//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Guten Morgen Yonderhill // Story: On a Wing and a Prayer // by White Comet //------------------------------// Astute shot up in his bunk with a gasp, blinking several times to take in his surroundings. His quarters...his bed...his bunkmates snoring… He sighed quietly and rubbed his forehead. Just a dream...or more like a nightmare...he suppressed a groan and tried to figure out what time it is. He could hear the clock on the wall ticking, but his eyes were still adjusting, and he couldn’t see it. From what he could see through the crack in the curtain, it was still dark outside, but lighter than when he went to bed. It must be the early hours of the morning. His ears twisted as they picked up a sound. He could hear the faint activities outside like he usually could, but he also faintly heard something else. It almost sounded like music, except not from the gramophone, and...singing? Well, humming, but still… Convinced that any attempt to try and get some more sleep at this point would be fruitless, he rolled himself out of bed carefully onto the wooden floor, trying not to make it creak. He might be awake, but his roommates sure weren’t… He didn’t bother with anything else. He just quickly straightened his blue mane up with his hooves and put his flight jacket on. He wasn’t sure how cold out it was, but it would probably still be cold from the night. He crept out of the sleeping quarters and followed his ears to the source of the sound. He couldn’t put his hoof in it, but even through hums, the voice sounded familiar… He made his way to the main lounge to find his theory was correct; he was familiar with the voice. Right in the far corner, relaxed on a chair was Melody. She held an acoustic guitar which she was ever so gently strumming, probably to make sure she didn’t wake anypony. It was barely audible anyway, and Astute only heard it because he was already awake. He had a glance around to see that nopony else was in the room. It was still early after all; the shifts had not swapped over yet. He gulped and slowly approached Melody, hoping that she might see him walking. Although she seemed very engrossed in her music, humming and strumming away to herself. Astute recalled that she attempted to become a musician before the war had started, and her skills really showed. Maybe her voice was just as good. As he got closer to her, he noticed the faint glow coming from her cutie mark, a microphone with a few stars around it, fitting for a mare of her talents. As he neared her, she quickly glanced over at Astute. She didn’t seem to be paying too much attention until she noticed who was approaching her, causing her to stop humming. “Oh, hey Astute,” she greeted with a smile. “I didn’t wake you did I?” “Nah,” Astute shook his head, “I was already awake.” He sat down next to her on the sofa, listening to her playing. “But this is a nice sound to wake up to,” he added with a smile. “Heh,” Melody smiled, “I don’t play as much as I used to before the war, but it helps me relax…” “Better than listening to out there,” Astute pointed to the window. “You can almost hear the artillery fire now.” Melody sighed, “I guess we’ll be relocating soon then,” she used her magic to move the strands of her purple and yellow mane that were getting in her eyes. She had a bit of a bedhead herself, obviously taking the same approach as Astute. “Maybe,” Astute replied, “The airfields closer to the front give our fighters better range.” Melody sighed again as she stopped playing. “So much for being over by Hearth’s Warming…” she levitated a cup of coffee over to herself and took a big swig. “What brings you awake at five in the morning, anyway?” Astute shrugged, “I dunno, I…” he sighed, “It’s silly…” “I’m listening, I won’t laugh,” Melody reassured with a smile. “I just woke from a nightmare,” Astute admitted, “Dunno why, dunno how, maybe the stress is getting to me…” “That’s not that silly,” Melody replied. “If you want silly, I woke up not long before you because I had to pee and couldn’t get back to sleep,” she explained with a chuckle. “I guess,” Astute chuckled along with her, before glancing down and flattening his ears. “But...even still...I just feel like I woke from one nightmare into another…” “Was there anything special about this nightmare?” Melody asked. “Not really,” Astute shook his head, “I was being chased by the bugs, got captured, and sealed away in one of their cocoons.” Melody nodded, “I’ve heard rumours that it’s a fate worse than death because you don’t actually die.” “I’d rather not think about it,” Astute replied...while not being able to stop thinking about it… “Sometimes I wonder if I should’ve just stayed at my desk job…” “What did you do before all this?” Melody asked. “Number crunching for an insurance company. Boring as hell…” He began to chuckle, “Guess in a way, that would’ve been a fate worse than death as well being stuck there forever.” Melody chuffed, “Sounds like the frying pan or the fire if you ask me,” She replied. She lowered her guitar down to the side and inhaled, beginning to yawn. As she exhaled, she slowly allowed her body to relax, sliding towards Astute. “When’s it all gonna go back to normal, Astute?” Astute tried to respond, but he was too distracted by...well, what was going on. His body tensed up as Melody rested up against him. “Y-yeah…” his ears flattened, and he felt the heat rising in his cheeks. He wasn’t expecting...this. Melody sighed once again, “What do you plan on doing when this is all over?” She asked. “I-I...uhh…” Astute could feel himself twitch as he tried to formulate a response. He couldn’t get his words out. “Ahem.” A loud throat-clearing distracted his train of thought, causing him to twist his head to look at...Snapshot. Oh great, of all ponies to find him like this…how long had she been staring anyway? He quickly shoved Melody, causing her to eep as he changed his position to sit upright. “Hey, Snap!” He greeted with an awkward smile on his face. At this point, his face was as red as the navigation light used on the left-wing of their planes. “Good morning,” she greeted back. “Sleep well?” She asked while keeping a straight face, but her tone of voice heavily implied what she was trying to say to Astute. Astute just about managed to hang onto the growl trying to escape his throat. “Yes,” he answered back. “Good to hear,” Snapshot replied, taking a seat on one of the chairs opposite the couch. “Getting some practice in, Mel?” She asked, pointing at Melody’s guitar resting on the wall. “Oh yeah,” Melody glanced at her guitar, then back at Snapshot. “I woke up early, so I decided to make the most of it,” she explained. “Yeah I bet you did,” Snapshot muttered under her breath. All of a sudden, a loud siren echoed throughout the base. A long droney noise was slowly raising and lowering in pitch, repeating itself. Astute caught sight of ponies beginning to run from outside the window. “Air raid?!” Melody asked out loud. “We’re under attack!” Snapshot yelled in response, turning to run back towards her room. “Quick, grab your gear!” Astute wasted no time and jumped up from his seat, running back through the base towards his room. Luckily being one of the few up, he only had to compete with the crews coming off the late shifts for corridor space. They were all going in the same direction anyway. Back in his room, he didn’t even bother with his uniform or anything else. He just threw on the bare minimum he needed to keep him warm in the air and indiscriminately shoved everything else into his bag like the rest of his crew. He looked like a tramp, but it was better than being dead. The zip on his bag barely did up, but he didn’t waste time and just threw it over his back, hoping that he didn’t drop anything. He didn’t have much of importance in there anyway. Satisfied, Astute left his former quarters and sprinted out of the main building door towards the hangers, alongside hundreds of other ponies. It looked like a scene from the start of a marathon—ponies everywhere all running in the same direction. Above him, he could hear the sounds of engines...Changeling engines...he couldn’t see them, but he could hear them. They weren’t far away. “Damn Bugs didn’t even give us time for coffee!” Astute glanced left to see Slingshot running alongside him. “I thought you were a morning pony anyway?” He joked back. “I am when the Luftwaffe isn’t the one bringing me my breakfast!” They reached the hangers in record time and found Sparky waiting for them outside the Mystic Mare. Being a pegasus, he obviously had a speed advantage over anypony on hoof. “In, in, in!” He repeatedly called, waving his hoof into the entry hatch of the plane. Sparky kept a count of the ponies going in. Astute, Slingshot, Snapshot, Kobalt, Melody...where was Barber? It took a few moments for Sparky’s eyes to scan through the sea of ponies all desperately rushing to get their planes off the ground, but he managed to see Barber through it all. He was trailing behind a little. When he was near, Sparky climbed into the plane and turned around to offer Barber a hoof, which he gratefully accepted. “Damn...youngins...and yer fitness…” he said through gasps for breath. “Just glad you’re here and not stuck on the ground, Gramps,” Sparky replied while scrambling through the plane to get to the pilots' seat. He quickly got himself seated, wrapping the oxygen mask over his face and plugging his radio connector in, getting a faint static buzz as he did. “No time for pre-flight checks, Kobalt, just get us started ASAP!” “Yes, Sir!” Kobalt called back over the radio. He raised an eyebrow as the gears began turning in his mind...he did say ‘just get us started ASAP’...the corners of his lips ever so slightly curled upwards as he formulated a plan in his mind. His horn lit up, and at the same time, he started operating controls with his hooves. Sparky felt the vibrations as the start-up procedure began. But they felt a little different...he looked to his left to see both propellers spinning. Then to his right to find the same thing on the right-wing. Typically they could start only one engine at a time. Kobalt must have found a way to start all four at once...it probably revealed all kinds of problems, but if it worked… The exhausts spluttered as all four engines burst into life at the same time, just like Kobalt expected. “We have power!” Kobalt declared over the radio. “Copy that, we’re outta here!” Sparky declared, pushing the throttle sticks forward to move the plane. Melody worked her magic tuning the radio in as she felt the vibrations of the plane beginning to move along the ground through her seat. “Good morning ERAF Yonderhill, this is Bomber Command. This wake-up call was kindly brought to us this morning by the Luftwaffe. Take off and fly due east, climb to ten thousand, await further instructions.” Sparky only briefly thought about the message before giving the throttle sticks a push to start the plane rolling forward. They were in a rush, and there was no time for a tug. Not that there would be one available anyway. He followed the crowd of other planes taxiing to the end of the runway, a little faster and more bunched together than Sparky would’ve liked. He did his best to keep his distance from the plane in front of him but was also aware that time was of the essence. They had to get into the air before they got bombed. As he neared the beginning of the runway, the plane he was following began to make the turn onto it...but it didn’t seem to be turning enough. It must have been going too fast to make the turn. It ran out wide onto the grass. “Dammit,” Sparky took that as a hint to slow down and cut the power to the engines, the plane gently slowly. As he approached the turn, he kicked the rudder and used the brakes to try and help him turn. He gave it all he could, but he could feel that it was on the limit. It was gonna be touch and go… ...And he just about made it without clipping his wings on anything or running onto the grass. Sparky released the breath he was holding and concentrated on the runway ahead. “Keep an eye out for fighters, Shots!” He instructed over the radio, referring to Slingshot and Snapshot. “My eyes are open,” Snapshot answered. “They’re above us.” Sparky twisted his head around and up to look at what was flying overhead. From where they were on the ground, they looked like little faint specks. Those tiny faint specks would soon be delivering ordnance straight onto their heads unless they got off the ground soon. Confirming that no planes were in his way, Sparky punched the throttle. The engines roared as the plane accelerated down the runway. Sparky felt the vibrations in his seat, no doubt the rest of his crew did too. Then he heard it; the explosions. The first bombs had landed. He wasn’t able to see directly behind him, but the sound was all he needed. He took his hoof off the yoke to double-check that the throttles were all the way forward. They were. His eyes darted back and forth between the horizon and his airspeed indicator. As soon as he reached minimum takeoff speed, he planned to yank on the yoke like his life depended on it...because it kinda did. In the tailgun, Slingshot saw the explosions picking up behind him. They were still just short of the airfield, but they were catching up...slowly but surely...and then the wall of explosions hit the boundaries of the airfield. He could see the other bombers chasing them down the runway. Hopefully, the explosions didn’t damage the runway too severely to the point where no more planes could take off...if they didn’t get taken out themselves. Confirming they were going fast enough, Sparky gave the yoke a good tug to heave the plane into the air...maybe a little too abruptly. He felt the plane bounce a little as it lost its balance, the wings began to tip. “Nononononono,” he muttered to himself as he fought for control, the wings tipping from side to side as the plane tried to stall out. “C’mon baby, you can do it!” A few hundred yards later, the aircraft managed to pick up enough speed to stabilise flight. Sparky took a breath now that he wasn’t fighting the controls. He kept the throttle on as he began a steady ascent. “Everypony alright?” He asked over the radio. “It’s like I’m hungover, but I didn’t drink a drop of cider last night,” Slingshot replied over the radio. “We got any company, Shots?” Sparky asked. “Tail is clear,” Slingshot replied. “Fighters will probably pick off the stragglers, we got off the ground pretty quick.” “Topside is lookin’ clear too, only ERAF planes up here,” Snapshot added. “Yeah, we were quick to startup,” Sparky agreed. “All thanks to you being able to start all four at the same time, Kobalt. How’d you manage that?” “I used my magic to compensate for the extra fuel and hydraulic pressure, as well as try and turn the cranks manually since I knew the battery didn’t have enough juice to turn all four props at once.” Kobalt replied, “I didn’t think it would work…” “But it did,” Sparky added, “We may owe you our lives again, Kobalt…” he started to chuckle, “You’re bleeding my wallet dry with all these ciders I keep owing you, ya know.” “I’m sure you can afford it, FLIGHT LIEUTENANT,” Astute emphasised his rank. “Hardy harr harr,” Sparky replied sarcastically. “Anyway, what kinda range have we got with this amount of fuel onboard, Kobalt.” “After this climb is finished, about a thousand miles, give or take a hundred. Assuming the engines last…” “What’s wrong with the engines?” Spark asked, raising an eyebrow. “Nothing yet, but we redlined them from cold, Sir. I’ll have to inspect them when we land. Wherever that might be…” “Any ideas where a thousand miles will get us, Barber?” “Thousand miles will get us a one-way ticket to Canterlot,” Barber replied. “I expect we’ll be directed to either Canterlot or Manechester.” “We’ll wait and find out. Any word, Melody?” “Nothing yet Sparky, same orders to fly directly east and await orders.” “Alright then…” Spark took a moment to look down at his gauges. Everything was in the green, and operating normally. He released a long sigh, finally being able to somewhat relax. “Keep your eyes peeled for Changeling fighters, everypony.” The flight continued in somewhat of a formation. The scramble to get all the planes in the air meant that there were several gaps and inconsistencies, plus certain aircraft not wanting to go any higher in fear of running out of fuel. Squadron leader Hailstorm managed to organise a half-decent convoy formation considering the circumstances. “Orders coming in!” Melody called over the radio. “...We’re landing at Canterlot West. Runway two seven right. Cleared for the approach, we’ve been given priority due to our situation.” “Canterlot it is,” Sparky acknowledged. “Care to guide us in, Barber? How far out are we?” “Bear with me,” Barber replied, making marks on the map to work out how far away they were and what they needed to do to line up with the runway. He had to pull another map up which showed a more zoomed-in version of Canterlot and the surrounding areas. “We’ll be there in a little under two hours. We need to change course obviously, but that’s up to squad lead.” “Got it,” Sparky acknowledged. “This is pretty much going home for you, isn’t it, Melody?” “Yeah basically,” Melody replied. “You can show us all the sights when we touchdown then,” Snapshot joked. “If the Bugs haven’t blown them all to smithereens already…” Astute shot down. “I don’t think Canterlot’s been hit yet,” Barber replied, “They’d get intercepted before they got anywhere near.” “Let’s hope so…” Sparky added. The flight continued slowly, Kobalt doing his best to try and conserve fuel. Some of the planes in convoy admitted defeat on the fuel front and broke off to land at separate airfields to refuel before making their way to Canterlot. But with a little bit of fuel management, Kobalt managed to get the Mystic Mare all the way to Canterlot. After getting clearance to land over the radio, Sparky took the aircraft in for a landing. Feeling surprisingly calm, he took in the airbase as they approached. Way WAY bigger than the base at Yonderhill. The angle of the sun reminded them that it wasn’t even midday yet. Heck, most of the civilians living in Canterlot probably haven’t even woke up to begin their daily routines yet. He took a quick glance at the clock on his instrument cluster—a few minutes to half-past seven. As far as wake up calls go, it turned out bombing raids were very effective. The airfield was near the base of the mountain, around one of the surrounding towns. Canterlot city itself rested on the side of the mountain like it always had been. A sight that looked exactly like all the postcards. The tyres screeched as they made contact with the runway. “Touchdown!” Sparky called over the radio. He was getting good at this. “Mares and stallions, welcome to the capital of Equestria,” Barber imitated a tour guide's voice over the radio. “Pfft, is Princess Celestia rolling out the red carpet for us?” Astute joked back. “Nah, I think Princess Twilight will go out of her way to personally greet us,” Snapshot retorted. Since he was unfamiliar with the airbase, Sparky took it easy and slowed it down a notch, giving himself time to follow the instructions from the ponies on the ground to direct him off the runway and towards somewhere to park. He was directed over to a large patch of grass in front of some hangers. Since their arrival was somewhat unexpected, they were probably still trying to find a way to cope with such a logistical challenge of all these planes suddenly turning up. And they weren’t small aircraft either… Getting the okay from the ground ponies, Sparky began flicking switches to shut down the plane, while simultaneously pulling off his oxygen mask with his wing. “I hope they’ve got some cots free,” Slingshot punctuated with a yawn as he pulled himself out of the rear gunners' position. “I could catch up on a few Z’s.” “If they’ve got one big enough for you,” His sister joked in response. Slingshot chuckled and undid the hatch. He jumped out the plane onto the grass. Snapshot remained in the plane, watching her crewmates disembark. Melody, Barber, Kobalt, Sparky. Then she placed her hoof over the hatch to block Astute’s path out. “We’ll catch you up, I just need a hoof with something,” Snapshot explained. “Sure thing,” Sparky answered half-heartedly, sounding a little tired. That unexpected wakeup call must be taking its toll now that the adrenaline wasn’t pumping. Slingshot watched as his sister sealed the hatch back up on the aircraft. He couldn’t help but chuckle to himself at the sight. Astute must feel like prey trapped in the lion's den. “What’s so funny?” Slingshot looked over to Barber standing next to him. “Oh nothing,” he replied back, beginning to walk in the direction the rest of their crew was going. “Just laughing cos Sis is about to give Astute some bad advice about...you know what…” “What makes you say it’ll be bad advice?” Barber asked, walking alongside him. “Snap knows nothing about relationships, she never even had a high school coltfriend when we were kids,” he explained. Barber chuffed, “That’s because she’s into mares.” “Get outta here,” Slingshot batted a hoof at Barber while chuckling. But when he saw his stern face...and raised eyebrow...oh. Barber was serious. “Wait...you...she told you?” He couldn’t formulate his words. “Nah, I worked it out a while ago,” Barber replied. “B-but...how?!” Slingshot demanded. This information was like receiving a blow to the head. How could something so obvious to Barber have gone right over his head? Nonetheless, it regarded his OWN SISTER for ponies sake. Barber chuckled, “When you’re my age, kid, you learn a few things,” He answered simply with a wink. “I don’t believe you,” Slingshot replied bluntly. Barber shrugged, “Wanna bet on it?” Slingshot opened his mouth to speak...and he was ready to talk, but his brain withheld his mouth. He was so confident that Barber was having him on...but at the same time, Barber was barely wrong...in fact, he could probably count the number of times Barber had been wrong on his hooves...his forehooves at that. Slingshot released a dejected sigh. “We’ll see…” Astute gulped at the sight in front of him. Snapshot had a serious look in her eyes. When somepony who was usually so carefree and sarcastic got serious, he knew he was in trouble. “W-whats up, Snap?” He asked meekly, trying to find somewhere to deflect the conversation to. But he knew exactly what was coming. “Oh nothin’ much,” Snapshot replied casually. “Just wanted to know how things were going with Melody?” “W-what do you--” “I’m trying to give you advice, dummy,” Snapshot...snapped… “Advice on what?” Astute asked, raising an eyebrow. “Did you not notice the way she was leaning on you a couple hours ago? It almost looked like a romantic breakfast date. It was so cute, I almost barfed.” “W-well, I...wasn’t...planning…” Astute’s eyes darted around the interior of the plane, trying to avoid eye contact with Snapshot. He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks. “She just...wanted to...lie down...and...I was in the way…” “Oh for the love of…” Snapshot rubbed her left temple with her hoof. “She’s into you, ya moron!” She blurted out. Astute felt his body tense up at Snap’s words. His cheeks were glowing a rosy red. He placed a hoof on his chest and slumped down to the floor, resting his back against the side of the ladder Snapshot would normally use to get to her turret position. “Into...me?” Snapshot groaned, “How else do you want me to spell it out? That mare likes you...big time.” Astute cringed slightly as he took in the information. In the back of his mind, he always had the feeling...but he was hoping nopony would notice until he had the time to work it out for himself. Obviously, that wasn’t going to happen now. His mind kept going in circles. What should he do? “Well, what you gonna do then?” Snapshot demanded again. “I-I dunno,” Astute panicked, “M-maybe--” “I dunno?!” Snapshot cut in, “Just ask her out already. What could you stand to lose?” “My dignity, my friendship, it’ll make things awkward between us, it might impact our performance...need I go on?” Astute replied. “Dude, she was practically begging for it, I guarantee a hundred percent she’ll say yes,” Snapshot encouraged. Astute opened his mouth to respond but struggled to find the correct words. He ended up just releasing a frustrated sigh and banged his head back against the railing, closing his eyes. Snapshot raised an eyebrow while she watched him compose himself. She was hoping that he might say something more, but he didn't say anything. "So...what's the matter?" Astute cringed and looked away, mumbling something to himself. "You just shy, or…" Snapshot trailed off, "Look dude, I'm genuinely trying to help. Any teasing is just me messing with ya, I don't mean it." She moved closer towards him and perched herself on one of the support bars opposite him. Astute looked back at her, then glanced away over his shoulder again. "Can you keep a secret?" Snapshot chuffed, "Hate to break it to ya, but it ain't exactly a secret you two are falling for each other. Why'd you think Sparky gave you some cash at the bar the other week? He was trying to hint for you to buy her a drink." "...Oh…" Astute felt himself blush some more, "Well, fine, I admit I'm not the best at this stuff, but that's not what I meant." "Then what is it?" Snapshot asked. "Well, as I said, I'm not great with this stuff, but…" Astute sighed again, "Truth is...I don't know what I'm doing. I've never been on a date...asked a mare out…anything...and I'm worried I'll make a mistake and it'll offend her." "Pfft, yeah, she really hates your guts right now doesn't she?" Snapshot replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Snap!" Astute growled. "Alright, alright," Snapshot chuckled, waving her forehooves. "No more jokes." Astute groaned and raised an eyebrow. Snapshot took a breath and stepped off the support beam she was sitting on. She took a step forward and sat down close to Astute. "So you're nervous about asking her, right?" Astute nodded. "Well, why don't you play it clever and get her to ask you," she suggested with a smirk, patting Astute on the chest with her hoof. Astute glanced away, raising an eyebrow as he tried to decipher what she meant. "I...don't get it?" He looked back at her. "We're in Canterlot now, her home city. Next time we get some downtime, just say something along the lines of ‘Hey Mel, I’ve never been to Canterlot before, mind showing me the sights?’ ” Snapshot suggested while jokingly imitating Astute’s voice. Astute looked away to think, humming and rubbing his chin. “That...actually sounds...good. No, that’s a great idea.” A smile started forming on his face, “Subtle, yet effective. I like it!” “Good,” Snapshot nodded, “But my advice ain’t free, so here’s the deal.” She sat on the floor next to him and shuffled up close. Astute raised his head away from her and narrowed his eyes. “Why do I suddenly feel like I’m making a deal with Discord?” Snapshot chuckled, “You make me sound evil, I’m just trying to help,” She cooed, wrapping her foreleg around his shoulders. “But here’s the deal. The next time we get downtime, off-base, you HAVE to ask her. No excuses, no exceptions.” “...And what if I don’t?” Astute raised an eyebrow. Snapshot’s lips instantly curled into a cheeky grin. “Then I’ll tell her for you, and I’ll lay it out bluntly.” “H-hey, that’s not a deal, that’s more like blackmail!” Astute complained. “I don’t think you have a choice in this, Sweetie,” Snapshot stuck her tongue out at Astute. “Mmmph,” Astute grunted and folded his forelegs, looking away. “I’m only trying to help, ya know,” Snap replied, this time with a deeper, more serious tone in her voice. She tapped her hoof twice on the plane's fuselage, making a metallic bang. “We go up in this tin can not knowing whether we’ll touch back down safely or go down in a blazing fireball. I’m doing this for both of you because for all we know, time isn’t on our side and our next mission might be our last. I just don’t want you to spend your final moments wondering what-if’s.” Astute chuckled, “That’s oddly sentimental for you, Snapshot.” “Hey, I just want my friend to be happy. When was that a crime?” She placed a hoof on Astute’s shoulder and smiled. “C’mon,” she motioned by tilting her head towards the hatch. “Before the crew starts wondering what we’re doing.” Astute nodded and bought himself to his hooves, grabbing his things and following Snapshot out of the plane. He stepped onto the tarmac and trotted over to the hangers, watching the scene around him. Planes all around landing, taking off and everything in between. Canterlot’s airspace sure was busy at the moment. Astute saw a formation of three planes in a triangle formation. The lead aircraft was a shiny silver, the morning sun reflecting off its surface. It was as if the metal simply hadn’t been painted yet. Astute focused and noticed that it was a different shape. “Hey, is that a Spitfire prototype?” He pointed with his hoof. Snapshot looked at where he was pointing. “Must be,” she replied. “I hear it’s got extra range compared to the Hurry, maybe we’ll actually get a fighter escort at some point soon.” “And give you nothing to do?” Astute joked. “Pfft,” Snapshot rolled her eyes, “You give fighter pilots too much credit,” she jested as they made their way into the main building. Things were changing, but hopefully for the better. They had barely even gotten started...