"Contact!"
The propeller of my plane was pulled down by the engineer and a short bang sounded as it began spinning without a hitch.
Me and my squadron were going on a mission to gain aerial superiority in the south for the Griffin Empire, which could also hinder their naval weapons as well. That's what we were hoping for at least. So far our operations had been mostly successful, so I at least had some confidence in this mission.
The mission was a part of "Operation: Domination", which was about cutting the enemy's supply lines across the Celestial sea. Our job was to clear the skies, so that the bombers could easily clear out enemy positions and airfields. This would make aerial offensive in the regions significantly harder for the enemy. It would also make it easier to set up the naval blockade that was being planned.
"Hey Musashi!" I looked over my shoulder and down on the ground beside my plane, where one of my friends from another squadron was standing.
"Don't do anything stupid this time!" he shouted over the loud engine of my plane.
"Me?! Stupid?! No way, man! I'm as careful as it can get!" I shouted back jokingly to which we both laughed at for a short moment before he stepped away and I closed the cockpit.
Rolling out on the runway of the airfield our squadron lined up for takeoff, and one by one we flew up into the air, course set southeast out over the ocean.
A few hours had passed when land began to become visible on the horizon and enemy aircraft started to make themselves known. AA artillery began to explode all around once we got closer and the battle officially began.
I was not late on getting behind an enemy aircraft, a Yak-3, and even though he tried to shake me off I managed to keep myself behind. Admittedly it became harder to hit him, but what do you expect? The enemy plane began to climb higher for a loop in an attempt to get behind me, but I kept on following him. The feeling of being upside down was always a little weird and sometimes uncomfortable, but once you get used to it you won't pay as much mind as you did in the beginning. When the loop was over I took my chance and opened fire and my intuition proved correct as the Yak was riddled with holes, the right wing broke off and flew past me. The plane immediately spun out of control and was sent plummeting towards the blue sea.
I soon climbed higher in an attempt to avoid AA fire, which was hard, but achievable. It was easier if it was cloudy, but I didn't have that luck as it was a clear blue sky today. Suddenly I felt the plane vibrate and shake from the left and looking out on the left wing I saw bullet holes appearing. I hadn't noticed, but a Yak-7 had managed to sneak above me and had opened fire. I pulled to the right, but continued to climb higher. I soon passed the Yak and stopped climbing. I let the plane slow down until gravity began to pull at it and it began to fall nose first down. At that moment I pushed forward and set course downward towards the Yak. Closer, closer. The distance was getting smaller by second and it looked a lot like I was planning on crashing into him, heck I almost believed it myself for a second.
Just a little longer. Wait for it...Fire! I pulled down the trigger and the Yak was totaled almost instantly as the left wing broke off, the cockpit glass was shattered and the engine became a burning inferno. I pulled upwards and flew away as the enemy plane crashed onto the ground below in a blaze.
Even though that last one had done a number on my wing, my plane was still in relatively good condition and I wasn't going to leave like a coward. I pushed on to the left and began to climb again. I soon noticed a minuscule shadow flickering in front of the sun and changed my course to get a view from below inside a possible blind spot in case the shadow was an enemy aircraft. Despite AA guns never ceasing fire, I didn't seem to be in the most dangerous position at the moment and I took the chance to prioritize the high altitude flying plane.
I flew beneath and turned my plane upwards 90 degrees to swoop in from below. The plane turned out to be a MiG-3, a high altitude flying interceptor and fighter. I was directly beneath which was a blind spot of any plane unless you move to look and the pilot of the MiG must have noticed me as it began to move away, but he had noticed me too late. I opened fire on the hostile plane and it's fate was sealed. The wheels were damaged to the point where emergency landing was impossible, the propeller stopped in place as at least 3 cylinders worth of smoke came out. The plane spun down as fire now erupted from the engine and before ground contact the plane blew up in a ball of fire.
This turned out to be where my luck ran out, as out of nowhere a Yak-9 flew from beneath me and hit my right wing, which caught fire soon after. Flying a damaged aircraft is bad enough, but flying a damaged and burning aircraft? Now that's nightmare fuel for someone like me.
The Yak noticed my weakened situation and opened fire a second time. This time the tail was hit and maneuvering this plane just got a whole lot worse. I held my plane stable as I closed my eyes and said my prayers before I leaned back in my seat and waited for the end to come, but before it came I was blinded by a bright light in front of me. Thousands of questions thumped in my head as the light grew brighter and consumed me. The plane almost shook like a wild bull before everything except the sound of my engine became silent. I opened my eyes again to see green fields, woods, mountain ranges and a partially cloudy sky. It was a beautiful sight, but a certain flaming wing quickly dragged me back to my senses and I began looking for a flat enough area to perform an emergency landing.
Something in the distance caught my eye as it grew closer. It was a town of some sort, outdated by centuries at least! It looked like the old Ponyville I had heard about during history class. It was once one of the strangest places to live in Equestria. It was supposedly a monster attack almost every single day, and it was also home of the Empress and her council in the past. But, why was it there, right in front of me on the ground? I pulled myself out of my own thoughts as I spotted an open field on the other side of the town. Unfortunately it wasn't the biggest one, and thus I had to fly low across the town.
I began lowering the speed and altitude as I grew closer by the second and I prepared for emergency landing. I lowered the plane's wheels and flew lower and slower as I angled myself for the field. The landing wasn't smooth, nor was it a disaster, it was somewhere in between. I think 'mediocre' is the word for it.
Once I got the plane to stop and shut off the engine, I wasted no time. I opened the cockpit and flew into the sky as fast as I could for a cloud. I grabbed the first one within reach and flew back to my plane equally fast. I positioned the cloud before I gave it a hard kick and rain poured out. Water is no friend of fire and the flames quickly died out, leaving a scorched mark in its place. The damage was substantial enough for the plane to need repairs before it could fly again, but at least it wasn't too much. If I could just get it to an airfield or one of the aircraft factories the plane would fly again.
However that all changed when they appeared.
"Hey, you there!" a feminine voice sounded behind me.
I turned around to see six mares standing behind me, but because of the sun shining directly in my face, it was hard to make out any details.
"Are you absolutely sure about this Twilight?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah, we know you're good at magic and all, but this seems a little... intense." Rainbow Dash added.
"Don't worry. I did my research. There is no way this can go wrong." the named purple Alicorn said reassuringly.
"We know that, but ya've had a few moments where yer spells didn't work as intended." Applejack said with uncertainty.
"Girls, I understand your worries, but I have studied every single detail of this spell. I'm sure this will go well." Twilight said as she flipped through a book before stopping at a certain page.
Putting the book down, Twilight ignited her horn as she prepared the spell.
"Now, this may feel weird for some of you as it is a group teleportation spell, and you are not used to teleportation, but I'm sure we'll be fine." she said as she began charging up her magic.
"What if we get fused together?! What if we're all turned into frosting?! What if you pull someone from the future into the present?!" Pinkie asked rapidly.
Twilight merely chuckled. "Pinkie, there is no way either of those options will occur." she laughed as the spell activated.
A bright flash of white surrounded them all for a short moment before it faded and a slight wind blew across their faces. The mane 6 opened their eyes to find themselves standing just outside Golden Oaks Library. After a few seconds of silence a few relieved sighs were heard and Pinkie was bouncing around like always.
"See? I told you it would work!" Twilight said proudly.
"Gee Twi, no need to rub it in." Rainbow grumbled slightly.
Everyone proceeded to look at her with unamused expressions.
"What?!" the rainbow maned Pegasus responded.
Before any more things could be said a strange sound caught their attention. It was some kind of deep buzzing and it was growing louder by the second.
"Look! Up in the sky!" a random background pony shouted with a pointing hoof.
Everyone in the area stopped what they were doing to look at a strange figure in the sky that was progressively coming closer. As it came closer, smoke was visibly coming from a platform or a wing of some kind that was sticking out of it. The figure began to fly lower and was evidently trying to land, but it looked like it had trouble staying still and was shakily coming towards the town. The thing began to lower something from underneath, which looked like wheels. It was most likely a way for it to land, but it was still weird. It was now flying at a very low altitude and anyone would be forgiven if they thought the figure would crash into the rooftops, but it flew across the town without damaging the structure before it disappeared behind a hill leading to some open fields.
"What in tarnation was that?!" Applejack shouted in confusion.
"I have no idea!" Twilight said in equal confusion.
"C'mon! Let's check it out!" Rainbow Dash said as she took flight and flew up to the hill with the other five running behind her.
A few minutes passed before everyone had climbed up the hill and they could now see a weird looking chariot standing on the open field. The chariot lacked pegasi to pull it, it lacked space for passengers and it didn't have any resemblance to a chariot. It's right wing was charred on the tip and it had multiple holes all around it. On the tip of this thing was what looked like a minuscule version of windmill sails. There was also a stallion wearing some weird forms of clothing standing by it and looking around at the damage.
"Hey, you there!" Rainbow shouted to him when they got closer to him.
The stallion turned around to face them with a hoof trying to shield from the sun shining into his face.
The six mares came closer to me and despite the fact that it should not indicate danger, I still moved my hoof to take a hold of the handle of the sword that was fastened around my waist. It was an impulse I had developed over the years and one that had helped me out before. I drew my sword and held it pointed at the mares, who had now stopped in their tracks.
"Whoa Nelly! Slow down there partner!" said one of them with a country accent that sounded very familiar, but I didn't stop for questions.
"Who are you and what do you want?" I asked them impatiently.
"Ah'm Applejack and we saw yer chariot-thingamajig and came to investigate." the mare answered.
The grip on my sword faltered a little when I heard that name. "Come again?"
"Ah said, we saw your-" she tried to repeat, but not the part I wanted repeated.
"Not that! Your name!" I said pointing my sword at her.
"Mah name is Applejack." she repeated.
Confusion took a hold on me as I turned my attention to the rest.
"You! What's your name?" I asked a yellow pegasus that eeped as she pulled away slightly.
"I-It's.....Fluttershy" she whispered for the most part.
"What was that?" I asked as I put a hoof to my ear.
"It's Fluttershy." she whispered even lower. How that was even possible, I had no idea.
"Her name is Fluttershy." a cyan Pegasus said while being held back by her tail. She had a rainbow coloured mane that I could recognize anywhere, but I kept my defensive position.
"What's your name then?!" I asked her with more agitation as she seemed so eager to pick up a fight.
"I'm Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in Equestria and you better believe it!" she answered.
I squinted my eyes at her before I turned my attention to the three remaining ponies.
"You three. What are your names?"
Two of them introduced themselves as Rarity and Pinkie Pie, and my stance continued to falter at each name. Finally I turned my attention to the purple one.
"You?" I couldn't find anything more to say than that simple word as I was close to just dropping my sword then and there,
"I'm Twilight Sparkle."
"You are not tricking me here, are you?" I said as my hooves were shaking.
"What would we gain from using different names than our own?" the purple mare asked.
I could hear that wasn't lying and that was the last straw. I planted the sword's edge into the ground and bowed deep.
"Forgive me for my hostile behavior, your majesties!" I said almost desperately, but to my great confusion they just sounded confused at my action.