Twilight was standing in front of the cabin Nikolai is piloting from. She could feel the wind in her hair as she was moving about the ship flying 600 feet above the ground to get a good look around this new world. Twilight went into the cabin with Nikolai and sat in co-pilot. She slid the flight goggles down around her neck. Nikolai looked ahead ahead to make sure that the sky was clear and turned towards Twilight.
"Liking the view?"
"Of course. I just wanted to sit with you."
"Did you want to talk about something."
'Is it that obvious?"
"Kinda."
"Look, do you remember in the forest..."
"All too much, yeah."
"You said you were okay with me liking you, does that still stand?" Twilight could feel the red hot blush on her.
Nikolai took a deep breath in and out.
"Yes, i'm okay with it. Look you love me right?"
Nikolai had exactly zero blush, Twilight was blushing hard.
"I.. I mean yeah..."
"Then okay, I love you back. Does that take a lot of pressure off you?"
"Yeah, it does. Thank you."
Nikolai got up and hugged Twilight. Twilight embraced the surprise hug. Twilight felt truly happy.
"No problem."
Nikolai got back to his controls, Twilight got behind him and wrapped her arms lightly across his chest.
The airship had flown far outside the castle. Nikolai didn't realize that he had gone into enemy territory. Nikolai looked out the side of the airship and saw 3 tanks and a flak cannon aiming towards the ship. What happened next was in slow motion. A cannon shell pierced the hull and fragmented inside the cabin spraying Nikolai with razor sharp fragments. Nikolai started to bleed heavily, blood pooled underneath his chair as Nikolai tried to steer back. Flak shells started to go off near the airship, the balloon was pierced and was loosing air. Nikolai got up and put Twilight in the seat.
"DO YOUR BEST TO STOP THE WHEEL FROM TURNING LEFT OR RIGHT." Nikolai shouted to Twilight. Anger in his voice.
Nikolai stumbled out to the HEAT twin cannon, brought the gun back and shifted it along the track to the right hand side of the ship. Nikolai shouted at the top of his lungs.
"I'M NOT GOING OUT WITHOUT A FIGHT YOU FUCKING ASSHOLES." He started to fire the cannon without lament, tears ran down Nikolai's face.
Twilight was having trouble keeping the wheel straight. A shell went straight through the hull and destroying the wheel while peppering Twilight with shrapnel. The airship started to jerk down into a spiral. Twilight ran out to Nikolai without putting her goggles on and started to hug him. Twilight had tears form in her eyes before Nikolai let go of the gun and came down to Twilight.
"I'm sorry, I should've payed attention."
"It's okay, I shouldn't have distracted you."
Nikolai pulled Twilight in for a kiss. The ship crashed into the ground. Metal from the ships hull pierced through the floor just in time for Nikolai to get gutted on it. The metal pierced all the way through Nikolai, leaving him to die slowly. He took out a journal.
"I never thought it would happen." Nikolai said weakly.
Twilight got thrown to the ground and broke her neck on impact, dying instantly unlike Nikolai waiting to die and seeing Twilight die. Nikolai's vision faded, darkness consumed him. The tanks crept up closer and closer to the crash. A explosion happened from Nikolai freezing everything in place.
A young boy stood outside his uncles home, it wasn't much but it did its job, it really was a scrap house. The young boys uncle was in the garage working on his latest airship made for long range travel while being able to defend itself with a HEAT twin cannon that can slide along a rail on the front of the ship. The boy was on break from helping his father. He explored the nearby lake looking for salvage. On the edge of a lake was a plastic bag with what looked like a book in it. The young boy got the book and started to read about a cryomancer going to a universe were ponies were the dominate species and how one purple pony found the wizard and went through a lot of trouble to get themselves out of a forest, and then being tried by a god, then escaping with the pony and turned human, went to a nearby castle, flying out in a airship, the story ended with both of them dying after getting shot down. The back of the book was signed. Nikolai Sanders. The young boy stood conflicted with what he just read. His name was Nikolai Sanders.