Chapter 7
Razorwing sat inside the Golden Apple Inn, staring at the wooden table and enjoyed a mug of cider. He had awoken this morning to find Gilda, her belongings, and her jet long gone. He asked around if any one saw her leave, leading only to shrugs and plenty of "I don't knows".
He spent the rest of the day chatting with fellow pilots and enjoying the wonderful clear weather. The gryphons he drank with last night greeted him over lunch, asking if he knew where Gilda was. He shrugged and explained he looked all over for her. Not taking the answer very well, they accused her of being a traitor and a coward.
Grabbing Cloudcutter by the neck, he pulled him close. "She didn't leave out of cowardice, you feather-brain. I dismissed her from duty for reasons you don't have a right to know. Now get out of here." Throwing him back, he sat down and took another bite of the meal.
Cloudcutter held his neck and stumbled away while the others stared at him and followed behind. Sylph stayed behind with worry in her eyes. For once, he enjoyed her staring at him.
"Razorwing..."
Sighing he put down his fork and offered her a seat. "Alright, fine. You seem like the only one with common sense to keep a secret anyway. I'll tell you what happened only if you keep it to yourself, all right?" Nodding quickly, she took the seat across the table. He spilled everything that happened last night with Gilda, including what he heard when he grabbed his guitar.
"Dashie? What an odd name for a gryphon." Sylph rubbed the bottom of her beak thoughtfully.
Razorwing shrugged, "I never looked into her past. She was a great flier and that's all I cared about." Looking at Sylph, he smiled. "Thanks for not quickly judging her."
She smiled back. "No problem, I'll see you later." Winking slyly, she got up and flew away.
Feeling a twang in his chest, he ignored it and finished off the last bite of fish. Staring at his empty plate, thoughts drifting back to Gilda. "Was I too harsh on her? It felt like the right thing to do, but when I look back... I feel like an idiot."
"Hey Razorwing!" Two voices shouted in unison.
Snapping out of his thoughts and looking over the table, he noticed the two fillies who played with him during the triplet last night. "Oh, hello little ones." He noticed a third one was with them. She had red hair with a pink bow in it and a yellow coat. "Who is this?"
"Ahm Applebloom, nice to meet you!" putting on a wide smile.
"Same to you, Applebloom. Was there something you three needed?"
Sweetie Belle got nervous as she spoke. "We were wondering if you could show us your jet."
Raising an eyebrow, he leaned forward on the table. "May I ask why?"
"Well we asked other pilots, but they only glared at us," Scootaloo said, ears drooping. "I always had trouble flying and I was curious how jets do it. If I can learn their secret, maybe I can finally fly."
"So you want to attach a jet engine to your back?" Finding the conversation amusing, he chuckled. Glancing at a clock, it read 4:56 P.M. "Very well, let's go." He got up from his seat, and held the door for the fillies.
The three fillies shouted in unison. "Hurray!" Before running out the door, with the pilot leading the way.
- - - -
"Are you out of your mind Razorwing? Letting the enemy walk around our base."
Glaring at the gryphon pilot, he poked him in the feathered chest. "They're children, you dolt. Besides, they're under my supervision, I doubt they'll cause any trouble."
He wished he was right. The three fillies somehow got inside the canopy of his jet and were bouncing around inside. Bolting over and throwing the canopy open, he grabbed each of them out and placed them next to the jet. "Do that again and this field trip is over," he stared down at the little ponies.
"Aw," They said in unison.
His eyes softened. "Come on, want me to show you the inside of the tower instead? If you're nice enough, I'll show you the jet again." Seeing their frowns immediately disappear into smiles, he took that as a yes. Walking over to the entrance he walked inside with the three ponies close behind. "Just be careful, the gryphons up here can be a bit..." The three ponies tried finishing his sentence.
"Angry?"
"Weird?"
"Boring?"
He laughed, "yeah you could say he's all three of those things actually." Going up the spiral of stairs they reached the top. "Hey Static."
A gryphon who looked like he just came out of a dryer spun in his seat, staring at Razorwing. "Afternoon," he simply said before turning back toward his console. "Mind telling me why you brought those three pets with you?"
"We're not pets!" scootaloo yelled, earning several stares from the other tower controllers. "Why does every gryphon have to be so mean?"
"He's just cranky all the time. The fact we're at war with Equestria only make us hate every pony as an enemy, even children."
"Why is that? We didn't start the war!" Applebloom looked up at him, confused about the conversation.
"Your right, you didn't. Our queen started this war for reasons I do not know, but I follow her law nonetheless."
"How come? Your queen sounds like a big jerk if you ask me." Applebloom stomped a hoof.
Razorwing found is funny that she already hates his queen. "Some may say that, but she did more for our people than any gryphon thought possible. We were in a stage of depression before the war and... "
"Ugh, I thought we came up here to press random buttons, not have a history lesson." Scootaloo ran toward one of the consoles. On it was a large green circle with a line rotating around it. "What's this?"
Frowning at the interruption, he looked at what she was pointing at. "That's a radar. Those dots on the screen each represent an aircraft. It's very useful for days where visibility is limited."
After what seemed like hundreds of questions about what each and every button, switch and knob did, they finally left the tower satisfied. "You three sure are a curious bunch."
"Thanks!" they said together.
"Okay, the way they talk all at once is starting to get creepy"
"What are these?"
Razorwing's eyes shrunk to pinpricks as he watched Scootaloo bounce on top of several bombs being carted. The gryphon who was pushing the cart was seen fleeing the scene, afraid they could explode at any moment. Running over, he grabbed the orange pony. "Stop bouncing on those!"
Suddenly air raid sirens blared across the base and the three ponies looked around fearfully, holding their ears. "W-what is that sound?!"
Looking up in the sky, Razorwing scowled . "I think you three should head back to Ponyville... now."
Opening his wings and taking to the sky, he glided over to the small barracks which held his brown flight-suit, helmet, and other gear. Zipping up the suit, he walked out to find the base in full alert and gryphon's going to their jets. Flying over to his camouflaged jet, he jumped into the canopy and closed it. "This is Feather Thirteen, prepping for take-off. What's the situation, tower?" Speaking into the microphone built into his helmet.
"Did you get rid of those annoying pests?"
Letting out an agitated sigh, he responded. "Yes static, they're gone."
"Good. We have six enemy aircraft a minute out, coming from the south."
After a minute of checking that everything was working properly, he started the line up his jet for take-off. "Roger that tower, ready for take-off on your go."
"Feather Thirteen cleared for take-off. Good luck up there."
Taking off down the runway and speeding past other jets lining up, he lifted off into the air. Tilting left, he circled the base, waiting for the other pilots.
"Feather Thirteen, we just lost our air patrol at the southern outskirts of Ponyville. Engage the enemy and keep them busy. We'll send all other patrols to assist."
"Roger, tower. Engaging the enemy." Breaking off from his circling, he turned his jet south. He saw six jets speeding toward him. To his left and right were six allied jets, three on each side. Turning on communications, he began to issued orders.
"This is Feather Thirteen of Feather squadron, do not fight over Ponyville. Lead them away from the town and engage the enemy."
One of the pilots spoke up. "You're kidding right? I could care less about that stupid town."
"Do it or I'll gladly show your own stupidity for disregarding my order," he growled. The pilot was silent for a moment before giving up.
"Yes sir."
Without another word, he watched the enemy jets far ahead break apart and fly in different directions, one heading straight for him. Already the other five jets were dog-fighting and several of his allies were turned into fireballs within a couple of seconds. "By the queen, who are we fighting?"
Turning his jet to the east, he watched the blue jet follow his movements. "Yes, just like that. Follow the birdie." Hearing the rapid beep of a radar lock, he cursed and increased the throttle to outpace the enemy jet. The beeping finally ceased and he was well away from the town. Bleeding speed, he made a tight u-turn and faced back toward the enemy plane.
"I know this dance too well. Let's see if you can keep up." He began to radar lock the jet in front of him.
- - - -
"Come on you two! we need to get to the shelter!" Sweetie Belle yelled over the sirens still going off. The three crusaders had finally made their way back to Ponyville as the first couple of missiles were fired off around the town.
Buzzing could be heard as one of the blue jets fired upon a grey one, shredding the wing and causing it to snap off, falling from view behind one of the buildings.
Jumped excitedly, Scootaloo pointed a hoof at a camouflage painted jet.. "Look! There's Razorwing's jet. Wait, where's he going?" They watched him turn and speed off away from the town, one of the blue jets following behind. Bolting down the road, she followed the direction where the two jets flew.
"Scootallo, it's too dangerous. We need to get to the shelter!"
Ignoring her friend's distress, she ran to the outskirts of town and under a tree. In front of her up in the sky, the two planes were already exchanging gunfire. Her friends caught up and tackled her. "Come on, you're going to get yourself hurt!"
"But I want to watch!"
Struggling under the weight of her two friends, they suddenly stopped when a loud boom came from above. All of them looked up to see Razorwing's plane smoldering, but still flying. The blue jet fired its guns, but Razorwing rolled left and did a dizzying loop, getting right behind the other jet.
They traded spots getting behind one another for several minutes. Both planes were in terrible shape and started to smoke. They flew at each other for the sixth time, two buzzes filled the air as both planes fired their guns. Bullets peppered the camouflage jet, tearing apart the wings. After they passed each other, both wings snapped off and the fuselage finally began to tilt into a rapid descent.
Sweetie Belle panicked. "W-what is he doing? Isn't he going to get out?!"
"Razorwing, eject!" They yelled as if he could hear them, but it was no use as he disappeared behind a hill. The thundering boom that came afterwards shook the tree above them. Several autumn colored leaves flew around them as they looked blankly at the hill.
Tears started to form in Scootaloo's eyes as smoke billowed in the air ahead of them. She tried to hold it in and act tough, but she just hung her head a let the tears fall on the ground. Sweetie Belle joined her and they both cried on their shoulders, knowing their friend would be gone forever.
Applebloom felt her own tears coming up for seeing her friends cry. Looking up, she saw the blue jet flying back toward Ponyville. Even through misty eyes, she thought she could see Rainbow Dash's cutie mark on the back wing.