~~~~~
09:00 Hours
October 10, 1987
The Skies Over Ponyville
~~~~~
I looked down at the small town of Ponyville. The town was full of ponies going about their usual Saturday morning routine. Looking to the edge of town I smiled at the vibrant colors of the changing leaves. I situated myself in my plane's seat, not being used to the purely civilian aircraft. The small Ercoupe gently bounced in the sky as I soared over the forest. Banking left, I headed back for town. As I leveled out I looked to the frowning colt sitting in the seat next to me. "What's the matter?" I asked Lancaster as I gently pushed the control wheel forward and let the plane start descending.
"I still haven't gotten my cutie mark." He replied with a sigh as he rested his head on his hoof. I frowned a little and looked forward. But before I could do anything else, I head a roar behind me and the cockpit suddenly turned dark. I looked up to see a large plane that had almost flown into us. We both looked out the window at the Lancaster bomber that was flying towards the town airstrip and then to each other with wide eyes at the airplane. We hurriedly landed and climbed out of the plane, our eyes seeming to never leave the large bomber. As we walked towards the bomber, I saw the pilot trotting around it and looking the plane over. Their white flight suit seemed odd to me and they removed their flight helmet, to let a long gold mane fall out. She looked away from the bomber and down to a clipboard in her hoof. She wrote down a few things before looking down at her watch and writing another couple things. Her eyes finally looked over to us and she smiled as she tucked the clipboard into a pocket on the flight suit.
"Hello there! You must be General Jones. I'm Blues March." She said as she saluted me. I returned the salute to let her stand at ease and a smile never left the blue mare's face. I noticed a musical note on the front of her flight helmet and pointed to it.
"That your cutie mark?" I asked her and she nodded in response.
"I learned my talent was as a blues singer in the mines up near the Crystal City as a filly. I worked in the mines until Sombra was defeated." She replied.
"Were you ever at the mine near Emerald City?" Lancaster asked her and she nodded again. "Me too!" He said, seeming a bit happy at finding somepony who had been through the same thing he had. "I love your plane by the way." He told her. She looked at the bomber with a small smile and sighed.
"Sadly she's not even mine. I'm just flying it down here as part of an exchange program with the Equestrian Air Force. If you'd like, I can show you around the plane though." We both nodded and she showed us over to the entrance door on the tail. She led the way up to the nose and I stood back as she took her spot in the pilot's seat while Lancaster sat down in the flight engineer's seat next to her. She showed him all the different instruments and quizzed him on some of them, seeing what he already knew. Once she was done with that, he let out a sigh.
"I'd love to say I flew in one of these." He said and she looked over to him and then down to the pocket where her clipboard was.
"Well, you could. All I'd need to do is rework and fake some numbers on the paperwork." She replied and he looked up at her in surprise. "He's had some experience in flying with you?" Blues asked as she looked back at me. I nodded in confirmation and she gave me a small grin and a wink before turning around. She walked Lancaster through starting up the bomber that bore the same name as him. He seemed to take to it like a duck to water and I smiled as we began to roll towards the runway, her showing him how to adjust the seats in the cockpit as we did so. We turned onto the runway and I grabbed onto the wing spar that was in front of me for support. The four Merlin engines gave out a roar and we began to speed down the runway. The bomber's tail raised and she began to skip like a rock on water until, finally, the ground began to shrink away from us. Blues had Lancaster raise the landing gear and we climbed out of Ponyville. The trees looked like a multi-colored blur as we roared overhead, their beauty rivaling any artwork I'd seen. We climbed up to three thousand feet and she looked over to Lancaster. She motioned for him to come over to her and then stood up. His eyes grew wide as she left her seat and he quickly leaped over to grab a hold of the unattended controls. A few moments after he did so, it seemed to click in his mind what he was now doing. Here he was, a eleven year old colt, controlling a four engine bomber and one of the largest planes on the planet.
"I'm flying!" He exclaimed as he sat down in his seat and Blues sat down in the seat he had occupied before. She looked back to me and pointed a hoof at a small, metal ammo box next to me. I opened it up and grabbed the small camera that was inside.
"I like to snap pictures when I'm flying." She said with a sheepish smile. "I thought you might want to get a few of him and I can send them to you." I nodded and smiled as I snapped a picture as the bomber went into a gentle left bank. And, though I didn't notice it from the camera's flash, there was a flash from Lancaster's flank as a cutie mark of a pair of R.C.E.A.F. pilot's wings appeared. I lowered the camera and finally noticed the wings. Smiling, I snapped another picture of him with his new cutie mark; him still completely unaware of it as he looked out the side window with a smile.
~~~~~
20:00 Hours
October 16, 1987
Las Pegasus General Hospital
~~~~~
I sat next to the bed where Sabre laid with an oxygen tube in his nose. "What were you thinking?" I asked him as Brush Stroke held his hoof on the other side of the bed.
"I got tired of that damn oxygen tank." He said as he looked over to me. "You complain about an oxygen mask on missions. Imagine dealing with that non stop except for an hour and a half show at best. I just wanted a day being normal again. A whole day without a fucking oxygen mask on is all I wanted."
"I get that. I felt the same way about learning to walk again. I wanted just one day without that chair and I'm still trying to completely ditch this damn cane." I replied as I tapped the cane on the leg of my chair. "But we all must learn to make the best of the cards we're dealt. It's kinda like that expression of 'if life gives you lemons, make lemonade'."
"And if life gives you melons, you're probably dyslexic." He replied with a chuckle. "But anyways, I heard you brought some other visitors." I nodded and beckoned for the two colts sitting out in the hallway. They trotted in and sat down between Sabre and I.
"Sabre, this is Orchid and Black Lotus. And, as of this morning, they are your new brothers." I said as I smiled down to the tow colts. They stood up and stepped forward to the edge of the bed.
"It's good to meet you guys. Too bad it couldn't be under better circumstances." Sabre told them with a small laugh as he waved a hoof at the oxygen equipment around him. "You boys like music?" They both nodded with smiles at the mention of the subject. "Brushie, I think Ruby brought my record player. Can you set it up please?" He asked Brush Stroke and she nodded with a small smile of affection. "You boys listen to much music?" Sabre asked as he turned back to face the colts.
"Not really." Orchid replied. "We couldn't exactly afford a records or a turntable. We would go down to the record store sometimes though and listen to whatever record they had playing in the window. That was only once in a blue moon though."
"Well you'll never have to worry about that again. Trust me, between me and dad, you guys won't have to worry about not having a record or player nearby." Sabre and I both chuckled at the truth of the statement as it seemed every other room of our homes had a record player. Sabre looked over to see that Brush Stroke had finished setting up the portable record player and was setting some records out. Sabre grabbed them with his magic and floated them over to him. He flipped though them with a look of disapproval and let out a long sigh. "Looks like Ruby only packed records of mine." He said with a disgruntled tone. However, he reluctantly removed a record from its sleeve and placed it on the turntable. With a small click, the player turned on and the needle came down on the edge of the vinyl disk. As the characteristic crackling sound came from the speakers, Sabre turned to the boys. "You guys ever heard of the song Splish Splash?
~~~~~
10:00 Hours
October 19, 1987
Manehattan Harbor
~~~~~
I sat along side Fancy Pants as we rode in the motor boat out to the mammoth flying boat. The silver airplane sat anchored and overhead there were blimps floating through the sky as news ponies snapped photos of the behemoth aircraft. "She's big." I said as we pulled up alongside the Hercules.
"Biggest airplane in the world." Fancy Pants replied. The boat's pilot cut the motor and we drifted up to the door on the right side of the nose. A rope ladder was dropped and I followed Fancy Pants up into the plane. Once inside, I saw several reporters getting photographs of the inside of the plane. We climbed the ladder up to the upper deck and there we found more reporters with cameras. Fancy Pants showed me to the pilot's seats and we went over the locations of various controls and instruments. Around a half hour went by and most of the reporters departed the plane. Looking out the window at the choppy seas, I raised my eyebrows in slight concern and looked over to Fancy Pants.
"Are you sure today is the best day for the taxi tests?" I asked as I turned back to the window. "The seas aren't the best for this kind of thing. Maybe we should wait a couple days."
"Nonsense." Fancy Pants replied as a we looked back at the sound of someone coming up the ladder. Two Equestrian Navy officers appeared and took the last two vacant spots in the back row of the seats installed on the flight deck. Behind us, a tan colored pegasus stallion fiddled with the controls and radio equipment at the flight engineer's station. He gave a few quick taps of the Morse equipment before nodding to Fancy Pants. "You ready, Streamline?" Fancy asked and the tan stallion nodded. We went through the engine start up procedure and a few minutes later all eight engines were humming; waiting for their chance to run at full power. We carefully pushed the throttles forward and the engines began to roar as the flying boat slowly began to move across the water. With the assistance of two motorboats for guidance, we made our way into the deeper part of Manehattan Harbor.
It was at this area that we did five taxi tests before turning the plane back towards the docks to end the day. As I sat in the copilot's seat, Fancy Pants tapped me on the shoulder. "General, look out that window and tell me what the wind is doing." I looked out the side window and saw the waves smashing against the front of the float on the right wing.
"Going by occasional white caps, I'd say wind from the east at about fifteen knots." I replied as I turned back to him.
"Would you call that a headwind, General?" He asked as he raised a brow. I realized what he was meaning to do and I nodded.
"I would." I said with a small grin.
"Streamline, lower twenty degrees of flap." He said as we looked back to the stallion. He lowered the flap handle to where the number twenty was painted and looked back to us. "Call out our speed as we go." Streamline nodded and gave us a small smile as he too knew what was about to happen. We began to push the throttles forward and the eight engines roared with delight at the chance to finally run at full power. As the Hercules sprinted across the waves, Streamline began calling out the speed.
"Thirty!" The plane began to shake as she slammed into the oncoming waves.
"Forty!" I felt as though my arms might rip off from the violent back and forth motion of the control wheel.
"Fifty!" The engines roared as they continued to attempt to get up to take off speed.
"Sixty!" The wings flirted with the idea of lift as air rushed over them.
"Seventy!" I felt the violent shaking stop as an invisible gust of air finally lifted the plane from the water. I looked out the side window as we climbed up and away from the harbor below us. The waves began to shrink away as we passed one hundred feet and I smiled as I turned to look at Fancy Pants.
"Fancy, I do believe she'll fly." I said with a smile. He only nodded and smiled back as we continued to climb.
~~~~~
12:31 Hours
October 19, 1987
Pier 13, Manehattan Harbor
~~~~~
Fancy Pants and I smiled as we walked into the building alongside the pier. From the south windows everyone had a perfect view of the Hercules. Inside, ponies chatted as waiters carried around trays of food. "I heard you're needing a new type of aircraft in the Air Force." Fancy Pants said as we stopped next to Streamline and Fancy Pant's accountant, a stallion named Penny Bags.
"Yeah. Jet aircraft." I replied as I grabbed a glass of champagne off of a passing waiter's tray.
"Either of you guy's know about jet aircraft?" Fancy asked as he turned to the two stallions.
"No, but it sounds expensive." Penny Bags replied with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Oh, it will be but these things are the way of the future." Fancy Pants replied as he took a sip of his champagne and I noticed his face seemed to scrunch a little. "The way of the future." He mumbled as he lowered his glass and I saw the two stallions look at each other in concern. They immediately set down their glasses and stepped up next to Fancy Pants. He continued to mumble the sentence as they escorted him away towards the back door. Behind me, it seemed to be like the band unknowingly read the situation as they began to play. I looked to the back door as it shut from them leaving and frowned in worry. Of course I would later realize this was the start of Fancy Pants' decent into reclusive madness.
~~~~~
19:00 Hours
October 21, 1987
Ponyville
~~~~~
Thunderstreak, Orchid, Black Lotus, and I all walked down a side street of Ponyville and I hugged myself to ward off the cold. Up ahead I saw dad and Amelia's new favorite spot in town besides the airport. In flashing lights above the entrance was the name of the establishment, Tropicana. We entered and I looked around at the various ponies dancing on the dance floor that was surrounded by potted palm trees. Along the walls were painted murals of rain forests and far off beaches and we stopped as a waiter trotted in front of us with a large tray of food balanced on his back. As I looked ponies dancing again, I saw the familiar grey and red coats of dad and Amelia's pony covers. I whistled a tune that I'd always used to get dad's attention, the opening to Green Acres. He looked over and I waved him over as we continued on to a corner booth that could easily fit us all. We slid into the booth and a few moments later were joined by Amelia and my father.
"Didn't expect to see you here." He said as he slid into the booth with Amelia beside him.
"Figured we'd introduce you guys to the boys." I replied as I nodded towards the two colts. "Boys, this is your new grandma and grandpa." I told them as I looked back across to the couple. Amelia smiled as dad looked back at me with a slightly annoyed look. I grinned at him and leaned back in my seat as Amelia trotted over to excitedly talk with the boys.
~~~~~
11:45 Hours
October 23, 1987
Ponyville Town Hall
~~~~~
I stood at the steps of the town hall and looked up at it as I sighed. Looking back down to the letter I'd received the night before, I unfolded it and read it again.
Dear James,
With your injuries fully healed I would like for you to come to the town hall tomorrow at noon for your reinstatement as head of the Air Force. Please be on time and in uniform.
~Princess Celestia
Stuffing the letter in the inside pocket of my uniform jacket, I walked up the stone steps of the building and through the double doors. I removed my cap and placed it under my arm before ascending the staircase to the second level of the building. Walking over to the conference room that had been converted into a meeting room for the general staff. I opened the door and was met by the top generals of each branch. They all snapped to attention and saluted me. I returned the gesture and we all took our seats around the table. As I looked to the end of the table I saw Celestia and Luna standing next to a large board with a map of Canterlot and the surrounding area. With our attention on them, Celestia stepped forward. "Generals, today is the day we plan to take back Canterlot."
~~~~~
05:10 Hours
October 26, 1987
A Forward Airfield Near Canterlot
~~~~~
I walked around my the olive P-51B as I performed one final pre-flight inspection. Stopping at by the nose of the fighter, I reached into the pocket of my heated flight suit. I removed a pack of cigarettes and proceeded to light one up. Looking over to the metal cowling around the engine, I raised a hand and patted it where the name Canterlot Express was painted in yellow letters. "James!" A voice called out and I turned to see Franz in his own flight suit as he walked towards me. He smiled as he clenched a pipe in his teeth.
"Morning, Franz." I replied as I removed the cigarette from my mouth and flicked away the ashes on the end. As I breathed out, my breath formed a fog that drifted away in the predawn darkness. "Awful cold, isn't it?"
"Ja." He answered. I looked up at the stars and smiled to myself.
"Still pretty out this morning though. Good morning for an invasion." I said as an orderly came around to tell us all that it was time to start our engines. Franz and I said a temporary goodbye as we parted. I climbed up onto the wing of my Mustang and hopped into the cockpit. Soon the roar of dozens of Merlin engines filled the night and we made our way from our cloverleafs to the runway. It was time to go back to war.
~~~~~
06:00 Hours
October 26, 1987
The Skies Near Canterlot
~~~~~
I scanned the sky looking for friendly bombers as the eastern sky began to get a blue hue as it neared dawn. After a few minutes of looking around, I clicked the button for my throat microphone. "This is Quicksilver Zero One. Anyone else think we missed the bombers?" There were a few responses of agreement as we all looked around some more for the B-17s and B-24s.
Suddenly Franz called over the radio "heavies at ten o'clock low". I leaned against my seat straps and adjusted my oxygen mask as I looked ahead of my left wing. Sure enough, there I saw a large formation of four engine bombers a thousand feet below us. Their blue formation lights stuck out in the dark and I looked over my left shoulder to see the bomber stream was still climbing and easily over fifty miles long.
"Goldsmith Two Zero, this is Quicksilver Zero One. Do you read me?" I asked as I pressed the button for the throat mic. There was some static but a few moments later a response came through.
"This is Goldsmith Two Zero, we read you loud and clear. Is that you at our four high?" Charlie asked as my eyes found the lead bomber in the formation.
"Indeed it is." I responded.
"Good. I thought Frenchy was gonna start shooting if you guys didn't call us soon." Charlie responded with a small chuckle. I pushed the control column forward and to the left to dive down to form up with Charlie. A moment later I was flying alongside Charlie's left wing and I could see Franz on the right wing. "You know, you guys are pretty hard to spot in the dark with that olive paint."
"I could say the same thing to you. If it wasn't for your formation lights then you'd probably be heading to Canterlot without an escort." I said as the bombers began to shut off their formation lights as we could now begin seeing each other in the pre-dawn glow. "So how's it feel to be back in combat again?" I asked as I spotted Canterlot ahead on the horizon.
"Kind of weird without all of the old crew. I'm sure Ecky would've loved this place." Charlie said as I looked over my shoulder as I thought I heard something behind us. And then I saw it.
"Jesus Christ! Fighters jumping somebody at six o'clock! All fighters, break and engage! Good luck, Charlie." I said as I peeled away from the wingtip of the B-17. Franz roared over the top of the bomber and stuck close to my tail. We weaved between bomber flights in pursuit of the enemy fighters. Finally we spotted a flight of four Me-109s diving away from their firing pass on the bombers. I called "tally-ho" and we rolled over and dived after them. I began tracking the flight leader in my gun sight and I squinted. I felt the corner of my mouth turn up in a smirk as his bright yellow nose fell into my firing line. Squeezing the trigger, I let loose a quick burst of my machine guns and watched his cowling get shredded by my bullets. His engine began belching black smoke and he rolled over into a nose dive. The other fighters scattered and we gave chase to try and keep them away from the bombers.
~~~~~
14:21 Hours
October 26, 1987
Highway 1 Outside Canterlot
~~~~~
I taxied to a stop and shut down my engine at an improvised airstrip on the highway where several fuel trucks were set up for our planes to refuel. Shutting down my engine, I flipped open my canopy and climbed out. I hopped down from the wing and looked over to Franz's Mustang where he jumped down like I had. His face was covered in a film from the exhaust that found its way into the cockpit except for where his oxygen mask had covered. Franz's eyes looked exhausted and his shoulders slouched as he trudged towards me. "How many missions have we flown today? I lost track."
"I think we're up to six." I replied as a sergeant approached me. He gave me a clipboard and I signed the papers authorizing the ground crew to start refueling and rearming the aircraft. The signature came out sloppier than normal as my hand was shaking. I handed the pen to Franz who signed the paper for them to go to work on his plane too. As the ground crews swarmed our planes, I unzipped the right chest pocket of my flight suit and removed my pack of cigarettes. I lit one up and felt my hands slowly stop shaking. Franz and I walked over to a small hut that had been temporarily set up for pilots. We opened the door and walked inside where a wood burning heater kept the room warm and a small, round table was set up with chairs. I sat down in a chair and as I smoked my cigarette I unzipped the left chest pocket of my flight suit. I reached inside and pulled out a pocket Bible. Franz looked across to me in slight surprise.
"I didn't take you for a man of faith, James." Franz said as he unzipped his left chest pocket and removed rosary beads.
"I'm not really. I was raised in a Baptist family and I was the only one among them to question religion. I only do this before a big event really. Kind of a ritual to try and get on God's good side just in case I'm wrong and I kick the bucket." I replied as I patted the Bible. "Of course anytime I damn near break my neck or crash I ask him to let me live. Guess it's kind of like that expression of 'there's no Atheists in foxholes'."
"What verse do you recite?"
"Psalms Twenty Three." I replied. I looked down at the book and began reading. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil." Looking up from the page, I saw Franz nodding as he thought about the verse.
"It's a good verse." He said as the door opened and the sergeant who was in charge of the ground crew trotted in. He dropped six chunks of lead onto the table.
"We fished those out of your planes. All six from your engine compartments. One of those we found in your radiator." He said as he pointed a hoof towards me.
"Well how long until we're airborne again?" I asked as I glanced at my watch.
"Sir, you two ain't going nowhere for the rest of the day. Besides, the invasion is pretty well over. All you guys are doing now is basically cleaning up what's left of the enemy's forces. Rommel, Patton, and the other ground generals have most of Canterlot back under their control. I'll call for a staff car to come pick you two up." He trotted out and a moment later I reached into the pocket on my pant leg.
"Well since we're not flying again today," I held up a silver flask with a grin "want a drink?"