//------------------------------//
// Reunion 
// Story: Shattered Skies 
// by The card holder 
//------------------------------//

The two stared at each other for a time, too shocked to do anything. Twilight found herself looking over her friend in shock.

Sunset was wearing military fatigues similar to the rest of the soldiers had worn, but hers looked less suited for actual combat. That same triangle logo was on her shoulders, as well.

Then, Twilight's brain caught up with itself, and she rushed forward, grabbing Sunset into a tight hug.

"I- I was so worried!" she stammered out. "I just- I came here, and... and-"

Sunset returned the hug, silencing her purple friend. "Don't worry, you're safe now."

For a minute or two, they hugged like that, until Twilight finally calmed down, and broke away. "Now, tell me, just what in the world is going on?"

Sunset frowned, and looked away. "Well, it started almost two years ago." She looked back at Twilight. "Pretty soon after you left, actually. Scientists had found out about an asteroid that was on a collision course with the planet. In response, several of the world's brightest minds met here, on the continent of Usea, and developed a defense against the asteroid."

As Twilight gaped, she continued. "Needless to say, it worked- though, not perfectly. The asteroid was blown to pieces, but parts of it still managed to land on the surface, causing a lot of damage to cities.

"This is where most of our problems started."

Sunset sat down in one of the chairs, and Twilight did the same in the adjacent one. "You see, the nearby country of Erusea was hit, albeit not very hard. However, while everyone was taking in refugees and doing their part to help, they eventually stopped, saying that they couldn't afford to house any more refugees.

"In response, several countries put economic sanctions on them, and soon, the Erusean economy had reached a breaking point."

While Sunset paused, Twilight thought over what she had told her. She wanted to say that this 'Erusea' deserved it, but she also felt that they had a decent reason for not continuing helping people, at least.

"Anyway, about a year ago, Erusea started invading countries left and right, shocking everyone. In response, the Independent State Allied Forces- ISAF, for short- mobilized, and tried to stop the advancing Eruseans."

She shook her head. "It wasn't enough, though. The Eruseans took over the weapon that had saved us from the asteroid, Stonehenge, and modified it for war. With it, they were able to knock our planes out of the sky effortlessly, and it wasn't long before we were pushed back to a corner of the continent, North Point."

Twilight frowned at the information. However, a question still managed to make its way to the front of her mind. "What about the others? Are they alright?"

Despite the grim atmosphere, Sunset grinned. "Oh, yeah, they're fine. Actually, I think I could easily arrange for-"

Suddenly, the door to the room burst open. "Hey, that civ in here?"

Both girls turned to the source of the intrusion, and saw that is was a certain rainbow-haired girl, still in her flight suit.

Dash and Twilight locked eyes, before the former broke into a genuine smile. "I knew it! Glad to see you again, Twi!"

Her smile fell momentarily. "Well, I at least wish we could've met again under better circumstances, heh."

Part of Twilight's mind noted that Dash sounded a bit more formal than she was used to, likely due to her place in the military now, but that train of thought brought her mind back to another question she had. "You're a soldier?"

"Pilot, not a soldier. Big difference."

"Whatever. You... You've killed people?"

Dash winced. "Well, sure, I guess, but you saw how it was out there, if I didn't shoot them down, they would've gotten me. Or worse, you."

Twilight wanted to continue arguing the point, but she had to admit that she was right. 

She jumped slightly as Dash pulled her into a quick hug. "Still, good to see ya again, egghead."

Despite her complaints, Twilight returned the hug, before breaking off. "What about the others?"

"Fluttershy's in the sick bay, tending to the wounded," Dash counted off on her fingers, "Applejack's probably busy in the hangar, Pinkie's in the mess hall, and I think Rarity's with Applejack, too."

Twilight tilted her head. "All of you are here?"

"Yep! Can't keep us separated, you know." She slapped Sunset on the back, who winced, but grinned through it.

A thought occurred to Twilight. "The hangar?"

Dash's face visibly brightened. "Yeah, where they keep all the planes." At Twilight's questioning glance, she continued. "Those flying things you saw out there."

Realizing that was the most she would probably get out of her, Twilight let herself be dragged along by Dash. Sunset, meanwhile, began to split off from them. "I gotta get back to command, I want to run something by them."

Dash nodded, before continuing to almost carry Twilight with her.

Soon, they came to a section of the hallway where there was a door and a large window present, and Dash stopped, before waving her arm at the window.

Twilight looked through, and was amazed by the amount of aircraft she saw inside.

"Those are the 'planes' you mentioned?"

"Planes, jets, fighters, whatever you call 'em, we fly 'em."

She looked at the sheer volume of craft from her slightly elevated position, and was stunned by the amount of mechanical craftsmanship that must've gone into each and every one of them. She spotted Dash's jet, which was being wheeled inside by a technician in a cart of some kind, along with many others, no doubt belonging to the other pilots who were milling about, inspecting their planes, or the others.

Near the back, she spotted an unmistakeable orange form, topped with a stetson, who was standing on the underside of one of the planes.

On the other side of the hangar, she spotted Rarity carefully painting something onto the tail fin of another plane.

"AJ does the more physical work, and Rarity does the fine tuning and the painting," Dash explained. "Normally, though, she just ends up painting the squadron logos, but sometimes nuggets will try and get her to customize their planes to their sometimes questionable taste."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Nuggets?"

"Newbie pilots." Her demeanor fell slightly. "Which, the way this war's going so far, we're getting a lot of."

Twilight just nodded in sympathy, as she looked over the specific emblems on the tails of the fighters. Some were as simple as a plain character of some alphabet, a number, or a sword, while others were a bit more complex, such as a snake's head, a ribbon, or a bird. 

She found that her gaze kept returning to Applejack or Rarity, so she soon decided to head for the door leading into the hangar. Dash stopped her, though.

"Woah, hold on now, civilians aren't allowed in the hangar. Heck, I could probably get in trouble just from showing it to you."

"But-"

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you meet the others as soon as I can. In the meantime, you should wait for what Sunset says. She's kinda in charge of any and all civilian things, here."

Reluctantly, Twilight agreed, and followed Dash back the way they came. They arrived back at the room where they first came from, where Sunset was waiting for them, a small smile on her face.

"Good news, Twilight! I was able to convince command that you could help us out around the base!"

"Uh... thanks?"

"You'll basically be helping me with civilian care and logistics, which, honestly, we don't really have to do much of, anymore."

The fact that she might be here for far longer than she originally anticipated suddenly occurred to Twilight. "Sunset, do you still have that notebook? The magic one?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, with everything that was happening, I kinda forgot to write you."

"Don't worry about that, can you get it for me real quick?"

"Um... okay."

Sunset left the two of them alone, before reappearing moments later, holding a notebook and pen. Twilight took it from her and began to write, but then realized that she still had no idea how to write using hands.

Sheepishly, she handed the book and pen back to Sunset. "Think you could help me write a letter?"

Sunset nodded, understanding her intentions, and started writing as Twilight began dictating. Once a letter appropriately explaining both the situation and that Twilight would be gone for far, far longer than expected was written, Sunset ripped it out of the book, where it began swirling into the air before rushing out, through the vents.

"That's gonna take a while to get back to the portal," Dash commented. "Anyway, Sunset, just how exactly did you convince command to let a civ join our ranks?"

Sunset rubbed the back of her head. "Well, I miiight have called in a few favors they owed me. And I had to convince them that Twilight was in no way an Erusean spy, and was skilled with certain equipment."

"...skilled with what equipment?"

"Oh, you know, just radar and stuff." At Twilight's blank stare, she continued. "Don't worry, it's actually pretty simple, and I'll walk you through it."

Dash looked between the two. "Oh wow, you got her going up with you in AWACS? I'll be sure to fly extra careful, then."

"An ay-what now?"

"Anyway, Twilight, since you're now technically recruited, let's get you your uniform and to your bed. I bet you're tired, after all that."

Despite her nap in the helicopter, she found that she was actually pretty tired, and couldn't suppress a yawn. Ignoring Dash's smirk, she followed Sunset down the hall. After a few turns, they came into a room with a set of four bunk beds, totaling to eight places to sleep.

"Somehow, the others and I managed to get a whole room in the barracks to ourselves," Sunset explained. "I figure you'd like to sleep here, too."

"Well, of course."

The two shared a laugh, before Sunset reached under one of the beds and pulled out a folded up uniform. "Go ahead and change into this. Don't worry about your other clothes."

Sunset left her alone in the room to change, and after a few minutes, Twilight called out. "I'm done!"

Sunset reentered the room to find Twilight standing there, the fatigues fitting her a bit loosely.

"A bit big, but that shouldn't matter." Sunset checked her watch. "Well, the others should be here soon, if you want to-"

Sunset stopped talking when she looked up and saw that Twilight was already on a bed, sleeping soundly. Smiling weakly, she pulled a blanket over her, before leaving the room and turning off the light.



Twilight had a peaceful, dreamless sleep, but she could feel it slipping away as her consciousness started to return.

Not wanting to wake up just yet, Twilight pulled herself deeper into her pillow, in an attempt to grasp at sleep some more.

Her efforts proved futile, however, as shortly after the intercom in the ceiling squawked on, causing her to yelp and fall off the bed.

"All pilots and airmen, to the situation room. Repeat, all pilots and airmen to the situation room."

Groggily, Twilight looked around, finding the room empty besides herself and Sunset, who looked to already be completely awake. "Come on, sleepy head," she said.

As the past day's events rushed back to her, Twilight let herself be pulled to her feet, before Sunset started hurrying both of them through the halls. Several other people were heading out, too, until they all converged in a large room, which looked almost like a theater of sorts.

At the front of the room, a large amount of monitors showed maps of the surrounding areas, covered in colors and symbols that Twilight couldn't comprehend. Thankfully, no one seemed to be asking much of her, as Sunset simply stood at the back of the crowd, and she did the same.

She couldn't help but notice that one of the larger monitors was currently blank, though she soon saw it flash to life, showing the ISAF logo.

The logo then dissolved into another map of the continent, and a man's voice began talking over the speakers.

"Here is the current sitrep and your orders for deployment, effective immediately. Enemy agents destroyed our early warning radar network, allowing several Bear bombers to penetrate our airspace. In 15 minutes, we expect this bomber formation to strike Allenfort Air Base, and then move on to targets at North Point."

The map zoomed into an island near the northeast corner of the continent, where several red and blue triangles popped up, with several labels running off of them that Twilight couldn't read.

"Our air defense forces are extremely weak at this point in time. Hence our GHQ is a sitting duck. It is mission critical that you destroy the bombers and neutralize the threat before they get past Newfield Island. Remember, you are the first line of defense for North Point, and the fate of ISAF lies in your hands."

The screen flicked off, and one of the soldiers at the front of the crowd turned. "What are you waiting for? Go, go, go!"

The crowd then burst into action as they all hurried to the exit, and Twilight struggled to stick with Sunset. She spotted Dash at one point, but before she could say anything, the running soldiers separated them.

Sunset led Twilight to the hangar, where several planes were being prepped for takeoff, their pilots lowering themselves into the cockpits. Sunset led Twilight to one plane in particular, which had a large black protrusion of some kind on top of it.

In the midst of the growing whine of the engines and the chatter coming from the surrounding pilots and crew, Twilight couldn't hear what Sunset was saying, but judging from her gestures, she wanted her to get inside the plane.

She did so, and after some distance, arrived in a "room" with a pair of monitors and chairs, with instruments attached to both. This area was right next to the cockpit, where she could see the pilot preparing for takeoff.

He looked back and nodded at the two of them. "So, you're the one that Shimmer recruited," he said.

Before Twilight could answer, he turned back around, continuing to flip various switches. "Just make sure you don't get those planes shot down, alright? And Shimmer, she's completely your responsibility."

"Yes, sir."

Twilight gulped, and nodded, realizing too late that he couldn't see her do that, anyway. Sunset walked over to one of the consoles, so Twilight took the other. 

Behind them, the ramp they entered on began to lift upwards, until the back half of the craft was closed. Surprisingly, the outside commotion was now almost entirely muffled.

The craft's engines started roaring to life, and Twilight cautiously accepted a headset from Sunset, who showed her the proper way to put it on.

Meanwhile, the screens began to boot up, showing a circle containing several blue triangles, which were moving slowly forward.

The plane lurched as it picked up speed, and Twilight soon found herself leaving the ground again. Behind her, Sunset turned around. "We still have a few minutes before we reach the operation area, so I'll give you a quick crash course on how to work the radar."

Looking at the amount of data shown on the screen, along with the confusing console, Twilight couldn't help but agree.

Just what had she gotten herself into?