Chapter 22
Glacier had become a warzone.
Troops from both sides had engaged each other in the biggest battle to date with three groups vying for control: The Gryphons who had conquered it, the resistance who had waged a shadow war of guerilla tactics since Glacier was taken over, and AEGIS that had been working with the resistance for months. While Gryphnia and AEGIS were blowing each other apart with missiles and rockets, the resistance soldiers still had no problems keeping up with stolen and smuggled rifles and RPGs stored in caches around the city. Some had even gone as far as using wood-cutting axes, decorative swords, anything with a blade or anything blunt.
Screams accompanied gunfire as the shrieks of jet engines and propeller blades cutting the air added to the symphony of battle. While the ground was lit up by lights and explosions, above, only the flames of engines could mark a passing fighter, or an explosion of one being shot down. Thirty AEGIS planes flew into the battle. The four planes of Ghost led the charge of the six AEGIS fighter wings flying. The six F-117 Nighthawks of Vulture Wing flew above the formation. Five F-5E Tigers from Ruby wing clung close to Rhapsody, much like the five F-16 fighting Falcons from Gold. Four A-10 Thunderbolt IIs hung behind Mythic's fighter, and the four F/A-18Cs of Emerald stayed behind Amethyst and Sprig.
After sending one of her bombs into a formation of Gryphon infantry-fighting vehicles that were chasing a large group of rebels, Rhapsody pulled up a ways and looked up to the wing of F-117 Nighthawks flying silently above the lake just beyond the city. Stealth fighters meant for striking and scooting out just as fast. "Vulture Wing, I want you targeting any AA defenses Old Towne. Smart bombs only and be careful where you hit."
"Roger, Wraith. Good luck," the Major who led the wing replied quickly. The whole wing, six strong, banked and moved to the Old Towne, bomb-bays already opening.
"Same to you, Vultures." She looked around the air to see a number of fighters under her command take the fight to the Gryphons. More than once, she had caught sight of red bellies marking Meteor Su-37 Terminators that were staying behind to defend Glacier. As she watched, one of the Meteors began chasing Aquamarine, wing leader of Gold wing. Moments later, Mythic Dusk had pulled up behind it and sheared off a wing, sending the plane to its end on the ground. "We need to start flowing to other areas to help," she called out. "Phantom, take Emerald Wing and head for the airport to back up the Colonel's troops. Shoot down anything that even looks at them."
"Copy your last, Wraith. Stay safe." The Hornets banked and flew to the airport. Rhapsody watched them for a few more seconds before seeing explosions marking missile hits. She frowned upon seeing one of the Imperial Hornets go down, but two Gryphnian fighters marked their final resting places in the ground.
"Shade, Banshee, take the Warthogs from Reaper wing and head for the Government Complex. I'm seeing some enemy armor from even here. See about softening them up for the Colonel's tanks."
"Got it. Let's go, featherhead." Sprig groaned and nearly rammed her fighter into his and the two from Ghost Wing led three A-10s north.
That just left one more group. F-16Cs and F-5Es painted much like their fellows, only with yellow and red, respectively. "Gold Wing, Ruby Wing, you're with me. We're floating to any area that needs extra help. We clear the skies of any fighters that take us on. Understood?"
"We're with you, Wraith," Gold Leader, Aquamarine, callsign Ice Pick, cried.
"We've got your back," Ruby leader, a mare about Rhapsody's age, replied.
The fighters blazed forward into the night sky of Glacier. Rhapsody's afterburners kick in and she peeled off after an Su-35.
"Damnit! Already got one of the Imperial planes on me!"
"Hang on, Omega twelve," a Meteor pilot replied. He was young, but ecstatic to be flying with the famous Meteor Squadron. He pulled up behind the Tomcat and narrowed his eyes. He then started and looked at the tail. "Wait... that's not Imperial... Omega twelve! You've got the Ghost Fighter on your tail!"
"The Ghost Fighter? Oh sh- Get her off me! GET HER OFF ME!"
Rhapsody barrel-rolled around a barrage of cannon fire from the plane that had taken her tail. Spitfire craned back to see. "It's a Meteor! I'll keep my eyes on him – " A missile suddenly tore into the tail of the Su-37. It blew into pieces immediately after impact. "Uh... never mind!"
"I got one! I got one!" Ice Pick cried.
"Gold One got a Meteor! Nice kill, kid!" the Imperial AWACS, Magic, called out.
A shout suddenly went up from another part of the battlefield. "Ice Pick got a Meteor? I guess I owe you twenty bits."
Rhapsody let loose a burst from her cannon that destroyed the Su-35 in front of her. The pilot ejected and flew away. "Don't get cocky, Ice Pick. Stay focused or you'll get hit."
"Roger, Wraith."
"Heads up!" Spitfire shouted. Rhapsody banked left and the missile streaked by. It was followed by a Meteor that peeled away from her. Spitfire hummed to herself. "I guess they left more than a few Meteors behind to shore up defenses."
"No doubts there!" Amethyst called from the airport. "We just got one ourselves. These must be rookie pilots. He was good, but we overpowered him and I put a missile through the canopy."
"I heard reports that different squadrons were transferring in Meteor pilots just as they transferred new blood into their own," Spitfire announced. "So they're good, but not as good as the hype says."
Rhapsody said nothing, focusing on the Meteor in front of her. It dove low, but the Tomcat stayed right on the tail, giving small bursts from the cannon to test the altitude and direction. The much swifter and agile fighter turned left and right, weaving through the skyscrapers of the Government Complex to try and shake her. But it was in vain as he tried to pull the Cobra maneuver and was too far ahead. The Meteor plane wobbled in the air and stalled and Rhapsody put a burst from her cannon through the center. The plane exploded and rained down into the river.
"Wraith got a Meteor. How many is that now?" Magic asked.
Rhapsody couldn't help but give a smile. "Just two, Magic." She quickly changed the subject. "Wing leaders, I need an update."
"This is Major Pierce of Vulture. We lost a plane, but he managed to steer into an AA gun on the street. We've also taken out a number of SAM sites on the roofs of the hospital. Operation in the Old Towne Area is going smooth, and we're seeing an AEGIS battalion leveling the Gryphnian command base there."
Magic then added, "The Colonel is also ordering special teams into different buildings to commandeer any AA sites still intact. We're marking them as friendlies. The Rebels have also taken a few sites and are destroying them as we speak. However they are encountering heavy resistance at the power station."
"Vultures five and six, drop any remaining bombs on their unwelcome guests. Shade, I need a couple A-10s to follow-up," Rhapsody ordered.
"Got it."
"This is Phantom leading Emerald Wing. We could use some help over here. The airport has more troops and fighters than we thought," Amethyst shouted. "I'm tallying up shoulder-launched stingers and AA positions all over. They're even shooting from inside the terminals."
"Copy that," Rhapsody replied quickly. "Ruby Wing, keep on the attack. Gold Wing, with me to the airport. Punch it!"
The wing of Fighting Falcons stuck to Rhapsody's tail as they moved to the east.
The AEGIS soldiers kept up pace with the resistance fighters as they ran down an alley for a shortcut. All around them the city was burning. Burning hulks of armor from both sides littered the streets and more than one gunship or fighter was still smoking from a fresh hit that took it to its final destination. Staff Sergeant Babs Seed checked her magazine before checking both ways of the street.
"How much further to the power station?" she asked the rebel fighters.
The Crystal Pony looked at the street with her. "Another few blocks and we'll be – "
"Tank!" Instinctively, the gathered troops hid or dove for cover as the Gryphnian tank rumbled into view nearby and let loose a torrent of fire from its coaxial machinegun. The few resistance fighters that had ducked behind a ruined taxi didn't make it. They were riddled with holes, bleeding on the street as the T-90 moved up and next to an apartment building. Babs was about to order her Marines and the resistance to fall back, but the T-90 suddenly started to roll backwards.
An explosion sounded to her right at the street's intersection and something tore a hole through the wall of the building the enemy tank retreated behind. A second later, another explosion followed as the T-90 was destroyed. The turret blew off as unexploded rounds detonated, causing a cacophony of smaller blasts. Babs and the remaining fighters looked down the street running perpendicular to theirs to see the smoking barrel of an M1 tank.
"You alright, sugar cubes?" Applejack called.
Babs nodded and waved for the troops to follow her. "What kept ya, cous?" she asked. After getting a small glare from the Colonel, she corrected, "I mean, Ma'am."
Applejack nodded that it was better and turned backwards and nodded down the street behind her. Flaming hulks of Gryphon tanks and other armor littered the road along with more than one collapsed or burning building. Her column looked mostly intact despite the massive battle that seemed to take place just moments before Babs and her entourage got into the street.
"Traffic. Need a ride?" Babs took the Colonel's hand as she waved for the rest of her troops to do the same, and climbed up onto the tank's chassis. Afterwards, Applejack grabbed her radio. "This is the 2nd Equestrian Royal Dragoons, We've secured the west end of the Government Complex, moving to the Power Station."
"Hind!"
Immediately, one of the Gepards from Saddle Arabia spun around to open fire. The gunship was coming directly for the front of the column and began shooting its cannon. Bullets tore into the asphalt of the street before a shriek caused it to suddenly pull up and try to move away. A missile struck the cockpit and the Hind went into a furious tailspin before ramming into the wall of an office building, bouncing off, and striking the road. Applejack and Babs, along with their soldiers, took cover. No one was hurt, but the Colonel looked upwards to see a familiar F-14A flying over their column.
"That's twice, Wraith!"
Checking the gauges, the pilot tugged at his collar. "Can't believe we're going to do this."
His co-pilot scoffed. "With AEGIS attacking the city, it's a loss. The best we can do is level it. Scorched earth, that's what the Joint Chiefs said."
With a simple nod, the pilot called back to his crew. "Get those things ready. We'll be in Glacier within ten minutes."
The gryphon pilot swore as he pulled up behind an Imperial F-16C, but he was once again shaken off as he was forced to pulled away as an EF-2000 took up behind him.
"Damn it! Where is Meteor Squadron?"
"They're getting wiped out! We can't – " An explosion resounded. "I can't control! Ejecting!"
Rhapsody spun the Tomcat in a tight arc, nearly blacking herself out. The missile streaked by her cockpit with the Meteor close behind it. Throttling up, she pushed into a pursuit. The Terminator banked low to try and avoid her, narrowly avoiding the airport control tower. The pilot banked up and around it, but Rhapsody didn't budge an inch. Spitfire looked through the air around them. "You're clear, Wraith. We're no joy on bogies. Looks like Gold and Emerald are mopping them up good."
Rhapsody barely heard her, giving quick bursts from her cannon. The Meteor pilot effortlessly dodged it and pulled into a tight somersault, ending up behind the Ghost. The two mares within the fighter wasted no time shouting orders and carrying them out. Rhapsody pulled up into a wide arc into the sky with the Meteor close behind. Rhapsody's altimeter began winding up as she gained altitude. "This has to be one of the more experienced pilots that stayed behind."
Rhapsody huffed. "I got an idea. Hoping this works."
"If it doesn't?" Spitfire asked simply.
"Then we take a missile up our flanks and return to the ground as a fireball."
The Tomcat suddenly cut out thrust and stalled. "Not reassuring, Captain!" Spitfire shouted as she grabbed the canopy. The Tomcat turned over onto its nose, the g-forces threatening to tear Rhapsody's chest apart, and bared down on the Terminator coming at them from below. The enemy pilot flipped his fighter around, narrowly scraping the bottom of his own plane against Rhapsody's, but not before getting a thick volley of lead through its belly.
The Terminator began to smoke as it tried desperately to regain altitude. Rhapsody shoved her throttle to full, once again nearly blacking out from the strain on her body before her Tomcat's wings folded back and propelled her forward. Once her missile locked, she sent the fiery spear through the tail of the Meteor fighter. Only the rear of the plane exploded, sending the plane into an out of control spin. The canopy blew and the gryphon behind the controls flared his wings, safe.
"Got a Meteor! Nice kill, Wraith. That's three now, right?"
"Sort of a modified cobra. Not bad," Spitfire commented. "Pilot's gonna be pissed, not that it matters."
Rhapsody nodded. "He'll get caught by our ground forces." Angling low, she spotted a pair of C-17 cargo planes with Gryphnian emblems on the tails. She promptly sent a bomb from her belly in-between them, destroying them almost completely. Her missile warning blared and Rhapsody dove for the ground, narrowly dodging it and the freshly destroyed cargo planes.
Spitfire craned her head around. "Rafale on our tail!"
"Oh he's gonna get it," Rhapsody declared as she pulled up and around the control tower as another missile slammed into the side, causing the whole upper half to topple onto the tarmac below.
"Various explosions can be heard around the city," the resistance radio called through. "As well, we're intercepting reports from the fighter aircraft above. It's absolute chaos up there!"
"Fire!"
The M1 tank fired its main gun, tearing a massive hole through the Gryphnian T90 across the street. The enemy's turret blew off and Applejack's tank crew moved forward. She grinned and swung her machine gun around, firing in bursts at the Gryphnian infantry firing at them from the roof of the factory just twenty feet away. More than once she had to duck down and cover herself from a burst from a machine gunner on the top floor. One of the A-10s from the air force had raked the roof taking care of the problem just minutes ago.
The resistance fighters behind her were doing their best to keep the power going, but the Gryphons were hell-bent on knocking out the station. But to do that, they needed to get past Colonel Applejack's forces who had already secured a large part of the Government Complex. The two A-10s from Reaper wing had been a tremendous help since arriving, demolishing a column of tanks that would have shredded their defensive line.
"Colonel! Hind inco-" The Gryphon attack helicopter suddenly began sparking in time with heavy cannon fire striking its side. It spun out of control and collided with the building beside it, bouncing off it, then one of the power station's towers, sending sparks across the area, and ending its death throes in the lake in the center of town. "Never mind, again!"
Blazing overhead was an EF Typhoon, the nose painted with a dragon. She could just make out the emblem on the tail. "That's a plane from Ghost wing, but not the Ghost." Applejack looked down at her cousin, who was kneeling by the tank's tread. "Still, very good timin', eh cous?"
Applejack chuckled. "They're all good, Babs. I imagine the Princess knew what she was doing when she sent them this far north."
Babs chuckled and aimed her rifle, lobbing a grenade from her launcher into a deli that was being used as a machinegun nest. Looking back up, she could only see the flames of jet engines in the pitch black night sky. From down there, they all looked the same. "I'll need to know that pilot's name when we get back to base."
Mythic pulled up, flying beside Sprig who had kept close to his wing during the entire battle.
"You get a Meteor yet, Mythic?" she asked.
"Sure did. Not long after you got yours. Looks like everyone in Ghost has one now, except for the Major!"
"Shut up, Mythic!" Spitfire cried.
Sprig couldn't help but laugh. "Now the Major is saying it. She definitely is earning her keep."
"She's keeping me alive," Rhapsody replied. "Phantom, how's the battle on your end coming?"
When Mythic looked over, the flurry of Hornets from Emerald led by Amethyst had turned their weapons to the ground. Pairs were raking the ground with their cannons while those armed with anti-ground missiles fired at any leftover tanks or parked cargo planes. The missiles streaked forward until over their target and sharply turned down to hit them directly on the top.
"Phantom here, the airport is under AEGIS control!"
"Message from the Colonel on the ground," Magic reported. "'We are steamrolling over the Gryphnian forces in the Government Complex and the Power Station is being held under friendly control. No problems here.'"
"This is Commissar Karat," Onyx cried from the other side of the battlefield. "We've got enemy gunship fire raining on us and taking T90 fire from a bridge. We need help over here, quickly!"
Rhapsody pulled the Tomcat into a tight turn to left after sending a cannon burst through the tail of an Su-35 that was chasing after Aquamarine's Fighting Falcon. "Standby, Commissar, we're on the way! Emerald Wing, stay at the airport. Ruby, keep with the A-10s from Reaper; they've still got some fighters up here, so keep them safe! Ghost wing, rally on me and Gold, we're moving to Old Towne."
"This is Vulture Lead. Our bays are dry, we're RTB." Rhapsody looked and saw the five remaining Nighthawks blazing out of the combat zone. Looking back at the city, she saw the multiple smoking craters and flaming pillars that marked their targets' final fate.
"Roger, Vultures. Thanks for the help." Once her eyes were fixed on the Old Towne, she caught sight of Mythic, Sprig, and Amethyst regrouping around her. Gold wing hung close as they made their way there. Narrowing her rose eyes, Rhapsody spied the last few fighters that defended their brethren below, but it was Spitfire who called them out.
"Looks like there's two Meteors leading the last of the Gryphon fighters," she announced. "I recommend Gold take them on while we strike the AA defenses and the ground targets holding up the Commissar."
"What?" Aquamarine yelped. "That's a Meteor! We don't stand a chance!"
Rhapsody looked over to the gold-striped Fighting Falcon. "Did you forget you've already shot one down already, Ice Pick?" Rhapsody asked. "Believe in yourselves, Gold Wing, and you can do it again. I believe you can do it."
"Okay that was cheesy," Spitfire muttered.
The sea green mare scoffed. "Bite me."
"What was that, Captain?"
"Bite me." Rhapsody gave her best salute in the cockpit. "Ma'am!"
Spitfire nodded and folded her arms. "That's what I thought you said."
"Alright!" Aquamarine cried. "We can do it. We'll make you proud, Wraith. I've always wanted to say this: Gold Wing, engage!"
The six Fighting Falcons blazed forward, the lead firing his cannon at the Meteor in front. The rest of Gold and Ghost peeled off after the remaining Gryphnian fighters. Ghost Lead leveled herself out, catching the eye of a pair of Gryphon T90s on the bridge that began backing up. "Oh no you don't!" She pressed her button and the bomb released from her underside. She then pulled up to avoid hitting a hotel and turned to watch the bomb just barely hit the tanks. They were still taken out, though, and she watched as a number of Crystal soldiers swarmed them.
Mythic was already busy dropping his bomblets on a number of fortified infantry posts along the road. This was countered by an AA gun that, just as the pegasus mare feared, was atop a school. Vulture wing must not have wanted to hit it for fear of major collateral damage to anypony still inside. She couldn't blame them, and with a flick of her tail, she let a torrent from her cannon rip into the crew before pulling up and away.
"Careful everypony," she called. "There's still some AA positions up."
"It is now one-forty-five in the morning, Eastern Equis mean time. Massive fighting has broken out all over the city despite the early hour. The only things visible are the tracers, engine flames and explosions. From what we can hear and feel, there must be quite a number of them up there! This is Resistance Radio; we will continue to provide updates as they come through."
The two resistance fighters peeked through the doorway to the roof, spying a pair of Gryphons manning an AA gun that was firing into the sky above. Its partner on the other side of the roof had already been taken out by an AEGIS plane and this one fired wildly into the air. The two grimaced when they saw one of the AEGIS fighters go down and crash into the street, but were slightly relieved when they saw the parachute. The AA gunners then began to turn their position around, aiming at the downed pilot.
"Oh hell no," the first muttered. After his buddy lit the wick, they through the firebomb at the crew. The bottle crashed onto the gun and spread the petrol all over it and the crew. Their screams were terrible and though successful, they turned away from their deed to join their comrades below.
"We've taken out the last of the AA guns at the high school. Moving to the hospital."
Rhapsody swung up behind a skyscraper as one of the few remaining fighters in Glacier took off after her. She barrel-rolled through a volley from its cannon, narrowly scraping her tail against a radio antennae on the roof of an office building. A missile came next and she twisted hard, letting it hit the road. "He's too quick," Spitfire reported. "Try and lose him on the ground."
"Roger that." The mare pushed low, taking care to not to scrape the tanks down below. More than one soldier on the ground hit the dirt as the Tomcat and the pursuing Strike Eagle tore the sky above them apart. She widened her eyes when she saw an AA gun spinning towards her. With a yelp of surprise, she pulled the stick back hard. The gun began firing at her, possibly even more surprised than her since they fired too late. And as a result, their volley hit their air force comrade right in the belly. The Strike Eagle caught fire and propelled into the river.
Swinging around, the AA gun targeted Rhapsody's Tomcat once more, firing at random. The Tomcat was fast though, but in the midst of firing, the gun was hitting the various buildings around it. The huge volume of fire tore through a floor of an office building and strafed the top floor of the hospital. Rhapsody snarled to think how many ponies inside they had struck.
Eyes flaring, she pulled up high into the sky, throttling up until she was at sufficient height. Seconds after, she pulled her throttle back and pulled the Tomcat back over onto its nose. Doing a straight nosedive, Rhapsody pushed her throttle back up and aimed her whiskey reticule before letting a medium bomb fly out from under her. Pulling up, the g-forces not so bad this time, she let Spitfire watch the bomb fall.
"And it's good!" She then paused. "Right into a rather sizable building."
Realizing what she had done, Rhapsody banked to survey they hit. The rubble wasn't large, but the shock of the blast would've damaged the inner workings of the building. For a moment, she thought there may have been somepony inside. The sea green mare was angry enough to not care at the time, but when she looked, the bomb did more damage that she thought... until she saw the sign.
"Oh. It's just a tax firm," Spitfire reported.
"Okay, so no harm, no foul?"
"Nope! Let's go."
"Glacier has been under control of Gryphnia for nearly a year. This city has not seen a conflict since Sombra's banishment," the Resistance radio informed. "This is only the second time the city has felt the flames of war."
Applejack pulled her binoculars down, turning to the barkeep who led the resistance, both staring at the ruins of the tax collecting agency building. "There was nopony in there, right?"
The Crystal stallion shook his head. "It was evicted anyway."
"Why's that?" Applejack asked.
"Couldn't pay its bills on time."
Rhapsody angled herself and let another bomb drop. It struck the center of the street where a pair of T90s was tearing into a building full of resistance fighters. Pulling up, she surveyed the Old Towne area. "Old Towne forces, I need a sitrep," the Captain called.
"This is Gold Leader, all enemy fighters are down. The sky is ours!" Aquamarine cried triumphantly.
"Colonel Applejack here. My forces are mopping up any remaining Gryphons in the area." The Colonel's M1 fired a round into a nearby apartment that the latest RPG had come from and narrowly missed her treads. The round had, unfortunately, killed a number of resistance fighters and AEGIS soldiers. Stone and glass shattered and burned and Applejack's ears bent back while ringing. "My boys have already taken the enemy command post in this area. Government Complex is ours!"
"This is Strong Shot; I run the bar in Old Towne," a stallion called. "My guys are hitting the remaining anti-air spots on the Hotel and the walk-in clinic." Looking down, he saw the gryphon he had one hoof on reaching for his rifle. Strong Shot lifted his hoof and let it slam back down. The Gryphon gunner let out a squawk of pain before whimpering. "You have yet to pay your tab, so you just lay there and shut up." He pulled the radio back up. "No problems here."
Onyx Karat blasted his rifle into a group of Gryphons charging up the stairs after they had gunned down a group of his soldiers. "Scum-sucking animals!" he screamed. Turning, he charged up the stairs with his remaining troops and a number of resistance volunteers. Kicking open the door, he ran forward towards a group of Gryphon soldiers manning the last few AA guns on top of the hospital.
Shocked, the soldiers were too slow to block the incoming Crystal ponies. Sword in hand, the Commissar slash and cut anyone close to him as his men began destroying the last of the positions. Gunfire ripped through the air as Crystal Ponies and Gryphons fought hand-to-hand for control of the roof. Though vastly better equipped, the Gryphons were overpowered and wiped out. Ripping his sword out of the nearest officer and kicking him off the roof, he grabbed his own radio.
"Commissar Karat to the Wraith. The hospital is ours once more!" He raised his sword into the air and the Rebel fighters and AEGIS soldiers below cheered loudly.
Spitfire smiled to herself. "Sounds like this is all going off without a hitch."
"AWACS Magic to all AEGIS and Rebel forces, all enemy aircraft have been destroyed and the key areas have been taken. The city is- Wait... stand by!"
Rhapsody's ear twitched as she narrowed her eyes. "Reinforcements? They're a little late to the party."
The bomber pilot glared ahead. "I was afraid of that. Glacier's been taken."
"Doesn't matter," his co-pilot declared. "We go in hard and fast and drop the bombs. Then we get the hell out."
"Bomb bay doors open, readying the thermobarics."
"A single fighter has yet to be seen in the sky, but what reports we can intercept from the military are coming through, though full of static," the Resistance radio reported once again. "Is the fighter with the Ghost Insignia among them?"
"Magic to all AEGIS and Rebel forces! Six Blackjack bombers approaching the city at high speed!"
Rhapsody's pupils shrank at the news. "Blackjacks? Supersonic bombers?"
"Those damn fascists are gonna level the city!" Aquamarine screamed. "We've got to stop them."
Rhapsody's eyes scanned the sky for the Blackjacks, before Spitfire shouted from behind, "There they are!" The pegasus mares looked to their left, spying six groups of jet engines. They broke off into three pairs and were immediately dropping their payloads. Stunned, Rhapsody was banking and watched one of the bombs hit the ground. A plume of smoke formed before a massive explosion followed. Three buildings caved in and two shattered almost instantly. She saw building debris, and shreds of tanks fly through the air.
"Those are friggin thermobaric bombs!" Mythic shouted. "This is scorched earth! They're going to completely destroy the city!"
Wasting no time, Rhapsody pulled her Tomcat into a steep climb and fired her cannon. It streaked across the belly, but hardly fazed the damn bomber. "All fighters! Pick a bomber and start shooting!"
Applejack pulled her helmet down and covered her mouth as she watched a thermobaric bomb hit the ground several blocks away. AEGIS soldiers were rushing for her position before it dropped. When the smoke cleared just a little, she gagged at the sight; nothing. They had been utterly vaporized.
"All forces! Find cover immediately! Any anti-air under our control start shooting! Bring them down before they destroy us all!"
"We're shooting, Colonel," she heard Strong Shot, the local barkeep yell. "They're too fast!"
Rhapsody pulled up behind one of the Blackjacks. She had been forced to go supersonic herself to keep up with the bombers, her afterburners screaming. Her wings were folded back and her whole body pressed into her seat. Her breathing paced up as her reticule tried to get a lock. Once the tone was good, she sent the missile off the rail and impacting the engine. A massive explosion marked a direct hit and the Blackjack listed down to the right before crashing into what now used to be a hoofball field.
"One down! Five to go!"
"Make that four," Aquamarine cried. "Got it from the front. Cannon to the cockpit."
Rhapsody banked right to see Amethyst and Sprig teaming up on one that was rapidly dropping its payload on the airport were a number of AEGIS ground forces were running for their lives. Several tanks and more than a dozen infantry were hit before a pair of missiles from the two Hornets tore the Blackjack apart. It fell from the sky and crashed right into the airport terminal, an explosion tearing apart any remaining part of the airport building as the remaining bombs within detonated.
"Three down! Get the rest! Hurry!" Magic cried.
"We're doing our best, Magic!" Rhapsody turned after catching sight of another one. Its payload was being released on the Government Complex. She couldn't see any AEGIS troops on the ground, but those she did see were fleeing in terror. A number of structures had been leveled and even more were burning. She grimaced upon seeing one was a school. "Mother Mare I hope there was no one inside that one."
Spitfire shook her head. "Nothing we can do for them, Wraith. Let's help them by saving the rest of the city."
The pilot mare nodded and pushed after the Blackjack that was turning towards the outskirts of the city. Whether to make another run or just to run, she didn't care. In hot pursuit she pushed down as she was gaining on the bomber. It was indeed running away, but Rhapsody didn't give it a chance to run along home.
None of these bombers were going back home.
Once she felt she was at the correct distance, she yanked the stick back and pulled her cannon's trigger. Volleys of hot lead streaked from the Tomcat's nose and into the underside of the Blackjack. The results were better than she had hoped; the bombs still inside were hit and detonated. The Bomber violently exploded in the air, sending burning wreckage into the lake and the plain below. Deed done, she pulled back and engaged her afterburners to return to the city.
One more Blackjack had been downed in her absence, leaving one more. She swiftly caught up with it as it was making for the Old Towne, and from what she could determine, was making a beeline for the hospital. Narrowing her eyes, she throttled up, her afterburners shrieking as the Tomcat closed in on it. Her reticule closed in on the tail and without a second's hesitation, she pressed the button. "Fox two!"
She pressed it again. "Fox two!"
A third time she pressed.
Pupils shrinking, she looked down to see, to her horror, she was out of missiles. She pulled her trigger for her cannon and it was dry! She had nothing left! "I'm empty! I can't take it out! Anyone got a missile?"
"Negative!" Mythic shouted. "I'm down to my cannon and I won't make it!"
"Phantom and I are empty too!" Sprig cried.
"Does anypony have anything?!" Spitfire yelled. "It's heading for the hospital!"
"Tanks and infantry are running by the station, shouting for everyone to take cover. We've already intercepted that bombers are above the city and dropping their payloads. We've heard a number of explosions but none of them seem to be near us yet."
"I may have something for them!" Aquamarine called out. Rhapsody turned to see him fly right by her. He had no missiles, nor did he move in for a gun strike. He instead pulled up to just above the Blackjack, and that was where Rhapsody saw it.
An unguided bomb.
"Ice Pick! Abort!" Magic called. "You can't hit it with a bomb!"
"Yes I can! It's all I got!" Aquamarine countered. "I can make the shot!"
Magic objected, "Negative! Pull back and use your – "
"Little more down, Ice Pick," Rhapsody called. "You might over shoot him. Aim for the fuselage."
The F-16C tilted downwards in acknowledgement, quickly adjusting. "It's getting closer!" Magic reported. "If you're gonna do this, do it fast."
Rhapsody continued, "Feel for the shot. Let your plane make the adjustments. It knows what it wants to do. Feel the shot..." Ice Pick tilted himself forward by mere inches.
The bomber pilot bared down on the hospital. "Almost there. One good strike."
Rhapsody kept her eyes on the F-16C as it hovered in place above the bomber. "Wait for it," Rhapsody said softly. "If you hit it now, it'll crash into it. Wait for it..." The mare could almost feel the tension in the air from all the AEGIS pilots. More so from Aquamarine himself, the incredibly young stallion about to take the shot.
"Hold... hold..."
"Bomb is locked! Ready to drop!" The Blackjack's bombardier looked down his sights, talon above the button.
"NOW!"
Ice Pick's bomb dropped from the rail. It was almost in slow motion as it dropped from the Fighting Falcon and fell towards the Blackjack. Rhapsody watched it fall. For a moment, she thought it would miss altogether. Her skin under her coat paled, her wings and tail clung to her in anxiety. Spitfire pressed herself against the canopy to watch.
For a moment, she could have sworn it would miss. Rhapsody could almost see the thermobaric bomb drop and fly through the hospital wall and level the entire structure. She could smell the burning wreckage and civilians still inside. She could hear the cries of anguish and agony at the failure to stop the bomber. Another second went by and Rhapsody could have sworn –
A massive blast caught her eye.
Rose irises glued to the sight, Ice Pick's bomb had struck it right on the tail, blowing it off the air frame. The Blackjack shook violently and rose up into the sky, the entire rear end a raging inferno. "Direct hit! Repeat, Ice Pick scored a direct hit!" Rhapsody cried.
"I did? I had my eyes closed but I hit it!?" Aquamarine shouted and his Fighting Falcon rolled multiple times in the air. "Whoa! Head-rush."
The pilot struggled with his controls to keep the Blackjack level, but he knew it was fruitless. "Tail's gone! I'm losing control! I can't hold it; everyone out!"
He looked back and gasped. There was no 'everyone'. He was all that was left and he couldn't get out. The nose of the Blackjack was catching fire, but he could still see the hillside he was falling belly first towards. His instruments were going haywire, his altimeter looking like a clock being wound backwards as his artificial horizon shattered. Gauges all over had broken, covered with his co-pilot's life-fluids after his side had sparked and shrapnel shredded the cockpit. He couldn't save it nor get out.
Swallowing, he removed his cap, and ran a claw over the picture he had taped to the instruments. A Gryphon woman smiled at the camera, dressed in a lovely violet gown. "See you soon, babe. I'm on my way," he murmured, before closing his eyes.
The Blackjack exploded upon slamming into the hillside.
"Last bomber down! The city is clear!"
"Yahoo! Glacier is ours!" Amethyst screamed.
Rhapsody pulled up beside Aquamarine. "You did good, kid. All of you did! You've earned this victory!"
"The fighters that shot down the bombers are flying over now. It seems the AEGIS forces were successful, and our city has been freed. Now we can shout, 'Victory is ours!' This has been Hard Code, reporting for community broadcast."
Cheers erupted across the radio waves. Victory was hard won, but seeing the city finally liberated made it all worthwhile. Flames licked at the city while rubble decorated various parts of the city. Everypony who had hid themselves were out in the open, shouting a triumphant roar that shook the stars above.
Rhapsody smiled to herself. Every plane under her command, save for the Vultures, were rallying around the Tomcat and the rest of Ghost Wing. The Imperial pilots were giving their own cheers, boasting of their kills and who had saved who. Aquamarine and Ruby's wing leader had gotten their first Meteor kills, and half the pilots had earned their ace wings. It was a victory they would speak about for years.
"This isn't just a strategic victory," Spitfire commented. "It's also a symbolic one. It gives the Crystal Empire and its ponies hope. Gives them a higher sense of purpose and morale. This is their victory, more than any of ours."
"Would you like some Wine with that cheese?" Mythic teased.
"Shut up, Mythic," Spitfire replied with a grin.
Rhapsody chuckled, murmuring, "I just wish Ditzy was here to see this."
Sprig scoffed, pulling up beside the Tomcat. "She's probably watching it on a TV screen from her plush hospital room while sharing popcorn with her daughter. They got to be enjoying this as much as we are."
"Yeah, she has to have seen this!" Amethyst added. "Probably feeling the same thing you are, Captain."
Admiral Ba'rne threw his headset against the wall once he received the news of Glacier's liberation from their control. He ran his claws slowly down his face, but according to the crashes above, the King was taking the news worse than he.
With a grimace, Ba'rne turned to his first officer. "AEGIS is on their way."
Shining Armor looked at the map on the giant screen in the Palace's war room. The Imperial Joint Chiefs were cheering along with the rest of AEGIS's officers. Rank and Chain-of-Command were thrown out the window as enlisted hugged and shook hands with officers and shouts of victory erupted in the room as the entire city was highlighted in the blue.
Glacier was once again under their control.
Sighing relief, and though wishing he was there, he smiled. The Crystal Ponies cheered and threw their caps into the air. Shining, though half-heartedly, threw his hat in the air before joining in the laughter.
Applejack and her troops looked to the sky. Seeing the AEGIS fighters fly over, they cheered loudly at the screaming engines overhead, on their way back to the base. With a leg propped up on the turret of her tank, she waved her hat in the air.
"Yeehaw! That's how we do it!" Replacing her hat, she stared back at the streets. Back to business. "Let's keep those Gryphons movin', ya'll. They got a long way to go." Grabbing her radio, she added. "Those of you receiving this and aren't on Gryphon round-up duty, start digging up debris and putting out fires. We got a ways to go to clean all this up."
Despite that, Applejack and her crews were in high spirits. AEGIS soldiers were relieving Gryphons of their rifles and putting them in piles. Armor crews were rounded up and their vehicles either destroyed or put into a lot for parts, depending on their condition. There were no planes in the air, only helicopter gunships doing patrols.
Babs lit a cigarette and leaned back on the turret of Applejack's M1 tank. "Tellin' ya, cous. I'm looking forward to some R and R after this. Probably go to Sweet Apple Acres when it's all over."
Applejack jumped down next to her cousin. Babs seed offered a cigarette, but the Colonel held up her hand in declination. "I'm sure Apple Bloom could use the help. She and Big Mac. Been difficult for them since Granny passed, and usually Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are somewhere to lend a hand. But since Scootaloo is in the Air Force and Sweetie Belle got her record deal it's been hard."
Babs took a puff and blew it into the air, adding to the smoke of the fires. "And she hasn't hired any help?"
"I think I rubbed off on her in that regard," Applejack answered plainly. "I didn't want help and I was able to do it all. She's getting too much like me."
The Staff Sergeant from Manehatten grinned, finishing her cigarette and flicking it into pile of rubbish and refuse that was burning still. She gave her cousin a slap on the back. "I'll take care of her when I get there, Colonel. Let's get the featherheads beat first."
Applejack held out a flask of apple juice to her cousin, who grinned and took it. Clinking her own with Babs, Applejack made a toast. "Amen to that."
Singing. The AEGIS national anthem was ringing though the streets and alleyways of the city.
It was free at last. During the night raids, the AA crews had strafed the rooftops trying to hit low flying aircraft. The town militia rounded up the gunners they hadn't killed and shoved them into the streets with the rest of the Gryphons being rounded up to the AEGIS trucks as ponies rode by on bicycles carrying the banner of the Crystal Empire.
"They" retreated as well, and their quarters stood empty at their base. After what seemed like years, AEGIS aircraft were flying overhead, graceful in their dance of winning the fight. I wondered if the enemy ace Meteor Six was after was among them, the one she longed to meet. Deep in my heart, I felt she was.
What would happen if they ever came face-to-face in the air?
I fell in with the routed Gryphons and followed after the squadron. Though I had no idea where we were going, they didn't protest. Being the "Squadron Mascot", they made sure I was taken care of for what I knew was a long trip.