Ace Combat: Shattered Friendships
Downtime: Ashes to Ashes, Lightning to Dust
Author: Draconis187
Pinkamena looked around and saw the familiar surroundings of Sugarcube Corner, the bakery she worked at with Carrot Cake and Cup Cake back in Ponyville. Her friends as well as some ponies from around Ponyville stood together, having fun with the various games that were set up for them around the building’s interior. Pinkamena noticed a hot pink coloured mare with a manestyle reminiscent of cotton candy. Pinkie Pie was sat by the door, a huge grin adorning her face while Pinkamena just stared.
The others didn’t seem to share the happy pony’s feelings as they looked at each other nervously. The sun was beginning to set on the day. On the day Pinkie Pie arranged the most daunting and satisfying party of her career. She had spent a week building a basement in the bakery just so she could make a two storey strawberry sponge cake with marzipan decorations of Twilight and the others. It had rice paper shaped and coloured of each of their Cutie Marks along the base’s side. The marzipan figures of the six friends were arranged in a circle, each facing outward. Each layer had a few figures of their accomplishments, from Nightmare Moon to reforming Discord.
She had put her heart and soul into the party, just so she could see Twilight’s happy face. The orange farm worker, Applejack looked to the others before approaching the – still smiling – Pinkie Pie. Pinkamena knew what she was going to say. She remembered this day as she placed a hoof on her chest. This day felt like an old wound that refused to heal.
“Sugarcube? Maybe she got called away. Remember when you got so worried about Rainbow when she when to that Academy?” Applejack said with an uncertain smile.
The hot pink mare didn’t respond but as the sun began to fully set, so did the party pony’s smile. “She promised.”
“Ah know sugarcube, Ah know.” Applejack placed her hoof on Pinkie Pie’s shoulder as the mare began to break down into soft tears.
“She Pinkie Promised…” She said as her coat darkened in colour and her mane slowly deflated like a balloon. The others tried to cheer the mare up as they pulled her in to a hug.
**** **** **** ****
Pinkamena climbed out of her bunk and made her way to the showers as per usual. As she brushed her teeth, she saw the face that was staring back at her in the mirror. It was the face that she had become accustomed to wearing since that day. The look of hopelessness, loss and a broken heart all tied into one expression.
As she walked through the base, she came up to her F-15 and stared at it. Why did she want to do this? Why did she find it so easy to just give up party planning and fly a plane for money? The biggest question she gave herself was: ‘Why do I enjoy this so much?’
As she tried to consider the answers, Jack Hammer came up to her with two other guards. Her mood brightened marginally as he smiled at her.
“You may want to see this, Cipher and Solace are lining up on the runway.” He said with a grin.
“Already?” She asked, surprised. “How long have I been asleep?”
Jack Hammer didn’t reply as the four of them walked towards the briefing room. “Cipher is flying one of Vampir’s Su-27s while Solace is in his. It will be quite interesting to see if she can handle a Stalliongrad plane.”
“Well, she did use an A-10 to great effect in Operation Roseluck and her abilities with her F-15 are quite imposing. Solace is in for a fight if he underestimates her.” Pinkamena responded flatly.
“Yeah, she is some strange kind of pilot. I mean, she never seems to take that helmet off or talk much and when she does speak it’s always with that distorted voice. What is her problem?” He asked Pinkamena as they reached the briefing room.
“I don’t know. We all have our secrets, Jack. Maybe she’s horrifically scarred or maybe she thinks she’s ugly. I don’t know and I don’t want to know. All I care about is that she has my flank when I need it. Why did she pick a Suhkoi of all planes?” Pinkamena responded as she took up a spot in the room. “And where are the Wonderbolts? I thought that Dash would at least be here to watch.”
“They’re busy with the scolding of that Lightning Dust girl. I heard she went too far on an opponent.” Quick Fix responded unexpectedly. “She still thought she did the right thing.”
“She riddled a plane with bullets and then fired a missile at it, scattering the plane and its pilot across the area.” Pinkamena responded flatly.
“That doesn’t sound too bad.” Quick Fix responded, as Jack Hammer nodded in agreement.
“She roped it into chasing her into the coffin corner and attacked it while it was spinning helplessly towards the ground. She didn’t have to do anything, she had already won and yet she still gunned the pilot down without mercy or remorse.” Pinkamena said as the two stallions’ expressions became solemn. “Again, why is Cipher in a Suhkoi-27?”
“I have absolutely no clue. Maybe she likes a challenge?” Lug Knut responded.
He had a welding helmet on his head. His coat was a dark grey while his mane was a deep maroon. The welding helmet had been swivelled up so he could see better. His khaki overalls covered most of his body as well as his Cutie Mark. The same overalls were stained with various oils and lubricants he had used to tune up or repair the planes with.
“I wouldn’t put it past her if that were the case.” Pinkamena responded.
The projector screen that the pilots saw their briefing and debriefing stats on had been slit into four screens, arranged in a square. Two of them showed past the nose end of a Su-27. The other two looked behind the plane, between the twin stabilisers. There was a message above each picture, one was labelled: ‘Cipher_Front’ while the one underneath it said: ‘Cipher_Back’. The type of message was on the two to the left as well, except they had ‘Solace’ in place of ‘Cipher’.
“So we get to see the action like some movie? Too bad I forgot the popcorn.” Pinkamena softly mused under her breath as she heard Twilight’s voice ring through the room.
“Cipher, Solace. The rules of engagement are as follows: this will be a best of three match. We have outfitted your planes with sensors and lasers. The sensors will pick up the lasers and send information on how detrimental the hit is. You will only be using the laser to keep things fair and as difficult as possible. Once the sensors register that the damage is fatal, we will reset for the next match. You will break off and then get a distance of 3000 feet between you before resuming. Is that understood?”
“Roger.” Cipher responded flatly as she started to take slow breaths in preparation for the dogfight.
“I’m ready to start this party when you are!” Solace shouted, his happy attitude earned him a cheer from his wingponies, sitting as close as they could to the screen without getting in anypony’s way.
“Right, break off and get 3000 feet between you.” Twilight said from her position in the control tower. As the radar registered 3012 feet of distance between the pilots, she spoke again. “Begin.”
**** **** **** ****
“Lightning Dust. Wonderbolt number Three. Resident of Cloudsdale before joining the Wonderbolts Academy in Hay of 2001.” Spitfire said as she read Lightning Dust’s file.
Spitfire was standing on Rainbow’s right while Soarin stood on her left. The others, Misty Fly (Wonderbolt Four), Blaze (Wonderbolt Five), Fire Streak (Wonderbolt Seven) and Surprise (Wonderbolt Eight) were standing on the left and right of the room, watching the events in front of them. They were all wearing dark blue suits with their medals adorning them and their rank insignias on their shoulders. They were also wearing dark sunglasses to help hide their expressions.
They were standing in a wide open room. The windows were small and where high above the reach of an Earth Pony. The small curtains were drawn, darkening the room and giving it a dark green tint as the sun tried to peak through the curtains. The three highest ranking Wonderbolts stood on a podium, directly in front of Lightning Dust, which were Spitfire, Soarin and Dash. The sides had benches for observers and the other members of the squadron.
“You have been accused of conduct unbecoming of your squadron and rank. You mercilessly eliminated a target that was already posed no further threat to anypony or the operation. What do you have to say in your defence?” Rainbow Dash said with a commanding voice.
Lightning Dust gave the Squadron a cocky smile as she responded. “I just did my job, just like any of you would do.”
Soarin looked at Dash for a second, shaking his head. “Lightning Dust, even in times of war, there is a code to maintain. If the target cannot fight back, it should be left alone. Squadrons like Galm and Vampir are unrestrained by this as they are mercenaries, only looking for their next pay check rather than fighting for a cause.”
“So?” The light opal Pegasus callously replied.
“We are not going to get through to you, are we?” Rainbow said, just audible enough for the cocky pilot to hear.
“What did you say?” Lightning Dust replied with sarcasm in her voice.
“I said, ‘You’re lucky Lightning Streak isn’t here to see what his daughter had done.’” Rainbow replied, pulling the family card to try and get a response. At the very instant mention of her father, Lightning’s demeanour flipped.
“M-my dad? He- he’d be proud.” She replied but she sounded much less sure of herself.
Spitfire shook her head. “Kid, I knew Lightning Streak. I can tell you this: he would be ashamed of your actions. If there was one thing he prided himself on, it was honour.”
**** **** **** ****
“Woah! You almost had me there Cipher.” Solace taunted as he dodged Cipher’s ‘bullets’.
The Changeling was not giving it her all in this first round. She had been toying with the stallion at best. She only let a few small bursts before letting him veer off. The ‘damage’ had been minimal at best but Cipher was giving him more leeway than she would have under normal circumstances. He went full blast with his afterburners, increasing the distance between them before he circled around.
Solace went for Cipher as she pulled up to avoid his attack. But as she pulled up, he did as well. As the boresight lined up with the plane, Solace fired. The laser hit its mark, setting off various sensors on the plane’s underbelly. Twilight looked at the readings until it registered that the attack would have torn though the plane and ignite the fuel inside.
“That’s one to Solace.” She confirmed as the briefing room erupted in cheers for the leader of Vampir.
All except for three ponies. “What is she up to?” Pinkamena wondered to herself as the two increased the distance between them for the second round. “She should have been able to dodge that with ease.”
“I dunno but she must have a plan.” Lug Knut thought, stroking his chin with a hoof.
The planes came at each other at high speed before Cipher broke off. Solace turned to chase her, manipulating the throttle just so he could stay behind her. She tried to barrel roll, making large circular movements as she did, like a car driving around the roof of a circular tunnel. This kind of manoeuvre would dizzy the pilot that performed it but Cipher didn’t feel a thing as she instantly stopped and dove down.
Solace tried to follow as Cipher used the afterburners and made a beeline for the ground. Solace followed her, firing off a few bursts but Cipher made sure to dodge them by veering left and right. As the two planes began to get dangerously close to the ground, Solace broke off. Cipher’s gamble paid off as she pulled up. She used the momentum she gained from her dive to slingshot her way past Solace.
“Sladkiy Celestia!” Solace shouted as the Su-27 shot past him with a deafening roar.
Cipher pulled hard on the speed breaks as she pulled the pane into an attack dive. A dive she aimed at Solace who banked to the right in an attempt to avoid her attack. She came down after nearly tearing the wings off the plane as she aimed her boresight at Solace. The sensors lit up like a house at Hearth’s Warming Eve.
“That’s a kill for Cipher. One more and we can wrap this up. We have another squadron of mercenaries from across the Hay Ocean coming in.” Twilight said as she saw the time. “They should be twenty minutes out.”
**** **** **** ****
“No, how dare you bring my father into this! He has nothing to do with this little hearing!” Lightning Dust shouted as the sound of cheering reached the room the Wonderbolts had commandeered.
“On the contrary.” Spitfire said, lowering her head so she was looking at Lightning over the top of her glasses. “He’s the one who both inspired and recommended you for the Academy. He told me. He used to talk about how you wanted to be just like him.”
Lightning Dust hung her head. “Listen, Lightning.” Rainbow said, her voice cracking slightly as she took a deep breath. “Because of your reckless and hot tempered behaviour, you have proven to be a liability to the Squadron, the base and Equestria as a whole.”
Lightning began to shake. Rainbow was about to kick her out, just like Spitfire did when she nearly killed Rainbow’s friends by making that twister during their time at the Academy. Being a Wonderbolt was her whole life. Her entire family on her father’s side had been Wonderbolts. She had a reputation to live up to, five generations of accomplished pilots and acrobats. If she got kicked out now, it would be the end of everything.
“But, I know that this means more to you than you care to let on.” Spitfire carried on for Rainbow, who was biting her lip. “That is why we will overlook this incident and give you one last chance. Failure to listen to your teammates, fail to know when to let a target go and you will be permanently suspended. Is that understood?”
Lightning Dust nodded her head slowly as the news sunk in. She was given one last shot to prove she could be a Wonderbolt like her father. “But you will be sitting out on the next operation.” Rainbow said as the group began to leave the room in a single file, leaving only Rainbow and Lightning Dust. “Lightning, you need to learn that your drive to push yourself at the expense of others is self-defeating. It isn’t why any of us became Wonderbolts in the first place.”
Rainbow ran into the briefing room as fast as she could. Solace continued to swear in his native tongue as Cipher stayed on his tail. The ponies were laughing as Solace just managed to get out of Cipher’s crosshairs. Rainbow sat next Pinkamena who barely registered her old friend’s presence.
“So who’s winning?” Rainbow asked as Cipher’s right wing registered a few hits before she managed to get away from Solace.
“They’re neck and neck.” Pinkamena replied flatly. “Cipher’s on her last legs while Solace is as well. Whoever can get one last pass on their opponent will win. How was the hearing?”
Dash lowered her head as she removed the glasses. “I worry about her. Even after all these years, she’s barely changed at all. She still thinks she has something to prove and will stop at nothing to do it.”
“So did you cut her loose?” Pinkamena inquired, not taking her eyes of the screens as Cipher managed to dodge Solace again.
“Nah, we let her off with a warning.” Pinkamena looked at Dash with a cold expression as she said that. She could freeze Tartarus itself with that look. “Look, we can’t afford to really lose any of our numbers right now. I still think she could be a very good pilot if she can get over her insatiable drive.”
“I hope you know what you are doing Dash.” Pinkamena replied as she turned her attention to the screens again as Cipher pulled up into the air, Solace in hot pursuit.
“I hope so too. We did cut her out of the next operation though.” Dash responded as Cipher shut her engines down and came down towards Solace, who dodged the flailing plane.
A few pilots gasped at this display of recklessness. As the plane fell past Solace, Cipher turned the engines back on and fired up the afterburners. She pulled up, using her momentum one more time but she flew in a wide circle, aiming to intercept Solace like a boomerang circling around its target. Solace dived to avoid her and get into an attack position. Cipher pulled on the speed brakes again and pulled the plane into a 180° flip so fast, it should have ripped the wings clean off the fuselage.
As Solace pulled in an attempt to avoid her once more, he fell into her boresight for a second. Unfortunately, a second was she needed as she pulled the trigger and fired. The sensors detected that the bullets would have gone through the cockpit and kill him on the spot.
“And that’s it everypony. Sorry Solace but it looks like Cipher is the better pilot.” Twilight said. “But you did give her a run for her bits though. Now get back on the ground, Grabcr Squadron will be arriving shortly and I want all the pilots to be there to greet them.”
After the two got down on the ground, Solace gave Cipher a hearty hoofshake to show he didn’t have any sore feelings for having lost to her. He even asked to treat her to a drink… which she flatly refused.
“You don’t drink?!” He said, as his face went from shocked to serious. “Challenge accepted!” He raised his hoof into the air with a smile as the pilots went to the airstrip to await the latest addition to the group. While the group cheered for Cipher, Pinkamena was around the corner, observing the mare.
“Not bad, not bad at all.” She mused as she watched Cipher trot off to her barracks, uninterested in meeting more ponies. Pinkamena on the other hoof wanted to see what the fuss was about the next group of pilots but stayed back so she as she found it better to observe from a distance.
“Who do you think we have coming in?” Dash asked Spitfire with near fangirl-like glee. More pilots meant the war would get finished faster and she could get back to leading the Wonderbolts on acrobatic flights rather than combat exercises.
“Don’t know, I haven’t heard anything about them.” Spitfire replied flatly.
“Grabcr Squadron.” Lug Knut said to the suit wearing Wonderbolts. “It’s just a two pony squadron, like the Galm Team.”
“Really?” Dash said, interested in knowing more about the mercenaries that would be flying with them.
“Grabcr 1 flies an F-16XL. You know the one with the cranked delta wing design?” Lug Knut asked, Rainbow nodded her head. “Grabcr 2 on the other hoof flies an YF-23 Black Widow.”
“The one that was made by the same ponies that made the Raptor?” Spitfire inquired. Lug Knut shook his head before continuing.
“No, they were made by two entirely separate manufacturers. I was only told of their aircraft so I could brief the rest of the mechanic staff.” Lug Knut looked down the runway, spotting two little dots in the sky. “Looks like they're nearly here. Clear the runway!”
Everypony scrambled to the end of the runway and waited for the two planes to land. Just as Lug Knut described, there were only two planes: the F-16XL and the YF-23. Their bodies were a deep read while the wings, nose and stabilisers had rather broad, black stripes adorning them.
As the planes landed, Lug Knut and Quick Fix got to work. They directed the pair to a hangar large enough to store both of their craft. As they pilots got out, they removed their helmets. The pilot of the F-16XL was a crimson coloured Pegasus while his mane was red and cream coloured. The pilot of the Black Widow was a grey unicorn with a light blue mane.
“Well, this is a welcome. We should offer our assistance more often don’t you think?” The crimson stallion chuckled as he walked up to the group of pilots.
The Unicorn chuckled and grabbed the hoof of the pony closest to him: Fire Streak. The Unicorn shook his hoof with enough vigour to remind Pinkamena of another particular pony: herself.
“How do you do? Name’s Techno Watt of just Tech or just whatever strikes your fancy.” Techno Watt said as he let go of Fire Streak’s hoof.
“I’m Snake.” The Pegasus said, getting a few smiles from the group.
Rainbow and Spitfire both walked up to the two stallions before Rainbow spoke up. “Welcome to Valiant Air Force Base. I am Rainbow Dash, flight lead of the Wonderbolts Squadron. This here is my second in command, Spitfire.”
The stallions nodded and conferred their greetings as Spitfire took over the conversation. “While the two of you are here, you will be earning your keep by helping out wherever and whenever necessary. If you have any problems with that, you can leave the same way you came.
“I doubt we will be a problem Miss Spitfire.” Snake said with a small smirk on his face. “Tech here is the best mechanic I could ask for and if you need me for something, just ask.”
“That’s good.” Dash said as they all left the hangar.
Solace gave the two stallions a malicious smirk as he raised his hoof into the air. “All our jobs can wait until the morning for tonight we will drink until we can’t drink no more!”
Cipher looked out from her window and observed the two new stallions. Her gnarled horn would have been clearly visible to anypony who looked her way. She fluttered down to the ground with her tattered wings and looked at herself in the mirror.
“You failed one simple thing.”
“Your actions have endangered our entire race!”
“Because of you, we have lost all standing with the other races!”
“Victory was assured and yet you bungled it up!
Chrysalis closed her eyes as she tried to shut out the voices. As she opened her eyes once more, a Unicorn stared back at her. Putting the flight suit back on, she walked out to formally meet the Grabcr Squadron as Solace talked about how he now had competition for the mares’ affections.