The Nightmare Relief Plan

__--Operation: Nightmare Relief Plan--__

Location: 34408XP, Turquoise Sea

Date: 20 December 1037, 12:51 PM

Scootaloo barely had time to register that one of the approaching jets in the distance was firing at her.

"All Wonderbolts regroup on me, NOW!" shouted Scootaloo as she roughly yanked her flight stick back, causing her plane to pitch upwards away from the ocean. She heard a faint tapping noise and glanced to her left, then grimaced as she saw a long, thin streak along her wing's outer layer, just a few inches from her cockpit. Though the damage was superficial, she cursed herself for not reacting faster.

"Iris, regrouping on Shortwing," confirmed Iris.

"Tumble, regrouping on Shortwing. Let's pluck their wings, eh?" Rumble laughed, but the nervousness in his voice was apparent.

"Will regroup soon, currently engaging hostile!" said Blastoff.

Scootaloo grit her teeth. "Finish them and group up, Blastoff! I don't want another friendly fire incident from you!" An ominous beeping noise came from her radar. She cursed herself again; a bogey and a heat-seeking missile were after her.

"The Big House is comin' in on Shortwing. Need help?"

Scootaloo twisted her aircraft to the left in an effort to shake her pursuers. "Get these things off my tail!"

"Roger that!" confirmed Big House.

Scootaloo's heart skipped a beat as she saw the missile zip past her directly above her cockpit. That was two narrow brushes with death within the span of a minute. The adrenaline was fully kicking in by this point. She slowed her aircraft, then briefly fired her guns at the missile that had sped past her. Without much fanfare, it exploded.

There was a flash from behind Scootaloo. "Bogey down!" exclaimed Big House.

One less problem to worry about... sighed Scootaloo. She saw two of her aircraft group up on both sides of her. She was about to issue an order, but then her radio crackled to life again.

"Egghead here, I'm hit! I need help!" Egghead shouted frantically over the radio.

Scootaloo toggled her mic on. "Tumble, you help Egghead. Me and Iris will cover you!"

"Copy that, Shortwing!" confirmed Rumble.

Scootaloo turned her aircraft to follow Rumble. She took a moment to survey the skies. Her squadron was engaged with eight enemy aircraft, and they'd already eliminated one. That meant seven pilots to her six. Maybe if they had double that amount, it'd be an even match, she jokingly reassured herself. Her squadron was the best in Equestria for a reason, after all.

Scootaloo took this opportunity to get a reminder of what she was up against. "General Dash, is the pony who knows the Equinox there?"

"Ms. Sapphire Light has been on comms the entire time, Shortwing."

Then why hasn't she said anything?! she yelled internally. "Sapphire, how many aircraft did you say the Equinox was capable of fielding?

The shy voice that responded was barely discernable over the roaring engines of the skies. "Um, at least 30. Why do you ask?"

"Doesn't it need to surface to launch its fighters?"

Another explosion rocked Scootaloo's eardrums, and her wingmate's voice overtook Sapphire's meek vocalizations. "Boom! Got ya covered, Egghead!" shouted Rumble. Six left, Scootaloo noted to herself.

"Thanks, Tumble! I might need to head back, I'm pretty beat up," said Egghead.

Scootaloo angled her aircraft to get a better look at her friend's fighter. It was positively riddled with holes, and smoke was coming out of one of its wings. "Can you make it by yourself?" Scootaloo asked.

"I think so."

"Go ahead and return to the Vanhoover, we'll make sure no hostiles follow you." Scootaloo adjusted her headset, "Sapphire, what was that you said? I didn't catch it."

"It, um, can launch planes vertically from approximately 50 meters below sea level. That's another reason why the Equinox is a marvel of magical engineering! You see, there's a spell matrix that briefly protects the planes from water, and-"

Scootaloo heard beeping from her radar again. "Thanksfortheinfo!" She immediately pulled to the right, trying to shake the missile off of her.

Curiously, Scootaloo heard a new, distorted voice while performing evasive maneuvers. "One of them is splitting off. I'll divert to secure the kill."

What?

"Did anyone else hear that?" asked Blastoff.

"Judging by how one of them has turned to follow Egghead, I think it's one of theirs," said Rumble.

Another unfamiliar voice popped up. "Roger that. We'll take down these Wonderbolts yet!"

Scootaloo heard Big House's laughter reverberate through her cockpit. "I don't know if they know that they're speaking on an open channel!"

General Dash inquired, "I'm not picking up anything on my end. Are you sure that it's the enemy you're hearing?"

As if to confirm her question, more hostiles conversed with one another. "These Equestrians are better than I thought they'd be, Nightmare save us!"

"Yes, we're sure!" chimed Scootaloo as she listened intently to the increasingly fast beeping on her radar.

General Dash was quick to answer her confirmation. "Then use this to your advantage and don't let them know you can hear them. Remember: Never correct your enemy in the middle of a mistake!"

Scootaloo kept an eye on the missile closing in on her. Rather than try to narrowly dodge it again, she opted to drop flares this time. Not but a second afterward, she heard a muffled explosion from behind her, and the heart-pounding beeping ceased.

There was another explosion in the distance. "Got another one!" cheered Big House. Five left.

Scootaloo turned her attention to the enemy that was chasing after Egghead. She didn't have to change her angle much to chase after it, and it only took a few seconds of firing to down the bogey. Four left.

A hostile's voice popped up over the radio again. "Our brothers and sisters are falling!"

It was then that a deep, resounding voice emerged from the radio. "Don't fear death, fear failure! If our devotion falters, then so will we! Hold to your faith and you will see eternal night reign forever!"

"I know that voice..." said Aurora.

The mysterious voice, definitely a stallion's, continued. "Our mission is more important than our lives, and that gives us the right to take the lives of those who would stop us!"

"Let me guess: that's Mr. Perfect Shot, isn't it?" said Rumble.

"Yeah... that's him, all right," confirmed Aurora, "Just as fanatical as I remember..."

Rumble grumbled in annoyance. "Why is it always the Nightmare Moon cultists causing problems? Why can't they get over the fact that Princess Luna basically disowned them?"

"They don't see it that way. They view Princess Luna as a prison that hides their true Goddess from them."

Scootaloo spotted another fighter accelerating while trying to get behind her. She grinned, then opened her flaps to decelerate. They didn't seem to expect that, as they overshot her, giving Scootaloo the perfect angle to take them down. Three left.

"Shortwing, I see an easy target. Permission to engage?" inquired Iris.

"Go ahead, but stay safe," answered Scootaloo. As she watched her friend veer off, a thought occurred to her. "General? Weren't we supposed to speak with the Equinox's captain? If he's talking on an open channel, then... well, you know."

"Two reasons, cadet. Firstly, I still can't hear them, though the colts and fillies here are working on that. Secondly, we want to force the Equinox to surface so that we can converse with them on our terms, not theirs."

Scootaloo heard more beeping from her radar. She grit her teeth and turned away once more. "Can't these Lunatics lay up on the missiles for five minutes?!"

"Hey! They're Nightmare Moon fanatics, not fans of Luna! Don't associate them with me!" chided Blastoff. "Oh, and by the way, I got another one." Two left.

"Um, don't you have missiles too?" asked the ever-helpful Sapphire.

"I would, except somepony had the bright idea of replacing them with depth charges!" After a few seconds of maneuvering, she realized that she might not be able to evade this missile. Scootaloo slammed her emergency countermeasures button again. More flares were dispensed, and the beeping ceased shortly thereafter.

"Umm, guys?" Egghead spoke with concern in her voice, "My MDD is receiving pings."

Wait, but she's heading back to our carrier...

"All aircraft not engaged with hostiles, regroup on Bolt 6 Egghead when possible, then spread out to maximize the chances of locating the Equinox." commanded General Dash.

"Wilco, general." said Blastoff and Big House.

Scootaloo saw one of the Chiropterran fighters spiral downards, then explode in the distance. "Target eliminated," Iris stated neutrally. One left.

She scanned the skies, then her radar for the final target, but couldn't find it. "Where are you...?" She mused to herself.

"Uhh, where's who, Shortwing?" asked a confused Rumble.

Scootaloo mentally kicked herself again for accidentally leaving her mic hot. Though... I could use his help. "The last target, Tumble. Do you see them anywhere?"

The last hostile pilot seemed to be up to something. "My life for the Nightmare!" she shouted.

There was silence for a moment, then Rumble practically screamed over comms, "ABOVE YOU! MOVE!"

Scootaloo reflexively yanked her flight stick to the side just in time to see a fighter dive straight down in front of her. In that instant, Scootaloo saw the mare in the other cockpit. She looked barely above twenty...

"Nice dodge! I got a good angle, I'll get 'em!" said Rumble.

It took Scootaloo a moment to compose herself after that. "She just tried to take me down with her! These ponies are insane!"

"If they weren't, then we wouldn't be here," said Blastoff.

Scootaloo leveled her plane and kept an eye on Rumble, who was in hot pursuit of the last hostile. Surprisingly, he seemed to be having trouble landing a hit.

"My shots aren't connecting, her transversal is too high," he spat, "Of course she decides to stop being suicidal now that she missed her chance to take you down!"

"Hold on, I'm coming." Scootaloo quickly maneuvered her plane to get a good view of where the target was turning. The target's angle was difficult for Rumble, but Scootaloo bided her time, waiting for her enemy to turn directly away from her... Now! She pulled the trigger, laying a barrage of bullets into the hostile. A second later, smoke erupted from the plane, then it barreled into the ocean. That's all of them.

"Hey, that was mine!" Rumble complained. Scootaloo rolled her eyes.

"It's not a contest, Tumble, we're on a mission." Scootaloo redirected herself to head back towards Egghead and the others. There was something off about that engagement, though. Something that should have occurred, but...

Her eyes lit up as she realized what it was. "Hey, did any of you see them eject from their planes?"

"I wasn't paying attention, honestly," said Big House.

"Come to think of it, no. The one I took down had plenty of time to..." said Iris with a hint of concern.

"Nope, didn't see any. I wonder why..." said Rumble.

That morbid train of thought was interrupted by Blastoff. "I'm getting pings over by Egghead!"

"Copy that. Regrouping on you and Egghead." Scootaloo turned herself around and accelerated to catch up with her comrades.

"One more set of pings and we can triangulate the Equinox," said General Dash. "Remember to keep your airspeed low when you're close to the water."

Over the next few minutes, Scootaloo and the rest of her squadron joined Egghead and Blastoff, then soured as slowly as their fighters would allow just above the deceptively calm waters.

"Come on, moonies, where are ya?" said Blastoff.

"Feels like we're hunting treasure, doesn't it?" Rumble laughed.

Scootaloo was about to respond, but her MDD started registering pings. "Hey, I got a positive with my MDD! General, what now?"

"Give us a moment, our ponies are analyzing the data," responded General Dash.

"Hey, I don't mean to interrupt, but am I still clear to return to the Vanhoover?" Egghead spoke with concern, "My plane is full of holes, and it's starting to make some really worrying noises..."

"You may."

Scootaloo impatiently hummed to herself as she waited for results. This mission was supposed to be just reconnaissance, but the Equinox immediately played one of its crucial cards by responding with force before they could even find it. It wanted her and her squadron dead, and that in itself spoke volumes about what they were dealing with.

General Dash's voice commanded her attention. "Attention all aircraft, clear the area. We've found the Equinox, and are relaying its location to our destroyers. They'll be launching missiles carrying depth charges over where you are shortly."

Scootaloo frowned, then toggled her radio, "General? Should we drop our depth charges too?"

"No, cadet. Hold onto them for now."

Scootaloo sighed in annoyance. Then why do we even have them?! We could have had missiles equipped instead! She opted to keep her frustrations to herself. "Copy that. Clearing the area."

Scootaloo and the rest of the Wonderbolts squadron retreated between their current area and the Vanhoover. Comms were fairly quiet until they started to pick up transmissions from their allied destroyers.

"Target coordinates locked in."

"Commence preparations to fire."

"Missiles ready to launch."

"Line of fire is clear."

"Awaiting launch orders."

"Ready."

General Dash gave the order. "Fire all missiles!" Scootaloo could hear the grin in her voice.

Each of the six destroyers launched a missile that flew off into the distance- Wait, that's... Scootaloo realized that the area they were shooting at was far, far closer than where she and her squad had engaged the aircraft. Still, the missiles popped open to reveal depth charges that were now slowly descending to the sea via parachute. Soon enough, they landed in the sea.

The silence that followed was deafening. Scootaloo held her breath, waiting for something to happen.

First, a muffled boom vibrated through her cockpit, and then a huge splash of water exited the sea. Then another. And another after that. Three more depth charges exploded, and then there was silence again.

"Did we get 'em?" asked Rumble.

In the seconds that followed, a long, deep blue cylindrical shape emerged from the sea. The tip of it rose high into the sky, then splashed back down to the surface. By Celestia, it's huge...

"Equinox spotted; it's surfacing!"

It was a sight to behold. The Equinox looked like it had come straight out of a comic book with its slick, futuristic design and gargantuan runway. It may have been able to launch aircraft vertically while underwater, but they needed a way to return, after all. She thought that it was devoid of surface weaponry at first, but then several panels from the sub retracted to reveal a large arsenal of guns and missile launchers.

Wait a minute. Her eyes went wide as she saw the sub turn itself toward the destroyers. "General! I don't think they want to talk!"

General Dash was quick to respond. "Elaborate, cadet."

Scootaloo's heart raced as she saw a thin, bright red tube just below the water's surface accelerate away from the Equinox. "I think it launched a torpedo!"

"All hooves, brace for impact!" exclaimed one of the allied destroyers.

"General! Orders?!" Scootaloo asked frantically.

Scootaloo heard a muffled explosion behind her. She turned around to see one of her fleet's destroyers listing heavily as smoke billowed out of it.

General Dash took an uncharacteristically long amount of time to respond. "It would appear that diplomacy is no longer an option. All aircraft, engage the Equinox. You likely won't be able to deal significant damage to the hull with your guns, so target its weapons and disarm it."

"Wilco."

If launching a torpedo wasn't enough confirmation of the Equinox's hostility, what happened next was. Several fighters emerged from the vessel and took to the sky, followed by an ominous declaration from the sub's captain: "For nearly thirty years we've prepared for this day! We shall not let godless heathens stand in our way! Destroy the Equestrian fleet!"

Scootaloo could see the ponies on the allied destroyers scramble toward their posts as the Equinox opened fire on them with surprising speed and accuracy. Comms became difficult to parse with the amount of ponies speaking.

"The Equinox is engaging us! All hooves, prepare for combat!"

"We can't drain the leak! Evacuate!"

"We've lost Destroyer Appleloosa! Destroyer Stableside is under fire!"

The skies turned into disorganized chaos as the latest batch of fighters from the Equinox engaged Scootaloo and the rest of the Wonderbolts squadron. She issued what orders she could, but her comrades seemed to have their hooves full trying to evade anti-air guns from the Equinox while also taking down enemy aircraft.

Scootaloo unleashed lead into one of the fighters in front of her. Despite its evasiveness, she landed several good hits on its left wing, tearing it to shreds and sending the fighter tumbling down into the sea.

"Nice one, Shortwing!" exclaimed Blastoff as he flew past her, "I got one on my tail, can you help me out?"

Sure enough, a hostile fighter trailed after him, guns blazing. Scootaloo took a deep breath as she moved in to assist. "You got it."

More hostile chatter popped up as Scootaloo opened fire on the aircraft chasing Blastoff. "Captain, the second destroyer has been eliminated."

"Good. Prepare to dive, we'll take out the rest from where their guns can't reach us."

"But what about their depth charges?"

"Keep the ship at full speed; they won't be able to hit us in time."

"Aye, Captain!"

That's not good. Scootaloo finished off the next hostile, then toggled her radio. "Sapphire, where are the ballast tanks on the Equinox located?"

"Um, there are some all over, but the largest ballast tanks are concentrated at the bow."

Scootaloo immediately pitched her plane downward toward the Equinox. She held her breath as she hailed bullets at the very front tip of the sub. Come on, come on...

The sub began to dive despite Scootaloo's rain of fire. She groaned in frustration, but then she heard more chatter from the enemy.

"Captain! Our main ballast tank has been damaged! We'll have to surface again!"

Scootaloo heard a hoof smash into something metal. "Curse those vile creatures! Just as we were... wait..."

There was a pregnant pause, and then Perfect Shot's next words sent chills down Scootaloo's spine.

"They're listening."

"Making preparations to switch channels, Captain."

"No," Scootaloo heard Perfect Shot laugh. It was almost... maniacal. "Let them hear us."

"But Captain! They'll be able to counter our tactics!"

"No matter. Our mission is righteous and our cause is indomitable. Just as my words inspire our crew, they shall strike fear into our enemies!"

Much to Scootaloo's surprise, the crewpony that Perfect Shot was talking to seemed to accept this as if it were a revelation. "Of course, Captain!"

Also surprising was Rumble's thoughts on that exchange. No quips, no jokes, just shock. "He's insane..."

"You're telling me," Iris laughed nervously, "They got serious guts to knowingly broadcast their comms to us."

"That ain't guts at all, they're just crazy," mumbled Rumble.

Scootaloo twisted her aircraft to the right to avoid an enemy fighter's gunfire. As she did so, she pulled back on her stick to turn vertically in hopes of getting a good angle on her newest target.

The same pony who was speaking to Perfect Shot, likely the submarine's Command Duty Officer, spoke up once more. "Awaiting new orders for when we surface, Captain."

"These Wonderbolts are more troublesome than I expected. Focus all fire on enemy aircraft."

"Aye, Captain!"

Scootaloo tapped her radio. "All Wonderbolts, keep an eye out for weapons fire from the Equinox after it surfaces. We need to take out its guns like General Dash ordered."

"Wilco, Shortwing."

Scootaloo pulled her aircraft away from the smoking cloud where her latest target used to be. She glanced at her cockpit's console; she'd already run through half of her main guns' ammunition. Need to keep an eye on that... she mused.

"Enemy submarine surfacing!" shouted somepony from an allied destroyer.

Just then, she heard another explosion nearby, followed by a scream of exhilaration from her comrade. "Woo, baby! You're in the Big House now!"

"Careful, Big House," said Scootaloo, "These ponies are still a threat, even if they're way less experienced than us."

"Ain't nopony capable of smashing this house down, Shortwing! You worry too mu-" Suddenly, a blinding beam of light cut through the sky, ripping the aircraft of Big House in two. Scootaloo gasped in shock.

"What the hay was that?!" shouted Iris.

Scootaloo looked around for the source of the beam as its energy was dissipating. Sure enough, it had come from the Equinox. She bared her teeth and angrily tapped her radio. "Sapphire! You didn't mention that the sub had magical weapons on it!"

"I um, thought I did! I said it had a lot of guns, and-"

"MAGICAL WEAPONS ARE MORE THAN JUST GUNS!"

"Sorry! I thought it was obvious!"

Scootaloo was furious. Of course the Equinox had magical weapons. It had a nuclear reactor and therefore Focusing Crystals. It was a reasonable assumption for those crystals to power other kinds of weapons too. And of course, it had to be a magical beam cannon of all things. She roared in anger and adjusted her radio again. "They got Big House! I'm going to make them pay for that!"

"Is that... yes, why yes it is." Scootaloo's heart dropped as she realized her error. "I thought I recognized that aircraft. Shortwing, was it?" asked Perfect Shot.

Scootaloo had accidentally spoken on the open channel. She mentally screamed at herself for such a stupid mistake.

Perfect Shot continued to speak without waiting for her to answer. "The pupil of the legendary Rainbow Dash herself, come to stop destiny." He paused to laugh, "Well? What are you waiting for? Stop us!"

Scootaloo roared as she turned her aircraft around. "I WILL!" She pulled her trigger and fired at the Equinox's beam cannon.

"You don't even know why we're here, do you? You're just a slave to history, following orders because that's what you've supposed to do, rather than following your heart and doing the right thing." Sparks rippled across the Equinox's surface as Scootaloo tore apart its beam cannons. "You fight against the only ponies who can bring salvation to a world devoid of true divinity!" Scootaloo's vision seemed to bleed crimson as she pulled up milliseconds before colliding with the Equinox. "What do you have to show for yourself, Shortwing? Loyalty? To a country ruled by two false goddesses?!"

"SHUT! UP!" she screamed as she turned around for another run at the submarine. Unfortunately for her, that was exactly what he wanted her to do.

"All hooves, focus all fire on Shortwing! Ignore all other aircraft!"

...Crap. Scootaloo yanked her flight stick to the side as hard as she could to avoid the hailstorm of bullets that were now whizzing past her. She twisted and turned as much as she could to dodge them; it took every ounce of her skill just to avoid the lethal shots. Multiple scrapes and small chunks of her aircraft were struck by gunfire, turning her pride and joy of a fighter plane into a badly scarred, if still functional aircraft.

"Unlike you, our lives carry weight! And that-"

Perfect Shot's interrogation was interrupted by his subordinate. "Captain!"

"What is it?! I'm busy!" He sounded profoundly annoyed at being cut off from his speech.

"We have multiple hull breaches! We can't dive anymore!"

"When did that happen?!" Perfect Shot sounded positively demented.

"Um, while you were talking, sir."

The hostile comms chatter ceased after that question. Scootaloo pulled enough distance from the Equinox to afford a moment to calm down, though she did turn her plane slightly to get a view of the submarine. At the sight of it, her jaw dropped. Somehow, during that commotion, she and her comrades managed to destroy most of the Equinox's guns, while the remaining destroyers significantly damaged the outer hull. Smoke was billowing outward across multiple areas of the vessel. On top of that, her comrades had managed to clear the second group of hostile aircraft.

Suddenly, General Dash's voice pierced the silence. "Apologies cadets; had to go dark for a bit while our comms were being fixed. I should be able to hear all frequencies now. Somepony give me a report, please."

Rumble was the first to speak. "We... we lost Big House. And General, you uh, missed quite the conversation that Shortwing had with Mr. Crazy Submariner."

"What? You talked with him?"

Scootaloo reached up to toggle her radio, but she heard a resounding sigh before she could respond. "We surrender." She froze. But he was trying to kill me just a minute ago!

Those two words shocked all who were listening into silence. All except for General Dash, who was quick to capitalize on them. "This is General Rainbow Dash of the Equestrian Air Force. Please repeat that with your name and the name of your vessel."

"This is Captain Perfect Shot of the submarine aircraft cruiser Equinox. We surrender! Stop shooting!"

Immediately after he finished speaking, General Dash issued a new order. "All aircraft, cease fire!"

"But they killed Big House!" shouted Blastoff.

Scootaloo was having none of this. "Let's just sink it!" she exclaimed.

"Negative, cadets. We can't attack those who have surrendered. It'd be a breach of international law."

"I repeat, we surrender!" shouted Perfect Shot. He sounded almost desperate.

Rumble spoke with fury in his voice. "Why hold international law so dearly when these freaks keep violating it every chance they get?!"

General Dash seemed exceedingly pissed at her Wonderbolts. "Because I'll have your wings if you don't, cadets! CEASE! FIRE!"

It took every bit of willpower that Scootaloo had to not go for another run at the Equinox, but she obeyed. She took the time to examine her plane. Miraculously, her wings were mostly intact, and not one of the incoming bullets had struck the depth charges attached to her underbelly. Her paint job, on the other hoof...

"We surrender," repeated Perfect Shot, "We are currently making preparations to be disarmed."

Aurora spoke up next. "This is Aurora Gale, former admiral of the Chiropterran Navy and advisor to General Rainbow Dash. Captain, we're 3,000 kilometers from the nearest Equestrian shoreline. Whatever you were planning to do with that railgun of yours, it's not happening.

"You..." the venom in Perfect Shot's tone was incomparable. "I know you. You helped convince the Legionary Council that my ideas were foolish! That we could have defeated the hippogriffs with battleships!"

"That's right, I did. And after making sure that they were going to go through with that plan, I defected."

"When the Nightmare returns, I'll see that you won't live to witness it."

Aurora seemed to take joy in mocking him. "Good luck with that, Captain. I'm safe in Manehatten now."

"Manehatten?" the madstallion began to cackle, "Perfect..."

General Dash butted in before the two could yell at each other any further. "Captain, one of our destroyers is going to approach your vessel. Ensure that all non-vital personnel are ready to vacate your ship ASAP so that our ponies may board it."

"Let me tell you a story, General. Back when I commanded more than a single vessel, back during the North Zebrican War..." Perfect Shot spoke with pride as he recounted the tale, "The hippogriffs had just annihilated our battleship fleet. They were preparing to storm the beaches of Moonspeaker Hollow, and the only thing that stood between them and the sanctity of my home was me, my destroyer, and three submarines."

As Scootaloo flew circles around the Equinox, she noticed a thick strip of metal in the center of the submarine's runway begin to rise into the air. Is that how its aircraft return to the ship?

"Our pegasi ensured that the weather was rough that day, but the hippogriffs still brought two dozen transports with escorts alongside them. And yet despite the odds, me and my small fleet managed to destroy every single one of them. I even landed a shot on their support carrier from over 30 kilometers away. On that day, I came to be known as the Hero of Moonspeaker Harbor."

Aurora couldn't resist another quip. "Too bad the hippogriffs landed uncontested on a different beach that same day."

That riled up the captain. "What do you know of honor?! Of faith?! Of beauty?!"

Scootaloo frowned as she examined the strip of metal further. It wasn't rising straight up, but at an angle, and it was separating to reveal... That's a barrel.

And it's beginning to glow.

"General! He has no intention to surrender!" Scootaloo shouted as she turned her plane and started accelerating back toward the Equinox.

"Wait, Shortwing!" exclaimed Iris.

"Do it now, Shortwing!" exclaimed Rumble.

"Stop attacking immediately!" shouted General Dash.

"Dash, he's charging the railgun!"

"Not according to our sensors he isn't! Stop attacking now! THAT IS AN ORDER!"

Perfect Shot's voice pierced the maelstrom of conflicting messages. "Today marks the eve of the shortest day of the year, and the anniversary of the false goddess Luna's hypocritical speech!" He practically cackled with glee, "Know that it shall be the last day that any pony shall ever see! Target is the Equestrian city of Manehatten! To take the lives of ten million ponies, 3,500 kilometers away, all to break the prison housing Nightmare Moon!"

Scootaloo glanced down at her ammo count. Nearly empty. She took a deep breath as she lined up the railgun in her sights. You're a slave to history, he had said. She pulled the trigger. Well, so are you.

The last of Scootaloo's bullets riddled the base of the railgun, damaging it and causing it to limp slightly. At that same moment, a blinding flash erupted from the superweapon.

"It fired..."