//------------------------------// // Flying Monkeys // Story: Nearing the Edge // by Eagle //------------------------------// October 1st, 2005 14:20 Hours Everfree Air Base Being greeted by ponies while he was walking through the base was a very thought provoking experience for the newly arrived pilot. He could very well be the first European to grace the new continent, at least the first Englishman. If not, then maybe history would be kind and record him as the first official one. The Army, knowing ahead of time it’s somewhat insulting position many miles behind the front line, was taking it’s time crossing over. Not so with the Royal Air Force. It was all just speculating, as he did not care much for glory or a spotlight. No doubt he would go down in the books as one of many that would take part in a conflict that he figured was soon to occur. He was not going to be foolish and pretend that it would not happen like many he knew, a thought process that seemed to stem from their denial rather than lack of experience. Watching the occurrences from so far away was an odd practice for him, giving the feeling of watching a dangerous chemical reaction from another room. His XO and wingman, likened it to two beasts fighting in a cage, but it seemed incorrect to him; the beasts had yet to start fighting. Yet the Americans had never seemed to balk from fights, even if they were unneeded. Still, even if the Americans came off as the brash and loud, jump-to-it cousin of the British as he saw it, they were still cousins in a way. Even when he had dealt with the stereotypical Yank of that nature, he was never in a dither over it. Even here in Equestria they seemed to be getting along well,and truth be told they had done a fine job of building up the infrastructure of this land into the beginnings of a modern society, even if it meant plaguing another nation with their national specifics from right-side driving to the metric system. He initially pictured the Captain Cole he was going to meet was like this, as it felt right that a person of that type would lead his squadron and the world to the brink of total war. Instead the person he saw when he opened the door was a full-cheeked, slightly small man that held a peculiar mix of starry-eyed youth and old wisdom in his face. “Commander Oliver?” he asked. “Yes, that would be me,” the British pilot affirmed. “You are the Captain I’m supposed to be meeting?” “Yes Sir, John Cole, U.S. Air Force,” the American replied with a smile. “Here, have a seat real quick.” Oliver complied, walking into a room dimly lit between a single fluorescent light tube and the sun outside restricted by the shades on the single window. The only place to sit was at a fold-out table and some plastic chairs, but it would suffice. Cole walked past, moving over to a fridge on the other side of the small room. “Would you like some tea? I just made some.” “Is this your first time meeting an Englishman? We don’t subsist on tea alone,” he chuckled. “Oh no, no, I just made it for myself,” Cole swore, “sorry if it’s offensive or anything.” “No, no, it’s quite alright. Admittedly, I would enjoy a cup. Perhaps I’m just wary over the idea of an American drinking tea over coffee this early in the morning.” “I’ve always taken tea over coffee, just tastes better,” the Captain clarified, handing him a tall plastic cup of the drink. “Rest assured, I’m a real American.” “Hm, well thank you for-” Oliver halted as he took a hold of the cup, feeling the chill on it. “Cold tea?” “Yea, it’s refreshing… I guess you don’t take it cold?” “Not this brand. Regardless, tea is tea,” he replied, bringing it to his lips and taking a small sip before quickly retracting it as a strong richness caused his face to scrunch. “My… how much sugar did you put in this?” “A… lot?” Cole replied awkwardly. “Hm, you really are American aren’t you?” Oliver observed, taking a slower sip from the glass to adapt to the sweetness. “Pure to the blood and bone,” Cole claimed. “And you’re a pure Brit huh?” “I like to believe so. My father was a bobby in London and I spent part of my life there until he decided the city was a bit too hectic for his age. After that we moved up to a town called Jarrow, and I spent the rest of my growing days there. After I reached adulthood, I moved to Somerset, where I live today.” “Is that the most British way someone can grow up?” “Everyone’s got their own idea of it, but I like to think so for the sake of my spirit,” Oliver explained in a roundabout way. “Back on the topic of work, what else do you have to tell me, beyond what we’ll be told in the briefing? “Just a friendly meeting, actually,” the American admitted. “The briefing’s pretty well put together, should be able to tell you all you need to know. It’s being given by my XO, Lieutenant Walker; he’s pretty good at them.” “Really, now?” Oliver asked, somewhat surprised that. “I do wish mine was like that, he’s not very comfortable with public speaking. Still, he’s a fine pilot.” "What's his name?" “I’ll introduce you another time. Now you’re sure there’s nothing else to add? A briefing can’t cover everything.” “It covers everything we could think of. I’m sure you’ll have some questions after but I’d like as many to be answered from the brief as possible. Might even bring up some new questions, too.” “Alright, if you think you have everything, though I will say I’ve yet to come across a briefing that does have everything.” “As much as I could. Did you think I wouldn’t?” “No… I suppose I just was not expecting… everything here.” “I mean you are coming to a magical land out of a fantasy book. What did you expect to get?” “Apologies if this comes off as rude, but I was expecting things to be a tad more incompetent,” Oliver admitted, happy that Cole did not seem to take offense. “Though most of this comes from Chinese Whispers and sensational rumors, which you have certainly proven wrong. I figured with a name like ‘pony boys’ would be in mockery.” “Pony Boys?” “You haven’t heard yet? That seems to be a common nickname for your lot when we stopped in America on the way here, at least in a newspaper headline.” “I’ve heard it a couple times from the new guys arriving but I figured it was just a local nickname they came up with,” Cole recalled. “I guess it’s… not, though.” “Would you prefer your squadron’s name?” the RAF pilot asked. “Though I’d suggest using something a little different than your fighter’s name; it’s a tad… vain.” “Hey, it’s a good jet. Speaking of which, how are the Typhoons treating you?” “Rather well, all things considered. Were you going to ask to take mine up?” “I’d like the opportunity,” Cole admitted, not having the intention at first but happy at the opportunity, “maybe for another time though. When things have calmed down a bit and we’re not on the verge of war.” “I’m sure you’ll find her to be a fine lady.” The loud cries of multiple jets passing overhead interrupted their conversation, followed by a bit of rattling from the fighter’s apparently low altitude. “Looks like they’re back,” Cole remarked, peering out the window to his left. “One of the Equestrian squadrons, I mean; my friend took them up for a little flying practice earlier today.” “How is that coming along?” Oliver asked, the rattling concerning him somewhat, giving the implication the fighters were far lower to the ground. “Mind if we go out and see? I need to meet her anyways.” “Of course, though I’m guessing you haven’t quite gotten to the lessons on altitude restriction yet.” “We’re doing about as well as can be expected given the circumstances,” Cole retorted as he led the way out the door and down the hall. “It’s only been a few days but they’ve been working like crazy. We’re rushing to get the Equestrians in the air as a force on paper, the rest of the training has to come later. It’s going pretty well all things considered.” “It seems like things are a bit more desperate here than I was warned about. You certainly need our help.” “We’re a little lucky in retraining all the current fliers. These pegasi have a natural knack for flying. Problem is, it’s still a very different form of flying when you’re in a jet, and there’s not as many experienced pegasi as we’d like. Now training the non-pegasi that we’ve had to let in, that’s a little harder.” The two exited the building just as the last F-16 was touching down at the end of the runway. The landing itself was a bit hard to watch, with the tail coming close to striking the runway. It was a bumpy landing overall, and though it eventually calmed to simply rolling along the runway as the speed reduced, it left a bit to be desired, something Cole noted. “Good Lord,” Oliver commented, watching the landing. “Why you can teach-” “-monkeys to fly better than that?” Cole interjected, earning him a look of slight surprise from Oliver followed by a slight grin. “Alright,” he simply replied, not having much else to add. “Make yourself at home, Commander. I should probably lend a hand myself.” Cole parted ways with the Englishman with a handshake before walking over to the flight line where the F-16s were parked, now immobile and lined up like a row of metal statues on wheels. Ground crews were already refueling some of the planes, as despite the safety caution of having jets with fuel tanks near constantly full, Cole wanted to ensure that they would be able to launch in a moment’s notice should the Bloc launch a snap air raid on the base; putting the fuel, munitions, and planes close together worried him, but if the radar was half as good as claimed they would have enough time. By the time he had reached the F-16 that he had watched land, it’s blue pegasus pilot was just getting out of the cockpit, standing up to stretch her wings. “Hey!” he called out, causing Dash to shoot up and fly down to him. She looked a little tired when he first saw her, but seemed quite energetic now that he had arrived. “How’d it go?” “Great!” she exclaimed, launching into the air again before setting back down. “We’re getting better every day! I can’t wait to show you how good I’ve gotten!” “Well you can show me now,” Cole replied. “You still alright to fly?” “You want to watch me?” “No, I’m going to fly with you,” he explained, to Rainbow’s initial joy. “You’re doing good so far, but I need to start teaching you the basics of how to fight while you’re up there. We haven’t even gotten you a real wingman yet, and that’s dangerous in itself. I’m gonna give you a head start on how to dogfight. Sound good?” “You bet!” With the sun beginning to set, the two jets gave off a gleam from the light reflecting off their metal bodies. In the seat of her F-16, Dash gave another glance off to her left, spotting Cole once again in his own plane. He looked back, having done so periodically for the sake of checking up on her, and gave a quick wave and a thumb up. When Rainbow flailed her hoof in the crowded cockpit in another awkward attempt to signal that things were fine, he jokingly followed up with the V-shaped peace sign. Seeing this gave Rainbow a flashback followed by a sense of warming realization; this was the first time since the contact that the two of them had flown together, alone and unburdened, as they had years ago. Though she had been out with him and others before, this was much different. Usually that was on a mission or patrol, and at all times there were other members of the squad flying along with them. Now, however, it just them. Not the war, nor the deadly responsibilities that came with it, or any other outside requirement of focus. It was herself, her friend, and the wide-open sky, just as it had been before, at least in principle. The circumstances this time, however, were much different. Not the least of which being that she had a fighter of her own to pilot. Still, it brought back memories of times before, back when she had first met the human, back before there was war and all the changes that came with it, and further back to a world that had been lost and would never return. “Rainbow lead, everything checking out alright, over?” the radio piped up in Dash’s helmet. “Uh, yea… everything’s looking good Cole! Uh…o-over!” she responded, still not quite comfortable in radio lingo yet. “Remember to use proper callsigns when in flight Rainbow One, over,” Cole said, continuing on before she could answer. “Just a reminder. This isn’t an official operation and I we’re going to be chatting a lot, so we can shelve the formal talk for now. I want to focus on teaching you what we came up here to do. So, you sure your bird’s ok?” “Uh…I think so, yea,” Dash responded, fairly confident but wondering if Cole had spotted something wrong and was testing her. “Handling feels normal?” “Yea.” “Fuel’s good?” “Yea, the tank’s full.” “Do your blinkers work?” “Wait… my what?” Dash asked, worried she had missed something before she heard a chuckle. “I’m just messing with you a little,” Cole admitted. “Everything seems fine. How’s it feel to fly a jet?” “It’s pretty cool… I mean, not as cool as flying with wings, but still pretty cool!” the pegasus answered. “It does feel kinda… lonely… sometimes.” “Lonely huh? I can understand that,” Cole agreed. “Y’know, I once met an old mechanic that told me that that was what flying was all about.” “Being lonely? What does that mean?” “I don’t know, he never explained and I never found out,” Cole admitted. “But back to the topic at hand. Ready to put that Viper to use?” “Totally!” “Alright, well I know you’ve got some moves under your belt, though I’m not quite sure which ones,” the American Captain began. “Let’s start with the basics. You know what an Immelman is?” “Of course I do! I’m not that new!” “Alright then, let’s see it,” Cole challenged, drifting away a bit to provide some room. Rainbow complied, pulling the stick back and causing her Falcon to pull up. As it did so, she turned it off to the side while keeping it back, causing the jet to roll as it performed a half-loop. Upon reaching the top of the half-loop, the roll had been completed, with the fighter now flying in the opposite direction as before. “Not bad huh?” she asked while looking back, watching Cole finish his own Immelman to follow. “Ok, ok, we’ll get to the action part,” Cole tampered down. “Now in terms of fighting, a lot of your engagements will be from beyond visual range, probably with your radar missiles. I still want to teach you the basic factors of close-in fighting. So open your ears, alright?” “Don’t worry, I’m listening,” Dash assured him. “I’ll admit I’m not a trainer, so I figured the best place to start is where it all started,” the American explained. “Dicta Boelcke, the first real rules of air combat. Created by a German pilot during the Great War, one of the first aces. It’s named after him too.” “The Great War? That sounds like something.” “World War One is probably what you’ve heard it called before.” “Oh yea, Twilight’s talked about it a couple of times before. What made it so great?” “Nothing but the size. They said it was supposed to be the war to end all wars, ‘course it didn’t end with that one.” “What was flying like back then?” Rainbow asked, trying to wonder what came before the contraptions they were flying now. “They flew prop-driven bi-planes made of wood and canvas. Open cockpits with mounted machine guns. Didn’t even have parachutes.” “Geez… that sounds… pretty bad, especially when you guys don’t have wings.” “I’ll tell you about the first knights later, gotta stop myself before I go on a long story tangent,” Cole said, once again trying to get back to the subject. “But yea, first basic air combat tactics. First of these are the individual factors that affect you. Ready to remember them?” “Yea, c’mon, just tell me!” “Speed, altitude, performance, and surprise,” he listed off. “The faster you are the, more energy you’ve got. The higher you are, the more room you have. The better your plane performs, the better chances you’ll get. The more surprise you have, the more opportunities you’ll get. Make sense?” “Kinda,” Rainbow admitted lightly. “I’ll remember them, I guess I just need hooves-on experience with them first. I know my plane’s affected by them in weird ways.” “In different ways,” Cole exemplified. “Each plane’s built different, and each plane has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. So when you get into a fight, you’ll have to fly in a way that’s best for your plane and puts you in the best position.” “Take my F-15 for example, this thing is designed as a pure air-to-air fighter,” Cole continued. “My game is up high and fast, where it performs better. I can perform good at low altitude and speed as well, but not as much as yours. Your plane is a multirole jet, so it can maneuver better at low altitude; you’re better off in that area. The differences are relatively slight but they’ll matter a lot in a dogfight.” Dash remained quiet, trying to soak up all the information. “Understand?” “Uh... yea?” Dash mumbled a bit. “I just need to… well.” “Experience it?” “Yea, kinda like practice.” “Heh, don’t worry. You’ll get some more proper training eventually. I’m just trying to get you started.” “So then can we practice the tactics a little bit?” Dash asked. “Oh ho, think you can surprise me huh?” “I bet I could!” “Alright Dash, we’ll see about that,” Cole relinquished, pulling his jet up quickly and away from Dash. “I’ll pull a quick mock attack on you, and we’ll see if you can respond properly.” “Bring it!” she called, though no response was heard. She tried to keep eyes on Cole’s jet, but it quickly pulled out of her vision, breaking through a thin cloud behind her. She tried to turn her Falcon around and further pulled it up to follow him at a distance, but after breaking through the cloud she could not see anything. Turning a bit further she scanned the sky, but still could not see anything. She turned her attention back to her radar, knowing it would be able to pick up Cole’s fighter. Sure enough, she spotted a dot not far off from where she was flying, facing almost directly ahead. She looked around, trying to spot him, but much of her forward view was restricted from the rays of the sun, making it hard at times even to read her radar screen. Annoyed by the blinding light, she nudged the craft a bit to the side and increased the altitude a bit to continue her search. She continued looking in the general area he was supposed to be in, but there was nothing there either below or above her. The dot was moving closer now and quite faster too, indicating the attack was beginning. Dash again tried to search the direction was coming from, but was greeted only with further empty space and sunshine. It was starting to anger her a bit, she was sure she could have spotted Cole by now if it was not for the sun. “The sun... the sun!” she finally realized. “He’s coming from the sun!” “Bang!” Rainbow jumped a bit in her seat, gripping the stick to keep from knocking the plane about. The Eagle dived out of the light and shot past her aircraft. She was a bit rattled by the experience, and was only calming down when her friend pulled up alongside her once more. “You’re dead Dash,” Cole quipped. “Don’t ever rely only on technology. Make sure that you take everything into account, including the sun and clouds. Radar might help but it’ll still be hard to fight an enemy you can’t see with your own eyes.” “Ok… I really won’t forget that,” she conceded. “And for Christ’s sake, don’t sit still when you’re being fired upon,” he stressed. “You don’t want to be a sitting duck.” “Definitely.” “Ok, you good?” “Yea… just a little shook up.” “Don’t beat yourself up Dash, that’s why we’re up here,” Cole consoled her. “Let’s go over the rest of the rules, and then we’ll try again. Sound good?” “Yea… sounds…good.” “Hey, I’m sorry if I spooked you.” “Not that, it’s just… something about that hit me the wrong way,” Dash said, trying to find a way of explaining it. “Maybe it’ll go away if we practice so more.” “No, no, hang on Dash. I don’t need you flying with your head all cloudy,” he responded, trying to lighten her up with a minor pun. “What’s wrong? Don’t bottle it, just tell me.” “Seriously, it’s nothing.” “It’s not nothing Dash, I can hear it in your voice.” “It’s nothing!” “You can get angry with me if you want, I won’t mind, but I’m not going to stop till I get an answer,” he pressed. “It’s more than just me being curious Dash. I’m your friend. Friends take care of each-other, I know they do, especially here.” Dash was quiet for a moment before simply repeating the word ‘friend’ to herself. “Please just tell me Dash.” “Cole… I’m afraid,” she admitted. “I’ve been scared before… and I’ve had to fight before… I mean I’ve saved Equestria with my friends a few times. But something about this, about what could happen… it’s different. I’m afraid and I don’t know exactly why… and that’s making me more afraid… and… huh.” “I understand-” “Cole… I’m scared,” she mumbled, shaking a bit in her voice. “Rainbow… if we’re both being honest… I am too. The way I am, with how much I worry… sometimes I’m outright terrified, and with my guys... and the comrades I lost... it gets rough,” he agreed, being truthful to his own suppressed anxieties. “But we’re friends, and that’s what’s important. And just like your friends I’ll help you out the whole way. They’ll be there and so will I, and all of our other friends, too. That’s what’ll get us through this.” There was silence on the other end, with Dash was trying to absorb this. Cole, however was not finished and wanted to speak up again. In moments like this, when emotions started to hit, he was not the sharpest speaker. Admitting how hard things were could be like a hammer, but he figured that if his colleague felt it to, it might as well all come out. "You know, before I got here my life was kinda... grey, kinda sad y'know? I had my wingmen, and they're the best I could ever ask for, but things were just low. I felt like a failure and I was always afraid of failing everyone else more. I never went to parties or bars or anything, my life consisted of work and moping to myself on how to do something right," the Captain recalled. "But when I saved you that first day it felt like I had done something, and after four years, getting to come here and fighting those bad guys... felt like I was making the difference I joined this to make. I wanted to save lives but after meeting you again you've showed me I have a life too, and I have to... appreciate that, live it, that's where you come in, you get it? Saving you was the most important thing, because I made a friend. You guys around here, as kidy as it feels, you Rainbow... you showed me how important it is to have friends in life, not just work but life. With the guys in my squadron... I couldn't do what I do without them... spending my time trying to help others... but you're showing how important it my life is at the same time. You're like my squadron, Dash, but... well, you're my friend, ya'll's kind of friend, the kind of friend Twilight told me about." "Really? I never thought I... well... I... guess I didn't know how important I was," she said, doing her best to take in Cole's ramblings. "We're all important Dash, you're important to me just like how the rest of my wingmen are important to me, and me to them. They watch my back while I'm up here, and I'll do the same with you. After all the crazy stuff that's going on, you're the one that's helping me see what life's about, how great it felt to save someone... and how grateful they felt in return... and them giving back and showing you things you didn't know. I helped you and you helped me, and just like with my guys... together... well, as hard as things can be we can get through it if we're helping each-other, sticking together. We've helped each-other before and we'll keep doing it. So we're both freaked out, right? But we're freaked out together, and when we're together we can get past it. We're friends, and when you're with friends can get through anything!" Dash took a moment to soak in this mass of information that concentrated into a single idea, the idea that in this new, violent world, treating Cole like a friend of the old world, the world that now seemed like a distant memory, was the best thing to do. “Just remember Dash. No matter what, I’ll always be up here with you.” “Thanks,” she said simply, with the strength in her voice finally returning. “Ok… ok… so… the rest of the rules, right?” “Right, we’ll flip through them real quick and try to do a few maneuvers if you’re up to it. Sound good?” “Sounds great!”