//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 
// Story: Ace Combat Equestria: Shattered Clouds 
// by Cpt Celti 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 10

Not much else was said on the return trip to Hibern. No gryphon fighters intercepted them, as if sensing that the AEGIS pilots had had enough. In truth, they had. Eighteen AEGIS fighters had taken off. Less than ten were returning home. And as they discovered from Sky Gazer, four other air attacks had been launched with similar casualties. In total, out of almost eighty planes that had taken to the air against Gryphnia, less than thirty were going to be landing. A number had been forced to bail out in enemy territory, most likely prisoners by now.
It was the most humiliating defeat AEGIS had ever faced since the first failed attack, and they knew it.
Rhapsody said nothing to the control tower as she pulled the flaps into position for landing. Mythic had taken first pick on landing, as his Fighting Falcon was heavily wounded. She caught a glimpse of him pulling his fighter off to the repair yard. The wheels of the Tomcat hit the ground and Rhapsody faced forward again and let the brakes and thrusters do the rest. It was quiet, and that's what she preferred at the moment.
But suddenly, the roaring of turbines being shoved to maximum turned her attention to her left. A blue and yellow lightning bolt painted F-15S was taking off at a steep angle. The cutie mark on the nose identified it as Major Spitfire's fighter. She turned her head back to watch her takeoff into the sky. When the sea green pegasus turned back round, Captain Soarin was running down the runway as fast as he could. He flapped his wings to try and get off the ground, but had winded himself too much. Rainbow Dash stood next to him, running a hand through her multi-colored mane. They looked distressed, and that put a bit of fear into Rhapsody.
Once they had finally parked in their assigned hangar, Rhapsody yanked off her helmet and started to climb out. When she looked up, she saw Ditzy hanging her head, clutching the sides of the cockpit as if she'd die if she let go. Of course, considering what had just happened mere hours ago, Rhapsody could understand. But they had landed now, and she was safe. "Ditzy?" she murmured in the calmest voice she could muster.
The grey, wall-eyed mare merely whimpered, nearly making the Captain's heart break. When she finally looked up, Ditzy had not removed her oxygen mask, and her eyes were overflowing with moisture. Suddenly, the grey mare tore off her helmet and mask and threw herself into Rhapsody's arms. She sobbed uncontrollably against her friend. Regardless of being on a ladder, Rhapsody simply held her. Ditzy bawled her eyes out, never having been so close to death at one time, against the sea green mare's breasts.
"It's alright, Ditz," Rhapsody murmured. "You're okay now." She was terrified. This single mother had nearly lost her life, left her daughter behind, and Rhapsody now truly understood that Ditzy's life was in her palms.
With careful precision, she guided her friend out of the cockpit as medical crews came up and inspected them. Sprig looked angrily at them, yelling that she was alright. Amethyst had a few bumps, but nothing serious. Mythic on the other hand had a few burns on his suit as he looked at his fighter.
The mechanical chief looked it over, and his face told Mythic all he needed to know. The silver pegasus stallion watched as the Crystal Pony Master Sergeant ran his hands over the aluminum air frame, before finally sighing and running a hand through his mint green mane. "This thing's in bad shape."
"That's an understatement, don't you think, Master Sergeant?" Mythic huffed.
Once Ditzy had begun to calm down, Rhapsody let her, Sprig, and Amethyst head inside to rest. Rhapsody walked up to Mythic's side and patted his shoulder. "I'm telling you, sir. This wing is totaled. We can repair it, but it'll take a couple of months." Mythic sighed and hung his head. Rhapsody extended a wing and draped it over his shoulders, a comfort gesture from one pegasi to another.
"Months aren't something we have, Chief." Rhapsody and Mythic turned to see Captain Rainbow striding up to them. As usual, her mane was disheveled and her suit was unzipped halfway down and folded at her waist. A thin, olive green shirt covered her torso while her arms folded under her chest. "Lieutenant, we're going to need to replace it."
Mythic gaped. "R-replace?" He then gestured harshly towards the wounded F-16C. "I flew this baby through the academy! I was assigned this fighter during my training in Cloudsdale! I personally decorated the nose and flew it with pride through every sortie!" He moved away from the mares, walking up to the nose of the fighter. It had burns, scars, more than enough holes from a few bullets that managed to graze him. But this wing wound, any pegasi could sympathize with him. "I... Captain, I can't replace it."
Rainbow shook her head. "We're scheduled for another sortie in a few weeks, Lieutenant. If the Chief is correct, then this fighter won't make it to the end of the month."
"What will I be flying until my girl's repaired?" Mythic asked incredulously. Rhapsody could see the hurt in the stallion's face. This Fighting Falcon had sentimental value, much like Rhapsody's Tomcat to her. These were their first fighters, losing them would be like a unicorn cutting off their horn, or a pegasi cutting off their wings, or an earth pony losing their legs. It was just something you couldn't morally do.
But Rainbow remained adamant, even if she was showing sympathy. "We have some EF-2000s being shipped to us next Tuesday along with some new F-15s. You can take your pick of any of them."
Mythic merely shook his head, turning and leaving the hangar. "It's not the same," he hissed, slamming the door behind him. 
Rhapsody jumped in surprise and sighed. "Give him a bit, ma'am," she murmured. "He'll come around. He loved this thing."
"I know the feeling," Rainbow murmured. "Took them forever to break me away from my Hornet. But once I started nailing kills in the ACTIVE, I fell in love."
"And I see I've been replaced." The mares turned to see Soarin, none too out of breath and sweating, enter the repair chiefs hangar. He looked at the wounded Fighting Falcon and grimaced. "Heard about the escape on the radio. Damn wing took a nice chunk didn't he?"
Rhapsody nodded, turning immediately forlorn. "Captain Dust was hit by Sky Breaker. Her cockpit crashed into the mountainside and sent a hail of rocks down on him."
Rainbow ran a hand through her mane. "Poor gal. I remember her and I pairing at the academy. Can't believe I'm still a little sore over Spitfire making her the lead pony in that little stint."
"Speaking of which," Rhapsody asked quickly, earning the attention of the two Wonderbolt pilots. "Where is the Major going?"
The two looked at each other, sharing a look of exhaustion and worry for their fellow Wonderbolt and leader. Soarin shook his head and looked away, so Rainbow took the lead. She folded her arms under her chest. "Canterlot." Rhapsody quirked her brow in confusion. That was a long ways off from their air base. But thankfully, Rainbow elaborated. "She left in a flurry. About knocked Soarin for a loop here when he tried to stop her. She almost ran over a pair of mechanics too."
"And Mother Mare was she pissed," Soarin added quickly.
Spitfire on her way to Canterlot? That couldn't spell good at all. Their orders to attack the solar power plant had come directly from the General in the palace, whilst the Air Marshal was in the Crystal Empire trying to refortify the Empire's crippled air force. This meant the General was in command of all aerial operations south of Canterlot, that included their theatre.
"Hope she doesn't do anything drastic," Rhapsody muttered aloud, but knowing full well it was just the opposite. But deciding not to dwell on it more, she turned to her two superiors. "What's our next move?"
Soarin looked out at the sky. "We're not sure yet. But odds are we're going to be off the books for a while until we get back to full strength. We lost a lot of good pilots."
"And Fluttershy," Rainbow murmured. Rhapsody stopped, almost forgetting the timid Captain that had been shot down. She had managed to eject, along with one of the pilots from Saber, but they were deep in enemy territory. There'd be no way to get to them, and by now one of the enemy choppers would have landed and taken them captive. The sea green mare hung her head and looked to the side.
"So until we know more," Soarin continued, drawing the Captain's attention up towards him, "Everypony is just spinning their wheels. We'll be getting fresh orders and then we can get back out there."
Rhapsody pursed her lips. "And the 14th wasn't the only one affected, right?" she asked.
Rainbow shook her head. "Not by a long shot. Six other squadrons participated in Operation Black Out. They were all tasked with hitting power stations inside Gryphnia, but they all got hit by Sky Breaker." She turned her rose eyes downwards and put her hands on her hips. "Over seventy planes went up... and less than thirty come back. Damn gryphons are laughing at us."
An uneasy silence rose up, but it only lasted for a few moments before Soarin waved off the setting sun and started heading for the door. "Spitfire will be back tomorrow. Or never if she's thrown in the stockades. I need a drink."
Rainbow huffed and managed a sad smile. "I'll join you in a minute hun." She turned her attention to Rhapsody, who was looking at Mythic's F-16C with a sad eye. She had grown used to seeing a noble and proud fighter and pilot on her wing. But this wounded bird could never fly, not without months of maintenance first. The pegasus mare had to agree, she knew how Mythic felt, but not wholly. This was his baby, his first fighter, seeing it in this condition was... heart wrenching. "You coming with, Captain?" Rainbow asked.
Rhapsody looked up and caught the other mare's eye. She sullenly shook her head and began to leave. "I need a shower."



Fluttershy ran. She ran faster than she had ever ran in her life. It may not have been often, but this time her life actually depended on it. She only glanced back once to see one of the Hind's land. Beside her, the hippogriff pilot who had been shot down with her was keeping equal pace with his pistol drawn. He aimed back and fired off a few rounds. They didn't hit, but there was still yelling from the gryphons for them to stop.
As if they would.
"Captain!" the hippogriff yelled. "I can distract them if you keep going."
Fluttershy let out a squeak of terror as a barrage of bullets flew over them. She looked to see they were still coming and turned to the other pilot. "B-but... what about you?" she called as best she could through her own sheer terror. She wanted to be home, away from this war.
He shook his head and loaded another magazine as he dove behind a chunk of aircraft. "They'll be all over us. I can slow them down. You're the superior, not to mention an Element of Harmony. Of the two of us, you need to - "
There was a fierce barrage that sent them both to the ground. Fluttershy grit her teeth and held her wings over her body and covered her head with her arms. When the bullets stopped hitting the ground around them, Fluttershy chanced a glance up, and choked down a plume of bile. The hippogriff pilot was a mangled corpse, blood spilling from the corner of his beak and six different holes in his flight suit. The Hind flew over them, apparently having shot right through his cover.
That was it. They won this round. And all others after. Fluttershy stood up, throwing her arms up in surrender. The Mi-24 Hind circled around and hovered directly in front of her, the cannon on the nose rotating slowly, ominously. Fluttershy blinked, tears streaming down her face as she tried to show she was no threat. Oh how she just wanted to go home. She wanted to be back in Ponyville, with her animals, with Angel, with Mr. Bear and everyone waiting at the cottage for her to come home and take care of them. Applebloom was doing well enough with that, but Fluttershy had a certain touch.
The Hind simply hovered there. To her right three Gryphon soldiers had their rifles raised as they approached slowly. Before they even were able to say it, the butter yellow pegasus was on her knees, her wings hanging limply at her sides. One of the gryphons threw his rifle behind his back and yanked her arms down, binding them together. Fluttershy winced in pain from the roughness, but she was hauled to her hooves just as the Hind turned and the side door opened. She was shoved forward towards the chopper and all but thrown inside. 
Fluttershy, her arms tied back, her wings restrained, curled into a ball, sobbing the entire flight before a rifle butt made her vision go white, and then everything went black.


Spitfire stomped through the hallowed halls of Canterlot Palace. Two white solar guards, one unicorn and the other an earth pony flanked her. She outranked them, regardless of theatre, and she had ordered them to take her to the Joint Chief's room. The red carpet rustled beneath her boots as she looked left and right, searching for the telltale signs of royal solar guards. They marked the presence of the sisters, and possibly her quarry.
Stopping at an intersection of hallways, the Major of the Wonderbolts, looked and grit her teeth. Her trained hearing picked up something. Her ear swiveled and it was confirmed. The General was speaking to a hippogriff, the latter's accent sounding much like a Trottingham pony's, except much deeper and thicker. There was then a more musical voice. Princess Celestia.
Excellent.
She stormed down the left hallway, the two guards hard-pressed to keep pace with her. Once she reached the end of the carpet, she turned. In front of her, stood four figures. The hippogriff stood tall and proud, much like Sprig did. He wore a red officer's jacket with trousers, decorated with black stripes down the legs and sleeves. On the chest were more medals than even the Major had. His peaked cap rested in the crook of his arm, revealing the silver-grey feathers beneath. His entire uniform was neatly pressed, but he carried a deep air of authority. 
Beside him was a pony she never really expected to see, even this far south. She was tall, but very young and quiet beautiful. A violet and pink dress with silver filigree clad her entire pink coated body from neck to hoof, clasped at the throat with a beautiful blue crystal. On her head was a tiara of diamond and crystal from the great north of the Crystal Empire. Her multi-colored mane was kept almost as neat as her gown, tied into a bun, letting the excess pour past her shoulders in a braid halfway down. Princess Cadance no doubt.
Her left was graciously presented with the company of the Solar Monarch herself. She was a full head or so taller than the four before her. The snow white robe complimented the intricately decorated blouse and trousers, which barely brushed the floor. The wings were folded inward, the massive span keeping the hallway clear, but the great horn on her forehead in no way masked the crown on her head, nor the flowing multi-hued mane that caressed her shoulders. She kept a saber at her side, even Spitfire knew it was kept sharp, yet it was still mostly for show. A kind, motherly smile adorned her face while her violet eyes scanned the hallway.
The Crystal Princess was now addressing a pegasus stallion. Nowhere near the height of his company, but his white and blue jacket marked his rank of General, and his place at the Palace. Iron Wing was respected, somewhat, and even liked, also somewhat, by the other noble houses. He was responsible for many of their children obtaining high positions in the Air Force. Instead of a saber, he kept a small pistol on his hip. It wasn't loaded, but had enough intimidation within to warn his subordinates.
The sun princess suddenly cleared her throat, catching the attention of all towards the Wonderbolt now angrily stomping towards Iron Wing. The two princesses watched in amazement, the hippogriff General taken aback. "Major?" The General started. "This is an unexpec-"
Cadance gasped as the gold coated mare harshly grabbed the General's jacket and flung him against the wall, her wings flared. Her voice was shrill, but even the guards, who had their rifles up, faltered for a moment to hear her.
"You son of a bitch. You just sent half my airpower to their graves! Not just mine, but dozens of pilots all over the air force!" she screamed. "I've lost more planes than I ever have during combat sorties, and all because your intelligence kids couldn't keep me up to date!"
Iron Wing hissed and grasped Spitfire's wrists to pry her off. "Major I'm ordering you-"
"Well I'm telling you to shut the hell up!" she shouted as she roughly banged the General against the wall. Celestia stood back, waving the guards to stand down. She seemed to want to hear this as well. A squadron commander never came this far from the front lines to discuss tea after all. "I sent almost twenty planes up to carry out this attack, I got less than half back. And it wasn't just me. The Crystal Empire launched their own air support near Appleloosa, and they were all shot down by Sky Breaker. Saddle Arabian pilots were doing a patrol of Habun Harbor, they also lost all their planes! Our air force is in shambles because you misplaced a zero, or you were trying to decide what you wanted for dinner instead of telling your kids to keep an update on Sky Breaker! Those pilots are dead because you couldn't keep us up to date!"
Iron Wing grimaced, staring at the golden iris's of Spitfire. The Wonderbolt's eyes burned with a severe rage. Her arms trembled in anger as she kept a firm grip on the General's coat. He looked left and right, to the Princesses, the Hippogriff General, and the four guards with their rifles ready. Iron Wing then shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well, we'll try next-"
Spitfire's handgun was suddenly drawn, shoved into the General's throat, nearly strangling him. His words died in his throat as she partially flailed, trying to get her off. The clicks of four assault rifles marked the guards ready to shoot her if she fired. "We sent up over seventy planes into the air, and less than thirty are coming home, we've had phones ringing off the hooks, asking what the hell happened, I've got a stack of letters to write home to broken families, families of pilots who did not deserve to die like this, and the only thing you can say is 'Oh well'?"But while she wanted to turn this worthless piece of horseflesh into a pile of meat, she had to ask. "Can you give me a reason not to put your brain all over the ceiling, sir, right in front of the monarchy?"
Silence overtook the hallway as the two princesses, the four guards, and the hippogriff simply watched the two. They knew Spitfire well enough to have a serious temper, and a supreme attachment to her pilots. She never sent them up lightly like the higher ranks did. Spitfire was a combat pilot herself, and understood the tenacity of a pilot and the dangers and how to prevent them whenever possible. She had no qualms about sending pilots off to fight, what she did regret was when many didn't come back.
Iron Wing managed to choke out something, forcing Spitfire to pull her pistol back a bit to let him speak. Once air was able to get into the Air Force General's lungs, he looked the mare square in the eye. "You'll be ending your career, your life, and dishonoring your family for generations to come." Spitfire narrowed her eyes, and he did the same. "And it won't make much difference. You'll just be venting for no reason."
Another deep silence elapsed into the corridor. The four guards kept their rifles trained on the raging Major of the Wonderbolts and the 14th tactical fighter squadron. And damn it all if he wasn't right. She'd never admit it, but Iron Wing was correct in all of those aspects. She didn't relinquish her grip on his coat though. Spitfire quirked her brow, silently asking him to continue.
And so he did. "You and your pilots know the risks of fighting for your livelihood against Gryphnia's aggression. Frankly put, I don't care much about well being of your pilots. If I did, we wouldn't have much of an air force because all of the planes would be on the ground. We would be losing this war if I was concerned about all of the pilots under my command. You shouldn't either, otherwise you'd find yourself without much of a command."
"Those pilots are like my foals, General," Spitfire snapped lowly. "Sending them up and knowing not all of them will be coming back home; do you even know how much that hurts?"
"If the command is too much for you to handle, Major, say so, and I'll have you relieved." He looked down at her hand still tightly grasping the front of his coat. "Do not mistake me for being so callous, I am concerned. But I care about results, Major, not lives."
"And how many have to die needlessly before you're satisfied?" Spitfire hissed.
Iron Wing scoffed and looked around for a moment. Save for them, the others were still silently watching in awe as the Wonderbolt talked down to her superior. "Any number of them, Major. All of them if it means Gryphnia will be brought to its knees. Something that none of you are understanding is the fact you can be replaced." He practically spat the last bit, leaning towards Spitfire. The cold stare of his yellow eyes met Spitfire's golden irises. "You and your pilots, all of them, are as expendable as your planes. You can be replaced as simply as a snap of my fingers. You have your job and your orders to follow, I would expect you to carry them out when told, and not gripe at me when you want to come home instead of defending your country."
Spitfire snarled low, but looked away for a moment. Iron Wing then cleared his throat, getting her attention back up at his. He nodded down at her wrist. "Now Major, I trust you can at least follow a simple order such as getting your hand off of me and getting your peashooter out of my neck."
She held it there for a moment, considering whether or not just to shoot him for the hell of it. It would be oddly satisfying, but then it brought her back to the previous statement. It would only prove she couldn't control her temper. She'd be replaced by a commander who would only get her pilots killed one right after the other. And Rhapsody... she'd be recklessly sacrificed. And she had so much more to prove in the sky.
Slowly, hesitantly, Spitfire's thumb rested on the hammer of her handgun and pushed it back into place. Her gun was no longer lethal at the moment and her hand pulled away from Iron Wing's jacket. Equally as slow, the guards behind her relaxed their aim on her. Incredibly, the hippogriff General and the two Princesses had said nothing. They had been all but ignored and watched these two have their heated conversation. But it seemed the Air Force General had made his point clear, causing the Wonderbolt to relinquish her hold. "There's a good girl," Iron Wing added. He brushed off his jacket and looked towards the Major - 
Just as her pistol struck his face.


The warm water flowed from the nozzle, the soothing fall running over Rhapsody's body. Her wings were extended as she rested her right arm on the shower column that held three other heads. She was the only one in the room, allowing her a moment to just... be by herself. Rhapsody preferred that when she just needed to think. She was completely content to just stand there, her wings drooped, her entire body bare with only the water touching her coat.
She heaved a sigh as she finally opened her rose eyes and looked forward. It felt like only seconds ago she had stripped out of her flight suit, negligently tossing it to a heap by the shower room door with the rest of her garments. Rhapsody's mind was in such a torrent she just didn't care about the wrinkles. The sea green mare was trying to calm the nerves the best way she knew, but even that was proving futile at the moment.
A couple hours ago they were engaging Gryphnia on their own soil and destroyed their solar power plant. A couple hours ago, the first display of the power of Sky Breaker Rhapsody had ever seen was witnessed, and a part of the Captain wished that it had remained unknown to her. A couple hours ago, Rhapsody was closer to death than she ever realized. She had been in several dogfights, and she couldn't count how many times she'd had a gryphon on her tail, or the amount of bullets that have grazed her canopy, or the number of missiles she's narrowly dodged. Those factors all came with the territory of aerial combat.
But today was different. Sky Breaker was an enemy hundreds of miles away, and she couldn't fight back. It was deep inside Gryphnia, attacking and killing their best pilots at will, and there wasn't a damn thing she could do to stop it. It was an enemy she couldn't track, an enemy she couldn't shoot down, an enemy she couldn't even see. That was what made her so angry, so irritated...
So... scared.
In every fight, there was an opponent she could see, could face, could track down and defeat. This was a completely new enemy she had no chance against. A missile could explode and damage the wing of her fighter, a few bullets could damage her engine, but she could still fly, could still fight. But Sky Breaker had the ability to destroy her from hundreds of miles away in any direction and she had little to no way to avoid it. She couldn't fight it, and that was tearing her up inside.
Gritting her teeth, Rhapsody lashed out with her fist and slugged the shower column. The sudden pain jarred her, forcing her to back up and hold her bruised fist. Her tail flicked in annoyance as she saw a small trickle of blood. She gave it a small kiss and leaned back against the column before sliding down. Her wings curled around her arms as she settled onto her flanks, her tail resting out in front of her. She sniffed and pulled her knees to her chest as her wings came up and shielded her from the water, steadily growing colder. It was then that the full realization hit her. 
She had almost died.
Rhapsody had accepted earlier in her career as a fighter pilot that at any second, whether by the missile, the gun, a technical error, a mistake in turn even, could end her life. Her parents, her little brother, her friends, would never see her again. But that wouldn't have been her only failure. She would end up taking Ditzy Do, her best friend, to the grave with her. Poor Dinky would be without her mother, Time Turner would be devastated, that little family would be shattered. She had no control over the aircraft, and they would both die because it would be Rhapsody's fault.
No. She couldn't think like that. Rhapsody forced down whatever tears wanted to come up and exhaled deeply, keeping her legs bent at her chest. The water was definitely getting colder now, so she would need to leave eventually. But just as she considered the thought, the flow suddenly stopped. It was silent in the shower room, save for the steady drip-drip of the shower head. Rhapsody folded her wings and looked up.
Sprig stood there, much like she was: flight gear and other clothing stashed in the corner. A towel was over her right shoulder as she looked down at the sea green pegasus mare with an eye of concern in her yellow irises. Rhapsody gave her a haphazard smile and looked towards the lower portion of the wall in front of her.
"You okay, Cap'n?" Sprig asked after a few moments.
Rhapsody looked back up at her wing mate, the hippogriff mare ever watching her. The pegasus blinked a few times and nodded. "Just tired... what time is it?" she asked, looking back at Sprig.
Sprig smirked and looked back at the door. "A little past twenty-two hundred, an hour past lights-out for the recruits. The whole base is tense right now since the Major isn't back yet. Captain Soain's in command though, and he's doing his best with Dash's help. We're all worried though."
"I can understand why," Rhapsody murmured. Her voice was low, but in the silence, she was easily understandable. "The Major kept this place together."
"With Colonel Claw's help," Sprig was quick to add. Ever the nationalist, swift to add in her peoples' contribution. Sprig then leaned down to her level, crouching on her cloven hooves and placing a hand on Rhapsody's right shoulder. The respective wing furled, and it was then that the Captain realized how warm her hand was. "Good thing I decided to take a shower. You about caught your death."
"How long have I been in here?" Rhapsody asked softly, her rose eyes turning up to Sprig's gold.
Sprig frowned at that. "A while. Mythic was actually getting worried for you, ol' softy. Amethyst collapsed in bed and was dead asleep long before the lights went out. Ditzy... haven't seen her since she closed the door to your quarters." Rhapsody frowned as well at that, and then started to pick herself up. Sprig handed her the towel that was on her shoulder. When the pegasus mare hesitated, the hippogriff smiled. "I can drip dry. Go get some sleep," she added with a jerk of her head.
Rhapsody took the towel and began to dry off her coat before slipping back in a pair of shorts and a tank top, catching the sound of Sprig switching on the shower and letting out a squawk. "You used all the hot water in this one, you bitch!" Rhapsody allowed a giggle and hurried into the hall and towards her room. She still used the towel to dry her mane, her tail left to swing slowly and leaving a tiny trail of water droplets as she walked. She gave her wings a few blots as well before wrapping it around her neck when she reached her door.
She froze just as her hand wrapped around the knob. She closed her right wing further and leaned her ear against the wall. It swiveled and perked up at the door, catching the sound of... Rhapsody pushed open the door slowly and peaked inside. The sight nearly broke her heart; Ditzy curled up on her bunk. She had completely cowered herself into the corner of the room, holding her pillow to herself, one wing shielding herself from the intruder of the room.
Rhapsody said nothing as she walked in and slowly closed the door. She made sure to lock it and carefully made her way to Ditzy's side. The grey pegasus slowly moved her wing aside and looked up at her friend. Her misaligned eyes were completely red, and her face was soaked. It reminded Rhapsody of that moment years ago when she had found Ditzy hiding in the supply closet, bawling her eyes out. She must've been crying for hours. Rhapsody knew she was scared, even when they had landed, but she truly didn't seem to understand her friend's fear like she thought she did. Her daughter, her coltfriend, what else could have been left behind should she had died today?
Carefully, Rhapsody sat down beside her on the bunk and wrapped her left arm around her sobbing bunk mate, her wing following suit to form an almost protective shell. Ditzy sniffed and embraced the other mare tightly. Rhapsody's right arm gently patted her back, stroking between her wings. It was a comfort gesture only pegasi really understood, and soon, Ditzy had quieted herself. She still shook, and a lucky sob escaped her throat, but other than that, it was silent in the room.
Rhapsody continued to simply hold Ditzy in her arms until she began to drift off, until finally falling asleep in her friend's arms. The sea green mare let her sleep, not daring to move for fear it would wake her. So she sat there, her back against the wall with Ditzy asleep against her. Soft snores followed suite, letting Rhapsody know she was completely out.
And it wasn't long after, with the dull hum of the ventilation, and the humming of the cicadas, that Captain Rhapsody was lulled to sleep as well.


Since I had really nowhere else to go, I found myself living as a member of Meteor Squadron. It wasn't such a bad life, since they just saw me as a kid who hung around the elite pilots and was sort of attached to Meteor Six's shadow. She was, after all, the one who gave me my jacket. It never left my sight, nor my back, day in and day out. I was often treated by her and her subordinates, and the Gryphnian Princes, with trinkets they saw no more need in owning.
It became very clear to me that I was very much at home.
As time went on, I started to develop a crush on the barkeeps daughter. She was a handsome filly, just a little older than me. I often found myself watching her while I played my harmonica with Six. Once or twice I missed a note, but Six never really took much notice of my distraction. But one such time, Six tried to convince me to talk to her. She said that even though we were under their control, young love was something they wouldn't try to prohibit.
Still, I never gathered the courage to stand up and talk to her, so I was content to sit on my stool and watch the regulars come in, drown their sorrows, and then be run out by the gryphons. It wasn't the ideal life I had envisioned for myself, but it was good enough for my young age. Meteor squadron looked after me by the unspoken orders of Meteor Six, who was often away in either the Gryphon capital of Fyrick or off on a sortie against the allies. I never asked for details, since I already knew about Meteor squadron's prowess from accounts from the flight crews and the pilots themselves.
As I said, it wasn't an ideal life, but it was good enough for me.
One night though, as I was trying to sleep, I noticed a light come from the upstairs room of the tavern I frequented with Meteor Squadron. I had drifted off, I guessed, and they didn't want to wake me, so they had wrapped me in my jacket and fashioned a pillow from a few towels. I awoke to get myself some water when I saw the light, and decided to investigate.
When I reached the top floor, I took a peek inside. Some ponies from the town were gathered around a computer that looked to be stolen from the soldiers. A few of the ponies from the town were holding wires at various heights while another sat by the window with a crude satellite. Typing away on the keyboard was the barkeep. So many had chastised him as a traitor for serving the enemy, when he was, all along, a member of the town resistance. 
As I pushed the door open further, a hand grabbed my jacket and threw me into the room.
The typing stopped, and all eyes were on me. I looked up and around, then noticed the filly I had a crush on. But just as the same stallion was getting ready to throw me out, she shoved him away and held me close to her. We locked eyes and she placed a finger on her lips. She was protecting me because of my tender age, or so I thought.
I fully understood then that these ponies were the real heroes of the town, while I found a haven with our enemy.