Gracemareia AFB
Crystal Empire
May 26 2023
23:30 hours.
Garuda and Diamondback had gathered in the situation room for the briefing. Slugger walked in and it began.
"Sorry for the loss of sleep, but this can't wait. We have found the source of the missiles." And he brought up a satellite image.
"this is the Lance of Hope. It is the giant floating rail gun the Changelings tried to build to destroy the the asteroid. As you know their work came up short, and they quit working on it. Or so we thought. It looks like they upgraded it to launch cruise missiles also, and put a small air base on it. It is unknown if any more work was done to the rail gun."
He brought up another image, then continued.
"Since this is the Changeling's last hurrah,, we're expecting heavy resistance. So we're throwing our best at it. Again failure is not an option. To ensure this, we have a backup plan. Equestria has perfected their Supernova cruise missile." He brought it up on the screen. "This huge stealth cruise missile has a thermobaric warhead with a yield of 90 tons. It is capable of leveling an entire military base or city. They will send one on an FA-29 for backup."
Slugger shut off the projector.
"This is the final battle. It's time to end this war for good."
"I am so ready," Tornado said.
"Squadron assignments are as follows: Garuda, you will lead air defense with Harmony, Ghost, Redler, and White Dove squadrons. You will also be loaded with a pair of 2,000 pound Paveways to use on the target. Diamondback: you're on SEAD again, and will lead the attack group with Tornado, Cobra, and Coyote squadrons. The train leaves an hour so get ready."
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Northeast of Gracemareia
May 27 2023
02:01 hours.
The squadrons formed up, and began heading Northeast towards the last known location of the Lance.
"I should be sleeping right now, but it's worth it," Stormy said.
"It's bringing back some memories for me," replied Maverick.
"How so Spade?" Kiwi asked.
"At the end of the last war, my final mission with Lunar squadron happened in the early morning. I remember destroying the satellite that was heading for Manehattan, then enjoying the sunrise."
He changed the tone of his voice a bit.
"At least this time somepony won't be firing her laser at me."
"Shoop da whoop!" replied Nightshade, and everyone laughed.
Then the radio crackled to life.
"...anypony hear......"
"What was that?" Heart Throb asked.
"Can any of you pilots hear me?"
"Sky Eye to unidentified pony: Identify yourself."
"...have inform.... about the Lance .... Hope... it's weak points. This is Moondancer a civilian."
"What are you doing on this radio? This is for the military only!" snapped Sky Eye.
Then a smaller voice got on.
"You have to listen to her! There's only one way to destroy it!"
"I better contact command..." Tornado cut Sky Eye off.
"Wait a minute! Moondancer? Is this the Moondancer that was married to Quarterback?" Suddenly it hit everyone.
"Yes! I'm with my daughter Ember!" she replied.
"Maverick to Moondancer: So what info do you have?"
"The gun is active. They're going to use it on Gracemareia and possibly other places. It's weak points are the four cooling units at it's base. Destroy them and it will overheat and collapse," she replied.
"Don't forget about the 5th one behind the barrel!" added Ember.
"How did you get this info?" Nightshade asked.
"From a Changeling officer's laptop," replied Moondancer. "We can transmit the data to you."
"How?" asked sky Eye.
"This is Vinyl Scratch, sorry I didn't get on sooner. It's all true. I'm transmitting it to you now."
After a minute Ice got back on.
"Data received." He looked over it for a couple of minutes.
"Wait.. Are you serious?"
"Ice send us the data," Maverick said.
"On it's way," he replied.
"Whoa." Nightshade said.
"Why does it look like it has the measles?" Surprise asked.
"Those mark it's anti aircraft weapons," replied Maverick.
"We'll get ripped to shreds trying to get near it!" replied Tornado One.
"Diamondback Two how many HARMs do you have?" Maverick asked.
"We've got 36 among us, but most of those don't look like radar guided guns and missiles," he replied.
"So what do we do Spade?" asked Heart Throb.
"We've got the 2,000 pound guideds, so it'll be up to us to take out the cooling units. Somepony needs to take out the six cruise missile launchers also. From the way it looks, you pretty much have to fly under the barrel's supports, and then it looks like you'll have to destroy the missiles as they pop up to jam the launchers. Finally you can bet the rest of the Druids and who knows how many other planes will be there to defend it so be ready. How does that sound Ice?"
"Sound fine to me," he replied.
"Then let's do it!" yelled Maverick, and the planes sped off.
----------------------
Near Los Alicornes, Crystal Empire
04:29 hours.
"Sky Eye to all planes: Drop down and let's see if we can sneak under their radar."
All of the planes descended to a couple hundred feet. Everything was going fine until they got over the ocean and turned East. It wasn't long before they ran into a changeling Destroyer being used as a radar picket.
"DAMMIT get it!" yelled Maverick. Diamondback Two took out it's radar with a HARM, then Tornado One and Two fired some Mavericks, severely damaging it. The remaining squadrons strafed it and a few thousand pound bombs from Cobra squadron sent it to the bottom.
"Pretty sure our cover's blown," Nightshade said. And sure enough about ten minutes later Sky Eye got back on.
"All planes: 30 bandits 60 miles out, heading for you."
"That puts them about over the gun," Tornado said.
"We'll have to take them on here, or we'll be dodging SAMs right and left," replied Maverick. "Attack squadrons hold back until we sanitize the skies."
"Druid lead to all planes: It's time to avenge Silver and Nertz, and stop the Empire's aggression, or die trying!" and with that the opening missile exchange occurred, resulting in six Druid planes down.
"GET THEM!" yelled the new Druid One. And the fight was on.
"We're dealing with SU-33's and J-10's," Maverick announced. soon he was behind a Druid plane, and after some maneuvering brought it down with a sidewinder. Harmony One got the next one, followed by Heart Throb, Nightshade, and Redler Three.
Kiwi got behind a J-10, only to have it do a cobra on her. She caught on to it though and did one herself, which kept her behind it, and she got the kill.
"Hey it worked!" she said.
Stormy came to the aid of White Dove Seven, only to have one drop in behind him.
"Oh yeah?" He hit the brakes and made him overshoot. He got on him and got a missile kill. By the time he got caught up to the other, Harmony Two had already taken it out.
30 minutes later, only eight Changeling aircraft were left, but they kept fighting. Two Druid planes tried to double team Maverick, but they also got double teamed by Nightshade, Black Widow, and Ghost Four and Five. Nightshade and Ghost Five got the kills.
"They were loyal, I have to give them that," Nightshade said.
White Dove Four got a gun kill on the next one, then Ghost Two got a missile kill. The remaining Four grouped up, and managed to fire four missiles at Maverick before all of them got shot down almost instantly. Maverick dodged them like a pro.
"And here I thought I was the only one who could do that," commented Nightshade.
"Sky Eye to all planes: Scope is clear. Get to the target!"
Diamondback went first, firing their anti radiation missiles at everything emitting radar signals. Close behind them were the Warthogs of the Tornado and Cobra squadrons armed with Mavericks and thousand pound bombs.
"They're painting us. Let em' rip!" announced Diamondback Two, and the missiles began flying. In short order all of the search and anti aircraft radars had been taken out. The other attack squadrons then went in and began picking off the SAMs and guns one by one.
The command center for the gun was in total chaos.
"We've lost our radar and most of our defenses!" a Changeling yelled.
"Start launching missiles!" replied the commander.
"Tornado Three to Sky Eye they're getting ready to launch a cruise missile!"
"Roger, someone get down there and get it!" replied Ice.
"This is Tempestra, I'm on it." And she dived down towards the spot. As she got close, she could see the top of the missile poking up from it's launcher. She lined up and fired her cannon at it. The warhead exploded, and left the first launcher unusable. She flew under the supports and made a hard left to escape.
"Nice one Widow!" yelled Maverick.
"We've lost a launcher!"
"Keep firing!" replied the commander.
"Another is getting ready to launch," Cobra One announced.
"I've got it," replied Nightshade. She did the same move Black Widow did and got it. Just as she flew over a third appeared.
"There's another!" she announced.
"I'm on it," replied Maverick. Instead of lining up for a strafing run, he lobbed a Paveway at it. In addition to hitting that launcher, it took out the one next to it also.
"Rock on Spade!" yelled Tornado.
"I've got the last one," Heart Throb said as she banked downwards towards it. Just as the missile started to launch she hit it, and the last launcher was destroyed.
"Garuda One to Sky Eye: All launchers have been destroyed."
"Excellent! Now for the big one!"
"We've lost the launchers and are almost out of aircraft!"
'DAMMIT! We won't go down without a fight!"
Then they heard a radio call.
"Sombra to command: Concentrate on loading and firing the gun. I'll take care of them."
"Y-Yes your majesty," he replied.
"OK everyone, take out the remaining AA, then...." Maverick was interrupted when several pulses of laser beam shot down from the sky, striking Harmony Two, Cobra Three, and Stormy.
"STORMY!" Heart Throb yelled.
"I'm hit! I'm going down!"
"Eject!" yelled Maverick.
"Where did that come from?" Diamondback Two said.
"You ponies have meddled with my plans for the last time. Prepare to DIE!" a voice said over their radio. Several more laser bursts were fired from seemingly nowhere, striking two more planes.
"White Dove Three and Cobra Two are down!" a pony yelled.
"Maverick what do we do?" Heart Throb asked.
"All planes retreat!" he replied.
"What about you?" Nightshade asked.
"I'll deal with it, and don't argue with me, just leave," he replied. It was too dangerous to have so many planes in the area. They would be sitting ducks.
"Good luck Spade," she replied.
"I'll be more than happy to take you on Ace of Spades."
"Bring it you cockroach!" he replied.
"I'm no Changeling. The name is Sombra." Soon Maverick got locked onto, and narrowly missed a beam.
"Anypony do you see anything?" he asked
"It looked like the beam came out of mid air, like the plane is invisible," replied tornado.
"Sky Eye switch to Winchester," Maverick said. And he changed to the secure frequency.
"Go ahead Mav'."
"Contact Vinyl and see if that Changeling knows anything about an invisible plane with a laser cannon."
"I'm calling right now," he replied.
"Kreiko!" Moondancer yelled as they ran up to him.
"What is it?"
"There's some invisible plane shooting a laser at them over the gun. Do you know anything about it?" she asked. It seemed to ring a bell in his brain.
"Let me check." He went over and got on the laptop.and after a couple minutes of searching, found what he was looking for.
"I don't believe it. Sombra had it finished too!"
Meanwhile Maverick dodged some more pulses, and desperately tried to spot the plane.
"Quit being a chicken shit and show yourself!" he snapped.
"I'm not chicken, just cunning," Sombra replied.
"Mav' switch to Winchester," Sky Eye said. And he changed again.
"Go ahead."
"We've got the data on the aircraft. It's called the Geopelia . It's a giant twin wing stealth fighter with a pulse laser cannon and a cloaking system. Unfortunately it also has an advanced countermeasure system so the only way to kill it is with bullets."
The news was all too familiar to Maverick. He faced the same situation with Nightshade in the last war.
"Terrific." He switched back.
He did notice he got a lock warning before the laser was fired, so he waited for the tone, then hit the brakes and did the move he used on her; doing a backflip while firing his cannon.
"ARGH!" Sombra yelled when he suddenly found himself on a collision course with Maverick. He dived, and like before Maverick's cannon rounds found their mark and ripped into his plane. Suddenly the plane became visible.
"Damn you," cursed Sombra.
"Now let's see how hot you are," replied Maverick. He got his first look at the plane, which resembled Princess Luna's X-49 Night Raven.
"If it wasn't for stealing Equestria's tech you cockroaches wouldn't have anything," he said as he got behind Sombra's plane which, though nearly four times as large as the F-15, was just as maneuverable.
"As I said before I'm not a Changeling, I'm a unicorn!" snapped Sombra.
"A cockroach by any other name still needs to be squashed," replied Maverick, and he fired his cannon. Some rounds hit, but didn't do any major damage. And after a second attempt he was out of ammo.
"Shit. Now what?" he thought. Suddenly Sombra was behind him again, and he was back to dodging laser blasts. Made easier now that he could see him.
He now had no idea what to do. He didn't want to risk anypony else getting shot down.
Then it came to him. It could mean his death also, but it was the only option left. He did another somersault and got behind Sombra again.
"Garuda One to Drakee One, switch to Winchester," which was the former NLR plane carrying the Supernova missile.
"Go ahead."
"Can that new missile lock onto targets?" Maverick inquired.
"Yes. It uses radar and GPS, but I already tried it and it won't lock onto that thing," she replied.
"I've turned off my IFF. Lock it onto me and fire it."
"What?" replied Drakee One.
"WHAT?" yelled Nightshade.
"Spade have you gone mad?" Sky Eye asked.
"Don't argue with me just do it!" he replied. Drakee One locked the missile onto him and pulled the trigger. The massive missile dropped from the Thunderhoof and sped off.
"OK it's coming!." she yelled. Maverick did a split S and sped away from Sombra towards the missile.
"Running also coward?" Sombra said as he turned to go after Maverick, who was already seven miles behind him.
Soon Maverick could see the cruise missile. He reversed his course again as lock warnings sounded. He let it get to within a half mile of him before matching it's speed.
"Time to joust Sombra. I'm coming head on," he said.
"Oh but thou art such a fool," Sombra replied.
The two planes closed in. Sombra started firing, and Maverick began a barrel roll and dodged the blasts. With just a couple of miles between them Maverick dropped chaff, and pulled back on the stick as hard as he could, sending the Eagle vertical. Sombra looked up at him, then looked forward in time to see the Supernova coming straight at him.
"NNNOOOOOOOOOO!"
The missile hit him and exploded. The giant explosion was seen and felt by the other planes for miles. when it was over, all that was left was small pieces of the Geopelia falling from the sky.
But that wasn't all that was falling.
"Spade are you OK?" Heart Throb asked. There was no answer.
"Spade?" Nightshade said.
"Look!" yelled Kiwi. They looked up to see Maverick's plane slowly falling towards the water. His sudden maneuver caused him to black out. The F-15 continued straight up until it stalled, then came back down.
"Maverick wake up!" yelled Surprise.
The plane continued to fall. Just 2,000 feet from the water he finally came to, and started fighting to regain control. He finally did, hit the afterburners, and pulled back on the stick, leveling out just a couple hundred feet above the water, leaving a rooster tail in it.
"Spade are you OK?" Ice asked.
"Yeah I'm fine. Remind me not to try that again," he replied.
"You need to be reminded you crazy son of a bitch?" cracked Tornado.
"Now you know how I felt when I took him on," replied Nightshade.
"Sky Eye what's the status of Stormy and the others?" Maverick asked.
"We've picked up their beacons and have choppers en-route," he replied.
"OK everyone let's finish this! " And the planes headed back for the Lance.
"Sombra's dead! They're coming back!" yelled the Changeling.
"Is the gun ready?" the commander asked.
"Not yet! We need a little more time!"
"Throw everything we've got at them!"
"Tornado and Cobra: Finish the guns. Garuda let's take out the cooling units," Maverick announced.
"Roger. Lead the way," replied Tornado.
Maverick dropped his remaining bomb on the shield of the first cooling unit, but it only damaged it. Nightshade came in and dropped her two bombs, destroying it.
"One down, five to go," she said.
"They destroyed a cooling unit!"
"How did they know?" the commander snarled.
"I'm on the next," Black Widow said.
"Sky Eye to all planes: 20 bandits from the Southeast. They must have snuck up on us while we were dealing with Sombra."
"Roger, keep them off of us," replied Maverick. Meanwhile Widow had dropped her two bombs, and destroyed a second cooling unit.
"Tempestra cover me," Heart Throb said.
"I'm there, she replied. She got to her just in time to shoot an SU-27 off of her tail.Heart Throb trained the laser on the third cooling unit and dropped her bombs, destroying it.
"Three down!" Tornado announced.
"We've lost three cooling units. It's starting to overheat!"
"Dammit!"
"You're up Kiwi," Maverick said. She tried to line up on the fourth, but a shoulder fired SAM was launched and she had to dodge it. Afterwards she lined up again and succeeded in destroying it.
"OK that's four. Now what about the fifth?" Maverick asked.
"It's actually under and behind it at the end of the channel that leads under the gun, but it doesn't show how to get to it or how to exit the channel, which is protected by AA guns. We need targeting data," replied Sky Eye.
"How do we find out without getting shredded?" Kiwi asked.
"I'll take a look," replied Nightshade.
"It's too dangerous! What if there's no way out?" replied Heart Throb.
"We don't have a choice. Sorry but it's time for me to dance with the angels!" and she dived for it.
"Cover her!" yelled Maverick.
She dived under the gun and entered the channel. Immediately she started taking AA fire, but she continued. She blindly fired the rest of her missiles and then saw an exit to the right.
"Got it!" she said and she banked right through the opening, taking heavy AA fire. Her missiles blew open the door to the cooling unit.
"Sky Eye: Did... you get the... data?" she asked.
"Yes, now get out of there!" he replied. Unfortunately her plane had taken critical damage.
"I'm losing thrust. I can't make it up again." she laughed a bit. "Once again I'm in this situation.
"Eject Venom!" yelled Maverick. There was no response.
"NIGHTSHADE!"
"Sky Eye get S and R after her!" Maverick yelled.
"Area is still too hot," he replied.
"I'm going in," Tornado said.
"Roger. At the end pull up slightly, drop your bombs, then bank through the opening. Attack units try and take out those guns," replied Maverick.
Tornado flew into the trench. He did as much maneuvering as possible to avoid the guns, and at the point, dropped his bombs and flew out through the opening. The bombs skipped and went into the cooling unit, destroying it.
"I got it!" he yelled.
"Alright. Now let's watch it die!" replied Sky Eye.
"We've lost the five primary cooling units!" the Changeling said to the commander.
"Switch to the backup! Is the gun ready to fire?" he asked.
"Yes. We just have to load the round."
"It hasn't collapsed!" Diamondback Two yelled.
"It's barrel is opening," added Kiwi.
"Wait a minute..." Sky Eye said.
"Dammit that was a 5th cooling unit. The backup is directly behind the barrel!"
"How do we get to it?" Maverick asked.
"You... have to fly down the barrel, then to escape fly out the vent hole at the top."
"Spade?" Heart Throb said.
"Say no more," he replied. And he banked towards the barrel. He slowed down as much as he could, then flew in.
"Round loaded! It's charged up!"
"Fire the gun in Five. Four..."
Maverick could see the glowing from it charging and the projectile. He sped up, fired all of his remaining missiles, and flew out the vent. The missiles detonated the projectile, destroying the breech and the cooling unit behind it.
"They destroyed it! We're finished!"
"Damn them," the commander said.
Explosions began ripping through the gun, and slowly it started to fall apart.
"Mav' got it! Mav' got it!" yelled Surprise.
"It's over! It's finally over!" yelled Sky Eye.
"Maverick do you have a copy?" Tornado asked.
"Go ahead," he replied.
"Well it looks like you did it again."
"We all did it," he replied.
"WOOHOOOO!" yelled Heart Throb.
"Sky Eye; any word on Stormy and Nightshade?" Maverick asked.
"Search and rescue is almost there. We've also picked up Nightshade's beacon," he replied. Maverick breathed a sigh of relief.
"All planes return home," he said.
The sun began to creep up over the horizon.
"It's a new beginning," Kiwi said.
"Best sunrise ever!" exclaimed Surprise.
"Is this how it felt for you before Spade?" Black Widow asked.
"It sure is, but this time... I know Nightshade is alive, he replied." And the planes headed back for Gracemareia.
----------------------
Canterlot Castle
06:43 hours.
"They did it! They did it!" Yelled Twilight as she jumped around. Cadence and Shining Armor embraced each other for the second time.
"Who dealt the final blow to that thing?" Celestia asked Twilight.
"It was Maverick, it was Maverick," she replied, while continuing to jump around.
"I should have known," she replied.
"I'm so glad he has always been on our side," commented Luna.
"We've got to do something special for him and his squadron," Armor said.
"Leave it to me and Cadence," replied Celestia.
"shall we ask Chrysalis if she's ready to give up now?" a white unicorn asked.
"Yes Rarity, by all means," replied Luna.
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Chrysalis's palace
06:55 hours.
"My queen," a changeling said.
"what is it?" Chrysalis asked.
"I'm afraid we have lost the lance, and Sombra," he replied. She was shocked.
"How did we lose them?" she inquired.
"Sombra died while trying to protect it from the empire."
"Why would they attack it if it hasn't done anything?" she asked with a rise in her voice.
"Well you see..."
"That rat bastard was going to use it wasn't he?" she said angrily.
"Y-Yes," he weakly replied.
Chrysalis paused for a moment before speaking again.
"Serves him right. Good riddance. Has the empire arranged for a surrender meeting yet?"
"Nothing. In fact they just called to see if we're finally ready to surrender."
"WHAT?" she snapped. "Mudlusk should've given it to their courier two days ago!"
"I thought I saw him give it to Sombra," a guard said. Chrysalis exploded with rage.
"WHERE IS THAT LITTLE BASTARD?" The Changelings in the room jumped from her outburst.
"Get another courier here!"
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Gracemareia AFB
08:15 hours.
Diamondback landed first, then it was time for Garuda to land.
"shall we mow the grass?" Tornado asked.
"Yeah. Kick it up a notch though," replied Maverick. And with that the remaining six paired up, and skimmed 50 feet above the runway just below the speed of sound. At the end they gunned it and pulled up, passing the sound barrier and rocking the base with sonic booms. Then they landed to hundreds of cheering military and civilian ponies. Slugger greeted them.
"you did it. The Changelings have nothing to fall back on now. We've won."
"What's the status of Nightshade and Stormy?" Maverick asked.
"All of the downed pilots have been rescued. Nightshade is injured though. They're all at the hospital in Los Alicornes," he replied.
"We want to go there," Heart Throb said.
"We'll get you debriefed, then get you on a transport to there," Slugger replied.
"Screw that just refuel our planes and we'll head there," Tornado said.
"I guess we can do that," he replied.
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Chrysalis's palace
08:21 hours.
*THUD*
That was the sound heard when Chrysalis used her magic to slam Sombra's aid against a wall. she also used it to hold a sword to his neck.
"Tell me where it is Mudlusk, or your head is going to be filing a divorce with your body."
"It's in the top drawer of his desk!" he quickly said. she threw him to the floor in front of her guards.
"Get him out of my sight. And round up the rest of his henchlings also," she said. They took him out, and she went to Sombra's chamber. She got the surrender documents, and took them outside where a light green and yellow pegasus was waiting.
"Here it is. You would've gotten it sooner, but a few idiots decided they didn't like it and hid it," she told the courier.
"It'll be in Canterlot by noon," she said, and she zoomed off, leaving a trail of lightning.
After Chrysalis walked back inside, one of her aids ran up.
"Your highness! I have great news!" She was shocked.
"Don't tell me that pony made it back to Canterlot already?" she asked with a surprised look.
"No. Remember that mountain they used as a test subject for it?"
"Yeah, what about it?" Chrysalis asked.
"They just got done assessing the damage. It was a dormant volcano. They've discovered huge gem deposits. Most are diamonds and fire rubies!"
She was shocked. "Exactly how much?"
"It appears the entire mountain is loaded. The low lands below probably are too, and there may even be gold deposits. they're going to check the other nearby mountains also."
Chrysalis suddenly brightened up for the first time in ages.
"Get the word out ASAP!" she said.
--------------------
Crystal Empire castle
Gracemareia
May 29 2023
11:50 hours.
With the signing of the cease fire documents by Queen Chrysalis and Cadence, the war was officially over. It was time for the ceremony commemorating it, and honoring the heroes of the war. In attendance besides Cadance and Shining Armor were Princesses Luna, Celestia, and Twilight, and many other ponies from both Equestria's and the Crystal Empire's government and military, including Garuda and Diamondback, who had been reunited with their leader. Like him, Nightshade also had to sit in a wheelchair due to her injuries.
"Well it looks like we get honored for our actions," Black Widow said.
"I should hope so," replied Stormy.
"Second time for you isn't it Maverick?" Tornado asked.
"Yep. Hopefully it'll be the last time," he replied.
"At the least I'll be getting a purple heart," Nightshade said. "Hope I've redeemed myself enough with that."
"I think it's safe to say you have," replied Heart Throb.
The music started, and the ceremony began. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor came out of the castle and onto the stage. Luna and the others from Equestria were on the right, and members of the Crystal Empire on the left. Cameras zoomed in as Cadance started to speak.
"Citizens of the Crystal Empire. It has been a hard two weeks for us, but perseverance has paid off. The war is over!" and the crowd roared.
"Not only are we hear to honor the occasion, but to honor our allies, who in no small amount contributed to our victory, and our military, who, despite being displaced, fought it's way back in. Together they liberated our country." There was more cheering.
As Cadance went down the list of service ponies, squadrons, and units that made major contributions, Nightshade had time to reflect on herself.
"Well here I am again. Grounded with a broken wing and leg. Was it worth it? This time it was. My country is free again. I still don't know the actual status of my village though. I won't be able to check until I heal enough. And I WILL be returning to the sky. Including in my own fighter: The one I stole from the Changelings. Shining Armor called it a symbol of the Empire's resolve. It will be kept in flying condition here. And I'm the only one who get's to fly it."
She heard Diamondback One get mentioned.
"Can't say that about Royal Riff though.His days as a pilot are over due to his injuries. No pilot wants to see a fellow one lose that ability. I feel bad for some reason. guess it's a bit of survivor's guilt. I did hear a replacement has already been found. Don't know who it is though but I guess they're here."
Then it was finally Garuda's turn.
"Garuda squadron. Step up." And the eight of them got on stage.
"Maverick.You and your squadron made the biggest contributions in this war, including dealing the final blow. All of you please accept these medals and raise in rank as a small token of our gratitude." And Cadance and Armor used their magic to put the medals on them.
"Nightshade. You may have betrayed your country in the last war, but you have proven that you do care for your country by your actions, and putting your life on the line to free it from evil. As of now, you are again a citizen of the Empire, and a member of the Air Force," and Cadance put her medals on including a purple heart, and the Medal of Heart, the Empire's highest civilian honor.
"Thank you princess," she replied.
All of them turned towards the crowd and raised a hoof in the air, causing the crowd to erupt in cheers.
At the same time the Empire ceremony was going on, Chrysalis was making a speech to her country.
"This war was foolish. I admit that. I put too much trust and power in Sombra and his supporters. Sombra is dead now and his henchlings rounded up. From now on I will be calling the shots."
Then her tone changed.
"With that out of the way: There was a silver lining to this war. The dormant volcano the lance was test fired on contains a vast amount of fire rubies and diamonds. Further study suggests the entire area could be loaded with them, and possibly gold also. It's too early to tell but this find could be worth billions of bits. With those bits we will rebuild this country the right way!" And the crowd cheered.
Back at Gracemareia, the ceremony had ended, and the ponies were chatting amongst themselves.
"So what's your plans Nightshade, besides heal?" Tornado asked.
"I still need to find out what happened to my fellow villagers. Has anyone heard anything?" she asked.
"There's someone here with the answer," replied Maverick.
"And who's that?" she asked.
"Nightshade!"
"Sundance!?"
Her friend ran over and they hugged for almost a minute.
"Oh no you're injured again," Sundance said.
"What can I say? I guess it just comes natural to me," she replied. "What about the others?"
"They're all fine. The changelings did destroy the village though," she replied. A wave of relief washed over Nightshade.
"Wish I could have been there to stomp on those cockroaches."
"Don't worry. Someone did it for you," replied Sundance.
Nightshade was shocked. "What do you mean?"
"The army Changelings are who torched the town. And there were a couple of planes with bombs also. I think they might have bombed the woods with them, but before they could some mercenary pilot showed up and shot them down, and attacked the army Changelings"
"How do you know it was a mercenary?" Maverick asked.
"The plane was yellow with flame graphics , and the only ID marks were some suns kind of like Princess Celestia's cutie mark. It had to be."
"Wait a minute," Slugger said. "We received a few reports of a yellow plane in the Eastern part of the country from both our pilots and Changeling ones as we listened in on them."
Nightshade had a shocked look on her face.
"Something ring a bell?" Slugger asked.
"Could it be? I wonder..." she replied.
"Well whatever the case, don't worry about how we're going to rebuild," Sundance said.
"Why"? asked Nightshade. Princess Cadance stepped forward.
"Word got out about this repulsive act the Changelings did. In addition to us, Equestria and the Griffin Empire have pledged aid. It shouldn't take long at all to rebuild it," she replied.
"So don't worry about trying to help. Get healed up first," added her friend.
"That news is going to make recovery a lot easier," replied Nightshade.
Then Diamondback Two popped in.
"Well our new commander finally showed up," he said.
"Where are they?" Maverick asked.
"Right here."
Maverick was more shocked than when Nightshade found out about her village.
"No way. You left them for the Diamondbacks?"
"Yep. Had to pull a few strings. The princesses pulled the rest."
"There's a reason you did this right?" Maverick asked.
Tornado did his fishing pole and hook routine again, earning him another smack to the back of the head by Heart Throb.
------------------
Gracemareia AFB
May 30 2023
12:25 hours.
The Changeling POW's, including Kreiko, were getting ready to leave for their country on transport planes, but not before they went to a ceremony themselves. A wedding ceremony.
"So this is it. We're finally going home to a new beginning. Sombra is dead, and our queen had all members of his cabnet rounded up. It might not be pretty for some of them. Some view us as cowards because we gave up. We are not cowards for surviving."
The couple getting married started exchanging vows.
"The last thing I expected to happen here was be the best Changeling at a wedding, being held at what was left of the prison camp that held so many ponies, then for a short time, us. Chrissy, the one who convinced me to to send the data about the lance to the empire, has found what she was looking for.Nertz, a member of the Druids, survived getting shot down in the battle between Silver and the Garuda squadron. I guess some good came from this war."
"Speaking of Garuda: From I heard, this won't be the last time wedding bells are heard at this base."
----------------------
Gracemareia AFB
July 13 2023
17:35 hours.
The tarmac in front of hangar one was crowded with ponies. A podium was set up with red carpet leading up to it. Behind the podium were a couple of aircraft; The flight leads of both Garuda and Diamondback squadrons. Both faced slightly towards each other at an angle, pointing away from the podium with their canopies open. Behind them off to the sides sat the rest of the planes of both squadrons. Garuda on the left, Diamondback on the right, facing each other.
Off to the sides of the podium were the bridesmaids and groomsstallions. They consisted of pilots from Garuda and Lunar squadrons (including Pinkie, who helped plan it), and Slugger. Among the crowd was members of Diamondback and Skylark squadrons, Rainbow Dash, Moonstone, Moondancer, and Ember, who was the flower girl. Noticeably missing was the best mare.
"Has Nightshade shown up yet?" Heart Throb asked.
"I don't think so. She should've been here by now," replied Surprise.
"Surely she wouldn't back out," commented Tiger Angel.
"I'm...Here."
They turned to look, and couldn't believe what they saw.
"I do believe hell has frozen over," Tornado said. Stormy did a wolf whistle.
"Shut up or you're going out of here on a stretcher!"
Nightshade was wearing a deep blue gown, and a disgruntled look.
"I didn't think you had it in you," commented Maverick.
"I don't. That fashion unicorn forced me to, stopping short of holding me at gunpoint," she replied.
"That would've put a new spin on the term 'shotgun wedding'," cracked Slugger.
Nightshade growled. "Under different conditions I would've left, but since it's your wedding I couldn't let you down."
"I appreciate it. And you look good," replied Maverick.
Soon the music started, and the ceremony got under way. The bride walked out and up to the podium.
"Ready to make it permanent Glory?"
"I have been for six years Maverick."
The usual words were exchanged, and a kiss sealed the deal. Instead of the usual music starting though, a different tune was used, much to the shock of the unicorn who planned the wedding. She turned to the DJ booth.
"Vinyl you little...!"
"Sorry Rarity. That song's too stuffy for what's about to happen," she replied.
"What do you mean by what's about to happen?" she replied.
She soon found out. Maverick and Glory suddenly took off their outfits to reveal their flight suits. A weird yell came from Rarity.
"WHAT? They had their flight suits on under their outfits and I had to wear this!?" exclaimed Nightshade. She turned towards Rarity in time to see her faint. Suddenly she went from being angry to laughing.
The reason for the way the two planes were parked soon became clear as the couple walked towards them.
"Isn't this misuse of military property?" Tornado asked Slugger.
"Normally yes, but when the princess gives the OK it's hard to say no," he replied.
About that time Glory threw her bouquet. It headed straight for Nightshade.
"SHIT!" She dropped to the tarmac and it hit Tornado in the head, and landed in his hoof.
"Bwaaaah!" He threw it and Kiwi caught it. Heart Throb then did his fishing pole gesture to him with an evil grin.
"OK. It was worth wearing this gown now," cracked Nightshade.
Maverick and Glory got into the planes and fired them up. Soon the canopies closed, and they saluted everypony, who did the same. The planes then taxied through the rows of planes to the runway, blasting everyone with jet wash.
"Best wedding EVER!." Rainbow Dash said, getting a dirty look from Rarity, who had finally recovered from the shock.
"Next to Cadance and Armor's that is," commented Rainbow Dash.
The two aircraft rocketed down the runway, and took off into the setting sun.