//------------------------------// // Part II - The Hell in the Heavens // Story: Fortresses Over Germaney // by The Grey Pegasus //------------------------------// Fortresses Over Germaney By: The Grey Pegasus Part II - The Hell in the Heavens Somewhere over Belgium 0919 Hours They had crossed the Channel long ago and had been flying over land for around half an hour. Their passage over land had blurred together when the cloud layer thickened below some time earlier, obscuring any view to the ground. The magic radio connection cut out as the ponies felt themselves pass a barrier of sorts. Rainbow felt the shift in the atmosphere. "Rarity? Rarity, can you still hear me?" No response. Rainbow sighed and let out a grumble of tension. "I don't like this. It's really cloudy. I hate cloudy skies..." "Don't we all," remarked Lightning. "Well, eyes open anyways, guys. Maybe someone 'ill catch a lucky glance in case some Germanes decide to be pesky today." "Those Germanes just love this," sighed Thunderlane. "You got a bad feeling about today, Rainbow? Because I don't know how I feel." "Don't get me started on it. I don't want to think about it." "Smooooth, Thunder," said Lightning. "Now she's thinkin' it." "Oh, you know she was always thinking it," replied the stallion. "Shut up, both of you," Rainbow said sternly. "Not helping." "Hey, Dash," Rumble interjected, "maybe you'll feel better if you just say it out loud." "What kind of suggestion is that?!" his brother asked, incredulous. "Alright, alright, that's enough," interrupted Lightning. "It's the weather, alright? Just blame the weather. You couldn't do anything about it." "Ugh! I just can't shake the feeling that we're going to get jumped by a formation!" Rainbow finally exclaimed in frustration. "Dash! Ugh! Why would you say it?! We just went through that entire thing so you wouldn't!" "So, you feel better now?" asked the younger stallion. "I know I don't," said the lieutenant. "Good job, Rainbow, now we definitely are." "Oh you know we always were," shot back the major. "Hey! I know fate can be a bitch, but you made it worse. We could have sat here shaking in our seats in anxiety and got back to Braytain feeling like idiots for being so worried. But nooo..." "I thought you wanted to get quadruple ace." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "It's easier to think about that when there's no bombers to protect," Lightning replied. "Y'know, when we can just fly around and shoot stuff." Amidst the chatter, all of the ponies maintained watchful eyes. Their job was to sweep ahead and clear the skies before the bombers got there. To pave the way straight to the target. Rainbow and Lightning especially kept vigilant outlooks, as they were hardened and experienced combat pilots. No matter how difficult the weather made it for the pilots, the discipline and instinct was hammered into them. <<+>> The bombers soon followed the fighters past the barrier. "Ow," Twilight remarked, rubbing her head near the base of her horn. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that." Unlike the dull bump that pegasi felt, it was more of a light shock to unicorns. "Nopony will," Hemlock replied, wincing as well. "At least they've never found a way to proof against their own anti-magic fields. Amareican or Germane, no unicorn is using magic up here while those things are active." Magic was simply not a variable anypony felt like dealing with, both sides not knowing how many unicorns on the other side were in the air at a time. Thus, the Germanes decided to blanket their country in large magic-cancellation fields, which covered both the air and ground. They fought on their terms, and the terms were essentially who could throw the hardest buck. "Well, obviously connection's cut," Vinyl reported to Rarity. "No more talking with the escorts. Back to the good ol' technology we have to work with and the good ol' trust we put into those pegasi." "If the ground forces keep up their offensive like in Prance, the fields should keep getting pushed back," Twilight said. "Those magic neutralization devices take a toll on everypony, ground and air." "It was a relief as they swept through Prance," Rarity added. "I didn't have to get my headaches so early in the flight." "Granted, those flights were shorter..." Redwood pointed out. "Deep in ya, Red," Applejack commented, "I know you just itched to get past Prance and finally start hittin' Germaney like you'd buck a stallion between his hind legs." "Yeah, well I know who I'd like to buck between their hind legs." He grinned slyly. The crew was left in an awkward silence over the possible interpretations of what their navigator just said. Applejack pictured Redwood poring over his navigation table with that grin after that last one. She had to give him credit—sometimes he could navigate conversations as fast as he could navigate destinations; at the same time even. "... Okay, kick a stallion between his hind legs," Applejack corrected herself, still flustered from the way he altered her earlier statement. "Now if I wanted to do that, I'd have joined the Army on the ground." Sometimes, Applejack preferred to start hearing the metallic chinking of the .50 caliber M2 machine gun in her hooves than any more words from the stallion. <<+>> They were over Germane territory. All of the ponies kept watchful eyes, fighter pilots ahead and bomber crews far behind alike. One pair of magenta eyes spotted black specks in the distance. "Hey, hey, hey—looks like the Germanes came out to play today. Check 10 o'clock, Lightning—looks like their packing a bit more in numbers than usual," Rainbow noted. "Been a couple missions since we've had a good fight. Ready to greet them?" she asked with her usual confidence. "Well, with me shooting down all their planes, they're running out," Lightning replied with an equally confident tone. "But if they keep coming, I'm not going to refuse giving them a welcome to hell and a name to myself." "And so does the great prophet Dust proclaim," Rainbow teased. "All aircraft, this is Major Dash. Enemy formation spotted, 10 o'clock, low. Consider threats. Drop tanks and prepare to engage." Rainbow hit the release on the external fuel tanks, and she felt the Mustang lighten its controls slightly as the weights under the wings were dropped away. "Hey, Lightning, what'd you say about a storm miles away earlier?" Rumble commented. "You know I truthfully don't like it when jokes become a morbid prediction," Lightning replied. "Don't matter if the joke's still funny or not, Lightning," Rainbow said. "All that matters is that it's time to go to work. Hooves tight and senses sharp—I think we still might have the drop on them. All flights, gain altitude and we'll go and catch them." "Copy that, Major. Time to kick some Germane ass." "They're dropping a bit, Major," someone spoke in Rainbow's radio. "Think they saw us?" "Any 109's breaking off for us?" "Negative on that." "Where're the bombers?" "Not too far back." "Dammit, they're going through the clouds." <<+>> "Geez, I still can't tell if I should be scared or bored out of my mind." "I don't know which flight I'm on, Nickel, but I'm always fearin' the worst." Applejack sighed. "We can't forget we're still in a war, Nick. We might be winnin' up here, but down there, ponies are still dyin' plenty." "I guess it's because I came in late to the war," Nickel replied. "I didn't have to go through the hell you all went through." "Don't fret too much over how you feel, Corporal," Octavia said. "No matter how you feel, it doesn't change the fact that these are lengthy, arduous flights." "So how do all of you pass the time?" "Just talk," Vinyl answered. "Jabber, chatter, prattle like it was over a cup of tea. All while doin' our jobs. Y'know, like any normal crew." "Good for keeping heads straight, too," Twilight added. "At least, for me. Reminds me that this war isn't everything, and that some day, it'll all end." "Can't say I fully agree with that, Captain," Redwood admitted. "Half of the times, it makes me worried for ponies close to me out there." "Always does," Pinkie added. "I worry about my sisters." "There's no way to run from it forever," Hemlock said. "Not when you're in it." "Wow, I did not realize how depressing this could get," Nickel said in reply to everyone. The reaction was a few chuckles around. "Don't worry, Corporal, you didn't say anything wrong," Rarity said. "It's fairly common around here. If this is making you uptight, how about a story?" "Good as anything," Applejack said. "So who wants to do the honor?" "Hey, Rarity," Redwood spoke up, "I don't think you've told Nickel the story of your father and how he attacked a machine gun nest and captured all those Germanes in the first war." "Yeah, come on, Rares. Everyone likes a good medal story." Rarity rolled her eyes, smiling. "Alright, alright. So, at the time, my father was a corporal in the Army—" "Rarity," Twilight suddenly spoke up, "I really hate to interrupt, but I've got a story here myself, and it's about to get told—we got trouble up ahead." The Germane formation broke out of the clouds from below, numerous single-engined fighters lined up for a destructive pass through the front of the formation. "And I really, really, hate this part," Twilight said as she laid a hoof on the chin turret controls. <<+>> Rainbow gritted her teeth as if it would make the Mustang go faster. The throttle was already slammed forward, putting the engine into water-cooled overdrive. She watched the Germanes pop out of the clouds and fly up to their targets. "Come on, come on." "I'm with ya, Rainbow!" her wingpony's voice called out through the radio. "109, just coming up from below! Get 'im?" "Good as any!" Their grips tightened around the sticks as they aimed for the Messerschmitt they were slowly getting a gain on. It banked as it dodged fire coming from the bombers ahead of it. "Banking left and weaving under the heavies!" "My eyes are locked on this tally, Rainbow, no need to tell me!" The first triplet of bombers sped past over them as they continued giving pursuit. A slight pull back on the stick brought the Germane in their sights. Short bursts of fire erupted from both Mustangs' wings, tracers flying past the Bf 109. It began spewing smoke after Rainbow's second pull of the trigger, causing it to drop out of the fight. Although the two didn't continue giving chase, Rainbow spun her plane inverted to give it one last look, seeing flames burst from it after a B-17 momentarily blocked her view. "Alright, that's one more downed and one more left!" "What?!" Lightning exclaimed as she followed her wing lead, circling back to hunt more enemies in the mass formation. "What do you mean?!" "Saw him go down just a moment ago. Down in flames." "Yeah, right. Who's confirming it?" "Like you made sure all of yours were," Rainbow teased. "And besides, everyone agrees that I've got way more integrity than you do." "Hey, hey, hey, stop pointing hooves because you know that they're all confirmed." Rainbow kept grinning, unknown to her wingpony. "Uh huh." "Either it's not confirmed or let's call it split." "Split, huh?" "Fifty-fifty." "Alright, confirmed split." Rainbow glanced left out of her canopy towards the front of the formation, finding a single black object speeding the other direction. "Still keeps me one ahead. 8 o'clock, low. Try and beat me to it." She pushed the stick left and began calculating a path. Lightning saw the target and did the same as Rainbow. "Just you wait." <<+>> "So, compared to your days back in '43, how is today?" Nickel asked, watching a Germane pass by under him every now and then. "These pesks are like mosquitos on a hot summer evenin' but they ain't no swarm of bees," Applejack answered. There was only the occasional din of machine gun chatter. She herself had stood ready the entire time and only had to take action once on the starboard gun. "Redwood," Octavia addressed, "How much farther are we?" "Uh..." Redwood quickly worked out their position. "Approximately 90 miles, Lieutenant, so about thirty minutes." "Germanes don't seem to be too aggressive today," Hemlock noted. "Some harassing, but they don't seem to be attacking as hard as they could." "I don't have any problems with that," Vinyl commented. Nickel spun the turret he was sitting in around, looking for targets of opportunity around or below him. The clouds down underneath could be hiding one ready to pounce. "Fine by me." <<+>> Lightning jockeyed for position to shoot at the Bf 109 they had been chasing. Rainbow was below her, and she wasn't planning on letting Rainbow get one more ahead of her. Their target banked hard to the left, and Lightning was in a better position to lead the target. A few short pulls on the trigger sent a stream of .50 caliber bullets toward the plane. The Messerschmitt was caught right where the guns' aim was set to converge. The sheer density of fire coming in caused a wing to tear off and smoke billowed from the Germane fighter. "Add another tally!" "Good job, Lightning." Rainbow searched the skies for more danger. Then she saw it. 'Uh-oh,' Rainbow thought to herself. "Lightning—we got more trouble," Rainbow said to her wingpony. "What's up?" "Over there, 9 o'clock." "Guess this first wave decided to call over some more friends." "More Germanes I hear?" Thunderlane asked. "We just seem to be that unlucky today," Rainbow answered. "It's all your fault, Rainbow," Lightning grumbled. <<+>> The action became even more frantic, swarms of fighters flying through the formation. Open air was filled by tracers from fighter and bomber alike. Germanes appeared and disappeared through the clouds below. "Okay, now?! How does this compare with '43 now?!" "We're getting shot at, Corporal!" Twilight yelled. "It's similar enough!" Applejack could have picked either side gun to man and would have found a target passing by. "Almost as bad, but still could be worse!" "We could have no escorts..." Octavia said, occasionally looking out of the window beside her. She remembered a time in 1943 when the bomber next to them had its cockpit decimated with cannon fire coming from a Germane attacking from above and to the right, and they themselves only survived because it overshot them. The fear of that possibility had barely gone down since, and her grip on the yoke was always tense during attacks, as if feeling the controls more would allow her enough time to bank away from an attacker. "I don't care, we're getting shot at!" Twilight exclaimed nonetheless. Her hoof was still on the turret controls, shooting to ward off any potential attackers threatening to give her a faceful of bullets. <<+>> "Get on him, Lighting!" The pair weaved over and under the large Flying Fortresses, chasing down a Focke-Wulf 190. "Not slacking one bit, Rainbow!" The radial-engined plane they were targeting was laden with weaponry and armor, and it didn't perform as well at high altitudes compared to the Messerschmitts, and as such made slightly easier prey. Becoming easier prey was a good thing especially since the Focke-Wulfs were the ones gunning for the bombers. Lightning split below a B-17 while Rainbow went above, and she kept the gunsight hovering around the Germane, confidently holding the trigger when it was in her crosshairs. Pieces of the aircraft were torn off and thick black smoke erupted from it. "Yeah, he's down!" "Alright, I'll confirm that." Not even a few seconds later, they found the roles reversed, tracer rounds passing alongside Lightning's plane. She immediately took action, breaking hard to the right. "Whoa, whoa! Dash help me out here!" Rainbow pulled back hard, aiming to get above the fight. "I'm on it, I'm on it! Hang tight!" As she pulled around, she looked down to see her wingpony and a Germane latched on behind her. Some bomber gunners were firing at it. "You got a 109 on your tail, Lightning—I got 'im." She dove down in assistance, ready to fly in behind the assailant. Lightning maneuvered with sharp turns, not letting the enemy keep their aim on her. Yet occasionally, a few tracers whisked by. She felt herself jump at the sound of a thud of a bullet hitting a wing. "Hurry up, Dash! This guy's got a hard-on for me!" she exclaimed, frustrated. "Yeah, well I'm real wet for him," Rainbow retorted, getting behind the two planes dodging around. "Fuck you!" After yelling her frustration at her wing lead's joke, Lightning then realized that she should probably help her partner as well. "Pulling right now!" The two aircraft tumbled around Rainbow's sight until Lightning made her move. Rainbow was ready, and she pulled the sight onto the pursuer. The six guns chattered and the target was subsequently ripped apart, ending the chase. "You're clear." Lightning inverted her turn, letting Rainbow catch up. She saw the dead plane fly uselessly away. She huffed in relief. "Kill confirmed." Rainbow looked around, getting her bearings back. "Bombers are over there. Back to work." Lightning flew over next to her wing lead. "I'm on you." <<+>> "Woo!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I never knew they made it this easy!" The twin machine guns in her hooves shot at a Germane as it attempted to make a pass on them. There was the sound of two or three hits on the bomber before the attacker wisely decided to break off. "Pinkie, you're insane," Twilight said, startled by the thuds of hits. "Aren't we all?" Pinkie gleefully replied. "If I were, they'd take me off service on grounds of insanity." "Twilight, I thought you were insane," Redwood said, half-jokingly. "Twilight tried to get out of one mission back in 1943, remember?" Applejack said. She switched stations, turning to the port side gun. "Grounds of mental illness? Didn't work." She chuckled. "Hey, Box, one passin' by, 9 o'clock, high." The M2 kicked back in her hooves as she took shots at the passing Germane. The flight engineer turned the turret to aim at the given direction. "I see him." Bursts of machine gun fire vibrated through the plane. "Y'know, I actually remember Twilight complaining about that. Told her she wasn't going to be able to pass off as crazy." "Pinkie's right," Twilight huffed. "We're all crazy." "Twilight!" Hemlock yelled. "12 o'clock, high!" "Celestia dammit!" Multiple Browning M2s firing vibrated through the B-17. <<+>> The two pegasi continued hunting down Germanes in their Mustangs. Rainbow had gained altitude to look over the formation. "Okay, Rainbow, take your pick." "Ignore the 109s as much as you can—we gotta take out the 190s before they get any of the heavies." She spotted a Fw 190 attempting to do just that. The B-17 survived, but its engine was lightly trailing smoke and likely took damage to the fuselage. "Down there, 10 o'clock." Rainbow jammed the stick left, rolling the aircraft inverted. Using the altitude gained from their climb, she dove down, focused on the one Germane Fw 190. Lightning followed her promptly. "I think I've got this one!" she said confidently. There was no way the Germane was escaping with two P-51s hot on its tail, unnoticed. The two dropped in behind the fighter and let it drift into their crosshairs. A pull from their triggers alerted its pilot, who turned hard left in vain. The engine was visibly smoking as the Focke-Wulf escaped from the fight, diving away. "He's smokin' hard!" Lightning exclaimed, feeling her competitive edge become more aggressive. "Yeah. He's runnin' too," Rainbow noted. "Come on, there's more to chase away." "Wha—are you kidding me Dash? I—" "No. There's too many Germanes today. We gotta defend the heavies." Rainbow pulled back on her yoke, bringing their bearing back towards the bomber formation. Lightning growled in annoyance as she watched another possible kill fly away and followed. She accepted the need to, but it didn't stop her from being irritated. "You want a kill? There's tons more flying around, taking shots at the Fortresses. Just make sure you land more shots next time," Rainbow berated. "I'll call that one a probable." "And I'm not bothering to confirm that right now," said Rainbow. "Come on! Let's go!" <<+>> "ETA to target, ten minutes!" Redwood announced. "Got it, Heartbuck!" Twilight acknowledged. Twilight began preparing her focus for the bomb run. She went through a checklist she had written down to make sure everything was in order. All they had endured led up to this single moment. "Bombs are armed, bombsight calibrated earlier and ready for inputs..." The unicorn looked up, keeping watch for still any Germanes. "Scratch! Camera's ready, right?!" "Ready for the run, Captain!" Vinyl replied. "Rarity! Wingnut! How are our engines?!" "No damage, Sparks!" Hemlock answered. "Alright, all that's left is that we actually get there with no issues." She heard Octavia sigh. "I always feel like saying that ends up becoming a curse." "Gotta agree with Tavi there, Twi," Applejack said. "Especially when it comes to you." Twilight reeled from the accusations. "But I always go through this process every mission." "But it's the way you word it," Pinkie pointed out. "The hell does that mean?!" "I hope we don't have to find out," Redwood commented. <<+>> "Hey, Rainbow, I think we're getting close!" "I agree," they heard Thunderlane say. "There's a city not too far ahead. Probably not more than ten minutes away." "Okay, that's good," Rainbow noted, still chasing away Germanes from bombers, Lightning by her side. And then it came. Rainbow saw a flash of movement in the corner of her eye, seeing a B-17 reel from an attack, both starboard engines trailing light smoke. However, it looked like it would live. Her eyes kept scanning the skies, trying to find the attacker. "Oh fuck." "Dash, what is it?" Lightning asked. "It's Rumble's fault." Rainbow gritted her teeth. "Hit the gas, Lightning, we got trouble." Her wingpony did as told and followed Rainbow as she pitched up, gaining altitude. "Wait, wait, what do you..." She paused as she took in the few words Rainbow just said. "No. Ohhhh no. Nononono." "Oh fucking yes," Rainbow groaned, tensing up. "What, what'd I do?" Rumble asked. "If you all blame me for stuff I said earlier calling the unlikely wrath of the Luftwaffe, then I blame you for the same." "I—wait, are you sure?" "Lightning, 2 o'clock, turning right. Clear as day." "By Luna," Lightning murmured. "Rainbow's fucking serious. We got a 262 on our hooves." "Holy hell," Rumble mumbled. "You ready, Lightning? Kill it or not, we gotta try and stop that thing before it starts downing some heavies." "Don't know how the hell we're gonna do it, but let's do it." The two P-51s had some height advantage over the fast jet, and they had to use it carefully if they were hoping to get useful shots at the Me 262. They turned inside of the Germane's turn while keeping their altitude. Rainbow watched tensely as it made another pass at a bomber, scraps of metal tearing off of the Fortress's wing. The jet began climbing and that's when she decided to make their move. "Let's get him!" The two Mustangs dove down to the Me 262's altitude, picking up speed while the jet was still turning and flying up. Slowly, the jet drifted into their sights. It was far from the range where their guns were harmonized for, but it was a shot. Both pulled the trigger. In response, the 262 leveled out and gunned the throttle. "Dammit, Dash, we either barely scratched him or I don't think we hit 'im at all!" "As long as it's not shooting bombers, I think we're doing good!" Rainbow and Lightning put their throttles balls to the wall, mostly in vain. They went for the same strategy as before. The jet went for a vertical loop, clearly both to evade the Amareican fighters and to take another pass at the bombers with a higher dive speed. "What's our move, Rainbow?!" "Pull right and dive with him!" The single Me 262 turned into the formation of bombers, coming up the rear of the lead formation. The Germane pilot was distracted by the two Mustangs that were again on his tail, firing shots that were coming close and one or two even hit, but the jet still managed to get a few hits on the right wing of the lead B-17. It quickly passed over the bomber it wounded, Rainbow and Lightning following behind just enough to see the outboard engine of the plane set afire. "Rainbow, isn't that—" "Yeah! Now it's personal!" <<+>> Redwood peeked over Twilight's shoulder, squinting ahead through the bombardier's clear nose cone window. "I spy with my green eye an industrial center. It should be a straight flight to the target area in Flankfurt from here. Rarity, expect flak—" *PAMF* "Now! Expect flak now!" he exclaimed, not expecting it for at least another minute or two. "Dear Celestia!" Twilight jumped in place as puffs of black appeared in front of her, some feeling dangerously close. "Great to know, Redwood!" She wasn't necessarily irritated at the navigator, but she had every right to be irritated at his timing. The bombardier's seat was essentially a premier front row seat to a fireworks display of death, bursts visible above, below, and ahead through the clear nose cone. "Sorry, Twilight! As much as we tried to figure out their flak positions, even the easiest way through is packed with AA!" Redwood called out. "Can't be worse than when fighters used to be your biggest problem!" Nickel commented. "I'm sitting here looking right at all the guns!" "Yes, well, as we took more ground from the Germanes, they've had less ground to put their anti-aircraft guns on," Twilight explained. "So now they just cram them in one place! So no, I'm not sure if it's much better than when we were harassed by fighters!" "Flak notwithstanding, get ready Twilight, you're almost up," said Rarity. "There's hardly any clouds to worry about—make the best of it, will you?" Explosions continued specking the formation of Amareican bombers. The weather conditions were, in fact, very favorable for bombing. As Rarity had mentioned, there were barely any clouds to obscure the target area, the cloud cover having dissipated a few minutes prior. Much of the clouds in the area were small black ones—puffs of smoke from anti-aircraft shells shot from flak batteries down below. The ponies jolted in surprise as they heard the thundering impacts of cannon shells hitting somewhere on the right side of their aircraft. "That's Number 4!" Hemlock yelled. "Number 4's in flames! Shut it down!" The co-pilot wasted no time getting to work. "Pressure's dropping in the engine," Octavia worriedly noted, calm voice shaking. "It's losing RPM. It's dead, Rarity." "It's Twilight's fault!" Redwood shouted. "Such an unlucky pony sometimes..." Rarity grumbled. "Feather the prop." "What the hell hit us?!" Twilight yelled. She was answered by a speeding silhouette flying up and away. "Oh, it's one of those jets..." she said, frightfully. It was quickly followed by two Mustangs, falling farther behind the Germane more by the second. "Um, right." Rarity shook herself back into the immediate moment. "Twilight, we're already here. We've got to go through the run." Meanwhile, Hemlock rested his head back on the turret glass, taking a quick break from all the head-turning from earlier. As the sight of the large vertical tail of the B-17 quickly became dull, he rolled his head along the glass, taking looks left and right. The aircraft lightly rocked from the increasing AA barrage. A flash of unusual movement in the left of his peripheral vision caught his attention. He scrambled to press his face against the glass. "Dear Luna! Anypony else seeing this?!" Rarity, being on the left side of the cockpit, could not see anything unusual, but Octavia heard the engineer and looked out of her window to their right, shocked by the lack of seeing anything. "Oh my..." Nickel in the ball turret under the fuselage quickly found himself watching agape at a falling B-17 off to their starboard side, tracking it through the glass below him. <<+>> In the middle of their chase, Rainbow and Lightning had failed to notice that all of the other Germanes had broken off. Without notice, a precarious show of deadly fireworks in the form of puffs of exploding flak began. The cloudy weather had disappeared, presenting a view of an urban area ahead. That was the unspoken signal to leave. "Come on, Rainbow," Lightning said. "We gotta leave. Bombers got through." As they banked away from the jet and the bomber cloud, Rainbow gave one last glance towards the Germane. "Luna dammit..." While circling back, Rainbow looked down at a familiar trio of bombers. Two silver B-17s flanking an olive drab one in the center. And then it happened. An anti-aircraft shell tore straight through the left wing of Aluminum Alicorn IV, leaving a gaping hole. The wing buckled after a few seconds, shearing right off. Scraps of metal and burning fuel accompanied the destroyed B-17 as it uncontrollably rolled to the left. Rainbow looked on with shock as Aluminum Alicorn fell out of the sky. Should the cannon that fired the shell have been aiming fractions of a degree elsewhere or the wind itself blown the shell slightly, she could have been watching her friends go down. It was likely that Sweetie Belle II, as the leading bomber in the formation, was the ideal target for the AA guns. Her hooves reactively pushed the stick to steer towards it, letting her continue watching it hopelessly, her plane gravitating towards the sight of the downed aircraft. Nine ponies. Nine possible deaths. And she couldn't do anything to help it. "Dash! Hey Dash!" Rainbow was snapped out of her trance by Lightning's voice in her ears. "What the hell are you doing?! It's time to leave the bombers! We got no business with them while there's no fighters to protect them from!" Rainbow shook her head clear and she found her wingpony continuing on without her. "Roger that, headed back now." She took one last look at the B-17 continuing to spiral down before turning away, her emotions a mix of regret and hopelessness. Failure, even. 'No, stop that. There was nothing I could do to stop this.' "Rainbow?... Dash? Hey Dash, you there?" Rainbow tightly shut her eyes to regain focus, not realizing she had paralyzed herself again in thought. "Yeah. Yeah, what?" "You alright?" "Yeah. I'm fine." "The brothers and I were just waitin' on you and we're wondering about what we'll do while wait for the bombers to come back. What's the agenda? Don't feel like this is going to be a routine mission." "I don't know, Lightning," Rainbow said with uncertainty. "You're right. I got a feeling we should keep our guns full." "You're the boss. Sit back and enjoy the fireworks then. Hope no Germane sticks their head up in these parts." <<+>> "How is Number 3 holding up?" Rarity asked. Her hooves shook lightly every time a flak shell exploded nearby, the defenses becoming increasingly frequent as they got closer to Flankfurt. "Barely picking up the slack," Octavia answered. "We can keep running it at full, keep up with the formation, and drop our payload. Then we can keep it running at that rate for a while, but it can't hold up forever." "We're going to lag behind on the way back," Redwood realized. "Unfortunately. Highly unfortunately." Octavia's note was punctuated by shrapnel from a distant flak burst lightly hitting against the skin of the plane. "Twilight, how much will this affect your targeting?" Rarity questioned. "Working on compensating for it now." Twilight worked the knobs on the bombsight, inputting airspeed, windage, range, and all of the other factors into the analog computer. "It'll make the run difficult, but I think it's doable." "Hey, Captain," Vinyl called, "Hail From Cloudsdale and some others want to know if they can rely on our aiming." "Tell Cloudsdale and the others to defer to the deputy lead. I'm confident, but not enough to risk a couple of payloads missing their mark." "Flankfurt industrial district directly ahead, ETA three minutes," their navigator noted. "Captain, you've got navigation from here." Twilight leaned into the bombsight. "Rarity, you ready?" "Ship is yours," the major responded. "Tell me what to do." The next three minutes were all about close cooperation. Twilight blocked out everything happening around her. In her current mindset, she thought of the dead engine only as an inconvenience. Her focus was sharp, her moves careful and precise—indeed, her level of proficiency in those areas was why many regarded her as the best bombardier in the entire USAAF. Careful coordination and intense concentration was the name of the game for those few minutes. With thirty seconds left to go, Twilight requested that their airspeed and heading be kept as steady as possible. Each thud of flak outside corresponded with a thump from her heart. The dulled roar of the engines backdropped the fast yet calm voices of the two pilots and the navigator communicating with the bombardier, despite all of the unfortunate circumstances prior and the current conditions. On the final leg of the bomb run, Twilight had direct control of the bomber. Twilight peeked out from bombsight one last time, hoof hovering over the bomb release. 'ETA Ten seconds.' She brought her eyes back down to the sight. The rail yards flashed in her vision— "Bombs away." The B-17 lurched as it dropped its heavy payload of bombs. Bombs streamed out of the open bomb bays of the bomber cloud, a deadly rain meant to destroy a substantial amount of infrastructure through the sheer power of carpet bombing. No longer laden by the tons of ordnance, the Fortresses' airspeeds rose, and for Sweetie Belle, the control trim the pilots had set to account for the engine imbalance had to be reset. At nearly 30,000 feet, it was a long way down for those bombs to travel. The bombing cameras would have to give them the results later. As it was, where the bombs landed was now put all the way back in everyone's head—the problem of a missing engine returned as the most significant issue. "Run complete. Rarity, control's back to you." "Let's get out of here, shall we?" Flak had not had not reduced in intensity in pelting the Amareican bombers. The formation began turning around, ready to head back to Equland. Unfortunately for the crew of Sweetie Belle II, that was exactly their difficult challenge. A Fortress they might be, but they could only hope for so much. <<+>> "Eyes peeled everyone, that jet's probably lurking around here somewhere..." Rainbow led her flight in a patrol as they waited for the bombers to return from their run. The Luftwaffe aircraft had already left the vicinity as far as they could tell, much to their relief. Some of Rainbow's Mustangs had fanned out further in a hunt for any targets of opportunity. "Rainbow," Lightning said, "as much as I'm worried about that jet showing up again, don't you think it would be more productive to go and help sweep for Germane flights?" "I've heard those jets aren't even really operational yet," Rumble mentioned. "I mean, I don't think I've heard any reports of organized attacks with them. Just the occasional one jet." "No, there hasn't," Rainbow answered. "And if they ever do put them into service in enough numbers, Luna help us." "But that's the point, Major. They're still just testing them. Why worry about one jet that might not even show up again when we could be doing damage to ones we know will show up in numbers?" "Well, at least I can keep my guns loaded to escort my friends back," Rainbow reasoned. "Last we saw them, they're an engine down and that means they're going to fall behind. And when they can't keep up with the rest of the formation, I'm going to be there for them." There was a short silence, which Thunderlane broke. "I guess I can't argue against that." "You're the boss, Dash," Lightning said, fully trusting in her commanding officer's decision. <<+>> "Rarity, Number 3's not going to keep up at this rate much longer." Rarity sighed. "Then, Lieutenant Melody, I believe it is time for us to drop out of formation. Sergeant Scratch, inform the others of our predicament and situation." "On it, Major," the other white unicorn promptly replied. The pilots directed the large bomber down, dropping out of their position, leaving Cold Hail From Cloudsdale alone in what used to be their combat box. Flak was still continuously exploding around them, though there were no further instances of major damage after Aluminum Alicorn IV had been struck as far as they knew. The two pilots had set the trim of the aircraft to account for losing the starboard outboard engine, but the two port side engines, 1 and 2, also had to be throttled down to help compensate for the imbalance. The two mares themselves were putting some pressure on the yokes to keep the plane flying straight while they kept trying to find the right trim settings. Octavia wasn't sure which of them was contributing more—herself, or her commanding officer, who seemed to be stronger than the average unicorn. "Lieutenant Heartbuck," Rarity asked, "can you give us a quick calculation on how long it's going to take us to get back home?" "At this rate, and... uh, if it stays this way," Redwood said, trying to be careful with his wording, "Uh... with the tailwind... Expect two and a half hours." "That's wishful thinking, Red," Hemlock said. "Hey, if there's something you can do, mister flight engineer, to fix our engine problem, it's definitely welcome. Or maybe you could've shot at that Germane before he shot our engine out," the navigator shot back, frustration evident in his voice. "Lieutenant, that is enough," Rarity scolded. "As circumstances would have it, we are victims of a superior Germane weapon and what I—what we—need right now, is a coherent crew, in case things take a turn for the worse." <<+>> "Bombers are heading back," Lightning noted. "Our pilots should be regrouping soon," Rainbow added. "And what about us?" "We're staying with Rarity." "No arguments from me, Major," Thunderlane said. "None from me either," Rumble joined. "Don't like the circumstances," Lightning said, "but in a war, you can't really complain. Let's bring 'em home, Dash." "There they are," Rainbow pointed out. "Near the head of the formation. Still painted with drab. They've dropped out of position." "Ready for the longer haul?" "This is Major Rainbow Dash to all pilots. Continue escort mission as normal. My flight is going to stay behind and escort a damaged heavy home. Command transferred to second flight from this point." <<+>> "Leaving the flak," Redwood announced. "Let's get ready for the journey home." "I'm sure we'll get an escort," Twilight said. "The escort pilots are dedicated like that." "Mm," Octavia agreed. "And right on time. Flight coming towards us, 2 o'clock." The aforementioned four Mustangs flew over their plane, circling around behind them and getting in defensive positions around Sweetie Belle. Rarity looked to the one over near her side, slowly approaching. Piloting the P-51 was none other than their loyal friend, Rainbow Dash. The pegasus waved and saluted, giving Rarity some hope. "Everyone, Rainbow's got us covered. We'll be fine." The single dead outboard engine on their right wing was beginning to take its toll. The bomber cloud was slowly getting ahead of them. Soon, they would be behind. The crew reveled in the final precious minutes of being in the formation, having the safety of numbers. Once they fell behind the formation, which provided intimidation factor and mutual defense, they were going to have to rely on their four guardian angels.