//------------------------------//
// Chapter 27 
// Story: Ace Combat Equestria: Shattered Clouds 
// by Cpt Celti 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 27

"Fox two!"
The missile launched from the Tomcat, spearing the flanker that she had managed to get behind. Rhapsody watched it go down for a moment before she angled down, lining up her reticule and pushing herself into a dive. The unguided bomb underneath dropped from her belly and landed near a pair of tanks. They exploded in the street, saving an AEGIS IFV from a terrible fate.
"You'd think the ICG would have better training than this," she commented.
"It's you, I think," Spitfire replied quickly. "They see your markings and they freeze up."
Rhapsody frowned behind her mask. "I didn't ask to be an icon, Major," the sea green mare grumbled, not for the first time since they had taken flight.
"I'm sure you didn't," Sprig called out. "But you've got that flare, I have to say, mate."
"Banshee, speaking of flares, bandit six o'clock!" Mythic shouted.
"I got him!" Amethyst replied. Rhapsody took a moment to see her two Hornets of her wing taking turns trying to take down a rarely seen fighter. Forward-swept wings, large canards, and just barely visible to radar; Su-47s. In terms of maneuverability, they were on par with the Raptor and the Terminator, yet were more accessible. The black-painted fighters proved difficult to hit, even if they were only somewhat stealthy.
Pulling up, she caught sight of a rather familiar plane, but the markings and paint job were all wrong. "I thought only Equestria flew F-15Ss." Rhapsody didn't wait for a response as she pulled up behind it and gave chase. The pilot pulled downwards with the Wraith hot on their tail.
"Last war," Rainbow Dash called out for the first time since the battle started, "We were allied with Gryphnia. We traded blueprints of a version of the Agile Eagle. It was the prototype, nothing like ours. But it's still a capable fighter."
Rhapsody raked her cannon through a wing, sending the plane into a downward spiral when it tried to dive and shake her off. "Only if they can fly it properly it seems," she muttered.
"Thunder One-one here! We're pinned down by that battleship that ran-aground in the river! We need help taking it down or we'll be wiped out!"
Sky Gazer reported, "There's a battleship in the river near the bay. The water was too shallow and it's stuck! Those tanks won't last long if it isn't destroyed. Crystal Commandos are on the way, but somepony soften it up!"
The Tomcat banked, the pilot scanning the rivers in the city. There were five, but only one had the giant metal behemoth stuck in the entrance. Its guns were opening up near another bridge, sending massive shells into the city itself. Her eyes widened when she saw one of the shells land in a small residential area, destroying many of the houses. "They don't even care where they hit! They just want to destroy Bravo team!"
"On your wing, lead!"
She looked and saw Mythic Dusk pulling beside her. "Shade! Drop some gifts for the ship!"
"Aw! But yours are bigger!" he whined.
Rhapsody laughed and shook her head, switching to her bombs. "Haha... innuendo." Throttling up, she started her attack run.


"Warlord's Talon to AA battery five-three! Incoming Tomcat! It's the Ghost; take her down!"
"There's buildings in our way! We can't get a clear shot!"
The bridge rocked as the Tomcat's bombs struck the side.
"Confirmed casualties on the port side! We're taking on water. We won't sink though because of our depth!"
"Then keep firing!" the Captain yelled. In front of him, the battleship's main guns continued firing on the tanks in the neighborhood. That was until a pair of missiles struck his forward batteries. Explosions rocked the ship, throwing the bridge crew off balance. "Someone kill that Ghost!" the Captain screamed as he stood back up.


Rhapsody throttled up as she gained altitude. Once she had reached the edge, she cut off her turbines and let the Tomcat fall backwards. She smirked when she first tried this trick back in Habun Harbor on the Warlord's Claw. She had tried it once; surely it would work a second time. Once she had switched back on, she lined up her whiskey reticule and sent her remaining missiles into the battleship, just beyond the bridge and her final bomb on the aft battery. Explosions marked her successful hits as she squeezed off her cannon for good measure.
The internal storage blew, cracking the hull, yet the ship refused to die. The Marines on board pulled out their rifles and began shooting at her, banking, she turned herself around to the city and brought herself along the side of the ship. "Permission to buzz the tower!" she cried as she throttled up. A cone of white split by the nose of the Tomcat as she blasted by the troops on the deck. The sonic boom ripped by her and she laughed as she pulled up and away. "Their ears will be buzzing for weeks," she commented blithely.
"Commandos are boarding the Talon through the hole in the port side. Nice going, Wraith!" Sky Gazer reported. "If you got the time, there's a bridge the Gryphons are using as a supply route. To get emergency supplies to their armor and reinforce positions! Take it out!"
"But I'm out of missiles and bombs!" Rhapsody snapped back.
"Your cannon, Wraith!" Spitfire ordered. "Hit trucks as they cross! One is bound to have ordinance inside with enough power to destroy it!"
Rhapsody nodded and banked towards the inner part of the city. "Roger! Here goes nothing!" She pulled under a bridge where a pair of AEGIS tanks was firing on a retreating Gryphnian one. Blinking and looking ahead, she saw a convoy on a bridge nearby. That had to be it. "Confirming this is the bridge, right?"
"That's it, Wraith! You are cleared to bring it down."
Rhapsody pulled upwards, banking to get an angle directly on the bridge. On her HUD, the designated truck was marked. She rose up, spun herself around, and dove down towards the convoy. One of the trucks sped up to get away while the others tried to back up. The designated truck was abandoned by its driver who flew off. Rhapsody lined up her reticule and squeezed her trigger. The cannon roared as it tore through the canvas of the truck. 
The cargo detonated, sending a plume of fire and debris into the air. Banking away, Rhapsody managed to catch part of the bridge collapsing into the river. "Bridge destroyed! That'll cut off their supplies and reinforcements! Wraith, return to air supremacy after rearming."
"Roger that." She pulled up and engaged an Su-47, raking its belly, then flew off to find the HMS Faerie Flight.

"Weapons free."
Silenced gunfire made small echoes through the three guards on the balcony. They barely gave shouts of pain before they crumpled, unaware of the thestrals, pegasi, and hippogriffs that were soaring down on top of them. Forming up, all six Special Forces soldiers hurried into the hallway. Another two guards were taken down before they could react.
The lead soldier, a hippogriff from Hibern's Special Wing Service, waved his hand forward. "Baseplate, Bravo One. We've infiltrated the castle and rendezvoused with the ponies. Awaiting orders." He looked to his right, watching the lead thestral rip his knife from the guard's throat on an adjacent balcony.
A female hippogriff broke through. "This is Baseplate, solid copy. You lads know your objectives. Bravo One, escort the Prince to the throne room. Keep him alive at all costs."
"This is Bravo Two," the thestral called back. "We're making our way to the dungeons to secure the HVI. Regroup on the helipad on the roof."
"Bravo three moving to secure palace personnel," the Pegasi leader called as they moved down the hallway.
"Roger. Bravo One moving out." He looked back to his team. "Your Majesty, you know the route from here?"
"I do. I'll take point," Marcus replied as he raised his submachine gun and moved down the hallway.


Through Bravo One's gun camera, Celestia watched the young gryphon move to the lead. One of the hippogriffs moved beside him quickly to cover him, though she was still tense.
"It was your decision, sister," Luna murmured to the elder princess.
Celestia simply nodded, leaning on the railing of the balcony, overlooking the Generals who were monitoring their respective commands. Twilight was assisting General Iron Wing with the air campaign. Shining Armor, having been returned to duty at his wife's reluctance, was watching an Imperial armored battalion's takeover of the airport, their guns opening up on parked planes. He was commanding Commissar Karat's troops as well.
General Black Forest was pacing in front of his team's monitors, calling out orders to Colonel Apple and the other brigades under his command. His armor was engaging the armor of the remaining Gryphon soldiers and the Inner City Guard's own troops, whilst the armor from Hibern and Saddle Arabia was controlled by King Kaubr's son and the Gryphon Colonel. He was surprisingly compassionate, telling his troops to try and work with the police to get the civilian's under control so they wouldn't be caught in the fighting while the Colonel spoke to the police chief to get his cooperation in pacifying the citizens, that Prince Marcus wanted as few casualties as possible among non-military Gryphons.
Marshal Anita from Hibern, call signed as Baseplate, was barking orders to both teams inside the castle. Bravo One was continuing through the hallways, and Celestia frowned upon seeing Marcus shooting his own guards. A necessity, sadly, and she was thankful he was wearing a facemask so that, at first glance to the enemy, he appeared to be a hippogriff; the beak shapes were similar. Bravo Two was tearing through Gryphon guards as they began heading down stairs rapidly towards the dungeons. Bravo Three was restraining the cooking staff, who threw down their weapons when the door to the dining hall and the kitchen were breached. 
"Mother," she murmured, looking up. "Let this be the final fight."


Babs let her rifle rip through a pair of soldiers trying to outflank her fireteam. When they crumpled to the street, they pressed on down the road, their LAV-25 rolling right behind. "Anyone got eyes on civvies?"
"Negative. Guess they got—"
A ripple of gunfire hit the two marines up front. "Ambush!" Babs screamed. A crude explosive was set off nearby, sending another flying. Everypony in her team took cover behind either rubble piles, ruined cars, or shattered store fronts. Babs took a look out from behind the LAV as it opened up its chain gun on the upper floor the gunfire came from. But that wasn't the only threat, as a number of both soldiers and civilians began to fire at the Marines. "Fireteam Zulu Nine-Nine! We are under fire from civilian and ICG forces! We need assistance at grid point four-six!"
"Stand by, Marines, we got eyes on," came what must've been the coolest voice she'd heard in a combat situation. A loud bang was heard over the radio and the helmet of an ICG soldier exploded and he collapsed to the ground. The gryphons shouted for cover and the LAV fired on the makeshift machine gun nest on the bottom floor of what was once a used book store. Another loud bang resounded and another gryphon fell.
Babs grinned as her marines emerged from cover and started firing back. The civilian fighters began running for their lives while the soldiers kept backing up. A number of other heavy shots from afar tore into gryphon soldiers. The damage could only be done by a heavy sniper bullet. "I owe you boys a round! Where you at?"


The sea breeze caressed the short mane of the crystal commando, his magenta eyes close to the scope as he angled his aim towards a tall, muscular mare. She was looking around the city as her marines began to gather themselves up and the LAV pushed on down the street. "Top of the bridge of the Warlord's Talon. Gryphons were kind enough to provide an excellent nest for us. That you with the cute mane cut, Staff Sergeant?" The mare looked his way with a grin on her face. The impossibly green eyes almost stared at his and she gave him a wave. 
He then caught a flash of feathers in a store front. "Hold still, jarhead." The scope followed where he saw the flash, until finally, a gryphon with a sword leapt from the second story window. His beak was wide in a battle cry, and the marine's eyes bulged as she tried to get her rifle up. Instead, a heavy round from the commando's rifle tore into the gryphon's torso, sending him flying at least three more feet away from the mare and to the ground in a bloody heap.
He smirked and pulled the bolt back, loading another round into the chamber. "I think I'm owed a dinner now, yeah?"
"I know a place in downtown Manehatten. You in?"
"It's a date. Keep your head down, cutie." He rolled his scope down the next street, looking for his next target.


Rhapsody put her thumb up to the carrier crew of the HMS Faerie Flight. The mare on the deck gave her a thumb up and signaled to the catapult crew, then thrust a finger forward. Within seconds, Rhapsody was launched off the deck, armed with her XMAA missiles. Her second carrier landing, and this time she wasn't landing wounded. Of course this time, she landed alone. A pallet had been set up for each fighter that would land so it could be rearmed in mere minutes.
"Wraith, returning to the fight, and making a run for the sub base."
"Could use some help here, Wraith!" Sprig cried. "Emerald and I got our hands full with these Raptors!"
Banking, Rhapsody almost immediately found herself behind a Raptor that was engaging her hippogriff wing mate. Though more agile, the pilot made no effort to try and get away, so engrossed on taking down this fighter that had a Ghost marking on the tail. She sent a barrage of bullets from her cannon through the wing. The Raptor burst into flames on that side and fell towards the ground. "Stealth fighters... never was a fan."
"Many of the ICG pilots were rushed into service. Some of the Raptors never even got a thorough paint job of the stealthy stuff," Sky Gazer reported. "Just take them down for now!"
"Roger!" She pulled up behind another Raptor for the chase. It pulled away from her, but not fast enough. It pulled up, starting to climb away from her. She sent a burst from her cannon into the turbines. The metal within shredded and the Raptor blew apart, forcing Rhapsody to bank away before she got hit by the debris. She watched it fall before spying a missile arching up from the docks on the edge of the city. Another missile launched and speared one of Emerald's Hornets. There was no chute, not after that explosion. "The sub base is launching cruise missiles!"
"We'll handle the rest of the fighters, Wraith!" Sprig called. "The sub pens are yours!"
Banking, Rhapsody pulled away from the battle, making sure to give an Su-47 that got too bold a rake across the belly with her cannon and then sent a missile into the engines. The pilot bailed as the plane burst into flames. Throttling up, the Tomcat roared as she bared down on the pens. One of the submarines had surfaced and engaged its SAM launcher. The Tomcat pilot pushed down, only a couple dozen feet from the top of the water. From the sub, a missile launched; however, the way it was designed, the missile had to go into the air at least fifty feet before arcing around to hit the target.
It flew right over Rhapsody, who locked onto the sub and fired her own missile. The missile speared the side of the submarine, tearing open a hole which poured with water. There was another submarine nearby where she did the same. Both submarines took on water, sinking into the shallow water. Pulling around to observe her work, she saw Gryphons were pouring out of the top, struggling to get away from the submarine trying to pull them under. "There were only two submarines in the pens. Both are down!"
"Nice work, Wraith! Sanitize the airspace around the city; we still need to get air superiority!" Sky Gazer ordered.


Amethyst sent the Su-47 careening to the ground after a missile strike. "That's two! I never believed the hype about the Su-47 before and sure don't now!"
"They're still good pilots, Phantom," Sprig replied as she flew by, chasing an F15S. Amethyst gave a short noise of confirmation as she engaged and shot down a pair of helicopters firing on a tank column before backing up Rhapsody as she blazed back into the fight.


"Warlord's Talon to any AEGIS forces in the vicinity! Gryphon forces have opened fire on the battleship and it's suffered too much damage to weather it all. We need assistance so we can keep laying down cover fire for the ground forces!"
"Wraith, you're closer! See what you can do!" Sky Gazer called.
The Tomcat banked and saw a number of puffs from deeper in the city. Banking once more, Rhapsody saw one hit the river beyond the hull while the other landed right on the port side. She throttled up and angled herself, locking onto one of the howitzers. They started to back up, but she fired before they could turn and turned the pair into smoking, burning hulks of metal. The last one was rolling down the street for its life. Rhapsody pulled up and let it go, seeing a Hibernian tank rolling down the intersection nearby.
"Wraith, returning to air supremacy."


Applejack covered her head as an explosion ripped through the building beside her. Yanking the handle on her machine gun, she resumed firing into the troops ahead. Her heavy rounds tore through the simple sandbag barricades, tearing into the gryphons behind. Her gunner fired again, sending the round into the BMP firing at them. Beside, the Marines from Manehatten gunned down a number of ICG guards trying to flank them, while their new friends on the Talon gave the support they could. Applejack's cousin apparently had made a new friend, as well, and his eyes were helping them along well.
"Staff Sergeant Seed!" the Colonel called. The Marine looked up to her cousin. "Start clearing these buildings! We need to secure this part of the city!"
"Yes ma-" An explosion tore into the side of the M1 Applejack commanded, rocking it. It wasn't a tank round, otherwise they'd be dead. It was from a simple RPG fired from a window above them. The Marines began firing up in that direction, and Babs aimed her rifle, sending a grenade into the window. The blast made sure there would be no more RPGs coming from that floor.
Applejack shook her head and secured her helmet, jumping from the turret to inspect the damage. Babs ran to her side, aiming down the street to cover the Colonel. "It's not bad, we can still make it."
"Ma'am, some of the boys are wondering if Ghost One is up there," her radiopony called. "But they're also saying she's be reassigned."
"Reassign our best ace?" Babs spat. "Not likely."
Applejack thrust her finger at her radiopony. "Sergeant you tell them she's here! It's not a lie, I know she is! Tell everypony on the ground to do their jobs and let the air crews handle everything else!" He nodded and sank back into the tank. The Colonel drew her pistol and looked towards the building where the RPG came from. Three gryphons were running towards them through the doors. Babs acted first, unloading her rifle into the doorway while Applejack fired her pistol. They were not soldiers, but citizens who took up arms against the AEGIS forces were designated a threat.
"RPG!" One of the Marines screamed. They all hit the dirt, but Applejack, swiftly cursing herself afterwards, looked to see what direction it was coming from. She then grunted as a heavy weight grabbed and threw her to the ground. An earsplitting blast rocked the ground just feet from her. Her ears folded back tightly onto her helmet and they rang loudly. Her vision was fuzzy, but she made out the weight that had gotten her.
Focusing her eyes, she could see the pained face of Babs, her face twisted into one of pure agony, eyes flooding with tears. She was screaming, but Applejack couldn't hear it. She did however see the place where the RPG came from explode, and a familiar Tomcat pull away. Alright, Wraith, She thought. You've redeemed yourself from all the –
Finally, she felt the warmth on her legs. Applejack's eyes bulged when she looked down, noting that her legs were covered in blood, while Babs's... they were...
"Cous'," Babs cried, the Colonel's hearing returning. Her eyes were soaked with moisture as she sobbed. "I can't feel my legs, cous! I can't feel my damn legs!"


"Daddy, no!"
High Marshal Harkol, Supreme Commander of the Gryphon armed forces, held his daughter's arms. "Sweetheart, listen to me! You have to get on there; you'll be safe outside the city!"
"But I don't want to leave you!" she bawled, moving his arms aside and clutching him tightly.
"Alvin, you know she's scared of heights!" his wife yelled. "She can't get on there!"
Alvin Harkol picked his daughter up into his arms, but supporting his daughter with one, he thrust his claw at the Osprey just a few feet away. "You need to both get on there and get out of the city! I won't forgive myself if you're here and something happens to you!"
"As would I, husband," his wife cried, hugging him tightly. "I don't want to lose you, too!"
"General!" the pilot called from the cargo hold of the Osprey. "AEGIS has taken the sub pens and the bridges! They're heading this way!"
Harkol set his daughter down and pecked his wife's cheek, a simply kiss between gryphons. "Stay here, I need to speak to the others! Then you will get on the choppers! Understand?" The female gryphon nodded swiftly, tears rolling down her cheeks as their daughter clung to her mother. With those words, he ran towards the Osprey and towards the cockpit to issue final orders to his troops.


Rhapsody spun herself around a skyscraper, sending a barrage from her cannon into the side of a Hind. The rotors took the brunt, disconnecting from the rest of the vehicle and it plummeted to the helipad it had taken off from, exploding into a plume of fire atop the skyscraper.
"All aircraft! We've received reports from the ground troops that the Joint Chiefs are making an escape!" Rhapsody blinked and looked around the airspace. Far away, she saw a cluster of helicopters near where she had made a bombing run almost ten minutes ago. "Orders from the Midnight! Those leaders must not be allowed to escape. You are to shoot them down immediately!"
Rhapsody banked around. She had just the tools to handle it.


The T-90 fired a round, but missed the AEGIS IFV that shot a tear gas round into a rioting group of civilians. Trying to give chase, it was cut off as an Leopard pulled around the corner, the two exchanging rounds, and the T-90 managed to send a round into it. But it went wide when the driver of the T-90 panicked seeing the enemy tank. The round took out the treads of the Leopard, but the gun still fired. The T-90 pulled around a bakery, hiding.
"I'm telling you, man!" the gunner cried. "We're screwed! Let's just get out and go home!"
"We've still got our orders-" The commander tried to say, but a shrill cry above made him look up. Expecting an AEGIS A-10, he brought his gun around. But he spotted a sight that, to Gryphons all over, was a more terrifying sight.
"Sir, that's the Ghost! It's the Grim Reaper!"
The commander swallowed. The Ghost flying over the Capital. The war was lost.


"Medic!" Applejack screamed. A pair of IFVs from Hibern stopped beyond the tank of the Colonel and troops with red crosses painted on their hulls. Half a dozen hippogriffs with red crosses on their helmets jumped out. They rushed over to her and the wounded Babs Seed.
The first medic caught his breath. "Oh damn... they're just... gone."
"Suck it up, Private!" the second yelled. "Get her on; we need to get her out before she dies!"
"Colonel, this is Commando sniper team Alpha on the Talon. She gonna be okay?" Applejack didn't have an answer as she saw her cousin get her wounds bandaged. The only thing she could do was kick a rock and get back into her tank, calling out orders.


"On your six, Wraith!" Sprig called out. Rhapsody turned to look, seeing her wingmate come up behind. She spotted her with similar missiles, and the two shared wings on their way.
Six V-22 Ospreys were firing up their rotors, preparing for takeoff. "Wraith, I'll cover you. You take the choppers!" The Hippogriff's hornet banked, engaging a pair of F-15 ACTIVEs.
"Got it, thanks, Banshee!" Rhapsody throttled up and switched to her special weapons. Two of the Ospreys were already taking off, and Rhapsody raked them with her cannon. The second was struck right in the right turbine and it sharply banked, striking the first in the belly. Both crashed hard to the ground, and the Tomcat pulled up high, barring down on the remaining Ospreys. The pilots had to be frantically trying to take off; they were rising up with barely enough power.
Rhapsody angled herself, and got all four on her HUD. Four squares reticule went out and locked onto them, and she pressed the button down. Four missiles dropped from the belly of her Tomcat and tore through the air. Four explosions tore into the Ospreys, sending them hurtling to the ground, crashing into the tarmac and the adjacent hangars. She then saw there was one left at the far end. She angled her fighter until she was going straight down the center. Her gun reticule lit up when she was close enough.
Rhapsody pulled the trigger.


The Osprey was struck dead on by the volley from the Tomcat's cannon. Both female gryphons shrieked as the mother covered her daughter to the rain of death, but they were nowhere near the volley to be hit.
Slowly, the mother looked back, to see the Osprey had been ruined, riddled with holes. The turbines whined as they began to power down from severed cables that provided the power. "Stay here, Harriet," she murmured. She stood and moved towards the chopper as the Tomcat, the perpetrator, rose high into the sky and away from them. She looked within and saw the holes, and the blood.
Within, the pilot and co-pilot lay slumped over. But her eyes focused on the third occupant. High General Harkol lay in a pool of his own life fluids, eyes wide in shock. 
She fell to her knees and let out a wail. Behind, her daughter knew what happened, and joined.


"Tango, two o'clock! Red statue!"
"Frag out!" Marcus cried, throwing the grenade over his shoulder.
An explosion rocked the hallway. Gunfire was traded once more as the Hippogriffs and their royal guide aimed down the hallways. Their rifles blazed through the royal guards, their tactics wholly revealed by the gryphon prince who willingly fired into his own people. Within seconds, however, the hallway was clear. The only enemy remaining was a butler, who had thrown down his own sub machinegun and blubbered in a corner, begging to not be killed. Marcus sent him on his way to the safe zone in the castle for staff who could not fight.
"Just a few meters," Marcus told his hippogriff comrades. "The last vestige of my father's guard are in the throne room."


Twilight exhaled as she stared at the screen. The Night Stalker leader of Bravo Two was heading down further into the palace. They met little resistance, and nopony had been killed. The Thestrals always made sure to keep themselves out of harm's way with their advanced rifles, able to fire around corners with the flip of a lever. The lack of heavy resistance meant they made great time in getting to the dungeons. It was dark, but the gun-camera on the lead Thestral's rifle was given a night-vision lens. The operators themselves had their own natural night-sight.
"Doors unlocked," the Thestral in front commented. He slowly opened it, aiming his rifle down the dimly lit corridor. "I'm not smelling any guards, plenty of blood though."
"Mind yourself, Private," the leader ordered. "He said the cell was at the far end of the hall."
Within seconds, they had arrived. Bravo Two aimed his rifle into the cell, grunting at the sight. "I think it's her, get the door open."
The Corporal reached into his pack, pulling out a spray can. He doused the lock, which made a crackling sound as it quickly rusted away. He then shoved it open and inspected the occupant. Twilight got a look at them, and her breath caught in her throat. A hand fell on the mare's shoulder and she turned. Princess Celestia tightened her grip on her former students shoulder as they both watched the Thestrals work.
"Legs are broken; looks like they never even trimmed her hooves. Wings are in bad shape too," Bravo Two announced. He gently held the wing and the pony below shuddered. "Tail's been shaved, mane's gone."
Twilight sniffed, and nearly broke down when the mare hesitantly turned her head upwards to see the newest occupants of her cell. The teal eyes were bloodshot, and she had bruises all over her face and, what little could be seen, all over her body. "Identity confirmed," Bravo Two announced aloud. "It's her." The lead Thestral gently lifted her face and spoke with a soft voice to the terrified mare. "Captain? We're Princess Luna's Night Stalkers. We're here to bring you home." The yellow pegasus mare gave the tiniest whimper, then shook with sobs as she leaned against the Thestral for comfort that had been long neglected. Bravo Two reached around and gently held the mare.
"Oh Fluttershy," Twilight rasped. "What have they done to you?"


"Fox two!"
Rhapsody's missile speared the AA gun trying to flee down the road, turning it into a burning hulk. She pulled up, targeting a pair of Hinds that were strafing an AEGIS frigate that was combing the docks. Her two remaining XMAA missiles launched, turning both into ruined metal that crashed into the water.
"Getting reports from around the battlefield!" Scootaloo called. "Patching them through!"
"This is Tango Five! We've taken control of the airport!"
"Commissar Karat to all forces! The city center is ours and the gryphons are scattering like roaches!"
"Colonel Apple here! We've surrounded and infiltrated the ICG headquarters! White flags are going up all around us! And Wraith, I owe you when you land!"
Rhapsody smiled at the last. "They've really taken a pounding, haven't they?"
Mythic replied, "Well you did just turn their Joint Chief's escape choppers into scrap metal, with them inside. So they don't have sufficient leadership right now."
"You're their biggest fear, Wraith!" Aquamarine called out for the first time since the battle started. Rhapsody had seen the young crystal pilot drop bomb after bomb on Gryphon armor that was pouring through the streets and supporting the Colonel's battalion as they extracted the special ops teams at the bridge controls. He and his squads had single-hoofedly saved those bridges from being retaken. "You're our hero, and their nightmare."
"Let's cut the chatter!" Scootaloo called from Sky Gazer. "All aircraft keep laying down cover fire! This isn't over yet!"


"This is it."
Bravo One stood across from Marcus, while the rest of the squad formed up behind them. "These gryphons are the most dangerous in the Royal Guard, and they won't go down easily."
"We'll just have to put more bullets through them, eh," one of the hippogriffs in the squad offered.
"Wise attitude," Marcus commented, checking his magazine. "On your go, Captain."
Bravo One nodded and slowly approached the door. He grasped it and tested it; good, unlocked. He nodded once more at Marcus, who grasped the ring on his flash grenade. The second it was pulled, Bravo One opened the door part way, Marcus threw it inside and the door was swiftly shut.
"Flashbang!" one of the guards within screamed.
It went off.
"Go go go!" Bravo One cried. He kicked the door open and the Special Wing Service troops pushed inside, firing at the guards within. Screams echoed through the hall as the guardsmen were gunned down by the hippogriffs. There were fewer than expected, and the armed palace staff within had chosen to throw down their weapons and hide behind the pillars.
"Room clear!" a Private announced.
Marcus paid them no mind. He strode forward, slinging his weapon back and drawing his sidearm. "You!" Sharpclaw screamed as he adjusted his eyes. "Who do you think you are?! How dare you invade my home, kill my soldiers!"
"They were mine too," Marcus announced. Sharpclaw whirled on the would-be hippogriff, who ripped off his facemask and his helmet. The gryphon king blanched at his son, snarling. A few of the palace servants peeked behind their hiding spots and gave a start, shaking even worse than before. Surviving Palace guards could only stare in shock.
"So your treason is complete. Not only do you invade your own home, you gun down good warriors who gave an oath to defend the royal family! Defend you!"
The former prince did not answer, instead continuing his advance forward. "I'm not a royal anymore, remember? You banished me."
Sharpclaw hissed as he aimed a claw at Marcus. "You are still a gryphon! These are still your people! I was prepared to let you live a quiet life in the city, but you turned to our enemies for asylum!"
"I turned to them for aid in bringing down your tyranny!" Marcus cried. "It's over! AEGIS is all over Fyrick! The Inner City Guard is in shambles! We have no forces sufficient to fight them with, now!"
"Because you betrayed them all! Gave away their secrets, their tactics!" Sharpclaw roared. "You've betrayed your own people for your own selfish gains!"
Still Marcus proceeded forward, his boots echoing hard on the marble floor, staining with the blood of the fallen royal guards. The handgun in his claws rattled as he stopped, eyeing his father. "Does this situation seem familiar, father? The son staring down his sire?"


Luna whirled on her sister, who stared at the screen. She had moved away from Twilight, who was being comforted by Cadence. "We were supposed to take him alive. Sister, what is he doing?" the Lunar Princess hissed.
The Solar Princess watched with cold, calculated eyes as she saw through Bravo One's gun camera, as Marcus stared down the Gryphon King, his own father, pistol in hand. Celestia's voice was low, almost hollow, and callous. She never looked away from the screen when she responded, "Correcting our mistake."


Rhapsody fired from her cannon, tearing a hole in the wing of the Gryphnian F-15 ACTIVE. It listed heavily before she gave it another volley, sending it crashing into the street where a furious battle between Hippogriff Challenger tanks and a squad of BMPs tore apart the area. "Sky Gazer! How's the battle coming?"
"Reports say it's definitely in our favor! Some sectors are reporting that the police force is working with us to gather of civilian fighters and restraining them. They don't want any more innocents in the cross fire."
"Good to know not all of them want to fight us," Amethyst commented.
"On top of that, several areas are being designated surrender points for the gryphons. The call is going out for a city wide ceasefire."


"Your grandfather never gave up his throne easily, and I aided AEGIS plenty of times in the past! They put me here! They needed me! They needed the gryphons. You were there; though young, you knew the details. And here you are aiding them in bringing down your own home! Our way of life! Our honor!"
"And now you feel what grandfather felt when his own son stared him down, and he stared down the barrel of a gun." Marcus pulled the hammer back. "AEGIS may not have trusted you, but they valued your resources and your support. Like they told me; it's time their mistake was corrected."
Sharpclaw threw his arms out. "You're going to murder me? Your own father? Who cared for you, nurtured you when your mother gave her last breath to give you life? I shielded you from the world and it's flames, but you have not only dared the flames, you've brought them home to burn it down. How dare you do this to your people! Your father!"
"You're a drunk, a tyrant, and a warmonger," Marcus spat. "You're not my father."
Sharpclaw seethed, his face turning red. In a blur, he had reached beside his throne, grabbing a sword. "Then it's time," he huffed, "That I correct my own mistake. Had I known it would come to this, I would've cast your worthless carcass out the window when you were born!" He raised the sword and took to his wings. "BY THE KINGS!"
Marcus fired.


"All aircraft, messages from the battle are pouring in! Gryphons are surrendering in droves!"
"YEEHAW!" Mythic shouted. "Fyrick's ours! Take that, featherheads!"
"I can't believe it! We did it!" Amethyst shrieked.
Sprig laughed. "I knew we could do it! I knew it!"
Rhapsody closed her eyes as she leveled out. She listened to the pilots gathered around her, hearing their screams and cheers, boasts and brags.  Down below, she saw AEGIS armor and infantry moving through the streets. Their navy was blockading the sea around the city. Fyrick would soon be under full AEGIS control, and soon she'd be going home – 
"Hold on a moment," Scootaloo shouted through the radio. "Got a radar spike."
"If it's a bomber squadron," Sprig commented, "I'm gonna be bloody pissed."
"Negative, it's smaller. Formation of five fighters. V formation."
"Five planes in a V," Rhapsody replied dismally. "We all know who it is."


Meteor Six adjusted her glove, looking out on her city. Fyrick, a bustling metropolis, now had AEGIS aircraft, tanks, soldiers, and ships all over it. The remaining Gryphnian navy vessels were in shambles, the Warlord's Talon stuck in the river. Her father's flagship, according to her brief report, was crawling with Crystal Empire commandos. The palace had been invaded, and AEGIS armor and infantry were corralling Gryphons like cattle to open areas for guard. She sighed and shook her head. "We're too late."
"I don't think we would've made much of a difference, Six," her wingmate replied.
"We would've made a difference, believe me," Six retorted. "This is our final fight, gentlemen. We make out last stand for Gryphnia here. It's been an absolute honor to fly with you."
"The honor was ours, ma'am."


Rhapsody banked, heading for the enemy formation.
"Looks like they're making a last stand for Fyrick. You've beaten them before, Wraith; you can end this war here and now. Leave the rest of the city to us," Sky Gazer said calmly.
"She's not doing this alone," Mythic commented. Rhapsody saw his Typhoon take up her wing, and smiled wider when Sprig and Amethyst flew beside him. "You're never alone, Wraith. We'll always have your back."
"We're family, Wraith," Sprig called from her Hornet. "We stick together, and we'll end this together."
"Still," Amethyst murmured. "Think we can take down five Meteors with four planes?"
"Now you can." Rhapsody blinked and looked to her left. A Blue and yellow F-15S with a familiar fire mark on the nose pulled up beside her. "Now it's an even fight," Spitfire commented stoically.
"Our honorary Ghost wing member," Mythic cheered. "Good to have you, Major."
Amethyst chuckled. "Yep, we got this now."
"Major, permission to fly on your wing," Rhapsody asked through a wide smile behind her mask.
"Permission denied." The mare blinked, then watched in confusion as the Wonderbolt lead's fighter pulled back behind her. "I'm on your wing, Wraith. Let's do this."
"I see them now," Sprig reported. "Let's get this over this, mates, and head home!"
"This war ends now!" Mythic declared.
"I'll make you proud, brother," Amethyst proclaimed bravely. "I'm not scared anymore!"
Rhapsody throttled up, her Tomcat roared, teeth barred. "Ghost wing, ENGAGE!"