Fortresses Over Germaney

by The Grey Pegasus

Part III - By Miracles of Guardian Angels

Fortresses Over Germaney
By: The Grey Pegasus

Part III - By Miracles of Guardian Angels

Vicinity of Flankfurt, Germaney
1008 Hours

"Okay, Rainbow," Thunderlane said, "let's go home."

"Eyes peeled," Rainbow reminded them.

"I'm waiting for them."

Lightning scoffed. "I'm not."

"I'm with Lightning on this, bro," Rumble said.

"I'm with all of you," his brother replied. "I just want to get home without a hitch."

"Well, then let's keep it that way," Rainbow said.

"Just wish I could shake that feeling," Thunderlane said.

There was a short silence. It was broken by Lightning. "I wish I could shake some sense into you."

"What?"

Lightning sighed. "Nothing. Let's just get home."

The pilots sat attentively in their seats with various thoughts. Some were hoping for luck. Others were just not thinking about it.

As it was, the feelings were mutual.

<<+>>

Twilight sat back in her seat, lazily watching the others drift away. "So, think the Germanes had had enough for today?"

"I simply pray they won't be back," Octavia replied.

"Oh, even if they're somewhere up here, they won't dare come near a single bomber if they have to go through the trouble of four escorts," Rarity said.

"Trying to tempt fate, Rarity?" Hemlock asked.

"Hm, I suppose it does come off as such, doesn't it?"

"There's just no way to put it nicely, Major," Vinyl said. "I say we just take it as it comes."

"Ain't no harm in prayin'," Applejack said. "And don't say it doesn't work. Some divine help is always welcome."

"We got four Mustangs to escort us," Redwood said. "There's your divine help right there." He looked out of a window at Rainbow's plane. "Some crazy stories come from this war, and four shining angels are our ticket home."

"I'm still prayin' my ass off that no Germanes try anythin' funny."

<<+>>

"Hey, Rainbow. I think I see a flight over there," Thunderlane pointed out from his position to the left and to the rear. "Think they're going to try anything funny?"

"Hmph." Rainbow grimaced. "They better not."

"Real question here," Lightning said, "is what Thunderlane's thinking."

"Why is that?" he responded.

"Because you started it."

"What do you mean?!"

"I mean that whoever brings something up first is the one whose luck we're riding on."

"That is absurd," Thunderlane said.

"I'm not going to argue anything," Rainbow said. "All I know is that I've been flying with Lightning for a couple of years and sometimes her superstitions are right."

"Don't call 'em superstitions, Rainbow," Lightning replied. "I don't like being called superstitious."

"That's what they are though," Rumble pointed out.

"I don't care!"

"Rainbow, I think they're coming closer," Thunderlane suddenly said.

Rainbow looked down to her left. The Germanes were, indeed, coming closer. "Let's see what they do."

"You think they think they got the drop on us?" Rumble asked.

"Maybe. I don't think so though."

"Then why are they so curious?"

"Dash, 6 o'clock, up top!" Lightning called out.

Rainbow looked behind and up, noticing approaching aircraft. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!" She left her guarding position around Sweetie Belle, throttling up and looping around to face the attackers.

Lightning, who was flying right side up at front, across the Fortress from Rainbow, followed. "This is all your fault, Thunderlane!"

<<+>>

"Heads up and guns ready, we've got company!" Hemlock yelled.

"Hi, company!" Pinkie exclaimed. She gave a wave as if the Germanes could see her.

"Where are they coming from?" Rarity asked her crew.

"6 o'clock," Hemlock replied.

"We got more from 9 low," Nickel added.

"Oh, we are in for it," Applejack said.

"Then pray harder," Redwood said.

All the gunners watched as the enemies got closer. Closer and closer, until they could tell what kind of plane it was.

The first one to start shooting was Pinkie, in the back. With it came the sound of their own bomber getting hit.

"He's hit!" Pinkie announced. Then came another Focke-Wulf. The tail gunner shifted her focus to the second Germane, as the first was already disoriented and deterred.

Nickel added in once the attackers behind them dipped low enough into his aim. The Germanes were jinking, not wanting to surrender their advantageous positions. Unfortunately, that led to one Focke-Wulf's downfall, flames erupting from the engine as it was perforated by incoming .50 caliber rounds.

"Hey hey, I got one!"

"Good job, Nick!"

"How are we doing up there?"

"Still holding up," Octavia replied. "No controls out yet."

"I think what Tavi means is you could try to shoot stuff down a little faster," Vinyl commented. Some bullets and cannon shells were still occasionally hitting the plane in groups of thuds.

"Did not, Vinyl!"

"Well, I still think you could shoot stuff down faster. You have any idea how loud it is up here when stuff starts to get hit?" Then Vinyl screamed, startled by sudden thunderous sounds and the feeling of chips of metal hitting her.

"Vinyl?!"

The radio operator looked around. "Yeah... yeah, I'm okay. Uh, rest of the plane could be in better shape though.

"Sorry, Vinyl!" Applejack yelled. "He got past me good on that one!"

"Hey Sarge, we got one coming from the right!" Nickel noted.

"On it, on it!" Applejack switched sides and repeated the process of defending their Fortress.

<<+>>

"Rainbow, how are you holding up?!" Lightning asked. She and her wing lead had decided that the most effective strategy for the situation was to engage targets separately.

"Just fine! You?!" Rainbow replied.

"Chasin' one down!" The six machine guns chattered in Lightning's ears as she pulled the trigger, sights slipping over the Messerschmitt in front of her. She may have hit it once or twice, but it dove downwards. Lightning followed suit, and she saw that it was also lining up for a pass on the bomber.

Tracers from the 109 hit the fuselage of the B-17 and a little bit of the outer right wing as it made its pass. The Germane made a hard right, breaking off from its attack and trying to keep out of Lightning's sights.

The Amareican wasn't to be easily deterred, however, and she kept up with it perfectly. The turn wouldn't permit her to shoot since she couldn't lead the Bf 109 far enough, but that was soon resolved when the Germane reversed direction. It quickly occurred to Lightning that it was making a beeline for the bomber again, having turned around almost a full way.

The Germane plane was weaving back and forth, positioning itself a little bit above and to the right of its target. Lightning wasn't having any of it though, and she just sent more .50 caliber shots towards her target. She was rewarded with flakes of aluminum from the wing flying back towards her. Smoke also began trailing from under the aircraft and wing, and it dropped out of the fight.

"Auf wiedersehen, asshole!"

Lightning, this time being more mindful of Rainbow's orders, let it go. There could be more work to do. "Rainbow, I just got another out of the fight. I'm forming up next to the heavy. Any more?"

Rainbow paused, looking around before giving an answer. "No, I think that's it for now. Everyone, let's get back into position."

<<+>>

"Does anypony see anymore coming?" Twilight asked.

"Mm... Negative, Captain," Nickel said. "Think they're done for now."

"I think we owe Rainbow and her pilots for that," Applejack said.

"Heartbuck," Hemlock said, "Do you have an estimate on how much farther we are from the Channel?"

"That's a little over an hour, Box. Magic field, though, little more than half an hour."

"Okay."

"Just because we've driven off some Germanes doesn't mean that's all that's going to come," Rarity said. "Keep watching the skies."

The crew remained in a tense silence as they did as they were told. Minutes passed where the only sounds were the three engines, rattling of equipment, and their breathing.

Applejack looked around her, finding a few spots where sunlight was getting in where it wasn't supposed to. "Still nothing."

Pinkie however, had to disagree. "Hm... There's more! I see more!"

"How many, Pinkie?"

"I think... eight to ten."

"Okay everypony, get ready for more trouble."

Then it was Hemlock's turn to disagree. "That's not our biggest problem." He was looking up, the two machine guns in his hooves following along. "We got a jet. The jet's back." His eyes nervously followed the climbing shape, soon speeding towards them.

"I think it's hungry," Twilight said, fear evident in her voice.

"Hey, Box, think you can try and hit it this time?" Redwood asked, this time somewhat sincerely.

"I can only try, Red. Unless you want to come up here and try yourself." Hemlock's grip tightened as he saw it begin its dive, coming from behind, above, and to the Fortress's left, or his right.

"Uh, no thanks. I'd rather not watch death coming for me."

Gunfire began again. There was the sound of a few shells hitting the body of the B-17, but then came two or three very quiet thuds. Like it was hitting something farther.

<<+>>

All that filled Rainbow's ears were Lightning's startled screams. She looked over to see her wingpony dodge to the right.

"Lighting! You alright?!"

"Don't worry, Dash, we're on him!" Thunderlane exclaimed, he and his brother giving pursuit in lieu of the two mares.

Rainbow flew over the top of Sweetie Belle, dropping next to Lightning's plane, who had leveled out. "Lightning!..."

She looked over her wingpony's plane. Metal was torn up on the wing, likely damaging some crucial parts. The fuselage had also taken some damage, a rip in the aluminum breaking the clean lines of the P-51. "... Lightning, you've got a hole in your left wing."

"I know." Lightning audibly groaned in pain. "Both left wings, actually."

Rainbow heard her friend take a deep breath. She was speechless for a moment as the realization dawned on her. "Lightning, you... we gotta get you home."

"No, no, I'll be fine. Trust me."

Rainbow looked over to the canopy of the adjacent Mustang, seeing Lightning look back behind them.

"More work to be done." Lightning took another deep breath. "Forget the jet, we've got another pack coming. Let's get to it." She pulled away, heading for combat.

Rainbow was worried, but she also knew that Lightning was right. And she knew her wingpony was a particularly headstrong pony. "Alright. That's the Lightning Dust I know."

Lightning gave a pained grin. "Yup. Guess I must be greedy that way. We splitting?"

"Gotta bring down Germanes as fast as we can." Rainbow shifted her focus. "Thunderlane, Rumble, how are you on ammo?"

"We're running a little low. What do want us to do?"

"Keep that 262 busy. After all, Rumble was the one that mentioned it in the first place."

"Dear Luna, I'm so sorry, Lightning," Rumble said, sounding regretful.

"Don't you worry, little stallion," Lightning said, a Messerschmitt already in her sights. "I'm a tough mare. Isn't your fault one bit. Someone just really hates us."

"Yeah," Rainbow said. "The Germanes."

It drew a few chuckles from the rest of her pilots.

Then the dogfights started again. Rainbow ignored the lighter-armed Bf 109s and went straight for a Fw 190. A 109 tried to hit her head-on, but the shots all missed. Rainbow was set on her target. The flight of four 190s began evading. Her angle wasn't the best—she was approaching them from the side. She used very short trigger pulls, being conservative with her ammunition.

As Rainbow made her pass, she might have gotten a few hits on target. Whether or not they were significant, she didn't know at the moment.

"Rainbow!" Thunderlane's voice suddenly shouted over the radio. "Jet's heading back for the bomber!"

"Got it! Where are you?"

"Heading on the heavy's 2 o'clock!"

"Hey, Rainbow, I'm closer," Lightning said. "I'll help deal with it while you get over here."

Lightning looked into the distance, seeking out the jet. Her attention, however, was also grabbed by a Messerschmitt flying out towards it. 'Well, might as well try and get one more out of the way...'

Stick forward, Lightning maneuvered her Mustang ever closer behind the prop-engined fighter. The 109 got larger and larger in her vision. She pulled the trigger.

Only the guns on the right wing fired. She didn't even hit the Germane. It turned hard to evade her. Suddenly, she was faced head-on with the Me 262. With reflexes as fast as her namesake, Lightning rolled left and banked hard as she saw cannon tracers fly at her. The tight turn put a toll on her body and her wound was feeling it. She could feel warm blood beneath her flight jacket and on her skin.

But for now, she was safe. "Rainbow, where are you?!"

"Headed for you right now!" Rainbow yelled over the radio.

"Watch out for that jet, Rainbow." Lightning was back behind the Bf 109, and also the Me 262. "It's gunning the throttle."

"I see it." Rainbow saw the jet coming from below her, and it wasn't making any attempts to shoot her. Instead, the Germane's eyes rested on the prize—the Fortress. But not on Rainbow's watch. Her Mustang rolled inverted and gave chase.

Teeth gritted, Rainbow urged her plane further. She just needed a few shots off at the jet. Again, by the time the sights were on target, it was farther than preferred, but she took the shots anyways.

It seemed to at least distract the enemy, who then proceeded to go into a vertical climb. As good as the P-51s were, Rainbow couldn't match the power of the jet. She had to turn around below it, horizontally. "Lightning, where are you?"

"Behind you, Dash! Get moving, there's a Messerschmitt on your tail!" Without checking, Rainbow pulled hard on the stick in the opposite direction.

"Lightning, still there?"

"Rainbow, half of my guns got shot out from earlier. I'm doing the best I can."

"It's okay, it's okay." Rainbow took more evasive maneuvers as tracers streamed past the cockpit. "Where's that jet?"

"Uh... uh... I don't see it. Rainbow, I got the Germane to break off of you though. You're clear."

Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, that's good. I'm going to circle around and help out."

"Sounds good. 109's leading me towards the bomber."

"On my way." However, Rainbow wasn't going to be the first one to catch up to Lightning. Instead, Lightning ended up in danger from the Me 262 once more. "Lightning! You've got the jet on your tail!"

"You've got to be kidding me!" Lightning weaved around, trying to throw off the Germane's aim. They passed over Sweetie Belle II, and some of the gunners tried to help out. It was for naught, and the dogfight continued.

Lightning wouldn't let the Bf 109 go. Even as the jet tried to shoot her down, she was still keeping the other Germane in her sights. It was weaving around, and Lightning was doing her utmost best to stay with it, ignoring her pain. Soon, it began to circle around again, presumably to take another pass at the bomber.

Rainbow was right behind in the chain of aircraft, and she was still chasing after the jet. Instead of turning with the prop fighters though, it went vertical. She watched it, and it was going to again place itself behind Lightning. "Lightning, get ready. Jet's coming back. I think I can get him this time."

"You better go for it," Lightning panted. "Because I'm not letting this other guy go."

Rainbow knew she only had a split second to react. Time slowed as the Me 262 came overhead and started shooting at her wingpony. Rainbow just went for it. The six machine guns came to life, sending lead toward her target.

The Me 262's right engine burst into flames and the jet spun out of control, falling away. Rainbow grinned. "Yeah! Got 'im!"

Lightning wasn't done yet, though. The Messerschmitt she was chasing was still headed for the B-17. The Germane slowed down their erratic movements to get good aim on their target. And that was all she needed.

The three remaining functional guns fired. Lightning's target began showing damage. Again, they passed over the lumbering bomber, but when they passed over, Lightning was still shooting. Smoke appeared from beneath the metal coverings of the 109, and it soon turned into flames. She saw the pilot bail out.

"And there's... number twenty," Lightning sighed, chuckling.

<<+>>

"Damn good show there, Lightning," Rainbow replied.

"Whoo. That was something... And you too. Good job... quadruple ace," Lightning congratulated, sounding exhausted after the intense flight. "A jet. Damn.

"Yeah. Thanks," replied Rainbow.

A short moment of silence between the two.

"Wow... is this how it feels to be like you, Rainbow?"

"What do you mean?"

"Feeling tired and just wanting to sleep. Because do I feel like that right now... And my head... wow..." Shallow breaths.

Rainbow stared in confusion, before she figured out what Lightning was saying. "No... No, Lightning, stay awake!" Rainbow desperately yelled.

"...It's alright, Rainbow... I've always been the reckless one." Lightning began audibly panting. "Lost a lot of blood during all that... Didn't think that would happen..."

"Come on, Lightning! Take some deep breaths and focus!"

Another pause, as Lightning considered the options. "... Rainbow—the bomber. Forget me—just one pilot. Save the crew. Your friends."

"But Lightning, you're also—"

"Rainbow! Nine... on a bomber... to me," Lightning said through increasingly bated breath.

"... I'm sorry, Lightning."

"It's alright, Rainbow... This... This is my fault... Even though... I've only... only known you for a couple of years... you're the most damn loyal pony—and friend—I've ever seen. They're lucky... to have you."

Rainbow dropped her plane alongside Lightning's and looked over to the canopy of her wingpony's battered Mustang.

Lightning looked at her weakly and gave a salute. "Major... Rainbow... Dash. It was an honor... flying... wi..."

Lightning's voice trailed off. The Mustang ceased flying level and pitched down slightly.

"Lighting?! Lightning!"

There was no response.

Rainbow held back a sob. She had no time to mourn over Lightning. Her wingpony was right—an entire bomber crew needed her more than a single downed pilot. She couldn't do anything to save Lightning, but she still had time to save her other friends. Reluctantly, she pulled back on her stick, climbing as fast as she could, leaving the side of her fallen comrade.

There was no time to waste. She had lost altitude in her hopeless pursuit, and two or three thousand feet above her was a bomber with one dead engine that had lagged behind the formation—easy prey for the Germane jagdfliegers. Hunter pilots. Though the Luftwaffe was the hunted now, the individual pilots were still hunters. Like predators, they pounced upon the easiest prey, and right now that was four of her best friends and their other crew members.

Rainbow slammed the throttle forward, the engine roaring with extra horsepower as war emergency power kicked in. As she neared the stray bomber, she spotted two other Mustangs in the vicinity—her other wingponies—busy chasing down aircraft on their own. "Thunder, Rumble, just hold on. I'm coming to help!"

Thunderlane's voice came through the radio. "Yeah... yeah... Is she... really..."

Rainbow choked on her reply. "Yeah. We'll talk about it later."

The only replies were hissed curses uttered by the brothers.

Rainbow took a moment to fly next to Sweetie Belle II. She glanced into the cockpit and gave a salute. She saw Rarity nod with an expression of full trust. Rainbow peeled off, restarting her patrol for enemy planes.

The P-51s, fueled by high octane gas, took positions around the wounded B-17, the pilots fueled by anger. They awaited the assault by Bf 109s, Fw 190s, and whatever the Germanes might throw at them.

It was a tense wait for everyone. Rainbow was trying to keep in mind Lightning's way of thinking. 'It's not inevitable, it's not inevitable...'

Yet with the added pressure of her friends' lives on the line, and already the cost of one other, how could she not feel that an attack was inevitable? After all, she had just shot down a highly prized jet. Surely the Luftwaffe were going to send interceptors to finish them off as revenge or something.

Rainbow's eyes zipped around, looking for the danger she was always expecting. How long that kept up, she wasn't sure. But soon, in the distance, below she spotted some dots. Whether it was destined or just fate answering her fears, Rainbow didn't know. All she knew was that the Germanes were clearly headed for them and that they were outnumbered by at least double. That meant, unfortunately, that the situation was simplified again—intercept, protect the bomber.

"Thunder, Rumble, we have company. 3 o'clock, down below. Let's go." Rainbow pulled away from from Sweetie Belle II and made for a path for the enemy. The greater distance away from the bomber they started the engagement, the better their chances.

"You got it, Dash," Thunderlane followed. "For Lightning."

"For Lightning," his brother agreed.

Four Messerschmitt 109s broke formation and turned to meet the Mustangs. The Germanes were nearly at their altitude. The two brothers dove down, presumably going head-on at the attackers. Rainbow opted to get above them.

Rolling inverted and plunging downwards, she was in a reasonably workable position behind the four Germanes, who were themselves splitting apart. Looking around, she found her two wingponies reversing as well, catching up to Rainbow and their enemies.

With her extra speed from the dive, Rainbow was going to be able to gain on the 109s. The Germane fighters didn't appear to be making a break for the B-17. Rainbow figured they were instead trying to keep the Amareican escorts busy so that the specifically equipped Fw 190s could get through and do their job.

The Germane that Rainbow was trailing pulled right, and she followed him behind. Slowly, the plane settled ever closer to her crosshairs. Then the Messerschmitt reversed.

Rainbow's quick instincts matched the hard switch left and kept the chase going. Suddenly, the Germane was hit by gunfire all around its forward section, and flames bursted from the engine.

"There's one down, Dash," she heard Thunderlane say. His plane flew over Rainbow's shortly afterwards.

"Alright, good. Thanks. Three left."

"I see two of them split off. They're headed for the heavy."

<<+>>

There were the sounds of heavy thuds of metal and glass being pierced, mixed with the deep sound of guns firing.

"Rrrrghh!"

Rarity looked over to her copilot. "Octavia! Are you alright?!"

Octavia didn't answer; she was just seething through clenched teeth and eyes. She was taking in the pain. She could hear the frantic calls of Germane positions around them, but they were muffled. Some other vague yelling.

"Lieutenant!"

The earth pony released the breath she was holding, hyperventilated for a bit, then slowed her breathing to deep breaths. She opened her eyes.

"Are you alright?!"

Octavia responded with a groan of pain. "Just... just my leg." She gave a weak but sincere chuckle. She lifted her hoof from her leg, finding her own blood on it. "Heh. Just my leg."

She huffed in relief. Deep within herself she was actually a little happy. Definitely frightened, but somewhat happy that she survived getting the cockpit shot at.

"Okay... okay." Rarity was still looking around the cockpit, going between the right side windows, riddled with a few holes, to the other windows, looking outside or above, searching for Germanes. "How bad is it?"

"I can... Ah... I can still feel my leg. It... hurts like hell." Octavia winced in pain.

"Can you still pilot well?"

"I'll be fine... I've been through worse." The co-pilot, with great effort, sat back up and ready to attend to her duties.

Rarity looked puzzled. "Been through worse? If... if you think so."

"Just believe it, Major," Vinyl said. "I can vouch."

"N-none of my brains are on you, Rarity?" Octavia remarked with another weak chuckle. "That's... that's good."

"You need that bandaged," the pilot replied.

"No," the co-pilot answered sternly. "I'll be fine. We can do it later."

"He's coming back!" Hemlock called out between bursts. He managed to hit it a few times, disturbing the Focke-Wulf's aim enough that the next shots just missed the bomber. "And he's hit! That's for you, Tavi!"

"Heh... thanks."

"Lock, 109 comin' 4 high!" Applejack yelled, barely able to aim at the angle of the approaching Germane herself.

"See 'im, see 'im!" The top turret rotated to bear and the two machine guns joined in.

"AJ, 190, 9 low." Nickel tracked the Germane with his guns as it was turning towards them. "He's turning towards us!"

Applejack scrambled to the other gun behind her and started shooting once the attacker was in range. "Where the hell is Dash?!"

"I see her!" Pinkie exclaimed. "She's all the way back there, chasing another one this way!"

<<+>>

Rainbow released the trigger after a short burst, pieces of metal shredding off of the Messerschmitt in front of her. She had probably wounded it enough, at least to scare it away.

Turning back to look at Sweetie Belle II, there was a Focke-Wulf beginning an approach on its 10 o'clock, high, readying to dive down. The top gunner was preoccupied with another target. She had managed to slowly make her way back towards the bomber.

Rainbow brought the plane to bear, closing in on the aircraft. As the gunsight hovered in front of the Germane, she pulled on the trigger again, the .50 cals lighting up for half a second... and then stopped.

'Shit. Forgot how much shooting I did today...'

From what little she was able to fire, tracers hit the Germane, landing all around the top of the aircraft. It did not immediately change course, so she assumed that she must have hit the pilot. Another kill.

'Wow, that was a lucky shot if I ever saw one.'

In fact, it was lazily drifting along, seemingly uncontrolled. Definitely another kill. Rainbow pulled away, heading down, while still keeping an eye on the dead 190. Slowly, its path drifted downwards, slowly rolling. She watched it more... then realized it was somehow on a collision course with the B-17,

'... Aaaaand there goes the lucky part...'

Rainbow didn't know if anypony on the bomber had taken notice of the enemy fighter, leaving her with a decision.

Rainbow aimed at the 190 and slammed the throttle to war power for its last time. She was racing it down, barely keeping ahead. Her mind was scrambling for an idea. Maybe she could tap it with a wing, tip the 190 just enough so that it would miss.

'No, my angle's off...'

That, unfortunately, left one choice. Her hoof fumbled for the canopy release.

'... This is gonna suck.'

<<+>>

The startling sound of metal crashing against metal and an explosion found its way to the ears of every crew member in the nose. Rarity and Octavia's troubles were furthered when the yokes jolted in their hooves as the left wing was hit by, and plowed through, what could only have been aerial debris. The latter growled in pain as the controls shook her injured body.

Another sound developed, bringing even more increased fear to their already big problem. Redwood's voice came in through the intercom. "Number 1 sounds like it ate something! Looks like it too!"

Rarity looked out her window to confirm it—the damaged engine was beginning to trail smoke. The unicorn and earth pony fought to keep the aircraft steady.

"Octavia, shut down Engine 1 and re-trim the controls. Leave the plane to me," Rarity commanded through clenched teeth.

"Yes, ma'am," Octavia worriedly said, panting from the shock of pain. She took her hooves off her yoke to manage the other controls as fast as she could. She had to give her commanding officer credit—Rarity seemed unnaturally strong for a unicorn. "Engine 1 shut down... Props feathered... Re-trimming controls... Done."

Rarity released her death grip on the yoke, looking out to the left outboard engine. The propeller was spinning slower and slower until it became still, air slipping past it with no resistance. They were down to two engines.

During the ordeal, Applejack yelled about something, but Rarity was too focused to hear it correctly.

<<+>>

Applejack was still busy covering two sectors, currently regretting the fact that their unit had stopped carrying two waist gunners a couple months earlier. An explosion was heard outside the window, and the bomber rocked as it flew through debris.

However, she was not given a moment to ponder it as the port machine gun's aim swung wildly to the left, the earth pony being thrown to the right. She nearly hit the wall with the force the gun was swung at as she kept her grip on the M2's handles. Applejack strained to bring the gun back centered... to find a blue pegasus fearfully clutching onto the barrel outside.

"AAPPPLLEEEJAAACCKK!"

"Rainbow!" Applejack exclaimed in surprise. "Everypony, Rainbow's-" Applejack stammered in disbelief. "Rainbow's in trouble!" She turned back to the window.

"HEEELLPPP!"

"Don't worry sugarcube, it's gonna be alright! We're... gonna..." Applejack stammered as she spotted a gray shape in the distance. "Rainbow, get off! Get off!"

She continued attempting to bring the gun's sights onto the approaching Germane, but she could not do so while Rainbow's weight was still on the gun, not to mention the rushing air pushing on said weight.

Rainbow looked at her friend with confusion and fright, until Applejack started pointing in the distance and banging against the window.

'Wha...' She looked at where Applejack was pointing to see another Germane approaching, but this time without an aircraft's engine or armor plate to shield her.

Rainbow yelped in surprise, letting go of the gun barrel. She only heard the chatter of the gun firing for a split second as she hit the large horizontal stabilizer of the bomber with her back. Aside from hurting immensely, she also wasn't able to grab ahold of it, tumbling back further.

Then, Rainbow felt herself get snagged by something, then pulled, until the sound of rushing air dulled.

"Dashie!"

The pegasus looked to her left. "Pinkie?"

Pinkie embraced her friend in a tight hug. "Oh I'm so glad you're okay! I heard Applejack say something about you and I got worried and then my tail started twitching which meant something was falling but I wasn't sure how that was supposed to work but maybe it was because you were falling backwards so I reached out the window and grabbed you and now you're safe!"

"I... thought you... were ball gunner," Rainbow managed to choke out from the hug.

"I was! But then his tour ended and we got a new guy who normally has the ball and so I offered to take the tail! I didn't know how exciting it could be here!"

Rainbow, though she was not unhappy, wasn't exactly feeling great that moment either. Between the pain from injuries sustained a mere minute ago, the tight hug Pinkie had her in, and the tight space of the tail gunner position to begin with—

"Pinks, that's a—that's a 410! Don't know what the hell it's doing here, but bad news! Bad news!"

Pinkie released her hug and snapped back to the twin .50 cals she was assigned to. "Oh, they're easy!" she cheerfully exclaimed. "I never got to try it out until now since it's hard to do it in the turret, but all it takes is to shoot one of the engines," she began explaining, firing bursts intermittently while doing so. Cannon rounds flew past the windows, a few thuds of shells hitting control surfaces in between. "Or try to hit the cockpit since there's no huge engine in the way!"

The pursuing twin-engined fighter subsequently had its right engine burst into flames, and the Me 410 began descending. No attempt at recovery seemed to be made. Pinkie laughed, pumping her hoof in victory. "Ha ha! Scratch another one!"

"Yipes," Rainbow exclaimed. "I never thought your laughs would ever creep me out."

"Remember what I said a looong time ago, Dashie?" Pinkie asked. "You just face your fears and laugh," she pointed out the window, "and your troubles disappear!"

"Um... I'm going to go to AJ now," Rainbow said. "It's, uh, really cramped in here," Rainbow said, both sincerely and because she was feeling unsettled by Pinkie.

"Okay! Bye, Dashie! Just crawl through there and you'll be a-okay!" Pinkie pointed towards the small tunnel behind her seat, which connected the tail position to the rest of the aircraft.

Rainbow turned to the small passageway, beginning to crawl through it. It wasn't easy, having all her flight equipment on her. "Hey, Pinkie, can I have some help?!"

"Whoop!" The staccato of gunfire returned. "Sorry, bit busy! Maybe Applejack can help!" Pinkie said between the din of her guns. "Applejack, Rainbow needs help getting there," Pinkie requested over their headsets.

"You got it," Applejack replied. She quickly made her way over to the passageway, finding Rainbow struggling halfway in. Applejack went in far enough to grab Rainbow's hoof, pulling her closer until the pegasus was finally in the cabin.

"Thanks, AJ," Rainbow said between tired breaths.

"No... problem," Applejack said, staring at her friend. "Rainbow, your wing."

Once again reminded of the pain, Rainbow was finally able to inspect her injury. Her wing was bleeding, a shard of metal stuck in it. She also figured there were broken bones in there as well, from hitting the horizontal stabilizer. "Huh. So I noticed."

"You feelin' fine?" Applejack asked as she went back to manning the machine gun positions. "'Cause if you don't mind, it'd be great to have some help over here."

Rainbow returned her gaze to her friend. "Yeah. Sure." Then she spotted two holes in the earth pony's flak vest. "Applejack... you've been shot."

Applejack looked at Rainbow with confusion, then followed the pegasus's gaze down to near her waist. As if she was literally struck with the realization, she partially collapsed, leaning on the M2 for support. "So I... noticed."

"AJ, you alright?!" Rainbow rushed over to help her friend up.

"Maybe... if you didn't point that out... I would be," Applejack said with annoyance. "Was doin' fine until you did." Applejack struggled back up. "Come on Rainbow, let's get to work. This plane ain't goin' to defend itself."

"Well you're sure not going to be any help like this. Let's get you to Vinyl before you pass out or something." Rainbow assisted the earth pony over to the radio room where Vinyl was posted.

"Whoa, AJ," Vinyl exclaimed. "You gonna live?"

"I'm fine," Applejack insisted. "I need to get back to the guns!"

"Don't worry, AJ," said Rainbow as she found an extra pair of headphones. "I got it covered!" The pegasus dashed back to the guns. The side machine guns joined back in the shooting with the other defensive positions.

"'Kay, guess Rainbow's got it covered," Vinyl said. "Let's get you patched up." She began searching around for medical supplies.

"Make it fast and get me back in the fight!" Applejack complained as she opened her jacket.

"Geez, AJ, slow down!" Vinyl lifted her purple aviators to get a better look. "You might pass out from blood loss or something if you don't," she exclaimed as she applied hasty bandages.

Meanwhile, a pegasus's heart skipped a beat, and she uncomfortably shifted her stance. Rainbow quickly regained control of herself and continued paying attention to the hostile skies.

Applejack waited restlessly for the unicorn to finish. A quick glance around revealed that Vinyl had just as hard of a time as she did. "New window, Vinyl?"

Vinyl took a fast look behind her at the aircraft's wall. Amongst the multitude of small holes, there was a particularly large, gaping hole. "It's a kinda nice view, but it's also a pretty big scam." The white unicorn motioned her head towards equipment in the compartment. "Germane sent in another cannon round to collect the payment. Cost us the radio! Not cool. You still hurtin'?"

"Vinyl, I appreciate the concern and all, but you either hurry up and get me back in the fight or we leave Dash trying to cover both sides."

The white unicorn paused for a short moment. "... Well that isn't a hard choice. Okay, this might hurt a bit."

"Wait, what?"

Vinyl took out a shot of morphine and jabbed it into the earth pony. "Doctor Scratch says you're ready for action, Master Sergeant!" she proudly exclaimed as she flipped her sunglasses back down.

Applejack returned to her position as Rainbow switched from the left side to the right. "Hey, Rainbow—wanna have a little competition?" she asked as she took her place behind the port M2.

Rainbow looked back at her. "Sure thing," she accepted with her familiar competitive tone and demeanor.

A stallion's voice came through the headphones. It was Hemlock. "Hey there, Major Dash! Nice to hear you're safe. Also, congrats on being the first pegasus on the Sweetie Belle."

"I, uh, wow. Thanks, I guess," Rainbow replied as she spotted another gray shape passing her sights. She started firing in its direction.

"I'm Lieutenant Hemlock Wingnut by the way—"

"Lieutenant Hemlock Box Wingnut, as we call him," corrected Redwood.

Ignoring the navigator, the unicorn continued. "—Flight engineer. I, uh, saw what you did back there. Thanks for getting him. I saw him a bit too late."

"No problem. Glad to help my friends and friends of my friends."

"Alright! He's startin' to smoke!"

Rainbow looked behind her to the source of the voice. "Isn't a kill until he explodes though, AJ."

"Have ya even hit anything yet, Rainbow?" Applejack returned.

"I, uh, got three earlier and a couple probables."

"But they weren't part of this competition, sugarcube. Step it up," the earth pony jested.

The lone bomber continued lumbering along on its two remaining engines, their assailants refusing to stop. It felt like as some left the pack, a few others would come to replace them, as if they kept running into patrol flights. Rainbow noticed that her two wingponies were still flying around, drawing Germanes to the range of Sweetie Belle's guns, having run out of ammuntion themselves long ago.

Nickel, sitting below the bomber in his turret, was feeling fairly unlucky that moment. "Heartbuck, how much farther are we from the Channel? I'm not sure if we can keep this up much longer!"

"At this speed? Um... a while," the navigator replied.

"And there's no more escorts coming to help?"

Rainbow answered his question. "No. If there's an escort switch, it'd be at the rendezvous point, which the rest of the bombers would've already passed. We're on our own. My two wingponies' guns have been empty for a while, too."

"Uh, happy first mission with us, Corporal," Redwood apologized.

"I hope it won't be the last either," Nickel admitted.

"Of course not!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I haven't gotten to know you well enough yet! And we can't miss the party tomorrow either!"

"Party?" Rainbow asked.

"It's the 303rd's second anniversary in Equland tomorrow," Twilight answered. "I guess we'd have earned it if we make it back."

"When we make it back," Redwood corrected.

"That's the spirit!" said Pinkie.

"No..." Hemlock said with uncertainty, "I'm willing to stick with 'if' for now. 3 o'clock." He watched as a new formation of fighters appeared in the distance off to their starboard. "Any last words, guys?"

"Uh, to every mare onboard," Redwood started, "I think you're all very beautiful and have wonderful personalities, and if I had to choose to spend the rest of my life with one of you, it'd be a hard choice."

"Aw, how eerily romantic of you, Heartbuck," Hemlock commented.

"Sh-shut up, Box."

Rainbow felt a moment of deja vu as she spotted the formation. "I've had it with running into all these Germane flights!" She steeled herself in her position, facing group coming from their right side.

It got closer. And closer.

The new arrivals came into range. They split from each other, chasing away the attacking Germanes. As they flew around, Rainbow saw the profiles of the aircraft.

"Wait a minute..." She immediately felt relief wash over her.

Graceful curves and elliptical wings. Braytish Spitfires. She cheered on, the rest of the crew following promptly—they had been saved.

It was a short-lived encounter, as the remaining Germanes made a hasty retreat, likely out of fear that they would not be able to handle the Spitfires. There was also the issue that they were nearing the extent of the magic nullification fields.

The ponies finally felt themselves at ease. Their Braytish saviors flew alongside Sweetie Belle II to deter any more possible attacks.

Rainbow looked out of the window at the magnificent forms of the Spitfires. She leaned on her gun as memories came back to her while she lazily stared at the Braytish planes. Similar to the Amareican planes, there were some planes with art painted on them. The closest one she could see had some sort of flame emblem.

Rainbow's eyes shot open. "Vinyl!" she yelled. "Can you do that thing you did with me and Rarity earlier?! I want to talk to that Spitfire right off to our starboard."

"Geez, you just love making me do all sorts of things today, huh. Well, since magic seems to be back," Vinyl observed as she tapped her horn, "time to play operator again—please hold... and you're good, Major."

"Uh... hello?" Rainbow tentatively asked.

A new mare's voice came through Rainbow's headphones. "Hello? Who is this? You sound like a Yank. I'm going to assume you're on this Fortress. If this is for a thank you for the save, this is a you're welcome and greetings from Captain Spitfire, Royal Air Force."

Rainbow found a grin creeping onto her face. "Captain Spitfire. It's been a while."

There was a pause, either a moment of thought or surprise. "... Rainbow Dash! I knew that voice was familiar! You're on the Fortress? I never pictured you being a bombermare. What'd you do, transfer? Your fighter skills were some of the best I've seen. Can't imagine you being on something so slow and vulnerable."

"I, uh, got shot down earlier," Rainbow uneasily replied.

"Shot down?! How the bloody hell... You know what? Don't tell me. You're just one lucky bastard, Dash."

Rainbow changed the subject. "So, how are the Spitfires flying?" she asked, referring to the fighter aircraft. To her, though, it had always been a humorous fact that her idol shared the same name as the plane. "Been a while since I've been in the seat of one."

"Oh they fly like beauties," Spitfire replied. "A couple years of improvements make them leaps and bounds better than the Spits back in '40. These Mark 14s have a new Griffon engine. Works like a charm. Germanes never know what kicked their flanks out of the sky."

One of the Spitfires flew near enough to Rainbow's window. It was the yellow pegasus herself. They shared a wave.

"So we saw. Thank Luna you guys came over to help. You Braytish always know how to arrive on time."

"By Celestia's grace, you're luckier than you think. We're actually coming back from a mission and we're low on ammunition ourselves. These two Mustangs yours?"

"Yeah. I know I'm buying them drinks when I get back."

"Where's the third one? Headed back with the others?"

Rainbow felt a pang in her heart, the fact still too much for her at the moment.

Spitfire assumed the short silence was hesitation. "Dash?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Respecting her wish, Spitfire changed the subject. "Hey, how's Lightning Dust? Still flying like a madpony and racking up those kills? One bloody aggressive pilot, that mare. Do you even still fly with her?"

Rainbow was hit even harder this time and felt tears well up. She wanted to tell a lie but couldn't. "She... she, uh..." Her stumbling and tone gave it away.

"Oh." Spitfire connected some dots. "Rainbow... would it... by chance... be related to why there's only two of your Mustangs here?"

The pegasus released the tears she had been holding since she last saw Lightning. "Yeah... yeah. She died a good death. Wouldn't stop flying if it meant this bomber got back safely."

"O...—Oh. I-I'm... I'm sorry... to hear that. She was a great pilot, Dash. And a good pony."

"She was. She was."

"On behalf of the RAF, I send my regards... I—what's that?" Spitfire was interrupted as she was pulled into another conversation, obviously with one of her wingponies. "Yes, yes, sadly. Rainbow, Soarin says he does too. We'll remember her. You and her helped defend our home—that earns places in our hearts."

Applejack came over to comfort her crying friend, despite not knowing exactly why. Spitfire remained silent, feeling that there was nothing else she could say.

<<+>>

"Box, Twilight, do you think you can do anything about Engine 1?" Rarity asked, seeing that there was no longer any threat of being shot down. "I'm sure we'd all like to fly home on at least three engines. Makes our return trip faster."

"Redwood, switch seats with me," said Twilight.

"Good luck," replied the navigator as they switched seats.

"Twilight," asked Hemlock, "What do you see from down there?"

The purple unicorn leaned closer to the window in front of the navigator's table. She could see bits of metal debris from both of the aircraft that collided stuck inside the engine. The props, now feathered into the airstream, were unmoving, and there were substantial chips on the edges. Definitely from hitting against the foreign objects.

"I don't know, Lock. The debris looks like it could have damaged some parts in the engine. Props look roughed up hitting all the metal that was probably sticking out the front of the nacelle, but not really too bad; they look like they're in good enough condition for getting us home if the engine runs."

"Box, do you think the engine's fit to run?" asked Rarity.

"I could take a feel inside. Give me some time. We're out of the anti-magic field, so I'll see what I can do," the flight engineer replied.

<<+>>

"The Channel's not too far off now, and I'm sure there's no more Germanes out this far. I think you'll be safe now. Good luck, Dash, and I'm sorry about Dust. Maybe we can talk over some drinks some time around Hearth's Warming. Sound good?"

"Yeah. Thanks again, Spitfire."

The Braytish planes pulled away, leaving Sweetie Belle II alone with the two blue-nosed Mustangs. Rainbow suddenly remembered that she forgot to do something.

"Hey, Vinyl—I need you to do that one more time. Mustang off to our starboard."

"Alright, alright, geez. This is the operator—please hold while you are connected..." Vinyl's horn glowed once more, casting a spell on Rainbow's headset and another one with the one in the Mustang. "Okay, Major, Mustang on line 1."

"Hey. Hey, Thunderlane."

"DASH! Dear Luna, we thought you died too! What the hell?! Me and Rumble have been flying here wanting to kill ourselves feeling like failures!"

"Thunderlane, relax. You two did great. Thanks for drawing some of their fire back there. Anyways, tell everyone back at base that I'm okay, and that I've managed to get a ride on a B-17 from the 303rd."

"Sure thing, Rainbow. Never mind how, we're just glad to know you're alive! Why didn't you tell us earlier?"

"Sorry. I had a chat with one of the Spitfire pilots. An old friend. And then after that, I kinda just cried away what happened to Lightning. And then I just crashed from exhaustion. So yeah, sorry about that."

"It's alright. You've been flying with Lightning for this entire war. You had us worried, but since you're okay, it's fine. We'll see you back at the airfield later, okay?"

"Roger that. Dash out."

At that, Vinyl cut the signal.

The Equlish Channel came into sight, and it was indeed a sight for sore eyes. Thunderlane and Rumble pulled off once the three planes crossed over into Braytain, and the lone, battle-scarred B-17G continued limping on back to its home.

"Rarity, Tav—I've done what I can to the engine," Hemlock announced. "Twilight's taken out the debris she could. It should run just fine to get us home."

"Roger that, Lieutenant Wingnut," said Octavia. "Major?"

"Unfeather the props and start the engine, Octavia."

Rarity looked to her left, relieved to see the engine begin to start. It spun to speed after sputtering to life and their airspeed rose. There was a small trail of smoke, but it wasn't critical.

Rainbow and Applejack sat quietly in exhaustion on the fold-down benches in the back. Much like the rest of the crew, they were letting their blood settle down. A gray earth pony climbed out of the ball turret mount in the floor, sitting next to them.

"An earth pony in the ball turret," Rainbow said. "Huh. Not scared of heights?"

Nickel shrugged. "Got used to it. I probably don't enjoy it like Pie does, though."

"Pinkie? That's a given," she smiled.

"So you're Major Rainbow Dash," Nickel said as he faced her. "I'm Corporal Nickel Worth. I'm new to this crew. Your friends have told me a little bit about you."

"They did, huh?" she replied.

"I think most of it was from Pinkie."

"Figures." Rainbow chuckled.

"So you know some RAF pilots?"

"Yup."

"Huh." Nickel pondered for a moment. "Has anyone here realized the irony of us Amareicans, under Luna, taking the daylight raids, while the Braytish, under Queen Celestia, take the nighttime raids?"

"Clearly," Twilight said, "you haven't been around long enough to hear that been mentioned."

"It's an intriguing fact commonly noted," Octavia said. "And a fact I'm sure they themselves have discussed."

"I see," Nickel nodded. He turned back to Rainbow. "You know, I haven't met a fighter pilot yet. You got any cool stories to tell?"

"Stories about flying? Right now? After all that?" asked Rainbow. "Wow. If I were you, I wouldn't ask for any stories after an ordeal like that. As if flying through hell wasn't enough. That's going to make one hell of story, by the way."

Nickel shrugged. "I didn't say it had to be a war story. But you can if you want to."

Rainbow decided it was finally safe to let memories roam free in her mind. After all of the events of the day, one particular memory rose above them all. "Alright. I guess I can tell you how I started as a fighter pilot."

'... Wake up! We got Germanes on a surprise raid heading across the Channel!...'

"And how I met my faithful, loyal wingpony, Lieutenant Lightning Dust."

'... You're the one that taught me that, Dash. Remember? The whole 'what's one pony' thing compared to a group of ponies?...'

"And how I got to fly with the Wonderbolts."

'... Been a while since I've been in the seat of one...'

"It all started back in 1940, when Braytain was backed into the corner."

'... the Spits back in '40...'

"It was the Blitz..."

<<+>>

USAAF Station 107
Cambridgeshire, Equland
1245 Hours

The crew of Sweetie Belle II and Rainbow Dash stepped out onto Equlish soil. Rarity and Octavia did an exceptional job landing the damaged plane—wasn't a perfect landing, but they did get down in one piece with no further damage. Medical personnel were already next to the runway, just in case the bomber that returned was going to need them. And as it was, the crew of the battered plane did.

Applejack was supported by Rainbow as she got off. Rarity did the same for Octavia with help from Twilight. As they walked away from their plane, medics came running towards them to assist with the wounded. And pushing past the medics was a yellow pegasus, running straight towards them.

"Oh, Rarity! And everypony else! I was so worried when they said that you fell behind! And then they said you stopped keeping contact! So I thought maybe you got shot down before you got to the Channel! And worse, you could have been stuck inside, falling to your doom! Or maybe you'd land and still survive, but be stuck somewhere out there and starve to death! Or—"

Rarity calmly pushed Fluttershy off of her. "There, there, we're all fine now—"

"Applejack! Octavia!" Fluttershy gasped as she noticed their wounds, to which stretchers were being brought for by the hospital ponies. "Rainbow!... Rainbow?"

"Long story," Rainbow replied. "Don't worry about me."

"But you have a large cut in your wing!"

"It's... not the worst thing that's happened to me today."

Puzzled, Fluttershy turned to Applejack. "How are you feeling?"

"How am I feeling? I don't know who's doin' the worst here," said Applejack. "Me, Tavi, or Sweetie Belle over there." She motioned to the plane with her head.

Fluttershy had not even fully noticed the state of the Fortress when they landed. The crew chief looked at the obviously battered aircraft, much different from its clean appearance when they left that morning. There were scratches all over the front left side of the nose, and bits of metal stuck out from the Number 1 engine. Bullet holes riddled the surface of the plane. It was a wonder only Applejack and Octavia had an injury.

The mechanic's eyes darted between her friend and the plane, a cautious, unsure, worried look plastered on her face. She did not know how to take in the situation anymore. Her friends dying seemed like an understatement given the condition of the bomber.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy," Twilight said as she came over. "You can start after tomorrow. Have some drinks first."

"I guess so. That sounds good."

Comments

[Eagle]

"I'm up, I'm up. Relax." Regardless, he got a boot thrown at his head, much to his dismay. "Corporal Worth, you look up and ready. I task you with getting me some hot coffee and meet me on the way there with it."

"Lieutenant, I suggest you treat your senior officers with more respect," Octavia admonished. "Like I've previously said many times before, and I believe you've mentioned yourself, observe the rank differences."

You missed an enter here.

Remember that you don't have to indent the first paragraphs, and you I don't think you have to do it for dialogue at all.

It seems good from what I can see. I always this weird feeling when stories are about ponies and combat, but that's just my problem; it still seems ok. It feels weirder when it talks about ones like Octavia and Rarity; AJ I can legitimately see, but not these two. But, that also gives the window to see their own actions and reactions, so that's not a bad idea to have them, just depends on how you use them.

All in all it feels akin to Memphis Belle

If you want the best look at WW2 bomber missions, I'd suggest WW2 in HD: The Air War-

[kragor]

>the horse puns
brb, killing self

[The Grey Pegasus]

4508271
It made the story fun to write, with quite a bit of facepalms along the way.

[Eagle]

4508320 Grey you know those aren't exactly a good sign, right?

[Bloodpool]

Too many horse puns. Other than that, a very enjoyable read.

Though you still haven't quite caught on to the knack we Brits have for gross understatements. For example, in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, a suburban dinner party is invaded by Death, who wears a long black cloak and carries a scythe.

"Well," says one party guest, "That's cast rather a gloom over the evening, hasn't it?"

In another scene, an Army officer has just lost his leg. When asked how he feels, he looks down at his bloody stump and responds, "Stings a bit."

And let us not forget Henry Paget, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge, who, upon having a leg torn off by a cannonball, was heard to remark to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington: "By God, sir, I've lost my leg!", to which Wellington replied "By God, sir, so you have!"

[The Grey Pegasus]

4522134
Should've consulted some British people. If only I knew where to find them..

By the way, the specific event you inspired in this story was the Aluminum Alicorn getting shot down by flak; a long time ago, when Twilicorn was just about going to be a thing, you said you were going to take a flak cannon to her. And so... this happened.

[Bloodpool]

4522161 Oooh yea! Now I remember!. :3

God, my memory is terrible.

[The Grey Pegasus]

5347520
Exactly. They're horizontal stabilizers, so for the general definition, not wings.

[dukesofhazzardftw]

3745676 I thought I was the only one who got the Memphis Belle vibe!

[DeiligKjott]

10/10. Would love to see spinoff.

[Tempestus]

This has made my top fav's, great story! I found myself able to picture everything as it happened, though I thought that the Aluminum Alicorn was a reference to the B-17G Aluminum Overcast. Lightning Dusts' death and full blown story in this fic, relationship to Dash, was great.

10/10, have a vid I think that fits this fic!

Actually made No:1 on my Favorites list!!!

[The Grey Pegasus]

6326949
Well, the reference to Aluminum Overcast was already in the story description.

Aluminum Alicorn IV isn't actually completely random though- while also sounding like a plausible bomber name, at the time that this story was originally conceived (not written, conceived), Twilight just got her wings (thereby the fourth alicorn), so this was sort of a way of commenting on it.

[Tempestus]

6326954 I can see how that went about with Twi.

[KamLong]

5347520 Actually an aircraft has one vertical stabilizer, what you mean are the horizontal stabilizers. Just saying.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Tail_of_a_conventional_aircraft.svg/800px-Tail_of_a_conventional_aircraft.svg.png