I stumble forward a bit as a feathery wing wraps around me. “Mister Ardent Flame,” the pegasus beside me cheers, “Now the top pilot of the graduating class!” His name is Steel Gale. He is one of the highest scoring pilots, particularly in bad weather simulations. The words are happy ones, but his voice sounds a bit jealous. His pride was probably hurt when I came out on top.
Glancing over I give a simple shrug. It is a very bad idea to antagonize one of the more popular colts at the academy, but he left himself wide open. “I guess that’s what you get for studying up and trying to learn your lessons,” I shoot back with a smug look. His eyes glare death at me and I return with a solid smirk of my own. “Perhaps if you did the same, you’d be top yes?” I flick my tail as I walk away calling out, “Don’t slip up Gale!” The pegasus is absolutely fuming by the time I leave but never gives a retort.
Steel Gale is a good stallion, but has too much pride. It isn’t really my job to knock him down but perhaps it was best. I pull a folder from my saddlebags and look over the papers inside. It says I am too be shipped out to a staging area before I depart for Gryphos. My pilot’s name is Hibiki, but I had no other details. “Just what are you like,” I wonder aloud. Maybe a pegasus. They love flying jets at subsonic and supersonic speeds. I still needed to pack though. After tucking my papers back where they came from I hurry along. I reach my berth in record time too.
I enter the room and look to my right. My bunkmate Rough Cut, is asleep. The odds of being paired with a brother or sister in the academy is next to impossible, so some strings must have been pulled to achieve this. I begin packing my belongings into a duffel bag when some papers catch my eyes. Putting the clothing in my hooves in the bag I grab the papers off the table. Rough Cut’s test scores. After studying them for a moment I give a deflated sigh. I knew he isn’t the best pilot we got, but it appears he's actually one of the worst. He failed the exam, horribly too. I put them back shaking my head, and go back to packing. I would prefer to not be around when he wakes up.
The ceremony for the graduates is the next morning. It is relievingly short and and I try to take my leave as soon as I possibly can. I manage to avoid my brother to my best abilities but he is quicker than me. Rough Cut is waiting for me on the airstrip, and his face says he is not in a good mood. Sure enough, he begins yelling as soon as he sees me.
“You scored top of the class!” he starts, volume at maximum, “I told you to keep your damn scores down. Now you’re going ahead and I’m staying behind!” I try to reply but get cut off. “Our parents died protecting us, and you go and disrespect them after everything they’ve done for us!?”
Now he’s just going over the top. This time, I don’t let him cut me off, “Rough Cut! If you want to be so ballsy as to blame me for your own failure go right on ahead!” He looks a bit taken back. “Our parents died because somepony launched missiles at our home. For all we know, it could have been done by accident even! They died a very horrible death, and we came here to avenge them!” Now I am fuming and I release my pent up frustration ranting on, “How about instead of partying and hanging out at the bar, study! You can’t learn anything from a piece of plot and the bottom of a bottle!”
A silence hangs over us as my words settle. I see him coming at me as if he was a mile away and drop the duffel. As he closes in I step to the side and grab his foreleg. His punch now in my grip, I sling him to the ground. He tumbles a few feet where the MP’s grab him up. His screaming is drowned out by the engines of the plane behind me. “I’ll see you in the sky Brother!” I call out as I hurry aboard.
I settle in my seat and buckle in. There are about a dozen other passengers, one is a little filly. Beside her is a stallion in a suit. The rest are all military personnel in fatigues going to their deployment. I decide to catch some z’s and lay my head back, closing my eyes. I feel transport take off, and then begin its flight. A couple hours in, the ship ripples and getting thrown into my restraints wakes me up. The emergency klaxon screams its alarm as the room’s lights turn red. The restraints pop and a stallion begins to hand out parachutes.
A pilot begins walking down the aisle handing out a kit bag and says, “When handed a parachute, proceed to the aft of the ship and prepare to drop. We are under attack. Can anyone carry a passenger?” He asks. Me being the fool I am raise my hoof, calling out to him. “Congratulations Specialist,” he says facing me. “You get the governor’s daughter.”
Governor's daughter? What did I get myself into. I finish prepping my parachute when the stallion returns to me with a small filly. “This her?” I ask. He nods and I take her, beginning to strap her in. “Have you ever jumped out of a plane before?” I ask her teasingly. She shakes her head and I give a grin replying, “Exhilarating.”
The ship takes another hit and the bay doors open up. “Go go go!” the pilot yells out. The dozen ponies rush out the opening and take the plunge. I run out with a leap, a cry of exhilaration on my lips. The filly’s cry is very much the opposite. Moments later the plane explodes as a missile nails the side of it. I look back in time to see the debris raining down and us my legs to steer clear of the large pieces, wincing as the smaller ones hit. No one gets hit by any large shrapnel thankfully.
One pony ahead of me points to a clearing and the rest of us make our way there. We were only falling for about thirty seconds before the clearing fills with trucks. Thinking fast I begin to drop back, planning on fading into the trees a bit early. The rest of our crew spreads out, no longer aiming for the clearing either. I spot a gap a mile south of the clearing. The trees cleared up enough for a safer landing than the trees themselves. I hit my parachute release as the rest of the crew does the same and we land, scattered.
I hit the ground with a jolt, dashing a bit to not break my legs. The filly slung under me is wide eyed, though whether it’s in terror or excitement is unknown. I disconnect the parachute and unsling her from my belly. I take a good look around us as the filly learns to walk again. I knew that our plane was headed east, and the closest base between the two destinations was to the northern area. I turn to the filly and ask her, “Alright Kiddo. What’s your name?”
She gives a look of fear and in a small voice replies, “Ara.” She pauses and asks, “Am I going to die here?” I pause and look at her. She is a small filly, white fur and a yellow mane. Her eyes are a bright blue and filled fear. Maybe in a time of piece, those would be cute, but not now. Her cutiemark has yet to appear though.
I reach out, ruffling her mane and saying, “Not if I can help it little one. My name is Ardent Flame, I’m going to get you home.” I give the little filly a fake smile. Getting her out of here alive, and me too is going to be all levels of impossible. Like tartarus I won’t try though. I grab the compass and find the bearing. Until I have a landmark, I will be leading Ara blind. Finding my position is first priority. “This way,” I tell her before walking away. I hear her scamper to keep up to my sudden leave.
It is slow moving. The forest is thick, and the patrols that are regularly moving about hamper our movement. Ara does an amazing job at staying silent and still. Hours pass and as night begins to fall we are given the sight of a small alcove.
“It would seem the Four are smiling in us today Ara,” I tell her, “Let’s get some rest for morning.” We tuck into the alcove and settle down. I lie down and instantly have the ball of fluff pressed up beside me. I give a startled look but eventually just rub her head a bit. “I’ll get you home little one, don’t you worry a thing.”
She is out like a light, and I don’t take much more effort to do the same. As my eyes close I pass on to the dreamscape. My mind warps back into reality and I awake with a start. Whatever I was dreaming had really worked up a sweat. Ara is still asleep against me as the sun’s rays of dawn spread across us. I really don’t want to wake her, but it is necessary that we keep moving. I nose her awake and get her up. She’s a bit unwilling at first but soon abides.
“We don’t have far to go,” I lie to her. It may seem cruel, but she needed to stay hopeful if we had any way of making it out. She stretches her legs and we are on our way. Another hour passes when they catch up to us.
A pony leaps out with a rifle and I react instantly. Grasping the barrel I push it away and give the stallion a headbutt. The rifle sounds off two shots before I yank the sling and smash his face into the rifle. He drops to the ground clutching his face. Disarming him I waste no time and put two rounds into his head. I quickly loot him of his ammo. He had not grenades or a sidearm though. All of their equipment is decommissioned EDF tech. A scorpion smg and a combat knife is all I find on them that had value. I also grabbed two more mags for the scorpion.
“Somepony heard that,” I tell her, “Move. Now.” We start galloping away, the new rifle slung in my grasp. We are stopped within minutes by a spray of gunfire and I heave Ara behind a log. A shot nicks my flank and I scramble behind a tree. I poke my head out and spray across my view. I count five gunponies with the same scorpions as I had taken from the other pony. Four had do the smart thing and duck away, but the fifth got caught trying to get closer and takes several rounds. They drop and roll in pain as the clutch their wounds. They probably won’t die but that’s not my problem.
I look back to Ara’s hiding spot and yell out, “Stay down! I’ll get you when these creeps are gone.” I pop out to fire when one sprints for a flanking tree. I pepper their legs and they trip from the sudden shot. He hits the ground with a hard roll. They lie there motionless and making no sound. Two more peak out and fire my direction and I hide behind my tree again. A few rounds nick my shoulders and I grimace in pain.
I dive to another bit of cover and appear on the other side. Rounds fly free from my scorpion and take out another of the gunponies. I notice to my very great discomfort and fear, that the fifth pony is missing. I quickly drop low and scan my surroundings when they step out from a tree to my far right. I quickly shoot them down, their body convulsing as they were hit. Not before they throw something. The grenade clinks off the log behind me and with a cry of terror I scrabble to it. I grab the grenade and chuck it away from me, but not far enough. The blast sends me flying like a rag doll over the log and into some ferns.
Ringing fills my ears as I faintly hear Ara crying out my name before screaming in terror. Something grabs me and rolls me over. Muffled voices talk to one another and a sharp hit to the back of the head sends pain jolting throughout my body before I am thrown down again. It continues for a bit and more of Ara’s screaming. My vision is swimming now and when I try to stand I get smashed in the head again. Just before I black out, I hear gunfire and the dropping of heavy items. Something loud crackles next to my head and static voices call out from beside me, “The EDF has routed us! Regroup at the safehouse! I repeat, regroup at the safe house!” I give a sly smile and pass out for good.
I awake in what can only be described as a hospital bed. The first thing I notice is that Ara is nestled against my side asleep. A very well dressed, but elderly stallion sat in a nearby chair. I try to sit up but just groan instead. The stallion instantly wakes up and says, “Don’t try to move Specialist Flame. You have some pretty serious injuries.” He gets up and pushes me back down gently. Ara stirs and I instantly settle. I rub her head softly and she quiets down again. “My name is Galleon Ocean, governor of Los Pegasus,” he explains, “I believe a major thanks is in order as we as a reward.” I offer a blink of inability to understand. He continues, “You saved my daughter and with severely limited resources. The EDF need more ponies like you. Between training, equipment, and the enemy you performed your duties to such an amazing aptitude. I talked to your superiors and they have decided to reward you the Meritorious Service Medal, for your efforts and devotion to EDF in your duties to bringing young Ara and yourself home.” I can only stare in shock as he presents a small wooden case and sets it beside me on the table. “Good day Specialist Flame,” he says as he leaves. I look at the small filly and let a smile touch my lips. The medal may be a great honor, but not one as such as saving a filly. Hoping that I can do the same to more, it has a lot more drive than some petty thought of revenge.