USAAF Station 107 Cambridgeshire, Equland September 23, 1944 0530 Hours
The morning reveille sounded, waking up aircrews early in the morning. It signaled one thing—today was not going to be relaxing.
"Come on everypony, wake up. None o' you are goin' to get the chance to stay in any longer."
"... Easy for you to say, Applejack... You're just a gunner..."
Quick morning banter was exchanged among ponies, but Rarity in particular had some issues with feeling sleepy—one does not like to think about having to fly a bomber straight into flak-filled skies the second one wakes up.
Rarity grumbled as she levitated the sheets off of herself and got out of her bed. Looking over to Applejack, she found the earth pony ready in her entire flight uniform, leaning against the wall. The earth pony's prized stetson rested on the sheets, and the earmuff-headset piece that would instead take its place on Applejack's head hung around her neck.
"How long have you been awake?" the unicorn asked as she, too, started putting on her clothes.
Applejack shrugged. "Woke up a couple minutes early. Figured there was no point in trying to catch a couple more winks of sleep. Guess this is how Hemlock and Octavia feel like every morning."
Rarity took a glance over to where her flight engineer and co-pilot slept, and as noted, were again not there, evidently awake before the rest of the crew.
Much of the other aircrew was in the middle of the same process as she was. One of them, a stallion, seemed to have even more trouble accepting the fact that it was time to get up.
"Pinkie, do you got anything strong with sugar in it? Chocolate maybe?" he asked, muffled by a pillow.
"Nope! But maybe Box or Tavi can bring you some when they come back!" Pinkie Pie replied. The two ponies mentioned were again the crew's engineer and co-pilot.
"Yeah. Likely..."
"By Celestia's horn and wings, Redwood, sometimes I wonder if you're the epitome of madness," Twilight Sparkle remarked as she clambered out of her own cot.
Redwood Heartbuck groaned and remained in his spot. "Box and Tavi are out already as usual and I know they're not getting me any." He sighed. "How on earth can you wake up like this Pinkie?"
"I don't know!" the pink pony replied as she bounced to the door. "Maybe I'm just so excited for the big party tomorrow! All the fun and drinks and food and..." she trailed off as she exited the door without missing a beat, seemingly engrossed in her rant.
"Staff Sergeant Pie's got a point there, 2nd Lieutenant Heartbuck," Applejack said. "Jus' get through today and then tomorrow you can sleep and drink and whatever all ya want. And it ain't a bad idea to try to be like Lieutenant Wingnut and Lieutenant Melody. They ain't mornin' ponies either, but at least they deal with it."
Redwood knew that when Applejack—and a few other of the crew—started referring to her friends by rank, she was getting a little bit short on end. By this point he was just toying with her, since doing so would help him wake up a bit more. But only a bit.
Regardless, Applejack walked over alongside his cot and picked up his heavy flight jacket with a hoof. "You... well, jus' get up." Applejack promptly threw the thick jacket at the limp form under the sheets.
Redwood gave a grunt of surprise and reluctantly sat up. "Alright, alright, geez. Hey—how fast do you get dressed, AJ?"
"If you got your head up when you were supposed to, you'd've heard that I woke up a couple minutes early. Now do I have to throw your boots at you too or are ya gonna get up?"
"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."
"I thought Master Sarge over there told you to get your own," Nickel Worth replied, referencing Applejack, who had already gone out the door.
"I recall outranking both of you," Redwood retorted.
"Wow, 2nd LT's really cranky in the morning, isn't he?" the light gray earth pony commented to the others.
"Ah, relax, Nickel," Vinyl Scratch said from the doorframe. "You're gonna be riding with me and AJ in the back anyways. You won't even have to see his cranky face. Besides—you haven't seen cranky until you see Tavi without her morning brew."
"Hey Scratch, pour me some when you get there before me, alright?" the tan earth pony requested as he slipped on his jacket.
"Yeah... no," the unicorn answered with a grin as she put on her purple-tinted aviator sunglasses and also left out the door.
<<+>>
Outside, Redwood found his crew conversing with two other ponies that had walked back to their barracks. One was a light green unicorn and the other was a dark gray earth pony.
"Lock. Tav. Didn't happen to bring me coffee this time either, did you?" Redwood asked the two.
"Lieutenant, I suggest you treat your senior officers with more respect," Octavia Melody lightly scolded. "As I've previously said many times before, and I believe you've mentioned yourself, observe the rank hierarchy."
Cocking his head, Redwood replied after a short silence. "You are not a nice pony to deal with first thing in the morning."
"And that's why Tavi needs a boiling pot of coffee when she wakes up," Vinyl pointed out. "Oh the days I woke up when she didn't have any yet... ugh..." She shuddered at the memories. "She needs her morning coffee like a true Amareican, and needs her afternoon tea like a true Brayton.
"Better than dealing with you any time of the day," said Hemlock Wingnut.
"Don't kid yourselves—you guys love me."
"And I don't condone laziness in my aircraft," added Rarity. "Be an officer and a gentlecolt, and go fetch some tea for your commanding officer."
"You're joking," Redwood flatly remarked.
"Do you think an officer and a lady like me would ever do such a thing?" Rarity asked, pointing a hoof to herself with a sly smile.
"Probably not, because I thought that was my job..." Pinkie said, rubbing a hoof against her chin.
"So, shall we waste more time standing around, or will the navigator lead us to the mess hall?" Octavia said.
The reply she received was a roll of his green eyes before walking in the desired direction. The rest of the ponies followed suit. Redwood could be a difficult stallion to work with at times, but when in the right mood or when duty called, he could be relied on to do his job and further when it counted the most. Neither of those criteria matched the present moment.
<<+>>
The mess hall consisted of long tables and benches, and the bomber crew went through the familiar routine of gathering breakfast and taking their seats around one such table.
"They did briefing yesterday," Nickel said. "Check my memory—target is Flankfurt today, right?"
"So Nickel, how many missions have you been on again?" Hemlock asked.
"Eight," Nickel answered. "Then, of course, the eighth mission I got hit with shrapnel and then I got hospitalized. But I guess that's better than getting killed. Suppose it's what I get for being on a plane called Luna's Luck."
"I believe that you can be free of worry now, Corporal Worth," Rarity announced while inspecting her mane in a small mirror. "Fifty-one sorties in our current aircraft so far and not one instance of notable damage."
"I'm replacing somepony whose tour is over, correct?"
"Indeed you are. And this is your first tour, correct?"
"Yes."
"Well we're all on overtime by now, anyways," Vinyl added. "Third tour, I think."
"And hell if I know why I've stuck around," Redwood commented. Back when the crew was formed earlier in the war, he was one of the initial outsiders, not having any immediate friends in the crew, unlike Rarity and her group or Octavia with Vinyl. Yet through training back in Amareica, he'd grown to be a reliable asset to the crew as well as a good friend. Even when he could be a little thick at times.
"Don't lie to yourself, Heartbuck, you love us," Octavia smirked, echoing his earlier statement.
"Are you awake yet?"
"That's for me to know and you to judge."
"Alright, now I got a question." Nickel finished chewing the food in his mouth before beginning. "So—how do two mares so seemingly prim, proper, generally high-class and all that, a tailor and a musician, end up so high in rank and in command of a bomber with the mission of destroying things and killing ponies?"
"We're flying a bomber, Nickel," Applejack answered. "The pilots don't have to be hotshots. You find those pilots flying fighters."
Rarity and Octavia nodded in agreement.
"You'd also be surprised how well their civilian occupations complemented their new positions," Twilight added. "Practiced in precise movements, coordination, multitasking, a sense of caution, the ability to follow procedures and orders—it's almost as if they were destined for their positions."
The pilot and co-pilot smiled at the compliments.
"They've earned it too."
"And we believe it is a proper service to our fellow ponies to help end a war faster," said Rarity.
"The military is like an orchestra," Octavia started. "Composed of multiple elements that combine for a singular outcome. And the better performance of a single musician, the better the overall outcome. That's why we've all remained here—together, we make an impressive crew."
"But what about you Captain Sparkle?" the gray earth pony continued. "Skilled magic user, highly studious—you were a student of the Queen if I heard right, 'til you moved to the States."
"Oh she just didn't trust anypony else to be able to work out the math and all that when it came to droppin' the bombs," Applejack said with a teasing tone.
Twilight replied with a sheepish smile.
"And Applejack—you're related to Macintosh?" Nickel asked, still curious about the new and incredibly interesting crew he had been assigned to.
"Heh... yeah... He's my brother."
"What ever motivated him to become a general?"
Applejack gazed downwards. "Well, uh, after... uh... we lost pa... to the War, Mac got it in himself that he'd do him right and join the military. Part of it was because of our uncle who already was one, which you might know of. He was always a nice pony to be with when he was around, so that's part of it. But the bigger reason is closer to our hearts.
"See, family is a big thing for us Apples, and Mac didn't want any other families to go through what we had to. At least once in control, he could help prevent that kind a' thing. And so, years passed, and now my big, smart brother ends up halfway across the world on his way to liberate the Fillypines. I'm sure our uncle would be real proud o' him. Us Apples are the most reliable, dependable ponies you'll ever find; I knew Mac would come through on his words on returnin'." She finished with a small laugh and a glint in her eye.
"And I'm sure Twilight has something she'd love to share as well," said Octavia.
Twilight returned a sheepish grin. "No, no, it's fine."
"Oh, but I'm sure everyone would love to hear why the group flew a mission over the Netherlands the other day," the gray mare persisted.
All eyes focused on the lavender unicorn. Although except for Nickel, they all knew what it was already.
Twilight surrendered. "Fine... You know Operation Market Garden—"
"The one that's going oh-so-swell right now," Octavia said critically.
"Uh, yeah, I guess," Nickel replied. "Why?"
"Yeah..." Twilight sighed, scratching the back of her head uncomfortably. "My brother's in charge of it."
"General Shining Armour's your brother?!" Nickel asked incredulously. "The Braytish general that helped win North Zebrica?"
"That's him, my big brother, best friend forever. Finally someone thinks of him for more than just the latest failure." Twilight managed a smile. "To spare you the question, he got impressed by Her Majesty's Royal Guard when they were in procession one day," Twilight nonchalantly stated. "And now, in his race to reach the heart of Germaney first, well... it appears things didn't go as planned. He's not usually like this..."
"Home by Hearth's Warming they said," said Redwood. "Back to your families by the holidays. Hell, you'd probably have an easier time getting a Purple Heart as your ticket back home if you want to get back by then."
"Well at least he gave it a shot," Hemlock pointed out.
"So, Twilight, about who's going to make it to Bearlin first..." grinned Rarity.
"Shut it, Rarity!" Twilight hissed. "You know what? Maybe the Reds will. Celestia knows they're itching to get back at the Germanes after they were holed up in Stalliongrad for so long."
Meanwhile, Nickel, left with the awkward position they had put their bombardier in, decided to ask something more normal, in the sense that it was simply random and odd and personal. The topic of conversation regarded their flight engineer.
Hemlock was the current crew's other outsider when they were given assignments all the way back in training. He made pretty good friends with Redwood, being two stallions in a majority female crew and over time came to be something of Redwood's converse. If Redwood was on one side, one might expect Hemlock to oppose him somehow. Just a routine between any other set of friends.
The corporal directed the question towards their flight engineer in a manner that isolated the conversation between the two. "Hmm... okay, actually—this next one's not really related to much—but Lieutenant Wingnut, why are you named after a poisonous plant? You seem to be a nice pony, and in my experience, pony personalities seem to match their names. Go figure."
"Different hemlock," Hemlock replied, as if he'd already answered the question many times before. "My mother, a unicorn, was a botanist—parents agreed to name me after the state tree of our home state of Prancesylvania—eastern hemlock. And my father, a pegasus, was an engineer for some weather devices—that's where Wingnut comes from."
Nickel stared blankly. He just couldn't get himself a break from asking questions in this new crew. "Then where does the nickname 'Box' come from? I've heard some ponies around call you it, but–"
"He ain't ever gonna tell you," Applejack answered with a grin.
"It was from this one time where—*ack*" Redwood was interrupted mid-sentence when he was choked by his own pair of headphones. He glanced over at Hemlock.
"Hey, want to tell Nickel about that time you crashed the jeep on the way back from town?" Hemlock suggested.
Redwood frantically waved his hooves, still unable to speak due to being choked by his headphones. The aura surrounding the green unicorn's horn disappeared.
Redwood coughed. "Fine."
<<+>>
The crew soon finished their morning preparations and headed out to the airfield. Celestia's sun was peeking above the horizon, but not very high, streaks of purple and dark blue fading away to the light of day. The lighting was just enough to make out the nose art and other markings on the bombers.
The group of nine ponies walked along the row of parked bombers, each one a mighty B-17G Flying Fortress, with ground crews here and there preparing them for flight. Finally, they neared their own. It was among the first B-17Gs delivered to their unit, replacing the older F models in early 1944.
"The Sweetie Belle II," Nickel read out loud, stopping in place to read the name on the aircraft's nose. "Why the name?"
"After our first aircraft in 1943, naturally," Rarity explained. "A venerable B-17F that got us through that frightening, tough, no-escort period. I had won a contest among the crew to name it. I named it after my dearest younger sister—I love her very much. Not to mention the strange... destructive tendencies she has."
"... Destructive tendencies?"
"In one instance I can recall, she burned juice."
"Burned... juice."
"You heard me correctly. A shame we don't use incendiary bombs very often, I suppose," Rarity off-hoofedly remarked. "Anyhow, collectively agreeing to christen our new bomber after our previous one is a testament on how much the first one grew on us."
"You know, Rarity," Hemlock inquired, "You never did tell us how your sister reacted to it."
"She said she liked the dress. So I made her one in both colors before I left for Equland again."
"Hm."
The nine ponies stopped in front of the Sweetie Belle II, its nose adorned with art and sortie and victory markings.
"Well Nickel, here she is," Hemlock announced. "Quite possibly the most successful aircraft in this unit to operate with only two wings."
The rest of the crew grinned at the statement, it being another one of their other claims to fame.
"... What?" Nickel asked, confused. "I don't..."
"Take a look at us, Corporal." Twilight motioned to the rest of the crew. "No wings on our backs! We hold the distinction of being one of the only crews without a single pegasus. No wings on this bomber except the ones it flies on."
"Is everything ready?" Rarity asked one of the ground crew that were currently walking around it.
"Bombs are loaded, ammunition's on board, tanks are topped off," the pony replied. "Flight instruments are all good. And she said engines are checked and are ready for another flight, Major."
"Thank you," the major nodded, then stopped. "Say, where is the crew chief herself? I don't see her here."
The pony shrugged. "Somepony else needed some help. That's all I got."
Rarity sighed. "Very well then. Tell her we'll be back safely."
"You got it, Major."
Pinkie gasped and looked at Nickel. "Oh my gosh, your post was ball gunner, right?"
"Yeah—"
"But I'm the ball gunner too! We totally forgot to work this out! And since we don't have our tail gunner anymore, somepony needs to cover our tail! Because nopony ever wants to have their tail pinned unless it's a party!"
Pinkie paused as she noticed her crewmates staring at her, their expressions saying 'get to the point'.
"Don't worry Nick, I'll take the tail! Enjoy the ball! It's so much fun, don't you agree?!"
"Uh, yeah. New perspective... of... the world."
With the positions quickly and painlessly resolved, Rarity turned her head to the rest of her crew. "Shall we?"
2nd Lt. Heartbuck came right up to her side. "Let's go. I want to sit down."
Much of the crew rolled their eyes or gave unamused looks.
"Of course you do," Applejack commented.
<<+>>
It was just 7 in the morning when the crew boarded the bomber and took their positions throughout the plane.
Rarity took the pilot's seat on the flight deck, with Octavia sitting to her right and Hemlock in the compartment behind them where his station was located, as well as the top turret. As the green unicorn went to work checking the twin .50 caliber M2s in the turret, Rarity and Octavia went through their pre-flight checklist.
On the deck below them, Twilight took her seat at the clear nose of the B-17. In front of her was the Norden bombsight, essentially the only reason she was there. As she went through pre-flight calibrations and checks, she was interrupted by some light snoring. Looking back towards her cabin mate, Twilight found the stallion lightly napping over the navigation table.
"Redwood, you can't be asleep. Wake up." She tugged at him lightly using her telekinesis.
The tan pony perked up slightly. "Oh come on, relax. Wake me up a couple minutes after wheels-up."
"We're on duty now. Don't sleep on the job. And you were already awake earlier."
"Doesn't stop me from going back. Look, if you're worried about me being awake enough to navigate, relax. I don't have a magnetic compass and a mathematical compass adorning my flank for nothing. All the equipment is calibrated. Wake me up after take-off." He put his head back on the small table.
Twilight rolled her eyes. There was no use trying to coerce the earth pony up and about any further. He did state a truth—he was one of the best navigators around and Twilight herself gave credit to his skill. And if Command never found out about this, they wouldn't care if nothing went wrong.
The unicorn gave up and left him alone a little longer. After all, it was only a half-hour at most until they left. And engine start-up, on the other hoof, was just a matter of minutes. That would keep him awake, and she knew it.
Twilight created a telepathic link to the pilot. "Rarity, how much longer until you get the engines started?"
"Just a couple more minutes, Twilight. You of all ponies know how to respect lists."
"That I do, Rarity. But at this point, don't you think you can go a little faster through a list you've read countless times?" Twilight glanced back at Redwood, still slumped over his table. "It seems that our navigator needs some help finding his way back to the path of proper operating procedure."
Between the two experienced pilots, Rarity and Octavia went through the starting checklist at the requested increased pace.
"Lock, how are the engines?" Rarity asked.
"A-OK, Major. Checked and ready to go," the flight engineer replied from behind them.
Once they had properly confirmed that all of the proper switches were toggled and everything was in place, Rarity gave the order. "Lieutenant, start the engines."
On the command, Octavia activated the starter, the sounds of 4,800 horses arising from slumber filling the cabin. Each pop of a piston as the engines revved up was like the plane coming to life and popping its joints, ready for a hard day's work.
"Ah, sweet music to my ears."
As the four engines started roaring to life, Twilight turned to her left, towards Redwood. Her horn glowed as she levitated his headset off, in her effort to help him arise from slumber.
"Hey, hey, I need those," Redwood complained, barely audible through the engine noise. He was forced to sit up attentively as his hearing senses woke up and ears started twitching. He shifted glances between Twilight and his levitating headset, which was too far for him to reach.
After attempting to endure the noise for a little bit, Redwood started looking less drowsy and more irritated, and probably in pain from the roar of the engines reverberating in his head.
Once she received the displeased expression, Twilight finally gave the headset back. She heard his voice over the headphones.
"Ugh... Captain Sparkle, I'll get you for that. *Sigh* This is 2nd Lieutenant Heartbuck. Ready to go and double checking the course."
"Glad to hear it, Lieutenant," one of the pilots said.
In the rear, directly behind the bomb bay, Vinyl was actually not inside her radio compartment but rather standing up and sticking her head out of the opened roof window, her purple-tinted aviators raised on her forehead. It was the same thing every mission. She memorized the timings of the routine, and with her expertise in electronic equipment, she always kept the radios in top shape. She didn't mind morning missions much—the view of the early sunrise backing the scene of the bustling airbase mixed with the crisp late-September air made up for having to wake up early.
However, Nickel, Applejack, and Pinkie didn't have the benefit of a window to open and stick their heads out of. So they settled for keeping each other occupied.
"So Nickel," Applejack started as she settled into one of the fold-down seats, "have ya even gotten a chance to shoot at Germanes?"
"Yeah, once. My second mission. A few of them came to harass, and they left right after."
"Did ya hit anything?"
"I... maybe?" Nickel said, unsure.
"Did they shoot down any of the bombers?" Pinkie asked.
"No."
"Then you don't have to worry!" Pinkie exclaimed, but in a quiet manner, as to respect the tranquility of the morning. "It doesn't matter if you don't know whether you hit or not. At least, I think so. It sure is better than having to know how many shots you're making count."
"I guess."
"What Pinkie says comes from experience," said Applejack. "Gonna be honest with you, 1943 was a rough year."
"So I've heard."
<<+>>
Soon, they were given the directions to move out and head for the runways. Upon taxing onto the runway, the pilots waited for the signal. At the pop of a flare, the signal to take off, only seconds later, the pilots eased the throttle to maximum. The purr of the engines grew to a roar, and soon the heavy bomber lumbered into the skies.
The departure of Fortresses from the airfield was constant. The airborne planes circling above, assembling into formation. Once all had left the ground, Redwood relayed directional information to Rarity.
As the bombers slowly gained altitude, the planes in formation adjusted themselves into their flying positions. Being the lead ship, Sweetie Belle II would be joined by another B-17 on either side in the combat box formation.
Rarity looked out of the window to her left, seeing Cold Hail From Cloudsdale. It was a newer B-17G as evident by its silvery plain metal finish, instead of the older olive drab paint coat that Sweetie Belle II wore. To the right, Aluminum Alicorn IV, also baring shining plain metal surfaces, completed the three plane arrangement.
Together, the three bombers flew in generally close proximity, allowing the multitude of gunners in each plane to provide more effective mutual support against attacking Germanes. Granted, the opposing airpower was becoming inconsistent and much of the times even absent in strength by this time, due to the grueling damage done to their forces by constant bombardment and skilled aces.
Still, the Flying Fortresses kept true to their name, continuing to carry a near-full complement of gunners. In-flight gun maintenance procedure continued as always, whether there was going to be shooting or not.
About half an hour into the flight, Applejack checked over the port side M2 machine gun once more. Although usage of the gun had mostly been restricted to test firing the past few flights, they were still in a war. The enemy's ability to retaliate may have been severely cut down, but they were not out.
Scanning the sky, Applejack found something of interest to report. "Hey, Rare—ya might want ta take a look outside."
Rarity casually looked out of her window, finding a flight of four P-51 Mustangs joining the formation from above, slowly making their way through the bomber cloud. The aircraft displayed familiar blue noses. Upon closer inspection, Rarity also recognized it as the arrival of their own blue-nosed friend.
"Vinyl, could you bypass procedure a little and patch me in to the lead Mustang off our port side?" Rarity requested to their radio operator over the intercom.
"Hmm?" Vinyl peered up out through a window. Just as Rarity said, there was a P-51 flight off to their left. "Oh. Alright, gimme a moment. One magic radio frequency coming right up..." Vinyl replied. She focused her magic onto Rarity's headset and joined it with the headset of the pilot in the lead plane. "Okay Major—you're on air."
"Thank you, Sergeant." Rarity turned her attention to the escort planes. "Nice of you to join us, Major," she greeted through the radio. "Care to escort us to Flankfurt and back?"
A moment of silence, as the pilot of the Mustang was probably surprised to hear Rarity's voice.
"Ah, don't worry, Major. I won't let those Germanes touch a hair in your mane."
Rarity watched as one of the Mustangs flew alongside the cockpit of Sweetie Belle II. In the canopy of the Mustang was a light blue pegasus, who gave a wave and a salute over to Rarity.
"How nice of you, Rainbow. I actually groomed a little this morning."
"You might be groomed, but your plane's still wearing the ol' green eh? In my opinion, it doesn't compare to the sleek shining metal that newer planes have. Get with the times, Rarity, clean finish is in style," Rainbow teased, punctuating her statement by rolling her Mustang to the left until she leveled out again. The clean aluminum surfaces gleamed with light as the plane rotated.
Rarity grumbled. "Don't you start flaunting yourself. I feel enough frustration as it is," she replied, glancing off towards the directions of Sweetie Belle II's two bare metal partners Hail From Cloudsdale and Aluminum Alicorn. They were, in fact, quite dashing, pun unintended.
"Besides, weren't you the one that said green isn't your color?"
"Shut up!"
Rainbow chuckled. "Okay, okay, relax. Speaking of paint jobs, those are quite a number of bombs painted on the nose. What mission are you guys flying? Trying to secure a record?"
"Fifty-second sortie in this ship. And what's wrong with trying to secure a record?"
"Nothing. I can't blame you or else I'd be hypocritical." Rainbow let out a small laugh.
"I was going to say—you're the one to be talking about sticking around and securing a record," Rarity said. "Besides, as you recall, Twi—Captain Sparkle—of course has her gracious connections with the president back in Amareica, and so decided to ask if we could stay as long as we'd please, as normal tours aren't long enough. Naturally, they had to keep us. I think she was itching to return to action during that goodwill tour."
"Well of course!" Twilight yelled over the intercom to Rarity. "All it takes is a look at our combat record to figure out 'hey, we should keep them at the front because they're effective'. Why not be here and help end the war faster? Besides, a 'congratulations, you're one of the first to complete twenty-five missions' tour, nice and all as it is, doesn't really compare much anymore when we've done it twice over again, and even now going for fifty-two. Granted, circumstances permit feats such as this more easily..."
Rarity chuckled. "Oh yes, she was definitely eager to come back." Then Rarity yawned, feeling traces of drowsiness from the early hours.
"Still tired a bit Rare?" Rainbow asked, having heard the unicorn yawn.
"It's fine. I have Octavia to cover for me if need be."
The gray earth pony rolled her eyes.
"You're lucky," the pegasus replied. "I don't have anypony to cover for me, and you know how I like my sleep." She chuckled.
"Not as much as our navigator perhaps."
"What was that?" a male voice asked through the intercom.
"Don't mind it." Rarity continued. "Anyways, how was your morning, Rainbow?"
"My morning?"
<<+>>
USAAF Station 141 Norfoalk, Equland September 23, 1944 0546 Hours
The quiet silence of the morning.
A jeep driving by outside.
"MAJOR, WAKE UP! WE GOT GERMANES ON A SURPRISE RAID HEADING ACROSS THE CHANNEL!"
Rainbow Dash jumped out of her bed, nearly hitting the ceiling with a single flap of her wings.
"Dear Luna what the hell!" she exclaimed as she rushed to put on her uniform. "The hell are those Germanes doing?!"
Then she froze in place as her mind fully woke up, thinking over the situation.
'Wait a minute...' Rainbow looked over to the pony that called her up.
The jacket-donning mare was leaning against the doorway, finally bursting out in laughter after holding a tight, smug smile.
"Lightning..."
"Wow, Rainbow, you should've seen yourself go! I haven't seen you get out of bed that fast since—"
"Lieutenant, what the hell was that all about," Rainbow said as she slowed her pace, not at all amused. She now took the time to also look presentable when she walked outside.
"Just testing your reflexes, Major," Lightning Dust said smugly. "You never know when you might need 'em again."
Rainbow sighed as memories flooded back. The wording of the wake up call did not help one bit. She pushed them away. Memories, whether good ones or not, distracted pilots. A distracted pilot was not an effective pilot, nor an effective leader.
"Are the brothers already up?"
"Thunderlane and Rumble? Oh yeah, they're probably getting breakfast if they're not already hitting up the other mares. Hey—there still some left in that?" The lieutenant walked over to a table near the beds, picking up a bottle.
"Wait—"
Lightning raised the bottle to her mouth, finding half of its content still remaining. She gulped it down, placing the empty bottle back down after giving a satisfied 'ah'.
"—I was going to finish that."
"I tell you Dash," Lightning started, "if I don't help you finish your drinks, I think you're gonna develop a drinking problem."
"Will not. I've been drinking Apple family hard cider for years. A few drinks aren't anything to me. Just because I hold my liquor better than stallions or you doesn't mean I have a problem."
Lightning returned to the doorway, preparing to step out. "Yeah, yeah. Luna knows what'll happen when something drastic happens then. Bet you'll end up selling your entire Daring Do collection just to get enough money to get yourself drunk."
"Uh-huh. Like I'd ever consider doing that." Rainbow took a quick look at a small box filled with books, each one signed with the author's signature. "One of the best birthday gifts a friend ever gave me." The pegasus adjusted her sleeves and walked over to her wingpony. "We're on escort duty today, right?"
"Roger that, Major. Let's get something to eat."
<<+>>
0719 Hours
"Alright, Lightning, think today will be your day?" Rainbow teased with a grin. "'Cause I don't think so."
"Don't get your hopes up," Lightning replied. "You're only one ahead."
The two pegasi were among other pilots walking to their aircraft, mechanics making final tunings and checks, and armorers loading ammunition. The brisk, cool September air was a sensation on their wings, though they each hoped that they would not have to use them later.
"Well, better observational skills help," said Rainbow, continuing the friendly banter. "Besides, two more for me, and I make quadruple ace."
"Yeah, yeah. We'll see."
Rainbow and Lightning turned to their right, walking between two aircraft. Just like all of the others lined up, they were North Amareican P-51D Mustangs, the finest in Amareican engineering. And to keep great Amareican engineering in top shape were great mechanics.
"Hey there Rainbow Dash! Lightning Dust! How are you two doing this morning?"
"Just fine Derpy," Rainbow replied to Ditzy Doo, currently finishing up some tuning on one of the Mustangs.
"Hey Ditz, is she ready to go?" Lightning asked as the gray mare closed the blue cowling over the engine she was working on. It was Packherd V-1650-7, derived from the Braytish-origin Marelin engine. No doubt the combination of airframe and engine contributed to the success of the Mustang, which most pegasi felt flew as good as themselves and their own feathered wings.
"Yup! Engine's all tuned up and ready for another flight," Ditzy proclaimed as she slowly flew down from her spot, flipping an eyepatch off of her right eye. "... And for once, can you try flying like a pilot with self-preservation instinct up there? I wouldn't have to be up all night fixing the engine if I didn't have to fix everything else," she said in an unamused tone once she stood eye to eye, or rather sort of eye to eye, with Lightning. "A few days is barely enough to repair the kinds of battle damage you bring home you know!"
"But Ditz, I gotta make quadruple ace today!" Lightning jokingly boasted.
"And Rainbow's ahead you without turning her plane into a flying cheese grater!" Ditzy exclaimed, still with a serious demeanor.
"Well you know how those Prench grate on me," replied Lightning. "Now I could skin those ponies and give them backbones."
Rainbow couldn't help but roll her eyes and smile. Her wingpony's attitude grated on her at times. Yet, despite their very rough start, after a while they became very good friends, forged by fire and tested by time. A sense of humor, even when crude at times, was good for keeping heads straight and spirits in check.
"Okay, come on, Lightning," Rainbow said as she flew up to the cockpit of her Mustang. "Let's get on the runway.
"Aye aye, Major. Lead the way," Lightning responded as she climbed into her own plane. "And Ditz—I'll try not to fly through any exploding planes today, 'kay? Really—I had no clue that guy's wing would tear off and fly back to me!"
Ditzy sighed. "Stay safe, you two."
Once Rainbow was settled into her seat, she started the engine and inched the throttle forward, beginning her way to the runway. She waved to Ditzy as she passed by, with the gray pegasus waving back with a smile.
The two taxied into position, Lightning stopping off to her right and behind. A third plane joined them after a minute.
"Major, Sergeant Rumble reporting," the young stallion announced over the radio.
"Hey Rumble," Rainbow greeted. "... Where's your brother?"
"Come on Dash," said Lightning. "We can't all be here at the same time. Remember—the lightning always arrives before the thunder."
The other two pilots rolled their eyes. They continued waiting while idled on the runway. Other Mustangs piled up behind them, awaiting the same signal for the go-ahead.
After what seemed like a minute or two, another voice joined in. "Hey—this is 2nd Lieutenant Thunderlane reporting in. Sorry for being a bit late, Major—did I miss anything?"
"Yeah," answered Rumble. "A real gem from Dust."
"What's the rule again—one second is one mile?" Lightning joked. "Guess we got a storm 120 miles away."
"Um... What?" Thunderlane said blankly.
"Seeing that the Lieutenant's already given her version of a good morning to you too, what was the hold up?" Rainbow asked, having a brief flashback to her own first few seconds awake that morning.
"Engine starting problems. Would you believe it? Because I sure can't."
"You can't blame the plane when you've had start-up problems yourself, right, bro?" said the younger pegasus.
"Hey, shut up. Last I checked, I'm married, you're not."
"Alright, alright, we don't need to hear how pathetic both of your romantic lives are," Rainbow interrupted. "Save it for over drinks later."
Lightning's voice came to their ears. "Careful Rainbow, don't get yourself started this early."
"You shut it too. I don't have a problem."
The signal flare for takeoff appeared shortly afterwards.
<<+>>
Somewhere over the Equlish Channel 0803 Hours
"... Yeah, it was fine," Rainbow replied. She pulled away from the B-17, the three other Mustangs accompanying her falling into place alongside her.
Rarity remembered the times when the sight of a formation of escorting P-51s, or escorts in general, were an incredibly welcome and greatly comforting sight. No longer were they completely at the mercy of Germane interceptors.
"Hey, Rarity—we're sweeping ahead. We'll make sure you don't need to mop anything up."
"Be a good Weather Patrolpony, and deal with any clouds of enemy fighters quickly, will you?"
"Don't worry one bit, Rare. If there's any, I'll have it cleared in ten seconds flat. And if worse comes to worse, we'll be right above you to give cover. Like an umbrella."
<<+>>
"That was Rarity?" Thunderlane asked. "She still on? Tell her I said hi."
"Add me in," Rumble added.
"Sure," said Rainbow. "Hey Rarity, Thunderlane and Rumble say hi."
"Really?" asked a slightly surprised Rarity. "Ah, of course. A pleasure to hear from fellow Ponyvillians. Send them my regards."
"Rarity says she sends her regards," Rainbow told her pilots.
Thunderlane nodded. "Okay."
"So," Rumble started, "you think we might see some of those Germane jets today?"
"I'm hoping not," Rainbow answered. "Those things are just trouble."
"They say they're so fast, all you see of them is the bomber they leave in flames before zooming away. It's like the only reliable way to keep them in your sights is to fly at them head on."
"Take it head on?" Lightning questioned. No way in hell even I would do that. My general rules—if a plane's got lots of guns packed in the nose, you probably don't want to fly at it head on. If it's got cannons, you really don't want to fly at it head on. Those jets have four cannons in their nose that can kill bombers in one pass. Flying with it pointing at you from any direction is just bad news."
"What if... that's the only shot at saving your wingpony?" Rainbow suggested.
"Then I'm gettin' out of the way the second that thing changes targets and starts shooting at me. Come on Rainbow, anypony that doesn't get out of the way is just plain stupid. And anypony that can't get one off their tail is either incompetent or their wingpony is. Or both. It'd be cool to have a jet kill under my belt, but I want to keep my feathers first."
"Ah, so you do have a limit to your suicidal tendencies," joked Rainbow. "I remember the days when you made it a hobby to fly head on at 109s."
"Hey—if I had no choice but to get into a head on pass, I'll even go at Me 109s all day compared to those jets. Those things are nasty bastards that we're lucky the Germanes don't seem to have much of."
"Ugh, imagine trying to fight off a whole squadron of those things from shooting down bombers," Thunderlane wondered out loud.
"Probably die of exhaustion," Lightning randomly answered.
"If they don't get all the bombers first," said Rainbow.
"What a terrible thought. I think I'd rather save the bombers and die of exhaustion."
"Oh really?"
"You're basically the one that taught me that, Dash," Lightning answered. "Remember? The whole 'what's one pony' thing compared to a group of ponies?"
"Yeah... yeah..." It frequently occurred to Rainbow that she was often recognized for her dedication to others if given a chance for personal gain. An endearing quality many admired about her that she did not know where she got it from.
<<+>>
Bomber crews or fighter pilots, they were all in for the long haul, as the trip to Germaney would be long and tense, no matter how many times they had flown it. They were only getting close to two hundred miles flown in the time span of about an hour. Eight hundred miles round trip for this mission, which translated to four to five tense hours in the air.
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.
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.
"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.
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."
