On one dreadful night, in the middle of summer, the skies shattered, and a thousand bolts of light rained down from the heavens, laying waste to the land below.
The world five years later is a changed place. The massive loss of life from the 1996VG1 Ulysses asteroid sent the world into a shock and panic from which it has only just begun to recover from. Large nations, like Equestria, are quick to rebuild and recover. For those without deep pockets, however, times grow hard.
Griffonstone, a nation already falling to ruin before the disaster. Nationalism begins to rise in the Griffon Kingdom. They blame their leaders for not protecting them. They blame Equestria for not providing support. And most of all, they blame their neighbors for the failure of a pact between the nations of the world to build a weapon to defend themselves against the stars.
And so, with fury and speed never before seen in modern warfare, they Blitzkrieg across the continent, destroying all in their path.
Rainbow Dash signs up as a mercenary pilot for a backwater nation besieged by Griffon forces, desperate to get away from Equestria. With a wingman who would rather do his own thing than follow orders, and the might of the Griffon Air Force hunting them down, everything Rainbow Dash knows about fighting is thrown out and replaced with one simple realization.
There is only one ultimate rule in war-
SURVIVE.