“Ma’am, the bomb’s been dealt with. You are cleared for takeoff with Vanhoover squadron.”

“How do I know you’re not a spy?” came the cracky reply from inside the engine hood. “Lemme check.”

A sigh came from behind Rainbow Dash, followed by retreating hoof steps. Her tongue stuck out, eyes scanning the crystals and pipes before her. She then made several approving sounds with said tongue, before slamming the Spitfire’s hood shut.

With a flap of her wings, Rainbow rose past the colorful paint job, the numerous kill marks, the Wonderbolts’ bold roundel, and the graceful, wavy name of her plane: The Rainbow Lancer. She settled down in the cockpit and closed the canopy overhead. A light stretch later, her limbs descended upon the controls; the Lancer soon rolled out of the hangar, joining twelve drab green planes on the runway.

A letter, stamped with three apples, fell out of a pocket. Rainbow bent over to pick it up; several pictures joined it on the floor. Cursing under her breath, her feathers gently grasped the letter.

“This is VH - 1 to Loyalty; are you ready for launch?”

“Loyalty to VH - 1, gimme a sec.”

She took care not to bend or fold the papers, placing each one in her pocket. Once the final picture was firmly snug and secure, Rainbow Dash gave her good-to-go.

One by one, the planes thundered down the runway, lifting off into the morning sun. Rainbow was the last one up, and with the new squadron, flew with the sun behind their backs.

The sky before Rainbow Dash was filled with grey and green swarms, short lines of yellow and fiery comets of red speeding in between. The planes around her swung back and forth, rolling in harmonic waves.

Rainbow’s eyelids grew heavy from the gentle rocking of the Prismatic Lancer. Her hoof lazily pushed and pulled the Prismatic Lancer in time with the other planes. The steady thrum of the engine relaxed her shoulders and drooped her wings.

The individual specks of the swarm grew larger. Soon, individual planes were rushing into view. Booms, cracks, and buzzing replaced the thrumming of engines.

Rainbow Dash sat up, smiled, and spun left.

The poor pilot in her crosshairs was sent down to Equus bathed in the light of the rising sun. And of burning gasoline.

The flight stick immediately jerked right. The plains of Equestria were revealed, alight in fires and flashes of orange, yellow, and purple traversing the land. Jagged trenches ran from horizon to horizon, tiny dots spewing even tinier bursts of flame. Formless wrecks, motionless dots, and lifeless structures filled the craters in between.

The view was missed by Rainbow. She was preoccupied with the black and red plane in her mirror.

“This is Loyalty; can somepony get Widower off my flank?”

“VH - 1 copies you loud and clear.”

Simultaneously, a steady series of cracks sounded from above. The changeling ace banked away from Rainbow Dash.

Another changeling curved after her; Rainbow frowned, before adding an upward tilt to her turn. Neither gained on the other as they looped into the sky, able to see each other through their canopies. The changeling attempted to break it by looping further back, sweeping in from behind. Rainbow attempted to break it by pivoting the entire loop, sweeping in from underneath.

The Prismatic Lancer, with its magitech engine, was faster. Slight pressure from Rainbow’s wing sent forth deadly metal, severing a wing. A white parachute opened behind the metal beast spiraling to the ground.

Continuing her climb, Rainbow Dash soared above the battlefield, away from the misery of the ground, away from the chaos of the air. Up here, the sounds pouring into her ears slowly fell behind the reliable hum of the engines.

“This is VH - 1! I got a ‘ling on my tail!”

“Loyalty copies,” Rainbow Dash called out from above, flipping the Lancer upside down. Below her a green Spitfire threw itself left and right. A grey changeling fighter trailed behind. Both sides of her muzzle curved up, and she dived ahead of the desperate chase.

On her side and smoothing out her approach, she waited for the changeling to fly into her sights. First came the green Spitfire, swiftly trailed by the grey pursuer. One good, solid burst wracked its body with explosions.

More bullets flashed overhead; Rainbow Dash slammed into another dive. Two changeling fighters followed suit in the mirror. Biting her lip, Rainbow pushed her stick to the right, and then backwards.

Her vision was suddenly filled with a grey, spinning sky. Somewhere, a muffled voice echoed. Rolling left, Rainbow Dash blinked the burnt colors of the ground into her vision.

Leaping back down on the two changelings, she sent out two volleys. The first only got decorative holes. The second had their wings punctured, a streak of oil trailing behind.

A changeling plane, followed by a black and red streak, flashed in the mirror. A green plane plummeted past Rainbow, its RAF roundel lapped in flames.

Gritting her teeth and reversing course, the Prismatic Lancer let out a stream of bullets. Halfway through, an indicator blinked yellow. Then the guns clicked on red.

The stream of yellow missed the responsible planes. Their changeling roundels glided after another plane.

“Loyalty. Ammo’s out. Heading back.”

“VH - 2 copies. I’m also running low.” The same voice, in a different distortion, called out, “Vanhoover squadron is returning to base.”

Under a blue hoof, the Prismatic Lancer turnt to face the rising sun. Much like its pilot, it never took a straight line, zipping through the clouds and fresh planes.

A cascade of bullets ripped through the plane’s wing. Rainbow Dash winced; fuel splattered the left side of the cockpit. The flight stick pushed to the right, accompanied by groaning and gushing. A last glance up through the oil returned a red streak plunging into a cloud.

Body tense, Rainbow Dash croaked, “This is Loyalty; Widower’s on my tail.”

More relentless gunfire filled her ears; metal broke from behind. A gas symbol flashed red. Rainbow’s eyes furrowed, and then a gleam came from her eye.

Her left hoof covered her pocket.

Her right hoof completed the loop; the Lancer punched into a cloud.

Her wings latched onto the release hatch of her cockpit.

Rainbow Dash leapt out of her plane. The Widower, wide-eyed, pulled his entire body back.

His plane was rammed by the Prismatic Lancer as it came out of the cloud, its magitech engine shattered in a blazing purple light. Black wings detached from the body and continued their path forward. A second explosion flung out of Widower’s remaining fuel tanks.

And the shrapnel hit Rainbow Dash’s wing, flinging her to the ground below.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading my first story on this site, and also what is my first time trying my ~~hand~~ hoof at action packed thrillers. This was also, because I accidentally deleted half of my planning via refreshing, written backwards, which actually worked out pretty well. On the other hand, I barely got this above the 1,000 word minimum, and I don't really have many ideas on how I would get the word count higher. As is, I feel like there are things I could cut, but not add.

Oh well, it's a story, and I hope you enjoyed it.

And, almost forgot, it's time for the obligatory begging for feedback: constructive, unconstructive, or just plain mean. Thanks!