//------------------------------// // Red Flag Part One // Story: Nearing the Edge // by Eagle //------------------------------// February 5th, 2006 Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada 1300 Hours For years, the United States and the rest of the outside world had been seen as a mysterious land. Because of the isolationist mood of Equestria at the time, nopony knew very much about what happened there. After some items made by humans slipped into Equestria through the black market, rumors began to circulate; some true and most false. Both Rainbow and Spitfire felt a curious wonder when they finally arrived at an American airbase near the city of Las Vegas. Sadly much of the surrounding area was desert, which was perfect for military aircraft training but not so much for sightseeing. Perhaps they would be allowed to explore the city on the ground during their off-time, if the Americans would let them. The two squadrons were the first Equestrian military units to journey to the U.S. There was some slight media buzz but no ceremony to greet them. They were welcomed in the same fashion that the other squadrons were, though upon exiting and moving through the base the caught the attention of almost all whom they passed. They were here for Red Flag, a massive military training session for the air forces of multiple nations, hosted by the Americans regularly at Nellis Air Force Base. The foreign squadrons filled the base; F-18s from Canada and Australia, Typhoons and Tornadoes from the United Kingdom, some older F-4 Phantom IIs of the German Luftwaffe and the newer Rafales and Mirages from France. These all came from nations allied to the U.S., though Dash thought that odd as only the Canadians, British, and Australians had forces in Equestria. There was a long list of attending nations, and she had never recognized any of the others in Equestria, including the ‘closer allies’ of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and several others that Cole told her were part of some mutual defense alliance. It seemed rather lopsided, and it made her wary that these allies seemed to skirt around their obligations. However, Cole told her they were not obliged to anything as of yet, and not to worry about it. She took his word for it, but it still rubbed her the wrong way. Cole had stated that the key word to the alliance, NATO, was ‘defense’; unless one of them was directly attacked in their home there was no obligation. That did not count expeditions to odd foreign lands and personal inter-nation skirmishes; to Dash it felt like an excuse to escape duty. Regardless, of all the oddities in coming to America, it was good to see Cole again. After having been away for months, the two ran into each-other while passing in a hallway, with Rainbow immediately pulling him into a tight hug. Unfortunately, he was rather busy, and they could only talk for a minute before he had to be on his way. He, along with all the other squadrons, were preparing for the first day of Red Flag, which amounted to little more than a massive air battle to serve as an introduction for such large-scale air operations that would take place over the rest of the event with increasing complexity. She did not see him again till they were all in the air, along with the rest of the squadrons. “Alright Rainbow lead, ready to start?” he asked, a ways off with his own squadron. “We are, Eagle lead.” “Ok, just remember you can’t call for my help this time. It’s up to you and your squadron.” “We’ll make you proud!” Dash assured him. “More than that! We’ll leave you stunned!” another voice cut in. “Who’s that, Rainbow One?” Cole asked, having never heard the voice before in his time in Equestria. “That’s my wingpony… the one I was telling you about. Lightning Dust, remember?” “Ah yes, I do now,” Cole recalled, remembering some of the stories Rainbow had told her. “Well she certainly sounds eager.” “I’m just ready to be the best flier around again!” she responded confidently. “You’re gonna see that natural fliers like me are better by default!” “Let’s just get through the first day and we’ll see what happens, those aggressor squadrons are tough,” he retorted, sounding annoyed. “Good luck Rainbow Squadron. Eagle One, out.” Dash sighed hard to herself as they waited for order from the commanding AWACS. She had hoped that Dust had become a bit less aggressive after her expulsion from the Academy years ago, though she only seemed slightly mellower in some situations. Despite having nearly killed ponies, she was a skilled flier, which Equestria needed. Princess Celestia and Twilight both agreed that, considering their past together, Dust should be paired with Rainbow as her wingpony with the hopes that the latter could better help the former’s attitude. It seemed to be a long process, as so far that had yet to happen. “Dust!” she called out over the radio. “What?” “We talked about this, you need to be… less stubborn when flying,” Rainbow said. “Stubborn? I’m just saying between the two of us we’ll blow these weird flightless aliens away,” Lighting responded. “They need to build these machines to fly; we’ve been doing it since we were fillies.” “This kind of flying is different, Dust. It’s a lot more dangerous, and if we’re not careful we could get… well we would only lose here, but if it were real we could get killed!” Dash stated. “Or worse we’d… we’d get our friends killed.” “We’ll do great Dash; you always worry way too much. That’s what stops you from getting better!” “Well either way I’m the squad lead, so you need to follow me!” Rainbow shot back, signaling an end to the argument. “Understood.” Despite all the aircraft in the vicinity, Dash felt very alone in the sky. The Eagles were off on their own mission, and Spitfire and the Wonderbolts had another sector to tend to. The main practice for the day was to see how the squadrons performed in pairs, and as such her squadron was restricted to two aircraft for now, as were all the others. Every member of the squadron would get a chance for this, as the engagements would be small and rotating, but for now that meant Lightning Dust was the only one she actually knew. “Rainbow, Stork, this is Lincoln,” the AWACS finally called to Rainbow and one of the French flights. “Four bogeys inbound, bearing zero-five-zero at a range of sixty mikes and closing, altitude at angels fifteen, speed five-hundred. Adjust course to intercept, copy, over?” “Copy, Stork adjusting to intercept, out,” one of the French pilots acknowledged, adjusting his aircraft and not bothering to wait for Rainbow. “Rainbow copies, moving to intercept, out.” It was a bit rattling to be engaging in a dogfight with what was supposed to be the enemy, but it calmed Dash to know it was only a simulation. The French pilots in their Mirage 2000s were conversing on the radio in their native tongue, leaving the Equestrians in the dark. Dash kept an eye on her radar, feeling the contacts move closer to her. She simply kept along behind the Mirages, trying to follow their example until their lead spoke up. “Rainbow, this is Stork, do you have the contacts on your radar?” the Frenchman asked through a thick accent. “Affirmative, we do,” she confirmed, looking down at the dots on the radar screen. “They are entering a defensive formation. We will climb to engage them, and you will stay here. If they begin tailing us, we will draw them back for you to engage, copy?” “Copy.” “Oh come on,” Dust groaned from her F-16 as the Mirages climbed away. “Why can’t we be the ones to lead them back?” “It’s about teamwork, they’re probably more experienced at drawing them down than we are,” Rainbow theorized. “Teamwork? It feels like they’re shelving us to the back so we can’t do any- hey, you see that!?” Lightning jumped. “Down there, past that big rock… mountain… thing! At two o’clock! I saw a flash!” Rainbow looked around to where Dust was frantically referring to. It took a moment but Dash did catch a glimmer of light of what had to be another aircraft. Sure enough, there was another F-16 down there, one that belonged to the aggressor squadron they were facing. “He’s all alone! Let me go get him Dash!” “Hang on, Dust. The French said they’d lead some of the aircraft back to us,” Rainbow reminded her. “We need to be ready if they need us to help. We should just report it and wait.” “Yea, but it’s just one! Just let me break off and I’ll shoot him down, and be back here before you know it!” Lightning argued. “Come on, you know how fast I am!” “I don’t think we should, Dust.” “Well I do!” With that Lighting’s Falcon broke away, diving down to the right and charging after the target. “Dust, come back!” Rainbow shouted. “You can’t go out alone!” Rainbow debated with herself whether to stay where she was and wait for the Storks, or chase down her wingpony. She was torn between sticking with her mission and sticking with her team mate. Cole, and many of the other Americans, had told her how important wingman were, how they were responsible for each-other and how important it was that they come back alive. “Dust!” she called out again, now turning her jet to try and catch up with them. Down below, Lightning was chasing the enemy F-16 across the desert floor, leaving clouds of dust and sand in their zigzagging wake. The target looked to be fighting for its life, turning at ever extreme angles. However, its speed remained consistent, and its heading took them away from the main engagement. “Sniper Two-Three, one on my tail,” the aggressor pilot called, keeping Dust in his rear site. “That’s it horsey, follow the leader.” The two Falcons thundered through the desert landscape, with the aggressor’s desert paint job making it a bit harder to see when against the ground. They flew past some of the rock formations, pulling up and down but staying within the small area of the fight. Dust chased her target through the open sky, trying her best to get a lock on for her imaginary missiles. “Come on, come on you dumb machine!” she grunted, listening to the beeping of the targeter as it danced around her hard-breaking foe. Just then there was a long, unbroken tone that Dust thought was the one that signified a solid lock on. However, before she could start celebrating she noticed the beeping was continuing, and her targeter was still trying to lock onto the Falcon. It took another second to realize that it was actually a warning tone, and that she was the one who had been targeted by the enemy’s wingman flying down behind her from a much higher altitude. “Rainbow Two, you are dead,” the AWACS announced. “That’s a kill for Sniper Two-Four.” “Wha-what!? How did… you’re joking!” “Good work Two-Four,” the victor’s wingman complimented. “No problem, caught her like a fish- wait, I’ve got radar warning!” he yelled. “Two-Three, Sniper Two-Three! Something’s on me!” “What? Who in the Hell?” The F-16 turned away and dived, with Rainbow’s Falcon not far behind. She had watched the whole event unfold, just barely out of range to do anything. Now Dust was gone, but she was in a perfect position to gain vengeance for it. If anything she could even the odds and walk away with a victory. The two Falcons spun in a loop towards the desert, leveling out above the ground and shooting across the open terrain. The aggressor Falcon pulled up into a chandelle and then an Immelman, with Rainbow still following close behind. He immediately turned back again, heading for the ground once more, but Dash was still behind him, just barely keeping up and vaguely within his view. “Two-Three, this one’s way too close! Get your ass over here and help me!” the American pilot called. He was attempting to change direction to get back to where his comrade was, but was hounded into simply buying time until he got there. The battle devolved from specific maneuvers to desperate, reactionary moves of banking, looping, and random variations of speed and height. The entire time he could hear the lock searching for him. “Stick with him, just be patient… focus… stick with him,” Rainbow thought to herself, trying to acquire the F-16 with her targeter. “You can do this, you’re the best! You are good enough to win this!” The Falcon was usually barely within her view as it tried to escape. He tried to cut his speed but she noticed just in time to reduce her own. Though she almost overshot as she followed him into a turn, she remained on his tail and the two sped up again. The targeter danced over the Falcon a couple of times, then stuck to it, turning bright red and singing the tone that allowed Rainbow to finally relax. “Sniper Two-Four is dead,” the AWACS called. “First kill for the Equestrians goes to Rainbow lead.” “Damn it!” the American pilot swore. “Guess you got me there.” “Yes! I got him! I got him!” Rainbow celebrated, unconsciously trying to flap her wings in her seat. “I got-huh!? What’s-” “Rainbow lead is dead, that’s a kill for Mobius One,” the announcer spoke up, clarifying where Dash’s warning lock came from. “What? Where was he?” she asked. “Lincoln, where’s that plane? I don’t see him anywhere on the radar!” “You can’t, it’s an F-22, snuck up behind you,” Lincoln clarified. “Don’t feel too bad; those Raptors are almost impossible to see on radar. More often than not you’re dead before you know it’s there.” “That’s… that’s-” “Unfair? Yea, just be glad they’re on our side in reality. Rainbow team, you are cleared to RTB, that’s enough for today. Lincoln, out.” “I can’t believe we got tricked like that!” Lightning Dust complained as she and Dash sat alone in one of the squadron rooms at the end of the day. The room was usually filled with pilots over the course of the day, the fliers gathering there in their free time to mingle with others from various countries. Thankfully, Dash had found a rare period in the early evening where it was empty, perhaps because many of the pilots were out on the town to enjoy Vegas. As the squadrons were only here a short time, there were few permanent decorations that marked usual rooms like these. Instead, it was stocked and colored with flags and banners from various countries and squadrons, draping the walls in radiant fabrics. “You need to follow my lead, Dust,” Rainbow replied, trying to counsel her. “I could have gotten him if you’d followed closer,” Dust continued to argue. “I just needed some more time. At least you got one of them, so nice work with that I guess.” “I… thanks? Dust… like I said-” She was interrupted by the door of the room being flung open, with Cole entering and closing it behind him. Rainbow was happy to see him but immediately noticed something was wrong. From the look on his face, he was not happy and was staring at her companion with a very cross demeanor. “You!” he gestured at Dust, walking up to them. “What the Hell is your problem!?” “M-me? What’s your problem?” she shot back. “Dash what’s wrong with this guy!?” “Cole, calm down,” Dash asked, trying vainly to compose her friend. “What’s the matter? Where’s this coming from?” “The problem is that Lightning Dust here is oblivious to the fact that she got you killed! At least from her attitude in the debrief-” “I won’t make that mistake again,” Dust cut in definitely. "So some guy snuck up on me, he was just tricky. They won't get away with it next time." "Dust, there won't be a next time in the real world. That's why you need to learn it now." "I already did learn it!" she shot back sharply. "I'm not stupid with this! I was born with wings! I don't need apes telling me how to fly!" "Then why are you the first one that got killed!?" "It won't. Happen. Again!" Dust repeated heatedly. “Yes you will if you keep acting like that!” Cole lashed out. “You keep acting arrogant and invincible! Like you know everything! Do you know what happens when you do that!?” “I lose-” “You get killed!” the American yelled. “And not only that, but you get your wingmen killed too! But you don’t think about either of those do you? You don’t even care if you get your friends killed, do you!?” “I do!” “No you don’t! You don’t have any idea what it’s like to be responsible for your friend’s life! And you know what else? I wouldn’t keep doing this if you weren’t a threat to the rest of your squadron.” Dust and Dash were quiet now, both looking on at Cole as he went through his rant, the former now with an increasing degree of fear and the latter increasingly unhappy with the act. “Keep acting like that and see what happens. Getting killed up there is the best thing you could hope for!” “Cole!” Dash yelled, trying to interject to no avail. “That’d be the best solution you could hope for! If you’re lucky your stupid act will only get yourself killed instead of your friends!” he shouted, losing his way in the anger. “All you’d be is a damned example for the rest!” “Cole!” “The fucking plane would be a bigger loss than you!” “John!” Dash shouted back, flying in-between the two, “that’s enough!” Cole seemed shaken a bit by her sudden move, as if he were suddenly knocked out of a trance. He blinked a couple times, seemingly just realizing what had happened. Taking a breath and stepping back, he tried to compose himself, and came out of it with his wrathful look replaced with a colder, more serious one. “Sorry,” he said simply. “It’s still right… the general idea I mean, not the last… sorry.” “Dust, head back to your quarters,” Dash ordered, dragging the human aside while her wingpony quickly flew out the room. “Cole, what was that!?” “I was trying to get through to her, to get her to understand the situation,” he said, trying to explain his actions. “I went overboard, yea, but you have to be hard with stubborn ones like her. That’s… just how it’s done Dash.” “I don’t care if it is! I don’t care if this is how you do it on Earth either! We don’t do it like… that, in Equestria! Especially not to our friends!” “She’s your friend? She could’ve got you killed Dash. I want to make sure she doesn’t.” “Well I need to be her friend, and if she is she’ll listen to me more than you yelling at her,” she explained. Cole did not answer back directly, but took a string of audible breaths and averted his eyes to the grown. He could tell Dash was deeply upset with him, and she had reason to be, but even in being too aggressive he was willing to stand by the general idea behind the act. Lightning Dust had to be broken down and shown what could happen if her ego controlled her actions. He did not want to see an ego become the cause of death for her or Dash, or anyone else. “I don’t get it Cole… you told me before that you didn’t like yelling… that you liked to talk with discipline so they’d listen,” she sighed, now calm and collected in her own right. “I do but… I’ll admit I guess I just lose it sometimes… I’ll get angry and everything.” “You have to control that; you could end up hurting somepony.” “I know, I’m sorry, really-” “Dust deserves an apology, not me.” “Yea… I’ll give her one eventually… I don’t think she’d want to see me right now,” Cole replied, looking back to her. “I still owe you one doing that in front of you.” “Well, someone needs to go talk to Dust; I guess she’s my responsibility anyways.” The pegasus fluttered off the couch and landed behind Cole, trotting out to the door before coming to a halt at the sound of his voice. “Dash, you’re… I mean you’re still a friend to me, right?” “Wha- Of course… I think,” she replied, somewhat sheepishly. “I mean, I’d like to be. But you can’t do stuff like that Cole, you’ll do more damage that way.” “I know Dash... but... look, you’ve got to be able to clamp down on mistakes. I just don’t want to see anyone get hurt.” “I know you don’t,” she agreed before exiting and leaving Cole alone. “Guess the road to Hell is paved with good intent,” he thought to himself. “That never is something you learned.” “Shouldn’t stop me from trying to do the right thing,” he responded, now arguing with himself. “Except you’re no good at doing the right thing. You’ve made the right call a few times but then you lose control and do stupid stuff like this.” “I’ve done plenty of good things, I’ve made more than enough good calls.” “And you’re still so petty on a personal basis when stuff like this comes up, huh? You can’t even apologize to her.” “I will, I know I will. I just need to think of the right words. I screwed it up and I have to be careful to fix it… just need time to put it together.” “How much time do you need? You’re still on a clock from what that dream told you.” “I don’t need to think about that right now.” “Your clock is ticking, and you have no idea for how long it’s got.” The 1st Marine Division had been settled in the city of Las Pegasus for several months, and it was beginning to feel less and less like an actual military base. The city, far off from the front lines and a good ways away from any other large town, was crammed to the brink with marines who had very little to do. Though on the positive side, they were probably better connected with the natives of the metropolis than any other unit on the continent on account of the amount of free time. The official missions were set as ‘reserve’ and ‘guard duty’ to the eastern areas of Equestria, but most felt like there was very little to guard the region from. Relaxation gradually became the norm attitude around the city outside of the few official activities and events on the schedule. The usual routines were enacted to keep the men at the ready and in good condition, but little else beyond that. The only immediate issue was dealing with local incidents, which were bound to happen regardless of where they were on the planet. Marines would act as marines did, and that tended to clash harshly with the local culture at some points. Still, many took on the personal task of improving relations between the two species, which was part of the reason Sergeant Diego was speaking with battalion commander. “So to summarize, Sergeant, stop giving joy rides in your vehicle to the locals,” Lieutenant Colonel Passmore demanded. “Yes Sir, sorry. I just thought it would be a good way to improve relations,” Diego clarified. “And I can appreciate that, but that cuts into fuel. Unless you want to start buying your own gas for your LAV I’d suggest you cut back on them.” “At least we don’t charge for it like that douchebag Laurel,” Diego thought to himself, “running a fucking taxi service.” “We’re going to need plenty of fuel for the battalion’s little camping trip up to no-man’s land, we can’t be wasting it,” Passmore continued, citing further reasons. “Yes Sir, we’ll hold off on it. Has a decision been made on which of the infantry battalions will be joining us?” “First of the Fifth.” “Thank you, Sir. I’ll start looking into preparing with them.”