Aerial Dreams

by BNuts


3. Wings and the Azure Sky

“Cadets, in the past few weeks you’ve done well working together in order to train and become a cohesive unit,” Lightning Strike said. Indeed, Aerial had worked hard to get her speed to where Lightning and Hasty Hoof could be happy with her, and then she had built up her muscles a bit further beyond that just because she could, and because being stronger meant she could fly longer. Aerial still wasn’t as strong at sprinting as Spitfire, but she was at least comparable to Soarin.’

“You’re about ready for squadron-level exercises, so please welcome your new commander, Lieutenant Windwalker Azure.” The new Pegasus was muscular, but not overwhelmingly so. His coat was grey, and his swept-back mane was light blue with a purple streak closer to the top. Aerial saw calculation in his sharp, blue eyes.

Commander?” Several of the others were too shocked to stop themselves.

“Wait, from those Azures?”

Ah-ten-tion!” Everypony snapped to position. “Lt. Azure is indeed from Azure Wing. He is following their tradition of cross-training with us, and will most likely return to Los Pegasus to train with his own Bolts from the Blue.” Lightning Strike paused.

The group’s formal name got blank stares.

“The Skybolts,” Thunder Strike said.

Revelation. And gasps as understanding dawned: this was one of the top elites!

“Titles are all well and good, but why don’t we let the lieutenant prove himself before he gets to give orders?” Misty Fly asked.

“Agreed,” Lightning Strike said, provoking more gasps.

“Which is why we’ll be doing this together,” Lt. Azure said. “This exercise will be a test for me as well, since we’ll have to coordinate our movements as four Flights of three each in a game of Capture the Flag. And our opponents in this race will be Storm Squadron.”

“That’s my squadron,” Thunder Strike said.

“I’ll be observing and scoring,” Lightning Strike said. “At the end we’ll meet with Lt. Azure to discuss your squadron designations. For those who make it, make sure to come up with a good name. The exercise begins in one hour.”

* * *

Azure divvied the squadron into four flights of three each in order to maximize their potential search power, while also giving them a slight boost in case Storm Squadron attacked them, a valid strategy in this exercise.

Azure, Hasty Hoof, and Aerial were One Flight. Aerial glided above the ground, looking for red flags from her high vantage point. When she, or either of the others spotted one, they relayed the location to one of the two full-time search groups through Hasty Hoof, their best sprinter. If the situation changed, Azure was there to issue a response command.

Spitfire, Soarin,’ and Misty Fly were Two Flight, with Spitfire and Misty Fly in front and Soarin’ as their back-up. Three Flight was made up of Whiplash, High Winds, and Gale Force. Both Two Flight and Three Flight were the main search groups.

Four Flight was Surprise, Blaze, and and Wave Chill, who Aerial had learned over breakfast on their second morning were foalhood friends who always tried to stick together. Their job would be to reinforce Two or Three if either came under attack. Otherwise, Azure had ordered them to remain on standby and conserve their strength for the endgame.

At first the plan worked perfectly, and Two and Three were able to quickly recover five of the ten red flags in minutes thanks to Azure’s and Aerial’s vision, and Hasty’s speed. Before Aerial could vector them in for the next recovery, however, she spotted other flyers hovering near the target flag.

“Flight from Storm,” Azure said. “Hard to count their numbers, though.”

“They’re waiting for us,” Hasty realized.

“Mark the location, so we can go in last,” Azure said, and Aerial returned to finding more flags.

Later, Two Flight came under attack while diving to recover a different flag. Hasty immediately launched into action, vectoring Four Flight in to reinforce Two. When Storm’s flight realized that reinforcements were on the way, they retreated, but Misty and Soarin’ already had banged-up wings to deal with. They could still fly, but not fast. Azure swapped Two and Four for the remainder of the exercise.

In saving the guarded flag for last, Azure had set things up so the entire squadron could converge on the one flight that had remained on-station this whole time. He also allowed Misty and Soarin’ to heal as much as possible before engaging the enemy.

When the group from Storm saw the Blue Team converging on them, they took up a secure a position among the branches that made the little pass downward a web. The flag was deep inside a crevice, and it would take skilled flying not to crash while retrieving it. Storm meant to make that as difficult a task as possible.

As Azure commanded from among his group, Spitfire led the effort to push Storm out from their roost, charging and using their hooves as their primary weapons. Aerial spared a moment to watch as Azure manoeuvred with surprising agility, weaving between two ponies to gain a better position. She returned to her own opponent, and charged in to knock him off balance before he could try anything else.

While the others held the group off, and reinforcements from Storm closed, Hasty dropped into the crevice and emerged with the flag. Now the game changed, with the other flights covering for her as she sprinted for the tarmac. Hasty Hoof landed, exhausted, at the same time Thunder Strike landed with the final red flag.

“A tie,” Lightning Strike said when everypony had returned. “Against a veteran Wonderbolt squadron, an excellent result, especially for a squadron’s first time out. Now we’ll deliberate your rankings. Dismissed.”