Then Colonel Slipstream's mission details entered my brain once again.

“Contested territory.”

It was the Changelings. I was shot down over their lands and now they came to finish the job. Those monsters, no sense of mercy. I saw one of their silhouettes appear beside a tree, their words scrambled into incoherent nonsense.

My pistol, my one defense mechanism, was still strapped to my side. I pulled it from its holster and lifted it, my hold shaky.

“C-come get me you Changeling fucks!” I clutched the pistol with my mouth and placed my hoof beside the trigger, squeezing it several times in their general direction. It flashed, several bullets flying from the barrel. My grip was too weak and it fell to the floor. I could hear the Changeling yelling at me, I could have cared less. They were probably going to kill me either way.

A bolt of purple energy flew through the sky, just barely missing me. They were casting spells now? Bastards. Before he could shoot me again I started trotting, my limp preventing me from even reaching a slow gallop.

It all hurt so much, the excruciating agony of my wounds coursed through my nerves all across my body. I tried leveraging myself on trees, passing by several as I did my best to run away from the Changelings.

I slowed, my gallop turning into a jog, then a gait, then a walk.

The field I intended on crashing in was up ahead. The golden wheat looked beautiful underneath the marmalade colored sky. My steps slowed even further and by this point my previous pitiful run was little more than a shuffle forward.

It was all getting so, so dark. The ground looked so inviting. It would be so easy to collapse and let death take me. So, so easy.

I fell to the ground, the thick jungle of wheat around me nearly covering my body. Another bolt of energy flew over my head, nearly slamming into the back of my skull.

I placed my hooves on the ground in front of me and pulled myself forward. My crawl barely moved me a few feet with each push and each push rendered me further incapable of escaping. Finally, I collapsed onto my back.

It would be the last thing that I would ever see, The gorgeous sky above me with small clouds peppered above.

With the last of my energy I opened my mouth. “Go and take me… you… you…”

The blurry figures of the Changelings were right above me, their guns aimed directly at me. I didn’t need to see them or their grinning faces.

I reached my breaking point. Everything went dark.

Darkness surrounded me. It had been like this for what felt like an eternity. I occasionally heard mumbling voices from beyond the thin veil of what I could sense. Somepony would touch my chest or my face or ruffle my hair. No matter what I tried though, my senses never returned. My leg would twitch or my ear would fall down. Sometimes I’d even be able to move my hoof slightly, feeling the surface of sheets underneath. It all brought me some peace of mind, at least I wasn't dead.

For the most part I was alone with my thoughts. I couldn’t think of anything except where I was, how I was, or why I was alive. Those Changelings were all around me, guns pointed at me back at the field and despite my best efforts, they still got me. Was I in a POW camp? Kept alive by Changeling magic or medicine? Nothing made sense or seemed to add up in any way.

It stayed this way for ages. I would twitch every now and then, trying my best to move or do something to figure out what was happening. Time passed. Maybe it didn't, all it did feel like was one blur of darkness and muffled noises. Perhaps this was my purgatory. An unfeeling black void that would encapsulate my consciousness until the only thing left was a few brain cells poking around the inside of my empty mind.

Then I heard something enter clearly this time. Not distorted noises or muffled sounds but the clear sound of hooves on linoleum.

“Is he okay?” A stallion said.

“No, nothing’s changed so far. The original injuries have healed and swelling has gone down but… he’s not recovered yet.” It was a mare. Her voice was light and she sounded concerned.

“Four weeks and nothing yet?”

“Yes,” The mare admitted. “I hope you understand that it was lucky that he even survived and he’s lucky to have lived as long as he did considering the injuries he sustained. Since he was brought in a few weeks ago, he’s been in a state of relative mental inactivity and will more than likely stay that way for the foreseeable future.”

According to what I was hearing it sounded like I was in some sort of vegetative state. That meant that the mare had to be a doctor watching over me, keeping me alive. Then who was the stallion that was asking about me? His voice sounded so familiar. It was light, delicate, and velvety, it sounded almost like Kilo.

My heart dropped. It was Kilo.

“Doctor, is there anything we can do?” Kilo asked.

“No. We can only wait. He might wake up in a few days, or weeks, or months…” The doctor sighed. “Or worst case… years.”

“I see.” Kilo sounded so heartbroken.

“I’ll give you some time to process this. If you have questions or want to consider…”

“No,” Kilo stated. “I couldn’t.”

“I see. I'll see myself out.” I heard the doctor shuffle away, the door closing behind her.

I tried moving, flailing, anything to get me out of this nightmare, anything to hold and comfort him again. I said I would see Kilo soon but I never imagined it would have been like this.

Kilo stood somewhere in the room. I could hear his shallow breaths. I knew he was watching me, hoping that I would randomly jump up and hug him. As much as I tried to do that, nothing happened. He trotted over to the side of my bed and sat next to me, his hoof trailing along the edge of my face before descending to my chest.

“I… don’t know if you can hear me right now. I’m assuming you can and well… you said you’d be smart. You were-” I could feel Kilo wince as he cut himself off. “You are. You’re the smartest stallion I ever saw, ever had the immense pleasure of meeting, of loving.”

Celestia help me. I couldn’t even say ‘you too, baby’. All I could do was sit there and endure.

His lips met mine. He pulled away after a long while, his hooves on my chest, going up and down it.

“So I guess all I wanted you to know was that I love you. And I’ll never give up on you.”

I strained myself trying to move. My leg actually moved slightly at the end of the bed. I was so close, I could feel it. I could get out of this.

“I’m gonna give you one last kiss, then I’m gonna go out to get some food. But I’ll be back in a few hours and we can… talk… then.”

I struggled, trying to jump and move around. Anything to get out of this hell. I could feel Kilo’s breath on my face, he was inches away, ready to give me another kiss.

I tried speaking or at least humming. The only thing that escaped my lips was a hearty cough, phlegm and all.

“Eugh… I…” Kilo groaned before gasping. “Sweet Talker? Are you…?”

“Ahhh…” I mumbled. “Ahma Erwo…”

“Sweet Talker!” He said gleefully.

He wrapped his hooves around me, squeezing me exceptionally hard. I coughed more and harder. He held me close and I tried blinking. It was sluggish at first but my eyes finally opened even if my vision was a little impaired, like there was something covering my left eye.

“Keewo… vhere… vhaa…?” I said. My speech was lethargic and my tongue was hard to move. “Wha happen…?”

He looked at me with those giant beautiful emerald eyes, his thick glasses over his muzzle. “You… you crashed your plane and you were really, really hurt. Then when you got out your head was really badly banged up. But… soldiers found you and just barely saved you. Then they brought you to a hospital near Vanhoover and then here.”

So they weren’t Changelings coming after me, they were just my fellow Equestrians investigating a plane crash while I gallivanted around, flinging lead from my pistol. I bet they were just trying to calm me down. Luckily I didn’t go far.

“Eugh… vhere is here?” I said, a pounding headache reverberating throughout my skull.

“Whinnyapolis,” Kilo answered. “Very far, I know.”

“So… did we beat them?” I asked.

“Beat who? The Changelings?”

I sighed. “Of course the Changelings!”

“Sorry, yes. They’re drawing up the peace treaty right now. I think at least.” Kilo moved in for another hug. “But who cares? You’re fine and that’s all that matters.”

Despite how overjoyed I was to finally be awake after a supposed few weeks, I felt a knot in my stomach. An all encompassing pit. All from the realization that I had missed the end of the war by only a few days at the most. I couldn’t be sad though, I got to see Kilo again.

“I know. I… missed you so, so, so very very much, Kilo.” I leaned in for a kiss. Before I even got remotely close, my back was shot up with a horrible pain, my nerves overwhelmed with sharp stabs up my spine.

“Gahh…!” I groaned in pain before falling slowly back to the bed. “Ugh… What was that…?"

Kilo grimaced as I asked that. His horn lit up with a pulsating magical aura before a mirror floated towards me and to my hooves. “See for yourself,” He said.

The mirror was held precariously in my hooves, my grip still extremely weak. But what I saw horrified me. My left eye was covered by thick bandages going around my head. My right wing sprawled across the pillow behind me, good portions of the feathers were missing. I couldn’t even see the other wing. Worst of all, a huge scar ran along the right left side of my face. The bandage covered a majority of it, but it was extremely obvious that something was underneath.

“Oh wow… am I… how am I gonna see again, or fly? What’s a pegasus without their wings? An earth pony? I’m not an earth pony!” I was nearly yelling. All of my most prominent attractive features were tarnished.

“Sweetie… come on, it’s okay. You’ll just be a little scarred on your face and… might not be able to perfectly see out of your left eye…?” Kilo comforted me, stroking the tip of his hoof along my front leg.

“What!?” I shouted.

Not being able to see was a terrible fate cast down upon me. Sight was vital to my very being. Depth perception, sharpshooting, flying, everything all depended on how well I could see. Now half of that was gone, thrown away because of some Changeling planes.

Worst of all was the scars that would supposedly run up and down the left half of my face. One large one already protruded down under the bandage, but I could only imagine what horrors lay where I couldn’t see them.

“K-Kilo, Now I’ll look… and losing my eyesight, even just half of it… how am I ever gonna fly again?” I could feel tears welling up in my eyes as a smorgasbord of questions coursed through my brain.

Kilo merely wiped away the tears with his hoof and kissed my cheek, a large, broad smile across his adorable face.

“Sweetie, everything will be okay. You’re still the same pony I met in Neighton a few years ago. I mean, you’re Sweet Talker! Suave, dependable, charismatic, and a whole host of other things that makes you the most enticing stallion I’ve ever met.” Kilo planted a kiss on the opposite cheek. “Don’t worry about looking or feeling deformed. You’ll always be the same handsome stallion that swept me off my hooves.”

In the end, he was right. Charisma won the battle for his heart all those years ago, even if the smile did help.

I opened my mouth, my face forming into a smile. “They don’t-”

Kilo slapped a hoof over my lips before I could finish my signature line. “Plus, I think it’s very badass, if I do say so myself.”

I thought about it for a moment. I knew Kilo was just trying to make me feel better with having a marred face. It would take a while for it to really ever be normal. Getting used to having that, especially being half blind, would take a lot of work and comforting by Kilo.

“What about my wing?” I asked.

Kilo merely planted several kisses along my neck before laying down beside me. “Your right wing needs some healing, nothing a little magic can’t fix up. Your uh… left wing though, is gone.”

“Gone?” I yelled. “GONE?”

In any other situation, I would have put on a brave face in spite of how I was mutilated. But this was no other situation. Without any control, or poise, or awful one liner, I flopped back onto my bed and stared at the ceiling. My pupils nearly dilated upon staring directly at the fluorescent lights above me as I thought about what was the best way to react, barring a complete and total breakdown of my psyche.

It was a wing, my good wing too. I’d met plenty of pegasi that were injured in combat, or ponies just incapable of flying. It was natural, if a little unfortunate for those that couldn’t. I couldn’t necessarily take it personally or pretend like the world was ending when I lived to see another day, another day that I could take in Kilos bright smile and soft kisses.

Kilo had taken the opportunity to sit beside me with a smile. He was calm, collected, and comforting through it all and merely wanted to hold me close and cherish the fact that I hadn’t died by another Changelings hooves. I took a deep breath and exhaled before sitting back up to meet Kilo's gaze.

“So, does that mean I won’t be able to fly ever again? Just like that?” I said flatly.

“We can get you a prosthesis. A lot of pegasi lost their wings and you’re lucky you only lost one. I mean Rainbow Dash herself got a new wing, so it’ll be okay,” His soothing voice calmed me, making it all a little easier to take in.

“Really?” I asked.

“It’ll cost a good amount of bits but, yes, Really.”

My heart soared at the prospect of being able to fly once again. Having wings wasn’t exactly necessary to fly a plane, though that was already impossible on account of my lack of vision in one eye. Though at least being able to flap my wings and race around meant everything to me. Even if I couldn’t fly, I still had to be thankful for being alive.

Seeing Kilo was all that I needed to be able to live. He wasn’t like the countless floozies, both mare and stallion, that hung around Manehattan where I lived. He was special, massively so, unlike any other pony I had met. He was smart, resourceful, and had the most adorable laugh this side of Equus. Even if I was a vegetable, or couldn’t fly under any circumstances, he’d be there. Now, and forever.

“Kilo,” I said after a long while.

“Yes?”

“I love you, more than anything,” I said, kissing him on his snout.

“I know. I love you too," Kilo said with an adorable smile.

“So, when do you think I’ll get out of this bed?” I asked.

“I think you should just rest. Is that okay?” Kilo looked up at me.

“That’s fine,” I said, planting a kiss on Kilo's lips. “Perfectly fine.”

Author's Note

Feel free to write feedback or what have you in the comments. Otherwise I hope you enjoyed reading One Last Mission.